A band, or a battleground?

Su Wan retorted angrily, "You'd better get this straight: we divorced ten years ago! What kind of 'male homeowner' is this? I bought this house myself! Qiu Fengfan, you were the one who cheated on me back then, and now you have the nerve to come here!"

Qiu Mengxue also said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

The man scratched his head: "Oh dear, Mengxue, aren't you going to call me 'Dad'?"

Qiu Mengxue moved her lips, but no sound came out.

Qiu Fengfan: "Don't be shy, call me Dad."

At this moment, Qi Yuan spoke up: "Let me translate for you, Mengxue didn't call him 'Dad,' she said 'Get out.'"

Qiu Fengfan glared at him: "Do you think you, a little mistress, have the right to speak here?"

Qi Yuan chuckled: "I was called here by Mengxue because I have some school matters to attend to. But of course, I don't need to explain to you. Now it seems the situation is clear, Teacher Su, just close the door. If he comes again, call the police."

Before he finished speaking, Su Wan and Qiu Mengxue both cast surprised glances at him.

Given Qi Yuan's reputation, the two women were initially worried that if Qiu Fengfan continued his rude remarks, Qi Yuan might disregard everything and punch him. However, his advice was surprisingly legal, which relieved them.

But just as Su Wan was about to close the door, Qiu Fengfan grabbed the door from the crack and said, "I'm sorry, Xiao Wan, it seems I misunderstood. It's just that a man suddenly appeared in your house, which made me a bit emotional. I came here today just to tell you that I've moved here too, right downstairs from you."

Su Wan's eyes narrowed: "Why did you move here? Don't tell me it's a coincidence!"

Qiu Fengfan changed his expression and smiled, "It's definitely not a coincidence. I found out you live here, so I rented a place here. Xiao Wan, I have a good job now, with good pay and benefits, and I can provide you with a great life. Let me come back."

Su Wan: "The reason for the divorce wasn't because of poor living conditions. Get this straight, it was because you cheated on me!"

Qiu Fengfan gripped the edge of the security door, forcing a friendly smile: "Xiao Wan, I know it's not easy for you to raise a child alone, with a mortgage to pay and expenses to cover. But things are different for me now. I make at least 20,000 a month, and even more if my performance is good. I'm now able to provide a good life for you and your daughter. Do you really intend to let Mengxue continue living this frugal life with you?"

However, Su Wan's face only showed deep disgust.

"How much money you make, whether it's 20,000 or 200,000 a month, has nothing to do with me. My daughter and I are doing very well now, and we don't need your charity."

Qiu Fengfan's expression stiffened: "Xiao Wan, why are you doing this?"

Su Wan's voice remained devoid of warmth: "Take your hand away, I'm closing the door. Otherwise, do you believe we'll call the police right now?"

Just then, Qiu Mengxue, who had been standing at the back, suddenly turned around and ran inside. A few seconds later, the girl ran back, holding a cell phone with its screen lit up.

She strode to the door and shoved her phone screen directly in front of Qiu Fengfan's eyes.

The girl's almond-shaped eyes were filled with frost: "You trespassed on my property and are harassing me at the door. I'll count to three, and if you don't let go, I'll call the police. One."

Qiu Fengfan was stunned. He looked at his daughter's expression, which was not at all like she was joking, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.

"Two." Qiu Mengxue's thumb twitched.

"Fine, fine! I'm leaving! Mengxue, you really do take after your mother..." Qiu Fengfan clearly didn't want to escalate the situation to the police station. He awkwardly withdrew his hand from the door frame and took two steps back.

"boom!"

Before he could finish speaking, Su Wan slammed the security door shut without hesitation, the click of the lock echoing crisply in the corridor.

A brief silence fell over the room.

Su Wan let out a long sigh, but her brows remained tightly furrowed. Qiu Mengxue silently locked her phone, clutching it in her hand, head bowed and saying nothing.

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.

Half an hour later, the three of them sat down at the dining table.

The dishes on the table were simple and home-style, but they looked quite appealing. There was a plate of braised pork ribs with a rich, reddish-brown color, a plate of stir-fried loofah, and tofu with scallions.

The meal was carefully prepared, but the atmosphere at the table still couldn't get lively.

Qiu Mengxue held her bowl, her chopsticks poking at the rice unconsciously, clearly having little appetite. Su Wan only picked up a few pieces of tofu, her eyes occasionally wandering, lost in thought.

Qi Yuan tasted a piece of braised pork rib and exclaimed, "Teacher Su, these ribs are delicious. The meat is stewed until flavorful and tender. I'm going to eat an extra bowl of rice today."

Su Wan snapped out of her daze and looked at Qi Yuan eating heartily. The worry on her face eased a little. She said, "If it's delicious, eat more. You boys are growing and need to burn a lot of energy. Mengxue, you eat too. Don't just sit there counting the grains of rice."

