Chapter 79

Guo Lin was plotting the usual conspiracies in the old state-owned enterprise, while Li Mu slept until the sun was high in the sky. Zhao Kang had been calling him from around seven, all the way to nine, and Su Yingxue had also called him several times, but he didn’t hear any of them.

Perhaps he was too exhausted from the previous day, so he slept very deeply.

After waking up, Li Mu checked the time; it was already past ten. He looked at the missed calls and first called his father. They had already arrived at the headquarters, and everything was fine.

Seeing the missed calls from Zhao Kang and Su Yingxue, and thinking they were probably at the driving school, Li Mu called Su Yingxue back. Ladies first, after all.

Su Yingxue was very worried. As soon as Li Mu called, she answered and asked what had happened.

Li Mu said he had slept too deeply at home, leaving Su Yingxue speechless. She had been worried for over an hour, only to find out that this guy was just sleeping in.

After asking, he learned that the driving school was practicing starting and stopping, so he gave up the idea of getting up and going there, and went back to sleep.

In the afternoon, Li Mu logged into QQ to ask Kong Lingyu about the development progress of Yiting. Kong Lingyu replied: The progress is proceeding according to plan, and it is expected to be ready for launch in about three days.

Li Mu asked for the homepage design from the graphic designer, but he wasn’t very satisfied with it.

The current web design lacked any aesthetic appeal. Even web pages designed by professionals didn’t look as impressive as QQ Space would a few years later. In short, the current internet development was still limited to practicality. Each area of the homepage was clearly divided, the edges of the images were sharp, and there was no aesthetic appeal. Even the font usage was somewhat crude.

Li Mu spent over an hour making detailed comments and sent them to Kong Lingyu, asking him to have the graphic designer provide an improved version within 24 hours.

All music websites provided online listening and download services. In such a situation, the user experience was the key. Li Mu wanted to create a simple yet sophisticated page, where every area, every button, and even every hyperlink option was meticulously designed.

At Li Mu’s request, Kong Lingyu promised to put up the beta version in 24 hours. Li Mu knew that a product, from version 1.0, would continue to be developed and improved, even up to version 1.9. To make the three-day launch plan feasible, he had to force Kong Lingyu to advance the beta testing time. No matter what, get it up first, and then spend two days fixing any issues.

Li Mu reviewed the performance of Simple Plan from the previous day and realized the current influence of Simple Plan. He believed that once the semi-final recordings were broadcast on TV, combined with the炒作 (hype) from internet trolls, Simple Plan’s reputation would rise even further. Taking this opportunity, Yiting must go live and start releasing the recorded versions of Simple Plan’s two songs, so that fans and netizens could find their audio online, and it would be the perfect recorded version, not the noisy and unprofessional live version.

Li Mu gave Kong Lingyu a strict order. After discussing the Yiting matter, he casually searched for some news about Shanda.

At this time, Shanda was still an unknown small company. Li Mu searched for a long time before finding a brief news item: Shanda signed a contract with Korean Actoz to introduce the online game "Legend."

Li Mu was a bit surprised. He originally thought Shanda was already in beta testing, but it turned out they had just signed the contract in July. This meant the public beta test would likely start at the end of September or early October?

In that case, making money would have to wait until the end of the year.

Unconsciously, it was already five in the afternoon. Li Mu’s phone, which had been silent all afternoon, suddenly rang. It was Zhang Kexuan.

"Brother Mu!" As soon as the call connected, Zhang Kexuan impatiently asked, "Where do you live? We’re all confused!"

"You guys?" Li Mu asked in surprise, "Where are you?"

"We four came to Haizhou to visit you!" Zhang Kexuan chuckled, "We won the competition, so we came to thank you!"

"Cut it out!" Li Mu laughed and scolded, "If there’s something, just say it. If not, stop bullshitting."

"We’re really in Haizhou. Xiao Wan told us you live in the Xiling Coal Mine Community, but we can’t find it no matter how long we look."

"Our place is hard to find. The main entrance isn’t on the main road. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up."

