The sun sets and the night falls.
Dean and his group drove in from the south side of the strip.
Along the way there are luxury resort hotels with unique characteristics and various shapes.
The Lowe's Hotel is one of them. From a distance, it looks like a black and white flagon from the Second World War.
Dean got off the car at Axiang Sichuan Restaurant opposite the hotel, looked at the building across the road, and counted the floors.
On the top floor of the 20th floor, several rooms had lights on.
He nodded and walked into the Sichuan restaurant. The hall was full of guests, most of them with oriental faces who had just come off work from Chinatown. The wine glasses were intertwined, and the spicy aroma filled the air. Well, this Chinese restaurant has a liquor license.
Dean chose a private room with better privacy.
"Nourishing chicken soup, spicy chicken, spicy sausage, mapo tofu, boiled pork slices, twice-cooked pork, fish-flavored shredded pork..." Dean took the exclusive menu from the Chinese apron lady with a friendly smile and ordered it in one breath. There are more than a dozen famous Sichuan dishes. It is a rare opportunity to eat expensive hometown dishes, so naturally you have to enjoy it.
But every time the name of the dish came up, Rust's mouth twitched, his face looked frightened and his whole body trembled.
"Thai hot!"
"Believe me, your ability to eat spicy food can be developed through training. When you get used to spicy food, you will enter a whole new world of food, with endless treasures waiting for you to discover!"
"Nonsense! The last time I finished eating with you, my mouth and butt were on fire, and I pooped all night when I got home." Rust said with a look of shame on his face as he talked about that unbearable past, "Grace almost Call me an ambulance, not this time!"
"I can't eat spicy food." Britney quickly responded.
"Dean... please do it." Liam quickly begged for mercy, "Except for Caroline and you, none of us can stand the spicy taste."
Dean regretfully closed the exclusive menu and asked the eldest sister for a public menu.
"Then let's have orange peel chicken, beef tenderloin with kale... um, fish-flavored shredded pork, twice-cooked pork, preserved mapo tofu... a spicy chicken cube to satisfy your cravings. By the way, two more boxes of Budweiser."
"Don't you never drink?" Rust used his chopsticks to pinch the air twice.
"Ordered for you, so that everyone can relax." Dean thoughtfully placed a can of beer in front of everyone's chopsticks, except for himself, "By the way, Noah, Liam, why don't you bring your girlfriend with you this time?" ?”
Liam's face darkened,
"Cynthia was not physically injured, but she was severely traumatized psychologically. She became very sensitive and became extremely frightened at the slightest disturbance. Seeing a psychiatrist did not work well."
"The summer vacation is about to begin, and her family will ask her to stay at home and recuperate."
"Mari's situation is more serious." Noah sighed. "The barbecue party turned into a bloody massacre. She had a psychological shadow and locked herself in the house alone. She didn't even dare to go to her father's barbecue restaurant."
The originally comfortable and cozy atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly turned a little sad.
A shooting has far-reaching consequences.
Dean thought of the reports he had read in his previous life.
Not all survivors of shootings return to normal. In severe cases, they may be unable to escape their psychological shadow and become depressed for the rest of their lives.
"You guys are really full of bad luck." Robert took a long drag on the cigarette and exhaled with blurred eyes.
"Everything is over. Don't mention so many sad things in a happy gathering." Kadi picked up the teapot and filled everyone with steaming Sichuan specialty Laoyin tea.
At the same time, the waitress placed a plate of golden orange chicken in the center of the round table.
Pairs of chopsticks began to clumsily compete for the chicken pieces coated in sugar sauce.
"Then let's talk about something happy." Dean chewed the sweet and slightly spicy chicken and frowned, "While I was in the hospital, I was so idle that I talked to the injured classmates and their families... It's very pitiful to be trapped. They are unable to extricate themselves from the sadness. I want to do something to help them vent their pent-up emotions and convey their thoughts of the deceased."
"And guess what? I got a little new inspiration, a new song."
Poof!
The agent had a mouthful of chicken stuck in his throat, his face turned red, and he almost lost his breath.
"Are you kidding me? You can find inspiration even in a hospital. Is Elvis Presley possessed?"
Liam, Katie, Noah, and Caroline were like cats that smelled fishy smell, and looked over with green eyes.
"I'm not kidding, the song is in my head now and hasn't been put on paper yet, but I have already thought of the name -"
Dean popped open several cans of Budweiser and put them in front of everyone, then smiled and said nothing.
Everyone was very polite and saluted him with their beers. Robert even drank half of the can in one go. His little eyes behind his thick glasses were full of desire.
"Well, this song is to commemorate the classmates, teachers, and their families who died in the Lake Mead beach shooting. I hope they are all well in heaven. I hope they can feel the longing from the world and be full of affection with their loved ones. tears. So this song is called tears in heaven."
