Chapter 10

The night grew deeper.

The night wind blew fiercely, and despite it being a summer night, it carried a chill.

Jin Jincheng, who had just seen Jessica and Krystal off, fell back into his solitary loneliness.

Looking around, Jin Jincheng realized that he was very close to Wall Street, which meant that the Stern School of Business was not far ahead.

When people mention Wall Street, the first thing that comes to mind is undoubtedly the world's top financial center. In reality, Wall Street is just the name of a major street in the southern part of Manhattan, New York City, extending from Broadway to the East River.

The New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business is adjacent to Wall Street, just a stone's throw away. This is one of the main reasons many students choose the Stern School. Its excellent location makes the Stern School one of the top business schools in the world in terms of employment rates and one of the schools that produces the most business leaders.

In fact, NYU does not have a traditional campus with walls; its campus is integrated into the entire city of New York, ranking first in urban integration among all universities. One could say that NYU uses the entire city of New York as its campus, with its eighteen colleges distributed throughout the city. This unique campus, combined with its location in a city at the forefront of the world, makes NYU a dream for countless students.

The Tisch School of the Arts is perhaps a bit more special. Because it is an arts school, students need a certain quiet environment, so the Tisch School has a more cohesive campus compared to other NYU colleges.

The Stern School, on the other hand, is the most "dispersed" college in NYU, the least like a traditional college.

The Stern School is based in two buildings: the Henry Kaufman Management Center and Tisch Hall, the latter located in Washington Square. Although it appears "dispersed," the Stern School has modern facilities and excellent design, with dedicated housing for graduate students and many apartment buildings in the surrounding area for students to rent.

Originally, the Stern School had allocated a single apartment for "that Jin Jincheng" in the graduate housing, but he declined it. To save money and have the school reduce his fees in other areas, and to spend more time with Jose and Tony, he chose to live elsewhere.

"Jin Jincheng" was a forward-thinking person. Despite his somewhat introverted personality, he was willing to spend time with Jose and Tony. Besides the genuine friendship between them, he also foresaw that the talents of Jose and Tony might be beneficial to his future career.

This foresight has proven true. However, the friendship investment was utilized by the current Jin Jincheng, particularly in the context of Facebook.

There is some distance between the Tisch School of the Arts and the Stern School. "That Jin Jincheng" had to run back and forth between the two to pursue his Ph.D. at Tisch and his master's degree at Stern.

Because it was summer and Jin Jincheng was busy with Facebook, he hadn't been to the Stern School for several days. Feeling lonely and restless that night, and being so close to the Stern School, he decided to take a walk.

...

Jin Jincheng first visited the Henry Kaufman Management Center and then walked to Tisch Hall in Washington Square.

This was the first time the current Jin Jincheng had visited the Stern School, but he was not unfamiliar with it. Not only because "that Jin Jincheng" had studied there for several years, but also for another reason.

Another person in Jin Jincheng's memory had a significant impact, and this memory was also passed down from "that Jin Jincheng."

This person was none other than "that Jin Jincheng's" mother, who is also the mother of the current Jin Jincheng in this life. Her name is Jin Xiaoxi.

That night, as Jin Jincheng wandered alone through the Stern School, memories of Jin Xiaoxi kept surfacing in his mind. Two events stood out the most.

One was that Jin Xiaoxi had pursued her master's degree at the Stern School. It was during this time that she met the father of the current Jin Jincheng, and they quickly fell in love, leading to the birth of "that Jin Jincheng."

This was one of the main reasons why "that Jin Jincheng" chose NYU and pursued a master's degree at the Stern School.

The other event was Jin Xiaoxi's death.

Yes, the mother of the current Jin Jincheng, Jin Xiaoxi, had long since passed away.

When "that Jin Jincheng" was eight years old, one evening, after returning from a tutoring class, he heard a loud explosion as he approached his home. A fierce fire and thick smoke erupted from the house... The Korean police classified the incident as a gas canister explosion, and Jin Xiaoxi died young in this explosion.

Jin Xiaoxi gave birth to "that Jin Jincheng" at the age of 28 and died at the age of 36.

"Jin Jincheng" witnessed the explosion and saw his mother's body being carried out of the burned house by firefighters and police. He saw the tragic scene and the moment of silence when she was covered with a white sheet...

These painful memories were all picked up by the current Jin Jincheng.

Although the current Jin Jincheng had not personally experienced the care of his mother in this life, all the memories of her were passed down from "that Jin Jincheng." Since he was reborn as "that Jin Jincheng," "that Jin Jincheng's" mother became his mother, and a deep sense of family seemed to flow through his veins.

Thinking about his own premature death at the age of 32 in his previous life, Jin Jincheng felt an even deeper pain and confusion.

...

At that moment, Jin Jincheng was sitting in a lecture hall at Tisch Hall.

It was late at night, and the lecture hall was empty, with only a few scattered lights drifting through the vast space, creating a dim atmosphere. This matched Jin Jincheng's current mood, making it feel somewhat oppressive.

In this atmosphere, Jin Jincheng deeply mourned his mother who had died in this life.

At the same time, he deeply reflected on his own death in his previous life, a belated reflection.

Unconsciously, Jin Jincheng felt a desire to cry.

Unconsciously, two familiar melodies began to echo in his mind.

These were two songs he had loved in his previous life.

Perhaps the act of writing two songs for Kim Jong-kook had sparked a creative impulse, combined with the pain, confusion, oppression, and reflection he was experiencing, making him want to express himself through singing.

So, Jin Jincheng took out his phone and turned on the recording function.

