Chapter 125: Bewitched

"Let me follow you / Let me follow you"
"To the ferry where sixty years come to a halt / Waiting to be picked up by a small boat"
"Let me follow you / Let me follow you"
"Along with the bustling crowd / Toward the hills covered in flowers / Flicking my sleeves..."

As Huang Guolun sang the climax of this song, it was as if he had shaken off the dust of time, scattering the crystal-clear, beautiful memories of his past into the world. Like pearls scattered on a jade tray or quicksilver flowing across the ground, his voice vibrated through every heartstring of those listening.

Waking up to such moving music, Zhao Jing was so stirred that she had to pinch herself; was this a dream? Huang was truly an incredible singer—even better than Yoga Lin!

"Clap, clap, clap—"

The patrons at the tables in the cafe offered their appreciative applause. Having listened to "Crossing the Hills," Zhao Yan was filled with profound emotion. She could no longer meet her nineteen-year-old self, but she could wait for her sixty-year-old self to arrive. She hoped that by then, she would still be listening to Huang Guolun sing, waiting together to be picked up by that small boat, and flicking her sleeves toward those flower-covered hills. *How I regret not having met you sooner, to spend my days in your company.* That was roughly how Zhao Yan felt at this moment.

Bai Yao had listened to several songs requested by customers, each sung by Huang with soul-stirring depth. She truly admired this profound musical mastery; how she wished she could sing with such effortless grace.

Zhao Jing, completely captivated by the music, had forgotten all about going to the restroom. Wearing Huang’s jacket, she huddled into the booth where Zhao Yan and Bai Yao were sitting. As soon as she sat down, she cheered excitedly, egging Huang on: "Teacher Huang, sing 'Hills' again!"

"Pfft."

Everyone around them burst into laughter. Zhao Jing looked confused and pouted, "What's wrong? Does no one like 'Hills'?"

Zhao Yan told her, "Teacher Huang just sang 'Hills'."

Zhao Jing asked in surprise, "Didn't he just sing 'Crossing the Hills'? Wouldn't it be great to have 'Hills' right after crossing them?"

Bai Yao whispered with a smile, "He sang 'Hills' before he sang 'Crossing the Hills'."

"Oh, I see. What a pity, I missed it. I just love hearing him sing 'Hills'." During rehearsals, Huang had sung it in front of them, and it was deeply moving. Aside from Jonathan Lee himself, Huang’s version was the most soulful rendition Zhao Jing had ever heard.

Glancing at the jacket on Zhao Jing, Zhao Yan whispered, "Why aren't you wearing your own clothes? Why are you wearing Teacher Huang's?"

Zhao Jing grabbed her collar and feigned ignorance, "Is this Teacher Huang's? Hey, I woke up and saw it covering me, so I put it on. It fits pretty well, actually."

Bai Yao and Zhao Yan were baffled, looking at the oversized jacket and failing to understand how she could possibly consider it a good fit.

Elsewhere, another customer called out to Huang, "Uncle, sing another Jonathan Lee song! You have such a great sense of nostalgia when you sing his work."

Huang joked with the man, "Are you saying I'm very old?"

Zhao Jing chimed in, teasing, "Teacher Huang, you're not old; you're just perfectly ripe."

Huang replied awkwardly, "I'd rather you just called me old." He then composed himself and said, "Alright, I'll sing Jonathan Lee's 'Obsession.' Do you know how he wrote this song?"

Someone guessed, "Did he write it after being bewitched by Sandy Lam?"

Huang strummed his guitar, using a narrative chord progression as accompaniment, and chatted with the crowd: "He actually wrote this song based on his feelings when he saw a beautiful flight attendant while on a plane."

The chubby waiter, Liu Xiaowei, exclaimed, "No way! Jonathan Lee had a thing with a flight attendant?"

Huang explained, "No, it was just an inspiration. I remember him saying in an interview that once, while flying, a flight attendant came to serve him. She was very pretty with a great figure. He felt a bit of an attraction, and he felt she liked him too, so he started 'letting his imagination run wild': what if he were to fall in love with her? After that wild train of thought, 'Obsession' was born. There's a line in the song: 'Is it too early to say goodbye now?' According to Lee, he came up with that line because he was about to get off the plane."

The anecdote amused everyone in the cafe. Liu Xiaowei sighed, "To be able to write such a classic song from a flight-bound fantasy—Jonathan Lee is a true genius!"

Zhao Jing added, "Teacher Huang is a genius like that too; he can find inspiration for moving works just from a casual chat."

