The heavens set sail from the courtyard

On the bar stage, Chunxiao, the band's lead singer, was tackled and pinned down by a middle-aged, greasy man, causing chaos.

The band's drummer, guitarist, and bassist all dropped their instruments and rushed toward the man.

"Let her go."

The man seemed drunk, his face reeking of alcohol. He was dizzy but incredibly strong, pinning Chunxiao down and refusing to let go. It was unclear whether he was truly drunk or simply taking advantage of her.

Mi Lai, who was sitting in the audience, immediately jumped up and called to Wang Gang and Hua Zi, "Let's go help."

Hua Zi was somewhat tempted, but Wang Gang remained calm and didn't move. Instead, he pulled Mi Lai back.

"We don't need to cause trouble."

Mi Lai was taken aback. Only then did she see two burly men rushing up from both sides of the stage, one on the left and one on the right, skillfully lifting the man up with ease.

"Let me go, I'm not drunk." The man was still talking nonsense, seemingly out of his mind and unaware of what he had done.

Two burly men carried Chunxiao off the stage. The bar owner, Manny, came up and helped Chunxiao up. Then she said to the audience, "I'm sorry, this guest is drunk. The performance is temporarily canceled. Please don't be offended. This round of drinks is on me."

The bar owner helped Chunxiao off the stage and walked her behind it.

Mi Lai was worried about her friend, so she took Wang Gang and Hua Zi backstage to visit her.

"Chunxiao, are you alright?" Mi Lai asked Chunxiao with concern as soon as she entered the backstage area.

"I'm fine." Chunxiao had recovered by now and smiled at Mi Lai, saying, "Thanks to Sister Manny."

Mi Lai frowned and said, "Sister Manny, who is that man? How could he treat Chunxiao like that in public?"

Manny poured Chunxiao a glass of warm water and said, "He's just a drunkard."

Mi Lai said unhappily, "Sister Manny, you can't just let any guest in. Let's call the police!"

Wang Gang pulled on Mi Lai's arm and stopped her, saying, "A bar is open for business, there's no reason to turn away customers. Besides, if you call the police, who will dare to come to the bar in the future?"

I think the boss was prepared; he arranged for people to stand on both sides of the stage, so nothing will happen to your friend.

Manny glanced at Wang Gang and smiled, "Mi Lai, don't worry! That man won't be showing up at the bar again."

Mi Lai sat down next to Chun Xiao and said, "Chun Xiao, are you alright? Do you want to go home and rest?"

Chunxiao smiled and said, "Milai, I'm really fine. It just happened so suddenly that I was a little scared, but I've calmed down now."

After saying that, Chunxiao glanced at Wang Gang and Hua Zi, then asked Mi Lai:
"Are these two your friends?"

"This is Gao Qiang, and this is Hua Zi. They are both my boyfriend Lu Tao's classmates. We just happened to run into them today," Mi Lai introduced.

"Hello, my name is Chunxiao." Chunxiao greeted Wang Gang and Hua Zi generously, and seemed to have indeed come out of the shadows.

Hua Zi was a little shy in front of Chun Xiao and forgot to greet her for a moment.

“You sing very well, have you ever thought about becoming a professional singer?” Wang Gang asked.

"I formed a band just for fun, it's far from being a professional band," Chunxiao said modestly.

"You have a great voice and a good foundation. You must have practiced high notes since you were young and then switched to singing rock!" Wang Gang laughed.

Chunxiao was taken aback and asked in surprise, "You actually know this?"

Mi Lai and Manny also looked at Wang Gang with surprise.

Everyone thought Wang Gang was just being polite.

"I know a little about music," Wang Gang said calmly. "I can tell you have a good foundation and a wide vocal range."

Chunxiao became interested and said, "When I was little, my family made me learn bel canto, but when I grew up I liked pop music, so I switched to singing rock."

Wang Gang said, "Your singing style is too influenced by traditional bel canto, and there are some flaws in your transition to rock." Then, Wang Gang pointed out the shortcomings in Chunxiao's singing style, which shocked Hua Zi and Mi Lai.

"Qiangzi, when did you start learning vocal music?" Hua Zi asked incredulously.

"I'm a bit interested in vocal music, and I've been learning it on my own," Wang Gang explained with a smile.

"Your skill level is quite high," Chunxiao exclaimed. "We can exchange musical ideas sometime; my band is in need of a teacher."

Wang Gang shook his head and said, "I dare not be your teacher."

Chunxiao said excitedly, "Since you can hear the flaws in my singing, you can definitely give us guidance."

Wang Gang said, "We're all young people, so we can exchange ideas privately, but I wouldn't call it guidance."

Chunxiao smiled and said, "Let's exchange phone numbers and get together to play music sometime."

Wang Gang patted Hua Zi on the back and said, "My friend is also interested in music, let's go together then."

“Okay!” Chunxiao said readily.

Hua Zi was taken aback, then became somewhat excited.

Actually, Hua Zi was somewhat attracted to Chun Xiao the moment he first met her, but he didn't understand music at all, so he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Hua Zi had initially thought that Wang Gang and Chun Xiao were attracted to each other and was ready to give up, seeing that they were getting along very well.

Unexpectedly, Wang Gang changed the subject and created an opportunity for him, which warmed Hua Zi's heart again.

Wang Gang acted as Hua Zi's wingman not for any other reason than that he felt Hua Zi's love life in the TV series was too complicated and he wanted him to avoid some of the detours.

Mi Lai was naive and couldn't figure out what Wang Gang was doing, but the bar owner, Manny, was a smart woman and gave Wang Gang a meaningful look.

After the three exchanged phone numbers, Chunxiao wanted to go on stage to perform, but Manny stopped her and told her to go back and rest and come back tomorrow.

Chunxiao didn't want to leave, but Mi Lai kindly offered to take her home, making it difficult for her to refuse.

Wang Gang and Hua Zi didn't stay long and left the bar quickly.

The next day, Hua Zi started busying himself with opening the shop, while Wang Gang became a hands-off manager. However, to avoid his parents' nagging, he didn't stay at home every day. He would either go to the stock exchange to check on the stock market or sit at Manny's bar.

Wang Gang always went in the afternoon, not to drink, but to escape the bar when there were no customers and to find some peace and quiet.

Manny never asked Wang Gang why he came to the bar in the afternoon; she would always make him a special cocktail.

Wang Gang developed a liking for the drinks Manny made, and later got used to them. He even missed them if he didn't drink them every day.

Chunxiao called Wang Gang twice, but because Hua Zi was busy with the shop, Wang Gang didn't meet with Chunxiao privately. Every time she came to the bar to perform, Wang Gang would leave.

A few days later, Wang Gang suddenly received a call from Lu Tao, inviting him to play billiards, saying that Hua Zi and Xiang Nan would also be there.

Wang Gang, having nothing better to do, gladly accepted the invitation, only to unexpectedly meet Xia Lin.

Lu Tao took Xia Lin directly to the billiards hall and introduced her to his friends.

Hua Zi and Xiang Nan were shocked when they saw Xia Lin, and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xia Lin was quite generous in front of Wang Gang and the others, not only greeting them proactively but also playing a game of billiards with Xiang Nan.

Hua Zi still had some sense of loyalty, so he pulled Lu Tao aside and asked, "When did you and Mi Lai break up?"

Lu Tao said without any remorse, "Mi Lai and I are incompatible, and it's not appropriate for us to be together."

Wang Gang scoffed, "You and Mi Lai dated for so many years? Now that you've had your fun, you're dumping her?"

Lu Tao felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this. (End of Chapter)