Zhang Kexuan said, "We’re parked on the side of the road. There’s a Green Apple Internet Cafe on the left."

"Got it." The Green Apple Internet Cafe was about one to two kilometers from Li Mu’s house. Li Mu then directed them to drive along the main road toward his location and went out to meet them.

On the side of the road, Zhang Kexuan slowly stopped the Land Cruiser next to Li Mu. Ye Tianming got out from the passenger side and bowed to Li Mu, saying, "Brother Mu, please."

Li Mu shook his head helplessly and got into the passenger seat of the Land Cruiser. Ye Tianming then sat in the back, along with the other two band members, Xia Ji and Gu Wei.

"Brother Mu, hello."

The four of them deliberately elongated the "hello" with a rising tone, like students greeting their teacher at the start of class.

Li Mu didn’t bother to correct their formality and asked, "You just finished the competition yesterday. Why not stay in Nanjing and enjoy your fame? Why come to Haizhou to find me?"

"Brother Mu." Zhang Kexuan chuckled and pointed back, "There’s a gift in the trunk for you. Let’s have dinner tonight. Tianming has already arranged it at the Haizhou Ecological Park."

Li Mu turned to look at Ye Tianming and smiled, "Why did you think of going to the Ecological Park for dinner?"

Ye Tianming laughed and scratched his head, "It wasn’t my idea, it was Brother Liang’s."

Li Mu nodded, surprised that they had also notified Song Liang. He glanced at Ye Tianming and suddenly felt that the four of them coming today wasn’t just to thank him. In the backstage of the stadium yesterday, he had mentioned to Ye Tianming that he had asked Song Liang for help. Today, all four of them came, perhaps to repay him?

It seemed likely. Li Mu was touched. These four rich kids were indeed loyal and trustworthy.

Ye Tianming said that Song Liang had arranged for seven o’clock in the evening. With nearly two hours to go, Li Mu invited them to his house for a brief visit.

Zhang Kexuan parked the Land Cruiser in front of Li Mu’s courtyard. The four got out, and Zhang Kexuan specifically took out a large black case from the trunk.

Li Mu could see it was a guitar.

"Martin, bought from a friend at the Tongli Music Store in Hong Kong. Knowing you like folk music, I got it as a gift for you." Sitting on the sofa in Li Mu’s living room, Zhang Kexuan introduced the acoustic guitar that even Li Mu found impressive.

"Supposedly it’s a limited edition, but I’m not sure what makes it special. I play electric, so I’m not very familiar with acoustic guitars."

Li Mu nodded, holding the guitar but not playing it. Instead, he looked at Zhang Kexuan with a smile, "You brought the guitar specifically to find me. You must be eager to hear the third song I prepared for you, right?"

The four members of Simple Plan exchanged glances, and Zhang Kexuan gave Li Mu a thumbs up, "Brother Mu, your eyes are too sharp!"

Li Mu smiled, knowing exactly what they were thinking. Simple Plan had just won the competition yesterday. At such a time, Zhang Kexuan and the others would naturally be very concerned about the next competition. They would be restless until they knew what song to use next.

So, Li Mu didn’t deliberately tease them and said straightforwardly, "The third song was originally for myself, but I owe Tianming a favor, so I decided to give this classic song to you. Let me sing it for you once."

The four immediately became excited, sitting up straight and staring at Li Mu, waiting for him to sing.

Li Mu picked up the Martin guitar, which was worth at least tens of thousands, and after a few simple strums, he began to sing with a slightly melancholic tone.

"That is the person I think of day and night, whom I deeply love.

How can I express my feelings?

Will she accept me?

Perhaps I will never say those words to him.

I am destined to wander the world.

How can I have any attachments?

...

Dreams are always out of reach.

Should I give up?

Flowers bloom and fall, and it’s the rainy season again.

Spring, where are you?

...

Youth is like a rushing river.

Once gone, it never returns, and there’s no time to say goodbye.

All that’s left is a numb me, without the passion of my youth.

...

Have the dreams of my youth come true?

Is it too late to only mourn them now?

Let the years dry up my ideals, and I can never find the real me again..."

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