140: Chapter 140 See you next week, roommate

Starting with the cover version by Teacher Tie Liu-hai from Singapore, the intro to "The Wind Rises" played for three seconds before silence fell over the classroom.

Li Li gripped the microphone, his voice dropping low as the first line emerged.

"In the past, I never stopped paying my debts on the road; when I was down and out, I met my beloved."

It wasn't a high-pitched singing style. Every word was articulated clearly; his mastery of vocal music wasn't just for show.

The live stream comments section exploded.

[Holy crap, what kind of texture is this voice?]

[Wait, did he write his own story??]

[Who is the beloved?]

He had adapted the lyrics, weaving the bitterness of his past life into them.

The conscience of a literary plagiarist lies in keeping the credit for the original singer in his heart.

Below the podium, Jiang Rumu sat on a desk, her legs dangling, her canvas shoes a dozen centimeters off the ground.

She wasn't looking at the projection screen.

"Since I first knew this world, I have lingered in its splendor."

When the chorus began, the comments stream split.

[Youth! Who hasn't had moments of lingering attachment!]

[7 days until the college entrance exam; I'm taking this song into the exam room.]

[I felt just like this on my first day of work—ready to brave fire and water, only to find the 'soup' was no lunch break, and the 'fire' was 996.]

Some heard youth, some heard wandering, some heard dreams, and some heard a hometown they could never return to.

With twenty million people online, they each picked up different fragments from the same song.

"I once found it hard to extricate myself from the vastness of the world, and was addicted to the dreams within it."

Li Li paused for half a beat when singing this line.

It wasn't that he forgot the lyrics.

The vastness of the world—he had truly seen it. The world of his past life, the world of this life, the flames of war in Dubai, the eaves on the seventh floor in Pengcheng, the great banyan tree at the orphanage.

Two worlds; one he could never return to.

The other, he was walking through well.

"Before the confession you never spoke is taken away by time..."

He dedicated this song to everyone in the live stream, to Song Yaoshan, and to the children at the orphanage.

He also dedicated it to his predecessor, who had received a breakup notification via live stream in a rented room before the transmigration.

A farewell that no one would ever know about.

The final note faded away.

The classroom was silent for two seconds.

Then, the seven or eight heads squeezed at the doorway erupted collectively—applause, screams, stomping, and clapping as if they had motors installed.

[The Wind Rises! It blew right into my heart!]

[I'm going to put this song on repeat until my phone dies.]

[Sister Mu, say something! Don't just sit there!]

Jiang Rumu jumped down from the desk, walked to the side of the podium, and took the microphone.

"It sounds very good."

"Just very good?"

"Your voice cracked a bit in the middle."

Li Li was speechless. JJ's version was a bit high, and the System didn't even know to give him a singing skill reward.

He could only change the subject to ease the awkwardness.

"That song of yours was written by me."

"So you're better at writing songs than singing them."

The comments section went wild with laughter.

[Professional bickering for thirty years.]

Li Li didn't respond, because he saw a short figure at the back of the classroom, peering in through a gap in the crowd while holding onto the door frame.

With graying hair, a floral cotton top, and a bamboo-knotted cane in her left hand.

Mother Zhang.

Li Li handed the microphone to Jiang Rumu, jumped off the podium, passed through the children, and walked to the back of the classroom.

He bent down and gave her a gentle hug.

Mother Zhang patted his back; the force wasn't great, but it was steady.

"Mom, how is your health?"

"Much better. The rehabilitation therapist Xiao Jiang found for me is excellent; they come twice a week, though it's a bit expensive."

Li Li let go and took a half-step back.

"Xiao Jiang?"

Mother Zhang tilted her head and glanced toward the podium.

Jiang Rumu was being tugged by the hem of her clothes by three little girls; one wanted her to grade homework, one wanted a hug, and another was stuffing a White Rabbit creamy candy directly into her pocket.

"Xiao Jiang is a very good girl," Mother Zhang said, retracting her gaze. "If you have the chance, treat her well."

She paused for a moment.

"Otherwise, you don't need to come back to this orphanage."

Li Li was stunned for a second.

"Mom, she's been here less than a month, and she's already captured you?"

Mother Zhang tapped her cane on the floor and snorted.

"Not just me. Ask around—how many people in the orphanage are still on your side?"

Li Li turned his head and scanned the room.

