ECG -Chapter 48 Xiao Min Asked Me to Go to Her House for Dumplings

The fish hot pot arrived. Inside the pot, thin slices of snow-white fish meat were rolling in the boiling broth, with a layer of fried dried chili strips floating on top. Just looking at it made one’s appetite stir.

Liu’er raised his wine glass and said a few words of thanks to Lin Hao. Lin Hao also exchanged a few polite remarks.

After they had drunk quite a bit, Liu’er and Lin Hao went to the restroom together. He put his arm around Lin Hao’s shoulder and said, “Haozi, after the New Year, we’re thinking of leaving.”

“Oh.” Lin Hao wasn’t surprised. “You’ve made up your minds?”

“Mm!”

“Where are you going?”

“Yanjing!”

Lin Hao nodded. “That’s good too. When you get there, don’t rush. Find a place to settle down first and learn more. There are countless experts over there!”

Liu’er unzipped his pants and started relieving himself, then nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too!”

As Lin Hao fastened his belt, he said, “When the time is right, find an opportunity for a large-scale performance. You guys will definitely amaze everyone!”

Maybe Liu’er had drunk too much beer. His eyes were full of red veins as he placed both hands on Lin Hao’s shoulders and said very seriously, “Lin Hao, thank you!”

Compared to the thanks he had given at the dinner table just now, this one was much more sincere.

Lin Hao smiled. “I’m looking forward to hearing Do You Love Me or Not on campus!”

Liu’er nodded.

Lin Hao quickly pushed his hands away. This guy had just finished peeing and hadn’t washed his hands yet.

When he returned, he saw that Wu Xiaozhou was actually sitting next to that female singer. This guy… spring hadn’t even arrived yet, and he was already getting restless.

Lin Hao had long expected that this group would leave. He had also told Chu Yu and Zhou Dongbing about it before. He didn’t want to remind Chu Yu again—saying it once was enough; repeating it would lose its meaning.

As for whether they could actually leave, first, it depended on whether Liu’er knew how to handle things, and second, it depended on what Zhou Dongbing thought.

Just like Zhou Dongbing had once said: if he didn’t speak, no one could leave!

He wanted to smoke a cigarette, but it dropped onto the ground. When Lin Hao bent down to pick it up, he caught sight of the female singer crossing her legs and using her toes to gently tap Wu Xiaozhou’s leg little by little.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Liu’er went to pay the bill. The group walked outside and ran into two other bands leaving as well.

At this moment, Liu’er’s social skills were obvious. He greeted everyone warmly, and with some people, he even put his arm around their shoulders and joked around.

Outside the restaurant, Wu Xiaozhou walked up to Lin Hao. Hesitating, he lowered his voice and said, “Go back and tell my family for me. Just say I drank too much and couldn’t make it upstairs, so I’m sleeping at your place tonight!”

Lin Hao widened his eyes. “You’re not going home?”

“Mm, well… um… Xiao Min asked me to go to her house for dumplings!” Wu Xiaozhou said with a silly grin, white breath puffing out of his mouth in the cold night.

Lin Hao was speechless. Xiao Min was that flirtatious female singer, but they had just finished eating fish hot pot. Why would they be eating dumplings in the middle of the night?

“Hungry again?” Lin Hao glared at him.

Wu Xiaozhou was obviously hesitating. In his heart, he thought: Brother, I’ve been hungry this whole time.

He glanced sideways at the female singer, then looked at Lin Hao, who was staring at him. Finally, he gritted his teeth.

“Not hungry!”

Lin Hao chuckled. He reached out and patted his shoulder. “Come on, if you’re not hungry, go home!”

When they parted ways, Wu Xiaozhou clearly saw the resentment in the female singer’s eyes. He wanted to cry but had no tears—he wasn’t going to get to eat those dumplings…

Being young, it was normal to be attracted to women. In his previous life, Lin Hao had traveled all over the place and had seen far too many “temporary couples” among band members and singers. He didn’t want Wu Xiaozhou to become someone like that in the future.

You could be affectionate, but you absolutely couldn’t be promiscuous.

The biggest difference between humans and animals was that humans had a sense of shame. You couldn’t just take off your pants casually without any emotional foundation.

A few days later, because of Lin Hao’s return, more and more old customers found out about it. By a little after eight, Black Knight had once again returned to its lively atmosphere.

Ever since the day they drank together, Wu Xiaozhou had never come to Black Knight again. Lin Hao noticed that the female singer named Xiao Min now looked at him with eyes full of resentment.

That afternoon.

After Lin Hao finished writing two songs, he went to Wu Xiaozhou’s house. His mother opened the door for him.

Lin Hao pushed Wu Xiaozhou’s bedroom door, but it was locked.

He knocked three times.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

The door opened. Wu Xiaozhou was wearing autumn clothes and long underwear, yawning nonstop. There was eye gunk at the corners of his eyes.

