Chapter Ninety-Two: Drifting Northward!

Lin Yu was completely unfazed and quickly settled into the performance, closing his eyes to quietly savor the gentle rise of the background music.

"This song is for everyone here. For those chasing their dreams, drifting north, far from home, thank you for your hard work."

"Next, this song is for you all!"

The song was written for everyone who had ever pursued a dream, and four years later it was revived on stage in a rap rendition, from then on becoming the ultimate soundtrack in the eyes of young people for those who chase their ideals.

The intro began softly. Lin Yu lifted the microphone, and the drumbeat grew stronger in step with his voice.

The moment he sang his first line, the song’s forceful, spirited rhythm, paired with the driving drums, opened up the entire emotional world of the piece.

From the very first lyric, the atmosphere in the venue was instantly ignited. The words were plain, yet they cut straight into the hearts of ordinary people, stirring memories of those days when they left home in pursuit of dreams.

Bitterness. Pain. Despair.

Especially for those who had come north chasing dreams, it struck them to the core. Their noses stung, and tears came before they could stop them.

"My dream’s road took me far from home."

"The pack on my shoulders holds my hopes for the future; like you, I came from far away."

"I work an ordinary job, drifting in a strange place, homesick all the while. How many people only wish their lives could be a little better, that they could change their fate and ease the burden on their parents?"

"Whenever the holidays come around, the longing for my parents is impossible to avoid. I can’t go home because of my dream."

The moment the lyrics began, the ache of leaving home, the homesickness, and Lin Yu’s passionate, soaring tone combined into the fierce determination of a wanderer charging ahead in pursuit of a dream.

Full of power, full of drive, the lyrics were direct and cut to the heart.

The livestream audience was stunned. First came the heartbreak of a breakup song, a poignant tune that made listeners weep for lost love; then came this wave of longing from a dream-chasing wanderer, expressing homesickness and the helpless guilt owed to one’s parents. Two songs of completely different styles, yet both carried exactly the right feeling.

The chat filled instantly with endless praise.

"Damn, this is seriously incredible! I just finished crying over my ex, and now I’m crying for my parents and my hometown. She really got me—I’m crying myself to death!"

"Bro, stop tricking my tears. Help! This is too painful, damn it! I’m thinking of my ex, my parents, my grandpa and grandma. Damn, this is straight-up murder!"

"This song is just too good, okay? The lyrics hit right in the heart, the drive to keep chasing and refusing to give up, the powerful delivery—this is the first time I’ve heard it and it’s already insanely good!"

"Ugh, I miss my mom’s cooking. Mom!!"

"Don’t cry, everyone above. Let’s work hard together, make more money, and go home with plenty of gifts for our parents!!"

"Real family doesn’t need much money or many gifts. What matters is love and companionship! Go home often and visit! Don’t forget your parents for the sake of your dreams, everyone!!"

...

"Their strength, their dreams, their suffering—only they themselves can truly understand. They can never return to what was, can never see the future; everything feels so empty!"

"They still have to keep struggling onward, putting in everything they have, but that is also my life, advancing along the road to a dream."

"Picking up the phone, I say, Mom, I’m okay. I’ve come back to reality and keep solving how to get by."

"People praise me, people mock me too, but reality has never knocked me down. This is what it means to work far from home."

People who have been away from home for a long time are especially vulnerable to even the slightest lyrical touch about homesickness and hometown, and will be stabbed right in the tear ducts without warning.

For most people grinding away in another city, takeout is eaten just to save time. But when they return home and taste a dish made by their mother’s own hands, the emotion in their hearts is beyond words.

To stay in a strange land and struggle for the future takes innate courage and defiance. There may have been regret, but never surrender.

The drumbeat of the second verse struck, and the rap returned almost without pause, still carrying those plainspoken lyrics.

From the fiery struggle of ambition, to the occasional failure and the guilt it brings toward one’s parents, and then to the continued gritting of teeth and endurance afterward.

Yet life is never smooth sailing, especially for workers chasing a living far from home. To survive, they can only throw themselves into it with everything they have, clench their teeth, and work until they are exhausted. After finally earning their supervisor’s approval and getting a raise, they are then mercilessly mocked by others as flattering clowns.

Whenever they consider giving up, they think of their parents at home pinning all their hopes on them. Going back empty-handed would only magnify their guilt toward their parents, so they clench their teeth and keep fighting. Even if society is cruel and full of deception, they still struggle to seize a chance to survive.

A house, a car, all for a foothold in this world, so that one day, in their own home, they can proudly bring their parents over and let them enjoy their later years in peace.

Lin Yu remained where he was, making almost no large movements. His expression was calm, yet he sang with a blazing heart. But if one listened closely, there were still some notes he could not quite reach, carrying within them the defeats and setbacks he had known.

The second section of lyrics, improvised on the spot, even more powerfully sang out the bitter hardships of the modern worker.

"I drift north, don’t ask me where I’m from; the towering ancient walls cannot hold back my sorrow."

"I drift north, are my family still well? The heavy pack on my shoulders is full of melancholy."

"Some say he left behind a pile of debt back home and had to lie low for a while."

"Some say he honed a skill set worthy of greatness, but never got the chance to shine."

"Some lost themselves entirely, at a loss, wandering everywhere."

"Some, for dreams, for three meals a day, for their families’ livelihood, live in the crumbling job-seeker apartments of Yanjiao District."

This second verse came even closer to the life of ordinary people—bitterness, guilt, and an inexpressible doubt.

Those who had left home to chase their dreams always had to endure too much tempering, while carrying doubts that should never have existed in the first place.

The judges and the audience all closed their eyes and quietly felt it. Most of them thought of their own lives overlapping with the lyrics, and their hearts could not help but ache. Tears kept falling.

This was a concert that laid bare the cruel truth of society, a song that gave voice to the harsh road of dream chasers.

When the singing and accompaniment finally faded, the venue remained silent for a long time.

No one could quickly recover from the emotions stirred within them, especially those who had already cried through most of it.

Faces of parents, children, and wives appeared before their eyes. Young and middle-aged people alike only wanted to work hard with their heads down, so those they loved could live better.

No music video was needed, no backup dancers were needed. It was just Lin Yu alone on stage, with plainspoken lyrics. As long as one closed their eyes even slightly, life itself was already the best music video.

Shi Shaozhe walked up to the stage with a displeased expression and stood beside Lin Yu. He had not paid the slightest attention to Lin Yu’s singing, spending the entire time on his phone, full of disdain.

The production team’s director had not allowed any shots of his dismissive attitude toward Lin Yu to be included for the audience to see.