Xiao Chai was lying at Jiang Rumu's feet, tail wagging like a propeller. Three duty teachers were standing at the door, their gazes all fixed on Jiang Rumu. Even Teacher Wang was holding her thermos, nodding and smiling at Jiang Rumu, beaming with joy.

This woman had been here for twenty days, and it was as if the orphanage had changed its surname to Jiang.

Mother Zhang leaned on her cane and slowly turned around, tossing out one sentence before leaving.

"You sang well, but it wasn't as good as Xiao Jiang."

That's some biological-mom-level favoritism.

— — The live stream was still on.

Jiang Rumu extricated herself from the pile of children and brushed the candy crumbs off her clothes.

"Let me show everyone the current progress of the construction site."

She said this very naturally; it wasn't "I'll take you to see Li Li's orphanage."

It was the tone of an owner.

Li Li followed behind without saying a word.

Leaving the classroom, passing through the front courtyard corridor, and going around the activity room, they reached the area currently under construction.

Jiang Rumu stood at a gap in the hoarding and pointed.

"The main building complex of the hotel is still laying the foundation. Over here..." She turned and pointed to the frame of an independent small building in the distance, "An independent building specifically requested by Li Li, three floors with thirty rooms. The location is great. He said it has other uses and was keeping it a secret."

The comments flooded in.

[Sister Mu, how are you even more familiar with this than the contractor?]

[Li Li: When did my orphanage become yours?]

Jiang Rumu took the live stream for another tour, finished showing the full view of the construction site, and the two walked back to the front courtyard.

"That's it for today's live stream. Thank you, everyone."

The live stream ended.

The courtyard suddenly quieted down; the evening breeze rustled through the leaves of the great banyan tree.

Li Li turned to Jiang Rumu.

"I need to return to Pengcheng tonight."

"In such a rush?"

"There are some things to handle tomorrow."

He didn't elaborate; Cheng Songyan's message was still sitting in his notification bar.

Jiang Rumu didn't press for details; she had a good grasp of the boundaries between them.

"Then you should go quickly; staying here affects the children's studies."

Just as Li Li was about to retort, he scanned behind him with his peripheral vision.

Three heads peeked out from behind the great banyan tree, four were squeezed behind the activity room window, and two were hiding at the corridor corner, one of whom gave themselves away with a shoelace dragging on the ground.

They were all little brats spying on them.

Even more amazing were the roots of the great banyan tree.

Two puppies were lying behind the tree roots, with only half their heads and two pairs of round, beady eyes showing.

They were also spying.

Li Li squatted down and patted his thigh twice toward the tree roots.

"Xiao Chai, Xiao Qian, come here and get some pets."

Both puppies darted out simultaneously, their paws slipping on the cement floor, rushing to his feet. One pawed at his calf, and the other burrowed directly into his arms.

Their tails were wagging so hard they could generate electricity.

Jiang Rumu watched this scene.

"This is only the first time they've met you, right? How are they so familiar with you?"

Li Li thought to himself that they were his rewards, after all.

"Maybe it's because I'm a good person, and they can smell it."

She squatted down and reached out. Xiao Chai tilted its head to look at her, gave her fingers a polite rub, and then turned back to continue burrowing into Li Li.

Jiang Rumu pulled her hand back.

"Li Li."

"Hm?"

"Do you smell like dog food?"

"Maybe it's a talent."

"A talent? You have a talent for dogs, but what about people?"

After saying this, she was stunned for a moment herself, blushed, turned around, pretended to brush the dirt off her knees, and stood up.

Li Li put the two puppies back on the ground.

"See you next week."

Jiang Rumu walked two steps and stopped again, blinking her eyes.

"Wait a second, next week?"

"Yeah, did you forget something?"

"What??"

Li Li was speechless. Had a certain newly promoted assistant forgotten she had a boss?

"You're going to Pengcheng next week to record Busy Roommates, did you forget?"

Li Li looked at her.

It was as if she had just remembered; being at the orphanage was too comfortable, and she had forgotten.

"Then see you next week, roommate."

Xiao Chai, at his feet, lifted its head, turned it between the two of them, then lay down, resting its chin on Li Li's shoe.

Jiang Rumu lowered her head and glanced at the dog lying on his shoe.

"Let's go. If you don't leave now, you'll miss the last flight."

She walked three steps without looking back, her voice drifting out.

"Send me a message when you arrive."

Li Li stood under the great banyan tree, with a puppy lying on his foot refusing to leave, watching that red baseball cap figure disappear at the entrance.