"……"

 

Lin Baici looked at the message, unsure of how to reply.

 

Besides studying, he usually spent his time reading novels, playing ball, and gaming. He didn't have much experience talking to girls, so he had no idea how to handle someone like Jin Yingzhen.

 

And the selfie of the Korean girl, she's wearing so little…

 

Is this something I can see for free?

 

Christ Princess: I feel like I've lost weight these past few days, what do you think?

 

"Am I supposed to comment on her body?"

 

Lin Baici thought, "At this time, I should probably praise her, right?"

 

Christ Princess: These past few days, I went to the embassy and visited a few uncles and aunts. I finally got my passport and ID card sorted out, but it exhausted me.

 

Christ Princess: That merit Buddha is so annoying. Next time I see it, I'm going to smash its head and steal its merit box.

 

Lin Xia Dai Yue Gui: I'll help you!

 

Jin Yingzhen sighed as she looked at the simple message.

 

Oppa, you're not good at chatting!

 

No wonder you have such a handsome face but you're still single!

 

But she quickly felt happy again, realizing that Oppa doesn't have much experience with women and is still a simple-minded guy.

 

"Let big sister help you gain some experience!"

 

Jin Yingzhen raised her phone, found the right angle, and snapped a picture.

 

Hmm!

 

Not bad!

 

Two-thirds of the photo is a tight, round little tank top.

 

But is this too stimulating?

 

Jin Yingzhen clicked send.

 

"……"

 

Lin Baici wanted to cry. Please don't test my moral bottom line, okay?

 

I really know how to save it!

 

Christ Princess: Oppa, what's fun to do and eat in Guangqing City?

 

When a girl asks like this, she definitely wants the boy to accompany her.

 

Fortunately, Lin Baici's emotional intelligence wasn't that low, and they had all experienced life and death together in God's Ruins, so he saw Jin Yingzhen as a friend.

 

As a local, he should extend his hospitality and show the Korean girl a good time.

 

In reality, a third-tier small city has no appeal to a wealthy girl like Jin Yingzhen who travels all over the world.

 

Jin Yingzhen was simply trying to get on Lin Baici's good side and convince him to return to Korea with her.

 

For the next five days, Lin Baici was her companion.

 

Jin Yingzhen respected Lin Baici, her savior, and had high emotional intelligence, so when she took care of him, it really made him feel like he was in a warm spring breeze.

 

***

 

In the amusement park, on the rotating Ferris wheel.

 

"Oppa, have you fallen for me yet?"

 

Jin Yingzhen sat across from Lin Baici, holding an ice cream cone and eating it slowly, her eyes fixed on him.

 

"It doesn't matter if I like you or not, you're going back to your country."

 

Lin Baici smiled slightly.

 

He had a great time these past few days.

 

"You can come back with me!"

 

Jin Yingzhen's invitation seemed casual, but her heart was pounding in her throat.

 

Lin Baici shook his head.

 

Korea?

 

Why would I go to that country?

 

Eat kimchi every day?

 

And I don't even speak the language.

 

Wait a minute!"I have perfect pronunciation, so language isn't a problem. At most, I should be fluent in speaking like a local in half a year."

 

Jin Yingzhen felt a little disappointed. Lin Baici really didn't seem to care for her country.

 

She didn't bring up the invitation for him to return to his home country to become a god hunter again.

 

Although her brother promised to give him a lieutenant's rank, in Lin Baici's opinion, he might think that he was being deceived.

 

After all, he didn't know how high and influential her brother was.

 

The Ferris wheel turned one round and stopped.

 

Lin Baici got off and stretched lazily.

 

"Oppa!"

 

Jin Yingzhen looked at the sunset. "If there was a job with an annual salary of one million, would you take it?"

 

"Yingzhen, where do you think I'm worth one million?"

 

From the way the Korean girl spent money during this time, Lin Baici could tell that she was not just rich.

 

He didn't know that Jin Yingzhen's brother wanted to hire him, and he thought that the Korean girl mentioned the annual salary to give him money as a reasonable excuse to repay him.

 

"Looks, courage, body, potential…"

 

Jin Yingzhen counted on her fingers, proud of herself.

 

Lin Baici had never been praised like this by a girl before, which made him feel a little embarrassed. "Okay, don't think about repaying me anymore. We're friends, don't be so formal!"

 

***

 

Lin Baici sent Jin Yingzhen back to the hotel and took the bus home.

 

The Korean girl wanted to treat him to dinner, but Lin Baici refused.

 

He couldn't accept letting the girl pay, but he was too embarrassed to pay himself.

 

During these few days they spent together, he had also bought tickets and snacks and treated Jin Yingzhen to a meal.

 

He had saved up seven hundred and sixty yuan from his pocket money.

 

"Chasing girls really costs a lot of money!"

 

Lin Baici felt that if he hadn't saved Jin Yingzhen, they would never have played together because their family conditions were too different.

 

Jin Yingzhen used two pieces of face masks every day, which Lin Baici couldn't afford with a month's living expenses.

 

"I need to earn money quickly!"

 

After dinner, Lin Baici washed the dishes and went back to his bedroom.

 

He opened his computer, logged into Bilibili, and checked his data.

 

The first cover video, "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky," had over 10,000 views, 500 bullet comments, and over 100 messages.

 

The second "Ideal Three Decades" had slightly worse data, with only a dozen comments.

 

Lin Baici looked through the comments one by one.

