A band, or a battleground?

Teacher Su Wan suddenly said, "I was going to remind you that for the final stage, it's best to choose songs that can liven up the atmosphere, not songs that are too quiet. But I didn't expect that Qi Yuan, you had already considered this point?"

Before Qi Yuan could respond, Qiu Mengxue answered for him, "Of course, Qi Yuan has thought about a lot more! We're only starting to think about the finals now, but he's been considering what to sing in the finals from the very beginning..."

Teacher Su Wan looked at her daughter and sighed silently.

Qi Yuan said, "There are three songs in the final, and this is the first one. Then there's 'Life is Like Summer Flowers,' which we've rehearsed before but haven't had a chance to perform yet, so that can be the second one. There's one last song left, let me think about it some more."

Qiu Mengxue was startled and asked, "You're not going to write it tonight, are you?"

Qi Yuan thought to himself that he could actually write it tonight, but after thinking about it, he realized he had already exaggerated enough and there was no need to go any further. Besides, he felt he really needed to seriously consider it.

There are many songs in the playlist of the past life, but which one is the most suitable to use to reach the top?

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.

Halfway through the meal, Qiu Mengxue went to the restroom.

I had just come out of the bathroom when I bumped into my mother.

However, Ms. Su Wan was clearly not in a hurry to go to the toilet. Instead, she stopped her daughter and led her to a secluded corner where no one would be paying attention.

Then Teacher Su asked in a low voice, "Do you still remember what you said back then?"

Qiu Mengxue was taken aback: "What did I say back then?"

Teacher Su Wan: "You said you couldn't possibly be in a relationship, let alone with Qi Yuan."

Qiu Mengxue was even more surprised: "When did I say that?"

Teacher Su Wan sighed: "It was the first time you taught him, at our house. It hasn't been that long, and you've already forgotten?"

Qiu Mengxue recalled for a moment, scratched the back of her head and laughed, "Oh, right, I did say that."

Teacher Su Wan: "So what are you thinking now?"

Qiu Mengxue immediately said, "That's what I think too. Why bother with dating? Isn't it better to focus on making music?"

Teacher Su Wan slowly shook her head: "But things are different for you now. You're famous now, you probably won't lack money in the future, and you'll encounter many temptations in the entertainment industry..."

Qiu Mengxue interrupted, "Mom, why are you making it so complicated? Whether I become famous or not, I'm still me, and Qi Yuan is still Qi Yuan. What's the difference?"

Su Wan scoffed, "You'd better think that way in a few years."

Qiu Mengxue: "Mom, what exactly are you trying to tell me? Are you reminding me not to get too close to Qi Yuan?"

Teacher Su Wan thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "I do disagree, because you are both too young now, and because of my own experience back then... But you are different now. With so many fans and such high popularity, in the future, your every move and Qi Yuan's will affect the band Chunriying and will affect the expectations of many people. So I hope you think it through, instead of focusing on competing with Yi Yi."

Upon hearing "competing with Yi Yi," Qiu Mengxue became a little less confident: "You figured it out?"

Su Wan said irritably, "Who can't see that? If you had changed Qi Yuan's oil dish to a bigger one, the two of you would have given him all the food in the pot! I'm your mother, and I've never received that kind of treatment!"

Qiu Mengxue was speechless.

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.

120, you don't know you're wrong, you're just about to get sick.

"Qianyu, it's all your fault!"

The next morning, Ning Qianyu was awakened by Jiang Yi's angry accusations. As soon as she opened her eyes, her vision was still a little blurry, and she saw her good teammate's face right in front of her.

Jiang Yi pointed to her right cheek: "Look at this!"

Ning Qianyu rubbed her eyes, and once her vision was focused and her mind was a little clearer, she looked again and blurted out, "Acne?"

Jiang Yi: "I ate such greasy food last night, and it gave me pimples! The finals are less than a week away, what am I going to do if these pimples don't go away?!"

Ning Qianyu was taken aback at first, then quickly touched her face and breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, I'm fine."

Jiang Yi was about to cry: "What am I going to do?!"

"Don't worry, let me check what to do." Ning Qianyu said, getting up, picking up her phone, and searching online while brushing her teeth.

Just then, Teacher Su Wan brought in breakfast for four people and called out, "Children, come and eat!"

Qi Yuan and Qiu Mengxue had already sat down at the table and started eating. After a while, Ning Qianyu and Jiang Yi arrived.

Moreover, Jiang Yi was covering her right cheek.

