Chapter 53

8:00 PM.

Rehearsal room at Dongyi University.

Under Lin Zai's guidance, Bai Ge, the new addition to the band, was rehearsing "There's No Banquet That Doesn't End" with the Believers band.

Originally, Zhang Hao served as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the band.

After Bai Ge joined, Song Peng switched to rhythm guitar, freeing up Zhang Hao.

Now, Zhang Hao only needed to hold the microphone and focus all his attention and emotion on singing.

An hour and a half earlier, Lin Zai brought Bai Ge to the rehearsal room and told the boys to let her play the lead guitar for the band. The five boys of the Believers band were shocked! They couldn't believe Lin Zai would suggest such a thing!

After all, their five-member band was a purely male band with a visual style, and all five members looked quite cool.

While they couldn't claim their music was top-notch, their appearance was definitely first-rate, which was their band's proudest feature.

Suddenly adding a scrawny and weak-looking girl like Bai Ge broke the band's cool and stylish image, making them look out of place and unsure of what style to follow.

The boys, all studying art design, had a unique eye for beauty, but they couldn't figure out how to make a girl like Bai Ge, who had a slightly bitter aura, fit in with them.

No matter how they dressed her, a girl with such a young and petite build and appearance didn't match the image of the five boys, making her stand out too much.

So, the boys were initially reluctant to have Bai Ge join the band, even though they knew she was Lin Zai's daughter.

Bai Ge didn't care whether the boys welcomed her or not. The only reason she joined the band was to prevent these clueless boys from ruining the songs her father had carefully crafted.

So, she quickly taught them a lesson.

A breathtaking solo performance on the guitar stunned all five boys!

Song Peng was so scared he didn't dare touch the guitar.

They never expected this seemingly weak and unstable girl to play the guitar so well!

Indeed, a tiger doesn't have a dog for a daughter!

After being stunned by Bai Ge's guitar skills, the boys' attitudes changed 180 degrees, warmly inviting her to join the band.

Zhang Hao was especially enthusiastic, hoping Bai Ge would stay with the band as their lead guitarist.

This would not only enhance the band's strength but also facilitate communication with Lin Zai.

If Bai Ge stayed in the band, Lin Zai would definitely be more dedicated to guiding them.

However, Bai Ge rejected their offer. She had no interest in staying with the band.

She made it clear to the Believers band that she was only there temporarily, invited by her father to play lead guitar. Once the arts festival was over, she would leave.

Lin Zai respected Bai Ge's decision and let her make her own choices.

Bai Ge wasn't sure what she wanted to do in the future; she didn't even know what she liked.

For so many years, she had focused on being a strong support for Lin Zai, helping him rise again.

Her favorite thing to do was taking care of Lin Zai, which had become a deeply ingrained habit.

When Lin Zai suddenly asked her what she would do if she didn't have him as her father, Bai Ge couldn't think of anything.

This was truly a sad thing.

Lin Zai didn't push her to think about it.

In the past, Bai Ge had devoted all her attention to him and taking care of the family, leaving no energy to think about her own future.

In the future, everything would change. Once Bai Ge had experienced everything, she might discover what she truly liked.

For example, after rehearsing with the Believers band for over an hour, Bai Ge was really getting into it.

Lin Zai could tell that Bai Ge enjoyed the feeling of playing music with the band members.

The lead singer, Zhang Hao, had a voice very similar to Lin Zai's when he was young.

Rehearsing with Zhang Hao, listening to his singing up close, and matching the lead guitar melody to his voice, Bai Ge might feel like she was rehearsing with the young Lin Zai.

"Ring ring ring—"

Lin Zai's phone rang; it was Lu Chen calling.

"You guys keep practicing. I'll go take this call."

Lin Zai left the intense rehearsal room and answered Lu Chen's call in the hallway.

When Lu Chen heard that Lin Zai was at Dongyi University rehearsing with Bai Ge and some Dongyi University students, he became very excited and insisted on coming to listen, and to meet their daughter.

Less than half an hour later, Lu Chen arrived at Dongyi University.

When he entered the rehearsal room, the Believers band was just beginning to rehearse their first competition song, "There's No Banquet That Doesn't End"—

There's no banquet that doesn't end~

Everything will be lost~

There's no banquet that doesn't end~

Your tears and laughter will all be lost~

...

So, we shouldn't cry~ So, we shouldn't recall the past~

So, we shouldn't care~ So, we shouldn't blame ourselves~

...

Under Lin Zai's repeated guidance, Zhang Hao's performance on this song was already quite impressive—his clear and distant voice carried a carefree attitude, making the song very engaging, as if he had already seen through the impermanence of life.

When Lu Chen entered, he was immediately attracted by Zhang Hao's clear voice.

Looking at Zhang Hao, the boy was quite handsome, with long hair down to his shoulders. Although he wasn't as rock and free-spirited as Lin Zai in his youth, he was still quite cool.

