Not far away.
A group of people holding up cell phones swarmed toward Zhou Chen, following a woman clutching a microphone.
Zhou Chen knew this was a very popular trend in livestreaming. They would walk and sing on the streets, occasionally pulling random passersby into the broadcast for engagement.
Only, Zhou Chen hadn't expected them to target him.
While he stood there in a daze, she quickly shoved the microphone right in front of him.
"Hello! I am street singer Tang Tang, and I'm currently live. I wonder if you recognize me? If you don't believe me, you can look me up on your phone—I have quite a lot of followers, you know."
Beneath his face mask, Zhou Chen's expression remained utterly blank. "...I can see that."
The woman standing before him wore a red halter-neck Hong Kong-style dress, baring her fair, delicate shoulders as if she didn't feel the chill at all.
Most eye-catching of all were her long legs beneath the hem.
The dress wasn't long, resting just a few inches above her knees to perfectly showcase her white, well-proportioned calves.
Even though she was the only one singing on camera, she was flanked by a cameraman, a lighting technician, and even a makeup artist holding a cosmetics case, standing by in full readiness.
Even minor celebrities in the entertainment industry didn't command a team like this.
With a setup like this, she was definitely a mega-streamer with tens of millions of followers.
Meanwhile, the live chat in Tang Tang's broadcast was already scrolling furiously:
*“Holy crap, this little brother is kind of handsome!”*
*“His voice sounds amazing too! Tang Tang, hurry up and take off his mask!”*
*“Even when facing a great beauty like Tang Tang, this handsome guy didn't bat an eye!”*
*“Is there any man Tang Tang can't conquer? Go get him, Tang Tang!”*
*“Charge, Tang Tang!”*
*“Go, go!”*
*“Charge!”*
*“……”*
Catching a glimpse of the frantic comments flashing across the chat, Tang Tang glanced at Zhou Chen and realized that his gaze truly hadn't wavered since the very beginning! It was as if he had been through all sorts of trials and tribulations, and a mega-streamer like her couldn't stir even the slightest ripple in his heart.
Accustomed to being pursued and adored by men, Tang Tang couldn't help but feel a surge of competitive determination toward Zhou Chen, resolving right then and there to make him sing a duet with her.
"That's great, then!"
Tang Tang renewed her invitation. "I'd like to invite you to sing Wind and Moon Legend's new song with me. Would that be alright?"
Wind and Moon Legend?
Weren't those his songs?
Zhou Chen's gaze landed on Tang Tang, causing her to instinctively smooth the stray locks of hair beside her cheek. Her fans had told her this angle made her look her absolute best!
She refused to believe the man in front of her could turn her down!
Zhou Chen looked her up and down, and amid Tang Tang's expectant gaze, he slowly asked:
"Do you have the copyright?"
"……Huh?"
It was neither an acceptance nor a refusal.
Instead, he asked if she had the copyright?
What kind of angle was this?
Not only was Tang Tang stunned blank for a second.
Even the audience in the livestream was completely bewildered.
Usually, the passersby Tang Tang invited would either shyly refuse and ask for a picture, or nod in ecstatic agreement. But Zhou Chen had carved out a completely unique path by asking about copyright???
What the heck?!
Judging by the dumbfounded look on her face, she clearly didn't have it.
Zhou Chen stood up, looked straight at her, and continued, "Covering someone else's song for profit requires permission from the copyright holder and payment of royalties. So, do you have the copyright?"
"I—I suppose so?" Tang Tang lacked a bit of conviction.
The man in front of her had suddenly stood up, completely overpowering her presence.
And she wasn't even short!
Her assistant chimed in from the side, "Yes, we do, we do! Our company bought all of that."
"Oh, that settles it then."
Zhou Chen nodded and sat right back down.
His aura instantly plummeted, allowing Tang Tang to let out a stealthy sigh of relief.
"Th—then can you sing it?"
Tang Tang pressed on. The heat in the live chat was already surging, with viewers clamoring for her to give this "Copyright Bro" a taste of reality.
