Chapter 135: Crushing a Dream with a Poisonous Tongue
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Wang Ling's first impression was that this vagabond singer had a strange accent from who knew where. Of course, pushing these problems aside, Wang Ling thought that on the whole, he sang pretty well and was at least in tune...
But if this young man wanted to go on a talent show and become a real professional singer, he was clearly far from achieving that.
Wang Ling's understanding of music was limited; he was just a amateur who dabbled on the guitar a little, so he couldn't make any sort of professional comment on the young man's singing.
As for how to stand out in a talent show...
He felt that there were a few prerequisites.
First, a person didn't need to be especially handsome, but should at least look pleasing.
Second, maybe the voice didn't need to be especially professional, but it should at least be distinctive. Just singing in tune wouldn't work.
Finally, the third and most important point... a person must have had a miserable life! And the more miserable, the better! The best would be a story that after just a handful of words, could move the audience and judges to tears...
This young man didn't meet these requirements.
As a vagabond singer, Tang Youning obviously hadn't given much thought to his wild appearance, and he gave people a dirty first impression. Furthermore, this young man's life couldn't be considered miserable at all. At most, he was a pitiful singer who stuck to his dream of doing music. There were too many of this kind of people in Huaxiu nation... if you wanted to appear before an audience at a talent show, you should at the very damn least have a family member with an incurable disease!
Chewing on half a mouthful of beef, Wang Ling fiercely criticized current talent shows in his heart. That young man gazed at the heavenly silkworm potato strips bibimbap with red eyes. "Am I... really not cut out to be a singer at all?"
There was a sense of low esteem in his quiet tone, but everyone heard it.
It was obvious that today's failure at the talent show had been quite a heavy blow to this young man.
Boss Tan turned off the rumbling exhaust fan and wiped his greasy hands with a cleaning rag. He slowly walked up to the young man and patted his thin shoulder. "Keep your chin up, Little Tang!"
Maybe it was because he had been a cook for many years, but Boss Tan had a very sturdy physique; when compared with this young man, the difference was very obvious. Wang Ling didn't doubt in the slightest that if Boss Tan used just a little more strength, he could directly pat this young man's shoulder into pieces...
This restaurant boss definitely wasn't an ordinary person.
His cultivation was at the Golden Core stage at the very least.
Wang Ling had already noticed this as soon as he had stepped through the door.
Looking at Tang Youning, Boss Tan continued to console him. "A great man once said that talent is one percent genius and ninety nine percent hard work. Perhaps you just need to put in more effort! So don't give up no matter what!"
The young man looked up with a glimmer of hope. "Really?"
But as soon as Boss Tan had finished speaking, Father Wang's poisonous tongue mode had kicked in reflexively, and he quietly added, "Do you know that there's a second part to this saying? Although you only need one percent genius, that one percent is the most important part of all!"
Boss Tan: "..."
Tang Youning simply wanted to cry: "..." Why did you have to point that out?!
Wang Ling: "..." It hurts, dude!
It could only be said that Father Wang's tongue was becoming more and more poisonous.
The young man couldn't withstand this vicious hit at all.
Boss Tan felt really helpless.
But it was clear that Father Wang didn't think his poisonous words were wrong at all.
Everyone had heard this "poisonous chicken soup"[1.This is meant to be the direct opposite of the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' book series which consist of true and inspirational life stories. Chinese netizens fed up with these instead share harsh and sometimes darkly humorous life anecdotes instead.] saying before: There is nothing too difficult in the world as long as you are willing to give it up...
Father Wang felt that if a person didn't have a talent for something, it was very stupid to stick with it. Every profession had its supreme experts, so why stubbornly cling to one tree? Why not try swinging a few times on other trees?
Crushing a dream with a poisonous tongue... Father Wang felt that it was only proper for him as a senior to educate and instruct this young man by showing him the truth sooner rather than later, so that he could get himself back on the right track.
"Ling Ling, sing a song?" At this moment, Father Wang abruptly turned to look at Wang Ling.
Wang Ling was silent. "..."
"Sir, your son also studies music?" Boss Tan was a little curious.
Father Wang shook his head. "He's only in Senior Grade One this year, and plays a little guitar in his free time. You can say he's an amateur. But I believe if he puts all his effort into it, half the music industry will belong to him sooner or later!"
Boss Tan clearly disagreed as he shook his head and said, "No, half the music industry belongs to Teacher Wang Banbi."
"..."
It had to be said that this Teacher Wang Banbi whom Boss Tan had mentioned was a weirdo who talked big, since he had once claimed in front of the media that if the rock industry lost him, it would lose half its territory... that was how his nickname Wang Banbi had come about 1 .
Now, this was all just idle talk. Therefore, when Father Wang flaunted his son, this street singer expressed strong dissatisfaction. "I studied music under a vocal music teacher... your son is only an amateur. Talking about something like half the industry... isn't that too much of an exaggeration?"
"Go, Ling Ling! It's time to show your real skill!" Father Wang suddenly threw him a thumbs-up and revealed his pure white teeth.
Ding ! It was as if everyone could see his teeth gleaming.
Wang Ling: "..." Go? Screw you!
Of course Wang Ling refused to do it. Just playing the guitar for a bit would have been fine, but to sing and play at the same time... that was quite a serious problem! Because his default setting was 'silent mode'!
But under Father Wang's burning gaze, he finally capitulated...
First of all, he was afraid that Father Wang would dock his pocket money if he refused. Secondly, Wang Ling was a little provoked by this young man's disdainful look.
Why not perform for a bit?
As a result, Wang Ling silently went over to the corner and picked up Tang Youning's wooden guitar. He took a deep breath and felt more nervous about this than the way he passed his days on tenterhooks at school.
Hugging his arms, Tang Youning sneered with the attitude of someone about to watch a good show. "Yo, you're nervous now? I sing everywhere in the streets all the time, and I've never once been nervous with so many people watching me!"
Wang Ling glanced at him indifferently without the slightest flicker in his expression.
What on earth should he sing?
He thought for a while...
There actually weren't many popular songs around, since Huaxiu nation didn't place much importance on music. But that didn't mean that Wang Ling had no access to good music. His Heavenly Ear Ability allowed him to connect to any plane of existence and world line, like an FM radio.
After pondering for a bit, Wang Ling suddenly recalled a song he had heard from another plane, which would go well with a guitar accompaniment.
Holding the guitar in his arms, Wang Ling strummed it several times to check that it was in tune.
The sound of a guitar, full of fresh vitality, rang out.
And then, Wang Ling started to sing.