Chapter 19: Conflict on the Street

He drove on for nearly five hundred meters before finally turning onto the side road and finding a temporary parking spot by the curb.

Huang Guolun got out of the car, slipped on his black jacket, and walked back against the slightly chilly night breeze. As he walked, he mulled over what he would say to Bai Yao when they met.

He was nearly at the roadside stall where Bai Yao and her friends were having skewers when he suddenly spotted two even more flamboyantly dressed musicians in a heated confrontation with Bai Yao’s group. Looking more closely, he realized these two older musicians were from the Toxic Corpses band.

Huang Guolun was certain of this because one of them had a punk hairstyle he would never forget: the man’s head looked as if a chainsaw had been embedded in it, with shaved sides and a grotesque, upright strip of hair in the middle, resembling the blade of a bloody saw. Who knew how much hair gel it took to maintain such a style?

The other was a tall, bald and burly man—presumably the drummer for Toxic Corpses. Both men were acting outrageously, striding over to overturn Bai Yao’s table and grabbing at her as if trying to drag her away.

The three young people with Bai Yao blocked their path, and the two sides squared off right there in the street. Seeing this, Huang Guolun hurried over, straining his sharp hearing toward the commotion.

He was still some distance away when the chainsaw-haired man grabbed a beer bottle and threatened the young men around Bai Yao. "You little punks looking to get kicked out of Gulou? This isn’t your turf—get lost! Anyone who gets in the way tonight, I’ll smash them!"

The bald drummer menaced Bai Yao directly. "Xiao Bai, you know what you owe Brother Yong. He’s in the hospital after today’s incident, just wants to see you. If you can’t even give him that much face, don't blame us if things get ugly for you in the future."

Intimidated, one of Bai Yao's companions—a pale, pretty boy with a flamboyant hairstyle—lost his nerve and tried to persuade her. "Xiao Bai, why don’t you just go to the hospital to see Brother Yong?"

Bai Yao’s face was grim as she replied, "If you want to go, go. Why should I give him that satisfaction? Who is he to me?"

"Hey! You looking for a slap?" The chainsaw-haired man, angered, raised his hand to strike Bai Yao.

But a tall, brooding young man in a denim vest stepped in, shoving the attacker away and warning coldly, "If you want to hit someone, hit me—keep your hands off Xiao Bai!"

"Damn! You little punk!" Fuming, the chainsaw-haired man swung his beer bottle at the brooding youth’s head.

The young man reacted swiftly, leaning back to dodge the blow. He spun around to kick the chainsaw-haired man, but before he could, a red-haired youth rushed up and pulled him away, preventing the kick.

The redhead, flustered, scolded the brooding youth, "What are you doing? Don’t be reckless!"

Then he turned to the chainsaw-haired man with an ingratiating smile, apologizing, "Brother Dong, sorry, my friend’s had too much to drink—he doesn’t know his place. We won’t get involved in your business with Xiao Bai. Everyone’s upset about Brother Yong, but please, don’t take it out on us."

The brooding young man was named Zhang Feng, and the redhead was his long-time friend Zhao Xiaowei. Both were regulars in the local music scene around Gulou.

Zhao Xiaowei knew just how much clout Toxic Corpses had in these circles. If they angered that band, they’d never work here again.

Zhang Feng, annoyed at Zhao Xiaowei’s obvious retreat, snapped, "You’re such a coward!"

Zhao Xiaowei retorted, "What does this have to do with you?"

"We’re in the same band!" Zhang Feng shot back.

The pretty boy chimed in unexpectedly, reminding Zhang Feng, "Feng, we’re just gigging together for some fast cash. We’re not really a band. This is between Xiao Bai and the big guys from Toxic Corpses—let’s not get involved, all right?"

Zhang Feng clenched his teeth in frustration, muttering a curse, but then fell silent.

Bai Yao had never trusted these people around her. As Xu Yang, the pretty boy, had said—they were only working together for the money. There was no real friendship to speak of. Zhang Feng stepping in was more than she expected.

The two musicians from Toxic Corpses—the bald drummer was Luo Jianjun, the chainsaw-haired man was Zhou Chaodong—saw that Bai Yao’s companions had all backed down, and their anger abated slightly.

Zhou Chaodong, his eyes bloodshot, reached for Bai Yao. "You’re coming with us tonight whether you like it or not! Act up again and I’ll smash you right now!"

Bai Yao shook off his hand, swiftly grabbing a beer bottle and pointing it at him like a fierce little leopard. "Try touching me again—I’ll smash you first!"

"Oh? You want to fight me?" Zhou Chaodong was further provoked by her defiance.

Luo Jianjun jabbed a finger at her nose. "Don’t push your luck!"

The two of them looked ready to attack.

