Chapter 88: A Person's Beijing!

The lights shifted from dimness to a flicker, and a figure walked out from stage right.

The fans below the stage did not even know whether they had truly recognized who it was; in any case, they burst into shrieks at once.

Jiang Lun studied the figure carefully several times before he finally made it out. It was Liu Nan.

“Hello, everyone. Good evening!”

As he spoke, Liu Nan walked to Jiang Lun’s side and embraced him with a smile.

“Brother Nan?”

Even now, Jiang Lun could hardly believe it. It was not that Liu Nan was difficult to invite; rather, he had never imagined that Liu Nan would volunteer to come out and support him.

Watching the two of them embrace, Wang Zijian called out immediately, “Our distinguished guest tonight is — Liu Nan! Let’s welcome Brother Nan!”

“Hello.”

Liu Nan let go of Jiang Lun and reached out to shake Wang Zijian’s hand.

Wang Zijian looked even more excited than Jiang Lun. “Brother Nan, hello! Hello! We’re so surprised to see you here. May I ask what brought you here to support a newcomer?”

“The reason is simple.”

Liu Nan smiled. “I met Alan at a music festival, and we hit it off immediately. After that we became close friends, and he even wrote a song for me.”

“Ah?”

Wang Zijian deliberately exaggerated his reaction. “Jiang Lun wrote a song for you?”

“Yes,” Liu Nan said. “I admire his talent very much, so as soon as I heard he was holding the first performance for his new album today, I called his company. Any other guest could have stayed away, but I could not.”

“Brother Nan, thank you!”

Jiang Lun said it once more. After a thousand words, only this one word of gratitude remained.

Wang Zijian seized the moment. “Actually, everyone in the industry has heard that Brother Nan will be releasing a new album at the end of the year. From the way things look now, this song written by Jiang Lun will be one of the tracks on that album, right?”

“Mhm.”

Liu Nan nodded, then added, “It’s also my favorite one.”

“Well then...” Wang Zijian smiled. “This may be a little improper of me, but I still want to ask, because I’m rather impatient myself. Would Brother Nan be willing to sing a couple of lines for us live?”

“Two lines is no problem.”

Liu Nan smiled. “All right, then I’ll sing just a short piece.”

With that, he sang a cappella: “My heart is full of sorrow, not for the pale moon above, but for the village of today, still singing the songs of yesterday...”

“Wonderful!”

Many of the critics and musicians below were old friends of Liu Nan’s; as for the media people, some had dealt with him before, while others simply respected him as a veteran of the music world. Either way, face had to be given.

Setting aside Liu Nan’s skill as a singer, even the melodic beauty of this short passage alone deserved such enthusiastic applause.

When everyone looked back and thought about it, they realized that such a lovely melody had also been written by Jiang Lun.

It seemed that he could not only conjure up music that was dazzling and bewildering beyond belief, but that even this kind of plain, earthy folk song, with its simple and beautiful melody, came easily to him.

In the next moment, as everyone looked again at Jiang Lun onstage, they all seemed to feel that the earlier evaluations of him had been too simplistic. No one knew how many more surprises he would keep bringing.

Liu Nan’s appearance stirred up a small climax. After leaving the stage, he did not depart, but simply found a seat in the audience and sat down, like everyone else, waiting to hear Jiang Lun’s new songs.

Although this was a first-performance concert, not every song on the album would be sung.

Besides, the Fifth-Star Music website was still livestreaming. If every song were performed, how would the album ever sell?

They had already sung three new songs earlier, and after that, according to the vote from the fans in the venue, they performed three more songs that had previously been released to the public but had never yet appeared in a formal version.

After these six songs were performed in between the various segments, the first-performance concert entered its final part, and Liu Xiayu was invited onstage with great ceremony.

Liu Xiayu was widely regarded in the entertainment world as a queen of few words, with few spoken words and few topics alike.

This was her first time appearing publicly in support of another singer. Before this, at no matter what kind of launch, concert, or press event, many stars had tried to invite her, but she had never gone.

The moment she stepped onto the stage, she immediately drew everyone’s attention. The media below, the musicians, and the internet users watching on the livestream platform all felt as though they were seeing something they had only dreamed of.

What Liu Xiayu wore today was casual and sharp, not at all like a celebrity, but more like a professional woman.

She walked unhurriedly onto the stage and gave the audience a faint smile, still as cool and refined as ever. Calm and composed, she carried herself with that unmistakable goddess aura in every gesture and movement.

“Thank you all for coming.”

After greeting everyone, Liu Xiayu said a few simple words of encouragement for Jiang Lun, and then announced an important piece of news: “The entire lyrics and composition of my personal new album will be entrusted to Jiang Lun. In addition, ten percent of Rainy Day Music’s shares will be given to Jiang Lun as payment. I hope our collaboration will bring even more brilliance to Chinese-language music.”

