Xinrongji in Beijing is on Xinyuan South Road. After dinner in the evening, we can go back with him to Wanquan Academy, which is closer than Palm Springs. Kai can also stay overnight. Kai will arrive at 5 p.m. It's rare for Ye Xi and me to go out. Usually, we are fully armed. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after much thought, we decided that the Summer Palace should be less crowded. Since it is winter, everyone is bundled up like rice dumplings. If we cover our heads tightly, no one will find it strange. I vaguely remember that it has been twelve years since the last time we went to the Summer Palace.
A Ferrari wouldn't work in this situation, so Ye Xi picked a Mercedes sedan from the garage and drove this time. He said it's rare to have free time, and there's plenty of it, so he's not afraid of getting lost. I took his words as a romantic remark and couldn't help but kiss him. This time, his slightly parted lips were warm, and he didn't shy away, even though it was in a public garage.
His phone rang, the ringtone being the Beethoven sonata he was about to record.
"Have you watched the news?" I leaned against Ye Xi and clearly heard Dai Yanzhi's voice.
"What is it? I never watch the news, you know that."
"All the media are reporting about you and Yan Feng. Even my parents know about the flirtatious looks you exchanged during the Spring Festival Gala. You need to be careful when you're out on the streets now. I'm still a bit worried, especially about Lu Sang. If you slip up, I don't know what he might do with the leverage he has on you."
"It's okay, you're overthinking it. There's someone backing me up from above. You don't need to worry about this. Compared to Yan Feng's previous scandals, this level of hype is nothing. As for me, all the record companies are still on holiday for the New Year. The ones we need to talk to won't contact us until after the New Year."
"How about I come over now and stick with you guys? If anything happens, I can help cover for you two."
I heard this and shook my head at Ye Xi. He looked at me and then said, "Alright, but you'll have to sort out your own dinner."
"Okay, got it. Tell me the address, and I'll head over now."
"Palm Springs, you know it," he said, then responded a couple more times before hanging up. The last thing Dai Yanzhi said was too quiet for me to hear clearly.
"What are you talking about?" I looked at him as he buried his head in the blue cigarette pack and took out a Marlboro.
"Nothing." He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag.
He didn't tell me the truth. After he heard the voice on the other end of the phone, I clearly saw his eyebrows furrow slightly. All these years, although Dai Yanzhi had always been like a shadow accompanying him, I had never been angry because of Dai Yanzhi. I never took Dai Yanzhi seriously; he had the demeanor of a libertine but not an ounce of the charming and dashing appearance, looking more like an ordinary, honest person. Even though he often had some grievances against me, I always regarded him as a joke. But after this conversation, I suddenly felt a sense of vigilance towards Dai Yanzhi. Now was not the time to confront him. After all, this afternoon was very precious. Before everything settled down, Dai Yanzhi's presence was necessary.
Half an hour later, Dai Yanzhi arrived. His long down jacket from the north wrapped him from head to toe, with the brim of his hat pulled down to the lowest point, and he was wearing a pair of Prada sunglasses. When he arrived, Ye Xi started the engine, and Dai Yanzhi quickly sat in the back seat. We parked at the Aman Hotel in the Summer Palace. From the parking lot, the Kunming Lake was solidly frozen, and the thin, black branches of the willow embankment were covered with white snow. Ye Xi said, "A timely snow promises a good harvest." He also said, "The last time I came to the Summer Palace was with you." That was twelve years ago. He kept talking to himself, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curving up.
On the ice on both sides of the long embankment, many people were playing with ice sleds. One person sat on a chair while another pulled from the front. Dai Yanzhi suggested we join in, but Ye Xi refused. I left Dai Yanzhi behind, grabbed Ye Xi's hand through my leather gloves, and ran towards the ice, ignoring Dai Yanzhi's call from behind. Ye Xi stumbled because we were running too fast, so I suddenly stopped and held him in my arms. Once we were steady, his face was only ten centimeters from mine. He pulled down the scarf wrapped around his face, revealing a red nose and lips. His breath came out as a white mist between his white teeth. I couldn't resist the urge to kiss him, but noticing the gazes around us, the kiss turned into another embrace. Dai Yanzhi soon approached us, pulling us away from the crowd towards the Dabaoyan Longevity Temple.
