Lan Li returned to the bar, and Neil noticed the small commotion just now, and asked with concern, "Is there a situation?"

"The artist's fault. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info" Lan Li waved his hand and said nonchalantly.

This made Neil chuckle lowly, and said teasingly, "That's the same kind of person as you." ”

Lan Li looked at Neil calmly, with no intention of denying it at all, Neil could only sneer helplessly.

As a favorite gathering place for artists on the East Coast and throughout North America, New York - especially the lower / urban area is home to a large number of artists with strange personalities, almost all of whom have their own quirks and are out of step with the mainstream of society. The pioneer village is one of the artists' favourite destinations, dealing with all sorts of bizarre situations almost every day, and Lance and Neil are no strangers to it.

"Where's George?" Lan Li turned his head to look, only to find that George was gone.

"Stanley is here. Neil pointed in the other direction of the bar, Lan Li turned his head, and then saw Stanley and George sitting in the booth, George was talking something in a rough voice, the expression on Stanley's face gradually became clear, and his eyebrows were filled with joy and happiness.

Looking back, Lan Li saw a big smile on Neil's face, and deliberately raised his eyebrows, throwing two flattering glances at Lan Li, it seems that he also heard the news from George.

Lan Li restrained his smile, and his eyebrows became indifferent, which made Neil's eyebrows/eyes/biography/love unsettled, and he couldn't help but knock on the table with the rag in his hand in frustration to protest.

But obviously, this set is useless for Lan Li, and Neil is very sad to see Lan Li's indifferent and complacent appearance. However, Neil also knows that Lan Li is a person who does what he says, and as long as he agrees, he will definitely fulfill it. Thinking of this, Neil was happy again.

Glancing to the left front, Neil approached Lan Li slightly, and said in a low voice, "They're here again." ”

Lan Li turned his head, and then saw the old homeless man holding his beer, Shi Shiran walked over, and the other two people were still sitting in the booth.

The old tramp took a seat next to Lan Li, sat down, and then held up the bottle to Neil, "Give this young man a bottle." ”

Neil glanced at Lan Li, then opened a bottle of beer and placed it in front of Lan Li.

"The two old friends were a little rude just now, sorry. The old tramp pointed the beer bottle in his hand at Lan Li, and a shallow smile hung on the corner of his mouth. There was no too much explanation, let alone a cunning justification, his frank and straightforward appearance expressed enough sincerity, and most importantly, his eyes were always sincere and focused on Lan Li.

Lan Li picked up the beer in front of him, gestured, and then took a big sip. This is considered an apology. However, he didn't say anything, and the cold and alienated temperament cooled down the air that hadn't had time to warm up again.

The old homeless man didn't care, and said to himself, "This is really a nice place, even in New York, such bars are rare." When I was in London, I loved this unique little pub, where I wasted my time with the occasional drink and a few conversations with familiar and unfamiliar people. ”

"The United States is a fast-paced country. Lan Li shrugged his shoulders and replied with a chuckle.

The old tramp nodded earnestly, "But sometimes, we need to slow down. After saying this, he paused for a moment, as if savoring something, and then took another sip of beer, "I heard, there is a show here at night?"

"Yes. Lan Li guessed that the old tramp and the old artist were friends of Woody, and Woody brought them here to watch the show and enjoy a different night, "Even those who don't like live singing will love the atmosphere." London doesn't compare to this either. ”

"Oh, that's driving up my expectations again. The old tramp's voice was low and hoarse, and he joked like a bass drum, and he always felt that the joke was not right. "I heard you perform here once in a while?"

"Occasionally. Lan Li nodded, admitting calmly, and then emphasized, "It's just occasionally." ”

The corners of the old tramp's mouth were raised, and he could hear the deep meaning of the second half of Lan Li's sentence - obviously, Lan Li had no intention of performing tonight, "When you stand on the stage and perform, doesn't that feel different? I mean, the stage here." What was that like?"

Lan Li turned his head and followed the old tramp's line of sight to the stage.

Strictly speaking, the stage of the pioneer village is not large, strictly speaking, it is just a small platform, a layer of steps, almost parallel to the customer's perspective, and the range is not large, if you move the drum kit up, you will almost occupy half of the position.

