Lu Yan said, "I have something to do later, gotta go out. What are your plans? Going up to 601 to smash the door?"

Xiao Heng quickly washed his face and noticed that the person in the mirror looked a bit unfamiliar overnight. Water trickled down the contours of his face, dripping onto the T-shirt that he wasn't quite used to wearing.

Cheap.

But very clean, with a faint, unfamiliar but not unpleasant scent.

"Yeah," Xiao Heng said, "Going to smash the door."

Lu Yan had arranged to meet Li Zhen at the Air-Raid Shelter today to look for new members. He had no time to care whether this young master was going to smash a door or beg on the street.

He only knew that the young master had left with him, lingered at the entrance of the Seventh District for a while, and finally sauntered down the road to the right—towards Feiyue Road, No. 3 Air-Raid Shelter.

"Can't play well."

"..."

"No good."

"..."

"This guy, has he been learning for less than two months?"

Lu Yan squatted at the entrance of the Air-Raid Shelter. Young people with guitars on their backs were coming and going in front of him. Aside from one band that was rehearsing, the rest were "orphans" looking for a band.

But he had auditioned several, and he felt their skills were not up to par.

Finally, Lu Yan drew out his words, "Hey, this one's pretty amazing... to be able to play so many wrong notes in one song, impressive."

Li Zhen's long silence was followed by an eruption.

He really couldn't listen anymore and nudged his band's lead singer with his elbow. "You yourself play like shit, how can you have the nerve to criticize others???"

Lu Yan was only complaining to Li Zhen in private. When the young people with instruments on their backs finished displaying their terrible talents and waited for feedback, no matter how shitty their playing was, Lu Yan would still encourage them in a friendly and gentle tone.

"I think you have limitless potential for the future, it's just that your style doesn't quite match our band's. Sorry, keep up the good work."

A band nearby was covering an English song.

Lu Yan said, "That band, I haven't seen them before. Newly formed?"

Li Zhen glanced over, not paying much attention. "I guess so, I haven't seen them either."

After Li Zhen spoke, he waited for the next guy auditioning for bassist to start his performance. He noticed that Lu Yan, who had been constantly saying "this one's skills are bad, that one's skills are bad," was silent. "Do you think this one is okay?"

Li Zhen turned his head as he asked, only to find the spot beside him empty.

Li Zhen looked around again and saw that his lead singer had, at some point, blended in with that new band.

Lu Yan took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to the band's guitarist. "Buddy, where are you from?"

The guitarist took it. "I'm a local."

Lu Yan: "You play well. How long have you been practicing?"

Guitarist: "A little over two years. You're also in a band?"

That question hit the mark.

Lu Yan smoked with the guitarist, patting his shoulder. "Vent, ever heard of it?"

"Our band's been together for four years, a combination of talent and skill. I see your technique is pretty good, any thoughts about switching bands?"

"..."

Li Zhen silently turned his head back, wondering if it was too late to pretend he didn't know this person.

Of course, he didn't manage to recruit the guy in the end, but that person had indeed heard their band's songs. "I know you guys! Demon King Band! I've been listening since you released Ogre!"

It counted as making a new friend.

On the way back, Lu Yan opened a part-time job website again. Li Zhen found it strange. "Who are you looking for a job for? Didn't you just take on an arrangement gig?"

'For whom?'

Lu Yan saved the part-time job information from the page and said, "For a... friend."

As a result, as soon as Lu Yan got back to the building, he saw the door to 601 was open. His 'friend' was moving some newly bought pots and pans into the room.

Lu Yan leaned against the doorway watching him and saw that the basic necessities in the room were more or less set up. Perhaps due to a limited budget, the furnishings were extremely simple. Coupled with the fact that the previous tenant had specifically tidied up the room, the whole place looked very empty.

A visual estimate suggested that all these miscellaneous items added up to a few hundred yuan.

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow. "Your door?"

Xiao Heng had just finished making the bed. He glanced at him and said, "Smashed it open."

Putting aside the matter of prying open the door, Lu Yan asked again, "Then where did you get the money?"

Xiao Heng: "Went robbing. That mobile phone shop nearby."

"..."

"Robbed a phone while I was at it." Xiao Heng pulled a phone out of his pocket.

'It really is a phone.'

'Although it's last year's model.'

'It's not that expensive after the discount.'

It had never even occurred to Lu Yan that this could be money Xiao Heng had earned through his own efforts.

The miserable state this person was in yesterday—no, including this morning—was telling him: impossible.

But Lu Yan really hadn't expected this young master to actually go robbing under the pressure of life. "Do you know that robbery is illegal? The moment they investigate, you're fucking done for. How much money did you rob? And since you were robbing anyway, why not grab a better phone..."

As Lu Yan spoke, he saw Xiao Heng smile.

'It seemed to be the first time he'd seen this person smile.'

"Found a job. It's an advance on my salary."

Xiao Heng finished with a mocking smile. "Look at me. Do I look like an idiot?"

It dawned on Lu Yan. "Fuck."

'Right.'

'You don't.'

'I'm the idiot.'

Xiao Heng took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Underneath the pack were two one-hundred yuan bills. He handed the money to him. "Two hundred."

Lu Yan had only said it to lighten the mood, not wanting to make it seem like a formal rescue or shelter situation. He hadn't actually intended to take the money, but seeing Xiao Heng's expression, Lu Yan took it in the end. "You're really living here now?"

Xiao Heng was wearing his clothes.

Behind him was a small, dilapidated rental unit of just over ten square meters, empty of everything else. Lu Yan watched him pull a cigarette from the pack, hold it between his teeth, and grunt in affirmation.