A pleasant ringtone sounded. Yuan Fang took out his phone, glanced at it, greeted Chen Yang and the other man, and stood up to answer the call.
A moment later, Yuan Fang returned to his seat, smiling at Chen Yang, and said:
"A few flight attendants who stayed behind with me, knowing we had a late-night snack together, insisted on expressing their gratitude in person and invited you to karaoke! How about it? It's hard to refuse such a kind invitation…"
Chen Yang smiled wryly and said:
"Since you've put it that way, how can I refuse?"
Yuan Fang laughed heartily and stood up, saying:
"Then let's go! Let's move on! But Chen Yang, you better be careful! These ladies are all heavy drinkers; you're definitely the star of the show tonight!"
Chen Yang's eyelids twitched involuntarily upon hearing this.
Liu Xinyao glanced at Chen Yang without showing any emotion, thinking to herself that she had made the right decision to come. If she didn't keep an eye on him, this guy would definitely be letting Su He down tonight! ...
KTV room 23 on the third floor of the Haojue Hotel.
Yuan Fang and his two companions pushed open the door and entered. The flight attendants, who had arrived earlier, were singing. Chen Yang glanced around and saw at least four dozen bottles of "Tianya" brand beer, locally produced in Qiongzhou, densely packed on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He couldn't help but inwardly groan.
Seeing Chen Yang and his group enter, the woman sitting in the center stood up with a smile and said:
"Chen Yang's here! Please sit down! Let me introduce you. This is Xiaoru, and the one singing is Yanzi. These two young ladies are on their annual leave together, planning to find some romantic encounters in Sanya!"
Chen Yang recognized the speaker; it was Yang Na, the chief flight attendant from that flight. It turned out that she was in the same situation as Yuan Fang—she had reached her flight hour limit and needed to stay in Sanya for a day. The other two flight attendants were using their annual leave to vacation together in Sanya.
Seeing Chen Yang enter, Yanzi, who was singing, stopped and came over with Xiaoru to greet them. Yuan Fang pointed to the bottles of wine on the coffee table and said with a smile,
"Xiao Yang, it seems you've prepared quite thoroughly!"
Yang Na smiled and said,
"Of course! Why did we choose the Haojue Hotel? It's so it's convenient to take Chen Yang back to his room later!"
This was indeed the hotel where Chen Yang and his group were staying. Yang Na and her friends choosing to sing karaoke here clearly meant they weren't going to stop until they'd gotten Chen Yang drunk.
Chen Yang said with a wry smile,
"Sister Yang, this isn't fair! Let's... focus on singing!"
"We need to sing, and we can't skimp on the drinks! You're our savior, we have to express our gratitude!" The lively Yanzi chimed in with a smile.
"That's right! You weren't even afraid of those vicious hijackers, are you afraid of a few weak women like us?" Xiaoru also joined in the fun. Chen Yang was immediately overwhelmed. He looked at Yuan Fang with pleading eyes, but Yuan Fang pretended not to see him, opening a bottle of beer and slowly sipping it while diligently selecting songs at the karaoke machine.
Liu Xinyao hadn't said a word since entering, simply sitting quietly on the sofa, watching Chen Yang being surrounded and chatted with by the flight attendants.
Although Chen Yang claimed he couldn't drink, he actually had a pretty good tolerance for alcohol. In his previous life, he frequented various high-end entertainment venues, and had countless female companions, so he was very experienced in dealing with women. Therefore, he decided to make the best of it and, after sitting down, chatted quite amiably with them, often making witty remarks that made the girls giggle.
Even the usually serene Liu Xinyao gradually became infected by his charm, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"Girls! Didn't you all promise to make a lasting impression on Chen Yang before you came? Why are you all just chatting?" Yang Na clapped her hands and said loudly, "I'll set an example! Chen Yang, I'll toast you with a set of stars!"
Yang Na was quite bold. A "set of stars" is three bottles, a common drinking term in Southeast China. Similarly, a "set of moons" is six bottles, and a "set of suns" is the highest level, nine bottles. Of course, this refers to beer; for spirits, it's usually counted by the glass, and the quantity is still in the three, six, or nine-bottle range.
"Great!"
Everyone immediately applauded and cheered upon hearing Yang Na's words. Yanzi quickly opened six bottles of beer. Yang Na smiled at Chen Yang, picked up a bottle of beer, tilted her head back, and gulped it down.
"Sister Yang is truly a woman who doesn't yield to men!" Chen Yang smiled wryly. In this situation, he couldn't even refuse. The lady had already drunk, and Chen Yang, as a grown man, couldn't back down now. So, he boldly picked up the bottle and started chugging, making Liu Xinyao, who was watching beside him, tremble with fear.
After drinking three bottles of beer in a row, even though Tianya beer was sold in small bottles, Chen Yang felt his stomach was getting unbearably bloated. Chen Yang put down the bottle, wiped his mouth, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Xiaoru approaching again with a bottle of wine…
"Hey! Suddenly I'm bursting with singing inspiration after a few drinks!" Chen Yang quickly stood up and walked to Yuan Fang's side, loudly proclaiming, "Captain Yuan, let's see what song you've chosen… Oh! This song is good, let's sing it together!"