I tried hard to recall everything from our last visit to the Summer Palace, vaguely remembering that it wasn't as cold as now. It seemed like autumn then. In the blurry memory, it felt like there was another person with me. Until five in the afternoon, I was trapped in fragmented recollections.
"What are you thinking about? You seem distracted," Dai Yanzhi noticed my wandering mind. "Your eyes are drifting." He glanced at me again, then at Ye Xi.
"Where are you guys going for dinner later?" He took out a Zhongnanhai cigarette and lit it. Ye Xi grabbed one from him too.
"You're still smoking Zhongnanhai?" Ye Xi didn't answer his question, just twirled the cigarette.
"Yeah, I don't like cigarettes with high tar content." He inserted the cigarette into a filter and put it in his mouth. "Got it, you two enjoy your time together; I won't be the third wheel."
"My brother is coming. We're having dinner together." I looked into his eyes through the smoke rings he exhaled.
"Okay," he replied, taking another drag of his cigarette, the words interrupted by his breathing.
The sun became enormous between the black tree branches. It was a 19-kilometer drive from the Aman at the Summer Palace to Xin Rong Ji, which took Ye Xi an hour. He commented on how this was typical of Beijing traffic. Dai Yanzhi went back to the hotel on his own, leaving Ye Xi and me alone in the car. Apart from discussing the traffic, we didn't exchange any other words. After parking, we headed straight to the private room. As usual, I got out of the car first, with Ye Xi following fifteen minutes later. Kai was seated on the left side of the square mahogany table, his face looking somewhat irritable against the dark wood.
"Where's my sister-in-law?" he asked impatiently.
"He'll (He and she are the same in Chinese pronunciation) be here soon." My mind was entirely on the Summer Palace from twelve years ago, so I didn't correct Kai's wording. I pulled out a chair and sat down, drinking several cups of tea in succession, barely listening to the waiter's introduction.
Ten minutes passed, and Ye Xi still hadn't arrived.
"I'll go meet him (He and she are the same in Chinese pronunciation) ." I stood up, the eight-immortal chair scraping across the blue bricks with an ear-piercing sound.
As soon as I opened the door to the private room, I bumped into Ye Xi. I grabbed his shoulder and turned around.
"Mr. Ye Xi! It is you!" Kai was delighted, standing up to greet Ye Xi. A minute later, he asked, "Where's my sister-in-law? Bro, go get her."
"Not she, it's 'he'." My hand was still on Ye Xi's shoulder. We stood at the door, unable to move.
Kai also froze, and it seemed like a long time before he finally spoke.
"Bro, sit down first." He left the private room, half-closing the door, and told the waiter outside to start serving the dishes.
Ye Xi and I sat on the right side of the square table, with Kai sitting across from me.
"Looks like what the news said is true." Kai spoke slowly, his Chinese even worse than mine. When he saw the waiter bringing in the dishes, he paused. "Where shall we go after dinner?"
"Let's go to Wanliu Academy. They just got a new batch of Pu'er tea." Ye Xi picked up a piece of golden crispy ribbonfish. "Golden and crispy, juicy and tender without being dry, and it's deboned. It's really good."
"It seems Mr. Ye Xi has quite a knowledge of gourmet food." Kai picked up a piece as well, unable to suppress a smile, chewing slowly. "By the way, I heard that Miss Bai and Miss He are now in 'The Wandering Earth'."
"Even this fish can't shut you up." I shot Kai a look and glanced at the waiter who was refilling my tea cup.
Kai started talking about Bai Jingrui and moved on to Sibelius's reclusive later years. Ye Xi, always excited about anything related to music, became interested. We discussed everything from Beethoven to Chopin, from Rubinstein to Richter. When Ye Xi started talking about Richter, he became particularly enthusiastic. He said that Richter's Bach flowed with controlled and colorful nuances, his Schubert evoked a sense of pilgrimage, his Beethoven was light and transparent, and his Debussy seemed otherworldly. His performances, like his character, were mysterious and grand, solely focused on the music without any pretense.
At this point, Ye Xi paused and took a spoonful of fish maw.
"Your performance is as extraordinary as you are," Kai said, swallowing a mouthful of fish maw, his lips curling slightly.
I looked at Kai, waiting for his next words.
