127: Chapter 127 Trading a single red bean for an entire universe

However, looking at those words on the screen, Shen Qingxue knitted her brows slightly, finding herself in a bit of a dilemma.

"Love and regret..."

This prompt was as broad as it was narrow.

Love and regret were the core themes of almost all love songs, but precisely because they were so common, it was all the harder to write something fresh.

After all, within this theme's scope, there were far too many formulaic, assembly-line products; truly standing out was actually very difficult.

Lu Li stepped back from her side, sat back down on the sofa with his hands behind his head, looking completely relaxed.

"This prompt isn't difficult at all."

Shen Qingxue turned her head and glanced at him.

"Not difficult?"

"That's right."

Lu Li wore a matter-of-fact expression.

"Think about it, love and regret—put these two words together, and there's so much you can write about. First love, unrequited love, missed connections, breakups, nostalgia, and so on... What can't you write?"

Looking at his casual expression, Shen Qingxue suddenly didn't know what to say.

This guy made it sound so light, as if writing a song was as simple as drinking water.

But she also knew that this kind of prompt was precisely what tested one's skills the most.

"You have an idea?"

Shen Qingxue asked tentatively.

Lu Li thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"I have a bit of one, but it's not mature yet. Let me ponder it a bit more."

Shen Qingxue let out an "Mn" and didn't press further.

After spending this period of time together, she had already figured out Lu Li's creative habits.

This guy looked casual when writing songs, but before actually putting pen to paper, he had probably gone through it countless times in his mind.

Therefore, she didn't rush him either, just waiting quietly.

The living room fell silent.

Lu Li leaned against the sofa, closed his eyes, and his brain operated at high speed.

Shen Qingxue sat across from him, waiting quietly.

She didn't know how much time had passed—maybe ten minutes, maybe twenty minutes.

Lu Li suddenly opened his eyes and straightened up from the sofa.

"I've got it."

Shen Qingxue's body leaned forward instinctively.

"What song?"

"You'll know once I finish writing it."

Lu Li smiled at her, then reached out to pull a stack of blank manuscript paper from under the coffee table, picked up a pencil, and lowered his head to start writing.

Shen Qingxue watched quietly, her gaze falling on his hand holding the pen.

This time, Lu Li wrote a bit slower than usual.

Occasionally, he would stop, stare at the manuscript paper for a few seconds, and then continue writing.

Shen Qingxue didn't lean in to look; she knew that Lu Li didn't like being disturbed when writing songs, so she just sat quietly across from him and waited.

...

About another twenty minutes later, Lu Li finally put down the pencil, picked up the manuscript paper, and read through it from start to finish.

Then he nodded slightly, turned the manuscript paper around, and pushed it in front of Shen Qingxue.

"Here, Teacher Shen~ Take a look and see how it is."

Shen Qingxue gave Lu Li an exasperated roll of her eyes, but didn't mind the form of address. She reached out to take the manuscript paper, her gaze quickly falling on the first line.

love song

It could be said that upon seeing this song title, a huge question mark welled up in Shen Qingxue's mind.

This... was she sure it wasn't off-topic?

After all, under the topic of love and regret... there couldn't be love without regret.

But Lu Li seemed to be able to guess what she was thinking.

"You'll know once you keep reading. This love song isn't that love song; once you finish reading, you'll understand."

Carrying a trace of doubt, Shen Qingxue continued reading downward.

The handwriting on the manuscript paper was scrawled yet not messy, every single character seeming to carry some surging emotion at the tip of the pen.

"Time is amber, tears are locked away drop by drop."

"No matter how immortal a love letter is, it gets ground down into an hourglass."

Shen Qingxue's gaze paused.

She knew every single word in these two lines of lyrics, but combined together, they possessed an indescribable texture.

These imagery elements weren't particularly special on their own, but placed together, they inexplicably carried a heavy weight.

The moment she saw the song title, she thought it was off-topic.

But now, these two lines of lyrics directly overturned her judgment.

Holding even greater curiosity, she continued reading downward.

"In the upper reaches of youth, white clouds fly away, fleeting shapes and seagulls."

"Flashes of thought slip quietly away."

"Fate is so humorous, making all those who love fall silent."

"Trading an entire universe for a single red bean."

When she saw this, Shen Qingxue stood stunned for a good while.

Trading an entire universe for a single red bean.

This kind of lyric... the imagery was contrasted to the extreme. This was the first time she had ever seen anyone write lyrics so romantically...

She could hardly describe her feelings upon seeing this line of lyrics, only thinking, could this really be words that a human being could write?

It felt like something from another dimension.

Lu Li sat on the sofa, seemingly calm and carefree on the surface, but in reality, his peripheral vision kept glancing towards Shen Qingxue.

He saw Shen Qingxue's reaction and felt secretly pleased in his heart.

Finally, someone else got the gold content of this song; who could understand the joy of sharing?

In the world before his transmigration, this song was known as one of the "ceilings of love songs".

Countless people grew up listening to it, and wept listening to it after growing up.

Putting lyrics of this caliber in this world is bound to be an absolute banger~ How could it not sound good?

Shen Qingxue took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions, and continued reading.

Every time she saw those lyrics that seemed plain but were incomparably full of regret when combined, she felt a stuffy ache in her heart.

Before long, she had finished reading the entire song.

In her view, the emotional shift throughout the entire song was completely distinct.

The emotion of the earlier lyrics carried a hint of gentleness and regret, but by the end, the very same sentences brought a sense of release and true letting go.

The living room remained quiet for quite a while.

Lu Li also tactfully didn't disturb her, waiting quietly.

About two minutes later, Shen Qingxue finally spoke, though that lingering emotion hadn't fully subsided yet.

"This song..."

"What's wrong?"

Lu Li pretended not to notice her abnormality, tone very casual.

Shen Qingxue fell silent for a second, then shook her head.

"It's nothing."

She didn't say the second half of her sentence.

That kind of reconciliation with the regret of love—even someone who had never been in love could still experience that post-release emotion.

The aftertaste was immensely powerful.

"Then what do you think? Does it pass?" Lu Li asked with a smile.

Shen Qingxue looked at him and nodded solemnly.

"It passes."

Lu Li grinned, stood up from the sofa, and stretched.

"That's settled then. Later, I'll write out the complete lyrics and melody, record a demo or something, and then you can practice it?"

Shen Qingxue nodded, picked up the stack of manuscript paper, folded it, and put it into her bag.

Seeing this action, Lu Li was taken aback for a moment.

Storing it away again? Could she have some kind of collecting fetish?

"What are you doing?"

"Putting it away. I'll want to look at it later, so it doesn't get lost."

Shen Qingxue's tone was calm and completely matter-of-fact.

The corner of Lu Li's mouth twitched, wanting to say that this wasn't anything valuable, and if it got lost, he could just write another copy.

But the words reached his lips, and he felt it wasn't necessary.

Forget it, just consider it as pampering her for a bit.