Chapter 16: "When the Wind Rises" — The Lyricist Emerges

“Why can’t I get through!” Li Shuihua stared at the phone, stuck on the dialing screen, on the verge of losing his temper.

Damn it!

Lin Yi, please answer the phone!

I’m begging you!

Forget it, I’ll take someone to his house to find him!

After hanging up on Niu Junjie, Lin Yi immediately called his mother to share the good news.

“Mom.”

“Son, how did the exam go? Did you get into a first-tier university? Don’t worry if you didn’t pass; I see all your hard work,” Wang Xin said earnestly, trying not to discourage Lin Yi.

“Mom, I scored 738.” Lin Yi’s lips involuntarily curved into a smile as he shared his joy with his mother, feeling a bit proud. At this moment, he was like a child who had just achieved a perfect score, holding up his exam paper to his mother, awaiting her praise.

“Really? Son, you’re not lying to me, are you?” Wang Xin asked nervously, afraid she was hearing false news.

“I’m not lying. I really scored 738,” Lin Yi repeated. He could understand his mother’s feelings. His usual scores hovered around 570, and even during the top-tier exam, he barely reached 620.

Is 620 a high score?

Not really. That exam was easy, and over thirty students in his class scored above 620.

“Good, good, good! May the ancestors bless you!” Wang Xin exclaimed excitedly.

“Mom, I was actually the top scorer in this year’s college entrance exam.”

“Top scorer? That’s wonderful! You’ve made me proud,” she said with a smile.

After chatting about the exam results for a while, Lin Yi asked about his father.

“Mom, how’s Dad? Is he feeling better?”

“Much better. Your father woke up and was very happy when he heard about your exam results,” Wang Xin said with a tearful smile.

“That’s good.”

“Mom, did you receive the 800,000 yuan I transferred to your card two days ago?”

“Yes, that money… was it from your songwriting?”

“Yes, you and Dad don’t need to worry about me. I can cover my own tuition.”

“My son has grown up,” Wang Xin said, feeling both comforted and a little wistful.

“Mom, don’t skimp on that money. Use it to take care of your health, especially Dad,” Lin Yi earnestly advised. His parents had spent their whole lives saving and never enjoyed much comfort; now that he had the means, he wanted them to live well.

“I understand, son.”

“All right, that’s all for now.” Hearing a knock at the door, Lin Yi glanced over and spoke.

“Okay.”

“Your son really scored 738? That’s incredible!” a woman around Wang Xin’s age said from inside the hospital room.

“I don’t know either. He said he was the top scorer in Hunan Province this year,” Wang Xin replied, thrilled to hear such praise for her son.

“What’s your son’s name? To raise such a fine boy, you must be a wonderful mother.”

“Yes, indeed, a wonderful mother.”

…

“Oh, no, I don’t know much about studying; he’s self-motivated,” Wang Xin said modestly.

“Maybe your son is lying. The exam was so hard this year; scoring 738 is nearly impossible!” a jealous, sneering voice sounded from the room.

Not long ago, this man had been hospitalized after a drunk driving accident.

Just a few days into treatment, he received devastating news: his useless son had scored only 213 on the exam.

Hearing this, he nearly fainted.

213?

Even with his eyes closed, he would have scored better!

In his disappointment and frustration, hearing that the neighboring son scored 738 and seeing everyone congratulating them—how could he stand it?

He spoke up in rebuttal.

At the same time, he secretly vowed that once his leg healed, he would beat that good-for-nothing son to vent his anger!

No amount of persuasion from the “tigress” mother would work!

“Hey, why are you talking like that? You must be jealous,” an older woman retorted.

“Exactly, you’re just jealous.”

“Can exam scores be faked?”

…

Others quickly chimed in agreement.

Outnumbered, the man wisely shut his mouth.

Inwardly, he muttered, “A good man doesn’t fight with women.”

“That worthless son has shamed me; I won’t let him off!”

Beep beep beep!

“Hello? Why are you calling?” Xue Xiong said gloomily, seeing the caller ID. How dare that kid call him now? Didn’t he know his father was still angry?

“Old man, I’m planning to hang out with classmates. Can you send me a few thousand?”

“Get lost!” Xue Xiong shouted, veins bulging.

Click!

He threw the phone aside.

Why hadn’t he smashed the kid against the wall back then?

Having this troublemaker only made him angrier.

Noticing the stares around him, Xue Xiong’s face turned awkward. He sighed and helplessly said, “My son scored only 213 on the exam and still asks me for money to go out. Sorry if I’m in a bad mood.”

“By the way, what’s your son’s name? I’ll sponsor his university tuition from now on. I have high hopes for him.”

…

“No need,” Wang Xin quickly declined upon hearing this.

She added with relief, “Lin Yi can earn his own tuition. To be honest, he even paid most of his father’s medical bills.”

Everyone was stunned, exchanging glances.

One couldn’t help but ask, “Where does your son earn so much money?”

From what she had learned, the man’s medical expenses weren’t cheap.

A high school student earning that much?

It was hard to believe.

“Oh, it’s from songwriting. What was the song called?” Wang Xin tried to recall.

Everyone looked at her expectantly, even more impressed that he wrote songs.

“Right, it’s called ‘When the Wind Rises,’” Wang Xin said, slapping her palm confidently.

‘When the Wind Rises’? Damn, why does that sound so familiar?

Xue Xiong heard the song’s name and felt he had heard it somewhere.

Thinking carefully, his eyes lit up. Damn, that was the song his idol Hu sang a few days ago!

As a devoted fan of Hu, Xue Xiong followed every update about him.

Wait, what did she say her son’s name was?

Lin Yi?

Checking the lyricist and composer of ‘When the Wind Rises,’ it was indeed Lin Yi!

How amazing!

The person who wrote this song was just a student?

Had he uncovered a big scoop?

Thinking this, Xue Xiong immediately posted on Weibo: “The lyricist and composer of ‘When the Wind Rises’ is a student! And the top scorer in Hunan Province’s college entrance exam this year! Am I right? (smirk)”

He also tagged Hu and others.

As for his son’s troubles, they were pushed far from his mind.

Was his son more important than Hu?

Hmph, there was no comparison!

“Hey, homeroom teacher, what brings you here? Please come in,” Lin Yi said, surprised to see the teacher, followed by a few unfamiliar faces.

You think I want to come? Li Shuihua grumbled silently.

“Lin Yi, this is the admissions officer from Beida, this is the one from Tsinghua, this is from Zhejiang University, and this one is…”