A band, or a battleground?

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "Then it must have been tampered with. Yesterday, we rejected the contract from Jufeng Music."

Zhou Taishan's tone was quite surprised: "You rejected Jufeng? Why?"

Qi Yuan: "That contract was for ten years, and they also wanted to take my copyright."

Zhou Taishan was silent for a moment, then sighed, "They're really becoming less and less accommodating to newcomers..."

Qi Yuan asked, "Teacher Zhou, what should I do?"

Do you want to withdraw from the competition?

"I don't want to."

"That settles it. The production team does have connections with Jufeng Music, but it's not their doing. In the end, they're just pulling some shady tricks. But... um, this sci-fi theme is indeed a bit troublesome."

Zhou Taishan's tone clearly betrayed his distress.

However, Qi Yuan said quite easily, "Oh, it's okay."

"It doesn't matter?"

"Because I happened to have a real inspiration, which was related to science fiction."

Zhou Taishan exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? No way!"

Qi Yuan: "Actually, I've already written the song. Would you like to hear a couple of lines, the chorus?"

Zhou Taishan: "Okay!"

So Qi Yuan adjusted his breathing and began to sing those two lines:

"Because, a thousand years from now, I will no longer exist in the world."

"I cannot hold your hand tenderly, nor can I gently kiss your forehead."

After singing those two lines, Qi Yuan asked, "Teacher, what do you think?"

First, a gasp came from the phone, followed by Zhou Taishan's resolute statement: "I'll put everything else aside for now. Regardless of the verses and arrangement, just these two lines are enough to guarantee you pass!"

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "Are you so sure?"

Zhou Taishan said, "Jufeng Music has no say in our mentors' decisions. In this round of the competition, it is still up to the three of us mentors to vote on who stays and who goes, and as your... uh, your band's mentor, I have the most votes. Let me just say this: I asked the production team for your number because I wanted to call you to put your mind at ease."

Qi Yuan: "A reassurance?"

"I was going to tell you that because you guys got ambushed, I would definitely take care of you a little, hahaha..." Zhou Taishan laughed as he spoke, "But now it seems that you don't need to at all!"

Qi Yuan: "Then we can still make some exceptions."

"How can we take care of you?" Zhou Taishan thought about this seriously. "Hmm, maybe I can help you with the arrangement... No, you're going on stage the day after tomorrow, so it's a bit too late for me to arrange it for you. The main problem is that the interval between the first and second rounds is too short. It would be easier if the interval between the third and fourth rounds was a little longer."

Qi Yuan quickly replied, "I have indeed finished composing the music for my sci-fi themed song. However, I might need to arrange more music later on. If you could help me with that, it would be great."

Zhou Taishan asked, "Are you going to sing original songs in the later rounds as well?"

"Correct."

"You've already written this poem. If you really have to write the rest from scratch, do you have enough time?"

"I believe there is still time."

“Alright, if you have no problem writing songs, I’ll definitely have no problem arranging the music for you!” Zhou Taishan’s tone was quite bold, but after he finished speaking, he burped, which made him sound less dashing.

Qi Yuan asked curiously, "Are you drinking?"

Zhou Taishan: "Yeah, I was drinking with the show's production team. Besides me, there was Liang Fei and Chen Jiashu. But neither of them can hold their liquor, so the director kept getting me drunk. I took the opportunity to ask you about the time someone tried to sabotage you."

Qi Yuan: "Did you ask the director directly?"

Zhou Taishan laughed and said, "The director said it might be true, but there are so many people on this show, and many of them were recommended by those big companies. Who knows, someone might pull some tricks at any point... Okay, I'll stop here for now. The assistant director is calling me again. You guys get ready!"

Then the call ended.

Qi Yuan put away his phone and looked at the three girls in front of him.

Qiu Mengxue tentatively asked, "I heard you mention Teacher Zhou, he wouldn't happen to be...?"

Qi Yuan: "It is indeed Zhou Taishan."

Jiang Yi couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!" and said, "That's Zhou Taishan!"

Qi Yuan smiled slightly: "Yes, I chatted and laughed with 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.

