A band, or a battleground?

A band, or a battleground?

Author: Bei Guishan

Summary:

Reborn as a high school student in a parallel world, Qi Yuan originally only wanted to plagiarize songs and easily gain fame and fortune, but why...?

"Form a band with them? Who? Me?"

"What do you mean by 'forming a band for life'? Seriously, what are you up to?"

"Let me go! I came here to make music, not to create chaos!"

……

This book has no system, multiple female protagonists, and is about rebirth in a parallel world. It also has career and romance storylines (more than one).

Main text

001 So, what is the cost?

When the school bell rang, Jiang Yi turned her head to look at the figure sitting by the window in the last row of the classroom.

He was a boy with a somewhat gloomy expression.

Jiang Yi was about to ask Qi Yuan for something, which made her nervous.

"Come on, come on, it's not like we're not going to pay..."

The girl clenched her fists, silently encouraging herself. But no matter how hard she tried, her unruly legs just wouldn't move.

Just as she was struggling with this, Jiang Yi noticed that Qi Yuan seemed to be acting strangely.

He didn't stroll around with his hands in his pockets as usual, as if inspecting his own territory.

He didn't bully other boys, nor did he laugh at or make fun of their embarrassing situations.

At this moment, he was just sitting quietly in his chair, his hands on the desk, looking out the window, and his eyes... were actually a little sad.

Can such an invincible boy also feel sadness?

Jiang Yi suddenly felt that this might be a good opportunity; at least if she went over to make demands now, it seemed she wouldn't get beaten up.

She took a deep breath and strode over.

At least, the closer she got to Qi Yuan's seat, the smaller her steps unconsciously became.

By the time I got to him, I had to shuffle over in tiny steps.

Qi Yuan looked up at him.

Jiang Yi felt her teeth chattering, her hands still clenched into fists, her nails almost digging into her palms, causing a slight pain.

She mustered her courage, but her voice was extremely weak as she spoke: "Um... could you please..."

Qi Yuan frowned slightly: "What are you asking me to do?"

"Please come with me... um, we'll pay."

When Jiang Yi said "please," she couldn't help but lower her head, avoiding the other person's gaze. But when she looked up again after saying that, she found that the other person's eyes were full of confusion.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

When Qi Yuan looked out the window, he was actually organizing his memories.

He had just woken up to find his soul in a strange body, and his mind was a complete mess. It took him a long time to sort things out.

Fortunately, no teacher would interfere with him.

In his previous life, Qi Yuan was a programmer who worked diligently until he was thirty. He caught the wave of AI and the economic downturn, so what else could he say? His boss wasn't running a charity; giving him n+1 was already a bottom line.

Qi Yuan held the money, but felt lost and confused about his life. He didn't know what to do in the future, so he could only play games, wander around, and listen to music. Finally, one morning after staying up all night, he fell into a deep sleep.

Then I woke up in the corner of the last row of the classroom.

At sixteen, Qi Yuan had a lot of memories in his head. After sorting through them for a while, he finally understood his new situation.

This is a parallel world similar to Earth, with a similar level of technology, just without the advanced AI models. As for the economic situation, this arrogant high school student was rather clueless. Anyway, following his original trajectory, Qi Yuan would never have gone to university, so why would he care about employment rates or his major?

But things are different now.

Qi Yuan felt that his original major might not be of much use here. Having to spend so much time and effort learning to be a programmer seemed like a waste of a second chance at life.

Since this is a parallel world without the stars from my home world, wouldn't I be able to quickly get started and achieve fame and fortune just by copying songs?

Unfortunately, there is still a very real problem.

He had never studied music; he simply enjoyed listening to music in his previous life and was good at grabbing the microphone when he went to karaoke with his former colleagues. In other words, he wasn't too off-key and his singing was passable.

No one noticed, but he tried humming a tune. Compared to his previous life, this body's voice seemed even better, more magnetic. Unfortunately, without technique, there's no technique; now he can only force himself to sing whatever he wants.

Being able to sing those classic pop songs is not just a matter of one big gap from writing lyrics and music, to arranging, recording, releasing and performing them, and he has no experience or connections in this industry!

What should we do?

Just then, a girl walked over.

Compared to Qi Yuan's high school uniform in his previous life, the uniforms here were more aesthetically pleasing, with girls wearing knee-length skirts. The girl walking towards him was of medium height and had a well-proportioned figure, her calves beneath the skirt appearing fair and white. A further glance upwards revealed a delicate and pretty face, and a neat single ponytail hairstyle.

This school uniform, consisting of a shirt and a skirt, looked quite youthful and charming on her.

From what I remember, this girl's name was Jiang Yi. She was an average student, but not particularly noticeable in class. She'd been in high school for almost half a year and hadn't exchanged a single word with Qi Yuan. So, what was she going to say now?

"Um... could you please... please come with me... um, we'll pay for it."

Hearing the girl's stammering words, Qi Yuan couldn't help but frown.

What's the purpose of paying?

"Return to 'us'" means she's not the only one? What does it actually mean?

Qi Yuan then asked, "Why do you want to pay?"

"Um, is it okay if it's free?" Jiang Yi said subconsciously. "That would be great, we don't have much pocket money, and we need to buy musical instruments and stuff..."

"Stop, stop, stop! I'm asking you now, what do you want me to do?"

Jiang Yi then came to her senses: "Oh right, I'm sorry, I didn't explain clearly. It's like this, my friends and I formed a band, and then, we finally found a free performance venue..."

Qi Yuan: "Get to the point."

"Ah, the important point, yes, the important point!" Jiang Yi seemed to be startled and was a little incoherent.

