An Expert Is actually By My Side

Chapter 25: Nearly A Millionaire

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Perhaps it was because the popularity of “The Fleeting Fireworks” gave Liang Ziyuan courage or the video in the Bilibili remix section sparked his dream aspiration towards art, but this guy had been setting himself free and enthusiastically chasing his dreams. The frequency of him singing like he was on drugs in the bedroom was getting higher, and his movements were getting bigger.
It was fine if he was just singing on a high. However, this guy just had to sing the self-composed songs he had come up with off the top of his head. Coupled with some verses of lyrics that no one could understand, he called it by its glorious name of ‘art’.
Sometimes, Cloud Hao even felt that this guy was actually quite strong in a certain sense. He was able to disregard others and persevere in being himself to such an extent.
At least, he embodied that saying perfectly: ‘As long as I don’t feel awkward, the awkward one won’t be me.’
Cloud Hao looked at Brother Ziyuan and advised him, “Bro, why don’t you sing “The Fleeting Fireworks”? I heard you playing it before, and it sounded pretty good… Why did you stop?”
Liang Ziyuan didn’t raise his head, nor did his hand movements stop at all.
“If you’ve already mastered something, even if you play it a thousand times or ten thousand times, it’s impossible to surpass yourself… I want to create my own music.”
Cloud Hao was speechless.
Zheng Xueqian was speechless.
Oh my God, this guy is so good at pretending!
However, what surprised Cloud Hao was that apart from him, no one else in this dorm room realized that Qian Yuan was his online identity.
Moreover, Liang Ziyuan himself was composed and didn’t tell anyone that he was Qian Yuan.
Perhaps he really wasn’t interested in fame and fortune. Or perhaps there was just something wrong with his brain.
In the past few days, the only person who hadn’t complained about him causing a disturbance was Zhou Xuan, who came to visit from the room next door.
This little fatso’s remix video had been a hit recently, and he tasted the sweetness of success. In order to pander to his enthusiastic fans, he had been listening to terrible songs day and night to find new material. Hence, his resistance level towards evil naturally went up.
“Haha, good pal, what you said is so true! What’s the point of singing someone else’s song? If we want to sing, we should sing our own! How about this, I’ll record it for you. It’ll definitely be a hit if you post it on Bilibili!”
When he heard the word Bilibili, Liang Ziyuan’s brow twitched furiously.
Zhou Xuan had probably struck his sore spot. Liang Ziyuan’s fingers strumming the guitar froze, and his gaze suddenly drifted into the distance outside the window.
“It’ll just be these few days.”
Seeing Liang Ziyuan suddenly acting solemn, the three people in the bedroom were taken aback.
Zhou Xuan gulped and asked in a low voice, “What’s just these few days?”
“After this period, when I get my living expenses and take up a part-time job to earn some money, I’ll apply for a music room membership outside. I’ll work part-time while composing my music,” Liang Ziyuan said lightly as he strummed a few strings on the guitar. “At that time, I won’t practice in the dorm anymore.”
When he heard this, Cloud Hao felt touched. This guy finally has some conscience.
The same went for Zheng Xueqian, who was sitting under his bed and furiously writing away. He was so thrilled that he threw the pen he was using to answer questions.
“Rough, roughly when will that be?”
Liang Ziyuan thought about it for a while before giving an uncertain answer, “After military training?”
Cloud Hao was speechless.
Zheng Xueqian was speechless.
Zhou Xuan was speechless.
F*ck!
After military training?!
Wouldn’t that be the end of the month after next?!
The only solace was that he had heard that the month of military training would be too exhausting.
Maybe he’ll take a break during that time…
…
“Hahahaha… Your roommate is hilarious. But since he likes music so much, why didn’t he just apply for a music major instead of programming?”
In the canteen at the entrance of River Town University…
When Cloud Hao recounted what happened in the dorm room yesterday, Lin Mengmeng convulsed with laughter.
The two of them had met by coincidence while queueing in front of the braised chicken rice stall. Cloud Hao initially wanted to pretend that he hadn’t seen her, but unfortunately, she beckoned to him. He had no choice but to walk over with his plate.
“Hilarious? That’s because you haven’t heard his screamy howling voice,” Cloud Hao, who was scooping the soup into the rice and mixing it with chopsticks, rolled his eyes and said. “God knows why he doesn’t learn music. I’m more curious about why he likes music.”
He didn’t know if there was a problem with his recount or if this girl just laughed too easily, but Cloud Hao didn’t get what was so funny.
