**
"Link, you're back."
After the match, as Link was changing his shoes at the entrance, a voice called out from the living room. A tall figure immediately rushed over and threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him into the wall.
Taylor had arrived in the morning, intending to write songs at his place, so Link had left his apartment to her while he went to the match.
"What's up?"
Link held the girl while changing his shoes and patted her on the back.
"Tell me quickly, who wrote this?"
Taylor pulled out a sheet of paper with more than ten lines of lyrics. The song title was "Dream It Possible," and the writing was hasty and messy.
"Who wrote this? Tell me quickly, I searched online but couldn't find this song."
Taylor looked up at him, her blue eyes full of expectation.
"Hold on, let me catch my breath first."
Link took off his coat, and just as he was about to hang it up, Taylor quickly grabbed it and hung it for him. Then she turned back to stare at him. When Link went to get a drink, Taylor immediately fetched a drink from the fridge and handed it to him with both hands, acting very attentive.
Link smiled gently and shrugged, "I'm a bit tired. It would be great if someone could give me a massage right now."
"Hmph!"
Taylor gave him a glare, sat on the sofa, and began to rub his shoulders roughly.
"Press a little harder!"
"Alright, you asked for it, don’t blame me if it’s too intense."
Taylor clenched her fists and hit his shoulders a couple of times, asking, "How’s that? Is it heavy enough?"
"Not bad. If you hit harder, you might knock me out."
Link leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes to enjoy.
"Don’t fall asleep. You haven’t told me who wrote this song. The lyrics are amazing, the rhythm and content are fantastic, far better than what I write. Who wrote it? Tell me, please."
Taylor shook his neck slightly, her voice soft, almost like a pout.
"Is it really that good?"
"Of course. Tell me quickly, or I’ll pinch you."
Taylor pinched a bit of skin on his arm, threatening him.
Link chuckled, "No one else has been to my apartment. Who do you think wrote it?"
Taylor looked at him quietly, then looked at the sheet of lyrics again, uncertainly asking, "Did you write it?"
"Why ask in such a doubtful tone? Do you think I’m just some uncultured brute?"
Link crossed his arms and asked in return.
"No, it’s just that how could you write such great lyrics? You’re a boxer, why would you be better at writing songs than us professional songwriters?"
Taylor said, a bit sourly.
Link smiled gently, explaining that the song came to him the night before last when he couldn't sleep. Seeing the sheet of paper Taylor left on the table, he remembered the song "Dream It Possible," and, inspired, he started writing it down. The song was long, so he only remembered about two-thirds that night and remembered more over the next two days.
He took the sheet of lyrics Taylor had and finished writing the remaining lyrics with a pen.
And if it takes a thousand lives
To achieve noble ideals
Then it's worth fighting for
It always takes countless blood
It's not until you fall that you fly
Until you’re no longer afraid of falling and you soar
When your dreams come alive, you're unstoppable
When your dreams come true, you become unstoppable
"How can it be so good?"
Taylor read the newly written lyrics and stared at him in awe, "How can you be so amazing? You’re a boxer, how do you write songs like this?"
"Don’t you do anything else besides singing?"
Link looked at her and smiled.
Taylor was caught off guard by his question. She furrowed her brows and thought hard about what else she could do besides singing and songwriting. Link could box, swim, dive, cook, and even write songs, all exceptionally well. What could she do? It seemed like she couldn’t do much besides sing.
This thought suddenly made her feel inadequate.
"You also play the piano, guitar, violin, and dance. You’re a musical genius."
Link lifted her chin and said.
Taylor's eyes lit up, instantly brightening.
"You’re right. I also compose. I’m going to write a complete piece for your lyrics. How does that sound? Don’t worry, I’ll create the best music possible. I won’t let such great lyrics go to waste."
Link nodded, hesitating a moment before saying, "Actually, I had a tune in mind while writing the lyrics."
"What? Are you serious? Composing is a hundred times harder than writing lyrics, and you can do both?" Taylor asked incredulously.
"Why don’t you listen first?"
Link smiled.
"Alright!"
Taylor handed him a guitar and watched with crossed arms, curious to see what kind of music a boxer could come up with, hoping it wouldn’t ruin the lyrics.
