Chapter 76

London.

It was four in the afternoon, and the rain was drizzling.

At No. 5 St. George's Street, in the music studio of one of the most renowned arrangers in the British Isles, Alan Best, the pop queen Li Xiaoni, wearing stylish black-rimmed glasses and dressed in a deep red casual outfit, was discussing the arrangement ideas for the lead single of her new album with the arranger master Alan.

This time, Li Xiaoni came to the British Isles not just for a vacation but also to take the opportunity to discuss the music style of her new album's lead single with the local music masters.

"Can you pull the arrangement of the chorus up a bit more? I want a more impactful effect," Li Xiaoni gestured with her hands, communicating with Alan in fluent English.

"I understand what you mean. Is this the effect you want?" After making some adjustments, Alan played the new arrangement from the mixing console.

Listening intently, her slender eyebrows slightly furrowed, Li Xiaoni shook her head in dissatisfaction and described more directly to Alan, "I need this chorus to have more tension. Your last change made the rhythm jump straight into the chorus, which was too sudden and lacked a buffer."

"Oh, then how about this?"

Alan patiently continued to work on the arrangement for Li Xiaoni's new song.

At this moment, Li Xiaoni's phone vibrated.

She glanced at it, intending to hang up on the caller as she was in the middle of work and didn't like being disturbed.

But when she saw it was Guan Yaling calling, she paused.

Calculating the time, it should be around 11 PM in China.

It was so late, why wasn't Guan Yaling sleeping?

That lazy girl usually had to go to bed by 9 PM and almost never stayed up late, rarely being awake after 10 PM.

It was already 11 PM, why was she calling? Was something wrong?

"Sorry, Alan, I'll take a call outside."

Li Xiaoni took the call in the corridor, "Hello?"

"Big sister, what are you doing? Is it convenient to talk?"

"Sure, I'm discussing the arrangement of my new song with a local arranger."

"Ah? Didn't you come for a vacation? Why are you still working?"

"Well, since I'm here, I thought I'd meet with some local teachers to discuss things."

"Oh... I see... um... this..."

"Stop stalling, just say what you need to. The teacher is waiting for me." Compared to the slow and steady Guan Yaling, Li Xiaoni was clearly more impatient, a trait common among workaholics.

"Why don't you finish your work first and call me back later? I'm afraid it might affect your mood if I tell you now."

"If I finish my work, it will be the middle of the night for you. Are you sure you want to wait? You wouldn't call me this late just to chat, right?"

"Hehe."

"What are you laughing about! Just tell me what's going on! Don't make me anxious."

"I don't even know how to say it. My mind is blank. Ever since I saw him this afternoon, my blood pressure hasn't gone down."

"What's going on? Did you fall in love at first sight with someone?"

"Fall in love at first sight? More like hate at first sight!"

"Little kid, hate at first sight? What you call hate is actually that you like him. Let's talk about this when I get back. I don't want to hear about these lovey-dovey things now; they're too stimulating."

"Big sister! Don't hang up on me! I'm not talking about love at first sight! I ran into Lin Zaishan!"

"Who?"

"Lin—Zai—Shan! The super big villain!"

"Where did you run into him?" Li Xiaoni frowned and lowered her voice, "What happened?"

"He's making a comeback in the music industry!"

"What?"

The diamond-encrusted phone almost slipped from Li Xiaoni's hand, "Say that again!"

"He's making a comeback in the music industry!"

Li Xiaoni glanced at the calendar on her phone, "Today is October 15th, it's not April Fool's Day, right?"

"I'm not joking! It's already past 11 PM in Donghai. Do you think I'd stay up to joke with you? Am I that kind of person!"

Guan Yaling explained anxiously, "That big villain is really making a comeback! This afternoon, I went to record 'The Strongest Singer' on Oriental TV, and he participated!"

"Is it someone with the same name?"

"It's not someone with the same name! It's that Lin Zaishan! — Lin Dahuang! Lin the Big Villain! He admitted it himself! He's the Lin Zaishan who sang 'The Wheat Field'!"

