Chapter 9

Chen Wan was the first girl to enter Li Mu's room.

During his teenage years, Li Mu was very shy and had not had any intimate contact with girls before he graduated from high school, let alone bring any girls home. After he went to college and started working, none of his relationships lasted long enough to meet his parents. So, this was the first time Li Mu had brought a girl into his room.

Li Mu's room was not very large, about fifteen square meters at most. Inside this small room was a 1.5-meter bed, a somewhat old desk, a bookshelf with glass doors, a wardrobe, and a red cotton wooden guitar.

The room was a bit cramped but very tidy. When Chen Wan stepped in, she caught a faint, special fragrance. The scent reminded her of the aroma of clothes washed with laundry detergent and dried in the scorching sun, which was very comforting.

On the walls were a few unique posters: one of Kurt Cobain, one of the Tang Dynasty band, and the most special one was a poster with a cool tone. It showed a railway track leading into the mist, with a short-haired man squatting in the middle of the track, his face buried between his knees. There were no words on the poster.

"This poster is so strange," Chen Wan said, surprised. "There are no words. What is it?"

"It's the album 'Black Dream' by Dou Wei," Li Mu replied casually. "I bought this poster for one and a half yuan from a street vendor. The vendor must have been irresponsible, as the original has 'Dou Wei Black Dream' written on it, but this one doesn't."

Thinking back, Li Mu was a super music lover in this era. He liked pop music and rock, was obsessed with Michael Jackson, Hei Bao, and Nirvana, and could play a bit of guitar. His singing voice was also quite good. He was tall, slim, fair, and handsome, and while he might not have charmed thousands of girls, he was certainly popular among them.

In college, Li Mu won the "first blood" of two girls through his guitar playing and singing.

Thinking about this, Li Mu felt a deep nostalgia for his college days...

Chen Wan then noticed Li Mu's somewhat old red cotton guitar and asked curiously, "Can you play the guitar?"

"A little, just for fun."

Chen Wan immediately said, "Can you play and sing a song for me? At our school, there are boys who play the guitar and sing 'Deskmate,' and it sounds pretty good."

"College students these days are so unoriginal," Li Mu said, shaking his head.

Chen Wan pleaded, "Play a song for me, please? How about a Xu Wei song, 'My Autumn'?"

Li Mu smiled and asked curiously, "Xu Wei's first album is quite negative. How can a girl like you, a rich and beautiful one, like it?"

Chen Wan ignored Li Mu's teasing about her being rich and beautiful and said, "I like it as long as it sounds good."

Li Mu nodded and smiled, sat on the bed, and picked up his old wooden guitar from the corner.

This guitar was a gift from his mother when he was in the second year of junior high. It cost over two hundred yuan, which was the cheapest tier of wooden guitars at the time, but the sound quality was good. After playing it for a few years, the sound quality improved even more.

Li Mu held the guitar and tuned it using the more advanced harmonic method, as he hadn't played it for a while due to the college entrance exam, and the strings had gone out of tune.

Chen Wan sat on Li Mu's chair and watched him tune the guitar with great skill. She straightened up, ready to listen attentively.

Li Mu first strummed the first chord of "My Autumn" and then suddenly stopped. "It's no fun to sing what you ask for. How about I sing a song you haven't heard before?"

"A song I haven't heard?" Chen Wan's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Sure, go ahead."

Li Mu nodded, recalled the chord progression, and played a simple and melodious fingerstyle introduction. Then, with his slightly hoarse voice, he sang:

"Zebra, zebra, don't fall asleep,

Let me see your injured tail.

I don't want to touch your wound,

I just want to lift your hair.

Zebra, zebra, you've returned home,

But I'm wasting my cold years.

No door in your city opens for me,

I must return to the road..."

Before the age of thirty, Li Mu loved rock music, but after thirty, he preferred folk music. Song Fat was one of his favorite artists, especially the song "Zebra, Zebra." It wasn't just about moaning or forced sorrow but carried a sense of沧桑 (cang桑) and helplessness, telling a special story between a man and an injured zebra. Of course, the zebra wasn't really a zebra; in later interpretations, it was generally believed to represent a woman who had been hurt by others.

