Chapter 213: Human Nature
What was life like in the past…?
To be honest, even though a long time had passed, whenever she thought about it, it was filled with nostalgia. In youth, one doesn’t know how to cherish things. It’s only after losing them that regret sets in, but by then, it’s useless.
Nangong Ying knew that some things, once they happened, could not be changed. What had become fact could never revert to its cause.
And so, all her emotions poured out in the form of lyrics.
She opened her mouth, and under the gaze of countless eyes, she sang the song that would sweep the nation.
“You told me you wanted to go home, but do you still remember the way?
Her shadow has long since blurred, her smile long since faded.
The ignorance of youth, the joy of youth, everything from youth is no more.
Who still remembers that summer afternoon, the popsicle that could be split in two, one for each of us.
What a beautiful time that was.
How could you forget that time, how could you forget her.
If you had known then what you know today, would you have made the same decision?
Do you regret it? Do you regret it…?
You can’t go back anymore, you’ve already forgotten…
If I could speak to my eighteen-year-old self, I would tell her she was wrong.
She would surely listen to me, because I’m the one who understands her best in this world.
But it’s a pity you’ve already forgotten, forgotten everything. You can’t go home anymore.”
The lyrics were written by Zhou Silan, titled “The Times You’ve Forgotten.”
Zhou Silan had transformed Nangong Ying’s desired emotions into a song, allowing it to shine brightly at the concert. While Zhou Silan’s composition was a factor, what surprised people more was Nangong Ying’s singing. She sang beautifully, like the protagonist of a story. Her emotional delivery was so powerful that some of the girls in the audience were even moved to tears, a rare phenomenon.
Zhou Silan had written many songs, but she had never tried writing such an emotional one before. This was a first. She hadn’t expected it to move so many people.
But she also knew it was the emotion in Nangong Ying’s singing that had touched them.
The audience was astonished. The Nangong Ying they remembered was an actress, a celebrity, a star who made action movies. They never expected her to be such a good singer.
Moreover, the song was about the story of two girls, a departure from the usual male-female romance common in songs, which was a rare sight. Some male audience members even shouted their support for the “yuri” theme.
After the song ended, the audience responded with thunderous applause. Many were deeply moved by the song, left wanting more. They declared they would buy three copies of the album to support the band when it was released.
Although many in the audience had come for the novelty of a song with lyrics by Zhou Silan, they were now captivated by Nangong Ying.
“Wow, this Nangong Ying sings really well.”
Zhao Yuyan, watching the live stream on her computer, couldn’t help but exclaim. The song was so beautiful. She had never heard anything like it before. While there were many love songs on the market, such a sad and heart-wrenching song was truly rare. Zhou Silan was worthy of her title as the queen of the music world, worthy of her future title as the empress of the Mandopop scene.
“Little Nana, what’s wrong? Are you mesmerized? You’re not moving at all.”
Zhao Yuyan waved her hand in front of her friend’s eyes, but Yu Linna didn’t react.
“Little Nana?”
“I know, I’m watching.”
In truth, the moment Yu Linna heard the lyrics, she knew what Nangong Ying was singing about. It was nothing more than a nostalgic look at her past.
The song, its content, and her emotion were all impeccable.
This was Nangong Ying’s true feelings.
If it had been the Yu Linna of the past, she might have actually softened.
But alas, she was no longer that naive girl.
“In the end, it’s just a self-satisfying song.”
“What? You don’t think it’s good?”
“It’s good.”
“Then why are you belittling her? At least it’s a song written by Queen Zhou.”
“The song is good, and the lyrics are not bad. But the person is not.”
Nangong Ying was, in the end, only doing it for her own satisfaction. That fact couldn’t sway her.
Trying to win her sympathy? It wouldn’t be that easy.
She was the one who had thrown it away. Now she wanted to come back shamelessly. How could something like that possibly succeed?
Yu Linna could never trust Nangong Ying again. Absolutely never.
The concert continued. Although there were a few more songs and the band continued to perform, none had the impact of the first song. The phenomenon of stunning the audience into silence didn’t happen again.
But given Nangong Ying’s solid performance, the audience still applauded. It was foreseeable that her popularity would continue to rise. She surely wouldn’t be content with just being an action star.
After the concert ended, the audience reluctantly left their seats. Li Yuexin was also very satisfied. This debut was absolutely fantastic. She had been in the entertainment industry for so many years, always wanting to be a singer, but for various reasons, things hadn’t gone smoothly. By a twist of fate, she had become a TV star instead.
But she had never forgotten her dream. Now, her dream was finally starting to take flight.
