A band, or a battleground?

Just then, Qi Yuan's gaze met hers, and he couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

Jiang Yi quickly wiped away her tears, lowered her head to avoid looking at him, and felt a deep sense of shyness mixed with the emotion she had just felt.

He made me cry while singing, and then he saw it. What kind of situation is this?!

After Qi Yuan finished singing, the classroom was quiet for a while.

Teacher Su Wan suddenly reminded her, "Is it that he sang badly, or do you think his songs are bad, that there's no applause at all?"

"Clap clap clap clap!"

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the last row of the classroom. Those delinquent teenagers who usually fawned over Qi Yuan clapped their hands loudly.

Xie Jinpeng exclaimed, "Brother Yuan is awesome! It sounds great, so great!"

With someone taking the lead, the applause started to increase.

The students didn't think the song was bad. Although it was sung a cappella without accompaniment, and their singing technique was rather average, the lyrics and music were truly amazing, and their voices were quite clear and bright.

The problem is that Qi Yuan's reputation in the class is too unique.

Amidst the somewhat disjointed applause, the bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

"Alright, that's all for today's music lesson," Su Wan turned to the boy on the podium beside her. "Come to my office with me, I have something to tell you."

Qi Yuan nodded and followed the teacher.

Jiang Yi kept her head down, not letting anyone see her expression.

However, her deskmate, a somewhat lively girl, actually twisted her neck and peered over, looking up at her face and seeing the tears that hadn't been wiped away.

"Holy crap, Yi Yi, you really cried!"

Jiang Yi quickly pushed her away, saying in embarrassment and anger, "How can you be like this!"

"I don't understand, this song isn't that exaggerated..."

Jiang Yi was at her wit's end and was about to explain the band and youth to everyone when she heard a boy in the back row shout, "Holy crap, Jiang Yi is crying!"

The students around them, both boys and girls, got excited.

Why is Jiang Yi crying?

"I don't know, I think I cried while listening to a song."

"The one Qi Yuan sang just now?"

"Wow……"

"No wonder she's the music class representative, she's so sentimental."

"Girls are all like that."

"Nonsense, I'm a girl too. Did you see me cry? At most, I clapped for him. That's considered polite, okay?"

"You consider yourself a girl?"

"You son of a bitch, I'll beat you up, you believe me?"

"Stop talking, stop talking! Look, Jiang Yi is still crying!"

Wow, that's really powerful!

Her classmates' chatter only made things worse, making Jiang Yi want to cry even more. But this time, it wasn't out of gratitude; it was pure embarrassment, shame, or, to put it another way… she burst into tears.

Jiang Yi wished she could be like Qi Yuan, slamming her fist on the table and yelling "Shut up!" in a fit of anger, which would silence the entire class.

Unfortunately, her anger only lasted for a moment before she slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and fled in disarray.

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.

011 A Girl's Heart Like a Needle at the Bottom of the Sea

When Qi Yuan followed Su Wan into the office, there were three other teachers, all of whom taught low-frequency subjects like art and physical education.

The PE teacher, of course, recognized Qi Yuan and asked with a smile, "You can cause trouble in music class too?"

Qi Yuan looked completely innocent and shrugged.

While turning on her computer, Su Wan explained, "It's not a bad thing that he didn't cause trouble; it's a good thing."

The PE teacher was even more surprised: "Besides my class, how can you have good things happen in other classes?"

Su Wan explained to both of them at the same time: "Qi Yuan sang a song in my class. He wrote it himself, and the lyrics and music are both great. Although there was no accompaniment or arrangement, the lyrics and music alone are enough to register a copyright. Qi Yuan, I suggest you register the copyright. Otherwise, if someone else registers it for you first, even if you beat them up, you won't get it back. You'll only end up in jail."

Qi Yuan then realized why the teacher had called him to the office—he had been so focused on copying the song that he had forgotten about the copyright issue.

The main issue is that some institutional details are different in parallel worlds, and the original owner was completely unaware of these aspects, so he overlooked them somewhat.

Qi Yuan bowed slightly and asked politely, "Thank you for the reminder, teacher. If I want to register a copyright, what is the procedure and what materials do I need to prepare?"

Su Wan pointed to the laptop on her desk and said, "Your identity information is registered at our school, and I also have a membership on the copyright website, so I can help you register here."

Qi Yuan: "Thank you very much, teacher!"

Su Wan operated the computer for a while, then stood up and made way for her: "You can fill in the lyrics and title of this song yourself?"

Qi Yuan sat down, glanced at it, and then asked, "What about the main melody of the song?"

Su Wan took out her phone: "I recorded it. When you fill in the score, I'll listen to it a few times and write it down for you."

Qi Yuan: "How many more times do I need to listen? Don't you have an absolute sense of rhythm?"

Su Wan was both amused and exasperated: "Who told you that music teachers all need to have perfect musicality? Just because my daughter knows something doesn't mean I will."

Qi Yuan nodded and began typing in the lyrics.

Su Wan noticed that the boy was quite skilled at typing, almost without needing to look at the keyboard. This sounds simple, but very few middle school students who don't use computers much can do it.

Then she turned her head and saw that three colleagues had gathered around her.

The PE teacher rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Ms. Su, can we listen too?"

Another teacher said, "I'm really curious..."

Su Wan nodded, picked up the paper and pen, and played the recording.

"That laughter reminded me of my flowers..."

The three teachers listened intently, while Su Wan bent over to write down the musical score. Unlike her daughter Qiu Mengxue, Teacher Su could only write down less than half of the notes after listening to the music for the first time.

Then the PE teacher patted Qi Yuan on the shoulder: "You're pretty good, kid! You speak so well!"

