Chapter 160: The Song I Wrote for You

"What kind of person is Aunt Yuan usually like?"

During dinner, Li Luo asked Yan Zhusheng beside him.

Because of the math competition, Ying Chanxi hardly eats with them anymore; she's still in class right now.

So only Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng were at the dinner table.

Since he would be attending the interview with Yuan Wanqing this weekend, Li Luo thought it better to learn more about Yan Zhusheng's mother.

"My mom is a very nice person," Yan Zhusheng blinked, not understanding why Li Luo suddenly asked this.

"What I mean is, does Aunt Yuan have any taboos? Things others shouldn't mention or touch?"

Although he had met Yuan Wanqing several times, it was always as Yan Zhusheng's classmate, meeting a parent of a student.

Li Luo knew himself: in front of parents, he always put on a little act, making himself seem polite, simple, and harmless.

Conversely, parents also tend to put on a front in front of their child's classmates, never fully revealing their true selves.

"Oh, I see…" Yan Zhusheng seemed to have hit upon something key; she fell silent suddenly, poking her chopsticks into her rice.

"Uh… if it's inconvenient to say, forget it."

Li Luo himself wasn't quite sure about the relationship between Yan Zhusheng and Yuan Wanqing.

So far, Yuan Wanqing still seemed to care deeply about her daughter.

But in his past life, when Yan Zhusheng lived alone in her thirties, Li Luo worked for her for half a year and never once saw her mother come by.

Of course, he didn't live with Yan Zhusheng full-time, so he couldn't be certain—but in his past life, he truly never saw Yuan Wanqing, leaving him with no starting point.

"It's fine," Yan Zhusheng shook her head. "Just don't ask about my father."

"Huh? What about your father?"

"I don't know. My father was gone when I was born."

"Oh… sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Yan Zhusheng blinked, confused. "I just remind you because when I was little and asked Mom where Dad was, she always looked sad."

Probably because she had never experienced having a father from birth, and had been raised by Yuan Wanqing while living abroad for so long, Yan Zhusheng had simply never felt this absence.

As a result, she didn't even realize she was missing something, so she couldn't understand why Li Luo was apologizing.

"So, how were things between you and your mom when you were abroad?"

"Abroad?" Yan Zhusheng thought back. "Nothing special really."

"Mom often needed treatment; besides that, she stayed home to rest and took walks every day."

"Every day a teacher came to the house to teach me, but usually only in the morning."

"In the afternoon, Mom would play various instruments with me—I wanted to learn anything, she taught me."

Li Luo listened carefully; these were things he'd never heard in his past life.

In his past life, they were still boss and employee; even after becoming familiar, they never shared intimate childhood stories.

The thirty-year-old Yan Zhusheng was simply not the same as the sixteen-year-old Yan Zhusheng.

After hearing Yan Zhusheng's account, Li Luo finally understood.

No wonder this girl always spoke so bluntly—she'd had almost no social exposure since childhood.

It was only natural she didn't know how to say the right things.

After dinner, the two walked out of the cafeteria together, heading straight for the activity room on the second floor of the gymnasium.

Niu Qingling had given Yan Zhusheng the key; when they arrived, they simply opened the door and went in.

No one else had arrived yet; Li Luo walked to the corner, picked up a guitar, sat on a high stool, and began playing softly.

"What song is this?" Yan Zhusheng tilted her head, listening closely. "I've never heard it before."

"If you haven't heard it, write down the sheet music," Li Luo smiled at her.

"A new song?" Yan Zhusheng's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected Li Luo to have another new song just over a month later.

"I think it suits you well," Li Luo said, continuing to play while softly humming.

"The sky has no limits~"

"My future is boundless~"

"I, broken free from my cocoon, will fly toward a bluer tomorrow~"

When Niu Qingling and the others entered the activity room, they heard Li Luo singing the chorus's climax and froze, stopping in place.

Shao Youpeng, walking behind, nearly crashed into him: "Boss, what are you doing? You scared me half to death stopping suddenly."

"Listen to Li Luo sing," Niu Qingling pointed inside the room. "I've never heard this song. Have you?"

"Never heard it."

"Could it be another one like last time at the sports meet?" Xie Shuchen couldn't help but whistle. "I heard from Class Eight that last time, Li Luo sang a song alone on the podium—he wrote it himself."

