Reborn to prepare for the college entrance exam, you're letting me retire and make a comeback?

Chapter 23 When will the grapes ripen first? You must wait and wait.

"I was so silly when I was little. I wanted to grow up quickly and leave home..."

"I want to escape. I dream about going back to where I am now..."

"Constantly moving from place to place, wandering in the steel jungle..."

"I've long forgotten how innocent I used to be..."

"..."

"I've witnessed countless farewells and reunions on the cold platform..."

"The ticket stub represents my ideal, my long-awaited destination..."

"Strive to catch up with the person you were once expected to be!"

"..."

Lu Qian's singing voice filled the private room, instantly silencing the noise inside.

There was no way around it; the opening of the song was so stunning that the audience, who had been holding a wait-and-see attitude, were caught off guard and instantly rendered speechless.

If I had to use just one word to describe their reaction...

That would only be considered astonishing.

"The person who wrote this song is incredibly talented. If it were to circulate, it would definitely become a huge hit!" Everyone thought to themselves.

As she sang, Zhang Qian's gaze inadvertently swept over Shen Xinyi beside her, and she noticed that Shen Xinyi was staring intently at Lu Qian, who was playing and singing on stage.

Those beautiful eyes sparkled, as if the whole world consisted only of that boy holding the guitar.

Seeing her best friend's expression, she smiled mischievously.

"Oh, Xinyi."

She nudged Shen Xinyi with her elbow and teased, "I remember that senior from the previous year who was pursuing you. The first time he saw you, he had the same infatuated expression you have now."

"Xinyi, you wouldn't happen to have feelings for Lu Qian, would you?"

A gossipy expression appeared on her bright and pretty face, vividly portraying her personality.

"No way!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xinyi snapped back to reality like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Two blushes rose on her fair cheeks, and she hurriedly waved her hands in denial, "Zhang Qian, you... what nonsense are you talking about? I didn't, I just thought the song was pretty good!"

She tried to look away from Lu Qian, but couldn't help but steal glances at him again.

Chen Yufei, who was sitting to the side, heard the conversation between the two and immediately joined in the teasing.

"Oh, really? But you don't seem like it."

She chuckled softly, "I think Zhang Qian makes a lot of sense. Look at Xinyi's unusual behavior today. Maybe she really does like this Lu Qian? Otherwise, why was she so anxious when I flicked his forehead? It was obvious she was jealous."

"You...you're talking nonsense!" Shen Xinyi was both embarrassed and anxious by the two of them talking back and forth, but she had no words to refute them.

She doesn't like Lu Qian at all!

I only have a tiny bit of a crush on her...

Just a little bit!

Just then, Lu Qian's singing entered a breathing gap.

The private room suddenly fell silent, making Shen Xinyi's words all the more clearly audible.

"Cough cough..."

Shen Xinyi shrank her neck, and her little face turned red instantly.

The entire room suddenly fell silent, leaving only her speaking...

That was a bit awkward.

Stealing a glance at the figure on stage, immersed in the music, a strange emotion suddenly welled up in my heart.

The atmosphere, with its lights and music, is very intoxicating, especially when you've just had a drink.

Provoked by her two best friends, she really got a little carried away.

So the girl lowered her head and, for some inexplicable shyness, squeezed out, "I...I actually only like it a little bit..."

If you like it,

But only a little bit...

Just as she said those words, Lu Qian's singing started again, the deep and powerful chorus instantly filling the entire space.

"The old houses are gradually fading into the distance, becoming childhood memories. The cold platform has witnessed many partings and reunions..."

"..."

"Once you've weathered the storm of obscurity, everything else will be beautiful..."

"I won't wait for the rain to stop; I'll walk through the wind and rain, and once I emerge from these dark clouds, the sky will always clear..."

"After you emerge from this dark cloud, the sky will always clear..."

The singing attracted everyone's attention, causing the girl's words, which she had just mustered the courage to speak, to be drowned out by the surging waves of emotion, and no one paid any attention.

Courage lasts only a moment, then returns to calm.

But no one knows that she was once brave.

The singing continued.

On the other side, Chen Jianye, sitting in the main seat, listened to the song and felt that he was actually drawn into it.

"Why does this song feel like it's hitting right into my heart?" the boss thought to himself in amazement.

The other young people in the room were only cheering for the melody of the song.

Only he truly saw something in this song.

It's as if I can see the young figure from many years ago, squeezing onto that green train.

That year,

He said he wanted to go out and explore the world.

The next day, his mother stood on the platform and waved to him with tears in her eyes.

He sat inside the green train, watching his mother outside the window gradually shrink until she disappeared from sight.

After that, I arrived in an unfamiliar city and began to work hard for my dream. I experienced countless nights sleeping in cold sheds, and I even drank until I had a stomach hemorrhage for a meager profit...

