Chapter Thirteen: A Profound Conversation

“Meow~” Just as Zhou Miao was slurping his noodles, Milk Candy seemed to hear the commotion. Poking its head out from upstairs, the kitten spotted Zhou Miao and dashed over, bounding and leaping, before climbing up his trouser leg and settling on his shoulder, rubbing affectionately under his chin.

Zhou Miao chuckled, scratching its little head. “Missed me, didn’t you?”

“These days you were away, it stayed in your room all day, barely touching its food. Poor thing,” Hong Xue remarked.

Cradling the cat in one arm and eating noodles with the other, Zhou Miao mused, “What am I going to do when I go to university out of province? Maybe I should take Milk Candy with me, rent a place off-campus instead of living in the dorm.”

Zhou Ye snorted, “Aren’t you thinking far ahead? With your grades, you think you’ll get into university? Let me tell you, if you don’t get in, you’ll keep taking the exams until you’re eighty if you have to!”

Hong Xue chided Zhou Ye with a gentle slap, “Let him finish his meal first before you start in on him.”

Sated, Zhou Miao collapsed bonelessly onto the sofa. The moment he returned home, he felt utterly at ease; the exhaustion of travel washed over him, and he yawned repeatedly.

Lin Yanan went to the kitchen to do the dishes—her own initiative, unwilling to be idle while staying here. Hong Xue had tried to dissuade her a few times, but eventually just let her be.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ye and Hong Xue gathered around the director, asking for details. Zhou Ye passed him a cigarette and asked, “Weren’t you supposed to be in a rural village in Yunnan for a month? How come you’re back in less than two weeks?”

The director accepted the cigarette with a smile. “Actually, Zhou Miao should never have been sent to the transformation program in the first place.”

Hong Xue was puzzled. “What do you mean? We’ve spoiled him since he was little, and now it feels almost too late to discipline him. Whatever we say goes in one ear and out the other. We agreed to the show just to let him suffer a bit.”

“That’s understandable. Zhou Miao’s academic performance may not be great, but he’s incredibly gifted in music. I don’t know if you’ve talked to him seriously before, but after these days with him, I see a very mature, purposeful young man. In Yunnan, I brought in a music expert, intending to knock his confidence down a peg, so he wouldn’t aim so high. Unexpectedly, the expert spoke very highly of him. In piano alone, Zhou Miao is already at a performance level.”

Even after several days, just recalling that breathtaking piano duel, the director still felt goosebumps all over.

Hong Xue was uncertain. “The piano teachers we found for him before said the same, but we thought they were just being polite. Still, being good at piano isn’t all that useful, is it?”

The director shook his head. “With his skill, he could absolutely take the art college entrance exams. If he catches up a bit academically, there’s no problem getting into the best music academies in the country.”

“Art exams? Is that really viable? Even if he graduates from a music academy, it’s hard to find a job, isn’t it?” The couple’s voices betrayed their doubts.

“Don’t worry about that,” the director reassured them. “I haven’t known Zhou Miao long, but I really admire him. So young, yet so talented. Before he left my show, he sang a song he’d written himself—it left me stunned. He was born for this!”

“Really? Ha ha, you flatter him too much,” Zhou Ye replied, suddenly sitting up straight with pride.

The director, full of envy, said, “I’m honestly curious—how did you raise him? My own kid is about fifteen or sixteen, but he’s not sharp at all—bad grades, no other skills. It drives me mad.”

Hong Xue thought for a moment. “Honestly, we didn’t do much. Our Xiao Miao has always been independent. Learning music was his own choice. We just hired a few teachers, and after that we hardly had to worry.”

Zhou Ye interjected with a wry smile, “But sometimes he’s too independent. Once he sets his mind on something, there’s no persuading him. I don’t know where he gets that from.”

The director waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. There are many paths to success—you might really end up with a pop star in the family! Anyway, I’ve brought your son home. I need to get back—the shoot’s still ongoing.”

“Thank you for making the trip. Take care on your way.”

After seeing the director off, Hong Xue turned to find Zhou Miao so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. She nudged him with her foot, “Go take a shower before bed—look how filthy you are!”

Rubbing his eyes, Zhou Miao replied, “Alright, I’ll shower first. But don’t wake me for breakfast tomorrow—I want to sleep in. I’ve been up early working every day lately and haven’t rested at all.” Saying this, he carried Milk Candy upstairs.

“You lazy thing,” Hong Xue chased after him and tapped his head.

Curiously, he’d been exhausted a moment ago, but after his shower, Zhou Miao felt much more refreshed. Lying in bed, stroking the cat, he scrolled through the recent messages on his phone.

As soon as he opened WeChat, a flood of notifications popped up. Skipping over the messages from female classmates with less-than-innocent intentions, he entered a four-person group chat called “Countdown Band.”

He formed this band in his first year of high school with other second-year students, though they attended different schools. As graduation would soon send them their separate ways, they named themselves the Countdown Band.

Zhou Miao served as lead guitarist, vocalist, and financial backer—the rehearsal space was rented with his New Year’s gift money.

The group was full of messages mentioning him, all asking why his phone was unreachable and why he hadn’t replied—where on earth had he been?

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Miao typed, “I’m back. Good news—I managed to get us an invitation to the Strawberry Music Festival. We can perform on stage!”

After a brief silence, the chat exploded.

“No way! Are you serious?”

“You’ve been MIA so long—did you go make a shady deal or what?”

“You’re not messing with us, right? That’s the Strawberry Music Festival!”

“Miao, you’re awesome!”

…

Zhou Miao smiled to himself. “Alright, save the flattery for tomorrow afternoon when we meet. I just got back from Yunnan and I’m dead tired. Off to bed.”

Switching off his phone, Zhou Miao planted a firm kiss on Milk Candy. “Goodnight, my little kitty. Tomorrow’s a new day!”

Meanwhile, in another room, Lin Yanan sat beneath the glow of a single lamp, diligently reviewing her lessons. Zhou Miao’s return reminded her that time was running out—she had to seize every moment to study.

Hong Xue’s tutoring had helped her tremendously; she was finally getting the hang of English. She was determined to get into a good university—only then could she truly take control of her fate and leave the remote, isolated village of Shuiniu behind.