Chapter 56: Mu Song: “Fuck!”
Qiao Nan: “You got a problem with that?”
Qiao Nan: “If you do, kiss me back.”
Mu Xiangxiang tried to pull free, but failed. Not only did Qiao Nan refuse to let go, he even grabbed her hand and rubbed it against his own face, showing absolutely no restraint when it came to his shameless behavior.
“You’re not quite the same as you were in first year of high school,” Mu Xiangxiang said.
While looking around to secure a good viewing position, Qiao Nan stubbornly used one hand to pin both of her arms beneath his chin. At the same time, he raised his other arm to shield her from the crowd pressing in from all sides. Hearing that, he immediately looked pleased with himself. “Oh? You still remember what I was like back then? I knew it—you've always had a stubborn mouth. Must've been a pretty unforgettable crush, huh?”
Mu Xiangxiang: “...”
Qiao Nan remained smug. “So? You think I’m taller, more handsome, and more mature now than I was before, right?”
“...No.”
Qiao Nan: “??”
Mu Xiangxiang: “Back then, you actually seemed like someone with principles and standards.”
Qiao Nan: “...”
Mu Xiangxiang: “Now you have neither.”
Qiao Nan: “...”
Mu Xiangxiang: “Counterfeit goods. Fraud.”
The venue was deafeningly loud, and she wasn't speaking particularly loudly. Yet Qiao Nan seemed able to catch every word she said with perfect clarity. “Tsk.” He looked up. “Second warning. Remember this. Every family has rules. Show your boyfriend some respect.”
As he spoke, he raised an arm and pinched her cheek. The force was light, gone almost immediately, but it left behind the rough warmth of his fingertips. His amber eyes remained as arrogant as ever. “And another thing—how can principles and standards be the same when dealing with outsiders versus your girlfriend? If it's one of the guys messing up, sure, you can kick him around a little. But a girlfriend...”
He paused. After giving her a meaningful look, he lowered his head. The hand that had pinched her cheek settled onto her knee and slowly slid downward until it reached her ankle. Then he grabbed it. “Tsk. Why are your legs so skinny?”
The spot his hand touched seemed to ignite. Unable to bear it, Mu Xiangxiang finally freed one hand and smacked him. “You pervert!”
“That makes me a pervert?” Qiao Nan chuckled. Catching her hand, he repeated the same slow movement. His fingers forced their way between hers and locked together tightly.
His voice drifted over, heavy with implication. “Little girl, that's still through your pants. Next time I get the chance, I'll show you what a real pervert looks like.”
Mu Xiangxiang: “..................”
Her heart pounded like a violent storm.
******
The music festival had descended into near-total chaos.
Both the performers and the audience spent most of their time riding a collective high.
Mu Xiangxiang, who usually had her nose buried in textbooks, had never attended anything like this before. As a diligent student whose music tastes typically lagged two or three years behind those of her peers, she had absolutely no concept of what the rock scene was like. The impression the festival left on her was simple: On stage were singers wearing bizarre outfits, strange makeup, and jewelry attached through piercings in all sorts of unexpected places.
Off stage were audience members dressed exactly the same way. As for what the performers were actually singing—she had no idea. If the lyrics were in a foreign language and the screaming wasn't too intense, she could vaguely make out a few words. Most of the time, however, she couldn't understand or appreciate it at all.
Honestly speaking, apart from being lively, most of it didn't sound particularly good.
Yet huge portions of the audience were losing their minds with excitement. Fans who had come specifically to support their favorite bands didn't just sing along. Some jumped, screamed, and carried on as if they were about to pass out on the spot.
But the treatment wasn't the same for everyone. Certain bands would come onstage and receive nowhere near that level of enthusiasm. Their clothes and styling looked no different from the group that had just left to thunderous cries of “Encore!” Yet the audience's favoritism was brutally obvious. With such a direct comparison available, the difference felt especially cruel. The musicians who had swaggered confidently onto the stage often left with lonely, dispirited silhouettes.
Watching them, Mu Xiangxiang finally began to understand the term “fan economy,” which she had looked up online before coming. Thinking about the intensely hierarchical world her younger brother was about to enter, she felt genuinely uneasy.
The entertainment industry. According to everything she'd read, it was fiercely competitive. And this wasn't even a prestigious event—just a relatively low-tier music festival.
If it was already this harsh here, then the gap between famous and unsuccessful artists in the real entertainment industry would only be even greater.
