ECG -Chapter 123 Back Then We Were Too Young, and So Were You

Lin Hao suddenly remembered something and wanted to use it to steer the conversation away from the contract signing issue she had brought up.

“Go ahead,” Qin Ruoyun said.

“On June 20th, there’s a Fangcaodi Rock Music Festival in Yanjing. We want to participate, and I’d like to trouble you to help us register after you go back. Is that possible?”

“No problem!” Qin Ruoyun agreed immediately, but right after that, her expression darkened. She remembered that this music festival was organized by Jushi International Music Co., Ltd., and they had already analyzed the purpose behind holding this festival.

If Lin Hao and the others went to participate in this music festival, with Jushi’s strength, they would definitely do everything possible to sign them.

Thinking of Jushi Chairman Lu Lin’s disgusting face, Qin Ruoyun felt extremely annoyed. However, at this point, Meiying Music was still a step behind Jushi in terms of strength. If they didn’t make the first move and sign Lin Hao’s group, they might not get another chance!

But none of this had happened yet. Everything was still uncertain. Lin Hao had asked her for help registering, and she couldn’t refuse to help him. That made her feel rather frustrated.

Seeing Qin Ruoyun’s expression constantly changing, Lin Hao still hadn’t realized the complicated situation behind it.

Cui Gang’s second song, Fake Monk, had only just started being arranged, and Lin Hao and Chu Xiaomei’s songs hadn’t even been rehearsed yet. So there really wasn’t much they could show off. Besides, everyone had been drinking that night, so Lin Hao asked the band members to put down their instruments and come over.

After everyone sat together, Xia Yumeng, Jiang Rong, and Bai Zhitao—the three girls—quickly took out paper and pens from their bags and asked Qin Ruoyun for autographs.

Qin Ruoyun had something on her mind at the moment and really wasn’t in the mood, but these girls were Lin Hao’s classmates, so she felt bad refusing. She could only force herself to sign.

After the autographs were done, everyone smoked and chatted for a while. Only then did Lin Hao say it was time to leave, and Gao Laoda and the others went to turn off the speakers.

After leaving the music hall, Lin Hao and the others shook hands with Qin Ruoyun and Zhou Xiaopeng to say goodbye.

Before getting into the car, Qin Ruoyun wanted to say something to Lin Hao, but hesitated and couldn’t bring herself to say it. In the end, she could only wave goodbye.

The Audi drove out of the Arts Academy. Zhou Xiaopeng looked puzzled.

“Ruoyun, this really isn’t like you. I can tell you’ve been hesitating. There’s something you’ve wanted to say but never said.”

Qin Ruoyun sighed. Instead of answering his question, she asked him:

“What do you think of this group?”

Zhou Xiaopeng slapped the steering wheel.

“You know I liked playing guitar when I was in college. Back then, rock music was so damn amazing! June Poppy, Pink Skull—they were insanely awesome!”

“Ah, but what a pity. They didn’t have enough staying power. Now they’re all finished.”

Qin Ruoyun asked again, “What do you think of Lin Hao’s group compared to those famous bands from back then?”

Zhou Xiaopeng thought for a moment.

“It’s different. Although I’ve only heard one song, I think the lead singer’s voice is very unique. The melody of this song is simple, but it has more of the flavor of our own local rock music.”

Qin Ruoyun sighed.

“You insisted on becoming an official instead of doing music. If you had pursued music, you would probably already be famous by now.”

“Back then, rock music became popular for a while, but most of those bands were heavily influenced by foreign rock. Industrial metal, death rock, heavy metal… They lacked the flavor that belonged to us.”

“Some bands even changed into dark gothic metal later on. Did they really think smashing electric guitars on stage meant it was rock? They kept going further and further down the wrong path.”

“But Lin Hao showed me something different today. This is the kind of music that truly moves me.”

Zhou Xiaopeng asked her:

“I saw you ask Lin Hao whether he could sign with Meiying, but he avoided the question.”

“Yeah.” Qin Ruoyun was very frustrated. “They’re going to participate in the June rock music festival!”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it? What’s wrong?”

“You don’t know. This music festival is being held by Jushi. Their purpose is to find several good bands. If Lin Hao and the others go, what chance does Meiying still have?”

