Chapter 373

Wei Ming cleared his throat and began to hum; the song's style still sounded remarkably fresh and catchy by today's standards.

"All the beauty is but yesterday's intoxication; the faint bitterness is today's true flavor."

"Think of tomorrow—sunburn and windblown, no matter how hard or tired, I fear nothing."

Wei Ming's voice certainly wasn't as naturally gifted as Tian Zhen's, but he sang with all the emotion he could muster, and the audience listened intently, nodding frequently.

"The pain in my body keeps me from sleeping; the road beneath my feet holds even more exhaustion."

"Chasing dreams is full of twists and turns; I face it all without regret, calmly and steadily."

Wei Ming's gaze swept over the twelve volleyball players; after ten days and seven matches, this one had lasted two full hours—each of them bore injuries, some visible, others hidden beneath uniforms, and Wei's song had reached straight into their hearts.

Storm and rainbow, resolute rose; bear all your sorrow and pain yourself.

"Storm and rainbow, resolute rose; roaming the four seas, ruling the horizon, never retreating."

Wei Ming's voice rose sharply, and several of the girls had already begun wiping away tears.

It wasn't just because of their hard-won victory, but because this cultured man, Wei Ming, had written them such a beautiful song—what immense honor!

When we get back, I'll definitely buy a book by Teacher Wei to support him.

Actually, this song wasn't originally meant for the women's football team; Wei Ming had simply given it to the volleyball team first. Though the football team performed well, their peak achievements couldn't compare to the volleyball team's, and this song would spread across China—and eventually the world—alongside China's future five-peat world championships.

After the song ended, they asked what it was called—it was so beautiful.

Wei Ming, tired of fussing, simply named it "Resolute Rose."

Coach Yuan asked: "Teacher Wei, do you have the lyrics?"

Wei Ming quickly tore the lyrics off his notebook, and the girls immediately began copying them down.

At that moment, Cao Huiying, the senior player from Tangshan, asked: "'Resolute' is so hard to write—and what even is a rose?"

Everyone laughed, and Wei Ming patiently explained: "A rose is a very beautiful flower, but its stem has thorns—it can prick your hand."

Lang Ping laughed: "We're not just a little prickly—we're very prickly!"

Everyone chimed in, clearly loving the metaphor of the rose to describe themselves.

Wei Ming felt giving them a song wasn't enough, so he turned to Team Leader Zhang and Coach Yuan: "Do you all have time at noon? I have to rush to Tokyo this afternoon for another event, so I'd like to treat you all to dinner."

He also invited Reporter Zhao and his colleagues to join.

Team Leader Zhang paused, then agreed. If they celebrated themselves, they'd settle for tonkotsu ramen and a sausage—but if Teacher Wei was treating? He couldn't even imagine what that might be!

In truth, it wasn't much—just unlimited Kobe beef, open buffet style, and seafood if they wanted.

Sea cucumbers? Plenty!

After the meal, Wei Ming became the volleyball team's best friend; they took several more photos with his camera, and Reporter Zhao couldn't put down Wei Ming's Pentax LX Gold.

This was Wei Ming's third camera—globally limited to 300 units, only 200 in Japan, its body wrapped in 18k gold plating and brown leather; he'd seen it at the Tokyo airport, thought it beautiful, and bought it outright for about $4, 00. Now he was at the point where playing with a DSLR wouldn't bankrupt him.

When parting, everyone was reluctant; Wei Ming promised to write them another short essay when he returned.

Lang Ping said bluntly: "First, find a singer to record 'Resolute Rose'—your singing sounds a bit off-key."

Chen Zhaodi added: "Some notes didn't even reach pitch."

Ah, that's what friends are for—they tell you the truth.

That afternoon, Wei Ming and Satoda Masashi boarded the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. During the match, Satoda felt it inappropriate to cheer for China with Wei Ming, and booing with the Japanese crowd was worse, so he'd stayed in the hotel studying Wei's new compositions.

Wei Ming had promised him the right to sing it, but there were no Japanese lyrics yet—he'd have to write them himself, and this concert was definitely too soon.

His concert was tomorrow night; tonight, Wei Ming could fully enjoy Tokyo's nightlife.

Wei Ming pulled out the player: "Forget everything else—where can I buy this? I want to buy it, and I need a lot."

He'd need to give one back to A Min, one each to Lin Jie and Xue Jie, and Xiao Hong might need one to learn English.

Wouldn't it be nice if his parents could listen to music while working?

If Anping Uncle sees that Wei Ming has one, won't he think of buying one for Xiao Yan Auntie too?

And then…

Let's start with ten units to test the waters.

To buy such a thing, Satoda Masashi took Wei Ming to Akihabara.

Originally an electronics street, Akihabara now had more electronics, and early signs of an otaku paradise were emerging; Wei Ming and Satoda could still spot arcade halls as they walked.

