Chapter 40: Melodies of New Beginnings

As the stage lights focused on her, Lily ended her performance, catching her breath while gazing at the audience below and soaking in their applause.

The lights made it hard to see faces, but she knew that big dummy was out there grinning at her.

Once the show wrapped up, Lily bowed and hurried off stage to find Lin Zheng Ran.

In a quiet corner outside the audience area, Lily wanted to show off how amazing she was while playing it cool: “Hey, big dummy, how was my singing? Pretty great, right? Let me tell you, when I was up on that stage…”

Lily chattered away to Lin Zheng Ran with a big smile, sharing all her post-performance thoughts, and little Heqing, sitting in the third class audience section, caught every bit of it.

She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but her clear, innocent eyes stared at them blankly.

She saw Lily’s happy expression and Lin Zheng Ran’s occasional responses.

Little Heqing clasped her small white hands together: “Lin Zheng Ran.”

That evening, before the rest of the program ended, the boss of Child Star Studio couldn’t contain her excitement and went straight to the backstage area to find Lily.

Spotting the singing girl chatting with a boy, she walked right up and handed over her business card.

“Hello, young lady, I’m the boss of Child Star Studio. We collaborate with your school, and I loved your performance. Is that song an original? Your singing is so steady and skilled—have you trained professionally somewhere?”

Lily hadn’t expected her to show up so quickly; she nodded awkwardly, hands fidgeting: “It’s original, but I haven’t had any formal training. I just practice at home with my friends.”

The female boss was even more surprised—such professional skills without lessons meant with a little polish, Lily could shine in the music world.

So, she launched into a long speech to Lily.

Basically, she asked if Lily was signed with any agency. If not, she wanted her to join their studio. She’d contact her parents tomorrow—it wouldn’t interfere with school, just call her for events on holidays or similar.

They could also practice singing there when she had time, and joining would come with great performance royalties.

Lily seemed to listen intently, but she kept stealing glances at Lin Zheng Ran standing nearby.

On matters like this, Lily knew her limits; she was still young and didn’t want to jump in without thinking, so she’d let the big dummy decide for her.

“Alright then? I’ll visit your parents tomorrow and we’ll touch base then.”

“Okay.”

After saying goodbye to the female boss, Lily bounced over to Lin Zheng Ran.

“Big dummy, did you catch what that person said just now?”

Lin Zheng Ran crossed his arms: “Yeah, what she said lines up with what I thought. The terms sound good—she really appreciates you. I think it’s worth it. What about you?”

Lily looked up at him with a proud tilt: “I think it’s fine too, mainly because I trust your judgment on this.” She grinned: “Whatever you say, big dummy, I’ll go with it.”

Lin Zheng Ran sighed, clearly seeing that Lily hadn’t paid much attention to the boss’s details.

But that was okay—as long as she followed his advice, things wouldn’t go wrong.

Lin Zheng Ran said: “I’m really jealous you have a friend like me who’s good at everything.”

Lily paused, then mimicked him by crossing her arms and huffing:

“Well, I’m jealous you have a childhood friend who’s so pretty and patient. Any other girl would’ve lost it with how clueless you are—lucky for you, I’m easygoing and don’t hold grudges.”

The next day, staff from Child Star Studio went straight to Lily’s parents. When her mom and dad saw the school event recording, they were amazed at how their daughter shone on stage and even got an invite from a professional company.

After a few days of hesitation, investigation, and asking their daughter, Lily officially signed with the township Child Star Studio, stepping onto the path of a singer.

Meanwhile, with Lily’s big event wrapped up, Heqing and Han Wenwen’s plan kicked off around the same time.

On a Sunday with two weeks left before winter break, in the girls’ dormitory.

Little Heqing, in her cartoon pajamas, crouched on her bed like a little chick, hugging a pillow with a pitiful, adorable expression.

Han Wenwen sat on the edge of the bed, munching on chips: “Didn’t Lin Zheng Ran go with you to Taekwondo practice yesterday? Why are you down again this morning?”

Heqing’s bright eyes fixed on the pillow: “I’m not down. Yesterday with him was fun—he practiced with me all day, we had lunch together, and he stuck around the whole time.”

“So? You were happy together, but now that you’re apart, you’re upset again? That good mood didn’t last long.”

Little Heqing shared her true feelings:

“It’s just that we’ve done all this stuff for years—practicing, eating, even going to his house. It’s the same as when we were kids, and nothing’s progressing. Meanwhile, Lily… it feels like she’s getting closer to him so fast.”

She looked at Han Wenwen: “Haven’t you noticed how Lily always sticks to Lin Zheng Ran lately? And last time for her birthday, he gave her a really nice pair of earphones.”

Han Wenwen tilted her head: “Birthday? Oh, yeah, we gave her something too, right?”

“We gave her gifts because we’re classmates, and it’s normal for girls to give to girls. But Lin Zheng Ran…” Her voice dropped: “He never gave me earphones.”

“Well, maybe that’s because you don’t listen to music much.” Han Wenwen tapped her finger on her lips.

Little Heqing hugged the pillow tighter, curling up completely: “I’m just worried that if things keep going like this, one day I’ll wake up and he won’t need me anymore. Those four years apart really did a number on us.”

Seeing her about to cry, Han Wenwen hugged Heqing to comfort her best friend: “There, there, no need to feel bad.”

In Han Wenwen’s eyes, little Heqing used to be soft but not this weighed down back in elementary school—clearly, Lin Zheng Ran meant the world to her.

Han Wenwen smirked: “Now we’ve got no choice but to pull out the big guns. I’ve figured out why things aren’t moving between you two and found a way to fix it!”

She gave little Heqing a meaningful look and handed her a compiled martial arts manual.

“Check this out—the content is from all my deep thinking and gathering wisdom from others. I call this manual…” Han Wenwen said slowly: “The He Lin Codex!”

Little Heqing took it curiously: “The He Lin Codex? I only know about Henan stewed noodles.”

Han Wenwen clicked her tongue: “That’s not the same at all. Don’t treat it like a recipe. If you follow this, I guarantee you’ll win over handsome Lin Zheng Ran in a year—maybe even less!”

Heqing flipped through it curiously, but after a few pages, her face turned bright red. She snapped it shut quickly.

Stammering and blushing, she asked Han Wenwen: “What is this, Wenwen? Where did you even find it?”