“Whoa...”

Everyone who heard her was shaken.

The media people were delighted. Another headline!

How could the collaboration between the queen of music and a gifted young composer fail to excite people?

With shares used as payment, Jiang Lun would no longer merely be a signed singer under Rainy Day Music; he would truly be one of its owners.

The musicians, too, felt both excitement and apprehension. They all worked in music, and such a powerful alliance was at once inspiring and alarming.

Liu Xiayu said nothing more. She handed the stage back to Jiang Lun and Wang Zijian, then stepped down.

Many reporters immediately surrounded her, wanting to ask for more details.

Liu Xiayu only smiled and waved them off as she left in haste.

But how could the reporters let this go? They turned back and rushed onto the stage, wanting to question Jiang Lun.

Wang Zijian made a decisive move, stepping forward. “Ladies and gentlemen from the media, thank you for your kind interest. Please let Jiang Lun finish singing the final song first. Then we will leave time for interviews. Tonight we have also prepared a banquet, and both Queen Liu Xiayu and our Jiang Lun will attend. There will be many more chances to ask questions. Please keep order.”

Only then did the reporters return grudgingly to their seats.

When the final song was finished, the entire first-performance concert would come to an end.

This time Jiang Lun did not invite the band onto the stage. He stood alone with a guitar, the whole stage left to him alone.

The lights dimmed.

On the LED screen, a train ticket appeared.

Then, as the camera moved, more and more such tickets filled the table.

The departure stations were from all over the country, but the destination was always the capital.

“This song is called ‘A City for One,’ and I dedicate it to all the friends who are living in the capital, as well as those who once lived there. This is a song for people who have come to the capital to pursue their dreams.”

When Jiang Lun finished speaking, the guitar began to play, and then he started whistling.

The instant the whistle sounded, all the musicians began to nod. Even from this brief passage, one could tell it was a fine work; paired with the guitar, it carried a singular loneliness and desolation.

“How long has it been since you last saw the stars filling the sky?
The city’s false lights at night have blotted out your eyes.
Even weekend movies are no longer interesting.

In weary days, there are too many questions.
How long have you been alone, no longer traveling?
Used to coming home after work to cold, lifeless air.
As for love, you no longer have the courage.
The sweeter the love song, the more you doubt it.”

The acoustics in the theater were excellent, and the entire resonance system carried every note clearly into everyone’s ears.

Whether media people, musicians, or the fans, all of them were struggling in various walks of life in this city. To them, it was everyone’s city, and also a city of one.

The capital was a harsh place, one that only the successful could adapt to. Yet even for those who survived there with strength, how many winding roads had they walked, how much bitterness had they endured? Perhaps only they themselves knew.

A handful of true locals from the capital were also deeply moved by the song.

Many of their friends were people who had come to the capital in search of opportunities, especially in the music and media industries. So many had come to this cultural center from every corner of the land for a dream, and so many brothers and friends had quietly left it in the end.

Just as the song said: “Many come and go, gathering and parting. Some also drink and weep in a city of one. Perhaps I will succeed, perhaps fail, and grow old slowly; can you let me keep a moment of memory...”

The bright whistle sounded again. This note seemed even more moving than the lyrics before it, and many people could not help turning away to wipe the tears from their eyes.

In front of their computers, the internet users watching the livestream stopped typing. Listening to the lyrics, their hearts felt sour and tender.

Someone typed a line into the bullet comments: “Not just the capital...”

One person, one city, one stretch of memory.

These internet users came from all corners of the country. Most had never been to the capital, even those who had once lived there, yet the song still moved them. To them, the capital in the lyrics was only a stand-in. What city was not like this? What wandering soul was not like this?

...

A university dormitory.

A group of students were each doing their own thing: some gaming, some chatting, some watching videos.

Suddenly, a song echoed through the dormitory. After hearing only two lines, everyone unconsciously gathered toward the source of the sound.

Looking at the livestream on the computer screen, everyone fell silent.

It was June, and in just a few days they would be graduating and leaving campus. The brothers who had lived together for four years were about to say goodbye...

...

Inside a certain office tower.

It was almost time to clock out, and the employees were more excited than one another.

In a corner, the department director was watching the livestream of Jiang Lun’s concert. When he heard “A City for One,” he could not help unplugging his earphones and turning the speakers up.

The entire office area fell instantly silent. Everyone looked over at the director in surprise.

From the speakers came line after line of lyrics:

“...Many come and go, gathering and parting. Some also flee in haste, from this city of one. Perhaps one day we will leave here together, leave this place, in clear weather...”

Hearing these words, the employees’ feelings suddenly grew complicated.

This hurried, grinding life of chasing opportunities in the capital—no one knew when it would ever end. The city was so vast, and they did not know how long they themselves could keep going.