A band, or a battleground?

Qi Yuan felt a slight tremor in his heart.

Because the girl's expression was so moving, and she was unaware of it. It was that kind of delicate balance where she was clearly having a huge amount of inner turmoil, yet trying so hard to hide it, so cautiously trying to avoid being discovered.

Qi Yuan had been single for far too long, to the point that being single had become a habit. However, this didn't mean he was truly a blockhead, or the martial monk Ning Qianyu had described. He could, of course, guess what the girl's true intentions were when she invited him to this place late at night, under the moonlight, and brought up this kind of topic.

But from a rational perspective, if not handled properly, it's a ticking time bomb in a band.

Let's not even talk about being in a committed relationship; if they're just flirting, won't the other two bandmates notice? What will they think if they do? Besides, teenage romances are the most delicate thing. If one of them gets carried away and starts arguing, how can the band continue?

Seeing that Spring Shadow has just gotten on the fast track, at this time, of course, we can't just swerve.

Besides, the other party is, after all, a sixteen-year-old girl. If they were to start a relationship, Qi Yuan felt it would be a bit like bullying a younger girl...

So he took a deep breath and said, "I'm still not interested. At least for now, my focus is on music."

Jiang Yi then asked, "Haven't you met someone you like?"

This question left Qi Yuan a little confused—did this girl think he had fallen for someone?

He answered frankly, "If you're asking about cute, likable girls, of course there are. But dating is too time-consuming and energy-draining. You know, we're very busy. We're going on stage again next week, and we don't even know what kind of crossover celebrities the production team will arrange for us, or whether we'll be able to cooperate."

Jiang Yi nodded, muttering, "I don't plan to talk about it, but there is someone worth talking to... is it Mengxue?"

Qi Yuan laughed: "Why do you think it's her?"

Jiang Yi persisted, asking, "Isn't it her?"

Qi Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then said in a low voice, "Okay, that does include her, is that alright?"

Jiang Yi opened her mouth as if to speak, but then stopped herself.

What does 'including her' mean?

Aren't there more than one cute and lovable girl?

Could it also include...?

Jiang Yi dared not think any further. She felt that just imagining the possibility made her heart leap out of her throat.

Fortunately, Qi Yuan steered the conversation back on track: "By the way, didn't you say you wanted to talk about music?"

Jiang Yi quickly said, "Yes, we were talking about music. I wanted to ask, you wrote 'Hair Like Snow' for Mengxue and 'A Thousand Years Later' for Qianyu. Could you write one for me too?"

Qi Yuan: "It's possible, but we need to make it clear that 'Fa Ruxue' was written for the show and has nothing to do with Mengxue."

Jiang Yi: "Then why is the song title related to her name?"

"You mean, they both have the character 'snow' in them?" Qi Yuan's lips twitched. "No, it's just a coincidence!"

Jiang Yi: "But the song title you wrote for Qianyu also has the character 'Qian' in it."

Qi Yuan: "..."

He came to understand how helpless the victims of literary inquisitions in ancient times were.

Jiang Yi observed his expression and whispered, "It's okay. Since you said it wasn't written for Mengxue, then it wasn't. But, could you write a song with a title related to me?"

Qi Yuan thought for a moment and then asked, "Can you make a word using characters from your name?"

Jiang Yi opened her mouth slightly and thought for a long time, but found that it was really not easy to make.

What comes to mind when you think of the character '姜' (ginger)? Ginger slices, minced ginger, Jiang Taigong fishing?

The character '伊' is even more troublesome. Apart from place names and country names, it seems to be used almost never in everyday contexts! There's a line in an ancient poem that goes something like 'The one I love is on the other side of the water,' but how do you write a song about that?

Qi Yuan spread his hands and said, "Look, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just a bit difficult. Unless you relax the restrictions a bit, and don't insist on using your name. For example, with the moonlight right now, I might be able to write a poem, and you'd know it's for you, how about that?"

The girl looked at him, then at the moon in the sky, and suddenly realized an extra kind of romance—if he wrote another beautiful song, and everyone else simply appreciated it, but only she knew that it was written for her, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Isn't this a little secret that only two people in the whole world know?

Jiang Yi nodded vigorously: "Okay."

So Qi Yuan looked up at the moon and began to ponder.

He remembered a song titled "Moonlight" by a male singer surnamed Hu, but it didn't quite fit the current atmosphere. More importantly, it was too difficult; he couldn't even sing it properly.

However, there's another veteran "sweetheart queen" who also has a song like this...

He began to sing softly:

"Under the crescent moon's light, dandelions drift aimlessly."

"Like fireworks flashing with a faint light"

"Search for the direction of happiness under the cover of night."

"Getting hurt is inevitable..."

Qi Yuan sang very softly, with a low pitch and no difficulty.

But Jiang Yi's eyes widened, filled with surprise.

"On the winding path, dandelions are singing."

"The stars shine where the wind blows."

"Search for the direction of happiness under the cover of night."

"Getting hurt is inevitable..."

Qi Yuan stopped singing at this point.

Jiang Yi asked instinctively, "Was that a repeat of the verse just now?"

Qi Yuan smiled wryly and said, "No, I can't think of any words."

This song, "Moonlight," wasn't a particularly popular song, nor was it particularly catchy; its only strength was its beautiful melody. He'd only listened to it a few times; being able to sing it was already an achievement, let alone remember all the lyrics.

But when I looked at Jiang Yi again, there was no sign of disappointment on her face.

The girl's peach blossom eyes sparkled, like gems illuminated by moonlight.

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.

What are they doing, 074?

Qi Yuan knew that when his mind was blocked, going for a walk was better than sitting in one place.

But it's only good to a limited extent.

