A band, or a battleground?

After glancing at the eyes of her bandmates, Teacher Su realized that her inability to keep up with Ning Qianyu's train of thought was not her fault.

Qiu Mengxue's eyebrows twitched slightly: "Could you please tell us, the erudite Ning, what exactly is the meaning behind your naming scheme?"

Ning Qianyu herself didn't know how to explain it.

After a long silence, she feigned composure and said, "Boiling over, that describes the state of our band's performance..."

Qiu Mengxue: "But we don't have any particularly energetic songs."

Ning Qianyu nodded emphatically: "Yes, that's exactly what I mean. On the surface, our performance is very calm. But in reality, our music can touch people's hearts. It's like the state where it seems to be at room temperature on the surface, but it has already exploded inside."

Jiang Yi muttered under her breath, "You still can't forget 'Explosion'?"

Ning Qianyu glared at her fiercely.

Jiang Yi quickly shut her mouth.

At this moment, Qi Yuan continued, "Ether is a term that has been abandoned by the scientific community. Perhaps here, it can be understood as a kind of illusory medium of conduction, is that right?"

Ning Qianyu nodded quickly and gave him a grateful look.

Jiang Yi and Qiu Mengxue looked on with surprise—those words just now were not something a delinquent teenager who only knew how to fight and cause trouble would say.

Qi Yuan took out his phone, opened the notes app, and typed in the six characters 'Boiling Ether Sea'.

Then he looked up and said, "Qianyu's plan has been proposed, keep it as a backup. We'll vote after we've all finished speaking."

The girls nodded in agreement, temporarily setting aside the controversy.

Then Jiang Yi raised her right hand and asked softly, "I've thought of two names, but I'm not sure which one is better. Can I suggest both?"

Qiu Mengxue: "But each of us can only mention one name."

Qi Yuan said, "You can bring them up, and we'll help you choose one of them."

Qiu Mengxue agreed.

As for Ning Qianyu, she didn't say a word at this point, and was still staring blankly at the hot broth in the hot pot. She didn't even eat the beef that Teacher Su had just cooked; she had put down her chopsticks.

Teacher Su remained silent, simply watching with great interest.

Jiang Yi said, "I think it's because our band has four members now, and each of them has a slightly different personality. For example, Mengxue is very aloof, like a flower on a snow-capped mountain..."

Qiu Mengxue suddenly couldn't hold back anymore: "Where did I become arrogant?"

Qi Yuan: "Yeah, calling her a contrarian is more accurate."

Qiu Mengxue couldn't help but slam her hand on the table and glare at the screen. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly realized that her mother was on the other side of the table, so she had to swallow her words.

Qi Yuan originally thought he was going to explain the popular internet slang term "keyboard warrior" from his hometown, but after he finished speaking, he realized that the term also existed in the original owner's memories, and it was also a popular internet slang term.

Indeed, in some ways, netizens share a common creativity.

Qiu Mengxue glared at him.

Unfortunately, this girl was too beautiful. Even when she glared fiercely at others, she didn't have much of an intimidating presence; she just exuded a unique charm.

Qi Yuan picked up a piece of hanging dragon meat and said, "Yi Yi, you continue, don't worry about her."

Jiang Yi didn't notice the change in his address, and continued, "I just felt that the four seasons could summarize the different personalities of the four of us, so the first name I thought of was 'Four Seasons Colors'."

Qi Yuan swallowed the beef in his mouth and commented, "It feels too proper and neat, like a name a well-behaved student in school would come up with."

Ning Qianyu: "She was always a good girl."

Jiang Yi tried to refute it, but found that, although she was a little unwilling, this was the point she really couldn't refute.

Playing in a band with her friends was the most rebellious thing she had ever done in her life. Even for this, she had to report to her parents in advance, explaining her daily routine and return time before she dared to come.

Qi Yuan asked, "So, what's the second name you've thought of?"

Jiang Yi said, "Because all three members of the band are girls, and we've ordered drinks together before, we all like half-sweet milk tea and coffee. So, I came up with a half-sweet story... Qi Yuan, why are you looking at me like that?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "It's nothing, it's fine. So, do you agree?"

Ning Qianyu commented: "I think it's not as good as Four Seasons Colors and Half Sugar. It feels too girly."

