A band, or a battleground?

Qiu Mengxue had obviously heard his last two sentences with his mother, and naturally, she had the same thought. Moreover, compared to her mother, Qiu Mengxue's feelings were more unique.

She felt that Qi Yuan, like herself, grew up in a single-parent family, and now he no longer had a single-parent family... If it were her, could she still pull herself together?

But Qi Yuan managed to pull himself together. Not only that, he also took the initiative to try areas he had never tried before, and almost became the backbone of the band.

This made Qiu Mengxue feel both admiration and a little sorry for her.

Does Qi Yuan, who appears tough and even a bit fierce, secretly shed tears when no one can see him? Does he sometimes show a helpless and bewildered expression?

Fortunately, Qi Yuan's teasing remark at that moment diverted the girl's attention:

"Even a top student like you needs to review?"

Qiu Mengxue pouted: "Of course I need to. What do you think? The higher your grades are, the fiercer the competition becomes. I spend all my time on music and studying, I don't have any extra time at all."

Qi Yuan joked, "What if we become famous after participating in the show and want to make it in the entertainment industry, recording albums, performing everywhere, and participating in even more shows? Will you have the time?"

Qiu Mengxue had never really thought about this question.

She paused for a moment, then instinctively said, "It's not that easy to become famous..."

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.

All eyes in 033 were on me.

When Jiang Yi walked into the examination room, she felt more nervous than ever before.

After all, discovering that she ranked below Qi Yuan in the midterm exams was undoubtedly a shock to her. For the past half-semester, she had witnessed firsthand how Qi Yuan had acted so recklessly, still not doing his homework, still being late and leaving early…

Moreover, as a bandmate, she knew very well that Qi Yuan was not only learning to sing, but also learning music theory and practicing guitar.

If things continue like this and Qi Yuan still manages to surpass her in the final exams, she feels she has no confidence in turning things around.

Musically, he's already a rising star; at least academically, he can't still be at the bottom of the band, right?

Suddenly, she seemed to sense something, and when she looked up, she found that Qi Yuan had also walked into the classroom.

I'm actually in the same exam room as him this time?

Before Jiang Yi could think further, the exam began. The subject was Chinese.

The proctor handed out the exam papers, and as soon as the announcement came over the loudspeaker that the exam was officially starting, Jiang Yi quickly began writing.

She had only been writing for a minute when she couldn't help but look up and glance at the boy diagonally in front of her.

Then she noticed that Qi Yuan was actually frowning at the test paper!

The first part of this Chinese exam paper was a fill-in-the-blank question on classical Chinese poetry and prose—meaning that this seemingly easiest part, where one could get full marks simply by memorizing the text, actually stumped Qi Yuan.

This secretly pleased her.

It seems Qi Yuan isn't all-powerful after all.

Thankfully, there are still things I can do that make things difficult for him!

Jiang Yi regained some confidence and continued to bury herself in her studies.

They kept doing this until the bell rang.

The proctor collected all the exam papers, and everyone packed up their belongings and got up to leave.

Jiang Yi packed up her pencil case and hesitated whether to greet Qi Yuan, but when she looked up, she saw that he had already walked to the classroom door.

The girl quickly chased after him.

Although her classmates, especially the girls she could talk to, already knew that she was in a band with Qiu Mengxue, Qi Yuan, and others, Jiang Yi was still a little uncomfortable—uncomfortable calling out Qi Yuan's name in front of other people at school, making it seem like she was very familiar with him.

This is a habit of well-behaved students; they should keep their distance from delinquent teenagers.

Moreover, the other classmates all kept their distance from Qi Yuan. If she acted too friendly with him, wouldn't that become the topic of gossip? That was exactly what Jiang Yi was afraid of.

But at that moment, the girl quickly caught up with him, and only after Qi Yuan walked out of the school gate did she reach his side and ask, "How did your exam go?"

Qi Yuan turned to look at her and said calmly, "It's so-so."

Jiang Yi said, "The math exam is this afternoon, that's where you excel, isn't it?"

Qi Yuan replied, "Mathematics is indeed easier than Chinese."

Jiang Yi: "That's for you. For me, math is much harder than Chinese."

Qi Yuan smiled and didn't continue the topic.

Jiang Yi then asked, "After the exam, will we continue rehearsing?"

Qi Yuan: "Let's rehearse for two more days, then perform in the small square for two days to get a feel for it, and then we can prepare for the audition."

Jiang Yi pondered for a moment and said, "The end of the semester is quite late this year. I originally thought the auditions would be held after the official summer vacation started, but it looks like the final grades won't be released until after the auditions are over, and then the official vacation will begin..."

Qi Yuan nodded: "Yes, actually no homework was assigned before the results came out. These few days are the most relaxed time, which is perfect for preparing for the preliminary selection."

Jiang Yi asked with a smile, "Do you also feel anxious about grades and homework?"

Qi Yuan replied without hesitation, "No, I don't do summer homework. As for my grades, as long as they're passable, no one cares about me."

"Then why did you say it was easy..."

"Because I'm speaking from your perspective."

When Qi Yuan said this, his gaze towards the girl was open and honest, without any particular meaning.

But Jiang Yi couldn't help but add more details in her mind.

In a sense, does saying "from your perspective" imply "thinking of you"?

Will he think of himself?

Thinking this, Jiang Yi's gaze drifted, and she even hesitated to look at him.

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.

As July approached, Lin Yan felt like she was about to burn out.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and although there was air conditioning in the office, her seat was right by the window. Even with the sunshade curtain, the heat still made her dizzy and lightheaded.

