Liang Zhen felt he couldn’t continue bending like this anymore. At the moment, he only had this inexplicable feeling towards Shao Mingyin. It’s better to rein in the cliff-edge horse than to falter at the brink; he needed to straighten himself out in time.

His school wasn’t far from Mushan Street, maybe a little over twenty minutes by car, but he obviously wouldn’t wander around there for no reason. Better safe than sorry; if he ran into Officer Shao again, he’d feel embarrassed, remembering that unforgettable night.

Why should he feel embarrassed about meeting a guy? Feeling restless and embarrassed like that was beneath him. He’d become nothing more than a toy in Officer Shao’s eyes. The more Liang Zhen thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He couldn’t focus in class as usual. Song Zhou noticed all this and surely wanted to help his buddy out. Coincidentally, there was a livehouse event in Wenzhou featuring a new rapper under the Old Arsenal label. Song Zhou asked Liang Zhen if he wanted to go sing the hook.

Liang Zhen actually wanted to seriously work on his album. It was getting tiresome just singing hooks, but he did want something to do now. So, he got in touch with the singer. Nowadays, what promotion could be done without Weibo? Liang Zhen appeared several times on the singer’s Weibo, and everyone knew he would be singing that night.

Everything was going smoothly, but on the day before the performance, the livehouse suddenly discussed canceling the show due to venue testing issues. Considering the significant investment already made, the sudden cancellation was unacceptable. They thought about finding another place, but the person in charge of the livehouse kindly reminded them not to get their hopes up. To be precise, if Liang Zhen continued as a guest performer, they shouldn’t get their hopes up.

The exact words of the person in charge were: “Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Don’t compete for this bowl of rice with those who sing about life struggles.”

Though the words weren’t explicit, Liang Zhen could guess where the problem lay. Without waiting for the rapper to suggest it, he voluntarily withdrew from the performance. Somehow, the next day, the venue equipment miraculously became available again, and the show went on as planned. Liang Zhen was there that night, but he was just another face in the crowd. The cheers and applause could have been partly for him, but now he was just one of the many spectators.

He didn’t stay until the end of the performance. He chose to return home. When he reached the duplex at Zhongrui Manhattan, someone was already waiting for him in the living room.

Liang Zhen had a temper, but there was always a reason for the spark. It takes time for the spark to reach the end. So, fundamentally, Liang Zhen was a reasonable person.

But except for one person, every time Liang Zhen saw him, the bomb exploded without needing a fuse.

Liang Zhen stood at the entrance and didn’t take a step forward. Very impolitely, he asked, “Why are you here?”

Liang Chongwei didn’t change his expression, as if he was used to this kind of attitude from Liang Zhen. “How can you speak like this? When you see your parents or elders, is this your attitude?”

“Oh, you want me to add a title? Fine,” Liang Zhen chuckled dismissively and casually threw the house keys and card onto the shoe cabinet. “Then what the hell are you here for?”

“Liang Zhen!” Liang Chongwei finally got angry. “I just flew from Zhongchuan to Longwan Airport an hour ago. There’s an 80 million contract waiting for me to sign. I came to see you first. My time is precious. Can you stop getting mad at me every time? It won’t solve any problems; it’s just a waste of time.”

Liang Zhen understood. “So, you didn’t come here specifically to talk to me, you’re here to do business in Wenzhou and incidentally sort me out.”

“Liang Zhen—”

“Then we have nothing to talk about,” Liang Zhen shrugged indifferently. “Go talk about your 80 million business.”

Liang Chongwei tried to maintain his composure. “Liang Zhen, you’re studying here because of my agreement not to force you to go abroad in your junior year. But it’s not for you to continue playing ‘The Down Trodden’ here.”

“Hip-hop is not playing ‘The Down Trodden’,” Liang Zhen wanted to argue, but Liang Chongwei sneered.

“Who believes the excuse of venue testing faults? You say this circle is about love and peace, not about money, just about being real. But I paid the boss 250,000 to kick you out as a backing vocalist. I’d like to hear what excuse he gave for keeping you offstage and then comforting the fans who came to see you. If you have any fans.”

“I wouldn’t let anyone be embarrassed. I withdrew myself,” Liang Zhen sneered back. “You think everyone is like you, only caring about money.”

Liang Zhen didn’t know how many times he mentioned money: “So what if you have money? People like you who test human nature and friendship with money are the most hypocritical.”

“Fine, even if I’m hypocritical,” Liang Chongwei said, “you have to admit money is good. Without money, you couldn’t afford to study at this school, live in Zhongrui Manhattan, or buy all this equipment in this house, those three cars downstairs, you couldn’t even afford the fuel. Everything is because you have money, you can easily live this life.”

“And your money is from me.”

