Du Shanshan and I found a spot on the spectator stands over looking the music festival which was furthest away from the bright and blinding stage, the deafening music and the screaming crowd. Even so, the loud sounds from the giant speakers shook up the whole field, sending waves of vibrations through me. Every now and then, Du Shanshan would ask if I was feeling alright or if I was feeling cold. Wrapped up like a dumpling by Mother Shen in layers and layers of thick winter clothes, there was no way I would feel cold even if a frigid gale blew my way.

The annual music festival held during the fall semester signalled the last couple of weeks before the commencement of the final examinations. It was a full-day event which started at 2pm and would usually end at 10.30pm. I learnt from Tan Qing and Du Shanshan that Shen Yan had never attended a single music festival in the past few years as a student here as Father and Mother Shen kept a strict watch on her. I wasn't sure if people with heart conditions could attend loud concerts or festivals, but I reckoned that the Shens felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. From the line up of performances, there was a variety of genre of music: traditional Chinese music, a capella, jazz, heavy metal, pop, rock and even fusion. However, I was just informed by an overly-excited Du Shanshan that the real fun of the music festival was the food and drinks. Surrounding all sides of the field were rows of white tents of food and drink stalls—some brightly decorated with fairy lights and some others lit up with neon signs—where snaking queues formed unceasingly. There were two types of stalls with the longest queues: those selling barbecued meat skewers and those selling alcohol. It was no surprise—after all the music festival was the only time that alcohol could be sold and consumed so openly and liberally on campus. It was only after the performances were over that the party really began.

I glanced down at my watch. It was 9.07pm. We had been sitting here since 6pm to catch Blue Stream's 7.15pm performance. Until fifteen minutes ago, there were still a lot of people sitting around us—mostly couples who wanted some privacy in the farthest corner of the campus field. But it wasn't because they had left the festival. The reason was simply that Mobius Band's performance was scheduled at 9pm. The size of the crowd bouncing up and down only grew in size, and as the preceding group completed their item and the stage lights went out, the number of light sticks and LED signs glowing in the dark was a visual reminder of the popularity of Mobius Band.

Against my will and Mother Shen's repeated nagging to stay calm and avoid large crowds, my heart started sprinting in anticipation. The LED screens on both sides of the stage suddenly lit up as spotlights shone down on four figures standing in formation. Screams resounded round the field as the camera zoomed in on Gao Yi who was greeting the audience.

"Remember to breathe, Shen Yan!" Du Shanshan shouted as she patted my shoulder, the introduction of the song drowning her out.

My mind was also drowning her out. Focusing only on the familiar figure standing behind the keyboard and swaying to the music, my ears had already tuned out Gao Yi's deep and soulful singing voice.

Then, he appeared on the LED screens, dressed in a soft brown furry coat and a mid-blue woollen cap which covered half of his straight fringe. Save for his hairstyle and fashion, his appearance didn't actually look any different from how I remembered Singer Cheng Yujin from 2022 to be. It was not unexpected—after all, even when he was thirty, he still looked like he was only twenty.

"Cheng Yujin!" I blurted out his name while slapping Du Shanshan's arm, unable to contain my excitement. Turning towards her, my smiling eyes met with her confused ones.

"Oh my god, you really are his fan? So much so that you can forget the whole world but still remember him?"

Ignoring her, I took out my phone with the intention to video the performance. Sitting far away was bad enough. The camera quality of this decade only made it worse. In the end, I gave up on taking any photographs or videos. It was enough to just have a memory of Cheng Yujin in his early years of his career—back when he was still a part of Mobius Band. I recalled coming across a few rare videos of him from this era on the internet, but I was also never quite interested in the music of Mobius Band. However, hearing the band perform live today stirred up a feeling of regret within me. Regret that I had glossed over this piece of Cheng Yujin's history and regret that Mobius Band would disband a year from now.

As Gao Yi belted out high notes at the climax of the emotional rock ballad, his name in the form of a shrill scream pierce my eardrums. Narrowing my eyes at Du Shanshan, she only shrugged back nonchalantly as if to say that I was not the only one who had a bias in Mobius Band. Giving her a wry smile, I turned my attention back to the stage. If Cheng Yujin had more opportunities to sing, he would definitely outshine Gao Yi.

