Yes, having a family that could be called perfect, loving parents, a stable place to live, a steady family income provided by both parents, and a harmonious family atmosphere... all of these are incredibly important to Henry Thompson. These were things he neglected for over thirty years in his previous life, only to gradually realize their immense value in the past two years—yet, ironically, entangled by mundane affairs, he found himself unable to return to them.

For all of this, for this family, he values and cherishes it immensely.

However, his life certainly couldn't consist of only these things; what he wanted was more, much more. Only in this life, he already knew that some things cannot and should not be replaced, and must be treasured. Therefore, he would no longer recklessly abandon that warmth for the so-called pursuit of art.

So, what should he do?

How could he turn this enormous advantage, which for now existed only in his mind, into reality?

He wanted to release albums, many albums. He wanted to present to the world the moving, beautiful melodies in his mind, those joyful, delightful, or sorrowful, compassionate rhythms, and those wonderful lyrics—he wanted to show them to the world, to let people see and hear them.

He wanted to make movies, whether as an actor, a screenwriter, or a director. He wanted to recreate all those beautiful stories and touching emotions he knew and had seen, one by one. He even wanted to correct all the shortcomings in those works that had been criticized after their release, so that they could appear before everyone in the world in a more perfect form, making people rejoice, praise, and even be moved to tears.

He even wanted to write books, to become a writer. This time, it wouldn't just be about what he had read in his previous life—he felt he had so much to say, so many stories to tell...

But what should he do?

Releasing albums, making movies, writing... every one of these things was wonderful, but every one of them seemed so far away.

If you want to release an album, first you need a record company willing to sign you, willing to invest in you... So, are you a singing competition champion? Have you proven yourself somewhere else? Or is there some big shot who thinks highly of you and is willing to support you?

Well, if none of these, then why should I invest in you to release an album?

You say you have a good voice?

Come on, people with some musical or vocal talent, after systematic training, all have decent voices. There are tons of newcomers lining up for contracts! Who do you think you are?

You say you have songwriting talent?

Well, that's actually pretty good, even a huge advantage. There are plenty of people who can sing in the music industry, but only a limited number who can write songs. But, please note, not just any tune with lyrics slapped on counts as a song, or is usable!

You say your songs are great?

Come on, only if the market says they're great, are they truly great. Without market validation, who dares say their songs will definitely be hits?

There are indeed some people in this industry—composers, producers—who have an uncanny grasp of market trends. They can always create songs or albums that become widely popular and sell like crazy. If they take a liking to you, you could practically soar to the top overnight... But how many such people are there in the whole industry? Every day, every hour, every moment, how many people are watching them, trying to get close to them?

Can you reach them?

So... the problem returns to the starting point: why should you get to release an album?

As for making movies... well, maybe ordinary people would say, you're handsome, so of course you can act in movies!

Nonsense!

Henry Thompson spent many years in the industry in his previous life, and he knew deeply that being handsome had absolutely nothing to do with being an actor! Similarly, during the annual art school entrance exams, every exam site is packed with good-looking guys and girls, but in the end, if you compare those who actually get accepted, you'll find that they're often not the most attractive ones, at least not the most beautiful.

So, releasing an album is hard, and acting in movies is also hard.

On the contrary, writing is something you can slowly try out, but clearly, that's not the most urgent thing Henry Thompson wants to do.

...

Henry Thompson suddenly withdrew his gaze, then did a kip-up out of bed, pulled over a chair and sat down, took a blank sheet of paper, thought for a moment, and then wrote four words at the top: Short-term Goals.

Then, he wrote below—

1. Study hard and make progress every day, at least get into a university in the capital;

2. Practice the basics every day—guitar and singing;

3. Go for bar auditions during summer vacation, strive to become a resident singer, at least succeed at one place, and use live performances to hone his control over his voice and the stage;

4. Attend an art college for university, study acting, and strive to continue being classmates with Little Grace.