This "?" album, on the surface, explores many aspects of worldly affairs and is rich in content. "Lonely Patient" writes about the frustration of a lonely person, striking a chord with many people's innermost thoughts; "Seeing Through" criticizes the hypocrisy and deceit prevalent among urban dwellers; "Guilt" expresses a man's remorse, typical of a heart-wrenching ballad; "Baby Song" sells familial affection, easily earning applause and praise; "Building Blocks" continues Eason Chan's playful Weibo persona, simply portraying the sweetness of a man falling in love... All these sound very beautiful, perfectly suited for listeners who first came to know Eason Chan through songs like "Ten Years" and "Love Transfer," and who generally don't listen to his Cantonese songs, hence treating "Exaggeration" as a treasured gem.
However, for those who have followed Eason Chan's Cantonese songs all along, it is evident that he has been phoning it in. Songs like "Lonely Patient" were already explored back in 2001 by Wyman Wong in "He Alone" from the album "The Easy Ride," where he sharply and incisively depicted the state of a lonely and desolate person. Lyrics like "I don't sing heart-wrenching love songs, but that doesn't mean I haven't had my heart broken" are reminiscent of QQ signature-style phrases for post-90s, allowing them to feign melancholy by using these lines as signatures on their Renren, Kaixin, QQ Space, or Baidu Tieba accounts. But if you had heard lyrics like "I fear what lies ahead, I dread facing the past, that night clings to him like an apparition" ten years ago, or if "He Alone" seems too obscure to you, then consider lyrics penned by Alfred Chui: "In a crowded room, one heart, how lonely can it be?" Surely, you must have heard the Mandarin version of "K Song King." If you still remember "I've come to believe some people I need never wait for, so I understand why I cry when the lights dim," then for lyrics like "Lonely Patient," you can only sigh, sigh, and sigh again. As a singer, you can repeat yourself, but if your repetition fails to even match "copying" and instead spirals downhill, how could this not sadden me?