Chen Wan had never heard this song or seen the lyrics. She could only vaguely make out the words from Li Mu's singing and imagine a scene in her mind.

Li Mu's voice was excellent, and his thirty years of life experience made it easy for him to convey emotion when he sang.

"Zebra, zebra, do you remember me? I'm a silly singer..."

When Li Mu sang this line, Chen Wan, resting her chin in her hand, listened quietly, feeling a sudden, inexplicable emotion. The song, in her mind, was like a faint sadness drifting over the grassland, captivating her.

After the song, Li Mu's thoughts drifted back to his past life, recalling the people he had met, the ones he had passed by, and the ones he had missed. Now, looking back, it was neither bitter nor sweet, just a mix of emotions. Yesterday, he had moved the first switch in his life, and after that, the direction and everything the train of fate would pass through would change.

Li Mu knew he wouldn't go to the same second-tier university as in his past life. He wouldn't meet the same people in this life, and he wouldn't go to Yanjing to be a struggling programmer. All those colleagues, friends, and passersby would disappear from his world. On the first day of his rebirth, he had chosen to change everything, and in moving his own switch, he had also touched Chen Wan's life switch.

Chen Wan didn't know why Li Mu fell silent after the song. She just felt a sudden wave of sadness. The lyrics didn't directly describe any tragic scenes, but the atmosphere they created was deeply touching.

Chen Wan, with red eyes, asked, "What's the name of this song?"

"Zebra, Zebra."

"Whose song is it?"

"Uh..." Li Mu remembered that Song Fat, born in 1987, was probably still a junior high school student. Well, he might as well be shameless. "I wrote it myself."

At his age, he had long mastered the art of lying without a hint of nervousness.

"Really?!" Chen Wan's worldview collapsed. She suddenly felt a deep admiration for this boy.

"Yes, an original composition. You're the first listener."

That was true; Chen Wan was the first person in this world to hear this song.

Chen Wan was even more moved and, recalling the poignant lyrics, asked, "Why use a zebra to represent a person?"

Li Mu raised his head, staring at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle, and said with a sad expression, "Zebras can't sleep alone."

This one sentence added even more poignancy and depth to the song.

Li Mu thought to himself that he had definitely earned a perfect score for his performance.

Chen Wan really began to admire this eighteen-year-old "boy" and wanted to ask more questions. However, at that moment, someone pounded on the door and shouted loudly, "Li Mu!"

It was Zhao Kang!

Li Mu almost immediately got up and ran to the door with a hint of excitement.

Not having seen Zhao Kang for over a decade, Li Mu was naturally very happy, even though in this life, he and Zhao Kang had only been apart for the two days of the college entrance exam.

"Kangzi!" As soon as he opened the door, he saw the black-faced boy with acne and pulled him into a hug.

Zhao Kang pushed him away in disgust, looking at him in surprise and spitting, "Damn, you've gotten even more handsome in two days. Where did you get your hair cut? Why did you shave your beard? Afraid of Aunt Li beating you?"

Li Mu couldn't help but laugh. "Why so many questions?"

"Damn, I just can't stand you handsome guys," Zhao Kang said, gritting his teeth and smacking his lips. "We can't be friends anymore. Let's cut the friendship like Guan Ning cutting the mat. Go get your mat and a kitchen knife."

Zhao Kang wasn't handsome, with dark skin and barely passable features, but he had a face full of acne, which was quite unsightly. However, in Li Mu's memory, he was a standard comedian. With some guidance, he might become a good jokester in the future.

Li Mu kicked him playfully and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Are you coming in? If not, let's go eat."

"I'm not coming in," Zhao Kang waved his hand. "Lock the door and let's go."

"Wait, I'll call my sister. She's coming with us."

"Your sister?" Zhao Kang asked, surprised. "Where did you get a sister from?"

Li Mu smiled. "I just met her. Wait a moment."