The next day was Friday.

  At six o'clock in the morning, Li Qian opened his eyes on time.

  Those years when he was doing music, his habit was to sleep at 6 am and wake up at 2-3 pm. But those years when he was filming, his habit changed to sleeping at 12 am and waking up at 6 am. And if this job were replaced by a prop master or director's assistant, he would need to sleep at 2 am and wake up at 5 am - no one is more miserable than anyone else, because everyone is equally miserable.

  Now he can sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 6 am.

  For Li Qian, who has lived for two lifetimes, this kind of temporal spaciousness is already a kind of happiness.

  Of course, more than a decade of tempering has made Li Qian long since lost the habit of sleeping in.

  As soon as he opened his eyes, he was completely awake within a few seconds. Then he got dressed, got out of bed, washed his face and brushed his teeth.

  Li's father and mother usually get up at 6:30, except on Saturdays and Sundays when they sleep in for half an hour. After Li Jian finished packing, he was ready to go out. Since there was no movement in the master bedroom, he didn't wait for them to wake up and left by himself.

  He started jogging slowly after he got off the stairs.

  In recent days, he has resumed his daily habit of morning exercise.

  About a thousand meters away from Shengshi Garden, there is a park called Mingqin Spring Park. Well, Jinan Prefecture was once known as "72 famous springs", and Mingqin Spring is not among them, so the park is not very big.

  It was a little after six in the morning, and there were not many people in the park. By the time Li Qian arrived at the park, he had already warmed up all over his body. He deliberately exercised for a while to loosen up his muscles before starting to punch.

  He practiced a boxing technique, not some famous divine work, but a set of boxing techniques without even a name. It was something he learned from an old man in charge of props when he was following a TV crew years ago. According to the old man, this boxing technique had been passed down to him as the eighth generation, but since he only had a daughter and couldn't pass it down any further, and Li Qian was willing to learn with sincerity, he agreed to teach him.

  Later, they met intermittently in several crews, and he also learned intermittently. It took him a full four years to finish learning. During the holidays, as long as Li Qian wasn't busy, he would take his girlfriend to visit that old master and pay their respects. They treated each other like family, without distinguishing between master and apprentice, and their friendship was in their hearts.

  According to the old man's words, this boxing technique was originally created for killing people, but now that the world is at peace, it's against the law to use martial arts to harm others, and the techniques for killing are no longer suitable for ordinary people to master. So when passing on the technique, the old man made it clear that this boxing technique generates internal power from external force, but you don't need to aim for that goal in your practice. Just treat it as a set of radio calisthenics for everyday exercise. When you have time, just practice a bit, and consider it a way to strengthen your body. If something critical happens, even if it's just an empty frame, fighting off some small-time hoodlums won't be a problem - that's all there is to it. Li Qian didn't expect to become a top-notch master anyway; he just wanted to get in shape and have some foundation for when he needed to film fight scenes.

  The familiar boxing route from the previous life, this life is a bit awkward when fighting. Although Li Qian has been fond of sports since childhood, playing basketball and football are all similar, but the coordination degree of tendons, bones and muscles still can't meet the requirements of smoothly finishing this set of boxing moves. However, after practicing three times, at least it looks somewhat familiar.

  Li Qian still treated it as a radio exercise, not eager to make progress. After finishing three sets of punches, he was covered in sweat and took a break to catch his breath before strolling around slowly.

  When he got home, it was already 7:30. Li's mother had already prepared breakfast and immediately started eating as soon as she saw Li Qian return.

  "Wow, mom, did you win the lottery or are you having another baby brother for me? Why are you making steamed dumplings?"

  Li Qian had been active all morning and was already hungry. Seeing the two steaming plates of dumplings on the table, he immediately picked one up and stuffed it into his mouth. He wanted to grab a second one, but was slapped away by Li's mother. "Go take a shower first, you're covered in stinky sweat... Where did your mouth come from? It's so foul-mouthed! Your father and I combined can't match the way you talk!"

  Li Qian smiled and hurried to take a shower.

  It wasn't until he had taken a bath and sat down at the dinner table that he discovered his father and mother hadn't eaten yet, they were all waiting for him.

  "Dad, Mom, what's going on... is something really happening?"

  Mrs. Li looked at Mr. Li upon hearing this, but he seemed like he wanted to say something yet hesitated.

  This feeling is not just something, but it seems like a big deal.

  Li Qian had already picked up his chopsticks, but seeing this he put them down again, and also reined in that playful smile of his. With a serious expression, he looked left and right, then said: "Dad, Mom can't really be pregnant, can she?"

  One sentence made Li's original hesitation disappear, and Mr. Li, who had always been elegant and refined, instantly abandoned his demeanor that he had maintained for many years, raised his hand to hit him, but fortunately Li Qian dodged quickly, so this slap did not land.

  Li's mother also looked unhappy and scolded: "This child, your father wants to talk to you about something serious, don't be so mischievous!"

  Li Qian raised his hands in surrender, sat back down and said: "Alright, alright, you all speak, I'll listen."

  Li's father was still fuming, but after a moment, he said: "You're not young anymore, you're seventeen now, and you've started to have your own opinions on things. So, between us two, I won't beat around the bush with you, and you shouldn't be so cheeky and playful without being serious, okay?"

  This time Li Qian was really serious, nodding his head, he said: "Okay, Dad, you go ahead and say it!"

  Mr. Li tapped his hand gently on the table twice, but still couldn't help himself and lit a cigarette. This time, Mrs. Li surprisingly didn't scold him, instead she went to get an ashtray and put it in front of Mr. Li.

