076 Surprised or Not?
“Writing a song and calling your parents, what’s the relationship between these two?”
Regarding Wang Heng’s question, Pei Ningle thought for a moment and found it difficult to describe in words. So she handed the notebook to Wang Heng.
On the notebook were numerous numbers, some with black dots above or below them—it was clearly a simple musical score. A dot above a number meant a higher octave, and a dot below meant a lower one. More than half of these numbers had been crossed out with heavy pen strokes, considered discarded. Only a small portion of the melody survived.
Wang Heng wasn’t very sensitive to melody to begin with, and such a messy score made him even more confused.
However, although he couldn’t read the score, he understood Pei Ningle’s creative method.
This girl didn’t like to follow a formula to write songs, didn’t like cliché love songs, and had a strong desire for self-expression. Every song she wrote seriously expressed her own emotions and thoughts. Perhaps it was for this reason that although her skills grew deeper and deeper later on, she was never able to become a huge star, only a niche singer.
And at this moment, Pei Ningle was still just a bar singer who attracted an audience with her voice. Gazing at the young man in front of her, she asked nervously, “What do you think?”
Wang Heng handed the notebook back and chose the most conservative option as his answer. “I don’t understand it at all. Anyway, you’re going to call your parents, right? Then call now. It’s not good to keep hiding it from them.”
However, Pei Ningle was not willing to end the topic just like that. In the dozens of days since she had run away from home, she had met many people, but the only one she felt might understand her thoughts was the young man in front of her.
“Have you forgotten? I told you… I like music that honestly expresses oneself, so…”
The girl was anxious to explain, but when the words came to her lips, she couldn’t find the right ones for a moment.
Seeing her like this, Wang Heng couldn’t help but feel a little anxious for her and helped her summarize, “You mean being true to your words and actions, right?”
Pei Ningle’s eyes lit up. “Yes, being true to my words and actions! Writing a song is like writing a story. For me to finish that melody, it’s like a story needing an ending. The beginning of the story was my parents stopping me, so the end of the story also needs them… I want to tell them what I’ve done, and then their reaction to me…”
“Their reaction, and the change in your mood it brings, will be the final ending of this song?”
“That’s right!”
Wang Heng clapped his hands and said, “As expected of you. This way of thinking is simply that of an artist! Then don’t hesitate. It’s not even ten o’clock yet, not too late. Call them quickly!”
Hearing ‘now’, Pei Ningle couldn’t help but feel a little timid. “I was originally planning to call tomorrow…”
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Do it now!”
Are you kidding me? How could Wang Heng let her delay? If Wang Heng had her parents’ phone number, he would have called them two weeks ago and had them take this girl back! Since Pei Ningle finally had the awareness to walk into the net herself, he of course had to supervise her properly.
Pei Ningle shrank her neck. “I’m suddenly regretting it a little…”
“No, no, no, be brave,” Wang Heng cheered her on with a pleasant expression. “Since you’ve already decided to take the path of a true-to-life creator, then walk it bravely. Don’t give up halfway. If you don’t have a complete structure and true feelings, then what’s the difference between the songs you write and the ordinary stuff on the market?”
These words hit the girl’s heart.
Pei Ningle took a deep breath, her young face becoming even more determined. “You’re right. I’ll call right now!”
Wang Heng nodded with satisfaction. “That’s right. By the way, do your parents know you’re in Rongdu?”
The girl replied, “They know. Let me tell you, they even called the police when I ran away from home. I had just arrived in the Imperial Capital and ended up in the police station! Later, after the police confirmed that I wasn’t trafficked, they arranged a train ticket to send me back, and then I slipped away at the train station…”
Wang Heng slapped his forehead. He finally understood why this girl was so skilled at skipping that flight. It turned out she had a prior record! You see, after Wang Heng got to know her in the Imperial Capital in the first timeline, he had never heard of such a dark history.
Pei Ningle continued, “So later, I still had to contact them every day to prevent them from calling the police again. But I didn’t want to call them, so they don’t know my situation…”
Wang Heng frowned, realizing something was strange.
He asked, “You’re an 18-year-old girl, running away from home and being outside. They don’t care about you? Since they can send text messages and contact you, why don’t they come and find you or give you money?”
Pei Ningle pouted. “I didn’t let them come and find me. I didn’t tell them where I was. I deleted all the text messages they sent to persuade me and didn’t reply.”
Wang Heng: “Then what about money? They don’t care about your living expenses?”
Pei Ningle: “I said I was working at a convenience store and didn’t need their living expenses. They seem to think that as long as I work outside for a long time and suffer enough, I’ll go back on my own…”
But Wang Heng felt that the truth was probably not what the girl imagined. But he didn’t speculate any further and just said, “Then make the call.”
Pei Ningle nodded, took out the old keypad phone, and dialed the number.
A few seconds later, a slightly irritable middle-aged woman’s voice came out. Although Pei Ningle didn’t have it on speaker, the other party’s voice was not quiet, and the earpiece volume of this old phone was loud, so Wang Heng could also hear clearly.
“You still have the nerve to call! You stinking brat, where have you been!”
The voice was sharp and piercing, making Wang Heng frown slightly.
Pei Ningle subconsciously shrank her neck and said weakly in a small voice, “Mom, I’m in Rongdu…”
“I know you’re in Rongdu!” Pei’s mother interrupted. “Your father and I are here too. We’ve been watching you for days!”
Pei Ningle’s eyes widened in surprise, her mouth agape, not knowing what to say.
Pei’s mother continued to scold, “You’re not a child anymore. Do you think you can fool us with that? What convenience store job? It’s a bar job, isn’t it!”
Pei Ningle: “You… saw?”
Pei’s mother: “We’ve even been there for a drink! You’ve gotten bold, haven’t you? Singing, and even conspiring with the bar to deceive people! When did your father and I divorce? And when did you get a big brother?”
Pei Ningle was now completely speechless.
At this moment, the person on the other end of the line changed. It was probably Pei’s father who had snatched the phone.
“Little Le, have you thought it through now?” Pei’s father asked. “Are you still at the bar? Do you want us to come over now?”
“Okay… I guess…”
Pei Ningle hung up the phone in a daze.
Wang Heng crossed his arms and said with a smile, “Surprised or not? Isn’t it a surprise?”