 

"Can folk songs be sung like this? It's weird."

 

"Your voice is unique. Keep it up!"

 

"My love is dead. Listening to the UP host sing this song, I lost my emotions and don't want to chase that girl back. I just want to become a monk. Amitabha!"

 

Most of the comments said that the UP host had a unique voice but chose ordinary songs.

 

Flowers Blossom in the Field: Folk songs are niche and have style, making it easy to attract fans, but you need to sing with a personal style. Keep it up!

 

Flowers Blossom in the Field: I feel like you have good lung capacity. Why not try a dolphin sound?

 

Flowers Blossom in the Field: Why not upload a new cover? You have to persist to reap rewards. Although you didn't have a good start, I believe you will have a beautiful result.There weren't many comments left, but there were a lot on the "Flowers Blossom on the Main Street" page. Lin Baici saw the first fan who followed her with just one glance.

 

Lin Baici clicked on her personal space and saw that it was a girl with very little information.

 

"Have you given up?"

 

Disappointed!

 

This message was posted this afternoon.

 

These past few days, Lin Baici had been busy accompanying Jin Yingzhen, and the response to his cover videos was not good, which also affected his motivation.

 

"Thank you!"

 

"I won't give up!"

 

Lin Baici lay in bed and reconsidered his path.

 

Continuing to sing like this definitely wouldn't work. Should he make funny videos instead?

 

But he had no talent for that!

 

Lin Baici repeatedly read the barrage and comments.

 

There were users who criticized his singing skills, but not many. Most of the comments focused on his unique voice, strange atmosphere, and mismatched songs.

 

"Folk music doesn't work, and I don't really like rock. So what should I sing?"

 

Lin Baici grabbed his hair with both hands.

 

So frustrating!

 

Should he just recite Buddhist scriptures instead?

 

Huh?

 

Lin Baici suddenly sat up.

 

The sound of the Sanskrit language was already related to Buddhism. Maybe reciting scriptures would complement his singing?

 

He decided to give it a try!

 

Even if he failed, it would just be a waste of time!

 

Lin Baici opened his computer and searched for Buddhist chanting songs, but found very few.

 

He then searched for some Buddhist scriptures and finally chose the "Heart Sutra."

 

The text explains the five aggregates, three poisons, four noble truths, and twelve links of dependent origination, expounding the Buddhist doctrine of emptiness of self-nature. It believes that Prajna, or great wisdom, can alleviate all suffering, attain ultimate nirvana, and achieve the bodhi fruit.

 

The sutra was translated by the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, but Lin Baici planned to sing the Sanskrit version. He had a good ear and could learn it after listening to it once.

 

It wasn't difficult!

 

And most importantly, Sanskrit had a lot of style!

 

Lin Baici found the Sanskrit version of the "Heart Sutra," learned it after listening to it twice, and then found a pure instrumental music with a natural and ethereal atmosphere as accompaniment. He then activated the sound of the Buddha and started recording.

 

Because it was after nine in the evening, Lin Baici didn't dare to sing too loudly. Moreover, he didn't think this chanting video would be popular, so he didn't take it too seriously.

 

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva,

 

when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita,

 

perceived that all five aggregates are empty,

 

thus relieving all suffering and distress.

 

***

 

After finishing the recording, Lin Baici listened to it and felt that it was pretty good.

 

He imported the audio into his computer, added two images of Buddha statues, edited it a bit, and uploaded it.

 

When he was about to click "publish," Lin Baici suddenly had a mischievous idea. What if he used a picture of the Muscle Buddha as the background? It might be even more interesting.

 

Knock, knock!

 

Lin's mom knocked on the door and came in. "Baici, go to bed early. I'm off tomorrow, and I'll take you to buy some clothes. See if you need anything and make a list."

 

There were less than ten days left before he reported to university.

 

"You don't need to buy clothes. I can still wear mine!"

 

Lin Baici knew that his family was not wealthy and didn't want to spend money recklessly.

 

"When you go to university and meet new classmates in a new environment, you need to have a few good clothes!"

 

Translated by: cranberry_jamLin Ma didn't allow Lin Baici to argue back. She didn't want her son to feel inferior in college.

 

***

 

In the following days, Lin Baici was very busy.

 

Aside from buying clothes and preparing luggage, he was also invited by his good classmates to go out and play, for one last gathering.

 

They played games, climbed mountains, read comics…

 

And ate ice cream while walking on the street.

 

In the last few days, Lin Baici unexpectedly received WeChat messages from several female classmates, asking him out to watch movies.

 

This made Lin Baici very surprised. He wasn't exactly invisible in class, but he wasn't the center of attention either. He didn't talk to girls very often.

 

"It seems like I have good relationships with people."

 

Little did Lin Baici know, if he had been a bit more daring and confessed his feelings, he could have had several relationships and even lost his virginity during the summer break after high school graduation.

 

After all, Lin Baici was tall and handsome, with fair skin and good looks.

 

Hua Yueyu and Jin Yingzhen also frequently messaged Lin Baici to keep in touch, especially the Korean girl who always started her selfies with "Can I watch this for free?"

 

Lin Baici was too busy to pay much attention, aside from occasionally watching a video of someone chanting the Heart Sutra. And as the views were slow to increase, especially in the days leading up to college enrollment, he stopped logging into his account altogether.

 

So he didn't know that after a week of fermentation, the video's reputation had improved and its replay and collection rates were terrifyingly high.