After the concert, Nangong Ying grabbed a bottle of mineral water in the dressing room and drank it down. This job had been exhausting. Although she was used to performing on stage, this was her first time holding a large-scale concert. Fortunately, it had gone smoothly. The song Zhou Silan had written for them had been a great start, setting the mood for the entire venue.
“Nangong, you’re done.”
Zhou Silan walked into the dressing room at that moment to see her.
“Senior.”
Nangong Ying put down the water bottle and greeted her respectfully. Just for the song she had written, which had brought such a powerful effect to their concert, she was willing to give her due respect. Not to mention, the woman hadn’t charged her a single penny, writing the song for free.
“You sang very well. Giving this song to you was the right choice. Nangong, you really have a talent for singing. You could try your hand in the music industry.”
“Thank you for your kind words, Senior. I still prefer making movies. Singing is just a side gig for me. Senior, thank you.”
“Alright, the compliments are done. Now I’d like to ask you some questions.”
The smile on Zhou Silan’s face slowly faded, a trace of complexity in her eyes. Nangong Ying felt very uneasy.
“You sang this song with true emotion, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Including the content of the lyrics, it was all an authentic performance from you, wasn’t it?”
“…Senior, what are you trying to say?”
Zhou Silan fell silent for a moment, weighing her words.
She had agreed to write the song for free partly because inspiration had struck, and partly because she wanted to dig up some interesting material from Nangong Ying. Now she thought that Nangong Ying’s story wasn’t actually that complicated.
One song was her entire experience.
“I started writing after hearing your story. The protagonist of this story is you. Nangong, do you really regret it?”
This was what she wanted to ask the most.
“Who are you trying to say these words to? Why did you sing so loudly in front of so many people? Nangong, others might not see it, but how could I not? I wrote this song. I wrote it by trying to understand your heart. I have a rough idea of what you’re thinking.”
Nangong Ying subconsciously took a step back.
She had a secret, a secret she couldn’t tell anyone. That she had once betrayed her best friend, the person she liked the most, and pushed her into an abyss of eternal damnation to further her own career.
If this were to get out, her public image would surely collapse.
“You, do you really like self-satisfaction that much? Singing this song doesn’t mean she will actually soften and forgive you. It’s completely unnecessary to attract so much attention.”
Zhou Silan had already said so much. Nangong Ying should be able to guess what she was trying to express.
Zhou Silan had been through it all. She had experienced many hardships, entering the industry at sixteen and only making a name for herself as a singer at nineteen. She knew exactly how difficult that period was, and because she had experienced it, she knew that Nangong Ying’s success had not come easily.
But this industry was so complicated, filled with all kinds of people. It wasn’t uncommon for people to climb up by selling others out.
If what the lyrics said was true, that Nangong Ying regretted it, then she must have done something like that.
In that case, singing in front of so many people was completely meaningless. After all, she wasn’t confessing in front of everyone.
“Senior… since you could guess, why did you agree to write a song for me for free?”
“Didn’t I say? I wanted to find some material from you. Besides, consider it a favor. I’m not about to expose your past. Nangong, I write songs for creation. You sing, but is it really for repentance?”
She left those words hanging in the air and departed with a smile.
Nangong Ying stood there, stunned, for a long time, until Li Yuexin came to get her.
As for Yu Linna, she had already closed the live stream after the concert ended and was asking Zhao Yuyan about selling her copyrights. She had hesitated for a long time. Wanting her work to gain more recognition and popularity, she finally decided to sell the rights to Caibi Company. Simply because of the terms they offered: not a single word of her original work would be changed.
“Are you really going to give it to Caibi Company? I’ve never heard of them, and they’re a new company. You don’t know anything about them. Why don’t you think it over again?”
“No need. I’ve made up my mind. This is what I’m going to do.”
“…”
Since she had said so, what else could Zhao Yuyan say? It wasn’t her business, after all. She couldn’t control it.
In the end, it was because Yu Linna was too insistent about her work, treasured it too much, and couldn’t bear for there to be a single flaw. So she hoped that not a single word of her work would be changed, that it would be completely faithful to the original.
She didn’t consider what the consequences might be, nor did she think about it.
“Alright, since that’s the case, Little Nana, let’s play a game. I have a Famicom. We can play two-player Contra together.”
“…Can’t your brain think about work a little more?”
“Why work yourself so hard? You need to relax. Come on, play a game. If you don’t know how, I’ll teach you. Let me tell you, if you don’t play games in university, you’ll be ostracized.”
“…”
This salted fish of a girl was truly hopeless. No wonder she often made Chen Xi angry. Just looking at her work attitude, you could tell this girl was a procrastinator, and a terminal case at that.
If she were as diligent as Yu Linna, she would have published many books by now.
