"Miss Qin, your résumé says that you were discovered by a talent scout in high school. Then you should know that when we select promising newcomers, younger is generally better. You're already twenty-five, which makes you hard to market unless you're joining a group, but Xingyi currently doesn't have any suitable openings for a girl group." Director Zhang paused and gave a bitter smile. "Unless you have some special talent that catches our eye, the company's resources are limited, and it'll be difficult to sign you."
Another interviewer added, "When selecting artists, if their qualifications match and they have acting skills and talent, age doesn't matter so much. Otherwise, they need to be young. Eighteen to twenty-two is the ideal age range. The Entertainment industry is increasingly obsessed with Little Fresh Meat these days. Someone like you is in a rather awkward position."
"Dance lessons from middle school don't count. My daughter dances better than you," the middle-aged woman said with unmistakable sarcasm.
Qin Baobao felt she was being looked down on. Stay calm, stay calm. These old aunties and uncles aren't worth using my Primordial Power on.
"I can compose and write songs." Qin Baobao confidently dropped a bombshell.
Director Zhang straightened up involuntarily, suddenly interested. "Could we hear something?"
The others exchanged looks, only half convinced.
"I need to use the restroom first," Qin Baobao said.
The middle-aged woman sneered. "Go ahead. It's fine even if you come back after lunch. There's another batch of interviewees this afternoon anyway."
Qin Baobao walked out of the meeting room. Behind her, the interviewers no longer bothered to keep their voices down. "That girl has excellent qualifications."
"She really does. Her looks and figure are both outstanding, but the Entertainment industry isn't a place where being pretty is enough."
The middle-aged woman gave a cold laugh. "Girls these days are all far too ambitious. Especially the slightly prettier ones—they think they're the center of the world. In the end, they're just aiming too high."
The middle-aged woman was called Mei Changhong. Though women could be jealous of one another, as a woman nearing middle age, she would not normally have gone out of her way to make trouble for Qin Baobao. She had her reasons for targeting her. The company had only issued six contracts this time: three C-rank contracts and three D-Rank Contracts. Over the past few days, several promising newcomers had been signed one after another. The interviewers only had two contracts left, one C-rank and one D-Rank Contract. The C-rank contract had already been reserved for someone with connections. Mei Changhong wanted to save the remaining D-Rank Contract for her niece, who had graduated from Shanghai Theater Academy.
She had already sounded out several colleagues and arranged everything from every angle. A few had not explicitly agreed, but neither had they objected. Director Zhang was one of them; he had tacitly consented.
But the moment she saw Qin Baobao, her heart skipped uneasily. This little vixen was far too striking. The instant she entered, the old men beside her, all old enough to be her father, lit up like lightbulbs. Fortunately, the girl was only a pretty face. If this seductress turned out to be talented as well, the D-Rank Contract would be gone. In Mei Changhong's eyes, Qin Baobao's trip to the restroom was just an excuse to give herself a way out.
It had to be said that Mei Changhong had guessed correctly.
Qin Ze saw his sister emerge with a dark expression. The siblings looked at each other in silence. No words were needed; their faces said it all.
"They didn't take you?" Qin Ze's heart sank.
"I've got a face, I've got a figure—why wouldn't they want me? They said I had no talent, no skills, and that I was too old? I'm only twenty-five, okay? I'm fresh and youthful. How am I old?" Qin Baobao poured out her grievances to her brother.
"I told you it was impossible for you to succeed. You're already twenty-five, you've had no professional training, and you've never studied singing. You thought you could make it in the Entertainment industry just with your face? There are beautiful women everywhere on Earth," Qin Ze said, his face turning pale.
"Why are you just like them?" Qin Baobao shot him a hurt glare. "I got angry and told them I could compose and write songs. They said they really wanted to worship my work. Luckily, I was smart enough to use the bathroom as an excuse and escape. Let's run. This is so embarrassing. If this place won't have me, another will... Huh? Why do you look so awful?"
This useless woman who ruined everything.
Qin Ze's face did not merely look awful. His heart had gone ice-cold.
Mission failed!