"Another new song?" Niu Qingling was surprised, and couldn't help stepping closer to Yan Zhusheng, noticing she had already written down the melody.

"Mm," Yan Zhusheng nodded, had Li Luo play it again to confirm her sheet was correct, then asked him to write down the lyrics.

"I was thinking—today we're supposed to decide which song to perform at the New Year's Eve party, right?" Li Luo smiled, pointing to the sheet in his hand. "Boss, how about this one?"

"Can you sing it again?" Niu Qingling asked. "Let's hear it from the beginning."

At that moment, another person walked in through the door.

Everyone turned at the sound and saw Qian Siliang, the former Gao Er keyboardist.

"Uh… Boss, hi everyone," Qian Siliang greeted them awkwardly.

Niu Qingling nodded at him. "You're here."

"Finally remembered to come back?" Shao Youpeng chuckled. "You let a junior take your place and you're not even embarrassed?"

"The competition was too busy," Qian Siliang sighed. "But now I'm back—I'm here to apologize."

"Is the competition finally over?"

"My preliminary score was too low—I didn't pass." Qian Siliang shrugged. "There are too many freaks; I have no idea how anyone solved those questions."

"Where's Wei Duo?"

"About the same as me—anyway, not anywhere better."

"Then why isn't she here?" Shao Youpeng asked curiously. "Aren't you in the same class as her?"

"What else could it be?" Qian Siliang glanced at Yan Zhusheng. "She's too embarrassed to come back."

"Got it. Not as shameless as you."

"You fucking—"

The two exchanged a few playful curses and jokes; Qian Siliang apologized, and the matter was dropped.

But everyone had silently accepted that Wei Duo wouldn't be coming back.

Whether she returned or not didn't really matter—after all, the rock club now had Yan Zhusheng, a top-tier lead singer. Even if Wei Duo came back, no one knew how to fit her in.

But now that Qian Siliang had returned, the keyboardist position was filled, allowing Xie Shuchen to return to guitar.

"So I'm finally free?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"Two guitarists will be better," Yan Zhusheng said seriously. "Xie Shuchen handles the main melody; you handle rhythm and chords—that way, you'll have more energy to support my backing vocals and harmonies."

Li Luo: "…You're really good at giving me extra work."

"Perfect." Niu Qingling clapped her hands with a smile. "Then it's settled. Li Luo, sing your new song first."

"Alright."

Li Luo strummed a few chords on his guitar, then sang "The Sky Has No Limits" again.

After listening, everyone fell into thought.

"The song's nice, but wouldn't it be odd to just launch straight into a new one?" Qian Siliang tapped his chin. "None of the other students have heard it."

"That doesn't matter—just have fun," Niu Qingling said. "But somehow, it still feels a bit lacking."

"That's because I sang it just now." Li Luo coughed twice, then looked at Yan Zhusheng. "Did you memorize the chorus melody? Sing a couple lines."

Seeing Yan Zhusheng nod, Li Luo strummed a chord and immediately jumped into the chorus.

The next second, Yan Zhusheng's explosive high note exploded through the small practice room.

The same words—"The sky has no limits"—sung by Yan Zhusheng, made Xie Shuchen and the others feel as if they'd instantly been lifted into the heavens, their bodies and souls floating beyond the dome of the sky.

Compared to that, Li Luo's earlier performance, though pleasant, simply couldn't compare.

After hearing Yan Zhusheng finish the entire chorus, Niu Qingling made no further hesitation: "This is the one! With Zhusheng, it's perfect!"

After the evening club session ended.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng walked back toward their classroom.

Yan Zhusheng still held the notebook with the sheet music, filled with Li Luo's lyrics.

"When I idly tapped the black and white keys~"

"When I hid in my room, lost in ecstatic performance~"

"…"

"You never extinguished~ my innocent flame~"

"Don't blame me for wasting time~"

Yan Zhusheng hummed the lyrics, savoring their meaning, her peripheral vision glancing at Li Luo beside her, her steps light, her mood joyful.

She thought, this song must be sung for her mother.

Her mother would surely love it, just as she did.

"Li Luo, this song wasn't something you just made up on the spot, was it?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously.

"Of course not," Li Luo said. "It was a dream from you, fifteen years from now."