My 23-Year-Old Beautiful Boss

Evening, Feiyang Internet Cafe.

I stumbled in with Old K. My eyes were completely sunken, like a panda's. I couldn't sleep, not at all! Old K's feet felt like I was lying in a pile of smelly dried fish, and honestly, even worse than smelly dried fish!

"Ding Han, what's wrong?"

Lu Xiaobei got up and walked over, naturally putting a hand on my arm.

"Lu Xiaobei!"

I glared at her through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong with me?" A flicker of panic crossed her eyes.

"I'm begging you, can you advance me some of my wages? I can't hold on much longer..."

"Ah?"

Lu Xiaobei bit her red lip. "Okay, fine. Come with me."

So, I followed Lu Xiaobei upstairs.

She opened a drawer in her private room and took out a bulging envelope. "There's four thousand yuan in here. I was originally planning to buy two new computers for the internet cafe, but since you need it urgently, consider it an advance for two months' salary."

I quickly took the envelope and counted the money. I felt a little touched.

That evening, I ate a bucket of instant noodles for dinner at the internet cafe. Then, before my shift started, I went to a residential area to look for an apartment. I made calls to places advertising vacant rooms and quickly found one. The landlord seemed nice and immediately came over to show me the place.

It was a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment on the fourth floor. The environment was relatively clean. One room faced the sun, and the other faced away from it.

"The sunny room has already been rented out," the landlord said. "Kid, if you want to rent, you can only take this shady room. It's one month's rent and one month's deposit. The rent is eight hundred yuan, so just give me sixteen hundred yuan upfront."

"Can it be cheaper?" I frowned. "Leave me some money for food?"

"This really can't be any cheaper," the landlord replied. "You can see the rent prices in the area aren't low. The sunny room rented for a thousand a month, and the rooms next door are also over a thousand. This room I'm offering you is already very cheap."

He pointed to the kitchen. "See, the kitchen and bathroom are all equipped, and there's hot water for showers. It's also quite clean. Even though the outside looks old, the inside is not old at all. If you want to think about it more, this place could be rented out in the blink of an eye."

"Alright." I nodded and immediately paid the money, signing the contract with the landlord.

Finally, in Star Abyss, I had my own rented place and no longer had to sleep on the internet cafe chairs!

Around nine o'clock in the evening, I arrived at the internet cafe.

"Found a place?" Lu Xiaobei asked.

"Yeah, I found one," I nodded. "Lu Xiaobei, I have something I want to discuss with you."

"Go ahead."

"Starting tomorrow, I want to work the day shift. Since I have a place to live now, I don't need to stay up all night anymore. Tell Zhao Yihang that from now on, the day shift is mine, and the night shift is his."

"You're working the day shift tomorrow too?"

"Yeah, I'll work straight through, and then go home to sleep."

"That's fine too." Lu Xiaobei nodded. "I'll go tell Zhao Yihang."

And so, I began working the day shift.

The next day at eight o'clock, I started work and continued until four in the afternoon. I was so exhausted, I felt like I could ascend to the heavens at any moment.

Finally, at four o'clock in the afternoon, I successfully handed over my shift to Sakura. Then, I bought a boxed meal and returned to my new place.

The apartment was quiet, with no one in the living room. I still had no idea what the situation was with the other tenant. I wolfed down the boxed meal and drank some cold boiled water before heading to the supermarket. I spent three hundred yuan on two sets of bedding, pillows, and all the toiletries I needed. At this moment, I finally felt like a human being.

Night fell. I was fast asleep when suddenly, I heard the sound of a guitar from outside, followed by someone singing--

"That's the person I miss day and night, the one I love so deeply, how can I express myself? Will she accept me?"

Woken up, I cursed inwardly.

The identity of my roommate was almost confirmed. It was a guy, he could sing, and he was also a player. Otherwise, he wouldn't be singing songs from my world.

In the Star Abyss world, many things are almost identical to the real world, like some cultures and brands. But some things are different. For example, songs. In the Star Abyss world, there are no songs from our world, nor are there any popular singers.

I covered my ears with the other pillow, forcing myself to fall asleep.

But soon, the singing outside became even louder and more piercing--

"I'm heading north, leaving the season with you. You said you were too tired, unable to love anyone else anymore~~~"

'Shit!'

I was completely freaked out and finally couldn't stand it anymore.

I flipped over and got up, pushing the door open.

"???"

The man sitting on the sofa jumped in fright, stopping his guitar playing. He stared blankly at me.

"Bro, can you keep it down?"

I poured a glass of cold water and sat by the coffee table, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.

"Got it..."

