Chapter 308: Ah-min

First love, such a beautiful word—just thinking about it makes the tip of the tongue sweet.

The original composer of this song was the Japanese musician Murashita Takakura; a year later, the legendary lyricist Cheng Kwok-jiang wrote the lyrics, and Lin Chi-mei performed it.

This song not only swept across Hong Kong at the time, giving Lin Chi-mei the credibility to compete with the top divas, but has remained timeless for decades, endlessly replayed and loved, with both male and female versions, both standard and upbeat renditions—depending entirely on the arranger's skill.

Since Ah-min had chosen it, Wei Ming pulled out a stack of papers from his bag and drew one sheet.

"Here you go."

Chow Hui-min took it with both hands and read it carefully.

"No experience in love / Today I first discover / Glimpsing him from afar / That joy feels so fresh..."

Seeing the lyrics, Chow Hui-min couldn't help but feel joy inside—she had assumed Ah-ming had written about his own first love, but now it seemed he'd written from a young girl's perspective.

Then her heart pounded even harder—he wrote about me! He was writing entirely about me!

"I lay awake all night / Your shadow appeared in my heart / Why does meeting you once / Leave such a beautiful impression, like first love? / I silently gaze / At that gaze, electric as lightning / In that instant of contact / I'm turned upside down..."

This was exactly Chow Hui-min's psychological reaction the first time she saw Wei Ming—she had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

So detailed! So incredibly detailed!

Ah-min, blushing, continued reading, reaching the chorus.

"Every minute I long to meet him / I wait silently, never complaining / Every minute I yearn to see him / Even a chance encounter on the street brings me joy for days..."

Chow Hui-min, who had been reading silently, began humming softly, her mood lifting with the song.

Ah-min wasn't a naturally gifted singer—her voice was ordinary, her power limited, and among her peers, her ability wasn't outstanding—but her tone was still beautiful, highly distinctive; if the right song was chosen and matched to her image, the effect would be more than the sum of its parts.

And this song, "First Love," was absolutely the perfect genre for Ah-min. Lin Chi-mei's image was unremarkable, yet once this song came out, it quickly became a classic sung on every street corner, hugely influential among students, even dubbed by the media as "the voice of teenage hearts," and still a viral hit on TikTok decades later.

If the singer of this song became Ah-min, Wei Ming believed its impact would only grow greater—after all, Ah-min was the kind of girl who instantly evoked first love.

Yet during her rehearsal, Ah-min realized her current ability couldn't yet match this song.

The song was excellent—it was just that she wasn't good enough yet.

At that moment, Wei Ming's attention was drawn to the performer on stage—it was the Mandarin song "The Slippery Girl," performed by Chang Ming-min.

Ah-min told Wei Ming: "I chose this place because Brother Chang has always wanted to meet you and thank you personally for your songs."

Wei Ming admired Brother Chang's character; meeting him was no problem.

He said: "But it doesn't seem like the help was much—he's still singing in karaoke lounges."

"How could that be? He comes here every Saturday because he's an old friend of the lounge owner. He's already a very famous Mandarin singer."

"I see."

Because they had interacted frequently, the performer on stage, Chang Ming-min, immediately spotted the little girl, Chow Hui-min, and locked onto the handsome boy beside her.

At first he thought the girl had started dating, but the boy didn't look like her age—he looked well-groomed, yet clearly a seasoned player, not the kind of guy you'd trust.

So after finishing the song, seeing Chow Hui-min wave at him again, Chang Ming-min walked over immediately.

"Ah-min, who's this?"

"Brother Chang, this is Ah-ming."

"What? Ah-ming!" Chang Ming-min was delighted, and as he looked at Wei Ming, he saw a clear-eyed, upright young man.

"I'll call you Brother Chang too, Brother Chang, nice to meet you—I'm Wei Ming."

"Wei Ming?" Hearing Wei Ming's real name, Chang Ming-min felt he'd heard it somewhere before.

