Chapter 77: Eating Fried Chicken. Knitting Woolen Sweater

There was one thing good about being the one in charge of dishing out money. After dishing out the money, one could just completely sit back and do nothing.

Old Wai grew busy. To put it in his own words: This bro’s working hard even with a broken body! Xu Tingsheng, you asshole, you’re instead shamelessly continuing to lark about every day...

Old Wai was not wrong at all. Xu Tingsheng had indeed been larking about recently, appearing in the various bars and nightclubs of Yanzhou City every day as he accompanied some ‘playful and adventurous’ girls from a nearby school in randomly frolicking about all over the city.

Together with him were Fu Cheng and Huang Yaming.

Xu Tingsheng and Fu Cheng actually didn’t want this. The two really didn’t hold much interest in nightclubs and bars and all those promiscuous women. However, one just had those few close bros in life. They had to accompany Huang Yaming, even while they clearly knew that what he was doing was wrong.

Huang Yaming had fallen out of love. Xu Tingsheng had seen this coming for a long time. However, to Huang Yaming himself, it had been utterly without warning and like a bolt out of the blue...unbearably hard to accept.

A few days ago, Tan Qinglin had called Huang Yaming on her own accord for a long time in a while. He had been very happy. However, it was that day when Tan Qinglin had called for their breakup over the phone. With just simply a: Let’s break up. No explanation had been forthcoming.

In truth, Huang Yaming had learnt around a month ago from Tan Qinglin’s roommate that ever since winter had set in, Tan Qinglin had spent all of her free time knitting a woolen sweater.

A warm sweater amidst the cold winter, personally knitted by your beloved one...how sweet and blissful a thing was that? Huang Yaming had feigned ignorance on the matter, just awaiting his gift, awaiting happily and silently in anticipation.

Then, the woolen sweater had been completed, yet it had adorned someone else’s body.

Tan Qinglin’s roommate told Huang Yaming: Don’t look for her anymore. That man’s not a student. He’s a young boss who’s come here to do business. He’s both the looks and the money, and drives over every weekend to pick Tan Qinglin up in his car...you can’t beat him.

Huang Yaming began to lark about outside every day, spending nights together with various women of all kinds, flinging money at those women he was unable to get his way with. Eventually, he obtained an entourage of women who would feast and frolic about with him day after day...When lacking money, he would ask Xu Tingsheng for some.

Xu Tingsheng could care less about that money. What he was more concerned about was Huang Yaming’s decadence, depravation and safety.

Therefore, he and Fu Cheng could only hang out together with Huang Yaming amidst his gallivanting. Sometimes, when persuasion and consoling just wouldn’t work, silently accompanying and guarding by that person’s side was the only way left to it.

The bright overhead lights of the nightclub whizzed over countless pale faces, their hearts and bodies undulating to the addictive music. Women with thick makeup shook their waists and flung their limbs, beguiling and enchanting amidst their laughter…

Huang Yaming was drunk. He angrily slammed the wineglass onto the bar table, saying to Xu Tingsheng and Fu Cheng, “Darn woman, freaking fool...Don’t you think she’s a freaking fool? ...I love her so much...goddammit, she actually knit a woolen sweater for someone else? What the hell...freaking fool.”

Xu Tingsheng was momentarily stunned. He pulled Fu Cheng aside, huddling up in discussion with him.

Then, he told Huang Yaming, “How about this bro gives you another method to vent? ...That Rebirth of ours hasn’t produced any new songs in a while. Accompany us to record a new song tomorrow.”

“I...can’t sing,” Huang Yaming shook his head.

“You can just be in charge of shouting,” Xu Tingsheng said.

“What song?” Fu Cheng asked curiously.

“You knit a woolen sweater for a freaking fool,” Xu Tingsheng said.

“It’s you who knit a woolen sweater for a freaking fool!” Fu Cheng retorted.

“That’s the title of the song-You knit a woolen sweater for a freaking fool,” After that, Xu Tingsheng ignored him as he told Huang Yaming, “Huang Yaming, you were the one who said those words just now...you’ll be in charge of yelling this phrase tomorrow. Just shout it out loud however you like. The rest can be left to me and Fu Cheng.”

Because of Huang Yaming’s earlier sentence, Xu Tingsheng had remembered a song called <Knitting Woolen Sweater>. This was an offbeat song that had only grown popular on the internet around the year 2010. However, in truth, it had already appeared in the early 80s.

Therefore, the matter of plagiarism didn’t exist here at all. Xu Tingsheng didn’t intend on earning money with it; after all, it would be an infringement of someone else’s copyright.

He just wanted to go along with this to give Huang Yaming an avenue to vent. Simply put, his bro having been bullied, Xu Tingsheng intended to assist him in scolding people.

Right, scolding people. Just as uncultured and uncouth as that, just as unreasonable and protective as that. What can you do about it, huh?!

Also, Xu Tingsheng didn’t intend to completely follow the original lyrics and tune of the song. He found another song and mixed and mashed the two together completely unreasonably. Since they were going to do this, why not go a little crazy with it then?