The other party smiled blankly, "Bro, you're the new tenant, right?"

"Yeah."

I nodded, "My name is Ding Han, and you are?"

"Milo."

He stood up and shook my hand, then retreated. "Sorry, Ding Han, I didn't know you were sleeping. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been practicing songs in the living room."

"I worked the night shift yesterday. It's fine if I'm on the day shift from now on."

I glanced at him, "You play music?"

"Yeah."

Milo nodded and smiled, "I've loved music since I was a kid. I didn't achieve much when I grew up. Currently, I'm a resident singer in a bar. Just... getting by."

"I heard the song you were singing earlier. It was pretty good."

"Oh?"

Milo smiled, "Really?"

"Yeah, want me to sing a few more? I'll give you some pointers?"

"Sure!"

Milo nodded and smiled, immediately singing a few more songs. One was Pu Shu's "Those Flowers," and the other two were Jay Chou's "Sunny Day" and "Reverse Direction Clock."

"How was it?"

He grinned, "With my songs, do you think I have a shot at making it in the music industry of Crimson Dragon Country? I've decided. I'll quit my bar gig in a while and head to BH City in Crimson Dragon Country to pursue my dreams. Maybe I can make a name for myself. I've even thought of my future stage name: changing Milo to Xia. What do you think, Ding Han?"

I almost burst out laughing and couldn't help but say:

"Your name is literally 'Xia Luo'?"

"Holy crap!"

Milo's face changed drastically, and he slapped his thigh. "You're a player too?"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"No way, that's great!"

Milo was extremely excited. "Ding Han, I can only remember the tunes for many of my songs, but not the lyrics. Can you help me proofread and complete them? I want to have more go-to songs. The music in Star Abyss is really mediocre, and there are very few good singers. To put it bluntly, even Pang Mailang could dominate here. If I pursue music in this world, there's definitely a lot of potential!"

I frowned. "Milo, although we just met, since we're roommates, we're fated. I want to ask you, are you planning to give up your player identity and focus on making music in this world?"

"Yes."

Milo frowned. "I never liked fighting. If I were like other players, constantly fighting, I could get headshotted by a sniper any day. So, I turned off the game system half a month ago and am creating music in this world as an ordinary person, starting a different kind of life."

"I don't agree with your approach."

I mused, "Milo, if you consider me a friend, I have to give you a piece of advice: don't be so naive. We players are already the natural enemies of this world. The only thing we should be doing is improving our levels and combat power, because only these things are real to us."

"..."

Milo didn't speak, his hand holding the guitar trembling slightly.

"Of course..."

I felt a pang of sympathy. "Everyone has their own aspirations, and everyone has the right to choose their own way of life. If you truly want to live in Star Abyss as a musician, as a friend, I will definitely support you."

"Okay!"

Milo nodded heavily. "Ding Han, just for those words, you're qualified to be my brother, Milo!"

I smiled slightly. "But I have a suggestion, and I hope you'll consider it carefully. It's very important for you."

"Go ahead!"

"If you want to conquer Star Abyss with the music from our world, don't just copy it. Doing so will only bring you immense risk."

I frowned. "The people in Star Abyss see us players as a menace. The Star Maple Federation, Undercurrent, and the people in the wilderness will execute players on sight if they discover their identity. Crimson Dragon Country and Stream City's current stance is unclear, but we can't be optimistic either. So, I suggest you don't copy directly. Take only the essence of each song and write and modify the rest yourself, change the key. This way, even if other players suspect you're a player, they can't be completely sure. They'll just think you might have overheard fragments of songs sung by others. This will be relatively safer for you."

"I understand."

Milo took a deep breath. "Ding Han, you're right. I'll do as you say."

"Alright, let's sing some songs. I was once known as the 'Singing God of Southern Jiangsu,' and I was rarely defeated in KTV."

"You're amazing, saying that without even blushing."

After helping Milo with his songs until around eight o'clock, he left for his job singing at the bar. I went downstairs, ate a bowl of wontons, and then went back to sleep. When I woke up, it was already seven the next morning.

I arrived at the internet cafe with a slightly heavy heart.

I needed to make money. From now on, I would need a lot of Star Coins for both my living expenses and to purchase weapons and ammunition. And, I already had an idea for how to make money.

Milo planned to make a name for himself in Star Abyss's music scene by relying on songs from artists like Pu Shu and Jay Chou. I would do the same. I planned to create novels on Original Point Novel within Star Abyss and earn money through subscriptions!

So, I opened a document, ready to start writing.

The keyboard clattered, and I first wrote down the novel's title:

My 23-Year-Old Beautiful Boss.