Chapter 5

With a guitar, there were also good songs to be had, and Li Qian began to worry about where he could practice singing. The principles of all things in this world are basically the same; no matter how talented you are, diligent practice is the foundation of success. Even the best skills will become rusty if not used for three days. Just like the old saying in "The Oil Seller": "I have no other secret, just that my hands are skilled!"

The same goes for music.

Not to mention that in his previous life, although Li Qian was familiar and knowledgeable about this field, he had no achievements to prove his strength. Even if he had been a successful singer or musician in his previous life, he still needed to practice in this life.

The hands of his previous life were the hands of his previous life; without practice, could he guarantee that his hands in this life would be just as nimble?

The voice of his previous life was the voice of his previous life; without practice, how could he know what the characteristics of his voice in this life were, and where his strengths and weaknesses lay?

So, the problem was that he needed to go to school, and when he got out of school, everyone else was off work. He could stay up late at night, but once it was past ten o'clock, even the most beautiful music would be noise to those who wanted to sleep!

Therefore, practicing at home was definitely not an option. And apart from home, he had nowhere else to go.

In the end, he decided to practice on the rooftop of the school's teaching building.

In this timeline, China strongly advocates for human rights, and this is strictly implemented in the lives of students and teachers, with a focus on reducing stress and workload. So, even though the students in the second and third years of high school were about to face the college entrance examination, which would determine the direction of their lives, they still had weekends off, and they never had self-study classes in the early morning or late evening. As the teachers put it: "If we kept you in the classroom at night, where would you find time to play and fall in love?"

So, from Friday afternoon after school until the weekend evening, the entire school was almost deserted, except for a few sports enthusiasts like Liu Qiang and Li Qian, who would go to the school playground to play ball. In short: practicing songs here would not disturb anyone!

Even on Monday to Thursday afternoons, he could stay and practice for an hour, which would just mean getting home a little later and having dinner a bit later.

So, the next afternoon, he brought his guitar case to school.

For him now, he could skip playing ball, he could skip looking for a girlfriend, and he could even skip buying a sports car, but he had to practice singing every day!

At 5:30 PM, the school bell rang on time.

In less than twenty minutes, more than two thousand teachers and students had left the school.

Li Qian politely declined Liu Qiang's invitation to play ball again. After school, he sat in the classroom for a while, waiting until most people had left. Without waiting for the class monitor to kick him out, he left the classroom, put on his guitar case, and walked upstairs.

...

Qi Jie had the habit of staying in the office after school to read novels.

Although she had a better environment at home for reading, she preferred to stay in the office. She felt that once she got home, facing the wall of bookshelves—her father's, her mother's, and her own, with books on party history, educational theories, philosophical theories, classical masterpieces, and historical tomes—reading such novels would seem frivolous.

Indeed, she read web novels.

For most ordinary people nowadays, computers were still quite rare and expensive, let alone the internet. In 1995, there were at most one or two million internet users in the entire country, but the internet already had everything. Even the website called "Summer Chinese Network" had started to experiment with paid reading in the web novel community this year.

Qi Jie, of course, didn't hesitate and directly became a senior VIP, with the ID: TheQueen.

Yes, it means "The Queen."

She specialized in reading the female frequency of this website, such as "Tyrannical Female CEO," "Iron-Blooded Tyrant Flower," "Cold-Blooded Tyrant Love," "Gossip Notice: I Am a Star, Don't Mess with Me," "Queen of the Other World," and so on, all of which were her favorite.

When she read something exciting, her usually calm eyes would light up with a spark.

But she was very careful and never let anyone see.

After school today, she pretended to prepare lessons as usual. After the other teachers left, she put down her pen, took out her laptop from her bag, plugged it in, and then plugged in the wireless network card.

The internet speed was as slow as usual, but as long as she was in a good mood, it wasn't a problem.