Jiang Yi: "You were a young girl too!"

Ning Qianyu pouted: "But I don't like that kind of vulgar cuteness."

"Vulgar?" Jiang Yi couldn't help but clench her fist.

As Qi Yuan sized up Ning Qianyu, he suddenly realized that this girl was actually quite suited to a cute style, even more so than Jiang Yi. After all, she was the shortest of the three girls, less than 1.6 meters tall, and she was also the petite type with well-proportioned and slender features, giving her a very "legal loli" feel.

She's clearly a high school freshman, but she wouldn't look out of place in a junior high or eighth grade. If her hair were a little longer and she wore pigtails, she'd be absolutely stunning…

Of course, he couldn't say that out loud.

Jiang Yi was a little angry: "Whatever, I'll choose the half-sweet story. If you think it's cheesy, then so be it. I haven't even mentioned the explosive one yet—ugh!"

In her anger, she almost blurted out "Exploding Fallen Angel" in front of Teacher Su. Fortunately, Ning Qianyu had just picked up a slice of brisket and hadn't even put it in her dipping sauce dish yet. Hearing her good friend trying to bring up that taboo, she immediately shoved the beef into her mouth.

Qi Yuan smiled and shook his head, typed 'Half-Sugar Story' into his memo, and then looked up at Qiu Mengxue.

The girl with the high ponytail said, "I want to hear your opinion. You will be the songwriter and lead singer from now on, which means you are the soul of our band. Since the band name is related to the audience's first impression, it should naturally match the style of our songs."

Qi Yuan: "What do you guys think of Chunri Ying?"

"Spring Shadow?" Qiu Mengxue repeated, lowering her head to savor the three words, finding them increasingly appealing.

Four high school students—aren't they in the prime of their lives? But adding the word 'shadow' makes them seem less innocent and sunny, more complex and multifaceted.

Jiang Yi's eyes lit up: "I think it's great!"

Ning Qianyu: "Indeed, at least it's not so vulgar..."

Jiang Yi glared at her again.

However, seeing that his joke was being taken seriously, Qi Yuan panicked a little: "Seriously, do you guys really think this name is a good band name? Give me a piece of your mind!"

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.

Why does 015 need to change?

MyGO doesn't exist in this world, so no matter how much Qi Yuan uses memes, no one will find it strange.

Except for himself.

Just imagining the scene—"Hello everyone, we are the Spring Shadow Band" or something—and shouting it out into the microphone, he was a little worried that he wouldn't be able to hold back.

Ning Qianyu asked, "Qi Yuan, why are you covering your face?"

Qiu Mengxue also said, "This band name is pretty good. I didn't realize you were so good at coming up with names."

Qi Yuan raised his face and said, "Thank you for the compliment, but I've decided to use Ginkgo Road Square instead of Spring Shadow."

The small square where the band now performs is located on Ginkgo Road.

Ignoring Ning Qianyu and Jiang Yi's objections, Qi Yuan entered the mediocre band name into his memo and then looked at Qiu Mengxue.

Qiu Mengxue smiled slyly and said, "My proposed name is Spring Shadow."

Qi Yuan: "..."

Qiu Mengxue: "What are you standing there for?"

Qi Yuan: "No, don't you have any original ideas?"

Qiu Mengxue slowly shook her head: "I think this name is better, what's wrong with it?"

Ning Qianyu immediately said, "I vote for Chunri Ying."

“Me too.” Qiu Mengxue and Jiang Yi said in unison, then smiled at each other.

Qi Yuan scratched his head. He realized that he couldn't stop himself from creating this whole mess.

So he could only sigh and say, "Alright, then our new band name will be Spring Shadows."

At this moment, Teacher Su Wan said, "By the way, do you want to upload the videos I filmed for you today to Cool Sites and Dida? If you want to upload them, you'd better create a band account. Who will manage it?"

KuZhan and Dida are the most popular long-form and short-form video platforms in China, respectively. One originated in the PC internet era more than a decade ago, while the other has emerged in the mobile internet era in recent years. In Qi Yuan's eyes, they are roughly equivalent to Bilibili and Douyin in this world.

Qi Yuan put away his phone and said, "Leave the account management to me."

