Volume One: Rising to the Pinnacle Upon Debut Chapter Forty-Eight: Is the Secret of Being Single for Over Forty Years About to Be Exposed?

“Brother, you’re here! Ah—my little Molly.” As soon as she opened the door for Chen Jing, Wang Youxuan scooped Molly into her arms, rubbing her against her chest with an exuberant embrace.

Molly, somewhat displeased, pushed away the ample curves pressing against her, a sight that made Chen Jing’s eyes twitch involuntarily.

With a helpless smile, Chen Jing said, “Alright, Youxuan, don’t hug Molly so tightly. She’s about to be smothered by you.”

“Oh no, Molly, are you alright?” Wang Youxuan quickly loosened her hold and checked on Molly.

Molly’s cheeks were flushed red, though whether from being smothered or from embarrassment was hard to say. She reached out, pressed her hand against Wang Youxuan’s chest, and, with some confusion, asked, “Will I have a chest this big when I grow up?”

“Uh…” Chen Jing was at a loss for words. Instinctively, he glanced at Wang Youxuan’s impressive figure, sizing it up. Indeed, such proportions weren’t something just anyone could develop.

Hearing Molly’s innocent question, Wang Youxuan burst out laughing, planting a kiss on Molly’s face. “Of course! Someday, you’ll grow up to be just like your big sister, and then you’ll both delight and fret over having such an abundance.”

At this, Molly looked quite troubled. She didn’t want such a large chest; it seemed like such a burden.

Chen Jing watched Molly’s slightly furrowed brow with amusement. Silly child, when you grow up, you might find yourself wishing for just a little more in that regard.

During dinner, Wang Menglan clearly sensed that Chen Jing seemed distracted. While ladling soup for him, she asked, “Jing, is something wrong? Did something not go well today?”

Chen Jing took the bowl from her hands. “Thank you, Menglan. Was I that obvious? You all noticed?”

“Yes, yes, you’ve seemed absent-minded all evening,” Wang Youxuan chimed in.

Molly simply looked at him in silence.

With a wry smile, Chen Jing admitted, “Alright, I do have something on my mind. It’s nothing major, really. It’s just, for the finals of ‘Voice of Huaxia,’ the song I want to sing—I started recording it today, but no matter how I sang, the result never reached the effect I wanted. I’ve been racking my brain trying to solve this.”

At this, Wang Youxuan exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, you’ve already prepared your new competition song?”

Chen Jing shook his head with a smile. “I finished the arrangement yesterday and started recording this afternoon. But after a whole afternoon, I still wasn’t satisfied.”

Wang Menglan listened carefully, thought for a moment, then asked, “Is this single a love song?”

“Yes,” Chen Jing nodded. It could be considered a love song, after all.

“That explains it,” Wang Menglan replied with a smile. “If it’s a love song and you can’t achieve the effect you want no matter how you sing, it’s probably because your emotions aren’t coming through. After all—” She chuckled softly, “—you’ve never been in love, Jing. You don’t understand that heart-wrenching feeling of love.”

“Uh…” Chen Jing was taken aback. Was that really the issue?

Hmm…perhaps…that might really be the case.

He fell into thoughtful silence.

“Hee hee, so even my brother’s never been in love? I find that hard to believe,” Wang Youxuan eyed him skeptically after hearing her mother’s analysis.

She truly couldn’t believe that someone as outstanding as her brother had never dated. The boys in her class weren’t as handsome, not as mature, nor as talented as her brother, yet still had girls chasing after them, some changing girlfriends as easily as changing clothes—some even had several at once. Hmph, a bunch of players.

As for Chen Jing, single since birth, not only in this life but even adding in his previous one, he’d been a bachelor for more than forty years. There was no way he’d let anyone discover this secret.

“Ha? How could your brother have never dated?” Chen Jing forced himself to sound calm. “I often go out with girls, you know.” Well, every time there was a mission, he and Sun Ruoqing would scout out the area together.

He thought for a moment, and added, “And when I’ve seen a girl crying, I’d comfort her.” That was when Xie Yuanshan got into trouble and he had to clean up the mess.

“In any case, I’m good at winning girls’ favor,” Chen Jing declared with confidence.

Wang Youxuan gave him a strange look. “I never said you weren’t popular with girls. I just want to know—have you ever had a girlfriend? Officially, I mean, a real relationship?” She looked at him with a gossipy gleam in her eye.

Chen Jing’s expression stiffened. It seemed, indeed, that he hadn’t. In fact, maybe not even in his previous life!

