Chapter 7: Amour-propre

"Hey, hey Dad, look, look quickly! Sis, Sis, look... it's Jianlu!"

"Oh, my goodness, it really is! Isn't that Jianlu?"

It was breakfast time, and many households—especially those with children—had their televisions on. Parents couldn't stop them, because these days, kids and young people were obsessed with "Music TV" on the Capital Station, eager to watch the music videos played every morning.

The youth called it "MTV."

The hits of the last few years were all featured here, played over and over again. Some songs were popular not just with the youth, but even with those in their thirties and forties, like "The Love of a Tracker," "Big Flower Sedan," "The Sound of Waves Remains," "Thirteen Not Kindred," "September Ninth's Wine," "Wish You Peace," and "Love Bird." They were all quite good. After all, they had secretly listened to Teresa Teng back in the day and considered themselves quite open-minded—certainly not like the old, feudal-minded generation!

At seven o'clock that morning, the Gao family, living in the east wing of the second courtyard of the Bing-designated Siheyuan on Nanluoguxiang, was sitting down for breakfast with the TV tuned to "Music TV," as usual.

With university starting soon, the two Gao sisters—the elder two years older than Lin Jianlu, the younger six months younger—were both successful; they had both been admitted to university. Their train tickets for the fourteenth day of the Lunar New Year were already bought, with classes starting on the sixteenth. Yet, just two days before leaving home, they never expected to see their own neighbor on television.

The eldest daughter, Gao Yufeng, was just saying something to her mother when her younger sister, Gao Yuhuang, let out a cry of surprise. The whole family fell silent, heads turning toward the screen.

Wow, the lad looked sharp!

But... he lived right across the hall. They saw him every day. Did he think that just by wearing a bit of red lipstick, they wouldn't recognize him?

It was Lin Jianlu!

"I'd rather you be cold to the end, to make me give up and forget. I'd rather you be heartless to the end, to make me abandon all hope. I'd rather suffer heartbreak just once than endure it day and night. I'd rather you be cold to the end, please don't say anymore..."

The family sat as if turned to stone. The steamed buns and pancakes in their mouths remained unchewed.

"The night rain that fell when you left soaked my sorrow; it cannot wipe away the fake lip prints you left behind. Thinking back on your deceitful words, since you had already decided to leave, why leave behind this lingering resentment? You made me think you were forced to do it, made me unable to forget completely! I'd rather you be cold to the end..."

Lin Jianlu clearly couldn't remember how long the original version was in his previous life, but the version he recorded was four minutes and two seconds long. It wasn't long, and accompanied by carefully shot and edited footage of his handsome face, it finished quickly.

The Gao family sat there in a daze. Outside in the courtyard, they could hear the commotion starting as soon as the song reached its halfway point. It was understandable; in this era, which household in a crowded courtyard didn't have a TV? Everyone would turn them on during breakfast. Since the Gao family recognized Lin Jianlu instantly, the other neighbors surely did too.

"Sis, Jianlu sings so well!"

"It... it is quite good. The song is nice, too—better than those domestic ones!"

"I feel like it's even better than Zheng Zhihua's!"

"Hmm, Zheng Zhihua isn't as good; he's not as popular anymore. Right now, Jacky Cheung and Emil Chau are the biggest. Jianlu's song... it's really good."

They were young, university students—who didn't love music or trends? In this day and age, what school gate didn't have one or two shops selling pirated tapes? Not to mention the pirated tapes, there were also those obviously unlicensed star posters—you could get whoever you wanted!

Boys loved posters of Norika Fujiwara and Noriko Sakai in swimsuits, while girls favored Andy Lau, Leon Lai, and the Little Tigers. Some had peculiar tastes, like that guard with the sword, Zhan Zhao. But those were just pictures. When it came to tapes, everyone's tastes were mostly aligned.

Jacky Cheung, Emil Chau, Dave Wang, Chyi Chin, the Little Tigers, Grasshopper, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau, Leon Lai, Jeff Chang, Leslie Cheung, Wu Bai, Chao Chuan, Anita Mui, Faye Wong, Chyi Yu, Sandy Lam... and a few who even liked Yu Hongming.

Among the pirated tapes, the Hong Kong and Taiwanese singers sold much better than the domestic ones! After all, in this era, Hong Kong and Taiwan were at the absolute forefront of trends. Their songs, melodies, lyrics—even the singers' non-standard Mandarin and the Cantonese that one couldn't understand without a lyric sheet—everything represented progress, fashion, and the zeitgeist!

Young people chased them, adored them, and loved them! Even those who didn't pay much attention were bound to hear through friends about who was trending, whose new album was flopping, or even who was dating whom. Crucially, publishing regulations were loose back then. Many small magazines dedicated to reporting on Hong Kong and Taiwanese music, film, and celebrity gossip were not only numerous but sold like wildfire!

It was the nineties, and some small magazines even started printing in full color! They would include eight or sixteen pages of full-color inserts just to ensure young fans could see every alluring photo of their idols. How could you not love that?

As for tapes of big stars like Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, or Emil Chau, once the original was released in Hong Kong or Taiwan, pirated versions would reach the county towns within half a month! Ten days later, various "Greatest Hits" compilations would start mixing new songs with old ones. The first track would be "Sleepless Night," the second "Damp Heart," and the third "Starlight"—the focus was on variety and inclusivity!

Young people had almost zero resistance to these things.

Yet, domestic content lagged behind. The more one loved Hong Kong and Taiwanese music and stars, the more one looked down on domestic singers. Whether it was the songs or the people, they felt "unsophisticated."

But this song, "Cold to the End," was clearly different. It wasn't like "Big Flower Sedan," "The Love of a Tracker," or "Love Bird." It didn't sound as "unfashionable" as the domestic stuff. While it didn't feel exactly like a Hong Kong or Taiwanese song—at least, Lin Jianlu didn't have that specific regional accent—the arrangement and his singing style carried a refined, trendy, and fashionable air.

It was crisp, bold, and impressive.

Gao Yufeng intuitively felt that this song was not inferior to the works of Emil Chau or Jacky Cheung! But, of course, Emil Chau and Jacky Cheung were massive stars... and while Lin Jianlu was exceptionally handsome and looked very stylish on screen, he was, after all, the neighbor living right across the hall! So, when the words were on the tip of her tongue, she changed "Jianlu's song isn't worse than Emil Chau's" to a more general compliment: "It's really good!"

On the TV screen, the next song had already started. It was Lin Yilun's "Love Bird." They had heard it many times before. They used to think it was good, and they hadn't grown tired of it yet, but at this moment, as the familiar intro played, a thought instinctively popped into their heads: "Will they play 'Cold to the End' again? Even if they don't play it today, they have to play it again tomorrow morning, right?"

Gao Yufeng hadn't yet snapped out of it, and her parents were still exchanging looks of bewilderment, but Gao Yuhuang had already slammed her chopsticks down and bolted out the door.

"Jianlu, Jianlu! Was that you singing?"