"I won't sing."
Zhou Chen refused without a moment's hesitation.
*“What the hell? What kind of angle is Copyright Bro playing?”*
*“He can actually turn that down?”*
*“If Tang Tang gets him to sing today, I'm dropping a yacht!”*
*“A tough bone! I love watching Tang Tang tackle tough bones. Nail this and I'll drop a Carnival for you!”*
*“Why do you guys love making things hard for our Tang Tang? I'll throw in one too.”*
*“No other reason, I just want to hear him sing. I'll drop two.”*
*“……”*
Seeing the live chat getting more and more lively, while the Zhou Chen before her remained completely impervious to persuasion, Tang Tang covered the microphone on her chest and pleaded with Zhou Chen away from the camera:
"Are you really not going to sing?"
"I've got tons of fans. If you sing with me, I'll drive some traffic to your channels, how about that? People hanging out at this hour on a workday are either collecting rent or doing self-media. Brother, won't you consider it?"
"Why should a working stiff make things hard for another working stiff? The whole livestream wants to watch you—do a big brother a favor, yeah?"
"Please, please!"
Please, please...
A wave of daze washed over Zhou Chen as he seemed to catch a glimpse of the youthful Zhao Min from days gone by.
Whenever she grew tired from singing practice, she would furrow her brows, her eyes shimmering with moisture as she looked at him and said "please."
Pity that everything had vanished like a mirage in the moonlight, scattering like smoke.
Forget it, I'll sing one song. Consider it closure for my past self, and a beginning for the self of today.
The songs I reproduced earlier were only meant to match Zhao Min's vocal range.
Now, it's time to embark on my own musical journey.
Let the hit songs of the previous life be reborn through the self of this lifetime!
In the past life, Yisen's Ten Years had brought countless long-term couples to tears.
Why not give them a little taste of reality first?
"Hand it over."
Zhou Chen reached out a hand.
"Ah?"
"Mic, guitar."
"Oh, oh!"
Tang Tang immediately signaled the staff to hand over the items.
Zhou Chen expertly clipped the microphone to his chest, took the guitar, and casually strummed it a couple of times, eliciting a dull, out-of-tune sound from the strings.
Watching Zhou Chen's somewhat rusty movements, the staff couldn't help muttering under their breath:
"Doesn't look like he knows how to play."
"Poor Tang Tang, she's probably going to be dragged completely off-key in a minute."
"He was so unwilling just now. Figures he caved the moment Sister Tang Tang offered perks."
"Tch, Wind and Moon Legend's songs aren't easy to sing. Let's see what kind of trick he pulls out."
His fingers brushed across the strings, and the prelude gently poured forth.
They felt as though they were witnessing countless emotional stories begin to flow softly with the music, leaving those who resonated with it nowhere to hide.
The scene fell instantly silent.
Everyone couldn't help but be intoxicated by it.
However, this didn't belong to any song by Wind and Moon Legend!
Nor did it belong to any tune they were familiar with.
The assistant noticed it too.
Opening his mouth, he wanted to interrupt.
Yet before he could, Zhou Chen began to sing.
"If those two words didn't tremble"
"I wouldn't have realized my agony"
His low, gravelly voice was exceptionally captivating. Just a single line was enough to make one feel the singer's lingering sorrow and bitterness.
Those two words?
Which two words?
The assistant, who had intended to interrupt Zhou Chen just moments ago, paused his actions, unable to resist following the lyrics to search deeper.
He was an old-timer who had been with Tang Tang for years, attending countless galas and interacting with all sorts of celebrities. There were plenty of singers with vocal stability matching Zhou Chen's, but Zhou Chen was absolute perfection when it came to conveying this bittersweet, aching emotion!
Singing wasn't just about technique.
Technique could be learned, but interpreting the emotion of a song was something not just anyone could pull off.
"How could it be spoken"
"When it amounts to nothing more than a breakup"
Oh—
So it was a breakup.
The assistant understood in a flash.
