Wang Chao fiddled with Garageband until midnight. He was really happy. The last time that he was this passionate was a long time ago. He hasnât thought of writing any songs in a long time too.
The band that he was in before didnât leave him with many good memories. He had gone in with total excitement and came out with total disgrace.
He was a freshman in college then. He didnât spend his days idling and fooling around. He even had what people would call a dream â he wanted to demonstrate his talent to his parents and brothers and wanted to make friends with his new classmates. When others invited him to be part of their band, he happily agreed without a second thought.
The band consisted of poor students who could only afford second-hand drums and guitars. They didnât even have a suitable place to practice. Therefore, he bought them the necessary equipment and rented an appropriate place for practice. He even brought two members to a private composition class that he paid hundreds of dollars for each session. To prepare for the campus music festival, they spent days and nights behind closed doors writing songs. Despite their unkempt scruff and bloodshot eyes, they were excited to impress the audience at the festival.
He was eighteen then. Besides being forced by his father and brothers to learn instruments, heâs never treated anything so seriously before. He was happy and thought that he had found the meaning of life. He may not love music, but the companionship is excellent.
That was until the night before the festival when he overhead other members chatting. Turns out they only invited him to the band because itâs a costly activity; they didnât have any money, but he did. No one thought of him as their comrade or even friend. Heâs just a silly little fool who contributes his money and effort without ever realizing that heâs not getting anything in return.
Right after that, he had an argument with his teammates and quit the band. At the music festival a couple of days later, the band performed the song they wrote together. Yet when the host announced the song, his name was missing from the songwriters.
He never wrote another song or played in a band after that. He continued on his old track of practicing piano, taking certification exams, flirting with girls, sleeping around, cheating during finals, and getting beat up by his brothers. After a rough graduation, he spent a year messing around. Realizing that he canât just do nothing with his life, he joined the idol group Ice Dream.
He thought he was never going to write another song. He had no interest in it, to begin with.
He never thought he had the chance to be in a mesmerizing romance, let alone be told he loved him.
He was inspired to write a love song and dedicate it to Xie Zhuxing.
He proposed the idea to Duan Yikun about wanting to write a song the next day. Duan Yikun approved and said that the demo song they had selected was made by a studio under the company. Therefore, there wonât be a problem with its copyright, and he can rewrite the song or the lyric however he wants.
Xie Zhuxing signed the contract to be in that historical sitcom and had to cram by attending acting classes for a couple of days.
Wang Chao stopped napping and playing mobile games. Whenever Xie Zhuxing was in class, he would stay in the piano room and ponder over the song.
The seventeenth is Xie Zhuxingâs birthday.
Their company organized a birthday party and invited twenty fan representatives to come. They were all among the management or frontline of his fandom. The party lasted a little more than half an hour. During the last few minutes, the entire idol group appeared to create a surprise for the fans.
Even though these were all cliches, their fans were excited. The whole event went smoothly and concluded amongst a celebratory atmosphere.
Once they sent the fans away, the six members moved to another venue to celebrate Xie Zhuxingâs birthday together. The celebration lasted until very late at night.
Seeing it was almost twelve, his teammates couldnât wait any longer and whispered to Xie Zhuxing, âXiao Xie Ge, what gift did Captain give you? Why so mysterious?â
Before the celebration started in the afternoon, the four members had given him a treadmill as a birthday present. They were guessing what the Captain would give him. All of them thought a car or a house was most probable â so what would it be? Car or house? The four men waited to see what it would be and even made a bet about it. Yet after waiting for an entire night, their Captain â who loves to show off â still hasnât shown off his gift.
Xie Zhuxing said: âYou guys have too much time on your hands.â
The teammates smiled bashfully. Yet, they still want to know what he gave him.
Xie Zhuxing still hasnât gotten a present from Wang Chao.
He didnât know what Wang Chao would give him, but it shouldnât be a car or a house.
He had told Wang Chao a while ago: donât give him anything too expensive. Wang Chao had agreed to it and promised he wouldnât.
