Hu Wei

Hu Wei was somewhat stunned when he received Song Dao's invitation.

They were all adults.

No one was stupid.

As a Senior Brother, calling him Brother Dao over and over, fussing over him all day—who couldn't see through those little thoughts of his?

He didn't care.

In fact, he hoped Song Dao would notice sooner.

If Zhang Qian hadn't come looking for him last night and said those things, perhaps he could have kept up his restraint for a few more days.

He could have found an opportunity to set up a proper occasion, treated him to a good meal, and only then brought up wanting to follow his Junior Brother.

But today, he didn't want to endure it any longer.

As a couple who had been together for years, they understood each other far too well.

They knew exactly where to stab for it to hurt the most.

He admitted that he had truly been shattered last night.

Everyone else thought he had performed those two songs onstage to perfection, with his emotions running at their fullest.

Only he knew how much his heart hurt while he sang.

When he heard Song Dao say today that he had signed with Feiyang Music Movement, he immediately gathered his courage and made his request to his Junior Brother without hesitation.

Did he really want to sign with Feiyang Music Movement?

Even if the treatment there was excellent, it might not necessarily suit him.

For one thing, it was a small company with limited resources, and they might not even reach him.

Without good songs, even Lin Fei—a Heavenly Queen from Jing University with extraordinary ability—could be criticized into leaving the industry.

He just wanted to follow his Junior Brother!

There was an order to learning. Though his Junior Brother was young, he was immensely talented.

There was nothing shameful about following someone like that.

Hu Wei, nearing thirty, had long thrown every bit of his former pride into the trash.

I want to rise. I want to turn things around. I fucking... want to be famous!

But he truly hadn't expected his Junior Brother not only to agree, but to invite him over to talk.

He looked at the message on his phone.

--Brother Hu, if it's convenient, come over to Yan Yu's place. Sister Fei happens to be here too, so we can talk. If you can get leave, everyone can get together tonight.

Who the hell am I?

I'm quite familiar with little princess Yan Yan, but do I fucking deserve to have dinner with a Heavenly Queen?

He put down his phone, pressed his lips together, and let out a few quiet chuckles.

Yet as he laughed, his eyes gradually reddened without him realizing it.

Five ten.

Kong Xi and Hu Wei happened to run into each other at the entrance of Life is Messy Studio.

Dressed in a white shirt and black dress pants, with a pair of spotless leather shoes on his feet, Hu Wei looked exceptionally spirited.

His beard was shaved clean, and he stood there with his back straight.

Anyone who didn't know better might have taken him for a real estate sales manager.

"Hello, Junior Sister Kong Xi. My name is Hu Wei..."

Facing the young singer who had exploded in popularity over the past two years, Hu Wei was extremely humble.

"Eh? Senior Brother Hu? What are you doing here?"

Kong Xi's soft, sweet voice, with its faintly affected lilt, rang out almost at the same time as Hu Wei's.

"You know me?" Hu Wei froze.

"Of course. Several of our teachers mention you often." Kong Xi smiled.

She didn't know the song One Person's Eternal Love, so naturally, she had no idea why Hu Wei was here.

"Heh, is that so?" Hu Wei smiled, though it was slightly bitter.

Back at Central Conservatory of Music, with his incredible voice, handsome looks, and beautiful girlfriend, he had been something of a prominent figure.

He had once been high-spirited, pointing out the future with lofty ambition.

Thinking back on it now, all that remained was something laughable.

These days, he didn't even have the face to publicly claim that he had graduated from Central Conservatory of Music, afraid of bringing shame upon his alma mater.

Yet that bar owner fucking advertised it all day...

"Brother Dao asked me to come over," he said proactively.

"Senior Brother asked you too? Great, let's go together!"

Kong Xi smiled and walked over to open the door for Hu Wei.

Hu Wei inwardly cursed himself for being so oblivious and hurriedly yielded the way. "Junior Sister first, Junior Sister first!"

Song Dao's somewhat speechless voice came from inside. "No, Brother Hu, why are you dressed like that?"

Hearing Song Dao's voice, Hu Wei immediately pressed his palms together and smiled at Kong Xi before going inside.

At a glance, he saw Lin Fei and Song Dao on the sofa.

He turned back to wait for Kong Xi before giving the two of them a slight bow.

"Hello, Teacher Lin. Hello, Brother Dao!"

Lin Fei nodded slightly and smiled at him.

Song Dao and Yan Yu had already roughly explained Hu Wei's situation to her.

In Song Dao's opinion, Hu Wei would achieve better results singing "A Lifetime of Loneliness."

Although Yan Yu said Song Dao was being overly modest, she also said that Hu Wei's rendition should turn out quite well.

That made Lin Fei rather curious as well.

Song Dao pointed at the sofa and said to him and Kong Xi, "Why are you standing around? Sit down and talk."

Kong Xi grinned as she sat beside Lin Fei, leaning against her. "Have you and Senior Brother Song finished discussing things, Sister?"

"You should call him Teacher Song," Lin Fei reminded her with a smile.

Since Song Dao could write a song like "Always Been Quiet," which fit that television drama so perfectly, he could naturally write songs that suited Kong Xi even better.

Only this silly little girl believed that Song Dao had written that song beforehand.

Kong Xi blinked her big eyes and looked at Song Dao. "Hello, Teacher Song."

Song Dao said, "Just call me by my name. How could someone with my little bit of skill be qualified to be anyone's teacher?"