Qi Yuan casually teased, "Yi Yi, what's wrong? Did you get into a fight with Qian Yu?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi glared at Ning Qianyu.

Ning Qianyu pretended not to notice the look her teammate was giving her, and simply pointed to the breakfast on the table and said, "Yiyi, you can't drink milk, so you should drink soy milk instead. It's best if you eat vegetarian steamed buns too. By the way, don't add sugar to the soy milk."

Qi Yuan asked, "What happened?"

Qiu Mengxue also asked, "Yiyi, is your face injured? No, you can drink milk even if your face is injured..."

Jiang Yi sighed and finally slowly lowered her right hand.

“Oh, it’s just a pimple…” Teacher Su Wan’s laughter froze halfway through. “No, the finals are less than a week away. There’s no time to wait for it to go away on its own.”

Jiang Yi sighed, "Moreover, I have a constitution that means I rarely get pimples, but when I do, they can last for a month. I've had them two or three times before, and it was always like that."

Qiu Mengxue analyzed, "Then why did you suddenly break out in pimples today? Was it because you ate too much spicy and oily food last night?"

Jiang Yi glared angrily at Ning Qianyu.

Ning Qianyu looked out the window and subconsciously whistled. This time it wasn't "Blue Lotus," but "I Want to Fly," which Qi Yuan had just written last night.

Upon hearing the tune, Jiang Yi became even more furious: "I finally get to be a sub-vocalist, what am I going to do if I go on stage with acne?!"

Ning Qianyu quickly said, "I'll put on makeup before going on stage, just a little makeup will do..."

"It won't get better!" Jiang Yi said, getting angrier. "Didn't I just tell you? A week from now, that will be when my pimples are at their worst, all red, swollen, and covered in whiteheads. No amount of foundation can cover them up!"

Ning Qianyu: "Why don't you wear a mask on stage?"

Jiang Yi couldn't resist and reached out to tickle the guy's waist.

Ning Qianyu was about to dodge when Qi Yuan grabbed her wrist. Moreover, Qi Yuan used both hands to hold both of her wrists.

The short-haired girl asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "Yi Yi is too pitiful. You should apologize properly."

"I—hahahaha, I'm sorry, let me go!"

Ning Qianyu twisted and turned like a fish that had been caught and was struggling. Jiang Yi, meanwhile, gritted her teeth and kept scratching.

Jiang Yi scratched herself and muttered, "Wear a mask! You make me wear a mask! I finally got to sing on stage, and you still make me wear a mask!"

Ning Qianyu: "Oh oh oh... I was wrong, I was wrong, Sister Yi Yi, I was really wrong! I will definitely help you find a way!"

As soon as Qi Yuan let go, Ning Qianyu darted behind him, only peeking out with her head, and said, "There really is a way! You have to believe in science! I just checked, you can apply some salicylic acid, and it should be better in less than a week!"

Jiang Yi squinted and asked, "What if it doesn't get better in a week?"

Ning Qianyu thought nervously for a few seconds, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "That's it! You don't have to wear a mask, but you can stick something on! Like a sticker, just stick it on your pimple before going on stage to cover it up!"

After thinking for a moment, Ms. Su Wan said, "I remember a girl in our school used something called a pimple patch. I think it was something like that. I asked her in class what it was about and why she was putting something on her face, and that's when I found out it was used to cover up pimples."

Ning Qianyu quickly replied, "Oh right, there must be such a thing. Let's go buy it later! Online shopping takes forever, so let's just go shopping!"

Teacher Su Wan casually reminded you, "With your current fame, if you go out shopping, you might actually get surrounded by people asking for autographs."

Ning Qianyu was somewhat skeptical: "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Qiu Mengxue waved her phone: "Very likely. We were trending again last night during the semi-finals. Even with Tianhua's involvement, we've been trending several times already, so it wouldn't be surprising if we were recognized when we go out."

At this moment, Qi Yuan was also looking at his phone when he suddenly said, "Then you guys go first. Sister Liu asked me if I wanted to go check out the venue for the finals. We can split up."

Hearing him say that, Jiang Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She wanted Qi Yuan to see her with acne as little as possible, which suited her perfectly.

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.

"In the end, we still have to wear masks..."

As Jiang Yi sat in the back seat of the car, she muttered something under her breath.

Ning Qianyu, sitting in the front row, turned around and said, "It's not just you. Look, we're both wearing masks."

This time, Su Wan was still driving, but the only passengers were Ning Qianyu and Jiang Yi. As for Qi Yuan and Qiu Mengxue, they went to the finals venue with their manager, Sister Liu, to familiarize themselves with the venue.

