At nine o’clock that night, Wang Zhinan’s two new songs, “The Wind Rises” and “The Deskmate of Yours”, were released right on schedule and immediately attracted widespread attention online.
Wang Zhinan had an enormous fanbase. After listening to the songs, his fans quickly spread the word.
His fans called themselves Cicadas.
— “Cicadas! Brother Wang just released two graduation-season songs. Come listen!”
— “Cicadas, go listen to The Wind Rises! It’ll surprise you. It’s so good!”
— “Who knew? The Deskmate of Yours made me cry. My first love, do you still remember me? I still haven’t returned the pencil and eraser I borrowed from you!”
As fans continued recommending the songs to one another, they gradually reached the general public.
More and more people began listening.
And after listening, many couldn’t resist downloading them.
One comment read:
“After hearing The Deskmate of Yours, I remembered when we were in middle school. You threatened me that if my exam score wasn’t higher than yours, we’d break up. I knew you only wanted me to study harder. Even if you scored badly, you would’ve never broken up with me. I never expected that I really would score higher than you. But I wasn’t happy at all—your grades started dropping, and they dropped so quickly…”
It was already late, but Ah Tai was still awake.
He was reading through fan reactions.
Normally there would be a few haters jumping around causing trouble.
But tonight, there were none.
The online atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive.
Everyone was reminiscing about first love and the innocence of their student days.
It was something he had never seen before.
Another comment said:
“Back then the sky was always so blue, and the days passed so slowly. You always said graduation was far away, but in the blink of an eye we went our separate ways… This song reminds me of those youthful years. Deskmate, I miss you. Do you still remember me?”
Another wrote:
“After listening to The Wind Rises, I feel like it’s about a young person who didn’t understand love, chose dreams over someone important, and only later realized what they had lost. The regret and sadness in the song are exactly my own story.”
Filled with excitement, Ah Tai ignored the late hour and began bombarding Wang Zhinan with messages.
“Ah Nan! Ah Nan! It’s exploded! Do you know? It exploded!”
“Ah Nan! Ah Nan! Downloads have passed one thousand!”
“Ah Nan! Ah Nan! Downloads passed ten thousand! Less than two hours and it’s already over ten thousand!”
Wang Zhinan had just fallen asleep when dozens of notifications woke him up.
Internally, he couldn’t stop complaining.
Couldn’t this wait until tomorrow?
There were only a few hours left until sunrise anyway.
He had spent the entire day practicing songs and working out in the gym.
He was exhausted and only wanted to sleep.
Unable to ignore the constant notifications, he reluctantly opened WeChat.
After reading Ah Tai’s messages, he instantly became fully awake and sat upright in bed.
The songs had only been online for a few hours.
How could they be blowing up so quickly?
Did netizens never sleep?
The growth was even faster than his previous hit, Ordinary Road.
He checked the trending searches.
— Wang Zhinan’s new songs “The Deskmate of Yours” and “The Wind Rises” officially released.
— Wang Zhinan’s “The Deskmate of Yours”: Do you still remember your deskmate?
— Wang Zhinan’s youthful regret: “The Wind Rises.”
Wang Zhinan could hardly believe it.
But the evidence was right in front of him.
He knew there was no way he’d be sleeping tonight.
These netizens were simply too adorable.
Meanwhile, the songwriter herself, Qin Ruoyao, was sleeping soundly and peacefully, completely unaffected by the commotion outside.
As for Mo Junlin, who rarely browsed videos or social media, he knew even less.
The husband and wife both enjoyed a full night’s sleep.
Because they slept well, everyone was in excellent spirits the next morning.
During breakfast, while everyone was quietly eating, Qin Ruohan, who had already finished her meal, suddenly spoke excitedly.
“Sis, did you know? Last night I found two amazing songs!”
“They just came out and already blew up.”
“They’re sung by my favorite singer too. They’re so good! You all should listen.”
“Wow, Xiaohan.”
“You’re staying up late now?”
“You’re still young. Don’t develop bad habits.”
