Chapter 37

In the original prelude of "Starry Sky," Jay Chou specially added the sound of a Porsche engine, a unique touch.

At this moment, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks replaced the car engine in the original arrangement. Lin Zai Shan's performance was also particularly evocative.

With simple strums and gentle taps on the guitar body, as if keeping time, Lin Zai Shan used a rhythmically rich breathing sound to hum the prelude of the song—

...

One step, two steps, three steps, four steps ~ looking up at the sky ~ holding hands ~

One star, two stars, three stars, four stars ~ forming a line ~ watching the stars ~

...

Little heads nodded gently to the rhythm set by Lin Zai Shan. Liu Mengmeng had a good sense of music, after all, she had been a trainee for several years.

The rhythm was well set, and the guitar melody became clearer and brighter. Lin Zai Shan hummed the elegant and lyrical indie song in a light G key—

...

Riding the wind ~ wandering at the edge of the blue sky ~

A cloud falls in front of me ~

Molding it into your shape ~ following me with the wind ~

Bite by bite ~ eating away the worries ~

...

Carrying you ~ as if carrying the sunshine ~

No matter where we go ~ it's always a sunny day ~

Butterflies fly freely ~ flowers fill the sky ~

One by one ~ fragrant because of you ~

...

Holding the phone for Lin Zai Shan, Liu Mengmeng felt very comfortable and relaxed, enjoying his live performance up close.

The heartfelt love songs written by this uncle melted hearts, and the indie songs had a unique flavor.

This song was very similar to "Sunny Day" that Lin Zai Shan sang during his interview. The pronunciation and melody blended together, making the rhythm and melody very smooth and free, like a sprite dancing with notes.

By the sea, under the night sky, listening to such a song made one's mood particularly relaxed and carefree.

The heart felt refreshed, as if one had become several years younger.

In a daze, Liu Mengmeng felt that this uncle's heart seemed less weathered and worn than his appearance suggested. He was clearly a young man with a melancholy and sunny disposition, just wearing an older man's face!

She secretly smiled, feeling inexplicably pleased by the song.

...

Holding hands ~ one step, two steps, three steps, four steps ~ looking up at the sky ~

Watching the stars ~ one star, two stars, three stars, four stars ~ forming a line ~

Back to back ~ silently making a wish ~

Looking at the distant stars ~ can they hear us ~

...

The balanced progression of melody and rhythm made Liu Mengmeng more and more engrossed, and her mood became increasingly open.

The sea breeze blowing against her skirt was no longer annoying but became increasingly refreshing.

The night stars became increasingly bright.

Her mind gradually calmed down.

For a long time, the noisy work environment and complex interpersonal relationships had been maturing her heart, which she didn't want to grow old.

But time flies, and no one can remain young forever.

This is a thought that makes people sentimental.

She had forgotten when she last looked at the starry sea so carefree.

It must have been when she was in high school?

At that time, she was full of simple dreams of singing, believing that she would surely become a singer in the future.

Now, thinking back to that time, it seemed naive, but it was truly very happy.

Reality and dreams always have a gap, and a large one at that. This is the driving force for people to move forward and the source of their troubles.

Life is like the changing of the seasons.

How should one spend this precious life?

Liu Mengmeng was still exploring.

Can a bold attempt lead to a wonderful life?

Or should one go with the flow and find the true meaning of life in the ordinary?

She couldn't figure it out.

So she decided not to think about it.

Occasionally stopping to enjoy the sea breeze, looking at the beautiful night sky, and letting pleasant music wash away the troubles and dirt in her heart, was indeed a beautiful thing.

...

Holding hands ~ one step, two steps, three steps, four steps ~ looking up at the sky ~

Watching the stars ~ one star, two stars, three stars, four stars ~ forming a line ~

Back to back ~ silently making a wish ~

Looking at the distant stars ~ if they can hear us ~ they will surely come true ~

...

On the other end of the phone, Bai Ge, lying on the grass and enjoying the beauty of nature, felt that life was becoming increasingly beautiful after listening to Lin Zai Shan's fresh and moving "Starry Sky."

The hard life had honed Bai Ge's resilient character but had not killed her pure heart.

A person with faith always has a special kind of innocence in their bones.

