Rebirth Must Be Happy

"I think they all sound great!"

The group recommended several songs, and Chen Xingruo picked out a few she liked to practice beforehand. Then, for some reason, she suddenly had a whimsical idea: "How about I write a song myself? An original song would be better, right?"

"Do you think you're Taylor Swift?"

Song Zhiyu started complaining again, "By the time you finish writing, not to mention the second season, the third season will be over."

"Who do you look down on?"

Chen Xingruo retorted, "At least I dare to dream. People who don't dream don't even have dreams."

Song Zhiyu said, "My grades are better than yours."

Chen Xingruo said, "I'm going to participate in the competition!"

"My grades are better than yours!"

You'll see me on TV next year!

"My grades are better than yours!"

"I'm on TV, and you can only sit at home and watch me..."

"My grades are better than yours!"

"Is that all you know how to say?"

Chen Xingruo was a little embarrassed and angry, "Can't you say something else?"

"You two stop arguing."

Xie Wanqing was getting fed up with their noise and said reproachfully, "Speak properly."

Chen Xingruo said, "Who told her to keep putting me down?"

While her two younger sisters were arguing, Chen Xingzhu was focused on eating. Now that she had probably finished eating, she took the phone and said, "I also think it's too risky to enter an original song in the competition."

Chen Xingruo said, "But writing it well is a bonus."

"If you are extremely talented and write very good original songs that can be compared with those released on albums, then original songs are definitely a plus."

Chen Xingzhu advised, "But that's too difficult. If you can't do it, it will greatly affect your competition results. It's too risky, so I'm just advising you."

Song Zhiyu said with a grin, "My sister understands me better."

Xie Wanqing glanced at her subconsciously, but immediately understood that she was referring to the older of the twin sisters, so she continued eating.

Xu Haiguang and Song Xiaohui were used to this, so they didn't say anything, just ate their meals and occasionally glanced at each other, looking quite happy.

When there are many people in the family, it's naturally lively. When it's quiet at times, they actually feel uncomfortable.

"Flattery."

Chen Xingruo snorted, but knew they had a point, and said, "Anyway, there's still plenty of time. I'll write first, and I'm sure I can write a good song... I'll write the lyrics first, and if all else fails, I'll find someone else to compose the music. That way, it'll still count as an original work, right?"

Chen Xingruo laughed and said, "Then why don't you try writing it? If it doesn't work, you can change it. There's still plenty of time."

"Uh-huh."

Chen Xingruo seemed to have a sudden inspiration and said, "Then I'll go write the lyrics now. You guys go eat, bye-bye."

"Sister Xingzhu, aren't you going to stop her?"

Song Zhiyu found it strange. "She can't even write a proper essay, let alone song lyrics. Why don't you write them for her? Anyway, you two look alike, so no one can tell you apart."

"I thought of it!"

Xu Jinhuan suddenly interjected, looking quite surprised. The whole family couldn't help but turn to look at him. Xie Wanqing asked softly, "What came to your mind first?"

"I've figured out how to distinguish between the two of you."

Xu Jinhuan laughed out loud and said to Chen Xingzhu, "You and Xingruo look alike, but your handwriting is always different, right?"

The group was both amused and exasperated. Song Zhiyu said angrily, "I thought you'd figured out how to write lyrics. All you ever think about is this..."

When Chen Xingzhu heard her say that Xu Jinhuan was thinking about these things all day long, he felt a little embarrassed but also amused. He didn't expect that Xingruo's previous pranks would leave such a big shadow on him. He was still thinking about how to distinguish between the two of them.

"Xingruo and I both practiced calligraphy when we were little,"

Seeing that Xu Jinhuan was still staring at her, as if she was waiting for an answer, Chen Xingzhu explained softly, "Because we both wanted everything to be the same. Back then, we practiced calligraphy in the Ouyang Xun style of regular script. Later, I liked running script and practiced the running script of Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Zhao Mengfu, and Wen Zhengming for several years. It seems that Xingruo stopped practicing calligraphy much after she grew up."

"So, the one with the ugly handwriting is Xingruo, right?"

Xu Jinhuan grasped the key point and was very pleased with herself, finally finding a way to clearly distinguish between the two sisters.

Song Xiaohui scolded, "Xingruo won't pretend to be Xingzhu all day long, why are you thinking about these things?"

"It just suddenly occurred to me."

After everyone finished eating, Xu Jinhuan, Chen Xingzhu, and Song Zhiyu set off back to school. Xie Wanqing, who had also started school, followed them downstairs. Then the three of them separated and went back to their respective schools.

Chen Xingruo actually started writing lyrics. During the afternoon break, Xu Jinhuan opened her phone and saw that Chen Xingruo had posted a few lines of her lyrics in the group chat:

Graffiti marks on the hem of the school uniform skirt

The margin of the textbook reads: "Even though the world is drunk, I refuse to wake up."

The teacher was explaining the principle that nothing can be accomplished without rules.
But I'm determined to grow into a crooked star.

……

Song Zhiyu has already given his comment: "Are you planning to write rap?"

Chen Xingruo: "No, I don't like rap."

Song Zhiyu: "That's not up to standard."

Chen Xingruo: "What if it's rap?"

Song Zhiyu: "That's like the less smelly trash in the garbage dump [smile]" Chen Xingruo: "Get lost!"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Xie Wanqing stepped in to mediate. Chen Xingzhu also said, "They are indeed talking too much nonsense."