Points reset to zero!
The system would select a new host!
Before leaving, it would even drain his body's energy, turning him into a vegetable. He was still so young, had never even held a girl's hand, and was about to die early!
One poem perfectly described how he felt: Though Peach Blossom Pool ran a thousand feet deep, my sister's own hand had sent me to my death.
Qin Ze understood now, painfully understood. Even if the final boss had only one drop of health left and would die from a touch, to a rookie like him who had just left the beginner village, wasn't he just as much a weak chicken who would die from one touch in the final boss's eyes?
I actually have no advantage at all.
He did not forget to complain, "That so-called connection your former boss had only got you an interview slot, didn't it?"
At that moment, the long-absent system voice rang out in his mind.
"Ding!"
"Mission item activated. Host, please check it promptly."
Qin Ze froze, then thought of something. With trembling hands, he opened the system interface and tapped the mission item.
This was...
"System, is this a song?"
"Yes. This is a newbie mission, so naturally it can't be Hell mode. The host only needs to lie down and win."
"What a great way to lie down and win. I nearly pissed myself from fear." Qin Ze complained. "Import it into my phone."
"Import complete..."
"Sis, I have a song here." Qin Ze took out his phone and opened "Local Music." He had not brought earphones, but that was fine—Qin Baobao had some in her bag. Their phones were a matching couple's model, a birthday gift Qin Baobao had given him last year.
Qin Baobao stared at him blankly, unable to understand what her brother was suddenly fussing over.
Qin Ze swept aside her hair and put in the earphones. As he pressed play, he said, "This is a song I wrote. I found a recording studio and recorded it at the beginning of the year. I originally meant to keep it as a memento. I didn't expect it to come in handy."
Qin Ze had always been good at lying. He made up the lie in a second.
A look of surprise appeared on Qin Baobao's lovely face, slowly turning into intoxication. The song was only three minutes long and soon ended. Her red lips parted. "Th-this song... you wrote it?"
"Yeah." Qin Ze pulled her to her feet and pushed her toward the meeting room. "Now isn't the time for nonsense. Hurry in. Go in with the earphones on. Your life and death, success and failure, all depend on this."
Still utterly confused, Qin Baobao plunged into the meeting room.
The interviewers were already organizing their documents, drinking tea, and preparing to leave.
"Why are you back?" Mei Changhong was startled.
"To sing, of course." Qin Baobao raised her pale chin like a proud swan.
This little vixen... Mei Changhong cursed inwardly.
The interviewers exchanged looks, all visibly surprised. Director Zhang coughed. "Then... then sing. Don't force yourself if you can't do it. You could consider coming to my office as a secretary."
Qin Baobao lowered her head and restarted the music. After several seconds of intro, a clear, ethereal female voice sounded in her earphones. At the same time, Qin Baobao began singing along softly: Every time, I grow strong while wandering alone.
Every time, even when deeply hurt, I refuse to let my tears show.
I know I've always had a pair of Invisible Wings.
They carry me flying past despair.
I do not envy the beautiful sun that others possess.
I see that every day's sunset can change as well.
I know I've always had a pair of Invisible Wings.
They carry me flying and give me hope.
Some interviewers had been organizing documents, some were looking at their phones, some were drinking tea with their heads lowered, and some had been admiring Qin Baobao's fiery figure. But now, everyone involuntarily put down what they were doing and focused on the song. As it continued, they gradually became immersed in it.
At last, I see every dream burst into bloom.
The youthful voices chasing them ring so bright.
At last, I soar, gazing with all my heart, unafraid.
Wherever there is wind, fly as far as you can.
I do not envy the beautiful sun that others possess.
I see that every day's sunset can change as well.
I know I've always had a pair of Invisible Wings.
They carry me flying and give me hope.
Dreams?
Wings?
Director Zhang straightened his back and stared at Qin Baobao's face.
Mei Changhong's heart sank.
The interviewer at the far left, a man in his early thirties, closed his eyes with a look of complete enjoyment.
In the spacious meeting room, Qin Baobao's magnetic voice echoed, carrying the innocent brightness of a young girl and a yearning to fly.