Hearing the commotion, Yan Yu came out of the kitchen.

The moment she saw Hu Wei sitting there somewhat awkwardly, she could not help bursting into laughter.

"Brother Hu, why are you dressed like that? Are you a neighborhood office employee?"

Having just been teased by Song Dao, Hu Wei's face reddened slightly as he explained, "I thought I should dress more formally when coming to meet Teacher Lin and Teacher Song. Now that you mention it, I do feel like I look a bit silly."

"No, no, you look quite handsome!" Yan Yu said with a laugh as she walked over.

She looked at Song Dao. "It's still early. Teacher Song, do you want to talk to Brother Hu first?"

Since Lin Fei had already said that Song Dao could sign people on his own, with their affiliation under Feiyang Music Movement but their revenue split decided by him, then Song Dao should naturally be the one to discuss matters with Hu Wei.

Song Dao glanced at Lin Fei and said, "How about we let Brother Hu try that song first?"

Lin Fei's eyes lit up. She had actually been getting impatient for a while now.

There were five people present, and two of them were completely bewildered.

One was Hu Wei. He vaguely sensed that something good seemed to be about to fall into his lap.

The other was Kong Xi. Somersault Cat Girl looked at Senior Brother Hu Wei in confusion, her heart skipping a beat.

Is someone else going to cling to my powerful supporter too?

Senior Brother Song—no, Teacher Song—wrote a song for him too?

Why does Sister Fei look like she's really looking forward to it?

Yan Yu took out a sheet of music and handed it to the slightly dazed Hu Wei, saying with a smile, "Take a look first."

"'A Lifetime of Loneliness'?"

The instant Hu Wei saw the title, a faint sorrow rose in his heart, leaving him with an unpleasant feeling.

He then began reading the lyrics and the score.

He had graduated from a professional academy and had been singing for so many years.

Singing a new song from the sheet music was easy for him.

So he began to hum softly.

"We have sat facing each other through the night; I fear dawn is about to break."

"I'm starting to understand that our love is about to fall apart too."

"You walk toward me as you did before, tightly wrapping your arms around me; your tenderness is really like a blade—what kind of smile do you want me to give you in return?"

"I clearly know that this will be our final embrace~"

At that point, Hu Wei suddenly stopped singing.

He silently continued reading the lyrics below.

Even though he had only been humming quietly, everyone's eyes lit up at the same time.

Especially Lin Fei.

People with real vocal skill sounded good no matter how they sang!

She did not go to bars, nor had she associated with those party-loving people in the circle over the years.

Naturally, she had never heard Hu Wei sing before.

Yet these few lines still surprised her somewhat.

His vocal ability was one thing; another was that she had a feeling Song Dao's song had been tailor-made for Hu Wei!

Her musical instincts told her that Hu Wei might indeed be better suited to sing this song!

That also confirmed her earlier guess.

Song Dao had not written Always Been Quiet for Kong Xi, but for that drama!

It was only because the production company had insisted that Kong Xi sing it.

And Kong Xi had been the one asking for the song.

That was how it had ended up with that lucky girl!

If someone more suitable sang it, the result should be even better than Kong Xi's, the "original singer"!

Then A Lifetime of Loneliness had most likely been tailor-made for Hu Wei based on his experiences!

Hu Wei had really struck gold!

In Lin Fei's eyes, even if this song had been custom-written for Hu Wei, the song's own value was obviously even greater!

No wonder Song Dao had dared to have Yan Yu draft that kind of harsh contract only major companies would dare use.

Although Yan Yu and Kong Xi might not have had Lin Fei's depth of insight, they had both studied music professionally.

With Hu Wei casually humming those few lines, they could naturally hear the sorrowful, helpless flavor in them.

Yan Yu, especially, having heard Song Dao's version, could not help but have her eyes light up. She felt that Hu Wei singing it really did bring out the emotion and impact several degrees better.

Song Dao was too young!

He had never sat facing his girlfriend through an entire night, nor had he been ruthlessly dumped without a second thought... Ahem.

Hu Wei paid no attention at all to the others' reactions.

At that moment, he was already completely immersed in the song.

He had already embarrassingly teared up in the rented apartment earlier.

Now he realized that he still could not quite control the bitterness in his heart or the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

This song was fucking too sad!

Especially that line: What do I have to hold against you? What I wanted to keep, you wanted to forget. The happiness and pain we once shared, what was yours and what was mine, let it all be written off here.

And the later line: What do I have to hold against you? Those who do not hurt do not suffer. It turns out that of the road we walked hand in hand, only I believed it would last a lifetime.

Yeah, those who did not hurt did not suffer.

She had still wanted to sleep with him, her ex-boyfriend, when she was about to get married...

What did she take him for?

It meant that deep down, she had never taken him—or those years of their relationship—seriously.

I was fucking like a complete idiot.

Only I believed that bullshit about forever!

Hu Wei read slowly, with great force.

Forcibly holding together a heart already riddled with holes.

After taking several deep breaths, he looked at Song Dao with red-rimmed eyes.

"Teacher Song, this song... I can give up everything else. As long as you let me sing it, I want to record it once right now. Is that okay?"

Song Dao was speechless.

So all of you were real musicians.

And I was the fucking businessman.

Great.

Hopefully, everyone I met in the future would be like you.

You handle the singing; I'll handle making money.

He nodded. "Sure."