He added, "You need to think carefully about what kind of songs suit your style; you can't just write randomly."

Chen Xingruo: "That makes sense."

Chen Xingruo: "Then I'll write about love."

Chen Xingruo: "The people who vote for me will definitely be those who think I'm pretty, so a love song would be more suitable."

Chen Xingruo: "Wait for me!"

She was clearly much better than Baiyun, who could only manage to "squeeze out six words in seven days." The next morning during the long break between classes, she sent another verse:
The condensation in the freezer of the convenience store reflects the feelings I dared not speak.
The moment you handed me the orange soda, I heard the universe awaken with a "pop" from inside the bottle cap.
Liking someone is like a rainbow candy melting in your palm.
So sweet it's almost overwhelming, yet I'm afraid of being exposed to the sun.
I will grow up bravely and become an adult.

……

Song Zhiyu: "Can I speak?"

Chen Xingruo: "If this were a QQ group, I would have banned you long ago."

Song Zhiyu: "They didn't kick me, they're so kind."

Song Zhiyu: "Hahahahahaha"

Chen Xingruo: "Go ahead and say it, if you've got the guts, then say it."

Song Zhiyu: "It's better than the previous paragraph."

Chen Xingruo: "Alright, you can shut up now."

Chen Xingruo: "What do you two beautiful ladies, @Chen Xingzhu and @Xie Wanqing, have to say?"

Xu Jinhuan: "I can't say anything about handsome older brothers."

Chen Xingruo: "That depends on what you say."

Xie Wanqing: "I feel pretty good, but I don't know how to sing it."

Chen Xingzhu: "It's still too superficial, without any aftertaste or resonance."

Chen Xingruo: "@Xu Jinhuan, what about you?"

Song Zhiyu: "He chose to remain silent."

Chen Xingruo: "You've been muted. You're not allowed to speak."

Chen Xingruo: "@You said"

Xu Jinhuan: "You really want me to tell you?"

He was in the classroom when he typed this. Chen Xingzhu, who was in front of him, saw his message and couldn't help but turn around to look at Xu Jinhuan. After hesitating for a moment, she turned back to him and said, "Don't discourage her too much. It's not easy for her to want to do something."

"Then we absolutely can't let her mess around here."

Xu Jinhuan chuckled and said, "Everyone has their own expertise. Her advantage is that she's pretty and has a good voice, but she's not particularly talented. She should just focus on her strengths. Why is she making such a fuss?"

Chen Xingzhu felt that he was praising her, so she didn't argue with him and agreed with Xu Jinhuan's point.

Xu Jinhuan typed: "Your sister is right. Lyrics are like poetry. They both emphasize leaving blank spaces. They should be vague and not too specific, otherwise there will be no room for imagination."

"Only with room for imagination can there be resonance, and only with resonance will people feel that this is a good song. Of course, some parts can be more specific, but that is to build imagery, not just randomly piling up a couple of lines about water droplets and rainbow candy to call it lyrics or imagery."

Surprisingly, Chen Xingruo didn't directly refute her, but instead said, "Then I'll think about it some more."

In the evening, while the three of them were driving home, she called again via video to read them the lyrics of her newly written song:
Sunlight writes secrets on the corner of the desk
Your eraser rubbed against my homework.
When the teacher called roll, we smiled knowingly with our heads down, our hearts secretly racing.

Is it because the wind made the cicadas chirping too loudly that I could hear you humming a tune?
Youth is an unscripted trailer, and you are the gentlest signal that suddenly illuminates it.

……

"How about it?"

Chen Xingruo was clearly very satisfied with her newly written lyrics, her tone becoming excited, "This time there's room for imagination, right? Secrets, exercises, cicada chirping... doesn't it evoke a lot of feelings?"

Seemingly afraid of being criticized, she added after she finished speaking, "I just asked Sister Shan, and she said that this one is much better than the previous ones, and I feel like I can sing it."

"what should I do?"

Song Zhiyu and Chen Xingzhu looked at each other in the back row. Song Zhiyu whispered, "I also think she wrote quite well this time... Should we praise her?"

"Haha! I heard that!"

Chen Xingruo said smugly, "You think I can't hear you just because you're speaking softly? See? I told you I'm very talented, didn't I?"

Song Zhiyu pouted and said, "I deliberately let you hear it. Are you satisfied so easily?"

"This time it was indeed written very well."

Chen Xingzhu smiled and praised, "You can revise it again, refine it a bit..."

"Come on."

Chen Xingzhu was soft-hearted and didn't want to discourage her younger sister, but Xu Jinhuan didn't have so many concerns. She interrupted the two sisters while they were talking, saying, "There has indeed been progress, but what's the point of raising it from 3 points to 5 points?"
"With a maximum score of 150, no matter how hard you try, you can only get a passing grade at best. You might as well make the most of your strengths."

"If we're both out of 150, your looks are at least a 149, right? And your voice is probably around a 140, right? While you still have time, practice your singing and hone your vocal skills. Wouldn't that be more useful than writing some nonsense lyrics here?"

"You said my writing is a mess?"

Xu Jinhuan had clearly praised a lot, but Chen Xingruo seemed to have only heard the first and last two sentences, and angrily said: "If you're so capable, why don't you write it? If you write it better than me, I'll listen to you!"

"Yes, yes!"

Song Zhiyu, as unreliable as ever, was actually attacked by his teammate at this crucial moment, prompting him to jeer, "Bro, you make such a good point, why don't you do it yourself!" (End of Chapter)