A band, or a battleground?

Meanwhile, Zhao Shanfu was still downstairs scratching his head: "This kid, he sounds a bit mature..."

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.

007's Mother and Teacher

After Qiu Mengxue opened her door using facial recognition, she was surprised to find only darkness.

My mother, who is a high school music teacher, had already finished get off work and it wasn't her bedtime yet, so there should have been at least one light on in the house.

Less than half a minute after the girl returned home, the door opened again.

Her mother, Su Wan, only came back at this time.

Qiu Mengxue quickly figured out what was going on, rushed to her mother, and said, "You've been following me again, haven't you?!"

Su Wan smiled and said, "You always come home so late. How can I not keep an eye on you? Besides, it's not just you, but also Qianyu and Yiyi. Their parents have asked me to look after you too."

Qiu Mengxue: "So, you saw everything?"

Su Wan: "I saw it. You guys are pretty clever. Your place was taken, and you still know to ask Qi Yuan to scare people."

Qiu Mengxue: "No, we didn't invite Qi Yuan to scare people... well, that was true at first, but it changed later. He really will join the band and be with us in the future."

Su Wan smiled and asked, "Because you need free bodyguards?"

Qiu Mengxue quickly shook her head: "No!"

Su Wanruo pondered, "That's right. That kid's personality is something you can't just coax. So why did you let him join? Does he actually have a really good voice?"

Qiu Mengxue: "His singing is actually just average, but he can write songs."

Su Wan: "The song that was sung at the very beginning?"

Qiu Mengxue blinked: "Didn't you hear me?"

Su Wan: "Nonsense, I was in the car, and so far away, how could I possibly hear you?"

Qiu Mengxue: "Then you should be able to see the audience's reaction. Their strong reaction is because of Qi Yuan's song."

Su Wan pouted: "I thought you were going to sing the new song I wrote for you."

Qiu Mengxue hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Mom, forgive me for being blunt, but the songs you wrote can't compare to Qi Yuan's."

"How dare you!" Su Wan said mockingly, "How dare you talk about your mother like that? Don't you want your allowance anymore?"

"I'm not kidding, really, and it's not just you. I think everyone I know in real life combined can write songs better than him. You'll see!"

Qiu Mengxue took out her phone, opened the photo album, and the first picture was that song.

The sheet music and lyrics for "Blue Lotus" were written in Qi Yuan's exercise book, which he naturally put in his schoolbag and took home. But before returning it, Qiu Mengxue took a picture with her phone, which she now showed to her mother.

Su Wan took the phone and looked at it for a while.

At first, she just glanced at the songs casually and hummed along. But gradually, her expression became more serious, and her gaze grew increasingly solemn.

After a long while, Su Wan let out a long sigh.

Qiu Mengxue quickly asked, "What do you think? Isn't it great?"

Instead of responding directly to her daughter, Su Wan took her phone and went into the study, turning on the desktop computer.

Qiu Mengxue curiously leaned closer and then saw her mother log onto the copyright query website.

After inputting the melody of "Blue Lotus" and confirming that the copyright for this melody had not been registered either domestically or internationally, Su Wan turned around and solemnly said, "You have to tell Qi Yuan tomorrow to register the copyright for this song as soon as possible."

“But we’re not in the same class, and we’re not really that close…” Qiu Mengxue thought for a moment, “It’s okay, I’ll tell Yi Yi tomorrow. She’s in the same class as Qi Yuan, so it’ll be easier for us to talk.”

Su Wan glanced at the timetable and shook her head: "Never mind, Yi Yi doesn't need to tell me. We have a music class for Class 7 tomorrow anyway, I'll just tell him directly."

Qiu Mengxue couldn't help but ask, "So Mom, what do you think of this song? Isn't it better than the songs you wrote for me?"

Su Wan rolled her eyes: "What do you think? Why ask a question when you already know the answer?"

Qiu Mengxue then asked, "So, what are your plans for their music class tomorrow?"

