Chapter 65

Qin Qingzhuo hadn’t yet come to his senses when the sound of the guitar and Jiang Ji’s voice rang out together –

“Tonight’s night is damp and soft
Just like your eyes, it brings peace to the heart
How many people are now sound asleep in sweet dreams
And I’ve just confessed my love to you

In the distance, raindrops form halos
Silence is the cover-up of my unease
The scenes of this dream
Have played out countless times
You are the inspiration that favors me
The twinkling fireflies on the riverbank
It’s a journey through absurdity
A willingly indulgent collapse

Grant me a kiss
To get through this endless night
I want to hold onto time
Let this moment spread and spread again
I hope you sleep well
And dream of me
Whether it’s mundane or adventurous
I’m content with either.”

Jiang Ji sang with his eyes slightly lowered, playing the guitar with great focus.

On the large screen behind the stage, line after line of lyrics appeared, each one reminding Qin Qingzhuo of that rainy night, the words “Qin Qingzhuo, give me some inspiration,” and that warm yet inexperienced kiss.

The emotion of this song was like a rising tide, gradually surging up, and the lights followed the mood of the song, transitioning from dim to bright.

When Jiang Ji sang the lines “You are the inspiration that favors me, the twinkling fireflies on the riverbank,” the electric guitar, drums, and bass seemed to ignite instantly. The sudden explosion of sound seemed to set off a magnificent and grand fireworks display with golden lights pouring down from the ceiling, resembling the distant and somewhat dazzling headlights of cars shining over, as if truly immersed in a dreamland of absurdity and willing entanglement.

“As you grant me a kiss” was sung out, Qin Qingzhuo felt his emotions also rising to a certain degree, to the point where he had to consciously control the frequency of his breath to make his performance appear more natural.

He made a concerted effort to focus entirely on the lyrics on the screen, avoiding looking in Jiang Ji’s direction.

However, when he heard the words “I hope you sleep well,” he couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji, who had been singing with his eyes lowered, happened to look at him when he reached that line, his gaze still dark and calm at first glance, seemingly hiding many emotions.

At the same time, Qin Qingzhuo also recalled the words Jiang Ji said to him that morning – “I hope you sleep well.”

—”I hope you sleep well, and dream of me, whether it’s mundane or adventurous, I’m content with either.”

No wonder Jiang Ji asked him that morning if he had dreamed of him…

The concluding words were whispered softly, all instruments stopped, and the drizzling rain continued for a while before finally ceasing completely. As the lights came on, it seemed as if the entire venue had just experienced a rainfall, filled with the damp atmosphere of a rainy night.

In that moment, a thought crossed Qin Qingzhuo’s mind – regardless of the outcome between him and Jiang Ji, he would remember this performance for a long, long time.

The entire venue fell silent for a moment, then erupted into thunderous applause mixed with screams, filling the entire studio.

The atmosphere in the venue was quickly ignited by this performance of “Light Peck,” and a romantic and passionate atmosphere permeated the entire venue within a few minutes.

Someone spontaneously shouted “Asperatus,” and by the end, almost the entire venue was chanting the name of the band.

Before this, no band had ever generated such excitement in the venue during the competition.

When the host walked onto the stage, the high-energy atmosphere in the venue had not yet cooled down.

“I think at least half of the audience here tonight has fallen in love,” the host said, “and the other half wants to start a love affair immediately, right?”

“Yes!” the entire venue shouted in unison, the sound seemed to have the momentum to break through the roof.

“It seems that Asperatus always brings us surprises, and this performance is no exception,” the host said with a smile, “let’s calm down a bit, and let’s hear what the mentors have to say about Asperatus’s love song. Teacher Yang Jingwen, would you like to start?”

Yang Jingwen took over and said, “It’s indeed very surprising. To be honest, just five minutes ago, I didn’t have much expectation for Asperatus’ performance, because I felt that Jiang Ji might not be suitable for singing love songs.”

