192: Chapter 192 Two Songs, Another Day of Difficult Choices

Before long, Lu Li turned off the faucet, wiped his hair with a towel, and walked out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe.

He didn't lie down right away; without even bothering to blow-dry his hair, he sat straight down at the desk by the window.

Then he casually picked up a hotel notepad and a pencil, turning to a blank page.

After reminiscing for a moment, Lu Li finally began to write.

However, compared to the smooth and uninterrupted song-writing from before, this time he only wrote down the song titles, and there were two of them.

First was "encounter", and then "wo huainian de".

Nice~

Before time-traveling, these two songs were both extremely famous existences, with collection counts reaching nearly thirty million.

This was enough to prove the powerful nature of these two songs.

It's just that... which song should she sing for the Semifinals? It was so agonizing.

Lu Li leaned against the back of his chair, his fingers gently tapping on the desktop, his thoughts weighing back and forth between the two song titles.

The song "encounter" had a simple melody but extremely high recognition; the lyrics contained waiting, missing out, and also hope.

If sung in a competition, that faint sense of talking to oneself and extremely strong sense of imagery could easily make listeners feel deeply immersed.

Furthermore, Shen Qingxue's voice was cool and clean, almost completely overlapping with the temperament of this song.

She had that kind of ability, being able to sing the seemingly plain lyrics in the song in a way that left a lingering punch leaving one's heart aching.

As for "wo huainian de", the emotions were much more intense.

The lyrics of this song contained questioning, unwillingness, memories, and also letting go, with extremely rich emotional layers.

The singer needed to complete an emotional transition from endurance to outburst and then to release within a single song.

This obviously placed even higher demands on vocal skills.

If Shen Qingxue sang this song, she could definitely handle it, and her control over timbre and emotion was completely adequate.

But the problem lay right here.

The emotions of "wo huainian de" were too heavy; placed in an occasion like the Semifinals, it always felt a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Lu Li stared at those two characters for a long time, then picked up his pen and wrote down two words.

"Pending."

Since it was hard for him to decide, he would just write them both down. As for the problem of choice paralysis, he might as well leave it for Shen Qingxue to suffer over, hahaha.

Lu Li gave a chuckle, then flipped open a new page and began writing the lyrics. The pencil rustled across the paper with almost no pause.

He finished writing the verse first, then the chorus, and finally wrote down the bridge and outro together.

In less than an hour from start to finish, the lyric and melody framework of both songs was completely set down on paper.

Lu Li put down his pen, picked up the notepad, and read through it from beginning to end.

"Mhm, perfect."

He leaned back against the chair and let out a long breath.

Then he picked up his phone, took a photo of the notepad, and sent it to Shen Qingxue.

"I've decided on the songs for the Semifinals: "encounter" and "wo huainian de". Take a look and see which song you want to put in the Semifinals to sing?"

After sending the message, he placed his phone on the desk and read the lyrics through once more.

Over on Shen Qingxue's side, she replied almost instantly, popping up a message.

"I've finished reading."

Lu Li raised an eyebrow and typed back.

"How is it? Have you picked? Which song can catch Your Elder's discerning eye?"

The other side fell silent for a few seconds, and then replied with a sentence.

"I feel like... after singing the song "encounter", my tears might take the stage for me first."

Lu Li stared at this message, froze for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing.

He typed back.

"Then how about switching to "wo huainian de"? It's just that... that one might be even more tear-jerking."

Shen Qingxue replied quickly.

"Forget it, let's go with this one. I really like the song title "encounter"."

Lu Li smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more.

He put down his phone, closed the notepad, placed it in the corner of the desk, and then walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains.

Outside the window, the night scenery of Suzhou was as gentle as water.

He looked for a moment, turned off the lights, and lay down on the bed.

After closing his eyes, the melody of another song was already running through his mind, every single lyric and transition clearly unfolding.

After sorting through it in his mind once, the emotion Lu Li wanted to express was simply strong to the extreme.

Yet he couldn't find anyone to share it with; he certainly couldn't share it with Shen Qingxue, wouldn't that directly expose his own thoughts?

Thus, he directly flipped out of bed and energetically started writing a song.

...

At 7:30 the next morning, Lu Li was woken up by his phone alarm.

He turned over, burying his face in the pillow, his consciousness not yet fully returning.

He had slept very late last night, and later earnestly wrote some more songs; by the time he truly fell asleep, it was already close to two o'clock.

Right at this moment, his phone vibrated again.

Groping for it, he squinted at the screen and saw a message sent by Shen Qingxue.

"Get up. Go downstairs for breakfast at eight, we'll set off at nine, and the competition organizers will announce the draw results at ten."

Lu Li stared at the phone for two seconds, then tossed it beside his pillow, lingered in bed for about two more minutes, and only then reluctantly dragged himself up.

Washing up and changing clothes, his movements were very fast.

When he walked out of the room, Shen Qingxue was already standing in the corridor, her outfit and temperament looking very spirited.

Lu Li subconsciously looked her up and down.

"So early, what time did you get up?"

"Seven."

Shen Qingxue tilted her head and glanced at him.

"What about you, what time did you go to sleep last night?"

"Not bad, not long after, fell asleep a little after one."

Shen Qingxue didn't answer, but her gaze lingered on his face for a split second, as if confirming whether he was putting on a brave front.

Lu Li yawned and waved his hand at her.

"It's fine, I'm young, I can still pull through."

Shen Qingxue withdrew her gaze and turned to walk towards the elevator.

"Let's go, eat breakfast first."

The two of them didn't eat at the hotel restaurant, because Shen Qingxue said she wanted to go outside to eat a bowl of authentic Suzhou-style noodles.

Thus they left the hotel, walked along the old street for a few minutes, and found a noodle shop with a small storefront.

Lu Li ordered a bowl of stewed pork noodles, and Shen Qingxue had the same.

When the noodles were served, the broth was clear and bright, and the toppings and noodles were neatly arranged in the bowl—properly a man's hearty meal.

Lu Li lowered his head to take a bite, narrowed his eyes, and sighed sincerely.

"Eating this kind of down-to-earth breakfast is still the most comfortable."

Shen Qingxue sat opposite him, scooped a spoonful of soup, and took a slow, leisurely sip, but she also thoroughly agreed.

The two of them finished breakfast quietly and walked out of the noodle shop. Lu Li took out his phone to check the time.

"It's about time to set off. Where is the location designated by the organizers?"

Shen Qingxue also took out her phone, flipped through the notification, and read out the address to him.

After hearing it, Lu Li nodded and subsequently hailed a car.