Those eliminated singers, whose disappointment could be heard in every word they spoke, constantly reminded her of Mu Song.
The same unconventional clothes. Even the same light-gray hair. Many of them were older than her brother. Yet they still looked so devastated by failure.
Mu Song was still young. Backstage earlier, he had been nervous enough already. If he ever encountered an outcome like this, his confidence might completely collapse.
To be honest, compared with making music, Mu Xiangxiang would much rather her brother suddenly focus on his studies one day and get into university.
But at the same time, she didn't want him to abandon music because he'd suffered a crushing defeat in the thing he was most proud of.
She had seen what happened to her father after losing his ability to work—the loss of confidence, the depression, the decline. She never wanted to watch someone she cared about go through that again.
The little-known band onstage answered a few perfunctory questions from the judges. The lead singer still had tears of frustration lingering in his eyes. The host, however, seemed completely accustomed to such scenes and maintained a bright smile. “Let's welcome our next contestants—Liberty! Oh, impressive! The average age of the band members is only eighteen, and their lead singer-guitarist isn't even an adult yet. Today's performance will be an original song written by the lead vocalist himself, titled Killing Intent. Very talented indeed! Let's give them a warm welcome!”
Mu Xiangxiang immediately became excited. Qiao Nan quickly steadied her. “Careful! You're going to fall!”
“My brother's coming out!” Her heart instantly filled with nervous anticipation. She was so tense she didn't even notice his hand rising to rest against her waist. Then, from somewhere ahead, she heard a red-haired girl complaining loudly to her friends: “Fuck, I've been waiting so long the flowers are practically wilting. When is Quench finally coming on? I came all the way from City H just to support them, and all I've heard so far are these no-name bands yapping away. One group just got offstage and now here's another one!”
“Relax!” her friend replied, still holding a huge banner supporting their favorite band. “Quench is definitely headlining. That's why they're appearing last. No-name bands always go on early. Otherwise everyone would leave after seeing the big acts and the nobodies would be left performing to themselves.”
“The lead singer isn't even an adult? What is this, a middle-school band? Don't they have homework?”
“A middle-school kid writing original songs? That's basically a suicide attack. I can already predict what's about to happen.”
“Hahahahaha!”
Their laughter blended with the sparse applause scattered around the venue. The reception was even worse than what the previous “no-name band” had received.
Mu Xiangxiang's excitement instantly deflated. Qiao Nan, as though he had eyes on top of his head, glanced upward. “What's wrong?”
She sighed. “Nothing. I was just thinking about how I'm going to comfort my brother afterward.”
Qiao Nan: “Huh?”
“He was really looking forward to this competition. Apparently it's the first time he's ever performed onstage. Sigh. I've never seen him so nervous before. But his opponents are so strong that he's probably already prepared himself mentally.”
“...” Qiao Nan looked utterly baffled. “What?”
Mu Xiangxiang blinked. “What do you mean, what?”
“...” Qiao Nan stared at her. “Let me ask you something. Have you ever actually heard your brother play guitar or sing?”
Mu Xiangxiang shook her head.
Suddenly, a hand reached up and pinched her chin. She lowered her head and met Qiao Nan's eyes.
With a blank expression, Qiao Nan withdrew his hand. Thinking about how thoroughly he'd been crushed in guitar skills, he clicked his tongue irritably. People from the family of a hidden master are the worst!
******
The tears that the previous contestants had been desperately holding back finally burst forth the moment they stepped backstage. Even rebellious young men who prided themselves on looking cool could fall apart when faced with failure. Watching yet another group of opponents who had walked onstage full of confidence leave looking utterly defeated, the members of Liberty—including Mu Song—grew even quieter.
Mu Song silently tuned his guitar again. His bandmates gathered around him while the assistant sent by Zhou Huacai enthusiastically cheered them on. “Come on! You guys are definitely going to blow the roof off this place!”
The timing of that encouragement, combined with the sparse applause drifting in from outside after the emcee's introduction, made the whole thing unintentionally hilarious. Quite a few bands waiting backstage snickered among themselves. Mu Song swept his gaze across the people lurking in the shadows before finally settling on a door not far away.
It was one of the few private lounges set up backstage for the festival. At the moment, it was occupied by the most famous bands in the competition. Nobody else was allowed inside. Earlier, Mu Song had accidentally wandered a little too close and was immediately stopped by vigilant staff members.
