They are in the music show, but I am a stranger to them

"Mint candy, the lighthouse at the fishing port, the rusty arch bridge, the abandoned bicycle."

"In front of the fireplace at the wooden station, a soul with nowhere to go."

While Deng was still lowering his eyes because of his own empathy, Chen Qi's singing on the stage began to speed up, and his voice gradually became fuller, and he continued to sing the voice in his heart:

“Today is so similar to yesterday that if you want to change tomorrow you must start today.”

"I know, I know, but—"

Finally, it seemed that his emotions had reached their limit. Under the slow and long notes, Chen Qi's eyes inadvertently turned to Gao Songdeng in the audience. When he met Deng's starry eyes, he finally sang out his inner voice to her whom he had protected for half his life:

"I once thought about ending it all because my heart was empty!"

"If you cry out of emptiness, you must be longing to be filled."

Chen Qi's soul-touching singing voice, which was inadvertently revealed again, once again conveyed his emotions to everyone present, allowing everyone at this moment to feel the loneliness in his heart, and... the desire for warmth.

But, at this time, Chen Qi had no time to pay attention to how many people shed tears because of his emotional release.

At this moment, in his eyes, there was only the girl who had protected him for more than ten years...

Chen Qi has taken care of Deng for more than ten years. From the moment he was brought home by the Gao Song couple, he knew clearly that he was just brought home by parents who loved their daughter and hoped that he could be a "playmate" so that their daughter would not be lonely.

Chen Qi did not tell Deng and her parents that the reason he stayed with Deng in the beginning was just to prevent himself from being abandoned.

Later, with his own company, Chen Qi stepped into the world of lights little by little. Chen Qi also thought that he was just fulfilling his duties and repaying the kindness of his uncle and aunt for adopting him, and that was the "value" that should be embodied.

After all, Chen Qi was not a masochist. In the heavy rain and snow, guarding a sister who ignored him at first and ignored him no matter how he tried to call her, could Chen Qi really have no personal thoughts at all?

Chen Qi is also a human being, a living person with his own emotions. He is just afraid that he will become penniless again, so he keeps trying to prove his own value and not let himself become an "insignificant" person in this new home like in his previous life.

However, this mentality gradually changed after Chen Qi completely entered Deng's heart...

That girl who cherished me as if I were the whole world, that sister who called me "brother" after recognizing me, that girl who told me bit by bit about the world in her eyes, what a wonderful light it was...

Gao Songdeng always said that it was her brother who made her accept her own uniqueness and encouraged and guided her to see the beauty of the world.

And Chen Qi also wanted to tell Deng, the girl who first gave him companionship and warmth when he came into this world... thank you for making his heart fulfilled.

When he met her, he finally understood how wonderful it was to be cherished by someone as if they were the whole world.

You have filled the void of love in my heart. I will spend my whole life protecting your beauty.

Chen Qi, with thousands of thoughts surging in his heart, stopped the tears that were about to fall from his eyes the moment he closed his eyes. He silently shifted his gaze away from the lamp, maintained his voice, and continued to resume his gentle voice:

"I once thought about ending it all because my shoelaces were untied."

"I'm not good at tying things again, and the same goes for ties with people."

A voice so gentle that it breaks one's heart. At this moment, many of the audience members who were quietly looking at the stage shed tears silently like Chen Qi. They were healed by the warm voice of this young man, but their hearts were also aching.

And Toyokawa Shoko was also one of those who was moved by the lyrics and couldn't help but cry.

Xiangzi understood that feeling... the feeling of carrying countless pressures but still holding on. However, what would eventually crush you might not be a big thing, but a trivial matter that would cause your emotions to completely collapse.

Perhaps, Chen Qi’s collapse that day was not just because of the song that Deng sang…

Long before Deng sang that song, Chen Qi's heart might have already accumulated pressure that they could hardly imagine. His collapse was not because of Deng, but because of all of them.

In fact, it was not just Deng who was blamed. How much harm had I caused him? Am I really qualified to blame Deng?

It’s a pity that Xiangzi realized it too late... By the time she completely understood how much harm she had caused him, she... could no longer win him back.

Aren’t I also the one who is “not good at re-tying ties”?

"I once thought about ending it all because the boy looked at me with such deep affection."

"Kneel down on the bed and hug your knees and say 'I'm sorry' for what I did that day."

"The dim light of the screen, the noise from upstairs, the ringing of the phone, the boy in the birdcage covering his ears..."

"Don Quixote is fighting against an invisible enemy in this small room!"

"The ending is always the same, ugly anyway—"

The warm singing voice once again made many people cry. This time, Chihaya Aine could no longer suppress her emotions... She seemed to hear herself in the lyrics.

How similar is the "young man" described in Brother Qi's lyrics to myself who used to rely on Brother Qi?

