Don't call me a singing god, I just want to go back to doing scientific research.

Ba Meng covered her mouth tightly with one hand, while the other hand had already pulled out her phone and started snapping photos of the stage.

Click, click.

Send it to Ni Yuelan, who is watching the drama unfold remotely, with a single click.

On stage, the blinding spotlight caused Ling Luo to momentarily lose her composure.

The lights were so bright that he could barely open his eyes, overlapping with the flashes of light from paparazzi who used to block the company entrance day and night.

Below the stage was a dense, dark crowd, like those disgusting eyes from a past life scrutinizing a lamb to the slaughter, dissecting him inch by inch from head to toe.

He was all too familiar with those scrutinizing, greedy, and disdainful gazes.

Back then, he was also called Ling Luo, but the "Luo" in his name meant "falling."

He used this name to struggle in the mire for a full fifteen years.

From a trainee who was bullied by everyone, to later standing at the top.

He thought he had finally broken free from the shackles of his family of origin, but reality told him in the cruelest way that he was wrong.

Parents are bloodsucking leeches, and brothers are insatiable greed.

He was the second child in the family, an awkward and undesirable presence, destined to be less special than the first son, less unique than the only daughter, and less joyful than having a child late in life.

They took the money he risked his life for, bought luxury homes and sports cars, and then gambled it all away at casinos.

When he finally refused to pay for the astronomical gambling debts, he was met with a barrage of slander and curses.

"Ungrateful wretch!"

"What's the use of making so much money? You're a beast who doesn't even care about your family!"

The media, smelling the bloodshed, swarmed in; fans' love turned to hatred, leading to a backlash and a shift in their allegiance; and rival groups seized the opportunity to kick someone when they were down.

He fell from the clouds to the abyss in just one night.

But when he climbed out of the abyss again, when he brought those two unfit parents to the trial, the pleasure he had expected did not come; only endless loneliness followed.

When he crashed into the cold car wall, his last second of consciousness was, ah, a laughable release.

This broken life is finally over.

An uncontrollable tremor ran through my fingertips.

"Ling Luo?"

Gu Yang's worried whisper rang in her ears, carrying a hint of barely perceptible urgency.

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Ling Luo snapped back to reality and met a pair of eyes filled with concern. Those clear eyes clearly reflected his bloodless face.

He suppressed the metallic taste in his throat and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Gu Yang stepped forward and subtly shielded Ling Luo behind him, blocking most of the camera's view.

He reached out and, in the blind spot of the camera, firmly grasped Ling Luo's cold hand.

The warm touch came from his palm, like a warm current, forcefully injected into Ling Luo's almost stopped heart.

Ling Luo moved his lips slightly, and Gu Yang clearly saw him silently say, "I'm fine."

Gu Yang didn't ask any more questions, just nodded, then released Ling Luo's hand, looked at him, and walked step by step towards the black grand piano.

The commotion at the scene was almost enough to lift the roof off.

The script in the host Dong Xuelan's hand was almost torn to shreds, and her mind was completely blank.

This is different from the script we rehearsed!

"Xiao Dong! What are you spacing out for! Get things under control!" the director roared into his headset. This was a serious viewership issue.

Dong Xuelan jolted, took a deep breath, and quickly walked between the two men in her high heels, a smile on her face: "Gu Yang, Mr. Ling, is this... a surprise you specially prepared for us?"

Gu Yang took the microphone from her hand, his smile bright and radiant, as if he wasn't the one who had been worried just moments before.

"Yes, Sister Xuelan." He emphasized the word "yes" on purpose. "My friend here plays the piano exceptionally well, so I specially invited him to accompany me."

friend?

The moment that word was uttered, the live stream chat exploded.

[Friends? The Xinhua Dictionary revised the entry for "friends" overnight, and this is the accompanying image!]

Yes, yes, yes, best friends who share a bed, a blanket, and hugs and kisses every day!

I believe you! Look into my sincere, big, bright eyes—it couldn't be more genuine!

[I've moved to the Civil Affairs Bureau; I'll be processing your friend certificates here!]

Ling Luo glanced at the audience, where there was a lot of discussion, but it was hard to hear clearly on stage. He walked to the piano and sat down gracefully.

The moment his slender fingers touched the piano keys, his aura changed abruptly.

All vulnerability and confusion were suppressed, and when she opened her eyes again, only gentleness and tranquility remained.

Gu Yang closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he nodded solemnly in Ling Luo's direction.

On the large screen behind me, the song information slowly appeared.

Say Goodbye Before Dawn

Singer: Gu Yang (He Ye)

Lyrics: Luo Mu (Kang Zifeng)

Composer: Luo Mu (Kang Zifeng)

The entire venue was deathly silent for a second, then erupted into an even more violent uproar than before!

"The curtain falls! It's falling again!"

"Holy crap! This is too much! What kind of spell did Gu Yang cast on Teacher Luo Mu?"

"Wait a minute! Are Luoyang CP and Yangyao Linggua going to have a fight offline? Guyang is singing Teacher Luomu's song and asking Lingluo to accompany him!!!"

"Waaaaah, poor teacher Luo Mu! I should be behind the screen, not on screen!"

While everyone was still immersed in this huge amount of information.

A clean, slow piano melody flowed from Ling Luo's fingertips.

The melody is soft, like a midnight sigh, carrying a sense of desolation.

Then a soft string base is added, the sound is subtle and sustained.

The air, which had been buzzing with excitement from the rock music, cooled instantly, and the murmurs from the audience gradually subsided and disappeared.

Gu Yang's singing voice rose in the silence.

His voice was so clear and pure, without any embellishment or showing off; he was simply speaking quietly.

"Water splashes can only bloom on rainy days"

Fireworks should bloom in the night.

Snowflakes are reluctant to leave winter.

... "

The simple lyrics, like fine needles, pierced deeply into Gu Yang's heart.

four years ago.

Ling Luo was the same; on an ordinary sunny day, she disappeared without a trace.

—Like how reluctant I am to say goodbye to you.

But you never said goodbye.

Ling Luo, is this your reason for leaving without saying goodbye back then?

Gu Yang's hand holding the microphone trembled slightly.

"A lie does not necessarily mean deception"

Promises may not be kept.

......

That summer, he acted like a madman, waiting outside the dilapidated rental house near the school for three days and three nights until the landlord appeared with a new tenant. Only then did he realize that Ling Luo had truly disappeared.

That promise was that on the first day of school, I would definitely take him to eat the spicy hot pot that always has a long line next to the school.

The person who swore he would take the university entrance exam in the same city as him broke his promise.

He called his phone until it was scorching hot, and every name in his contacts was followed by "unable to connect".

That summer, it seemed as if he buried all the sunny days of his life on the first day of his second year of high school.