A band, or a battleground?

After all, it's really hard to explain why a high school student would write such a poignant song.

After reading the lyrics, Zhou Taishan looked up and was indeed shocked: "These lyrics are something a teenager like you could write?"

Qi Yuan laughed and said, "I'm the kind of person who can easily empathize. After reading about your experiences, I put myself in your shoes, and that's how I was able to write about it."

The paper only had lyrics, no musical notation, so Zhou Taishan couldn't imagine how it would sound. To Qi Yuan's explanation, he could only say, "Alright, are you going to sing it for me now?"

Qi Yuan nodded, and then began to sing a cappella:

There's still so much I want to say, but haven't said yet.

"I'm saving them up because I want to turn them into a song."

"Let someone sing softly"

"Remember it faintly"

Even if you finally forget

"It was worth it..."

Unlike the rock performances he's been doing on stage lately, Qi Yuan started this song with a very soft voice, as if he were talking about the past with a friend after a few drinks.

Zhou Taishan heard a melodious and poignant tune in his ears, but before him stood a handsome young man, which gave him a sense of incongruity.

Especially when Qi Yuan sang:

"...Perhaps we were never mature."

"Before I knew it, I was getting old."

"Even though the young man still lives in my heart..."

This sense of incongruity became exceptionally strong.

Zhou Taishan suddenly understood.

Qi Yuan really couldn't sing this song. There was absolutely no credibility in the way he sang it; the insights gained from experiencing the world were not something a young man could handle.

But why is it that this kid can write songs like this?

Zhou Taishan tried to forget this sense of incongruity and focused on appreciating the lyrics and music. The more he listened, the more he appreciated their exquisite beauty.

The phrase "the vicissitudes of life" is easy to say, but without accumulated experience, it's impossible to truly understand. If one only dwells on melancholy, sadness, cynicism, or other such emotions, then one falls short.

People are like blades; after experiencing too much, they become dull. The sense of vicissitude won't be particularly vivid or intense, but rather rather rather subtle.

But people are different from inanimate objects like metal. Because it's not just about dullness; with the wear and tear of time, it also develops an indescribable feeling. So, within the subtle flavor, there is also a mellow aftertaste.

Zhou Taishan gradually forgot the awkwardness of the singer and became immersed in the song until the chorus came.

"Though my hair has turned white, I have crossed the hills."

"Incessant chatter, a sorrow that accompanies the passing of time."

"I have not yet witnessed immortality."

"You'll lose yourself first..."

When Qi Yuan sang this high note, he deliberately didn't use any techniques that would make his voice clearer, and even intentionally made his voice sound a little hoarse.

Zhou Taishan was more than just stunned. His gaze was fixed on Qi Yuan, but unfocused, as if it were falling on a very, very distant place, on a moment in the past.

Most of the hair on his forehead was still black, but it had already been mixed with quite a few gray hairs. At this moment, whether black or white, the messy hair trembled without any wind.

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.

146 What exactly do you want to do?

Qi Yuan finished singing the entire song.

There was no accompaniment, not even a basic guitar; it was purely a clear-out performance, and the singer's vocal range was clearly mismatched with the song. Even so, the song still made Zhou Taishan lower his head.

The man in his fifties lowered his head and subconsciously wanted to light a cigarette, but when he reached into his pocket, he realized that he had already quit smoking a long time ago.

For the sake of music, he gave up much more than just smoking.

There's family, old friends I used to get along with, and so much more...

The room remained quiet for a while before Zhou Taishan finally raised his head.

He stared intently at the person in front of him, then spoke, his voice slightly hoarse: "At first, I just thought you were a boy with some talent. Later, I discovered your talent surpassed that of others. But now I realize that you are also, are also..."

"It's still the person who understands me best"—Zhou Taishan wanted to say this, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. After all, such words were too cheesy.

Men are different from women; they are more reserved in their emotions and less likely to express them. Sometimes, even when they want to express themselves, they feel embarrassed. That's why some people need alcohol to let their guard down and say things they want to say but can't bring themselves to say.

Just like the song says, there's still so much I want to say but haven't said yet.

He had also collected those past experiences and written them into songs. But because he was ashamed of his true feelings being heard, he covered them with layers of musical techniques, and as a result, no one could understand them.

