Huayu 2002, I'm going to dominate the music scene!

The two sat there, chatting idly, their eyes occasionally glancing at the stage.

To be honest, Bi Xiaoshi wasn't looking forward to tonight.

He'd been to many bars in Yanjing; nine out of ten singers there were rock 'n' roll angry young men, and the remaining one was just drunk.

Some have good voices, but they all have that slick, greasy vibe that's off-putting.

This is what he hates most.

The stage lights dimmed.

Song Mo carried his guitar onto the stage and sang "It's My Life" as his first song. This song was released in 2000 and is currently very popular in China, being the opening song for almost every bar.

The foreigners below cheered along, creating a lively atmosphere.

"It's him," Xu Yuan said quickly.

Bi Xiaoshi didn't look up, but listened quietly with her head down. The singing was alright.

After finishing one song, Song Mo saw that the atmosphere was getting lively, so he started singing Westlife's "My Love".

Bi Xiaoshi's eyebrows twitched. This song had just become popular this year. It had a smooth melody and was more of a pop-rock style, which was exactly what the domestic rock scene lacked at the moment. After all, everyone looked down on pop-rock, but pop-rock was becoming more and more popular, which was the case all over the world.

He raised his eyelids and glanced at the stage.

On the stage stood a young man wearing a commemorative white T-shirt with the Hard Rock Cafe logo, paired with jeans, and holding an electric guitar.

Yes, in the end, Song Mo, under Sister Li's resentful gaze, changed out of his sleeveless leather jacket and tight leather pants.

That outfit would be considered incredibly trendy in today's rock scene, but he simply couldn't wear any of it.

The warm yellow light shone on his face, which was clean and bare, with little makeup and his hair simply hanging down naturally without any fuss.

"An empty street, an empty house, a hole inside my heart..."

The moment he opened his mouth, Bi Xiaoshi's eyes froze.

It wasn't her amazing voice, it was the typhoon.

This kid is too relaxed.

It's not the kind of relaxed style that's deliberately trying to look cool, nor is it the kind of relaxed style that's nonchalant and carefree.

It's just...comfortable.

Bi Xiaoshi has seen far too many bar singers.

After singing for a long time, you'll pick up a smell from your clothes—either oily, slippery, or from overdoing it.

But this kid didn't.

He was clean and tidy, and his whole being exuded a sunny energy.

Xu Yuan leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Old Bi, is your voice alright?"

Bi Xiaoshi didn't reply, his eyes were fixed on the stage, and his fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the table.

He was listening.

Song Mo still really enjoyed the Hard Rock stage, after all, no other bar had such good equipment as Hard Rock.

When he sang the chorus, he started waving and interacting with the audience.

The men and women in the audience swayed gently along with it.

His gaze suddenly paused when it landed on a booth.

There's a girl sitting there.

A person.

He was wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled low, covering most of his face, leaving only the curve of his chin and a few strands of hair visible.

He was wearing a simple white T-shirt with a light-colored thin shirt over it, the buttons undone, and a cocktail sat untouched in front of him.

She rested her chin on her hand, listening to the music quietly.

Song Mo couldn't help but take another look.

He felt like he recognized this person.

When the second chorus started, his gaze swept over it again.

The girl remained in the same pose, resting her chin on her hand and staring at the stage.

Her hat brim was pulled low, obscuring her face, but you could sense she was watching.

When Song Mo sang the line "I wonder how, I wonder why, I wonder where they are," I saw her chin twitch slightly, as if she was humming along, or perhaps just nodding gently.

Having performed on stage so many times, he was already used to the various reactions from the audience.

But the way she sits quietly in the corner, listening attentively, occasionally nodding gently to the rhythm, without clapping or screaming, makes you feel that she is genuinely listening to the music, not just there to join in the fun.

After the song ended, applause erupted from the audience.

The girls screamed, and the foreigners whistled.

Song Mochong nodded to the audience and glanced at that corner again.

The girl moved; she pushed her hat brim up and took a sip from her cup.

In that instant when I looked up, the light swept across and illuminated a face.

She has fair skin, delicate features, and particularly captivating eyes. She has a scholarly air about her and gives off a feeling of first love.

A name popped into Song Mo's mind.

Gao Yuanyuan.

In 2000, the "Qingzui GG" (a nickname for a male celebrity) made her a "Qingzui Girl," thus officially entering the entertainment industry.

Later, she starred in "Beijing Bicycle" and "Spring Subway", which earned her a good reputation among literary and artistic youths.

I just finished filming "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" this year, where I played Zhou Zhiruo, but it hasn't aired yet.

