Chapter Fifteen: The Beauty of Spring Fills the Hall, Yet the Door Remains Closed

  The department store was still a state-owned enterprise at that time, and it was also the largest shopping mall in Yanshan County. The streets surrounding the department store were lined with hardware stores, local product shops, and so on. Tang Yi and Qi Jie strolled along the street, looking at the slightly desolate county town under the orange sunset. Tang Yi let out a faint sigh, thinking that it was a far cry from the high-rise buildings and bustling scene of the rural county town ten or more years later.

  "Sweet Honey, you smile sweetly..." The voice of Teresa Teng drifted from a small shop, where several people were gathered. Tang Yi looked over and couldn't help but smile, it was a karaoke machine, a new toy that had just entered the mainland. In Yanshan County, there were no bars or dance halls yet, so the owner set up a TV and speaker on the street for people to sing along, one yuan per song, which could be considered the earliest stage of Yanshan's music scene.

  There were many onlookers, but none of them went up to sing. They were all teasing and joking around. Tang Yi stopped in his tracks, pointed at the karaoke machine and asked Qi Jie with a smile: "Want to go sing a song?"

  Qijie shook her head repeatedly, she didn't want to give Tang Yi the impression that she was unstable or attention-seeking. After all, singing in front of a large crowd at that time would give people a rather trendy, or to put it bluntly, crazy feeling.

  Tang Yi smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Come on, let's go sing a song and support something new!" As he spoke, he pulled Qi Jie into the crowd and said to the boss, "Brother, I'll sing one song. Let me sing 'The Fifteenth Moon'!" Actually, Tang Yi had wanted to sing some popular songs, but somehow the words that came out of his mouth were "The Fifteenth Moon". He inwardly smiled wryly, thinking that he was probably becoming more and more like a leader, even when he went out to have fun, he couldn't help but put on airs.

  The boss was a forty-something man with a thick beard and bushy eyebrows, exuding the typical Northeasterner's generosity. He laughed loudly: "Haha, little brother, you're my first customer today! I won't charge you!"

  The music started, and Tang Yi picked up the microphone. He was originally still complaining that he couldn't relax even when playing, but when the music started, Tang Yi lightly hummed "Fifteen's Moonlight, shining on my hometown, shining on the border..." His mood suddenly changed, and an irrepressible excitement rose from his heart. Probably because the Tang family was a military family, Tang Yi and his adoptive father's emotions inevitably had a strong military flavor. As he sang, Tang Yi gradually became immersed in it, and his voice became more high-pitched. This song "Fifteen's Moonlight" was truly sung with abandon by him, stirring and soulful. When the song ended, the onlookers applauded warmly, and Old Board Luo gave a big thumbs up, cheering: "Young brother, you sing well! You...you're a soldier? Your age doesn't seem like it, but you can't be a soldier, how can you sing with such spirit?"

  Tang Yi smiled silently, gently putting down the microphone, but was picked up by Qi Jie. Qi Jie laughed and said: "I'll also sing a song." To the boss, she said: "I'll sing 'Rolling Red Dust'".

  Rolling Red Dust is a song by Chen Shu-Hua, and in the 90s, her songs were extremely popular, Tang Yi especially liked the lingering charm of her songs.

  The lyrics of Rolling in the Red Dust say:

  "At first unintentionally you"

  The naive and inexperienced me with the young boy

  Fate in the mortal world

  Just because of that life's silent and hasty stagnation

  It's all just a mistake in human society

  Or the cause and effect passed down from previous lives

  All of life

  Not even sparing the exchange of yin and yang in an instant

  It's easy to come but hard to go.

  Decades of mortal journey

  Easy to disperse, hard to gather

  The Eternal Sorrow of Love and Hate

  The heart that should have belonged to you

  It still guards my chest tightly

  For the sake of the ever-changing face of the mortal world, the masterful hand that brings forth stormy weather.

  So you don't want to leave

  To bid farewell to the me that is no longer visible

  There is still an obscure whisper in the world today

  Follow our legend

  In the rolling red dust, there is a faint whisper

  "Legend of Two Followers"

  The song was sung with a thousand twists and turns, Qijie's voice was like a sharp knife that pierced through the hearts of the audience, every word sinking deep into their souls. She sang with emotion, her big eyes glancing at Tang Yi as if confessing something to him. The song's sorrow, longing, and intense love were all brought out by this beautiful young woman, the onlookers were silent, fully immersed in the atmosphere of the song.

  Tang Yi was stared at by Qi Jie's big, charming eyes, causing his heart to flutter and his mind to wander. It wasn't until Qi Jie finished singing and the thunderous applause erupted that Tang Yi finally came back to himself.