"What does it feel like to isolate yourself from the world?" Lan Li teased half-jokingly, "but at the same time connecting yourself to another world. ”

At this time, the stage was not lit up, it was just pitch black, but it made the thoughts begin to spread in the darkness, Lan Li retracted his gaze, took another sip of beer, the cold liquid slid down his throat, and came back to his senses slightly, "We all need something to withdraw ourselves from the complex reality, give ourselves a little time, and let ourselves get along with ourselves." Some people choose alcohol, while others choose drugs/products. ”

"You chose the music. The old tramp also withdrew his gaze and turned his head to look at Lan Li.

"Sort of. Lan Li nodded in affirmation, "When I need to think, I choose music, and when I don't need to think, I choose surfing or rock climbing." Then he shrugged, "Or, who knows? Alcohol seems like a good choice." ”

This faint banter made the old tramp laugh sullenly, but after the smile gradually faded, he looked at Lan Li intently, "What are you thinking?"

"Huh. Lan Li chuckled, "Anything you want to think about, even those that you can say will lead to arrest or even jail time." The sarcastic rhetoric was not offensive at all, but had a kind of dark humor.

The old tramp nodded in affirmation, and carefully recalled Lan Li's words just now.

Purely from the outside, Lan Li is a gentleman, elegant, introverted, calm, wise, occasionally revealed edge, more often hidden, but the loneliness and loneliness revealed between talking and laughing are like a quiet moonlight, cold, tenacious, clear, lonely, intertwined between the lines.

"Or, think about the source of those problems in life, think about ......" The old tramp's voice gradually lowered, so deep that it almost disappeared, and the long tail note carried a trace of imperceptible pain, but Lan Li couldn't help but turn his head, a little surprised. "Think about if there's a way around this, and then ...... Let's get rid of ...... The sea of suffering of all living beings. ”

The old tramp's words were so deep, but the emotions hidden in them were so fragile, as if they would be shattered at the slightest touch, and even the atmosphere couldn't help but become solemn.

"What did you choose?" Lan Li asked abruptly, he didn't know what the old homeless man had gone through, everyone had their own story, but he knew that some wounds could not be healed.

But the old tramp understood at once, "Writing." I chose to write. Although I am an incredibly bad writer, words have a magical power for me. ”

Lan Li nodded approvingly.

He loves words, although that's not his strongest point. In his previous college years, he studied journalism, and he was very good at dealing with words, but his strength was in the reporting of objective facts, as well as the way of thinking about interviews and debates. As for music creation, that's another story.

But as the old tramp said, words are a wonderful thing, they are just unpretentious permutations of words, but they can construct a whole magnificent world in the mind. The most interesting thing is that the same text, under different people, different life stages, and different social situations, feels different when reading.

"It's like Allan-Poe. The old tramp tugged at the corners of his mouth slightly, trying to show a smile, but failed, or drooped, "There is a kind of magical magic in his words, the Gothic world constructed by those metaphors, symbols, and imagery, dark and romantic, is never a simple text. ”

Lan Li's fingers carefully rubbed the beer bottle in his palm, and his mind followed the old tramp's words, falling into deep thought.

"On a long, dry, grey and silent day that year, with heavy clouds hanging low over the firmament, I rode alone through this gloomy, exotic country land, and at last, as night fell, the cold view of Usher House unfolded before my eyes. ”

This is the beginning of Poe's most classic Gothic novel "The Fall of Usher House", which has left a strong mark in the history of literature and deeply influenced countless writers in later generations, including China's Lin/Yu/Tang, Lu/Xun and so on.

Ellen's choice of words and artistic images reached the pinnacle in this work, and in European literary studies, it was even listed by many people as literature comparable to Shakespeare.

Just like the ancient poem "Ancient vines and old trees faint crows, small bridges and flowing water, ancient roads west wind and thin horses, the sunset, broken intestines people at the end of the world", in the story written by Ellen, the dark, bloody, and powerless scenery is outlined in a few strokes. This opening chapter describes an abandoned castle of Usher House, but in the eyes of the world, it depicts a desolate, miserable and lonely scene of society in the early nineteenth century.

"I hadn't seen it before, but just by a glance, an unbearable gloom soaked through me. I looked at the sparse landscape around the mansion, the walls were barren, the decaying trees were white, my soul was speechless, my heart was cooling, sinking, showing a weak and sick state. ”

Lan Li recited softly, this is the reason why he likes words, like music, it can reflect the temperature of the soul, real and beautiful.