茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter 141: A Bit of Emotion

Chang Bin talked about how he had personally managed a project these days, set up the site, but due to an employee’s mistake, the client was very angry. He not only had to pull an all-nighter to make up for the mistake, but also had to compensate financially. He also had to console the flustered employee. As a result, not only did he not make any money from this project, but he also suffered a loss. What mattered the most was the damage to his reputation.

If it was before, Chang Bin might not have cared too much. He had been in society for seven years, and his journey till today had not been smooth sailing either. He had experienced numerous setbacks.

But right now, he was most eager to excel, to prove himself in his career.

Xiang Kun didn’t know how to comfort his friend. He knew Chang Bin sought him out mainly to have someone he trusted to vent to. With Chang Bin’s emotional intelligence, he didn’t really need any advice. He could solve the problem himself.

So, Xiang Kun didn’t say anything, he just filled Chang Bin’s beer…

Chang Bin suddenly laughed, “Speaking of which, you, me, and Zi Cheng, we all have a foolish pride. We always feel that with talent and effort, we can achieve our ambitions, stand out, even change our destiny against all odds. You two are actually prouder than me. Zi Cheng may appear nonchalant despite his failed entrepreneurship abroad, but in reality, he must be suffering inwardly, definitely resentful. And you…l noticed your pride since our freshman year. But you really are clever, persistent, well-planned, highly capable. I always thought you’d achieve great things…”

Xiang Kun grimaced, almost unable to resist a drink too, “I bet you’re disappointed with how things turned out now.”

Chang Bin shook his head and said gravely, “No, I’m relieved. Honestly, when I first heard that your company shut down, I was really worried for you. I knew how much hope and effort you’d put into that firm and I was afraid you would be too hard on yourself. Your ability to accept it now, it’s really good, truly great.”

With that, he clinked his beer glass against Xiang Kun’s cup filled with water, and drained his beer in one go.

Xiang Kun took a sip of water, heaving a sigh inwardly. Yes, everyone has difficulties, life is tough. Outsiders mistakenly believe that Zi Cheng’s start-up venture abroad was a game and his subsequent return is insignificant given his wealthy family. They don’t know about the pouring out of his heart and soul, the swallowing of tears, the taking of insults, his ambitions, and ideals. As for Chang Bin, outside, he seems to have a thriving career, is young and rich, handsome and successful, with a beautiful, wealthy, gentle, and capable girlfriend. He’s deemed a winner in life. But nobody knows how many times he fell, how many wounds he carried, and the pressure and struggles he’s facing now.

As for Xiang Kun himself, he couldn’t help but sigh. All he wanted was to buy a house in this city, lead a good life as a software engineer. So why has it turned out tms way’

However, he understands that there are countless others struggling more than them. Their issues, compared to those that others face, are really insignificant.

But everyone is like this, always seeing their small world first, always most sensitive to their own emotions.

Thinking about all this, Xiang Kun suddenly drained his 35 yuan mineral water in one go, stood up and walked towards the small stage prepared for the resident singers of the bar.

At present, no singer was on stage. Xiang Kun called over a waiter and asked about the price to sing on stage.

He was told that it was free. So, he told the waiter the song he wanted to sing. However, the song software didn’t have the version he wanted. Although he could open the MV of the song directly, the original sound couldn’t be turned off, which didn’t suit his plan.

So, Xiang Kun told the waiter that he intended to sing a cappella. Despite the waiter’s doubt and concern, he went up on stage and picked up the microphone.

He could hear one of the waiters muttering to a co-worker, “That song, sung a cappella…isn’t that going to be a disaster?”

His colleague also voiced his concerns, “What if the other customers throw bottles at him? Should we send some snacks his way and ask him to stop singing if it turns out too terrible? He doesn’t seem drunk, he isn’t likely to lash out, is he?”

As for the worries of the waiters, Xiang Kun could understand because he wasn’t confident himself. After all, his main tool for conveying this song was not singing, but an impromptu method he just came up with, mainly based on a surge of emotion.

The song he would be singing was “Big Husband”, a Cantonese song with music by Liu Jia Chang and lyrics by Huang Zhan.

However, he intended to sing Jacky Cheung’s rearranged version, so he didn’t want to use Guan Zheng Jie’s original accompaniment.

In their dormitory, Zi Cheng was a hardcore fan of Jay Chou while Chang Bin was devoted to Jacky Cheung. However, Chang Bin’s favourite song was not Jacky Cheung’s popular love songs or other original songs, but the cover of “Big Husband”.

This song was covered by Jacky Cheung in his 1996 Love and Symphony Concert. Chang Bin had a high-definition video version of that concert, had particularly cut this song out, and put it on his computer desktop. He would play it from time to time. It was his motivation anthem and it somehow became their dormitory’s motivation anthem as well.

Sometimes when Xiang Kun and Zi Cheng would lose at games, while they summarized the problems in their gameplay, Chang Bin would play the song saying, “Come on, let’s Big Husband it out!”

All three of them would then inadvertently start singing along, prompting laughter and threats from the neighboring dormitory, “Keep shouting and we’ll come over to fight!”

Xiang Kun’s behavior of getting on stage was entirely unexpected to Chang Bin. He knew very well his friend was not good at singing and even if he was, he would never voluntarily get up on stage in such a public place, given his introverted personality.

“Good evening, everyone. Here’s a song, ‘Big Husband’, originally sung by Jacky Cheung. Please forgive me for any shortcomings.”

After a simple greeting into the microphone, Xiang Kun settled into the mood for the song.

If it was before, just saying this sentence would have been awkward enough for him to want to dig a hole and bury himself. But now, he has no time to feel embarrassed. He was in full force to find the emotional cues for this song.

While chatting with Chang Bin, Xiang Kun was reminded of their days in college when they would listen to this song. Considering the present situation of his friends, he felt a surge of emotions, which led to his sudden impulse to sing this song.

Under the gaze of many people in the bar, Xiang Kun was mentally playing the

intro and rhythm of that song in his head, immersing himself in his emotions and then naturally starting to sing: “A man’s life involves how much hardship and tests, a man’s life has periods of despair and anxiety. I have boundless determination, able to withstand the toughest trials. I pledge to overcome all difficulties, never to bow down…”

Having listened to the song countless times before, Xiang Kun’s pronunciation of Cantonese in this song was fairly accurate. Since he was singing a cappella and didn’t have much talent for singing, occasionally singing out of tune was normal.

But surprisingly, the bar suddenly quieted down. Almost everyone was drawn by the singing. Even those whispering amongst themselves fell silent..