Zeppelin stood at the door of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, holding a classical guitar he had bought with all his savings. It was the third time in his three months since he started school that he wanted to escape the place.

What was once a longing for heaven is now a hellish existence.

Time and time again, he was always the one who made a mistake in the ensemble. Either the tempo is a quarter of a beat, or the pitch is a few hertz off. What strikes him even more than the unusually strict professor is his impeccable, extremely talented and hard-working classmates.

At ten o'clock one night, he went from the dormitory to the teaching building to pick up the music that had been left behind. There was still a melodious sound of the piano in the rehearsal room, and a few bars were played no less than twenty times. In Zeppelin's opinion, the performance was already perfect, but it was not enough to satisfy the classmate.

Zeppelin began to doubt the meaning of his hard work, and he also thought of what the music professor in Beijing had said to him before, "In this industry, there is enough talent to work hard." ”

Next week is the day of the school's performance at the Shanghai Symphony Hall, and he is one of half of Zeppelin's class who is not on the performance list.

Instead of waiting to be humiliated by others, it is better to leave first.

He carried all his belongings and guitar on his back. Wander the streets of Shanghai. He wanted to take a good look at China's most prosperous city before leaving, and see why people called her the magic capital.

Since the beginning of school, this is his most relaxing day.

From Yu Garden to the Bund, from classical to modern, from ethnic to Shanghainese. In the mouth of the Lu family, the financial elites who come and go, and in the alleys, the small citizens who focus on tea, rice, oil and salt. The people who live in this city have firm eyes and hurried steps, and there is no one who is not struggling for life or dreams.

Zeppelin thought of the spontaneous Pearl City, where most of the people lived like livestock. Earn money to eat and drink during the day, and sleep at night. What is the meaning of such a life? At least, not the life he Zeppelin wanted.

Walking and walking, it was ten o'clock in the evening. The flow of people in the major subway stations has gradually thinned out. He's sitting in a waiting chair, he's decided to get back on campus!

While waiting for the subway, an old man lying on the corner of the subway station caught his attention. The porcelain bowl in front of him was empty. Suddenly, Zeppelin wanted to make his mark on the city.

He placed his backpack beside the old beggar and used it as a chair. Open the case and take out the piano. Tune in well. Bwv1007, a prelude composed by Bach for the first chapter of the six cello suites, begins. He couldn't play this song well at school. Every time I play halfway, I will be crushed by the huge psychological pressure, and my fingers can no longer press the strings.

But at the subway station, where no one knew him, he played it easily to the rhythm of his heart. He no longer cares about rhythm and feelings. He wants to give the piece his own feelings. Beneath his strings is the calm sea, the heart of a young man who is ready to move. It is a longing in the distance, and it is a loneliness that cannot be sought.

The travelers who returned late stopped at the sound of his harp, and some even threw a lot of money in the bowl of the begging old man.

Before he left, the old man enthusiastically divided the coins in the bowl in half with him.

This is the kindness he felt for the first time when he came to the magic capital.

Zeppelin had no reason to leave. He has decided to find his place in this magical city.

The next day, he took the initiative to ask his teacher for the opportunity to perform at the Shanghai Symphony Hall.

The teacher did not refuse, but gave him another chance. Let him perform alone in his office. He closed his eyes and remembered the mood he had had been in the subway station last night. I finished playing Bwv1007 leisurely.

He opened his eyes and looked at the teacher, but there was no obvious expression on the teacher's face. He just said lightly, "Yes, let's come over next Monday." I'll talk to Mr. Lu, who arranged the performance. ”

Zeppelin resisted his excitement and pretended to be calm and walked out of the teacher's office.

"Shanghai Symphony Hall! I'm coming! ”

After that, Zeppelin would go to the subway station from time to time to practice his repertoire, and he and the old man had reached a kind of wordless tacit understanding. The old man even prepared a chair for him to play the piano.

Although the staff of the subway station came to drive them away several times, so that their position was almost out of the gate of the subway station, they still could not stop the pedestrians from stopping and watching.

Among them, there is a girl with straight hair, who has come many times.

She looks delicate and gentle, and when she watches Zeppelin's performance, she doesn't take out her mobile phone to take pictures. Instead, he quietly admired it, and gently beat it on the backpack with his fingers.

Even immersed in the music, Zeppelin noticed the girl.

The breeze at the entrance of the subway station ruffled her long hair, and she was not annoyed. Just quietly re-comb.