To make matters worse, when I went to the small square after get off work, the band was nowhere to be found.

During a performance at the end of June, the only male member of the band said they had to prepare for their final exams, so they couldn't come these past few days. The audience of over fifty people, of course, understood and wished them good luck on their exams, but…

"When will it be back to normal?" Lin Yan muttered to herself as she stepped out of the elevator after work.

A colleague next to me asked, "Restore what?"

Lin Yan quickly said, "Ah, it's nothing, it's just a show I'm watching... uh, a program."

Seeing that she didn't seem to have any intention of sharing, her colleague nodded, said "See you tomorrow," and left.

Lin Yan breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the subway station, but her pace was unusually slow.

When she reached the other side of the road from the small square, she glanced at it subconsciously, and her eyes immediately lit up.

That band, that boy and those three girls, they've appeared again!

Lin Yan turned in a different direction, and her walking speed increased several times over. Even the half-minute wait to cross the street seemed to last forever.

There were only five spectators in the small square at that moment.

After all, the band hadn't come for over a week, and there was no way to notify them, so it was impossible for the audience to come and wait for them every day.

When Lin Yan arrived, she found that none of the five people were familiar faces.

The band's audience came and went, with most people only coming two or three times before giving up. After all, aside from the girls' good looks and the lead singer's two songs, the band wasn't anything special. Only occasionally, during casual conversation, someone would mention an interesting student band had appeared in the small square, and then a few new audience members would show up...

Lin Yan didn't even know if there were any other people like her who followed them to watch their performances.

Then the band started their performance, beginning with another song, "Blue Lotus".

Lin Yan was pleasantly surprised to find that although it was the same song, the accompaniment seemed to have changed. Compared to the original version, the new version sounded more natural and smoother…

Sure enough, after that song, the number of people gathered in the small square increased to more than twenty.

Next, when "Those Flowers" was performed, even more audience members gathered here, forming two circles around it.

Lin Yan had assumed that after the boy finished singing those two songs, he would give up his lead vocal position and let the girls sing some more youthful songs. But then, he cleared his throat and said into the microphone:

"Thank you for your attention. Um... everyone look at me, I have something to announce!"

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.

034 I have something to announce

"We won't be performing here for the next few days, or at most a month or two."

After Qi Yuan finished speaking, a low commotion immediately arose among the onlookers.

A young female office worker wearing glasses immediately shouted, "Why aren't you here anymore! Is it because the city management won't let us set up stalls, or is it because we have too much homework from school?"

Qi Yuan shook his head and glanced at his teammates behind him.

Qiu Mengxue raised her eyebrows, a smug smile appearing on her face. Ning Qianyu tapped her drumsticks, her eyes gleaming with undisguised excitement. Jiang Yi, on the other hand, seemed a little nervous, her hands twisting together on her bass strap, but her gaze towards the audience was exceptionally bright.

Qi Yuan turned around and said into the microphone, "We've signed up for the 'Tomorrow's Band' audition. We're going to participate in the local auditions on July 10th. If the eliminations are quick, it'll only take a few days. If we're not eliminated that quickly, then it's hard to say when we'll be able to perform here again."

After a brief silence, scattered applause and cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Go for it! Go on TV and cheer me on!" an uncle shouted.

Beside him, the uncle's daughter corrected him, "Dad, Tomorrow Band isn't broadcast on TV; it's an online talent show."

The young female office worker wearing glasses suddenly added: "A very famous online program with a large audience!"

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "But before we go to the audition, today we plan to sing a new song here."

Qiu Mengxue reacted quickly. She took off the black electric guitar she was wearing and handed it to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan took the guitar strap and skillfully slung it over his shoulder.

Then, Qiu Mengxue walked to the side, set up a MIDI keyboard, plugged the audio cable into the speaker, and turned on the power.

She lightly pressed the keys a few times to check the volume and pitch.

Then he looked up and nodded to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan glanced around again, and Jiang Yi and Ning Qianyu both nodded. No further words were needed; the four of them already shared the tacit understanding of band partners.

Qiu Mengxue's fair fingers fell on the piano keys.

A beautiful, flowing piano melody, tinged with a touch of classical melancholy, flowed from the small speaker. The melody, devoid of complex bass lines, washed over the audience in the small square like a clear spring.

Qi Yuan closed his eyes, adjusted his abdominal breathing, and moved closer to the microphone in time with the rhythm of the melody.

My heart beats out of rhythm, and even my dreams are not free.

Love is an absolute promise, unspoken.

"Hold on until a thousand years from now..."

His voice, projected through the speakers, possessed a unique magnetism and played a beautiful melody.

Many audience members looked confused. This song is completely different in style from his previous works, such as "Blue Lotus" and "Those Flowers." It lacks the wild vitality and nostalgia for youth; instead, it is a pure and simple love song about unrequited love.

But since both songs deal with unrequited love, why is this one so refreshing and beautiful?

As the melody progressed, Qi Yuan strummed the guitar in his hands, suddenly raising the pitch:

Because, a thousand years from now.

"I am no longer a part of this world."

I cannot hold your hand tenderly.

A light kiss on your forehead

"Don't wait until a thousand years later."

"Everyone has forgotten me."

"The desert at that time, at a red twilight"

"Who can untangle this loneliness that has bound us for a thousand years..."

As the song ended, the last single note of the piano slowly stretched out in the night breeze before finally disappearing completely.

The entire small square was completely silent.