Mother Mo looked at her with concern.
“No, no!”
“I never stay up all night.”
“I just went to bed a little later than usual.”
“Not that much later.”
Mother Mo laughed.
Qin Ruoyao asked,
“Xiaohan, do you have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places?”
“So that’s why you couldn’t sleep?”
Mo Junlin looked over too.
Could she really be someone who got homesick for her bed?
Qin Ruohan immediately shook her head.
“No, not at all.”
“I don’t have that problem.”
“I just heard Wang Zhinan was releasing new songs last night, so I wanted to listen before sleeping.”
Hearing that Qin Ruohan liked Wang Zhinan, Mother Mo smiled.
“Zhinan really is excellent.”
“He sings well and acts well too.”
“Right?”
“Auntie, you like him too?”
Qin Ruohan immediately became excited.
“His new songs are great. Want to listen?”
Mother Mo nodded.
“Of course.”
“Compared to some celebrities who evade taxes, take drugs, or get involved in scandals, if you become a fan of Wang Zhinan, the chances of him getting canceled are almost zero.”
“Otherwise, his grandfather would probably throw him out of the family.”
“So yesterday was the release day for his new songs?”
“Then we should definitely listen.”
“Go ahead and play them.”
Mother Mo was actually quite an internet enthusiast herself.
Whenever she had free time, she enjoyed browsing videos online.
With permission granted, Qin Ruohan immediately opened her music app.
Soon, the gentle melody filled the room.
“Along this road, stopping and going,
Following the traces of a drifting youth,
Just before stepping out of the station,
I suddenly hesitated…”
“Unable to help smiling at my homesickness,
Yet unable to avoid it,
The sky over Nagano,
Still feels just as warm…”
“The wind carried back the past…”
Qin Ruohan and Mother Mo listened with expressions of pure enjoyment.
Mo Junlin and Qin Ruoyao quietly ate breakfast while listening.
Neither of them mentioned who had written the song.
As long as everyone enjoyed it, that was enough.
There was a certain satisfaction in remaining anonymous after accomplishing something.
After breakfast, Mo Junlin headed to work.
The rest of the family stayed home.
Qin Ruoyao had already finished eating, but the two music lovers were still listening.
By the time they finally stopped, they had already played the song five times.
Seeing that they were done, Qin Ruoyao asked,
“Are we still going to the orchard later?”
Qin Ruohan immediately nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes! Definitely!”
“I didn’t eat enough yesterday!”
Fortunately, it was cloudy.
Otherwise, Qin Ruoyao wouldn’t have wanted to go at all.
Qin Ruohan was naturally cheerful and outgoing.
Along the way, she sang nonstop.
She had already memorized parts of the song after hearing it only a few times.
“When I first came to know this world,
I was filled with endless attachment,
Watching the horizon that seemed within reach,
Willing to walk through fire and water just to experience it once…”
“Now that I’ve traveled through this world,
Still filled with countless attachments,
Turning over the different faces of passing years,
Unexpectedly stumbling into your smile…”
It seemed as though all she needed was a microphone and she could start a karaoke performance.
Qin Ruoyao and Mother Mo couldn’t stop laughing.
She was truly a bundle of joy.
After listening, Mother Mo sincerely praised her.
“Xiaohan, that was really good.”
“You could become a singer.”
And she meant it.
Qin Ruoyao agreed.
Qin Ruohan’s voice reminded her somewhat of Angela Chang’s voice from her previous life—powerful and full of penetrating clarity.
“Xiaohan, do you like singing?”
Qin Ruoyao asked.
“Have you ever thought about becoming a singer?”
Qin Ruohan hesitated before answering honestly.
“I have.”
“But I just like singing.”
“I’ve never actually studied it.”
“How could I become a singer?”
The truth was that Qin Ruohan genuinely loved music.
Whenever she watched singers performing on stage, she imagined herself standing there one day.
A stage beneath bright lights.
A crowd of fans cheering below.
Just imagining that scene felt beautiful beyond words.