For the next day or so, Li Qian was almost consumed with his research.
The video store, bookstore, DVD rental shop, and book rental store at the entrance of
the neighborhood became his bases.
He flipped through everything related to music, movies, TV shows, and books.
CDs, vinyl records, tapes—whether domestic or foreign, he took them all off the
shelves, browsing through the artists, song titles, and record labels... Then, combining it
with the memories in his mind, he tried to piece together the music development of this
timeline.
He looked at movie posters, plot summaries, cast lists, directors, and screenwriters,
trying to recall everything that the previous Li Qian knew, including release dates, box
office numbers, and reviews... and so on, both domestic and foreign.
Of course, he also paid attention to TV shows in the same way, reading plot summaries,
looking at cast lists, directors, and recalling approximate air dates and ratings...
For novels, anthologies, and the like, he did the same.
Of course, he knew that just doing a quick glance could only lead to rough guesses.
Over the next period of time, he would have to watch, listen, and analyze one by one.
Only then could he more accurately grasp the pulse of this era.
Fortunately, the previous Li Qian was also very fond of these things—novels, music,
movies, TV shows... This was like building a lighthouse for Li Qian in the darkness of the
vast sea.
So, as he watched more and understood more, the smile on Li Qian''s face grew more
and more, and it kept increasing.
Fairly speaking, whether it was music, movies, or TV shows, Li Qian was the type of
person who would dive deep once he became passionate about something. Although
he never made anything big by his thirties, his knowledge was quite broad, and he was
very familiar with the music and film industry of the time.
So, after spending a day or so gaining a rough understanding of the cultural and artistic
scene of this era, the light in his heart started shining brighter and brighter.
Hmm, it''s probably at least 100 watts now, and let''s say it’s LED 100 watts at that
brightness level.
To be specific, the literature, arts, films, music, and painting of this era were very similar
to the era Li Qian had experienced before, just with some small differences.
The so-called "major similarities" could be seen in literature and film. While the specific
storylines, language, and cinematography might differ, the core spirit was vaguely the
same. The same could be said for music—though the songs and tunes were different,
the spiritual pursuit and emotional direction were connected.
And this applied to both Eastern and Western arts. The Western arts largely followed
the development trajectory Li Qian knew and hadn''t deviated much. The closer to the
historical turning point of 1644 in the East, the more similar the development trajectory
was to what Li Qian knew. In fact, many famous artists and works in the West fit
perfectly into the history that Li Qian had in mind. On the other hand, Eastern arts,
especially in China, had changed significantly.
As for the small differences, that was simple. At least, the movies, TV shows, and songs
Li Qian was familiar with from his past life almost had no overlap with this world!
Of course, the song titles didn’t overlap, but that didn’t mean the tunes wouldn’t have
similarities, or that a similar scene wouldn’t appear in a different movie. But... that was
enough!
As a semi-professional singer and a third-rate actor, Li Qian knew what those notes and
images that only he had in this world meant.
...
A day later, Sunday night, 11:30 PM.
Li Qian was lying in bed, his mind racing, his eyes gleaming brightly.
Li Qian''s mother, Geng Huizhen, came out of the bathroom. She saw the light coming
from the gap in his door and couldn''t help but knock. "Xiao Qian, why are you still
awake? Don’t you have class tomorrow?"
Li Qian quickly jumped up from the bed, "Sleep, sleep, I’ll go to sleep soon. I just
suddenly wanted to write something, I’ll be done in a minute!"
"Write something? Don''t use your dad’s tricks to fool me. How old are you, and you''re
already staying up late using inspiration as an excuse? If you have that much energy,
the final exams are coming soon, and I just hope you don''t end up in the bottom three
again! Now, get to bed, quickly!"
Without saying anything, Li Qian reached over and turned off the light.
He heard footsteps outside, and Li Qian thought his mother, Geng Huizhen, must have
gone back to her room. After waiting for a while and realizing there was no movement
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
outside, he turned the light back on, crouched under the bed, and started rummaging.
