Chapter 18

In the afternoon after school, on the rooftop of No. 13 Middle School's teaching building.

Li Qian, somewhat awkwardly, strummed the guitar, trying hard to capture the feel of "Do You Love Me or Not."

This "Do You Love Me or Not" was not the same as the "Do You Love Me or Not" he knew from his previous life, and it wasn't even a rock song. It was just a regular pop love song. Judging by the frequency of its playback in the music stores on the street, it seemed to be quite popular this year.

The song was well-written, with decent lyrics and a good melody. In the current era, it had all the qualities to become a hit, especially considering it was a song by the famous singer Huang Yuqing.

Although he was unfamiliar with it, after practicing the chords he had rearranged a few times, he gradually became more proficient.

Of course, he knew that just being familiar with it wasn't enough. To use it as his performance song, he needed to practice until he could play it effortlessly, almost instinctively.

And "Do You Love Me or Not" was just the beginning.

After listening to the tapes in his hand several times, Li Qian selected a few songs that he could sing and should be able to sing well. There weren't many, only about a dozen or so. Then, he arranged the guitar parts for each of them and planned to practice them all in the coming days.

Next, he intended to expand his range of songs, slowly adding more to his repertoire, ultimately forming a collection of about twenty to thirty songs.

Only then could he start looking for a place to perform as a resident singer.

Undoubtedly, this was not something that could be rushed.

Because... choosing the right songs was not easy.

The familiar songs from his previous life, including those he had written himself, he did not plan to bring out at this time. One reason was to avoid accusations of plagiarism, but the main reason was that he knew that without a band or any fame, he had no chance of getting into the major bars. He also had no plans to form a band at the moment. Therefore, he would have to choose some less prestigious bars and mid-range restaurants for his performances. If he were to perform in these places, singing songs that everyone knew well would be a must.

Of course, familiar songs must be sung with a touch of novelty.

However, selecting songs from this world that suited his taste and that he could handle was not an easy task.

Based on his gradually deepening understanding over the past few days, Li Qian had a rough idea of the current state of the domestic music market.

Because the reform and opening-up in this timeline started much earlier than in the one he had experienced, the domestic music market had undergone many changes.

Currently, the mainstream of the domestic music market was no longer the folk songs and opera segments of the past. Even the status of rock music had declined significantly. Pop love songs, campus folk songs, personal sentiments, sweet songs, and even electronic music had all emerged with their own representatives and hit songs. They, along with folk songs, opera records, and rock, had all begun to flourish. Even some R&B styles had started to appear.

In a sense, the entire market was moving towards a diverse and vibrant landscape.

From this perspective, the domestic music of this timeline in 1995 was more developed than the domestic music of 1995 in the timeline he had experienced.

But the problem was... this was still 1995.

Times were advancing, and so was music.

Truly popular songs that could be sung and loved for decades were actually few. In the timeline he had experienced, including the music from Taiwan and Hong Kong, how many songs from the entire Chinese music scene were still considered classics in the second decade of the 21st century? And how many of these classics had survived the test of time, emerging from countless songs over the years?

How many songs, once red-hot across the country and deeply loved by him, sounded outdated and old-fashioned when heard again after a few or even a dozen years?

Therefore, after being influenced by the more mature and diverse music of his previous life, Li Qian found it hard to find a liking for many of the songs that were popular in this era.

He even planned to ask Wang Jinglu for a list of songs.

Perhaps she could recommend some good ones?

After all, the sisters were professionals!

After practicing "Do You Love Me or Not" six or seven times and getting a preliminary feel for it, Li Qian stopped to drink some water and rest for a moment. Then, he flipped to the next page of his "practice book."

...

After school, Qi Jie, as usual, stayed in the office.

She opened her laptop to continue reading the book she had barely managed to read yesterday. Just as she was about to start, she suddenly heard a familiar guitar sound.

Yes, through several floors, the guitar sound was already very faint when it reached the office, almost ethereal. If it weren't for the extremely quiet environment and her attention, she might not have heard it. But Qi Jie heard it immediately—the sound of a simple strum, not even a complete melody!

With a start, she stood up with a look of surprise.

Without a moment's hesitation, she snapped her laptop shut and walked out the door.

It was the same old spot. She took out a handkerchief, wiped the steps, and sat down carefully.

After sitting down, she felt a bit amused.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked herself, "It feels like the day isn't complete without hearing him sing! I get so excited at the slightest sound and rush over to listen..."

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but tease herself, "Maybe this is the kind of enjoyment that the ladies and madams of the past had? A personal, face-to-face performance! This is much better than listening to tapes or CDs! It's just that the singer doesn't know there's someone secretly listening..."

