Disclaimer: All of this is my personal take on recent events. This is going to be about Tianziyu, so if you're not into that, move along. No one is forcing you to read it or consume it.
I need to put something on paper or else I'll go crazy...
With the recent bts from Revenged Love, I couldn't stop thinking about how music has played such a crucial role in Ziyu's life. With everything he has been through, I wasn't surprised to see how guarded he was and probably still is with meeting new people. He always appears joyful, exhibiting a certain youthful energy that hides the pain behind it. In the numerous clips I've watched of Ziyu, his eyes have always looked so dull and lifeless. As if he were just smiling for the camera and not truly feeling it. Only when he's singing do I see a genuine joy and sparkle, and it brings me hope that the industry has not completely broken this child. This kid truly lives and breathes through music, and it is through music that he shares his love with the world.
I remembered fondly one of the quotes from his most recent interviews in the June 2026 issue of Cosmo Magazine, where he says, "I think what I enjoy most about music is its expression - when singing, I can fully feel the charm of the song itself and freely express my own thoughts."
"https://weibo.com/ttarticle/x/m/show/id/2309405304273474027738
This brings me to my point. For someone so reserved and shy in the public eye, he is f-ing loud in his music. Let me preface this by saying, I've never been the type to actively search for lyrics to any of the songs I listen to. Which also explains why I suck at sing-along because I genuinely don't know the lyrics---as long as the beat is good and fits with my current mood, I'm all in.
However, I find myself breaking this habit of mine to actively search for Ziyu's lyrics and, boy, was I in for a ride. This young man is so loud! I'm not gonna go into that journey since I will be here for days writing. Today's post is more for the OG song: Big City, Small Love, covered by Ziyu.
Zi Yu (梓渝) - Big City, Small Love (大城小爱)
Here is the English translation of the lyrics on one page (source)
Song Title: 大城小愛 / Da Cheng Xiao Ai (Big City, Small Love) Artist: Wang Leehom (王力宏) Album: Heroes of Earth (蓋世英雄) Year: 2005
烏黑的髪尾 盤成一個圏 纏繞所有對妳的眷戀 Wu hei de fa wei pan cheng yi ge juan chan rao suo you dui ni de juan lian Your black ponytail is twisted in a bun, intertwining all your nostalgia 隔著半透明門簾 嘴裡説的語言 完全沒有欺騙 Ge zhu ban tou ming men lian zui li shuo de wan quan mei you qi pian Parting the translucent door curtains, the words your mouth says gives everything away
屋頂灰色瓦片 安静的畫面 燈火是妳美麗那張臉 Wu ding hui se wa pian an jing de hua mian deng huo shi ni mei li na zhang lian The grey tiles of the room, a silent picture, the lights are that beautiful face of yours 終於找到所有流浪終點 妳的微笑結束了 疲倦 Zhong yu zhao dao suo you liu lang zhong dian ni de wei xiao jie shu le pi juan At last I’ve found the destination of all wanderers, your smile lifts my exhastion
千萬不要説天長地久 免得妳感覚我不切實際 Qian wan bu yao shuo tian chang di jiu mian de ni gan jue wo bu qie shi ji I don’t want to say we’ll last forever, I don’t want you to think I’m impractical 想多縻簡單 就多縻簡單 是媽媽告訴我的哲理 Xiang duo mo jian dan jiu duo mo jian dan shi ma ma gao su wo de zhe li If you think it’s that simple, it’ll be that simple, that’s the philosophy my mother told me
(*) 腦袋都是妳 心裡都是妳 Dao dai dou shi ni xin li dou shi ni You’re on my mind, you’re in my heart 小小的愛在大城裡好甜蜜 Xiao xiao dei ai zai da cheng li hao tian mi A little love in a big city is so sweet 唸的都是妳 全部都是妳 Nian de dou shi ni quan bu dou shi ni You’re everything I read, my everything is you 小小的愛 在大城裡只妳傾心 Xiao xiao de ai zai da cheng li zhi ni qing A little love in a big city, I only have a soft spot for you
烏黑的髪尾 盤成一個圏 纏繞所有對妳的眷戀 Wu hei de fa wei pan cheng yi ge juan chan rao suo you dui ni de juan lian Your black ponytail is twisted in a bun, intertwining all your nostalgia 終於找到所有流浪終點 妳的微笑結束了疲倦 Zhong yu zhao dao suo you liu lang zhong dian ni de wei xiao jie shu le pi juan At last I’ve found the destination of all wanderers, your smile lifts my exhastion
千萬不要説天長地久 免得妳感覚我不切實際 Qian wan bu yao shuo tian chang di jiu mian de ni gan jue wo bu qie shi ji I don’t want to say we’ll last forever, I don’t want you to think I’m impractical 想多縻簡單 就多縻簡單 譲我大聲地對妳説 I’m thinking of you. Xiang duo mo jian dan jiu duo mo jian dan rang wo da sheng de dui ni shuo I’m thinking of you If you think it’s that simple, it’ll be that simple, let me tell you loudly that I’m thinking of you
(*)
那回程的票根 妳留做記念 Na hui cheng de piao gen ni liu zuo ji nian That return ticket stub, you keep it as a souvenir 不必害怕面對離別 Bu bi hai pa mian dui li bie You don’t need to be afraid of facing our separation 剪掉一束頭髪 譲我放在胸前 jian diao yi shu tou fa rang wo fang zai xiong qian Cut off a piece of your hair and let me hold it to my chest 走到哪裡有妳陪 相随 Zou dao na li you ni pei xiang sui So whenever I go anywhere, you’ll be with me
(*)
烏黑的髪尾 盤成一個圏 纏繞所有對妳的眷戀 Wu hei de fa wei pan cheng yi ge juan chan rao suo you dui ni de juan lian Your black ponytail is twisted in a bun, intertwining all your nostalgia 那一種寸前歩不離的感覚 我知道就叫做永遠 Na yi zhong cun qian bu bu li de gan jue wo zhi dao jiu jiao zuo yong yuan That feeling of taking those first tiny steps, I know it’s called forever
So why is this song so important?!
This was one of the songs (the other one was "I can" by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Evan Yo (蔡旻佑) he chose to teach his "co-star". The lyric is so romantic! But that's not even the part that got to me. Fast forward to the recent bts drop from Revenged Love where it shows Ziyu and Tian in a classroom practicing the very song!
The song shows up over and over again throughout their time together. I'm not going to go indepth about it. Here is a webio user who had done it already, so I'll just share the screenshot. (source)
and here is the rough English translation of it (via Google Translate, sorry I don't know Chinese.)
In conclusion:
This song obviously holds a lot of memories and is special to Ziyu, and who did he choose to associate this song with?! The one and only Tian Xuning. He chose to teach Tian this song and went out of his way to sing or mention it over and over again. There is no other way to explain this except for the fact that Ziyu is so brave. He has never been shy about his feelings, and music is the means to express what he couldn't bring himself to say publicly for many reasons. Of course, this is not the only instance where he was super brave. Don't get me started on the voiceover love poems for Tian last year. This post is getting to be too long.
