Today is May 12, 2090, the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month.
The fourth lunar month is also known as Qinghe, and Wang Zhidao of the Song Dynasty once wrote a poem: "Qinghe is in order, the flowers wither, the grass stretches to the sky, and the pond is full of water."
In early summer in Jiangnan, the weather is calm and refreshing. This year's plum rain came early, the cloudy days were like dusk, and the intermittent drizzle had fallen for six or seven days. Today, however, it cleared up a bit; in the morning, a gap could be seen in the sky to the southeast, with clouds rising and falling, and faint ribbons of morning glow floating amidst the greyish gloom. By noon, the gap in the clouds had moved to the southwest sky, where the sapphire blue dome was clear and comfortable. By evening, it was cloudy again, with lead-grey shadows undulating within a thin layer of plain clouds, like fine fish scales, and the darkening sky made people feel sleepy.
The morning news broadcasted some cutting-edge technological achievements. Things like the early completion of Mars Six's ecosystem, or the inauguration of new equipment at the Moon's forward base—things too far removed from daily life, so everyone listened without much feeling.
For the struggling students, their purpose in watching the news was singular: to keep up with current events. It would very likely come in handy for political exams.
With the academic proficiency test approaching, everyone could feel a heavy pressure hanging over their heads. The more ordinary the class, the more solemn the atmosphere of urgency.
In comparison, Simon's Class One was very calm. The subject teachers all said that this cohort of students was quite good, and a mere academic proficiency test was no problem.
The school arranged a self-study room, and first-year students who wished to stay after school to study could go there to review. Class Teacher Wei of Class One mandated that every boarding student must go to the self-study room and study until 8 PM, leaving with the second and third-year students.
Simon and Su Xiangli applied for flexible evening self-study hours to accommodate band practice, and were given a good talking-to by the Class Teacher.
This time, Su Xiangli also had her roommate help her find members, two people, one male and one female.
The boy was a third-year student named Lou Xundiao. He wasn't a music specialist; he studied art, oil painting, but he also played the drums, and he was quite good at it.
The girl was a second-year student named Mu Huai. She was even more amazing; she was a gymnast, but she also played the synthesizer. This was her personal hobby; her skill was average, but sufficient.
Compared to these two amateurs, Simon and Su Xiangli were complete outsiders in the field of music.
Simon: Who says I'm an outsider? System, I want to learn!
Ten thousand hours passed in a flash.
New achievement unlocked: [Six-String Demon (Rare)]: Your mastery of the guitar has reached an extraordinary level. In terms of technique alone, you are undoubtedly at the forefront of humanity, but only to this extent. You lack the passion to create music and cannot escape the limitations of the human body, thus you can only be considered a musical artisan.
Effect: Finger dexterity greatly increased, nerve reflex speed slightly increased, emotional thinking slightly enhanced, hair oiliness slightly increased.
Simon: Can I not have this achievement? Just refund me half of my Insight (Wùxìng) points.
The band members first met on April 11th. At that time, the training teacher said he wanted to test their skill. Su Xiangli honestly replied that she had only practiced for a few months, but her bass playing was quite decent. Lou Xundiao and Mu Huai's performances were also satisfactory, but it was Simon, who had remained silent, who startled the teacher.
The teacher asked, what was the initial intention behind forming your band? Was it to play music, or to experience life?
Su Xiangli said it was for a dream, for the Roma Qin Ri Wan Sui Band of the 1950s.
The teacher said, so you formed a band for performance, then you can achieve quick results.
Quick results mean repeatedly practicing the same songs, just like memorizing an article; when the time comes, you just perform it on stage.
The summer music festival has its first audition on July 3rd. Their goal is to master at least five songs by then.
Considering the academic proficiency test at the end of the first year, the final exams for the second year, and the high school entrance exam for the third year, even if the band members were uninhibited academic elites who regarded exams as trivial, time was still very tight. Many times, they couldn't get together, so everyone could only practice their own parts first, and then find time on the weekend to rehearse together and iron out the kinks.
