The "Blooming Summer" Music Festival, as the largest rock event in the country, attracts tens of thousands of music fans every year for their pilgrimage.

When the giant screen on the main stage displayed the words "Secret Guest—Xiangyang Band," the tens of thousands of audience members below first fell into a collective silence, followed by a massive uproar.

"Xiangyang Band? Which Xiangyang Band? The one from ten years ago?"

"Holy crap, are the organizers' brains full of water? Why invite these old guys? Is this a nursing home tour?"

"No way, I spent eight hundred yuan on a ticket just to watch a few middle-aged uncles sell nostalgia?"

A young music fan with green-dyed hair curled his lip disdainfully at his friend beside him: "I hope they're not here to sing us a rock version of 'Learn to Meow.'"

A burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings, and the air was filled with doubt and contempt.

Backstage, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like it was about to freeze.

The drumsticks in the drummer Qiangzi's hands were almost soaked through with sweat. He kept wiping his hands on his clothes, muttering, "Damn it, my legs are shaking. I haven't seen a crowd like this in ten years..."

Bassist Old Li held his worn-out bass in silence, but his pale knuckles betrayed his inner tension.

Guitarist Afei pushed up his glasses and swallowed hard, feeling as if a ball of fire were stuck in his throat.

Even Shi Lei, who always maintained a tough-guy image, now had his brows tightly furrowed as he paced back and forth in the small space, his usual grit replaced by a heavy sense of trepidation.

The mountain-shaking boos from below the stage were like blunt knives, cutting into each of their hearts.

Just then, the door to the lounge was pushed open.

Lu Zhixian walked in, carrying a bag of iced mineral water.

He seemed completely oblivious to the noise outside, his face calm as he distributed the water to everyone.

"Nervous?" He unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to Shi Lei.

Shi Lei didn't say a word, just took a large gulp.

Lu Zhixian smiled, his gaze sweeping over the other three members who were almost frozen stiff.

"Don't overthink it."

His voice wasn't loud, but it acted like a calming pill, accurately sinking into everyone's hearts.

"You're not here to please the audience, nor are you here to sell nostalgia."

Lu Zhixian paused, his eyes becoming sharp.

"You're here to tell them what the fuck real rock and roll is."

He walked up to Shi Lei and patted him on the shoulder.

"Go up there and tear the stage apart."

The lights went out.

The boos and chatter at the scene gradually subsided as everyone waited to see how this farce would begin.

A few seconds later, a spotlight suddenly hit the center of the stage.

Shi Lei and his band stood there quietly.

There was no fancy opening speech, no sentimental interaction.

Shi Lei walked to the mic stand, looked around at the dense crowd below, the veins on his hand holding the microphone bulging.

He spoke, his raspy voice echoing through the entire venue via the massive speakers.

"This song is for all the brothers who are still holding onto their dreams."

"The title is 'the former you.' Lyrics and music by Lu Zhixian."

As his words fell, the scene stirred again.

Lu Zhixian? The same Lu Zhixian who wrote 'dispelling sorrow' and 'bubble'? He can write rock music too?

Before anyone could react.

Boom! Boom-boom!

Qiangzi's drum beat crashed down without warning, heavy and powerful like a giant's heartbeat, instantly seizing everyone's hearts.

Immediately after, Old Li's bass followed with a low growl, and Afei's guitar pierced through the silence.

That vintage tone, sounding as if it came from an old speaker, carried a dusty flavor that washed over them.

The previously noisy venue became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Shi Lei closed his eyes and sang the first line of the lyrics.

"Once dreamed of traveling the world with a sword, to see the prosperity of the world..."

It was this voice!

Weather-beaten and weary, yet containing a flame that refused to be extinguished!

Below the stage, the expression on that green-haired kid who was just mocking them froze.

Many older rock veterans felt their bodies shudder violently.

"The young heart was always a bit arrogant, and now you make the whole world your home..."

The singing continued, like an old friend at a late-night drinking table, patting your shoulder and telling the story of your past.

Those forgotten dreams, those edges smoothed over by life, those regrets from midnight dreams—all were unearthed by this song.

