The pa.s.sion w.a.n.g Dong showed when he was working and the exhaustion that he showed now formed an obvious contrast.
Su Yang barely ate anything and w.a.n.g Dong did not even have a bite, but the man drank all four bottles of beer.
His alcohol tolerance was not as good as he claimed. After guzzling four bottles of beer, his eyes were a little out of focus. Bitterness was smeared all over his face, he reached out to Su Yang and signed with his hand. "I've graduated for six years, six years! My brother and I've also been hustling for six years."
Su Yang looked at the man, unable to reply.
Thankfully, w.a.n.g Dong wanted to only vent his emotions instead of getting Su Yang's reply. The man added, "I came here to study interior design and I really liked it. I really wanted to be an interior designer, but I can't make any money from this.
"I've worked as an interior designer for five years before this, but I failed to earn myself a house or a car. A so-called interior designer has to live in a tiny apartment that's only a dozen square meters large. I worked from nine to five but I couldn't even save a dozen yuan in a month.
"Every festive season, I can't even afford presents to send back to my hometown. I have to rely on cheap instant noodles to make it through the end of the month. Where would I get the money to buy presents for my family?!
"After hustling for five years, in the end, I choose to compromise with life…"
w.a.n.g Dong drank gla.s.s after gla.s.s and his eyes got red. "If you ask whether I'm earning money from this current job? Yes! But it's far from enough!"
As he started to get drunk, his head started to sway left and right while the words slurred out from his mouth, "Do you know how much it costs to own a house in Shanghai?"
w.a.n.g Dong put three fingers up in front of Su Yang. "At least 3 million. I worked hard. I tried everything, but I can't earn enough or that much."
"Look on the bright side. You are doing okay yourself for now. Maybe you can work things out if you continue to work hard," Su Yang sighed and consoled the man.
w.a.n.g Dong chuckled in disdain. "Continue to work hard? Do I have to continue to pretend that a mantou is a slice of chocolate cake? I'm getting older. My cla.s.smates, my peers have properties worth over tens of millions while I'm still hustling for a ten thousand salary a month…I'm really…a useless piece of trash!"
Su Yang sighed again though he did not try to console w.a.n.g Dong anymore. The man must have run into something lately, so maybe he just wanted to vent his emotions.
As a third party, especially a third party that wished to further the collaboration, all Su Yang could do was accompany the drunkard while he vented his emotions. It was Su Yang's first time experiencing the bitterness of being on the pa.s.sive side.
Soon enough, w.a.n.g Dong collapsed on the table. Su Yang tried to wake the man but realized he had pa.s.sed out.
'What should I do with this fella?'
When Su Yang realized that the man might have missed the bill for the meal, he started to have a headache. He checked his watch and it was already a quarter past 9 at night, thus he decided to settle the bill at the counter first before figuring out a way to settle w.a.n.g Dong.
To his surprise, when he checked with the counter, the cashier said that w.a.n.g Dong had paid in advance and he actually had a way to contact w.a.n.g Dong's girlfriend.
It gave Su Yang a better impression of the drunkard.
The restaurant made a call to w.a.n.g Dong's girlfriend who was not friendly when she picked up the phone. She claimed that they had broken up, but after she heard that w.a.n.g Dong had pa.s.sed out, she hesitated for a minute before deciding to come and pick him up.
w.a.n.g Dong's mind cleared up a lot when he saw his own girlfriend. He hugged her and broke down in tears as though he was trying to weep his endless grievance out.
His girlfriend also teared up in silence. Something must have happened to the two of them recently.
Su Yang did not have the curiosity to get to the bottom of everything, thus he did not ask. He sent the two of them off before he walked home alone. w.a.n.g Dong's words somehow affected his mood.
As he strolled along the sidewalk, Su Yang somehow ended up at the western entrance of the campus. To his surprise, he saw a busker in front of the entrance. The busker was playing his guitar while singing softly.
'Look into the night, who do you love?
'They laughed and pushed me around, asking me why I'm drunk.
'Following the rewind of memories, the thought of you breaks my heart.
