Chapter 42

Yet, there are always exceptions. The world is ever-changing, who can say for certain what the future holds?
In her previous life, Xia Xi had never practiced singing and dancing simultaneously. Her only stage performance had been standing quietly in the center while singing. But this time was different. On her very first appearance on the Cross-Border Singing Joy stage, she challenged herself with a high-difficulty act, singing while dancing.
Since Xia Xi had no prior experience with this, she initially had no intuitive grasp of what it meant to sing and dance on stage. To her, it was just another choice, until she began practicing. Only then did she realize how exhausting it was, so much so that she almost felt like giving up.
Lately, her body had been sore all over. The moment she returned home, all she wanted was to collapse onto her bed. Her sleep quality, however, was remarkably good, she’d fall asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, dreaming peacefully through the night. Aside from the nagging issue of receiving daily WeChat messages from Lu Yisheng without knowing how to respond, Xia Xi felt that everything else was going well.
As the jarring alarm rang out, a faint smile touched Xia Xi’s lips. She slowly sat up in bed and drowsily made her way to the bathroom. Amid her weariness, she found a silver lining, thinking to herself: at least she was once again tasting the bittersweet struggle of youth.
The opportunity to strive in one's youth is truly precious, because at a different time and age, your mindset, energy, and efforts can be vastly different. In the days when you are able to work hard, you must push yourself to achieve your dreams. Don't wait until everything is settled to regret not having tried harder, by then, it will be too late for anything.

"Xia Xi, morning."
As soon as Xia Xi stepped into the practice room, she was greeted warmly by Zhang Xuanrui. She chuckled lightly and cheerfully waved the breakfast she was holding toward him, saying loudly, "You're here so early today! Perfect timing, I’ve got breakfast. Come on, let's eat together!"
"Alright."
During their time practicing singing under Zhang Lixin, perhaps because they had endured his harsh criticisms together or maybe because of the charm of the songs themselves, the relationship between Xia Xi and Zhang Xuanrui had grown significantly closer.
Through their conversations, Xia Xi finally understood why Zhang Xuanrui, a university teacher, had come here to learn singing.
In the end, it all came down to love.
Zhang Xuanrui’s girlfriend was a journalist, specifically one who covered international news. She was rarely by his side, as she was almost always abroad. He was proud of her but also deeply concerned.
Not long ago, before his girlfriend left for Tanzania, he made her a promise: the next time she returned home, he would sing her favorite song, "Love Confession Balloon," for her.
For this reason, it made perfect sense for Zhang Xuanrui to come to his uncle Zhang Lixin to learn singing.
At first, Zhang Xuanrui thought it would be a simple task, just learning to sing a song. But he hadn’t expected that he would be completely tone-deaf. Not only did he sound awful when he sang, but he couldn’t even hit a single note correctly, which made things incredibly awkward.
So, he had been learning for half a year, and even a simple song like "Love Confession Balloon" still came out haltingly. And his girlfriend could return at any moment.
When Xia Xi heard Zhang Xuanrui’s story, her first reaction was disdain, she could strongly sense the cloying sweetness of love. Her second reaction was sympathy, as she had also experienced being tone-deaf and could understand his struggle. Her third reaction was schadenfreude; he had made a promise to his girlfriend but couldn’t deliver. Just imagining how he would face her made Xia Xi think he was definitely in for trouble.
Zhang Xuanrui glanced at Xia Xi’s reaction, sighed quietly, and said with slight annoyance, "Cut out the gloating."
Xia Xi curled her lips: "Tsk, tsk, tsk,"
"What?" After giving Xia Xi a look, Zhang Xuanrui lowered his head and continued sipping his youcha (a savory tea-based drink) seriously. "You look really displeased. Do you have an opinion, or are you just constipated?"
"Can you be a bit more mindful while we're eating?" Xia Xi was momentarily caught off guard by his unexpected remark. She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly before replying slowly, "I just think you’re completely different from when we first met. Back then, I thought you were especially aloof and cold. Now it seems you’re just a slow burner."
Xia Xi paused at this point, then set aside her schadenfreude and, as if struck by a pang of conscience, offered Zhang Xuanrui a bit of comfort. "You don’t need to worry too much. Your goal right now is just to sing 'Love Confession Balloon' all the way through. I’m sure your girlfriend won’t care too much whether you’re on key or not, after all, it’s the thought that counts."
"That’s true," Zhang Xuanrui sighed, picking up a napkin to wipe his mouth with a dejected expression. "But if I could do it well, who would want to settle for 'good enough'? The main issue is that I’m completely at a loss with singing right now. I’ve practiced for so long and haven’t made any progress at all."
Xia Xi thought to herself: Was everything I just said a waste of breath? All that talking, and it ended up being useless. Oh well, it seems untying the bell requires the one who tied it. Their issues are something only the two of them can resolve, outsiders can’t really understand.
Just as she was thinking this, her phone let out a "beep." Xia Xi frowned slightly, then leisurely picked up her phone from the table and opened WeChat with an air of reluctance.
As she had expected, the message was from Lu Yisheng. Staring at the two words, "Are you there?", on the chat screen, her frown deepened.
She didn’t know how to reply to Lu Yisheng, so she simply decided not to. But the frustration in her heart didn’t ease in the slightest.
Zhang Xuanrui glanced at Xia Xi’s troubled expression and wisely remained silent, quietly continuing his meal.
"You two are here quite early today!" Just as Xia Xi was lost in thought, Zhang Lixin strode into the practice room as well. He seemed to be in a rather cheerful mood today, at least for now.
"Teacher, have you had breakfast? Would you like to join us? I bought plenty," Xia Xi said, pointing to the breakfast spread before her and smiling at Zhang Lixin. Her attitude was as polite as could be, clearly a result of being thoroughly worn down by Zhang Lixin’s recent demands, she had become like a startled bird.
Although Zhang Lixin had been quite friendly and gentle during their first meeting, whenever it came to music, if Xia Xi made even the slightest mistake, he would instantly transform into a tyrant, unyielding, strict, and with a terrible temper. It was like he had two completely different sides.
"No need, I’ve already eaten," Zhang Lixin replied with a light laugh, genuinely in good spirits. "Xia Xi, do you have any other work plans after finishing 'Cross-Border Singing Joy'?"
Xia Xi was taken aback by the question but then shook her head. "Not for now. Do you have any suggestions, Teacher?"
"I just received an invitation for a new music variety show launched by X TV. I think it’s quite good. Would you be interested in participating?" Zhang Lixin paused before continuing, "The guests invited for this show are all top-tier, and it even includes Justin, a British singer I’ve always admired. I believe you’d gain a lot from taking part. What do you think? Would you consider it?"
Xia Xi instinctively shook her head, but when she noticed the flicker of disappointment in Zhang Lixin’s eyes, she sighed inwardly and softened her stance. "Teacher, let me think it over and get back to you."
"But teacher, is it because of this show that you're in such a good mood today?" Xia Xi voiced her confusion.