Qiu Mengxue gave a perfunctory reply and picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in her bowl.

"Thank you for what you said earlier," Su Wan said earnestly as she looked at Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "It's nothing, just a small favor."

Su Wan sighed, her gaze falling on the scallion and tofu salad in front of her: "I just feel a little dazed. When I first met him, he wasn't this annoying. Back then, we were teammates in a band together."

Upon hearing the word "band," Qi Yuan stopped picking up food with his chopsticks, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Her ex-husband was actually her former bandmate? Sounds like there's a lot of drama going on here!

Qiu Mengxue muttered, "What's the point of bringing up such old news from twenty years ago?"

But Qi Yuan's curiosity was piqued, and he tentatively asked, "Teacher Su, did you also have a band before? Was it in college?"

Normally, Su Wan probably wouldn't have said anything. But Qiu Fengfan's sudden appearance today seemed to have ripped open the scabs of past memories. At times like these, it's inevitable that people will have the urge to confide.

"Yeah, it was back in college, when we were still studying at the music academy. We were young, and we always thought that if you had talent, the whole world would make way for you. Our band had five people. I was the keyboardist and mainly responsible for composing. Qiu Fengfan back then… he was really good-looking, and had a great voice; he was the guitarist and lead singer. As for the lyrics, the five of us came up with them while drinking beer…"

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.

019 No wonder you've changed

"Everyone was very enthusiastic back then. We rehearsed day and night, sang at small bars, and used the money we saved by scrimping and saving to record demos in the studio..."

Qi Yuan listened quietly.

This setup, this passionate beginning, is so similar to their current Spring Shadow Band.

“We sent tapes to many record companies and participated in some underground music festivals. We were overjoyed, thinking that we would soon become famous, release records, and hold concerts in stadiums with tens of thousands of people.”

"And then?" Qi Yuan asked, following her lead.

"Then came the harsh reality: we failed completely."

She spoke calmly, but whether it was Qi Yuan hearing it for the first time or Qiu Mengxue who already knew about these past events, they all knew how heavy these things were.

It was heavy enough to drag the dreams of young people back to the ground.

“Nobody buys it. What we think are amazing arrangements and profound lyrics sound baffling to the audience. When we perform in bars, the audience only wants to hear the popular pop songs of the time. As soon as we sing our own original songs, the audience starts to boo and jeer, and some even throw drinks on the stage. When we participate in competitions, we can't even pass the preliminary rounds. The judges say our music lacks market potential.”

As she spoke, a layer of vicissitude appeared in Su Wan's eyes.

"Enthusiasm is useless when you're hungry. After graduation, I persisted for over a year, then the drummer went to work for a state-owned enterprise, and the bassist went back to his hometown to get married. I also faced reality and became a music teacher at a school, seeking stability. But Qiu Fengfan refused to accept his fate. He always felt that the audience didn't know how to appreciate art, and that the market was blind. Instead of looking for a proper job, he spent all his time hanging out with a group of so-called artists, and then..."

Su Wan had already put down her chopsticks, and at this point, she also shut her mouth.

She couldn't eat or talk anymore.

Qi Yuan thought of even more.

Having already formed a band and experienced the shattering of his own dreams, how could Teacher Su possibly agree to his daughter forming a band now?

At this moment, Qiu Mengxue suddenly said, "That's my family situation, as you know. So my mom and I agreed that forming a band can only be done during our student years. After graduating from university, we have to find a good job. And, mainly during high school, university will be a tough time."

Qi Yuan asked, "Why not during university? Isn't that more suitable than high school?"

Qiu Mengxue explained calmly, “Because if you don’t succeed in high school, you’ll have to aim for a job when choosing a major in college. You know, music academies have many different majors. Just in performance, there are vocal, orchestral, keyboard, and so on. Besides performance, there are also theory, composition, education, and technique.”

Qi Yuan suddenly realized: "So, if you choose a theoretical major, what you learn in college is different from what you need to do on stage."

Qiu Mengxue nodded: "I have excellent grades, and I'm among the top students in math, so I might go into audio algorithms. In that case, I'd have to study linear algebra, digital signal processing, acoustic physics, and the like, which is completely different from being in a band."

"You're already in the second semester of your first year of high school, so you only have about two and a half years left, right?"

When he mentioned "two and a half years," Qi Yuan couldn't help but smile slightly. Fortunately, he controlled his facial expression and didn't show it too obviously, so the mother and daughter didn't notice.

Qiu Mengxue said in a deep voice, "So do you understand now? There are four of us in the band, and I dare say that I am the one who most hopes for the band's success."

