Chapter 67

Su Yuxi and Sun Jingyao didn't actually go far; they found a nearby supermarket that was still open, bought gloves, a hat, and a heater, and wanted to give them to the little girl selling flowers. When they turned back, they saw Cheng Xiaoyu standing next to the little girl, playing the guitar and singing.

At this moment, Cheng Xiaoyu's singing skills were already very good. After finishing a song called "Serious Snow," he had already attracted many people to stand and listen. Some were passersby, some had just come out of a KTV. After the song, he received some scattered applause, but no money at all.

Cheng Xiaoyu thought that the current R&B style of songs might not be well received by the audience. After some consideration, he thought of a sad song. Because of the weather, the word "snow" kept floating in his mind, so he thought of another song that blended the scene and emotions, "Snow Migratory Bird."

Xiong Tianping's voice was high and clear, and this song was not overly sentimental, slightly different from the usual sad songs, making it a very touching song.

However, the guitar accompaniment for this song was somewhat lacking in expressiveness. Cheng Xiaoyu had to endure the pain in his wrist and use fingerpicking to enhance the performance.

When the gentle and beautiful prelude began, Cheng Xiaoyu's voice, filled with deep emotion, drifted through the cold air. The music spread through the ears of the surrounding listeners, giving them a feeling that could be described as "so good it makes you want to kneel and listen."

As the song "Snow Migratory Bird" played:

The wind blows as the migratory birds fly south,

You pierce my heart, I bleed for you.

In the world you abandoned, I wait for you to return.

I don't want to fly south, my tears fall one by one.

My empty arms, let me embrace you.

Everything I had, you gave me the most beautiful.

I turn back and fly, chasing after you.

Let the past scenes make me cry.

I don't believe you've forgotten me, I don't want to fly alone.

Without you, wherever I escape, my heart is dead.

I turn back, chasing, getting drunk.

Even if I chase to the end, there's only snow and ice left.

The sky mourns for me, the cold love is withering.

Let the snow cover my heart.

The effect of the song was immediate, and more people gathered around.

When Cheng Xiaoyu's clear and distinctive high notes rang out, many people started giving money to the little girl, with denominations ranging from fifty to a hundred, with the smallest being twenty. A young man who had just come out of a KTV and was a bit drunk, with red eyes, took out five hundred yuan from his wallet and gave it to the little girl. The little girl didn't dare to take it, so he put it directly in the bucket.

The people in the car were also surprised. Everyone, except for Su Yuxi, thought Cheng Xiaoyu really couldn't sing. But now, they realized his level was actually better than most professional singers. If they hadn't come back to give the little girl the items, they probably wouldn't have seen this scene.

Sun Jingyao, sitting in the passenger seat, suppressed her dislike for Cheng Xiaoyu and asked, "What's the name of this song? It's so beautiful, why have I never heard it before?"

In the back seat were Su Yuxi, Su Feifei, and Wu Zixuan, while Su Hongwen was in Gu Xueren's car. Su Feifei, a pop music enthusiast, replied, "Yeah! None of the top ten songs on the three major music charts are as good as this one. How can this song be unknown?"

Su Yuxi, looking at Cheng Xiaoyu in the snow, said softly, "He wrote them all himself."

Su Weilan was surprised and said with a smile, "I didn't expect Xiaoyu to have such talent!" Sun Jingyao had already told him that it was a misunderstanding caused by her accidentally falling and Cheng Xiaoyu helping her.

At this point, Cheng Xiaoyu had finished "Snow Migratory Bird" and had already earned a good amount of money. However, there were still many people around, and he didn't feel right leaving immediately. He bowed to the audience and said, "Thank you everyone. The next song, 'Night After Night,' is dedicated to all the wandering souls." Cheng Xiaoyu knew that on the 29th of the 12th lunar month, the people standing in the snow to listen to him sing were all people with stories, so he chose a song that could evoke their emotions.

(There are many versions of this song. If you want to listen to the guitar version, you can listen to Xiong Tianping's. Don't listen to the version from "King of Poetry." I personally prefer Jin Chi's version.)

I want to ask the sky where you are,

I want to ask myself.

At the beginning, I was smart, and at the end, I was smart.

Smart enough to almost destroy myself.

I want to ask the sky, ask the earth,

Or ask fate through superstition.

Give up everything, throw away everything,

Let me drift in the quiet night sky.

You don't have to force yourself to say you love me,

Since my soul has already fallen apart.

Slowly piecing together, slowly piecing together,

Piecing together into something that is not truly me.

You don't have to force yourself to say you love me,

Since my soul has already fallen apart.

Slowly piecing together, slowly piecing together,

Piecing together into something that is not truly me.

You don't have to force yourself to say you love me,

Since my soul has already fallen apart.

Slowly piecing together, slowly piecing together,

Piecing together into something that is not truly me.

I don't want to indulge anymore,

I don't want to drift every day, every night, every second.

I don't want to ask, speak, or seek my dreams anymore.

I don't want to indulge anymore,

I don't want to drift every day, every night, every second.

I don't want to ask, speak, or seek anymore,

My dreams.

"Night After Night" is a rare song with a very beautiful melody that is not at all cliché. Of course, it is also very difficult to sing. Especially the part "in the empty night," which is very challenging and tests one's singing ability. Many parts seem to be sung in one breath, such as "slowly piecing together, slowly piecing together, piecing together into something that is not truly me." This sentence requires a lot of long breaths, especially at the word "me," where it seems the breath is almost used up. These are the hardest parts of the song. If the breath is slightly insufficient, it cannot be sung.