Chow Hui-min smiled: "It sounds familiar, right? Hint: 'Heroes Emerge in Youth.'"

Chang Ming-min: "Oh, now I remember!"

He had just read a newspaper article mocking the mainland writer Wei Ming for boasting without consequence—it had even mentioned Kwong Tak-mak.

"So you can write novels, screenplays, AND write lyrics and compose music?!" Chang Ming-min was astonished by Wei Ming's versatility.

"It's not just that—he can draw and play basketball too!"

Ah-min's pride was impossible to hide; Chang Ming-min couldn't help smiling.

Although he knew he might be intruding now, there was one thing he had long wanted to do.

"Ah-ming, can I invite you to dinner? Ah-min too—my career changed because of you."

Wei Ming and Ah-min exchanged glances, then gladly agreed.

They found a Shandong restaurant near the lounge; Chang Ming-min learned Wei Ming planned to leave Hong Kong soon, and chuckled: "Good thing Ah-min brought you today—otherwise I'd have missed you."

"How could that be? I'll come to Hong Kong often," Wei Ming said.

Chang Ming-min glanced again at Chow Hui-min, suddenly understanding—this was the power of love!

Over dinner, Chang Ming-min mentioned the tabloid stories about Wei Ming, saying: "Are there any misunderstandings here? I know some media contacts—I can help clarify."

"I said it myself—no need to clarify," Wei Ming said calmly.

But Chow Hui-min couldn't stay calm: "Those tabloid reporters are narrow-minded—they have no idea how amazing Ah-ming is. Everything he says is true!"

Chang Ming-min's eyes widened—was it really true? A million per song?!

Wei Ming smiled and waved his hand: "Ah-min, if you can talk, keep going."

Ah-min's mouth wouldn't stop: "Brother Chang, you must know what the hottest song globally is right now?"

Chang Ming-min replied instantly: "Of course—the British newcomer Sarah Brightman singing 'Moonlight Shadow' in memory of John Lennon. That album sold out even in Hong Kong."

Chow Hui-min was satisfied with the answer: "Then who wrote the lyrics and music?"

Chang Ming-min thought for a moment: "It was something like Mr. Why?"

"This Mr. Wei not only writes songs—he's also the author of multiple best-selling children's novels, like 'The Book of Heaven' and 'The Lion King.' On the mainland, he's called the 'King of Fairy Tales'—and this is just one of Ah-ming's alter egos."

After saying this, Ah-min acted as if the man were herself, while Chang Ming-min was utterly stunned—so the genius behind the three-week Billboard chart-topper was a mainland musician?!

Though he didn't know how much Western musicians earned, such a globally explosive song would surely bring its lyricist and composer at least a million Hong Kong dollars—probably far more.

While Chang Ming-min was still stunned, Ah-min delivered another blow: "Tomorrow Ah-ming is leaving Hong Kong—for England—because Sarah Brightman's boss wants to adapt his fairy tales into musicals. He's already a hugely influential writer in the West."

Chow Hui-min was proud—not only because Ah-ming's achievements were great, but because Ah-ming had never hidden any of this from her.

Chang Ming-min believed her without doubt—he trusted Wei Ming's character, so at first he'd assumed it was just a miscommunication. Now he saw: the man truly had talent.

He had originally wanted to commission a song from Wei Ming, but now he felt too embarrassed to ask—in Hong Kong, writing a song paid barely anything, while collaborating with Western music circles—even without a smash hit—was far beyond what Cantopop could offer.

So from then on, Chang Ming-min mainly discussed the song's creative process and release history with Wei Ming, forgetting entirely about commissioning a new one.

But Wei Ming himself brought up that he'd recently written several songs about maternal love for his screenplay, "Mother, Please Love Me Again"—one of them could be sung by Chang Ming-min.

It was "Mother in the Candlelight"—though better suited for a female voice, and the film version would feature a mainland female singer, the Yu Quan rendition had left a deep impression on Wei Ming.

