Chase Her
When the three of them entered the rehearsal room, Lao Sun was playing his electric guitar alone. His black sweatshirt, emblazoned with the words "Blue Lemon," seemed welded to his body, never missing an opportunity to advertise his organization.
Zuo Xiao was incredibly familiar with the piece he was playing, instantly recognizing it as a guitar solo from an original song the band was rehearsing. The piece required numerous advanced techniques and featured complex rhythmic variations, yet Old Sun played it with such fluidity and ease, a testament to his mastery. Zuo Xiao even felt pessimistic: no matter how hard she practiced, she would never be able to match his skill... But fortunately, her core function was lead vocals.
The piano music stopped, and some audience members were still reluctant to leave, but Lao Sun had already put down his guitar and walked over.
"My brother wants to sign up for Si Rui's piano lessons," Zhuang Jing said with a smile. "She's still giving a lesson right now. We'll go over after she's done. Can my brother sit in on the rehearsal later?"
"Of course, no problem." Old Sun looked at his watch and frowned. "It's almost ten o'clock, and there's still no sign of these guys."
Just as he finished speaking, the door opened. Zhuang Jinghao turned around and saw Qin Yufei lazily walking in with one hand in his pocket.
He wore a fine dark green velvet jacket, its row of vintage brass buttons undone, revealing a white T-shirt with an abstract floral pattern underneath. He also wore vintage blue jeans, a studded leather belt, and brown suede loafers. Zhuang Jinghao thought his outfit, while seemingly simple and casual, held a unique charm. His uninhibited style was tempered by a sense of dignity, and his tall stature and long legs made him a striking sight.
Even more impressive is his good looks. He's not as masculine and handsome as his older brother, but he definitely has the androgynous, "evil-like" look that many girls crave these days. Especially those slender, upturned eyes; I wonder how many girls will be captivated by them...
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at her brother, a hint of worry in her eyes.
God bless you! Brother, please do your best too! Don't let Zuo Xiao be stolen away by anyone!
Qin Yufei merely raised his chin as a greeting. His gaze briefly swept over Zhuang Yu'an before he passed by him, picked up his bass, and began tuning it. Seeing this, Zuo Xiao and Lao Sun also stood up and walked over.
The next person to come in was drummer Peng Lei, the talkative guy in the whole band.
As he approached, Zhuang Jinghao sniffed and, sure enough, smelled beer. This man was a heavy drinker. Every time they saw him, he'd been drinking. But he didn't get drunk, and judging by his expression, it was impossible to tell how much he'd drunk.
Before she could ask, Peng Lei waved his hands and took the initiative to explain: "It's just a little watering. It won't affect the rehearsal!"
She turned her gaze to Zhuang Yu'an and stared at him for several seconds. Then she pouted mischievously at Zhuang Jinghao, "Boyfriend?"
"What?" Zhuang Jinghao laughed, "My brother!"
"Wow!" He opened his eyes wide, looking surprised and happy. "So it's Brother Zhuang! I've heard so much about you! I often hear Xiaojing mention you. But you two really don't look alike. Who would have thought you were brother and sister..."
He didn't need to tune his instrument, so he just sat down and chatted. Zhuang Jinghao also enjoyed chatting with him, and the two of them chatted happily amid the intermittent sounds of guitar and bass.
About a quarter of an hour later, keyboard player Qiangzi finally arrived.
As soon as he entered the room, he hurriedly explained: "I'm sorry, a patient needed to have a tooth extracted at the last minute, so we were delayed a little."
"As expected." Peng Lei used his pinky finger to pick his ear and mocked him, "Someone's basic skills..."
Qiangzi glanced at him, raised his silver-rimmed glasses, and walked silently towards the instrument. Peng Lei stood up and patted his butt: "Let's get to work."
Zhuang Jinghao moved his chair closer and explained to his brother, who was watching the rehearsal for the first time, "Today we're rehearsing two original songs, called 'Like Rain' and 'Windy Days'. Both were written by Lao Sun and are in an alternative rock style."
"Is it all related to the weather?"
"Right. Isn't the band called 'Blue Warning'? Lao Sun said the first album's core concept is weather..." Zhuang Jinghao spoke eloquently, "We use natural weather to describe life's circumstances and various states of mind and emotions. For example, 'Like Rain' is about separation, the regret of never being able to reunite after parting, the sense of bewilderment at the impermanence of life, and ultimately a profound loneliness and the relief that comes with acceptance."
"The wind and clouds disperse, and the separation is like rain." The brother said in a deep voice, looking forward, his eyes fell on someone.
"Huh? How did you know?" Zhuang Jing was surprised. "This is the line that points to the theme of the song."
"This line of poetry comes from Wang Can's 'Poem Presented to Cai Zidu' in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. It is a farewell poem."
"Wow, I didn't know that!" Zhuang Jinghao exclaimed, "Old Sun is really amazing! Brother, you are amazing too!"
