Ding Haoyang was your textbook artsy youth, full of self-importance. In his mind, all he needed was someone with a sharp eye for talent—a scout, a mentor. If he had that, he’d be a megastar, famous across China and Taiwan.
After Fang Li finished listening to his song, Ding Haoyang asked excitedly, “How was it? Did I sing well?”
Fang Li replied politely, “It was nice.”
After all, he hadn’t heard many songs in his life.
Ding Haoyang immediately felt like Fang Li had excellent taste. “Do you play guitar? If you know how, you can sing tons of songs with it.” As he spoke, he slung the guitar off his shoulder, jumped off the bed, and handed it to Fang Li. “Here, try it.”
Fang Li was startled. This guy was way too friendly for someone he’d just met.
“I don’t know how…”
“I’ll teach you! Guitar’s super easy to learn, seriously. A buddy of mine in the band learned over one summer and was already playing gigs with us.”
He shoved the guitar into Fang Li’s arms. Faced with the large instrument, Fang Li looked a little helpless. But under Ding Haoyang’s guidance, he began following instructions.
“Fingers here—yeah, right there. Now angle your hand like this…”
Though completely unprepared, Fang Li ended up plucking a few awkward notes out of the unfamiliar instrument.
A small smile appeared on his face. “It made a sound.”
“Haha! Fun, right?” Ding Haoyang laughed. Most people thought he was just goofing off with all this music stuff, but Fang Li actually seemed intrigued. That was rare. He dug through his guitar case and pulled out several sheets of music, choosing the simplest one and laying it on the desk.
“I’ll play this one for you. Listen closely…”
He pressed down on the strings and played a simple intro. Then he pointed to the notes and showed Fang Li the finger positions.
Fang Li glanced at the sheet and then shook his head. He couldn’t make any sense of the music, let alone the way Ding Haoyang played.
“This is a triad, and this here’s a major chord…”
After running through it twice, Ding Haoyang finally noticed Fang Li’s silence. Then it hit him—Fang Li had never touched a guitar before. Of course he couldn’t understand a word of it. He had gotten a little too carried away.
“Haha, it’s totally normal if you can’t remember—if you’ve never touched this stuff before, you’ve got to start from the basics, like the staff. Once you get the hang of it, it’s actually not that hard. Anyway, I’m gonna pack up and head out soon. I’ll probably be dropping by a lot though. I’ve rented a place with my band, so I’m moving in.”
“You’re not continuing night school?” Fang Li asked.
“Nope, I’m done. This spot was originally given to my sister by the garment factory. She’s getting married, and my mom didn’t want the slot to go to waste, so she sent me instead. I never even looked at the ledger. Besides, with the wedding coming up, my family needs money—we can’t have people thinking we’re broke.”
Fang Li gave a polite smile. Aside from being a little overly familiar, Ding Haoyang didn’t seem like a bad guy.
Lately, Ding Haoyang had actually been feeling pretty down. He was crashing at a bandmate’s place, and for the past few months, they’d been singing under overpasses, shouting themselves hoarse. They were constantly getting chased off by city patrol like stray dogs. They finally landed a gig singing at a nightclub, and everything was set—including the pay. But once the boss realized the lead singer was a guy, he flat-out refused. “Who comes to a nightclub to watch a man sing?”
They tried asking some of their female classmates, but as soon as they heard it was a nightclub job, nobody wanted in. And honestly, nightclubs could get messy—Ding Haoyang didn’t want to drag a decent girl into that scene either. Still, now that the gig had slipped through their fingers, he was feeling even more desperate. Just last night, he’d been drinking with his buddies, trying to drown his frustration.
He sighed and went on packing up his bedding. Fang Li, seeing that it would take him a while, was about to return the guitar when he paused. On impulse, he placed his fingers on the strings the way Ding Haoyang had shown him and started strumming gently.
Back in high school, Fang Li’s favorite class had been music. But out in the countryside, the teacher didn’t know much theory—just cycled through a few songs over and over until class ended. He’d heard that a city music teacher would be assigned that semester, but before that could happen, disaster struck at home.
He didn’t understand sheet music, chords, or melodies. But when Ding Haoyang played earlier, Fang Li had picked up on the subtle differences in the tones, the way certain notes fit together. He tried to replicate them now.
Ding Haoyang was packing on the top bunk when he suddenly heard a clumsy little prelude coming from below.
Some of the notes were off, but the tune was recognizable. He peeked down and saw Fang Li strumming and softly humming along.
“Holy shit, that was you?”
Ding Haoyang was shocked. Even if the tune had been simple, very few people could replicate a melody so closely after hearing it only once—especially someone who’d never touched a guitar.
Fang Li only played for a moment. He had books to read. He took off the guitar. “That was kind of fun. Thanks.”
As Fang Li picked his book back up, Ding Haoyang asked, “How old are you anyway?”
“Nineteen.”
