A band, or a battleground?

[Ten minutes? He wrote the lyrics and music for "Existence" on the spot? I even saw the sheet music marked on the paper. This isn't just genius; it's like God is feeding him talent! Is the music scene finally about to produce a monster?]

He was only seventeen, facing an empty home alone; no wonder he could write such profound songs.

"Being misunderstood is the fate of the communicator." "It's hard to hate a group of people you've never met." Are these really things a high school student could say? I see many adults in their thirties and forties who don't live as clearly or profoundly as he does.

[Xu Xi was actually overshadowed by a high school student!]

[This is what they call having nothing to hide; those who resorted to underhanded tactics have finally met their match!]

Although his father broke the law, his statement, "He felt he was fine as he was, and didn't want me to get involved in that line of work, so he forced me to go to school," still touched me deeply.

These girls truly treat Qi Yuan like family. When reporters asked about his family situation, they instinctively protected him, not wanting to reopen old wounds. This incredible bond between the band members is absolutely unbreakable!

Qi Yuan: I need to think about the meaning of existence, I need to create music, and I also need to get into the top 100 in my grade.

Me, also a high school student: Aba aba, how do I do this math problem?

The difference between people is greater than that between dogs.

Qiu Mengxue suddenly sat down next to him and said with a smile, "Did you see the comments and bullet screen messages? They're all supporting you! Occasionally, someone makes sarcastic remarks, and they get chased down and cursed by other netizens!"

Qi Yuan nodded.

Teacher Su Wan coughed twice: "Mengxue, come here for a moment."

Qiu Mengxue froze, slowly stood up, and reluctantly walked to her mother.

Teacher Su Wan said softly, "I know you're teammates and used to each other. But there will be cameras pointing at you a lot from now on, so be careful. Aren't you always a very composed person?"

Qiu Mengxue muttered to herself, "I am very composed..."

Teacher Su Wan: "I didn't realize. Just now, you were way too close to Qi Yuan."

"I was showing him my phone screen. It's too far away for him to see," Qiu Mengxue explained, then naturally changed the subject. "By the way, what are you doing with Sister Liu?"

Teacher Su Wan: "Public opinion events are very important, so of course I have to keep an eye on them and see how Tianhua Entertainment is operating."

Qiu Mengxue blinked: "Then do you understand?"

"I think I understand now..." Ms. Su sighed. "The connections and organizational capabilities of such a large company are something that amateur agents can't compare to. They can handle someone deliberately trying to smear us so quickly and effectively. I can feel more at ease now."

"Of course."

Qiu Mengxue responded with a smile, but as soon as she turned her head, her smile froze on her face.

Because she saw that there was someone else next to Qi Yuan. This time it was Jiang Yi, who, under the same pretense of showing him her phone, sat next to him, their shoulders almost touching!

Since she was old enough to understand, Qiu Mengxue had not felt so dissatisfied with her mother in a long time.

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.

111 Isn't this because they have experience?

After get off work, Lin Yan sat at her workstation, arranged the takeout that had just arrived, and put on her headphones.

Because she knew that today was the ninth episode of "The Tomorrow Band".

After the preview for episode eight, even casual viewers who didn't specifically follow Chunriying's account knew that the student band's chosen collaborator was none other than Shen Yihan, a top female star known for her famously off-key performances. Their collaboration will be showcased in episode nine.

Even casual viewers couldn't help but look forward to it, and Lin Yan, as one of the earliest fans, was naturally even more eager to watch. Unfortunately, she was busy dealing with her boss's requests the moment the program aired.

At this point, I started watching the main program, enjoying the daily interactions between the Spring Shadow Band and Shen Yihan while eating... By the time "In the Name of the Father" was performed, my disposable lunchbox was empty.

So she unscrewed the iced cola, drank it, and listened to the song.

She had already heard it live once before, but hearing it again felt different. Suddenly, she noticed a comment on the screen:

[Domestic gangsters don't use guns, this song is clearly about foreign gangsters!]

[This is clearly inspired by a foreign film. I don't know what idiot would say Qi Yuan had a history with organized crime...]

Lin Yan muttered to herself, "Is the audience really that broad? Do we even need to talk about this?"