Today, the guitar playing on the rooftop was a bit messy and awkward. After playing for about seven or eight minutes, the singing finally started. After a few lines, Qi Jie recognized it as "Do You Love Me or Not."

For Qi Jie, who had been sitting here every day for half an hour and had listened to at least ten songs, hearing a familiar song gave her a sudden sense of excitement—she had already heard at least thirty songs from the person upstairs, but none of them were familiar to her, making her almost doubt if she had been left behind by the times.

However, this excitement lasted only a minute or two.

There was no denying that, although it sounded like he was just practicing and was somewhat unfamiliar with the song and the guitar chords, making it sound a bit choppy, he still sang very well.

Qi Jie didn't understand music, but she thought the person upstairs had a very good voice. He used his voice skillfully, handling high and low notes, and even falsetto, with ease, showing a confident and effortless style. When listening to him sing, you could easily feel the appropriate emotions he poured into the song and each note.

His voice, combined with his emotions and interpretation, made his songs very moving.

Despite the original version by Huang Yuqing being excellent, listening to him sing still sounded very good.

Or, it had a different charm.

But that was all.

Qi Jie was already used to hearing completely different and never-before-heard songs every day. Especially, those songs were all so beautiful! Now, suddenly hearing a familiar one, the novelty wore off, and she felt a bit dissatisfied!

Moreover, he sang "Do You Love Me or Not" seven or eight times!

Repeated practice!

If she weren't just "secretly listening," Qi Jie almost couldn't resist shouting up to the person upstairs, "Hey, change the song, change the song! I want to hear the songs you used to sing!"

Or— "Refund!"

Thinking about these things, Qi Jie couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.

Covering her mouth tightly, she barely managed to suppress her laughter, but her face turned red from the effort.

Every time she listened to him sing, Qi Jie felt like she suddenly became young again, as if she had returned to those carefree years of her youth—despite the fact that she was still young now!

Suppressing her laughter, she sat there, propping her chin in her hand, patiently waiting for the next song from upstairs.

Finally, the person upstairs really changed the song, but this time, it was... "I Love You, My Homeland."

Another familiar song!

"Today is so boring!"

Qi Jie, whose taste had been spoiled, could only shake her head in frustration, unable to accept it.

Of course, he still sang very well. Compared to the original, the rhythm had changed, making it less like a folk song. A strange but interesting melody had been added, completely transforming the song and making it full of charm.

In short, it was very novel.

So novel that Qi Jie couldn't help but think, "This song can be sung like this?"

This novel feeling made her listen patiently as he sang it three times in a row.

Then—

"I can't take it anymore, today is just a敷衍, I'm leaving, I'm leaving!"

She grumbled to herself, a light smile on her face, and carefully went downstairs.

Most importantly, it seemed he hadn't succeeded in pursuing the girl!

Was this a good thing?

This was a good thing!

Because she could continue to listen to songs!

"I don't believe he will sing these familiar songs every day in the future!" she thought.

...

Today's songs were all new, and the practice time was a bit longer than usual. By the time Li Qian got home, it was almost completely dark, and the food his mother had prepared had started to cool.

While Li Qian was taking a shower, his mother reheated the food and served it. The family then had dinner.

After dinner, Li Qian's mother, without washing the dishes, soaked the bowls and chopsticks in the sink, washed her hands, and sat down to watch TV. Li Qian's father, after sitting in his study for a while, went to Li Qian's bedroom and knocked on the door.

Pushing the door open, he saw Li Qian seriously reviewing his lessons, and he was studying Russian, his weakest subject. A look of satisfaction and relief appeared on his face.

"Dad, is there something?" Li Qian asked.

Li Qian's father said, "No, nothing else, just came to see what you're doing!"

Li Qian pouted, "Really? We already agreed on the conditions, do you still need to supervise?"

Li Qian's father glanced at him disdainfully, "Supervise you? Pfft, you've had good and bad grades for years, when have I ever supervised you?"

"True!" Li Qian thought for a moment and said, "So... is there something?"

Li Qian's father paused and asked, "Xiao Qian, have you written any new songs recently?"

Li Qian frowned, puzzled, "New songs? Dad, didn't you oppose me doing this?"

Li Qian's father quickly waved his hands and explained seriously, "I'm not against you making music, I'm just against you making it your main job... don't you understand? I support your interest in writing songs and lyrics! For example, the lyrics of your last song, 'Dark Fragrance,' were pretty good! You're a high school student, only seventeen, and you can write such a poetic piece, that's already very good! Since you're good at it and like it, you should keep working hard!"

Li Qian slapped his forehead: Got it!

Dad meant that lyrics were just another form of poetry, and he could write more of them!

