Chapter 145: The Romance of Mercury.

“...”
Xiao Liu could no longer bear to watch. He quickly pulled a staff member over and whispered a few words into his ear.
The staff member broke into a trot all the way forward and similarly whispered into someone's ear.
This made Wu Qian’s expression grow increasingly ugly.
This time, Wu Qian didn't say anything to him and walked straight up to the fourth person.
"In Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, she is just like a..."
"Get out!"
[Hahaha... What kind of show is this? Am I the MC King?]
[Oh my goodness, this show is so interesting.]
[Is this stage comedy? No wonder Wu Qian has been so hilarious; it turns out he intends to develop in the direction of a comedy star.]
However, after watching for a while, people began to feel it was losing its appeal, because Wu Qian dismissed all those rap-reciting contestants. It seemed he genuinely wanted to run this kind of show.
[Anyone from the next-door channel? Hurry back quickly! This show is too exaggerated; all seven groups are stronger than the last. Elder Shi has finally made his comeback!]
[Mercury Record is eternal! I am filled with regret! Why didn't I vote for Lin Ze when I was at the scene...]
Just as everyone was feeling a bit bored here, seeing the barrage comments mentioning this, they immediately exited the live stream room and returned to the adjacent channel.
Song after song impacted everyone's ears, reigniting their original enthusiasm.
If every episode were like this, why worry about failing to reach the pinnacle?
People watched Xu Shanshan sprinting wildly on the treadmill and saw Lin Ze sitting amidst absolute darkness, resembling the stars.
It's just a pity that they didn't understand it...
Elder Shi had harbored his lingering doubts all the way until today. Listening to Lin Ze's song once more, he furrowed his brows and clicked open the comment section.
"There will be audience members who understand it, and they will explain it to everyone."
Lin Ze's words echoed in Elder Shi's mind once again.
Sure enough, the most-liked comment in the section was an interpretation of Mercury Record.
"As a science student with a passion for the starry skies, the moment I first heard this song, the word 'shocked' came over me. I never imagined a song could be written this way..."
"Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, traveling along a fixed orbit, forever unable to get even a fraction closer to the sun."
"Yet precisely because of this, Mercury's dayside can reach up to four hundred and thirty degrees, while its nightside plummets to negative one hundred and thirty degrees. Even its warmth and chill are dictated entirely by the sun."
Reading this comment, the lyrics of Mercury Record surfaced one by one in Elder Shi's mind.
Recalling Lin Ze's performance seated upon the stage at that time, it was simply breathtakingly beautiful.
"What the person above said is correct, but let me add a few more points for everyone."
"The sun has eight planets and dozens of moons, but Mercury has only the sun."
Beneath that, others continued to add their insights.
"The impact of meteorites left Mercury's surface covered in craters; these craters must be the skin textures mentioned in the song..."
"..."
People added comment after comment, turning the section into a grand carnival for astronomy enthusiasts.
And all of this was contained within Mercury Record.
Gazing at these comments, Elder Shi’s parted lips remained unclosed for a long time.
To think he had previously felt a smug sense of self-satisfaction for narrowly winning against Lin Ze.
Viewed in this light...
...
"Mercury Record! Everyone go listen to it! You will genuinely regret it if you don't watch the live version!"
"How much further until I can enter your heart..."
"You can always trust Lin Ze! Always!"
Just as another massive wave of trending discussion swept across the internet, Lin Ze and Su Zitan arrived in Yueha City.
Having just stepped off the plane and reached the arrival exit, they spotted a young man waving enthusiastically toward Lin Ze and Su Zitan.
This young man was tall, slender, and quite handsome.
"Brother Lin! Sister Zitan!"
"Ah, you must be Lu Chuan!" Lin Ze hurried forward to meet him and shook his hand.
"Yes, yes, yes. The two of you can just call me Xiaochuan," Lu Chuan said with a shy smile.
"For our first meeting, brother brought you a welcome gift. You simply must accept it." Lin Ze pulled a guitar case from behind his back and placed it into Lu Chuan’s hands.
Lu Chuan took it with a puzzled look, feeling that it was quite heavy. "Brother, I'm not very good at playing the guitar..."
"Rest assured, you will definitely like this. Let's get going first and talk once we're in the car."
Lu Chuan was a good lad, and Lin Ze quite liked him.
In his past life, they had also been very familiar. Lin Ze knew precisely what the young man liked, and it had taken some effort this time to secure one.
Though bewildered, Lu Chuan suppressed the urge to open it right then and led Lin Ze and Su Zitan back to the car.
"Not going to open it and take a look?" Lin Ze asked with a smile, noticing that he had placed the item on the front passenger seat first.
"I'll open it when we get back. My dad is waiting for the two of you at home."
Lu Chuan offered an explanation before starting the car.
Lin Ze rummaged through his own bag and fished out the gift prepared for Lu Zhoushan.
It would look awkward to pull things out from the bag later, so it was best to have them ready now.
The car drove all the way from the airport to the residence. Along the way, Lu Chuan and Lin Ze chatted animatedly, with Su Zitan chiming in every now and then.
What started as a polite address of "brother" transformed by the time they reached home into a heartfelt and completely sincere "brother" with every utterance from Lu Chuan.
With a gentle knock on the door, footsteps echoed from within, and the door swung open to reveal a home that remained identical to the one in Lin Ze's memory.
As Lu Zhoushan looked up and saw Lin Ze gazing around the house with a trace of sentimental emotion in his eyes, his curiosity toward Lin Ze grew all the stronger.
After a polite handshake, Lu Zhoushan ushered the two of them inside.
Noticing his son still carrying a guitar case on his back, Lu Zhoushan asked with mild amusement, "Why did you bring a guitar along?"
"It's a gift for Xiaochuan," Lin Ze replied with a mysterious smile.
"Oh my, we've only just met, why bring gifts?" Lu Zhoushan smiled as he picked up a teapot to pour them tea. "Xiaochuan, go ahead and see if you like it."
Glancing at his father and seeing Lu Zhoushan nod, Lu Chuan finally carried the guitar case into the room.
Meanwhile, Lin Ze took out the other gift and presented it to Lu Zhoushan.
"Ah, you young man..."
"Holy shit!" An instinctive exclamation suddenly rang out from inside the room.
Lu Zhoushan’s words faltered mid-sentence. "This kid, who knows where he picked up talking like that..."
Immediately following, hurried footsteps approached as Lu Chuan ran out holding a rectangular wooden gift box and a badminton racket.
"Brother! Is this a signed limited edition?" Lu Chuan asked, his face beaming with excitement. "This racket is not easy to get hold of..."
Such rackets had long cost tens of thousands apiece and were virtually impossible to purchase.
"Well, do you like it?" Lin Ze's reaction was entirely anticipated.
Lu Zhoushan looked at the racket and smiled with helpless resignation. His son had mentioned that racket to him before, and he knew roughly how much it cost; for a first meeting, it was far too valuable a present.
Yet seeing how genuinely thrilled his son was, it wasn't right to return it either...
It seemed the gift prepared for him wouldn't be cheap, either...
"Holy shit!"