"Did you enjoy our performance so far? Alas, we have come to our final song. The last song," Gao Yi said into the microphone, in between shallow breaths, "is a new song written by our A'Jin! You lucky folks are the first ones to hear it. It's a slightly different genre from the songs that we've been producing so far but it's a really great song. A'Jin, please do the honours of introducing it to everyone."

Taking the cue from Gao Yi, Cheng Yujin's modulated and euphonic voice reverberated throughout the festival. "The song is titled 'Wishing Stars Fall When You Appear'. It's a love song with a slower rhythm that is reminiscent of the style of love songs from the 1990s. We hope that you will like it."

As the first chords played on the keyboard fell, my racing heart was soothed and pacified. Even though the goosebumps on my skin were raised as Cheng Yujin opened his mouth to unleash his slightly breathy and tender tenor singing voice. It was my first time hearing him sing live. Even though his singing style and techniques were still not fully developed during this time before he became a professional singer, it was more than adequate to tug on the heartstrings of those listening.

'Wishing Stars Fall When You Appear' was a song I had never heard before—after all, it was written for Mobius Band; but from its catchy melody and bittersweet lyrics, it was just like of Cheng Yujin's style of songwriting.

"... the busy events of the day swept me away,

but when the night falls my world becomes silent again,

it is time to close my eyes,

when you appear in my dreams, the stars in the sky fall to greet you,

I wish on a star, just so I can meet you again."

The crowd before the stage with dimmed lights now appeared like a tranquil sea of lights, constant waves rippling on its surface as the sea breeze passed over it.

"This is indeed the standard of a genius from the Composition Department. The songs which he has written for the band have always become very popular online. But it is pretty unexpected for him to write a melancholy slow love song. Maybe he's going through a phase of heartbreak now," Du Shanshan remarked thoughtfully into my ear.

Raising an inquisitive brow at her, I wanted to retort that Cheng Yujin had written a wide array of different genre of songs in his entire career as a singer-songwriter, but the sounds of the audience clapping and cheering snapped me back to reality. We were 10 years into the past. Those love ballads, chinoiserie music, pop rap songs and even original soundtracks from dramas which would become chart-toppers in the future were not yet a reality come to pass.

The crowd beneath the stage repeatedly chanted 'Encore! Encore!', but Gao Yi only announced that their time was up and that they would meet again soon before the band members scurried off the stage as the stage lights went off. Craning my neck, I tried to follow their movements with my eyes but failed when they vanished after climbing down the steps which led to the backstage.

"Shen Yan," said Du Shanshan while typing on her phone. "Tan Qing said to wait here for her. She's coming over now with food and drinks. You're hungry too, aren't you?"

"Yeah, sure," I answered absentmindedly while getting up to my feet. Was there was way to look for Cheng Yujin in this sea of people right now?

"She's gotten some chicken, beef, lamb, sausage, corn, broccoli skewers—anything else that you want?"

I took one large step down the spectator stand. "No."

"Nice, Haowen is joining us too. He's bringing the booze, oh, but you won't be able to have any. Would soda be ok for you?"

I took another large step downwards. Half my mind seemed to be telling me that it was a bad and pointless idea, while the other half was shouting at me to find Cheng Yujin as he was a clue, if not the answer, to my current predicament. The rational side of me wanted to sit down and analyse the sequence of events which led to today, but the impulsive side of me wanted to confront him to check if we were on the same boat. For him to be able to change his own future, my guess was that he must also have time travelled.

"Shen Yan, Shen Yan! Where are you going?" Du Shanshan high-pitched voice jolted me out of my trance.

Pivoting on my heels, I turned around to find myself a few steps down from where she was standing.

I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my coat and sniffed. "I want to go to the washroom," I said, finding a random but reasonable excuse.

She gestured with her thumb over her shoulder. "The nearest toilet is behind me in the gym building."

"Thanks," I smiled and hurried past her sheepishly. "I'll be back shortly."

"Do you need me to go with you?"

"No, I can handle it on my own," I refused her kind offer with a smile. I was a 25 year-old independent young lady. Even if I was currently stuck in a frail body, a solo trip to the washroom shouldn't hurt me.

***