Before she was nine, she had not yet run away from home and had still endured the beatings and scoldings of her father, who had contracted Destruction Sickness.
Every time she was beaten or cursed at, she wished someone could cure her father's Destruction Sickness and turn him back into the kind, gentle father he had once been.
If Ye Chang'an had appeared back then and cured her father's Destruction Sickness—
She thought she would have felt at ease.
"Too bad time cannot turn back, and the past cannot be redone..."
With a murmur, she got out of bed, pulled off the sheets, and threw them into the trash.
PS: Let this be Mobius's introduction. I rewrote it four or five times from yesterday until now, and my brain has gone numb.
Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: 25. Let Chang'an Melody Reach Every Corner of the World
After going home and hugging Eden for a good night's sleep, Ye Chang'an immediately took Eden to the concert venue the next day.
After finishing the routine performance, he took the time to study whether Chang'an Melody could be recorded onto records.
He casually picked a staff member, gave him Erosion Markings, then performed Chang'an Melody while recording it. Once he ensured the performance was flawless and could cure Destruction Sickness, he played back the record and observed whether the Erosion Markings faded.
"Mm, very good, very good, hahahaha~"
The results delighted him so much that he could not help laughing. He even picked up the staff member and spun him around.
"Mister Chang'an, stop, stop, stop."
The staff member cried out helplessly. He really could not stand Ye Chang'an expressing his excitement this way.
He was a man, after all.
"Oh, oh, oh, sorry, sorry. I was too happy, hahaha."
Ye Chang'an quickly let go with an awkward laugh. Only after calming down did he go find Maris and arrange for records to be mass-produced.
He wanted to distribute records containing Chang'an Melody across the world.
"Mister Chang'an, records aren't popular anymore." Maris tried to persuade him helplessly, saying that this would be far too difficult to accomplish.
After all, records had long been eliminated by the times.
Their high production costs had led them to be replaced by cheap CDs, while their complicated playback process had been replaced by online audio.
In the twenty-first century, very few people listened to records. Some people did not even know what records were.
Only a small number of people with the ultimate pursuit of music would choose records.
Ye Chang'an wanted to release records worldwide? What a joke.
This was not a matter of money. Even if they were given away for free, people might not take them.
They were too inconvenient.
"Is that so? Looks like I need to do something else." Ye Chang'an fell into thought, then turned to discuss it with Eden.
Then the husband and wife went to shoot a film.
Oh, that was the wrong wording. They went to shoot an advertisement.
~
~
"Ugh, there are more of these things again. What will happen if this keeps going?" An unfamiliar man sat by the roadside, sighing. His rolled-up sleeve exposed an arm covered in Erosion Markings.
"Hey, uncle, want to listen to some music? It can restore your arm to normal." Ye Chang'an walked past carrying a record player and asked.
The uncle asked skeptically, "Really?"
"You'll know after you listen." Ye Chang'an smiled, set down the record player, and began playing Chang'an Melody.
As the melody ended, the Erosion Markings on the uncle's arm gradually faded away.
"It's gone, it's really gone! This is incredible." The uncle was overjoyed and asked excitedly, "Brother, what kind of music is this?"
"Chang'an Melody. Uncle, haven't you heard of it?"
"Chang'an Melody? I have, but this sounds different. And when I listened to it before, these things didn't disappear."
"You need to listen with my record. This record in my hand—it feels like being there in person when you listen..."
Ye Chang'an began praising the benefits of records, leaving the uncle utterly baffled. In the end, he talked the uncle into entering a store and buying a record for two hundred.
And Eden was the clerk in that store.
~
~
It was a very ordinary advertisement, yet the response after it aired was incredibly enthusiastic.
That was because Ye Chang'an had brought Destruction Sickness onto the screen and demonstrated Chang'an Melody's healing effects against it.
There were still many people around the world plagued by Destruction Sickness. Seeing this advertisement was like seeing hope.
Even if they had doubts, they still wanted to give it a try.
After all, many people who had once suffered from the illness and been cured were endorsing the advertisement.
These were not hired commenters, but genuine feedback from the public.
So it was inevitable that record sales would explode, and it was equally certain that they could effectively cure Destruction Sickness.
"This is ridiculous." Maris could not believe her eyes. She truly could not understand why that ugly advertisement could drive such enormous sales.
Of course she could not understand. Having always followed Ye Chang'an around, busying herself with one task after another, she could not possibly have been troubled by Destruction Sickness. Nor could she know just how many people in the world desperately wanted a way to cure it.
Ye Chang'an knew, so he had been completely confident.
"Hehe, honey, we succeeded." Eden giggled as she nestled in Ye Chang'an's arms and read the online comments. She was also very satisfied with the results of this attempt.
They could finally rest properly and would no longer have to work themselves like dogs.