  Qijie pulled him up and walked far away, Tang Yi came to himself, hastily withdrew his arm, but saw Qijie smiling at him, saying: "What are you afraid of? You're so scared your face is white!"

  The boss over there is still shouting: "Little brother, big sister, come and support us more often in the future! I guarantee not to charge you money!"

  When they arrived at the Workers' Club, Qijie stopped and said, "How about going to watch a movie?" Tang Yi nodded slightly. Lately, the canning factory's affairs had been quite tiring, so taking a break to relax was good too. It was all about balance and combining work and rest to do a good job.

  Still sitting in the old position, the afternoon session of the video hall is unknown why there are more people than at night. At that time, Yanshan County had three video halls: Workers' Club, Grand Auditorium and Cinema. The Workers' Club had the fewest seats, but the environment was the best, with soft sponge seats, unlike the hard wooden chairs of the Grand Auditorium and Cinema.

  Tang Yi and Qi Jie sat down for a short while, the lights dimmed, and the prelude to the main film began with some exciting video clips. Looking at the screen, Qi Jie nudged Tang Yi with her shoulder and said, "Hey, what are you thinking about? Can you tell me something about yourself?" Having heard Du Dawei talk about Tang Yi's anecdotes at the dinner table, Qi Jie felt very surprised and proud, and she was still excited.

  Tang Yi smiled and said, "The government's affairs are nothing to talk about, but Qi Jie, I just saw the KTV earlier, and I was thinking, if we open a KTV bar, people who have been working hard all day can relax and unwind, drink and sing, business will definitely be good."

  Qijie's soft and delicate hand suddenly twisted onto Tang Yi's ear, huffing: "I told you to call me sister, why don't you listen? Besides, we're here to have fun, so stop reciting your business and politics lectures." Although she was twisting his ear, she didn't use any force, her small hand soft and gentle, pinching Tang Yi's ear until it felt itchy and numb, as if she were giving him a massage.

  Tang Yi enjoyed the comfort by his ear and smiled: "Of course, this kind of business can't be done by a woman. The people who go to bars are too mixed, there are too many people from all walks of life, it's too chaotic."

  Qijie suddenly sighed, her small hand gently releasing Tang Yi's ear, and smoothed his hair with a somewhat pitiful tone: "You think about these things every day, aren't you tired? When it's time to rest, you should rest."

  "Now is not the time to rest," said Tang Yi, sighing. Indeed, he had a fire in his heart and with the advantage of foresight, if he couldn't achieve something, others might not know, but he would look down on himself.

  As the last few night lights on the ceiling went out, the main film began to play. The title was "Dragon and Tiger Fight for Hegemony". It started with an intense gun battle, but it was unclear who were the two groups of black-clad men fighting each other.

  Tang Yixin's mind was never on the recording, leaning against the soft back of the chair, he began to think about what Chenjiadun's next move should be and how this game should be played.

  Just as he was lost in thought, he felt Qijie's soft and fluffy body slowly leaning against him, her shoulder resting on his. Then a fragrance wafted up to his nose, and Qijie's beautifully styled hairpin, which looked like a flower, slowly came to rest against his chest.

  Tang Yi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and wrapped his arms around Qijie, placing his hand on her soft shoulder. The warmth and fragrance of her body made him feel comfortable and at ease, savoring the sweet scent in front of his nose. This feeling of having a confidante was very pleasant, without any burden, yet with some ambiguous emotions. If they were to break through the barrier between men and women, this wonderful feeling would probably disappear. Tang Yi had made up his mind not to let himself and Qijie have any substantial breakthroughs, their current relationship was already perfect. As for girlfriends or lovers, Tang Yi didn't have the heart to think about these things yet.

  "Thank you, Tang Yi." Qijie's words were soft and gentle, barely audible, but Tang Yi heard them clearly, and he tightened his grip on her shoulder without saying a word.

  Just as the two were immersed in this warm and sentimental atmosphere, the screen suddenly changed to a scene of a man and woman by the bathtub, extremely explicit, with the woman exposing her chest. Tang Yi's mouth was agape, what is this? It seemed familiar, like a fragment from some Hong Kong Category III film, but he couldn't remember the name. A few minutes later, the scene changed to a shootout, but only for a few minutes, before changing again to an ancient costume drama. On screen, several women in ancient costumes were flirting and striking poses, doing their best to be seductive. Tang Yi recognized this as Hong Kong's Erotic Ghost Story. He was taken aback for a moment, before realizing that this was one of those poorly made mainland films from the early days, which spliced together fragments of Hong Kong Category III films with gunfight scenes on the outside packaging. No wonder there were so many people in the afternoon screening - they had all come to watch "yellow movies". In that era, Category III films were absolutely considered "yellow movies".

