My agency went bankrupt before I even got on stage.

Zhang Chao is an ordinary bank teller.

Zhang Chao has had a dream since he was a child: to become a writer and write the novels he loves most.

However, this dream has never come true. In high school, his parents chose science for him because science graduates have better job prospects.

After graduation, his parents urged him to find a job. When they saw that he couldn't find a stable job, they even spent a lot of money to find him a secure job at a bank, just hoping that he could live a peaceful life.

Once the job was secured, he was immediately pressured to get married and have children. Zhang Chao felt that he had never lived a single day of his life for himself.

He had mentioned his dreams to his parents, but the response he received was nothing short of merciless mockery: "How much money can you make writing novels? Can you even support yourself? Do you even remember what score you got in Chinese class?"

"The reason I made you study science was because I was afraid you'd have such unrealistic ideas. People need to eat; if you can't even eat your fill, how can novels fill your stomach?"

"You're doing so well working at the bank now! So many people envy you!"

When his relatives, friends, and neighbors learned of his idea, most of them ridiculed him. Even his wife didn't support him: "Let's just live our lives properly. You have to think about the cost of baby formula, what school the baby will go to, and the tutoring and extracurricular activities—all of these will cost a lot of money. We can't keep relying on our parents!"

Whenever Zhang Chao mustered the courage to pursue his dream, he was influenced by all sorts of voices and ultimately had to give up.

again and again.

For a long time, Zhang Chao had even forgotten that he still had a dream of writing novels.

Until one day, Zhang Chao saw the live broadcast of the first ranking announcement of Morning Star.

He heard Lin Fan's speech.

He heard the words: "Everyone should have dreams, and if you have dreams, don't be afraid of pain."

He heard the song "Keep Walking in the Rain"!

He heard the words: "You can push me off a cliff, but I can learn to fly; I never take orders from anyone!"

He realized that he couldn't continue living like this! He had to rekindle his dreams.

Zhang Chao also completely fell in love with this big boy named Lin Fan.

Zhang Chao pulled out a manuscript from the storage room. It was a novel he had written by hand during breaks between classes in high school. Between the lines, he expressed his desire to become a writer and his beautiful vision of his dream.

There is more than one such manuscript.

Unfortunately, he had to succumb to the pressures of life, his parents' arrangements, and his own abandonment, burying these dreams deep in his heart and placing these manuscripts in the clutter room, not daring to look at them for long.

But today, Zhang Chao mustered up his courage and took them all out, arranging them neatly one by one on his computer desk.

Seeing his strange behavior, Zhang Chao's wife couldn't help but ask him, "What are you doing? What is that?"

Zhang Chao smiled and handed a manuscript to his wife: "This is a novel I wrote in high school, all handwritten! Impressive, right!"

The wife opened the manuscript, looked at the square characters written with a water-based pen, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh, your handwriting is so ugly!"

Zhang Chao felt like he'd been shot right in the chest, and retorted defiantly, "What's ugly about it! My handwriting was among the top ten in our class back then!"

His wife smiled faintly, looking at the neat stack of manuscripts on the table, and asked, "Did you write all of these?"

Zhang Chao nodded proudly: "Yes, I wrote them all. Back then, everyone would run out to play after class, boys couldn't sit still, but I was different. In order to write more during breaks, I never left my seat!"

Zhang Chao would stay in the classroom, not play with others, and even go an entire day without drinking water to avoid going to the toilet, all so he could write more of his novel during the break.

But when you're young, you can go to such lengths for your dreams, but when you grow up, you lose the courage to forge ahead.

The wife fell silent.

Looking at his silent wife, Zhang Chao said, "Don't worry, I'm not young anymore. I won't forget the responsibilities I bear. I will definitely make sure you and our child live a good life. But, back in high school, with such heavy coursework, I was still able to use those little breaks between classes to write so many manuscripts. Why can't I do that now?"

"I just want to use a little time after get off work and before going to bed, even if it's just an hour or half an hour, to do something I want to do. Don't worry, I promise it won't affect our lives."

Perhaps it's because he's getting older, but Zhang Chao finds it hard to say something as sentimental and passionate as "pursuing dreams," and can only say in a low voice, "doing what I want to do."

His wife's throat tightened, and she couldn't help but glare at Zhang Chao: "Look at the way you're talking, as if I'm the one getting in your way!"

"No, that's not what I meant..."

"Alright," his wife interrupted Zhang Chao's explanation, "from now on, you don't need to mop the floors or wash the dishes. Do whatever you want! But there's one thing!"

Zhang Chao was overjoyed; his wife was supporting his decision!

"Tell me, not just a little, any number will do!"

"When things are a little better off at home, you have to buy me a dishwasher!"

"Buy! We absolutely have to buy it!"

……

Liu Fangfang, an ordinary name, and an ordinary housewife. Her favorite pastime is watching variety shows in her spare time after taking care of her family.

That day, she accidentally clicked on the recently popular talent show "Morning Star". This episode happened to be the first ranking announcement. The boring ranking announcement process for several hours made her want to change the channel, after all, her time was very precious.

The child finally finished their homework and went to bed, the in-laws finally took a shower and rested, and the husband was still out socializing and hadn't come home yet. The only time she could truly relax before her husband returned was when she watched variety shows before bed. The various crying and happy expressions of those children made her feel a little annoyed. Where did all those tears come from? It was obvious that they hadn't experienced enough of the harsh realities of life. If they had been through a few more beatings, they wouldn't be so dramatic.

Just as Liu Fangfang put her hand on the remote control to change the channel, she suddenly saw a student walk onto the stage and say something.

Liu Fangfang thought it would be another sentimental speech, like the previous students' speeches.

But this time, she heard something that left her speechless.

"...Everyone should have dreams, but if you have dreams, don't be afraid of pain... We are still young, we are all dream chasers!"

A dreamer?

A chord deep within Liu Fangfang's heart was touched. She had once passionately pursued her dreams, but where were they now?