It was 2002, and she was twenty-three years old. She wasn't yet the national goddess she would become, but many people already remembered her.

Gao Yuanyuan put down her cup and, like a little seal, clapped along with the crowd.

The movement was small, just a few light pats, but the hands were dazzlingly white.

Then she looked up, her gaze sweeping over the stage.

Their eyes met across half a bar.

She froze for a moment.

But only for a second, she looked away, pulled her hat brim down, and looked down at her cup, as if nothing had happened.

Gao Yuanyuan was a little nervous.

Did he recognize me just now?

She spent the first half of this year filming "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" and only returned to Yanjing at the end of July.

After returning, she was asked by a friend to help her take some photos of guys, and she couldn't refuse, so she's been busy with this ever since.

That's why she hasn't signed with a management company yet; otherwise, she could have easily had the company handle this kind of trouble.

At the beginning of the millennium, the concept of talent agencies had only recently emerged, so many actors were essentially self-employed.

Correspondingly, directors have fewer restrictions when casting, and are not constrained by talent agencies or platforms.

Take Gao Yuanyuan's recent role in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" as an example. The casting of this drama followed one principle: good looks are everything. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to land the role of Zhou Zhiruo.

It's no exaggeration to say that this version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" has the highest average appearance among all versions of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber".

She's a pretty laid-back person, but she's quite dedicated when it comes to acting.

During the filming of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", she was scolded by the director to the point that she wanted to quit the industry, but she still gritted her teeth and persevered.

She originally planned to rest after filming, since she had been scolded so much and needed time to heal, but her friends dragged her into the filming again.

I finally finished helping my friend today, and to let off some steam, I secretly came to the bar.

The reason I didn't go to my usual bar was that I didn't want to run into any acquaintances.

This time, she deliberately chose a booth in the very corner, pulled her hat down as low as possible, hoping to listen to music quietly for a while and hopefully no one would recognize her.

Who knows why that person on stage kept looking this way while singing?

However, she sang really well...it was beautiful.

As the saying goes, beauty is food for the eyes, and this applies to both men and women. At this moment, looking at the handsome and refreshing Song Mo on the stage, her mood improved considerably.

At this moment, their ears were still perked up, waiting for the next song.

Song Mo didn't think much of it, looked away, and prepared for the next song.

The moment the first note was played, the entire hall fell silent.

It's Guns N' Roses' absolute classic, "November Rain".

The song is eight minutes and fifty-seven seconds long and blends hard rock and symphonic rock. It reached number two on the Billboard charts in the United States back then.

The guitar solo in the middle was even ranked sixth in the list of the 100 best rock guitar solos.

As the low, somber prelude began, Bi Xiaoshi's eyes lit up.

"This kid's guitar is pretty good."

After the prelude finished, Song Mo began to speak.

"When I look into your eyes, I can see a love restrained..."

His voice was extremely low, almost a murmur, and the bar fell completely silent.

When the chorus started, his voice suddenly rose higher.

"Cause nothing lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change..."

The moment the high note blasted out, the bar erupted in commotion, and people started nodding and swaying their heads.

Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but sway her body slightly. She was an artsy young woman who usually liked to listen to rock and folk music. Listening to Song Mo's singing, she felt particularly relaxed.

Bi Xiaoshi ignored the crowd.

He was looking at Song Mo's hands.

During the interlude, Song Mo switched the guitar to his left hand and launched into a backhand solo.

This is Jimi Hendrix's signature move—playing the piano with his backhand, which is quite difficult, and there aren't many people in the Continental Congress these days.

The crowd below the stage grew even louder upon seeing this.

But Song Mo's face didn't show any sign of me showing off. He was exceptionally relaxed. After playing a piece, he even had time to turn his head and smile at An Ming.

An Ming took over, and the two worked together seamlessly, as if they had rehearsed countless times.

Bi Xiaoshi was a little stunned.

Just who is this kid?

Despite the fact that reform and opening up have been going on for so many years, the information gap between China and the United States still exists. Just now, Song Mo's backhand solo move was something that you couldn't find many people in the bar circle to do.

He could tell that the kid had extremely solid guitar fundamentals.

Her singing skills are superb; she sang the whole song and played the piano with complete ease.

The song ended.

The bar was already in an uproar; the foreigners stood up, whistling, banging on the table, and shouting for an encore—it was chaos.

Song Mo smiled, glanced at the booth in the corner, and then turned and left the stage.

At this moment, Xu Yuan looked at Bi Xiaoshi with great eagerness.

"Old Bi, isn't this kid great? Typhoon, singing skills, looks—he's impeccable!"

Bi Xiaoshi ignored him, stood up and walked backstage.

Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.