"That's impossible. Why would he admit it? He's the one who would never admit such a thing. Is someone using his name?"

"Who would use his name? Are you crazy!"

"Ha ha." Li Xiaoni laughed at Guan Yaling's exaggerated tone but didn't really believe it was the real Lin Zaishan making a comeback. It must be a mix-up.

"Big sister, you're actually laughing! I'm about to die of fright!"

"What are you scared of? What's there to be scared of? Even if it's really Lin Zaishan making a comeback, what does it have to do with you? Besides, it can't be the real Lin Zaishan."

"What do you mean it can't be the real Lin Zaishan? Is there a fake Lin Zaishan? Why don't you believe me!"

"It's not that I don't believe you, but something must be wrong. Lin Zaishan can't make a comeback."

"Why can't he? He was standing on stage this afternoon, singing and blowing the audience away! How can that be fake? How can I be dreaming?"

"You're getting more and more unbelievable. What does the Lin Zaishan you're talking about look like? Is his hair all white?"

"How did you know his hair is all white?"

Guan Yaling was taken aback!

In recent years, Li Xiaoni had mentioned Lin Zaishan less and less, and there were even a couple of years when she didn't mention him at all.

In Guan Yaling's memory, Li Xiaoni had never mentioned that Lin Zaishan's hair had turned white.

But now, it seemed that Li Xiaoni might have seen Lin Zaishan recently! Otherwise, how would she know his hair was white!

Li Xiaoni was also taken aback and confirmed, "The Lin Zaishan who appeared on stage this afternoon, is his hair all white? Is he thin like a skeleton? Does he look like a 60-year-old man?"

Guan Yaling recalled, "He doesn't look like a 60-year-old man, but he does look quite old. He looked a bit younger after makeup. He's very thin, but not to the point of being a skeleton. Most of his hair is white. I've never seen a man in his 30s with hair as white as his. It's as white as Li Zongtang's hair."

Li Xiaoni fell silent, thinking—this really could be Lin Zaishan!

"Big sister, how did you know Lin Zaishan's hair is white? Have you seen him recently?"

"I'll tell you later. The arranger is calling me. I'll wrap things up here and call you back."

"Okay! I'll wait for your call!"

"Don't go to sleep! Stay awake! I'll call you back, and if you're asleep and don't answer, I'll pinch you to death when I get back to Donghai!"

"Are you going to pinch me? I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Just stay awake! Don't sleep!"

"Don't worry, I'll stay awake. I can't sleep even if I want to. I'll get up and play the guitar. The big villain sang an original song this afternoon, and the chords were beautiful. I'll sing it for you later."

"He sang an original song?"

"'The Strongest Singer' is all about original songs. I have to say, big sister, this villain is a villain, but his music is truly beautiful. His voice, to be honest, is even more charming than when he was young. I instantly followed him this afternoon."

"Instantly followed? That's a bit exaggerated, isn't it!"

"Wait until you see the show, and you'll know how not exaggerated it was. That big villain, when he's not playing the guitar, he's a scumbag, but when he plays the guitar, he's truly mesmerizing!"

"Alright, stop trying to hook me! I'll hang up now and call you back later!"

Li Xiaoni hung up the call with Guan Yaling, feeling a sense of disbelief. She even pinched her face to see if she was dreaming.

Lin Zaishan? Making a comeback? And blowing the audience away? Making Guan Yaling instantly follow him? This... this is unrealistic!

Li Xiaoni found this so unbelievable because she had seen Lin Zaishan two years ago and was deeply shocked by how much he had aged.

That time, she not only saw Lin Zaishan but also saw Bai Ge.

The location was the cemetery.

The time was three days before the fourth anniversary of Mr. Lin's death.

Almost every year, Lu Chen would find flowers at Mr. Lin's grave without a name left.

Lu Chen never knew who left them.

In fact, those flowers were placed by Li Xiaoni herself.