âŚBut Wang Chao wouldnât necessarily think a house or a car is âtoo expensive.â
11: 50 p.m. Wang Chao stood up, attempting to be as natural as possible, and said: âIâm going to the bathroom.â
He left their private room.
Cheng Yao said, âCaptainâs so bad at pretending. He definitely left to prepare for a surprise.â
Yang Xiaomu teased Xie Zhuxing, âGe, you ready to be shocked by the Captain?â
Xie Zhuxing smiled. Heâs inexplicably a little nervous.
Suddenly the lights were turned off within the private room, leaving only darkness within.
No one made a sound. They were all looking forward to seeing what their Captain had come up with.
A purple laser beam came down from the ceiling and they all looked toward the light.
They had thought that it was a decorative wall, but the wall suddenly crashed down. Turns out it was a silver curtain disguised as a wall.
The curtain dropped and revealed their Captain behind. He held onto a mic stand and posed.
Theyâve all heard of this melody. This rendition, however, seems to be a rearrangement. Itâs refreshing.
The lyrics werenât the same as the last version. The demo they had heard was indie, which is very different from the new, more rhythmic version.
What is this stupid thing called love? What is it?
Iâm the gravel you accidentally stepped on.
Youâre a goddess that I spotted amongst the crowd.
What is this stupid thing called love? What is it?
Iâm singing this love song, not because I want to ask you this silly question.
I want to give you this stupid thing, however much I have.
What is this stupid thing called love? What is it?
Do you have this stupid thing for me?
They also knew that their Captain had been writing songs recently. They thought he was only messing around. Turns out, itâs actually quite good?
Captain was still behind the mic stand, with one hand grabbing onto the stand and another scratching his head. âSoâŚThis song is for my partner. Happy birthday,â He said.
Xie Zhuxing looked at him and smiled. His eyes were sparkling.
Their teammates exclaimed loudly before teasing Xie Zhuxing, âGe, answer him, do you have that stupid thing for him?â
Xie Zhuxing only smiled in return. Heâs embarrassed to say it even if Wang Chao is the only audience, not to mention when these many people are present.
Wang Chao tossed the mic stand and ran over from there, âHey, you guys! Donât tease him, heâs really shy.â
The teammates laughed in unison. Theyâve all known each other for a while and understands each otherâs boundary. Teasing was enough.
Wang Chao sat next to Xie Zhuxing. He had just sung a song to express his feelings and was a bit shy; as such, he couldnât look straight into Xie Zhuxingâs eyes. He exclaimed loudly, âIâm not boasting or anything, but he wouldnât dare! He actually got it first too, begging me to be his boyfriend.â
The teammates seemed suspicious.
Ji Jie mocked him, âGive up already, we know itâs the opposite.â
Wang Chao refused to give in, wanting to show off more, and said, âAsk him if you donât believe me.â
The teammates turned to look toward Xie Zhuxing.
Xie Zhuxing smiled and said, âHeâs right. I caught feelings for him first.â
Their teammates still didnât believe it, but since the actual couple had given their word, they pretended to believe it.
Cheng Yao then asked, âCaptain, why did you compare Xiao Xie Ge to a goddess in the lyrics?â
Wang Chao mumbled, âTo rhyme.â
He turned and exchanged a look with Xie Zhuxing. Both chuckled at the same time.
Fortunately, the lights were dim. Otherwise, everyone could see that they were blushing.
Only the two of them knew where the âgoddessâ reference was from.
Before the month ended, Xie Zhuxing headed to Dali, Yunnan to film the historical sitcom. Because the idol group had planned to release their second album soon, to accommodate him, the crew scheduled his scenes at the beginning of the filming.
After he left, Wang Chao was bored. He carefully edited the song lyrics and then presented them to Duan Yikun. Duan Yikun heard it and liked it; his only feedback was that it could still use some polishing by a professional.
Once polished, the song became more complete. The choreographer also thought the style was great, saying he needs to go home and think about how to choreograph this song.
What is this stupid thing called love? will be the leading single for IDâs second album. Because of this song, the entire style of the album has changed. Itâs no longer about pure teenage love that they had planned â but a hip-hop album that is now titled Stupid Thing.