Mu Shuang, sitting on the edge of the rooftop of a residential building not far away, raised an eyebrow and looked at the man beside her, "Wow, this Inspector Cheng is quite the romantic. Didnât see that coming."
"Oh, really?" Jiang Chuan touched his nose, a bit surprised.
But then he remembered how Cheng Ye urged him to get married and couldnât help but laugh, "Maybe heâs just a bit sentimental. Inspector Cheng is indeed a person rich with emotions, such people have a natural charisma."
But before his voice fell, the melody on stage suddenly shifted, and Cheng Yeâs voice rose vigorously with an unstoppable force:
"Dreams are always so distant, should we just give up?"
"Flowers bloom and fall, another season comes, oh spring, where are you?"
"Youth flows like a river, gone without a goodbye, leaving only a numb me without the passion of those days!"
Wow.
Sincere emotions often ignite the whole scene in a particular moment.
The three elders of the district, originally sitting to one side of the stage, had stood up at some point, and the people watching below had, at some unknown time, lost their smiles, replaced by a complex trembling.
When the song returned to its main melody, Cheng Yeâs voice took on a bit of hoarseness, yet felt even more fervent.
"Lifeâs like a relentless carving knife, changing our appearances..."
"Do I have to wither before I bloom? Iâve had dreams!"
At this moment, the audience below fell completely silent, and the voice carried very far away, very far.
Reaching the edge of Zone B7, reaching into the crowd still squeezing inside.
"Did you record it, did you get it?" On the outskirts of the crowd, several people wearing gray uniforms were holding equipment, one of them speaking in a low, urgency-filled voice.
They were staff from the main broadcasting station, originally there just to join in the demolition ceremony fun, hoping to shoot some community celebration materials, to add some local flavor to the nightâs news broadcast, and incidentally serve as strong material to promote the development of Happiness City each quarter.
Unexpectedly, they stumbled upon such a moving piece of music!
"Got it, got it!" The young staff member beside them quickly raised the equipment, the recording interface on the screen running steadily.
At this moment, there was silence below the stage, no extraneous noise, the recording effect particularly clear.
Every lyric Cheng Ye sang, every vibration of the guitar strings, was recorded completely.
The few of them were slightly excited, the lyrics were so good they could easily be used as the closing song for each nightâs broadcast.
Dreams, isnât this exactly what Happiness City currently lacks!
Unknowingly, the song had reached its end.
Cheng Ye stopped plucking the guitar strings, removed the microphone, glanced around the audience, didnât say anything extra, just slightly lifted his chin and unexpectedly began to sing acapella:
"If there is a tomorrow...bless you, my dear!"
Wow.
A simple ending phrase, without accompaniment, yet it was like a pebble falling into a calm lake, rippling through everyoneâs hearts.
There was a brief silence below, as if everyone was still immersed in the aftertaste of the song.
The next second, thunderous applause abruptly erupted, wave upon wave, mingled with cheers, whistles.
Of course, there was no shortage of excited shouts of, "Eagle, another song!"
Click.
The young staff member from the main broadcasting station couldnât hold back any longer, quickly pressing the camera shutter.
In the lens, the man wearing the Eagle mask held the guitar, his figure tall and upright, slightly bowing to thank, behind him was the cheering crowd and fluttering red banners.
Even though the distance and shaky hands made it a bit blurry, it exuded an indescribable infectious power.
When he wanted to adjust the angle to take a clearer photo, he saw the figure on the stage had already turned around, briskly stepping down with a young man wearing a bear-headed mask, leaving only an empty wooden stage and the still echoing applause.
"What a pity, didnât get a clearer shot." The young staff member looked at the photo in the camera, clicking his tongue with some regret, his fingers repeatedly zooming in on the screen to try to make out the outline beneath the mask.
"Itâs not a pity." The team leader leaned over, glancing at the blurry photo, couldnât help but grin, "Sometimes, those fleeting moments are the most precious, as long as theyâre captured, theyâll become classics!"
"Do you believe it, tomorrow this song will definitely go viral, not only will it spread throughout the Buffer Zone, even at the outer refugee camps, people will hum it."
"Thatâs for sure." The young staff immediately laughed, "With this complete recording, plus this photo, tonightâs broadcast will definitely be memorable! The leaders might even give us a bonus!"
The team leader didnât respond but instead pulled out a notebook and pen from his pocket, quickly writing down a line, "Zone B-7 demolition ceremony unexpected gain, conveying dreams and hope, can serve as core promotional material, key promotion."
In this era of the wasteland needing "faith" as support, a song that can awaken the human heart holds far more power than a hundred empty slogans.
And Cheng Ye, who had already reached the outskirts of the crowd, didnât know his voice was about to spread throughout the Buffer Zone.
He removed the Eagle mask, feeling the residual coolness on his face, took a deep breath.
But the heat in his chest, ignited by the singing, still hadnât dissipated, still burning.
"Brother Cheng, our dream is accomplished!" Wang Kang caught up, "So this was what it feels like, itâs amazing, Iâll never forget it for the rest of my life!"
"Forgot again? This is just the beginning, the start of the next dream."
"Right! The start of the next dream!" Wang Kang immediately realized, nodding vigorously.
The two exchanged a smile.
"So, Brother Cheng, what exactly is our next dream?"
"Hmm..." Cheng Ye paused, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards Dapo Town, "No rush, Iâll tell you when we get home!"
...