A band, or a battleground?

At this moment, Qi Yuan said, "It's okay, I'll go with you. Qian Yu will just be responsible for being slaughtered, I'll be your advisor."

Jiang Yi looked at him with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

This former delinquent has changed so drastically! He can now write amazing lyrics and music, and his exam scores have improved dramatically—that's one thing, but he can even give advice on girls' fashion?

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.

After dinner, Qi Yuan, Jiang Yi, and Ning Qianyu went into the shopping mall near the school again.

"First of all, you need to understand, Yi Yi, that kind of rebellious and dark style doesn't suit you because you can't pull it off. Your clothing and makeup should match your natural features. You're a sweet and well-behaved girl by nature, so even if you change, you can't go completely against your original style."

On the second floor, in the women's clothing section, Qi Yuan walked ahead of two young girls and spoke eloquently.

When she heard "You've always been a sweet and well-behaved girl," Jiang Yi blushed slightly, but she bit her lower lip, trying her best not to show the strange feeling of being praised.

Because Qi Yuan spoke so naturally, any reaction I made seemed like an overreaction.

However, his self-praise made the girl secretly pleased.

Ning Qianyu asked on her behalf, "Then how should it be changed?"

Qi Yuan analyzed, "Add a touch of rebellion to the original sweetness. Not too much, not too much, just a little bit. This kind of small rebellion will also seem real and natural."

Ning Qianyu tilted her head: "Really? But she's not rebellious at all."

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "If she really had no rebellious thoughts at all, she wouldn't have thought of changing her image. She just has a rebellious heart, but not the courage to actually challenge her teachers and parents."

Ning Qianyu glanced at Jiang Yi and, seeing that she was looking down without refuting, said, "I didn't realize that Qi Yuan, you're quite good at understanding girls' thoughts."

Qi Yuan smiled slightly, wanting to say that he was actually a galgame expert, but he held back the words.

Although he was a bit of a homebody in his previous life, he wasn't the kind of clueless person who didn't understand girls' feelings at all. During his student days in his previous life, he had held hands with girls. It's just that later he was busy with work, making money and having fun in the world of code and the internet, and his social life became more and more virtual.

He had seen plenty of girls' outfits in various games, anime, movies, and certain unspeakable works.

The three of them walked into a gothic-style women's clothing store and stopped.

"The style of this store is a bit rebellious. Just pick one that you can accept and that you think looks good."

Following Qi Yuan's advice, Jiang Yi began browsing and selecting items in the store.

After a while, she chose an outfit and went into the fitting room.

Qi Yuan found a sofa and sat down to wait. He had just sat down when Ning Qianyu came over.

"Excuse me, I want to sit too."

"Aren't you going to pick one out and take a look?"

“Tch,” Ning Qianyu shrugged. “I don’t like shopping. If Yi Yi hadn’t insisted on dragging me along yesterday, I wouldn’t have come to a place like this at all.”

Qi Yuan: "Aren't you going to buy clothes?"

Ning Qianyu: "Just buy a few sets online."

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "I've noticed that your hobbies are quite different from those of most girls."

"Heh, don't compare me to other vulgar people."

As she said this, Ning Qianyu raised her small face, her childlike face full of pride.

Looking at her, Qi Yuan realized—the difference between Jiahao and the chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) is probably just looks, right? Beautiful girls have the space to be willful.

If Xie Jinpeng had said those words, Qi Yuan felt he might have already wanted to undergo physical therapy. But when Ning Qianyu said them, it had a strange, arrogant quality to it.

Just then, Jiang Yi came out of the fitting room.

"What do you think of my outfit... um, what do you think?"

Jiang Yi was clearly a little shy, clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands, her cheeks even redder than before. But her current attire drew exclamations of admiration from both Qi Yuan and Ning Qianyu.

"Pretty!"

"sure!"

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.

028 Since we're already here

The outfit Jiang Yi is wearing now is undoubtedly gothic in style, but it's incredibly stylish, exuding a sweet, girlish charm.

The top is a black short-sleeved knit top, fitted and cropped, not very revealing, but it accentuates the girl's slender figure. Although it is mostly black, the neckline and cuffs are trimmed with a thin white lace trim, and there is a small area of ​​cutout design at the collarbone.

