Chapter 2

Over the next day and a half, Li Qian almost neglected to eat or sleep.

The audio and video store, bookstore, DVD rental shop, and book rental shop at the entrance of the residential area became his base of operations.

He flipped through everything related to music, movies, TV series, and books.

CDs, vinyl records, and cassettes, whether domestic or foreign, he took them off the shelves one by one to examine, looking at the artists, song titles, record labels, and more. He then combined these with his memories to try to piece together the development of music in this timeline.

He looked at movie posters, plot summaries, cast lists, directors, and screenwriters, trying to recall as much as possible from the previous Li Qian's knowledge, including release dates, box office figures, and reviews, regardless of whether they were domestic or foreign.

He also paid attention to TV series, reading plot summaries, cast lists, directors, and recalling approximate broadcast times and reviews.

The same went for novels and anthologies.

Of course, he knew that just a cursory look could only provide a rough guess. In the coming days, he would have to watch, listen, and analyze each one in detail to more accurately grasp the pulse of this era.

Fortunately, the previous Li Qian was also quite passionate about these things—novels, music, movies, TV series, and more. This was like a lighthouse guiding Li Qian through the dark sea.

As he saw more and understood more, the smile on Li Qian's face grew wider and wider.

To be fair, Li Qian was the type of person who, once he fell in love with something, would go all out, even though he never achieved much fame by his thirties. However, his knowledge was broad and his understanding of the music and film industries of that era was extremely deep.

So, after spending more than a day roughly familiarizing himself with the cultural scene of this timeline and era, the light in his heart began to shine brighter and brighter.

Well, at least 100 watts, and it was an LED 100 watts.

Specifically, the literature, art, film, music, and painting of this era were largely the same as those of the era Li Qian had experienced, but with small differences.

By "largely the same," for example, in literature and novels, the storylines, language, and cinematography might differ, but the spiritual core was subtly aligned. The same went for music; the songs and melodies might be different, but the spiritual pursuit and emotional direction were in sync.

And this was true for both Eastern and Western cultures. The Western arts generally followed the development trajectory Li Qian was familiar with, with little deviation. The closer it got to 1644, the turning point in Eastern history, the more their development trajectory aligned with what Li Qian knew. Many famous artists and works were completely consistent with the history in Li Qian's mind, while many things in China and the East had undergone significant changes.

As for the "small differences," it was simple. The movies, TV series, and songs that Li Qian was familiar with from his previous life had no overlap with this life!

Of course, the song titles not overlapping didn't mean the melodies wouldn't be similar, and the absence of certain movies didn't mean other movies wouldn't have similar plot elements. But... this was already enough!

As a seasoned amateur singer and a semi-seasoned third-rate actor, he knew what the musical notes and images in his memory, which only he possessed in this world, meant.

...

On Sunday night, at 11:30 PM.

Li Qian lay in bed, his mind racing, his eyes gleaming.

His mother, Geng Hui zhen, came out to use the bathroom and, seeing the light leaking through the door crack, couldn't help but knock on the door, "Xiao Qian, why aren't you sleeping? Don't you have class tomorrow?"

Li Qian quickly jumped out of bed, "Sleeping, sleeping, I'll go to sleep right away. I just suddenly wanted to write something, I'll be done in a minute!"

"Write something? Don't try to fool me with your father's excuses. How old are you to start using inspiration as an excuse to stay up late? If you really have the energy, with the final exams coming up, don't give me the bottom three again! Now, go to sleep!"

Without a word, Li Qian reached out to turn off the light.

Hearing the footsteps, Li Qian thought his mother, Geng Hui zhen, had returned to her room. After waiting a bit and confirming there was no more noise, he turned the light back on and started rummaging under the bed. Soon, he found a dusty guitar case.

Without caring about the dirt, Li Qian excitedly opened the case...

Well, two strings were broken.

...

It must be said that some deeply ingrained ways of thinking in a culture are really hard to change. For example, despite the changing times, in 1995 in this timeline, the National No. 13 High School in Jinan still had key classes and regular classes. In the second year, classes 1, 3, and 5 were the key classes.

In key classes, the students were the best, and the teachers were outstanding. The consensus among teachers, parents, and the school was: since you're in a key class, getting into the Imperial University is your goal! At the very least, you should be able to get into the No. 1 National University of Shandong, right? After all, you're from the key class of the National No. 13 High School in Jinan, which is one of the top ten high schools in Shandong, with a history dating back to the Shun Dynasty's Jinan Prefecture School, known as the "Little Imperial University of Shandong"!

On Monday morning,

The fourth class for Class 5, Grade 2 was Chinese.

