Rock and Roll: Glorious Years

Bian Lang arrived at the studio and confirmed Olaf's arrival time with Chen Shuting. He was just about to call the band members over to discuss rehearsals for the Army Day gala when he received a phone call.

Upon seeing Bian Lan's name, Bian Lang immediately answered: "Little Lang, this is really satisfying! You caused such a big fuss, and your sister and family couldn't help you much, so they could only play your songs in the store every day."

Hearing this, Bian Lang felt a warmth spread through him: "Thank you, sister, I know all that." Bian Lan didn't say it, but Zhou Ketong had already told him that when the news of Goose Egg's ban on Rolling Stone first came out, Seven Cups of Snow started a half-price discount promotion for customers downloading Rolling Stone songs.

Of course, her mother's southward-flying geese were no exception...

"I need to tell you something. Qinqin and the others were supposed to have their final performance tomorrow, right? The song you taught her doesn't have an accompaniment online. Their music teacher said they have too many performances and can't provide accompaniment, and this song isn't very well-known, so they're telling her she either has to participate in the choir performance or..." Before she could finish, Bian Lang interrupted, "You're deciding on the performance for the rehearsal, right? Give me the time and place!"

"At 1 p.m., it's their kindergarten."

"Okay, then bring Qinqin here first, I want to hear how her practice is going..." Bian Lang felt that the teacher's actions were understandable, but his little niece couldn't be wronged like this. Since he had two days of free time, he made the arrangements.

Half an hour later, Bian Lan took Zhang Qin to the rehearsal room. Judging from her little niece's excited appearance, she probably didn't know about it herself. Bian Lang didn't mention it and immediately started accompanying her on the keyboard.

The five-year-old girl's voice was clear and pure; as long as her pitch was accurate, she could sing "The Little Insects Fly" beautifully no matter how she sang it. Zhang Qin had been practicing at home for many days, and Bian Lang had only corrected a few things for her, yet her little niece was already singing it very melodiously.

Bian Lang encouraged Zhang Qin for a couple of minutes, and then Bian Lan took her daughter to buy new clothes for the afternoon performance.

After discussing the upcoming arrangements with the band members in the group chat, Bian Lang went home and tidied himself up.

Her hair was neatly tied in a bun, her stubble was completely shaved off, and she put on a white short-sleeved shirt with a chick pattern on the chest before heading out with her keyboard.

When he arrived at the kindergarten, he was dumbfounded by the exaggerated stage makeup on the children's faces: "This makeup is more elaborate than our performances."

Following the original owner's memories, Bian Lang quickly found the classroom of Class 2. Peeking inside, the situation was even more exaggerated than outside. Some children were surrounded by five or six adults, who were touching up their makeup and feeding them lunch. Bian Lang shook his head at the sight.

After finding Zhang Qin in the crowd, he discovered that his little niece wasn't much better off. Although Zhang Fan and Bian's mother weren't there, the original owner's father and Zhang Fan's father were both present.

Bian's father's name is Bian Hai. Although he is over 60 years old, he is in good health because he has been in charge of production at the brewery. Dressed in sportswear and standing at 185 cm tall, he doesn't look like someone his age at all.

Zhang's father was a retired senior cadre, dressed in the style of a bureau chief, wearing gold-rimmed glasses with the plating worn off. Judging from his physique and appearance, he seemed to be half a generation younger than Bian's father.

At this moment, the two old men were feeding Zhang Qin, one holding a kettle and the other holding rice noodles, while Bian Lan was doing Zhang Qin's makeup.

Bian Lang squeezed through the crowd and saw his little niece's princess dress with little wings, which naturally distinguished her from the group of little boys wearing leggings and having two suns painted on their faces.

"Uncle, don't be nervous later!" Faced with his little niece's encouragement, Bian Lang said, "You're worried about your uncle?" But he was actually a little flustered inside.

This is the first time in my two lifetimes that I've attended an event like this. If I play a single wrong note and embarrass my little niece, that would be...

