Chapter 40: Will He Come Back?

When Li Yunzai returned to his residence and logged into the Straw Hat website, he was also taken aback by the massive number of messages. He hadn't expected that after four years, so many fans were still waiting for him. His heart warmed, and he was deeply moved.

Immediately, Li Yunzai copied the video from his iPod to his computer. After four years, he finally updated the homepage of "Yunzai in the Wind" again. After a brief refresh, a video titled "Elimination" appeared on the page.

After uploading the video, Li Yunzai wrote on the message board:

"I'm back, and I won't leave again!"

There were no extra words of thanks, as too many would only seem insincere; there were no flowery words, as the simplest and most straightforward words were the most touching. After doing all this, Li Yunzai began a long wait.

......

"Ah....."

"Wow...."

"Amazing....."

"Am I dreaming? Ow, it hurts!"

"Heaven... Am I seeing things!"

After Li Yunzai left his message on the message board, at least tens of thousands of fans silently waited in front of their computers, refreshing the "Yunzai in the Wind" page from time to time. A whole day passed, but there was still no change, except for the massive number of messages.

Just when they were about to give up, after one last refresh, they instinctively went to close the page, but on the page that originally had only five videos, a sixth one suddenly appeared. Everyone's hearts warmed instantly, and they opened the video as quickly as possible.

After a few minutes, those who opened the video found that the view count had already exceeded 3,000, and they were secretly amazed. It seemed they weren't the only ones waiting anxiously.

"Elimination," is this Li Yunzai's new song?

Just as the fans were filled with questions, the video started playing from the first second.

It was another recording studio with a soft, yellowish light. A boy about 1.8 meters tall stood in front of the microphone. Although four years had passed, and Li Yunzai had changed a lot, even changing his hairstyle, the fans still recognized him by their familiarity and intuition. The person in front of them was the protagonist they had been waiting for so long.

The message board below the video was instantly filled with a flood of messages.

"Yunzai, we've been waiting so hard, thank heaven and earth, you finally appeared!"

"Wow, you've changed so much, from a cute little boy to a handsome young man!"

"You're back, really back, it's so good!"

"The song is so beautiful, even better than 'Like Being Shot' and 'No Longer in Love,' amazing! After four years, Yunzai's songwriting skills have improved a lot!"

"What a pity, although your vocal cords have been treated, you no longer have that beautiful voice! But this hoarse voice is also very nice, especially with the slightly sad melody of the love song, it's fantastic!"

"The hoarse voice and the sad love song are like a cup of rich and fragrant coffee!"

"Wow, I'm crying... so sad! 'Your unease wins your trust, but I don't get your comfort and elimination,' it's so beautiful, I'm crying so much!"

One by one, the praises and compliments poured in. After listening to the song, the fans were not stingy with their words, using various languages to describe their excitement and praise for Li Yunzai's beautiful new song. This wasn't flattery; it was the true reflection of their feelings after listening.

The administrator of the Straw Hat website naturally noticed the high traffic on the "Yunzai in the Wind" page and pushed the video, which had already reached 20,000 views in less than 10 minutes, to the homepage of the Straw Hat website.

The administrator was new and didn't know what to say when he saw the terrifying view count. He had heard from a senior that a video once had over 180,000 views in two days, an unbreakable record. But from the current situation, this record was about to be broken.

After Li Yunzai's video was recommended to the most prominent position on the homepage, the view count soared, and its speed of increase could not be described even by geometric progression. After being uploaded for half an hour, the view count exceeded 70,000, and the quality index was excellent, with almost no negative comments about Li Yunzai.

Whether it was his singing, the lyrics, the sad melody, or the emotions Li Yunzai poured into the song, everything was perfect. There was no flaw to be found. Even if one wanted to nitpick, they could only say that the video was too short, and it would have been better to have a "sincere confession" before and after the singing.

......

"TVXQ, get ready, it's almost your turn to go on stage!" A PD of a music program came to TVXQ's dressing room.

But at that moment, the five members of TVXQ were huddled together, seemingly not hearing what he was saying. When he got closer, he realized they were all looking at their phones, and the screens were playing a video.