Every year, a few days or even a few weeks before Mr. Lin's anniversary, Li Xiaoni would adjust her schedule and secretly visit the cemetery in Nanshan to place flowers for Mr. Lin.

Despite her outgoing, lively, and cheerful personality, Li Xiaoni was, at heart, a very traditional, filial, and loyal girl.

Mr. Lin had done her a great favor, and she had never forgotten it.

Without Mr. Lin, she would never have become the Li Xiaoni she is today.

The 250,000 yuan Mr. Lin gave her changed her life.

She didn't just use the money for travel; she later used it to pay for various artistic training programs and minor plastic surgeries in the United States.

The entertainment industry in China was struggling at the time, and there was no budget for Li Xiaoni's training. She saw the opportunity for fame and went all out, which led to her becoming the Li Xiaoni she is today.

During those two years of intense training, Li Xiaoni's goal was to become a big star like Lin Zaishan.

She was very clear that the money she was spending was from Mr. Lin, and she was determined that if she became famous, she would repay and honor Mr. Lin.

She changed her stage name to "Xiaoni" to mean "a filial little girl."

Unfortunately, with her changing status and the pressures of sudden fame, she couldn't personally honor Mr. Lin.

But she would often send anonymous gifts and sometimes money to Mr. Lin's home. She didn't dare send too much, fearing Lin Zaishan would use it to buy drugs.

Mr. Lin passed away shortly after Lin Zaishan was imprisoned.

Li Xiaoni was devastated when she heard the news.

For several nights, she cried herself to sleep, and her eyes were swollen when she woke up to attend events.

She deeply regretted not seeing Mr. Lin one last time to tell him that Qilin had become a big star.

After leaving with Mr. Lin's money at 16, she never had the chance to see him again.

Every year before Mr. Lin's anniversary, Li Xiaoni would personally visit the cemetery to place flowers and talk to Mr. Lin, telling him that Qilin was becoming stronger and better.

Two years ago, on the day she visited, she coincidentally ran into Lin Zaishan, who was drunk at Mr. Lin's grave and being dragged away by Bai Ge.

The sight of Lin Zaishan truly shocked Li Xiaoni!

She never expected him to age so quickly!

He looked like a fragile skeleton, his body feeling very weak, and his spirit incredibly aged. He had to be supported by a 15-16-year-old girl to stand, and he was still cursing at the poor girl, telling her to go away and not bother him.

Seeing that scene, Li Xiaoni felt as if she was seeing a more intense version of herself from the past.

Lin Zaishan was so aged and haggard, looking like he was about to die, but the little girl still wouldn't leave him, enduring his abuse and insisting on helping him leave.

Her frail yet strong figure, dragging Lin Zaishan away, was etched in Li Xiaoni's mind and couldn't be forgotten.

Li Xiaoni didn't know that the little girl was actually Lin Zaishan's daughter; she thought the girl was another young woman who loved Lin Zaishan deeply.

Last year, Li Xiaoni released a self-composed ballad called "The Back," which described the unwavering love of a young girl for an old man, and also reflected her own feelings at the time.

Seeing Lin Zaishan two years ago had a profound impact on Li Xiaoni.

After that, she truly believed that Lin Zaishan was finished. The Lin Zaishan she remembered was dead and could never come back.

Now, hearing from Guan Yaling that Lin Zaishan was making a comeback was like a fairy tale to Li Xiaoni!

She would rather believe that the mummies in the pyramids had come back to life than believe that the broken and battered Lin Zaishan could stand on stage again and blow the audience away. How could this be true!

---

[Please give me a recommendation!]

[A quick note: In the comments, some people are confused about why there's talk of a green hat. Chapter 75 clearly states that Li Xiaoni strongly resisted and could never accept such a thing. How could she be with someone else? If that had happened, she would have committed suicide! She was driven away by the drug-addicted Lin Zaishan. As for the daughter, it's not Lin Zaishan, but a beast corrupted by drugs. One last note: Cherish life, stay away from drugs!]

[Page break AD starts]

[Page break AD ends]