Chapter 97
The man's chest heaved, and Zhou Li left him speechless. After a while, he looked at Shan Jia and said, "I underestimated you before, thinking you couldn't speak. Now you have a spokesperson? You're so small, yet you like to act like a big shot. You really are worthy of being Shan Jia."
Zhou Li sneered, "We're not as big as you are. Are you into music or the underworld? Are you following so many followers around? Do you want to eat us up? Are you going to resort to personal attacks just because you can't win an argument with me?"
"Who do you think you are? I'm talking to Shan Jia!" The man's eyes were wide open. Zhou Li saw Chen Siyu coming from behind, so he pulled the man and whispered a few words of advice. The man shook his hands and stuck out his neck like a cow.
Shan Jia stood behind Zhou Li and said calmly, "Didn't you just say that this is my spokesperson and I listen to her?"
Zhou Li noticed the faint smile in Shan Jia's tone, which was like a feather, gently tickling her heart and making her desire to protect her instantly burst.
Shan Jia was not good at speaking, she knew that, perhaps, when she was not around, these people took advantage of her a lot with their words!
Thinking of this, Zhou Li couldn't help but straighten his chest again.
"Tang Bai!" A girl emerged from the crowd, tightly grasping the man confronting Zhou Li. She asked timidly, "What's wrong?"
Tang Bai's tone changed when he saw the girl.
"Nothing, just meeting an old friend and catching up."
The girl looked at Zhou Li, then passed through her and landed her gaze on Shan Jia. She suddenly smiled, "Shan Jia? What a coincidence?"
"Li Simeng." Shan Jia said softly.
Zhou Li's heart moved. Know him?
"Long time no see." Li Simeng said happily, "If I had known you were here today, I would have asked Tang Bai to come over later! That way we could still get together! Did you hear me singing on the stage just now? Have I improved?"
She looked like she was begging for praise, but Shan Jia said calmly, "Much better."
Tang Bai grabbed her, not wanting Li Simeng to talk to Shan Jia. Unexpectedly, Li Simeng greeted Zhu Le and Boss Hong one by one. Finally, Tang Bai had to say, "Your brother is still waiting for us. Aren't you going home?"
Li Simeng was dragged away by Tang Bai with a pout. Before leaving, Tang Bai secretly glared at Zhou Li. Zhou Li smiled naturally, but when he noticed Tang Bai's gaze, he bared his big white teeth at him, which made Tang Bai very angry. However, he was unwilling to reveal the conflict between him and Shan Jia in front of Li Simeng.
Zhu Le heaved a sigh of relief after everyone left, "Fortunately Mengmeng is here."
"Mengmeng?" Zhou Li was puzzled.
Zhu Le scratched his head before saying, "The guy with the murderous look on his face just now was our former guitarist, Tang Bai. The girl who was talking to us is Li Simeng, and she used to be our band's manager. But that was back in school. After graduation, her brother called her back to be his daughter. The road band Tang Bai formed is affiliated with his brother-in-law's company, but it's a separate studio, and Tang Bai is in charge of all operations."
After saying that, he tutted his tongue twice and said, "That guy Chen Siyu is really on top of the world."
Zhou Li glanced at Shan Jia and said, "Li Simeng seems to have a good relationship with you guys."
"Mengmeng was a kind girl. No one wanted to invite us to our campus band back then, so we got in thanks to her connections. But unfortunately, she ended up following that guy Tang Bai. I don't know how he managed to trick Mengmeng with his sweet talk." Zhu Le said regretfully, "Mengmeng was the saddest after we separated. She thought it was because we had different musical philosophies."
Shan Jia spoke up at this time: "It's because of a difference in musical concepts." She said in a calm tone: "A band shouldn't have two backbones. If both want to be the boss, both will suffer."
Zhu Le pursed his lips and said, "Who made that guy so conceited? Unfortunately, he met the boss. Captain, you don't know that even though they say the boss and Tang Bai created the songs, it was basically the boss who did it. That guy has no talent for creation. Now those cheesy songs his band has released, who knows how many people have hired behind the scenes. They are just trying to be famous for the sake of being famous. They are terrible. Now that they tell everyone, they still rely on those old songs created by the boss to hold up their reputation. I thought he would be so great after he got out!"
"Zhu Le." Shan Jia said sternly, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Zhu Le zipped up his mouth sullenly. Boss Hong saw that the atmosphere at the table was not good, and just as the dishes were all served, he immediately tried to smooth things over: "Eat, let's eat, why bring up those unhappy things? Today is to celebrate the establishment of our Rebirth Band. Don't let the past hold you back. Let's go light on the battle, comrades!"
Zhou Li also picked up his drink and said, "Let's have a toast!"
Zhu Le was still sullen. He pursed his lips as they clinked glasses. Shan Jia clinked his glass and said, "Let's not talk about the past. We need to work hard in the Rebirth Band and make something of ourselves!"
Zhu Le was happy now, grinning from ear to ear.
After finishing the meal, Zhou Li and Shan Jia went in the same direction. Zhu Le felt that he had not drunk enough, so he walked away arm in arm with Boss Hong. Zhou Li drank slowly while Shan Jia strolled on the street to help digest his food. The cool breeze in the evening made people feel refreshed, and Zhou Li was not in a hurry to go home and walked slowly.
The two had only just met, but it felt like they had known each other for a long time, with an unparalleled tacit understanding. Zhou Li was about to ask Shan Jia a question, but Shan Jia also spoke at the same time, their words overlapping. Zhou Li was startled, and then he and Shan Jia spoke at the same time: "You speak first!"
