Chapter 021: Eyes That Love to Smile

"I have some personal matters to attend to," Lin Feng replied, naturally unwilling to tell the truth to a stranger.

"Oh, that won't affect your participation in the tiebreaker, will it?" The woman asked with concern; it seemed she truly was a diehard fan of the Jiangning team.

"Of course not," Lin Feng shrugged.

"That's good. As long as you can play, the championship is ours!" The woman smiled in relief, then said, "Let's go."

"Alright." Lin Feng nodded, and the two disembarked together.

"Put this on," the woman handed Lin Feng a mask as they got off the plane. "You’re a star athlete now—if you cause a commotion at the airport, that would be troublesome."

"Is that necessary? You're probably the only one who can recognize me." Lin Feng always felt that celebrities who went out masked and in sunglasses were simply courting attention; regular people would never cover themselves so thoroughly.

"Just in case!" The woman insisted and pressed the mask into Lin Feng’s hands.

Her words reminded Lin Feng: he had slipped out secretly, and if fans recognized him, it would indeed be a hassle.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng dug out the rarely used sunglasses from his bag, put them on with the mask, then stood in front of the glass window to examine himself. Honestly, with all this gear, no one but those closest to him could recognize him.

"By the way, where are you headed?" the woman asked as they waited for their luggage.

"The Mingdu Hotel, next to the CCTV Broadcasting Tower." This address had been given to him by Wu Daren, and Lin Feng didn't hide it.

"What a coincidence! I'm going to the Mingdu Hotel too. Why don’t we share a taxi?" she said with delight.

"Sure." Lin Feng nodded.

After collecting their luggage, the two left the airport hall and hailed a taxi to Mingdu Hotel.

About an hour later, the taxi pulled up outside the Mingdu Hotel. They got out; Lin Feng took his ID to the front desk to check in, while the woman answered a phone call and, after saying goodbye, hurried off.

Lin Feng didn’t give it much thought. After all, he didn’t even know what she looked like.

For two people who met by chance, a single goodbye may be eternal farewell.

...

After settling into his room, Lin Feng called Wu Daren. The latter was at the recording site and told Lin Feng he would come to the hotel later, instructing him to organize his work.

The mention of his work troubled Lin Feng again.

He still hadn’t decided which song to sing.

In his memories, the "Lin Feng" of this world had composed a song called "Your Eyes" during a period of heartbreak to commemorate his ex-girlfriend. Originally, he intended to submit this piece to the "Good Original Songs" program.

Lin Feng pulled out the lyrics and score for "Your Eyes" and read through them.

The lyrics were melancholy, the melody somewhat heavy, but as a breakup ballad, it was decent.

At least, Lin Feng knew he himself couldn’t write a song of that caliber.

"After leaving you, I often think of your eyes.
No one can decipher the smile at the corner of your eyes, the sorrow within them.
After leaving you, I still remember your eyes.
No one understands better than I the smile at the corner of your eyes, the sorrow within them..."

Upon reading the chorus, Lin Feng suddenly recalled the song "Eyes That Love to Smile," composed by JJ Lin and sung by Vivian Hsu.

Both songs used eyes as their focal point, expressing the emotions after heartbreak.

Vivian Hsu’s "Eyes That Love to Smile" conveyed stronger emotions, yet it wasn’t primarily sad. The whole song promoted an optimistic mindset, encouraging listeners to move beyond the shadow of lost love.

JJ Lin’s composing skills shone brilliantly in this piece; the interlude was smooth and light, the chorus struck straight to the heart—a rare masterpiece.

Lin Feng had always thought "Eyes That Love to Smile" was JJ Lin’s highest-quality work.

Though the song was written from a female perspective, Lin Feng, as a man, felt the same way. That’s the power of excellent music.

Later, JJ Lin even reinterpreted the song in his own album; his version lacked the explosive force of Vivian Hsu’s, but carried greater male tenderness.

"Only after leaving you did I discover myself—
Those eyes that love to smile
Have shed tears, like a storm that cannot be escaped
Yesterday, soaked and deleted
Only after leaving you did I find myself—
Those eyes that love to smile
Farewell to love
I will let myself,
Let myself decide..."