Also, come to think of it, how does this stupid system determine the hidden potential stat?
He could understand that the hidden potential stat had nothing to do with a person’s current ability. After all, there was no way to make a final conclusion about life. Some people could become giants even if they were in a wheelchair, while others were just fleas even if they were born on the shoulders of giants.
But there should still be some indicative signs that people could see, shouldn’t there?
At least so far, apart from He Ping from next door, who felt a bit like a mathematician, no one else fitted their “character design” in Cloud Hao’s eyes.
That included the person sitting across him.
She was clearly learning music, and her interest was in singing and playing the piano, yet her talent was in acting?
To be honest, he thought that if it was strictly based on acting skills, Yellow from downstairs in his dorm might actually be more professional…
“Rest assured, it’s normal. Everyone is like that in their freshman year. From the first meeting to getting to know each other, there’s always a period of adjustment.” With an expression of someone who had been around the block and sounding like an elder, Lin Mengmeng continued, “Wait till you’re in your sophomore year. You probably won’t have the energy to toy around with these things then!”
Cloud Hao glanced at her, too lazy to say anything.
Wait until I’m in sophomore year?
I already finished my graduate studies!
It’s just that my qualifications and experiences are all from my previous life, and they may not be effective in Country Xia in this lifetime.
“By the way, isn’t it spicy when you eat it like that?”
“It’s alright. I don’t feel anything when I’m eating it…” Clod Hao glanced at the separated green peppers on Lin Mengmeng’s plate and asked casually, “You are a local in River Town, right? You can’t eat spicy food?”
“Erm, I’ve never really liked spicy food since I was a kid. At the very most, I can accept the kind of green peppers that are not very spicy.” Lin Mengmeng shook her head miserably and said, “But my sister can eat a lot. She likes to mix the chili and vegetable soup with the rice, just like you.”
“Braised chicken is still okay. I don’t think it’s that spicy.” Cloud Hao glanced at his bowl. It just had a few more red pieces than hers.
Then again, if yellow braised chicken isn’t spicy, is the essence still there?
He didn’t get it.
“Hah, I don’t understand you aliens from Planet Chili… Ah! By the way, by the way…” Suddenly recalling something, Lin Mengmeng became energetic and looked at Cloud Hao with brightly-lit eyes. “I heard a super nice song recently. I almost forgot to share it with you! Do you have an account on Yinke? I’ll add you.”
“I… don’t have one.” Initially, Cloud Hao wanted to say that he had, but when he heard that she wanted to add him, he instantly changed his answer. “What song is it? You should just send me on WeChat.”
Lin Mengmeng’s eyes brightened, and she said, “The Fleeting Fireworks!”
Upon hearing the name of the song, Cloud Hao nearly choked on his half-swallowed food.
Lin Mengmeng didn’t notice the strange expression on his face and continued, “It is awesome! Although the singer is so-so and even amateurish in my opinion, I tell you this, that song is absolutely beautiful!”
“Uh, is it really that great?”
“Of course!” Lin Mengmeng looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Our tutor even mentioned this song in class, full of praise for the usage of xi and fa in the song! You know, our homework this week is to write a critical essay about its pure piano version… Eh? What’s wrong with you? Are you unwell?”
“Nothing… I choked just now. I’m alright.”
“Be careful,” Lin Mengmeng said while pulling out a pack of tissues from her bag and handing it to Cloud Hao. Her beautiful brows knitted together as she remarked, “You boys eat too fast.”
“It might be a habit I developed in high school. Perhaps I’ll break it after some time.”
After saying thank you, Cloud Hao returned the remaining tissue papers to Lin Mengmeng.
However, the shock that lingered in his heart still did not fade.
Never had he imagined that the song “The Fleeting Fireworks” would receive such high praises from professionals. It even caught the attention of music professors from top universities like River Town University.
He didn’t know if the River Town University in his past life had any achievements in music. However, in this life, the ranking of the various art colleges in River Town University was extremely high in Country Xia, and the standards of the professors were even more extraordinary.
To think that this piece of popular music still had such profound knowledge behind it. Sure enough, I’m not very good at music…
Cloud Hao was ashamed to say that when he was playing this piece of music previously, he simply thought that it was pleasant to the ears. He didn’t exactly know what was so good about it. He didn’t even think about music theories at all.
Fortunately, he didn’t reveal that the account “Somewhere Deep in the Clouds” was his. Otherwise, if a reporter asked how he composed this piece, he might not be able to answer.