Yuan Fang looked at the "singing prodigy" Chen Yang with a half-smile and asked:
"Xiao Fang, do you know this song?"
Chen Yang casually picked up a microphone from the shelf, pursed his lips, and said:
"Looking down on me, huh? There's no song I don't know!"
Chen Yang hadn't actually looked at the song list carefully; he was just afraid of this group of women. If they kept chugging bottles like this, he'd have to do a live broadcast. However, when the intro to the song started, Chen Yang couldn't help but pause, a complex expression appearing on his face.
Seeing this, Yuan Fang put down the microphone and said mischievously,
"Really? Then you can sing a solo! Ladies, Chen Yang is going to sing a song for you now, everyone give him a round of applause!"
"Okay!"
Everyone laughed and applauded. Liu Xinyao also stared at the song title displayed on the screen with interest, glancing at Chen Yang every now and then, thinking to herself, this guy's bragging is louder than a mountain, he's going to embarrass himself this time!
"The Day I Left the Army," the screen displayed the song Yuan Fang had just selected.
Actually, Chen Yang had already recognized it from the intro. It was a military song, telling the story of soldiers bidding farewell to their lovers upon leaving the army. It was widely known in the military, but rarely heard by people outside the military. Therefore, Yuan Fang and Liu Xinyao both thought Chen Yang's stunned expression earlier was because he was dumbfounded because he didn't know the song.
"The day I left the army
The sky wasn't raining
The day I left the army
You promised to see me off
The comrades who were leaving had all boarded the train
But the one seeing me off wouldn't go..."
As soon as Chen Yang spoke, the entire private room fell silent. Chen Yang's voice was deep and magnetic, especially the subtle sadness he conveyed, which he portrayed with remarkable depth. Just the first few lines, coupled with the image of a veteran carrying his backpack and silently walking on the platform on the screen, immediately immersed everyone in the sorrow of parting.
Chen Yang hadn't expected it to be this song. This song instantly stirred up the regrets deep within him. In his previous life, as a scion of a prominent political family in China, many beautiful memories he had left behind in the ironclad military now surfaced in his mind. In this life, he probably had no future with the army, and his former lover, Xu Qingya, was still as beautiful as ever, but she was no longer his fiancée. The faces are gone, I know not where; the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.
The past has faded with the wind. Now, Chen Yang is passionately performing this song that echoes through countless military camps across China every year during the discharge season, completely immersed in the mood it evokes.
"I followed them onto the bus
I waved with them
I shed tears with them
I followed them onto the bus
I waved with them
I followed them, but it wasn't feigned sadness..."
As he sang, tears welled in Chen Yang's eyes. Everyone listened silently, especially veteran Yuan Fang and Liu Xinyao, who grew up in the military compound. Their resonance was even stronger; watching Chen Yang sing with such passion, a touch of emotion unconsciously flowed through their hearts.
The accompaniment faded until it was completely silent. Chen Yang, microphone in hand, sang with a slight tremor in his voice:
"A long whistle sounds
I still want to stay in the army
A long whistle sounds
On the day I left the army—..."
As he sang the last line, Chen Yang's voice suddenly soared, as if all negative emotions had been swept away with that powerful note. The song was designed for the last few lines to be sung a cappella, so Chen Yang's powerful and ethereal voice resonated even more deeply within the box.
Until Chen Yang sang the last note, the box was completely silent, a stark contrast to the previous noisy atmosphere. Chen Yang's impeccable singing skills, excellent vocal quality, and abundant emotional expression captivated and moved everyone present. "Phew..." Chen Yang let out a long sigh after finishing his song, casually putting down the microphone. He noticed everyone was staring at him with strange looks, and immediately realized he might have overdone it. He chuckled dryly and said, "Why are you all looking at me? Scared you?"
Yang Na was the first to recover, laughing as she said,
"You really scared us, Chen Yang! I didn't expect you to sing so well, and you even know such an obscure song!"
"A good man should join the army!" Chen Yang said. "I've always longed for military life since I was little, and I love listening to military folk songs. If I hadn't done poorly on my college entrance exam, I would have gone to military academy!"
After saying that, Chen Yang enthusiastically opened a bottle of beer, raised it high to Yuan Fang, and said,
"Old soldier! I toast you! I toast all the veterans who have left the army and those still fighting on the front lines! To the veterans' lost youth! Cheers!"
After saying that, Chen Yang tilted his head back and gulped down the entire bottle of beer. Yuan Fang also showed a hint of excitement, picked up the wine bottle and said:
"Well said! For the lost youth of veterans, cheers!"
At this moment, Chen Yang and Yuan Fang shared the same feeling, as if they had returned to the bustling, rigid military camp. Liu Xinyao, her beautiful eyes sparkling, stared intently at Chen Yang, her face filled with complex emotions. She found herself increasingly unable to understand this womanizer…