Qi Yuan had no idea what Zhou was thinking, but he could see that Teacher Zhou's eyes were filled with complex emotions, a mixture of emotions and the effects of alcohol. So, he kept quiet and waited.

Zhou Taishan suddenly asked, "What are your plans next?"

Qi Yuan said, "I'll go back to high school."

"Go to high school?" Zhou Taishan couldn't help but laugh. "You, going back to school now?"

Qi Yuan nodded: "I will definitely go to school, because I don't want to rush into performing everywhere right now. It's good to show your face in public in moderation. Too much exposure is not good. I prefer to take things slowly and steadily."

Zhou Taishan: "A steady and gradual approach is good, but you can't waste such precious creative time on doing practice problems, can you?"

Qi Yuan: "We won't be doing too many practice problems. I've talked to the boss of Tianhua, and we've decided that the four of us, Chunriying, will only study for one more year of high school, and then we'll take the entrance exam for Huaxia Conservatory of Music, hoping to get admitted next year. Going to university there should be helpful for our music career, and there's more free time in university."

Zhou Taishan nodded, and suddenly, an idea came to him.

"Come with me now, I'll take you somewhere!"

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.

The place Zhou Taishan took Qi Yuan to was the Huaxia Conservatory of Music.

The academy's main gate exudes a classical Chinese grandeur, flanked by red walls and green tiles, and equipped with special nighttime lighting. The lights illuminate not only the gate and the vermilion walls but also the eaves and pillars inside.

Against the deep blue backdrop of the city night, these classical lines appear distinct, even somewhat resplendent.

The ride-hailing car that brought the two people there has already driven away.

Qi Yuan asked, "It's late at night, you probably don't let people in here, right?"

Zhou Taishan laughed and said, "It's not just at night, tourists aren't allowed in during the day either. At other schools, you can register your ID to enter and visit, but not here. Because many areas of the academy require quiet and don't want to be disturbed."

Qi Yuan: "Then what are we doing here?"

Zhou Taishan said mysteriously, "This gate is just for you to see and get acquainted with. The real place you need to go is here."

He waved and walked north along the road that blocked the entrance.

Qi Yuan followed behind him.

The two walked less than 200 meters before arriving at the entrance of a residential area.

The environment of this community is quite nice, with abundant and well-layered greenery. You can see lawns when you look down and large, umbrella-like tree canopies when you look up.

Besides the green areas, the building density in the community is also low, and the tallest building is less than ten stories.

As Zhou Taishan led him inside, he said, “This is a house I bought more than ten years ago. At that time, my first band had just disbanded, and I was looking for new teammates at Huayin Conservatory of Music. Thinking that we might need to rehearse or something, I did some soundproofing work on the house, like sound-absorbing foam and stuff… Unfortunately, I never used it, and the house has been vacant ever since. No one has lived here for years, and I don’t know how much dust has accumulated.”

Qi Yuan: "It's bound to get dusty, but the environment here is really nice."

As they spoke, the two entered one of the buildings and took the elevator to the top floor, the tenth floor.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Qi Yuan said, "Two elevators for two households, no need to wait for the elevator. Not bad, not bad, but I have a question, why have you kept such a nice apartment empty all this time?"

Zhou Taishan smiled and said, "Because I've found that I still prefer living in places with a more down-to-earth atmosphere. It doesn't matter if the decoration is pretty or not; what's more important is that there's good food right downstairs. But the closest place to eat around here is Huayin's cafeteria."

Qi Yuan thought back for a moment, and indeed, as he walked from the main gate of Huaxia Conservatory of Music, the environment on both sides was elegant, but there wasn't a single shop.

He said, "I've noticed that there don't seem to be many shops on the streets in Beijing."

"Now shops are all moving into shopping malls, and there aren't many left on the street. And although the capital city feels huge and imposing, it's not actually very livable."

As Zhou Taishan said this, he took out his key and opened the door to room 1001.

Upon entering and turning on the lights, a thick layer of dust was indeed visible on the floor. Nevertheless, it was still evident that the place was decorated in a rather stylish manner.

Zhou Taishan turned around and asked, "Do you know why I brought you here?"

Qi Yuan shook his head.

Zhou Taishan added, “On the way here, I was thinking whether this decision was a bit abrupt or not careful enough… But as I thought about it, I thought, damn it, I’m already this old, can’t I do something I want to do?”

