Chapter 105: By the Shores of Lake Baikal
His voice flowed like water over smooth pebbles.
— Song Baining.
...
No one had expected Liao Yuan to suddenly start playing and singing a song.
At that moment, Liu Hai was stunned. He turned his head and whispered, “When did President Liao ever become a singer?”
Fu Xiaoci looked equally puzzled. “How would I know?”
Just then, the melody began to weave gently, and the singing rose.
“In my arms, in your eyes,
Where the spring breeze is intoxicated, where the grass is lush and green...”
The voice was as tender as water.
But in an instant, silence fell over the scene.
Song Baining stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to look at the man singing with such earnestness, surprise shining in her eyes.
Under the shade of the trees, sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, casting mottled spots upon the ground.
“Moonlight spills love,
Filling the lake’s surface,
The two of us by the campfire, lighting up the entire night...”
The summer breeze carried the scent of fresh grass, brushing against Song Baining’s slightly trembling eyelashes.
That gentle voice, each word and phrase washing over her like a lover’s hand, tenderly tucking back the strands of hair at her temple.
“Years later, drifting like clouds,
Those shifting footsteps make it hard for us to hold hands,
In this life, how many ‘you and I’
Are swallowed by the moonlit night, as gentle as water...”
Liu Hai gasped, his eyes wide with shock.
The aura, the vocal skill, the mastery over the lyrics and melody...
Could it be that President Liao was truly a professional singer?
Fu Xiaoci bit her lip, a bright light flickering in her eyes. Beneath that tender voice, vivid and exquisite images unfolded in her mind.
Two figures, nestled by the lakeside.
He embraced her, gazing down at her.
Together, they looked out over the entire lake.
Where spring breezes stretched ten miles, and fragrant grasses flourished.
As night deepened and moonlight blanketed the ground, a campfire was lit by the shore, making even the darkest night bright.
Bathed in the firelight, her cheeks flushed like the flames—so stunningly beautiful it took one’s breath away...
Pah, pah, pah!
Fu Xiaoci shook her head vigorously. In an instant, her cheeks flushed with a rosy glow, staring dreamily at the singing Liao Yuan.
From afar, the cicadas seemed to join in a call-and-response, blending with the gentle song.
“How I long for the day when the past returns,
When we linger endlessly by Lake Baikal’s shore—”
So beautiful!
The young guitarist watched Liao Yuan sing and play, his heart full of admiration.
He pulled himself from the spell of the song’s imagery and glanced at the goddess, Song Baining, only to find her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the man with the guitar!
The boy looked back at Liao Yuan and realized the two were exchanging glances—his heart sank, the time suddenly unbearable.
At last, he sighed wearily, his eyes filled with endless loneliness and sorrow.
To have personally handed over the goddess to his rival—truly a heartbreak beyond words... ah!
“On a certain day, you suddenly appeared,
Clear and mysterious by Lake Baikal’s shore,
Clear and mysterious, like the shore of Baikal...”
As Liao Yuan sang, his gaze never wavered from Song Baining’s.
Only when the song ended did he lower his head to wipe the guitar case, then returned the instrument to the boy with a smile. “Thanks, little brother, a really nice guitar.”
The boy snorted coldly, took back the guitar, and strode away.
Liao Yuan looked on in puzzlement.
Song Baining watched the boy disappear into the distance before softly asking, “What’s the name of this song?”
“Lake Baikal’s Shore,” Liao Yuan replied with a smile. “The world’s seventh-largest freshwater lake.”
“Lake Baikal’s shore, Lake Baikal’s shore...”
Song Baining repeated the name softly, tears suddenly welling in her eyes.
The southern shores of Lake Baikal once belonged to China.
It was also the birthplace of the historical tale “Su Wu Herding Sheep.”
But during the Qing Dynasty, the Treaty of Nerchinsk ceded this territory to Tsarist Russia.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Soviet Union initially promised to return the region, but later tricked China into tearing up agreements, formally seizing the lake’s territory.
Twenty years ago, China and Russia signed a final border agreement, with China officially relinquishing claims to Lake Baikal’s shores and other former territories.
Liao Yuan had been playing and singing casually, unaware whether any of this history was true.
But Song Baining, a top graduate from Fudan University, was intimately familiar with the centuries-old history. Upon hearing the song’s title, she naturally wove the melody into its historical context.
For instance, the lines “in my arms, in your eyes” symbolized Lake Baikal itself—once cradled in China’s arms, now under Russia’s watchful gaze.
“Where the spring breeze is intoxicated, where the grass is lush and green” alluded to the treaty signed over three hundred years ago.
“The shifting footsteps make it hard for us to hold hands,” “how many ‘you and I’,” and “swallowed by the moonlit night” referred to the soldiers who fought bravely to defend the land.
At the song’s end, “how I long for the day when the past returns” expressed the author’s hope for the land’s restoration.
Hearing it, one could not help but be moved to tears.
At least Song Baining was deeply touched.
But a thousand people’s eyes see a thousand Hamlets; perspectives vary widely.
For example, when Fu Xiaoci listened, her mind was filled entirely with images of lovers’ passion...
Vulgar, shameless, lewd...
Ah, Qiu!
Fu Xiaoci sneezed and patted her flushed cheeks, uncertain, “Do I have a fever?”
Liu Hai, recalling the lyrics of “Lake Baikal’s Shore,” couldn’t help but praise, “President Liao, I never expected you to be a professional singer. I’ve worked on the production of ‘Singer’ and consider myself well-versed, but I can guarantee that even those seasoned stars would be humbled by your voice standing here...”
Liao Yuan smiled lightly, taking it all in stride.
In terms of vocal skills and technique, he dared say he ranked among the very best in all of China.
At that moment, Song Baining took a deep breath and asked cautiously, “Are you sure you want to dedicate this song to me?”
“Sure, I can dedicate it to you,” Liao Yuan replied frankly. “I have plenty of songs like this.”
Song Baining asked again, “So you’re the composer and lyricist of this song?”
Liao Yuan cleared his throat and returned a noncommittal question: “Is there a problem with that?”
“Thank you, I really like it.”
Song Baining studied his face carefully, then turned and began to walk away, softly humming, “On a certain day, you suddenly appeared, clear and mysterious by Lake Baikal’s shore...”
Her voice faded as she walked further and further.
Liao Yuan: “...”
What just happened?
Liu Hai asked, puzzled, “President Liao, did she accept it?”
Two bodyguards stepped forward. “Boss, should we grab her and give her a beating?”
Liu Hai: “...”
Fu Xiaoci exclaimed anxiously, “Hey, you can’t let her run off! Liao Yuan, you haven’t registered the copyright for this song, have you?”
“No pain, no gain,” Liao Yuan said with a grin. “She’s already moved. Let her think it over; we’ll come back in a couple of days.”