Chapter 30

It was 6:30 PM.

The Ring Sea Road was heavily congested.

The four-lane road in both directions was jammed with a long, unending line of vehicles.

Drivers in bad moods were cursing the frustrating traffic conditions.

Those with a more peaceful disposition took the opportunity to admire the sea at sunset, a rare moment of leisure.

"What time did you book with them?"

Lin Zai Shan asked Liu Mengmeng.

Liu Mengmeng's pink Nissan Murano was also stuck in the traffic on Ring Sea Road, not moving an inch for the past five minutes.

"I booked for 7:00 PM, so we shouldn't be too late. The wedding starts at 7:30 PM, and the celebrity performance is after 8:00 PM."

Although she said this, Liu Mengmeng was extremely anxious inside. She couldn't afford to mess up this second job for Lin Zai Shan after the big blunder the first time.

"Why would someone have a wedding in the evening?" Lin Zai Shan was quite puzzled.

"I heard from my friend that the groom is getting married for the second time. According to local traditions in Donghai, second marriages can only be held in the evening, not during the day."

"I see." Lin Zai Shan asked, "How old is the groom?"

"About 36, or maybe 37? I heard from my friend that this second marriage is a classic case of an old bull eating young grass. The bride is only in her early 20s."

"Ha ha."

Lin Zai Shan laughed but didn't comment. If he were to get married, he would probably be called an old bull eating young grass too.

After saying "old bull eating young grass," Liu Mengmeng felt a bit regretful.

She glanced at Lin Zai Shan and saw that he didn't seem to mind, so she relaxed and changed the subject: "I heard from my friend that the groom is the owner of the Seven Fragrances chain restaurant."

"Ah? The owner of Seven Fragrances?"

"What, do you know him?"

"I know him, sort of."

Seeing Lin Zai Shan's strange expression, Liu Mengmeng's heart sank. Could this uncle have a grudge against the owner of Seven Fragrances?

This uncle had made many enemies in the past.

If they had a grudge, they couldn't take this job today.

After hesitating, Liu Mengmeng asked, "Teacher Lin, do you have any conflicts with today's groom?"

Lin Zai Shan found it hard to answer because his relationship with the owner of Seven Fragrances, Lu Chen, was very complicated.

Seeing the traffic start to move, Lin Zai Shan pointed ahead, "Let's go, don't be late and let your friend criticize us."

Lin Zai Shan didn't answer Liu Mengmeng's question, but by telling her to head to the hotel, it meant he could take the job. Liu Mengmeng didn't ask further and started driving.

With his arms crossed, Lin Zai Shan leaned back in the passenger seat and turned to look at the sea, which was tinted red by the sunset. Many memories of the original uncle, which could never be erased, surfaced in his mind.

If there was anyone in this world, besides the white dove, who the original uncle could trust, it would be the owner of Seven Fragrances, Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was one year younger than Lin Zai Shan.

Over 20 years ago, when the delinquent Lin Zai Shan dropped out of school to form a band, Lu Chen, also a delinquent, was Lin Zai Shan's little follower and later became the band's drummer.

At that time, Lin Zai Shan's band had five members and was named "Beyond."

They were a very united band, with Lin Zai Shan as the core, and the other four members were willing to follow him into battle.

They practiced and performed together every day, went out on dates together, and fought together. Their bond was as strong as life itself, and their friendship was unbreakable.

Unfortunately, this close friendship didn't last long and soon fell apart.

In the fall of 1986, Arrow Target Records, recognizing Lin Zai Shan's musical talent and potential, extended an olive branch to him, offering him a contract.

Arrow Target Records was a giant in the music industry at the time, and the contract they offered Lin Zai Shan was very tempting, making it hard for him to refuse.

However, Arrow Target only wanted Lin Zai Shan and not the other four members of Beyond.

Companies like Arrow Target were very generous to talented musicians but extremely strict with ordinary musicians, unwilling to burden their company with dead weight.

The attitude of Arrow Target hurt the other four members of Beyond, and Lin Zai Shan's decision hurt them even more.

At that time, two other record companies had also shown interest in their band and offered them a group contract, wanting to sign the entire band.

The other four members of Beyond hoped that Lin Zai Shan would sign with one of the other two companies to keep the band together.

But Lin Zai Shan was tempted by the grand future Arrow Target promised him.

The other two record companies were not in the same league as Arrow Target and could not offer Lin Zai Shan the same platform.

In the end, Lin Zai Shan couldn't resist the allure of Arrow Target and, ignoring the advice of the other four members, signed with them alone.

Later, Arrow Target indeed fulfilled their promise to Lin Zai Shan, packaging him into the top-tier genius rock youth in the Chinese music scene within a year, making him famous across the country.

