House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 354: Dream and Bread

It was late at night, and although the streets were brightly lit, the cold wind still howled, making people feel uneasy.

Inside the car, it was relatively warm. Guo Ziyi and Ding Xiang sat in the back seat, waiting for Yang Yi. However, at some point, their time alone together became a bit awkward.

“Cough, um, Sister Ding Xiang, that guy who was singing, do you know him?” Guo Ziyi suddenly asked, breaking the stiff atmosphere a little.

“Yeah, I used to work here and heard him sing a lot of songs before,” Ding Xiang nodded. “Later, he and his girlfriend also came to Big Brother Yang’s shop, so we got to know each other.”

“Oh, I thought he was a guy you liked. Haha, he even has a girlfriend!” Guo Ziyi said with a beaming expression and even nudged Ding Xiang with his elbow.

Ding Xiang was stunned for a moment and then pushed Guo Ziyi away irritably: “Go away, don’t be so handsy¹and don’t make wild guesses. His girlfriend is actually a counselor at our school.”

While they were teasing each other, the car door was suddenly opened, and Yang Yi crawled in from the driver’s seat.

“Big Brother Yang, is everything resolved?” Guo Ziyi asked curiously.

“Yes, it’s resolved.” Yang Yi nodded. He raised his hand to check his watch, not in a rush to start the car, but instead, he turned to look at the bar’s entrance.

“So, did you save that Lin Mu’an, Big Brother Yang?”

Yang Yi glanced at him in the rearview mirror and said calmly, “Don’t worry, no one will trouble him anymore.”

“Big Brother Yang, why aren’t we leaving yet?” Ding Xiang asked in confusion.

“Because you can’t drive, and Big Brother Yang and I have had some drinks.You know you can’t drive after drinking, have you heard of it? “Guo Ziyi teased Ding Xiang.

“Ah? What should we do then?” Ding Xiang looked at Guo Ziyi with a puzzled expression.

“Don’t listen to his nonsense. I only had a little drink. It’s not a problem. Now we are waiting for someone, and we’ll leave shortly!” Yang Yi was still looking at the bar entrance and said without turning his head: “However, speaking of which, Ding Xiang, you should learn to drive. If you can come back during the Spring Festival, I’ll enroll you in a driving class. In the future, if there is a need for you to drive, you can also help.”

“Okay…” Ding Xiang nodded absentmindedly.

“Enroll her in a driving class for what? I could teach her,” Guo Ziyi said with a smile.

“Who wants you to teach…”

……

It was really cold today!

Lin Mu’an came out of the bar and couldn’t help but wrap his coat around him. However, the cold wind at night kept pouring into his collar, making him as cold as his heart.²

He turned back and looked at the bar where there was still faintly noisy music coming out it. His expression dimmed, but he continued walking back along the road, still carrying his guitar.

An empty taxi slowly drove past him, honking its horn to attract customers.

Lin Mu’an was a bit tempted in his heart, but he gently patted the few hundred dollars he had just put in his pocket. After hesitating for a moment, he continued to walk forward. In a couple more blocks, he would reach the bus stop where he could catch a ride directly home.

Not long after, another horn sounded. But it was no longer a taxi but a muscular pickup truck.

As Lin Mu’an was stunned, the car window was rolled down and that familiar face appeared in front of him: “Going home? Where do you live?”

Lin Mu’an said in a daze, “University City…”

“That’s on the way! Come on! I’ll give you a ride!” Yang Yi smiled and said, “Hey wait! Can you drive?”

“Yeah, I can…”

After a while, Lin Mu’an sat in the driver’s seat and slowly started driving the Tyrant Wolf while Yang Yi sat in the passenger seat, enjoying himself leisurely. In the back, Guo Ziyi and Ding Xiang observed them with curiosity.

“Um, boss, thank you for helping me out in the bar just now!” Lin Mu’an, who still didn’t know Yang Yi’s name, said softly.

“It’s nothing.” Yang Yi casually brushed off the previous incident. “Oh, by the way, did that bar owner, Boss Lei, give you any trouble afterward?”

“No, Brother Lei has always taken good care of me.” Lin Mu’an gave a bitter smile. “However, I’ve thought about it for a long time and decided not to implicate Brother Lei anymore, so I decided to resign. Boss, don’t blame Brother Lei.”

Yang Yi glanced at Lin Mu’an and knew he was lying, but he didn’t say anything.