  He took a few more drags, tapped the ash off his cigarette and finally spoke up, "I've talked to your mom about you writing songs. We discussed it for half the night yesterday, but I still want to hear your thoughts on this. Are you really passionate about music and plan to pursue it as a career in the future? Or is it just a temporary interest, something to play around with?"

  Li Qian thought for a moment and replied very seriously: "For now, I'm just a high school student. Don't worry about what I want to do in the future, it's all just practice for now. Even if it's just for fun, it's also preparing for the future. When I graduate from high school, or even college, if there's an opportunity, I think I'll pursue this career."

  Dad Li nodded, took two more puffs of his cigarette and said: "Your mom and I aren't those old-fashioned thinkers, we both like the arts. You must understand that, right? Look at you, still so young, your mom and I wanted to cultivate your artistic side, even bought you a guitar, didn't we?"

  After finishing speaking, he looked at Li Qian very seriously, as if waiting for him to nod in agreement with his words.

  If it were the 17-year-old Li Qian, he would probably have started to get impatient when his parents talked to him like this. But now, Li Qian is someone who has been on his own in society for over a decade, and has seen all sorts of good intentions and ulterior motives. He can naturally understand why his parents want to patiently and circuitously bring up this topic with him.

  Even at this moment, he saw a hint of unease in Li's father's eyes.

  Yes, thinking carefully, it seems that when I announced to my parents that I wanted to form a band back then, at that time in their eyes, I also vaguely saw such a familiar expression.

  It's just nervous.

  They love their son, they want him to be better, and they are even willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of their son. So, they naturally want their son to pursue his own interests and passions. However, whether it's from personal experience or from decades of life experience, they all know that this career their son loves is not a good choice.

  Love music, this is easy to say.

  Passion for art, this phrase sounds magnificent.

  However, there are too many children in this world who love music and art, but in the end, those who can really walk on this path and achieve certain results are too few.

  As little as one ten-thousandth, one hundred-thousandth.

  As parents, when they have already foreseen the difficulties of this career path, how can they not remind their son? How can they bear to not try to change their son's mind?

  But at the same time, they are also very aware that changing a person's mind is difficult, let alone their own son's, especially since he is in his youth - an extremely rebellious period.

  So they know they have to do something, try to change and turn things around, at least remind themselves, but they also know that when they do, the result may not be what they expected.

  Silent resistance? That's already a relatively good ending.

  At the age of 17 or 18, how many young men and women are strongly dissatisfied with their parents, or even run away from home and become sworn enemies?

  So they were nervous.

  They just don't know that the Li Qian now is no longer the Li Qian of before.

  The hardships of the past thirty years have given Li Qian a maturity that surpasses even his peers. At this moment, facing his father's inquiring gaze, he stands firm and calm, with an unwavering expression.

  "Dad, I understand what you mean," he said.

  Mr. Li was taken aback by her words and turned around to exchange a glance with Mrs. Li, both of their eyes filled with astonishment.

  "Do... you understand now?" asked Li's father.

  Li Qian smiled and said, "I love music, this won't change. I will continue to practice and accumulate energy, this also won't change. However, first I will ensure that I can get into a public university, hmm, best if it's a public university in Beijing. Like this... do you think it's okay?"

  Mr. Li was taken aback for a moment, furrowed his brow and thought for a while before sighing, putting out the cigarette in the ashtray with his hand.

  Then, he raised three fingers, "Final exam, get into the top thirty in class, what you want to do during summer vacation, I and your mom won't interfere with you! However, entering high school third year, every monthly test, must not be lower than the top thirty, final exam, top twenty, and keep it until the college entrance examination...... how about that?"

  Mr. and Mrs. Li's eyes fell on Jian at the same time, and Mrs. Li seemed to be afraid of giving her son too much pressure, so she deliberately encouraged him: "Xiao Qian, think about it, in the past few years, when you were in junior high school, wasn't that exam within the top ten or top five? You got into the key class at No. 13 Middle School and you can still keep your ranking within the top ten or at least the top twenty, right? You're very smart, it's definitely no problem, right?"

  "Dad didn't mean to interfere with you, but from your recent behavior, speech and actions, Dad can feel that you've become more mature than before. So, Dad thinks you should be able to understand the good intentions behind what Mom and I are saying today. We're not asking for much, just hoping to see you get into college and not fall behind your peers at the starting line... Of course, even if you do get into college, Dad still believes that music is only suitable as a hobby and not as a career. Those stars may look glamorous, but you can't just focus on them, you should think about how many people fail for every one person who succeeds! Take me for example, I like writing, that's true, but what's my profession? A Chinese teacher!"

  Mr. Li became more and more excited as he spoke, and seemed to be getting carried away with his words, at which point Mrs. Li would nudge him with her elbow.

  So Li Baba's "Teach Son" came to an abrupt end.

  Li Qian smiled and said, "Dad, I know you're full of doubts right now, but give me some time, okay? At least as long as I guarantee my academic performance and ensure that I can get into college, don't interfere with my music, okay? I promise to you and mom that I will definitely succeed! Of course...of course, hmm, no need for the final exams, this monthly exam, I will be in the top thirty, and then, as you wish, from now on, my grades will meet your requirements every time! But don't interfere with me, okay?"

  Mr. Li turned his head and exchanged a glance with Mrs. Li, tapping his fingers on the table a few times before nodding solemnly, "I still maintain my opinion, I don't support or encourage you to pursue music. However, as long as you can achieve the grades I require, your mom and I won't object!"

  Li Qian's face lit up with a bright smile, he stood up and walked to the middle of his parents, one hand on each side, embracing them tightly, and gave each of them a big kiss on the cheek.

  Seeing his father's face full of disgust and disdain as he wiped his mouth, Li Qian's smile suddenly became even more radiant.

  "Deal!" he said, "I love music, but I also love you guys!"