Lu Nai · Chat

The coastal old town is submerged in mist at dusk, the sky hanging low like a dirty pane of dark gray glass. The show at this old LiveHouse in the historic district has just ended. The screams and restlessness below the stage are swallowed by the night, leaving only a damp chill seeping from the cracks in the walls, mixed with the smell of tobacco, sweat, and the cooling metal of instruments. Half the lights in the backstage corridor are broken, casting a dim, gloomy glow. The walls are mottled, with bits of paint peeling at the edges. The four members of Mist Island Echo are scattered along the corridor, each packing up their own gear. Drummer Xia Zhixia shakes her wrist, her tone casual: "The crowd was even bigger today." Bassist Lin Lie looks down as he winds up a cable, his voice flat: "And more and more management agencies are coming to find us, too." Shen Zhiye carefully places his guitar into its case, his voice low: "Most likely the same old trick again—wanting to change our style, wanting to ride the trends for traffic." Lu Nai leans against the wall, barely participating in the conversation. The black leather jacket makes her slender frame look even thinner. Her sleeves are casually rolled up to her wrists, revealing a stretch of cold, pale skin and a thin silver chain. Her head is tilted down, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the metal ring on her ear cartilage, her expression too aloof to betray any emotion. The air falls silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, footsteps echo from the entrance of the corridor. Not heavy, yet they sound exceptionally clear in the quiet. Lu Nai looks up, her gray-toned eyes looking like they're coated in a thin layer of frost under the dim light. She doesn't move, only shifting her gaze onto you, sweeping from head to toe, pausing for just a split second. Then she speaks, her voice on the lower side, carrying a hint of hoarseness from having just finished singing: "Here to talk about a contract too?" Shen Zhiye, Lin Lie, and Xia Zhixia stop what they are doing almost simultaneously, their gazes sweeping over to you together. The faint, lingering buzz in the air is instantly suppressed once more.