Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 293 - 294: Field Teaching

Chapter 293: Chapter 294: Field Teaching

Ji Jiaming took a deep breath and straightened up, "There’s no getting around this, you must buy the stand. If you don’t, how are you supposed to set up your instruments? You can’t possibly put them all on tables and in corners, can you?"

He turned to face the shop owner and said, "Brother, I’m sorry, but we don’t want this guitar anymore."

As he spoke, he pulled Zhang You out of there, leaving the store owner standing there, speechless and choked up.

By the time they had bought the crossbar storage rack and returned, half of their money had been spent. These items might look small, but each came with a hefty price tag.

Having finally bought all the items they needed, Zhang You and Ji Jiaming began to consider the problem of finding customers.

It was now close to the end of the workday and there were even more people on the streets than before.

Zhang You, wearing a mask and a hat, sat on a flowerbed pondering, while Ji Jiaming sat next to him, occasionally voicing his thoughts.

Ji Jiaming had thought about directly catching someone on the street and asking them if they wanted to stay at the hostel for the night.

Zhang You thought about it for a moment and quickly rejected the idea, considering it too aimless. What if they caught someone who had work the next day, or what if they were mistaken for scammers?

Having racked his brains to no avail, Ji Jiaming decided to head to the nearby Golden Arch to buy two ice creams, hoping that eating them would help cool down and fuel his thoughts.

As Zhang You ate his ice cream, he noticed from the corner of his eye that someone had suddenly stood up next to the flower bed. It was a young man with a black hat, dressed simply, with a guitar slung on his back.

The man first set his guitar down, looked around as if searching for a spot, and made eye contact with Zhang You and Ji Jiaming, but quickly looked away politely.

Eventually, the man didn’t go anywhere else but chose to stand right there.

He took the guitar out of its case and also took out a sound amplifier and other equipment, tweaking the sound settings.

Seeing this, Ji Jiaming nudged Zhang You with his elbow and asked curiously, "A colleague of yours?"

Zhang You’s eyes curved into a smile, but he said nothing.

After doing some sound checks, the man opened the guitar case, laid it flat on the ground, and having finished all his preparations, he began to sing.

"How many people are walking, but trapped in the same place.

How many people are alive, but might as well be dead.

How many people are in love, but it’s like they’re apart.

How many people are smiling, but their tears are hard to hide..."

The more Ji Jiaming listened, the more familiar the song sounded to him. Something crossed his mind, and he turned to look at Zhang You in surprise, "This song is yours, isn’t it?"

Zhang You shook his head, lowered it, and reached to pull his hat down further. His entire face was covered by the hat, as if buried in deep shadow, and he spoke in a low voice, "It’s not mine, but I’ve covered this song before."

Ji Jiaming’s face showed sudden understanding, "I see, that’s why it sounds so familiar. I used to listen to your songs a lot, and I’ve heard this one before."

As the two talked, the street musician had reached the end of the first verse, "How should I exist..."

Zhang You couldn’t help but frown.

The simple guitar sound was amplified by the speaker, and several people had already gathered around the singer.

The singer’s voice was rough with a rasp, sounding similar to Zhang You, yet not quite the same. Compared to Zhang You’s screaming and roaring, his voice was clearer, a bit softer.

To the average person’s ear, it might not make much difference, but to a professional like Zhang You, imperfections were evident—

This was not the singer’s real voice!

He was using falsetto techniques to make his voice sound this hoarse!

"How many times have glory felt humiliating.

How many times has ecstasy come with so much pain."

How many times happiness, yet the heart is like being wrung.

How many times splendid, yet the soul is lost...

On the street, He Jinxia and Zhang Yuanyuan were taking a walk, enjoying the scenery.

Zhang Yuanyuan heard a song coming from afar and quickly pulled He Jinxia to go have a look.

They had already bought the decorations they needed in the afternoon, and He Jinxia had found time to sketch on the blueprint, planning the arrangement on paper and pinpointing the positions of the items they wanted to place.

She specifically went to a stationery store to buy pencils and erasers, so that if the arrangement on the blueprint felt wrong, she could erase it and try another.

Right after they finished sketching, Zhang Yuanyuan pulled her to spend the remaining money on a meal of local delicacies: skewers.

With bellies full and spirits sated, the city’s night view rose slowly, and the two of them strolled aimlessly, savoring the rare moments of relaxation of their day.

"Who knows where we should go.

Who understands what life has become.

Whether to find an excuse, to just survive.

Or to spread our wings and fly high, to keep the anger alive!

Who knows where our dreams shall return to..."

"Sister Jinxia, the guy singing sounds a bit like Brother Zhang You, but if you listen carefully, it doesn’t seem quite right, and it’s not as pleasant as Brother Zhang You’s singing. Also, it seems like he runs out of strength towards the end."

Zhang Yuanyuan and He Jinxia didn’t push through the crowd but just stood on the outside, quietly listening.

He Jinxia, who was quite proficient in music, listened carefully and then couldn’t help but shake her head: "Because he’s using falsetto, it sounds somewhat similar to Zhang You’s voice, like he’s deliberately imitating it."

"As for the lack of strength towards the end, that’s because he doesn’t have good breath control. With the power he’s singing, he could reach the climax of the song."

While they spoke, the song had come to an end.

They waited to hear the singer perform a second song when suddenly, something happened over where the singer was.

Through the gaps in the not-too-densely packed crowd, He Jinxia saw someone push their way in, approaching the performing singer.

The two exchanged some words, and then the street performer handed the microphone to the person and moved aside to play the guitar.

It was the same tune as the last song, and after the intro, when the person started singing, the whole place suddenly hushed.

"How many people are walking, yet trapped in place~ How many people are alive, yet like the dead~ How many people are in love, yet seem apart~ How many people are laughing, yet filled with tears..."

Although it was a voice similar to the singer’s, the person’s singing brought a very different flavor.

He Jinxia’s gaze sharpened, and the moment the singer began, she recognized it as Zhang You’s voice.

Without the deliberately created huskiness, without showing off technique, the lows were full and smooth, the highs heartfelt and true, and when he roared, it was wild and atmospheric, as if standing in the midst of a vast prairie, the singer in the center of the grassland, roaring and shouting to his heart’s content.

"...Who knows where we should go! Who understands what life has become~ Whether to find an excuse, to just survive, or to spread our wings and fly high, to keep the anger alive! Who knows where our dreams shall return to~ Who understands what dignity has become..."

When He Jinxia heard the climax, there was only one word in her heart: exhilarating!

Looking up, she noticed that several girls in the crowd had started crying.

Turning to look, Zhang Yuanyuan’s eyes were also slightly moist.

This is the charm of a song, the transmission of energy, the offering of warmth, even awakening the world with a deafening roar: Don’t be numb; start moving, and quickly find the meaning of life!

Drawing a deep breath, He Jinxia began to clap, her opinion of Zhang You shifting slightly.

He might not be a star worthy of admiration, but he definitely is a good singer.