Chapter 19

After school, the three of them walked out of the school one after another, leaving Wang Ou behind with a resentful look. His expression was like that of a concubine who had been cast into the cold palace, making people feel extremely sorry for him, so sorry that they wanted to beat him up to feel better. Watching Wang Ou, wearing a thin long-sleeved T-shirt, dragging a tire on the track for sprint practice, Cheng Xiaoyu smiled with satisfaction.

In early winter, as long as it wasn't rainy, Shanghai wasn't unbearably cold. However, the icy wind left a rosy redness on people's cheeks. After school, students walked home in twos and threes. Young girls, wrapped in colorful scarves, adjusted their skirts to reveal their white thighs and stood at the bus stop, headphones in their ears, waiting for the bus. Boys, with their arms around each other, walked towards the subway or bookstores, loudly discussing which albums and novels to buy. We live in such ordinary times with a bit of beautiful anticipation. We simply hope that the love letters we send will receive a response, that the novels we follow will have a perfect ending, that the delicious meals at home are already on the table, and that the bottle of cola we open will have "try again" printed under the cap.

Youth, not consumed by desire, is like a burning torch in the dark night sky, illuminating the dark steel forest. But as adults, we can only quietly look back on the path we've taken, raising our heads to search for the guiding stars. Some people can only wander aimlessly in this perilous forest, while others sell their souls to become hunters lurking in the darkness. In the end, someone will transform into a brilliant morning star, burning their life to light the way for lost mortals.

But in the vast river of time, we are all just ordinary droplets, none of us indispensable. However, to those we know and love—our family, friends, and lovers—we are so important. We are willing to warm each other in the cold, comfort each other in pain, encourage each other in despair, and sincerely bless each other in happiness. Perhaps this is the reason for our existence as ordinary people. Even though the world is full of ugliness and danger, we believe that someone will stand bravely by your side. This is why we are not alone, why we must be strong. We are not alone, but rather, we are each other's support.

At this moment, the three of them, who had not yet become close friends, still kept a bit of distance as they walked towards the forest of lights. This silent procession, where no one spoke to break the silence, was both strange and harmonious. It was strange in its composition: a not-so-tall boy with a doll-like face, a pale, puffy-eyed fat boy, and a tall, slender girl like a dandelion. It was harmonious in their synchronized steps, not mechanically uniform, but with their arms swinging in perfect unison. On this not-so-cold winter day, on this long street like an oil painting, they formed a charming scene, a warm memory that would linger for years to come.

When the three of them entered the bar, the ear-pierced man was still there alone. Seeing the fat boy behind Chen Haoran, he smiled as a greeting. When he saw Xia Shamo behind him, he was momentarily petrified. He could barely accept Chen Haoran bringing a guy, but seeing him bring a girl today was like dropping a nuclear bomb in front of him. In his mind, the aloof Chen Haoran was a natural insulator. Seeing the ear-pierced man's expression collapse, Xia Shamo, whose face was already a bit red from the wind, looked like a ripe tomato. Cheng Xiaoyu turned and said, "Hi, handsome, a coke, remember to add ice." This time, Chen Haoran didn't stop her.

In the basement, Cheng Xiaoyu had Xia Shamo sing the song once. Then he corrected her pronunciation word by word and analyzed how the song should be performed.

Since the song had almost no introduction and was a rare piece that went straight into a high climax from the first line, the singer had no time to build up emotion. This required the singer to immediately and accurately express the intensity and emotional progression, to sing each note with excitement, and to continuously intensify as the pitch rose, making the voice more dramatic. When singing the long note "ai," one must take a deep breath and maintain the two-beat high F with sufficient breath and strength to accurately convey the character's feelings.

Especially, Cheng Xiaoyu emphasized that the key to the entire song was to keep the breath steady, to sing the high notes with thickness and power, and to point out every appropriate breathing point. Xia Shamo had a strong understanding and grasped a certain feel on the second try. However, her breath was still not stable enough, and she didn't sing the high notes with the passion and intensity Cheng Xiaoyu required.

Cheng Xiaoyu then had Chen Haoran play the drums again. There were no major mistakes, but playing solo and playing with a band were very different.

