This was the distinctive voice of a teenager; compared with the original tone of the song, it lacked the flavor of rich experience, but it carried a youthful air which existed only in one’s salad days.

　　The song which Wang Ling was playing was from another world line. It was a cover song titled “Old Boys” and sung by a music duo called Chopstick Brothers¹ .

　　This song was about a guy’s inability to confess his feelings to the girl he liked for fear of being rejected. It expressed the sentiment of being unable to go back to one’s youth, and that while things might remain the same, people did not.

　　Wang Ling liked this song very much.

　　He remembered when he had first reached puberty, and he had had a crush on a girl. But due to personal reasons, he hadn’t said anything, right up until the year they had graduated.

　　He had been afraid that he would hurt her.

　　At that moment, there was a special kind of feeling in the air as Wang Ling stood in this rundown restaurant and played “Old Boys” on the guitar. Once he opened his mouth, both Boss Tan and Tang Youning were straightaway intoxicated by his voice…

　　…

　　That is the girl I deeply love and miss day and night~

　　But how should I profess my heart~

　　Will she accept me~

　　…

　　Perhaps I will never be able to say those words to her~

　　I am destined to wander the world alone~

　　How can I have such cares~

　　Dreams are always just dreams~

　　Perhaps I should give up~

　　Flowers bloom and fade in yet another rainy season~

　　Where is spring~

　　…

　　Youth is like a swift current~

　　Gone, never to return, and too late to say goodbye~

　　Only leaving me behind numb~

　　Without the passion of before!

　　…

　　Looking at a sky full of fallen flowers~

　　Fading at the most beautiful moment~

　　Who will remember it had once been here in this world…

　　This was the first part of the song, but Wang Ling put the guitar down after singing up to this point. Boss Tan was already totally dumbfounded — there was actually such an operation ² ?!

　　While Wang Ling had been playing the song, Boss Tan had casually checked for the lyrics, but discovered that there was no relevant search record for it on the Internet. That was enough to prove that this was an original song!

　　This was only a Senior Grade One youngster, but he was actually capable of writing such a moving song full of youthfulness…

　　At the end of Wang Ling’s performance, both Boss Tan and Tang Youning in that moment were moved in their hearts.

　　They instantly felt that this youngster had to have a story behind him!

　　This was a song that they had never heard before; just listening to one small part of it had been lethal!

　　Boss Tan had already completely become a fan of this youngster. This was probably the legendary prodigy, right?

　　Wang Ling: “…”

　　Only Wang Ling himself knew that he wasn’t a prodigy of any sort at all… he didn’t create music, but was just a music porter!

　　Putting the young man’s guitar back in its corner, he quietly went back to his seat to eat his noodles; from his light and easy attitude, it was as if he had just done something pretty ordinary, which was a crushing blow to Tang Youning.

　　…Who on earth was this person?

　　Tang Youning was shocked. He dropped his head, feeling like he had been completely defeated… back then, in his quest to learn music, he had abandoned everything, and behind his parents’ backs, had stolen the family’s chaiqianfunds ³ and given it all to a music teacher. The money had initially been set aside for when he got married. When his misdeed had been exposed, his family had cut off all his living expenses. And so, he officially became a street singer.

　　It looked like he really wasn’t cut out for this business…

　　If he had listened to his parents’ urging back then and hadn’t used the chaiqianfunds, he might happily have had a wife by now; he could be living in a brand new house and maybe playing with his kids… he might have found a steady job and would be living a stable life.

　　For the first time, Tang Youning felt that something was wrong with the way he was living his life.

　　Was he going to stick to it?

　　After listening to Wang Ling play, he began to seriously question himself.

　　“How much can a street singer like you earn in one day?” asked Father Wang.

　　Tang Youning’s arrogance at having studied music formally had completely disappeared. He scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. “It depends… when it rains, there’s no money at all. I sing everywhere, and I just hope everyone can appreciate me for my music, not because they pity me.”

　　“…” There was dead silence in the shop.

　　Tang Youning stroked his guitar, his eyes a little wet. “I thought that given my abilities, I’d have no problem passing the audition… now, this is the only thing I have.”

