Chapter Ten: The Signature

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Xiao Yao was naturally unafraid of Xiao Siqi’s empty threats. He waved his hand with a smile and said, “Alright, enough about flowers. Tell me about how you felt before your first date—excited? Thrilled? Did you have trouble sleeping the night before?”

Xiao Siqi looked at him curiously. “Why are you so concerned? Could it be you’re already in love? That can’t be—lately, you barely leave the house. Did you see some little girl when we visited your grandfather last time?”

Xiao Yao was speechless. A four-year-old in love? Only this guy could think of that. He quickly said, “Love? Look at my age! Don’t change the subject—I’m talking about you. Tell me how you felt before your first date.”

“So what if I was four?” Xiao Siqi shrugged. “Your old man was already chasing after the pretty girls in kindergarten, trying every trick to hold their little hands.”

“Xiao Siqi!” Xiao Yao called out helplessly.

“Alright, alright,” Xiao Siqi laughed and waved his hand. Seeing his son’s exasperated expression was rare and quite amusing, but he knew not to push too far.

Adjusting his posture, Xiao Siqi recalled his romance with his wife. “I met your mom at a fashion brand launch event. I was a performer; your mom was a runway model. Our first encounter was backstage. I was quite popular then, but your mom didn’t seem to know me. Curious, I approached her and struck up a conversation. After a while, I was deeply impressed—love at first sight, I guess. We exchanged numbers. After returning, she was all I could think about. The next day, I called her to ask her out. To my surprise, she agreed readily. That night, I was both happy and excited—I barely slept all night…”

Listening to Xiao Siqi’s dreamy narration, Xiao Yao’s fingers began moving again over the keyboard of the electronic piano. Though an ordinary meeting on the surface, Xiao Yao could sense the joyful emotion beneath his father’s words. His fingers danced a little faster, playing four bars of the melody from the verse of “The Most Beautiful.”

The sudden melody sparked Xiao Siqi’s keen interest once more. Without hesitation, he grabbed paper and pen from the coffee table and carefully wrote down those four bars. The melody perfectly matched the emotion he had just described, and the lyrics could perhaps be distilled from his own story.

Looking back at the two previously jotted bars, both musically and emotionally, these melodies could be combined—though not directly, as a transition was needed. Undeniably, these were two wonderful melodies. If completed, the song would be excellent.

“Bayi, Dad’s done chatting,” Xiao Siqi said without looking up. “Seems like I’ve got some inspiration.” Ignoring Xiao Yao’s reaction, he hummed softly while scribbling on the paper. Soon he sat by the grand piano in the living room, opened the lid, spread the sheet music on the keys, and played while writing. Seeing this, Xiao Yao quietly returned to his room to practice calligraphy.

Two days later, Xiao Siqi had meticulously finished the entire song. Naturally, the first person he brought to listen was Xiao Yao. He named the song “The Most Beautiful.” Since Xiao Yao’s two melody segments largely set the tone, and Xiao Siqi, as a seasoned musician, filled in the rest with high-quality work, the final piece, though somewhat different from the original, was still outstanding and melodious—a song worthy of becoming a hit. Especially the chorus; once released, it would surely be hummed by young people everywhere.

As for the lyrics, they differed somewhat from the original. But under Xiao Yao’s guidance, the words Xiao Siqi wrote maintained a similar mood. The verses described his feelings and moments before and after his first date with Chen Zilin; the chorus expressed his love for her. The emotional expression of the whole song matched the original. Whether it was “twelve roses” or “eleven roses,” whether “pouting when angry” or “pursing lips when upset” didn’t really matter.

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When Xiao Yao gave a thumbs-up to Xiao Siqi’s song, Xiao Siqi suddenly had a wild idea that startled Xiao Yao.

“Bayi, the four bars in the verse and the two bars in the chorus—all came from the melodies you casually played a few days ago. And the lyrics—if you hadn’t insisted on chatting with me and asked about my first date with your mom, I wouldn’t have used those descriptions for the verses. The first line of the chorus, ‘You are the most beautiful in my heart,’ came because you asked if I thought your mom was the most beautiful. So, I’ve decided to credit you as co-lyricist and composer—it’s our joint creation.”

“What?” Xiao Yao was truly surprised. “Do you even know how old I am? Who would believe your four-year-old son can write lyrics and compose music?”

“Who cares if they believe it or not,” Xiao Siqi’s stubborn side emerged again. “You did participate in creating this song. What’s yours is yours. I’m not going to hog the credit.”

