ECG -Chapter 44 Lin Hao’s Rules

Seeing that she was getting straight to the point, Lin Hao also spoke directly.

“Final exams are coming up soon. After everything is over, I’ll have to go back to Chunhe. How about this? During this period, you can find another singer-guitarist first. When school starts again in March, if you still want to change people at that time, I’ll come back.”

Fourth Sister didn’t say anything for a long while. She looked at this young man in front of her, whose clothes could only be described as shabby, and couldn’t understand why he was refusing her.

The cotton leather shoes on his feet weren’t even worth 100 yuan.

That slightly thin blue cotton jacket probably wasn’t much more expensive than his shoes.

However, although this young man’s clothes weren’t anything special, his image and temperament were far better than that Wan Yong’s.

Although Wan Yong had long hair and a fair complexion, he simply didn’t have the kind of presence this young man had.

It was the kind of aura where, after sitting on stage with a guitar in his arms, he seemed to feel that the whole world was his.

She didn’t like grown men keeping long hair, and she didn’t understand what these people who played music were thinking. Did having long hair prove that you were different? Did it prove you were a musician?

Someone like Lin Hao in front of her, with short, neat hair, looked much better!

“Why?”

Her personality was straightforward. She wasn’t very good at beating around the bush, so she directly asked what she was thinking.

Lin Hao smiled.

“I can’t work here for many days. I’ll have to go back to my hometown soon. When that happens, you’ll have to find someone else again.”

Fourth Sister thought about it and felt that what he said made some sense, but she still felt something was off.

“Leave me a way to contact you.”

Lin Hao gave a bitter smile.

“I don’t have a phone. I can only tell you that I’m studying piano in the Music Department of the Provincial Art Academy.”

Fourth Sister didn’t say anything. She stood up and walked behind the office desk. Bending down, she opened the cabinet below and rummaged around a few times before taking out a paper box about the size of a shoebox.

She placed the box directly on the tea table in front of Lin Hao.

Lin Hao lowered his head and looked.

It was a Samsung color-screen mobile phone, and the plastic wrapping outside the box was still intact.

“It’s new. I haven’t used it yet. Tomorrow, go buy a SIM card and put it in, then call me. We’ll contact each other again at the beginning of March.”

Fourth Sister’s personality was indeed straightforward, but her experience in society was much greater.

She took out this phone for two reasons.

First, she was afraid she would never be able to find him again.

Second, she wanted to tie him down with money.

Although she already knew what school he attended, she had never personally checked, so she still needed a way to contact him at any time.

Besides, judging from this kid’s family situation, it seemed pretty ordinary. She didn’t believe he wouldn’t want to make money.

He accepted my gift today. In the future, it would become a favor between us. Let’s see how he returns it!

Lin Hao naturally knew what kind of price a phone like this represented at this time.

He chuckled and reached out to push the delicate box away.

“Give me your phone number. I’ll call you when the time comes. As for the phone, I’ll pass.”

After saying that, he stood up.

Fourth Sister slightly frowned. This kid looked at most twenty years old, but he spoke in such a mature manner. Every sentence was a polite “you.”

She knew that in Northeast China, not many people addressed others this way.

What she didn’t know was that although Lin Hao had also been from the Northeast in his previous life, he had later lived in Beijing for a long time, so he naturally became accustomed to using the respectful “you” form.

Some things happened subtly. Sometimes even he himself didn’t notice.

Fourth Sister looked at this clean-cut, single-eyelid young man in front of her. His shabby clothes suggested that his financial situation was quite tight, so why didn’t he want such an expensive phone?

If this situation had been replaced by that Wan Yong, he would have been overjoyed long ago, saying “Thank you, Fourth Sister” over and over again…

“Why?”

Fourth Sister pointed at the phone on the table. This was the second time tonight she had asked this question. She really couldn’t understand him more and more.

“Nothing should be accepted without earning it.”

After saying that, Lin Hao stretched out his hand.

Fourth Sister was a little dazed. Seeing that he wanted to shake hands and say goodbye, she reached out and shook his hand.

“Fourth Sister, I’m asking for your phone number!”

Lin Hao gave a helpless smile.

I didn’t say I wanted to shake your hand. Why did you take the initiative to reach out?

A rare blush rose on Fourth Sister’s cheeks. She quickly let go of his hand and cursed inwardly.

You little brat, you even dare to tease me?

Lin Hao couldn’t hear her thoughts. Otherwise, he would definitely have protested.

Good heavens, I was only reaching out because I wanted your business card!

She turned around and searched through the business card holder on the desk. After taking out a card, she handed it to Lin Hao.

Lin Hao accepted it with both hands and took a glance. There was only one name written on it, with a phone number underneath.

