Chapter 040: Xiao Pa Cai Who Gets Drunk With One Drink
“How did I muddle-headedly agree to go on a KTV date with Lin Lang?”
“A man and a woman in one private room, just thinking about it makes my heart race. Marry Yang, you’re a widow, you know~”
“No more wild thoughts~”
Marry Yang turned and immersed herself in work, walking towards the program team’s backstage.
The Eurasian beauty director, Marry Yang, personally guided the program editing, ensuring that the post-production proceeded smoothly before she felt at ease leaving Shanghai Television Station.
That evening.
Jing'an District, Shanghai.
Cashbox KTV Nightclub.
In those years, the top KTV in mainland China was Cashbox KTV Nightclub in Jing'an, Shanghai. In the millennium, it was definitely high-end and classy.
The waiter led Lin Lang and Marry Yang into a small private room at Cashbox KTV.
Lin Lang complained, “Sister Marry, isn’t this private room a bit too small?”
Marry Yang squinted her eyes and feigned a smile, “Lin Lang, haven’t you heard that guests should follow the host’s lead?”
“Cashbox KTV is very expensive. Since I’m treating, of course I need to control the budget. For just the two of us singing, a small private room is already spacious enough.”
Lin Lang shrugged, “Alright!”
The lighting in the private room was dim and ambiguously flickering, very suitable for a lovers’ KTV date.
The waiter looked at Lin Lang curiously and smiled, “Handsome, this is my first time seeing a guest come to KTV with a guitar, bringing his own instrument to sing.”
Lin Lang, holding his guitar, replied, “The songs I want to sing, your Cashbox KTV doesn’t have backing tracks, so I can only sing and play myself~”
The waiter handed over the KTV menu and asked, “What would you two like to drink?”
Lin Lang replied, “Two bottles of imported weishi ji (whisky).”
Marry Yang wiped a cold sweat after hearing that, awkwardly smiling as she stopped him, “No, no, no, a case of beer will do, hehe…”
Lin Lang teased, “Sister Marry, you don’t need to be so stingy, do you?”
“I’m not a famous director, I earn a salary, unlike you guys who invest in antique artworks and spend money like water. Do you want me to starve for the latter half of the month?”
“Sister Marry, your salary at Shanghai Television Station shouldn’t be low, right?”
“Every month I have to pay my mortgage and car loan. How can I have spare money to squander?!”
Lin Lang pouted and shrugged, “Sister Marry, you’re making it sound so pitiful. Then I’ll be a gentleman this once. Today’s KTV expenses are on me.”
Marry Yang stuck out her tongue and smiled after hearing that, then surprisingly said, “Waiter, change the case of beer I just ordered back to two bottles of imported weishi ji (whisky).”
The waiter smiled after hearing that, “Alright, beautiful lady!”
“Sister Marry, you’re not serious, are you?”
“When I’m paying, why aren’t you drinking beer anymore?”
Marry Yang squinted her eyes and smiled, “Drinking cheap beer doesn’t suit your temperament~”
“Hehe…” Lin Lang laughed.
The waiter continued to ask, “What would you two like to eat?”
Marry Yang looked at the KTV menu and replied with a mischievous smile, “Spicy duck head, spicy duck neck, spicy duck intestines, beef jerky, pickled pepper chicken feet, salted peanuts, shredded squid, pistachios, popcorn—one serving of everything.”
“Oh, and!”
“Don’t forget, two fruit platters.”
“Alright, beautiful lady.” The waiter recorded the order on the menu and then exited the small private room.
Lin Lang couldn’t help but laugh and said, “When I’m treating, you suddenly become so extravagant with your spending. Sister Marry, isn’t this a double standard?”
Marry Yang squinted her eyes and playfully replied, “One of your Rolex watches costs over 100,000. This little expense is just a drop in the bucket for big shots like you who invest in antique artworks~”
“Sister Marry, please don’t flatter me. I’m not a big shot; I’m a Xiao Pa Cai.”
“Lin Lang, what does Xiao Pa Cai mean?”
Lin Lang explained, “Xiao Pa Cai is a dialect from the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region. Its original meaning refers to green vegetables that become soft and limp after being cooked. And because when a person gets drunk, their body becomes soft and limp like cooked greens, the term Xiao Pa Cai is often used to tease someone who gets drunk with just one drink.”
Marry Yang covered her mouth and laughed, “Lin Lang, you’re so interesting!”
