Return

Ye Wan, standing to the side, dispersed the onlookers upon hearing this, allowing the two to talk in peace.

"Is this a reward for winning the endgame just now? Alright," Li Shutong replied.

"Was the harmonica music you played just now?" Qing Chen asked.

Ye Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao were clearly taken aback. They thought Qing Chen would use the opportunity of winning the chess game to ask for something else, but he was only asking about this song?

The song was beautiful and hadn't been circulated outside, but it wasn't enough for Qing Chen to waste such an important opportunity.

Li Shutong looked up with a smile and said, "It was me, what's wrong? Is this the first time you've heard this melody?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "It's very nice."

"Mm," Li Shutong nodded after the crowd had dispersed, "Our organization's founder composed this song, and he also wrote the lyrics."

Qing Chen was stunned for a long time and couldn't speak. He really wanted to say: I guess your founder might be from Earth!

And this founder seemed a bit shameless, passing off stolen songs as his own work.

Wait, how long has Li Shutong's organization been established? And when did that transmigrator senior transmigrate?

Qing Chen asked again, "Can you sing the whole song for me? I want to hear it."

Li Shutong said, "I can, but the lyrics of this song aren't very complete. In the long river of time, some things are bound to be lost."

"It's okay, I just want to listen," Qing Chen said. He wanted to confirm if the lyrics of this song were the same as on Earth.

Li Shutong picked up the big cat on the table and held it in his arms, then softly sang, "Outside the long pavilion, by the ancient road, green grass stretches to the sky. The evening breeze rustles the willow, the flute's melody fades, the setting sun beyond the mountains. At the edge of the sky, the corners of the earth, farewells are often..."

After Li Shutong finished singing, he smiled and said, "The line 'farewells are often' was added by later people. It's said that it wasn't like this originally, but no matter how they added to it, it always felt a little off."

Qing Chen stood for a long time before suddenly saying, "How about changing it to 'half of my close friends are scattered'?"

"'Half of my close friends are scattered'?" Li Shutong was stunned.

For some reason, he felt that only these five words truly fit the song.

Farewell, farewell. People are like the afterglow of the sunset, and confidants are far away at the ends of the earth.

In our youth, we drank heartily, our lives as intense as midsummer.

But who knows which farewell was the last time we met, never to see each other again.

Li Shutong felt as if he were sitting in this prison, watching the orange-red sun sink below the horizon, while his friend waved goodbye from afar.

After waving, they turned and left.

"Thank you," Li Shutong said. "This line is a great addition, as if it were the original lyric for this song."

"You're welcome," Qing Chen said, shamelessly accepting the compliment.

Li Shutong said with some longing, "Sometimes I'm truly amazed. Our founder is such a brilliant and talented person. It's said that he created countless lyrics and melodies back then, each one a timeless classic. However, they were all lost when the previous era ended, leaving only this one song."

"'Only one song left? That's truly a pity,' Qing Chen thought. Li Shutong directly mentioning the previous era suggested that the transmigrator senior must have transmigrated a very, very long time ago.

An era wasn't a unit of time, but the beginning of a new civilization.

It seemed that the humans here had experienced an iteration of an era, but he didn't know what had happened.

"There's another song where we only know the name but not the melody at all. The seniors have searched many ruins but couldn't find the score," Li Shutong shook his head.

Qing Chen hesitated for two seconds, then tentatively asked, "What is that song called?"

Li Shutong glanced at him and said, "Canon."

If Qing Chen had been skeptical of the founder's transmigrator identity before, he was now completely certain.

However, Canon was actually a musical genre and technique. Many symphonic works used the 'Canon' technique, such as Beethoven's 'Symphony No. 5' and Bach's 'Variations on a Canon'.

But if the other party had truly copied it from Earth, then the melody should be Pachelbel's 'Canon in D'.

Qing Chen wondered if giving Li Shutong the score for Canon, given his attitude towards the founder, could lead him to that extraordinary path.

He wasn't sure. He couldn't even explain where he got the score from.