Although he became famous, Lin Zai Shan's heart was in turmoil.

Abandoning his brothers and comrades who had fought with him left a thorn in Lin Zai Shan's heart that could never be removed.

After that, he quickly fell into the entertainment circle, transforming from a passionate and energetic rock youth into a dissolute and decadent young man. This was directly related to the wound in his heart that could never heal.

From the moment he abandoned his friends, he was also abandoned by his best friends.

The deeper he became famous, the deeper the pain in his heart grew.

Until he could no longer bear it.

Later, he went on wild car chases, drank excessively, took drugs, and pursued women, partly to numb himself and escape the pain he didn't want to remember.

The other four members of Beyond, due to their limited talent, had no future after leaving Lin Zai Shan and soon disappeared from the rock scene.

Lin Zai Shan had once thought about helping them, but they refused to accept help from the traitor.

They gradually moved away from the music industry and from Lin Zai Shan, the bastard.

Compared to the other three older members, Lin Zai Shan's little follower, Lu Chen, eventually reconnected with him.

After all, he was younger.

Initially, Lu Chen was also very angry at Lin Zai Shan's selfish betrayal. But his love for food eventually overcame his anger, and he soon rejoined Lin Zai Shan, tempted by his money and food.

Lin Zai Shan gave Lu Chen a lot of money at that time to ease the pain in his heart.

Lu Chen received at least 1 million Chinese yuan from Lin Zai Shan over time.

In the late 1980s, 1 million Chinese yuan was a huge sum for an ordinary family.

Lu Chen was initially very grateful to Lin Zai Shan, but they gradually drifted apart because Lin Zai Shan, after becoming rich, became a completely different person—eccentric, violent, and unpredictable, like a time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

When he exploded, he was terrifying, like a devil.

Even Lin Zai Shan's closest friends, like Lu Chen, were afraid he might kill them.

At that time, Lin Zai Shan was taking excessive drugs, leading to uncontrollable hallucinations. Lu Chen was genuinely afraid of him.

Lu Chen had advised Lin Zai Shan many times to quit the drugs, but Lin Zai Shan was deeply addicted and couldn't stop.

Not only did he ignore the advice, but he also beat Lu Chen many times out of frustration.

Once, during a severe hallucination, he thought he was fighting a ghost and almost killed Lu Chen with a baseball bat!

After that, Lu Chen and Lin Zai Shan drifted further apart, and he no longer mixed in the decadent rock scene.

He returned home, retired from the music industry, and helped his father manage their family's old restaurant, Seven Fragrances.

The restaurant had a long history, having been run by Lu Chen's grandfather.

Although it wasn't large, it had a good reputation locally.

With the help of the over 1 million yuan from Lin Zai Shan, Lu Chen gradually expanded Seven Fragrances.

Today, Seven Fragrances has grown from a 50-year-old traditional restaurant into a small fast-food chain with 12 outlets in prime locations, covering several major commercial areas in Donghai City and gaining some fame throughout the city.

Compared to large national fast-food chains, Seven Fragrances was still small, but Lu Chen's life could be considered a modest success.

The original uncle loved eating fried intestines at Seven Fragrances because he had grown up eating at the old restaurant, and the food there gave him a sense of home.

But after his life hit rock bottom, Lin Zai Shan was too ashamed to eat at Seven Fragrances again and didn't want to see Lu Chen, his former little follower.

To the original uncle, a man's dignity and face were more important than anything, even more precious than life.

When he was successful, he could help others, but when he was down, he would never accept help from others.

Later, Lu Chen learned that Lin Zai Shan was struggling and, without telling his first wife, went to find him, hoping to help him make a comeback.

He was even willing to invest heavily to help Lin Zai Shan start a new independent label and rise again in the rock scene.

But Lin Zai Shan was very stubborn at the time and refused Lu Chen's help, even warning him with a punch—once he left, he shouldn't come back!

Lu Chen was deeply hurt by Lin Zai Shan and didn't dare to approach him again.

It wasn't until seven years ago, when Lin Zai Shan severely injured the son of a wealthy family, Liu Zhongjie, and Lu Chen saw the news in the newspaper, that he couldn't resist visiting Lin Zai Shan at the police station and hiring a top lawyer to defend him.

Unfortunately, compared to the wealthy Liu family, Lu Chen's financial resources were negligible, and the top lawyer he hired couldn't match the large legal team of the Liu family.

Lin Zai Shan was found guilty in the malicious assault and was sent to prison.

If it weren't for Lu Chen's investment in hiring a top lawyer, Lin Zai Shan might still be in prison.

However, Lin Zai Shan didn't appreciate Lu Chen's help and was instead very angry!