Ding Haoyang asked, “Do you like the guitar? You seem to have a good sense of music. Anyway, there are no classes during the day at night school—how about coming to learn with us? We’re a temporary band, everyone has things going on, and sometimes we’re missing people. If you join, we can take gigs together and split the money.”
“You can make money playing this?”
Fang Li asked in surprise. To him, this kind of thing was just something people did in their free time for fun.
“Sure, though right now it’s just small change. But if we ever get famous, we’ll be making serious money. Just look at those big stars—thousands of fans, living in mansions, driving fancy cars.”
Ding Haoyang spoke with obvious envy. Fang Li found it hard to imagine. Coming from a small town, his idea of making money was still limited to working in the mines, getting a factory job, or attending night school to become a junior accountant—the usual stable paths.
Becoming a pop star and making it big sounded as far-fetched as stars in the sky—distant, unreal, completely out of reach.
“Thanks, but I don’t have the time,” Fang Li said, holding up his accounting textbook. “You had a factory-sponsored spot. I’m paying my own tuition. If I don’t become an accountant, the money I spent would be wasted.”
Ding Haoyang had only asked on a whim. Teaching someone from scratch wasn’t as convenient as finding someone who already knew how. Since Fang Li declined politely, he didn’t push it further.
He finished packing and told Fang Li he had too many things for one trip, so he’d have to make a few runs. He’d lost his dorm key, so he asked Fang Li to leave the door unlocked.
Fang Li agreed.
Studying was tough, and Qin Weidong was busy too. Ever since their last meeting, Qin Weidong had all but disappeared. When Fang Li called, they barely got a few words in before someone on the other end would call him away.
Before long, the May Day holiday arrived. Feng Hui came over to treat Fang Li to a meal. These days, if Feng Hui had time, he visited Qi Jian almost every week.
Now that Xu Jianchuan trusted Qin Weidong more and more, he’d basically stopped overseeing things himself, handing over most of the mining operations to Qin Weidong. The profits from the small mine he’d accidentally bought far exceeded his expectations. At a family dinner, his brother-in-law asked about it, clearly having heard something. Though the mine was small and beneath his brother-in-law’s notice before, the question made Xu Jianchuan take note.
Sure, his mine was small—but his brother-in-law had access to big mines. When it came to money-making resources, even the smallest favor from him could set Xu Jianchuan up for life.
Feng Hui didn’t understand any of this, nor did he care. He was perfectly content being a hands-off young master.
When Fang Li saw Feng Hui, he called Qin Weidong to ask if he was coming. Qin Weidong said he had to go to Yicheng with Xu Jianchuan the next day and wouldn’t make it.
Fang Li asked, “What are you going to Yicheng for?”
Qin Weidong replied, “There’s a mine there. I heard his brother-in-law is going with the provincial officials on an inspection.”
Fang Li frowned. “What’s that got to do with you? Why is he dragging you along for everything lately?”
He remembered what Feng Hui had said last time: “I heard from Feng Hui that Xu Jianchuan really likes you. He’s planning to start another mine and wants you to run it. Are you seriously going to stay underground forever? Are you still working with him?”
Qin Weidong was silent for a moment, deep in thought. It wasn’t so much that Xu Jianchuan liked or trusted him—he simply liked using him.
“Let’s focus on getting enough for your surgery first. Have you felt any discomfort lately?”
“No, I’m fine. Even without the surgery, it’s not a big deal…”
Qin Weidong said, “Next month, I’ll make time to take you for a follow-up.”
“Another hospital visit…”
Fang Li nodded reluctantly.
Qin Weidong added, “Don’t wander around too much at school. Don’t talk to people about things you shouldn’t.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Who am I even gonna talk to? The whole class is girls, and all they ever talk about is kids.”
Qin Weidong never liked Fang Li being out of sight. He only felt at ease when Fang Li was close by. He’d been thinking constantly about how to end this separation as soon as possible. From Xu Jianchuan… he needed to figure something out.
“I’m hanging up now—Feng Hui’s still waiting.”
“Alright. Don’t drink tonight.”
After ending the call, Fang Li returned to the school gate. Feng Hui was already waiting in his car. He had chosen a small but upscale restaurant near the school. It was Fang Li’s first time there.
Feng Hui ordered a few signature dishes and said he wanted to thank Fang Li for looking after Qi Jian.
Fang Li didn’t feel like he’d done anything at all. He tried to decline the meal, but Feng Hui insisted.
“Don’t say that. If anything, it’s Qi Jian who’s been looking after me—he’s always lending me his notes.”
Feng Hui chuckled, clearly pleased that someone was willing to talk to Qi Jian. He casually reached over and ran his fingers through Qi Jian’s hair, which startled him. He quickly looked toward Fang Li in panic.
Feng Hui also realized his gesture had been inappropriate. He glanced at Fang Li, who kept his head down, eating quietly. It was hard to tell whether he hadn’t noticed or simply didn’t care about their display of intimacy.
Qi Jian let out a silent breath of relief and shot Feng Hui a subtle glare. Feng Hui smiled apologetically.
By a little after eight, they had finished dinner. Feng Hui drove them back to the school.