“This is the first time I’ve heard the term Xiao Pa Cai. It seems tonight, I, your sister, must make you into a Xiao Pa Cai.”
“Hehe…”
Marry Yang, with her Eurasian exotic charm, looked absolutely beautiful when she smiled.
“Sister Marry, what type of songs do you like to listen to? I’ll sing them for you!” Lin Lang strummed his guitar strings.
Marry Yang replied, “Emotional songs.”
Lin Lang, holding his guitar handsomely, feigned melancholy and said, “An original love song of mine, ‘Wait One Minute,’ dedicated to the stunning Marry Yang.”
“Lin Lang, you can write songs too?” Marry Yang seemed a bit disbelieving.
Lin Lang did not answer. Instead, he handsomely and melancholically held his guitar, strummed the strings, and began to sing ‘Wait One Minute’ with deep emotion. After the classic intro began, Marry Yang was stunned the moment Lin Lang opened his mouth.
The Eurasian little widow, Marry Yang, watched Lin Lang sing with deep emotion, becoming a fangirl instantly. It sounded so good that her heart fluttered, and her ears almost got pregnant.
If time forgot to turn,
Forgot to take anything away,
Would you still be stuck on the day you said you loved me?
And in a corner of the world,
We would have a home of our own.
You said my chest would make you feel warm.
If life had no regrets, no ripples,
Would you never have a day to say goodbye?
Perhaps a young heart is too soft,
Cannot withstand wind, cannot withstand waves.
If today’s me could return to yesterday,
I would compromise with myself.
I’ll wait one more minute,
Perhaps the next minute,
Seeing your dodging eyes,
I won’t let sorrowful tears hang on your face…
The song ‘Wait One Minute,’ which would become a massive hit online seven years later, was sung by Lin Lang with deep emotion seven years early in the millennium for the Eurasian little widow, Marry Yang. It captivated Marry Yang, completely overshadowing the popular music of that time.
AI generated beautiful image of Marry Yang
Marry Yang listened with great sadness. She could hardly believe that Lin Lang, who seemed so uninhibited, could write such a deeply emotional song.
Lin Lang’s character contrast underwent an extreme reversal at this moment.
Marry Yang, in the span of one song, realized that deep down, Lin Lang was actually a person who valued emotions.
A decisive blow.
One song, a decisive blow.
Marry Yang, who had been widowed for many years, became too deeply immersed while listening to Lin Lang sing. When Lin Lang finished his song, Marry Yang's eyes were already blurry with tears.
Marry Yang looked at Lin Lang with tear-filled eyes. Due to the evocative lyrics, she seemed to recall painful past events and could not pull herself away from the melancholic mood of the love song for a long time.
Marry Yang sniffled and murmured tearfully, “This song makes my heart ache so much; it feels like it’s singing about me.”
“If life had no regrets, no ripples, would you never have a day to say goodbye? Time rushes by, and yet I can never let go.”
Lin Lang slowly raised his right hand and gently wiped Marry Yang’s tears, saying with a melancholic and tender voice, “Forgetting what shouldn’t be remembered is best for you. Let the past be the past!”
Marry Yang looked at Lin Lang with tear-filled eyes, saying pitifully, “Your hand is so warm!”
Lin Lang said gently, “My embrace is even warmer. Do you want to lean on my shoulder?!”
“Hmph~ I won’t let you take advantage of me!” Marry Yang sniffled and turned sideways to wipe away her tears.
“I didn’t expect Sister Marry to be so decisive at work, yet so emotional in life. Just one song made her cry. Should I sing my next original tear-jerking love song?”
“Or not?”
Marry Yang was astonished, “No way?”
“Lin Lang, are you also a talented person? You have more than one original song that’s both emotional and beautiful?”
Lin Lang replied with his catchphrase, “I am not talented, I merely have a slight understanding of writing lyrics and composing music. For such a small matter as original songs, it’s a piece of cake.”
Marry Yang chuckled, looking at the handsome Lin Lang with tearful eyes and a smile, teasing, “You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself. Is ‘piece of cake’ your catchphrase?”
Lin Lang surprisingly replied with feigned deep emotion, “Give me a chance, I can understand you better!”
“Uh…” Marry Yang was stunned after hearing that.
Lin Lang curved his lips into a mischievous smile, “Actually, that sentence is my catchphrase~”
Marry Yang wiped away a cold sweat and said scornfully, “You must have said that phrase, ‘Give me a chance, I can understand you better,’ to many women, haven’t you?”