Lin Feng softly hummed the chorus of "Eyes That Love to Smile." With his current vocal abilities, singing this song posed no difficulty.

"This is it!" he decided. He would use this song for the "Good Original Songs" recording.

Next, Lin Feng wrote out the full lyrics of "Eyes That Love to Smile."

He opened his laptop and began composing.

Nearly two hours passed before he finally finished the first demo of "Eyes That Love to Smile."

Since it was recorded on the computer, the effect was average, but it was enough to judge the quality of the song.

Toward evening, Lin Feng received a call from Shen Ziqiang, who berated him fiercely and delivered bad news: because Lin Feng had left the team without permission, the club had retracted the ten thousand fine they’d agreed to pay on his behalf.

For Lin Feng, this was indeed bad news, but he had no complaints. After all, he had seriously violated team regulations.

When he decided to come to Yan Jing for the "Good Original Songs" recording, he had already prepared himself for punishment.

After hanging up, Lin Feng was forced to start worrying about money.

Ten thousand wasn’t a huge sum, but not insignificant either.

His family’s financial situation was decent, and he could solve it with a word to his father, but Lin Feng didn’t want to ask his family.

He had brought this trouble upon himself; there was no reason for his family to bear the burden—especially since he had a sister studying in America, which was already quite expensive.

Lin Feng pondered how he could quickly make some money.

The doorbell rang.

He assumed it was Wu Daren, but when he opened the door, it turned out to be Liang Renbo.

"Lin Feng! I didn't expect you actually came!" Liang Renbo’s face lit up with a radiant smile when he saw him.

"Hello, Mr. Liang." Lin Feng smiled, ushered Liang Renbo inside, and asked, "Why didn’t Deputy Director Wu come with you?"

"He’s still busy. The recording schedule is tight, and he won’t be able to come for a while. I heard you arrived, so I came to see my idol, haha! Yesterday I was at the site—you were amazing! If you’d played the whole game, you could have scored a hundred!" Liang Renbo exclaimed.

"I had a good touch yesterday," Lin Feng shrugged.

"Right, let me see what you’ve brought. You’re an expert in basketball, but in music, I can give you some advice." In truth, this was the real reason Liang Renbo had come.

"Alright, thank you, Mr. Liang. The music demo is on my laptop," Lin Feng said, handing the notebook to Liang Renbo.

"‘Eyes That Love to Smile’," Liang Renbo glanced at the title and then at Lin Feng. "Interesting title, but it doesn’t match your identity as a star athlete at all."

...

Liang Renbo naturally didn’t believe a basketball player like Lin Feng could produce quality music.

In fact, he had brought a finished work with him. If Lin Feng’s own piece was terrible, Liang Renbo would give him this prepared song to perform as his own original work.

This was the program’s "special treatment" for Lin Feng, reserved for contestants who could bring attention to the show.

To put it plainly, the reason Lin Feng was allowed to skip auditions and enter the recording stage was entirely due to his publicity value, not his music.

While the program needed buzz, it also had to ensure a certain standard, so for contestants like Lin Feng, the staff would quietly provide a backup song.

However, these provided works were mediocre—nothing outstanding, but not embarrassing either. Whether a mentor would endorse them depended entirely on luck.

Liang Renbo lit a cigarette and casually pressed play.

The prelude began...

Simple, light, unexpectedly pleasant.

Liang Renbo raised his eyebrows, uttering a soft "hmm." He was an old hand in the music industry; though his own abilities were limited, his ears were sharp. After a few notes, he could almost judge that Lin Feng’s song was quite good...

"If the mirror didn’t look like you, didn’t conceal secrets,
I’d still refuse to believe that without you, my smile is brighter.
That day, I heard your slightly apologetic concern over the phone,
I hung up with a pout, more decisively than your words of breakup.
I washed the tear-soaked clothes clean, let the sunlight dry my memories,
Folded up my heartbreak, from tomorrow only happiness will accompany me.
In this crowded city of love, if I really meet you,
Don’t be surprised, my smile can’t be replaced by hers.
Leaving you, I discovered myself—those eyes that love to smile,
Shed tears like an unavoidable storm,
Yesterday, soaked and deleted..."

Leaving you, I found myself—those eyes that love to smile,
Farewell to love, I will let myself, let myself decide...