The self who could throw herself into his arms and act like a spoiled child whenever she was wronged, the self who could talk to him whenever she had the slightest trouble... It was not until the moment I lost him that I finally understood how important he was to me.

When Chihaya, who was hiding in Chen Qi's small house, watched helplessly as the scent of him in the house became less and less, and felt like she had really lost him forever...

Didn't Aiyin have the thought of ending it all once and for all?

At that time, Aiyin tried to convince herself again and again, wanting to overcome her own weakness. She wanted to tell herself that she was not a person who could not live without him, and she fought against her own emotions again and again.

However, not only did she fail to forget him, she also tortured herself physically and mentally...

Even now, I am still hopeless because he "understands" my feelings, and I feel so warm that I cry...

I am such a hopeless fool.

On the stage, Chen Qi opened his eyes again and cast his gaze towards the audience. He quietly looked at Deng who was in tears, Xiangzi who was sobbing softly, and Aiyin who was moved to tears... He understood that his singing had reached their hearts.

When the melody reached its climax again, Chen Qi closed his eyes again and sang with all his strength, expressing his emotions:

"I once thought about ending it all - because I was called a cold person."

"The reason why you cry because you want to be loved is because you have tasted the warmth of human beings..."

Finally, after hearing Chen Qi's soul-touching lyrics, Shiina Riki, who had been gritting her teeth and trying to hold back her emotions, completely broke down.

Li Xi was crying like rain, unable to stop her tears from falling. She could only grit her teeth and wipe away her tears awkwardly, but she still gritted her teeth and forced herself not to cry out loud. However, the sobbing sounds still came out uncontrollably from her breath.

Shiina Riki was wrong. She really wanted to tell him that she was wrong.

I really shouldn't have said those words to him... I knew better than anyone that he was definitely not a cold-hearted person, but I still hurt him with those words.

If possible, Li Xi really wanted to tell him right now that she had cried for him too...

I have always been grateful to him for allowing me to experience unprecedented warmth...

"I once thought about ending it all... because of your brilliant smile."

"If you keep thinking about death, it must be because you have lived too seriously."

For a moment, as Chen Qi's singing voice became gentle again, more and more people in the audience cried silently. There were even several figures who could not control themselves and turned around and ran out of the studio, choosing to hide their fragile ugliness at the last moment.

Below the stage, Sanjiao Chuhua was also staring at Chen Qi on the stage with twinkling eyes, tightly covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. This popular idol, who was more glamorous than most people, also burst into tears because of Chen Qi's song.

It's all over. Although she seems to have everything going smoothly, hasn't she also experienced countless hardships and pressures to achieve what she has today? Hasn't she ever thought of giving up everything when she encountered difficulties and setbacks?

In the past, it was Xiangzi's encouragement that helped Chuhua overcome those difficulties and obstacles time and time again, allowing her to stand up again in the face of obstacles.

And now...

Chu Hua's crystal clear eyes trembled as he stared at the dazzling young man on the stage, a young man who had experienced countless stories that he didn't know about, and shouldered responsibilities that might be heavier than his own, but still smiled at everyone on the stage.

I seem to have found a second person who makes me feel supported.

On the other side, Miao Meng had already burst into tears.

This girl, who left her hometown, whose dreams were repeatedly crushed by her parents and whose ideas were influenced by others, wiped the tears from her eyes in a panic because of Chen Qi's song, but her light makeup was smudged.

Just because this song is a perfect portrayal of her seemingly glamorous life.

I left my hometown, drew a line between myself and my parents, felt empty inside, was called "cold-hearted", had never felt warmth, and had to live my life by watching other people's eyes... How many times have I thought about giving up all this?

However, no one heard my thoughts, and no one cared...

It was not until I met this "younger brother" that I found everything I could never ask for and what I really wanted to do...

That is, to protect all the good things about him.

And at this moment, after such a long period of accumulation, Chen Qi's emotions finally reached the peak, and his eyes looked around at each person who ended the band one by one.

He saw it, the expressionless face with eyes closed, but two lines of clear tears still falling.

Even though she had already shed tears, Hong Xia still gave him a relieved and moved smile.

It was hard to tell whether it was sweat or tears, but Kita tried hard to respond to him with a smile.

And...Pochi-chan, who used to be afraid to look people in the eye, but at this moment, was crying and playing the guitar while looking at him.

Looking at the scene in front of him, the surging emotions in his heart were also Chen Qi, who could no longer control himself, but did not choose to turn around and face the audience again at this moment.

This time, he chose to face these girls and sing out his inner voice!

"I once thought about ending it all because I hadn't met you yet!"

"Because of people like you...I feel a little better about the world."