　　“Then will you continue down this road?” Father Wang asked once more.

　　Tang Youning shook his head. “I don’t know.”

　　“You don’t know means you still want to.”

　　Father Wang raised an eyebrow, feeling that this young man was still very persistent. Anyone else would have surrendered early on under the onslaught of his poisonous tongue, but often these were people who weren’t trying to do big things. On the other hand, the way this young man was hesitating just proved that he didn’t want to give up so easily.

　　“What do you think about my son’s song just now?”

　　“That song was really good!”

　　Tang Youning was excited and depressed at the same time. “I don’t think I could ever write a song like that…”

　　“Have you considered that the reason why you failed the auditon might have to do with the song you chose?” Father Wang asked again.

　　Wang Ling raised his eyebrow slightly in his seat. He felt that Father Wang’s attitude toward the young man was a little different now, as he had switched from poisonous words to talking sense into him. Father Wang had always been a man good at telling stories; he had a very strong grasp of different subjects and also first-class leadership skills… Wang Ling had once seen him unconsciously lead over ninety percent of a two thousand strong group of readers who read pirated books back to reading genuine versions again.

　　Tang Youning blinked as he looked at Father Wang. “What is teacher’s meaning?”

　　“Don’t call me teacher, it just sounds awkward. Just call me uncle.” Father Wang waved his hand. “I mean, if you didn’t detest my son’s song, how about I sell it to you?”

　　Tang Youning instantly stood up. “Uncle… you’re saying you want to sell this song to me?”

　　But very quickly, his expression turned deeply bitter. “But uncle… I have no money.”

　　An original work of excellent quality was truly rare nowadays! Tang Youning felt that Wang Ling’s song would be able to command a whopping copyright price from any record company!

　　Father Wang silently lit a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. “How much do you have?”

　　Tang Youning fumbled around in his pockets and pulled out loose change which, when pooled together, amounted to thirty three yuan and seventy cents.

　　Anxious, Tang Youning looked at Father Wang, gritted his teeth, then tightly hugged his guitar and gave it a kiss before holding it out to Father Wang. “Uncle… if you don’t dislike it…”

　　“No.” Father Wang straightforwardly rolled his eyes.

　　Boss Tan was speechless. “…” This was a bit too frank!

　　Father Wang: “Why would I want your guitar? Can it be eaten? Isn’t this your lifeblood? How can a man walk through life without a partner by his side?”

　　With that, Father Wang turned to look at the boss. “Boss Tan, do you have pen and paper?”

　　Boss Tan nodded. “Yes!”

　　Father Wang had always had a good memory, and he also had some musical knowledge. Hence, he had basically already memorized the lyrics and the melody after Wang Ling’s single rendition of it. Even if he left out something, Wang Ling would help him fill in the gaps telepathically…

　　In a smooth and flowing style, Father Wang swiftly wrote down the complete lyrics of “Old Boys” on paper, then wrote another note before putting the pen cap back on.

　　Finally, he gave the piece of paper to Tang Youning. “The most precious thing about a dream is that it can be rebuilt, no matter how big your setback!”

　　Tang Youning gripped the paper with shaking hands.

　　Father Wang exhaled smoke like a dragon and flicked ash from his cigarette. He stood up, picked up that thirty-three yuan and seventy cents from the table and put it in Boss Tan’s hand. “Two bowls of beef noodles, thirty yuan in total. Keep the change.”

　　After that, father and son together with Loopy Toad directly left the shop, leaving Boss Tan bewilderedly holding thirty-three yuan and seventy cents.

　　…

　　After Wang Ling teleported Father Wang and Loopy Toad back home, Father Wang leaned back against the sofa and heaved a long sigh. “Your mom maxed out my salary card. We have to save as much money as possible in these few days!”

　　Wang Ling: “…”

　　Father Wang looked seriously at Wang Ling and gave him earnest instruction. “Look, with just a little wisdom today, I was able to save money on two bowls of beef noodles! Want to know what frugality is? That’s it!”

　　Wang Ling: “…”