Xiao Yao rubbed his forehead in frustration. His dad’s stubbornness was really a headache. Yet, he didn’t want to step into the public eye so early. Even if he had to be famous, being a star second generation was enough. He didn’t want to be known as a musical prodigy at just over four years old. If he really became some child genius in composition, constantly under the media spotlight, how could he enjoy playing freely?

“If it were someone else, maybe I’d let it slide. But I’m your son,” Xiao Yao reasoned gently. “If you really put my name on it, people will think you’re shamelessly exploiting me and despise you. And if anyone asks for proof, I can’t compose or write lyrics.”

Xiao Siqi seemed to waver, silent for a moment. Xiao Yao hurried on, “If you insist on adding my name, the media will be all over us. We won’t have a moment’s peace.”

“Hmm,” Xiao Siqi considered. Placing such huge media pressure on his son so early did seem inappropriate. Being in showbiz, he knew the unscrupulous nature of tabloid media firsthand. “You’re right. Our relationship is too sensitive. If you weren’t my son, maybe it would be different.” He sighed, then suddenly had a bright idea, slapping his thigh. “What if no one knows you’re my son?”

“What do you mean? Who doesn’t know I’m your son? Ordinary people might not, but the media definitely would,” Xiao Yao was confused.

“A stage name! A stage name!” Xiao Siqi exclaimed excitedly. “You pick a stage name. I don’t put your real name on the credits, just your stage name. When people ask, I say it’s a secret. When you’re older and can handle the media, you reveal it. Problem solved.”

“That sounds like a pretty good idea,” Xiao Yao thought it over and agreed. It seemed feasible and even fun. Revealing it when he grew up might even shock the world.

“Alright, let’s do it your way,” Xiao Yao nodded.

“Now, what stage name should I pick for you?” Xiao Siqi started pondering.

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Seeing his dad’s expression, Xiao Yao worried about what ridiculous stage name he might come up with, so he quickly said, “Let’s go with XY, just the initials of my real name in pinyin. Using just letters adds mystery, makes it seem casually chosen, but still closely linked to my real name. When revealed later, it’ll be easier to believe.”

“Not bad, not bad,” Xiao Siqi found it interesting and nodded. “XY it is.”

With “The Most Beautiful” completed, Xiao Siqi’s new album still needed two more songs. Xiao Yao didn’t want to be too obvious, and he hadn’t yet figured out how to guide Xiao Siqi’s “creation” of the classic past-life song “Night Missing You,” so he wasn’t eager to pull him into chats during songwriting sessions for now.

Unexpectedly, though, Xiao Siqi found chatting with Xiao Yao sparked his inspiration. Whenever he got tired of writing songs, he preferred to drag Xiao Yao into conversation.

Xiao Yao could only accompany him patiently. To avoid the previous song “The Most Beautiful” and the upcoming “Night Missing You” appearing too abrupt, he occasionally played a few random notes on the electronic piano during their talks. Of course, those melodies he played casually never caught Xiao Siqi’s interest.

In the following seven days, Xiao Siqi completed another piece he was satisfied with. His previous style had been fixed and somewhat monotonous—mostly melancholic love songs. Having released three albums of that type, he had explored nearly every variation and now felt stuck, unable to create something truly satisfying within that genre.

But the upbeat “The Most Beautiful” opened his eyes to another possibility. His emotional core and inspiration undeniably came from his late wife Chen Zilin. “The Most Beautiful” showed him an alternative way to express emotion beyond sorrow. So, he cast aside the sadness of her passing and instead focused on the sweet moments of their courtship and married life. Immersed in happiness, he actually composed a sweet love song he was proud of.

Naturally, after finishing this song, he first played it for his son. Xiao Yao thought the song, titled “Happy Morning,” was somewhat like JJ Lin’s “Soy Milk and Fried Dough Sticks” from his previous life—a light and cheerful tune. The lyrics portrayed sweet love through everyday trivialities, though more poetic than the straightforward style of “Soy Milk and Fried Dough Sticks.” Overall, it was more pleasant to listen to and certainly worthy of inclusion on Xiao Siqi’s new album. This also relieved Xiao Yao from worrying about how to guide the creation of Xiao Siqi’s third chosen song, “Come Back Quickly.”

Just as Xiao Siqi prepared to shift his style and make his final song another upbeat tune, Xiao Yao, having figured out how to guide him, infused the tragic “Night Missing You” into his mind.

Cruelly, he brought Xiao Siqi’s thoughts back to the day of the car accident, guiding out the deepest pain he had buried for half a year. Thus, “The day we broke up” became “The day you left,” and “I wonder if you could still change for me” became “Sadly, I never had the chance to change for you.” Xiao Siqi’s version of “Night Missing You” differed even less from the original by Guan Zhe in their previous life, making it all the more memorable.