  "What's going on?" Looking at the two women embracing each other, their faces flushed with excitement, one of them buried her face in Tang Yi's chest and couldn't lift it up again. Just as Tang Yi was feeling frustrated, the atmosphere was warm and cozy, but suddenly they disrupted everything.

  In '08, Tang Yi had already watched a fair number of Japanese AVs, not to mention the numerous soft-core porn videos available online. He initially thought about leaving, but was held back by Qiao Jie's soft body. She was too shy to move, and he couldn't help but sit still, his eyes drifting towards the screen. To say that classic soft-core porn is actually more enjoyable than AVs, and more tantalizing... Tang Yi watched as several beautiful actresses who later became successful made seductive poses, their chests exposed, and their backs bare. Despite feeling a sense of disdain, he couldn't help but feel his body heat up. After all, Tang Yi was a normal person who had experienced intimacy with women. Since arriving in 1991, it had been almost a month since he'd last touched a woman's hand. Previously, he hadn't thought about such things, but now, with the beautiful Qiao Jie in his arms, and watching two beauties entwined on screen, surrounded by enticing scents, if Tang Yi still didn't react, then he could truly apply for the title of Modern Liu Xiahui.

  As Tang Yi's breathing became more and more urgent, Qi Jie secretly raised her head, her beautiful face dazed, her big eyes turned around, gradually filled with a few strands of smile.

  Tang Yi struggled to suppress the fire in his heart, thinking that if he looked any longer, his awkwardness would be discovered by Qi Jie. Just as he was about to pull away from Qi Jie, he felt a warmth on his thigh, and Qi Jie's soft and elastic long legs pressed against him. Under her windbreaker, she wore black tights, which were a fashionable avant-garde outfit at the time. Her slender legs were tightly wrapped in the tights, revealing every curve, and her small feet wore elegant black boots that added to her mature womanly charm.

  "What's going on?" Tang Yi asked in surprise, but Qijie didn't say a word. Her hands were wrapped around his waist, and her legs had clamped onto the leg of Tang Yi that was closest to her. Tang Yi could clearly feel the smoothness, softness, and elasticity of her thighs.

  Qijie seemed to think it was not enough, and suddenly reached into Tang Yi's collar with her slender hand, gently stroking his chest. Although she was separated from him by his undershirt, her small hand was soft and playful, drawing circles on his chest. Tang Yi's breathing became increasingly heavy, and he said, "Take your hand away!" But his voice was weak, and even he could hear that he was just pretending.

  Then Tang Yi felt his hand being grasped by a soft small hand, and then pressed against a towering peak, full, smooth, and elastic. Even through several layers of clothing, Tang Yi could still feel the wonder of Qi Jie's towering mountain peaks. His hand trembled slightly, and as if electrified, unconsciously sprang open, but then grasped again. The wonderful feeling was indescribable.

  While being bewildered and infatuated, Tang Yi's hand was suddenly slapped away. The sudden change made Tang Yi jump in surprise, his mind slightly clearing up. He turned around to see Qiao Jie's beautiful face right in front of him, her eyes full of charming smiles looking at him, her mouth teasingly saying: "Little guy, you're not a perfect gentleman either!"

  Tang Yi was both angry and amused, wasn't this what you were trying to do? But Qi Jie had already retreated back into herself, adjusting her clothes, smiling as she looked at Tang Yi: "Let's go, if others see us we'll be mortified!"

  The club was warm as spring, but outside it was biting cold. The cold wind blew in, and Tang Yi let out a long sigh, stepping down the stone steps in front of the recording studio. His heart's annoyance was gradually blown away by the cold wind.

  It wasn't until a while later that Qijie hastily rushed out from inside, her fiery figure already hidden by the dark green windbreaker, only with some blush on her face, especially charming.

  Tang Yi scratched his head, feeling a bit ashamed of his earlier loss of composure. This was a crucial year for him, and he had originally not wanted to be distracted by women, but now it seemed that he couldn't resist the temptation after all. Was it really true that heroes found it hard to pass by beautiful women? He immediately laughed at himself - what hero was he, anyway?

  Qijie smiled and leaned against his arm, whispering in his ear: "Why don't you stay tonight? My sister's bed is big and comfortable..."

  Tang Yi shook his head repeatedly, and the town indeed had a lot of things. Qi Jie immediately burst out laughing: "Haha, you really believed it! You're quite imaginative!"

  Tang Yi looked at Qi Jie, who was laughing as beautifully as a flower, and felt a wave of depression in his heart. He thought to himself: You really think I'm still an innocent kid! One day when I have time, I'll teach you a lesson!