When Cheng Xiaoyu sang the part "in the empty night" using a mix of real and falsetto, it made everyone feel the emotion. Cheng Xiaoyu's voice seemed like a cry of despair in a desperate situation, touching everyone's heart. Normally, a 17-year-old's voice shouldn't be able to convey such deep emotion, but Cheng Xiaoyu, having lived two lives, had a wealth of inner feelings that he conveyed through his singing.

Moreover, Cheng Xiaoyu's voice was very distinctive, similar to Chen Yixun's, with deep emotion that easily moved people. However, such voices often lack a wide range. But after some training, Cheng Xiaoyu could use a special tearing sound to sing high notes or a mix of falsetto and real voice to sing high notes. Although it was somewhat lacking in natural beauty, Cheng Xiaoyu's technique was so rich that he could not only cover this shortcoming but also maximize the use of his voice and technique to create a more touching effect.

"Night After Night" is a tear-jerker, especially when the audience has emotions they want to release.

Many people find it hard to believe that they can cry while listening to a song, but it is actually quite normal. Those who cry are not necessarily completely moved by the song, but rather the song touches a certain point in their hearts or evokes a certain memory. At this moment, they themselves also have the desire to cry and release their emotions, so they naturally cry.

At this moment, most of the people surrounding Cheng Xiaoyu and listening to his sad songs had some worries, so Cheng Xiaoyu's singing made many people cry. Many people started giving money to the little girl selling flowers, and the amount of money was so much that it made her at a loss.

Cheng Xiaoyu was also surprised by the effect and bowed again, saying, "Thank you everyone for standing here in the cold winter night to listen to my voice. The next and final song is dedicated to the little girl next to me. I sincerely hope that if you have the chance to pass by here, you can buy a flower from her. Thank you all again. Here's 'Matchstick Paradise.'"

As he finished speaking, Cheng Xiaoyu bowed again.

The crowd grew larger, almost like a fan meeting. When everyone heard Cheng Xiaoyu's words, they realized that Cheng Xiaoyu did not know the little girl.

Everyone gave enthusiastic applause, as if to melt all the cold.

Cheng Xiaoyu strummed the guitar, and everyone immediately fell silent, listening to Cheng Xiaoyu sing.

Walking in the cold, snowy night,

Selling matches to warm my dreams.

Step by step, frozen, step by step, lonely.

The cold of human nature freezes my hands.

A pack of matches burns my heart,

In the cold night, I can't stop moving forward.

The wind stings my face, the snow cuts my mouth,

Dragging my feet, how long can I keep walking?

Who will buy my matches?

Who will light all the hope?

Who will buy my loneliness?

Who will fulfill my longing for home?

Every time I light a match, a faint light,

I see hope, I see dreams.

I see my mother in heaven speaking,

She says, be brave, be strong.

Don't be afraid, don't panic,

Let you no longer wander.

Every time I light a match, a faint light,

I see hope, I see dreams.

I see my mother in heaven speaking,

She says, be brave, be strong.

Don't be afraid, don't panic,

Let you no longer wander.

Mother holds your hand and takes you home,

Sleep in the warm, blooming paradise.

The little girl started sobbing before the song was even finished, thinking of her deceased mother and her grandmother who she depended on. Her tears couldn't stop falling.

Everyone in the crowd was moved, and the combination of the tear-jerking "Matchstick Paradise" and the scene, which looked like a music video, almost made everyone cry.

Even Sun Jingyao and Su Feifei in the car were sobbing and wiping their tears with tissues. Only Su Yuxi was a bit better, but her eyes were also red. She hadn't cried since she could remember, and today was the first time Cheng Xiaoyu made her feel like crying.

Then everyone started giving money to the little girl, who was sobbing and didn't even take it. They all put the money in her red bucket. Many people gave five hundred or a thousand yuan, and the bucket was quickly filled.

Cheng Xiaoyu felt that he could now leave. When he hung the guitar on the still sobbing little girl, he reached out to touch her head again, and this time she didn't dodge. The applause from the crowd was deafening, and many flashlights went off as people captured this touching moment.

Fortunately, in this time and space, there were no social media or microblogs, or Cheng Xiaoyu might have become a source of inspiration.

Cheng Xiaoyu helped the little girl organize the money in the bucket, and a few bills had fallen to the ground. Because there were so many people around, no wind came in, so they weren't blown away.

Cheng Xiaoyu gave the remaining dozen or so roses in the bucket to some of the kind people in the front row, giving priority to the ladies. Then he took out a tissue to dry the little girl's tears and taught her to bow and thank the audience. The little girl obediently bowed and choked out, "Thank you everyone."

Cheng Xiaoyu told her to go home quickly. The little girl nodded but forgot about Cheng Xiaoyu's taxi fare. Cheng Xiaoyu didn't forget, but in front of so many people, he didn't feel right reaching out to take it.

Since the little girl was carrying a lot of money, Cheng Xiaoyu was worried about her going home alone. Thinking that a good deed should be done thoroughly, he silently followed her until he saw her enter an old residential building and heard the door close in the quiet night. Only then did he leave.

When Cheng Xiaoyu walked back to the main road, he felt cold and hungry after standing in the cold wind for so long. At this moment, he felt like the little girl selling matches.

In the end, Cheng Xiaoyu put aside his pride, took a taxi, and went to the hotel to borrow money to pay the taxi fare.

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