His voice was especially beautiful, and his high notes had a bit of Lin Zai's young self, which made Lu Chen like his voice.

Listening to the drummer's beats, the rhythm was excellent. Lu Chen could feel the drummer's stability from the first note.

Steady drumming is a crucial professional quality for a drummer.

The drummer is the soul of the band's rhythm. If the drummer's rhythm is unstable or weak, the band's music won't be enjoyable.

Not wanting to disturb the young people's rehearsal, Lu Chen didn't speak and walked over to Lin Zai with a smile.

As he approached, Lu Chen saw the small and thin Bai Ge and was surprised!

In this rehearsal room of about 20 square meters, there was only one girl, so it had to be Lin Zai's daughter!

Lu Chen didn't expect Lin Zai's daughter to look so pitiful, almost like a refugee.

How could this girl be so thin? Is this a 19-year-old girl?

Lu Chen felt a pang of sadness.

The girl did resemble Lin Zai, especially when playing the guitar. The serious, confident, and slightly aloof aura she exuded was just like the young Lin Zai.

Watching Bai Ge play the guitar, Lu Chen felt as if he was seeing the young Lin Zai again, and his heart warmed.

Approaching Lin Zai, who was watching the rehearsal with his arms crossed, Lu Chen asked quietly, "Brother Zai, is that our daughter?"

Lin Zai nodded, not speaking, and put a finger to his lips, signaling Lu Chen to be quiet. The Believers band was in the zone, and they should listen to the song first, then talk after this rehearsal.

Lu Chen understood and started listening to the song.

The Believers band saw Lu Chen in a white polo shirt enter, but they were so focused on the rehearsal that they weren't distracted by the new arrival.

Zhang Hao was especially engrossed, eyes closed, and didn't even notice Lu Chen's entrance.

Feeling the atmosphere of the accompaniment and recalling the singing points Lin Zai had patiently taught him, Zhang Hao increasingly understood the song and could better express his emotions. The feeling he conveyed finally had a hint of Zheng Jun's style, but it was still far from performance level.

...

Always hoping for a good ending with you~

Unfortunately, my strength is insufficient, but my heart is willing~

If I cry, maybe it's because I'm getting old~

Because I've become very fragile, very fragile, afraid to hear you say~

...

There's no banquet that doesn't end~

Everything will be lost~

There's no banquet that doesn't end~

Your tears and laughter will all be lost~

...

After listening for a while, Lu Chen found the song very good, especially the arrangement, which had a strong ethnic flavor, with ethnic minority backing vocals!

Lin Zai had previously recorded the Wa ethnic minority backing vocals, which were just rough samples he had sung himself and then altered with software to sound like children.

These rough samples were only for practice. Before the actual competition, they would need to find a professional female choir to re-record the Wa ethnic minority backing vocals.

As Zhang Hao and the others rehearsed, they finally made a mistake at the end.

The bass and drums didn't sync up.

In the last few bars, the bass rhythm was ahead of the drums, causing the drum beats to become chaotic. Once the drum beats were off, the entire band's performance was disrupted.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Zhang Hao was still trying to push through, and Bai Ge was still playing, but Bi Yonggang couldn't find the rhythm again. Lin Zai gestured to them to stop.

"Buzz—"

A harsh sound came from the speakers.

Lin Zai scolded the bassist, Li He, who was the cause of the mistake, "Why do you always rush the drum's rhythm? Tell me!"

Li He said, "There's a small modulation there, and I didn't handle it well."

"This is a sign of your weak fundamentals! Practice more in private! You are one of the biggest weaknesses in the band. If you don't practice hard, you'll be out of the band soon!"

Lin Zai's stern demeanor intimidated Li He, who didn't dare to argue.

Song Peng curiously asked, "Master, you said Li He is one of the biggest weaknesses. Who is the second biggest weakness?"

"You have the nerve to ask! Of course, it's you! Where is your rhythm guitar's rhythm? When the rhythm got chaotic, you were the first to mess up! If you didn't play so chaotically, Bi Yonggang's drums might have been able to correct the rhythm! You are the biggest drag in the band! I really want to kick you out!"

"Ha, Brother Zai, calm down. Why are you so angry with the kids? Look at how you scolded them." Lu Chen saw Lin Zai getting angrier and quickly tried to calm him down.

Lin Zai took the opportunity to calm down and introduced Lu Chen to everyone. He didn't tell the Believers band that this fat man was the owner of Qilixiang, but said that Lu Chen was their band's early drummer.

Still remembering Lu Chen's drumming skills from before, and after listening to the Believers band's rehearsal for a while, Lin Zai immediately urged Lu Chen to show the kids what a drummer from the golden era could do.

Hearing that Lu Chen was Lin Zai's drummer during his peak, the boys were all eager to see his drumming skills.

When Lu Chen got behind the drums, he wasn't as passionate as when he had been drinking and reminiscing about his youth, but he still played an impressive drum solo, getting the kids excited!

Bai Ge was amazed!

She had watched Lin Zai's