The two stopped and froze in unison. Then Zhou Li burst into laughter, stretched, and asked lazily, "Don't you care about the past? I see you didn't seem too angry when you met an old friend today."
Shan Jia looked up at the sky. "It would be a lie to say I don't care, but I'm also at fault." With a soft sigh, she said, "Tang Bai has made many suggestions in the past, but I didn't adopt them. I thought he was too eager for quick success. I thought that as long as the song was good enough, we would definitely be discovered. We just lacked an opportunity."
"Tang Bai wanted me to ride on his popularity and create more popular songs. I had my own ideas and he had his own, so we ended up parting ways on bad terms."
"Time has proven that his idea is right. This is no longer the era when the good wine can be found in alleys."
Shan Jia rarely spoke so much, and Zhou Li listened very carefully. She said, "You're right. If the song wasn't good enough, how could our video become popular? You just lacked an opportunity, and now it's here."
Zhou Li couldn't help but grab Shan Jia's hand at his side and said, "I will prove to them that as long as the song is good enough, we can become famous!"
Shan Jia looked into Zhou Li's ambitious eyes. Although she didn't understand why she trusted her so much, she also felt Zhou Li's enthusiasm. She raised the corners of her mouth and said loudly, "Okay!"
Zhou Li held her hand tightly, "Let's prove it to them!"
The smile on Shan Jia's lips grew wider and wider, and she nodded heavily.
Zhou Li let go of his hand. There was a traffic light ahead. He would leave when the green light came on.
The light turned green, Zhou Li waved and trotted across. Standing across the street, she shouted to Shan Jia, "See you tomorrow!"
The feeling of loss that Shan Jia had felt because of Zhou Li's departure suddenly disappeared. She also waved vigorously at Zhou Li. As the cars passed by on both sides, Zhou Li gradually disappeared into a small dot. Shan Jia turned around and couldn't help but jump a little.
Because of the words "see you tomorrow", I am extremely looking forward to tomorrow.
The confusion and anxiety in the middle of the night all dissipated into mist because of anticipation. Shan Jia only remembered that she felt warm in her dreams, as if there was a ray of sunshine that belonged to her and was shining on her all the time.
The next morning, Zhou Li arrived at the rehearsal room early. Today was their rehearsal day. Zhou Li thought he would be the first to arrive, but he heard the sound of guitar before he even entered the door. The soothing guitar washed away the morning sunshine. Zhou Li gently pushed open the door to the music, and Shan Jia was sitting by the window playing.
She lowered her head, looking at the strings, sitting on a high stool, the guitar stuck on her thigh, her white chin tapping the beat, her long hair neatly tied up behind her head, and she was wearing a loose white shirt. The sunlight gently surrounded her, and the shirt was dazzlingly white.
Hearing the noise, Shan Jia stopped playing the piano and saw that it was Zhou Li who arrived. She blinked and smiled gently, her smile like the clouds in the sky.
Zhou Li was infected and laughed, "Good morning."
Shan Jia picked up her guitar, got down from the high stool, and placed the guitar beside her. She asked, "Why are you here so early?"
"Didn't you arrive earlier than me?" Zhou Li asked back.
Shan Jia said embarrassedly: "I suddenly had an inspiration this morning, and I felt a little stuffy at home, so I came here early."
"Is this the song you just played?" Zhou Li marveled at Shan Jia's vigorous creative ability.
"What do you think?" Shan Jia asked.
Zhou Li thought about it carefully, looked at Shan Jia with some doubt and said, "It's very sweet."
The melodious tune was unlike Shan Jia's usual style. She asked curiously, "Are you in love?"
"Nonsense!" Shan Jia blushed and forced himself to remain calm.
"I just had a good dream last night."
"Could it be..." a wet dream?
Zhou Li looked at Shan Jia suspiciously. Just as their eyes met, Zhu Le also arrived. He was yawning and carrying his beloved bass on his back. He had dropped it last time, but luckily he had a spare one at home, so he carried it here today.
Zhu Le greeted drowsily, "Good morning, did everyone sleep well?"
Zhou Li stopped looking at Shan Jia and turned to stare at Zhu Le. "What time did you drink with Boss Hong last night?"
Being questioned, Zhu Le suddenly sobered up. His back felt cold, and he quickly replied, "I didn't drink much. If you don't believe me, ask Boss Hong!" Seeing that Zhou Li still didn't believe him, Zhu Le pointed to the sky and swore, "Our band has just been formed. I won't let drinking delay my piano practice!"
Zhou Li reluctantly nodded and said to Zhu Le, "Don't drink for now. Wait until our competition is over before you drink again." She said seriously, "The auditions are next month! This month we have to practice our band's four songs! We're a newly formed band, so we definitely can't compete with those established bands, but as long as we practice hard, we'll be lucky if we can even get a song of our own on stage!"
Zhu Le nodded seriously, and Shan Jia's expression also became solemn.
"Okay, let's practice!" Zhou Li took out his drumsticks from his trouser pocket, and the two drumsticks hit each other, making a crisp sound.
"I declare that the two-week devilish training camp has officially begun!"
It will take them half a month to develop a tacit understanding.
Zhou Li believes that in the next half month, they will be able to master the songs.
Zhou Li curled his lips into a smile, and Zhu Le felt a chill on his back.
He seems to be the worst in this band, right?
Who is doing this devilish training?
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