She remembers clearly that the song received a round of pure applause at the event. Even if some people didn't like it, they just didn't like rap; no one would think that Qi Yuan wrote the song because of some personal experience.

Then she scrolled down the mouse wheel, glanced at the comments section, and was immediately stunned.

One of the two most upvoted comments is: "Why is Qi Yuan able to write songs like this? Because his family is involved in organized crime..."

This one was posted earlier, but its likes have already been surpassed by another one:

Go watch Xu Xi's spring film interview; she's already made everything very clear. Those who deliberately smear others—I wonder what their motives are, and how much money they were paid?

"An exclusive interview? Xu Xi?"

Lin Yan then searched online and found Xu Xi's band interview program, as well as the trending search on the charts.

She couldn't help but look up at the sky and sigh, "What have I missed while I was busy with work?!"

Then, just as I opened the interview program, before I even had a chance to watch it, a friend online sent me a new message: "[Spring Film Studio signed with Tianhua, did you know?]"

This friend was none other than Zhang Yanyan, the female college student from Beijing who had previously taken her to watch the recording of "The Tomorrow Band".

Lin Yan replied: 【I don't know!】

Zhang Yanyan: [It's okay, you know now. The key is that after signing with the company, we can come up with even more creative ideas.]

Lin Yan: [I know that, they did a live stream last time.]

Zhang Yanyan: [Did you watch that live stream? It was so interesting! Shen Yihan even appeared!]

Lin Yan sighed and sent a animated emoji of a puppy carrying bricks.

Then type: [Sister, I have to go to work. I'm a corporate slave.]

Zhang Yanyan: [It's okay if you haven't seen it, but do you want to join the fan group? Ning Qianyu posted a new blog post saying she's organizing an official fan group. Besides her, Qi Yuan and Qiu Mengxue will also be lurking in the group.]

Lin Yan: [A fan group can only have a maximum of two thousand people, right? With Chunriying's number of fans, how many groups would you need to create?]

Zhang Yanyan: [We've now created twenty-eight groups.]

Lin Yan: [Yeah, can they even keep up with all the diving?]

Zhang Yanyan: [Regardless of whether they're really lurking or not, Ning Qianyu also said that they'll be live-streaming in the group chat from time to time. As long as it's an official fan group, even if there are a hundred groups, they'll be live-streaming.]

Lin Yan: [That does have some appeal.]

Zhang Yanyan: [And I'm the administrator of group number twenty-one.]

Lin Yan: [Boss! Help me out!]

Zhang Yanyan: [Haha, no problem! Wait a minute, the group is full. I'll kick out one of my alternate accounts and then add you in.]

Less than half a minute later, Lin Yan became a new member of the [Spring Shadow Official Fan Group (21)].

The other group members ignored her, the newcomer, and were chatting about the upcoming live stream in the group.

Is this really a live stream by Chunriying? Could it be someone from Tianhua?

Definitely not, it's already stated on the blog.

I'm pooping right now, I'm too scared to wipe myself, I'm afraid I'll miss it.

Why don't you wipe it off first? Otherwise, what will you do if it dries out...?

[Can you please stop being so disgusting? I'm eating!]

Although the comments were all from other group members, Lin Yan read them with great interest.

Suddenly, the group admin posted a link, followed by a notification: "[Haruhi's one-minute live stream is starting. The group is temporarily muted to avoid pushing the live stream window to the top. You can see it by entering through this link.]"

Lin Yan immediately clicked on it and sure enough, she saw Qi Yuan, Qiu Mengxue, and Jiang Yi. Ning Qianyu wasn't in the shot, but viewers only needed to think for a moment to understand that they were live-streaming on their phones, so naturally someone needed to hold the phone.

Qiu Mengxue started by saying, "Hello everyone."

Qi Yuan followed: "We are..."

Jiang Yi: "Spring Shadow Band!"

Ning Qianyu's voice came from off-camera: "Your tone is so unnatural, it's a bit awkward."

Qiu Mengxue glared at the girl in charge of the phone camera: "That's because your idea is so awkward!"

Qi Yuan: "This is how Qianyu normally performs."

"I'm not going to feel awkward!" Ning Qianyu retorted. "Let's get down to business!"

Qi Yuan took a step back, giving the two girls some space. However, Jiang Yi took two steps back instead.

