Kiana muttered something like, "The first time is super important... What if it shatters his confidence..." and turned back around, her finger swiping twice across the screen before stopping again.
She tilted her head, thinking, and then the words she was mumbling began to change.
"Hmm... Shu's voice is low... and heavy... but... uh..." She frowned, struggling to find the right word in her mind. "Like being wrapped in a blanket?"
Shu sat on the sofa, clutching the microphone, his expression gradually twisting.
A fantastic analogy. It made Shu start to question what his own voice sounded like.
"So he should sing a slow song!" Kiana decided her analogy was brilliant and nodded firmly.
"A slow song! A lyrical one! The kind that—hmm... and the key can't be too high, because Shu doesn't usually talk very loud, so high notes would probably be hard for him... but it can't be too low either, too low would sound like a droning monk..."
She rambled on as she swiped through the screen.
"Not this one, not this one either... Ugh, why are all of these songs I've never even heard of?!"
After her extensive analysis, Kiana suddenly discovered a serious problem—she hadn't heard a single one of the songs on the tablet! At best, she could only guess the song's mood from its title.
But as everyone knows, the connection between a song's title and the song itself can be downright bizarre.
Take Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, for example...
It could be a piece of music to commemorate a friend, a lover, a relative, or a student-teacher relationship. It could also be a simple holiday greeting, or it could even be a critique of reality through the lens of Mr. Lawrence...
Or take Farewell Letter...
That was at least a song where the title was strongly related to the content. But what about the ones that just plucked a neutral noun or even an onomatopoeia from the lyrics to use as the title? How was Kiana supposed to analyze something like that?
It was already a struggle for her to use her brain for analysis in the first place, okay!
You can't make things difficult for a Kaslana!
So, Shu, who had witnessed Kiana's entire "analysis" process, couldn't help the corner of his mouth from twitching.
He had actually, properly studied music theory.
Piano, violin, guitar... he'd dabbled in everything from music and strategy games to calligraphy and painting. He even knew the basics of etiquette, horsemanship, and archery. In ancient times, he would have been considered a standard, qualified "gentleman."
He knew what vocal range was, what a vocal break was, and he understood chest resonance.
While he wasn't sure exactly what his singing level was, he at least had a basic understanding and could judge for himself.
So now, listening to Kiana's analysis, he didn't know if he should be touched or embarrassed.
Kiana's brow furrowed tighter and tighter, her finger hovering in the air, hesitant to make a choice.
She really didn't dare to pick now... What if she chose a song that was completely unsuitable for Shu and completely obliterated his confidence? Wouldn't that make her a sinner?
The pressure was immense.
Watching her start to sweat, Shu finally couldn't help but speak up.
"Kiana."
"Hang on, I've almost found it—"
"For something like this..." He paused. "Shouldn't you ask me what songs I like?"
Kiana's finger froze.
She turned around, her mouth agape, and looked at Shu in shock.
"Oh, right!" She slammed a fist into her palm in a moment of enlightenment. "You should know what songs you like! How did I forget!"
Shu: "..."
As long as she's happy.
"Come on, come on!" Kiana eagerly stepped away from the selection screen, patting the spot. "You choose! Sing whatever you want!"
Shu stood up with a sigh and walked over to the tablet.
The song list was still on the first page, rows and rows of densely packed titles stretching from the top of the screen to the bottom.
He reached out, stretching his hand in the most natural posture possible, and tapped the search bar. The keyboard popped up.
But his fingers hovered over the keyboard, not pressing down right away.
The room fell quiet.
Kiana stood beside him, still holding her microphone, watching the screen intently.
There was no impatience in her gaze, only a faint curiosity, but it was this gaze that made the back of Shu's neck feel a little tight.
He knew where this nervousness was coming from.
It wasn't about choosing the song... what was there to be nervous about? Just pick one. If he knew it, he'd sing it. If not, he'd change it.
He was nervous about being seen by Kiana.
The songs he would choose were the ones he liked to listen to when he was alone.
These songs held so many of his emotions, things he'd never shown anyone, things he never thought he'd show anyone.