057 This sound is wrong.

As the eleventh performance of the second round of the themed competition began, the stage lights gradually dimmed and turned increasingly red.

The five members of the Titans stood on the stage, posing for a moment.

The theme they drew was anger, and coincidentally, their most acclaimed original rock song, "Silent Roar," is an expression of anger.

Lead singer Zhao Xukun gripped the microphone stand with both hands: "People bow their heads, stepping on the concrete steps; who will break this numb compromise..."

In the verses, Zhao Xukun sang in a very low voice, as if he had a mouthful of sand in his throat. The accompaniment consisted only of the bass and kick drum, maintaining a basic rhythm, like the low pressure before a storm.

Then, with a drum interlude, the entire ensemble bursts forth.

Zhao Xukun suddenly tilted his head back, veins bulging on his forehead, and roared:

"Tear off all the shackles, rip off that mask!"

"Don't come and preach to me, don't pray in the ruins..."

The audience members raised their hands. The rock scene has always appreciated this kind of emotionally charged performance, and the atmosphere at the venue was significantly heated up by the screaming vocals.

As the song ended, Zhao Xukun put down the microphone, panting, with sweat on his forehead but his eyes full of pride.

The three mentors began to provide feedback.

Zhou Taishan said calmly, "The emotions were there, and the stage presence was very smooth. There was a slight disconnect between the verses and the chorus, but it's not a big problem. It's very good."

Liang Fei's evaluation was also positive: "You have a lot of explosive power, and I can feel your energy on stage."

As the mentor of the Titans, Chen Jiashu's praise was naturally even stronger:

"I think this was a near-perfect performance. You not only had an emotional outpouring, but also technical finesse. Especially the drummer, that 32nd note combo in the chorus just now, it was fast, but not just fast, I listened carefully, not a single beat was off, it was fantastic!"

With their mentor's endorsement, the Titans bowed contentedly and left the stage.

They walked along the passageway towards the waiting area.

“It’s a sure thing.” Li Qiye tugged at his collar. “Since Teacher Chen has put it this way, our advancement is a done deal.”

Zhao Xukun chuckled and whispered, "Advancing is no problem, the key is the one after us. We've just heated up the atmosphere, if those guys can't handle it, they'll be crushed to dust on the spot."

"Heh, two days, sci-fi theme, there's nowhere to copy." The keyboardist sneered, then suddenly realized he might have spoken a bit too loudly. He quickly turned around to make sure no cameras were pointing at him before he felt relieved.

As the group was chatting, the host He Dong's voice rang out again:

"Thank you Titan Band for the amazing performance. Next up is Kasuga Kage Band, who drew the 'sci-fi' theme the day before yesterday. Apparently, they only needed two days to create a brand new original song. I'm curious if the judges and audience are as curious as I am about their performance. Please welcome Kasuga Kage Band and their 'A Thousand Years Later'!"

A few seconds later, the clear sound of a piano rang out. The piano playing wasn't complicated, but it created an ethereal atmosphere in the studio.

Immediately afterwards, a melodious and spacious sound joined in, like a whistle blowing in the wilderness.

The five members of the Titans had just arrived in the waiting area when they heard the commotion, and their smiles froze.

Li Qiye was taken aback for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "Where did this instrument come from? Was it used for accompaniment?"

Playing pre-made backing tracks is a big no-no on band talent shows.

Bassist Zhou Tie frowned and carefully examined the sound: "It's not accompaniment. This timbre sounds like it's being played from a MIDI keyboard. Piano and whistle are built-in keyboard sounds."

"Nonsense, how could I not recognize this as a keyboard?" Li Qiye said impatiently. "I'm asking, who's playing the keyboard? Among those four kids, Kasuga Kage, who's the keyboardist!"

Everyone knows that the Spring Shadow Band has one lead singer, one guitarist, one bassist, and one drummer; they don't even have a keyboardist.

Zhao Xukun couldn't hold back any longer: "Let's go, let's go take a look ahead!"

The five people quickly ran back into the passage, and when they reached the end of the passage, they hid at the edge of the curtain and peeked out.

At this moment, a beam of pale blue light shone on the stage.

The beam of light shone on the left side of the stage.