He and Jiang Yi left the hotel and walked on the street for a while. He then sang the chorus after the verse, but the lyrics were still incomplete, and some parts were even replaced with "la la la".

Even so, Jiang Yi was very happy.

She was so close to Qi Yuan that she could barely walk properly. With her hands behind her back, she would occasionally hop around, muttering:

"This song has completely overturned my impression of you. You actually managed to write such a girly song! But if you sang such a girly song on stage, everyone would be quite surprised, right?"

Qi Yuan: "This song isn't really suitable for me; it would be more appropriate for you to sing it."

Jiang Yi was taken aback: "But you're the lead singer of the band."

Qi Yuan said calmly, "Our band doesn't have that many rules. Whoever is suitable to sing can sing. If you feel too much pressure performing on stage, you can record it privately first. However, there is one problem: this song is incomplete. If you want to sing it, then I would appreciate it if you could help write the lyrics."

Jiang Yi pointed to herself: "You want me to write the lyrics?"

Qi Yuan: "There's nothing I can do, because I can't fill it out."

He still hasn't finished writing the lyrics to the song "Balalaika" that he sang with Qiu Mengxue two months ago. This is enough to make him realize that there are some songs he simply doesn't remember, no matter how long he listens to them.

If I were to write the lyrics myself, it would be fine for other songs, but for "Moonlight," it's something I really can't do.

Because this song is just so girly...

Jiang Yi stood there with her hands behind her back, staring intently at him.

Qi Yuan asked, "What's wrong?"

“I’ve been entrusted with a very difficult task,” the girl said solemnly. “Your songs are so good, and the part I just heard of this song, Moonlight, was especially beautiful. If my lyrics don’t do justice to this song, then…”

Qi Yuan waved his hand: "It's okay, take your time, there's no need to put too much pressure on yourself. Sometimes you're just too much of a perfectionist."

Jiang Yi shook her head and said, "I can be a little lax about other things, but not this song. Don't worry, I'll definitely write the lyrics for it carefully... Hey, did you hear anything?"

After being reminded by her, Qi Yuan listened carefully and indeed discovered a strange noise.

One side of the sidewalk is the road, and the other side is a wide green belt planted with many trees, resembling a long grove. From within the grove, one can faintly hear rapid breathing and shouting.

Qi Yuan suddenly realized what the sound was.

Jiang Yi, however, was much more naive than him, and asked, "Are there people there? What are they doing?"

Qi Yuan: "Yes."

Jiang Yi: "?"

Suddenly, the breathing became louder and clearer.

Jiang Yi then realized that it was two voices intertwined, one male and one female. Hearing this, how could she not understand what it meant?

The girl blushed and turned to leave.

Qi Yuan followed beside her, grinning mischievously as he whispered, "Aren't you going to ask them what they're doing now?"

Jiang Yi puffed out her cheeks, about to complain that he was too mean, but just then, the two people in the grove let out a sprinting shout. Especially the male voice, which sounded somewhat familiar.

Qi Yuan was stunned for a moment: "If I heard correctly, it seems to be..."

Jiang Yi recognized the voice: "Is it the lead singer of the Titans band?"

Qi Yuan's lips twitched slightly: "I have to say, Zhao Xukun is really something, he even went out of his way to do this kind of thing outdoors."

Jiang Yi couldn't help but roll her eyes at him: "Are you envious of him?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "This isn't envy, it's admiration. Think about it, what season is it now?"

Jiang Yi: "Summer."

Qi Yuan: "Yes, in July and August, the indoor air conditioning is more comfortable than the outside. What's even more terrifying is the night. There are swarms of mosquitoes in the green belt. You can't possibly be fully clothed for that kind of thing. I wonder how many bites he'll get."

Jiang Yi chuckled. But in the blink of an eye, she saw two figures emerging from the grove of trees. She quickly grabbed Qi Yuan's arm and said urgently, "We can't let him see us, quick, hide!"

"It's him who's shameful; what do we have to be afraid of?"

Although Qi Yuan said this, he did not resist and let Jiang Yi pull him to the back of a car to hide himself.

There were many cars parked on the roadside, which would be perfect for hiding.

Qi Yuan peeked out from behind the car and took a look. He saw that the two people who had just come out of the grove were indeed Zhao Xukun and a scantily clad young girl.

Zhao Xukun was still fastening his belt.

Then, the two men walked towards the car where Qi Yuan and Jiang Yi were hiding.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Jiang Yi hurriedly asked, "What should we do? We can't let them find us, can we?"

Qi Yuan found the girl's panicked expression somewhat amusing and teased her, saying, "Then jump out and scare them. Besides, we've recorded it, so we can use it to blackmail Titan into withdrawing from the competition."

Jiang Yi's expression changed from panic to blankness: "Huh?"

"Just kidding, okay, let's hide here."

As Qi Yuan spoke, he took her hand and led her to hide on the side of the car closest to the road, and even squatted down.

In this way, Zhao Xukun and his female companion would walk across the sidewalk without ever being noticed.

The footsteps approached and then receded, accompanied by the sound of the two people talking:

"People online are all cursing..."

"Don't mention this, the production team is causing trouble, it's really annoying."

"oh oh."

"I need to rehearse with my teammates tomorrow after we get the draw results. Would you like to hear it?"

"Hehe, okay..."

The two people gradually walked away.

Jiang Yi breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart inexplicably raced again—she noticed that Qi Yuan was still holding her hand and hadn't let go!

But just as the girl started to have wild thoughts, Qi Yuan let go of her hand again.

He stood up, looked in the direction Zhao Xukun and his female companion had gone, and turned back to say, "They're already far away. As you wished, they didn't find us."