Chapter 102: The World Is Not Worth It (Please Subscribe)

Little Xier’s giggling interrupted the duet between Xiao Qiuer and Xiao Bai, and their first attempt at recording ended in failure.

“Qiuer, Xiao Bai, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I…” Little Xier scrunched up her small face nervously, sincerely apologizing to the other two.

“Hehe, Xier, it’s alright. We’re best friends! Best friends don’t need to say sorry,” Xiao Qiuer said, taking Xier’s hand and grinning.

“Silly girl,” Xiao Bai laughed, grabbing Xier’s other hand. “Let’s go apologize to Sister Ying.”

“Okay!” Seeing her friends weren’t upset, Xier’s smile returned, her adorable face lighting up once again.

“Sister Ying…” The three girls, holding hands, turned to Wang Ying, but before they could speak, she cut them off.

“It’s fine, really. Besides…” Wang Ying smiled at Xier. “Actually, I think your laughter at the end of your singing is wonderful!”

Shua!

Hearing this, Xier’s eyes sparkled. She exclaimed with delight, “Sister Ying, really? Do you mean it?”

“Absolutely,” Wang Ying nodded. “So this time, just sing as naturally as before—if you feel like laughing, laugh! Especially at the end, make sure to laugh as happily as you can, alright?”

“Alright!” Xier agreed enthusiastically, bouncing with joy. This was her specialty, nothing difficult at all.

As Xiao Bai would say: This is her strong suit!

“Let’s do it again. Qiuer, Xiao Bai, don’t rush or interrupt—let Xier finish her laugh before you continue singing,” Wang Ying instructed. After a moment, she realized something and turned to Xier, “Xier, just laugh once and stop, okay? Don’t keep giggling the whole time.”

“Got it, hihia…”

…

The second recording of the “Painter Song” by the three little girls began. Wang Ying’s slender, delicate fingers danced across the black and white keys like lively sprites, producing cheerful and melodious notes, as the trio’s sweet voices rang out.

Xiao Qiuer: “I am a little painter, my painting skills are strong.”

Xiao Bai: “I want to paint the new house, make it even more beautiful.”

Xier: “Paint the roof, then the walls, my brush flies so fast, hihia…”

Qiuer + Xiao Bai: “Oh, my little nose, it’s changed its shape.”

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Xier: “Hihia…”

Qiuer + Xiao Bai + Xier: “Oh, my little nose, it’s changed its shape, hihia…”

Thus, the simple and joyful “Painter Song” was sung happily by the three girls. Wang Ying let the melody linger a bit longer before ending her accompaniment.

“Sister Ying, how was it? Was it good?” As the piano stopped, the trio ran over excitedly, bouncing as they asked.

“It was great, wonderful!” Wang Ying replied cheerfully. “Come on, three little painters, let’s go listen to how it turned out.”

“Okay~~”

Leaving the recording booth, the three girls eagerly awaited to hear their own song. Qin Xue smiled as she put headphones on them, and then—

“Wow! Was that really Xier singing? Xier sang so well! She’s amazing!” Xier exclaimed in delight, boasting about herself, making Qin Xue and Bai Lingyue smile with affectionate amusement.

Tan Jin’er simply smiled wordlessly. This little sister, how can she be so unabashed? True, she sang beautifully, but one must be a humble child.

Look at Qiuer and Xiao Bai… Well, never mind—they were boasting too.

The three listened to their song three times, squealing with delight. Then Xier ran to her sister, Tan Jin’er, to ask for a “Little Bear” drink.

According to Xier, since the girls were so impressive and their song so lovely, they deserved a Little Bear reward.

Tan Jin’er sternly refused, reminding Xier she’d already had too many Little Bears today. Xier immediately pouted and feigned cuteness.

In the end, Yang Qing stepped in, persuaded Jin’er, and rewarded all five children with a Little Bear drink each, including Xiao Donger.

So the group of children happily sat together, drinking their Little Bears.

Yang Qing watched them with a loving smile. With the trio’s song recorded, he planned to start recording music tracks, but Qin Xue stopped him.

“It’s already five o’clock. Let’s record Chun’er’s song first—the accompaniment can wait until tomorrow.”

“Alright, that works,” Yang Qing thought for a moment, then smiled. “Tomorrow is their last day off for the Dragon Boat Festival, and they’ll need to do homework. Once they finish recording today, they won’t need to come back.”

“Mm,” Qin Xue agreed, “I’ll go give Chun’er some encouragement.”

…

“Goodbye, Sister Ying!”

“Goodbye, Sister Qin!”

…

A little after six in the evening, Xiao Chun’er’s song was perfectly recorded. After bidding farewell to Wang Ying, Qin Xue, and the others, Yang Qing, Tan Jin’er, and Bai Lingyue took the children to Li Dongning’s car for the journey home.

The car stopped at the intersection of the main road. Li Dongning declined Yang Qing’s invitation to stay for dinner and drove off.

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“The silly kids are back!” Bai Zhijun, sitting at the entrance of “Xiao Bai Grain & Oil Shop” drinking goji tea, called out as he saw the group approaching.

“Hammer!” Xiao Bai, face flushed with mock anger, rushed over and protested, “I’m not a silly kid! Sister Ying said I’m a little singer!”

“A little singer? You?” Bai Zhijun, the father, looked askance at her.

“Hammer! I’m not talking to you!” Xiao Bai shouted angrily, then pulled Qiuer and Xier into the shop.

“Silly kid, little singer indeed…” Bai Zhijun chuckled, shaking his head. But before he could finish, Yang Qing came over and contradicted him.

Yang Qing sat next to Bai Zhijun, teasing, “Brother Bai, you’re wrong. Xiao Bai is telling the truth.”

“Uh?” Bai Zhijun was taken aback. “What?”

“Little singer,” Yang Qing explained. “Today, she and Qiuer and Xier sang a song together. The recording is done, and Wang Ming said it’ll be uploaded to a music platform. They’ll earn money from it.”

“Earn money?” Bai Zhijun was stunned. “What song did those three kids sing that could make money? How much will they earn? Enough to buy Little Bear drinks?”

Yang Qing replied, “They sang ‘Painter Song.’ As for how much they’ll earn, I don’t know if it’ll cover Little Bear drinks. But Wang Ming told me it depends on the number of plays. If the song doesn’t get many plays, maybe a few tens of thousands. If it’s popular, it could be hundreds of thousands. And…”

Yang Qing paused, grinning at the dumbfounded Bai Zhijun, “Wang Ming said his sister will promote their song on Weibo. So the play count could be very, very high!”

“Very… very high… how high is… ‘very, very high’…” Bai Zhijun gaped, asking foolishly.

“Hmm, maybe about this high,” Yang Qing stood up and gestured, then patted Bai Zhijun’s shoulder. “Your Xiao Bai might earn more than you.”

“Gah!” Bai Zhijun was thoroughly stunned. He turned incredulously toward the house, listening to the sweet voices inside, and felt that the world was unreal.

Just a children’s song—how could it earn more than his years of hard work?

Ah, so tiring. Life is not worth it.

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