“So what? Are you finally going to set aside blood ties and only talk about money?”

Liang Chongwei shook his head. “Liang Zhen, you are my only son and the heir to this family business. I hope you will quickly straighten yourself out and stop wasting your thoughts on music. That is not the path you should take. You promised me before not to go abroad, to stay in Wenzhou for these two years and get involved in the company’s business here.”

“Yes, I promised you,” Liang Zhen replied. “But now I’m telling you clearly, I’ve changed my mind.”

“Liang Zhen!”

Liang Zhen retaliated, but he didn’t feel good about it himself. “Since I can remember, you’ve always been flying around doing business. When have you ever taken care of me? When have you ever paid attention to me? Your time has always been consumed by your business. What promise you made to me have you fulfilled? So what if I change my mind this time?”

“Think about every time you go back to Grandpa’s mansion. How does he talk about me? Grandpa says, ‘Liang Zhen is the most reassuring child of this generation.’ I’m not proud of it. Among peers with similar backgrounds, who isn’t causing their family endless worry? Me, have I caused trouble and failed to distinguish between good and evil since I was young? Now I’m nineteen, I want to play music. I’m not doing anything morally wrong. Why can’t I pursue this path?”

“Because this path has always been off track from the beginning,” Liang Chongwei said. “From the start, this is not the path for you.”

“I don’t want to go the path you’ve chosen for me.” Liang Zhen finally moved forward, walking to the living room and standing in front of his father.

“I don’t want to go your way, and end up like you, where even emotions are clearly priced,” Liang Zhen said.

Liang Chongwei smiled, a shallow smile that revealed no meaning. He asked, “So can you make a living from music?”

“You’ve had opportunities, haven’t you? It’s been a year. Have you released songs, held performances under your own name?”

Liang Chongwei helped his son answer, “No.”

“Time is the most precious thing. You’re almost twenty now. Have you achieved anything this past year?”

“I haven’t achieved anything now, not earning money now doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t in the future,” Liang Zhen pointed to the shoe cabinet behind him where the keys were placed. “I don’t need a penny from the Liang family. I’ll rely on music. One day, I’ll be able to support myself.”

“Is that so?”

Liang Chongwei expressed doubt, and Liang Zhen continued to push.

“I don’t need a penny from the Liang family. I’ll rely on music. One day, I’ll be able to support myself.”

Liang Chongwei stood up as well, smiling. “Are you talking to me about economic independence?”

“I just hope you won’t hinder me like you did today.”

“Alright, it’s time for you to taste some bitterness and then understand how hard it is for me to earn everything for you.”

“I didn’t ask you to earn for me! I don’t want it! I…” Liang Zhen had long passed the age of saying “I just want you to spend more time with me.” As Liang Chongwei had said, he was almost twenty, and he no longer harbored hopes like that after realizing how much his father’s passion for work surpassed his care for the family. Liang Zhen took out his wallet, took out several cards from the middle compartment, and placed them on the coffee table, leaving only one card he had just paid tuition fees with. After quickly packing a few clothes into his suitcase and leaving the bedroom, Liang Chongwei had already left. Liang Zhen looked at the empty living room, feeling helpless and bitter, and his determination to leave became even firmer. Before leaving, he placed the car keys on the shoe cabinet along with the house keys and card, then pushed open the door and left without looking back.

That was Liang Zhen at nineteen, young and impulsive. His experience of hardship was limited to the night he was detained in Moshan Street, but he still left without hesitation.

But that was the real Liang Zhen at nineteen. He didn’t know if he really wanted to rely on music to make a living, to eat for a lifetime, but he knew what he didn’t want.

He didn’t want to be a cold-hearted businessman, constantly dealing with the cold stench of copper day and night. He just wanted to do what he liked and be with the people he liked, not like his parents, whose marriage was bound by interests. He wasn’t even twenty yet, he wanted to take a risk and break free from this seemingly perfect but actually stagnant “right path” that was arranged for him. That’s why he ran from Lanzhou, over three thousand kilometers away, to Wenzhou. It was a completely different city, but it held Liang Zhen’s infinite expectations for the future.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but develop an affection for this city. If he hadn’t come to Wenzhou, he wouldn’t have made the decision to continue playing music, and he wouldn’t have met Shao Mingyin.

Liang Zhen stopped in his tracks.

Liang Zhen: “What the heck?!”

“Whoa!” Liang Zhen exclaimed in a Lanzhou dialect.

He shook his head and looked around, trying to understand what kind of scene he had just touched, that he could even bring Officer Shao into his heartfelt soliloquy and reflections.

“What’s going on! Ah!” Liang Zhen was baffled, stomping his feet in frustration. He clenched and released his fists at the entrance of Zhongrui Manhattan, letting out a squeak like a groundhog.