As Qi Yuan typed, he said, "Yeah, who knew I had this kind of talent?"

"I didn't expect this, it's such a contrast."

"Indeed, I didn't expect it myself."

Su Wan didn't say anything, but silently started playing it a second time to fill in most of the gaps in the score. Then she played it a third and fourth time to check for any omissions.

Qi Yuan had already finished writing the lyrics and added the song title "Those Flowers." Looking at the author's section, Teacher Su had already entered her name. However, next to the author's name, there was still a blank space for the "Instructor" field.

Perhaps because registering through a school indicates that the creator may be a student, the website system added this field.

Qi Yuan then asked, "Teacher Su, can I write about you as my mentor?"

Just then, Su Wan had finished writing the score and was checking it. Hearing this, she looked up at him with a surprised expression: "But I didn't give you any guidance. You wrote the song yourself."

Qi Yuan said, "But your reminder to register the copyright is so important. Otherwise, as you said, one day someone else might register my song without my knowledge."

Su Wan pursed her lips, but couldn't help but smile: "Okay, if you're willing, of course you can."

The PE teacher patted Qi Yuan on the shoulder again: "You're a good kid!"

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.

With five minutes left in the break, Ning Qianyu was reminded by a familiar classmate to go to the classroom door and see Jiang Yi waiting there.

Ning Qianyu glanced at her bandmate and asked instinctively, "Why are your eyes so red?"

Jiang Yi subconsciously wiped her cheek to make sure there were no tears left, only her eyes were a little red. She didn't dwell on the issue anymore, but said, "I think I agree with Mengxue's suggestion."

"What suggestion?" Ning Qianyu took a second or two to realize, "You mean, participate in that band talent show?"

Jiang Yi nodded.

Ning Qianyu was somewhat confused: "Why? Weren't you even more opposed than I was?"

Jiang Yi was conflicted. She wanted to say that Qi Yuan's second song made her realize the fleeting nature of youth, and if she stayed in her comfort zone and did nothing, she would probably only regret it when she looked back on her youth.

But how can I put it? Qianyu didn't even hear the song, so how can she convey her feelings?

Jiang Yi could only say, "Just now in our Class 7 music class, Qi Yuan sang the second song he wrote."

"He really does have a new song?" Ning Qianyu raised an eyebrow. "What do you think of the second song?"

During lunch, she told Qi Yuan, "You can't compete with those professional bands unless you can write several songs like 'Blue Lotus'." Qi Yuan's answer was, "Yes." Of course, Qi Yuan didn't pull out the song on the spot, and the girls didn't know what to say, so they changed the subject.

Now that Qi Yuan is not here, Jiang Yi has brought up the topic again with Ning Qianyu.

Jiang Yi: "I think it sounds really good, and not just good, it also..."

Ning Qianyu: "How is it?"

After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Yi realized she simply couldn't bring herself to say, "I understood his feelings through this song." Compared to her two companions, Jiang Yi felt that her biggest weakness wasn't her grades or musical ability, but rather her thick skin.

So she had to change her approach: "I think if there's a song like that, it's fine to participate in the show."

Ning Qianyu joked, "But you said at noon that even if there are great songs, it's not suitable for high school students to go on those kinds of shows that require us to show our faces in public."

Jiang Yi said seriously, "Now I feel that if we don't appear on shows or go to bigger stages, then good songs will be buried."

“Tsk tsk tsk,” Ning Qianyu shook her head, “A woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.”

Jiang Yi: "You're a woman too!"

Ning Qianyu: "A girl's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea..."

Jiang Yi: "You're a young girl too!"

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.

012 In front of Mom

High school students in this world leave school earlier than Qi Yuan did in his previous life. In the early summer of May, when they left school, it wasn't completely dark yet, with a sliver of light still visible.

Moreover, this high school has no dormitories; all students are day students.

So after school, the band can also go to small squares on the street to accumulate performance experience.

However, in the past, whenever they went to perform, Ning Qianyu would drive her own electric tricycle, carrying the drum set and microphone. She was a drummer, and her home address was the closest to the school, so this arrangement was naturally the most suitable.

But today is different.

Tonight, music teacher Su Wan drove an SUV, carrying all four members of the band at once, with all the musical instruments and audio equipment loaded in the trunk.

Qi Yuan sat in the passenger seat, while the three girls sat in the back, whispering to each other.

Sitting between them, Qiu Mengxue whispered to her right, "Yi Yi, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Ning Qianyu on the left said, "I asked her this afternoon, but she wasn't telling the truth."

Jiang Yi: "How could I not tell the truth? I've told you all. I just feel that good songs shouldn't be buried."

Ning Qianyu: "Tch, fine, don't say it then. Anyway, this is the first time someone has helped us record a video, right? And it's Mengxue's mother, so what do you think?"

Qiu Mengxue: "Are you asking me?"

Ning Qianyu: "Of course! Has your mother ever seen our band before?"

Qiu Mengxue: "She knows we're in a band, but this is probably the first time she's seen us perform up close."

Ning Qianyu: Are you nervous?

"What's there to be nervous about? It's just my mom."

Qiu Mengxue said that, but Ning Qianyu and Jiang Yi both noticed that Qiu Mengxue was shaking her leg. They had been good friends for more than half a year, and they had never seen her shake her leg before.

The two girls exchanged a glance and smiled silently.

Suddenly, Su Wan pulled over and turned to say, "We've arrived at your performance venue. Get out of the car. You can get out first, and I'll go find a parking space across the street."

Ning Qianyu was the first to react: "Teacher Su, you seem to know this place very well. Have you been here before?"