Chapter 16: For the Rest of Our Lives, Love Freedom on My Behalf
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Tang Xu grasped his guitar with one hand, stepping lightly toward the stage. The long road ahead had never been a solitary journey. Even when moving against the current, someone was always behind him—if only holding a faint glimmer—to illuminate the starry path beneath his feet. They were shouting: “Tang Xu, keep going!”
Some see through the mundane world, glimpse the secrets of the heavens, break free from their chains, and rush toward freedom. Who says nothing can last forever? Where the heart leads, even if the soul decays, the yearning endures through lifetimes. Passion can outlast time itself.
Tang Xu raised his guitar, lifting his entire dream with it. “For the rest of my life, keep loving freedom on my behalf.”
At twenty, Tang Xu dared to fight and forge ahead, chasing his dreams in the prime of his youth. The past was the past; he could not reclaim his twenty-year-old self, but twenty-seven-year-old Tang Xu was far from inferior. Even if life had worn down his edges, even as his dream drifted further away, if given a chance, he would dare to sing with all his might once again, just like when he was twenty.
There was always a pure place in his heart, a homecoming for his twenty-year-old self.
He sang quietly by the edge of the stage, a lively tune. His raised hand waved gently again and again.
The audience below was seemingly packed to the brim.
Two fans pulled out a large banner from a small backpack. As they stretched it open, it was covered with countless signatures. The largest characters read: “Wishing Tang Xu’s concert a complete success.”
Some familiar IDs appeared among them.
The night wind stirred the banner, which hovered firmly in the air.
Those who couldn’t come, those who could never come, were all remembering him in their own way.
Tang Xu’s eyes glistened with tears.
“Sorry! I couldn’t become what you wanted me to be.” He had never reached the pinnacle of fame; all these years of modest popularity were just that—modest. A moment’s inattention might erase him from the entertainment world altogether.
A young girl in the crowd pulled out an old poster.
“We wanted so much for you to become famous, for more and more people to like you. We hoped you’d get more roles, earn more money, land more endorsements. But if all of that requires burning your life away, we’d rather have never met you at all.”
...
“You are the obstacle that others say hinders our studies, yet you are the brightest rainbow in our dull youth.”
...
“I’ve saved every penny and traveled over ten hours by hard-seat train just to see your show. Waiting outside the studio in the cold night wind at dawn. Watching you walk past, carrying starlight. You can’t see me in the audience, but you see the thousands and thousands of me out there.”
...
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“Years later, I have a job, a family, children... a stable income enough to see any concert I want. But I no longer have the endurance to endure long journeys or the courage to go see you like I did at seventeen or eighteen.”
...
Tang Shuo, a grown man, clutched Xu Zhiting’s uniform and cried uncontrollably. Xu Zhiting looked at him with disdain and turned away.
“If you dare wipe your snot and tears on my clothes, you’ll be sweeping the building for a week.”
Tang Shuo immediately turned, hugging the chair armrest, continuing to wipe his tears.
“It’s really too emotional! I can’t help it.”
The golden microphone, shimmering and radiant, carried blessings from Tang Xu’s hands to every direction.
Tonight’s sky was especially beautiful, with a shooting star streaking across.
Yan Ye seemed to sense something. She stretched out her palm, facing upward. A crystal-clear tear fell into her heart.
She slowly clenched her fist, gathering the tear.
Every one of her actions was watched by Xu Zhiting not far away.
Tang Xu’s last wish had been fulfilled.
...
“Damn, we’re trending!”
After sending the fans off on the bus, Tang Shuo jumped up excitedly from his chair, waving his phone at everyone.
Xu Zhiting walked over and snatched the phone from him.
“What trending?”
#QingshanCemeteryPhenomenon#
#CemeteryGlowing#
#RealGraveyardDisco#
#GhostWall#
...
Tang Shuo was thrilled. Although this mission yielded no tangible results, he had witnessed something grand!
On the way back, he eagerly shared with Xu Zhiting.
“Yan Ye is really beautiful.”
“Do you think she really is what the rumors say—someone from the underworld?”
“Then wouldn’t she be a goddess?”
“Is it true she’s incredibly powerful? Has she really lived for thousands of years?”
“Boss, have you ever been to the Time General Store?”
...
Xu Zhiting sat in the back seat, closing his eyes to rest, annoyed by the noise.
“You want to try? Then go die. Not everyone gets the chance to go there. And save some money; you won’t be able to afford it otherwise.”
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“Boss, how do you know so much?”
The topic stalled there. No matter how much Tang Shuo pressed, Xu Zhiting refused to answer.
“Fine then, I’ll ask Miss Yan myself.”
“Ask Yan?” The person in the back seat opened his eyes, fixing a gaze on the driver. “What do you mean by ask her?”
Tang Shuo smiled smugly.
“Of course, I meant asking Miss Yan on WeChat. I just asked her for contact info, thinking she’d refuse. But she was so approachable, no questions asked—just scanned my code and added me.”
Tang Shuo was still explaining when Xu Zhiting’s hand slipped and took the phone.
“Password.”
“Boss, it’s unethical to snoop on someone’s phone without permission.”
“So, I’m asking for your password openly.”
Tang Shuo: Well, that works.
“I’m not interested in the little adult videos on your phone.”
“What? There aren’t any, it’s totally clean,” Tang Shuo said casually, rattling off the password. Xu Zhiting unlocked it and found a chat list with a contact named Yan Ye under the nickname “Backyard Garden.”
There was only one message, a smiley face sent by Tang Shuo. No reply from the other side.
He scrolled through casually and handed the phone back.
“Oh, I thought you’d add Miss Yan as a friend.”
Xu Zhiting crossed his legs, his expression softening a little. “I thought you knew that those on the friend list of the Time General Store’s owner are her future clients.”
Clients?
Most who enter the Time General Store are, after all, the dead.
Tang Shuo’s hands trembled, almost twisting the steering wheel.
“Is it still possible to block her now?”
Xu Zhiting looked down at his phone, typing in the numbers he had memorized a moment ago.
After a brief input, the screen showed no results.
He paused, exhaled softly, a faint look of disappointment in his brows.
Then he called someone from the supernatural PR department within the Agency for Special Abilities, instructing them to block all trending topics related to the cemetery incident and to remove all the hot searches. Any photos taken by passersby, whether useful or not, were to be censored.
Xu Zhiting felt somewhat regretful; he should have mustered the courage to approach her and ask in person earlier.
Just then, Tang Shuo’s car stereo cruelly played a line:
“Why do the latecomers surpass the pioneers? Because the former do not compete or scramble.”