Chapter 59

The next day

Saturday.

September 4, 2010

In the early morning, Edward awoke at his usual time, his body naturally accustomed to this rhythm, and proceeded with his regular morning routine after rising from bed.

At dawn, he carefully laced up his running shoes, the quiet street bathed in the sun's warm golden glow, setting a tranquil stage for his morning run

An hour later, having finished his run, he sat on a nearby weathered bench in the park, taking a deep breath and reveling in the sense of accomplishment that warmed his tired muscles.

A while later, on his way back to the apartment, he coincidentally crossed paths with Patricia in the hallway, where she was in the midst of locking her unit.

"Going back home?" he asked, a friendly smile on his face.

"Y-yes," she nodded, sighing. "Are you heading home too?"

"Yeah, I'm going around 8:00. I still have some uploads to do later..."

The two engaged in casual conversation when suddenly, Edward recalled something and couldn't help but inquire, "By the way, where were you last night? I knocked on your door to invite you for dinner, but there was no response."

"I-I fell asleep as soon as I went back. I think that was around five."

"I see." Edward nodded, thinking that it made sense considering all the work they had done in the past few days.

Not dwelling too much on it, he skillfully changed the subject, steering the conversation in a new direction.

After a short while, Edward discreetly checked his watch and realized it was time to bid farewell; after all, she still needed to go home, and he himself had plenty of tasks to tackle.

"That's it for now, I guess... See you on Monday?"

"Y-yeah, Monday, or maybe Sunday evening, because I felt traveling from home all the way to class was a bit troublesome."

"Makes sense," Edward nodded, understanding her perspective. "See you on Monday or Sunday evening then."

"Yes."

After a few more exchanges and a friendly wave, the two went their separate ways.

Edward headed back inside his apartment and then went to the bathroom to take a refreshing shower, letting the warm water wash away the morning's exertion.

After the refreshing shower, he put on comfortable attire—a loose-fitting t-shirt paired with pale denim jeans—and made his way to the music room.

Stepping inside, he took a moment to appreciate the familiar sights—neatly arranged music sheets, vintage music posters adorning the walls, and guitars and a bass guitar standing proudly on their stands.

In the corner, a microphone perched on its stand, and beside it, an amplifier with knobs stood, finely tuned for sound. Cables intertwined like vines, connecting various pieces of equipment, formed the heart of the music setup.

Seeing such a magnificent scene, a far cry from his setup a month ago, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride swelling in his chest.

During this period, alongside managing his other tasks, he made sure to acquire equipment from time to time, gradually making the whole studio more complete.

Well... not really complete, as there were still many things that he lacked, but at least for now, it was enough to meet all of his needs for his song covers.

Seated comfortably in his cushioned chair, Edward powered up his desktop computer. The screen lit up, displaying the familiar login prompt.

As his fingers danced across the keyboard, he entered his credentials to access his YouTube account and then went to the upload section to begin posting his latest song cover.

After a while, as the upload bar progressed to completion, he suddenly thought of something and went to the comment sections of his videos.

As he expected, they were filled with an array of positive comments, complimenting him about his voice, the quality of the song cover, and even some sharing their anticipation for his future uploads.

Edward was already used to this; however, he didn't let it get to his head because he was well aware of his skill level and he knew he wasn't as proficient as they said.

Moreover, he was aware that the current standard for song cover content wasn't as high as it would be in the future, so it was normal for people to think that his work was good.

Ignoring the compliments, he scrolled further down to look for the negative ones... It felt a bit strange, given that most people usually appreciate being praised for their work, and he was no different.

To be honest, he really didn't want to face such negative remarks, knowing that it would only hurt his ego and lower his confidence.

However, the encounter with Patricia a while ago when he randomly asked for her opinion made him realize its real value.

Although it is indeed depressing to see, it's not without its merits—well, at least they can help him identify what makes people dislike his work and use it to improve his future content.

Moreover, even if he can't utilize all the feedback to enhance his content, he can still learn from it and strive to avoid similar criticisms in the future, as long as they're reasonable.

@Xxxtwerk; "I don't like it, sounds so unnatural."

@Avenger34; "very bad, listening to you're song covers made me sick."

@Dropped_23; "honestly, I think the comments kn the comments section are overated, I mean, his contents are obviously edited, sounds so artificial and its so obvious but people just kept ignoring it."

@Gentlecon; "boring, the content are so repetitive. Add something new, I swear, the previous background are much better."

Edward spent nearly half an hour scrolling through the comments section of his videos, focusing on those who had valuable insights.

And ignoring the comments, he critiqued various facets of his appearance and presentation—his voice, appearance, hairstyle, clothing choices, and more.

"Damn," Edward sighed. "One day, I'll hire someone to go through the comments, collect feedback from the viewers, and filter out the negative ones. He won't be allowed to tell me the negative comments directly... Well, he can, but at least rephrase them first in a more constructive tone so it won't ruin my day."

Time passed.

As the clock approached eight, Edward logged out of his account and shut down his computer. 

Leaving his unit, Edward makes sure that he securely locks his apartment.

With everything set in place, he headed towards the main road and made his way to the waiting shed, from where he could easily signal for a taxi.

This time, he chose to ride a taxi instead of a jeepney, despite it costing ten times more. The convenience, speed, and time saved were factors that convinced him it was worth the extra expense.

At 8:30 a.m.

Edward arrived outside the basketball stadium, which was two districts (barangays) away from their own.

(Note: A barangay (district) is not necessarily a village; it's simply an administrative division unit. In urban areas, cities are divided into different barangays.)

Stepping out of the cab, Edward quickly spotted the group already gathered near the entrance. He greeted each of them with fist bumps and warm hugs, exchanging smiles and playful banter.

"Yo, you came by a taxi?" Jake asked curiously after some greetings.

"Yeah, kind of busy lately. I feel like time is money... You know what I mean? Like, it's better to save time than spend money.."

"Oh, that sounds..."

"Arrogant? I think so too. If it were before, I would have preferred 123 on Jeepney, let alone tax... but lately, I feel like I'm becoming less stingy. Does it make sense?"

"I think it does. My uncle used to say the same when he bought a car."

Edward chatted with him for a while, then with others as they waited for others to arrive.

"Have you changed your clothing style?" Turning his eyes on Angela, he couldn't help but notice that she's wearing more feminine clothing than before.

"My mom told me that I have to dress up if I don't want to remain unmarried as I grow older," she explained nonchalantly.

However, if one were to look closer, a blush could be seen tinting her cheeks, betraying her attempt to maintain a casual demeanor.

"Oh, I see." Edward nodded in understanding and proceeded to ask her about school; the conversation later shifted to dating.

"You're dating someone lately?"

"No, but there is this guy that has been chasing me lately."

"Same department?"

"Yeah, he's next in class to us, and he's my friend's cousin."

"What happened then?"

"I don't like him; he's too lame."

"Lame?"

"Yeah, he texted me about his exes and stuff, and it doesn't sound convincing enough. Humph."

"..."

"How about you?"

"I dated a girl, remember Patricia? The girl I told the group about a while ago?"

"Yeah? Isn't she the one you hired as an assistant?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my god!? No way!? Don't tell me you hired her intentionally to have your way with her."

"..."