Chapter 19 19. You should thank Lenin

In the days that followed, there were no classes in school.In the last year, either an internship or a graduation thesis.Danny Hagrid didn't come here again, and I was alone for a while, sorting out my time with him like a movie. So between me and Danny Hagrid, it's not a matter of trust or distrust.He has always lived a happy life, and he believes that life is to be experienced and enjoyed.Such is his philosophy of life.Can I use my love as an excuse to force him to change his life?That would of course be impractical, even absurd. But looking at it from another angle, I didn't do anything wrong.I fell in love with such an extraordinary man. At first I wanted to be with him forever, but later I only wanted to have him once, but there are still so many troubles.

I have no reason to regret it, I am very, very happy with him. There are some similarities in all love affairs: the sweetness, the quarrel, the anger, and the reconciliation.This process is a virtuous or vicious circle.I was lying in bed all by myself, and I was up all night thinking: what's going to happen to me and Danny Hagrid? Will he come back to me, or shall I go to him?When I cry, he will always feel sorry and moved, and then we will reconcile in tears and love.Then?I might meet one of his lovers again and prove to me her love affair with Danny in a way other than Sophie and Charlotte.At the same time, it is inevitable for him to pursue another lovely and charming girl.So what should I do?To warn her, attack her, play tricks, and try to break up like Sophie?Or retreat gracefully and say goodbye to Danny Hagrid?

It was getting brighter, I put on my morning coat and got up to drink water.Say goodbye, say goodbye, since you want to say goodbye, the long-term pain is worse than the short-term pain.Find someone decent, romantic, and dramatic enough before I see him actually flirting with another woman, before he sees me hysterical, and while we still have an unbroken image of each other Say goodbye to the plot, so that we can be worthy of every good time we have been together for the past two years that once made me fall. Say goodbye. One afternoon at the end of October this year, I received a call, and a young male voice said over there: "Hi... But, you probably don't remember me anymore."

I didn't recognize who it was right away, but the sound of drums and bass came from over there at the same time, and I said, "Hi, are you Yannick?" He smiled over there, very happy: "We came to Lyon to perform, when are you free, come to the 'Lando' nightclub for a seat? Oh, I asked for your phone number from Damian. " "Great," I said. "Which one is it? Can you give me the address? Yes, I'll take a note. I'll see you later." I found the nightclub according to the address Yannick gave me. Compared with the "Fire" bar when they were stationed in Nice, it was much higher in scale and quality.Yannick and his band have a new song, the style of the song is obviously softer than before, not so angry and youthful, and it is much more pleasant to the ear, but it also lacks some personality.But they only sang two songs and gave up their seats to other bands.

I heard Yannick tell me that this place is different from the bars in Nice. There are not so many enthusiastic tourists who like to listen to music and dance, but there are many professional managers and music directors. Maybe you are still singing here for free today. Already discovered the next day, auditioned in a studio with state-of-the-art recording and mixing equipment. I heard this and looked up at him: "You guys sing here...for free?" Yannick took a sip of his wine and checked that his companions were silent. The three of them also have different opinions on whether to come to Lyon.Yannick thinks they should come to Lyon, where there is more room for development and more opportunities; Keyboard Roger wants to stay in Nice, where they have a considerable and stable income, and they don’t have to be like revolving doors, singing twice That's it; drummer Jean has a lot of complaints about not being able to play his original style of heavy metal as he pleases.

What I think is, let the young people sing without paying, this boss is really annoying. At four o'clock in the morning, after the nightclub closed, the staff was cleaning. Yannick and I occupied a small table to drink, and one person came to fill each of our glasses with champagne.He was a bearded man in his forties with shrewd eyes.Yannick introduced us to each other: "This is Mr. Zas, the owner of this nightclub, and this is my friend Miss Qi." I said, "Your nightclub is great." Zas smiled, looked at me who was talking, and patted Yannick on the shoulder at the same time: "Do you think so too? Thank you, this is not a tavern in a tourist area, and I only invite really outstanding ones band."

