Chapter 17: Observing Passersby

  The day after Inoue's uncle left, Zhou Xiao continued his singing career in a state of nothingness.

  Although Mr. Inoue's resignation was a bit unexpected, Zhou Xiao felt relieved when he heard that his uncle still had a job. Although working at the TV station would not be as stable as being a theater manager, at least it could bring income to the family, which made Zhou Xiao feel more at ease.

  Also, don't forget that Uncle Inoue has also promised Zhou Xiao a job, and the TV station's work opportunities are still very good, not only will the income be better, but the treatment will also be good, more importantly, being able to observe the TV station's operations up close is a very valuable opportunity for Zhou Xiao who aspires to this line of work.

  So overall Zhou Xiao's mood is still quite good, at least no longer having that kind of frustration and sadness from being talented but not recognized like when he was selling songs before.

  When in a good mood, it can be naturally reflected from someone's singing voice. So on this day, Zhou Xiao's street performance at the subway station mainly consisted of light and folk songs. Recently, most Japanese people who take the subway have gotten used to the singing inside the station. This is a good thing for Zhou Xiao, as after listening to his singing for several days in a row, many people waiting for their trains start to think that it's not right to listen for free for so long. As a result, most of them will throw at least a few hundred yen into his guitar case. After stabilizing, Zhou Xiao found that his income over the past few days was actually quite good.

  The Japanese are very reserved, at first for a day or two, many Japanese people even if they hear Zhou Xiao singing, will pretend as if they haven't heard anything, their eyes will be gazing at the subway tracks, looking in the direction of the arriving subway or even staring at the ceiling, except for their ears, they don't dare to look at Zhou Xiao.

  Then on the third day, these audiences who had listened for two days finally... could slightly look at Zhou Xiao in a positive light. However, even so, those who were listening to Zhou Xiao's songs all tacitly stood very far away, unless they really had to pass by Zhou Xiao; otherwise, those who stopped to listen would at least stand four or five meters away from Zhou Xiao. The only time someone would actively get close was when it was time to give money.

  For Zhou Xiao, these few days of street performing with his guitar have been a precious experience. These performances not only allowed him to confidently stand in front of people and sing, but also gave him a completely new feeling about Japan and Tokyo.

  Before, Zhou Xiao thought Tokyo would be advanced, modern, and very atmospheric, but after performing for a few days, Zhou Xiao discovered that Tokyo also has a worldly side, which is fast and cold, worldly and stingy. Or, to put it another way, Tokyo is actually the same as Beijing - cities themselves don't have any particular temperament, and people within cities also don't have any particular temperament; temperament is something each person carries with them. In this world of ten people and ten colors, in this metropolis where 30 million people live, there are 30 million different colors - it's impossible to categorize all the colors into just one.

  So, Zhou Xiao started observing others when singing, which is a pretty fun thing to do, and also very helpful for his lucrative business.

  "This guy with a briefcase and wearing a suit, already half bald, is obviously a small white-collar worker who has been sitting in the office for half his life, absolutely no interest in stopping to listen to songs, pass!"

  "This guy looks stylish and handsome, but he's clearly heard my singing voice yet he's lowering his head and not daring to look me straight in the eye. He's just a pretentious guy who puts on airs in front of girls but is actually extremely petty!"

  "This older sister, although nearly forty years old, is dressed so flashily; either it's a wedding anniversary or she's meeting a third party - Japanese women are really open-minded! I've seen many like this. However, women who dress up like this tend to be very cautious about drawing attention to themselves, which makes it even less likely that they would give money in front of many people, pass!"

  "Hey, a couple is coming over there!" Zhou Xiao immediately became spirited.

  After these days of busking, Zhou Xiao summed up some experience. Those who walk relatively fast are not worth paying attention to. Most people who listen to his music and give him money are those who walk relatively slow, they look like they have time.

  Among them, couples are naturally the most likely to give money. And among couples, the possibility of giving money is also different. Those who are sticky together and make people want to set fire to kill them are basically the least likely to give money, because they have already passed the initial period when they need to show off to please each other, unless it happens to be one of their birthdays or anniversaries.

  What Zhou Xiao is most concerned about are those couples who are obviously in a relationship but keep some distance while walking. The slightly awkward state of these couples is obvious at first glance, and it's clear that they still need to show off their good side to each other. For such couples, as long as Zhou Xiao goes up and makes a slight show, the couples will readily take out their wallets and hand him a paper ticket (over 1,000 yuan).

  As for these days singing, has Zhou Xiao ever met people who really like his music and like his voice?

  Although I don't want to admit it, the answer to this question... in the end can only be negative. In fact, there really are people who like his singing, Zhou Xiao can see that kind of expression with surprise and emotion. However... such scenes are rare... and... Zhou Xiao found out that even if it's just one or two people who like him, even if his singing gets a round of applause from a large crowd after finishing a song, the final result is usually just everyone clapping their hands before going home or doing their own thing. The ripples he creates, no matter how big, will eventually return to being ordinary and plain.

  Zhou Xiao found herself... having thought things were a bit too simple.

  In fifteen years, if you sing really well, there will be many people willing to stop and listen to your singing. Good Samaritans may even record a video of you singing and put it online, which would truly make it spread like wildfire. In just a few days, you might become famous all over the world, with millions of views on your video.

  But now it's the year 2000, mobile phones have just entered the color screen era, community networks and video websites are still nowhere to be seen, and the concept of smartphones may not be known to many people. In such an era, unless Zhou Xiao sings persistently for several months or even years, otherwise, he might only be able to earn enough money to make a living.

  A poor man is not qualified to be picky, even if Zhou Xiao has something worth tens of millions or hundreds of millions in his mind. At this time, he can only do what he has to do. If he only wants to dig out the things in his mind and ignore other things, it's likely that he will starve to death on the street before he can even dig them out.

  In the four-day street performing career, he earned less than 10,000 yen in total. Adding the 5,000 yen from that day's performance, he made around 15,000 yen in about a week. After deducting daily food expenses, he was left with less than 10,000 yen, which seemed like a livable amount. However, Zhou Xiao didn't feel happy at all because while singing, he realized that street performing also relied on luck. With the same song and performance, sometimes he wouldn't get a single penny, while other times someone would throw him a thousand-yen bill. In this state, Zhou Xiao worried that if he couldn't collect enough money for several days in a row, he would run out of food.

  "I wonder how Uncle Inoue's job search at the TV station is going. If he can get a part-time job there, his life will probably stabilize a bit. As long as he can write something, he'll at least be able to escape the extreme poverty he's in now!" Zhou Xiao thought to himself.

  While thinking about these messy things, Zhou Xiao's singing voice never stopped, and his observation of the behavior of passersby around him also didn't stop. Suddenly, he saw a woman's figure again.

  "Will this person ever stop and listen to his own song?" Zhou Xiao thought.