“Why do you feel that way?” the host asked.

“Don’t you think he looks indifferent to anyone standing on stage, not at all like someone who could love someone?” Yang Jingwen continued, “And love songs are all about ‘love,’ right? How can you sing a good love song if you don’t love anyone? But this time, when Jiang Ji started singing, I was truly amazed. It completely broke my stereotypical impression of him, especially the opening few lines sung so pure, like a confession unfolding slowly, both naive and passionate, it’s just too beautiful.”

“Wow, that’s really high praise. I’ve never heard Teacher Yang Jingwen compliment anyone like this before,” the host chuckled, then turned to Ren Yu, “What do you think, Teacher Ren Yu?”

Ren Yu looked at the band on stage and said, “Teacher Jingwen has already voiced my thoughts. It’s a beautiful love song. One thing that interests me is the special design of this song, which is the continuous sound of rain throughout the performance, especially at the beginning. Before the instruments and vocals even start, the sound of rain immerses the audience into a rainy night scene. Who came up with this design, Jiang Ji?”

Jiang Ji on the stage let out a “hmm” into the microphone.

“How did you come up with the idea of integrating the sound of rain throughout?” Ren Yu asked.

“Because it was raining when I wrote this song,” Jiang Ji said. “I wanted to record the sound of rain to capture the mood of songwriting and convey that mood to the listeners.”

“So, the sound of rain was recorded while you were writing the song?” Ren Yu pondered. “You wrote this song last week, right? That means it was the night it rained a few days ago?”

“Mmh.”

“This design is very clever,” Ren Yu nodded. “I really like it.”

It was Shen Cha’s turn to comment, but she didn’t start with the song. “Let’s talk about something unrelated to the song first. I just realized, from the first episode to now, Jiang Ji seems to have changed a lot, don’t you think?” she turned to the audience.

This time, there wasn’t a unanimous response from the audience. There were discussions and various opinions expressed.

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what has changed,” Shen Cha leaned on her chin, assessing Jiang Ji on stage. “But when I first saw Jiang Ji, I felt like he was full of thorns. If anyone dared to provoke him, they’d definitely get stung. But now… while those thorns seem to still be there, he seems gradually willing to show us the side without thorns.”

“Becoming milder,” Ren Yu added.

“Yes,” Shen Cha nodded, smiling, “And more likable.”

She turned to Qin Qingzhuo again. “Qingzhuo, do you feel the same? Jiang Ji is in your team, so you should have a deeper impression than us, right?”

Qin Qingzhuo remembered seeing Jiang Ji’s photo on the Asperatus profile for the first time, the face that said “This damn world.”

“Indeed,” he said, “I feel like Jiang Ji is reconciling with the world.”

“Ah, Qingzhuo hit the nail on the head. No wonder he’s your mentor,” Shen Cha chuckled, then steered the conversation back to the performance itself. “Speaking of this song just now, both Teacher Jingwen and Teacher Ren Yu had low expectations, but were pleasantly surprised after listening to the song. I started with high expectations, and I was completely amazed. But as soon as the song title came out, a huge question surrounded me, which I believe is also a question that the entire audience is very curious about… Does the title of this song, ‘Light Peck,’ have any special meaning?”

As Shen Cha asked this question, Qin Qingzhuo’s breath paused slightly, but he showed no reaction on his face.

The audience started to stir, clearly indicating that Shen Cha had voiced their thoughts.

In the corner of his eye, Jiang Ji approached the microphone, and Qin Qingzhuo subconsciously tightened his fingers.

“It’s just as the title presents,” Jiang Ji said. It was evident that he deliberately bypassed the question.

Shen Cha smiled and said, “Have you ever thought about how everyone would interpret this song title?”

“I didn’t think about it when I wrote it,” Jiang Ji said. “Once I thought of it, I wrote it down.”

