ECG -Chapter 129 The Passionate Assassin

Qi Xuebing very gentlemanly opened the rear car door. Chu Xiaomei got out, and Bai Zhitao immediately waved at him. Xia Yumeng and Jiang Rong also called out to Xiaomei.

With a smile on her face, Chu Xiaomei greeted everyone. Then, very naturally, she took Qi Xuebing’s hand and introduced him to Lin Hao, Xia Yumeng, and the others.

Chu Xiaomei never once looked Lin Hao directly in the eye. Instead, she put on a shy, affectionate expression, gazing at Qi Xuebing with tender feelings.

Lin Hao thought that this guy who studied art looked pretty good—cheerful and generous. He silently prayed that Chu Xiaomei truly liked him. The two of them actually looked very compatible together.

The huge group headed toward the teachers’ university. Xia Yumeng urged them, “Hurry up, it’s about to start!”

By the time they reached the small auditorium of the teachers’ university, it was already 7:10. Many students were still entering one after another. After a great deal of effort, the group finally squeezed inside, only to discover that the auditorium was already packed. Forget about seats—even finding a place to stand was difficult.

Lin Hao pulled Xia Yumeng further inside. Once they passed through the crowd near the entrance, things finally became a little less crowded.

The auditorium was very lively. The band hadn’t started yet and was still tuning their instruments.

Xia Yumeng said, “Come on, let’s sit on the floor in front of the stage!”

Lin Hao and the others looked over and saw that there were already some people sitting on the ground in front of the first row. If they didn’t go over now, they probably wouldn’t have anywhere to sit later.

Everyone followed Xia Yumeng and Lin Hao, sitting down on the floor. Lin Hao hadn’t expected there to be so many people, so he quietly asked Xia Yumeng, “Is this band really that good?”

Xia Yumeng nodded. “Mm, they’re very famous at our teachers’ university. They have countless fans. The band is called Rock Solid, and the lead singer, Chao Bin, is a famous prodigy from the vocal department of our music faculty.”

As the two were talking, the band finished tuning. A tall and handsome young man carrying a red electric guitar and holding a microphone walked onto the stage.

His hairstyle was very cool. The hair on top of his head was extremely short, while the back had a thin, long braid. The sides of his temples were shaved clean.

He was shirtless, wearing a denim vest, with a shiny silver chain around his neck. On the lower half of his body was a pair of black riding pants, with another steel chain wrapped around his waist. On his feet were a pair of black riding boots.

When Lin Hao saw this outfit, he couldn’t help wanting to laugh. This style reminded him of those “shamate” youths from the urban-rural fringe areas in his previous life. Unfortunately, this kid’s hair color was missing a little something.

He turned to ask Xia Yumeng, “The lead singer?”

Xia Yumeng nodded. “Mm.”

It was obvious that this guy was very popular among the students. The moment he appeared, he received thunderous applause. The small auditorium wasn’t very large and could probably hold at most 500 people, but right now there were at least more than 800 people inside.

Many girls shouted in unison:

“Rock Solid! Rock Solid! Rock Solid!”

Some others called out his name:

“Chao Bin! Chao Bin!”

Among all those voices, one boy’s high-pitched shout was especially out of place:

“Chao Bin, I love you!”

It immediately caused waves of laughter.

Chao Bin smiled and waved his hand, full of celebrity flair.

He didn’t say much. He placed the microphone into the stand, then suddenly shouted:

“We are—”

The other four members of the band immediately shouted together:

“Roc——k Solid!”

“Boom—”

Another wave of applause erupted below.

Lin Hao smiled slightly. It seemed that this kind of introduction style was a characteristic of this world and this era. Every band he had encountered basically introduced themselves this way. It was really silly, but in a cute way.

“‘The Passionate Assassin,’ dedicated to all of you—”

Chao Bin shouted wildly. Then a piercing distorted electric guitar sound rang out. The sound swept from low notes all the way up to high notes, making everyone’s eardrums ache.