Fu Cheng contacted the recording studio in advance, while Xu Tingsheng spent the entire night changing the lyrics.

The next day, the two dragged Huang Yaming, still nursing a hangover, to the recording studio.

Fu Cheng: “I deeply love you

Yet you are in love with a freaking fool

The freaking fool doesn’t love you as much as I do

You’re even more of a freaking fool than the freaking fool

Oh…”

Huang Yaming, drunkenly: “You still knit a woolen sweater for the freaking fool.”

Together: “You’re even more of a freaking fool than the freaking fool.”

Xu Tingsheng: “I’m eating fried chicken in the People’s Square

Yet where are you in this time and space?

Oh, apparently…”

Huang Yaming, roaring at maximum: “You’re knitting a woolen sweater for a freaking fool.”

Together: “You’re even more of a freaking fool than a freaking fool.”

Repeat.

……

Without too much editing, this extremely rough and slipshod piece of work that did not flow well, was full of vulgarities, contained some random roaring, and...so forth was uploaded by Fu Cheng onto the small music webpage that night as <You Knit A Woolen Sweater For A Freaking Fool>.

Due to the copyright issue, Xu Tingsheng asked Fu Cheng to explain to the ringtone company that this song was not to enter any business channels or charge any downloading fees.

Back to those people who still lingered around the small music webpage believing in the ‘Rebirth who’re unwilling to show their faces because they’re too ugly’.

Maybe they were still trying to persuade and talk round the band of uglies, trading verbal blows with one another or capitalising on this to hook up with young girls who weren’t disdainful of ugly men...Regardless, Rebirth’s true fans were actually just used to loading this small webpage every day, discussing stuff with others, trying to pick up some girl, ripping a new one in some idiot...After all, ever since having consecutively released five good songs, Rebirth had already been silent for a very time, not speaking, not releasing a new song.

As they loaded the small webpage today, they suddenly discovered: Rebirth had released a new song.

This new song...uh, what were the fans to say about it? ...It definitely couldn’t appear in any official charts or even any occasion which was comparatively formal. Still, it would be popular. It would definitely be popular.

It was unique and strange, yet simple and interesting as well as catchy. Just having listened to it twice, many were already unconsciously beginning to hum along as well. Also, they hummed along merrily, satisfiedly, with gusto.

The popularity of Rebirth’s new song surged through the roof...In just two short days, this <You Knit A Woolen Sweater For A Freaking Fool> that music critics scorned and parents added to the blacklist blazed across the entire internet.

As Xu Tingsheng walked the streets, he began to hear people unconsciously hum as they walked, “I’m eating fried chicken in the People’s Square. Yet where are you in this time and space? Oh, apparently...You’re knitting a woolen sweater for a freaking fool.”

Back in their room, Old Wai complained to Xu Tingsheng in a huff, “If this old man knew who that Rebirth are, I’d definitely go hack them to death...do you know, Bro Xu? Having recently stopped being a home tutor, Linlin was planning to knit me a woolen sweater in her free time. Now...it’s gone. She said that if she knits me one, I would have become a freaking fool…”

“Hackworthy, definitely hackworthy,” Xu Tingsheng responded with a guilty conscience.

With this, he must really have put quite a number of people in a spot. Fortunately, Xiang Ning wouldn’t knit woolen sweaters even when she had grown up. No matter what, he hadn’t done himself a disservice.

Meanwhile, Fu Cheng received a call from Fang Yunyao.

“Fu Cheng, I remember you telling me last time that that Rebirth is something of yours and Xu Tingsheng’s?” Fang Yunyao asked over the phone.

Xu Tingsheng and Fu Cheng had hidden this from many people, but Fang Yunyao definitely wasn’t one of them. Fu Cheng had already mentioned it to her a long time ago.

“Yeah yeah, that’s right,” Because Fang Yunyao had praised him the last time, saying that she liked two of his songs, Fu Cheng was still feeling a little eager as she mentioned the band again now.

“I want to tell you something. It’s like this...When I was free and had nothing to do a while ago, I knit a woolen sweater for my father. After having finished knitting it, I discovered that it might be too big for him to wear...I’d originally thought of giving it to you, but now...what to do?”

A daughter knitting a woolen sweater for her father-how could she possibly knit out one that was too big in size? This woolen sweater had clearly been specifically knit by Fang Yunyao for Fu Cheng. This sweet, thoughtful gesture was the first time she was expressing herself so directly to him.

Fu Cheng clutched his phone, “This...I, I...wait a moment, I’ll go hack Xu Tingsheng to death...I’ve got to hack him to death.”

Fang Yunyao laughed on the other end of the phone.

Fu Cheng thought before saying, “About that, Ms Fang...No, Yunyao, Yaoyao...Actually, I’m willing to be a freaking fool.”

“Oh, but...I’m not willing to be even more of a summat fool than a summat fool,” Fang Yunyao was too embarrassed to let the vulgar words out of her mouth.

“I...I don’t wanna live anymore. I’ve gotta go hack Xu Tingsheng to death.”

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