'Everyone wants love, waiting at the countless crossroads…'
The busker sang quite well. The students pa.s.sing by would listen for a while, like how Su Yang was, and they donated him some money.
Su Yang enjoyed the singing. He stepped forward and put 10 yuan into the guitar box.
The busker nodded at him in grat.i.tude while Su Yang smiled and continued listening to the singing.
A while later, after the busker finished the first song, he looked at Su Yang. "Brother, do you have any song that you want to listen to? I'll sing it for you."
Su Yang was surprised. He thought about it for a while and asked, "Can I give it a go instead?"
Not expecting Su Yang's request, the busker hesitated for a second before he took the guitar that was strapped to him off with a smile.
Su Yang took the guitar. It was heavier than it looked, but it was a lot better than the entry-level guitar that he bought. He put the strap over his shoulder and tested the strings. The quality and tune were great.
The students who pa.s.sed by barely paid attention to the busker singing at the entrance, but when a fellow pa.s.serby requested to give it a go, his action captivated a lot of attention.
The action turned heads but did not stop the students from moving along. They did not even slow down.
Su Yang looked up at the sky. Shanghai's sky was clear today and the stars were glittering. The myriad of stars garnished the dark night with its glimmer, forming a long river of light that soared across the south-east as though the starry torrent was gushing out to a million meters away.
Further away, the neon lights of Shanghai converged and shone brightly. It seemed like the lights were a reflection of the starry river in the sky. One might not be able to differentiate whether it was the mortal world or the heavens.
It was the biggest and most prosperous city in Huaxia. There were countless people who realized their dreams here every single day and there were also countless people who gave up on everything in life.
Su Yang fiddled with the strings softly and closed his eyes.
Maybe because the system gave him a musical ability, he felt like venting his emotions through his voice.
Even though he knew this song might not belong to Shanghai, the state of mind in the song matched his and w.a.n.g Dong's situation perfectly.
He slowly opened his eyes and strummed the guitar. His slightly rough voice that sounded lonely started to sing in front of the campus entrance.
'When I walk on each of these streets, it seems like my heart can never be in peace.
'Aside from the roaring engines and electrical buzzing, I seem to hear his candlewick heartbeat.'
Once the expert made a move, the truth would be revealed. The moment Su Yang started singing, the pa.s.sersby were attracted by his magnetic and sentimental voice.
A couple who was walking to the campus entrance could not help but glance at each other before turning around to Su Yang.
A student who walked out of the campus could not help but stop and listen.
Even the busker was in awe at Su Yang's singing. His jaw almost fell to the ground.
Su Yang's [Guitar-playing Ability] made him better than any amateur singer. He was only a step shy from a professional singer.
If his voice was heard on the television, people might not be surprised but when his voice was heard in real life, it shocked everyone instantly.
Su Yang also poured his emotions into his singing. The things that happened recently inspired and affected him a lot, including Tang Jing's matter and Tang Dafa's offer.
Earlier today, he had even met w.a.n.g Dong who was someone who could have been his future self if he did not have the system. He could not help but sympathize with w.a.n.g Dong, so his emotions overflowed as he sang louder.
'This is where I laugh, this is where I cry!
'This is where I live and this is where I die!
'This is where I pray, this is where I feel lost
'This is where I searched and this is where I lost myself.'
The students gathered in a crowd around Su Yang and were deeply affected by his heartfelt singing.
"Who's this?"
"His singing is out of this world!"
"How can a pa.s.serby sing like a professional singer? And it's acoustic!?"
Some smarter ones quietly took their phones out and started to record the performance as they wanted to share the performance with their friends.
The busker was also stunned on the spot. He did not expect a random pa.s.serby to be able to sing this well!
Although the students who gathered might only appreciate how melodious Su Yang's singing was, the busker had practiced music for several years and had been busking for seven to eight years. He knew better than anyone that this random pa.s.serby's voice, technique, and control were at a professional level! On top of that the melodious singing was emotions that poured into the tune and overflowed, in fact. Such soulful singing would easily move anyone's heart.
If someone like him partic.i.p.ated in the Voice of Huaxia, all the mentors might turn around just for him.
Today, the busker met someone like that in front of a university.