When the Summer Chinese Network page opened, she instantly became excited and quickly found the novel she was reading halfway through, "I Am the Queen, Don't Love Me," and opened it.

But before she could read a few words, the sound of a guitar came into her ears.

This wasn't the first time.

Yesterday afternoon, after school, when she was hiding in the office reading a novel, she also heard the guitar sound, along with a boy's soft singing. At that time, Qi Jie was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't pay much attention, treating it as background music.

But this time, for some reason, the guitar sound made her feel a bit annoyed. She couldn't get into the story, and after reading half a chapter, she felt like she couldn't continue.

The guitar sound wasn't too far away, but it was hard to hear clearly, just a faint, distant sound that tickled her heart. As for the singing, she couldn't hear a single word.

But the melody... seemed pretty good?

Qi Jie sat in her seat for a moment, looking at the computer screen and listening to the guitar sound. She couldn't suppress her curiosity—she snapped the laptop screen shut and walked out of the door.

Standing in the corridor, the sound became clearer, but she still couldn't hear the lyrics.

However, just the clear and melancholic guitar sound and the melodious tune already piqued her interest.

Listening carefully, the sound seemed to come from upstairs?

Qi Jie looked at the empty campus, then looked up, and finally decided to close the office door and walk up to the fourth floor.

Yes, it was closer, and it should be... on the rooftop.

By the time she reached the fifth floor, the sound was much clearer, and she could hear the lyrics.

"...

When we grow old,

Will you still be by my side?

See those vows and lies,

Drift away with the past.

How many people once admired your youthful beauty,

But who would bear the ruthless changes of time?

How many people have come and gone in your life,

But I will always be by your side.

..."

The guitar sound was crisp and pleasant to the ear, and the male voice sang with a high and low range.

The faint, unfeigned sadness made Qi Jie shiver involuntarily.

It felt like something had suddenly hit her!

She took a deep breath, lifted her foot lightly, and then gently put it down, step by step, slowly climbing the last stairs to the rooftop. Her steps were as light as a cat's, as if she was afraid of disturbing the singing upstairs.

Then, her steps became slower and slower.

Suddenly, the guitar sound stopped.

Qi Jie immediately stopped, her foot halfway lifted, motionless.

She heard a cough, the sound of drinking, and the "clink" of a cup being put down, and then the guitar sound started again—

"Because I dreamed of you leaving,

I woke up crying.

See the night wind blow through the window,

Can you feel my love?

When we grow old,

Will you still be by my side?

..."

"This song... I don't think I've heard it before?" Qi Jie thought carefully. She had no impression of this song, so she stopped guessing and just nodded slightly, thinking, "But it's sung pretty well."

When the person on the rooftop finished the song, and the guitar sound paused, she became even more convinced: the song was indeed good, and the person upstairs sang it well.

She didn't want to go up and disturb the person practicing, and she didn't want anyone to know she was still at school after school. For this reason, she even parked her car outside the school. But she felt that since she couldn't read her book for the moment, listening to the songs here was also nice. As she hesitated, her eyes inadvertently glanced at the nearby stairs, which were quite clean. She thought about it and bent down to wipe the stairs, finding them indeed clean, and then carefully sat down.

At this point, the guitar sound started again, and the same song was sung from the beginning.

"It seems this person is practicing, but there doesn't seem to be any school party recently. So, it must be for courting a girl. This song, well, is quite suitable," she thought.

The guitar sound was like a stream, flowing into her ears.

Qi Jie sat quietly on the stairs, listening to the song, feeling that everything around her was peaceful, and even her heart seemed to become calm.

The same song was sung four or five times on the rooftop.

Even as an outsider, Qi Jie could tell that the person was constantly changing the guitar accompaniment, making the same song sometimes sound gentle and sometimes rhythmic. Of course, what was also constantly changing was his singing style—Qi Jie couldn't describe it clearly, but if she had to describe the changes in his singing, it would be: she felt that the person on the rooftop seemed to be singing more and more freely.

