“Make sure to wear your mask,” Zhou Xiaoli reminded Zhao Yingge with a laugh.

As the most influential talent show in Qinzhou, “Bloom” garners a lot of attention every year. Zhao Yingge, being the annual champion of the show, is quite well-known and can easily be recognized by fans in the cinema.

Today is Tuesday.

It’s the release day of the movie “Dance of Fish and Dragon.”

Having bought the tickets in advance, Zhou Xiaoli went to the cinema with Zhao Yingge. The movie had a moderate budget and wasn’t a top-tier blockbuster, but it attracted a fair number of fans of this genre. The theater where Zhao Yingge was seated was quite full.

Once they settled in, the movie began quickly. Zhao Yingge and Zhou Xiaoli munched on popcorn as they watched, feeling quite relaxed.

The big screen lit up.

The story began with a little girl and her parents accidentally entering a magical world through a mysterious tunnel during a vacation. This world was both beautiful and dangerous, filled with demons, magical phenomena, and a strong sense of fantasy, vibrant with colors.

In this world, the girl’s parents, driven by greed, broke the rules and were captured by an old witch with magical powers, leaving the girl to wander alone in this perilous realm. She faced numerous dangers, but just as she was about to be devoured by a beautiful yet deadly snake spirit, a powerful white dragon, capable of transforming into human form, saved her.

However, the girl didn’t expect that this white dragon was actually the old witch’s subordinate. Initially, the girl was afraid of the white dragon and even resisted him because the witch was his master and had captured her parents. But as they spent time together, she was moved by the dragon’s kindness.

Gradually, they became close friends, sharing everything with each other and experiencing many adventures together. Yet, the girl always had a lingering concern—she never gave up on rescuing her parents. Sensing the girl’s longing, the white dragon made a difficult decision to betray the witch and help the girl save her parents.

But as they rescued the girl’s parents, the dragon himself fell victim to the witch’s evil curse. It turned out he was under the witch’s control. The white dragon could never betray his master; if he did, the curse would activate, causing him to lose his dragon form and human shape, forcing him to live in the deep sea forever, unable to return to land.

He transformed back into a fish—a very large fish. Enduring the pain from the curse, he flew through the sky with miraculous strength, guiding and protecting the girl and her parents as they left the dangerous world.

As they neared the exit, they passed over a sea. The white dragon, now a big fish, could no longer hold on and fell into the sea, bidding a final farewell to the girl. This was a magical sea, possessing the power to evoke memories of the past. The movie then used a flashback to tell the origin of the story.

When the girl was young, she once saved up her allowance for half a month to buy her favorite snacks. But when she passed by the seaside, she saw a fisherman selling a beautiful fish. Feeling sorry for the fish, she used her money to buy it and released it back into the sea.

That fish was the white dragon.

Then came the white dragon’s memories. When he was still a fish, he worked tirelessly to leap over the dragon gate, gaining the form of a white dragon and powerful abilities, as well as the human form he had always dreamed of. He worked so hard because he wanted to find the girl and repay her kindness. But he didn’t expect that at the moment of his transformation, he would be captured by the evil witch and forced to become her pet.

The origin of the story surprised the audience. What seemed like a chance encounter was actually a long-awaited reunion. But what truly overwhelmed the audience’s emotions was a song that played with the rising memories in the sea: “The waves silently drown the night, flooding the corners of the sky’s end. The big fish swims through the gaps of dreams, gazing at your sleeping silhouette…”

The piano played softly.

The singing lingered.

The cinema grew quiet.

Hearing the ocean-like song, Zhao Yingge paused with a piece of popcorn halfway to her mouth, as if struck by something, lost in thought.

“I’m afraid you’ll fly far away Afraid you’ll leave me Even more afraid you’ll stay here forever Every tear Flows towards you Flowing back to the sea beneath the sky…”

The big fish and the girl bid a reluctant farewell, the song echoing the story. In the next moment, the almost ethereal harmony surrounded everyone, as if from the mysterious world in the movie, sending chills down many spines.

“Hiss.”

Some audience members began to sob softly. Zhou Xiaoli, sitting to Zhao Yingge’s right, took out tissues, but soon used up half a pack, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

The cinema grew even quieter.

This song at the end of the movie, paired with the film, was a powerful tearjerker, and the harmony in the song detonated this emotional bomb, leaving no one in the theater unaffected.

Friendship?

Love?

The movie never clarified, but as the big fish returned to the sea, its broad back disappearing into the sunset, the girl’s tears flowed freely as she waved goodbye desperately.

Far off on the horizon.

The big fish dove into the sea.

The end of the movie coincided with the end of the song, and the final trembling lyrics pierced countless hearts like a sharp dagger: “Every tear… flows towards you… flowing back… to our first meeting…”

…

As the ending credits rolled, no one left the theater. In the slightly sour atmosphere, many discussions began, most of them tinged with a nasal tone similar to a sob:

“I held back my tears for over an hour, but in the end, I was defeated by a song.”

“Every lyric was like a knife, stabbing straight into my heart. The last line was a critical hit—I died.”

“I doubt I have the courage to watch this movie again unless they cut out the last song.”

“Who wrote this song? Do they think my tears are free?”

“I now suspect the whole movie was just a music video for the last song.”

“I was too naive. I thought this was a healing film, but it turned out to be a heart-wrenching one. That last song is a killer!”

“…”

A woman with red eyes teased the man beside her, “Honey, didn’t you say you never cry at movies? Didn’t you say you hate emotional manipulation, that it’s just a director’s trick to get tears from the audience? Why are you crying like this?”

“I really didn’t cry during the movie… until I heard that song.”

This was a man’s last bit of stubbornness.

“Are you out of tissues? Do you have any more?” Zhou Xiaoli rubbed her nose and nudged Zhao Yingge’s arm with her elbow.

“…”

Zhao Yingge didn’t respond, her reddened eyes fixed on the movie’s final credits.

“What are you looking at? The movie’s over.”

Unable to find tissues, Zhou Xiaoli wiped her tears with her sleeve.

Zhao Yingge still didn’t respond until she saw the final credits, the information she had been searching for since the movie ended—

[Insert Song, Theme Song, Ending Song: “Big Fish”]

[Lyrics, Composition, Arrangement: Xian Yu]

[Singer: Jiang Kui]

[Special Thanks: Xian Yu]

“Big Fish…” she murmured the words, and then, as if recalling something, a blush spread across her face.

“Xian Yu, Xian Yu!”

Zhou Xiaoli, still with a nasal tone from crying, asked curiously, “What Xian Yu? Why are you acting so mysterious?”

“Xian Yu!”

Zhao Yingge’s voice trembled slightly, “The movie’s soundtrack was written by Xian Yu. Wasn’t the song Starlight sent us last time also written by Xian Yu?”

Zhou Xiaoli suddenly realized, “I think so…”

Zhao Yingge stood up abruptly, “Let’s go back and listen to the song!”