"Tears in heaven?"
There was a moment of stagnation and silence at the dining table, and for a while everyone could only hear the clatter of dishes and chopsticks in the hall outside the next door box.
"A condensed poem." Caroline commented.
"Boy, how did you develop your brain? You are such a talent for hype! Just this name makes me want to hear it!" Robert looked at Dean with fiery eyes, "At such a critical time, If a song is released to commemorate the deceased, as long as it is of high quality and can move people, the Las Vegas government, LVPD, Nevada State High School, and all sectors of society will spare no effort to support and promote it to calm the public's anger."
"This new song hasn't been released yet..." Liam took a sip of beer and praised, "but it has a huge advantage in terms of innate conditions and can easily attract the attention of people in Las Vegas."
"Is this really good for using the dead for hype?" Rust objected weakly.
"This is called commemorating the dead. Dean, would you like to hum a few words?" Britney put her hands on her chest and interrupted her boyfriend's speech mercilessly.
Dean raised his cup, and everyone followed him, raising their pitchers and clinking their glasses.
The wine splashed everywhere, reflecting crystal light in the air.
"Got a guitar?" Dean looked around.
"Carty, get back to the car and get your meal!" Robert roared.
Less than five minutes.
Dean had a yellow acoustic guitar in his arms. With the help of Kadi, he tuned the strings. He took a deep breath and played with his fingers.
"I'll just sing a few lines, which means what I mean."
"Can you remember me if we meet again in heaven?"
The young voice and sad melody contained magic, which instantly brought several listeners into the atmosphere and quietly put down their chopsticks.
I must be strong, and carry on
Carty, Liam, and several boys frowned. Britney, who was the most sentimental, looked into the air in the distance, as if familiar faces appeared in that place.
Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven
…
One minute.
Dean put down his guitar and glanced around him.
Several members of the audience were as unresponsive as puppets.
Rust stared blankly ahead with his mouth open.
Robert held the burned cigarette butt in his mouth, his eyes blurred.
Liam squeezed the beer can flat, and the groove on his forehead bulged.
Britney covered her face, shrugged her shoulders, and sobbed silently...
Is it that outrageous? Isn’t it just a song?
"What do you think?"
"Not bad...it can arouse sad emotions. I seem to see and hear my father who has been dead for a long time." Rust said sadly,
"You want to see my joke on purpose, right? Dean..." Britney wiped her wet and red face with a handkerchief, her expression changed from sadness and she became a little relaxed, "You obviously know that I have many friends. Gone forever, deliberately teasing me with this sad melody. But, does it feel better to cry out?"
"Compared to your last song Amazing Day, it is much more unpretentious," Robert commented professionally. "The feelings are sincere and there are no unnecessary embellishments, which makes the most tears. But with all due respect, this song is not suitable for someone your age. People can create things, and of course I am 100% convinced that this is your original work!"
"Also, it's not a good morning rock style, it's a blues transition into country, can the band sing that?"
"Change the arrangement and make it lighter. Why can't it be sung? It would be more interesting if our witnesses of the shooting incident performed it!" Caroline gritted her teeth and fought for it.
"It's almost as good as singing it. When we sing it famously, people will naturally come to our door." Kadi supported.
"I have a strong suggestion," Robert looked at Dean, "strike while the iron is hot, record a DEMO within a week, contact the distribution company, and then sing at the memorial service held by your high school on the 1st of next month! One day later, it will be A lot of popularity has been lost in vain. Dean, if you agree, we can draw up a contract and discuss the specific details when we get back."
"Contract aside, I have a condition. After the song is released, part of the total income from the cassette and single will be donated to the families of the victims of Lake Mead."
Dean said solemnly.
It's shameful to use the dead for publicity, but donating part of the proceeds to the families of the deceased isn't a bad thing, right?
It can make up for the slightest debt in his heart.
"Have you even thought of this? Occupying the moral correctness, making it impossible for anyone to blame, and getting free publicity," Robert's little eyes widened, and he exaggeratedly said, "This idea is worth at least a hundred thousand dollars!"
…
Everyone started a heated discussion around the new song, and even two outsiders, Rust and Britney, joined in and argued until their faces turned red.
On the contrary, Dean acted as if it was none of his business, and besides nodding from time to time, he kept urging him to drink.
"What happened to you today?"
Caroline smiled with a blushing face,
"You don't want to get us drunk and do bad things, do you?"
"bingo!"
When the table was full of messes, the companions were staggering around, breathing heavily with the smell of alcohol in their mouths, and their eyes wandering.
Dean supported Caroline, whose face was red and her skin was hot.
"I said I want everyone to have fun today, so don't go back."
Dean looked out the window,
"Let's go! Rock's Hotel, I'll pay!"
…
