Chapter 129

  On the eve of the Spring Festival, Li Jin took Qi Yichen and some staff members on a plane to Hong Kong.

  Every year during the Lunar New Year, Hong Kong's rock music scene hosts a rock music festival, inviting all of Hong Kong's well-known bands to attend. In recent years, the scale of the festival has gradually expanded, and Taiwanese bands have been invited to perform, with its influence growing stronger each year. This year, the organizer collaborated with the renowned international brand J&R, inviting rock musicians from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, and overseas to create Hong Kong's first international rock music brand.

  Zi Yichen as the mainland area's only formally invited artist, served as the opening and closing performance guest.

  The plane landed, they didn't even have time to go to the hotel, and went straight to the venue. The organizer's schedule was tight, leaving little time for Qi Yichen's rehearsal. Although he had rehearsed many times in mainland China, after all, the performance venue was outdoors, on the Victoria Harbour side, with many interference factors, and could only rely on on-site rehearsals to experience adjustments one by one.

  Zi Yichen was fully focused on the stage, while Li Jin was also busy backstage. The Hong Kong market was a steel plate that he had always wanted to get involved in but couldn't penetrate. The Hong Kong music and film circles were exclusive, and his seniority there meant no one took him seriously. In the past, he had flown to Hong Kong several times to visit well-known producers, but they left him waiting outside for three hours without seeing him. Now that he had a formal collaboration opportunity, he couldn't let it slip away. Within a short period, he had already met with the organizers and sponsors' high-level executives, collecting a large stack of business cards and giving out most of the ones he brought.

  At night, Lai Kam arranged for the organizers and sponsors to go to Lan Kwai Fong for a night out. The two men, who were dressed in suits and looked like elites during the day, let loose after having a few drinks. Lai Kam followed suit and called over a few pretty girls to join them for drinks. He was smooth-talking and charmed the two men, who were both vying for his attention, one on each side of him. One of them praised his standard Cantonese accent, saying he couldn't tell he was from mainland China at all, and asked him to jump ship to their company, promising that Hong Kong's prosperity would guarantee a doubling of his salary. The other boasted about his extensive connections in the industry, insisting on recognizing Lai Kam as his sworn brother and offering to introduce him to Li Ka-shing.

  This remark, Lai Kam heard and let it pass, believing that there was no ghost. His Cantonese was good because he had specially learned from a master when expanding the Hong Kong market for Shu Mu. However, this was all in the past and couldn't be mentioned. He dryly laughed twice, just about to change the subject, when he turned his head and saw one on the left and one on the right, with their big mouths open, laughing and reeking of alcohol. Lai Kam almost threw up on the spot, and hurriedly excused himself to go to the bathroom. After circling around the restroom and coming back, he pushed the door open, startling him.

  Two men and six women in the house, paired up, already unbearable to look at.

  He sighed and quietly closed the door and retreated.

  Things have come to this, and he can be considered to have accomplished his great achievement. From now on, he doesn't need to take personal action anymore.

  He instructed the waiter to take care of the guests in the private room and leave a generous tip, then went to the intersection to hail a taxi back to the hotel. Qi Yichen was not suited for socializing and couldn't stand this kind of chaotic scene, so Li Jin told him to go home after the rehearsal. Sitting in the car, the smell of gasoline wafted up, and the effects of the wine rushed forward one after another. The foreign liquor had a strong kick, and Li Jin closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, calculating how much he had drunk tonight - the amount he had voluntarily toasted, and the amount others had forced him to drink. As he counted, he gradually fell asleep.

  When I woke up, I had already arrived.

  He paid the fare, stumbled out of the car. The intoxicating wine was stirred up by the cold wind, and it became even more intense. His feet were unsteady, and the stairs looked like waves, layer upon layer, and also seemed to be spinning around in a spiral. He stared for a long time, unsure where to put his foot next. Tentatively taking a step forward, he indeed stepped into thin air, and his body uncontrollably tilted to one side.

  He subconsciously stretched out his hand to support the stone pillar beside him, and the coldness of the pillar gave him a sudden shock, making him slightly more awake. He knew he was quite drunk and couldn't walk anymore, so he had no choice but to sit down on the edge of the flowerbed at the hotel entrance. The Hong Kong weather is pleasant, and although it's the coldest time of the year now, it's just a matter of adding a long shirt to get by. As he sat on the edge of the flowerbed, being blown by the cool breeze, he was secretly worried that his hangover would affect his work tomorrow, while scolding those two Hong Kong people who drank like water for a hundred times, and somehow, he became dizzy again.

  He slept for an unknown amount of time, and vaguely felt someone pushing him. He lifted his head to see a hotel doorman in uniform standing in front of him. The doorman looked worried, opening and closing his mouth as he spoke, but what he was saying, he heard it with his brain but couldn't react. Li Jin stared blankly at the doorman for a while, then stood up with his support, nodded and said, "Okay".

  He didn't know what was going on. He didn't even know if he was awake or dreaming. Everything in front of him was distorted and blurry, the floor beneath his feet felt soft and fluffy like cotton, and even the sensation of pressing the elevator button felt dull and unreal. He suspected that he was dreaming, so he walked into an empty elevator and made silly faces at himself. Unexpectedly, someone got on halfway through, a foreign uncle with a hooked nose and white hair saw him making this face and looked like he had seen a ghost, his shoulders shrunk back and he hid in the corner of the elevator, if it weren't for the fact that the elevator was still running and couldn't get out, the uncle would have probably run away already.

  So even in his dreams, Li Jin couldn't help but make himself look normal. He regained the professional and calm demeanor he had during the day and maintained that face as he walked to his room. The key card was in his wallet, and as he reached for it, he tried knocking on the door, only to find it open.

  Li Jin stared blankly at the slightly ajar door lock for a while, then quietly stepped inside.

  The room was not lit, but the lights from the opposite building were enough to illuminate the direction of the balcony. A person stood on the balcony, slender and tall, with a proud figure. Just the blurry outline in the light was enough to make one's soul dizzy and sink for a lifetime.

  Li Jin opened his mouth, with a name on the tip of his tongue, he didn't dare to call out, nor could he utter it. He moved his lips silently, his eyes fixed intently on that figure in the distance, afraid that if he blinked, the silhouette would vanish.

  He became more and more convinced that it was all just a dream.

  The person on the balcony turned around, his back to the light, and his face was unclear, but Li Jin knew he must be looking at her too. His nose gradually became sour, his throat seemed to be choked by something hot, and he couldn't make a sound. He walked towards him without stopping for a moment, and in the last few steps, he even ran quickly. He rushed into his arms, wrapped his arms tightly around his waist, and buried his face deeply in his neck.

  He hugged very hard, he felt that he was about to break the waist of this person, but still didn't want to let go. Anyway, it's a dream, he thought, so just a little tighter, what's the harm in being a little tighter?

  A warm palm stroked the hair on the back of his head, soothing away the grievances that he couldn't express in his chest. The person's voice was close and indistinct in the night, with a hint of indulgent pampering, echoing in his ears.

  "What's wrong?" Li Yiheng asked.

  Li Jin lifted his head and stared blankly at Li Yi Heng. His profile was lit up by the lamp, making it look incredibly gentle, and Li Jin grabbed his collar, pulling him towards himself.

  "I miss you." He pressed his lips against hers fiercely, "Miss you so much."