Although Zhou Xiaopeng wasn’t part of the music industry, he had spent many years in official circles and had an extremely careful mind. After hearing her explanation, he immediately understood.

Thinking of Giant Rock, he also felt a wave of gloom. This record company was simply too powerful; it held the top position throughout all of Asia. Although Phantom was currently at the height of its popularity and had the Qin family to rely on behind it, it had gotten started too late, and its foundation was far behind.

“What should we do?”

Qin Ruoyun gently rubbed her temples. “Let me go back and discuss it with Qianyi first before deciding.”

Zhou Xiaopeng nodded. There was nothing he could do to help with this kind of matter, so he changed the subject. “Come stay at my place. Your sister-in-law has repeatedly told me to bring you home!”

“Forget it. What time would we get there? Doudou is already asleep, and the child has school tomorrow. Explain it to your wife for me. I’ll just find a hotel and make do for one night. I’ll go back to Yanjing tomorrow.”

Zhou Xiaopeng was stunned. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Qin Ruoyun frowned slightly. “I’m not in the mood to have fun anymore.”

“You really are something. Weren’t you always the most carefree one? You never cared about the company before, so why are you suddenly worrying about it now?”

Qin Ruoyun ignored his remark. “After Qianyi got divorced, did you not call her even once?”

Zhou Xiaopeng gave a bitter smile. “I have a family and a wife now. Those things are all in the past. I didn’t want to disturb her life.”

Seeing Qin Ruoyun remain silent, he couldn’t help but ask, “Did she not have a good life?”

After a long while, Qin Ruoyun sighed. “What counts as a good life? And what counts as a bad one? Back then, I gave you so many hints, but you were completely focused on… Forget it, I won’t say anymore!”

Zhou Xiaopeng also sighed. “We were too young back then, and you girls were young too.”

“Bullshit! You were already a sophomore in college. How were you young? Where were you young? If you had made the first move, would there even have been any chance for Xiao Yang? Wasn’t it all because Wang Wei’s father was in Long Province…”

Zhou Xiaopeng slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “Enough, stop talking!”

Qin Ruoyun realized she had gone too far and quickly stopped. After a long while, she softly said, “Brother Peng, I’m sorry.”

Zhou Xiaopeng shook his head with a bitter smile. “Silly girl, do you think I could really get angry with you? Everyone has their own choices. It’s all in the past now, so why bring these things up?”

……

After watching Qin Ruoyun and the others’ car drive away, Lin Hao suddenly realized something.

He really had been foolish. People could register online too; he shouldn’t have asked Qin Ruoyun to help him with this matter!

The reason was that he saw Qin Ruoyun trying to sign [Black Fox], so he had hurriedly wanted to change the subject. But as the saying went, spilled water could not be recovered. Now that he had already said it, there was no way to take it back.

Giant Rock and Phantom were competitors. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance what purpose Giant Rock had in holding this rock music festival.

If [Black Fox] wanted to sign a contract, their first choice would definitely be Phantom. After all, Lin Hao still had a songwriting contract with Phantom, and the two sides were already familiar with each other… This was simply a matter of habitual thinking, which was why straightforward Qin Ruoyun had asked whether he could sign with Phantom.

Actually, if he had to choose between the two, Lin Hao leaned more toward Giant Rock, because the influence of the two companies was completely on different levels.

He was very familiar with Yang Qianyi from Phantom, but they could not really be called friends. For Lin Hao, he did not want to mix too many personal feelings into work, because when emotions and interests came into conflict, it would hurt the relationship badly.

That was also why he had stopped Yang Qianyi from continuing last time. Of course, he knew what Yang Qianyi wanted to say. Buying so many songs at once, she definitely wanted to negotiate the price down. But the contract was already there—why not simply follow it?

He stopped Yang Qianyi from continuing because he was afraid of damaging their relationship. Although both sides understood the situation clearly, as long as nobody said it out loud, neither side would lose face.

In his previous life, Lin Hao had suffered too many losses in this regard. When people drank a little wine together, everyone became “friends,” yet the people who hurt you the most were often those so-called friends.

Living another life, Lin Hao still had passion and impulsiveness. After all, his body still carried the genes of youth. But the traps he had fallen into before—if he could avoid them in this life, he would do his best to avoid them.