He immediately wrote out the lyrics, changing "daughter" to "child."

As he tasted the lyrics and heard Wei Ming hum two lines, Chang Ming-min instantly fell in love with the song—parental love was an eternal theme in art.

Though they were friends and the meal was delightful, the record company's royalty payment couldn't be skipped—this song wasn't Wei Ming's alone; he wrote the lyrics, Ku Jian-fen composed the music, and this was Wei Ming helping Professor Ku earn some foreign exchange.

Chang Ming-min was deeply grateful and planned to speak with the company—this was a new work from a musician who had successfully broken into Europe and America—payment must be increased!

Finally, the three parted ways outside the restaurant; Chang Ming-min waved goodbye to Wei Ming's van.

In the car, Chow Hui-min hummed "First Love"—"No experience in love / Today I first discover"—her tone light and joyful, as if she were already lost in first love.

Wei Ming occasionally corrected her, savoring Ah-min's live vocals—her voice really was sweet, stirring the urge to fall in love.

As they neared home, Ah-min asked: "What about the other songs? Who are you planning to sell them to? Should I ask PolyGram for you? I'm close to Ah-lun."

Wei Ming replied: "Sell them? No—I wrote them all for you. I'm keeping them for you. When you're ready to sing them properly, I'll give them to you."

"Stop the car."

"Huh?"

"Please stop by the roadside," Chow Hui-min insisted.

Wei Ming reluctantly pulled over, puzzled why the girl suddenly wanted to get out.

Chow Hui-min unfastened her seatbelt—but she wasn't getting out. She asked him to stop so she could hug him.

The hug caught Wei Ming off guard—she twisted her slender waist from the passenger seat and wrapped her arms around him, whispering in his ear: "Thank you, Ah-ming brother."

Wei Ming's hands had nowhere to go; he laughed helplessly: "You're welcome." Ah-min sat back, smoothing her hair—trying to hide her flushed face. Thank goodness it was dark.

On the final stretch, Chow Hui-min told Wei Ming about her dream.

"I really want to become a singer. I used to listen to radio music programs every day and copied every good song into my notebook—but my mom would never let me debut."

When the family was poor, she refused—now that their circumstances had improved dramatically, Mother expected even greater academic achievements from her daughter.

Wei Ming had been so focused on writing songs for Ah-min that he hadn't considered she was still young—let alone that Mother would object, he himself didn't want little Ah-min entering the industry.

But this song had to be released soon—otherwise it would clash with 1983.

"Got it!"

Wei Ming had a sudden idea: "Hao Li Li is opening a new store, right? It's aimed at teens and white-collar workers—perfect. You can record this song and make it the store's theme song."

"Fast-food restaurants have theme songs?"

"Of course they do—even milk tea shops do. 'I love you, you love me, Mi Xue Bing Cheng is sweet, sweet, sweet.'"

So it was settled. As for the other four songs Wei Ming had written, he would keep them locked away—for now, until Ah-min was ready to sing them.

When Ah-min returned home, she still hummed "First Love," happily—just as her mother, freshly out of the shower, heard it.

"Whose song is this? I've never heard it before," Mother asked, drying her hair.

"Is it nice, Mommy?" Ah-min asked.

"It's okay." For an older person, calling a song about first love "okay" was already high praise.

Chow Hui-min beamed: "It's my song."

"What? Your song? You wrote it?"

"Ah-ming wrote it for me, Mommy. I have to confess—my pen pal Ah-ming came to Hong Kong, and we've already met."

"What?!" Mother's voice shot up—so loud even the old ghost next door faintly heard.

After half a month in Hong Kong, Wei Ming was about to embark on a new journey—reborn for two years, he was finally leaving the country for the first time.

It was originally a solitary journey, but now a little aunt, Wei Lingling, had joined him—and her dear self had even upgraded his cabin.