Thinking to himself that it was a close shave, Cloud Hao was about to change this topic, which felt a little dangerous to him. But Lin Mengmeng propped her head in her hands and sighed with a pout.
“Hah…”
“…What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just think that the lyrics and tune are so beautiful. If only that Deep in the Clouds Expert could write a song for me too. I bet that I’ll sing at least 1.5 times better than his current partner!”
1.5 times?
Bro, be more confident. You should start from three times at the bare minimum!
Even Yellow from downstairs yelled better than him.
In the end, Cloud Hao decided to give his pawn some face and did not continue complaining about his singing in front of other people.
However, Lin Mengmeng seemed to be a little intoxicated.
“Hah, if that’s really out of the question… meeting up once is also fine.”
“Uh, what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about meeting in person.”
Pouting, her eyes sparkled like a meteor.
All it took was one glance for Cloud Hao to understand what thoughts were hidden behind that love-struck expression.
It might be a bit exaggerated to say that she was having lecherous thoughts.
However, there were definitely emotions like that of reverence involved.
“Hah, how nice would it be if I could spend money to buy the song, but he isn’t responding to my messages.” Lin Mengmeng’s eyes were filled with grief and resentment as she said this. She nearly broke the chopsticks in her hand. “Do you know? The guy is too much. It’s fine if he doesn’t reply to my message, but he actually blocked me!”
Uh…
Blocked?
Cloud Hao suddenly felt a little guilty when he recalled how he had dealt with the multiple accounts in one shot.
“…Could it be a misunderstanding?”
“Misunderstanding? Impossible.” Lin Mengmeng sighed. She mumbled while looking at the ceiling, “But I was also in the wrong. I shouldn’t have mentioned money to him…”
Money?
Cloud Hao unconsciously held his breath for two seconds.
After composing himself, Cloud Hao probed her. “What did you tell him?”
“I sent him a private message and asked him if he could sell the exclusive license of that song to me for one million so that only I can sing it. Or if he could write a similar song for me.”
—-
One million?!
Cloud Hao leaped up from the chair out of reflex and propped himself up against the table with his hands.
“H-how much?!”
“One million.” Lin Mengmeng was startled. Looking at Cloud Hao who had stood up agitatedly, she whispered, “Is that too much? Actually, I’ve never spent money to hire someone to compose music. I just heard that it’s usually very expensive.”
“It’s not expensive! Not expensive at all!”
Slumping back down onto the chair, Cloud Hao, who had lost out on this large sum of money, felt his voice quavering. Cloud Hao advised her in an attempt to salvage this situation, “Art is priceless! You should add him again. Let him see your relentless and undaunting perseverance towards art!”
“Forget it.” Lin Mengmeng sighed softly. Self-blame and regret were written all over her face. She dejectedly buried her chin in her arms and said,”I thought about it later on and realized that my behavior was indeed rude. Art should be pure. Putting a price tag on it like that is an insult to art…”
As she spoke, she became more and more emotional, even sobbing a little.
“Woo woo woo, I actually did something so terrible to my idol. I’m sorry, Brother Somewhere Deep in the Clouds. I’ll never do it again!”
However, someone else was regretting it even more than her.
As her words burrowed into his ears, Cloud Hao felt as if his heart was being stabbed with a knife.
He desperately wished that he could be born again and go back to the night a few days ago to take a good look at the content of those private messages before deciding who to keep and who to block.
However, it was too late to say anything now.
One million…
Who would have thought that every time I jokingly called her rich woman, this girl was really a rich woman?!
Still dreaming, Cloud Hao, who had composed himself, refused to give up. He said, “Can I ask, where are you getting that one million?”
What if she was just kidding?
Apart from her phone being a little bit more expensive, he really couldn’t tell that this girl was the child of a wealthy family. She was at most the kind whose family conditions were slightly better, with parents that were culturati or whatnot, for example.
“Of course I’ll borrow the money from my dad first,” Lin Mengmeng said in a ‘duh’ tone. “As long as I’m not spending extravagantly and wasting money, he’ll definitely lend me the money! When I become a star singer in the future, I can make money and pay him back… Erm, what’s wrong with you?”
“…Nothing.”
Cloud Hao, who had nearly become a millionaire, leaned back in his chair like he had nothing left to live for and stared blankly at the bowl. Even his favorite yellow braised chicken was not fragrant anymore.
This must be karmic retribution…
This time, it’s really godd*mn karma!