It was a corner reserved exclusively for the successful. Groups of fans were constantly being escorted backstage to pay homage.
Outside the lounge door were piles of flower stands, bouquets, gift boxes, and shopping bags. Those bands were simply too popular. There were so many gifts that the room itself couldn't hold them all, forcing staff to stack them outside.
What a glamorous sight. Yet at the same time, countless unknown bands like theirs could only sit cross-legged on the crowded, messy floor nearby, watching wave after wave of fans come and go—fans who hadn't come for them.
As someone experiencing it firsthand, Mu Song suddenly understood with crystal clarity the difference that talent and fame could create.
The ambitions burning inside him had never felt stronger. At the same time, they brought with them an equally powerful uncertainty.
Ignoring the vague mockery still floating around from other bands—"Little kids." "Minors." "Just fooling around."—Mu Song instead remembered the hug his sister had rushed over to give him not long ago.
The warmth of that lucky kiss still lingered on his lips.
And somehow, it gave him courage. His sister was so brilliant academically. Even she would nervously read piles of books before every competition.
Besides, so what if he failed? He had friends. He had family. His parents were another matter, but his sister— She would always support him.
Mu Song suddenly let out a breath. Listening to the applause outside fade until it was nearly inaudible, he looked at his anxious teammates and chuckled. Then he extended a fist. “Let's go.”
The others exchanged glances. His calmness eased some of their tension. Smiling, they raised their arms.
Five fists bumped together.
Then a fierce voice rang out:
“Let's do this.”
****
The moment Mu Song's handsome face appeared onstage, the previously subdued crowd immediately became much livelier.
The sky had already begun to darken. Under the stage lights, while setting up instruments, Mu Song calmly scanned the venue.
He barely needed to search. Almost instantly, he spotted his sister's familiar silhouette near the edge of the crowd. At first he looked puzzled about why she suddenly seemed so tall. Then he saw clearly. His eyes widened.
Far away, Mu Xiangxiang met her brother's gaze. The distance was too great for her to make out his expression. Yet from the moment his eye-catching gray-haired head emerged from backstage, an indescribable feeling had risen in her throat.
Nearby, the girls who had been mocking the band moments ago abruptly changed the subject.
“Holy crap! Is that guy tuning the microphone with the guitar the lead singer?”
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God—why is he actually kind of hot?! That height, that face, that presence—how is he a minor?!”
“Damn it, I take back everything I said about him being a nobody with too little homework!”
Mu Xiangxiang had always been the kind of person who hated attracting unnecessary attention. Yet for the first time in her life, she was overcome by an impulse stronger than anything she'd ever felt—even stronger than when she'd watched Qiao Nan playing basketball.
Though neither of them could clearly see the other's expression, she was certain her brother was still looking at her.
So she followed her heart. Driven by impulse, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted toward the stage at the top of her lungs: “MU SONG!!!! FIGHTING!!!!”
The shout stood out sharply amid the crowd's chatter. Mu Xiangxiang knew plenty of people would turn around and stare at her. Yet she felt no embarrassment whatsoever.
Because the young man standing under the spotlight was so dazzling.
This was her little brother. Her family. Someone she would always be proud of.
Sure enough, whispers immediately spread through the crowd. Mu Song stood before the microphone with his guitar. For some reason, he didn't move for quite a while. Then, with the microphone already live, the first sound emerged clearly from the speakers.
“Fuck!”
Mu Xiangxiang: “???”
Everyone else: “????”
As the audience exchanged confused looks, the handsome lead singer onstage suddenly underwent a dramatic change. His entire demeanor became murderous. Setting down his guitar, he turned and shouted something to his bandmates. Then he yanked down the zipper of his jacket and violently threw it onto the floor.
The tight, powerful muscles of youth were partially concealed beneath a loose black tank top. Under the stage lights, the beautiful lines of his arms stood out vividly. Every movement radiated raw energy and vitality.
Under the assault of that suddenly fierce aura, the entire band rapidly finished preparing.
Then the lead singer's gaze visibly cooled. He grabbed his guitar. Threw it into the air. Caught it one-handed. And slung it over his shoulder.
Before the audience had fully processed that stylish sequence of movements, his long fingers brushed across the strings. The guitar suddenly rang out.
The gentle note tugged lightly at Mu Xiangxiang's thoughts. She simply found it pleasant. Before she could even react—
The next instant, explosive music erupted across the venue like a thunderclap.
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