Entertainment: A song that brought his deceased wife back to life.

The first recording of "Echoes from the Clouds" has been completed.

A large photography studio in the suburbs of Beijing has been transformed into a semi-open music stage.

Several wooden chairs were placed in the center of the stage, with old table lamps standing next to them, and an entire wall behind them was covered with old photos.

The entire set looks like someone's living room.

The production team wanted a slow-paced, musical feel, so they cut the light show, didn't hire a dance troupe, and just showed the lyrics on the big screen.

In the backstage dressing room, Luo Qianyu took off and put on the red koi half-face mask for the third time.

"What are you doing?"

Xu Qing leaned against the door frame, a dark blue bird mask hanging in her hand, looking like she was too lazy to move.

"I'm checking if this mask will affect my breathing."

"You tried it twenty-seven times at home."

"The situation is different on site."

Luo Qianyu adjusted the position of her mask in front of the mirror, revealing the lower half of her face.

Do you think the audience will recognize me?

"If you keep dawdling like this, the audience will recognize that you have a severe case of procrastination."

Luo Qianyu glared at him.

In the mirror, only her mouth and chin were visible. The koi fish pattern on the mask extended from her forehead to the bridge of her nose, and the golden scales shimmered under the light.

Xu Qing walked over and stood behind her.

He casually snapped the mask on, revealing a deep blue bird pattern covering the upper half of his face.

The two people stood side by side in front of the mirror.

One is dark blue, and the other is red.

Birds and koi.

"It's alright," Xu Qing said.

Luo Qianyu knew that "okay" meant "very good" to him.

She secretly smiled at herself in the mirror.

The voice of the stage manager came from outside the door.

"The Bluebird and Flying Fish duo will be on stage in five minutes."

Luo Qianyu's hands suddenly clenched.

Xu Qing looked down at her hand.

Then he shifted the guitar strap over his shoulder and picked up the guitar with the clownfish sticker on it.

"I'm gone."

"Wait a moment."

Luo Qianyu grabbed his sleeve.

Are you nervous?

"I'm not nervous."

"real?"

"It's not like this is my first time playing the guitar."

Luo Qianyu loosened her grip.

I'm a little nervous.

Xu Qing looked at her.

"The stages you've performed on are ten times bigger than today's."

"That's different."

Luo Qianyu's voice became softer.

"I used to be alone."

Xu Qing didn't say anything.

He reached out and flicked her mask with his knuckles.

"pain!"

"Are you not nervous anymore?"

Luo Qianyu rubbed her forehead and glared at him.

I'm definitely not nervous anymore.

-

on the stage.

The three groups of regular guests have completed their respective performances.

The host stood in the center of the stage, holding a teleprompter.

"Next up is tonight's mystery guest."

"We only know one name about them—Bluebird Flying Fish."

The group's name was displayed on the big screen, but no other information was provided.

There were four people sitting in the music critics' section, one of whom was Fang Hong, a notoriously sharp-tongued music critic in the industry.

Fang Hong pushed up his glasses and said something to the person next to him.

The scene cuts to the audience, where everyone is whispering to each other.

The lights dimmed.

A spotlight shone from the side passageway of the stage.

Two people walked out of the passage.

The girl in front of me was wearing a red koi fish half-face mask, revealing the lower half of her face and a section of her fair chin. She wore a white long dress and her hair was down, unstyled.

The boy behind him was wearing a dark blue bird mask, a black hoodie, jeans, and had an old guitar slung over his shoulder.

There was a clownfish sticker on the headstock of the guitar.

Someone in the audience whispered something.

"That guitar looks really old."

The two walked to the center of the stage.

There were no unnecessary movements. Xu Qing sat down in the chair and placed the guitar on his lap. Luo Qianyu stood beside him, one hand resting on the back of the chair.

The entire room fell silent.

Xu Qing's fingers landed on the strings.

Fang Hong's hand stopped when the first note was played.

Very clean.

No effects were added, no audio was edited, and not even a backing track was used.

It's just a guitar.

The prelude consisted of only four bars, and Xu Qing began to speak immediately after finishing the piece.

"It's another quiet evening, and I'm curled up in a rocking chair enjoying the cool evening air."

His voice was low and somewhat lazy, similar to his usual tone, as if he were casually chatting with someone.

"I admit it's really peaceful, just like the old man downstairs."

Several audience members laughed.

These lyrics are so down-to-earth.

After Xu Qing finished singing the first verse, her fingers paused on the strings for a beat.

Luo Qianyu spoke.

"I heard you're still working on some original content, but it seems like it's all just so-so."

Luo Qianyu's voice wasn't sweet.

It's completely different from the songs she released before.

It's flat and bland, like it's undermining someone, or like it's being coquettish.

"Why not take some time to think about what I'll look like, and put on some beautiful makeup tonight—"

Xu Qing added a sentence.

