A song from Chengdu revived a closed-down pub.

Backstage, Ji Xiaocheng buried his face in his hands.

He didn't cry, but his hands were trembling.

He recalled the first song he wrote in his rented room, with a rough melody and childish lyrics.

But after he finished writing it, he hugged his guitar and laughed all night.

He never sang that song again.

It's not that I forgot, it's that I dared not sing.

I'm afraid that if I sing it out loud, I'll be letting down the version of myself who laughed so happily back then.

While wiping away her tears, Xie Siyu said to He Xiaoxiao, "Sister Xiaoxiao, this song is so touching, I can't control my tears right now."

He Xiaoxiao didn't reply, but simply handed over the tissue in her hand.

Her eyes were red, but she didn't cry. She bit her lip and swallowed back the bitterness.

After singing "Old Boys," the five of them stood in a row late at night and bowed deeply.

The applause came in waves, showing no sign of stopping.

The live stream chat was filled with comments about their own stories.

"Ten years after graduation, no one has ever spoken in our class group chat. I just forwarded this song, and the group suddenly exploded. Old Zhang said he's delivering food now, Old Li said he drives a truck, and the class monitor who said he wanted to be an entrepreneur is now selling insurance. No one has achieved their dreams, but no one is laughing at each other, because we all know that just surviving is already a huge effort!"

"I'm thirty-five this year, with elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. I can't afford to get sick, I can't afford to die, I can't afford to quit my job. After listening to this song, I suddenly wanted to buy myself a better guitar, not to play it, but to remind myself that I still have dreams!"

"My dad sat on the sofa and listened to the whole song without saying a word. My mom called him to eat, and he grunted but didn't move. I know what he was thinking. His dream when he was young was to join the army, but he failed the physical exam, and he's never mentioned it again since!"

"I'm a struggling artist in Beijing. I was playing this song on my phone in my rented room when the guy next door started banging on the wall and yelling at me to turn it down. Then he stopped, and I could hear him crying too!"

……

The song "Old Boys" is incredibly moving.

Not only the audience, but even the singers present were drawn into that emotion.

So much so that when it was Ji Xiaocheng's turn to go on stage next, the upbeat song he had prepared couldn't be performed at all.

No matter how dense the drumbeats or how explosive the guitar playing, the audience's eyes remained dazed.

Ji Xiaocheng cracked a high note halfway through his song, without even realizing it.

It's not that I lack skill, it's that my mind is in turmoil.

In the end, his performance could only be described as utterly disastrous.

Xie Siyu was luckier; she appeared last, giving the audience time to recover from the emotions of "Old Boys".

She performed consistently and achieved a good ranking, winning the runner-up position.

But everyone knew that the true champion of the night had already been decided from the very first song.

The band won the championship with an overwhelming number of votes in the second half of the night.

Five elderly men stood in the center of the stage, holding trophies, their eyes filled with tears.

Cui Zhan, speaking on behalf of the band, only said one sentence: "This song doesn't belong to us, it belongs to Teacher Su Fan. He's the one who gave us this championship..."

After the competition, Houbanye Band became an overnight sensation in the entertainment industry.

Their phones were bombarded with invitations, and more than a dozen entertainment companies extended offers.

And this time, no one is suggesting signing just the lead singer; they want to sign the entire band.

The offers they made were increasingly generous.

Some companies even directly promised to help them organize tours and release albums within two years.

However, the five of them closed the door and discussed it all night, and their final decision was not to sign with any company.

In the interview, Lao Li said, "At our age, we don't want to be treated like commodities. This song that Su Fan wrote for us is enough for us to sing for a lifetime. We only need to earn enough to live on. We're afraid that if we earn more, we'll lose our passion."

Su Fan saw the results of the finals in Qin Province.

He wasn't surprised at all.

The song "Old Boys" has touched countless people around the world. Singing it late at night shows that the song has found the right people.

After the competition, He Xiaoxiao returned to Kyoto.

Su Fan also sent her the song "Colosseum".

When He Xiaoxiao saw the song, she was completely stunned.

Xu Meng, who was sitting next to her, leaned closer and noticed her pale face, asking, "What's wrong?"

He Xiaoxiao handed over the phone.

Xu Meng took it and was equally stunned after reading it.

"Who is he cursing? He's being way too harsh."

He Xiaoxiao rubbed her temples and said, "They're not still cursing Ye Xuan, are they?"

Xu Meng shook her head: "Probably not, right? For the sake of Sister Yao and Sister Yun, his affair with Ye Xuan should be put behind us."

He Xiaoxiao sneered: "That's not necessarily true. Old Su is a very vengeful person. Even if he kills someone who offends him, he'll dig them up and whip their corpse every now and then."

Xu Meng pointed to the lyrics and asked, "Can this song be released?"

Why can't I send it?

"This song isn't just criticizing one person; it's criticizing several types of people. If it were released, it would make some people uncomfortable."

He Xiaoxiao didn't take it seriously: "If you have nothing to hide, you won't feel anything. If you have something to hide, then you should take it personally and be scolded."

Xu Meng sighed: "You really want to sing?"

He Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at her: "Nonsense, such a good song is exactly what I wanted."

"Okay, then take it easy."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

……

The Ye family's old residence in Kyoto is having its monthly family dinner.

Ye Yao parked her car in front of the old house. Just as she was about to push the door open and go inside, a postman on an electric scooter turned from the alleyway, holding a letter and calling out to her, "Excuse me, does Ye Xuan live here? There's a letter for him here."

Ye Yao took the envelope, examined it from both sides, and muttered, "What era is this? People still write letters?"

She glanced at the sender's address and was surprised to find it was from Qin Province.

A flicker of curiosity crossed her mind, but she didn't think much of it and took the letter into the house.

She wanted to open it and take a look, but then her phone rang, so she just put it on the coffee table.

A few minutes later, Ye Xuan pushed the door open and came in.

He immediately noticed the envelope on the coffee table, with his name written in the recipient's field.

He frowned and muttered, "Who's so bored?"

With that, he tore open the seal and pulled out the letter.

The letter was on thin paper, and the old nun's handwriting was on it.

Ye Xuan scanned a few lines from top to bottom, and his expression changed.

Looking further down, my fingers started to tremble.

His pupils constricted sharply, and a layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

At this moment, Ye Yao came in after finishing her phone call.

Ye Xuan quickly put the letter away.

Ye Yao asked, "What's wrong?"

"No...nothing..." Ye Xuan said somewhat guiltily.

"Oh, by the way, there was a letter for you just now, did you read it?"

"I saw it, I saw it."

"These days, who sends you letters?"

Ye Xuan quickly said, "It's a prank."

Ye Yao looked at him suspiciously: "What era are we living in? People still send letters as pranks? What does it say?"

Ye Xuan shook his head, stood up, picked up the car keys on the table, and tried to keep his voice calm: "It's nothing serious. I won't be eating at home tonight. I'm heading out now."

After saying that, he walked out without looking back.

Ye Yao watched his retreating figure and sighed.