"Music appreciation..." Su Wan narrowed her eyes, "You also want to guide me on the course content?"

Qiu Mengxue quickly waved her hands: "No, no, I just wanted to make a suggestion. Qi Yuan said he had other songs in mind, and I'm curious if they're as good as Blue Lotus, but I'm too embarrassed to ask directly, otherwise it would seem like I'm being too opportunistic..."

Su Wan retorted bluntly, "It's all about self-interest. You let him join your band, weren't you just after his songs?"

Qiu Mengxue hesitated, "But how can I say it directly! Besides, this is quite important. I'm thinking, if he really has such strong creative ability and it's very consistent, maybe we can also sign up for that variety show."

Su Wan raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised: "You mean, Tomorrow Band?"

Qiu Mengxue nodded solemnly.

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 a peaceful night, Qi Yuan set off for school the next morning.

He was neither late nor caused any trouble. He quietly walked to his seat, sat down, and then took out his textbook to start reading.

At first, this scene didn't seem like much, but as more and more students noticed it, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

Jiang Yi noticed something strange when she entered the classroom.

Compared to the usual morning hustle and bustle, the classroom was unusually quiet today, the background noise seemed to have been reduced by twenty decibels. Those students copying homework were still busy with their heads down. But those who didn't need to copy homework would occasionally glance towards the back of the classroom.

Jiang Yi glanced at the many people's gazes and then spotted Qi Yuan reading a book.

She was also somewhat shocked.

You see, just yesterday morning, Qi Yuan entered the classroom after the first period had already started, and the Chinese teacher, used to this, simply ignored him. This guy entered the classroom without saying a word, then sprawled out on his seat and started sleeping. He slept for over an hour, and when he woke up, the third period had already begun. He simply got up and left, and the math teacher ignored him as well.

Qi Yuan was able to attend high school entirely because his father paid a school selection fee. Although he would get into fights from time to time, he rarely bullied other students at school, and all his fights took place off-campus. Moreover, his father had signed a contract with the school from the beginning, meaning that whatever happened to Qi Yuan off-campus was not the school's responsibility.

Everyone understood that Uncle Qi wanted his son to do well in school, at least to have a proper environment to be influenced by. However, the students felt that this kind of influence was completely useless.

But what's going on today?

Is Qi Yuan really going to change?

The girl sitting next to him whispered, "Did you see what Qi Yuan was doing?"

Jiang Yi responded softly, "I saw it."

"Did his dad beat him up badly and force him to study?"

"I think his dad probably couldn't beat him..."

The girl sitting next to him curled her lip and said, "It's hard to say. I heard that his father is a professional thug."

Jiang Yi was taken aback: "There really is such a profession?"

"His family is just a bunch of scoundrels, how could they possibly expect their son to study hard and improve every day!"

However, Jiang Yi remembered the song "Blue Lotus" from last night, pursed her lips, and did not respond.

She thought, maybe?

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's there to be afraid of in 008?

For the rest of the morning, Qi Yuan did not run out of the classroom or disrupt the class.

Fortunately, he didn't raise his hand to answer any questions. Otherwise, his classmates would have really wondered if this guy had been possessed.

After the last class of the morning, the students went to the cafeteria for lunch—this is when connections really come into play.

Those who are solitary go alone, while those with friends go in groups. As for Qi Yuan, of course, someone came to find him as well.

There were three boys sitting in the last row, none of them looking particularly intimidating. One of them even had a cigarette pack peeking out of his uniform pocket. However, they all acted friendly and humble towards Qi Yuan.

"Brother Yuan, want to go eat?"

The one who spoke was Xie Jinpeng, the leader of the delinquents in Class 7. But Xie Jinpeng knew very well that he was just the leader, not the boss. If Qi Yuan hadn't been so busy fighting outside of school, he wouldn't have had any say in the small group.

Therefore, Xie Jinpeng has always been very respectful to him.

Qi Yuan hesitated only briefly before deciding to go with them.

He knew that his behavior was already quite different from the original owner's, so there was no need to deliberately amplify that impression.