Immediately afterward, the drums came in. The frenzied heavy beats stirred up another burst of enthusiastic applause, while the metallic sound of the bass guitar was equally intense.

The intro clearly wasn’t over yet, but Chao Bin suddenly opened his mouth:

“West winds carry the feathers of wild geese through spring and autumn,

Unable to bear the endless sorrow of Yishui;

The notes of the poets of Yan and Zhao,

Can never fully write down the elegance of the ages…”

Chao Bin’s sudden entrance caught everyone off guard, and Lin Hao was startled. Was this the right time to come in? What kind of timing was this?

The drummer reacted fairly well on the spot. He kicked the bass drum several times with heavy beats, adjusting the rhythm back into place. The electric guitarist, however, looked like a rooster that had been grabbed by the throat. He hurriedly stopped his solo, his face and neck turning red from holding it in, looking extremely uncomfortable.

The students in the small auditorium were all stunned by the wild, frantic music. Especially Xia Yumeng and Jiang Rong—they had both heard Chao Bin sing folk songs and pop songs before. His voice was actually quite good, and he sang very well.

But this note today was far too unexpected. Chao Bin’s vocal tone had become almost like a eunuch’s, and the pitch was unbearably high.

As the saying goes, without comparison, there is no harm.

During this period, Xia Yumeng and Jiang Rong had often gone to the Art Academy and listened to Lin Hao and the others rehearse several times. They were especially familiar with Cui Gang’s song “Rock on the New Long March Road.”

Compared to that, Cui Gang’s singing was absolutely full of the true flavor of rock music. As for what these people on stage were doing, the two girls honestly had no idea.

The frantic music continued, and many people had already covered their ears.

Lin Hao slightly shook his head. These people were trying to imitate heavy metal rock!

They wanted to use the effect of noise, the repeated playing of distorted guitars, and a pounding rhythm to create a sense of unity, but their imitation was completely awkward and unnatural.

The band’s noise suddenly stopped, leaving only the synthesizer’s string sounds as a backing. Chao Bin’s soft, feminine voice began drifting unpredictably like a ghost in the middle of the night:

“Those dim eyes,

Brew a wine that cannot intoxicate…”

The ending note of the word “wine” was both high and long. In the end, Chao Bin sang until he was out of breath, and the drums struck four more beats. The noise started up again.

“The battle flags lingering in the smoke of war,

Turned into ripples of tears in a beauty’s eyes;

The assassin’s scheme,

How will you defend against it…”

The entire song was enough to torture people half to death. Inside the small auditorium, some people had already quietly slipped out.

But Lin Hao still found one thing he appreciated—the lyrics of this song were genuinely excellent.

The entire song was filled with classical charm. It was obvious that every line had been carefully polished. Unfortunately, the melody itself was enough to make people collapse.

The song finally ended. Xia Yumeng reached out and hugged Lin Hao’s arm, whispering:

“It was terrifying!”

Lin Hao couldn’t help but smile. This kind of heavy metal music was originally very extreme. It imagined the end of the world, filled with psychedelic elements, death, and supernatural mysteries.

In his previous life, ever since the genre was born, it had been constantly debated. Traditional critics in particular fiercely attacked and protested against lyrics they considered harmful and evil.

The small auditorium fell silent. Chao Bin slung his guitar over his shoulder and bowed.

He felt a little strange. Why was there no applause?

When he raised his head, he immediately saw Xia Yumeng sitting on the ground directly in front of the stage.

Chao Bin’s eyes lit up.

But after taking a closer look, he realized that Xia Yumeng was holding onto the arm of a boy beside her. His face instantly turned cold.

He felt that these few people in front of him were unfamiliar. They probably weren’t from Normal University. Looking at their hairstyles—one was bald, one had a ponytail, and two had long hair hanging over their shoulders—it was obvious they were people who played in bands.

Jealousy burned fiercely in his heart.

From the very first time he saw Xia Yumeng, he had fallen for her. Later, after hearing some rumors—whether true or false—about her family background, he pursued her even more relentlessly.