He'd wait. Qing Chen hadn't memorized the score for Canon yet anyway. He'd weigh things carefully after returning.

The conversation ended, and Qing Chen walked through the crowd to the reading area. He desperately needed to catch up on sleep. He'd rather sleep than eat.

Only by maintaining a full state of energy could he analyze the situation around him at any time.

However, he had only just laid down on a table in the reading area when Lu Guangyi cautiously approached.

Lu Guangyi wanted to talk to Qing Chen but was afraid of being seen, so he anxiously scratched his ears and cheeks outside the reading area.

Qing Chen looked up at him expressionlessly. "You don't need to be so cautious. Li Shutong already knows about our relationship. But don't worry, he doesn't seem to mind. Also, go take care of your own business and don't disturb me."

Prison No. 18 was full of surveillance cameras. The prisoners had to hide in their cells to hold welcome ceremonies for newcomers, so sleeping in the reading area was safe.

Qing Chen actually wanted to pry information out of Lu Guangyi to figure out the Qing Clan's plans.

But with his return imminent, he didn't want any complications.

So he sent Lu Guangyi away first. He would consider how to extract information after he returned.

However, Lu Guangyi didn't leave. Instead, he muttered softly, "Boss, I've thought about it for a long time and don't know what else to call you. 'Boss' feels the most natural."

"You've probably heard about me from Qing Yan. My life has been hard since I was young. My father traded my kidneys for money with rich people and replaced them with bionic ones. If my parents don't care about me, who else will? Later, I heard from Qing Yan that you specifically asked for me to come in and scout ahead, saying you saw my abilities. I was overjoyed! Don't worry, Boss, Lu Guangyi will go through fire and water for you this time, even die for you!"

"But I have one regret before I die. You know I didn't get to go to school for many years, but I've always admired educated people since I was little..."

Qing Chen finally couldn't help but ask, "What exactly do you want to say?"

Lu Guangyi replied, "Could you teach me how to play chess?"

"Why do you want to learn chess?" Qing Chen was taken aback.

"Because it's cool!" Lu Guangyi said. "Boss, isn't it cool that even someone like Li Shutong becomes your defeated opponent?"

"Is winning one or two games of chess that prestigious?" Qing Chen shook his head.

"Of course! I can't beat him in a fight, so beating him in chess would be very impressive!" Lu Guangyi said as a matter of course.

This struck a chord with Qing Chen. From Lu Guangyi's words, Li Shutong's combat power seemed to be quite formidable?

Lu Guangyi continued, "I really didn't expect you to meet Li Shutong after coming here, and to get along so well. Given his status in Prison No. 18, he might know where the 'Eastern Treasure' we're looking for is. And, if you can inherit his legacy, the struggle for the Shadow might be secured."

This sentence contained a huge amount of information, and finally, Qing Chen understood his goal here... to find something.

Moreover, he was currently caught in a competition.

However, Qing Chen still didn't know what Li Shutong's legacy was, only that it was very important.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll teach you chess. Can you move a bit further away from me now?"

"Sure thing!" Lu Guangyi scurried over to the entertainment area.

Night, countdown 00:05:00.

Qing Chen sat on the cold bed, quietly watching the white countdown on his arm.

The gears in the countdown were slowly turning, with only five minutes left until his return.

He wasn't sure if he would ever come back here. These two days felt like a dream; he had met a few people and experienced a different world.

The uniqueness of Lin Xiaoxiao and Li Shutong finally made him anticipate this world.

It was as if a new world had opened its doors to him.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, then used the tail of his toothbrush to forcefully carve the two characters "came" into the wooden bed board.

Then, he squeezed his arm, leaving a bruise, wanting to see what changes would occur if he returned to Earth with an injury.

Countdown.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

The world shattered again, and that familiar darkness finally arrived.

Return.

Only 800 votes away from the top ten monthly tickets, let's gooooo!

Thanks to Huan Yu for becoming a Silver Great Ally of this book. The boss is generous, wishing the boss boundless sea and endless mountains!