Chapter 43

When they arrived at the Forest of Lights, Huang Yong was teaching Wang Ou and Su Yuxi to play the guitar in the basement, while Chen Haoran was still diligently practicing the double bass drum.

Cheng Xiaoyu handed Huang Yong the guitar tabs for the six songs he had written the night before: "Sword Drawing Melody," "Huangpu River," "Snail," "Bravery," and the two songs he had transcribed the night before, "Summer Light Years" by Mayday and "Hypnosis" by Faye Wong.

In his previous life, as a competent bar musician, Cheng Xiaoyu knew the essential skills one must master: 1. Being able to read functional notation. 2. The ability to improvise accompaniment based on harmony. 3. Transcription skills. 4. A large repertoire of popular songs. 5. Understanding and control of tone. 6. Good sight-reading.

Why were these essential skills? Because when the bar band changed songs, the number of new songs was large, and the time was tight, so there was no time for rehearsals. After getting the tabs and listening to the songs a few times, one had to play them directly, and then rehearse with the singer twice. Once the singer felt it was good enough, they would wait for the performance.

Both the guitar and keyboard players had to be able to carry the entire band alone. If one person had an issue, the other had to step in. Ears had to be sharp, able to follow others even without tabs, especially the bass player.

So, for Huang Yong, rehearsing six songs over two days wasn't a heavy task. He was excited after receiving the tabs, as he had long wanted to learn but hadn't had the courage to ask Cheng Xiaoyu.

Cheng Xiaoyu and Chen Haoran were the most relaxed. Cheng Xiaoyu could play these songs with his eyes closed. For Chen Haoran, the difficulty of the new songs on the drum kit was so low that it almost annoyed him. He just needed to pay attention to the band's coordination, and the performance was child's play for him.

The one under the most pressure was Xia Shamo. She had no experience in bar performances, and the difficulty of the songs was quite high. However, Xia Shamo had a natural talent for singing. Not only was her basic technique solid, but her ability to grasp and improve was exceptional. Every time Cheng Xiaoyu pointed out her shortcomings, her improvements were noticeable the second time she sang.

The two seasoned bar musicians, a genius drummer, and a soprano who transformed when she sang left Wang Ou speechless, wishing he wasn't a beginner and could perform on stage.

When the rehearsal ended, Wang Ou's face was filled with envy. Initially, he learned the guitar for fun, then to fit in, and now because of his desire. The magic of music was so powerful. When you could perfectly play a song with an instrument in your hands, there was a self-satisfying feeling, like a drug. If there was a crowd of enthusiastic fans below, it was like being on top of the world, and the drug was upgraded to a higher level. You were the king of the world, and you could have anything you wanted, but to reach that level, you needed not only superb skills but also strong on-stage presence and charisma.

Because Xia Shamo had to go home to cook, the rehearsal ended at around five. Such intense rehearsals put a lot of pressure on her voice. Cheng Xiaoyu gave her some tips on protecting her voice and told her to be careful.

The five of them agreed to rehearse after lunch the next day and then dispersed. The next day was their debut at the Forest of Lights.

Due to the intense rehearsal, Cheng Xiaoyu only noticed several unread messages on his phone when he got home.

One was from Ji Yunyun: "Sorry, I posted your work on the bulletin board without your permission today. If it caused you any trouble, I apologize."

Cheng Xiaoyu casually replied with a smiley face and then sent, "No problem. I'd be thrilled to be linked to a beauty!" After sending it, he thought it was inappropriate and changed it to "It's okay," making the tone a bit colder.

The second message was from Tang Wenqian: "What are you doing! Sister." Since he didn't reply, she followed up with an "angry face" emoji. The subsequent messages were all various emojis from Tang Wenqian.

Cheng Xiaoyu replied, "Sorry, sister! I just went winter swimming with my gay friend! I didn't have my phone with me."

Before Ji Yunyun could reply, Tang Wenqian responded with a series of question marks and a surprised emoji, "Not in the Huangpu River, right?"

Cheng Xiaoyu replied, "Haha, no, in the ocean of music. Our small band is performing at a bar near Fudan University tomorrow. Want to come?"

Tang Wenqian replied, "Which bar? I'll come if I have time!"

"Forest of Lights, on the Fudan bar street. It's a bar opened by my classmate's brother. I'll buy you a drink if you come!"

"Haha, you're not up to something, are you? Buying a drink for a minor beauty!"

"Cut it out. As long as you don't have any funny ideas, I consider you a close friend!"

"Then show me your best, and I'll sneak in when I have time. You won't recognize me anyway."

"Okay, as long as I see you, I'll recognize you."

"No way, impossible."

"Fine, what do you want to bet?"

"Even if you guess right, I won't admit it. What's the point of betting?"

"Are you that unreasonable?"

"Haha, you got it. I am. But this is interesting. If you guess right, I'll grant you one wish. If you don't, you grant me one wish."

"Then you have to tell me when you come! Otherwise, how can I guess if you're here or not?"

"Okay! But if you figure out who I am, you have to give me a rose in front of everyone. If it's not me, I'll tell you who I am. If it is me, no one will stand up."

"You won't find a friend to trick me, right?"

"I'll show you my student ID. There's only one, right?"

Cheng Xiaoyu thought about it and agreed, "OK, I'll keep my word."