Facing the phone, Jin Jincheng softly sang the two songs in his mind.

"If I die young, bury me in satin, Lay me down on a bed of roses, Sink me in the river at dawn, Send me away with the words of a love song, Oh, oh, oh, oh."

"Lord, let me be a rainbow, I want to shine on my mother, When she stands under my colors, she'll know I'm safe with you, Life isn't always what you think it will be, It's not always so gray, Though she buried her child, The sharp edge of a fleeting life, I've lived long enough."

"If I die young, bury me in satin, Lay me down on a bed of roses, Sink me in the river at dawn, Send me away with the words of a love song, The sharp edge of a fleeting life, I've lived long enough."

"I'll walk through your kingdom in fine clothes, As green as the rings on my cold fingers, I've never felt a woman's tenderness, But when she holds my hand, it must feel so good, There's a woman in this town who says she'll love me forever, But who knew forever would be so far apart, The sharp edge of a fleeting life, I've lived long enough."

"So put on your crown, and I'll wear my best dress, I've finally done what I've never done, A penny for my thoughts, Oh, no, my price is a dollar, When I'm gone, they'll be worth more, Maybe then you'll really hear the songs I sing, People only start listening after you're gone, How ridiculous!"

"If I die young, bury me in satin, Lay me down on a bed of roses, Sink me in the river at dawn, Send me away with the words of a love song, Oh, oh, oh, oh."

"The dove's song is always filled with peaceful love, Gather your tears, put them in your pocket, Keep them until you really need them, The sharp edge of a fleeting life, I've lived long enough."

"So put on your crown, and I'll wear my best dress..."

This was an English song, and Jin Jincheng sang it in English. The song is called "If I Die Young."

It is an extremely emotional and touching song, like a beautiful and sad prose poem, full of poetic sentiment.

Based on his memories from his previous life, Jin Jincheng made some minor changes to the song.

The original song has a deep meaning, expressing views on life and the brevity of existence.

The original singer was a woman who, in the song, described how she would miss her mother if she died and wanted her mother to know she was safe and not to worry. She also mentioned a man who said he would love her forever, but who would have thought she would die so young?

The song's narrator is "you," but it is actually a conversation with herself. She says, "If I die, I want to be buried in satin, lying on a bed of roses, and sunk in the river at dawn, with a love song to send me off." It's like a fantasy of a last will.

Now, the singer is Jin Jincheng, who not only inherits the deep meaning of the original song but also transforms the woman's sentiment into a man's, while elevating the emotion to deeply mourn his mother's death in this life and, in a subtle way, to deeply reflect on his own death in his previous life.

"This room is empty again tonight, I leave the TV on, turn the volume down, take a bottle of wine, and look at the walls covered with our old photos, the past haunts my thoughts, and I still can't get used to your absence."

"I've never let my emotions run wild like this, because I always thought a strong person would never lose control of their feelings, but I've drunk a lot to escape the pain, and what does pride matter now, let the tears flow like rain, tonight I just want to cry."

"Would it help to play a sad song, but 'Alone' only makes me more heartbroken, because you're gone, maybe I should open those old, yellowed love letters, but they only cause more pain, hiding my feelings will never bring me peace."

"I've never let my emotions run wild like this, because I always thought a strong person would never lose control of their feelings, but I've drunk a lot to escape the pain, and what does pride matter now, let the tears flow like rain, tonight I just want to cry..."

This is also an English song, and Jin Jincheng sang it in English. The song is called "Tonight I Wanna Cry."

Like "If I Die Young," this is an extremely emotional and touching song. If the former is like a beautiful and sad prose poem, this one is like a gentle and sad diary entry.

Jin Jincheng followed his memories from his previous life and did not make any changes to the lyrics and melody, but he significantly elevated the meaning.

In his previous life, the song expressed a sad man's reflection on a woman who had left him, describing his loneliness in an empty room. But to Jin Jincheng, this loneliness was only a small kind of loneliness.

When Jin Jincheng sang it, he used a hidden meaning to elevate this small loneliness into a greater loneliness.

He expressed the loneliness of being a child without a mother in this life and, in a subtle way, the vast loneliness of being a reborn person, reflecting on his journey from his previous life to this one.

...

If I die young, tonight I wanna cry!

This was Jin Jincheng's state of mind that night.

It was also the two songs he had spontaneously created.

He was somewhat macho and disliked men crying easily, but even he, after singing these two English songs, felt his eyes moisten with a sense of overwhelming emotion.

In the empty lecture hall late at night, under the dim and scattered lights, a layer of crystalline tears formed at the corners of his eyes.

Yes, men do not cry, but there is a saying, "Men do not cry, but only when they are truly heartbroken."

Unfortunately, there was no young, beautiful woman there. If there had been, and if she had seen him like this, even if she were usually a cold-hearted person, she would have been moved by Jin Jincheng's appearance.

...

The next morning, Jin Jincheng walked into the office of a music professor named Wilson.

Wilson was a music professor at the Tisch School of the Arts and a top music producer in the American music industry.

"Jin Jincheng," who had a passion for music and developed it into a specialty, often attended Wilson's music lectures while pursuing his film degree at the Tisch School. Over time, his academic achievements, which were well-known throughout NYU, caught Wilson's attention and admiration.

Jin Jincheng came to see Professor Wilson for the two English songs he had created the previous night.

These two English songs were originally created by Jin Jincheng to express his feelings and vent his emotions.

However, after thinking about them in bed that night, Jin Jincheng felt that since they had been created, they had a reason to exist. Why not publish them?

...