He Jingyun.

He looked carefully at the name, then put the business card into the pocket of his cotton-padded jacket and gave a slight nod.

“Then I’ll be leaving first. Goodbye!”

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Fourth Sister watched Lin Hao’s back but didn’t say another word.

Of course Lin Hao wanted to earn this money.

However, if Wan Yong left the Ferry Bar in this way and he took over the very next day, that would be breaking the rules!

That’s right!

It was the rules!

His own rules, Lin Hao’s rules!

In his previous life, whether because of his personality or his fate, he hadn’t done very well. But he had friends all over the world.

When he was in his thirties, he once drank with several friends.

One friend said, “Old Chen is amazing. He can travel from city to city without carrying a single penny. Every place he goes, he has friends who invite him for drinks, and he even has somewhere to stay!”

That friend wasn’t wrong. He had traveled all over the country doing performance gigs, and later ran around different cities performing at venues. It could indeed be said that he had friends everywhere!

It was just that most of those friends were doing pretty average. Drinking meant nothing more than eating at roadside stalls, and sometimes he even had to squeeze onto the same bed with them when sleeping.

Why was he able to make so many friends?

Because he knew how to conduct himself, and because he had his own rules!

For example, this matter with Wan Yong.

Even if the two of them had no grudge between them, and the boss wasn’t satisfied with Wan Yong and wanted to replace him, Lin Hao still wouldn’t come!

Because Wan Yong was his classmate. The two of them didn’t have any blood feud or hatred over a wife. He wouldn’t do something like that!

Unless it was an empty venue, or a newly opened one.

He had never taken over a friend’s spot just because his own skills were better. Of course, strangers and enemies were exceptions. Otherwise, he would starve to death.

There was no denying that Wan Yong’s actions were dishonorable, even extremely despicable.

But Lin Hao had already proven himself on stage. That was equivalent to giving Wan Yong a loud slap in the face; otherwise, he wouldn’t have quietly slipped away.

If they weren’t classmates, then when he met someone like this, Lin Hao wouldn’t mind stepping on him a few more times. He did have rules, but he was definitely not some saint.

However, Wan Yong was still his classmate after all. As the saying went: Leave some room for others; it’s better to meet again in the future.

He could come sing here, and he wanted to come too, but he couldn’t just force Wan Yong out and immediately replace him.

These were the rules Lin Hao had in his previous life. People were often like this—without being battered and bruised by society, they would never grow.

In his previous life, even when he was in his thirties, he was still like a hot-blooded, arrogant young man.

Toward friends, he gave them unconditional trust with no bottom line. If he lent someone money and they didn’t return it, he would feel too embarrassed to ask for it back. Yet that didn’t stop those so-called friends from taking advantage of him until he was completely miserable.

Toward enemies, he relied on his fists. But the result of fighting head-on was often that both sides suffered.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until he was almost forty in his previous life that he finally understood one truth: relying only on brute courage would only mean hurting the enemy by one thousand while damaging himself by eight hundred. Before one had enough strength, sometimes choosing to strike from behind was the only way to make everyone shut up.

But it was too late. By the time he understood these things, he was already lying on a hospital bed.

He didn’t care about Wan Yong at all, but his experience had made him deeply understand how terrifying public opinion could be.

After being reborn, Lin Hao often reflected on his previous life. He was gradually integrating and adjusting his former “rules.”

Whether it was reckless courage or secretly striking from behind, everything had a matter of degree—knowing where the limit was.

Many people believed a man should be like Xiang Yu, a true hero. But Xiang Yu, who relied on reckless bravery, eventually committed suicide at Wujiang.

The founding emperor of Han, Liu Bang, was someone skilled at stabbing others in the back, but he was extremely suspicious and trusted no one. In his later years, even the loyal Fan Kuai was constantly guarded against by him, and in the end he exhausted himself to death.

So, nothing should ever be taken to an extreme. He wanted to learn how to control that degree, how to grasp that sense of proportion.

In the past, he firmly believed: treat friends with the warmth of spring, and treat enemies with the cruelty and ruthlessness of winter.

But now he wanted to adjust that.

Toward friends, he would have trust, care, and help—but with limits.

Toward enemies, sometimes he also had to treat them with the warmth of spring, because only that way could he make his opponents lower their guard, making it easier to strike when the time came.

Which friends were worth trusting, when to become furious with righteous anger, when to smile while secretly making a move—if he could master this sense of proportion, then he could truly make something of himself in society.

Talent alone was not enough to rise above others. People with ability but no emotional intelligence would eventually be crushed by society.

In his previous life, he had been exactly that kind of person.

Rules were not something formed in a moment of impulse.

Rules were something that slowly took shape over time.