Reunion with a difference

On a chilly autumn night in Beijing, Ye Bei and a group of musician friends meet to celebrate Ye's latest album with a concert

In 1994, Ye Bei, a freshman from the China Conservatory of Music, planned to work her way through college. The Beijing native, who was born to a pianist mother and an engineer father, then played the piano in hotel lobbies and also sang at pubs.

One day, she was approached at a pub by Gao Xiaosong, the songwriter of the pop hit, My Desk Mate, which was then sweeping the country.