Chapter 22: The Short and Stumpy Little Rascal

  The song "Blue Rain" was originally created to showcase the vocal characteristics of four people, and Muzi Qiu likes this song. His singing skills are not a problem when singing this song, but his voice is very tragic! This R&B song that showcases vocal characteristics has amplified the tragedy of his voice to the extreme!

  The song ended with just one round of applause, Kim Hyung-joon's...

  Zheng Xiuyan is still completely immersed in Mu Ziyu's singing world, and her mind is still swirling with the breath control, vocal resonance, glottal stops, and falsetto transitions he mastered when singing every lyric. If not for Mu Ziyu's voice being really unbearable to listen to, she believes that if he were to sing this song, he would definitely be able to bring out a style that belongs only to him!

  "Unbearable, that handsome guy said this country bumpkin has a bad voice, and he's actually praising him! Listening to it makes me feel so uncomfortable!" Yuri rubbed her ears, took a big gulp of soda water, and felt deeply wronged in her heart.

  "Great job, senior!" The two girls didn't react at all, which was the best reaction! Muzi Qiu's voice was actually not much different from a duck quacking. A duck quacking could still be tolerated, but the problem was that a duck that could sing would drive people crazy! Seeing Zheng Xiuyan and Yuri not overreacting on the surface, Kim Hengjun finally put his mind at ease. This was the first time Kim Hengjun saw Muzi Qiu singing in front of people other than seniors and himself!

  "......" Zheng Xiuyan wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat and she couldn't get them out. Should she say it sounds good? Or that it's okay? Or maybe, your singing is really bad! She couldn't bring herself to say any of those sentences...

  "I'm going to the restroom for a bit." Muzi Qiu faced the two girls who didn't react at all, feeling a bit at a loss. He knew his voice wasn't good, and if these two girls were mocking him or even just humoring him, it would be okay. But instead, there was no reaction at all, and he couldn't bear this atmosphere, especially with Yuri's completely expressionless face now. He chose to flee the scene...

  Muzi Qiu put down the drink in his hand and leaned into Zheng Xiuyan's ear: "Xica, I've lost interest, I'll go back first. Tomorrow night, Xiaoyuan is going to duel with a mysterious person, I'll go back to accompany her to practice dancing." Yuri stood up, she was originally very interested, but Muzi Qiu's song made her lose all interest in staying here...

  "Uh, I'll head back later..."

  "See you later, handsome guy! Maybe next time!"

  "Hmm!" Kim Heng Jun couldn't bear to see her leave, so he made an excuse to leave himself. Then it was just the two of them in their own little world...

  "Alright, Sikka, you come out first." Just as they were about to leave the room, Yuri suddenly thought of something very important. She glanced at Kim Heng-jun inside the room and it was clear that this matter couldn't be discussed in front of him, so she called out for Jung Soo-young instead.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Xika, that short and ugly guy, isn't really interested in you, is he? Or rather, are you interested in him?" From the moment they met today, Yuri had been observing Muzi Qiu, and found that this guy hadn't even glanced at her once. Although she wasn't as beautiful or elegant as Zheng Xiuyan, how could she not be considered a beauty herself?! At the social gathering, he didn't even spare her a glance, which meant that to him, all women except Zheng Xiuyan were insignificant?

  "What was said..."

  Around the corner

  "Xī kǎ, nà ge ǎi gè tǔ bāo zǐ..." Short and stout? Short and stout!

  "I was just a short and unsophisticated person in her eyes..." Mu Zi Qiu, who had just returned from the restroom, had only walked to the corner when he heard that familiar voice, the one that had been lingering in his heart! "That short and unsophisticated person..." Was he feeling sad? Unhappy? Depressed? Or was it anger? A hint of sorrow emerged from behind his large black-framed glasses, a self-mockery from the "short and unsophisticated person". On his forehead, where he had just washed his face and still had a wet sensation, several water droplets fell down, tracing a line along the bottom of his glasses, dripping into his clothes, the icy cold water also chilling his body...

  On the road to growth, many people have scolded Muzi Qiu, calling him short, stumpy, and a country bumpkin. He could ignore it all, thinking that those were just dogs barking. Dogs bark at people, but do people also need to bark back? But this time, "I'm really so unsophisticated! Am I really unsophisticated? Unsophisticated?" At this moment, Muzi Qiu's heart only had this one echoing voice, and the eyes behind his large black-framed glasses began to examine his own appearance for the first time...

  A black casual T-shirt, a black jacket, and some faded jeans. To an outsider, it's hard to believe that this is Lee Hyori's brother...

  These clothes were all brought back by Mu Zi Qiu himself from Dongdaemun, the clothes that Lee Hyori bought for him, he couldn't bear to wear them and always kept them in the closet, preserving them very well! Lee Hyori also mentioned it before, but later on, she gradually stopped mentioning it too, and after a long time, she didn't have the interest to buy clothes for him anymore...

  After Yuri left, Zheng Xiuyan entered the private room, and Mu Ziqiu finally woke up from his daze. He looked at Yuri's gradually disappearing figure at the end of the corridor, but he didn't know how to express his feelings. Was she the one he liked? Yes, just like his sister said, love at first sight! But since she didn't like him back, why should he force anything? Let it be a first love then, on the most obscure little island in the ocean of youth, on a tree with its first unripe fruit... or maybe it had already fallen.

  Composing herself, she adjusted her large black-framed glasses, wiped away the tears on her face, and swung her arms back and forth before walking calmly into the private room.

  "It's getting late, my friend had something to attend to and left first."

  "Zi Qiu, I'll go back first. Jae Min called me just now." Kim Heng Jun saw Mu Zi Qiu coming in and made up a random excuse, giving Mu Zi Qiu an encouraging look before smiling and walking out of the practice room.

  With Kim Heng-jun's departure, only Zheng Xiuyan and Mu Ziqiu were left in the private room.

  "Don't you sing?" Mu Zi Qiu lowered his head, staring at his own hands, without any other movement.

  "Your singing is great!" Zheng Xiuyan switched the song to "At Least There's You", said casually, and then practiced her own Chinese songs by herself.

  "Jung Soo-yeon." The song continued, and the quiet Mok Ja-ak called out softly to Jung Soo-yeon, who was singing.

  "Hmm?" The voice was very small, amidst the constantly rising music, like a sampan in the ocean.

  "Am I very rustic?" Mu Zi Qiu raised his head, looking at Zheng Xiuyan, the smile on his face was brilliant, but bitter...

  "Did he hear my conversation with Yuri? Damn Yuri, what nonsense is he spouting! He's just a country bumpkin!" Zheng Xiuyan was taken aback when she heard Mu Ziqiu's words, and her mind immediately flashed back to what Yuri had said to her outside. Her face flushed red as she turned to look at the lyrics on the TV screen, continuing to sing without responding to Mu Ziqiu's question.

  If

  I can give up on anything in this world

  At least you're worth me cherishing

  And you're here

  It's a miracle of life

  ……