"It's almost your turn to go on stage, why are you dawdling?!" If it weren't for TVXQ, if it were just ordinary new artists, the PD would have already been angry and wouldn't have had the patience to call them again.

"Okay... we'll go right away!" Park Yoochun turned back and replied, sending the PD out of the dressing room.

"You've changed so much... really so much!"

"Right! I almost didn't recognize him. I didn't expect that just a change in release and four years of absence would make such a big difference!"

"His voice has changed, completely different from before!"

"Everything has changed, only his talent remains. This song is so beautiful, only he could write such a love song, sad but just right, 'I can only say I accept it, your unease wins your trust, but I don't get your comfort and elimination,' this line is so beautiful!"

The five members of TVXQ sat back on the sofa, looking at Li Yunzai in the video, all feeling a sense of nostalgia. The six of them were originally one, and the name TVXQ included Li Yunzai. He should have been standing in front of the five of them, enjoying the loudest applause, cheers, and countless flashes and cameras.

"Do you think, now that Yunzai's vocal cords have been treated, the president will bring him back?"

When Kim Junho said this, everyone looked at each other, and the dressing room fell silent.

......

In the backstage makeup room of a variety show.

"Seo Yeon, you've been holding your phone all day, can you put it down for a moment? You must have used up all your data with constant refreshing!" Kim Taeyeon saw that Jung Seo Yeon was huddled in a corner, constantly refreshing the "Yunzai in the Wind" homepage.

For a whole day, except for the time on the show, Jung Seo Yeon was almost glued to her phone, refreshing it with great focus and seriousness.

"Ah... it's here, it's here!"

Suddenly, Jung Seo Yeon shouted loudly, as if she had found a treasure, attracting the attention of the other girls, especially Sulli, Kwon Yuri, and others who rushed over in three steps.

"Look, this is Oppa Yunzai's new video!"

Jung Seo Yeon opened the video, and in just 40 minutes since it was uploaded, the view count had already exceeded 130,000. Everyone on the scene couldn't help but gasp.

"Amazing... Oppa is still so popular!" YoonA exclaimed.

"Oppa has changed so much, he even cut his hair, and his voice has changed so much?!" When she heard Li Yunzai's hoarse voice, Sulli couldn't help but feel her eyes well up.

"Oppa's song is so beautiful, amazing... how does he always write such sad love songs? He hasn't even been in a relationship!" Kim Hyoyeon sighed, then looked at Jung Seo Yeon with a hint of curiosity, as she was the one who had known Li Yunzai the longest and was the first to join S.M. Entertainment.

Noticing the changing gazes around her, Jung Seo Yeon quickly clarified, "Don't look at me... I had a bit of a crush on him back then, but it was just a crush!"

"We didn't say you dated him... why are you confessing so quickly! We just want to know if Oppa has been in a relationship!" Choi Sooyoung tried to hold back her laughter and asked.

Jung Seo Yeon's face stiffened, and she regretted her quick confession. "No... if you want to know, ask BoA-ssi, they entered the company on the same day!"

"Is this Senior Li Yunzai?"

"He's quite handsome! His voice is also very nice, hoarse and magnetic, very good!"

"This song is really good... it's a good thing he didn't debut in 2007, otherwise, we would have missed out on the rookie award! No wonder he's a student of Teacher Yu, his songwriting ability is just one word—strong!"

"Do you think Senior Li Yunzai's songwriting ability is stronger than BIGBANG's G-Dragon?"

Kim Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Sunny stood at the outer edge, unable to push through the crowd of six people in front of them.

"Of course, Oppa is stronger! When Oppa wrote songs for Baek Ji Young, he was only 16! 'Like Being Shot' and 'No Longer in Love' are classics!" YoonA turned around and said seriously to Kim Taeyeon and the others, "G-Dragon Oppa's songwriting ability is good, but compared to Yunzai Oppa, he still has a long way to go!"

Kim Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Sunny smiled at YoonA's defense. "Okay, okay... your Yunzai Oppa is the best!"

"Do you think Yunzai Oppa will return to the company?"

Kwon Yuri suddenly asked, and the makeup room fell silent.