Shen Cha stopped there, intending to end the discussion, but to her surprise, the host on stage followed up with a more direct question, “Let me ask more directly on behalf of Teacher Shen Cha. Is the title of this song related to one of the mentors?”

As soon as he asked this question, the already ignited atmosphere in the audience seemed to be fueled with high-octane gasoline, burning even more fiercely. Cheers and whistles erupted from the audience seats.

“Why don’t we ask the band members first?” the host smiled and turned to Peng Keshi and Zhong Yang, “Keshi and Zhong Yang, how do you view the title of this song?”

“I don’t know how to view the title,” Zhong Yang took the microphone, adding some spice, “But I can tell you about the creative process of this song. Sister Shi and Jiang Ji were stuck for days and couldn’t come up with a love song. But Brother Qingzhuo dropped by one night, and that very night, Jiang Ji wrote this song. Then the next day, he had us rehearse this song.”

Because of his revelation, the crowd below cheered even louder.

“What about Keshi?” the host smiled again, looking at Peng Keshi.

Peng Keshi, who always seemed expressionless on stage, had a slight smile on her face at the moment.

“I don’t know,” she said with a smile, “I just feel like the title of the song is quite clever.”

“What’s clever about it?” the host asked.

Peng Keshi didn’t say anything, appearing to have a knowing smile, which only fueled more speculation.

With the atmosphere pushed to this point, Qin Qingzhuo felt he had to say something, or else this matter wouldn’t be resolved.

He couldn’t downplay it, as it would seem too deliberate.

Nor could he change the subject, as it would seem like he was trying to hide something.

He raised the microphone, and the host noticed his movement, timely saying, “Huh? Teacher Qingzhuo seems to have something to say.”

“Everyone’s emotions have reached this point,” Qin Qingzhuo, who had been in the industry for so many years, knew how to appear more natural. So, at this moment, there was a hint of a smile in his tone, “If I were to pour cold water on this now, wouldn’t it ruin the mood?”

He felt Jiang Ji’s gaze turn to him, and no one knew that his heartbeat was a little faster than usual at this moment. “I still have to thank this beautiful coincidence. If it weren’t for this song, I wouldn’t have known that my name had such a beautiful meaning. And I have to thank Jiang Ji. This also happened, it seems we are indeed quite fated.”

With “beautiful coincidence,” he distanced himself from his name’s relation to the song title, and with a “thank you,” he created some distance between himself and Jiang Ji. This cold water seemed not to have been poured, but it was poured thoroughly.

“Let’s go back to the song itself,” Qin Qingzhuo continued, “The three teachers have already commented very well on the lead singer part. Let me talk about the bass and drums.”

“Keshi’s bass line always gives me a very spiritual feeling. This time, it’s different from the previous few performances. It has a bit of a gorgeous style. Zhong Yang’s drumbeats are as crisp as ever. The emotional part of the chorus can be pushed to such an extreme, and the drum part is indispensable. The collaboration between bass and drums is simply a low-frequency feast, very catchy.”

He praised Peng Keshi’s bass and Zhong Yang’s drums. Actually, he should have also praised Jiang Ji’s guitar to make it seem more natural, but he didn’t comment on Jiang Ji after all, afraid that saying too much would reveal his emotions.

“When the pure performance version of the show comes out, everyone can pay attention to the arrangement of Asperatus. It’s indeed clever in every performance. All three of them are very talented musicians. Thank you for bringing such a wonderful performance.”

As he wrapped up, he casually glanced at Jiang Ji, whose gaze had already been withdrawn from him. His eyes were slightly lowered, hiding any emotions in them.

“I almost forgot to say something,” Qin Qingzhuo thought, realizing he had forgotten to say that he really liked this song.

But it was too late to add this sentence. The host had already started asking the audience in the studio to vote.

However, there were hundreds of people in the studio, and everyone’s reaction was expressing their love for this song. So… maybe his sentence wasn’t necessary after all.