My brother smiled faintly and asked, "What about 'Windy Day'? What does it want to express?"
"It's not a good time to go out on a windy day, but I won't!" Zhuang Jinghao thought of the creative concept Lao Sun had mentioned and was immediately overjoyed. "Haha, compared to the previous song, isn't it very lively?"
Zhuang Yu'an smiled slightly: "This is in line with Zuo Xiao's personality."
"Really?" Zhuang Jing said with a smile. "You'll hear her sing it later. It's quite different from the previous song. It has a tone of indifference. But, Old Sun said that rebellion is only the first level of emotion. There are also second and third levels underneath."
She smiled with her lips pursed, her eyes flickering, clearly wanting to keep the secret. Zhuang Yu'an smiled and touched her head: "I'd like to hear more."
She got what she wanted, and gushed on: "The second layer is the desire to break the monotony of life, to find a passion in the strong wind, to feel and confirm my own existence... The third layer is called 'Qianran', the 'Qian' of lack. It's like a vague feeling that something is missing in my heart, but it's hard to describe what it is in words. So there's always a faint sense of loss and separation, and the strong wind amplifies this emotion, and there's a kind of self-torture pleasure... Frankly, I don't quite get this feeling... Anyway, Lao Sun said that Zuo Xiao's voice is bright, but with a unique sense of fragility and confusion, which is very suitable for this song."
"Bright, fragile, and blurry..." Zhuang Yu'an pondered these three words, and after a while, he said, "Old Sun is indeed amazing."
At this time, everyone was ready and the scene became quiet.
"Have you all practiced at home?" Old Sun asked, and everyone answered that they had. He then moved over and turned on the camera mounted in front of the band.
"Every rehearsal will be recorded," Zhuang Jinghao whispered in his brother's ear, "not just for watching the playback. Old Sun said that we should treat every rehearsal as a performance. Only by giving it our all can we improve faster and develop our stage performance skills early." Zhuang Yu'an nodded in agreement.
Old Sun returned to his seat and snapped his fingers: "Let's go through it again."
In the pin-drop silence, keyboardist Qiangzi moved his fingers. Immediately, a slightly distorted female news anchor's voice rang out from the speakers:
"This city's meteorological observatory has issued a blue alert for high winds. Citizens, please take precautions..."
As the announcement fades, the ambient sounds created by the effects pedals emerge: the muffled sound of wind, the anxious honking of car horns, the creaking of crumbling metal plaques... In this unsettling and absurd atmosphere, the bass becomes fuzzy and distorted, while the guitar noise lingers. After a few breaths, the drums suddenly pick up, the guitar plays a repetitive, catchy melody, and the bass lines become clear, fast, and powerful. Amidst the growing sense of rhythm and pressure, one feels as if a call is being drawn, and every cell in the body stirs with eagerness.
The lead singer raised one hand, and his porcelain white palm gently grasped the microphone.
At this moment, she was wearing a brown floral flocked dress, covered in dark red roses. Her center-parted black hair flowed smoothly over her straight, relaxed shoulders, partially obscuring her forehead and cheekbones, drawing the eye even closer to her slightly narrowed, dark, starry eyes.
After a moment, her red lips parted slightly, and from between her white, jade-like teeth came out a distant sentence:
"Push open the door frame and the buzzing sound, screw your blue alert..."
Zhuang Jinghao couldn't take her eyes off her face. When she realized what was happening, she realized she had been holding her breath. It wasn't the first time she'd seen the band perform this song, but she was still as shocked as she was the first time.
At this moment, her friend and the music merged into one. As the emotions progressed, she sometimes sang softly against the wind, sometimes roared through the air, calling for the wind and rain... She became a goddess in the music, bringing wind, rain, fog, and snow, bringing a myriad of weather conditions and infinite changes to the world... She was so powerful, so enchanting, and so dangerous.
Suddenly, a flash of thought flashed through his mind, and Zhuang Jinghao's heart trembled. He turned his head to look at his brother——
Oh no, my brother is completely trapped!
He stared at her intently, a gaze she had never seen before. It wasn't a blazing, bright, burning light, but more like a silent, determined pursuit of light, chasing only her across the dark wasteland, as if his world couldn't hold anyone else.
A sense of regret suddenly arose in her heart: Was it right or wrong for her to try every means to push Zuo Xiao to join the band?
She was born to be on the music stage, and I inadvertently pushed her to the position that belonged to her, allowing her to shine. This was right.
However, the brighter her light becomes, the more people will flock to her. By then, won't her brother's chances of love be even slimmer?
This thought was like a huge rock falling into the center of a lake. The ripples on the surface quickly dissipated, but it left a heavy sense of unease deep in my heart.
After the song was over, Zhuang Jinghao habitually mobilized his emotions and applauded enthusiastically: "Great! Better each time!" Zhuang Yu'an also came back to his senses and applauded with a smile.