Huang laughed, "Stop flattering me. Let me sing for you."

Without further ado, Huang plucked the classic melody and sang "Obsession" with a sense of ease:

"I once truly thought that life was just like this / A calm heart refusing to have waves again"
"I've severed the threads of love a thousand times but couldn't break them / They loop around me through a thousand twists and turns"
"Someone asks me what exactly is so good about you / That after all these years I still can't forget"
"The spring breeze, no matter how beautiful, cannot compare to your smile / Those who haven't met you wouldn't understand"
...

Jonathan Lee's lyrics were always so direct and pure—rarely using obscure words or flowery language. Yet, listening to his songs, one would always have the illusion of him turning decay into magic. You couldn't help but marvel at how such plain words could strike the soul so deeply, making one feel as if they were experiencing the story themselves. That was the mark of a master.

As Huang sang, he felt a thousand emotions. Every line of the song hit home, resonating with the heart of a middle-aged man. Especially the last two lines: "The spring breeze, no matter how beautiful, cannot compare to your smile / Those who haven't met you wouldn't understand"—that was exactly how he felt about Chen Jia!

Every man likely had such a woman in his heart. With just a few strokes, Jonathan Lee had sketched this figure hidden in memory so vividly. Huang was truly humbled by this craft.

Using Jonathan Lee's own recitation-style singing, Huang didn't pour too much of his own raw emotion into it. He sang like an elder who had seen it all, narrating past storms with a calm, unruffled demeanor. It was like a thunderclap in the silence, leaving everyone present enlightened and mesmerized—

"Whether it's an obsession / Or a fated connection from a past life"
"None of it matters anymore / If only you could return to my embrace"
"Whether it's the arrangement of destiny / Or your intentional teasing"
"None of it matters anymore / I am willing to follow you to the ends of the earth"
"Although the years always rush us to grow old / Although love always brings annoyance"
"Although we cannot know what the future holds / Is it too early to say goodbye now?"
...

Hearing the final line, several guests remembered the anecdote Huang had shared and smiled, offering him another round of appreciative applause.

Having sung for nearly half an hour, Huang thanked the audience and decided to take a break. He had spent the afternoon chatting with Zhao Yan and hadn't eaten much, and he was starting to feel hungry. Seeing that it was nearly 5:30 PM, he figured that eating now would give him time to digest so he could be in top form for his official performance at 8:00 PM.

After chatting with Zhao Jing and the others, Huang asked Sister Xu to prepare two meal sets for him and Bai Yao. Zhao Yan knew many guests would arrive later, so she also decided to eat early to save her energy. Zhao Jing joined in, wanting to prepare for her night of singing and hosting.

The group moved to a private room, where Sister Xu served them the signature steak sets. They chatted as they ate, finishing their dinner. Afterward, they discussed the upcoming special show.

Zhao Yan reminded Zhao Jing, "Remember to wear the promotional T-shirt for 'The Beauty of the Corpse' later."

Zhao Jing was still wearing Huang's jacket and replied, "I'll wear it after the live stream heats up. For the first part, I'll dress a bit more provocatively to keep up appearances. If we can make it to the homepage, having my sexy image as the room thumbnail will definitely attract people."

Huang nodded in understanding. He had no comment; that was just the way the world worked—only beauties could attract eyes. Even the best wine needed a beauty to serve it before people were willing to drink. Once they started drinking, if it was truly good, they might stop looking at the beauty and focus on the wine.

Zhao Yan asked Zhao Jing, "You've contacted that senior sister you mentioned, right? She'll come to 'check the room' tonight?"

Zhao Jing, gnawing on an apple, said, "I contacted her, she should come. But she's doing better than me now and is acting all high and mighty; it's such a pain to ask her for a favor. It’s not even hard—just asking her to check the room and drive some traffic here, which wouldn't hurt her own popularity. She insisted that she rarely checks rooms and claimed that if the content is bad, she'll lose followers. She was just being picky and unwilling."

Huang said, "If she doesn't want to, let it be. Don't force her."

Zhao Jing was indignant, "The point is, it’s not hard at all! It’s just a small favor, yet she dragged it out. She’s becoming so snobbish. Teacher Huang, do you think everyone who 'makes it' becomes like this? When they're struggling, they're brothers with everyone, but once they succeed, they get all full of themselves and look down on everyone. I think that kind of person is the worst. We have to work hard tonight! Come on! Let's try to blow up her live stream room!"