Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

January.

On the eve of the Spring Festival film season, the songs were released before the movies were even shown.

Tianxing Entertainment's official Weibo account simultaneously released two singles – "Drifting" and "All the Way North". The former is paired with a racing movie montage MV, while the latter is paired with a newly edited tragic scene MV.

On the day of its release, "Drift" garnered over 30 million views. The deep bass blasted from the headphones, and the comments section was uniformly enthusiastic—

[@Car blogger Dafei: After listening to this song, I went downstairs and drove my electric scooter in a way that felt like drifting. Then I crashed.]

[@hiphopvesoldier: Lin Yuan's flow is getting more and more aggressive. Before, singing "Suspended" was like pulling someone out of an abyss; now singing "Drifting" is like not hitting the brakes before a bend.]

But the real bombshell was "All the Way North".

The music video begins with no visuals. Only a piano.

Four chords, in a cycle.

Then the scene brightened up—Takumi was sitting in the driver's seat of the AE86, with rainwater on the windshield, not the kind that wipers could wipe away, but the kind that made him feel completely submerged.

In the rearview mirror, Natsuki stood by the roadside, her white dress disheveled by the wind.

She didn't chase after him.

He didn't stop either.

The piano played eight bars, then the strings joined in. Then Lin Yuan began to speak.

"The world in the rearview mirror, a farewell that grows ever more distant—"

The scene cuts to Takumi's hands, gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles white.

Even with your back turned, your profile is still beautiful—

The camera paused for three seconds on Natsuki's profile as she turned to walk away.

I followed your gaze, and heard your tears—

A drop of water slid down the windshield, like a tear.

"Hesitating outside the car window was a missed opportunity for me—"

The AE86's taillights left two red lines in the rain, receding into the distance.

The chorus explodes – strings, drums, and distorted guitar all come rushing in.

I travel north, leaving behind the season that held you—

The scene shifts to a mountain road, where an AE86 is driving alone through five consecutive hairpin bends. There are no competitors, no taillights, only the sound of the engine and the rain.

You said you were so tired, that you couldn't fall in love with anyone anymore—

Flashback: The day Natsuki was kicking the water at the poolside, her smiling face.

The wind blows on the mountain road, and all the past scenes are signs that I was wrong—

Flashback: The moment Takumi saw Natsuki get into someone else's car through the car window, his expression froze.

"Counting my regrets, how many times have I hurt you—"

The scene returns to the driver's seat. Takumi's eyes are empty.

In the second verse, the scene shifts to a nighttime view of a mountain road. Streetlights recede one by one, and the AE86 stands like a lonely island in the darkness.

"The world in the rearview mirror, a farewell that grows ever more distant—"

Even with your back turned, your profile is still beautiful—

The lyrics are repeated, but this time the scene is different—Natsuki is not standing by the roadside, but sitting in the back seat of someone else's car, looking into Takumi's eyes through the car window for that one second.

I travel north, leaving behind the season that held you—

On the last chorus, all the instruments fade away, leaving only the piano and vocals.

Around the steering wheel, my regrets swirl—

"I sped to overtake, but I couldn't shake off the sorrow of being relentlessly pursued—"

"Counting my regrets, how many times have I hurt you—"

"Stop the embarrassment, let the mistake be pure—"

The last note faded.

The camera stops at the AE86's taillights disappearing at the end of the mountain road.

black screen.

The music video garnered over 100 million views within 48 hours of its release.

Dormitory 404.

Xie Wanyin projected the music video onto the TV on the wall, turned the volume up to the maximum, and the four of them sat on their respective beds to watch it.

The music video has ended.

The room was silent for five seconds.

Xie Wanyin spoke first, her voice a little muffled: "Who wrote the lyrics?"

"Lin Yuan." Shen Qingci was applying a face mask, her voice muffled.

"How could he..." Xie Wanyin buried her face in the pillow, "How could he write about heartbreak so accurately? He's never even experienced heartbreak."

"How do you know he's never been heartbroken?" Su Zhiyuan turned a page of her book.

"He didn't." Xie Wanyin said with certainty, "If he had ever been heartbroken, he couldn't possibly be this calm."

"Then why are you crying?"

"I didn't cry," Xie Wanyin's voice came out muffled from under the pillow. "My nose just feels a little uncomfortable."

Su Zhiyuan glanced at her but didn't expose her.

Shen Qingci peeled off the face mask, walked over, and sat down next to Xie Wanyin: "'The world in the rearview mirror, a farewell that grows ever more distant'—that line is truly beautiful."

"Every single line is beautiful." Xie Wanyin lifted her head from under the pillow, her eyes reddening. "'I accelerated to overtake, yet I couldn't shake off the sorrow that followed so closely'—listen to this line, he accelerated to overtake the car, but couldn't shake off the person. It's so poignant."