So Qiu Mengxue had to say, "Our new stage is now online, and as you may have noticed, there's been an organized effort to smear Qi Yuan. Thank you all for speaking up... no, Qi Yuan, shouldn't you be the one saying that?"

Qi Yuan: "I'm afraid some people will call me a tyrant, so you guys speak up."

Qiu Mengxue laughed and said, "Look, Qi Yuan is afraid of being criticized. But it's okay, we are still rehearsing normally and preparing for the semi-finals. I can reveal now that one of the two songs in the semi-finals is the one that appeared in the interview program, 'Existence'."

After a brief silence, Ning Qianyu asked again, "Is there anything else you want to say to everyone? Qi Yuan, stop hiding, I won't call you a tyrant anymore, just tell us."

Qi Yuan stepped forward, smiled at the camera, and said, "Thank you all so much for your support. But I want to emphasize again that the band doesn't have any commercial plans right now. If anyone asks you for money, they are definitely not from the band. We won't be releasing any albums or anything like that before 'Tomorrow's Band' ends, so please don't be fooled."

Ning Qianyu: "You really care about legal risks, huh..."

Qi Yuan: "There's no other way, I've been taking the blame before, haven't I?"

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.

112 On how to relieve emotions

After airing the first nine episodes and generating buzz for a few more days, the semi-finals of "The Coming One" finally began.

After lunch that day, the contestants went to the studio and received their semi-final lineup.

Ning Qianyu looked at the form in her hand and asked in surprise, "After all the bands have finished performing, the audience will vote online, and we are the last to perform. What does that mean?"

“It means we’re the ones who benefited,” Qiu Mengxue said, pursing her lips. “It also means you weren’t listening to the director just now.”

Ning Qianyu asked blankly, "What did the director say?"

Qi Yuan: "The director said that the order of appearance in the semi-finals was determined by the number of votes received in the previous round. We received the most votes in the previous round, so we were originally scheduled to appear last."

Ning Qianyu: "I see..."

Qi Yuan: "But you were managing the fan group when the director was speaking, so it's normal that you didn't hear it."

However, Jiang Yi immediately exposed her: "What do you mean by managing a fan group? You're clearly spying on people and stealing the emojis they post!"

"Okay, you..." Ning Qianyu couldn't refute it, so she could only reach out and tickle Jiang Yi's waist.

The two girls immediately started making a ruckus.

Qiu Mengxue sat down on another sofa next to her, clasped her hands together, and took a deep breath.

Qi Yuan patted her on the shoulder: "If you feel nervous, why not do what Qianyu and Yiyi do, have some fun and joke around, and you won't be nervous anymore."

Qiu Mengxue glanced at the two of them, smiled, and shook her head: "Forget it, I'm still not used to them being like that."

Qi Yuan: "How about I scratch you and see?"

Qiu Mengxue shook her head even more violently: "Please don't! I'm even more ticklish than the two of them! And if you're just messing around with me, it won't be long before there's a scandal, right?"

Suddenly, a countdown of 10, 9, 8 appeared on the screen hanging on the wall.

The contestants in the waiting area immediately attracted attention.

Qiu Mengxue asked in surprise, "Is it about to begin?"

Qi Yuan: "It's already four o'clock in the afternoon, that's when it started."

As the ten-second countdown ended, accompanied by dazzling lights, host He Dong appeared on stage and announced:

"Good evening, everyone! Welcome to the grand finale of the semi-finals of Tomorrow's Band. I am your host, He Dong."

"From their initial brilliance during the auditions to the fierce competition in the themed challenge, after a brutal elimination process, today, the ten truly top-tier bands are still standing backstage on this stage."

"Tonight, there will be no editing; this is a live broadcast with zero delay!"

"Tonight, there will be no draw or any theme restrictions! Ten bands will shed all their shackles and use their best and most expressive original music to meet this war without gunpowder."

At this point, He Dong pointed to the camera lens in front of him.

"More importantly, from this moment on, the power to decide their fate is in your hands! Each mobile phone number has a precious vote, and the audience's vote will directly determine which band will get a ticket to the finals!"

"Of course, we should also give a round of applause to the three mentors who have accompanied the contestants all the way. They are..."

The camera then cut to the mentors' seats at the opportune moment.