Chapter Sixty: The New Song—"Someone Special"

“Master Modi’s handmade guitar!”

“Wow! Ponyo, you’re spoiling him! Did this guy put some kind of spell on you?”

Su Murou was utterly shocked.

Master Modi?

Chen Fang thought for a moment.

Finally, he remembered! He had indeed heard this name before—during the second round of the auditions, when Cheng Jie performed on stage, the piano he used was also crafted by Master Modi, with an identical signature on it.

Chen Fang didn’t know much about Modi.

But judging from the audience’s reaction at the time, the barrage of comments, and now Su Murou’s expression, Chen Fang could easily imagine how valuable this gift was.

“It’s too much.”

“I can’t accept it.”

Chen Fang shook his head.

He had no particular interest in collecting instruments, so to Chen Fang, this guitar was no different from a regular one worth a few hundred yuan at a music shop.

Chen Fang wasn’t someone to make a fuss.

With the relationship he now shared with Ji Mei, accepting a gift was perfectly normal.

But this present was clearly a lavish one, and Ji Mei was currently unemployed, with no income to speak of. Under these circumstances, Chen Fang simply couldn’t accept it.

Ji Mei seemed to guess what he was thinking, and her smile was gentle and serene. “I bought it from a private collector. It’s just a secondhand guitar, not very expensive. As an artist, you ought to have an instrument with some weight to it.”

Su Murou curled her lips but said nothing.

It was true that the guitar was secondhand.

After all—

Master Modi no longer handcrafted instruments, so the remaining ones in circulation were pretty much all being traded back and forth among collectors.

But to say it wasn’t expensive—that was a lie.

Rarity breeds value!

Especially after Master Modi publicly announced his retirement and stopped making instruments, any piece crafted by his hand fetched sky-high prices on the market. And those with his personal signature—those were nearly impossible to obtain, regardless of how much money one had.

Su Murou scrutinized Chen Fang carefully.

Just by the weight of this gift alone, she could sense his place in Ji Mei’s heart.

Chen Fang wasn’t a child—he could detect the obvious fib in Ji Mei’s words. But looking into her hopeful eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her outright. “I’ll accept this gift, but let’s not make a habit of it. Next time, just buy me some clothes or something.”

At this, Ji Mei’s smile grew even brighter.

Su Murou sighed inwardly.

It’s over! Her best friend had truly fallen into the whirlpool of love, her IQ plummeting to zero.

She never would have guessed—

Her own best friend was a hopeless romantic.

The money for this guitar alone had probably cost Ji Mei half her savings—or maybe even more.

Chen Fang was deeply moved.

This silly girl truly loved him to the core.

“Thank you.”

He set the guitar down and gently pulled Ji Mei into his arms.

At this, Su Murou huffed from the side, “Hey! I’m still here, you know!”

Ji Mei laughed and gave Chen Fang’s chest a light tap before he let her go.

“Sing us a song.”

“Ponyo bought you such a pricey guitar, singing a song isn’t too much to ask, right?” Su Murou’s beautiful eyes shone with anticipation.

Ji Mei shot her a glare. She’d just tried to steer the conversation away from the price, and now her friend had brought it up again.

Chen Fang grinned, picked up the guitar, and strummed a few notes. The sound quality was excellent—the guitar wouldn’t need tuning or repairs for at least a year or two. “Does my Ponyo want to hear a song? As it happens, I just finished writing a new one.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Mei’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“I’d love to hear it.”

Chen Fang ruffled her silky hair and walked toward the sofa.

This song needed no professional studio.

A single guitar would suffice.

Ji Mei and Su Murou huddled together, their four long, slender legs folded neatly on the couch, eyes brimming with expectation.

Ji Mei trusted Chen Fang’s singing implicitly—she’d never doubted him.

Su Murou, on the other hand, was simply curious. She wanted to see if this pretty boy was really worthy of her Ponyo’s devotion.

Chen Fang’s fingers danced lightly.

The guitar strings trembled softly.

A gentle, lyrical melody began to flow.

The prelude was tender,

Drawing everyone instantly into a mood of warmth and peace.

“To love someone may take generosity,
If you only wish to be loved,
Soon there will be nothing left to say.
There must be sincerity between us,
Not seeking balanced scores,
There will always be joy and heartache,
We must accept the rises and falls of life.”

It was a love song!

But not one of those mournful, melancholy ballads. This was a gentle, soothing tune, every note sweetly flowing into the listener’s heart.

Chen Fang gazed at Ji Mei with tenderness in his eyes.

Ji Mei returned his look just as deeply.

Su Murou’s lips parted in awe.

How beautiful!

When she took breaks from filming, her favorite pastime was listening to music. But most love songs on the market were too filled with the bitterness of the forlorn, lacking any sense of sweetness—she’d never been fond of those lifeless, sorrowful ballads.

And, of course,

There was another thing—

Chen Fang’s voice was just so magnetic.

When he spoke, he merely sounded pleasant, with a hint of richness. But once he began to sing, all the casual, devil-may-care bravado vanished; his eyes softened, his features relaxed, and the emotions flowing from his voice were perfectly attuned. Su Murou could find not a single flaw.

Some people…

Their speaking and singing voices are truly two different selves.

“So handsome!”

“So beautiful!”

Stars sparkled in Su Murou’s eyes.

“Now I really want to date a man who can sing.”

Su Murou was a staunch non-believer in marriage.

But that didn’t mean she was against falling in love.

Especially now, watching Chen Fang, a long-dormant flutter of longing slowly awakened within her.

But quickly—

A sense of dejection settled over her.

Chen Fang already had Ji Mei.

To find another man as handsome as him, with such a beautiful voice, was nearly impossible.

Unwittingly,

Su Murou found herself feeling a bit envious of Ji Mei.

Her best friend had spent over twenty years single, nearly thirty and yet, she had found such a perfect boyfriend. It was enough to stir anyone’s jealousy.

Admittedly,

The feel of this guitar was exquisite.

To the uninitiated, it might sound no different from a regular guitar, but in truth, its value was justified. And now, from the bottom of his heart, Chen Fang would never forget the name Modi—a true master of handcrafted instruments.

“We are each other’s special one,
Giving our all, inseparably bound,
Not just ordinary devotion.
If love were only for a day,
Let every moment pass in reverse,
For life holds infinite possibilities,
And you are the special one I was meant to meet.”

Chen Fang gradually lost himself in the song. This melody had always lived in his mind; he hadn’t needed to buy it from the system, nor try his luck with a song box.

His memory held many love songs.

Once, these had been his tools of flirtation as he wandered from one romance to another.

But back then,

He sang only for the sport of it—never with his heart, only with his charm.

Now, though,

He truly wanted to sing this song for Ji Mei.

Because—

She was the special one he had met.

No one could compare to her!

After so many years as the head of an entertainment company back on Earth, Chen Fang had never once considered settling down. The world was too dazzling, beautiful women too plentiful—he owed it to his hard-won success to enjoy life to the fullest.

But here,

After meeting Ji Mei,

For the first time, Chen Fang felt a longing for home and family.