He thought for a moment and said, "Dad, the songs I write might not interest you much."

Li Qian's father's eyes lit up, "Not necessarily, tell me about them."

Li Qian hesitated, grabbed a practice book, flipped to the back, tore out a sheet of paper, and picked up a pen, but then stopped. After a moment's hesitation, he put down the pen and turned around, "Dad, I'll sing it for you instead?"

Li Qian's father nodded and said, "Okay," then walked to the bed and sat down.

Li Qian took the guitar, closed his eyes to recall for a moment, and with a mix of nervousness and hope, gently strummed the strings—

"From tomorrow on, be a happy person,

Feed the horses, chop the wood, travel the world,

From tomorrow on, care about the grains and vegetables,

I have a house, facing the sea, with spring and flowers.

From tomorrow on, write to every relative,

Tell them of my happiness,

The lightning of happiness tells me,

I will tell everyone.

Give every river and mountain a warm name,

Stranger, I also wish you well,

May you have a bright future,

May you find your true love,

May you be happy in this world,

I only wish to face the sea, with spring and flowers.

..."

The clear guitar, the melodious tune, the moving singing.

A beautiful poem.

Li Qian sang very seriously, very emotionally.

After finishing the song, he hesitated to open his eyes.

Of course, this was a poem by Haizi.

Of course, this was one of Li Qian's favorite poems.

In the timeline he had experienced, this poem held a high place in the hearts of his generation. Underground bands and singers had composed music for it, but none of the works reached a mature level, and none even passed the producer's test. So, while there were many underground works for this poem, none of them made it to the market.

Among the dozens or hundreds of "Facing the Sea, Spring and Flowers" that might never see the light of day, one was composed by Li Qian.

It was his work from his early twenties.

He sang a dream from his previous life.

But after finishing, he kept his eyes closed for a long time, then suddenly opened them, quickly put down the guitar, and without looking at his father's expression, hurriedly took the paper and pen he had prepared, "Dad, I need to make some changes, wait a moment."

Li Qian's father was startled back to his senses, "Oh, okay, make the changes, I'll wait!"

Li Qian quickly drew the simplest staff on the white paper and started writing the notes—just then, in the middle of singing, he suddenly had some other ideas.

Then, those ideas were like a spring, and when the first clear stream gushed out, it could no longer be controlled, gushing out and turning into a river in the blink of an eye!

A young man in his early twenties, with a great love for rock and a great love for this poem, spent a night writing a song he was quite proud of, but at that time, he had nothing but passion!

A passion that could burn everything!

It was his love for rock!

But, facing the sea, with spring and flowers... it shouldn't be sung like this!

It could be rock, it could be emotional, but it couldn't be aggressive, it couldn't be violent!

It should be like a river, flowing gently; it should be like a lake, with ripples; it should be like a child's heart, pure and transparent; it should be the color of a bright, flower-covered hill in a dream, the color of a clear, simple sea in a dream...

Pure joy, transparent kindness, a dream-like aspiration...

...

Time passed, Li Qian wrote furiously, and Li Qian's father sat there motionless.

When Li Qian finally exhaled and turned around, Li Qian's father's face was solemn.

"Done?" he asked.

Li Qian nodded, "Done!"

Then, he picked up the guitar, glanced at the sheet music, and gently strummed the strings.

The melody was very simple, so simple that it only had a few basic rhythms, but it was surprisingly melodious and bright.

Li Qian opened his eyes, smiled, and sang, laughing and swaying his body.

But this time, it was Li Qian's father who closed his eyes.

The first time, with the new sheet music, it was a bit choppy, but overall, it was smooth.

The guitar sound faded, and Li Qian's father took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

He searched his pockets, didn't find a cigarette, and his Adam's apple moved, "Hmm, hmm," he said.

As he spoke, he slowly nodded.

Hmm.

The simplest syllable, the simplest word, but when he said it, his face was solemn, as if he were facing something incredibly serious, important, and even a bit nerve-wracking.

For a long time, Li Qian just looked at him.

After a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke, his voice a bit hoarse, "This second time is better than the first!"

Li Qian nodded and smiled.

Li Qian's father tried to smile but couldn't.

"Good work... what's the name?"

"It's called 'Facing the Sea, Spring and Flowers!'" Li Qian said.

Li Qian's father nodded and said, "Hmm."

Then, he lowered his head, sat there motionless, as if in a daze or deep in thought.

After a while, he came to his senses, said, "Hmm," stood up, and started to leave, then stopped, took a few steps, grabbed the doorknob, and, with his back to Li Qian, said, "Copy the lyrics for me. You should write more songs like this... just don't forget to study."

Then, he stood at the door for a moment, finally walked out, and gently closed the door.