I am a Big Player
Chapter 210 - 208, Reality is Very Stark (Second Update)_1

Chapter 210: 208, Reality is Very Stark (Second Update)_1

The next day, Ren He was standing at the entrance of No. 4 Middle School as early as 3:40 am. To his surprise, the first one to arrive was Liu Jiamin, a girl who unexpectedly turned out to be the earliest one there.

And at that moment, when only Liu Jiamin and Ren He were at the school gate, Liu Jiamin suddenly said, "If I pass the club’s test, please teach me how to play the piano."

She had pondered for a long time and also inquired many teachers and classmates, indeed, there was not a single teacher who could play at the level Ren He had played that day; thus, she eventually began to recall the youth whom she had brushed past. If there was no mistake, he was the person she was looking for.

It was at the welcome party that Liu Jiamin saw Ren He again, still when he was on stage playing the guitar, and the emotional feel within the music was identical to that day. It was then she understood that perhaps the instruments were different, but Ren He was indeed the person she was searching for.

There were many hidden dragons and crouching tigers in No. 4 Middle School; it wasn’t hard to imagine someone being proficient in multiple musical instruments.

Ren He smacked his lips and said, "Let’s talk after you pass."

Surprisingly, Liu Bing and Jiang Haoyang were the next to arrive, consuming yogurt and supermarket bread, with Jiang Haoyang boasting, "Bet you didn’t expect us to come this early, huh?"

In the end, out of the 37 people who signed up, only 18 had arrived at the No. 4 Middle School gate by 4 am, and for some, getting up at three something in the morning felt hard.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t get up; rather, they always felt that some things weren’t worth taking too seriously. They might skip a job interview if it rained or give up on a problem after twenty minutes of unsuccessful attempts.

But what they didn’t understand was that success in life is accumulated through these little things.

Ren He could imagine that in the future, many people would laugh at the Qinghe Club for setting up countless difficult selection criteria like lunatics, ending up with just a few members. Is it necessary? A club is just a club; why make it so exaggerated, as if they were going to mine for gold.

"Thank you all for coming at four in the morning. For those 19 who didn’t show up, the Qinghe Club may not have seemed reliable, so there was no need to take it too seriously. However, what I want to say is that personal growth isn’t achieved by just becoming successful and famous but it’s in the trials and tribulations you endure throughout the process of becoming someone," Ren He said with a smile. "Again, those who want to join, keep up; those who want to leave, may do so at any time. Our challenge is to walk for 12 hours, so let’s start proving right now that you aren’t a true failure."

After saying this, Ren He walked ahead, leaving everyone staring at one another. This couldn’t be serious, right? This was the end of summer, and if they walked for 12 hours, they’d definitely have to endure the hottest point of the day at 2 pm—it was likely everyone would be totally exhausted after 12 continuous hours of walking.

Some people were already considering quitting!

In the end, the only person who unquestioningly followed Ren He’s pace was Liu Jiamin. After exchanging glances, Liu Bing and Jiang Haoyang also gritted their teeth and followed suit.

Walking early in the morning didn’t feel like much, although Ren He kept a fast pace it was still manageable, but this was just the beginning.

Walking as an exercise seems easy at first to everyone, but as time goes on, muscles tire from the lack of proper rest and fatigue sets in, vexing the will of each person.

In his previous life, many of the world’s top 100 companies had even stricter requirements for management trainees. There were actual cases of trainees being thrown onto a deserted island to survive. However, those outstanding trainees quickly climbed positions of management after passing their tests. The world always seemed to prove one truth: sometimes real life is more exaggerated than fiction.

By the time it was 2 p.m., there were only four people left behind Ren He.

Out of the four, two were Liu Bing and Jiang Haoyang. Ren He had never imagined that the Qinghe Club would end up so miserable, damn, it was too miserable!

He had just arrived at No.4 Middle School, ready to make grand plans and meet masters from all walks of life, but instead, he faced a Waterloo.

Ren He felt a sense of defeat—could it be that losers are always losers? At this moment, Ren He probably realized a truth: failure has intrinsic reasons, damn it...

But actually, that might not necessarily be true. Maybe others just didn’t think it was worth it. No one’s life is devoid of hope for success after a single failure in an assessment, and Ren He’s assessment wasn’t that magical. All Ren He could do was wish them success in the future, then say goodbye and ultimately forget them.

That is to say, by 4 p.m., the Qinghe Club was left with only five people, including Ren He. Although he had mentally prepared himself for not having many people remaining after the test, this was still too few.

Aside from Liu Bing and Jiang Haoyang, one of the other two was Li Yifan. He was a middle school classmate of Jiang Haoyang who had been dragged over by him because of their shared love for Kunlun. Originally, he had planned to join a school band as the bass player but was lured over by Jiang Haoyang. When they chanted for an encore in support of Ren He, his voice was the loudest...

The last person, and the most unexpected for Ren He, was someone who had no previous connection to him, unlike the others who had some sort of relation or indirect connection, like Li Yifan. This was a wholly voluntary member.

Liu Jiamin, a girl who had persisted to the end. By now, her lips had gone a bit pale.

Ren He took a deep breath and looked at his pitifully few members, caught between laughter and tears...

The world had taught Ren He a harsh lesson today: ideals can be plump, but reality is stark...

No one is foolish enough to become your die-hard supporter just because of a few words you say. It’s a joke, how could that possibly happen...

"Cough cough, thank you all for showing up," Ren He said with a wry smile, "as a token of my gratitude, I’ll treat everyone to dinner tonight."

The chosen location was the buffet on the first floor of Shangri-La—an upscale buffet in the Capital. During the meal, Liu Jiamin suddenly asked, "Can you teach me how to play the piano now?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment. What was this about? There seemed to be a story behind this. The two of them obviously knew each other.

As the only female in the club, Liu Jiamin naturally attracted more attention, and although her figure was somewhat lanky, her pretty doll-like face was definitely a plus.

Liu Bing, Li Yifan, and Jiang Haoyang quietly sat there, waiting for the gossip. Suddenly, the bass-playing Li Yifan had an epiphany: "Liu Jiamin, aren’t you from the Tao Essence Class and the piano specialty student who was posting about looking for a teacher? Does our school really have such an amazing teacher? Did you ever find one..." Li Yifan trailed off, and then clammed up, looking at Ren He. Didn’t Liu Jiamin just ask Ren He to teach her the piano?