I am a Big Player

Chapter 33: 33, You Who Plucks Stars_1 Chapter 33: 33, You Who Plucks Stars_1 Chapter 21 was owed, and even for Ren He with his typing speed, it was a bit overwhelming. It ultimately took four days to settle all the debts. By the time he finished, someone in the crowd teased, “Kid, when are you going to play games again?!”

Play your sister, I’m about to play myself to death…

However, with more frequent updates, naturally there were more rewards, and the number of subscriptions was growing at a monstrous pace.

After a major promotion push, the average subscriptions for the divine book soared to 15,000, and because of this godly battle, its influence was also on the rise; it was a virtuous cycle.

Now, at last, I could relax a bit, as the divine battle came to a close.

Xu Nuo, sitting next to him, looked at his face, “Why do you look so haggard…”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” Ren He rolled his eyes and wrote a little note to Yang Xi: Want me to sing The Brightest Star in the Night Sky for you tonight?

Yang Xi was a bit surprised as she wrote back: Sure, let’s walk home together after school!

Xu Nuo watched the two of them passing notes with a suspicious look. When did these two start interacting so frequently? Since Yang Xi transferred to the school, she quickly became well-known due to her outstanding looks and temperament. But in 2005, middle school students weren’t as overt in pursuing girls; if they did, it was only a few—most just watched from a distance.

Of course, there were times when she received love letters, which sometimes led Ren He to loiter at the classroom door for no reason, accepting neatly folded letters with a message: “Please pass this to Yang Xi of your class.”

Ren He would agree to do so right in front of them and then casually toss the letters into the trash. Xu Nuo hesitated a bit, “Isn’t it a bit wrong to do this?”

Ren He gave him a glance and ignored him.

When school was over, Xu Nuo called him to go home together, as their homes were on the same path.

“You go ahead,” Ren He waved his hand and headed towards the school gate. Xu Nuo was curious, then watched as Ren He met up with Yang Xi and went off in the direction of her house…

Xu Nuo felt like he’d been struck in the heart—those two…

Yang Xi took Ren He back to her place. At that time, her father wasn’t home yet. She grabbed her guitar and led Ren He up to the rooftop.

The family building where Yang Xi lived was an old-style one. To get to the rooftop, one had to climb up a ladder from the top floor. Yang Xi initially planned to go up first but then said with a flushed face, “You go first.”

“Okay,” Ren He agreed cheerfully. Today Yang Xi was wearing a skirt; he had thought she wasn’t aware of it…

Autumn had already set in, and although Yang Xi was wearing leggings under her skirt, it was still awkward for her to have a boy beneath her as she climbed up the ladder. Once on the rooftop, Yang Xi gathered her skirt and sat quietly there, her hair fluttering gently with the wind. This was probably the girl of Ren He’s dreams.

To relive youth and passion, of course, there had to be a dreamy girl!

Yang Xi smiled, “I’ll play the guitar for you. I want to hear how the creator of this song interprets it.”

When it was time to sing, Ren He was still a bit nervous. The rewards from the Divine Punishment System were miraculous, and he had tried singing and indeed it sounded better, but in front of the girl he liked, it was still unavoidably awkward.

However, as the prelude played by Yang Xi’s guitar softly flowed out, Ren He quieted down. He remembered the first time he heard this song, back when he was proudly young and had just faced a setback. He listened to this song countless times, as if someone was truly giving him an embrace in the dark night.

Yes, this song wasn’t one of sadness. It was the tears of fervor shed in loneliness, turning crystal clear in the moonlight, while that person waited under the moon, gently strumming a guitar!

“The Brightest Star in the Night Sky, can you hear it clearly.”

“The people who look up, their hearts filled with loneliness and sighs.”

For some reason, Ren He’s deep singing voice was a perfect fit, that hint of emotion in his voice pierced through Yang Xi’s heart in an instant.

Ren He seemed a bit lonely.

Loneliness is gentle, solitude is strong. Yang Xi could feel the strong and hard core within Ren He’s heart, which he rarely opened up to anyone.

When Ren He first heard this song, he was in the company, engaged in a cutthroat struggle. Having just left school, he quickly adapted to his role, displaying a cunning and endurance beyond his peers in the process of self-protection; and in the end, he won.

However, sometimes victory isn’t really a win. Once, after drinking too much with an old friend, Ren He said with a pale smile, “From now on, I dare not call myself a good person anymore.”

What is the definition of a good person? Ren He did not know himself.

“I pray for a transparent soul, and eyes that can cry.”

“Give me the courage to believe again, to cross over lies and embrace you.”

When Ren He sang up to this point, Yang Xi suddenly felt as if he really wanted to embrace her, and that she had indeed been wrapped in his singing.

As the song ended, Yang Xi was silent for a long time. She suddenly wanted to give Ren He a hug but held back. She smiled and said, “I didn’t expect you to sing so well. Moreover, after listening to you, I feel my understanding of this song is indeed lacking.”

Ren He was stunned for a moment. Was this considered showing off successfully… He pulled out a piece of letter paper from his pocket and handed it to Yang Xi.

Yang Xi was somewhat surprised. What was this, another song, or… a love letter? If it was another song, it was really hard for her to believe he could produce so much, but if it was a love letter, she hesitated whether she should accept it…

Her father was a diplomat, and after her parents divorced, she stayed with her father, so she had been to many places since she was young, including accompanying her father abroad. Thus, her perspective was broad, and she was aware of the things between boys and girls, and she was more mature than one might expect.

She had seen many unique boys, like the football prodigies or the teenagers who received job offers from software companies at 14, or those hedonistic heirs from the Capital. Yet, she always felt Ren He in front of her seemed even more unique. This feeling was baseless, purely intuition. And after seeing those boys, she never had any special thoughts, just admiring them as friends.

Undoubtedly, she took a liking to Ren He, just like the song he had just sung; he seemed to have become the brightest star in the night sky. But… it felt too fast.

Ultimately, she took the piece of letter paper, opened it, and saw another verse: South of South Mountain.

“Is this a new piece you’ve written?!” Yang Xi’s heart settled when she saw it wasn’t a love letter, yet, as she tried humming the song, she found it once again successfully captured her!

“Let’s just say it is,” Ren He chuckled, “You can familiarize yourself with the score first, and I’ll sing it for you when I have time.”

“Have you ever thought about becoming a singer?” Yang Xi asked, “I can’t take this score, it’s too precious. You sing so beautifully, why don’t you sing these songs yourself? With your talent, you could definitely succeed.”

“I have more important things to do,” Ren He said calmly, his ambition lay elsewhere.

Yang Xi’s eyes sparkled as she suddenly smiled and said, “Fine, then how about you write me ten songs, and I’ll release an album?”

“Ha ha, no problem,” that was an easy request to fulfill, just damn ten tasks… He absolutely couldn’t waver when pursuing a girl!

“What shall we name the album then?” Yang Xi mused, “Since you’re writing the songs, you should name it, right?”

“You Who Plucks Stars.”