A Beautiful Melody, A Beautiful Love

"Don't you just want money? I'll give you as much as you want, just stop this and come with me to the hotel!"

"Damn it! Acting all proper?! You do this kind of work, isn't it how you make money?!"

"You slut, do you really think you're some precious jewel?! Get out!!"

Qingzhou City, a certain residential complex.

At five in the morning, 24-year-old Zhang Yan, carrying her shoulder bag, was heading home from work.

The slap marks from a customer were still visible on her face.

This time of night was when the city was at its quietest.

The streets of the complex were silent. Looking around, the tall buildings were dark, with only a few windows lit up here and there, perhaps from children playing video games.

People who worked this late were probably what society called the marginalized.

Zhang Yan pushed open her apartment door. As soon as she took off her shoes, she heard a torrent of curses coming from the living room:

"Yo, you're back from work again? Little bitch, how was business today?"

"Just keep doing it. While you can still move your body, hurry up and flaunt your looks. When you get older, let's see which normal man will want you!"

"When that time comes, you'll just end up marrying a divorced man who abuses his wife! I won't lift a finger to help you even if you get beaten to death!!"

The one speaking was Zhang Yan's father.

A 50-year-old man who had achieved nothing in life and owed hundreds of thousands in gambling debts.

Zhang Yan was already accustomed to her father's curses.

"I don't plan on getting married."

She replied indifferently and went back to her room.

However, After closing the door, Zhang Yan collapsed onto the floor.

The tears she had been holding back finally burst forth.

How could she not know the truth behind those words just now?

Her father with his gambling debts, her mother hospitalized due to illness, and her younger brother still in school.

If she didn't carry this burden, who else would?

The only thing she could do was to maintain her own bottom line when facing men who wanted to pay for her time.

But this bottom line brought her no respect whatsoever.

From the moment she entered this industry, she knew that love would forever be out of reach for her.

Marriage, and things like it, had become a luxury.

Gazing out the window of her room, the bustling city spread out before her.

But in this vast city, there was no place for her to belong.

Zhang Yan adjusted her mood and got back into bed. She couldn't sleep, so she started scrolling through her phone.

Dancing, suggestive videos, marketing accounts.

The same old uninspired short videos.

Occasionally interspersed with movie reviews that lasted twenty minutes.

Zhang Yan didn't know what the point of watching these was, but it was only when scrolling through Douyin that she could briefly escape her reality.

One by one.

Her finger kept scrolling down.

Just then, Zhang Yan's finger stopped.

A video caught her attention.

A girl in a school uniform, holding a cello, seemingly about to perform.

Perhaps it was the school uniform that attracted her, Zhang Yan didn't swipe away.

After all, Zhang Yan's own job.

Was to cosplay as a high school girl and give foot massages.

Technician #7, that was the name she went by in the eyes of others.

People like her weren't worthy of having a name.

Seeing the high school student in the video, Zhang Yan suddenly remembered the young couple she had encountered a few days ago.

That girl was truly beautiful, leaving a deep impression on Zhang Yan.

From her, Zhang Yan learned what a true high school girl was.

After that day, Zhang Yan diligently studied and reviewed, finally learning about thirty percent of the essence.

It was this thirty percent that caused her business to surge in the past few days, with countless bosses seeking her out for foot massages.

Today, a boss even went so far as to spend a fortune, wanting to take her away.

She should have been happy, but Zhang Yan felt increasingly lost.

She began to wonder if the path she had chosen was the right one.

Seeing the girl in the video, she felt an intense sense of envy.

If she had really been a high school student, perhaps her fate would have been different.

Unfortunately, she had only attended vocational school, and vocational school wasn't really considered "high school."

"~"

As the girl in the video drew the cello, a leisurely melody began to echo in Zhang Yan's room.

Zhang Yan froze.

What a beautiful melody this was.

Gentle and affectionate, like a pair of hands softly caressing the tear tracks on Zhang Yan's face.

Like love.

It drew one in before they even realized it.

The dim room, the cold bed.

Amidst this exquisitely beautiful cello music, Zhang Yan, lying on the bed, remembered so many things.

Once upon a time, she too was a girl who held beautiful aspirations for love.

Longing for a sweet romance like those in novels.

In fact, she had been in a relationship.

From vocational school until graduation, for 3 years.

And when she chose to work at the foot massage parlor, the man who had stayed by her side for 3 years, after failing to persuade her, finally broke up with her.

She had cried buckets over it.

But why had she become so numb now?

Zhang Yan's heart bled.

As the music reached its climax, the cello's sound, initially passionate, gradually softened, like a whispered secret.

Zhang Yan was deeply moved.

In this world, there were still so many beautiful loves waiting for her to discover!

But why, why was she resigned to being mere societal refuse?

Did she truly have no other path available?!

Finally, unable to hold back, Zhang Yan sat up from the bed.

She kicked open the door and looked at her father, who was smoking in the living room.

Biting her lip, she choked out, "After this month, I'm quitting!"

"From now on, I can't help you pay off your gambling debts anymore!"

Having said all this with all her might, Zhang Yan returned to her room and opened the video again.

Only then did she notice the description below the video.

The song was called "Salut d'Amour"?

What a beautiful piece.

The girl's name was "Mao"?

Although "Mao" didn't show her face, Zhang Yan felt a sense that

this must be another girl full of youthful spirit, just like the one from that day.

She played the cello so well.

Beside her, there must also be a love as beautiful as this song.

When Lin Tian got out of bed the next day, he was surprised to find that his Douyin backend had reached "99+".

He jolted, and clicked into the creator backend.

23,000 likes, 110,000 views, and over six thousand comments.

Lin Tian was astonished.

The ratio of likes to comments was quite exaggerated.

Normally, the number of comments should be one-twentieth of the views, and for some better ones, it can reach one-tenth.

But when the ratio far exceeds this figure, even reaching one-third or more—

Aside from someone actively soliciting comments, there are generally only two possibilities.

Either the comment section is in a massive free-for-all, with people passionately arguing.

Or, the video quality is exceptionally impressive.

Lin Tian admitted that when he opened the video, he was taking a gamble.

[Holy crap, I actually found such a high-quality performance video on Douyin!]

[Even a country bumpkin like me feels elevated listening to this.]

[I've got goosebumps! It sounds that good?!]

[In just one song, I saw the most beautiful form of love.]

[It's an original piece! Are there any experts who can analyze what level this is? I'm just a peasant, and I think it's amazing!]

[.]

Dense bullet comments drifted by slowly.

At this moment, Lin Tian was finally certain.

The video had gone viral!