Yes, he was singing more freely.

It seemed... he was becoming better at using his voice.

So, he sang more skillfully and better.

Then, the guitar sound on the rooftop stopped again, followed by coughing and drinking sounds.

When the guitar sound started again, Qi Jie quickly realized that the person had changed the song.

"You say you love the lilac flower,

Because your name is Lilac.

Such a melancholic flower,

Such a sensitive person!

When the flower withers,

When the scene is frozen,

Such a delicate flower,

Cannot withstand the wind and rain.

Drifting and swaying through life,

So many beautiful dreams woven,

You left so suddenly,

Leaving me with a lifetime of longing.

The tomb is covered with flowers,

Such beauty you longed for,

Look at the mountains and fields,

Do you still feel lonely?

Listen, someone is singing,

The song you love so much,

So many worldly troubles,

No longer need to be worried about.

..."

Just as good as the previous one!

Qi Jie became more and more interested as she listened, and the more she listened, the better it sounded. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes.

She liked listening to songs, but she knew nothing about music theory. She just found it pleasant and wanted to listen to it over and over again, especially since the person on the rooftop was singing a song she hadn't heard before.

Listening to such a beautifully rhythmic and gentle song, with a touch of sadness, she felt as if her heart was being emptied, and her mood gradually improved.

This feeling made her more and more engrossed in the music.

When the person stopped again, Qi Jie opened her eyes and realized that it was already getting dark, especially in the hallway, which had become dim and yellow, as if it was about to turn dark.

She looked at her watch and was surprised to find that it was already 6:20 PM, meaning she had been sitting there for more than half an hour! Although the person on the rooftop didn't seem to be leaving, she knew she couldn't stay any longer. So, she stood up and carefully walked down the stairs, making sure the person on the rooftop didn't notice her.

...

She couldn't read her novel, but Qi Jie's mood was unusually good. Once she returned to her office on the third floor, where no one could hear her, she even started humming the song she had just heard.

Just as she was about to go downstairs, her phone rang.

She was startled and instinctively answered the call first, glancing worriedly at the rooftop, only to realize it was a familiar number, and she frowned in regret.

"Hey, Xiao Jie, I'm at the Dongcheng Hotel, having dinner with a client. We're going to the KTV later. Do you want to come and play for a while?"

"Uh, I won't go. You should focus on entertaining the client. It would be inconvenient if I came."

The person on the other end laughed and said, "There's nothing else planned for today, just singing. Come on!"

Qi Jie's face showed a struggle, but in the end, she forced a smile and said, "Oh, is that so? Okay, I'll come after I finish dinner."

...

After hanging up, Qi Jie sighed, and all her good mood vanished.

She picked up her laptop bag, locked the door, and went downstairs. Just as she was about to reach the second floor, she instinctively stopped and looked up: several floors away, she couldn't hear anything, but she felt that the person on the rooftop was still playing and singing.

"I wonder which class the student is from, and which girl will be moved this time..."

She shook her head, sighed, and showed a helpless smile, then turned and went downstairs.

---

The novel couldn't be read, but Qi Jie's mood was unusually good. Once she returned to her office on the third floor, where no one could hear her, she even started humming the song she had just heard.

Just as she was about to go downstairs, her phone rang.

She was startled and instinctively answered the call first, glancing worriedly at the rooftop, only to realize it was a familiar number, and she frowned in regret.

"Hey, Xiao Jie, I'm at the Dongcheng Hotel, having dinner with a client. We're going to the KTV later. Do you want to come and play for a while?"

"Uh, I won't go. You should focus on entertaining the client. It would be inconvenient if I came."

The person on the other end laughed and said, "There's nothing else planned for today, just singing. Come on!"

Qi Jie's face showed a struggle, but in the end, she forced a smile and said, "Oh, is that so? Okay, I'll come after I finish dinner."

...

After hanging up, Qi Jie sighed,