The records would spread Chang'an Melody to everyone who needed it in their place, leaving them time to do the things they enjoyed.
Although Eden had enjoyed the previous concerts, she knew Ye Chang'an did not actually like them.
As his childhood sweetheart and the one who slept beside him every night, she believed she could tell.
So she made a suggestion.
"Honey, you should be the lead singer at the next concert. I'll accompany you."
Sleepless Chang'an had always followed the original format before: Eden sang lead, while Ye Chang'an accompanied her.
Now Eden wanted to change it up. Since they were no longer constrained by a management company, they could change things however they wanted.
But Ye Chang'an was somewhat confused.
"What, are you tired of singing? If you're tired, we can rest for a while. We don't need to keep busy anymore, anyway."
"No, I'm not tired. I just want to see you sing onstage."
Eden shook her head and gave Ye Chang'an a kiss on the cheek.
"You practiced singing with me, but you've never sung onstage. I want you to sing—sing the music you like."
"What music do I even like? Whatever you like is what I like."
"No, that's not right. You do have music you like."
Eden refuted him, wrapping her arms around Ye Chang'an's neck and whispering, "You like music that makes you happy when you listen to it and happy when you sing it. And it isn't classical music."
Ye Chang'an fell silent. Eden continued, "Honey, go sing. I've already sung to my heart's content. Now it's your turn to be fulfilled."
How could someone who loved music not have a style of music they liked?
Eden loved music, but she especially adored classical music.
Ye Chang'an loved music too, yet he had never known what style of music he liked.
Because he had never thought about it.
He had only begun practicing singing with Eden after they got together. All he had thought about was helping Eden return to the path of superstardom.
The singer's stage belonged to Eden. He had no need to think about it.
After discovering that fate had shifted, he had been busy spreading Chang'an Melody to leave more surviving strength for this world that would eventually fight Destruction.
Before Chang'an Melody had fully spread, he had had no time to think.
But now, he had time, and he had a stage.
So what style of music did he like?
Ye Chang'an recalled his memories of practicing songs, and a smile gradually curled across his lips.
"Honey, are you sure you want me to sing?"
"I'm sure, my husband. Go sing. Sing the music you like, and let the world learn again why Sleepless Chang'an is called Sleepless Chang'an."
Eden encouraged him with all her heart, filled with anticipation for the day Ye Chang'an would stand onstage as a singer.
PS: Here's an extra chapter. The reason is... well, I posted two chapters with content that shouldn't have appeared yet, then deleted and rewrote them, which probably confused you readers. This extra chapter is a small apology.
Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: 26. My Name Is Chang'an, Singer Chang'an
At twenty-one, you recruited Mobius and Blanca to help with your research.
At twenty-two, you took the stage as a singer for the first time.
On September 9, ****, Ye Chang'an's twenty-second birthday, Sleepless Chang'an held another concert after a three-month absence.
He looked at 001's simulation log for the first time in a long while. It was as brief as ever, making him seriously doubt whether the thing even needed to exist.
Too lazy to think further, he felt there was no need to check it anymore in the future.
He had decided to stay in this world with Eden until the end of his life. Only by not reading the simulation log could he feel more like he was truly alive.
For example, right now, he stood at the very center of the stage.
The space below the stage was filled with Sleepless Chang'an's fans. They had bought tickets to enter and were seated quite comfortably.
After all, they had paid money. How could they sit as shabbily as they had at the charity concerts before?
However, when the news was revealed and ticket sales began, it still caused a huge uproar online.
This was Sleepless Chang'an's first commercial concert, completely at odds with their usual style. It was also their first concert after three months of silence following the record incident.
Public opinion held that Sleepless Chang'an had changed and become tainted by the stench of money.
Perhaps the record sales had given them a taste for profit. They had begun craving money, and that was why they were holding a commercial concert today.
There were those who looked forward to it, but there were even more who cursed them.
That was the internet: full of controversy.
Yet no matter how fiercely the controversy surged, the concert arrived as scheduled, and the tickets sold out in an instant.
Loyal fans liked Sleepless Chang'an because of Eden's talent and beauty, because of Chang'an's looks, and because of the art they represented.
Art would not be tainted by the stench of money. That was what they believed.
But upon seeing Ye Chang'an onstage, doubts still rose in their hearts.
"Hey, Chang'an's style seems different. Dressed like that, he doesn't look like an accompanist."
"Yeah. Don't tell me he's really fallen from grace."
They whispered among themselves because Ye Chang'an had changed out of the refined, gentlemanly attire he had once worn as an accompanist and instead put on clothes that fit current trends.
After all, today he was a singer.
He heard their discussions, but his smile did not fade. It remained bright and sunny.
"Dear audience members, welcome to Sleepless Chang'an's who-knows-how-manyth concert."
Before you continue