At this moment, Su Wan had composed herself and continued, "It doesn't necessarily have to be a huge fame or a superstar. That's too unrealistic. As long as you can attract a certain audience in a small circle, prove that you have commercial value, and make a living with the band, at least your income is no less than mine as a music teacher, then that's success."

Qi Yuan and Qiu Mengxue both fell silent.

Qiu Mengxue felt that this topic was somewhat heavy.

Qi Yuan was wondering if it would be too arrogant of him to say that he had a lot of songs of the same caliber as "Blue Lotus" and "Those Flowers" and that he could write until he became a big star.

After a moment of silence, he simply said, "That's exactly what I was thinking too. The key is the high school stage."

Qiu Mengxue blinked, her expression somewhat conflicted, as if she had a bitter melon in her mouth.

Qi Yuan asked, "What's wrong?"

Qiu Mengxue muttered under her breath, "You probably don't care, right? After high school... are you going to university?"

Qi Yuan was slightly taken aback.

That's an oversight. With the original owner's grades, graduating from high school would be a huge problem, let alone getting into university.

Since they're not going to university or pursuing a job through mainstream channels, they can play in a band for as long as they want. If things go wrong, the band can just disband and they can find someone else to continue.

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "Of course I have my own things to do too."

In fact, after reviewing the textbooks and workbooks over the past few days, he is quite confident about going to university.

In his previous life, he was a proper computer science major. Even though he had forgotten a lot of the exam-taking knowledge after graduation, he still had a clear understanding of learning methods and a solid foundation in Chinese, mathematics, and English.

Programming relies heavily on mathematical logic; coding is done in English; as for Chinese...

My Chinese is terrible, how am I supposed to argue with the planner? How am I supposed to write a weekly report? How am I supposed to shift the blame to my boss?

But Qiu Mengxue, of course, had no way of knowing this, and could only whisper a reminder: "Is it because they're collecting protection money? Uncle Hat will get in trouble."

Qi Yuan: "..."

Su Wan quickly tried to persuade her daughter, saying, "Don't be like this. We don't rely on protection money anymore. What was that job called again? Debt collector?"

Qi Yuan's lips twitched slightly, feeling a bit strained.

He knew, of course, that the mother and daughter in front of him meant no harm whatsoever. They weren't looking for trouble; in fact, they were trying to be as tactful as possible, saving him face. After all, given the original owner's grades and habits, that seemed to be the case.

But the more he did that, the more he wanted to laugh.

Qiu Mengxue suddenly thought of another way out: "By the way, you're not thinking of enlisting in the army after graduating from high school, are you?"

Qi Yuan: "My dad was sentenced to prison, so I probably don't qualify to join the army."

"Huh?!" The mother and daughter were dumbfounded.

Qi Yuan explained, "My dad has that profession you're talking about, he's a debt collector. It involves violent debt collection, which carries significant legal risks."

Blinking, Qiu Mengxue realized that she had figured out the reason for Qi Yuan's recent change.

The girl murmured, "No wonder you're different from what Jiang Yi said, it turns out it's because..."

Su Wan also cast an exceptionally gentle gaze upon him, as if she were looking at a pitiful boy abandoned by the world.

Qi Yuan: "..."

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.

020? How is that possible?

Qi Yuan's one-on-one vocal lessons continued until four o'clock in the afternoon.

After he left, Qiu Mengxue sat on the living room sofa, facing her mother who was drinking tea and reading a book, and asked the question she had wanted to know the answer to at lunch:

"Mom, you know that Qi Yuan's father has been sentenced to prison. Don't you have any... prejudice against him?"

Su Wan put down her book and looked up: "Do you think I should stay away from children whose parents are bad, like many parents do?"

Qiu Mengxue admitted, "Yes, I thought you would say that."

Su Wan smiled and said, "Because I'm not only a parent, but also your teacher. I know Qi Yuan a little bit about him. He's not exactly a good student, but after half a year of school, he hasn't bullied any honest kids or girls. In the eyes of us teachers, he's actually quite easy to manage."

Qiu Mengxue thought for a moment and then said, "I think other parents care a lot about family influence and such."

Su Wan scoffed, "Your biological father's parents are both university professors, from a respectable, highly educated family. And what happened? Family certainly influences a person's development, but it's not absolute. Besides, you're just forming a band. I keep an eye on things regularly, so there's nothing to worry about."

Qiu Mengxue: "It's just forming a band, so there's nothing to worry about, right..."

Su Wan said meaningfully, "Unless your relationship is more than just forming a band, and it's like what I did back then, then I'll have to step in."

"Like you were back then?" Qiu Mengxue was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized, "You mean, I'm dating him?"

"uh-huh."

"How could that be! I would never date, let alone with him!" The girl jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

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 walked out of the residential area, he discovered that someone was following him.