Chapter 41: Accidental Encounter with Lin Ruoxuan

Xu Yunzhou returned to his somewhat shabby rented room and took a shower, washing away his exhaustion.

Just as he relaxed, his stomach uncooperatively began to beat like a drum.

He felt for his phone and clicked on the takeout app.

"I'll just randomly order a rice bowl to make do..."

He thought to himself, but his fingers kept swiping on the screen,

"No, what if I stay up late 'nurturing the Queen of Pop' tonight and get hungry again? I have to prepare for a rainy day!"

So, his fingers trembled, his operation as fierce as a tiger, directly jumping from the ordering interface of a braised chicken rice bowl to... a whole roasted sheep.

"Mhm, this portion should be enough for a late-night snack."

He nodded in satisfaction and was just about to pay—

[Ding! System Notification: Abnormal account behavior detected, suspected of order brushing, service suspended for 24 hours.]

(TL: "Order brushing" is a fraudulent practice to inflate sales/reviews. The app flagged him for ordering too much/too often.)

Looking at the cold notification on the screen, the muscles on Xu Yunzhou's face twitched.

"Holy shit!"

He almost threw his phone away,

"I just ordered takeout nine times in one day, and that counts as order brushing? Is this broken system looking down on the strength of our foodie community?"

Indignant, he exited the yellow takeout app, brought out the backup blue takeout app, and reordered that ill-fated roasted whole sheep.

(TL: Yellow app refers to Meituan, blue app refers to Ele.me, China's two major food delivery services.)

A roasted whole sheep takes time to slow-roast over a low fire and cannot be rushed.

In the gap of waiting, he sat in front of the computer again.

Turning it on, he clicked open the "Goddess Nurturing" game and entered Song Jiaru's stage.

He directly fast-forwarded the timeline to the evening of the next day.

On the screen, Song Jiaru had already packed up neatly. Hugging her acoustic guitar, with light flashing in her eyes that was both nervous and excited, she shouted to Xu Yunzhou full of vitality:

"Big Brother! The time has come, let's set off!"

Xu Yunzhou saw with satisfaction that her actions were not the least bit sloppy, nor was there any sign of shrinking back before the battle.

Smiling, he moved the mouse and gently clicked that [Reward] icon emitting a gentle green light.

An invisible warm current brushed over Song Jiaru, making her narrow her eyes comfortably.

"Not bad, your momentum is very sufficient."

Xu Yunzhou praised.

Feeling that familiar warmth, Song Jiaru puffed out her chest, carrying a bit of pride:

"Of course! I am a woman personally trained by Big Brother!"

Jinli Ancient Street, the evening lights were just coming on.

The summer heat had slightly receded, the bluestone road reflected the warm yellow light of the lanterns, and tourists wove like a loom.

Song Jiaru walked over hugging her guitar and stopped in a relatively empty corner with an antique gray brick wall behind her.

Although she had lofty sentiments before setting out, when she really arrived at the scene and was surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces and noisy sounds, her little heart still uncooperatively accelerated its wild beating, her palms sweating slightly.

"Don't be afraid, take a deep breath. I'm right next to you, watching you."

Xu Yunzhou's voice came through the invisible connection like a calming pill,

"Treat all the people below as moving background boards, or... experience points waiting to be harvested by your singing voice. You are only performing for me alone."

"Mhm mhm!"

Song Jiaru nodded heavily, as if drawing infinite courage from this sentence.

She slowly put down the opened guitar case and adjusted the somewhat crude microphone connected to a small speaker.

She was wearing the simplest white pure cotton T-shirt and slim-fit blue jeans today, her hair tied in a neat high ponytail, her face free of makeup, yet possessing a pure aesthetic feeling of "clear water yielding a lotus flower, natural without carving."

In the mottled light and shadow of the ancient street, she was like a quietly blooming gardenia.

"Begin, sing the first song I gave you—'Chengzhou'."

Song Jiaru took another deep breath, as if to suppress all her nervousness.

Her slender, fair fingers with distinct joints, carrying a trace of almost invisible trembling, gently plucked the strings.

A few clean chords, carrying a bit of ethereal feeling and faint sorrow, instantly attracted several inquiring gazes of curiosity.

When she opened her mouth and sang the first line, that clear, clean, authentic voice that seemed to have been washed by a clear spring in a mountain ravine suddenly pierced through the clamor and greasiness of the ancient street like bright moonlight, shining coldly and movingly into the heart of every pedestrian who accidentally heard it:

"What makes me shed tears is not only the wine of last night"

"What makes me reluctant to part is not only your gentleness"

...

