110: Chapter 109 I cried!

In the early morning, Kim Taeyeon and Lee Tima, followed by the production crew, strolled through the quiet streets of Jeonju Hanok Village. The morning mist had not yet fully dissipated, and the sunlight filtered through the ancient eaves, casting mottled shadows. This was the place where Kim Taeyeon grew up; every stone slab and every wooden door seemed to hide memories of her childhood.

Today, Kim Taeyeon wore a simple cotton-linen long dress, her expression peaceful and nostalgic. She slowed her pace and, facing the camera, began to introduce the area in a soft voice:

"This is the alley I used to run through all the time when I was a child. I always loved visiting that stationery store after school; although I couldn't afford very expensive pens, I was happy just smelling the scent of paper and ink. And at that corner, there used to be an old man selling sugar pancakes; his sugar pancakes were especially sweet and crispy..."

Her narration carried warmth, slowly drawing the audience into the world of her memories. The cameraman focused on capturing her expressions and the surrounding scenery, and the director was very satisfied with this naturally flowing emotion.

Meanwhile, Lee Tima, following half a step behind Kim Taeyeon, was in a completely different state.

Today, she was also wearing cute children's clothes that were easy to move in, but she held a professional-looking leather notebook and a pen that didn't quite match her image. She didn't look around, nor was she immersed in Kim Taeyeon's nostalgic atmosphere; instead, her small brow was slightly furrowed, and her ears were pricked up as if she were capturing invisible frequencies in the air.

Kim Taeyeon's gentle words, the occasional sound of a bicycle bell in the alley, the faint bustle of the market in the distance, the sound of morning dew dripping from the eaves... these sounds seemed to automatically decompose and reorganize in her mind.

When Kim Taeyeon mentioned that the "sugar pancakes were especially sweet and crispy," Lee Tima's eyes suddenly lit up. She quickly flipped open her small notebook, which revealed a blank musical staff! Almost without needing to think, her pencil moved rapidly across the paper, sketching out tadpole-like notes while she muttered to herself:

"Sweet... crispy... happy childhood memories..."

"Maybe I can use a cheerful tone for songwriting..."

She stopped her pen, tilted her head, and in a tiny volume that only she could hear, hummed a light, jumping melody with a bit of a cartoonish feel. The melody was simple but full of carefree happiness, like sugar granules bouncing in the sunlight.

After humming, she nodded in satisfaction, her pen tip continuing to fly as she recorded the melody completely on the staff. Then, staring at the melody, she began to try writing lyrics. The pencil hesitated for a moment before writing two lines:

[Verse 1]

"The jingling school bell rings, backpack slung over the shoulder,"

"The stone path clatters, rushing toward that sweet alley entrance."

[Verse 2]

"In the wrinkles of the old man's smile, the sun's tenderness is hidden,"

"One bite of the golden crispiness, the simplest possession in the world."

After writing only two verses, she stopped, seemingly feeling that she had captured the core imagery.

However, Lee Tima's "creation" was not over. Her small brow furrowed again as she looked at the cheerful melody and lyrics, as if scrutinizing an unfinished work.

"But after the cheerful song is released..." she murmured to herself, her pencil lightly tapping on another blank page of the staff.

"I can change the key... or slow it down... turn it into a new song..."

Her gaze became somewhat deep, forming a strange contrast with her youthful face.

She picked up her pen again and, below the previously cheerful melody, began to compose another completely different set of notes. The rhythm was significantly elongated, the progression of the notes became deep and circuitous, and the original major key color was skillfully adjusted, blending in a sense of minor-key melancholy. She didn't change the lyrics; they were still the same two lines about school and sugar pancakes.

After finishing, she put down her pen, closed her eyes, and in a starkly different, slow, deep voice with a raspy texture (mimicking an adult female voice), she hummed those lyrics again. The same words, set against the transposed and slow melody, instantly lost their childish charm and sweetness, turning into a faint longing and nostalgia for lost innocent times, even tinged with a sadness that things remain while people have changed.

After humming the transposed version, she thought for a moment and added a new score next to it, labeled "Original Happy Version (Extremely Slow)." This was to play the initial cheerful melody at an extremely slow speed; although the notes remained the same, the change in speed would also completely flip the emotion. The fast-paced joy would present a kind of "memory montage" sadness at a slow speed, as if viewed through a warm-colored but distant filter.

Having done all this, Lee Tima looked up, watched the back of Kim Taeyeon narrating gently ahead, and then looked at the three parallel scores in her notebook (Original Happy Version, Transposed Sad Version, Original Slow Version). A "Jiang Zhiyu-style" cunning smile, a mix of satisfaction and commercial calculation, appeared on her small face:

"This sense of contrast... I feel like it will have a great market potential~"

Her voice was still very soft, but her tone was frighteningly experienced:

"For example... editing clips from tearjerker dramas where the protagonist recalls beautiful past memories, or a collection of photos of couples smiling and holding hands during graduation season but eventually parting... with this music, play the happy version for the memories first, and then suddenly cut to the transposed sad version or the slow version..."

She even thought of the distribution channels:

"It will definitely go viral on TikTok... The hashtags will be #OneSongTwoLives #SugarPancakesAndTime... The views and fan creations will definitely explode!"

