Chapter Sixty: The East Wind Scatters a Thousand Tears

But somehow, they made an unexpectedly fitting pair.

It was nice, growing old and still having someone by your side.

The next performance was one Lin Ze recognized.

On stage, students from Tongyin’s pop singing major were performing, and the song at the front was Lin Ze’s own “Those Years.”

Behind them, other Tongyin students danced, dressed in school uniforms, choreographing scenes from classrooms, playgrounds, and various locations into a narrative dance.

It was rather good, capturing the tender awkwardness of youth.

As the performance drew to a close, Lin Ze and his companions stood up.

He glanced at the delighted faces of the uncles and aunties behind him, raised a hand high, and shouted, “Guardians of the Village Band! Go for it!”

“Go for it!” The elders responded enthusiastically, giving him face.

As “Those Years” ended, viewers online erupted in excitement—the next act would be the Guardians of the Village Band’s second song.

[It’s Lin Ze! He never sings the same song twice in competitions!]
[So, everyone, take a guess—what genre will the next song be?]
[Lin Ze is rubbish, just listen to his first song—how could he ever compare to my idol?]
[Enough already, seeing all you brainless fans is really annoying, you’re ruining the reputation for everyone.]
[Look at them getting anxious! Say Lin Ze isn’t as good as my guy and they freak out!]

“Do your best. Once you finish singing, we can make up for that hot pot meal we missed last time,” Su Zitan said backstage, helping Lin Ze fix his hair and smooth the wrinkles on his clothes.

“Alright!” Lin Ze hugged Su Zitan and took a deep breath at her neck.

Su Zitan caught the sight of Aunt Tian Hui behind Lin Ze, covering her mouth and giggling. Her own face turned bright red, and she lightly tapped Lin Ze’s shoulder. “What are you sniffing for!”

On stage, the host had teased the audience enough.

Seeing the crowd almost ready to curse at him, he finally announced, “Let’s welcome the Guardians of the Village Band!”

Everyone waited, wondering if Lin Ze’s band would appear in outlandish costumes like before or don stylish performance attire.

The stage lights were dim, only faintly revealing the group setting up their instruments.

The first beam of light illuminated the big screen behind them.

“A letter from home arrives across ten thousand miles, asking me when I will truly return. Looking back, sending spring off with one last drink, the east wind breaks through a thousand lines of tears.”

[Wait… is that poetry?]
[Where is this from? I’ve never seen it before.]

[The east wind breaks through a thousand lines of tears—wonderful! But it seems this poem has only a closing stanza, not an opening one.]

As the half-poem appeared, the music and lights rose together.

The ethereal sound of the drum echoed on stage once more.

Anyone who had heard “Big Fish” remembered this tone.

“A lamp of parting sorrow, standing alone at the window.

I stand behind the door, pretending you haven’t left.

Revisiting old places, the full moon feels lonelier.

The midnight candle’s flicker cannot bear to blame me.”

Tonight, Lin Ze wore deep blue with a touch of warm red—like a candle in the darkness.

As the lights shimmered, the warm red on his chest danced like a flickering flame, drawing the audience’s thoughts along with it.

A courtyard bathed in moonlight seemed to appear in a trance.

“A pot of wandering, drifting across the world, hard to swallow.

After you left, the warmth of wine thinned memories and longing.

Water flows east, how does time steal?

Flowers bloom mature only once, yet I missed my chance.”

The story unfolded page by page, rousing listeners from the golden candlelight to find themselves seated at the window, gazing at distant rustling bamboo.

A gentle breeze passed, and somehow, the word “loneliness” was already written on the rice paper before them.

“Who plays the pipa, strumming an East Wind Breaking song?

Maple leaves color the story, I see through the ending.

Outside the fence, the old path—I walked it with you.

In years of wild smoke and grass, even parting is silent.”

At that moment, young singers watching the livestream on their phones were filled with contemplation.

At first listen, this song didn’t strike with the mournful regret Lin Ze’s later works carried.

Nor did it have the penetrating power of “Big Fish.”

This song was simply a gentle narrative, yet it pulled listeners into its world in an instant.

Each song brought a different feeling, but each seemed impossible to surpass.

The young singers before their phones sighed—where had this mountain suddenly fallen before them?

But there was one exception.

Chen Nan.

He wasn’t watching on his phone, but sitting in the audience.

“How is it? If it’s this stunning just through a phone, I can’t imagine how it feels live…” Chen Nan asked in their group chat, pretending to be casual.

“Yeah, I was planning to release a song this month…”

“Actually, I released one a few days ago, sitting at twelfth on the new song chart.”

“Are we really just going to be overshadowed like this? Maybe we should band together and fight for the top spot?”

Chen Nan realized he was the only one at the venue.

He quietly put his phone away.

Days earlier, he’d sent Lin Ze a private message.

But Lin Ze had been filming variety shows, only finishing yesterday; he probably hadn’t seen it yet.

So…

That’s why Chen Nan came.

He had to grab first-hand resources, snatch a song from Lin Ze!

As the song neared its end, Li Xiyan spoke up in the group, “Did you notice the song was composed using traditional Chinese pentatonic scales?”

Seeing this, Chen Nan finally understood why the melody felt so sophisticated.

He hadn’t figured it out until Li Xiyan pointed it out.

He glanced at the scrolling comments on his phone, quietly opened Weibo, and shared the livestream link.

“Casting a vote for Lin Ze—explanation later!”

Just as he refreshed, he saw Li Xiyan’s Weibo post rallying votes too.

Title: “A true masterpiece, the future of national style music.”

Their fans, far more numerous, clicked the link to take a look.

Lin Ze was just singing the final lines.

“Who plays the pipa, strumming an East Wind Breaking song?

Maple leaves color the story, I see through the ending.

Outside the fence, the old path—I walked it with you.

In years of wild smoke and grass, even parting is silent.”

Melody, lyrics, vocal style.

Listening to the song’s conclusion, Chen Nan thought about his upcoming conversation with Lin Ze, and found himself unexpectedly nervous.