After the car had traveled a short distance, Jiang Yi suddenly asked, "Why are you sitting in the front? Are you afraid I'll scratch you?"

Ning Qianyu's eyes narrowed slightly, but her mouth remained stubborn: "No way, I just think the view from the front is better... Oh, oh, oh! Why are you tickling me again!"

Jiang Yi smiled and said, "Because I wanted to test whether the back row could scratch the front row. Now I find that it's perfectly possible. Because I'm behind you, you don't even know when I'll make my move."

Ning Qianyu said indignantly, "Do you think I'm a toy? It makes a sound when you squeeze it!"

Jiang Yi snorted and said, "Once I buy some nice-looking acne patches and make sure they won't affect my performance on stage, I won't scratch you anymore."

Ning Qianyu: "...So you mean you can scratch her however you want before that? Teacher Su, look at her!"

Teacher Su Wan smiled and said, "I can't see it. I'm driving, I need to watch the road."

Ning Qianyu: "Is this the fate of the wise? In the end, they will be harmed by ordinary people... Oh, oh, oh, oh!"

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.

121 The Girl Who Eavesdropped

When Qi Yuan and Qiu Mengxue walked onto the stage, the surrounding area was empty.

This is a stadium that can hold 70,000 people. Of course, that's for track and field or football matches. It's impossible to seat so many people for a concert, since no one can sit behind the stage, and for safety reasons, there needs to be extra space.

None of the equipment needed for the finals has been brought in yet. The only thing that has been brought in is the empty stage beneath the two performers' feet.

“But performing in a place like this feels like a concert, with tens of thousands of audience members…” Qiu Mengxue couldn’t help but exclaim.

Qi Yuan asked with a smile, "Is this a dream come true?"

Qiu Mengxue glanced at him with a smile: "Not yet, this is a competition, not our own concert. But after this competition ends, the real concert seems to be not far away."

Qi Yuan: "So you have to get used to it first, get used to performing in front of a lot of people."

Qiu Mengxue nodded, then suddenly smiled faintly: "Before the finals, do you want to get used to it too?"

Qi Yuan: "What do you mean?"

Qiu Mengxue: "I'll borrow a guitar so you can play some music and sing a few songs here, get used to the atmosphere. How about that? Although there will be a lot of people here on the day of the finals, and the atmosphere will feel very different from now, it's still the same place. Maybe when that time comes, if you close your eyes and think back to this empty venue, it will ease your tension?"

Qi Yuan wanted to say that he wasn't easily nervous, but then he thought about how he had just made a mistake in yesterday's semi-final, and it was the girl in front of him who helped him recover. Saying he wasn't nervous now seemed a bit unconvincing.

Besides, when we came in, the staff said that as long as we didn't cause any damage, we could do whatever we wanted. So, playing the piano and singing here is perfectly fine.

So he nodded and said, "Okay, let's go get the guitar."

Qiu Mengxue waved her hand: "I'll go borrow it. You need to think about the third song in the finals, right? Right here, imagine the scene of the finals, and think about what you most want to express."

Qi Yuan: "Okay, I'll think about it by myself."

So Qiu Mengxue turned around and walked off the stage.

But then she suddenly remembered that before the two came in, Liu Weiting had said, "You can talk to her if you have any problems." Since that was the case, instead of borrowing one from someone else, she might as well ask Sister Liu to drive over and bring it. Anyway, it wasn't far from the villa area, and Sister Liu was waiting for them in the car; why should she make the trip herself?

The key point is that this place looks so empty; you might not even be able to borrow a guitar.

So Qiu Mengxue walked a few dozen steps and then called Liu Weiting, quietly explaining her request. Liu Weiting readily agreed, telling her to just wait where she was and that she would bring the guitar over soon.

The girl hung up the phone and turned to walk towards the stage. As she got closer, she suddenly heard singing.

"...listen to it being drowned out by the noise."

You pick up your glass and say to yourself.

"One cup to the rising sun, one cup to the moonlight."

"Awakened my longing, softened the cold window."

"So you can fly against the wind without looking back."

"I'm not afraid of rain in my heart, or frost in my eyes..."

Qiu Mengxue hid behind the stage, next to the steps leading up to the stage. Instead of returning to the stage, she bent over, afraid that Qi Yuan would discover that she was there.

The girl realized that she was hearing a new song again, one that Qi Yuan had never told anyone before.

The melody is melodious and graceful, while the lyrics resemble a modern poem.