At first, Nan Zhou sent two songs he remembered writing to several music companies, one after another, but received no response from any of them.
What angered him even more was that one of those companies altered a demo he had written and released it as a single for one of its own singers, making the top ten that month.
The days passed, but with no source of income in sight, Nan Zhou's life grew even more difficult.
One afternoon, he returned from rehabilitation to find a bunch of bananas by his bed.
"Have some. My partner bought them for me, and I can't finish them all myself," the man in the next bed said.
Seeing that Nan Zhou seemed about to refuse, the man added, "They barely cost anything. I don't like bananas. They'll just go to waste if you don't eat them."
In the end, Nan Zhou accepted the bananas.
The man also told him, "My partner's bringing me dinner after work this afternoon. His bone broth smells incredible. Have some with us tonight."
At that point, Nan Zhou would have been a fool not to recognize the man's kindness.
With his mouth stuffed full of banana, he nodded.
That evening, the partner the man had mentioned arrived, but he was not what Nan Zhou had expected.
The young man in glasses ladled out a brimming bowl of soup with large bones in it and handed it to him. Beside them, the man asked, "Smells good, right? My partner's cooking is second to none."
"Yeah." Nan Zhou nodded.
"You and your big mouth!" The young man shot him a glare, then handed Nan Zhou a heaping bowl of rice.
It was the first time in so long that he had eaten anything so delicious.
A bunch of bananas,