The recording was nearing its end. “You guys sang a lot just now, but they were mostly traditional art forms. I want to ask, can Jesse sing pop songs?” the host asked. This wasn’t something they had planned; it wasn’t in the script. Someone in the audience immediately shouted, “‘Qiu Shui’!” “Sing ‘Qiu Shui’? The original singer is sitting right here; I’m afraid I’ll ruin the song,” Qi Shejiang said. But aside from ‘Qiu Shui’, he really didn’t know what else to sing.
The audience shouted various requests, and after thinking for a moment, Qi Shejiang replied, “I’ll sing a new song. It came out in 1937.” Laughter erupted from the audience. “Tian ya ah hai jiao, mi ya mi zhi yin. Xiao mei mei chang ge lang zou qin, lang ya zan men liang shi yi tiao xin……” Qi Shejiang sang softly with his head down, singing slowly. “The Song of the Wandering Singer,” the interlude of the 1937 film “Ma Lu Tian Shi,” was indeed a new song for Qi Shejiang. He learned it to sing for the audience, who loved it. Starting from the third line, the sound of the guitar joined in. Qi Shejiang looked up and saw it was Zhang Yue; suddenly, the song felt much fuller. “Jia shan ya bei wang, lei ya lei zhan jin……” Qi Shejiang recalled the times when he performed on the streets, singing this song when people would sing along. The audience gradually fell silent, listening to Qi Shejiang’s gentle and clear singing, filled with emotion, carrying a hint of sorrow. “Xiao mei mei xiang lang zhi dao jin, lang ya huan nan zhi jiao en ai shen.” Qi Shejiang’s singing was so infectious, the audience couldn’t help but hum along softly. Qi Shejiang was surprised and looked up.