A middle-aged man in a suit, who clearly looked like he had snuck away from the office, silently took off his glasses and rubbed his aching eyes.

In the chorus, the suppressed emotions exploded completely along with the intense drum beats and guitar strumming!

"Having experienced the various aspects of life and the coldness of the world, this smile is warm and pure!"

Boom!

It was as if a lion had exploded in Shi Lei's throat!

The emotions of the tens of thousands of people at the scene were completely ignited at this moment!

Below the stage.

A man in his forties, wearing an old Xiangyang Band T-shirt, could no longer control himself, and tears burst from his eyes.

The young people around him might not understand, but he did; so much youth and regret were hidden in this line of lyrics.

"Dilililidililili..."

When Shi Lei sang this meaningless humming, the entire audience fell into a wonderful resonance. It was a kind of helplessness, relief, and persistence that words could not express.

Tens of thousands of people, from teenagers to middle-aged folks in their forties and fifties, from punks to white-collar workers, all seemed to see their own shadows in the song at this moment.

As the song reached its end, Afei's guitar solo was shrill and high-pitched, as if questioning the heavens.

Shi Lei's eyes were bloodshot. Holding that old guitar, he used all his strength to smash it onto the stage as the final note fell!

Crash!

The sound of the guitar shattering was like a clap of thunder.

The whole world went silent for a second.

The next second, mountain-shaking shouts drowned out everything!

"Awesome!!!"

"Xiangyang! Xiangyang! Xiangyang!"

"Holy shit! This is fucking rock and roll!"

The green-haired kid was so excited his face was flushed red. He shouted along with the crowd at the top of his lungs until his voice cracked.

At the same time, in the music festival's online live room, the bullet comments had gone completely crazy.

[Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! I'm stunned! This is Xiangyang Band?]

[I take back what I just said. I'm kneeling to Brother Lei! This voice makes my scalp tingle!]

[Lyrics and music by Lu Zhixian??? Doesn't he write pop love songs? This style leap is too huge! Is he a monster?]

[Listening to this made me cry. It reminds me of myself when I formed a band in my youth. Now I'm writing PPTs in an office every day...]

[Smashing the guitar! Holy shit! Brother Lei is awesome! This is the rock spirit!]

[One song announces the return of an era! Lu Zhixian, are you a god?]

In a high-end apartment in Magic City.

Lin Shiya sat cross-legged on the carpet, her fine figure on display. The tablet in front of her was frozen at the moment Shi Lei smashed the guitar.

She had watched the entire live stream from beginning to end without saying a word.

Beside her, the manager Sister Chen's mouth was open wide enough to swallow a lightbulb, and it hadn't closed for a long time.

When the explosive cheers from the scene came through the speakers, Lin Shiya calmly turned off the screen.

She stood up, her long brown hair sliding over her shoulders. The tear mole at the corner of her left eye looked exceptionally clear under the lights.

"Sister Chen."

"Huh? I'm here!" Sister Chen snapped out of her daze.

"Help me look up the address of Teacher Lu's studio."

Lin Shiya walked to the window, looking out at the city's night view.

"If he's not too busy, I'd like to pay him a visit."

After the performance, backstage.

The four members of Xiangyang Band slumped in their chairs, soaked to the bone, yet all were grinning.

Shi Lei's phone vibrated wildly. He picked it up and saw it was the boss of the small company he had previously signed with.

He answered the call and put it on speakerphone.

An incredibly fawning voice came from the other end.

"Oh, Brother Lei! My Brother Lei! You really were hiding your light! I watched the performance just now; it was too awesome! About our contract, do you think we could talk again? The profit sharing is negotiable, everything is negotiable!"

After listening, Shi Lei's face showed no expression.

He hung up the phone immediately without even looking at it.

He looked at Lu Zhixian, who had been smiling all along, with unprecedented conviction and light in his eyes.

"Teacher Lu, what's next?"

Lu Zhixian smiled.

"Let's do something big."

"We'll release our own songs."

That night, various fan-recorded versions of 'the former you' from the scene began to spread like a virus across the internet.

A brand new hashtag quietly climbed the trending list with an unstoppable momentum.

#Lu Zhixian Redefines Rock#