Chapter 152: The Unusual Aidi

As for the drums, their expressive power is even greater. Through brilliant arrangement, drums can vastly enrich heavy metal music itself, and sometimes mere rhythm changes in the percussion can achieve breathtakingly thrilling effects.

Therefore, Aijie was not just making random trouble; he deliberately chose a bass guitar precisely to add fullness to the thin areas of the band's timbre.

Of course, his primary motive was simply that he couldn't bear to leave the stage, especially during a genuinely rocking song that had instantly captivated him.

Liu Qingshan's vocal delivery was of an entirely different style—possessing fewer untamed, rebellious, and raspy elements, and featuring much more soaring, high-pitched, and passionate intensity.

These two distinct styles of interpretation were equally capable of delivering a spine-tingling, hair-raising shock to the soul.

Chen Qianhui was rubbing her arms frantically, exclaiming, "I have goosebumps all over! Their voices are completely different, yet the emotional impact is surprisingly identical!"

Manager Bian offered a wry smile from the side, saying, "This Mr. Liu is extraordinary, and the piece he brought out is terrifyingly good. It actually managed to sing even an old aunt like me to tears!"

Unaware of the whispering and murmuring in the audience, Liu Qingshan remained entirely immersed in the wild surging of his own heart.

The reason he loved this song so much was also because it was an inspirational masterpiece capable of bringing tears to one's eyes upon a single listening.

This song easily moves people to tears because it can hurl a heavy stone straight into the lake of your heart, stirring up layer upon layer of ripples that splash across parched and withered dreams, washing away the dust to reveal a dazzling, brilliant radiance.

Aijie's version carried a slight sob in his voice, the emotions overflowing from the lyrics and expressed through a hoarse roar, endowing the already inspirational lyrics with an even more encouraging power—a distinct flavor absent from Liu Qingshan's performance.

Yet in the chorus, Liu Qingshan's version roared the passionate emotions much more thoroughly, with soaring high notes that pierced straight through to the soul, delivered with steady and skillful vocal technique.

If one had to evaluate the two different versions, the first was unbridled, wild, and heart-shaking; the second featured piercing, soaring high notes with a greater penetrative power that more easily reached deep into the human heart.

Moreover, during the highest notes, both men experienced varying degrees of voice cracking, but it was precisely these unmasked flaws that perfectly embodied the desperate and unyielding determination to rise upward within the song.

Or rather, the appearance of these voice cracks made the entire song feel more natural, greatly diminishing any deliberate sensation in the arrangement of notes and allowing the emotions to leap forward without leaving a single trace.

Just as the second rendition concluded and Liu Qingshan walked back into the crowd, Aidi's noticeably aged voice rang out.

"This song is best suited for running, especially during long-distance runs when you hit the most agonizing wall or make the final sprint to the finish line. That feeling is utterly exhilarating, thoroughly gratifying, and serves as a profound tempering of one's will, body, and mind. If you haven't experienced it, you might not understand, but it doesn't matter—whenever you manage a long-distance run of self-breakthrough, you will understand."

As Aidi began his critique, Chen Qianhui appeared by Liu Qingshan's side out of nowhere.

She explained in a low voice, "Old Aidi used to be a member of Cornerstone, one of our veteran rock bands in Hong Kong. After they disbanded, he became an independent music producer, but his living conditions were terrible—until Boss Yang, an old fan of Cornerstone, built this studio for him. Only then did the old man finally have a place to settle."

A sudden wave of realization washed over Liu Qingshan. He had felt that Aidi looked somewhat familiar earlier, and now it all rushed back to him.

Due to his impoverished family background in his childhood, he had spent a period selling pirated cassette tapes on the streets of the county town.

Among them was a compilation rock cassette album that included two songs by Cornerstone, a band that had enjoyed phenomenal popularity in Hong Kong during the 1980s.

On the cover of that tape was a promotional photo of the band, and Aidi back then seemed to still have a full head of long hair.

At this moment, Aidi's commentary continued: "...That is what I have always wanted to strive for. No matter what others say, living only for the beauty within one's own heart. This song gives me confidence; I will not stop, carrying my pride, continuing to run..."

Liu Qingshan was surprised to find that some of the young people present seemed to hold this man in deep respect. They had long since put away the heart-pounding fervor stirred up by the music and were quietly listening to what felt almost like rambling commentary.

Instead of rushing to interject, he joined them in listening quietly.

"‘The Pursuit of Dreams of a Chaste Heart’ is one of the only two songs that can make my blood boil and bring me back to full vitality. The other is ‘We Are the Champions’. Today felt just like the first time I heard ‘We Are the Champions’—I felt my soul take a hit, a very powerful hit."

"The whole song is a story about youth. What is music? Music is a single guitar, a single person, a setting sun, and a single song; music is being willing to use even pain as your sail to navigate the deepest blue ocean; music is refusing to let thousands of obstacles stop you no matter what others say, as long as you close your eyes and watch the notes dancing right before your eyes."

"The two men have different singing styles. Aijie's style leans closer to contemporary pop rock, but personally, I believe Mr. Liu has elevated that rock-and-roll spirit. In this increasingly restless era, music that allows people to feel a shared heartbeat seems to grow scarcer. When I first heard him sing this song, I felt as if I were a fledgling eagle soaring through the sky, charging upward against the gale no matter how fierce the headwind."

"Yet we must live in the midst of reality, where life is merely a comical stage, and the external facade differs somewhat from the truth. Often, those musicians seem like nothing more than clowns full of blunders, always left behind alone after the curtain falls to shed solitary tears. Because they are not truly happy, they have all the more need to manufacture tears."

"Today, however, my tears were not manufactured. This is the true meaning of music, the true meaning of running, the true meaning of chasing dreams—happy, simple, casual, free, unencumbered, untainted by the mundane world, and undeceived by life."

"After all these years, I still laugh at myself and mock the world, still unreliable, still unrestrained and untamed, yet I am no longer a youth and am still doing things inappropriate for my age. Perhaps starting today, I need to begin examining and reflecting more deeply, because this song has taught me that rather than lingering on in a wretched existence, it is better to burn with passion—uncompromising until old age."

Manager Bian, who seemed extremely familiar with Aidi, seized the opportunity as soon as the older man concluded his rambling, soliloquy-like monologue, and asked promptly, "Aidi, is this song suitable for that video?"

During Liu Qingshan's earlier "creation" session, Manager Bian had already shown that video to Aidi.

"There is nothing more suitable!" Aidi shook his head vigorously like a rattle-drum. "The previous soundtrack was absolute garbage; only his own song is the absolute perfection. After cold stares and ridicule trip you up time and time again, this song feels like a mighty army bearing down with high-spirited vigor—the proud, unblemished heart that a true martial artist ought to possess!"

The old man was clearly a deeply emotional person. He suddenly stood up and bowed respectfully toward Liu Qingshan from afar.

His unexpected action startled Liu Qingshan immensely, prompting him to wave his hands repeatedly and hurry forward.

"You honor me too much with this, senior. It's just a song; surely it can't be a harbinger of anything profound?"

When Aidi raised his head once more, his face was actually streaming with tears, leaving everyone present utterly dumbfounded!