A small mountain village.
The starry river at night was beautiful.
Mo Xiaowen walked home bathed in moonlight.
Besides teaching, she also escorted home the left-behind children whose families had mobility issues after school.
In the village.
Most of the young people had gone out to work, and the children were looked after by their grandparents.
And in some families, the elderly were old and not very agile, so Mo Xiaowen would escort these children home.
Back home.
She casually washed her hands.
Then she heated a small pot of water on the induction cooker.
Once the water boiled, she grabbed a handful of dried noodles from the side and threw them in.
Before long, the noodles were cooked.
She carried the steaming noodles.
Back to her bed.
Mo Xiaowen lived in the school dormitory.
The accommodation conditions were considered quite good in this small mountain village.
She usually cooked, but when she came back late, she would just have noodles.
While eating, she took out her phone and opened the program "I Am a Singer."
She had never unfollowed Qin Feng's fan club.
Casually browsing her phone, she saw that Qin Feng would be participating in this program tonight.
She recognized some of the previous singers but wasn't particularly interested.
So, she ate her noodles while waiting for Qin Feng to appear.
After several singers had finished.
When it was finally Qin Feng's turn.
She put down her bowl and chopsticks.
Brought her phone closer.
Looking at the familiar face on the screen.
"He's gained weight."
Mo Xiaowen smiled and shook her head.
However, tears welled up in her eyes.
Even though she had left Qin Feng, she wouldn't force herself to stop paying attention to him.
Just like when Qin Feng had followed her to this small village to find her, she had said.
"I left because we weren't suitable, not because I don't love you."
Different ideals don't mean lack of love.
It was just that both she and Qin Feng had chosen their ideals.
...
On the "I Am a Singer" stage.
Qin Feng ignored the noisy crowd.
He sat on a high stool, holding the microphone in both hands.
His success or failure depended on his performance today.
Thinking this, he nodded to the band members.
Then, he took a deep breath and slightly closed his eyes.
"If you have time,
Will you come to see me?
See how the heavy snow grows old,
How my eyes melt away.
If you see me,
Please turn around in surprise,
Then be buried in the sea..."
A cappella.
Qin Feng's voice naturally had a faint huskiness.
Moreover, his singing style and articulation carried the沧桑 (cāngsāng - vicissitudes) and storytelling charm of a bar singer.
The audience gradually quieted down.
His singing was very steady, with a faint sigh, chest resonance, and breathy vocalization. Even a cappella, it didn't sound thin at all.
On stage.
The front part was dimly lit, and the back was pitch black.
Only Qin Feng was visible, sitting there, appearing thin and lonely.
The piano melody began, and after the a cappella, the song moved into the prelude.
The melody was simple and melodious, exuding a faint sadness.
*Snap!*
A spotlight shone down.
In the center of the stage, a man and a woman were dancing.
It was a very old-fashioned duet.
Their dance was graceful, complementing the prelude.
Despite being a dance for two, it evoked a sense of inexplicable loneliness in the audience.
As the prelude neared its end.
"I've never seen villages where the aurora appears,
Nor have I seen anyone setting off fireworks in the dead of night.
The evening stars are like your eyes, killing and burning,
You said nothing, yet the wild wind stirred me."
The audience's expressions changed.
This wasn't a dance track. From its style, it was more like a folk song with a story.
In the midst of three negations, a description of eyes was added.
It was as if they were deliberately avoiding something.
I haven't seen aurora villages, nor that fireworks display, nor heard anyone speak, only the wild wind whistling in my ears.
But, I remember your eyes, as brilliant as the evening stars.
Accompanying the imagery of the lyrics.
Dense snowflakes began to fall on the stage.
The dancing couple continued their dance in the heavy snow, as if the snow had no effect on them.
That melancholic emotion was instantly amplified by the snowfall.
And the lyric "the evening stars are like your eyes, killing and burning" also amazed everyone.
As if they could relate, the atmosphere gradually grew somber.
"Three thousand miles, I chanced upon seeing you.
In the garden, you danced in a flowing dress.
Under the lights, the dawn was shaken off.
In the 1980s, Mohe Ballroom..."
Qin Feng's voice, with the accompaniment of this song.
Was filled with infinite bitterness and coolness.
He had seen countless people and experienced innumerable events in his life.
Yet, by chance, he became infatuated with a vision of beauty dancing gracefully in the garden.
What was originally about a meeting.
Instead, it evoked an immense sense of regret.
"Damn, this song is so sad!"
"Why does this song have a sense of an era, while Qin Feng's interpretation is more about emotional control..."
"I'm suffocating. It feels like a 298-pound girl is sitting on my chest, leaving just enough room for my mouth and nose, but my chest can't expand!"
"Damn, that's a really vivid description. That's exactly how I feel right now!"
"You call a 298-pound girl a '妹子' (mèizi - girl/young lady)?"
"..."
In the audience, many people.
Were feeling incredibly suppressed by the dancing couple in the snow on stage, and Qin Feng sitting there singing.
This feeling made them have to take several deep breaths to dispel some of it.