Qi Yuan frowned slightly: "So, what exactly do you want?"

Zhou Taishan: "The current market price for buying songs is generally between several thousand and tens of thousands, and some really good ones can cost hundreds of thousands. But I don't think you can calculate it that way for the song 'Hill' that you gave me. It's too good, so good that even if I offered a million, I couldn't buy a song of the same quality."

Qi Yuan had already guessed it, but he still couldn't quite believe it.

Zhou Taishan stretched out his hand and pointed around the house, then continued, "So I've decided to use this house in exchange for this song of yours."

Qi Yuan's lips twitched: "This is an apartment in downtown Beijing, over 100 square meters, right?"

Zhou Taishan nodded: "It was probably around 110 or 120. I bought it more than ten years ago, I don't remember exactly. But that's not important. There are so many people and so many houses in the capital, but there's only one song like 'Hill'."

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.

147 The Way of Sitting in Oblivion

Qi Yuan immediately checked it on his phone and then realized it was a bit tricky.

He tentatively asked, "Do you know how much the property prices are in this area?"

Zhou Taishan scratched his head and said, "I don't know. When I bought this house more than ten years ago, it was only worth a few million."

Qi Yuan nodded: "Yes, it's about 100,000 per square meter now. Your apartment is worth 10 million. Are you sure you want to buy one of my songs?"

Zhou Taishan pondered for a moment and said, "Now that you put it that way, I'm not so sure anymore."

Qi Yuan: "..."

Zhou Taishan suddenly pointed at him and burst into laughter: "Hahaha, I said I wasn't sure, are you panicking, kid?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "I'm not panicking. I was just thinking, you've been drinking tonight and then gave me a house worth ten million. What will you do when you sober up tomorrow morning?"

Zhou Taishan laughed and said, "Since I said I would give it to you, I won't go back on my word. Besides, I own more than one or two houses in the capital."

“Yes, you don’t lack houses and you won’t back out, but I’m not confident about taking the house. I think it’s better if we sign a contract. I’ll take a share of the profits you make from this song.”

Qi Yuan was genuinely worried. He knew, of course, how successful the song "Hill" had been in his previous life, but now, those glories were just a distant memory, known only to himself. Therefore, this deal seemed extremely unfair.

What if Zhou Taishan regrets it after sobering up tomorrow?

So he'd rather sign a contract with Teacher Zhou. That way, if the song really becomes as popular as it was in his previous life, combined with Zhou Taishan's influence in this world, he might earn more than this house.

Zhou Taishan shook his head abruptly and forcefully shoved the key into his hand: "I already told you it's yours, so take it! I won't shortchange you on this profit share. If you're really worried about accepting it, just take the key and live here for now. We'll go through the transfer procedures once the profit share from this song exceeds five million!"

Seeing the old man puffing out his beard and glaring at him, looking like he absolutely couldn't refuse, Qi Yuan had no choice but to take the key.

"Wait a minute, how come it's only five million? This house costs ten million."

Zhou Taishan waved his hand: "I bought it for less than five million. Alright, that's settled then. The contract still needs to be signed. Do you want to talk to your agent about this?"

Qi Yuan pondered, "I don't want too many people to know that I wrote this song. Besides, there's no need to split the profits with an agent after signing a contract."

"Don't want others to know..." Zhou Taishan's eyes widened. "What, this song doesn't have your own name on it?"

Qi Yuan shrugged: "I'm not convincing enough to sing this song, and I'm not convincing enough to write it either. So when I registered the copyright, I used an alias, or a stage name."

Zhou Taishan asked curiously, "What's your stage name?"

Qi Yuan: "The Way of Sitting in Oblivion".

Zhou Taishan scratched his head: "...It sounds a bit like traditional culture. Is there any story behind it?"

Qi Yuan smiled and said, "There's no particular story behind it. I just like the way these three characters are arranged."

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.

The next afternoon, Liu Weiting arrived at the dormitory villa. Looking at the three girls sitting in the living room, she asked, "Isn't Qi Yuan here?"

Qiu Mengxue replied, "He went out, saying he had something to discuss with Teacher Zhou."

Liu Weiting asked in confusion, "The competition is over, why are you still looking for Zhou Taishan?"