It was daytime.
The izakaya was not open for business.
Staff members were cleaning and tidying the place.
As for Su Yu, he was upstairs, conversing with the singer.
“Actually, I’ve been following Teacher Ting Yu since your debut. I’m truly honored that you’ve come to meet me.” Zhang Shengchu poured Su Yu a cup of tea.
Behind them, the camerawoman Lisa sat down with the live streaming equipment.
She didn’t understand why Su Yu, whose theme was Mount Fuji, wasn’t exploring Mount Fuji but instead came to this izakaya for tea.
However, she was merely the eyes of the audience and didn’t ask further questions.
“Who is this person?”
“This singer looks familiar, I can’t quite recall.”
“I think so too, he looks like someone from the domestic entertainment scene before, right?”
“He’s speaking Cantonese, so he’s definitely Chinese!”
“I’m suddenly getting a hint, he seems to be an older generation singer who went to Japan to develop his career a long time ago!”
“More than just a singer, this person was definitely among the top five in the Chinese music scene back then, though his reputation in domestic entertainment wasn’t great.”
Many viewers in Su Yu’s livestream were Chinese.
Some, upon seeing Zhang Shengchu’s appearance, remembered his identity.
“Mr. Zhang’s singing skills are very impressive. I happened to pass by before and heard you sing a Japanese version of ‘Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies.’ It was quite good.” Su Yu took a sip of tea and said with a smile.
“Teacher Ting Yu, are you here to ask me for copyright fees this time?” Zhang Shengchu joked.
Su Yu chuckled and shook his head, “It’s not too late to find me when I’m truly that poor.”
Zhang Shengchu laughed heartily, “Then I’m relieved. For Teacher Ting Yu to be poor, it’s probably harder than making you lose.”
As an insider, he naturally knew how terrifying the income of top producers in the Chinese music scene was.
Similarly, Su Yu had never experienced defeat since his debut. This remark also flattered Su Yu.
“Enough joking. I came this time mainly to hear Mr. Zhang’s story.” Su Yu looked at Zhang Shengchu, his signature smile on his face.
Zhang Shengchu was taken aback for a moment but quickly recovered.
He picked up the teapot and refilled Su Yu’s cup, “A story is called a story because it has already passed.”
Su Yu said, “The most important thing about a story is having an audience.”
He had learned from Morita Yui that Zhang Shengchu was consistently labeled a scumbag by online public opinion.
He also had many fans who supported him, but he had always borne the infamy without explanation.
People are sometimes so simple. Su Yu had a song that could help Zhang Shengchu. Besides letting more audiences know about this song, another reason was that he could hear the resonance in the other man’s voice.
It was as if he saw his past self.
“Teacher Ting Yu is willing to be my audience; I am truly honored.” After a slight astonishment, Zhang Shengchu nodded.
He guessed some things and knew Su Yu wanted to help him, but he was puzzled why someone of Su Yu’s esteemed status, a stranger to him, would help him.
He didn’t dwell on what he couldn’t figure out. As for his own story, many people in Japan knew it.
“I should be from the same era as Teacher Mo Yan. Back then, the Chinese music scene was still in the era of records…”
In Zhang Shengchu’s era, musicians earned money from records. However, with rampant piracy, it was genuinely difficult for traditional musicians.
Coupled with the issues within the domestic entertainment industry, it made it even harder for musicians to survive.
There was a saying back then: “Hong Kong has no music scene, only entertainment.”
It had to be admitted that the Japanese music scene at that time was very diverse, which was why he decided to develop his career in Japan.
However, by choosing to come to Japan instead of staying in domestic entertainment, he was branded a traitor by domestic fans.
Yet, he offered no defense and had been here for one to two decades.
After coming to Japan, he shone with his singing skills and carved out a niche for himself. Then, due to a relationship incident, he was labeled a scumbag, leading to a tarnished reputation.
However, Zhang Shengchu still offered no explanation, resolutely withdrawing from the Japanese music scene.
“Indeed, I failed her. This relationship ended because I no longer had feelings for her, yet she still loved me. The title of scumbag suits me well…”
As Zhang Shengchu spoke, his cloudy eyes began to redden.
Without love, on that rainy Valentine’s Day, he broke up with that girl. But the girl still loved him and even threatened to do something extreme. Yet, Zhang Shengchu’s reasoning was simple: forcing a relationship without love would not work out, and neither person would be happy.
Ultimately, he persisted with the breakup.
This incident was spread online by the girl, and Zhang Shengchu became known as a scumbag among Japanese people.
And just like he left the Chinese music scene, he still offered no explanation, merely announcing his withdrawal from the entertainment industry.
“What a pity.” Su Yu took a sip of tea and sighed.
Zhang Shengchu had talent, ambition, and aspirations, but he also possessed his own pride, and his pride harmed him.
“It’s not a pity, this is my path,” Zhang Shengchu said with a smile, shaking his head.
“A very good path.” Su Yu nodded and affirmed.
He had achieved his own pursuits, unburdened by worldly opinions.
Zhang Shengchu lived a carefree life.
But that carefree life came at a significant cost.
Fortunately, he didn’t care about these costs. He was a pure singer, a good musician.
“Holy crap, so he had this story too!”
“I remember now, he was indeed flamed all over the internet as a traitor back then!”
“Heh, the domestic entertainment scene of that era really wasn’t suitable for people who purely pursued music. If it weren’t for Ting Yu, I wouldn’t have known today that there was a musician like Zhang Shengchu.”
“Japan is like this regarding men and women; as long as you wrong a girl, you’ll be branded a scumbag.”
“Come back, domestic entertainment is much better now.”
Many netizens finally understood why Su Yu had sought out Zhang Shengchu. It was to let everyone know that there were people like him who purely pursued music and never cared about their reputation.
These were true musicians!
“If you want to develop your career back home, you can directly approach Xinghui.” Su Yu finished his last cup of tea and extended his hand to Zhang Shengchu.
The latter was slightly taken aback at the words, then reached out and shook Su Yu’s hand.
“To receive Teacher Ting Yu’s favor is my honor. If there’s an opportunity, I will seek you out.”
“Alright, it’s getting late, I’ll be leaving now.”
With that, Su Yu turned and left.
He had obtained what he wanted, and he had also allowed everyone to know Zhang Shengchu’s story.
At the same time, he finally understood the source of that resonance.
Zhang Shengchu and his past self had the same goal, and his ideas were even more extreme than Su Yu’s.
To sing well, he went abroad alone, bearing the infamy of a traitor.
This pursuit of music was indeed worthy of his admiration.
“It’s getting late. I already have the song for this competition, and it’s time to let those foreigners hear the charm of Cantonese.”
With that thought, Su Yu, accompanied by the camerawoman Lisa, got into the program team’s car.
…