Chapter 2

I sat on the cold floor, looking around the cramped space that was filled with so many memories.

Past scenes flashed through my mind. Five years of my youth, all wasted.

Just last week, when we got our first signing bonus, Jax had spun me around in the street late at night, screaming with excitement:

"Kira! We did it! Soon, we'll be on the music festival stage, letting everyone hear our songs!"

In that moment, the light in his eyes was brighter than the stars.

I thought we'd be each other's strongest support, moving from obscurity to success together.

I was wrong.

I was too naive, thinking people's hearts would never change.

Jax was no longer the boy with light in his eyes.

That winter, the boy who played guitar in the heavy snow, singing his first love song to me, that genuine, heart-pounding feeling despite the cold.

It had long since vanished with time.

The glitter of fame and fortune had blinded his eyes and corrupted his heart.

He was no longer walking the same path as me.

What he wanted was a fancy birdcage and carefully prepared feed.

And all I wanted was for my bird to fly freely in the sky where it belonged.

My phone screen lit up. A message from Jax:

"Babe, rehearsal might end early tonight. Wait for me to get back. Love you."

Followed by a kiss emoji.

I looked at that "Love you" and felt an immense irony.

I didn't reply. I just calmly retrieved the song's demo from deep within my computer, backed it up, and encrypted it.

This was my heart and soul, my baby.

No one would ever distort it into something I didn't recognize.

Soon, Jax pushed open the door.

He pulled off his sweat-soaked T-shirt, tossed it casually on the couch, and came over to hug me from behind.

"Kira, why didn't you come to the rehearsal room to find me? I bought you your favorite bubble tea."

His chin rubbed against my neck, his tone playful, as if the cold, ruthless person in the rehearsal room just now wasn't him.

I didn't move or respond.

"What's wrong?"

He sensed my stiffness and turned me around to face him.

"Are you still mad about me yelling at you last time? I already apologized, didn't I? I've been under a lot of stress lately, Kira, don't be so petty."

"Last time," he referred to, was when I found out he was getting very close to an award-winning producer named Scarlett.

I just asked a couple of questions, and he flew into a rage.

Now, I realized Scarlett must have been the one Tidal Wave Records sent to recruit him.

"Jax," I looked into his eyes, asking calmly,

"Is there something you need to tell me about 'The Unnamed Bird'?"

His eyes flickered for a second, then he chuckled calmly:

"Oh, you mean that. You know Scarlett from Tidal Wave, she's a top producer. She said our song has massive hit potential but needs a few tweaks to make it more market-friendly."

He stroked my face, his voice casual:

"She's right, too niche songs don't easily blow up. Haven't you always said you wanted a bigger place? Once this song hits big, we'll have the money."

I asked, word for word:

"So, you're going to turn our heart and soul into a piece of trash?"

Jax's patience seemed to run out. He let go of me, frustration clouding his face.

"Trash song? Kira, can you stop being so naive? Making music isn't a game; it's about making money to live! Scarlett is right, we can't always live in our own little world; we need to learn to play by the market's rules!"

"Besides, I'm not doing this just for myself; I'm doing it for the future of our entire band! Do you think Alex and Finn don't want to make money? You're just so arrogant!"