Riding the wind of rebirth

"I don't remember the chords very well. The way you and your partner collaborated should have included a guitar solo, right?" Zhou Zhi asked in a low voice as he followed Xiaoyu towards the stage.

"Yes, how did you know?" Xiaoyu felt that Zhou Zhi was not a complete layman. At least he knew how he and his partners handled the song, which made her feel relieved.

When passing by the bar, Zhou Zhi saw a decorative sand bell on the wall, so he took it down, shook it and found it worked, and said with a smile: "I'll use this as a signal later."

The two of them came to the stage. Zhou Zhi very gentlemanly took Xiaoyu's hand and helped her sit on a high stool. He adjusted the microphone for her guitar, then moved the singing microphone in front of him and said without further ado: "A song "If I Could", dedicated to everyone, especially the friends at table number two."

With the cheers of Ikeda, Qiu Mai Xiaomiao and others and the blowing kiss of Zhang Siluo, the sound of guitar began to play.

Although I was not familiar with the chords that Xiaoyu had composed herself, the sand bells played a role. The sound of the shaking sand bells added a desolate charm to Xiaoyu's guitar sound. If the sound of the guitar was like the wind on the Andes plateau, then the sand bells were like the echo of the mountains. The two complemented each other very well.

After swinging the sand bells several times in coordination, when Zhou Zhi swung for the last time, Xiaoyu did not keep pace with the sound of the sand bells, but fell behind by a semi-tone.

In fact, when the two of them cooperated to this point, Zhou Zhi knew that it was time to start the song based on the music, and this delayed semitone was a clear prompt signal.

When the next semitone began, Zhou Zhi began to sing in tacit understanding.

"I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail——

Yes I would, if I could, I surely would, hm-m——

I'd rather be a hammer than a nail——

Yes I would, if I could, I surely would, hm-m..."

For Zhou Zhi, this song belongs to the mid-bass category, and the voice is full of suppressed magnetism. Combined with the free guitar and desolate shakers, the effect is surprisingly good.

Other guests in the bar had already started applauding to show their approval of the duo's performance.

“...He gives the world its saddest sound——

Its saddest sound…”

After singing the first chorus, Zhou Zhi turned around slightly, spread out his right hand and made a promotional gesture, indicating to everyone that it was time for Xiaoyu to perform her guitar solo.

Xiaoyu was extremely happy just now. She had just guessed that Zhou Zhi's singing would not be too bad, but she had not expected him to sing so well and reach a professional level.

Especially the flavor of English. Zhou Zhi's pronunciation is completely different from Paul Simon's, but it is very "authentic" and does not have any Asian accent at all.

This is Zhou Zhi's natural talent for languages. He can speak English with both London accent and New York accent, and has been recognized by Fu Xia and Mai Xiaomiao respectively.

Because he needs to study the pronunciation of Chinese characters, he can now speak Mandarin, Cantonese and Hakka quite fluently, and can even speak a few sentences in other dialects.

Because of their tacit understanding in cooperation, this feeling of special surprise and excitement was reflected in this SOLO, which won rounds of applause from the audience.

When he felt that the SOLO was coming to an end, Zhou Zhi started shaking the maracas again, adding a sense of vicissitudes to the music. After shaking the maracas three times, Xiaoyu's guitar was delayed by half a beat again, and Zhou Zhi's singing sounded again at the right time.

After the second chorus was sung, the performance came to an end. However, Zhou Zhi and Xiao Yu were already having a great time. They automatically performed a tacit combination of guitar and blues vibrato, and finally ended the performance with Zhou Zhi's gradually rising and fading sound of the shaker.

"Good——" Those who come here to listen to music are all people with high tastes. They can empathize with the different levels of performance styles, such as perfunctory, serious, and passionate, and can't help but applaud Xiaoyu and Zhou Zhi's performances.

There were two tables of foreigners who had given tips before and now whistled excitedly. Zhou Zhi led Xiao Yu down from the high stool, and the two bowed to the audience and walked off the stage.

"Mr. Zhou, this is yours." Xiaoyu led Zhou Zhi behind the bar and handed him a fifty-dollar bill: "Let's split it in half."

"No, I'm the guest and you're the performer. All of this should be yours." Zhou Zhi rejected Xiao Yu's kindness: "Thank you for letting me enjoy such an elegant service. Your solo is amazing!"

"Well, the good cooperation makes the performance outstanding!" Mars came over with two cocktails. "I can't tell that this is your first collaboration. Mr. Zhou is a professional singer? Are you interested in staying here permanently?"

"I came to Beijing on a business trip and came here to hang out with my friends at night." Zhou Zhi said helplessly, "They pushed me into this situation and I couldn't refuse."

After saying that, he picked up the wine glass and said, "Excuse me, I think I should accompany Xiaoyu to toast to the guests at a few tables first, after all, they have given me tips."

Mars' eyes immediately showed appreciation for Zhou Zhi, and he took out a business card: "Ms. Zhang's friends are my friends."

"Oh, I didn't bring my business card when I went out to play." Zhou Zhi politely accepted Mars' business card: "Next time."

Mars nodded.

Zhou Zhi and Xiao Yu raised their wine glasses and walked towards the two tables of foreigners who had just rewarded them with smiles. This was also the usual routine of bar singers. Zhou Zhi was used to hanging out in nightclubs and didn't need to be taught.

A bartender wiped the glass and said to Mars: "Boss, this guy sings well. From the looks of it, is he interested in Xiaoyu?"

Mars quickly stopped him: "He is a distinguished guest of Miss Zhang and Miss Ikeda, he is not an ordinary person, and he brought his female companion with him, don't talk nonsense, if you offend him, I will kill you!"

"Why did he accompany Xiaoyu to toast?" The bartender didn't understand.

"That's because they don't want to make things difficult for us!" Mars looked at Zhou Zhi, who had amused the two tables of foreigners with just a few words, and said with emotion: "He was just having fun, but he didn't expect to sing so well that he was treated as a resident singer. So he just went with the flow and took the initiative to help us out. What do you call this?"

"what is it call?"

"He doesn't care about his own face, but he saved ours. That's called magnanimity!" Mars said admiringly, "Wait for that gentleman to return to table number two, and send him a large fruit plate, plus a bottle of red wine."

After Zhou Zhi and Xiao Yu finished toasting, they returned to table number two. Everyone gave them a warm welcome. Zhang Silu was the happiest: "My persistence was right! Elbow, you are already at a professional level."

Mai Xiaomiao took Zhou Zhi's arm and said proudly, "I just saw two tables of guests give you tips. You won't have to worry about going hungry if you sing."

Everyone present knew how wealthy Zhou Zhi was, and they were amused by Mai Xiaomiao's words. Matsui Zao was also very curious: "How much tip did they give you?"

"I gave him two fifty-dollar bills." Zhou Zhi himself found it funny: "But I didn't keep any of them. I gave them all to Xiaoyu. She plays the guitar well."

"The key is that we can still have such tacit understanding even though it's our first collaboration." Ikedaoka was still intoxicated: "Especially the one you picked up temporarily..."

"Sand bell."

"Oh, yes, that sand bell!" An Chunjia nodded: "It's a stroke of genius!"

"It's not just for accompaniment," Zhou Zhi said with a sly smile, "it's actually a small prop for us to transmit signals." (End of this chapter)