From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Notes have color, shimmering under the sunlight.

Melodies have emotions, dancing above the heart.

Standing on the street, surrounded by people, the boundless concrete jungle devours figures one by one. They are so small, like dust; but at this moment, they are so magnificent, filling their world with passion and happiness, the dazzling light burning along with their blood.

Jumping, cheering.

Laughing, weeping.

In the center of the world, a lonely traveler is singing wildly.

“Wake me up when it's all over!” (Note 1)

Crisp, neat, and vibrant, Anson's singing is the drumbeat. Lily's keyboard, Connor's guitar, and Miles' cello all become supporting characters. The melodies they play are no longer smooth, but like a clear stream jumping between pebbles, the rhythm hidden within, lively and buoyant.

“When I'm wiser and I'm older!”

The singing, like a drum mallet, falls heavily and deeply upon the heart. Blood begins to gush, emotions begin to roar, and no one can be an exception.

They clap, they jump, feeling the scalding heat of the notes flowing in their blood vessels, truly and completely merging with the melody.

And then—

Rushing and surging, the performance becomes smooth again, merging into Anson's impassioned and jubilant singing.

“Been losing my mind in a world so blind.”

Anson raises his hands high again, a smile climbing to the corner of his mouth, parting the mist, his eyes clear, a ray of sunshine penetrating the heavy darkness and falling down.

He gazes at the audience before him, inadvertently meeting Blair's tearful eyes, joy and sorrow, happiness and bitterness intertwined and surging in her pupils.

Anson sings heartily.

“Been losing my mind!”

Lily, Connor, and Miles join in harmony, starting to belt out, “Been losing my mind!”

Blair is stunned.

Anson gives an encouraging look again, continuing on a higher note, “Been losing my mind!”

Blair can hear the excitement of the melody and the roar of the instruments. An uncontrollable surge of passion rushes to her brain, her scalp tingling. She can't help but sing along, “Been losing my mind!”

The moment the song bursts out of her throat, Blair can see the smile on Anson's lips blooming happily and brightly, that kind of satisfaction quickly filling her chest, her body lightly leaving the ground, wandering and roaming in the golden sunlight.

Anson, “Been losing my mind!”

One note, then another, the melody climbing higher and higher, the emotions finally unable to be suppressed, exploding, leaving only a roar in the depths of the soul.

At this moment, there is no distinction between you and me—

Even if they don't know each other, every figure is a story, everyone has their own memories and dreams, everyone has their own regrets and compromises, but at this moment, they briefly regain the brilliance and recklessness of youth, the passion that they once thought had completely disappeared still hasn't cooled down.

Been losing my mind in a world so blind—

Until this moment.

Anson's singing no longer holds back, climbing to the peak sentence after sentence, “Been losing my mind!”

One octave.

“Been losing my mind!”

Two octaves.

“Been losing my mind… oh, oh oh oh…”

A vocal run, a turn, Anson raises his hands high, like a conductor of a symphony orchestra, catching a rest, stopping at the highest point of emotion, at the highest peak of the note, putting an end to the performance.

The music stops abruptly, at the peak of emotion.

The world quiets down, the surge of traffic invading like a flood, but in this corner's encirclement, no one speaks and no one moves, just standing there blankly, feeling the surging emotions, feeling the boiling blood, feeling the long-lost passion.

Whoosh.

The wind howls.

Anson turns to look at the three young people in front of him. They are smiling, smiling without reservation, smiling without burden, the smiles so bright and so brilliant.

Music doesn't lie. If the performers are sad, then the songs and melodies are sad; similarly, if the performers are happy, what is conveyed is joy and happiness.

Lily finally finds her smile again, so happy, so unrestrained, so hearty. This is the reason they love music, and the reason they formed a band, but on the road forward, they gradually forgot their original intention, and when they came back to their senses, they could no longer find the way back.

With one turn of her head, Lily sees Miles' pure and simple smile, dripping with sweat, his face flushed, as if he had been fished out of the water, but that smile is full of passion, even every strand of hair is jumping. She can no longer control herself, and tears have already fallen.

They are all lost.

Ah.

Ah ah ah!

Roar, roar roar roar…

Boom!

The entire venue roars. Those cheers, those shouts, those screams, after a moment of stunned silence, finally recover, and then they can no longer suppress their emotions.

One or two people act like fools, shouting as much as they want, but between looking at each other, they realize that shouting simply cannot accurately express their admiration and praise, as well as gratitude and adoration. Gradually, gradually, the shouting disappears, all evolving into applause, just the simplest applause.

Thunderous.

Sweeping the entire venue with the force of a storm.

Buzz.

A roar in the ears.

Lily hears the sound, turns around, and what comes into view is this scene—

Layer upon layer, a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder.

The line of sight can't see the end at all. They are completely surrounded by the hustle and bustle. Everyone is clapping, and those unfamiliar faces are flashing with the light of happiness and joy. There are no words and no shouts, just clapping their hands, using all their strength.

Lily covers her mouth and bursts into tears—

Wake me up when it's all over, when I'm wiser and I'm older; Been losing my mind in a world so blind.

Aren't these the lyrics about them?

Standing in a desolate place shrouded in darkness, singing alone, inadvertently losing themselves but never realizing it. They all thought the dream should be over, because dreams simply don't exist; but in fact, deep down, they had long forgotten what the dream originally looked like, and they lost themselves along the way.

Lily is like a seven-year-old child, suffering great grievances, crying loudly, completely collapsing.

Connor, standing next to her, sees this scene and can't help but step forward, preparing to comfort Lily, but before his right hand can touch Lily's shoulder, he realizes that his cheeks are already wet with tears, standing there like a fool, crying silently.

Connor tries to squeeze out a smile to hide his embarrassment, but he doesn't expect the tears to burst out even more fiercely, and he can only stand there helplessly.

Miles sees it, taking in the whole scene. He wants to comfort them, but he worries that he doesn't have the right, silently lowering his head to wipe his tears, but he doesn't know why, the tears can't be wiped clean no matter how hard he tries, constantly falling down.

He wants to continue performing, he wants to continue singing, even if he is regarded as a fool, it doesn't matter. He is willing to become a fool who believes in dreams.

Note 1: Wake me up [Wake-me-up — Avicii (hoppipolla-version)]

Fifth update.