Bai Ge, in the prime of her life, had this innocence, which made her happy in any living condition.

Lin Zai Shan's music awakened her, making her feel as if she were in heaven.

"Old Dad! You sing so well! You're the best!"

As the guitar sound faded, Bai Ge, savoring the lingering sound with the phone noise, immediately sat up and habitually praised Lin Zai Shan.

"Do you want to hear another one?"

"No, no, one is enough. I'm already very satisfied! I'll definitely sleep well tonight! Old Dad, I'm hanging up. It costs 60 cents per minute for a long-distance call. Listening to you sing a song is almost enough to buy a pancake. It's too expensive, we can't be so extravagant. Good night!"

Inheriting the straightforward personality of the original uncle, Bai Ge quickly finished speaking and hung up the phone to Lin Zai Shan.

Lin Zai Shan was extremely embarrassed.

Liu Mengmeng, who had heard Bai Ge's words, was surprisingly surprised.

From this, it seemed that Lin Zai Shan's living conditions were even more pessimistic than she had imagined!

This uncle was actually concerned about long-distance call charges when talking to his daughter!

Could this uncle be in debt for millions?

It seemed that there were gossip reports saying that this uncle had gone from a millionaire to a debtor.

Liu Mengmeng didn't want to ask too much.

But she believed that with Lin Zai Shan's talent, even if he had debt, he could pay it off in no time if he worked hard.

In fact, Lin Zai Shan had no debt. When he had money, he was tricked into investing in a company, which had long since gone bankrupt and been liquidated.

He wasn't a gambler.

Although he had taken drugs when he was young, he didn't borrow money to buy them; he used his own money.

When he ran out of money, he was almost in prison and stopped buying them.

So he didn't owe anyone money; he just didn't have any money himself.

"Mr. Lin, the melody of this song is very beautiful. You used a lot of half-steps and accidentals, but it doesn't sound jarring. It's because when you sing, you use some long notes and irregular breathing techniques to smooth out the accidentals. Your singing style is very unique; I rarely see anyone sing like this."

Returning the phone to Lin Zai Shan, Liu Mengmeng, to avoid making him feel awkward, gave a simple evaluation of Lin Zai Shan's new work from a compositional perspective.

"You know quite a bit." Lin Zai Shan was slightly surprised. Upon reflection, it made sense; this girl was Ma Xiaodong's assistant, how could she not know music?

"Just a little."

"Did you study music in school?"

"No."

Liu Mengmeng smiled shyly, brushing the hair that the sea breeze had blown into her face, and said, "I studied art in school, but I really like music. Later, halfway through college, I went to audition for a record company's trainee program, which got me into the industry. From then on, I started to really learn music."

"Most trainees start auditioning in junior high or even elementary school. Why did you start in college?"

"When I was young, I wanted to audition, but my family didn't allow it. It wasn't until I went to college that I could make my own decisions and went to audition." Liu Mengmeng explained to Lin Zai Shan, "I didn't audition for a fully closed training program; it was more of a part-time training program. I just wanted to see if I had a chance to become a singer."

"Did you have a chance?"

"Ah." She sighed softly, resignedly, "No. I don't have enough talent, unlike you. I also didn't have any good opportunities, so I guess I won't become a singer in this life."

"You don't have to be so pessimistic. Actually, your voice is quite unique."

To Lin Zai Shan, this fox-faced girl's voice was indeed quite unique, icy and sweet, with a touch of rebellion and a captivating clarity in its clear and resilient tone.

This kind of voice was rare, somewhat like the voice of Yang Mi from the previous life, but Liu Mengmeng's voice was deeper and more pleasant to listen to.

However, many people who have a pleasant speaking voice don't have a pleasant singing voice.

The way of producing sound for speaking and professional singing is completely different.

Singing is a test of the flexibility of one's vocal cords.

Objectively speaking, you must be blessed by heaven to have a chance to make it in this field.

If heaven doesn't bless you, no matter how hard you try, you won't reach the height you want.

Just like Lin Zai Shan in the previous life.

"Do you know how to play the guitar? Sing a song for me."

Interested, Lin Zai Shan wanted to take off the guitar and hand it to Liu Mengmeng.

