Chi Yan · Chat

The afternoon sunlight sliced diagonally through the rehearsal room's floor-to-ceiling windows, splitting the floor into halves of light and shadow. Chi Yan was sitting on that battered but excellent-sounding acoustic guitar—yes, sitting on it—with his legs crossed, the cuffs of his leopard-print pants swinging with the motion of his dangling leg. He held a macadamia nut in his hand, twirled a silver guitar pick between his fingers, and with a 'crack', the nutshell split open. 'Number 37,' he muttered to himself, tossing the nut into his mouth and casually flicking the shell toward the trash can in the corner. He missed. 'Tch.' Lu Huai stood in front of the music stand, gripping the lyric book, his brow furrowed for the past five minutes. He had just finished writing the lyrics for the second verse and was trying to find the right feeling to hum it, when Chi Yan, acting like a peacock failing to display its feathers, started messing with his bangs in his reflection on the wall. The rehearsal room door was pushed open, and Yan Shuyi shuffled in wearing slippers that always seemed filled with lead, his hair a mess as if he'd just been dragged out of bed. Without even glancing at the two of them, he walked straight to the drum stool, plopped down, slumped forward over the snare drum, and instantly fell asleep. Chi Yan: '...Shuyi, are you here to rehearse or to act as a body pillow for the drums?' Yan Shuyi didn't move. Three seconds later, he raised a hand, made a 'wait a minute' gesture, and let it drop again. Chi Yan was amused. He stood up, walked over to the drums, bent down, and spoke right into Yan Shuyi's ear—'Shuyi, how come there's no affection meter displayed above your head?' Yan Shuyi slowly opened one eye, glaring like a cat woken up from a warm winter bed. '...Piss off.' 'Alrighty.' Chi Yan straightened up, casually picking up the drumsticks Yan Shuyi had left on the floor. He twirled the two sticks in his hands, then swung them in the air like nunchucks, providing his own sound effects, 'Whoosh—whoosh—smack!' The first swing hit his own arm, and the second poked Chi Du, who was walking past the door. Oh wait, it was Lin Jin. Lin Jin was holding two convenience store bags, one with drinks and one with snacks. He stood in the doorway, looking down expressionlessly at the drumstick poking his chest, then looked up at Chi Yan. Chi Yan quickly hid the drumsticks behind his back, flashing a smile brighter than the sun. 'Jin-ge, you're just in time. I was just practicing a new move, look—' 'I haven't settled the score with you for hiding my phone last time.' Lin Jin's voice was flat, as flat as the sea before a storm. He placed the bags on the table and started taking things out one by one, unhurriedly. 'I looked for it for forty minutes. Forty minutes.' Chi Yan took a step back, his hand unconsciously reaching for the black metal ring on his left ring finger, giving it a spin. 'I did no such thing!' Lin Jin turned around, now holding a bottle of mineral water. He unscrewed the cap and took a sip, moving with the elegance of someone tasting tea. 'I had a class that afternoon, Chi Yan. An. Afternoon. Class.' Chi Yan took another step back, his lower back bumping into the music stand. Lu Huai let out an extremely contemptuous scoff from the sidelines, crossing his arms to watch the show. 'I was just worried you'd be late!' Chi Yan's voice started to waver, his fingers rubbing the ring rapidly, the tips of his ears beginning to turn red. 'Besides, didn't I give it back to you later!' 'I was fifteen minutes late.' Lin Jin placed the water bottle on the table with a soft thud. 'That class was taught by my advisor. And he took attendance.' 'The next time you hide my things,' Lin Jin turned back to organize the bags, his voice sounding like it was squeezed through his teeth, 'I'll take off all your guitar strings and wrap them around your neck, one by one.' 'Alrighty, bro.' Chi Yan nodded like a woodpecker, then turned and winked at Lu Huai, whispering, 'He forgave me.' Lu Huai rolled his eyes, turning back to his lyrics and muttering, 'Worthless.' Chi Yan slipped back to his spot and picked up his guitar. Whenever he was in a good mood, he couldn't resist playing something. With a sweep of his fingers, a wall of distorted sound blasted from the amp. He leaned back with the motion, almost losing his hat. He simply took the hat off and tossed it onto the music stand, letting his yellow-and-white wolf-tail mullet fall loose. He shook his head and threw a wink at his own reflection in the glass window. 'Stormy! Let's take off!' he yelled. Startled by the shout, Yan Shuyi bounced up from the snare drum. 'Chi Yan, do you have a death wish?!' Lu Huai sighed, picked up the microphone, and cleared his throat. The moment the intro began, the air in the rehearsal room shifted. Chi Yan dropped his goofy grin, his fingers sliding across the strings, eyes locked on the guitar neck, completely immersing himself in the music. But he only stayed immersed for about half a minute. While Lu Huai had his eyes closed singing a high note, he quietly turned his head and messed with his bangs in the glass reflection again. Then Yan Shuyi spotted him. Yan Shuyi didn't say a word, just twirled a drumstick in his hand, and Chi Yan immediately lowered his head obediently back to his guitar. Until the song was finished rehearsing. 'Shuyi, look at my—' Chi Yan was about to continue when Lin Jin walked over and pinched his ear. 'Ow—' Lin Jin's voice was still flat, but the grip on his ear didn't loosen at all. 'Last time you hid Shuyi's headphones under his drum stool, and he looked for them for half an hour.' Chi Yan stood on his tiptoes, tilting his head in the direction of his ear while grimacing a smile. 'Ah... it was only half an hour. He found them in the end anyway, right!' Lin Jin pinched harder. Chi Yan's pleas for mercy mixed with laughter. Suddenly, the door opened. It wasn't opened by any of them. The rehearsal room door was gently pushed open from the outside, the hinges letting out a faint creak. Chi Yan instinctively turned his head, his ear still red, the smile not yet faded from the corners of his mouth. He saw someone standing in the doorway. Lu Huai looked up, Yan Shuyi opened one eye, and Lin Jin paused his hands from organizing the bags. They all looked toward the door...