Cheng Xiaoyu stood in front of the keyboard. Since it was just a regular keyboard, they could only try a simple accompaniment. He asked Chen Haoran to start the rhythm, and then the three of them attempted to perform the song together. Since it was their first time collaborating, there was almost no coordination between them, and the song sounded very messy. Each of them had many issues to address. Fortunately, Cheng Xiaoyu had a bug-like ear and pointed out the mistakes and oversights in detail, which made Chen Haoran convinced that he had lost fairly. Until then, he had been quite不服气 (unwilling to accept the loss).

The three of them shared the same characteristic of being focused and persistent. Time flew by without them noticing. It wasn't until the ear-pierced man, Huang Yong, refilled the water for the third time that Xia Shamo checked her phone and blushed, saying she needed to hurry home to cook. They agreed to continue the next day. As Cheng Xiaoyu and Xia Shamo walked out together, Chen Haoran was still practicing, clearly still not satisfied with the previous day's loss.

Cheng Xiaoyu accompanied Xia Shamo to get her bicycle from the school. On the way, he continued to analyze the key points of singing the song. Despite the slight chill of winter, both of them were sweating profusely. Cheng Xiaoyu felt no fatigue, only a sense of deep pleasure and comfort. Xia Shamo looked radiant, with much less shyness and a vibrant, lively demeanor. For many people, this might be a small matter, but for Cheng Xiaoyu, it was the first step in realizing his self-worth. He had not only changed himself but also influenced others.

Walking back to the school gate, Cheng Xiaoyu said goodbye to Xia Shamo. Wang Huasheng was still on his way, and he planned to visit a nearby bookstore. At this time, bookstores and music stores were often combined, selling both books and discs. There was a Fudan Bookstore across from the bus stop next to the school. Cheng Xiaoyu planned to go there.

The bookstore wasn't very crowded at this time. Some people were standing in the music section, wearing headphones to listen to new discs, while others were sitting in the book section reading. Although this was a bookstore near Fudan High School, most of the customers were Fudan University students, as high school students didn't have much time to linger in bookstores.

Cheng Xiaoyu walked to the book section and casually flipped through some books. He didn't have any specific books he wanted to buy; he just enjoyed the leisurely stroll through the bookstore.

He picked up the top-selling novel "Loneliness in the City," flipped through it, and put it down. It was a typical Mary Sue romance novel. He then picked up the second-best-selling historical novel "The Rise of the Empire in the Late Qing and Early Republic," which he found interesting as it covered a lot of historical knowledge he didn't know, so he took it under his arm.

He continued to wander around, enjoying himself, and finally picked up the latest issue of "The Artist" in the magazine section, planning to check out the music section next. Although his family subscribed to "The Artist," they were all in Su Yuxi's music room, and Cheng Xiaoyu didn't plan to go in there again, so he decided to buy his own copy.

At this moment, a tall, slender man with long hair also picked up an issue of "The Artist." In those days, Chinese boys were proud of their long, beautiful hair, especially those who were literary or artistic. It seemed that not having a head of black, lustrous hair was not enough to show one's temperament. As a result, it was almost impossible to tell the gender of someone from their back in China.

There was once a post on the Shanghai Theatre Academy forum that reached the highest number of replies, which was about guessing the gender of people from their back. It featured 20 photos of people's backs taken on campus, and people were asked to guess their gender. The results were surprising: only one back that looked the most like a boy's was actually a girl, a slightly overweight girl studying vocal music. The rest, with slender figures and long hair, were all boys. This reflected the aesthetic of the time.

Cheng Xiaoyu wasn't particularly against this trend. When he played rock music, he also thought that not having long hair and a pierced ear wasn't cool. Although it seems very naive now, who hasn't been young?

As the long-haired young man passed by Cheng Xiaoyu, due to Cheng Xiaoyu's larger build and the narrow space between the bookshelves, they had a close encounter. When the tall, slender man turned to speak to his companion, his flowing hair brushed against Cheng Xiaoyu's face. The other person might not have noticed, and Cheng Xiaoyu didn't mind, but he did look at the man a few more times. As he walked towards the music section, he overheard the two men discussing a beautiful girl in the music section. Cheng Xiaoyu found this familiar dialogue endearing, as he and his friends used to do the same thing when he was in college, hunting for (LIE) beauty.

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