Chapter 31

For the entire morning, Liao Liao's heart was completely immersed in those few cassette tapes.

Excitement, agitation, sorrow, dissatisfaction, disappointment, surprise... Various emotions kept changing on her face.

After listening to "Goodnight Jinan" over a dozen times, taking advantage of the rewinding interval, she said to Qi Jie and Huang Wenjuan, "This slow dance, even if it were included in the Flying Band's album, would still stand out!"

After listening to "He Must Love You" twice, she frowned slightly and said, "If it's true that all these songs were written by the same person, your student, I would tell him not to write such songs anymore. Although this kind of pop song is easier to become popular, it's a waste of your talent, your musical talent, your rock talent!"

Then, when she heard "No Place to Hide" on the other side of the tape, she was incredibly excited during the rewinding time and asked Qi Jie, "Are you sure this song is called 'No Place to Hide'?" When Qi Jie replied, "I don't know," she didn't seem to care at all, as if she hadn't intended to get an answer.

She just listened over and over again, once, twice, and again, back and forth.

Then, she swore, and because she was wearing headphones, she almost shouted, "This one, just for writing 'No Place to Hide,' is **awesome!"

Then came "Wishing You a Smooth Journey."

She said, "Another song like this, very smooth, very popular! This kind of song will definitely become popular... Oh my God, if all these songs were written by the same person, I really want to immediately take him as my teacher and ask him to write more songs like 'No Place to Hide' and 'Goodnight Jinan.' If not, even songs like 'White Moonlight' would be great!"

Yes, this time, she was still shouting.

Finally, it was "Bosanzi."

She shouted again, "This song is still good, although it's a bit inferior to 'White Moonlight,' it's still on the popular path, but the flavor is quite nice. However, I think the name shouldn't be 'Bosanzi.' He just borrowed the imagery of 'Bosanzi' when writing the lyrics, but the meaning isn't quite fitting. Calling it 'Picking Through the Cold Branches' or 'Lonely Sandbank' would be better than 'Bosanzi'!"

So, for the entire morning, Qi Jie and Huang Wenjuan sat in the room with her, drinking tea and chatting, occasionally giving her a glare for her loud voice—during their school years, they had such a good relationship, sleeping in the same dorm, and listening to songs together countless times, so she was already used to Liao Liao's habit of making random comments while listening to music.

Yes, girls, after drinking a lot of tea, going to the bathroom two or three times in the morning is quite normal.

As for Liao Liao, she didn't eat or drink, she just sat there, listening to songs, listening to songs, listening to songs...

Finally, she finished listening to the seven songs.

Noticing that she had taken off her headphones, Qi Jie and Huang Wenjuan turned to look at her.

"Very good, right?" Qi Jie smiled at her, "Not disappointed, right?"

To be honest, for the entire morning, her mood had been light, happy, and a bit smug, with a hint of pride.

Look, you didn't care about it, you thought it was just a kid's work, but now... How about it, Liao Liao? My student, this kid, has some talent, right?

Liao Liao nodded slowly after hearing this.

Choosing her words carefully, she said slowly, "Absolutely... stunning!"

Then, she asked, "Are you sure these are all written by your student? Original?"

Qi Jie, instead of answering, asked, "Have you heard these songs elsewhere?"

The tone of her question was full of pride.

Under normal circumstances, Liao Liao would have given her a glare! But this time, Liao Liao surprisingly had no intention of retaliating, and instead nodded solemnly. Then, she said, "If they weren't original, if they hadn't been heard by others, these songs would have been bought and become popular nationwide long ago!"

Then, she asked curiously, "What kind of person is this kid? Just an ordinary high school student? He's only sixteen or seventeen... This is too incredible, right?"

Qi Jie was taken aback, "Incredible?"

Suddenly, she started to feel something was off.

Yes, she was the first to discover these songs, and when Liao Liao came to Jinan, she couldn't wait to share them with her best friend, wanting her to listen and agree with her judgment, and to praise them lavishly—like this, she would feel honored.

In fact, Liao Liao's reaction just now had already given her that sense of honor, especially since she had listened to the cassette player for over two hours without eating or drinking, and after listening, she had praised them without end. These things undoubtedly made her feel more honored.

But... incredible?

This wasn't the state she was in while listening to the songs, when she would say this was good and that was bad, and Qi Jie wouldn't really care, as long as she also thought the songs were good.

But this time, she wasn't shouting; she was speaking very seriously.

She said, this kid is incredibly talented.

At this moment, Qi Jie suddenly recalled that she had once said, "This song, even if it were included in the Flying Band's album, would still stand out!" and "This song is very popular and will easily become popular."

So, Qi Jie's expression changed unconsciously.

"Are you... serious?"