Suddenly, Chen Qi's singing, as well as the performance of everyone in the band, came to a brief pause the moment Chen Qi finished singing this line.

It was just because the trembling eyes of the four girls who ended the band noticed Chen Qi who sang this line of lyrics. Their slightly bent body, for a moment, all looked at Chen Qi, whose eyes were covered by his bangs, silently with eyes full of concern, nervousness and encouragement.

However, Chen Qi just silently stretched out his arm, wiped the area around his eyes with his sleeve, and then straightened his back again, with a warm smile with tears in his eyes, and looked at everyone who had just finished the band.

And at this moment, when they saw that Chen Qi's smile had returned to its former gentleness and the haze on his face had finally dissipated, the four girls finally revealed their relieved and relaxed smiles again.

For the four girls, their purpose of helping Chen Qi perform this time has been achieved.

Under their gaze, he had vented all the emotions in his heart and returned to being the Chen Qi of the past who gave everyone warmth and made them all admire him and feel close to him.

Although, his vulnerability became the opportunity for him to need them.

But as expected, they still prefer to see him, the carefree one, who is as warm as the sun.

I hope we can be your safe haven this time.

Hong Xia, with tears streaming down her face, was quietly staring at the gaze from Chen Qi. This time, when Hong Xia nodded gently, Chen Qi responded with a faint smile. Under the attention of everyone, he finally turned around again.

This time, he once again turned his gaze to the girls he could not let go of. He extended his hands to them and slowly sang his final words to them:

"Because there are people like you living in this world... I have some hope for this world."

As Chen Qi sang his last line, the melody that had been silent started to sound with a more passionate rhythm, until Pochi-chan, who was crying non-stop, played the guitar solo with almost all her might, and then the scene gradually and completely calmed down.

At this point, the song ended, leaving the audience with countless sobs.

"Because we exist in this world, we have expectations for this world..."

"Aqi...Who in this world gave you warmth?"

Off the stage, Nagasaki Suyo, who had been silently shedding tears from the very beginning, could be said to be the one least affected by Chen Qi's song... After all, although her family was not perfect, it was at least happy, and although she had experienced many ups and downs, nothing had happened that would make her have extreme thoughts.

Su Shi shed more tears simply because of empathy... She couldn't help but cry for the gentleness of the young man on the stage, who spoke about how he once had nothing, had no warmth, and was suspected of being cold, but in the end he was still able to face the world with a smile.

However, Su Shi also knew that she had not been able to be the one who gave Chen Qi warmth... After all, she and Chen Qi had not been together long enough.

In his heart, I was destined to have a lower status than Deng, Aine-chan, and Xiangzi.

But, it doesn’t matter…

I will have a long time to spend with Aqi in the future.

As long as I give myself enough time, I will be able to use my gentleness to soothe Aqi's broken heart.

I will take care of him and heal his wounds by myself, I definitely can.

Nagasaki Suyo has always firmly believed in her ability to "take care of people".

And now, Nagasaki Motoyo is more convinced that this opportunity is getting closer and closer to her.

Because of Chen Qi's song, even Su Shi, who was the least affected by the emotions, almost couldn't control herself. At this moment, Li Xi, Ai Yin, Xiao Xiang and Deng Jiang, none of them were crying? Which one of them looked like they could still perform?

I'm afraid she doesn't need to try her best anymore. I'm afraid she doesn't even have the energy and spirit to perform anymore... Even if Deng Jiang has transformed, what about Xiangzi and the others? How can they still have the experience of performing?

Since they can’t perform, that means the band has given up, right?

Then, according to the bet, everyone in the band should draw a clear line with Aqi after this live... Then only I, who live with Aqi, can have legitimate contact with Aqi -

"——Everyone, let's go backstage to find my brother."

However, just when Nagasaki Suyo was still thinking about her future in her mind, suddenly, the unexpectedly firm voice from Takamatsu Deng broke their sad atmosphere.

Everyone couldn't help but look at Gao Songdeng with surprise. However, although Gao Songdeng was still crying, a touching smile broke out on his cheeks at this time, and he seemed to be crying with joy...⑼

In fact, Takamatsu Tomori did feel some joy, but it was not the soul-stirring song her brother sang.

Just now, after Deng listened to Chen Qi's song that expressed countless emotions to him, the shackles in Deng's heart seemed to be broken by Chen Qi's singing at this moment, and the long-suppressed emotions in Gao Song Deng's heart were also quietly released.

This also made Gao Songdeng completely understand what he should sing to his brother... no, what he should sing to Qi.

PS: Chapter 2 today! I'm not sure if there will be a chapter 3 tonight... I have something to do tonight, sorry, I'll make up for it if I have time!

Now, I'm going to have a good sleep. Ah, it's another day of rushing to finish my manuscript (a big mess).