"He consistently uses physical actions to convey emotions," Su Zhiyuan said. "The steering wheel, the rearview mirror, the car window, acceleration—all are actions of driving, but each action evokes a different emotion. This kind of writing is very difficult."

"How do you know it's difficult?" Shen Qingci asked.

"Because if it's simple, anyone can write it."

Gu Zhiwan remained silent. She sat on her bed, leaning against the wall, her phone screen frozen on the page where the music video had finished playing.

She listened to it twice.

Listen to the song the first time. Listen to the lyrics the second time.

"There's a sentence," she suddenly said.

Three people were looking at her at the same time.

"Let the mistakes remain pure."

Gu Zhiwan paused for a moment.

"Four words sum up the entire story. Takumi didn't try to win her back, Natsuki didn't explain, and they just parted ways. It wasn't that they stopped loving each other; the mistake had already been made, and it was better to let it be than to drag it out."

After hearing this, Xie Wanyin buried her face back in the pillow, and this time she was really crying.

"Do we people in room 404 have to analyze everything we see?" Shen Qingci sighed. "Can't we just have a good cry?"

"I cried after I finished analyzing it," Xie Wanyin said, her voice muffled. "After analyzing it, I felt even sadder."

Su Zhiyuan closed the book and glanced at the time on her phone.

"The Nebula Rankings have been updated."

Four people are watching at the same time.

"All the Way North" debuted at number one on the monthly Star Chart.

"Drifting," Part 3.

The comments section is no longer a comment section; it's a scene of mass heartbreak.

[@BrokenheartedAlliance: After listening to "All the Way North," I scrolled through my ex's entire WeChat Moments for two hours, then deleted him. Thank you, Lin Yuan, for letting me be sad one last time before deleting him.]

[@MusicBloggerAJie: Lin Yuan has a unique style when writing songs—he doesn't write "I'm so sad," he writes "the farewell getting further and further away in the rearview mirror." He doesn't write "I regret it," he writes "my regret swirling around the steering wheel." He uses imagery to depict emotions, and actions to express mindset. The lyrics of this song, placed in any year in the Chinese music scene, would be top-notch.]

[@Automotive blogger Dafei: First I listened to "Drifting," then went downstairs and raced on my electric scooter, and fell. Then I listened to "All the Way North," and sat on the ground, unable to get up. Lin Yuan, how many times are you going to injure my knees?]

[@Sleepless at Night: Is anyone else like me, listening to the same song on repeat all day, and then suddenly wanting to drive a car and keep driving on a rainy mountain road, never looking back?]

[@PureLoveWarrior: In the MV, Takumi's expression the second he saw Natsuki get into someone else's car made my heart skip a beat. Lin Yuan, aren't you a racing director? How come your portrayal of heartbreak is even more intense than your drifting?]

The day it trended on social media —

#All the Way North MV# First.

#Lin Yuan has been deified again# Third.

#The world in the rearview mirror is getting further and further away as we say goodbye# Fifth.

One highly-rated comment in the Nebula Rankings comment section was pushed to the top—

"I used to think Lin Yuan was a songwriter and movie director. After listening to 'All the Way North,' I realized that he does everything, but everything he does is to say what others can't say."

This song is dedicated to all those who have remained silent behind the steering wheel.

Dormitory 602.

After listening to the song, Zhou Zixuan lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Brother Yuan."

"Um."

What were you thinking when you were writing "All the Way North"?

Lin Yuan turned a page of his book: "Thinking about Takumi."

"Not Takumi. I'm asking about you."

Lin Yuan remained silent for two seconds.

"Thinking about rainy days."

Zhou Zixuan didn't ask any more questions.

Qian Zhuangzhuang poked his head out from the top bunk: "Brother Yuan, can I ask you a question?"

"ask."

"In the music video for 'Drifting,' was the scene of the AE86 drifting real footage or CGI?"

"Real shot."

"When you were learning to drift, did you actually drive the car into a ditch?"

"No."

"Someone online said you opened one."

"There's a lot of stuff said online," Lin Yuan turned a page of his book. "Which one do you believe?"

"I believe you." Qian Zhuangzhuang shrank back, "But I still feel that when you wrote 'All the Way North,' you weren't just thinking about Takumi."

Lin Yuan did not answer.

The wind outside the window was strong. The January air was bitterly cold.

He leaned back in his chair, recalling the early morning after filming the last scene on Mount Akina, when Du Lei drank three cans of beer and said, "This is the most enjoyable time ever."

He sat on the railing at the foot of the mountain, watching the sky turn white, with only one melody in his mind.

Four chords.

cycle.

It's like someone in a car, driving and driving, never looking back.