So instead of being dull like black, it looks playful and sophisticated.

The lower half is an A-line pleated skirt, high-waisted, also in black. It's made of a slightly matte suit fabric, and a thin, dark silver metal chain hangs from the side of the skirt, around mid-thigh.

The only thing on her body was this chain, which gave her a gothic and rebellious feel, but in a relatively restrained way.

Of course, Qi Yuan's gaze was drawn to the area further down.

Black Mary Jane shoes with dark silver buckles are quite normal, but the white slouch socks on them are really eye-catching. They're not only cute, but they also really accentuate the lines of the legs.

Upon closer inspection, Qi Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Young girls' legs are so slender..."

The white slouch socks made her legs look exceptionally slender and straight, even making her black leather shoes seem smaller.

Ning Qianyu quickly stood up, pointed at Jiang Yi's neck, and said, "Did you pick this too?"

A thin, narrow black ribbon now adorned Jiang Yi's neck, with a silver cross hanging from its center, swaying slightly with the girl's movements.

"Yes, this is the one I just picked out. The sales assistant said it goes really well with this dress. What do you guys think?"

Qi Yuan gave a thumbs up: "Great, very good."

“Although I’m not an advisor today…” Ning Qianyu swallowed, “I’m telling you, adding that collar really makes a difference.”

Jiang Yi blushed and corrected, "The shop assistant said this thing is called a choker, not a collar! A collar always feels like something for dogs."

“You’re still calling it a collar, right? And…” Ning Qianyu couldn’t help but chuckle mischievously, “Wouldn’t it be even better if you added a rope to the collar so you could hold it in your hand?”

Jiang Yi was stunned: "What are you talking about?"

"Right, I know what this outfit is all about: cute, rebellious, and taboo! Add a leash like you're walking a dog, and the taboo vibe just gets even stronger—wow!"

Before Ning Qianyu could finish speaking, Jiang Yi reached out with both hands and tried to tickle the ticklish spot on her waist.

And so, the two girls began to playfully tease each other. However, the smiles were mainly on Ning Qianyu's face, while Jiang Yi was both embarrassed and angry.

Ning Qianyu certainly didn't want to be scratched, so she dodged and weaved, when she suddenly discovered that there was a guy who was perfect as cover: Qi Yuan, who was sitting upright on the sofa.

Seeing Ning Qianyu hiding behind Qi Yuan, Jiang Yi's hands suddenly stopped. If they didn't stop, they would touch Qi Yuan's face.

The boy, who was originally gloomy, violent, and frightening, now looked at her with a gentle smile, his eyes full of appreciation.

Jiang Yi's face turned even redder. But only she knew that the words "angry and ashamed" no longer contained anger, only shame.

Qi Yuan said, "This outfit really suits you, it suits you very well. I knew it, you can actually choose your own outfits, as long as you have more confidence in yourself."

Jiang Yi murmured, "A little more confidence..."

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "Actually, it's not just about your clothes. Whether it's your exam results or your music, you should have more confidence in yourself. You're very smart. You don't need to compare yourself with others. Just be yourself."

These words weren't particularly well-chosen; at least, Jiang Yi herself had read more inspirational and youthful-looking texts, such as "become your own guiding star." But for some reason, in this situation, Qi Yuan's few words pierced through the confusion of the past few days, resonated with the girl's heart, and seemed to spark a sudden flash of inspiration.

Just then, Ning Qianyu whistled, and the tune was "Blue Lotus".

Although no one was singing, Qi Yuan's voice echoed in Jiang Yi's mind. Those were lines she, as a bandmate, had heard him sing many times:

"Nothing can stop your yearning for freedom..."

Jiang Yi took a deep breath and said earnestly, "Thank you."

Before Qi Yuan could say anything, Ning Qianyu protested, "Hey, I gave you a good review first, why don't you thank me?"

Jiang Yi: "Thank you for your kind words, but I still want to tickle you."

“Tsk tsk tsk,” Ning Qianyu shook her head, “An ungrateful woman.”