"You?" The three girls looked at them with suspicion.

Qi Yuan: "Because I don't need to do homework, I have more free time."

Qiu Mengxue: "...That's true."

Jiang Yi suddenly said, "By the way, do you have more songs that you haven't released yet? Are they all like those flowers, the kind that are calm and artistic?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "There are different types too, but before that, I need to practice my singing skills, especially high notes."

Ning Qianyu asked, "How do you plan to practice?"

Qi Yuan looked at Qiu Mengxue.

Qiu Mengxue said decisively, "Tomorrow is Saturday, come to my house, I can teach you."

Qi Yuan naturally nodded in agreement, and the other two girls had no objections either.

Only Su Wan's gaze sharpened slightly, she blinked, and then returned to normal.

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 returning home, Qi Yuan turned on his desktop computer.

This computer looks quite old. As soon as it was turned on, without doing anything, the fan started humming loudly. Just receiving the video file sent by Su Wan took quite a while.

Fortunately, Qi Yuan has no shortage of time and patience.

He picked up a pen and paper and tried to write down all the lyrics he knew, humming along as he wrote.

When people wake up, they quickly forget everything from their dreams. Qi Yuan wasn't sure if staying in this new world for too long would make him forget things he used to know. Since that was the case, he decided to write them down as soon as he could while he still remembered.

In his previous life, when he was a programmer, he loved playing music while working. However, most of his playlists were unrelated to love. Even the few love-themed pieces were those with exceptionally strong melodies and lyrics.

He's never liked sad love songs. He's never experienced a love triangle, never fawned over any goddess, and certainly never willingly played the role of a cuckold; how could he possibly resonate with them?

So at this time, he was writing...

Fleeting as a glimpse of beauty, as dazzling as a summer flower.

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

One cup to our hometown, one cup to distant lands.

Before I could even cry, the bullet that pierced through me took away my warmth.

I watched my naive self appear in a story where I wasn't even there.

Hiding in the mountains to watch the fireworks, guarding that muddy mound.

I once dreamed of traveling the world with a sword, to see its wonders.

Write down whatever comes to mind. It's okay if you can't remember the whole song right now; just write down what you can think of first.

Once the file transfer was complete, Qi Yuan registered accounts for 'Spring Shadow Band' on Coolsite and Dida respectively, and then uploaded the video.

The Dida platform has a time limit for videos. Fortunately, Ms. Su Wan had already helped with the editing; in addition to the full performance videos of the two songs, there were two highlights of less than a minute each.

Qi Yuan clicked upload, then picked up a pen and paper to continue searching for memories from his previous life.

He increasingly felt that there were two major obstacles on the road to fame through song plagiarism. First, whether he could sing the songs himself and truly capture their essence in a moving way. Therefore, he decided to go to Qiu Mengxue's house tomorrow to learn and practice.

Secondly, it's about one's own memory ability.

"These are only a few songs..." Qi Yuan sighed. "I have hundreds of songs in my playlist. There's still a long way to go."

Just then, a notification sound rang out, and an icon in the corner of the computer screen began to flash.

Qi Yuan clicked on the icon and found that he had been added to a new group. There were four members in the group, and the group owner's nickname was 'Solitary Angler in the Snowy River'.

Using classic Chinese poems as a username and having a snowy landscape as a profile picture really gives off a middle-aged or elderly vibe. If you didn't know the person, you'd probably find it hard to believe that this account belongs to a genuinely beautiful young woman.

After dinner tonight, Qi Yuan added the contact information of his three bandmates, including their phone numbers and as friends on messaging apps.

Incidentally, the other two group members' nicknames are 'Yi Yi Yi' and 'Higgs Boson', and their profile pictures are a bunny doll and a diagram of an atomic nucleus. Even without being friends, Qi Yuan could tell who Jiang Yi and Ning Qianyu were just by looking at their nicknames and profile pictures.

The first to speak was "Solitary Angler on a Snowy River": "Have we uploaded our video?"

The Heaven-Piercing Battle Staff Shatters Mountains and Rivers: [Uploading now, I'll let you know in this group when it's released.]

After speaking, Qi Yuan noticed that his nickname was this, which had a strong rap vibe to it.