Standing there was Qiu Mengxue, but she wasn't the guitarist today. In front of the girl was a double-layer MIDI keyboard.

The already pure and beautiful girl was now focused, her nimble hands moving gracefully across the black and white piano keys. Not only did the music she produced become ethereal, but the scene itself was also a feast for the eyes.

Following the light to the center, Qi Yuan stood in front of a standing microphone. Around his neck hung the guitar that originally belonged to Qiu Mengxue.

“What the hell…” Li Qiye gritted his teeth.

Just then, the intro ended, Qi Yuan strummed the guitar strings, and leaned closer to the microphone:

My heartbeat has become erratic.

Even dreams are not free.

Love is an absolute promise, it's not spoken.

"Hold on for a thousand years"

Clean and restrained, yet carrying an unspeakable sense of destiny. As soon as Qi Yuan's voice came out, everyone in the huge studio involuntarily focused their attention on him.

There are no heart-wrenching screams, no booming distorted guitars. Only simple synthesizer effects and guitar chords. But these few lyrics are like a whisper from someone to ruins in a desolate world.

Without any further explanation, everyone felt a sense of loneliness that transcended the dimension of time—what else could this be but science fiction?

Using science fiction to express love also falls under the science fiction theme.

The five members of the Titans stood frozen at the edge of the curtain, none of them uttering a word.

On stage, Qi Yuan closed his eyes, his fingers sweeping across the strings. Ning Qianyu's drums and Jiang Yi's bass joined in precisely on time. The entire arrangement immediately became richer.

When the song entered the chorus, Qi Yuan's voice suddenly rose, but it remained relaxed and natural, as if he hadn't exerted any effort at all.

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..."

In the front row of the audience, some musicians couldn't help but stand up. In the judges' seats, Zhou Taishan took off his black-rimmed glasses, and Liang Fei clasped her hands together to her lips, her eyes filled with disbelief.

As for the area around the stage, next to the curtain, and at the entrance to the passageway.

Li Qiye's fingers unconsciously gripped the edge of the curtain, his knuckles turning white. His prized guitar solo sounded noisy and weak in the face of such a top-notch melody.

Zhao Xukun's Adam's apple bobbed, and the smugness he had displayed on stage vanished completely. He turned to look at Zhou Tie and found his bassist staring at the stage, his eyes filled with shock.

"Two days? Absolutely impossible..." Zhou Tie muttered to himself, "How did they manage to do this arrangement, this harmonic progression?"

No one mentioned laughing at him anymore. The boy on stage was so perfect that even his breathing rhythm was flawless.

Perhaps the two performances were indeed overwhelmingly superior, but who really outshone whom?

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.

Isn't 058 a coincidence?

When Haruhi Kage finished her performance, the audience erupted in prolonged applause.

The second round of the "Tomorrow's Band" themed competition was no longer entirely comprised of contestants, unlike the first round of group matches. This time, the audience consisted of real people, all of whom were interested in the bands and had obtained free tickets through the registration process.

Since these audience members are already interested in bands, their favorite style is naturally rock. However, the quality of some works undoubtedly transcends musical style.

“This song, ‘A Thousand Years Later,’” Zhou Taishan spoke first, “is clearly not in the style of rock; it’s more pop. Could you explain why you chose this style?”

Upon hearing this, both Liang Fei and Chen Jiashu seemed to be deep in thought.

They realized that since Zhou Taishan had already pointed out that the song's style was more pop than rock, it was better not to dwell on that point when it was their turn to comment.

Qi Yuan took the microphone off the stand and said, "Because I didn't have a choice. I drew science fiction when I drew lots, and coincidentally, I had just written a song related to science fiction, so I could only use this one. But I'm confident in the quality of this song, and I'm also confident in my and my teammates' performance on the spot."

Zhou Taishan smiled and narrowed his eyes: "You mean, you wrote this song a long time ago?"

Qi Yuan shrugged: "Of course, who can write lyrics and music like this, plus arrangement, in just two days? Of course, I didn't handle the arrangement; it's all thanks to Qiu Mengxue from our team."

Liang Fei suddenly became interested: "Staff, could you please get another microphone for Qiu Mengxue?"