Her grace and calmness touched Zeppelin's heart at once. He has seen a lot of beautiful women, but he just doesn't get tired of seeing her. The last person who made him feel this way was Qian Wenwen, but she resolutely went to Beijing with Zeppelin, who no longer loved her.

Thinking of this, he was a little lost. Stopped the music on my fingers. Packed up the belongings, thanked the old man, and got ready to go back to school.

This time, the girl took the initiative to come over and greet him.

Unlike others, the first thing I ask him is, "Are you left-handed?" Or did you play it like this on purpose? ”

"You're playing so well."

The girl did not hesitate to praise herself.

"This piano is so beautiful."

looked at the girl's gaze on the piano and refused to leave. Zeppelin graciously handed the piano to the girl. She carefully took the piano. Touch the strings with your fingers.

Looks like she should have learned the instrument as well.

"Can I play it?" The girl asked embarrassedly. Zeppelin's cautious appearance made him feel like a silhouette.

He readily agreed. Even if her nails are not groomed, there is a risk of damaging the strings and fingerboard.

The girl played it slowly, it was a simple "Poem of the Wind", the melody was simple and beautiful. Just like her.

After the song, the girl reluctantly returned the piano to Zeppelin.

"You play very well, too."

"It's just a little bit, it's just an axe!"

"Are you learning guitar then?" When talking about the guitar with a strange beautiful girl, Zeppelin couldn't stop. He was more concerned about getting into a girl than with a girl, and he was more interested in getting one more person into this interesting instrument.

"No, I don't. My mother was against me studying music. The girl said in disappointment. I learned it secretly from her. ”

Zeppelin didn't know what to say for a while, and when the girl was far away, he took out a ticket from his bag, which was the ticket for their class to perform at the Shanghai Symphony Hall, and he took a few more. I wanted to invite Lin Zhiyi and Qian Wenwen to watch, but they were in Beijing, and they only came to watch a performance of more than an hour, so they gave up.

He caught up with the girl and handed her the ticket, "On Saturday, there's a special performance of classical guitar. If you're interested, check it out. I'm going to go on stage, too. ”

The girl gratefully accepted it. And promised that he would definitely go to the scene to watch.

Zeppelin put away his belongings with a smile on his face, and the old man looked at him in a different mood and reminded him, "Silly boy, you didn't even ask what people's names were?" ”

"Ahh The girl had disappeared into the vast sea of people, and Zeppelin couldn't regret it. His only hope was Saturday's show.

Fortunately, on Saturday, Zeppelin, who was sitting on the stage, saw her at a glance.

Spotting his gaze, the girl smiled back at him.

The show went exceptionally well. After it was over, backstage, the conductor also said to him, "Come on, keep up the good work." ”

He was happy to be praised by the teacher, but he wanted to talk to the girl before the audience left, at least knowing her name and contact information.

However, by the time Zeppelin came out of the backstage, the audience was almost gone. Among the rest of the people, there was no trace of the girl.

"Maybe it's just a brief encounter." Zeppelin sighed in his heart. "It's worthy of the magic capital, some people who have met each other may be the last one."

After his first performance on stage was approved by his teacher, Zeppelin continued to practice even harder, and he became one of the last students to leave the practice room.

In the final exams of the first semester, he scored in the top 10 of his grade in music theory and performance. The teacher's comment to him was, "If you don't forget, you will remember." ”

He was grateful that he hadn't given up lightly.

Before the winter vacation, in addition to local classmates, roommates all bought bus tickets or plane tickets to go home early. But he stayed. After calling my parents to explain that the schedule to go home may be later. He sneaked to the school playground where there was no one.

used his mobile phone to make a call that he had treasured for many years but never dared to make.

That was when he was a freshman in Zhiyuan Middle School, and he met Liu Qingyuan, the drummer of the Tumbling Band, who called him by Tang Feng, one of China's greatest rock guitarists.

"Hey! Is it Mr. Tang Feng? When the call was made, Zeppelin spoke in the most pious voice.

The first thing that came from the other end of the phone was the sound of pots and pans colliding, "Hey! I'm Tang Feng! Who! Tang Feng choked on the smell of oil smoke and coughed several times.

Zeppelin solemnly introduced himself, but the other party seemed to be completely unimpressed. Until he mentioned Liu Qingyuan's funeral. Tang Feng only remembered.

"It's you, boy! Now at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music? Isn't it easy? It's almost the Chinese New Year, haven't you gone home from vacation yet? Then come and have a meal! ”

Tang Feng's enthusiasm flattered Zeppelin at once, and he agreed in a panic. I bought a few baskets of fruits and carried them to Tang Feng's house.