“Has Qin Weidong been busy lately?” Fang Li asked.
“Busy? Definitely. He’s running between two mines now. And whenever my second uncle needs him, he has to show up right away. Honestly, he’s up earlier than the rooster and goes to bed later than the dog. Just following him around for a day knocks me out the next. Oh right—do you think he’s really short on money?”
Fang Li turned to look at him. “Why do you say that?”
Feng Hui shrugged. “Just a feeling. I mean, who works themselves to death like that if they’re not broke? He’ll drive long-haul trucks overnight and still show up at the refinery the next morning to manage things.”
“But he and my second uncle are splitting the profits. And he asked for such a small cut… The longer this mine drags on, the more the costs add up—water, electricity, labor—it all eats into the margins. So if he wants to earn more, he can’t afford delays. He has to push himself.”
Feng Hui glanced into the rearview mirror and shrugged. “So really, you’ve got it easier here.”
When they arrived, Feng Hui took a box of apples out of the trunk and told Qi Jian to bring them back to the dorm. Qi Jian shook her head, saying they were too expensive. Feng Hui waved it off, saying cost didn’t matter—his family had plenty. Worried she couldn’t carry them all, he grabbed a bag and picked out the best ones for her.
Fang Li walked ahead, lost in thought.
“Fang Li? Fang Li?”
Qi Jian called his name twice before he snapped out of it. She pointed toward the street corner. “The dorm’s that way.”
He had taken the wrong path.
“Sorry.”
Fang Li was thinking about what Feng Hui had said. He knew that if Qin Weidong promised to get him the surgery soon, then he absolutely would follow through.
Back in the dorm, Fang Li washed up and got into bed. The campus was on break, and downstairs, some students were throwing a mixer, laughing and making noise. Fang Li couldn’t sleep, so he took out the textbook for tomorrow’s class and started reviewing. He flipped through several pages, but the exercises he’d finally understood a few days ago now seemed completely unfamiliar again. Frustrated, he slammed the book against the end of the bed and buried his head under the blanket.
He thought back to the day Qin Weidong came to see him, and the clothes left on the car seat, caked in lime and dust.
Fang Li let out a long breath and reached under his pillow. He had tucked away the three thousand yuan Qin Weidong had given him. But when he reached under, his hand came up empty.
A loud bang went off in his head.
He immediately sat up and flung the pillow aside. The spot where he’d kept the money was completely bare.
Where was his money?!
Fang Li panicked. He flipped the blanket and pillow upside down, searching desperately but to no avail. Then he knelt on the floor, reaching under the bed. When Qi Jian came back from the bathroom, she found the room in chaos.
“W-What’s going on, Fang Li?”
Kneeling on the ground, his face pale, he said, “The money I brought… it’s gone!”
Because Ding Haoyang had been coming by often to move things, they hadn’t been locking the door. Hearing this, Qi Jian immediately put down the washbasin.
“How could it just disappear? What did you keep it in?”
He helped him search, but even after turning the dorm upside down, the three thousand yuan was nowhere to be found.
Three thousand yuan—at a time when the average household made only two or three hundred a month. Fang Li felt lightheaded. He had lost the money.
It was late into the night. Some students next door, hearing that he’d lost such a large sum, told him to report it to the police. It was the break period, with night school students and their families coming and going, students heading home—the place was chaotic. Fang Li ran out to file a report.
When the police heard the amount, they were suspicious. A student carrying three thousand yuan? That was more than a year’s salary for many of them. And with two tech schools in their jurisdiction, it wasn’t uncommon for mischievous students to make false reports—claiming to have lost money when they hadn’t.
The police asked Fang Li to contact his parents. Fang Li said he had none. That made them even more doubtful. They told him to get a teacher involved, but he didn’t know who to call.
By the time he left the station, dawn was breaking, and there was still no resolution. Fang Li stumbled out like a ghost.
Qi Jian had stayed up with him all night. Seeing him in such a daze, her heart ached too. That was three thousand yuan.
“I’m going to make a phone call…”
After everything, Fang Li was completely drained. Ever since the money went missing last night, his mind had been in a fog. He had no clue what to do—his thoughts circled around one thing: calling Qin Weidong. He had to tell him.
He reached into his pocket for a coin to use at the public phone, but his fingers slipped and the coin dropped. It rolled along the curb and, as if guided by fate, fell right through the grate into the storm drain below.
Fang Li cursed under his breath and reached in, trying to grab it, but only managed to get his hand filthy. The coin was out of reach.
It was the final straw.
His eyes welled up instantly, and he crouched down by the roadside, covering his face, and burst into tears.
He had no idea how to tell Qin Weidong he had lost the money—money that had been earned through hard, backbreaking work, meant for his surgery. He felt utterly useless. Studying? After months, he still wasn’t making progress. And now he couldn’t even hang on to the money.
What was he good for?
Maybe without Qin Weidong, he really was nothing but a burden. A complete and utter failure.
Axolotl Translations 
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