Chapter 102

Song Haowen couldn’t let Cui Hai escape so easily. He sprung forward and appeared right in front of Cui Hai.

“What? You invite me here without a word and just want to leave? What do you take me for?” Song Haowen said.

“What do you want then?” Cui Hai asked somewhat uneasily.

“What do I want? You wanted to show me what it’s like to be helpless in life. But I don’t know that right now. You have to show it for me and then you can go,” Song Haowen said with a sneer.

“I was just trying to scare you. Look, you’re fine now, aren’t you?” Cui Hai argued.

“It’s not that you don’t want to, but you can’t.” Song Haowen stared into his eyes. “I don’t want to be as cruel as you, but without a lesson, you might forget. So, give me ten slaps, kneel down, and swear: you won’t disturb Gu Zhiwei again, and you won’t seek revenge on me.”

“Do you want me to kneel and beg for mercy? Forget it, kid. Today, you either beat me to death, or you wait for my revenge.” Cui Hai was convinced that Song Haowen wouldn’t dare to fight him head-on, so he decided to be defiant.

Seeing the six people lying on the ground, Song Haowen made up his mind.

“If you six want me to let you go, fine. But each of you must give Cui Hai two big slaps. Otherwise, you can wait for me to deal with you later.”

“Do you dare!” Cui Hai was furious. If he thought he could beat Song Haowen, he would have torn him into pieces.

Seeing Cui Hai’s anger, the six henchmen were also scared, shaking with fear. Where would they find the courage to hit their big brother now? Song Haowen wasn’t in a hurry. He grabbed Cui Hai’s neck and dragged him to the nearest one of his subordinates.

“To hit or not to hit?”

“Not to hit,” the subordinate said resolutely, displaying a strong sense of loyalty.

With a crisp sound, Song Haowen kicked and broke one of the subordinate’s legs. The guy immediately screamed like a slaughtered pig.

“To hit or not to hit?” Song Haowen raised his foot again, targeting the other leg.

The subordinate was frightened, with fear visible in his eyes. Suppressing the immense pain from the broken leg, he raised his hand and fiercely slapped Cui Hai twice, muttering, “Big brother, I’m really sorry. I had no choice. I’ll let you hit me back when we leave.”

Cui Hai never expected such an outcome. This was much more humiliating than Song Haowen beating him directly. For a moment, he was left dumbfounded, unable to speak.

Song Haowen paid no attention to Cui Hai’s thoughts. He lifted him to the next young guy who was hesitating. Without waiting for the young guy to decide, Song Haowen decisively kicked and broke the guy’s leg. The young guy shivered and fainted immediately.

Not stopping there, Song Haowen broke the guy’s arm, waking him up from the pain. The young guy, no longer hesitating, approached Cui Hai and delivered two resounding slaps.

Having witnessed Song Haowen’s brutal methods, the rest of the scenario became straightforward.

The other four didn’t wait for Song Haowen to bring Cui Hai to them; instead, they came forward willingly, giving Cui Hai a series of hard slaps. Cui Hai lost several teeth, bleeding from his mouth, and fainted multiple times due to the intense pain.

After everyone had their turn, Song Haowen addressed the collapsed Cui Hai, “I’m not hitting you because I don’t want to dirty my hands. Remember this lesson. If there’s a next time, I won’t let you off without leaving a few pieces behind. Get lost! The six of you, take your big brother and leave together!” With that, he clapped his hands and walked away.

Song Haowen’s reputation among the stundents soared after this incident. Whenever Cui Hai considered revenge, his henchmen stopped him. Accustomed to bullying others, they never expected to encounter someone as ruthless as Song Haowen, and the mere mention of his name made them shudder involuntarily.

Upon hearing the news, Song Haowen’s second sister, Song Huihua, Zhu Hongyu, and Ren Hua were worried for him. Second sister, without distinguishing right from wrong, scolded him severely, forcing him to promise not to fight again.

Feeling wronged, Song Haowen wondered why everything was his fault. However, he dared not argue with his second sister, knowing she cared for him and feared retaliation from others. He admitted his wrongdoing and pledged not to fight again.

Upon learning of the incident, Gu Ziwei could hardly believe it. She never thought Cui Hai would gather six people to teach Song Haowen a lesson, and she didn’t expect Song Haowen to be so decisive and fierce.

She couldn’t help but develop a strong liking for him, thinking he had a chivalrous spirit, making her surroundings quieter without the buzzing annoyance.

To express her sympathy, Gu Ziwei invited him to visit Yihe Park on Sunday morning. Since she lived in the school dormitory, they agreed to meet at the school gate and take a taxi together.