He felt that Lu Chen was sympathizing with him in a despicable way, embarrassing him, and overstepping.

After Lin Zai Shan was imprisoned, Lu Chen visited him during the first legal visitation period but was met with a fierce scolding from Lin Zai Shan.

If not for the bulletproof glass, Lin Zai Shan would have beaten Lu Chen to death.

Lu Chen could see that Lin Zai Shan was really angry and furious, vowing to kill Liu Zhongjie and cripple him after his release!

At that moment, Lu Chen realized that he no longer recognized the emaciated, madman in front of him.

After that, he never tried to approach Lin Zai Shan again, respecting his coldness.

His friendship and enthusiasm were completely extinguished by Lin Zai Shan.

Lin Zai Shan served three years in prison, quitting his drug habit and reflecting on his failed life.

On the day of his release, Lin Zai Shan really hoped to see Lu Chen, his first and last true friend, come to pick him up.

But unfortunately, Lu Chen had done all he could and had completely severed ties with him, not coming to the prison to greet him.

That afternoon, Lin Zai Shan left the prison alone and destitute.

At that moment, he truly felt the terrifying loneliness of having no family or friends to care about him.

It felt like his body was still alive, but his heart was already in the morgue.

Every breath he took was just another step closer to the end of his life.

It wasn't until the appearance of the white dove that Lin Zai Shan's life regained a glimmer of light and warmth.

It was also because of the white dove that Lin Zai Shan was willing to try the food from Seven Fragrances again, which brought him a sense of home.

Reading the strong emotions and unerasable memories of the original uncle, Lin Zai Shan could feel that the uncle really wanted to apologize to Lu Chen and say sorry after his release.

But the uncle's pride prevented him from taking that step and lowering his head.

The last time they met was in the prison visitation room, where the uncle had threatened to cripple Lu Chen.

After that, he never went to Seven Fragrances again, and every time he ate from Seven Fragrances, it was through takeout ordered by the white dove, so he never had the chance to see Lu Chen.

He never expected that tonight, at Lu Chen's second wedding, he would be invited by chance.

Lu Chen probably didn't know that the wedding company had changed the celebrity performance at the last minute.

If Lu Chen knew, would he be afraid of him?

Although he hadn't personally interacted with Lu Chen, Lin Zai Shan, influenced by the original uncle's memories, felt a sense of regret and guilt towards the owner of Seven Fragrances, who was about to get married.

Outside the car window, the sunset painted the deep, serene sea red, a place where all emotions could be settled.

He opened the car window and lit a cigarette.

Resting his arm out the window, feeling the salty sea breeze, Lin Zai Shan's mind involuntarily played the classic song "Friendship Days" by Ching Yee Keen—

...

The lost time has scattered in the wind~

It seems we can't recall the face to face~

In the wandering days~

You were by my side~

If we meet again~

The innocent voices are fading~

We are apart for our goals~

Looking at the night sky~

Who was it~

Who understood the weariness in my heart~

...

Forget the right and wrong~

Remember the past~

The days of hardship we shared were full of fun~

I don't believe in despair~

I don't feel hesitant~

Competing in beautiful dreams~

Striving for progress every day~

...

In the stormy winds and rains~

In the unrestrained waking and sleeping~

All the stories have already happened~

In the drifting years~

The wind has calmed~

To whom should I return my feelings~

Let the tears take away the night's weariness~

...

The friendship between the original uncle and Lu Chen was as intense as the brotherhood in Ching Yee Keen's films, but unfortunately, they didn't have a good ending.

The original uncle's life ended with deep regret, but their story was not the end.

Lin Zai Shan wanted to turn the period at the end of this story into a comma, to help the original uncle reclaim this lost friendship.

Even if he couldn't reclaim it, he wanted to apologize to Lu Chen on behalf of the original uncle.

At Lu Chen's wedding tonight, he would offer the most sincere blessings to Lu Chen and his wife, hoping to win back his old friend's heart with a song, and let their friendship ferment again.

Liu Mengmeng was driving while secretly glancing at Lin Zai Shan.

Lin Zai Shan was looking at the distant sea, smoking thoughtfully, his silver-haired, weathered face illuminated by the wind, the fading smoke, and the sunset, his eyes deep and reserved.

The scene was so moving that Liu Mengmeng, who had studied art, felt an urge to capture it, wanting to draw a sketch of Lin Zai Shan.

But she didn't dare to disturb him, sensing that there was a story between Lin Zai Shan and the owner of Seven Fragrances.

Liu Mengmeng prayed in her heart, hoping it was a good story.

She couldn't afford to mess up this second job for Lin Zai Shan; otherwise, her chances of working with him in the future would be slim.