“Ahem!” He coughed lightly, feigning nonchalance. “I just never had time before. A girlfriend isn’t something to rush—really, it’s no big deal.”

Youxuan replied with a simple, “Oh,” and fell silent. She was afraid if she spoke further, she’d burst out laughing. So he really hadn’t been in love. Her brother was just too adorable.

Listening to the banter between Chen Jing and her daughter, Wang Menglan couldn’t help but find it amusing. It was rare to see Chen Jing embarrassed, and she found it quite entertaining.

After considering a moment, Wang Menglan said, “If the song can’t reach the effect you want, Jing, there are only two possibilities. One is your vocal technique, but I doubt that’s the issue. If it really was vocal technique, you’d be able to feel it yourself. So if it’s not that, then it must be the second reason: your emotions aren’t coming through in the singing.”

Chen Jing nodded thoughtfully at her words.

She continued, “The most important thing in a song is the emotion in the voice. If you can’t convey your feelings, the overall effect of the song will inevitably be diminished.”

“Yes, Mom’s analysis makes sense,” Youxuan agreed, nodding.

Chen Jing gave a wry smile. “Perhaps. It’s just that I’ve never really sung love songs before, so I’ve never encountered this problem.”

Wang Menglan covered her mouth and giggled. “It’s only natural, since you’ve never been in love—you can’t experience that soul-crushing pain for love.”

Chen Jing couldn’t help but smile wryly. Soul-crushing pain for love? Maybe, once upon a time, he’d felt something like that, but he wasn’t even sure if it was real. Who could say?

After returning from Wang Menglan’s home, Chen Jing set aside his troubles with recording for the moment. He was busy uploading a novel, “Harry Potter,” to a well-known international website. He didn’t intend to confine himself to domestic success; he planned to go global. For that, he had to lay the groundwork for some international classics ahead of time.

He worked tirelessly until well past eleven at night before finally standing to stretch his shoulders.

Molly was already asleep. She could now handle her own bedtime routine, which made Chen Jing very gratified.

Just as Chen Jing finished washing up and was about to go to bed, his phone rang—it was Ruoqing.

“Hm?” He was surprised. Ruoqing only called when there was something important.

He answered, “What’s up, Ruoqing?”

“Today we discovered a group of Pandora operatives secretly infiltrated Xiang City. Their target is very likely to be Molly,” Sun Ruoqing got straight to the point, her words always so concise and direct.

Chen Jing’s brows knitted. “Are there any espers among them?”

“The exact number is unknown, but there are definitely espers present. Moreover,” Sun Ruoqing’s voice paused, “among them, there are certainly disaster-class espers.”

Chen Jing’s pupils contracted—this was troublesome.

The classification of espers went from levels 1 to 3, known as natural-class espers. At these levels, their abilities weren’t strong enough to have a major impact on society—like Zhang Jingzhi. The usual approach was just minor supervision.

But once an esper surpassed level 3, reaching levels 4 to 6, they were considered disaster-class. Their powers could wreak havoc on society, and without strict control, they could cause catastrophic incidents at any time.

If Pandora only sent natural-class espers, Chen Jing wouldn’t be too concerned. Even without his powers, he was confident he could handle espers of that level.

But disaster-class was another matter. In that case, he might be the one to get “handled.” After all, at his peak, he himself had only been a disaster-class esper. The power at that level was truly terrifying.

“We already have people shadowing them. As soon as Pandora’s agents show themselves, we’ll track them. So, Jing, if you run into anything, hold back. Don’t act impulsively,” Sun Ruoqing warned. She knew his temperament and worried he’d throw himself at disaster-class espers without a second thought, ending up with a repeat of what happened before.

Chen Jing laughed. “I know, don’t worry. Their target may not even be Molly. No need to worry too much.” He said this, but in his heart, he was sure Pandora was after Molly. He’d always felt something odd about her story—maybe he could find a clue through these Pandora agents.

Despite the looming threat, daily life had to go on. The next morning, Chen Jing arrived early at the recording studio, determined to finish the song in one push.

Lin Xi also arrived at the company bright and early.

“Same as yesterday? Continue recording?” Lin Xi asked as she saw Chen Jing warming up.

He nodded, tried a few notes, then smiled at Lin Xi and the others. “Ready. Let’s get started and finish early.”

Recording began. Lin Xi expected Chen Jing to get stuck again, but to her surprise, he passed after just two takes.

She listened repeatedly to the final version, offering no suggestions. She simply nodded her approval.

In Lin Xi’s eyes, this song was flawless.