However, as the four boys walked out of the classroom, they did not notice that three beautiful girls were watching them from the door of Class 1, which was a little further away.

Those were Qiu Mengxue, Ning Qianyu, and Jiang Yi.

Ning Qianyu said, "I don't know much about your class, those guys who walked with Qi Yuan..."

Jiang Yi affirmed, "They're the naughtiest ones in our class. No, they're not just naughty; they don't listen in class, they don't do their homework, and sometimes they bully the quieter students and even harass girls. Many people have complaints about them, but telling the teacher is useless. Their parents all paid money to get them in."

Ning Qianyu asked curiously, "Does Qi Yuan also bully people and harass girls?"

Jiang Yi thought for a moment and shook her head: "I'm not too sure. I've never seen him bully any classmates, I mean the guys next to him, they like to bully people. But Qi Yuan hangs out with them..."

At this moment, Qiu Mengxue suddenly said, "I don't believe that someone who can write a song like 'Blue Lotus' would bully his classmates."

Ning Qianyu then asked, "Should we still invite him to lunch? Mengxue, you said it's something the whole band needs to discuss, do we really have to include him?"

As the group of delinquents drew closer, two of them even noticing them, Jiang Yi couldn't help but take a step back and whispered, "Why don't you tell us first, and I'll find some time this afternoon, during break time or something, to go find him..."

"No, there's no need!"

Qiu Mengxue did not back down, but instead went to meet her.

Now, Qi Yuan and the three delinquents beside him all noticed her.

Qiu Mengxue walked a few steps away from them before stopping, glancing at them and noticing the confusion on their faces.

We are clearly from two different worlds, why should the well water interfere with the river water?

Then she stared at Qi Yuan and asked, "Are you coming to have lunch with us?"

Xie Jinpeng whistled and teased, "You specifically sought out Brother Yuan because you wanted to confess your feelings to him?"

Qiu Mengxue frowned slightly.

Qi Yuan said, "Sorry, this guy is prone to offending people with his words. I just wanted to ask, is it about the band?"

Qiu Mengxue nodded.

“No problem,” Qi Yuan glanced at the boys beside him, “You guys go eat, don’t worry about me, I have something to do.”

Xie Jinpeng: "A band?"

The other two boys also started to egg them on:

"Brother Yuan, you're in a band too?"

"Why go through all these fancy tricks when you're just trying to pick up girls?"

Qi Yuan laughed and scolded, "Are you trying to cause trouble for me?"

Xie Jinpeng immediately stated, "We absolutely won't cause any trouble or ruin Brother Yuan's plans. We're leaving now!"

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.

"They listen to you."

Ning Qianyu said this in the cafeteria.

At this moment, Qi Yuan and three girls were sitting at a table, occupying all four seats. The table was located in a corner of the cafeteria, but it still attracted the attention of several students.

There's no way around it, three beautiful girls together are already eye-catching enough, and adding Qi Yuan on top of that is like putting a fuse on a bomb and lighting a fire.

Qi Yuan said calmly, "They just think I'm a good fighter, so they take me a little seriously. By the way, what are we going to discuss today?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Qiu Mengxue.

Qiu Mengxue took out her phone, and a poster image was displayed on the screen. It was a variety show called "Tomorrow's Band".

Jiang Yi exclaimed "Ah!" and quickly said, "I've seen this show. It's in its third season, right?"

Ning Qianyu raised an eyebrow, realizing that things were not so simple: "Mengxue, you don't mean to say that we should also participate in this talent show, do you?"

Qiu Mengxue said solemnly, "That's right, I want to sign up. The application materials for Tomorrow's Band Season 3 are very simple: the band members' identification documents and a video of their live performance, that's all."

Jiang Yi quickly replied, "But we still have to go to school!"

Qiu Mengxue: "I've already checked. The recording starts right after our final exams. We can use the entire summer vacation to participate in the recording. Maybe we won't even have to wait the whole summer before we're eliminated."

The dining table was quiet for a short while.