The five songs were all old tunes, after all, they were for Great-Grandfather to hear. Simon's vocal conditions were average, and he was in his voice-changing period, so he could only pick songs that didn't require too much vocal skill. Fortunately, the threshold for rock music isn't that high; whether it sounds good or bad is one thing, but when the emotion is there, you can imagine a pig's squeal as a heavenly sound.
For this, they went to the music store again. The owner was still the same owner, but a bit fatter. Hearing that these two kids were going to participate in the music festival for their idol, Lu Xuefeng, the owner was deeply moved and helped them choose suitable songs.
The first song was "West Lake" by the band Painkiller, which required high guitar skills, but that was no problem.
The second song chosen was "People Without Ideals Don't Feel Sad" by the New Pants band.
The third song was a rearranged version of "Spark" by the New Pants band, originally by Wang Feng.
The fourth song was the old friend "Kill That Shijiazhuang Man" by Omnipotent Youth Society. It's quite strange that this song hasn't been banned.
For the fifth song, after a long selection process, they finally settled on "Chasing Dreams with a Child's Heart" by the Gala band.
Except for the first and fourth songs, these songs were all quite harsh on the throat.
From Sunday to Thursday, Simon would scream in the empty music room every night. Within three days, his throat was pretty much ready for an overhaul.
Therefore, he started hoarding throat lozenges and Kyoto Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa.
The former was for his throat, the latter because it tasted good.
To save on Insight (Wùxìng) points, Simon found an online rock vocal training course, forty lessons, one hundred and sixty-eight per lesson. Buying the full set saved three hundred, and it claimed to guarantee learning, but it still couldn't avoid negative reviews from people who couldn't learn.
What was special about today was that the band was going to be officially named. Because today, they finally successfully performed "Chasing Dreams with a Child's Heart" once and received the approval of their instructor.
After singing with all his might, as soon as the music stopped, Simon quickly popped a throat lozenge to extend his life.
Everyone skillfully came to Simon's side, took throat lozenges from his pocket, and put them in their mouths.
Simon had plenty of candy.
It is now 20:21, and the night is deepening.
The spacious classroom was brightly lit, and outside in the campus, students who had finished their evening self-study were constantly cheering, frolicking in the darkness and the bright light of the street lamps.
The instructor asked, have you thought of a name for your band? When he said this, there was an expectant look on his face.
Su Xiangli raised her hand: "Flying Spaghetti Monster Saints Choir!"
"No, no!" Everyone quickly stopped her.
Mu Huai thought for a while with her arms crossed. As an athlete, her every move was particularly imposing, and she also had a musician's free spirit, so when she crossed her arms, she gave off a cool vibe, like a bamboo swaying in the wind. The very cool girl Mu Huai thought for a long time, then silently put her hands down.
Everyone turned their gaze to Lou Xundiao. The senior student rubbed his temples and tentatively asked, "How about New Roma Qin Ri Band?"
Simon agreed, Mu Huai didn't express an opinion, but Su Xiangli rejected it.
"No, although we are commemorating the Long Live Band, we are a new group and need a new name. Even if we can only exist for a few months, we must be like a shooting star, flashing across the sky and illuminating everyone's sky!" The little girl's words grew more and more spirited, and more and more chuunibyou.
Mu Huai cautiously said, "Then how about 'Shooting Star Across the Sky Band'?"
"Ugh, what kind of name is that?!"
"It sounds terrible!"
"So silly."
Simon coughed, "Today is the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month. The fourth lunar month was anciently called 'Huai Xu' (Sophora japonica), and Luoshan District used to be in Jiangsu. So, let's take one character from each. A shooting star is also called a 'Fei Xing' (Flying Star). How about Su Huai Feixing Band?"
Su Xiangli's eyes darted, thinking: My name is in it, Simon must have done it on purpose. She immediately agreed.
Mu Huai also thought the band had her name in it and immediately agreed.
With the two girls in agreement, there were no more issues.
Today, the Su Huai Feixing Band is officially established! Goal: The music festival!
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