Chapter 360: Coincidence or Anomaly?

Putting down the guitar, Xia Yu crossed his arms and began to think.

The song by Ning Qiuer must have been written earlier than the time he composed this melody, so if there was any overlap, it would be his fault.

Although he hadn’t intentionally listened to Ning Qiuer’s songs, she had been so popular back then that this song might have been played on the streets and in alleys—he might have heard it somewhere, which would be normal.

However, he considered himself far from being a musical genius; even subconsciously, he probably wouldn’t copy someone else’s melody directly. What’s more, the melodies were exactly the same.

So, he could only chalk it up to coincidence. After all, since it was just a segment of over ten seconds, it might not be completely impossible… right?

Putting this matter aside for now, Xia Yu took out his phone again. He had already listened to all of Ning Qiuer’s albums, but there were still some scattered songs, such as theme songs for events or movies, that he hadn’t heard yet.

Driven by curiosity, he continued listening. Ten minutes later, he pressed the pause button and flipped open his notebook. There, he found another string of melody that was identical.

After finishing the rest of Ning Qiuer’s songs and staring at the two identical melodies, Xia Yu fell into deep thought.

His first thought was to approach Ning Qiuer directly and ask her, but he couldn’t figure out how to bring it up.

He couldn’t just bluntly say her previous composition was identical to his melody—it wouldn’t work even if he brought it to the police, as they would probably suspect him instead.

What about hinting around the topic?

It was already too late today; any questions would have to wait until tomorrow.

With this doubt lingering in his mind, Xia Yu returned to his bedroom but tossed and turned restlessly in bed, unable to fall asleep.

Without sufficient information, he couldn’t make guesses, as unfounded speculation would only scare himself.

After finally falling asleep with difficulty, the next morning Xia Yu sent a message to Liu Manman.

“Is Ning Qiuer still around?”

It would be better to meet in person to subtly bring up the topic. After all, indirect inquiries usually rely on casual conversation, and initiating casual chat with someone of the opposite sex who you don’t have a close relationship with on QQ would immediately seem suspicious.

Liu Manman replied quickly:

“She’s still alive and staying at my place. What’s up?”

Xia Yu had already asked Yu Ningmeng to handle the matter of the song “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky” the day before. Now, seeking out Ning Qiuer lacked a proper reason, so he claimed he had a new song.

Soon after, Ning Qiuer sent him a message on QQ:

“Hearing from Manman that you have a new song? Can I take a look?”

She didn’t question why Xia Yu had messaged Liu Manman instead of her directly. Although she was somewhat immature, she still understood adult social graces—sometimes pretending to be clueless was better when it came to awkward topics.

Xia Yu had asked Liu Manman simply because he wasn’t ready to face Ning Qiuer directly yet.

He made afternoon plans to meet Ning Qiuer.

Putting his phone back into his pocket, Xia Yu left for the archery range. He needed the entire morning to ensure he remained calm and fully prepared.

While shooting arrows at the target, Xia Yu brainstormed ways to steer the conversation towards those two songs.

He soon found a solution: bring up songs with similar styles or themes.

As arrows thudded into their targets, time quickly moved towards noon.

After having lunch at the restaurant upstairs in the club, Xia Yu headed to Liu Manman’s house.

“Good afternoon!” Liu Manman opened the door and threw her arms around Xia Yu’s neck, whispering, “What are you plotting? Ning Qiuer doesn’t have any jewelry to give you.”

Knowing Xia Yu rarely reached out without a reason, Liu Manman sensed something unusual.

Although it seemed unlikely, Xia Yu still feared scaring the horse and alerting Ning Qiuer, so he rubbed his chin and flirtatiously replied, “Maybe I’ve fallen for her?”

“You’re still after her stuff, aren’t you?” Seeing Xia Yu’s reaction, Liu Manman was convinced he was after something of Ning Qiuer’s.

After settling Liu Manman’s suspicions, Xia Yu entered the living room, where Ning Qiuer wasn’t present.

“She’s in the kitchen,” Liu Manman said, sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Soon after, Ning Qiuer walked out of the kitchen holding a plate of biscuits.

They placed the biscuits on the coffee table, ate a couple, and then each began pursuing their own goals.

Xia Yu first presented the two songs he had prepared. Ning Qiuer fetched a guitar from Liu Manman’s room, strummed it briefly, and hummed through the songs.

“They’re both amazing!” Her face was filled with delight.

Although she believed Xia Yu could produce good songs, having only heard “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky” before, she had originally harbored some concerns. Now, however, she was completely reassured.

Following his plan, Xia Yu then steered the conversation towards the topic.

He first mentioned that this melody was quite similar to one of Ning Qiuer’s previous songs, chatted briefly, and then discussed his creative process for parts of the song.

Of course, the process was fabricated. Although Xia Yu could use his musical skill level 6 to compose directly, he took the easy route by borrowing songs from Earth.

After finishing his story, he looked at Ning Qiuer.

He regretted not having an acting skill, which would have allowed him to feign an expression of expectation.

Fortunately, even without this expression, Ning Qiuer, out of politeness, began discussing how she had composed that song.

“I was about thirteen when I wrote that song…” Ning Qiuer said, recalling as she spoke.

At that moment, Liu Manman, still watching TV, interrupted: “What are we having for dinner?”

This question, full of profound philosophical meaning, immediately shifted Ning Qiuer’s attention.

As Ning Qiuer and Liu Manman transitioned from discussing whether to eat at home or go out, to debating between Western and Chinese cuisine and specific dishes, Xia Yu silently marked this as another grievance.

Fortunately, Ning Qiuer had a good memory. After finishing the discussion, she continued recounting the story of her song.

“I was sleeping, and suddenly had a feeling in my dream. When I woke up, I thought about the dream and wrote this song. The dream was something like this…”

Using his skill in psychoanalysis, Xia Yu analyzed the content of Ning Qiuer’s dream, but couldn’t find any connection between the dream and the melody.

Unable to find any clues, Xia Yu feigned the surprised expression an ordinary person might show and ended the conversation.

After leaving Liu Manman’s house and returning home, Xia Yu once again asked Yu Ningmeng to look into Ning Qiuer’s background.

Yu Ningmeng, experienced in such matters, quickly gathered intelligence.

Ning Qiuer’s real name was Qin Ning. She was from Yanyang. Her father was a gangster, and her mother had been a street singer. She had lived a hard life since childhood. At fourteen, she was scouted and entered the entertainment industry, where she quickly became a star.

Seeing the similarities between Ning Qiuer’s childhood experiences and his own, Xia Yu suspected that this coincidence might have led her to compose the same melodies.

Well, there was no use in overthinking. He would just have to pay closer attention to her in the future. For now, Xia Yu decided to put this matter aside.