Chapter 7: I Want to Give You a Baby Tiger
“These dragon scales once fell to the earth, ringing like shattered ice. Each scale, an inch of heart. I firmly believe that from the smallest comes the greatest, and the fate of the nation will be lifted high, revived once more. Roaming heaven and earth in search of dragon scales, the bloodline of the dragon has grown into a vast forest.”
Even though he had heard it once before, when Song Liang listened to this part, he was deeply moved. Every small family, every ordinary person of the Great Xia nation, was like one of those dragon scales. In modern times, we have been broken. This is not just the broken heart of the past, but a spirit of forging strength from the small, sacrificing the self, and accomplishing the great cause of the nation. When this nation rises and rejuvenates once again, what is it we see when we lift our heads and look at the dragon scales? It is a faith spreading across the world, the backbone spanning heaven and earth—the dragon’s bloodline has truly become a forest. A brand-new nation has emerged. Those countless families shattered by the chaos and turbulence of history have stood up once more, dense as a forest stretching through the land and sky!
Hearing this, Song Liang felt goosebumps all over. His eyes grew moist. What kind of magnanimous spirit could write words so stirring and compose music so endlessly resonant?
“Damn, I’m numb all over!”
“Falling to the earth like shattered ice, the dragon’s bloodline grown into a forest! The way these lines echo each other, my thoughts are instantly transported to the very moment the nation was founded!”
“One scale, one inch of heart, from the smallest comes the greatest—I firmly believe!”
“That line reminds me of the silent, selfless soldiers.”
“And our beloved angels in white, the medical workers!”
“Our heroic firefighters!”
“Their inch-by-inch hearts—aren’t they too forging greatness from the small?”
“What supports them as they press forward? It is faith! It is because they believe, that they are so steadfast!”
Xu Mingkun, who had been indignant just moments before, was now left speechless. In the face of national righteousness, what do personal gains and losses matter? Should such a song be buried just because of his own selfish interests? Was it really wrong for him to sing in English? Xu Mingkun couldn’t help but question himself.
His previous thought was: English is a global language—by singing in English, more people could learn the story of the Forbidden City. His intention had not been to fawn over the foreign, but merely to choose a different method!
Now, seeing the silence of those who had once echoed his views in the audience, Xu Mingkun didn’t feel angry. He understood that even idol worship must have its limits. In the face of national righteousness, one must take a stand; you cannot compromise your stance just for the sake of fandom. Yet, as for the performer, Xu Mingkun couldn’t help but scoff inwardly: “This guy, clever choice of song, I’ll give him that!” Although he now agreed with Su Bai’s song, he still found Su Bai, the deliveryman, utterly disagreeable. A man who relies on clever song choices is nothing special!
Still, Xu Mingkun knew that from now on, he could no longer openly look down on Su Bai—at least not now. The audience would not tolerate the slightest speck of sand in their eyes. Now, national righteousness was on Su Bai’s side. He, Xu Mingkun, could no longer flaunt himself, no matter how many resources or backstage connections he possessed. Once you make a mistake on a matter of principle, no one can protect you. From the moment he entered the entertainment industry, Xu Mingkun understood one thing: never err on matters of principle! So, he would need to employ more subtle tactics.
“These dragon scales once fell to the earth, ringing like shattered ice. Each scale, an inch of heart. The tale wavers—I cannot bear to hear it. The fate of the nation will be lifted high, revived once more. Roaming heaven and earth in search of dragon scales, the bloodline of the dragon has grown into a vast forest.”
With the final lingering note, Su Bai concluded his performance of “Dragon Scales Across Heaven and Earth.” The entire venue was plunged into silence. Just as Su Bai wondered at the seemingly flat reaction, an earth-shaking cheer erupted through the hall.
“Amazing! It’s been years since I’ve heard a song that makes my blood boil like this!”
“Listening to this song, I feel as if I’m walking through the scroll of Great Xia’s history, experiencing every rise and fall.”
“If this song isn’t chosen as the Forbidden City’s promotional anthem, I swear I’ll never trust another talent show again!”
“This song is tailor-made for the Forbidden City’s six-hundredth anniversary!”
“Delivery guy, you haven’t introduced yourself yet—can you tell us your name?”
“Yeah, we still don’t know your name!”
“Your name! Tell us your name!”
Su Bai had intended to leave right after singing. He had come to perform this song mainly to obtain the system’s second vial of medicine. Now, the audience’s response seemed to have far exceeded his expectations. At that moment, the voice of director Song Liang sounded in his earpiece.
“Mr. Su, tell everyone! You’ve become an overnight sensation—if you just leave now, you’ll have me in hot water!”
Su Bai knew that whether he could get the system’s medicine still depended on Song Liang’s evaluation. “Hello everyone, my name is Su Bai, and I am a food delivery courier!”
An uproar swept the audience. Everyone had assumed that Su Bai’s delivery uniform was just a prop used by the organizers for dramatic effect. No one had expected that Su Bai was actually a real deliveryman.
“Su Bai, you’re my hero—I love you!”
“Su Bai, I want to marry you!”
“Su Bai, I want to have your little tiger cubs!”
“Get lost! Do you really think you can still have a child now? If you have one now, it’ll be a little rabbit! Where did you get your wild child from, trying to make my hero take over?”
While everyone in the audience was utterly shocked, Su Bai felt a rush of excitement—not because someone wanted to have his child, but because at last, he heard the long-awaited system notification.
[Congratulations, host, on receiving an SSSSS rating and once again exceeding the mission requirements.]
[Reward: second vial of medicine, to be used within 24 hours.]
[Reward: two hundred thousand in cash.]
[Acquired: master-level composition skills, piano mastery!]
[Further enhancement of physical attributes.]
[One additional opportunity to exchange for songs.]
Finally hearing the system’s prompt and seeing the medicine appear in his pocket, Su Bai could barely contain his excitement. At last, he had succeeded! He wanted nothing more than to rush immediately to Xiao Ke’s side and give her the medicine, not wanting to waste a single moment.
Seeing Su Bai finishing his song and about to leave, Song Liang panicked. He hadn’t even gotten Su Bai’s contact information—how could he let this heaven-sent star just vanish?
“Hey, Su Bai! Wait, wait a moment!”
Su Bai stopped in his tracks. Seeing Song Liang suddenly appear before him, he felt a chill—if he had been just a second slower, his newly strengthened body might have bowled Song Liang right over. Now that his body was enhanced, it was no joke. He might have ended up seriously injuring the director.
“Su Bai, don’t be in such a hurry to leave! We need to talk about the details of this song!”
Looking at the anxious Song Liang, Su Bai felt truly grateful. Without Song Liang’s positive review, he would never have obtained the second vial. Swiftly, he pulled out pen and paper, wrote down a phone number, and said, “Director Song, I really have an urgent matter now. Let’s talk again later!”
As Su Bai, clad in his yellow uniform, sped off on his electric scooter, Song Liang stood amidst the swirling wind, utterly bewildered. He couldn’t imagine what could possibly be more important than this. Was someone at home about to give birth to a little tiger? Or was Su Bai just worried about being late for his next delivery?
Nonsense, what a mess!