As the plane skimmed above Jiulongcheng, Wei Lingling's personal assistant, Li Zhi, was arranging her new home.

It was a two-bedroom apartment in a premium neighborhood within a ten-minute drive from Langning Toy Factory; one room belonged to Li Zhi and faced the sun.

Li Zhi was ecstatic—finally, she wouldn't have to squeeze into that pigeon coop with her father, stepmother, and younger brother. Lingling always valued quality of life; even the living room of this new home was larger than her father's entire house, where she'd once slept on the floor.

Moreover, Li Zhi had already figured out Lingling's true identity: to her, Langning Factory seemed a colossal enterprise, but to Lingling, it was merely a proving ground. She couldn't imagine how wealthy Lingling's family must be—and Wei Ming appeared to be the legitimate grandson of this overseas clan!

Good heavens, he'd hidden it so well!

Meanwhile, Liu Rulong took up residence at Maniac Comics, assuming the role of acting editor-in-chief. He laid out a two-month plan: the revamped magazine would launch in late August, just as students across Hong Kong returned to school.

During these two months, "Qin Shi Mingyue" must continue to be drawn as the initial flagship title; Liu Long's earlier work, "Heroes Emerge from the Young," could also be swiftly released in a Hong Kong edition while the momentum lasted. "Feng Yun" must begin preparation, with Ma Rongcheng leading as chief artist, to be unveiled later as a surprise weapon.

Besides "Feng Yun" Part One, which had a relatively complete script, Wei Ming had many ideas too hastily sketched out—these now required the company's screenwriters and manga artists to expand.

For instance, a humorous adaptation of the Four Great Classical Novels: Wei Ming proposed "Sha Seng's Diary," wrote the first chapter, and the rest could be expanded in the same style.

Another similar idea was "If History Were a Group of Cats," portraying historical figures and stories through cats of various colors and breeds, with a cute, educational approach to history.

There was also "Happy Ghost," a story outline centered on a down-on-his-luck scholar who becomes a ghost and helps, and is helped by, several young, beautiful girls.

Wei Ming also provided a cartoon image of Zhu Xiucai, the Happy Ghost; many at the company thought he resembled Huang Baiming from Xinyicheng.

All these ideas ran counter to traditional Hong Kong manga styles—Wei Ming's efforts to diversify the genre and aesthetics of HK manga.

Finally, a more traditional one: a violent action manga titled "Li Wang." The original Japanese version hadn't been released yet, and the story was short—Wei Ming handed it to the apprentices for practice.

But they weren't planning to make an 18+ manga; they aimed for all-age audiences, so violence was acceptable, but excessive bloodshed was not—the focus should be on Li Wang's immense strength, avoiding the excessive scale of the original manga and Hong Kong film versions.

Below this work, Wei Ming left a note: When shaping the male lead, model him after Zhao Debiao.

At this moment, Biaozi had not left Hong Kong—he'd taken a job and was filming an advertisement.

Xia Meng's husband, Lin Baocheng, ran a clothing factory that produced men's wear, particularly cool-style jackets. Since Debiao was currently popular in Hong Kong, Lin Baocheng proposed hiring him for an ad to be aired on TV and Kowloon City buses.

So Biaozi planned to wait until Mingge and Along returned to Beijing; he wouldn't leave, so Wu Jing naturally had to stay with him.

This round, Biaozi had gained both fame and fortune in Hong Kong—but after finishing that day's men's wear ad, another clothing factory owner contacted him through Xia Meng and Lin Baocheng.

He wanted to know if Mr. Biao would take on an advertisement for men's underwear—the fee was negotiable.

As Biaozi hesitated, Zhen Zidan beside him grew green with envy.

"Take it! What's wrong with underwear ads? You're still wearing clothes, aren't you? They didn't even ask me—if they had, I'd have taken it!"

On Hong Kong Island's Central, Hollyland had confirmed its new store location—a prime spot, though expensive.