This message is very important: Mr. Zas, the boss, values ​​Yannick's band, he comes to serve the wine himself, and he wants them to stay. As I said, I am very free at this time, I have no homework, no internship, and no lover to date.I studied business very hard for four and a half years, and formed some professional sensitivity, as well as a sense of the complex relationship between people trained by Danny Haig, which made me have a good understanding of Yannick's case. a strong interest.I found him the next afternoon and wanted to speak to Mr. Zas on their behalf. The rock musicians rented a small two-story building, three of them each occupy a bedroom, there is also a very spacious living room that can be practiced and a sunny attic.

When I arrived, Yannick was practicing piano and writing scores. He looked at me: "What are you doing? Are you going to be our manager?" "That's not true," I said, "it's just that I don't have an internship right now. Oh, you think I'm a corporate spy, don't worry about me, do you?" He laughed: "What are you talking about?" "I'm going to talk to Mr. Zas," I said, "and I'm going to convince him to give you a temporary contract with a chance to finish and a decent paycheck." "He won't agree."

"Have you talked about it?" "No. But I know if we go, a new band will come up the next day just to be able to sing here and meet a good producer." I said, "Let me try it, and I will know after I try it." I called Mr. Zas and told him that on behalf of Yannick's band, I wanted to talk about cooperation.I briefly stated my request, and after a moment's hesitation he agreed to meet me in his office above the nightclub. As soon as I sat down across from his desk that day, Mr. Zas came over with a beautiful square box, the lid popped open with a snap, and there were thick Cuban cigars inside, and he said, "Have a piece? "

I looked at him and put the lid on: "Sir, this is a good thing. The matter is settled, so I can take it again." He laughed: "Miss, are you twenty years old? My daughters look older than you. What do you want to talk to me about? What songs do they sing? How much do I pay? Let me tell you, I play rock music y'all hadn't been born yet! Heavy metal rock is noise, my guests don't like it, so my nightclub can't waste time with that. You want me to pay them? I'll give them a chance to come to the best of Lyon Singing in a nightclub and asking me to pay them? It's really overreaching, it's disgusting!"

