ECG -Chapter 178 This Song Isn’t Your Original Creation

Lin Hao stretched out his hand. “Please.”

Gao Shuai could only follow Lin Hao toward the west wing with a bewildered expression.

The two of them had just sat down when the nanny brought over two tall, slender glass cups. Inside was freshly brewed Longjing tea, still giving off wisps of steam.

After all, Gao Shuai looked like he was eight or nine years older than him, so Lin Hao had always been very polite. He gestured for him to drink the tea. “Brother Gao, I’m very interested in your new song The Wanderer.”

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Gao Shuai took out a cigarette and handed one to Lin Hao. But when he heard him mention the song, his hand trembled slightly.

Interested in this song?

What did that mean?

He wasn’t a lyricist or composer, was he? Could it be that he wanted to buy this song from me? Or perhaps…

Could it be that this song was his original work?

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Thinking of this, Gao Shuai’s heart tightened.

Lin Hao helped him light his cigarette, then lit his own as well. He took a deep drag, stayed silent for a moment, and suddenly said:

“This song isn’t your original creation!”

With a sudden bang, Gao Shuai stood up.

Both his hands and his voice were trembling. “You—you—you… what do you mean by that?”

Lin Hao looked up at him, then pressed his hand downward slightly.

“Sit down. Do you really want everyone outside to find out?”

Gao Shuai immediately dropped back onto the stool. He didn’t say anything anymore, only silently smoking.

His thoughts were racing.

This was his secret, but why did Lin Hao know about it?

Could it be… could it be that this song was really written by Lin Hao?

He immediately sorted through everything in his mind and felt that his guess was probably right.

It must have been that Lin Hao had once seen those two beggars. Feeling sorry for them, he wrote a song for them. It must have been like that!

Gao Shuai began regretting things in his heart.

He felt that he really hadn’t considered things carefully enough back then. At the time, he had only spent 100 yuan to have that beggar sing the song for him a few times. He hadn’t asked much about anything else.

If this really was Lin Hao’s song, then what should he do next?

But then he thought again—wait, no.

He had already registered the copyright.

Even if the lyrics and melody belonged to Lin Hao, what use was it if he didn’t have the copyright?

Even if Lin Hao brought out handwritten drafts or other evidence and sued him, there was no way he could win!

But before he could feel happy for even ten seconds, he suddenly thought of Qin Ruoyun.

Since this Lin Hao was her younger brother, this lawsuit would be difficult.

Qin Ruoyun’s background might not be known by some newcomers, but he himself knew it very clearly. If she wanted to deal with him, he would disappear from the entertainment industry instantly and never have a chance to rise again.

Thinking of this, the sweat on his forehead had already dripped onto the table.

“Th-this… is it really yours?” he asked with a trembling voice.

Lin Hao was slightly stunned, then immediately understood what he meant.

He neither denied it nor admitted it. Instead, he deliberately kept things vague.

“I want to know where you heard it.”

Seeing that he wasn’t pursuing the matter of plagiarism and was instead asking about the origin of the song, Gao Shuai hurriedly explained:

“Last year, I went to Yangcheng for a performance. Because I’m a little afraid of heights and don’t like taking planes, as long as there’s enough time, I prefer taking the train.”

“That time, it happened to be bad luck. I couldn’t even buy a sleeper ticket. But by the time I tried to rush to the airport, it was already too late, so I gritted my teeth and bought a hard seat ticket!”

Originally, Lin Hao thought that Gao Shuai had also encountered Hei Zi and the other man on a train in Northeast China. He never expected it was actually a train heading to Yangcheng.

He did not interrupt Gao Shuai and continued listening to him.

“These two beggars blocked both ends of the carriage and forcibly demanded money. At that time, I thought the song was pretty good, so when they came to me, I said I’d give them 100 yuan if they sang it for me a few more times!”

“And that’s how I learned the song.” After Gao Shuai finished speaking, he secretly glanced at Lin Hao.

At this moment, Lin Hao did not notice his little glance. He understood everything now. This Gao Shuai had merely accidentally encountered Hei Zi and the other man, paid 100 yuan to memorize the song, then registered and applied for the copyright, transforming it into his own original work.

It seemed that Hei Zi and the other man did not have fixed whereabouts. They traveled all over the country, making it difficult to find them.

“Teacher Lin, Teacher Lin…” Seeing Lin Hao lost in thought, Gao Shuai called out to him several times.

“Ah, go on,” Lin Hao came back to his senses.

“I really didn’t know this song was something you wrote for them. Otherwise, even if you beat me to death, I wouldn’t have done something like this!” Gao Shuai’s face was full of regret. Whether it was real or fake, he certainly looked sincere.

Now that things had reached this point, Lin Hao also found it hard to explain that the song was not actually his. If you didn’t write the song, then why would you go ask someone about it?

Did you have nothing better to do?

So he could only go along with the misunderstanding.

“Teacher Lin, how about this? This album is selling quite well. At the end of the year, I’ll give you fifty percent of the profits…”

At this point, he quickly glanced at Lin Hao’s expression. Seeing that there was not even a trace of emotion on his face, he gritted his teeth.

“Sixty percent! I only ask that you don’t reveal this matter publicly!”

After saying that, he stood up and respectfully bowed deeply to Lin Hao.

“Teacher Lin, I was wrong. Please forgive me!”

Lin Hao’s thoughts churned endlessly. The sales of The Wanderer had been so explosive that sixty percent of the profits was a huge amount of money. People always said that wealth could move a person’s heart, and it would be a lie to say he was not tempted at this moment.

What Gao Shuai did was indeed dishonorable. But no matter what he had done, it had absolutely nothing to do with Lin Hao!

As the saying went, a gentleman should obtain wealth through proper means. If he accepted this money, he would feel uneasy in his conscience and even feel that the money was too hot to hold.

Looking at it another way, Gao Shuai was able to memorize the song after hearing it only a few times for 100 yuan, and he even knew to register and apply for the copyright. Although what he did was shameless, it was also his opportunity and his ability.

He had allowed such a catchy song to spread throughout the country, allowing more people to hear it. That was still better than the song being buried in obscurity in the hands of Hei Zi and the other man.

Besides, wasn’t Lin Hao himself also taking the classics from his previous life, transforming himself overnight and making them his own originals? How much better was he than Gao Shuai?

The only reason he could enjoy the fame and fortune brought by those classics with a clear conscience was probably because he wanted more people to hear those masterpieces. In essence, he and Gao Shuai were no different.

Gao Shuai had only cheated once because of a coincidence, while he himself had been cheating continuously ever since being reborn. No matter how glorious his future became, it could not erase the fact that he had cheated.

Lin Hao understood this too well, which was why he could not possibly accept Gao Shuai’s money. At the same time, he also understood clearly what he should do in the future.

He often thought of this saying:

“A person’s ability may differ in size, but as long as they possess this spirit, they are a noble person, a pure person, a moral person, a person free from vulgar interests, and a person beneficial to the people…”

Because of cheating, he felt that he had already drifted far away from nobility and morality. But he wanted to accomplish the other points through his own efforts. He believed that one day, he would regain the nobility and morality he had lost.

He reached out and helped Gao Shuai up.

“Brother Gao, I can’t take this money…”

When Gao Shuai heard this, he immediately became anxious.

No, he absolutely couldn’t refuse!

If he refused, wouldn’t that mean he would have to return the song to him and also carry the reputation of plagiarism? Then he would have no way to survive in this industry anymore!

“Teacher Lin, if you think it’s too little, then seventy percent!”