Zhou Ma came over to inspect; at the time, Lao Gui was supervising renovations. Zhou Ma brought up the advertising theme song.

"A Min has thought of everything—this idea is excellent. Record the song and let me hear it later," Lao Gui smiled. That brat had some talent; his gift wasn't clichéd. A song would surely make A Min jump for joy.

Zhou Ma worried: "Gui, don't you think Ming might have ill intentions toward my A Min? He gave her a love song. I checked—he's over twenty, but my A Min's only in Secondary Two."

"Won't she be in Secondary Three after school starts? Besides, he's not even twenty—he's only twenty by Chinese age," Lao Gui defended his grandson.

"Still, there's a six-year gap!" Zhou Ma remained uneasy. Then she suddenly realized: "How do you know he's twenty? Wait—just who exactly is he to you?"

Originally, A Min had become friends with him only because she helped Lao Gui write letters.

Lao Gui chuckled: "Ah Fen, if what you fear ever happens, you'd better start calling me uncle~"

On the first day after Ming's departure, A Min sought out Zhang Mingmin, hoping for help.

"So Ming wrote you a song too, but you feel you can't handle it yourself, so you want to learn vocal technique from me."

A Min bowed deeply: "Brother Zhang, please take me as your disciple!"

Zhang Mingmin firmly refused. He'd just called me "uncle," and now he wants to make me his master? That's too much! I'm only in my twenties—how could I be that old?

Zhang Mingmin said: "If you truly want systematic vocal training, you'd be better off going directly to my teacher."

"Your teacher?"

"I've studied under many teachers to learn singing, but this one was the most skilled. My success in so many singing competitions owes everything to Teacher Dai."

Zhang Mingmin planned to recommend Zhou Huimin to his teacher, Dai Sicong.

At this time, Dai Sicong was not yet the Hong Kong music industry patriarch who later trained stars like Wang Fei, Li Ming, Xie Tingfeng, and Chen Xiaodong. Back then, his most famous student was Zhang Mingmin himself—and thanks to this rising Mandarin singing sensation, Dai Sicong quietly raised his vocal lesson fees.

But since it was his beloved student's recommendation, Dai Sicong would offer a discount and tailor training to the student's unique traits—even the most famous singers didn't start out singing perfectly.

After hearing Zhang Mingmin's praise of Teacher Dai, A Min was deeply tempted. Besides, the cost could be reimbursed by Hollyland—she was studying vocal technique during summer vacation to sing the theme song well for them. Who else should pay?

Of course, once she mastered vocal technique, Zhou Huimin wouldn't just sing "First Love."

She would also sing "Red Beans," "Flying Insects," "A Maiden's Prayer," and "Pink Memories."

"Red Beans" and "Flying Insects" had both Cantonese and Mandarin versions; "A Maiden's Prayer" was a Cantonese song; "Pink Memories" was a Mandarin song.

Wei Ming had squeezed Lin Xi dry—only "Pink Memories" wasn't his work.

Among all these, besides "First Love," Zhou Huimin was most drawn to "Pink Memories." Was it because her time with Ming had left him pink memories?

Whether or not that was true, in A Min's memory, every moment with Ming was painted pink. That summer, Ming became her secret heart's treasure, written into her diary, hoping to meet him in her dreams tonight.

Just as Wei Ming's flight landed in London, in mainland China, a film with little prior publicity quietly premiered at the end of June, just before "Heroes Emerge from the Young."

It was a rare film depicting daily family life in northern rural villages—mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sisters-in-law, and little aunts.

The film was titled "Xi Ying Men," starring Zhu Lin and Zhu Shimao, produced by Shanghai Film Studio.

Zhu Shimao's participation as the male lead from "The Herdsman" was the film's biggest selling point; once the poster went up, it attracted some of Lao Mao's fanboys.

After completing today's acting workshop, Zhu Lin quickly rode her bike to Beijing Film Studio.

"Xiao Xue, come on—let's go watch my movie!"

(End of Chapter)