Being a gigolo was too much for him, so he had to become a music superstar.

Su Nianwei tossed a brass key onto the coffee table in front of Lin Buyi.

"There's a home theater on the basement floor of the villa, and it's very soundproof," Su Nianwei said. "I had someone tidy it up a bit; you can use it as a practice room. Go ahead, and don't bother me upstairs."

Lin Buyi picked up his keys, grabbed his guitar, and went straight downstairs.

Pushing open the basement door, he found a spacious room with sound-absorbing cotton covering the walls and a top-of-the-line audio system in the corner. Lin Buyi locked the door behind him, put his guitar aside, and walked to the sofa in the center of the room to sit down.

He closed his eyes and began frantically searching his mind for memories of his past life.

Time was running out; he had to transcribe the lyrics and music of "Sorrow" as quickly as possible. He leaned back on the sofa, his fingers unconsciously tapping out a rhythm on his knees, humming the familiar melody softly.

"When you step into this place of joy..."

"Carry all my dreams and aspirations on my back..."

Line by line, verse by verse. Every time a lyric came to mind, he would quickly jot it down in his phone's notes app. When the melody became unclear, he would hum it repeatedly until he found the feeling again.

For the entire afternoon, Lin Buyi locked himself in the basement and didn't even drink a drop of water.

Finally, as darkness fell, he looked at the complete lyrics and marked chords on his phone screen and let out a long sigh of relief.

nailed it.

He picked up the guitar, tried strumming a few chords, then turned on the recording function on his phone and placed it on the coffee table.

He cleared his throat and began to practice singing into his phone.

There was no accompaniment, only simple guitar strumming. Lin Buyi closed his eyes and poured all the repression, humiliation, and worry for his sister that he had been feeling lately into his singing.

After finishing the song, he put down his guitar, picked up his phone, and turned on the replay.

His own voice came through the phone's speaker.

Clear and slightly husky, it carried an indescribable sense of loneliness. The high notes were a bit strained, but that strain only added to the emotional tension of a tearing apart.

Lin Buyi was stunned.

He touched his throat. Was the original owner of this body really that good a voice?

In his past life, although he loved to sing, he was just an average karaoke enthusiast. But now, his voice is highly distinctive; the moment he opens his mouth, he can grab people's attention.

He couldn't help but curse inwardly.

The original owner had such a wonderful voice, a gift from God, yet instead of singing, she went to deliver food and hand out flyers. What a waste of talent!

However, Lin Buyi quickly calmed down.

He had a good voice, but he could tell that he had never received any professional vocal training. His breath control was very unstable, and he had to force the high notes with his throat. His handling of the ending notes was also very rough.

If you participate in a talent show with this mediocre level of skill, you'll definitely be criticized by knowledgeable judges.

Talent alone is not enough; he must improve his singing skills in a short period of time.

Lin Buyi opened his phone and started searching for vocal instruction videos on video websites. He clicked on each one, including those on diaphragmatic breathing, head resonance, and pharyngeal voice exercises.

After watching a few basic videos, he stood up and began practicing deep breathing in the basement, following the methods shown in the videos.

Inhale, your belly expands. Exhale, your belly deflates.

After practicing his breathing for a while, he opened the music player software for this world.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. He needs to see what level the world's popular music is at.

He opened the hot song chart and started listening from the number one song down.

After listening to less than five songs, Lin Buyi couldn't help but laugh.

What are all these things?

The number one song is a boy band's dance track with extremely high electronic music and lyrics full of meaningless, cheesy phrases like "I'm the most dazzling" and "Do you love me?"

The second place song was a so-called love song with an extremely mediocre melody and lyrics that were forcibly pieced together for the sake of rhyming, making listeners cringe.

After listening to ten songs in a row, Lin Buyi finally felt relieved.

The level of music in this world is far inferior to that of my previous life. Singers here focus more on packaging and image, and there are very few who truly put their heart into making music and writing good lyrics and melodies.

He was confident.

If he were to bring out those classic songs from his past life, it would be an absolute game-changer in this world.

Lin Buyi put down his phone and picked up his guitar again.

He knew that what he lacked most right now was time. He couldn't just sing "Sorrow" as an ordinary pop song; he had to bring out the soul of the song.

He took a deep breath and plucked the strings with his fingers.

This time, he didn't deliberately pursue technique, but completely let go of his emotions.

The desperate gamble when driven to the brink, the helplessness of being willing to sell everything for one's sister, and the struggle against one's future fate—all of these were transformed into the song.

The singing echoed in the empty basement, even the walls seemed to resonate faintly.

……

The second floor of the villa.

After finishing her spa treatment, Su Nianwei changed into a silk nightgown and walked out of the room.

She glanced downstairs; the living room was empty.

This kid actually spent the whole afternoon in the basement?

A sense of curiosity arose in Su Nianwei's heart. She walked barefoot on the thick carpet and slowly descended the stairs.

She stopped when she reached the top of the stairs leading to the basement.

The basement door was tightly closed, but faint sounds could still be heard coming from it.

Su Nianwei leaned against the wall, listening quietly.

"One glass to tomorrow, one glass to the past..."

"Supporting my body, your shoulders became strong and sturdy..."

Su Nianwei frowned slightly.

She had never heard a song like this before.

Is this song good? Su Nianwei doesn't understand music theory and can't quite put her finger on what's so amazing about it.

But that voice, that hoarse voice leaking from the crack in the door, suddenly made her chest feel tight.

This kid is only twenty-one years old, where does he get such a heavy sense of vicissitude?

He was clearly just a poor college student, willing to climb into someone's bed without hesitation for money. So how come his singing carried a sense of vicissitude, as if he had experienced countless hardships?

As Su Nianwei listened, her expression gradually became serious, and eventually she even seemed a little dazed.

She suddenly realized that she didn't seem to know Lin Buyi at all.

She thought he was just a good-looking toy to pass the time. But now, it seems this toy holds many things she doesn't know.

After the song ended, the basement fell silent.

Su Nianwei came to her senses and realized that she had been standing at the stairwell for more than ten minutes.

She pursed her lips, turned around, and walked upstairs.

"Playing tricks," she muttered under her breath.

But for some reason, the phrase "One cup to liberty, one cup to death" kept swirling in her mind, and she couldn't shake it off.