Chapter 49 - 42: Good Deeds Are Rewarded
Sunday. Night had long since fallen.
After a full day of studying, Chen Lin was walking alone from the library back to his dorm. The evening breeze carried a trace of summer heat, rustling the trees along the path with a soft SHUSH.
His mind kept replaying everything that had happened at the bar last night, especially the final song, "Ordinary Road," and the scene of the entire crowd singing along. Looking back on it now, it still felt a little unreal.
He pulled out his phone and opened his chat with Brother Wang.
A little after one in the morning, Brother Wang had sent him a photo. It was a picture of him standing in the center of the stage while everyone in the audience held up their phones or arms, cheering for him.
The photo was a bit blurry, but the passionate atmosphere was palpable.
Chen Lin looked at the photo, a smile spreading across his face unconsciously.
’So it wasn’t a dream after all.’
He then thought of the Little Red Flower the system had rewarded him with.
This was the second one he had received.
He thought back carefully. The last time he had a singing competition with Song Cheng, even though the audience’s reaction was just as enthusiastic and the tips had broken records, the system hadn’t given him any special rewards.
Chen Lin mulled it over as he walked, and gradually, his thoughts became clear.
The "Little Singer" title guaranteed his pitch and rhythm were perfect. But what truly moved people’s hearts was the emotion poured into the performance, the understanding and expression of the song’s meaning.
In his last competition with Song Cheng, although he had been technically flawless, his emotional expression and performance awareness had indeed been very amateurish.
But last night, especially when singing the last two songs, he had been genuinely moved by the lyrics and melody, completely pouring his own personal feelings into them.
It was this genuine emotion that ignited the feelings of everyone present, ultimately leading to the crowd-wide singalong.
’Looks like I really did learn something valuable from Song Cheng.’
With that thought, he arrived at the base of his dormitory building.
Pushing open the door to dorm room 406, he saw Wang Tao, Fatty Zhao, and Li the Monkey. The three of them were huddled together like three prairie dogs, their heads close as they stared intently at Li the Monkey’s phone screen, letting out gasps of "Holy shit!" and "Fucking awesome!" from time to time.
Chen Lin had just changed into his slippers and hadn’t even had a chance to speak when the sharp-eyed Li the Monkey spotted him.
"Brother Lin is back!"
Li the Monkey shouted, dropped his phone, and lunged over like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey, grabbing Chen Lin’s arm.
"Quick! Spill it! How many other things are you hiding from us, you bastard?" He shook Chen Lin’s arm forcefully, spittle flying everywhere. "We let it slide when your math skills suddenly became fucking awesome, but how are you now almost as good as a professional singer?!"
Chen Lin was completely baffled by this sudden commotion.
"What’s going on? What are you guys talking about?"
"Still playing dumb!" Fatty Zhao also stood up from his chair. He picked up his own phone, tapped the screen a few times, then shared a link in their dorm’s WeChat group.
"See for yourself!"
[406 Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons]
Fatty Zhao: [@Chen Lin]
Fatty Zhao: [Link]
Confused, Chen Lin clicked the link in the WeChat group. It was another post from the campus forum.
The post’s title was very eye-catching: "Yan University’s Hidden God of Song? Quasi-Professional Performance Spotted at Back Street Bar!"
He clicked on it. The main post only contained a video link from B Station.
The video’s thumbnail was of the small stage at the bar from last night, showing a blurry silhouette facing the microphone.
Chen Lin hit play. The familiar violin intro of "Falling Leaves Return to Roots," which he had sung, began to play.
The video was clearly recorded on a phone at the venue. The audio quality was average and a bit noisy, but his singing was still relatively clear. Soon, the video switched to the second song, "Ordinary Road." When it got to the chorus, the sound of the audience singing along came in, and his own voice was drowned out for the most part.
Chen Lin went back to the forum post and started reading the replies below.
[1F - OP]: Bros, I recorded the video! This is the best you can get from a phone’s mic, so just bear with it. I have to say, hearing it live was ten times better than the video! The energy was insane! Especially the last two songs, I’m a grown man and even my eyes were getting teary. Later, I heard from the bar owner that the singer is a student from our school. Anyone know him?
[2F]: Isn’t that Chen Lin? The guy from the Chinese Language and Literature department. He’s always doing odd jobs around campus—food delivery, running errands, sending and receiving packages, handing out flyers. A lot of people probably know him.
[3F]: I know him. He used to be a regular singer at Back Street Bar, but I’ve never heard he was this good. Feels like he’s on a whole different level than before.
[4F]: To be fair, just listening to this video, the audio quality is pretty crap. You can only tell that his pitch is fine and he’s on key. But looking at the audience’s reaction, they’re all acting like they’re on steroids, which is a bit much. Any bros who know music care to analyze?
[5F]: AHHHH! This guy is so handsome from the side! And he sings so well, I’m in love! Sisters, who has his WeChat? (drooling.jpg)
[6F]: Replying to the post above, same! A guy who’s talented and handsome like this is a total treasure!
...
Reading up to this point, Chen Lin’s face was already expressionless.
He scrolled down a bit further and found that someone had posted another link.
[15F]: Stop hyping him up. You call *this* a God of Song? [Link] Check this out. Song Cheng from the arts academy had a competition with him before. The difference in skill is obvious.
Chen Lin clicked the link. As expected, it was the video of his competition with Song Cheng, which Brother Wang had previously edited for promotional purposes.