Liao Liao was taken aback, "Serious? Of course, I'm serious! I already said, some of these songs, like 'No Place to Hide' and 'White Moonlight,' are **awesome!"

At this point, Qi Jie's expression was really off.

She asked cautiously, "You mean, even from the perspective of a professional singer, these songs are not only very good but also belong to the level of... the kind that can become popular nationwide?"

"Of course!"

Liao Liao answered her very affirmatively.

Qi Jie opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but suddenly didn't know what to say.

He? His songs, not only do I think they're good, not only does Liao Liao think they're good, but they've actually reached the level of becoming popular nationwide, making everyone think they're good...?

Qi Jie suddenly thought: It turns out that I still underestimated him?

At this moment, Liao Liao asked her, "By the way, you haven't said yet, what kind of person is this kid? Oh, right, what's his name?"

What kind of person is he?

Qi Jie asked herself in her heart.

Subconsciously, she immediately thought of his closed eyes, his body swaying slightly, his fingers plucking the strings while singing, the hint of maturity in his youthful appearance, his deep, black eyes, his slightly shy smile, his annoying habit of being a smartass, and...

"He... flirted with me!" Qi Jie suddenly said.

"Ah?"

Liao Liao and Huang Wenjuan were both taken aback.

"Really?" Huang Wenjuan asked.

Qi Jie was stunned, suddenly feeling that she shouldn't have said that, at least not in front of Huang Wenjuan, but the words were already out, so she just nodded and said, "In class!"

After a pause, she suddenly smiled and said, "Not as dirty as you think, it's just... he said he liked me in class..."

"Damn!" Liao Liao almost jumped up, "This guy is too cool! Flirting with a teacher in class, that was my dream back then... impressive!"

Qi Jie was speechless.

After a moment, she shook her head and said, "His name is Li Qian. How to describe him... let me put it this way, his father is a teacher at our school, just like me, teaching Chinese. I've been teaching his class since the first year of high school. At first, his grades were very good, but later they got worse and worse, probably because he was focusing on music? But it's been two years, and our school has an annual party and a singing competition every spring, but I've never heard him sing, and he's never participated in any of those events, until recently when I suddenly heard someone singing on the rooftop..."

The events of the past month or so, in fact, could be summarized in just a few sentences, and Qi Jie quickly told the whole story from the first time she heard someone singing on the rooftop to the most recent recording.

Then, Liao Liao asked with excitement, "So, he has many other works?"

Qi Jie was taken aback, nodded, and said, "I guess...?"

"Yay!"

Liao Liao clenched her fist and said excitedly, "Sure enough, sure enough! This is a big deal, I want to meet him! Where is he? Is he in class now? I want to meet him!"

"Uh..."

Qi Jie hesitated, then looked out, and said, "It's Saturday today, so of course there's no class. But even though he often goes to the rooftop of our teaching building to sing on Saturdays, with the weather today..."

She shook her head and said, "I don't think he will go."

Liao Liao thought for a moment and then said, "Then we can visit him at home! You're his teacher, you must know where he lives, right? Or do you have his phone number? Or a landline? You can contact him first, and then we can visit him?"

Qi Jie looked at her in confusion, seeing how excited she was, and asked, "You want to meet him? Why?"

"To buy the songs!"

Liao Liao answered without hesitation, "If these songs are really all his original works, then at least those few... 'No Place to Hide,' 'Goodnight Jinan,' and 'White Moonlight,' yes, those three, I want to buy them from him!"

Qi Jie was taken aback again, "Buy the songs? Are you sure?"

Liao Liao nodded.

Qi Jie thought for a moment and said, "Like how you bought songs from that bookstore... that Cao Zhan?"

"Right!"

Liao Liao answered without hesitation.

At this moment, it seemed that every cell in her body was excited and jumping.

Perhaps Qi Jie didn't know the value of those songs, but she did.

She knew she had hit a gold mine this time!

So, of course, she had to find the person and buy the songs before they were out in the open!

But at this moment, Qi Jie's expression was very off.

Because at this moment, she was really convinced: although she had already thought Li Qian was very different and very talented, she had still underestimated him!

Knowing Liao Liao for many years, she knew that Liao Liao was extremely talented and gifted in music, and she naturally trusted her judgment. So, how could a seventeen-year-old high school student's songs be praised so highly by someone like Liao Liao, and not just in words, but she even wanted to buy the songs... How could she continue to praise him like a regular student?

She even couldn't help but think, "Maybe my previous praise was actually belittling him?"

Of course, these thoughts Qi Jie couldn't tell Liao Liao.

So, after hesitating for a long time, under Liao Liao's expectant gaze, she said, "But... I recorded them secretly. If I mention buying which songs, they will definitely ask, 'How do you know I sang those songs?'"

Liao Liao was taken aback and stunned.