“What time is it already, and you’re still sleeping?” Lin Hao entered the room.

Wu Xiaozhou immediately jumped onto the bed and burrowed back under the quilt.

Lin Hao glanced at the ashtray on the computer desk. It was packed full of cigarette butts; probably adding one more would make it collapse. Then he looked at the electric bass leaning in the corner against the wall. A layer of dust had already settled on it.

A surge of anger rose in his heart. He stepped forward two paces and yanked the quilt off Wu Xiaozhou.

“What the hell are you doing! It’s freezing!” Wu Xiaozhou reached out to grab the quilt back, but then he saw the anger on Lin Hao’s face.

He froze and muttered, “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Lin Hao pointed at the electric bass in the corner. “Tell me, how many days has it been since you touched your instrument?”

“It’s vacation. Don’t I get to rest for a while?” Wu Xiaozhou said indifferently.

“Rest? You still dare to rest?” Lin Hao raised his voice. “If I hadn’t been waiting for you, I would’ve already put the band together!”

“What band?” Wu Xiaozhou looked confused.

“Don’t worry about what band!” Lin Hao threw the quilt onto the bed. “Turn on the computer!”

“What?”

“I said turn on the computer!” Lin Hao glared at him with wide eyes.

Seeing that Lin Hao was genuinely angry, Wu Xiaozhou quickly jumped out of bed barefoot.

Actually, if the two of them really fought, even two Lin Haos wouldn’t be able to beat Wu Xiaozhou.

When they were kids, Wu Xiaozhou had beaten Lin Hao up plenty of times. Later, after they spent more and more time together, they ended up being in the same class from elementary school all the way through high school, and their relationship gradually became closer.

All along, Wu Xiaozhou had always been the one charging ahead into battle, while Lin Hao hid behind and quietly plotted.

But people were strange. Other than his father, Wu Xiaozhou had never been afraid of anyone before. Yet he didn’t know why—after Lin Hao changed so much following their high school graduation performance, he always felt that Lin Hao was completely different.

It was a kind of change he couldn’t put into words. Whenever Lin Hao got angry, it would unconsciously make him feel a trace of fear.

And since Lin Hao truly cared about him, Wu Xiaozhou would inexplicably feel a little afraid of him.

The computer turned on. Lin Hao stared at the online game icon on the desktop and said in a low voice, “Open it.”

“What’s the point of opening that?” Wu Xiaozhou muttered.

“Open it!” Lin Hao snapped.

Looking at the character in the game holding a huge blade and looking mighty, Lin Hao’s anger burned even hotter.

He pointed at the game. “Before we went back to school, what level was he? And what level is he now?”

Wu Xiaozhou stayed silent.

“You wanted to go sleep with that girl who sang. I didn’t say anything afterward. You’re not married and she’s not married—people have desires, it’s not a big deal!”

“I didn’t even go!” Wu Xiaozhou grumbled unhappily.

Lin Hao glared at him. “You still wanted to go? What if a woman that casual had some disease? What would you do?”

Wu Xiaozhou fell silent.

“You don’t practice every day and just play games. Do you think I’m not going to say anything?” Lin Hao pointed at the game. “Delete it!”

“Don’t!” Wu Xiaozhou suddenly threw himself onto the computer desk. This was the result of him fighting day and night for so many days—how could he bear to delete it?

“Are you deleting it or not?”

Wu Xiaozhou didn’t move and didn’t answer.

Lin Hao gritted his teeth in frustration. “Practicing music is like sailing against the current. If you don’t touch your instrument for one day, your hands get rusty. Especially with your level—you don’t have any solid foundation at all.”

“You think Fatty Meng is lazy? Let me tell you, he started learning the yangqin when he was five. If you changed his instrument from the yangqin bamboo picks to drumsticks, he’d still handle them smoothly! That’s called a childhood foundation, understand?”

“Do you know how long Yan Xiaoqi practices every day? Eight hours! An average of eight hours every single day!”

“When have you ever seen Big Brother Gao wandering around everywhere? Never! While you were squatting by the flowerbed staring at girls’ legs, he was sweating it out in the practice room!”

“Why does Chu Xiaomei always run over to the vocal department? Because she’s trying to get close to the vocal teachers there. She doesn’t just want to play guitar well—she wants to sing too!”

“Do I even need to mention Cui Gang? Do I? Can you compare with him?”

“Don’t think sleeping while hugging your bass means you’re working hard at practice! Who the hell are you trying to show off to?”

“Wu Xiaozhou, I’ll ask you one more time. Delete it, or not?”

Lin Hao’s voice began to tremble. He gave Wu Xiaozhou one last chance. If he didn’t treasure it, then from now on he wouldn’t bother lecturing him anymore.

Whatever. Let him do as he pleased.