Chapter 036: Clash
Yanbei Expressway.
A police motorcycle raced alone through the night.
The wind howled, hair fluttered wildly...
Qin Ruolin instinctively buried her head against Lin Feng’s broad back, her arms around his waist tightening with each passing mile.
In this moment, Lin Feng was like a towering mountain, shielding Qin Ruolin from all the storms and tempests.
For a fleeting instant, Qin Ruolin felt as if she’d been mistaken all along—Lin Feng was not the little brother eight years her junior, but an elder upon whom she could truly depend.
“Lin Feng, I want to sing your song ‘The Eyes That Love to Smile!’” Qin Ruolin shouted from behind him.
“Sure!” Lin Feng replied loudly.
“But the moment I remember that you wrote it for your ex-girlfriend, I get upset!” Qin Ruolin called out again. “Such a beautiful song, and it was written for a woman who abandoned you…”
“It’s just a breakup, not a blood feud!” Lin Feng laughed. “Once our little scandal blows over, I’ll write a song for you too. I promise it’ll be every bit as good as ‘The Eyes That Love to Smile!’”
“Why wait until after the scandal? Can’t you write me one while we’re still ‘together’?” Qin Ruolin protested, a hint of anger in her voice.
“I suppose I could!” Lin Feng mused. “Actually, now that you mention it, I feel inspired. Give me a moment—I’ll sing you something right now.”
“Right now? You’re going to sing to me right now?” Qin Ruolin pouted. “You really think you’re some musical genius, don’t you?”
Ah… ah… ah…
Before Qin Ruolin could finish, Lin Feng suddenly started “shouting.”
“Hey! Why are you screaming like a ghost?” Qin Ruolin pinched his waist, but Lin Feng didn’t stop. He kept “shouting.”
Ah… ah… ah…
That was when Qin Ruolin realized—he wasn’t shrieking, he was singing. There was melody hidden in those cries.
Sure enough, after a bout of “ah”s, Lin Feng began to sing in earnest.
When mountains have no edges,
When rivers cease to flow,
When time itself stands still, day and night no longer known,
When all under heaven dissolves into nothing,
Still, I cannot part with you,
I cannot part with you.
Your gentleness,
Is the greatest devotion of my life…
As Lin Feng finished the verse, the renowned diva Qin was left dumbfounded.
“You mean to say you just made up this song on the spot?”
“What else?” Lin Feng replied, feigning the air of an original artist. After all, in this timeline, there was no “Princess Pearl,” and certainly not that hauntingly unforgettable song, “When.”
“Fine, then keep going!”
“Alright!” Lin Feng agreed, and continued singing.
When the sun no longer rises,
When the earth no longer turns,
When the seasons cease to change,
When all flowers and trees wither away,
Still, I cannot be parted from you,
I cannot be parted from you.
Your smile,
Is the deepest yearning of my life.
Let us journey together through the dust of this world,
Live freely and boldly,
Gallop on horseback,
And savor the splendor of mortal life.
Raise our cups and sing with joy,
Seize our youth in a blaze of glory,
Ah… ah… ah…
“How about it? Not bad, right?” After finishing the first verse, Lin Feng asked smugly.
By now, the diva was utterly stunned. It took her a long moment to recover.
“Are you sure you really just created this song on the spot?” Qin Ruolin still couldn’t believe it.
The lyrics to “When” may have been plain, but they were brimming with emotion. The chorus soared with a heroic spirit, and the melody was instantly memorable, impossible to forget after a single listen. No matter how she tried, Qin Ruolin couldn’t believe Lin Feng had conjured such a masterpiece in mere minutes.
“Well, the melody I composed earlier, but the lyrics I just wrote now. Don’t you think they fit our situation perfectly?” Lin Feng decided to downplay his feat a little—creating a song like this in a few minutes was almost unnatural.
“Let us journey together through the dust of this world, live freely and boldly, gallop on horseback, and savor the splendor of mortal life…”
Qin Ruolin silently recited the chorus, nodding in agreement.
A highway draped in night, a speeding motorcycle, a man and woman pressed close together…
It really did evoke that feeling of companionship and galloping through life together.
“I underestimated you. I never imagined you were not only a basketball genius, but also a musical prodigy,” Qin Ruolin said, genuine admiration in her voice.
“Spend more time with me and you’ll find my talents are endless!” Lin Feng boasted.
“Give you an inch and you’ll take a mile,” Qin Ruolin laughed. “What’s this song called?”
“One word: ‘When.’”
“‘When’? That fits your lyrics perfectly.” Qin Ruolin began to hum the melody softly.
When mountains have no edges,
When rivers cease to flow,
When time itself stands still, day and night no longer known,
When all under heaven dissolves into nothing…
“By the way, you said you wrote this song for me, didn’t you?” Qin Ruolin suddenly asked.
“That’s right,” Lin Feng nodded.
“Good. I want to include this song on my next album,” Qin Ruolin declared.
“Be my guest. I wrote it for you, after all.”
With that, Lin Feng twisted the throttle. The motorcycle roared, quickly disappearing into the shroud of night.
…
7:30 p.m.
The long-awaited CBA finals Game 7 began right on time. The outcome of this match would determine the season’s ultimate champion.
The Northern City team fielded their strongest lineup minus Wang Chuan. The injury-plagued Jiangning squad had to rely on a half-reserve roster, and the player upon whom both team and fans pinned their hopes—Lin Feng—was, unsurprisingly, not among the starters.
“Without Lin Feng, Jiangning is like a wolf with no teeth. Go out there and crush them!” Wang Chunsheng urged his players before the game.
The match began in earnest.
With home-court advantage and superior strength, the Northern City team dominated the tempo. By the end of the first quarter, they were already ahead by eight points.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng finally exited the expressway and entered the city. In another twenty minutes, he would reach the stadium.
However, ever since leaving the expressway, Lin Feng noticed a black sedan trailing him, always keeping a careful distance.
His instincts told him this black car was after him.
Sure enough, as Lin Feng maneuvered the motorcycle into a quiet stretch, the black sedan suddenly accelerated, closing in fast. At the same time, two more black sedans burst out from a nearby alley. The three cars formed a pincer, converging on Lin Feng.
“Hold on tight!” Lin Feng shouted to Qin Ruolin as he saw the trap closing in.
Then, with a sudden twist of the throttle, he yanked the handlebars. The motorcycle leaped onto the hood of one sedan, skidded across the roof, and landed safely on the other side.
With a display of breathtaking skill, Lin Feng broke through the blockade, revved the engine, and shot off like an arrow loosed from a bow.
…