Link strummed the guitar awkwardly. He had only learned a bit from Taylor and wasn’t very good at it, but holding the guitar while singing made it less awkward. He looked at the lyrics on the table and sang softly:
I will run I will climb I will soar
I'm undefeated
Jumping out of my skin, pull the chord
Yeah I believe it
"Wow~"
Taylor covered her mouth in amazement after just a few lines. The melody was fantastic, much better than what she had initially come up with.
The melody matched the lyrics perfectly, starting low and contemplative and then building up to a triumphant crescendo, which was very soothing.
Link's singing was also quite good. Although there were some issues with rhythm and breathing, his voice was strong and full of emotion. With a bit of training, he could become a mature singer.
After hearing Link sing, Taylor couldn’t help but clap excitedly and said, "Link, you sing so well, and the song is fantastic. How can you be so amazing?"
Link put down the guitar and said with a smile, "If you like it, you can sing it. There are some parts of the melody that need adjusting, but you can decide how to tweak them."
He mentioned this because he had forgotten some of the melody, only vaguely recalling the rest. Fortunately, the missing parts were few and should be easy to fill in.
"Such a beautiful song and you want me to sing it? Link, how about we both become singers? Let’s get a big record label to sign you, and you could become a big star too."
Taylor said, pulling on his arm.
"No need. I’m a boxer. My current goal is to become the world champion. I don’t have any plans to do anything else until I achieve that."
Link patted her hand.
Although being a singer is also a good side job, recording albums and going on tour take up a lot of time. He didn’t have time to waste on other things for now. If he were to pursue singing, he would consider it after achieving the title of world champion.
Seeing his firm stance, Taylor stopped persuading him and instead pulled him closer, saying, "Link, can you sing it again? I was so focused on listening that I forgot to write down the melody. Can you sing it one more time?"
"Okay."
Link picked up the guitar and sang the song again. The second performance was more complete than the first, with only a few parts still somewhat unclear.
Taylor, being very skilled at composing and arranging, listened once and transcribed the melody into musical notation with notes and beats on a full page.
"This is amazing. It’s really a great song."
Taylor hugged the guitar and hummed along to the music.
Link went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, making beef stew and Mexican vegetable pancakes.
By the time he finished dinner, Taylor had fully performed the song. She was sitting on the sofa, playing and singing, with a version of "Dream It Possible" that was lively and upbeat, different from the original but with her own unique charm.
She sang with a great voice and impressive skill, her rendition being a vibrant counterpart to the original, similar to how some people might prefer "Dream It Possible" and others might favor Zhang Liangying’s "My Dream."
"Ugh, I’m so sad."
As Taylor finished singing, Link was about to applaud but saw Taylor with red eyes, tears hanging on her long eyelashes, looking very sad. Link didn’t understand why this artistic girl was crying all of a sudden and walked over to pat her back.
"What’s wrong? Is the song very sad?"
"No, I started learning music when I was six and have been writing songs for thirteen years. I’ve written over thirty songs. I thought I was really good, but now I realize that none of my songs come close to yours. And you’re just a boxer who can’t even play the guitar. How come you can write such amazing songs while I can’t?"
Taylor, with tearful eyes, looked at him with envy and jealousy.
Link smiled gently, understanding her feelings. He remembered when he was at the boxing gym and a wealthy college student came in, saying he liked boxing and wanted to learn a few moves. He paid twenty thousand for lessons.
Old Liu arranged for a boxer who had been training for five years to teach him. The college student wanted to spar, and the boxer agreed. The student then knocked the experienced boxer to the ground with just basic techniques.
At that time, Link had felt similar envy, thinking it was unfair that the student not only had money but also such great talent.
Link wiped her tears and said, "This song is a collaboration between us; it’s also your work. You don’t need to
be sad."
"Hmph, if it’s your work, I won’t compete with you. But I’ll definitely write an even better song in the future. Don’t get too smug."
Taylor said, pouting.
"Of course, you’re the best singer I’ve ever seen. You’ll definitely write even better songs in the future."
Link smiled.
Taylor smiled slightly, hugged his neck, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
(The End of this Chapter)