"I believe it's a very beautiful makeup look."

The tone was extremely perfunctory.

The laughter from the audience grew even louder.

Luo Qianyu continued singing.

"I swayed in the middle of the dance floor—"

Xu Qing interjected again.

"I can imagine that kind of physique."

Luo Qianyu turned her head and glanced at him.

Beneath the mask, the corners of his mouth were clearly upturned.

Fang Hong's pen stopped on the paper.

Fang Hong stared at the two people on the stage, his expression changing.

Their singing skills are impeccable, and their pitch and breath control are flawless. But what's truly captivating is their relaxed demeanor; the two performers seem oblivious to everyone else on stage, as if they're just casually singing and playing around in their own living room.

The chorus is coming.

Xu Qing's voice rose.

"If I looked at you again, would I still feel anything? Back then, you were so innocent and pure."

Luo Qianyu continued.

"No need to wear eyeliner to look older, and no need to blend foundation."

Xu Qing played a transitional piece.

Luo Qianyu sang two words.

"Heavy rain."

Then she added a sentence herself.

"I'll still go shopping."

The two of them sang together.

"Sneaking a laugh at someone else's messy face."

When she sang this line, Luo Qianyu turned her head to look at Xu Qing again.

Xu Qing didn't look at her.

But the corner of his mouth curved slightly.

Luo Qianyu smiled.

She had genuinely remembered something funny, and the corners of her mouth turned up on their own.

A girl in the front row of the audience covered her mouth.

The person next to her asked her quietly what was wrong.

She said, "The look in their eyes was so real."

The female music critic next to Fang Hong had already started wiping her eyes.

Fang Hong glanced at her.

"You started crying before the song was even finished?"

"You don't understand."

The last paragraph.

Xu Qing slowed down her playing speed.

"Was that moment of eye contact just an illusion? What's gone will never return."

Luo Qianyu's voice gently followed.

"Those were those years of great excitement, without any performance involved."

Xu Qing sings.

"I feel a sense of regret."

Luo Qianyu sang.

"Why do I feel this way?"

The last sentence was received by Xu Qing alone.

"That vanished bare face."

The guitar's last notes lingered in the air.

There was a silence on the stage for about three seconds.

Then the applause erupted.

Luo Qianyu stood there, her hand still resting on the back of the chair.

She heard someone shouting "One more song!"

Beneath the mask, her nose felt a little sore.

But she held back.

-

Music review segment.

Fang Hong was the first to speak.

"I've been a music critic for twelve years, and I rarely say things like this on a recording set—'This song will be a hit.'"

He adjusted his glasses.

"There's something in this song that's almost extinct in the music industry now."

The host asked, "What?"

Fang Hong looked at the two masked people on the stage.

"real."

The female music critic next to me added a comment.

"I just have one question—you two, are you a couple?"

The audience erupted in laughter.

Luo Qianyu's ears turned red behind the mask.

Xu Qing sat in the chair and plucked a string from the violin.

"Next question."

The whole room burst into laughter.

-

Backend access.

The lights were dim.

The two had just stepped off the stage when their footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Luo Qianyu walked ahead for about ten steps before suddenly stopping and turning around.

Xu Qing almost bumped into her.

"what."

Luo Qianyu grabbed his hoodie collar and pulled him down.

Then she threw herself into his arms.

The masks collided with each other, making a soft sound.

"Could you please take off your mask first—"

"Don't pick them."

Luo Qianyu said in a muffled voice.

Luo Qianyu wrapped her arms around Xu Qing's waist and buried her face in his chest.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

Weren't we incredibly amazing just now?

"good."

Luo Qianyu nudged him against his chest.

"Couldn't you have used a different word?"

Xu Qing moved the guitar behind him and used one hand to put his arm around her waist.

A stagehand passed by at the end of the corridor, glanced at the scene, and wisely took a detour.

Luo Qianyu raised her head.

The mask was askew, revealing a bright, sparkling eye.

"Xu Qing."

"What's wrong now?"

What will we sing next time?

Xu Qing looked at her one exposed eye.

"Let's talk about it when we get home."

Luo Qianyu didn't move.

"I'm not leaving. Tell me now."

Xu Qing sighed.

He lowered his head and kissed the edge of her askew mask.

Luo Qianyu was stunned.

"I'm gone."

Xu Qing let go, picked up his guitar, and walked forward.

Luo Qianyu stood still and reached out to touch the patch of skin on the edge of the mask that had been touched.

Then he jogged after him.

The footsteps of the two people overlapped in the corridor.

One is fast, and the other is slow.

"Xu Qing, wait for me."

"Hurry up."

"Is it my fault that your legs are so long?"

"It's your fault."

"...Why do you blame everything on me?"

"I'm used to it."

The footsteps faded into the distance.