However, Ning Qianyu was caught off guard and did not notice that Qi Yuan suddenly fell to the side.

With the cover gone, Jiang Yi reached out and finally wrapped his arms around her waist, then started scratching her!

"Hahahaha—" Ning Qianyu couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Stop, stop!"

Jiang Yi: "I'll add a rope too, I'll add a rope for you!"

The two girls were playing around when Qi Yuan noticed a problem.

Because he was lying on the sofa, and Jiang Yi leaned over his head, he could see her as soon as he looked up...

Jiang Yi is so young, yet she already has quite a bit of talent?

Qi Yuan silently looked away.

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.

Jiang Yi and Ning Qianyu quickly finished their argument.

After Ning Qianyu paid, Jiang Yi, carrying a paper bag of clothes and shoes, walked out of the store between the two of them.

Even the person involved herself didn't notice—in the past, when walking with Qi Yuan, Jiang Yi would always subconsciously keep a distance of at least one meter from him, but now, that distance has become less than half a meter.

Walking between Ning Qianyu and Qi Yuan, Jiang Yi was actually a little closer to Qi Yuan than to Qianyu.

Qi Yuan suddenly asked, "Yi Yi's stage image has been updated, Qian Yu, aren't you going to update it too?"

"What do you mean?" Ning Qianyu was taken aback. "You think I should get a set of clothes too?"

Qi Yuan said, "Since we're going to perform in July, and it's the whole band together, we can't just have Yi Yi dressed up, can we?"

Ning Qianyu waved her hand: "I don't care about that."

"It's not a matter of whether we care or not. Since we're a band, a group musically, we should be visually as well."

Qi Yuan not only said this, but also genuinely felt that since the three band members all had an advantage in appearance, wouldn't it be better to amplify that advantage?

Ning Qianyu thought about it and felt that it made sense, so she asked, "Then we should all go for the gothic style?"

Qi Yuan shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. I think it's best if everyone has their own unique style, but there's no need to follow a uniform direction. For example, I think you're more suited to something with a touch of science fiction..."

"Science fiction?" Ning Qianyu's eyes lit up when she heard the word.

Qi Yuan laughed and said, "See, it's not that you're completely uninterested in clothes, it's just that there are very few styles that interest you. Since we're already here, let's pick some out for you too, since you're paying for it yourself anyway."

Ning Qianyu: "Since we're already here... it's fine."

Looking at Ning Qianyu, who had been persuaded, Jiang Yi then looked at Qi Yuan with admiration.

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.

029 Band Bullying Incident

"The three of us bought brand new stage outfits. Guess who didn't go and doesn't have a new outfit?"

On Tuesday at lunchtime, the four of them had just sat down when Ning Qianyu deliberately said that.

Qiu Mengxue remained calm and showed no reaction whatsoever.

Ning Qianyu grinned mischievously and pointed at her with both hands: "You!"

Qiu Mengxue stood up, looked around, and then frowned slightly: "Is someone talking? I don't see anyone."

Then Qiu Mengxue lowered her head, feigning sudden realization: "Oh, so that's where it is."

Ning Qianyu slammed her fists on the table: "Don't try to use the height joke on me!"

Unfortunately, as the only member of the band who is less than 1.6 meters tall, Ning Qianyu has always found it difficult to resist jokes about her height.

Qiu Mengxue then smiled and replied, "Did you all buy new clothes? It seems Qianyu, your wallet has been emptied quite a bit."

Ning Qianyu gritted her teeth and said, "You're joking about my height, I'm not buying you any more clothes."

Qiu Mengxue said, "It's okay, I have clothes suitable for the performance in my wardrobe. Let's change into them tonight."

The three nodded in agreement.

Then Qiu Mengxue looked at the only boy and asked, "Have you listened to the music arrangement demos I sent you last night?"

Qi Yuan: "I heard everything."

Qiu Mengxue looked wary: "You're not going to nitpick again, are you?"

"If you really want to nitpick, of course you can..." Qi Yuan pondered, "It's a bit different from what I expected, but the first version you gave is already pretty much the same as the arrangement I envisioned. Let's use this version from now on."