At that very moment.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the comments in the million-viewer livestream began to dwindle.
They were all completely lost in the song!
"If there were no demands made of tomorrow"
"Holding hands was just like traveling"
"Amidst thousands of doorways"
"There's always someone who must leave first"
What did it mean by "no demands"?
And what was "just like traveling"?
It meant I held you in my heart and planned for our future, yet you never factored me into that future at all.
Your feelings for me were merely like a trip—leaving traces in my heart, but departing just as quickly.
Because with thousands of doorways and too many choices, it was inevitable to encounter better options.
In a dazzling world, someone's eyes are bound to be led astray.
And so, you left me in pursuit of your own desires.
Before they knew it, the eyes of those listening to the song grew moist beyond control.
They seemed to see the departing back of their beloved.
Resolute and merciless.
Leaving them battered and scarred in the rain.
"Since embraces cannot be made to linger"
"Why not, at the moment of parting"
"Enjoy it while weeping tears"
"Ten years ago"
"I didn't know you"
"You didn't belong to me"
"We were still the same"
" Accompanying a stranger by our side"
"Walking down gradually familiar streets"
"Ten years later"
"We are friends"
"We can still exchange greetings"
"It's just that kind of tenderness"
"No longer leaves a reason to embrace"
"In the end, lovers inevitably fall back to being friends"
Life was like that—just like never knowing what flavor the next piece of chocolate would be.
I never knew on which day I would meet the person forever treasured in my heart, nor did I know on which day I would lose her after having her.
I was both so fortunate and so unfortunate.
I met you, I gained you, and I lost you.
At this moment, a faint sorrow still lingered in Zhou Chen's brows, his peach-blossom eyes flushed red.
His entire being exuded an aura of grief and loss.
Making people feel as though they were watching him offer his own heart to someone, only for that person to have no use for it.
Just like them, drowning in love, willingly doing anything for the person they loved.
Yet receiving nothing in return.
Tears could no longer be held back, falling like a breached dam.
"Until after being friends with you for many years"
"Did I realize my tears"
"Weren't shed for you"
"They were shed for someone else too"
As I slowly grew up, I saw more and more scenery.
Having, and losing.
Losing, and having again.
Once ignorant of farewells, by the time we met again we were worlds apart.
And I had finally let go completely.
You have your path to walk, while I, too, have a better future waiting for my pursuit.
The scene fell into absolute silence.
Only the sound of the guitar flowed on like running water.
Even the timestamps of the latest comments in the livestream had stopped a few minutes ago!
*“Um... is anyone still there?”*
*“Hundreds of thousands of people and not a single comment?”*
As soon as these two comments were posted, they acted like a miraculous fuse.
*“The singer looks like he's about to shatter. I just want to give him a hug.”*
*“A tough guy single for twenty-eight years just shed iron tears right now!”*
*“I came here expecting to laugh, so how did it turn into a bawling fest? Give me back my tears!”*
*“Didn't shed a single little pearl! Just dropped hundreds of millions of them, that's all.”*
*“I really was listened to tears. It's my first time knowing a song could contain so many emotions.”*
*“Sobbing, after hearing the streamer's song, so as not to leave any regrets, I'm going to ask my first love to get back together! Wish me luck!”*
*“Good luck!”*
*“……”*
The comments flashing across the screen were coming too fast for the naked eye to process!
Yet Tang Tang had no time to spare for them!
This song was simply too breathtaking!
In just a few short lines, it laid bare a tangled state of mind and endless bitterness.
Making everyone feel as though they were experiencing it firsthand.
Tang Tang could practically conclude that this was definitely a brand-new song that had never been released before.
Otherwise, how could she have never even caught wind of a track capable of causing such a sensation!
Even this person before her—she had never seen him—
Tang Tang stared fixedly at the masked Zhou Chen in front of her, pleading:
"Great master!"
"What's your Super Faith handle?"
"I'm begging you, tell me!"
"If that doesn't work, you can just give me your Doukuai ID!"
"I'm begging you!"