Climbing step by step to achieve success and fame, one always feels like walking on thin ice.

Now that he's middle-aged, he has elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. He has no one to rely on but himself; he is the only mountain that everyone can depend on.

Everyone only saw him accepting flowers and applause, but no one saw his aging face as he endured it all.

When he left his hometown, the spirited young man once said he wanted to change the world.

But now it seems that this man, who aspired to change the world, has already been changed by the world itself.

Yu Qiuyu said that as people reach middle age, what they understand more and more is not what they want to do, but what they can no longer do.

And now, he probably understands what he can't do.

Until one day he returned to his hometown, only to find that the mother who had waited for him on the platform years ago was now gray-haired and frail.

Decades have passed in the blink of an eye, everything has changed, yet it seems that nothing has changed at all.

You have to wait and wait to see when the grapes will ripen.

As I pondered, I felt that the light and shadow before my eyes were somewhat chaotic and hazy, as if something was obscuring my vision.

At first, I didn't think much of it and just assumed it was a lighting issue.

But the next moment,

Suddenly, he heard his son's surprised voice:

"Dad, why are you crying?"

……

The song ended.

The last note trembled and dissipated in the air, and the box fell into a brief silence.

At first, everyone was still reeling from the sound and hadn't recovered, so no one spoke.

Wait until the aftereffects wear off...

"Great, well sung!"

"Awesome, Qianzi!!"

Despite the small audience, the applause was still enthusiastic.

Offstage, Zhang Qian clapped her hands until they were red, and Chen Yufei even punched Lu Qian on the shoulder.

"Kenko! You... uh..."

Chen Yufei was about to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he didn't know how to express them.

Finally, he managed to squeeze out, "What a waste of my talent! All I can do is 'fuck'!"

Then, with a hint of complaint, she said, "Well, Qianzi, I've known you for so long, how come I never knew you had these skills?"

"Developing formulas, creating original hit songs... and keeping it all a secret from your buddies, are they even brothers anymore?!"

He felt that his understanding of his brothers had been completely refreshed tonight.

The Lu Qian before me was unfamiliar, yet he hadn't lost the familiar look I once knew.

But it seems to look even better now than before.

Actually, I didn't deliberately hide it from you.

Lu Qian laughed and said, "I just know a little more than you, it's normal that you don't know."

"Damn, what a show-off you are!" Chen Yufei punched him again.

At this moment, Shen Xinyi also came over.

The girl stood in front of Lu Qian, tilting her head back, her eyes sparkling in the light: "Lu Qian, how did you come up with the idea to write such a song? It feels like when you sing this song, you're not just singing about yourself, but also about the stories of many people."

Her voice was soft, with a hint of inquiry, as if she had forgotten that she had just whispered something to the boy on stage that only she could hear.

"Yes, that's true."

Looking into the girl's clear eyes, Lu Qian smiled and said, "Actually, this song can't really be considered my creation. This song is more like a collection of many people and things that I've seen and heard."

"In real life, there are many people like this who leave familiar places and go to work hard in faraway places for their dreams and responsibilities."

"The hardships along the way, the struggles in my heart, and the determination to persevere through gritted teeth are all real. I just tried to turn them into a song."

The song "Leaving Home for Thousands of Miles" was released by Phoenix Legend in 2025. When it was released, someone promoted it, and one of the promotional slogans was "A song created by the people".

This song, created by the people, has truly touched the hearts of countless people.

Although this song is about a wanderer, it represents not just one wanderer, but countless wanderers.

Rather than calling them wanderers, it's more accurate to say they are everyone who has ever left their hometown to make a living elsewhere.

Therefore, when this song was released, it instantly resonated with countless people who had left their hometowns, and it remained very popular until Lu Qian's time travel.

True art often touches people's hearts with its simple and genuine emotions.

"The highest art comes from the people, and that statement is absolutely true."

Hearing Lu Qian's words, Chen Jianye, sitting on the sofa, sighed, "Little Lu, your song has touched the hearts of many people, including this old man like me..."

"Come on, let me toast you!"

He raised his glass, gestured towards Lu Qian, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Haha, cheers!"

Lu Qian also toasted, and then said, "Let's continue. This time I'll be the banker."

"good!"

The bottle spins again, and the game continues.

But in the following rounds of the game, everyone played much more gently, and the punishments were all harmless jokes or truths.

After several rounds, Lu Qian felt a bit of bloating in his lower abdomen.

I guess I drank too much tonight and that's when inspiration struck.

He put down his cup and whispered to Zhang Qian beside him, "I'm going to the restroom."

He then got up and walked towards the door of the private room.

Not long after Lu Qian left, Chen Yufei also felt the urge to use the restroom.