"I'm done singing."
After finishing the song, Qin Baobao let out a soft breath.
"Huh? It's over?"
"What a great song!"
"This... this... doesn't sound anything like a song written by an amateur. The lyrics are good, and the melody is even better."
"Her voice is good too. With some training, she'll be a fine prospect."
"Didn't you say she wasn't suited for the Entertainment industry?"
"Who knew she could really write songs? She can sing, she can write, and she's this beautiful. She's a promising prospect after all!"
The interviewers whispered among themselves.
Qin Baobao kept a blank expression, but inwardly she was ecstatic. Ha! So you looked down on me. So you said I was too old. Watch my face-slapping technique, then.
Director Zhang coughed and said warmly, "What is this song called?"
"Invisible Wings!" Qin Baobao glanced at her phone.
Mei Changhong's first reaction was to take out her phone and search for the title. There was no song online called "Invisible Wings," though plenty of related terms appeared.
Nothing?
Was it really original?
"This is a song about dreams. It's about you, isn't it? The writing is wonderful, and the singing is even better." Director Zhang clearly admired Qin Baobao. "Actually, I still want you to come be a secretary in my office."
Please stop mentioning the word secretary. Qin Baobao thought.
"But your talent has amazed me. For this interview, I'll give you nine points." After saying that, he joked, "I'm withholding one point in case you get too proud."
You're already so old, yet you're still this funny. You're steady, old bro!
Qin Baobao smiled brilliantly, her face radiant. "Thank you!"
"You may go outside first. We'll discuss it."
Qin Baobao gave a slight bow, turned, and left.
In the corridor, Qin Ze spoke with the system. "That song won't cause any trouble, right?"
The system ignored him.
"You can write songs too? Aren't you an intelligent system?"
The system still ignored him.
"Hey, hey, are you still there?"
Several seconds later, the system responded, "Host, the system's energy is insufficient. It has automatically drawn energy from the host."
The next moment, Qin Ze collapsed headfirst onto the ground. His head spun, his limbs went limp, and he felt as though he had masturbated more than ten times in a single night.
It took him several minutes to recover. Both shocked and furious, he said, "Y-you... what are you messing around with now?"
"In your world's terms, this is called charging," the system instantly replied.
"To answer the host's earlier questions: First, the success rate exceeds ninety percent. Second, I did not write this song. It came from another Parallel Space. Third, I am still here."
"None of that is important. What matters is, if you're charging, why did I become the power supply?"
"Do you know about pregnant women? When a baby is in a pregnant woman's womb, all its nutrients must be supplied by the mother. From a certain perspective, a fetus is no different from a parasite."
"Bullshit. Parasites are harmful." Qin Ze bared his teeth. "From a certain perspective, you're no different from a parasitic beast."
"If something goes wrong with the fetus, something can go wrong with the mother too. Some mothers have died during difficult childbirth. Therefore, fetuses and parasites are no different."
"So you're the fetus now, I'm the mother, and when you need to charge, I'm the power supply?"
"Yes."
"Call me dad first."
"..."
Qin Ze said, "Don't screw me over, okay? I can't handle you tormenting me. I'm just an ordinary person. If you keep draining my energy like this, will my lifespan shorten? Will I become impotent?"
"Then the host should work hard to train your body. Follow the energy training manual provided by the system and transform your physique."
"What kind of thing is an energy training manual? I've only heard of a youth cultivation manual."
"Please wait..." Several seconds later, the system replied, "I searched for it. In human terms: Qi Cultivation!"
"Damn! Didn't you say people in this world can't become immortals? Didn't they ban monsters from appearing after the founding of the nation?"
"According to this world's records, the human body possesses qi. Through Qi Cultivation, one can prolong one's life and obtain great strength. In truth, it is simply a process by which humans absorb external energy, much like charging a phone. However, this so-called 'great strength' is limited to ordinary humans. It remains within the realm of biology. There is no such thing as becoming immortal."
At that moment, he saw Qin Baobao walk out with a dark expression on her pretty face.
Before you continue