"You exposed your vulnerability." Kai finally said, lowering his gaze to the dish in front of him.
Ye Xi laughed, carefully picking up a piece of taro. We didn't discuss music for the rest of the meal, focusing instead on enjoying the food and drink. After settling the bill, Kai and Ye Xi got into the car first, and I followed them, adjusting my baseball cap.
It was my first time visiting Ye Xi's villa at Wanliu Academy. He told me this was his second property in Beijing, bought shortly after his first visit to the Summer Palace. The villa was only two kilometers away from the Summer Palace, and he purchased it after just one viewing. In the center of the living room was an eight-seater Bauhaus leather sofa with a rotating base, and the minimalist coffee table looked out of place with the tea tray and tea pets on it. He mentioned that he had recently replaced the furniture, preferring simple soft furnishings. As he spoke, he used a tea knife to break off some tea leaves from a tea cake.
"Bro, why don't you formally introduce yourselves?" Kai nudged me with his elbow. "When did you two start seeing each other?"
"Actually, Ye Xi and I have known each other for quite a long time." I took off my baseball cap and placed it on the side of the sofa.
"When I first went to the US to accompany my senior sister to a competition, Yan Feng came as a volunteer," Ye Xi lifted the lid of the purple clay teapot, allowing the tea leaves to slide into it from the tea tray. He placed the boiling water inside, and the tea fragrance slowly overflowed. Holding the fairness cup, he poured the tea carefully, but his grip faltered. I quickly took the fairness cup from his hand, preventing the hot tea from spilling onto him.
"So early!" Kai suddenly exclaimed.
Ye Xi regained his composure, "Back then, we were just friends. Later, when Ye Xi won the gold medal and returned to Beijing, that's when we..."
"I see. It doesn't really matter." Kai interrupted. "Although I hardly watch TV, I saw your performance on the Spring Festival Gala. I watched the replay this morning. Zhang Hongsheng told me about it."
"He knows about your resignation?" I evenly distributed the tea into the cups.
"It seems so. He seemed a bit cautious but also wanted me to understand your current business situation as soon as possible." Kai sipped the tea thoughtfully.
"We have some business plans in mainland China this year. We can discuss that later." I took a sip of tea. "This tea is really good."
"Mr. Ye Xi, you must have a lot of performances lined up this year?" Kai set down his tea cup and looked at Ye Xi.
"I'm currently in discussions with a new record company, and I might return to De Zhi," Ye Xi said casually.
"You're going back to De Zhi? You didn't mention this to me," I was surprised at first, but then I realized it was very much in line with his style. He's always been independent. Although Lusan is also at De Zhi, I'm sure he won't mind the competition, especially with so many newcomers in the classical music market. I reached out to ruffle his hair. He seemed annoyed at first but then patted my head in return.
"Let's not talk about work," Ye Xi took another sip of tea.
"Anyway, Kai, don't worry too much. There's a new direction in China now, and things are different overseas. My focus is mainly on the mainland market, and the management company is quite open about our relationship rumors... As for my parents, I believe they'll come around soon."
"Bro, don't worry about home. I can help with our parents," Kai blinked. "Mr. Ye Xi, why don't you continue talking about music? I've actually admired you for a long time. Your Liszt and Chopin Nocturnes were just perfect."
"You don't have to call me Mr. Ye Xi; it feels a bit weird," Ye Xi's cheeks turned slightly red, glancing at me from time to time.
"Ye Xi is a bit older than you. You can call him Xi-ge," I put my hand on Ye Xi's shoulder. "Or maybe just call him 'sister-in-law'. Hahaha."
Ye Xi gave me a glare and turned to Kai, saying, "Kai, you haven't listened to my latest album yet. It features Chinese folk songs, 'Red Piano,' and I happen to have a few copies here. Let me give you some."
Kai took the CDs and looked at the tracklist. "'In That Distant Place.' Bro, I remember you had this song on a previous album."
Ye Xi and I exchanged a smile.
"That's Ye Xi's favorite Chinese song. Recently, I've been working on a movie project, actually. I've been writing the script and revising it many times. It's sort of a wedding gift for Ye Xi."
"Where are you planning to get married?" Kai didn't seem very surprised.
"In China," Ye Xi replied.