Is it really that scary? Qi Yuan was slightly speechless.

After taking several deep breaths, Jiang Yi finally managed to get to the point: "Our performance venue has been taken over by a group of thugs. We have to take it back."

Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Oh, so you want me to help you snatch it?"

"Please, please, we really need that venue..."

"So, what is the price?"

Hearing this question, Jiang Yi was taken aback, and then subconsciously said, "All my pocket money, all the money I have, I'll give it all to you!"

Qi Yuan pressed further, "Specifically, how much?"

Jiang Yi hesitated for several seconds before weakly saying, "Fifty."

Qi Yuan: "You only have fifty yuan in total."

Jiang Yi gritted her teeth: "If you think it's not enough, I... our band has two more people, they can give you money too. But to get them to give you money, we have to get the venue back first."

"I understand," Qi Yuan stood up and stretched. "But a free place must be a public place, right?"

"Yes, it's a public place."

What do they need that venue for?

"It's probably a band too... Uh, where are you going now?"

Qi Yuan picked up his schoolbag and lifted it up.

Just now, he packed all the textbooks and workbooks into his desk, which was quite heavy, but now his arms didn't feel tired at all.

Not just the arms, but every muscle from the shoulders to the feet was so vibrant and full of power.

Qi Yuan estimated that if it were his previous life as a programmer who sat in an office all day, he would have had trouble even carrying this backpack. But now he felt that he could wield this backpack with great flair and use it as a handy weapon.

He even felt the weapon wasn't heavy enough. However, considering the original owner's glorious record, and after reviewing the fighting techniques in his mind again, he felt quite confident.

Qi Yuan twisted his neck and said, "Isn't this what I'm doing, so lead the way?"

Jiang Yi's face lit up with surprise: "You agreed? That's great! Here's the fifty yuan, I'll give it to you now?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "No rush, let's get this done first, and then you can discuss how to thank me."

Jiang Yi asked instinctively, "Don't you need to collect some first?"

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "After we're done, do you dare to renege on your debt to me?"

Jiang Yi was speechless. Seeing him sling his backpack over his shoulder and walk out, the girl stood there stunned for two seconds before quickly following him.

I'm just a little uneasy—is it really a wise choice to ask this notorious classmate for help?

The two had left the classroom and were almost out of the teaching building when Jiang Yi suddenly slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Wait for me! I forgot my bass!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

002 The Name of a Person, the Shadow of a Tree

On the way there, Qi Yuan asked a few more questions and found out the band's background.

Besides Jiang Yi, the other two members are Qiu Mengxue from Class 1 and Ning Tianyu from Class 3. They are all in the same grade and are well-behaved students with good grades, but they are particularly interested in music.

Especially Qiu Mengxue; Qi Yuan could still recall the girl's figure from his memory. She was the daughter of the school's music teacher and had even spoken as a student representative at the freshman assembly. This wasn't because of her mother's connections, but because she had been ranked first in the entire grade when she entered school.

After enrolling, Qiu Mengxue consistently ranked among the top students in the entire grade. Ning Tianyu was similar. Compared to them, Jiang Yi, who only ranked around tenth in her class and barely maintained a top-one hundred overall grade score, was considered to have mediocre grades.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the three of them clearly had no connection with Qi Yuan, who consistently ranked near the bottom.

The so-called performance venue is actually just an open space near a shopping mall, which is occupied by elderly women to dance in the square after dinner, and many young people also pass by.

For new bands with no existing audience or financial resources, this is undoubtedly a valuable platform.

When Qi Yuan and Jiang Yi arrived, Qiu Mengxue was already waiting there alone.

Just like the outstanding figure in the original owner's memory, she had fair skin, long, straight black hair that reached her waist and was tied in a high ponytail, which made the girl's tall and exquisite figure even more like that of a young lady.

Qiu Mengxue's looks and temperament are so stunning that they make others feel ashamed of themselves. It's no wonder that although she has a high reputation at school and many admirers, few dare to actually make a move, let alone confess or have any scandals.

However, Qiu Mengxue was not wearing a school uniform, but a bohemian-style long dress with strappy sandals, revealing her delicate, fair feet.

With the addition of the black guitar bag on her back, she looks different from the well-behaved girl in school, exuding a more artistic and girlish vibe.

Upon seeing Jiang Yi and Qi Yuan approach, Qiu Mengxue asked, "Yi Yi, is he the one you mentioned... Haven't I seen you before?"

Qi Yuan said lazily, "Where have I seen you before?"

Qiu Mengxue pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "A school-wide reprimand for fighting."

Qi Yuan: "Isn't this exactly what you need right now?"

Qiu Mengxue: "But you're all alone, while there are several of them."

At this moment, Jiang Yi leaned close to her ear and whispered, "He's really good. He can take on several thugs from outside the school by himself. If a fight really breaks out, he definitely won't be at a disadvantage."

“If a fight really breaks out…” Qiu Mengxue sighed, “Alright, then we can only trust you. But I still don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Jiang Yi added, "But we've finally managed to attract an audience, we can't just give up like this."

Qiu Mengxue asked in a low voice, "So what did you say to him? Did you offer him payment?"

Jiang Yi nodded vigorously.

Qiu Mengxue asked again, "Has it already been given?"

Jiang Yi shook her head: "He said it's fine to give it to me later."

Qiu Mengxue's gaze suddenly sharpened as she stared at the boy in front of her and asked, "Excuse me, but I wanted to ask, afterwards, you won't hold a grudge against Yi Yi and bully her, will you?"

Qi Yuan sneered, "Is it glorious to bully girls? It's meaningless. If you're going to beat someone up, beat someone who can fight back."