“No worries,” Tawana smiled, “You two sort out your noon plans, come over in the afternoon, we’ll prioritise your time and rehearse our interactive bit first, then you can head off.”
Gu Qiuyi nodded lightly, “Good! We’ll come over after lunch then!”
Tawana looked at Ye Chen and said with a smile, “Mr Ye, you should find time to listen to ‘The Assassin’ song, I listened to it with the translation, and the lyrics feel quite touching.”
Ye Chen didn’t usually have much interest in music, rarely seeking out songs to listen to in daily life.
As for concerts, in all his years, he’d only ever attended two people’s shows, those being Tawana and Gu Qiuyi, who were right in front of him now.
Still, since ‘The Assassin’ was Gu Qiuyi’s song, Ye Chen thought to himself that he’d definitely need to cram and give it a proper listen.
He couldn’t even recall if he’d heard it at Gu Qiuyi’s last concert.
Thinking back, his two experiences at her concerts were quite amusing.
The first time was in Jinling, where he’d been a nervous wreck, terrified she’d confess her feelings for him on stage.
The second was in New York, where he’d planned to enjoy her concert properly, only for it to be interrupted by assassins targeting his grandparents’ family.
On the way back, Ye Chen connected his phone to the business car’s Bluetooth and listened to ‘The Assassin’ from start to finish.
He had to admit, this ancient Chinese-style song had a truly beautiful vibe, its overall tone somewhat reminiscent of Jay Chou’s ‘Fireworks Fade Easily’.
But what was rare and impressive was that the song’s creator didn’t craft a tragic tale to tug at the audience’s heartstrings.
Instead, the lyrics were written with a happily-ever-after ending.
‘Fireworks Fade Easily’ tells of a woman who dies without ever seeing her lover return, whereas ‘The Assassin’ is split into three parts: the first about the woman and the assassin’s love, the second about the assassin’s heroic bravery, and the third about his triumphant return to her side.
Comparing the two, Ye Chen much preferred the latter’s perfect ending, having always loved stories with happy conclusions since he was a kid, whether in songs or films.
Seeing Ye Chen listen to it a few times on the drive, Gu Qiuyi asked him, “Brother Ye Chen, what do you think of the song?”
Ye Chen didn’t hold back his praise, “It’s brilliant, I really like it, I love this kind of fulfilling happy ending, it’s rare to find a song that doesn’t glorify heartbreak, unrequited love, or pining after someone unattainable.”
Gu Qiuyi smiled, “I didn’t used to feel much for this song, but after finding you, I’ve grown to love it more and more, because to me, you’re like the assassin in the song, though you left me for so many years, it was to avenge your parents and rid the world of evil, and I’ve been waiting for you to take down all the bad guys and come back to me.”
Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, he hadn’t expected the song to hold such a deep, personal meaning for Gu Qiuyi.
On reflection, there was indeed a certain parallel between their story and this sentiment.
He let out a soft sigh and said to her, “Nannan, since this song means so much to you on such a profound level, I’ll definitely do my best to perform it with you.”
Gu Qiuyi nodded eagerly, saying excitedly, “Brother Ye Chen, Tawana has four concerts in Yanjing, you’ll have to perform with me four times!”
Ye Chen smiled and agreed, “Don’t worry, since I’ve promised you, I won’t skimp on it!”