Guo Ziyi was curious and asked, “So why do you sing Cantonese songs? I saw you sing quite a few!”

“I heard that the boss likes to listen to Cantonese songs, so he was invited to sing there.” Ding Xiang said softly.

Lin Mu’an curiously glanced at Ding Xiang in the rearview mirror. He didn’t recognize Ding Xiang and explained, “There are two reasons. On one hand, it is indeed as this girl said. On the other hand, I myself prefer Cantonese songs because I am from Guangdong Province and have listened to and learned many of these songs since I was a child.”

“The Cantonese song market is in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong. Why don’t you go back to your hometown for development?” Guo Ziyi said, puzzled.

“When I graduated, I did want to go back to my hometown. But my girlfriend stayed at school to be a counselor, so I stayed in Jiangcheng to be with her.” Lin Mu’an said.

Yang Yi quite appreciated Lin Mu’an’s words, so he asked, “Your voice and other qualities are quite good. Why don’t you try some record companies or brokerage companies?”

“I’ve tried many times, but I didn’t work out. Perhaps it’s because I only sing Cantonese songs?” Lin Mu’an said with a bitter smile. He still has a music dream, but he has hit too many walls.

“What do you mean by ‘can only sing Cantonese songs’? You can speak Mandarin, right?” Yang Yi furrowed his brow.

“No, what I mean is that I am best at singing Cantonese songs, so when I auditioned, I basically sang Cantonese songs. Sorry, my mouth is clumsy and I didn’t explain clearly.” Lin Mu’an said somewhat embarrassedly.

“Because you sang Cantonese songs, they eliminated you?” Guo Ziyi didn’t believe it.

“Maybe… it’s because I told them that I just want to sing Cantonese songs…” Lin Mu’an hesitated and continued, “They asked me to sing Mandarin songs, and I can sing them too, but I don’t like them saying that I can only sing Mandarin songs in the future. So, I don’t want to sing for them.”

He was really a straightforward boy. Because he didn’t want to give up on Cantonese songs, he didn’t show others his ability in Mandarin songs…

“Hey, why are you so persistent about Cantonese songs?” Guo Ziyi asked.

“Because it is really good. Although the market for Cantonese songs is no longer comparable to the Mandarin songs now, it has also created an unparalleled brilliance in the past, and can even be said to be the glory of our nation and country. I believe that when everyone is singing Mandarin songs, there still needs to be some people who persist and don’t let it continue to decline!”

Lin Mu’an felt that he might have sounded too extreme and quickly explained, “I’m not saying that I must only sing Cantonese songs. I also like Mandarin songs. It’s just that I don’t want to give up on Cantonese songs. Ideally, I’d like to balance both. I can also contribute a little bit to promoting Cantonese songs.”

“I understand. So, you mean singing Mandarin songs, but ideally, there should be a few Cantonese songs in the album! I think that’s a good idea. I also like to listen to Cantonese songs.” Guo Ziyi nodded.

“Yes, but here in Jiangcheng and even in Shanghai, I feel that everyone seems to have some prejudice against Cantonese songs.” Lin Mu’an sighed.

“That’s because they don’t understand it and don’t want to listen.” Guo Ziyi hit the nail on the head.

He still earnestly gave Lin Mu’an an advice, “I think you should stick to your music dream. If record companies have prejudice against your ideas, then you can participate in some competitions, achieve results, and then go back to negotiate with them!”

“Persist in his dream with what? He doesn’t even have a job now. Is he going to rely on his girlfriend to support him?” Yang Yi suddenly interjected.

Lin Mu’an was disheartened and didn’t know what to say.

Guo Ziyi scratched his head. He, as a young master, never imagined that sometimes dreams and bread couldn’t be balanced.

Reality is often the biggest gap in front of dreams.

Lin Mu’an was no exception. Although Ran Jin had always supported him on the path of music, Lin Mu’an himself felt very uneasy because he has been unable to see any hope and couldn’t provide Ran Jin with the commitment she deserved…

“Is my determination to stick with Cantonese songs wrong?” Lin Mu’an drove the car and fell into silence for a while before he couldn’t help but say.

Guo Ziyi didn’t know what to say at the moment. He couldn’t think of it, but it didn’t mean he didn’t understand.

“Hand me Lin Mu’an’s guitar!” Yang Yi suddenly turned his head and said to Ding Xiang.