The first verse ended, and Liang Renbo was utterly stunned, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg, the cigarette burning halfway between his fingers, forgotten.

"This song, did you write it yourself?" Liang Renbo looked at Lin Feng, questioning.

"Yes." Lin Feng nodded, "Time was tight, so the demo is a bit rough."

"Are you sure you wrote this yourself?" Liang Renbo’s expression was incredulous.

Lin Feng smiled; Liang Renbo’s reaction said it all. Evidently, "Eyes That Love to Smile" would be just as popular in this world.

"Mr. Liang, although I’m a newcomer in music, I still have my principles and integrity. I would never plagiarize or steal." Lin Feng declared with righteous resolve.

In this world, "Eyes That Love to Smile" was his original creation!

"Good. You know the rules of ‘Good Original Songs’—only original works are accepted." Liang Renbo said seriously, not realizing his original purpose was to break those rules.

But after hearing "Eyes That Love to Smile," there was no need to present the backup piece prepared for Lin Feng.

Compared to Lin Feng’s song, that work was trash—bringing it out would only embarrass himself.

"Lin Feng, you really live up to your nickname ‘God Feng.’ I thought your miracles were limited to the basketball court, but your music talent is just as astonishing!" Liang Renbo praised. "In my experience, ‘Eyes That Love to Smile’ absolutely has the potential to become a hit!"

"Leaving you, I discovered myself—those eyes that love to smile,
Shed tears like an unavoidable storm,
Yesterday, soaked and deleted..."

Liang Renbo hummed a few lines of the chorus, then exclaimed, "Amazing! Absolutely amazing! The rhythm rises and falls, yet it’s catchy—this song will definitely be a hit!"

"By the way, have you registered the copyright for your song?" Liang Renbo suddenly asked.

"Copyright registration?" Lin Feng was puzzled and recalled that in this world, copyright protection was taken very seriously. Whether literary or musical works, one could apply for copyright registration. If approved, it proved originality—necessary for future authorization or sale.

"Not yet. I just finalized the song," Lin Feng replied.

"Register it immediately! You’re about to perform it for the show—if someone registers it first, you’ll lose everything!" Liang Renbo urged.

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Liang. I’ll register it soon," Lin Feng said.

"No, do it right now. I can help you," Liang Renbo said, logging into the Chinese Music Copyright official website on the computer.

Registering copyright was straightforward online, but the piece had to be original; otherwise, it couldn’t be registered.

"Do you have a copyright site account?" Liang Renbo asked.

"No," Lin Feng shook his head.

"Then you’ll need to apply. You handle it yourself," Liang Renbo handed over the laptop.

Registering an account was rather tedious—many details were required, and each ID could only register one account, with video verification to ensure the person matched the ID.

Lin Feng spent twenty minutes navigating the procedures and finally got the account.

Once logged in, the copyright registration process was much simpler—just upload the song’s basic information and creator details.

If the song was deemed original, it would pass the audit.

"Enter the referral code," Liang Renbo said, handing Lin Feng his phone, showing a string of numbers. "This is my personal referral code. With my level as a musician, your work will be prioritized for review."

"Thanks," Lin Feng said, entering the code.

With all the information uploaded, the backend showed that "Eyes That Love to Smile" was now under review.

About half an hour later, Lin Feng received a pop-up message from the official website.

"Your work ‘Eyes That Love to Smile’ has passed copyright registration review. Thank you for supporting Chinese original music. We look forward to more outstanding works from you."

"Your work ‘Eyes That Love to Smile’ has been added to the Chinese Music Copyright Original Library, song number 20160311618620. Enter this number anytime to check your song’s streaming, downloads, and other data."

"Did it pass review?" Liang Renbo sat across from Lin Feng; he heard the notification sound but couldn’t see the message.

"Yes. That was quick," Lin Feng smiled.

"Let me see."

Liang Renbo moved to sit beside Lin Feng. The reason he gave his referral code was to see the review result quickly; he still had doubts about whether Lin Feng was truly the song’s original composer.

After all, the quality of "Eyes That Love to Smile" was so high, it completely overturned his expectations for a novice songwriter.

If this song was indeed Lin Feng’s original, then his musical talent was no less than his basketball prowess.

...