"Be objective." Old Sun said with a smile, "Didn't you hear any bugs?"
"Bug?" Zhuang Jing was dumbfounded and said blankly, "I didn't hear it..."
Old Sun turned his gaze to Zhuang Yu'an and asked politely but distantly, "What do you think, Mr. Zhuang?"
Zhuang Yu'an pondered for a moment and said, "I think the song is very infectious and the performance is wonderful. If I must find fault, it seems that the rhythms of different instruments in some sections are inconsistent."
"You're absolutely right!" Old Sun's eyes lit up, and he turned around and said, "There were at least three places where the beat wasn't in sync, and everyone was running off the beat. First, the drums, they jumped the beat twice into the chorus... Right, you noticed that yourself."
"Sorry..." Peng Lei twirled the drumstick in his hand and shrugged, "I hit it on the head."
"Then there's the bass." Old Sun shifted his gaze. "After the second roar, there's a two-beat rest. On the third beat, the bass enters half a beat later than the snare drum's accent, causing a break in the rhythm. Also, the last long note in the eighth bar of the first chorus ends too early, almost half a beat too early, making the following drums sound abrupt."
Qin Yufei listened to him calmly and raised his eyebrows: "Really?"
Old Sun shook his head. "Whether it is or not, we'll know when we watch the playback later." He turned to Qiangzi and said, "The problem with the keyboard is that twice the underlying chords have the wrong color. They're inconsistent with my guitar riffs. Do you feel that?"
Qiangzi frowned: "It seems so, let's watch the replay later."
"Finally, the lead singer." Old Sun turned his gaze to Zuo Xiao. "The vocals and emotions are on point, but the stream-of-consciousness chanting in the middle is a bit too much." He paused and added, "But it's not a big problem."
"My brother Sun is quite kind to women." Peng Lei said something nonsensical with a smile, but was successfully ignored by everyone.
The band then began practicing in sections, hammering out every detail. Zhuang Yu'an remained motionless. Zhuang Jinghao raised his phone and said, "Si Rui is done, let's go."
The brother and sister met Liang Sirui in the negotiation room. She said bluntly, "If you want to learn keyboard, I'm not the right person to come to. I'll recommend a more professional teacher."
"No need," Zhuang Yu'an said, "I want to learn piano and music theory."
"Huh?" Zhuang Jing was surprised. According to her and Liang Sirui's plan, her brother should learn keyboard and wait for an opportunity to join Zuo Xiao's band (even as an understudy). This would create more opportunities for them to spend time together and have common topics to talk about. Her brother took half of her advice and enrolled in lessons with Liang Sirui, but it wasn't keyboard.
"No, brother, why are you learning piano?" Zhuang Jinghao thought he was mistaken and pulled his sleeve and said, "Piano and keyboard are two different things. What the band needs is a keyboard player!"
"I know." The magnetic voice was as calm and peaceful as usual. "I can't control my schedule, so it's not suitable for me to join the band. Otherwise, I will delay everyone's practice and performances."
Zhuang Jing was stunned. Liang Sirui continued: "Then you can also learn keyboard and be a substitute."
Zhuang Yu'an looked at her, then at Zhuang Jinghao, and smiled gently, "It seems a bit deliberate."
The two of them understood immediately and looked at each other silently. Liang Sirui smiled and said, "Okay, the customer is God."
Zhuang Jinghao was unwilling to give in and tried to continue persuading him. As soon as she said "but", she saw Liang Sirui shaking his head and winking at her, so she swallowed the words back.
"If possible, I'd like to trouble you to help me coordinate the class time." Zhuang Yu'an said with a smile, "Try to synchronize it with the band's rehearsal time so that Jinghao and I can come together."
That was how it was settled. Zhuang Yu'an paid the course fee, and Liang Sirui became "Teacher Liang."
While his brother was handling the paperwork at the front desk, Zhuang Jinghao pulled Liang Sirui aside and whispered, "What should I do, Sirui? My brother doesn't play by the rules at all..."
Liang Sirui smiled: "Your brother has his own rhythm and doesn't want to be led by us. But I don't think it matters. It's not bad now."
"That's true... I can get him to rehearse with me, plus I'll pick him up and take him to dinner..." Zhuang Jing consoled herself, but she still felt uneasy. With a long sigh, she said, "But plans can't keep up with changes. My brother is going on a long business trip abroad after the New Year, which won't last more than three months. And he's so busy with work that he can't always make it to rehearsals... It seems like he and Zuo Xiao won't get to spend much time together. What if someone cuts him off?"
"So it depends on you." Liang Sirui put his hand on her shoulder, "Getting Zuo Xiao to live in your house is your next biggest KPI."
Zhuang Jinghao's face fell, and he felt the burden on his shoulders was heavy.
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