She was completely immersed in her "commercial music blueprint," counting the possible distribution effects and royalty income on her fingers (learned from Jiang Zhiyu), completely failing to notice that the female assistant responsible for taking care of her and the Manager walking slightly behind were currently staring at her with eyes as if they were looking at a monster, and at the small notebook in her hand that seemed to emit an "ominous" light.

The female assistant almost squeezed the water bottle in her hand flat, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes filled with shock, confusion, and a hint of fear. She had heard Lee Tima's humming (though the voice was small), saw her writing the score rapidly, and even heard her subsequent "sophisticated views" about the market, editing, TikTok, and hashtags... Is this something an eight-year-old child should understand and think about?! Composing a melody is one thing, but being able to instantly conceive a "one song for multiple uses" emotional contrast routine and even think of a short video marketing strategy?!

The Manager felt a chill down his spine even more. He remembered last night's comments about "regaining grandeur" and "adding a new member to the family," and then looked at this scene... This child is definitely not an ordinary child! What kind of "little monster" did Jiang Zhiyu actually raise?! This musical sensitivity and business acumen are simply terrifying!

Kim Taeyeon finished her narration at this point and turned around, wanting to see Lee Tima's state, only to encounter the ghost-like expressions of the assistant and the Manager, as well as Lee Tima's thoughtful, "evil" (in the eyes of others) smile that didn't match her age as she stared at her notebook.

"Tima?" Kim Taeyeon called out.

Lee Tima immediately snapped out of her "commercial contemplation" and instantly switched back to her innocent and romantic mode, looking up with a sweet smile: "Ne! Taeyeon Unnie! The scenery here is so beautiful! Unnie's stories are also so good to hear!" She snapped the notebook shut and stuffed it back into her small backpack, as if that little music demon who had just composed multiple versions of a melody and planned a viral spread had never existed.

Kim Taeyeon looked at the strangely-faced assistant and Manager, then at the "innocent" Lee Tima. She felt a slight suspicion in her heart but didn't think much of it, smiling: "Then let's continue walking forward; just ahead is the small park I used to go to often when I was a child."

Filming continued.

But the female assistant and the Manager could no longer remain calm. They watched Lee Tima's back as she skipped along beside Kim Taeyeon, feeling as if that small figure was shrouded in a spine-chilling mist composed of Jiang Zhiyu's "devilish teaching," the "songstress talent" of the Tianxuan Continent, and a "commercial intuition" that transcended her age.

Meanwhile, Lee Tima, while listening to Kim Taeyeon's memories, was already automatically pairing visuals with the "Song of Sugar Pancakes" in her head, thinking whether an animated style or a live-action style would be more effective for a TikTok short video...

The "music steps" root-seeking journey in Jeonju, because of the addition of the "unstable factor" Lee Tima, was becoming increasingly unpredictable. Kim Taeyeon was looking for past musical memories and her inner "little soul," while Lee Tima seemed to be using her unique way to pre-compose a "viral" BGM for this journey that possessed both artistic quality and viral potential.

Walking slowly along the familiar yet unfamiliar streets, Kim Taeyeon's narration became deeper. She was no longer simply introducing locations but began to share the tiny yet vivid emotions and stories behind those places.

"Standing at this intersection, I feel like I can still see my childhood self, walking home slowly with my head down because I didn't do well on an exam." Kim Taeyeon stopped under an old locust tree, her fingers gently brushing over the rough bark, her voice soft. "At that time, I felt like the sky was falling, but looking back now, I only feel that those troubles were so simple and precious."

She looked toward the faint silhouette of her alma mater in the distance, her gaze far-reaching: "Time is like the wind; it blows away many things and brings many others. It blows away those specific troubles and the carefree years, but it also brings growth, responsibility, and the Kim Taeyeon standing here now—a Kim Taeyeon who is still singing, still searching, and still nostalgic for the past."

Her tone was no longer just simple nostalgic sadness but had an added layer of gratitude and release after settling. She was grateful that the past had shaped her current self and had released those hurdles she once thought she couldn't overcome. This sublimation of emotion made the entire filming atmosphere even more profound and moving. The director nodded frequently behind the monitor; this was exactly the depth the program wanted to capture.

However, this realization about "wind" and "time," falling into the ears of Lee Tima—who was seamlessly switching between "commercial music mode" and "genius creation mode"—was like a drop of water into boiling oil, instantly triggering an even more intense reaction!

"Wind... time... blowing away... bringing..." Lee Tima's eyes lit up with a flash, ten times brighter than when she thought of the "sugar pancakes" earlier! It was as if countless notes and images were crashing wildly in her mind!

"Wind... longing... time... space... hair..."

She suddenly pulled out that small notebook again, the movement almost violent this time, and the pencil in her small fingers nearly created an afterimage! She completely ignored the filming still in progress and Kim Taeyeon's state of being immersed in her personal realization; she sat down on a clean stone block by the roadside and buried her head in writing.

On a new page of the notebook, she forcefully wrote the title:

"windmill" (Tentative)

Then, as if possessed by inspiration, her pen tip began to compose the main melody with incredible fluidity. This melody was different from the lightheartedness of "sugar pancakes" or the deliberately reversed sadness; it was a more ethereal, distant tone with a sense of narrative and spatial flow. The rise and fall of the notes were like the trajectory of the wind, sometimes circling, sometimes racing, sometimes gently brushing past, and sometimes crossing mountain ranges.