Yihe Park was not far from the school, and they quickly arrived at the park entrance. Just as Song Haowen was about to line up to buy tickets, Gu Ziwei pulled him aside, saying, “No need to buy tickets; I have a press pass. Bringing one person in should be fine.” She showed her press pass at the entrance, and indeed, they were allowed in.

Song Haowen had visited this park in his past life when he first came to the capital, but he hadn’t been here in this life. As they entered, he felt a strange mix of familiarity and unfamiliarity. The two enjoyed some snacks on the Jiangnan Street inside the park, making up for the missed breakfast.

While exploring the park, they shared details about their lives. Gu Ziwei’s parents worked in government departments; she had an older brother who was married and lived separately.

Due to the distance from her home to the school, she chose to stay in the dormitory and only went home for a night on Saturdays.

The conversation naturally shifted to movies, and Gu Ziwei mentioned how popular movie theme songs and soundtracks were these days.

She asked Song Haowen if his movie had any, and if so, who sang them. She suggested that he could try to secure a singing opportunity.

Gu Ziwei’s words struck a chord with Song Haowen. Until now, he had only focused on the movie’s content and screening times, neglecting the aspect of music in the film.

As of now, Director Wang Bolong hadn’t mentioned anything about it. The next time he met him, Song Haowen planned to inquire. Not that he wanted to sing himself, but he was curious about who would take on this responsibility.

If possible, he would recommend Tan Nana to sing one of the songs.

Thinking about this, Song Haowen grew even more appreciative and admiring of Gu Ziwei’s broad perspective. Her sensitivity to new things was no less than that of someone who had been reborn.

Yihe Park was vast, with a broad lake, and the two strolled leisurely. Surprisingly, it took them over two hours to complete one round. After leaving the park, they visited several malls together. Song Haowen pondered when he could invest in a large shopping center and supermarket.

However, he believed the timing was not yet ripe, mainly because the supply channels were strictly controlled, and many goods were still being supplied according to the plan. Without a stable supply, a mall couldn’t survive.

Nevertheless, since Song Haowen had this idea, he was determined to find a way to turn it into reality. While accompanying Gu Ziwei through the mall, he contemplated potential business opportunities.

At noon, they had a simple meal at a restaurant. In the afternoon, Gu Ziwei had an interview task, so they parted ways. After saying goodbye to Gu Ziwei, instead of returning to the store, Song Haowen went directly to the music studio. He wanted to provide one more popular song for both Tan Nana and himself.

Originally, there was no separate office for Song Haowen in the music studio. It wasn’t that Su Yan didn’t want to arrange one; he thought he wouldn’t come here frequently. Now that Song Haowen was a regular visitor, sharing an office with Su Yan and her daughter plus an assistant felt a bit crowded.

In the music studio, only Su Yan and the assistant were present. Tan Nana hadn’t arrived yet, probably taking a nap at home. Song Haowen mentioned his desire for a separate office. Su Yan chuckled, saying that they offered to arrange one for him initially, but he declined. Now, it seems he feels the need for it.

Song Haowen explained, “Today, I want to write songs, and I realized it’s inconvenient without a separate office. I also want to have an electronic keyboard in the office for music composition, which might disturb others.”

After a brief consideration, Su Yan said, “On the eastern side of our floor, there are two large rooms that have been vacant. You and Nana can each have an office. If you agree, I’ll arrange for someone to move your desk over there right away.”

Song Haowen immediately agreed and chose the room on the farthest side.

Half an hour later, Song Haowen sat in his new office. Apart from missing a piano, the office supplies were essentially complete. He sat there seriously for a while and then recalled and transcribed the lyrics of two popular songs from his previous life.

The first song that came to Song Haowen’s mind was the theme song of the Taiwanese drama “Yi Jian Mei” (One Plum Blossom), which aired on CCTV in 1984. This song became extremely popular and remained so for decades, even reaching Europe and America before his rebirth.

The original singer of this song was the timeless male god Fei Yuqing, and the song was written by the duo Wa Wa and Peter Chen. Before appropriating this work from his previous life, Song Haowen apologized to these three individuals because, in this life, they would lose this brilliant piece due to him.

After calming his emotions, considering that the past life and present life were not the same world, he finally recorded this song that would undoubtedly create a huge impact:

“True love is vast like the grassland, layers of storms cannot separate.

There will be a time when the clouds clear and the sun shines, illuminating you and me.

True love is like plum blossoms blooming, cold ice and snow cannot drown it.

Blooming on the coldest branches, witnessing spring approach for you and me.

Snowflakes flutter, the north wind whistles, the world is vast and boundless.

One plum blossom stands proudly in the snow, only for its fragrance to drift toward the beloved.

Love what I love, without regrets, this feeling lingers in the heart.”

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