Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

The chill of early winter is gradually deepening.

Ever since returning from the class reunion at the Beijing Film Academy, the melody and the silent regrets of those adults had been lingering in Lin Yuan's mind like a tidal wave. He sat in front of his computer, his fingers dancing across the keyboard, gradually finalizing and perfecting the initial draft of the lyrics and music for "Young and Promising," before handing it over to the production team at Tianxing Entertainment for arrangement and recording.

Meanwhile, in the living room at the same time, Gu Zhiwan was nestled on a soft sofa, with a recently viral urban romance drama playing on the television.

The male protagonist, Chen Zhou, was penniless when he first came to Beijing to pursue his dreams. He lived in a damp and cramped basement, surviving on instant noodles and multiple odd jobs. The female protagonist, Su Wan, stayed by his side through countless long, dark nights when all hope seemed lost. The two squeezed into a tiny rented room of just over ten square meters. Despite their poverty, they would share a bowl of hot beef noodles after receiving their wages, dreaming of a brighter future.

However, after enduring the toughest times, when Chen Zhou seized the opportunities of the era and worked his way up to become a senior executive in the company with his business acumen, gaining wealth, status, and fame, the relationship between the two quietly changed.

In the daily grind, the warmth of the past has been worn away by indifference.

A week later, in the next scene, Chen Zhou, now successful and in a high position, sits alone in front of the spacious, luxurious floor-to-ceiling windows. The night is as dark as ink, and outside the window, the neon lights of countless homes glitter. His secretary knocks, enters, places an elegant envelope on the table, and then leaves.

Chen Zhou picked up the envelope and opened it.

It was a wedding invitation with gold foil stamping.

Sender: Su Wan.

The inside of the invitation featured a wedding photo of Su Wan and another man, their smiles gentle and happy.

Chen Zhou stared blankly at the photograph, his fingertips trembling slightly. He silently opened a drawer, took out a cigarette, and lit it. In the bluish-white smoke, he smoked one cigarette after another until the ashtray filled to the brim, making the tabletop a mess.

He spent the first half of his life working hard to finally obtain all the material wealth he had promised the girl back then, but the person who had shared his hardships and understood him best would never return to his side.

As soon as the series ended, the hashtag #ChenZhouWeddingInvitation# shot to the top of Weibo's trending topics at lightning speed, with countless viewers flooding the bullet comments and comment sections to express their lingering sense of injustice.

Just as millions of viewers were immersed in the sadness of the story, major mainstream music platforms released Lin Yuan's latest digital single, "Young and Promising".

The prelude, with its slightly melancholic piano melody, instantly draws the listener into an atmosphere reminiscent of a late-night monologue.

Then, the gentle yet deeply moving lyrics flowed out:

The TV keeps flashing, and I haven't deleted my contact information yet.

I mistakenly destroyed the kindness you showed me.

We once thought about having a place to sleep and eat together.

……

If I were young and accomplished and not self-conscious

Knowing what is precious

Those beautiful dreams weren't given to you

I have lived a life of regret.

If I had been young and capable, I would have known when to advance and when to retreat.

I won't let you suffer for me.

Drink a few more glasses at the wedding

"And your current partner..."

"Holy crap?! These lyrics are a perfect match for the plot of that last episode of the TV series!"

"Did the production team secretly get Lin Yuan to write the OST but not officially announce it? The lyrics are practically a description of Chen Zhou!"

"'Drink a few more drinks at the wedding, with your current partner'... Oh my god, this is killing me! Director, come out here, did you use this song as a storyboard for the script?!"

On short video platforms, dozens of fan-made videos with millions of views emerged in less than an hour. Countless netizens spontaneously edited clips of the chorus of "Young and Promising" into the scene of "Chen Zhou looking at invitations and smoking late at night," creating an overwhelming sense of fragmentation.

The song's comment section received over 100,000 messages in just a few hours.

Someone typed a long message in the comments section: "Back then, she lived with me in a basement, and I vowed to give her a good life. Later, I became rich, and my company went public, but she was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer and passed away. After listening to this song, I sat in my car and cried like a fool. The price of being successful at a young age is truly enormous."

Another person commented: "It reminds me of the girl in college who had eyes for me. I blame myself for being too strong-willed and insecure back then, and I lost her. Now, even though I'm worth millions, she's not the one sleeping next to me."

Many people lamented the cruel twist of fate in the comments section.

In just 24 hours, "Young and Promising" swept the top spot on both the new song chart and the hot song chart on major music platforms, with its play count skyrocketing exponentially.

Faced with the overwhelming speculation and rumors online that "Lin Yuan tailored an OST for a hit drama," Lin Yuan himself posted a very simple clarification on Weibo: "No. The inspiration for the creation came from a regret in life that I saw at a class reunion recently. It was purely coincidental. Thank you everyone for liking it."

The official account of the popular drama also joined in the interaction, reposting Lin Yuan's Weibo post and jokingly commenting, "It can only be said that excellent souls always connect with each other."

Just as the whirlwind of "Young and Promising" was causing a sensation in the pop music scene, another even more significant piece of news exploded throughout the cultural world the following morning.

The winners of the most prestigious annual Chinese literature awards in the country have been officially announced in major official media outlets and literary publications.

Lin Yuan's novel "To Live" unsurprisingly won the highest award for novels at this year's competition.

The competition's judging panel gave the highest award citation: "This work depicts the resilience and dignity of ordinary people against the backdrop of a great era, and profoundly and powerfully questions the ultimate question of 'living' itself. It is a masterpiece of realism with epoch-making significance."

The news caused an instant uproar in literary and publishing circles.

Established literary magazines such as Harvest were quick to publish congratulatory articles, and major mainstream media outlets rushed to report on it. The official Weibo accounts of Writers Publishing House and Tianxing Entertainment were instantly flooded with congratulatory messages from fans and industry insiders.

Looking at the press release, Old Chen shook his head with deep emotion: "At first, I was worried that the ending would be too tragic and I would be criticized by readers. Now it seems that truly vibrant writing never needs to compromise with the market."

Zhou Zixuan, Qian Zhuangzhuang, Su Zhiyuan, and other old friends from the Beijing Film Academy also shared Lin Yuan's new song and award news on their respective social media platforms. Zhou Zixuan even posted a message on his WeChat Moments, saying: "Back in school, Lao Lin was no ordinary person. Now it seems that he wrote songs and books for all the things we couldn't say out loud."

Late at night, on the rooftop terrace of Tianxing Entertainment Studio.

A cool night breeze blew, and the city lights shone brightly.

Lin Yuan held a glass of warm water, leaned against the railing, and looked at the song comments and award news that kept refreshing on his phone screen.

Gu Zhiwan walked over, gently draped a coat over his shoulders, and leaned into his arms, softly laughing, "Your song is a hit, you've won awards, and now the whole country is talking about you, Writer Lin. What are your thoughts?"

Lin Yuan held her hand, his gaze falling on the bustling and noisy city traffic in the distance, his expression calm and gentle.

"I don't have any particular thoughts." Lin Yuan smiled and put down his water glass. "Whether it's the regrets sung about in songs or the life described in books, what moves people is never me, the writer, but the real traces left by millions of ordinary people through the years."