Now he had to pull them out in front of Kiana. She would see what he listened to, what he thought about, what kind of melodies he surrounded himself with when he was alone.
The feeling was like opening his diary, laying it out on a table, and letting someone flip through it, page by page.
Shu's fingers still hovered over the keyboard. He tried his best to pretend he was still thinking, still deliberating.
He knew this line of thinking was wrong.
Kiana would never laugh at him for the songs he liked. She wouldn't look down on him for the music he listened to. She definitely wouldn't say "Why are you still listening to this?" if he picked a childish song.
He knew. He knew all of that.
But his fingers still wouldn't press down.
It was like someone who's afraid of ghosts. They know there are no ghosts in the room, but they're still too scared to turn off the lights.
They were afraid of the darkness itself, afraid that once the things hidden in the depths of their hearts were seen by another person, they could never be hidden away again.
"Shu?" Kiana's voice came from beside him, soft, as if afraid of startling something.
Shu knew he had been hesitating for too long.
He took a deep breath, and let his fingers fall.
The song he finally chose popped up on the tablet. Shu's finger paused on the screen for a final confirmation.
He knew how to sing this song. He remembered all the lyrics. The key wouldn't be too far off. It wasn't difficult; he wouldn't mess it up. And it wasn't too childish... well, not too childish.
He finally tapped 'confirm'. The screen changed, and the song was added to the playlist.
Shu let out a sigh of relief, as if he had just completed a monumental task.
Kiana stared at the screen for a moment, then turned to Shu with a puzzled look.
"You've Never Left?"
Shu's ears grew slightly warm. "...Yeah... it's from a cartoon. It's pretty simple. A childhood memory, I guess."
[T/N: "You've Never Left" (你从未离去) is the ending theme song from the 2015 Chinese animated children's movie "Boonie Bears: Mystical Winter" (熊出没之雪岭熊风). Despite originating from a kid's cartoon, the song is widely known for its unexpectedly emotional and poignant lyrics, explaining why Shu feels it's slightly "childish" yet still a meaningful choice.]
Kiana blinked, her expression shifting to one of understanding.
"Ohh~"
She said nothing more.
And Shu was filled with regret.
He had been too nervous while picking the song and hadn't thought it through.
Now that he had relaxed just a little, he realized what kind of song he had just chosen.
You've Never Left—a song that was almost entirely lyrical.
Even though it was from a cartoon and the melody was simple compared to other songs, it was still fundamentally an emotional piece.
It was lyrical from the very first line.
"浩瀚星空里,只剩你的背影"
(In the vast, starry sky, only your silhouette remains)
Whoa, were those really the lyrics he was about to sing into a microphone?
In front of Kiana?
Just kill me now. It'd be less painful.
I have to change it before it starts... Shu thought, reaching for the screen—
"Shu, this intro sounds really nice."
"Hello, hello, 1-2-3-3-2-1, Kiana, sortie!"
?
The voice from the speakers made Shu jump. He turned in alarm and saw Kiana tapping the microphone.
"You're singing too?" Shu asked, surprised.
Kiana coughed into the mic, then held it away from her mouth and looked at Shu as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Of course! I don't want to just be the audience!"
"But..."
She clearly had never heard this song before.
"You can sing it even if you've never heard it!" Kiana switched the microphone to her left hand and patted her chest with her right.
"You can lead me, and if I can't keep up, I'll just hum along."
"Besides, I'm a fast learner! Maybe I'm a genius and I'll get it after hearing it once. And even if I really can't keep up..." She thought for a moment. "Then I'll just hum the whole time!"
"Like this, hmm-hmm-hmm~ hmm-hmm-hmm~"
There were no words, just the melody, hummed from her nose.
The sound wasn't loud. It was soft, blending with the song's instrumental intro, and it was surprisingly harmonious.
What's the big deal? her expression said to Shu. She would never feel embarrassed; she would just think it was lively and fun.
Shu fell silent.
He watched Kiana for a long moment before slowly letting out a single syllable.
"Hmm..."
As long as she's happy.