At that moment, Huang Guolun ran over, his voice booming, "What’s going on here? Stop it, all of you!"

His shout, resounding like thunder, startled everyone—both those involved in the scuffle and the bystanders.

Luo Jianjun and Zhou Chaodong turned to stare at him. They saw a fair-skinned, clean-cut man in a black jacket, black pants, and pointed leather shoes, running toward them, his face full of righteous indignation.

Bai Yao’s heart sank when she recognized the newcomer as Huang Guolun, the music teacher from Experimental Middle School. An unwilling expression flickered across her refined, cold features—she really didn’t want to be seen like this by anyone from school, especially not a teacher.

With a stern look, Huang Guolun stepped into the fray, positioning himself squarely in front of Bai Yao. He demanded of Luo Jianjun and Zhou Chaodong, "What do you think you’re doing?"

Zhou Chaodong cocked his head, sizing up Huang Guolun with disdain, beer bottle in hand. "Who the hell are you? Mind your own business!"

A bystander called out, "Hey man, do you have health insurance? If not, don’t play the hero."

The crowd burst into laughter at that aside.

Amid the jeers, Luo Jianjun coldly warned Huang Guolun, "This has nothing to do with you—back off."

"This girl is my student," Huang Guolun replied, showing them his phone. "I’ve already called a friend on the local police beat—they’ll be here soon."

Zhou Chaodong, alarmed, shouted, "You called the cops? You think we’re afraid? We haven’t broken any laws!"

"I didn’t say you had—I haven’t even called the police. I just asked a friend to come over and check out what’s going on."

Luo Jianjun whispered something into Zhou Chaodong’s ear, clearly suggesting they should leave.

Zhou Chaodong’s face darkened as he snarled at Huang Guolun, jabbing a finger at his nose. "I’ll remember you!"

Huang Guolun stood calm and unruffled. "Be my guest."

Luo Jianjun, in a threatening tone, asked Bai Yao one last time, "You’re really not coming with us?"

Bai Yao snorted dismissively, not bothering to reply.

Luo Jianjun’s temple vein pulsed in anger as he ground out, "Fine! We’ll see about that! Don’t say I didn’t warn you—we know where you live."

Bai Yao trembled with suppressed fury, nearly swinging the beer bottle at them, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and held back.

"Let’s go, Dongzi," Luo Jianjun barked, bumping Zhou Chaodong with his shoulder as they left, both wearing disgusted scowls.

As Zhou Chaodong brushed past Huang Guolun, he tried to shoulder-check him, but Huang Guolun nimbly sidestepped, unwilling to stoop to the level of these lowlife musicians.

With the two troublemakers gone, an awkward silence fell over the scene.

The three boys from Bai Yao’s band wanted to say something to comfort her, but the words wouldn’t come.

Bai Yao swept her cold gaze over them, making each of their faces burn with shame.

With a snap, she slapped twenty yuan on the table, pinning it down with a beer bottle.

"This is for the break-up meal," she said.

Not wanting to waste another word, she left the money and bottle and strode off without even acknowledging Huang Guolun.

Zhang Feng, feeling a pang of guilt, wanted to go after her, but Zhao Xiaowei quickly pulled him back.

Xu Yang, the pretty boy, looked at the twenty yuan in confusion. "What does this mean? That’s not enough to cover the bill—she ate more than twenty’s worth of skewers."

Zhang Feng nearly slapped him in exasperation. "Look at yourself!"

With that, Zhang Feng stormed off in the opposite direction from Bai Yao, Zhao Xiaowei hurrying after him.

Xu Yang was left alone at the stall, glancing after Bai Yao, then at the others, calling anxiously, "You guys are the worst! Who’s going to pay?"

He wanted to slip away too, but the owner stood nearby with a baseball bat, so Xu Yang had no choice but to pay for the break-up meal himself.

Bai Yao walked off in the direction of Huang Guolun’s parked car, and as she left, he followed after her.

After about fifty meters, Huang Guolun called out, "Can you stop for a moment?"

Bai Yao halted, her sharp, delicate brows furrowed as she turned, clearly reluctant to face him. "Mr. Huang, could you pretend you never saw me tonight?"

"I could pretend not to have seen you tonight, but I saw you yesterday—singing at the Boat Bar."

Bai Yao’s frown deepened. "You watched my performance?"

"I saw it by chance."

"You’ve known for a while that I sing in bars here?"

"Only since yesterday."

"Oh. Well, could you pretend you didn’t see me yesterday either?"

"That..." Huang Guolun hesitated.

Suddenly, Bai Yao bowed to him, thanking him. "Thank you for your help tonight. Please, just pretend you don’t know anything." With that, she turned to leave.

"Wait—can’t you finish what you want to say before you go?" Huang Guolun called, catching her by the arm to stop her.