"What's wrong, Qingqiu? Where's the song you mentioned?"
Li Chunhua rushed in from outside, her bag almost flying out of her hand.
"Sister Hua, it's here."
Xu Qingqiu sat in her chair, obediently pointing at the computer screen.
"Let me see."
Li Chunhua immediately leaned over the desk and stared at the computer screen. After a while, she realized she couldn't understand what was on it. She just saw the names of two folders.
"So, have you listened to it yet? How's the song?"
"Ah? Not yet. Shouldn't we first figure out how the song got here?" Xu Qingqiu looked at her, surprised. She had thought Sister Hua would ask about the song's origins. Why did she immediately ask about the song's quality?
"Does it really matter how it got here?"
"Of course it matters! Sister Hua, have you forgotten that last time it just appeared on my office desk? It's the same this time! Twice now, my office is like a sieve. If this keeps up, I'll have to consider changing the locks."
Xu Qingqiu pouted angrily, her face full of worry.
Xu Qingqiu had expected Sister Hua to agree with her, so she was taken aback when Li Chunhua set down her bag, found a chair, crossed her legs, and said, "Did you lose anything?"
"Nope."
"Does this office contain anything very important?"
Xu Qingqiu looked around. She usually just signed off on studio matters, and the files were all with Sister Hua. It seemed there really was nothing of importance here. If anything was important, did the photo on her desk count?
"Well, I have my coat here, and the computer, and my photos!"
But Sister Hua just chuckled lightly and said in a carefree manner, "And did any of those things you mentioned get lost or damaged?"
"This... no, they haven't..."
"Well, there you go. Why do you care who came in? You got the song, right? Is it good? Is it helpful to you? As long as you haven't been harmed and it's beneficial to you, does it really matter if someone came in?"
Xu Qingqiu grew unhappy as soon as she finished speaking.
"It matters! Of course, it matters! Sister Hua, you can't be so pragmatic. The office is my private space! It's not a place where others can just wander in, even if they're delivering a song to me. I can do without the song!"
"Sigh... What am I supposed to say to you..."
Li Chunhua looked helplessly at Xu Qingqiu.
She herself was a very pragmatic person, holding on tight to what was useful and ignoring what was not. Yet, she was also incredibly sentimental. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed by Xu Qingqiu's side all this time. With her capabilities, plenty of people in the industry were eager to snatch her up.
But for some reason, she was fond of Xu Qingqiu. Xu Qingqiu was simple, without too many complicated thoughts, wholly focused on singing, and paid no mind to other trivial matters.
Despite being in the industry for so many years, she hadn't lost her original aspirations and remained untainted by its corrupting influence.
That might just be the reason she had stayed on.
"All right, I guess you have a point. But since things are already this way, shouldn't we at least listen to the song? It's been delivered to us, after all; we can't just throw it away, right? As for the office, you can change the locks or the password later. How does that sound?"
"HMPH."
Seeing Sister Hua relent, Xu Qingqiu proudly tilted her head and let out a small huff, finally having a way to step down gracefully.
She wasn't actually very angry, just irritated by Sister Hua's nonchalant attitude, feeling as if her privacy was less important than a couple of songs.
"Then let's listen to the song now. If it's not good, I'll change the locks tomorrow! No! Today!"
Fuming, she glanced at the two songs and eventually decided to focus on "In the World."
"Let's listen to this one first," Xu Qingqiu said, clicking to play the demo music file.
Li Chunhua didn't tease her any longer. She grabbed her chair and quickly moved closer.
Zhou Yiyi, who had been frightened by their argument, had been pursing her lips, trying to make herself invisible. Now, she leaned over the desk, watching intently with curiosity.
"Maybe it can't compete with heaven and earth,"
"Perhaps bowing one's head might bring tears,"
"Perhaps the scorching sun and snow will fly into one's heart"
Despite it being an electronically synthesized voice, as soon as the vocals started, Xu Qingqiu's goosebumps rose.
Paired with the lyrics on the screen, she was instantly drawn into the song. A wave of sadness flowed slowly through the office with the music.
"There may be isolating walls one can't escape,"
"A lifetime living next to indifference,"
"What have these solemn, stirring times stolen from you?"
Loneliness, indifference, reality.
The song's verses seemed to tell a story, almost as if indicting this cold world.
For some reason, Xu Qingqiu felt an indescribable and particularly resonant empathy welling up in her heart.
It felt as if the song was about her, about a certain group, and about the general populace—about every single person.
"In the human world, who lives as if life"
"Isn't like a competition,"
"I won't cry; I have no dignity left to abandon."
"When one day, those dreams, those unfulfilled aspirations, are lost in the crowd,"
"Don't be sad. Let them go,"
"Consider this song a gift."
...
"Wow, that sounds good!"
Zhou Yiyi watched the screen, her eyes shining, and was about to applaud when she saw Xu Qingqiu. Tears streamed down her face. She sat there, eyes vacant, devoid of her usual calm and gentleness.
Thinking of the recent online criticisms and everything Xu Qingqiu had endured, Li Chunhua couldn't help but reach out and hold Xu Qingqiu's arm, offering silent comfort.
It wasn't just her. In this online world, whether someone was a celebrity or not, didn't any ripple of fame stir a torrent of discussion? Famous people, especially, faced a torrent of verbal attacks for the slightest flaw. And even in everyday life, who can escape idle gossip?
This song so starkly dissected it all for everyone to see: a solitary figure staggering down life's road, facing all sorts of overt and covert attacks, verbal abuse. Wanting to turn back, this figure finds the path behind is now an insurmountable cliff. With no retreat, one can only press forward. If it's unavoidable, then face the hardship head-on, confront the blade.
Would they ultimately overcome the hardships and reach their destination, or would they be shattered along the way? Who knew?
"Sister Hua, for the first show of the competition, I want to sing this song..."
"What? But you've practiced those other two songs for days. Will you have enough time?"
The first competitive performance was about to begin. She had already arranged with Teachers Hua Ruyue and Ye Lanzhou to sing one of their songs. Xu Qingqiu had been practicing for several days. Suddenly changing songs would render all her previous effort useless. Moreover, she might not perform the new song well; it really meant starting from scratch!
"I've decided. I'll sing this one. It'll be an answer to the fans and netizens. We'll stand tall and proud. Since we can't avoid criticism, let's just ignore it!"
Thinking of the discussions and various rumors and slanders on the internet these days, Li Chunhua sighed helplessly.
"Alright then. If you've decided, go for it. I support you. If only this song had arrived earlier."
Earlier? If Chu Tian heard this, he would definitely roll his eyes. He wished it had come earlier too. Forget songs; he'd be thrilled with a novel right now. But there wasn't one. What could he do?