The evening.
Zhao Yangkang returned home.
His son, Zhao Yihua, rushed to greet him, "Dad, is the new song ready?"
"Mmm, it's ready," Zhao Yangkang said, nodding with a smile at his son's excited expression.
"Let's eat first," his wife called from the living room.
Father and son walked towards the dining table.
"I heard it was written by Teacher Tingyu this time?" Zhao Yihua asked tentatively.
He had been excited for a long time after seeing that official Weibo post from the Tourism Association.
That was Tingyu, his favorite producer and his only idol.
He had always dreamed that if he could sing a song by Tingyu, his singing career would be perfect.
And this time, upon hearing that the Tourism Association had hired Tingyu to write a song, he instantly felt how close he was to his dream!
"That's right, it's Tingyu. Don't you always look up to him? Are you happy to be singing his song?" Zhao Yangkang said as he washed his hands and came to the table.
As the vice-president of the Tourism Association, Zhao Yangkang was not extremely wealthy, but his life was at a comfortable level.
Knowing there was good news, they had added extra dishes tonight.
Steamed lobster, braised pork, and some home-style stir-fries.
"Of course, I'm happy! He's my favorite producer, and I've dreamed of singing his songs!" Zhao Yihua nodded enthusiastically, his smile stretching from ear to ear.
However, he noticed a hint of fatigue in his father's brows and asked, "Dad, are you alright? Your complexion doesn't look very good."
Zhao Yangkang forced a smile, "I'm fine, let's eat. Perhaps I'm just tired from preparing for the event."
Inside, however, he was filled with bitterness.
His son had harbored a dream of music since childhood, and his talent had always been quite good.
But fate seemed to have played a trick on him. When Zhao Yihua was eight years old and attending a vocal training class, Zhao Yangkang and his wife had to work and asked him to wait at the training class, promising to pick him up when they were done.
But they ended up finishing work very late, and Zhao Yihua walked home alone in the pouring rain. That night, he developed a high fever, and from then on, his voice became somewhat hoarse.
For many years, Zhao Yangkang and his wife had blamed themselves. If they hadn't been so busy with work and had paid more attention to their son, this wouldn't have happened, resulting in his hoarse singing voice, which became the biggest obstacle in his path as a singer.
Despite his excellent vocal abilities, his hoarse voice led to rejections from entertainment companies. Without the promotion of an entertainment company and songs written by a producer, becoming famous was as difficult as reaching the heavens. Consequently, Zhao Yihua became a cover singer. He gained some recognition as a third-tier singer by posting covers of popular songs online, but this was almost his limit.
During this time, Zhao Yangkang, leveraging his position as vice-president, shamelessly got the association's promotional songs for his son, giving him his own songs. However, the quality of these promotional songs was not high, and they didn't become very popular.
This time, the promotional song was written by Tingyu. Zhao Yangkang had researched Tingyu and knew what it meant to sing Tingyu's songs.
Moreover, Tingyu was his son's most admired idol. Therefore, Zhao Yangkang was determined to help his son secure the opportunity to sing Tingyu's song; otherwise, he felt truly useless as a father.
"Tomorrow morning, you'll come with me to the Tourism Association to familiarize yourself with the song," Zhao Yangkang said softly, looking at his son.
"Dad, you must be hiding something from me!" Zhao Yihua frowned.
He knew his father well enough to realize that if everything were fine, his father would be even happier than he was.
But now, with his troubled expression, he was clearly forcing a smile.
This meant there had to be some hidden reason behind it.
"You're thinking too much. Let's eat," Zhao Yangkang said.
Zhao Yihua continued to stare at him.
They looked at each other.
After a few seconds, Zhao Yangkang gave in with a wry smile, "Actually, Tingyu has designated a singer for this song. But don't worry, I'll handle everything."
He planned to talk to that singer and see if they could give the opportunity to his son. If not, he would try to use some money.
"So that's how it is. Tingyu has designated a singer?" Zhao Yihua's eyes showed a flicker of disappointment.
It was like his dream was about to come true, only to wake up and realize it was just a dream.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Thinking of this, Zhao Yihua's eyes suddenly reddened, and he quickly turned his head away.
"Even though he has designated a singer, I assure you, I will fight for this opportunity for you. We spent money to buy the song from the association; don't we have the right to change the singer?" Zhao Yangkang said, putting down his chopsticks and patting his son's shoulder.
It was precisely because he knew his son's dream that he hadn't revealed the reason.
He didn't want to see his son sad.
And he had always felt a sense of guilt towards his son.
If they had come back earlier that year, given Zhao Yihua's professional skills and appearance back then, he would have already been able to participate in an idol training program and sing his own songs by now.
He wouldn't have been rejected by those entertainment companies because of his hoarse voice.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Zhao Yihua was startled by his father's words!
He finally understood what his father was planning to do.
He actually wanted to help him snatch the singing spot designated by Tingyu.
"Why? Haven't you always wanted a song of your own? Tingyu is your idol, and this is a rare opportunity..."
Zhao Yangkang was about to say more, but Zhao Yihua interrupted him.
"Dad, precisely because he's my idol, I know what it means for him to designate a singer. Who did he designate this time?" Zhao Yihua asked with a wry smile.
"I think the file said... his name was Gong Juren."
"Then even more so, we can't! Gong Juren is the most valued singer in Tingyu's singer group. You won't be able to snatch it, and absolutely don't offend Tingyu, or no one can bear the consequences," Zhao Yihua said urgently.
As a fan of Tingyu, he was well aware of Tingyu's background. It wasn't just Zhao Yangkang, a vice-president of an association; even President Li Ruwen wouldn't dare to offend Tingyu.
Therefore, upon hearing that Zhao Yangkang intended to use his position to get this singing opportunity for him, he immediately became anxious.
"Tingyu values this Gong Juren so much?" Zhao Yangkang was taken aback.
He was not familiar with matters of the entertainment industry. In his opinion, this Gong Juren was probably just a singer Tingyu had casually found.
"Of course. So please don't worry about it. The singer chosen by Teacher Tingyu is the most suitable for his songs. Besides, I've also come to terms with it. With my voice, even if I sing Teacher Tingyu's songs, people will laugh, and it might even affect his reputation," Zhao Yihua said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
He felt he had been blinded by his dream. Hearing that he could sing Tingyu's songs had made him too happy, and he hadn't considered his own situation.
His voice was already hoarse. What right did he have to sing Tingyu's songs with such a hoarse voice?
Let this dream remain an unreachable dream.
"I won't allow you to say that!" A flicker of pain flashed in Zhao Yangkang's eyes. "I'll listen to you; I won't try to change the singer. And don't be so discouraged. We'll sing slowly on our own, without relying on others."
"Mmm-hmm!" Zhao Yihua nodded, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Quick, quick, eat. The dishes are getting cold," his mother urged.
The family's warm atmosphere was restored.
"Dad, I heard Teacher Tingyu will be coming too?"
"He should be. The association has prepared a seat for him."
"Then can you arrange for me to sit next to him? Being able to sit with my idol would be fulfilling a part of my dream."
"This... should be fine. I'll arrange it for you."
"Thank you."
"You silly kid, why are you being so polite with Dad..."