Chapter Thirteen: Unmanned Garrison

  Zhou Xiao unexpectedly chose the performance venue at Gao Yuan Temple Station.

  "" should be considered as a variant character of Japanese "yuan", so in the following text, it is directly abbreviated as Gao Yuan Temple Station.

  Actually, Zhou Xiao had originally wanted to perform on the pedestrian overpass outside, but after taking a few steps out, he reluctantly gave up on that idea. The reason was simple: although the outdoor environment wasn't exactly noisy, there were still quite a few distracting sounds, and if Zhou Xiao had been using an electric guitar or microphone it would have been fine, but without those things, relying solely on his voice to sustain a performance for an extended period of time was just too difficult. Maybe one or two songs, or even five, would be okay, but Zhou Xiao had already prepared himself to sing for several hours straight, and under that premise, he had no choice but to choose the high school grounds instead.

  A large city also gives birth to a large transportation system, and the Kōtokuji Station was established as a small transportation hub, with railway stations, subway stations, and bus stops all gathered here. However, when hearing this name, many people understand that compared to those largest-scale stations, this station is actually small within Tokyo.

  In fact, Zhou Xiaojia is a bit closer to Ueno Station, but as a larger transportation hub, Ueno Station will bear extremely heavy pressure during peak hours. If Zhou Xiaojia dared to perform there, he might be driven away by the station staff for taking up too much space.

  As she walked into the subway station, Zhou Xiao found that although it was just a Gao Yuan Temple Station, there were already quite a few people flowing in early in the morning.

  Zhou Xiao found a relatively quiet and spacious corner, opened her guitar case and placed it on the ground.

  In the small "home" rented by Zhou Xiao, he didn't even have a chair, so when he sang and performed at the subway station, he could only do so standing or sitting on the ground.

  "Ah, ah———" Zhou Xiao tried out his voice and nodded in satisfaction. The environment was quite good, although it was underground, it was still very clean, and the place Zhou Xiao had chosen was also very clever. When he spoke, his voice would envelop the surroundings and then bounce back repeatedly, making Zhou Xiao's originally normal voice sound much louder.

  "Alright... then... let's start!" With that thought, Zhou Xiao took out his guitar and strummed it with ease, a melody was born from his fingertips.

  "Suddenly, accidentally, or inevitably..."

  "At the very beginning, when I wasn't aware of it..."

  "No warning, no reason, a figure that lingers in my mind..."

  In later years, this was not a particularly well-known song, and the song was born very late. It wasn't until the end of 2013 that it was released by the famous duo Yuzu, with the title "Rainy Day Sunshine" (雨のち晴レルヤ). The name roughly translates to "Clearing Up After Rain". This song had been revealed for some time before its release because it became the theme song for the 2013 NHK morning drama "Amachan".

  Although it's not very famous, being chosen as the theme song for a morning drama still shows the strength of this song.

  In the complete composition, this song enabled a variety of instruments. In addition to trumpets and pianos, flutes and other instruments with a strong flavor were also chosen to appear. There was only one guitar for Zhou Xiao, but that didn't matter. Although it was just one guitar, Zhou Xiao felt that the song's elegant melody was enough to attract everyone's attention.

  Moreover, the lyrics of this song are quite suitable when played in a subway station. The words "suddenly", "accidentally" or "inevitably", and "the image that lingers in one's mind" etc., make it seem as if something romantic has happened in the subway. I believe that as long as you listen carefully, most men and women will have some small feelings of resonance or reflection.

  Actually, Zhou Xiao initially wanted to choose a song that was not this one. He wanted to choose a very popular song, which is the famous song "Powder Snow" that was sung in "A Liter of Tears". This is also a very famous and good-sounding song, but precisely because the lyrics describe snow and it's no longer winter now, Zhou Xiao thought it wasn't very suitable for the initial performance. If there were enough listeners, then this song could be sung, but when trying to win over listeners with all one's might, perhaps "Rain After Sunshine" is more suitable.

  The melodious singing voice echoed inside Kowloon Walled City metro station, more than a decade later, an unknown member of AKB earned 5,000 yen in just 15 minutes by singing, and the place where that girl sang was far less crowded than Zhou Xiao's current location.

  Zhou Xiao didn't think that just by coming out he could earn thousands or tens of thousands of yuan, but in his mind, at least there should be a few people who would listen to him sing.

  Unfortunately, the song "Rainy Days and Mondays" ended all too soon, but the people of Tokyo continued to hurry along, no one stopping, no one perking up their ears, not even anyone looking up. Zhou Xiao discovered that although he was creating music here, he was clearly being ignored.

  After finishing the first song, Zhou Xiao took a break and then started singing the second song. In the order arranged yesterday, the second to fourth songs were all adaptations of AKB48's songs. Although it was a completely unfamiliar melody, Zhou Xiao wasn't worried when arranging the music yesterday. The reason is simple: he didn't think about making much money; in his opinion, as long as he could make enough money to eat, that would be fine. After going home, he would start writing. As long as he could write something and get it accepted by a publisher, he should be able to try doing more things.

  The singing voice was melodious, and Zhou Xiao discovered that his physical talent was actually quite good. Although the first of the four songs he sang was slightly difficult, after singing all four songs, Zhou Xiao found that his body and vocal cords could completely withstand it. This was also related to his use of chest cavity resonance, but even so, being able to sing continuously at this level was already very impressive. Zhou Xiao felt that with his current physical condition, he could release an album without any problems, even if he didn't undergo training. Even holding a concert, after making some adjustments and pitch corrections, it might be possible to take on the challenge.

  However, although he was very satisfied with his own singing, the development of things still exceeded Zhou Xiao's expectations.

  After four songs had passed, Zhou Xiao discovered that there was still no one around him!

  "Is that so...? Does the general public in Japan have such high standards for music...? These songs of mine... not even one can enter their ears?" Zhou Xiao couldn't help but doubt himself.

  "I'll stick to it, this is nothing but a small matter. Moreover, all these songs are carefully selected and have stood the test of time, I don't believe that these few songs won't get everyone's attention!"

  With a firm idea in his mind, Zhou Xiao continued to sing, while the Japanese people around him hurriedly passed by. Those who were dressed formally and looked very busy would glance at him briefly after hearing the singing, then immediately lower their heads and continue on their way. After an entire rush hour period of singing, Zhou Xiao finally discovered that there were only... three coins in his guitar case.

  One five-hundred yuan bill, one hundred-yuan bill... and another... was actually a ten-yuan coin!

  A 10-yen coin in China is probably worth about a cent.

  Pick up these 610 yuan and put them in your pocket, Zhou Xiao comforted himself: "At least today's lunch is settled, huh... as long as you don't eat too well."

  But he was still puzzled, why did Sato Natsuki get 5,000 yuan within 15 minutes, while he had been singing for almost an hour with his neck strained, but only received more than 600 yuan?

  "Was it that the timing and location I chose were not right? Then next, should I continue to insist on singing here waiting for a miracle or being discovered one day, or try going around?" Zhou Xiao couldn't help but think during her break.

  "Kid, if you're going to sing for money, this isn't a very good spot." Just as he was hugging his guitar and hiding in the corner, deep in thought, a voice sounded beside him.