"Xiao Lang, it's been a long time! You look so energetic today. You've been so busy these past few days, yet you still came to accompany Qinqin on the music..." As soon as Zhang's father spoke, Bian Lang quickly replied, "Dad, we're all family, there's no need for thanks."

"Yes, yes, my eldest granddaughter, with your uncle's professional help..." Zhang's father emphasized the words "eldest granddaughter," which made Bian Hai, standing nearby, feel a little uncomfortable. Although they were both his own granddaughters, he always called her "outsider," which annoyed Bian's father!

"Second brother, don't you dare drag us down later. Show us the skill you had when you conquered the Europeans..."

Sensing the impending battle, Bian Lang quickly interrupted, "Dad, this is Qinqin's performance. I'm just a supporting character. Don't say any more."

Bian Lan, who was squatting down to do Zhang Qin's makeup, looked up and whispered, "Hurry up and find a good one, give Dad a grandson, so these two in-laws won't keep arguing all the time..."

After waiting in the classroom for half an hour, the teacher came over and took the children who were performing to the auditorium. Bian Lang, as Zhang Qin's accompanist, naturally had to go along.

The young female homeroom teacher had never seen Bian Lang before, and she almost fell for him at first sight: "Hello, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm Zhang Qin's uncle, and I'm here to accompany her in her performance."

Glancing at the violin case on Bian Lang's back, the homeroom teacher said with concern, "Oh, okay, I'll have the music teacher help you with that when we get to the auditorium."

"No need to trouble you, teacher, I can do it myself..."

Upon arriving at the auditorium, the uncle and nephew were seated backstage to wait. It was only through their homeroom teacher that Bian Lang learned why so many parents had come to the rehearsal and program selection.

It turns out that tomorrow's performance will be divided into two parts. The selected performers will go to the auditorium of the Yunnan Arts University Affiliated Primary School to perform with students from the primary and secondary schools.

Leaders and teachers from the affiliated primary school, affiliated middle school, and Yunnan Arts University will come to watch. It will be a grand end-of-term arts performance for all levels of schools affiliated with Yunnan Arts University, and also a way to promote enrollment for the new semester.

Those who weren't selected performed in their own class, so parents certainly didn't want to miss the opportunity for their child to shine in front of the whole school, especially since they didn't know the results.

Tomorrow, four programs will be selected and sent over. There are a total of 12 classes in the school, and each class has prepared at least three programs. This competition is much fiercer than the variety show "The Band" he participated in!

In this situation, solo singing is naturally at a disadvantage. Unless the performance is truly outstanding, both the audience and the teachers will definitely prefer large-scale performances such as choral singing and group dance.

"No wonder the music teacher isn't paying attention..." Bian Lang muttered, sticking his head out to look at the audience. He saw 10 scoring boards in the first row, which he thought were more professional and fair than the current variety shows!

When Zhang Qin and her classmates from Class 2 were near the middle of the line, Bian Lang pulled out a firefly headband he had bought on the way from the side of her violin case and put it on Zhang Qin. After adjusting its position, he said to her, "Qinqin, if you're scared because there are so many people, just close your eyes and sing!"

"No, Uncle, I'm going to play rock and roll like you someday, and be the lead singer at music festivals!"

Hearing this, Lang Xiao closed his eyes and said, "If you can really make it big in the future, your uncle will form a band for you, and we'll call it The Cranberries."

"Okay! Uncle, you can't go back on your word!"

"Mmm! Mmm!" Bian Lang responded earnestly, then couldn't help but murmur a couple of lines silently:

"In your head, in your head, Zombie, zombie, zombie...

What's in your head, in your head, Zombie, zombie, zombie..."

At the same time, the image of Dorothy's black lace and smoky dress from her 2011 concert in Shanghai flashed into my mind.

Bian Lang was in the audience at the time. He had spent a lot of money to buy an inner-field ticket, but he sat there for almost two hours with a group of middle-aged and elderly people who were unwilling to get up and jump around.

Li Shuimu, who was sitting in front of him, chatted with him after Dolores finished singing "Zombie": "Singers like Dolores, who have transcended vulgar tastes, truly feel timeless when you hear them live!"