221: Chapter 221 also allowed me to experience being a senior for a while.

Before long, the two of them stopped at the entrance of a medium-sized alley.

At the end of the alley, next to a half-open wooden door, hung an inconspicuous sign bearing the name of the bar.

Lu Li parked the bike, took off his helmet, and looked up at the sign.

"Whoa, this place is actually quite nice, and it's quieter than I expected."

Shen Qingxue also got off the bike, hung her helmet on the handlebar, and looked around the surrounding environment.

The alley was very quiet, feeling as if it were separated by a whole world from the hustle and bustle of the main street not far away.

"Indeed, the environment is quite nice."

"Here, sunglasses, mask, and hat, remember to put them on."

Lu Li took out the items, handed them to her, and simply disguised himself along the way.

Soon after, the two people walked into the bar.

The bar was of moderate size, with a small stage in the center holding several microphones and musical instruments.

Beside the stage, Xu Ran was squatting on the ground tuning the effects pedal, and instinctively raised his head upon hearing the movement at the entrance.

Although the two were dressed in disguise, he recognized them at a glance.

Xu Ran immediately put down what was in his hands and stood up.

"You guys really came."

He smiled and walked over, his tone much more relaxed than when they last met.

"I thought you were just saying it casually."

"Do I look like the kind of person who says things casually?"

Lu Li replied with a chuckle, his gaze already moving past him to fall on the other three people on the stage.

Those three... must be members of his band, right?

They were three young men, all looking quite young, at most in their early twenties.

One was in charge of the drum kit, one was holding a bass, and another was holding a guitar in his arms.

Xu Ran looked over along Lu Li's gaze, then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

"They are the members of my band... Um, they're a bit socially anxious; they're quite open when singing usually, but hearing that you guys would come might make them a bit nervous."

Lu Li couldn't help chuckling, patted his shoulder, and lowered his voice.

"How about we sit down first? Give them some time to adjust?"

Xu Ran breathed a sigh of relief, nodded hurriedly, and turned to lead them into a small partition on the side of the stage.

However, calling it a partition was actually a semi-enclosed space partitioned off by a few wooden boards.

Inside, there was only an old sofa and a low table.

"You guys sit down first, I'll go have a word with them and help them relax a bit."

Xu Ran greeted them to sit down, then walked briskly back to the stage.

Lu Li sat down on the sofa, his gaze passing through the open door of the partition to look toward the stage.

Xu Ran was saying something over there, but it wasn't very clear; one could only see those three young boys occasionally glancing over at Lu Li's direction.

Lu Li leaned back against the sofa back, nodding slightly toward that side as a greeting.

The boy holding the guitar finally snapped back to his senses, instinctively exchanging glances with the other two.

A moment later, the three of them, as if they had agreed beforehand, simultaneously put down their instruments and walked quickly toward the partition.

The sound of footsteps on the wooden floor appeared exceptionally hurried.

The guitar-holding boy walking at the very front stopped for a moment at the entrance of the partition, then mustered up the courage to speak.

"Ex... Excuse me, are you really Teacher Lu Li?"

Looking at his nervous appearance, Lu Li couldn't help wanting to laugh, but he held it in and nodded.

"Mhm, it's me."

The expressions of the three boys instantly shifted from nervousness to excitement, and then from excitement to being at a loss.

"Um... and is this... Teacher Shen Qingxue?"

Their gazes looked toward Shen Qingxue beside Lu Li.

Shen Qingxue nodded and softly uttered an "Mhm," confirming it.

The bassist even instinctively took half a step back, fearing that getting too close might offend anything.

"We... We... We really like your songs! We practice red dust inn and orchid pavilion preface every single day!"

The voice of the boy holding the guitar instinctively raised by several notches.

"Right, right, right! And hair like snow! We've also covered it! It's just... just didn't sing it very well..."

Listening to them chattering away, Lu Li suddenly felt a bit emotional inside.

These young boys looked to be only in their early twenties, and their eyes still carried that bright light that hadn't been worn down by reality.

"Thank you for liking them."

Lu Li smiled and then suddenly spoke.

"Do you want an autograph?"

"Can we get an autograph?!"

The three boys spoke almost simultaneously, their voices overlapping into a mess.

Lu Li was amused by their reaction and nodded.

The three of them finally reacted, frantically rummaging around for paper and pen.

The boy holding the guitar moved the fastest.

He pulled a signature pen directly out of his pants pocket, looked around, and finally simply handed over his own guitar.

"Can... Can you sign it on the guitar?"

Lu Li was slightly stunned, then took the pen and lowered his head to sign his name on the panel of that guitar.

Well, chicken scratch handwriting.

"Ahem, the handwriting might be a bit ugly, don't mind it."

The boy stared at the signature for several seconds, full of joy, and carefully hugged the guitar back into his arms.

"It's fine, thank you Teacher Lu! I will definitely cherish it well!"

The other two also got autographs on the notebooks handed over by Xu Ran, each grinning from ear to ear with joy.

Watching this scene, Lu Li couldn't help feeling a bit sentimental.

It seems today he also got to experience the thrill of being a "senior".

After finishing the autographs, the three of them still stood in place, their gazes occasionally wandering back and forth between Lu Li and Shen Qingxue.

They clearly still had things they wanted to say, but felt too embarrassed to speak up.

In the end, Xu Ran couldn't watch any longer, raised his hand and patted the back of the guitar-holding boy.

"Alright, alright, Teacher Lu is already here, you can slowly talk about whatever you have to say later, don't just stand here like pillars right now."

The three of them finally snapped back to their senses, nodding repeatedly and retreating back toward the stage direction, but their gazes still glanced over this way from time to time.

Xu Ran stood firm at the entrance of the partition, turned his head sideways to glance toward the stage.

"They really aren't like this usually... It's just that they were a bit too excited."

"It's fine, I can understand."

Lu Li leaned back onto the sofa.

"Right, what does your normal rehearsal look like? How about... singing a song for us to hear first?"

Xu Ran was slightly stunned, then nodded.

"Alright, then let's casually run through it once, and you guys can have a listen."

He turned around and walked back to the stage, then said something in a low voice.

The three people quickly withdrew their gazes, adjusted their sitting postures individually, and their expressions quickly became focused.

Xu Ran quickly made a gesture, and the drummer boy closely followed by hitting his drumsticks four times, after which the prelude sounded.

It was a song Lu Li had never heard before.

The melody leaned towards folk, the arrangement wasn't too complicated, but it won with its cleanliness.

Xu Ran's voice came out through the microphone, carrying a very relaxed feel.

Lu Li leaned on the sofa, listening quietly.

Shen Qingxue sat beside him, her gaze also falling towards the stage direction with a serious expression.

The entire song wasn't long, just over three minutes, with a steady rhythm, no intense emotional outbursts, and no showy sections.

But after listening to it, Lu Li already had a general judgment in his heart.

Their strength was much better than those independent bands of the same age on the market.

At least it was clear they had ideas, and their cooperation with each other showed great tacit understanding; it was obvious they had put thought into polishing it.

The only drawback was that the song itself wasn't outstanding enough.

Even if they covered those excellent works, at most they could only become mildly popular on the internet, or make a living in bars like this.

As for wanting to truly hit it big, without a good song, it would still be very difficult.