Guo Ziyi began to sing, and Yang Yi nodded slightly to himself. This voice was indeed suited for this song, and it didn’t let down his effort to change the song’s title from the original. Ding Xiang couldn’t help but gently sway her head. When Yang Yi wrote this song for Guo Ziyi and taught him to sing it, Ding Xiang had been there too, but she hadn’t paid much attention since she wasn’t deeply interested in music. Now, she realized how beautiful it actually sounded.
Humans are inherently vain creatures, and Du Yuanlei was no exception. Although she didn’t like Guo Ziyi and inwardly despised this public display of confession, when Guo Ziyi started singing, she couldn’t help but feel her heartbeat quicken. Of course, that was only when she wasn’t looking at the chubby guy and just focused on listening to the song...
In truth, she had heard Guo Ziyi sing this song before. During the two previous rehearsals, he had performed it, but back then, he hadn’t said it was for her! With that context, the song took on a different flavor.
“Hiding in the corner, secretly... crying...”
Who cried? When Du Yuanlei heard that part, she couldn’t help but snort. That’s completely wrong! She considered herself a strong woman—no, a queen. How could she cry? And hiding in a corner? Well, maybe when she first entered college, Du Yuanlei might have cried over some grievances, but later, after going through failed relationships and the complexities of film work, she learned a lesson: “Don’t lower your head, your crown might fall; don’t cry, the bad guys will laugh!” So, who would cry?
“My melancholy you... who will understand you...”
What was she thinking? The person singing this song was a disgusting fat guy! Du Yuanlei forced herself to shake off those feelings that had long vanished with her unforgettable past love and focused on the music.
“What is love... I don’t know... I don’t understand forever... I don’t understand myself...”
Unaware that he had already been written off as impossible, Guo Ziyi remained immersed in the song. He sang about love with an ethereal voice, like a chant, and the lyrics were heartbreaking. Some freshmen in the audience might not feel it, but those with experience, including many older students who had come to watch, felt a pang in their hearts. It was as if Guo Ziyi had voiced their innermost thoughts.
What is love? Can it last forever like the initial vows? No... So, we think we’ve loved, we think we know what love is, but in reality, we understand nothing...
As this part looped, Guo Ziyi’s stage presence was clearly inferior to Tang Kaitai’s. Even though he wasn’t nervous, when he sang earnestly, he didn’t think to interact with the audience, just focusing on strumming and singing. Yet, this sincere voice was the most touching.
“Hiding the lily diary in my schoolbag, my innocent you...”
As the song neared its end, Guo Ziyi followed Yang Yi’s sheet music and abruptly stopped the melody with a sweeping chord. It was as if he had truly tucked love away, leaving only his heavy voice in the entire world.
“The only one in my life...”
As he hummed “the only one,” it seemed to return to the beginning, with the looping melody from the intro playing again. It felt as if love could come back, could start anew... But it still ended. With a final heavy strum, the stadium was left with only the faint lingering vibration of the guitar strings.
The song ended, but the students below were still captivated. Like the Qianli Chuanshu performance, the audience once again erupted into calls for an encore—a rare sight. Guo Ziyi slung the guitar behind his back and reverted to his usual playful demeanor, as if the focused and profound singer from moments ago wasn’t him.
“No encore, I don’t have a second song for Director Du!” he said with a grin, helping the host calm the crowd.
“Then sing it again! That song was great!” some students in the audience laughed and teased.
“No way, I sang that for Senior Du Yuanlei, and my energy’s spent. If you want to hear it, catch the replay on the campus TV station later or buy the gala DVD produced by Senior Du and her team!” Guo Ziyi pointed at the camera descending on a crane arm, smiling.
In reality, the school still had to pay fees to the copyright association. Singing someone else’s song at a gala was fine as long as it wasn’t for profit, but if the school made and sold DVDs of the event, they’d need to pay the copyright association to protect the rights of the songwriters. Even though Guo Ziyi offered an alternative, the students didn’t let him off easily. Fortunately, the host stepped in to save the day, announcing the next act—a solo dance by Qin Wen. The audience, eager to see the beautiful girl and the celebrity, finally stopped their teasing.
As Guo Ziyi left the stage, he didn’t forget to make a heart gesture toward Du Yuanlei’s direction in the audience. Yang Yi shook his head slightly and said to Ding Xiang with a smile, “After today’s stunt, Guo Ziyi’s probably going to become a campus celebrity, right?”
Ding Xiang sighed. “I kind of regret giving him that idea.”
“Why?”
“I’m afraid he’ll get beaten up walking on the street tomorrow!” Ding Xiang snickered.
Yang Yi was taken aback, then laughed. He didn’t know that the usually serious and proper Ding Xiang had this playful side.
Just then, Xixi, comfortably nestled in her father’s arms, tugged at his shirt and pouted. “Daddy, Uncle Guo sang so well, why won’t they let him sing more?”
“It’s not that they won’t let him sing, it’s that there are other acts! Uncle Guo just needs to finish one song,” Yang Yi explained.
“But the others aren’t as good. Daddy, can we go home? I’m sleepy.” The little one rubbed her eyes and mumbled softly in her father’s arms.
“What time is it?” Yang Yi asked himself, glancing at his watch. “Almost ten o’clock?”
“Yeah, Xixi still needs to hear a story before bed!” She grabbed her father’s hand and poked at his watch with her tiny finger.
Yang Yi was ready to leave too. He said to Ding Xiang, “Xixi hasn’t bathed yet, and it’s getting cold outside. I’m not going to watch anymore; I’ll take her back. Are you staying to watch, or leaving with us?”
Ding Xiang hesitated, glancing at the dancing celebrity on stage, but ultimately chose to leave with Yang Yi, though she was heading back to her dorm. She actually wanted to stay and watch, but entertainment was a luxury for Ding Xiang now. She didn’t have much time to enjoy it. After returning, she still had to shower, do laundry, review her lessons, and then wake up early tomorrow for class and her shift at the coffee shop.
Just like Guo Ziyi had sung, “What is love, I don’t know.” Ding Xiang was the same way. Love might hurt idealistic girls like Du Yuanlei, but it was hard to hurt her, because Ding Xiang didn’t have time to think about love. First, she had to work hard to earn money so her grandmother could afford treatment!