Unbeknownst to him, Xu Qinling was planning to trick him. She replied, "OK," and started contacting the real Tang Wenqian.

Cheng Xiaoyu chatted a bit more with Ji Yunyun and then drove home.

Xu Qinling had been fighting for her allowance at home, so she hadn't slept at Su Yuxi's place.

This made Cheng Xiaoyu feel relieved, thinking life was bearable. The psychological shadow left by that female demon was too deep. However, he didn't know that he still couldn't escape Xu Qinling's schemes.

When Cheng Xiaoyu got home, Su Yuxi was practicing the piano in the music room. Cheng Xiaoyu stopped to listen for a moment. She was playing Liszt's "Reminiscences de Norma," one of the ten most difficult piano pieces. This piece was adapted by Liszt from Bellini's opera "Norma."

The most famous aria in the opera "Norma" is "Casta Diva." The plot is set in 50 BC, when Rome conquered Gaul. The high priest Oroveso calls the people to resist the enemy, and his daughter Norma, the high priestess, is in love with the Roman governor Pollione and has two children with him. However, Pollione has fallen in love with the young priestess Adalgisa and plans to escape to Rome with her. As Norma's friend, Adalgisa, feeling guilty, confesses to Norma. Norma, enraged, wants to kill her children but can't bear to. She asks Adalgisa to take the children to Pollione. Adalgisa, moved by Norma, refuses Pollione. But Pollione is still in love with Adalgisa, and Norma is enraged again, declaring a fight. When Pollione is captured while trying to meet Adalgisa, Norma offers to save him if he abandons Adalgisa. Pollione, however, would rather die and asks Norma to forgive Adalgisa. Norma, in anger, declares that she will sacrifice Adalgisa to the gods. In the end, Norma sentences herself to death for betraying her country. She bravely walks to the stake. Pollione, moved by her love, joins her in death. This is an epic tragedy of true love and destruction, but the 15-minute piano piece "Reminiscences de Norma" is hard to convey the complex emotions of love, friendship, betrayal, country, family, and religion.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't dare to listen to the intense and sorrowful music for long and went to the dining room. After a quick meal, he returned to his room to think about more suitable songs. He wrote some tabs, checked the nearly completed recording studio downstairs, and then went to bed. In his dreams, he returned to that familiar time and place, meeting those familiar people again.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, Cheng Xiaoyu went to the Fudan music room to practice. He didn't dare to slack off, especially after recognizing the gap between him and Su Yuxi. He practiced intensely until noon, had a quick lunch, and then went to the Forest of Lights.

Cheng Xiaoyu thought he was early, but he was still the last to arrive. He awkwardly smiled, didn't say much, and walked to the keyboard, signaling to start the rehearsal.

Clearly, Xia Shamo had practiced the new songs last night. Her performance today was much better than yesterday, with better emotional control, breathing, and rhythm.

The four of them rehearsed tirelessly for the afternoon. For most of the time, Cheng Xiaoyu asked Xia Shamo to sing softly, paying attention to the timing and coordination with the band.

As dinner time approached, Xia Shamo rode her bicycle home to cook. Cheng Xiaoyu sent her a message, "Remember to wear contact lenses tonight. I brought makeup to help you with a bit of makeup, and wear your school uniform!"

"School uniform? Why?" Xia Shamo was surprised. She had planned to wear her mother's clothes to look more mature.

Cheng Xiaoyu couldn't explain the reason to Xia Shamo. The bar patrons loved schoolgirls, and seeing Xia Shamo in a school uniform would make her invincible, regardless of her singing skills. He couldn't tell her his ulterior motives directly, so he replied, "We're a student band! To highlight the theme, wearing school uniforms is the most obvious."

Xia Shamo, not understanding the mentality of older men, replied, "Okay. See you later." Cheng Xiaoyu didn't reply further.

Huang Yong took Cheng Xiaoyu, Wang Ou, and Chen Haoran to "Lai Yi Wan," the best rice bowl place at Jiaotong University. Since some departments hadn't started the holiday, there were still many people. Except for the innocent Chen Haoran, the other three couldn't stop rating the girls they saw. Cheng Xiaoyu found few attractive, mostly rating them as failures. Huang Yong and Wang Ou had lower standards, considering any girl with a nice butt and big chest beautiful, leaving Cheng Xiaoyu speechless. Thinking of Su Yuxi's debate the day before, he had to admit that most men were indeed driven by their lower halves.

After finishing their rice bowls, when they returned to the Forest of Lights, posters for their band's performance were already up at the bar entrance. The photo was taken by Wang Ou during the New Year's cultural performance, showing Xia Shamo singing under the spotlight. The photo was well-captured.

In the photo, Xia Shamo held the microphone stand with both hands, her diamond tears shining brightly, her eyes filled with gentle affection, her pearl-white qipao accentuating her figure, and her crystal shoes adding an unmatched queenly aura. Cheng Xiaoyu and Chen Haoran were mere background.

At the bottom in large black letters: "Shanghai's strongest band 'Crown of Sin' performs at 9 PM today at the Forest of Lights! Reservation phone: 021-XXXXXXXXX."

Wang Ou was proud of his work, standing by the poster and smiling foolishly.

Cheng Xiaoyu shook his head and went to the basement with Chen Haoran.

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**End of Chapter**