Liu Mengmeng quickly shook her head, "No, no, I can't play the guitar well. I only know a little about the electronic keyboard. Don't make me sing; it would ruin your ears."

"Why are you so shy? Just sing casually, let me listen."

"I really can't. Don't force me. I don't want to be a singer anymore; I just want to be your manager."

Lin Zai Shan laughed helplessly. Why did this girl keep expressing her loyalty to him? Did she really want to be his manager that much?

At this moment, the phone rang again.

It was a call from Lu Chen.

At the wedding banquet, Lin Zai Shan and Lu Chen had exchanged phone numbers.

Lu Chen had asked Lin Zai Shan to wait for him at the wedding, saying he would finish the formalities and then catch up with Lin Zai Shan to reminisce.

Lin Zai Shan also wanted to catch up with Lu Chen, but not today.

Today was Lu Chen's big day, and the main characters should be Lu Chen and Liang Yubing. He didn't want to steal the show.

At the wedding banquet, after toasting Lu Chen's family and chatting for a few minutes, Lin Zai Shan left.

At that time, Lu Chen was already toasting the guests and was quite drunk.

When Lin Zai Shan went to say goodbye to Lu Chen, Lu Chen was already a bit out of it.

Now he was calling again, was he sober now?

Lin Zai Shan got up from the rock and told Liu Mengmeng, "The groom is calling." Then he went to the side to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Brother Shan! Why did you leave! Where are you!"

The phone carried Lu Chen's slurred voice, clearly still drunk and even more so.

Lin Zai Shan laughed and asked, "I'm already home, what's up?"

"Where's your home? I'll find you! Let's... drink! Brother is doing well now! I'll invest in your label! 1 million enough? If 1 million isn't enough, we'll put in 2 million!"

"You're drunk, talking nonsense."

"I... I'm not talking nonsense! I want to help you make a comeback! Brother Shan, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! ... Sob... Sob!"

As he spoke, Lu Chen started to cry, whether from joy or sorrow, it was unclear.

But it was evident that the true feelings between them had not been eroded by time.

Affected by the memories and emotions of the original uncle, Lin Zai Shan felt a pang in his heart and told Lu Chen, "Don't talk nonsense. You didn't do anything to me; I'm the one who let you down."

"No! No! Brother Shan, listen to me, listen to me, you didn't let me down, you didn't let me down! It's those damn record companies that let you down! I'll take them all down! I'll help you start the best label! I'll help you make a comeback! I have money now! Brother has money now!"

People often speak the truth when drunk, but don't take their promises too seriously.

Lu Chen's drunken rambling made Lin Zai Shan laugh.

At this moment, Lu Yang's voice came from the other end of the phone, apparently taking over from Lu Chen, and apologized to Lin Zai Shan, "Sorry, Brother Shan, my brother is drunk, don't listen to him."

"I understand, take care of your brother."

"Okay, I'll hang up now. We'll talk when we have time."

"Sure, talk when we have time."

After hanging up, Lin Zai Shan returned to Liu Mengmeng, who was sitting on the rock enjoying the evening breeze.

"Was Mr. Lu calling you for something?"

"No, he's just drunk."

"Oh."

"Let's go, it's getting late. You have to work tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll take you home."

Liu Mengmeng originally wanted to sit with Lin Zai Shan a bit longer and listen to him sing another song.

But since she wasn't very familiar with him, she didn't want to bother him and decided to take him home.

...

The next morning, Lin Zai Shan used the money he earned from the wedding to buy a belt, a pair of dress pants, and a pair of formal shoes at the mall.

In the future, he would have to dress more formally for weddings; he couldn't be so casual, as it wasn't his attitude towards work.

However, he didn't spend much, only about 1000 yuan—200 for the pants, 700 for the shoes, and 100 for the belt. They were all ordinary brands and styles, not particularly stylish, but they looked mature and dignified enough.

He wanted to save more money for Bai Ge, to make her happy.

He was still short of money.

But the source of income had opened up.

That afternoon, more money came in.

It was Zhang Hao from the Believers band, inviting Lin Zai Shan for dinner. He wanted to invest a large sum of money to have Lin Zai Shan produce a more mature and complete underground album for the Believers band!