When he was talking, he turned and turned around me, his voice rumbling, as if shouting into my ears, completely gone from the warm hospitality that made people feel good when we met before. Some people are like this, they are very powerful, they want to make a head start and then force them to submit.It's not easy for Yannick and the others. I scratched my ears and stood up.I looked at him and felt that such a man with a big beard, a big belly, and a loud voice was very space-consuming and impatient. I frowned and looked at him: "The surname Zas is not French, are you Russian?" "White Russia." "Let us two foreigners speak succinctly in French. You understand music, but I don't. I only know that Yannick and the others sang to the brim in Nice. I only know that Yannick's song People also think it sounds good. They come to your nightclub from Nice to sing, you should thank Lenin. Don't say it, listen to me. I'm not here to argue, I have a proposal. Every Tuesday, the night with the least number of guests, you make one Heavy metal topic. If there is a good response, then go ahead, if not, stop immediately. Since they can be popular in Nice, they can win you more guests here. I write here The file is here, you can take a look." Zas took the proposal from me, still saying, "What the hell is this?!" I haven't finished my shit, I told him slowly and very clearly: "I don't know the unspoken rules of this industry, all I know is that people have to pay for work, it's the same everywhere. Ya Nick is a college student, don't you know? If we still don't get what we deserve, then we'll have to resort to the law. Young rock singers don't have money for lawyers, but you know, it's summer vacation, and law students in college are lined up The team is waiting to pick up the case for internship, we can always get a little help." Zas was so pissed off by me that I lost my voice and the Belarusian pointed at me with a cigar in his finger and said, "I don't need a little girl telling me how to run my nightclub, and I don't need you coming here and threatening Me! Are you going to engage in the Paris Commune? You get out now, right away!" This negotiation was so noisy all the way, I came out of Zas's office, my fingers were shaking with anger.My first immediate reaction was, I'm going to ask Danny Haigh what I should do.But the next second I remembered, where should I ask Danny Hagrid?He has already left. I called Yannick's place and briefed them about my meeting with Zas.I didn't say how savage this guy was, I just said that my negotiations were unsuccessful, and Zas showed no interest in Tuesday night's heavy metal feature. "What are you going to do?" I asked. "Hmm." He pondered for a while, "I don't know, and I don't have an idea." "I'm sorry, but I didn't really do anything to help." "But I'm thinking about one thing," Yannick said, "I play heavy metal, I want to be famous in the future, I can't sing in bars and nightclubs for a lifetime. Besides, Roger and Jean, neither of them want to compromise, So me, so me... If Zas doesn't agree with this Tuesday night idea, then we're not going to play there." So for Yannick, I initially had some appreciation and gratitude.He didn't do anything for me, but he respected my enthusiasm and hard work. When my negotiation with Mr. Zas broke down, he didn't go to "Lando" to perform again, but insisted on my suggestion, with Zas Mr. Confrontation.Not only me, but his companions, Roger and Jean, also appreciate this decision very much. They think this is the temper and strength that rock musicians should have, and this is gitan. The band was in a stalemate with the "Lando" nightclub and its owner Zass for a week or so, they never went back to play, during which time Yannick started writing new songs, I must say, he is very talented, and he picked up a few of them The notes are all pleasing.But every day, every once in a while, he would be in a daze for a moment. I didn't know why, and thought he was sick, so I advised him to see a doctor.He said it was all right, so I didn't take it seriously anymore. A week later, Zas called Yannick.The confrontation is finally over.The boss agrees that the club can be responsible for the promotion of their special performance on the next Tuesday, but the expenses incurred in this process will be borne by the band. When Zas and Yannick were discussing conditions on the phone, I was listening. When he said this, I immediately wrote the words on a piece of paper for him to read, and asked him to tell Zas: "We can share the expenses, but that night We want one-tenth of the profit from drinks." After doing some calculations on the phone, Zas said, "Five percent." Yannick read the number I wrote on the paper: "Eight percent." Zas agreed. Yannick put down the phone and looked at me for a long time: "You are really amazing." I shrugged my shoulders: "The relationship between you and him is only money, and every penny must be counted." On that successful Tuesday night, Yannick and the others earned 12,000 euros, excluding expenses. They gave me 1,000 euros, that is, two 500-euro notes as a thank you. Yannick joked: "Is it enough for your day's expenses? Is it enough for you to buy a pair of shoes? But it's a small gesture, thank you Do us this favor." I picked up the banknote and looked at it in my hand for a long time. I said: "You misunderstood me, Yannick. A thousand euros is a lot of money to anyone. I used to make ten dollars an hour. Two euros, you know? Can I make one more small request, please do me a favor?" Yannick looked me in the eyes and said, "Please tell me." "I want to be a gitan too, please take me in, how about renting that loft to me?" "As long as you want." He nodded. I went to the bank with the thousand euros that Yannick gave me. After the internship in the spring, after deducting the dividends paid to Danny Haig and the expenses of buying gifts for him, I had a total of 98,000 euros left Euros, plus the thousand euros in my hand, I have a total of 99,000 euros in my account.I'll let it be my own money, and that's a good number, a happy ending and a promising beginning. Forty days after Danny Hagrid left Lyon, I left that house of flowers and long white wool carpets. I lived in a big loft above the rock singers, and it was sunny enough to see the gray pigeons flying over the city on a clear day.They didn't ask for my rent. I exchanged this free accommodation with the condition that I help them clean the room, do some shopping, bake bread and so on. Their shows at the "Lando" nightclub became more and more successful every Tuesday, because the money was good, and Mr. Zass also arranged the show on Thursdays.They earn a lot and become famous.One day in early December, there was an extra message on our phone: "Hello, I'm Joe Rossing, the music producer of MG Company in Paris. I'm very interested in your style, this is my number..." Finally a scout came up. Several people stood in a row and listened to the phone message three times, all a little unbelievable. Yannick was the leader after all, and he said to me: "We all have to rehearse, would you like to talk for us?" I? I am happy and have no bottom, I think this is an interesting thing, I am willing to do it.I'm not doing it for money, and I don't have any other interests. I'm just a little stubborn and want to accomplish something. I agreed.I agreed without even a power of attorney. I'm having a good time now, and I don't think about Danny Hagrid.I stopped looking for a job and had less contact with my old friends and classmates.I feel like a real gitan who doesn't care. This thriving mood lasted until the afternoon of that day. Behind the half-closed door, I saw Yannick sucking the white smoke from the tinfoil into his nose greedily and meticulously in his room. waste.