The natural emotion contained in her voice, carrying a tiny bit of uncarved sorrow and bewilderment belonging to a young girl, accurately hit the softest corner in the hearts of countless tourists.

At first, she was still somewhat nervous. Her long eyelashes were lowered, her eyes not daring to make eye contact with any passersby, only staring intently at her own strings.

But as the song progressed, under Xu Yunzhou's silent companionship and the powerful infectiousness of the music itself, she gradually immersed herself in the world constructed by the melody and lyrics.

She even unconsciously closed her eyes, her body swaying slightly with the rhythm, and her singing became increasingly steady, full, and devoted.

Tourists who originally had hurried footsteps and were busy taking photos and shopping involuntarily slowed down and stopped to linger.

Couples selecting specialty souvenirs stopped their actions, listened attentively, and exchanged amazed glances with each other.

People chatting leisurely on the rattan chairs of the roadside teahouses also gradually quieted down, their gazes coincidentally casting toward this girl whose singing had a captivating charm.

The melody of the song she sang was beautiful yet unfamiliar, carrying a unique temperament and humanistic poetry that did not belong to the mainstream pop music of 2012.

The artistic conception of the lyrics was profound, the visual sense extremely strong, and coupled with her pure, clean voice and sincere interpretation, it produced a wonderful "chemical reaction" that struck straight to the soul.

"Who is this girl? She sings so beautifully! My ears are going to get pregnant!"

"Is it a student from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music doing social practice? With this standard, she could directly debut and release an album, right?"

"I've never heard this song before! Is it an original? The lyrics and composition are too awesome! It feels like it has more flavor than the songs on the charts right now!"

"Quick, record it, record it! Post it on Weibo! Let those friends of mine who only know how to shout '666' see it!"

"This singing voice, these lyrics... incredible! It's simply the exclusive BGM belonging to Chengzhou!"

This was 2012.

Smartphones had just begun to popularize. Networks were mainly 3G, and 4G had not yet been commercialized on a large scale.

On social media, Weibo was booming, and WeChat's Moments function had not been launched for long.

But this did not hinder people's enthusiasm for sharing.

In the spectating crowd, many people raised their phones, screens lit up, carefully adjusting angles, recording this stunning scene on the street.

"Bro, I'll post this video on Weibo as soon as I connect to WIFI back at the hotel. I've even thought of the title: 'Fairy Sister suddenly appears in Jinli, the ceiling of healing singing voices! Begging for a flesh search!'"

"I've already posted it on Moments, and in just a few minutes so many people liked it and asked me where this is!"

"I uploaded it to Tudou! Hope it goes viral!"

(TL: Tudou was one of China's earliest and largest video-sharing websites, later merging with Youku.)

Inside the guitar case, there were no longer just a few sporadic coins; paper bills of various denominations began to increase, and some people even quietly put in conspicuous red hundred-yuan bills, expressing their silent appreciation and support.

After Song Jiaru finished singing the first song, under Xu Yunzhou's encouragement and the expectant gazes of the audience, she hugged the guitar again and sang the second song—"The Ordinary Road":

"I once was lost, disappointed, and lost all direction"

"Until I saw that being ordinary is the only answer"

Her state became increasingly relaxed, and she would even occasionally raise her head to reveal a shy yet incomparably sincere smile carrying gratitude to the audience who stopped to listen.

This smile, like ice and snow initially melting and spring flowers blooming, captivated even more people. The "click" sounds of taking photos and the flashing indicator lights of phone recordings became even more frequent.

And exactly during the most impassioned climax of her singing the second song, when her emotions were the most full and devoted—

Xu Yunzhou's "perspective" abruptly locked onto the outer edge of the crowd!

A woman wearing an elegantly simple off-white long trench coat and black sunglasses that covered most of her face, whose temperament was completely incompatible with the surrounding casual tourists, seemed to be pulled by some invisible sound wave.

With an entranced expression and unsteady footsteps, she walked out of the crowd almost as if sleepwalking.

Then, as if struck by an invisible thunderbolt, she abruptly froze in place!

The eyes behind the sunglasses suddenly widened, as if she had seen something extremely unbelievable, even her breathing stalling at that moment.

She was actually Lin Ruoxuan!