"Want to go in?" Satoda asked, noticing Wei Ming glancing sideways repeatedly.

"Sure."

Arcade games were born in America ten years ago; a few years back, they entered a rapid growth phase, but mainland China still had none.

Satoda exchanged coins; Wei Ming looked: "Space Invaders," "Pac-Man," "Donkey Kong"—all classics of the era.

Wei Ming first played "Pac-Man," then "Donkey Kong."

He even spotted a carpenter in "Donkey Kong," wearing overalls—he looked familiar. Oh, this was Super Mario!

His real name should be Mario, but at this point he was just a minor character in "Donkey Kong," even without an official name.

Two years before his rebirth, Mario's movie had grossed over a billion dollars worldwide; the IP's influence was still massive. Wei Ming stared at the tiny figures on screen, their heads spinning fast.

After playing a few popular arcade games, Wei Ming noticed a neglected claw machine.

Calling it a "claw machine" wasn't quite right—back then, these machines didn't grab dolls; they grabbed snacks and candies. They were essentially arcade machines with a gambling element.

The integration of claw machines with plush toys and cartoon merchandise would have to wait years—for Sega's UFO catcher.

Sega was also a game company, a fierce rival to Nintendo; the two arcade games Wei Ming had just played were Nintendo's.

Too bad Nintendo hadn't released the Famicom yet—if they had, he'd have bought a few to play with Xi Zi.

But while browsing electronics stores for Walkmans, Wei Ming spotted actual handheld game consoles for sale.

It was called "Game & Watch," Nintendo's latest portable console, the world's first handheld LCD electronic game machine, containing games like "Pac-Man" and "Donkey Kong."

Wei Ming's only word: "Buy!"

Wei Ming left Akihabara with a haul—he bought a pile of electronics, had to buy another bag, and returned to the hotel to store everything.

Japan's national pastime at the time was pink films, different from later textbook-style pornography, with higher artistic merit; director Matsumoto Kōji was a god in this field, with countless classics—including the famous "In the Realm of the Senses," which he produced.

Wei Ming loved them, but feared embarrassment if customs found them, so he began inquiring about Japanese housing prices and foreigner home-buying requirements.

After owning property in Shanghai and Beijing, his next step was to buy in Hong Kong, then abroad.

"If your album royalties haven't reached China yet, you could probably buy an apartment in Tokyo," Satoda Masashi said.

Wei Ming: "I'll wait."

He'd consider it after his next trip to Japan, when he'd earned more money.

Night fell; the two went to Shinjuku's first block for drinks. Wei Ming knew this place well—Long often brought him here, like his own home, though some shops had changed—things remained, but people were gone.

And this time, neither of them had touched women; both were proper literati.

But someone else had.

When Wei Ming saw Cheng Long emerge with two women in kimonos, he clearly saw the embarrassment on his face, his hands quickly pulling away from their shoulders.

Wei Ming studied the two Japanese women, thick with foundation. Brother, you're really hungry—did Cai Lan teach you "kill the ugly"? These women were nowhere near Lin Fengjiao or Deng Lijun.

Cheng Long had met Wei Ming at the charity concert—he'd donated a watch—they knew each other, but weren't close; Cheng Long feared the Free Association.

Still, Cheng Long came over to greet the famous writer, saying pleasant things, hoping to avoid being written into a story as something unpleasant—literati kill without knives.

"Ah Ming, what are you doing here!" Cheng Long warmly embraced Wei Ming.

"We arrived the same day—I'm here for my friend's concert," Wei Ming said, then introduced Satoda Masashi: "His last album adapted my songs."

"Your songs have reached Japan? Amazing!" Cheng Long grinned, then waved his hand for the hostesses to leave.

Wei Ming smiled: "Want to sing my songs?"

"You'd write me a song?" Cheng Long's eyes lit up—he saw an opportunity; if he could expand his influence into music, his next film's box office might rise even higher!

On both trips to Japan, Cheng Long's favorite pastimes besides bars were karaoke—he had real singing talent.

Plus, with music, he could join commercial performances—far more dignified than doing somersaults on stage.

Seeing Cheng Long sit down, eyes fixed on him, Wei Ming pulled out the lyric sheet; Satoda leaned in—good heavens, he'd written two songs last night!

Wei Ming handed it to Cheng Long, who kept asking, "What does this character mean?"

He wasn't illiterate—just unfamiliar with simplified characters.

After reading through, Cheng Long said: "I don't know how the melody sounds, but I love these lyrics—they're full of spirit. But… isn't this for a woman?"

He had some culture, Wei Ming replied: "China's women's volleyball team just won the World Cup. After watching them beat the U. . yesterday, I wrote this song—it'll be the official anthem of China's women's volleyball team."