Li Qian's seat was in the third-to-last row. The teacher was lecturing passionately, and the students were listening attentively, but Li Qian was rather bored, half-lying on his desk, his gaze fixed on the back of a girl in the third row.

She was Wang Jinglu.

Li Qian was initially quite curious about the educational methods and standards in this timeline, but after flipping through all the textbooks for the second half of Grade 2 in the morning, his interest quickly waned.

For example, the Chinese class in the fourth period had a textbook that was not much different from the one from his previous life, except that the classical Chinese sections were longer and more numerous. The lesson for the morning was "Letter to Ren An" by Sima Qian, which Li Qian had already studied in his previous life, so he found himself drifting off.

"Li Qian, stand up!"

Li Qian stood up abruptly, staring blankly at his Chinese teacher, Qi Jie, with a puzzled look on his face, as if he didn't know why she had suddenly called on him.

She was a very beautiful young woman in her early twenties, wearing a well-tailored black suit that accentuated her good figure. Her long, black hair was tied into a ponytail, straight and shiny, with a slight purple curl at the ends, adding a touch of fashion and elegance. Even standing there simply, she had a captivating presence.

Yes, she was still just a... young woman!

She came from an educational family; both her parents were veteran teachers at No. 13 High School. She herself had entered the National No. 1 Women's Comprehensive College's Education Department at the age of 17 and returned to her alma mater to teach Chinese, following the class of Li Qian and Wang Jinglu from the first year. Since her return, she had been known as the most beautiful woman at No. 13 High School, a title that had never been challenged. However, to the regret of the male teachers and students at No. 13 High School, according to rumors, she had been engaged since a young age, and her wedding was reportedly scheduled for May of the following year, which was not a pleasant piece of news.

Especially for the previous Li Qian, Teacher Qi was his top dream girl.

Don't be surprised; for a 17-year-old boy, even a girl as beautiful as Wang Jinglu, who was his age, was not as attractive as a gentle and kind older sister.

Moreover, Teacher Qi was very beautiful. In the words of the current Li Qian, she had a very high beauty score, at least 90 out of 100. Her eyes, in particular, were always bright and clear, like a sweet spring, making one feel calm just by looking at them. A single glance at her could instantly dispel any impure thoughts.

Now, Teacher Qi had called Li Qian to stand up in class, her bright eyes fixed on him, and said, "Li Qian, can you wait until after class to look at girls?"

The class burst into laughter.

After almost two years in the same class, how many secrets could anyone have that others didn't know?

The story of Li Qian and Wang Jinglu being childhood sweethearts and living next door to each other had long been known in the class. Even the fact that Wang Jinglu's famous older sister, Wang Jingsnow, had once beaten up Li Qian was not a secret.

Indeed, as soon as Teacher Qi called Li Qian to stand up, Wang Jinglu, feeling guilty, quickly lowered her head.

The class burst into laughter again, and Wang Jinglu buried her head in her textbook, her face, ears, and neck turning red as if she had drunk alcohol.

Li Qian, however, was not embarrassed. Given his actual mental age of nearly 40, even if he were only 17, he wouldn't be afraid.

Not to mention, he and Wang Jinglu didn't have any special intimate relationship. Even if they did, the Marriage Law in this timeline clearly stated that the legal marriage age was 16 for girls and 18 for boys. In fact, there were already married students in high school and college, and if you got pregnant during your studies, the school would grant you a year's leave to have the baby and then return to school.

As for early romance... the term didn't even exist in Li Qian's memory. From the state to the schools and teachers, it seemed to be encouraged for boys and girls to cultivate feelings from a young age. Many families in this era were indeed formed by classmates from junior high, high school, or college, and they would stay together for decades, even a lifetime, with a deep and unbreakable bond.

So, standing there, Li Qian felt particularly clear-headed. Thinking about his high school days in his previous life, he even felt a sense of happiness. He directly replied, "Teacher Qi, I wasn't looking at Wang Jinglu, I was looking at you!"

Boom...

The laughter this time was even louder, with many students laughing so hard they were holding their stomachs!

Teacher Qi, both angry and amused, glared at Li Qian and said, "Do you want to fail the final exam?"

The class fell silent.

Li Qian said, "Teacher Qi, how can you do this? Do you know that obstructing romantic freedom is illegal?"

Some students couldn't help but laugh softly.

Teacher Qi didn't want to argue with Li Qian anymore. She put the textbook on the desk, her smile fading, and looked at him quietly.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Li Qian lowered his head in shame, "Teacher Qi, I'm sorry, I was indeed looking at Wang Jinglu just now."

Boom...