It didn’t take long before he found a dusty guitar case.
Ignoring the dust, Li Qian eagerly opened the case...
Well, two strings were broken.
...
One cannot deny that some thought patterns that have been ingrained in a nation''s
people for a long time are very hard to change. For instance, despite the changes in the
times, in this timeline''s 1995, there was still a distinction between "key classes" and
"regular classes" in Jinan Fu National High School, Class 13.
In the second year of high school, Classes 1, 3, and 5 were the "key classes."
In key classes, the students were top-tier, the teachers were excellent, and both the
school and parents had one goal: since you entered the key class, your ultimate goal is
to get into the Imperial University! At the very least, you shouldn’t fail to get into
Shandong National University, right? After all, you’re from Jinan Fu National High
School’s key class! We are one of the top ten high schools in Shandong, and our
school’s predecessor was Jinan Fu Academy in the Ming Dynasty, known as the
"Shandong Little Imperial College!"
Monday, morning.
The fourth period of the second-year class 5 was Chinese literature.
Li Qian''s seat was in the third row from the back. At this moment, the teacher was
speaking passionately, and the students were listening intently. Li Qian, however, was
somewhat bored, half-leaning on his desk, his gaze fixed on the back of the girl sitting
in the third row, unable to look away.
She was Wang Jinglu.
Li Qian had been quite curious about the education system, methods, and standards of
this era. But after flipping through the textbooks for all the subjects of the second year
of high school, his interest quickly diminished.
For instance, the so-called "Chinese literature" class was surprisingly similar to the
Chinese literature from his previous life. The only difference was that the classical
Chinese texts were longer and made up a larger proportion of the curriculum. Today,
they were studying an excerpt from "The Book of Rites," which Li Qian had already
studied in his previous life, so he unconsciously zoned out.
"Li Qian, stand up!"
Li Qian suddenly stood up, his eyes wide and confused, as if he didn’t understand why
the teacher had called him.
She was a very beautiful girl, in her early twenties, wearing a well-tailored black skirt suit
that accentuated her good figure. Her long, raven-colored hair was tied in a ponytail,
straight and shiny at the top, with light purple curls at the ends, making her look
fashionable and delicate. Just standing there, she immediately caught everyone''s
attention.
Yes, she was still just a... girl!
She came from an educational family, both of her parents were teachers at Class 13,
and she herself was accepted into the National First Women''s Comprehensive College’s
education department at seventeen. After graduation, she returned to her alma mater
to teach Chinese literature. She had been teaching the class with Li Qian and Wang
Jinglu since high school. Since then, she had earned the title of "most beautiful teacher"
in the school, and it had never changed. However, there was a bit of regret among the
male teachers and students, as rumors had it that she had been engaged since she was
very young, and the wedding was supposed to take place in May next year. This news
was something that made people feel uneasy.
Especially for the previous Li Qian, Teacher Qi had been his number one crush.
Don’t be surprised. For a seventeen-year-old boy, even if a girl was as beautiful as an
angel, like Wang Jinglu, the attraction wouldn''t be as great as an older, gentle,
neighbor-like sister.
What’s more, Teacher Qi was incredibly beautiful by any standard, easily scoring a 90 or
higher in terms of looks. Especially her eyes—those bright, clear eyes, like a fresh spring,
calming anyone who looked into them.
Now, when Teacher Qi called Li Qian out in class, her eyes gazed at him, saying, "Li
Qian, can you wait until after class to look at the girls?"
The whole class burst into laughter.
After being together for almost two years, there were no secrets left in the class. The
story of Li Qian and Wang Jinglu growing up next door to each other was already well
known, even the fact that Wang Jinglu''s celebrity sister, Wang Jingxue, had once beaten
up Li Qian was no secret.
Teacher Qi hadn''t even spoken yet when Wang Jinglu quickly lowered her head,
embarrassed.
The whole class laughed loudly, and Wang Jinglu buried her face in her textbook, her
face turning bright red, like she had drunk wine.
Li Qian didn’t