Another Draw

"Xixi really was just as I imagined—her potential is limitless." Lin Fei looked at Kong Xi in the recording studio, her eyes full of delight. "But we have to thank Teacher Song even more. You're the truly amazing one!"

Yan Yu added from the side, "It's unbelievable. I knew Xixi had a wide vocal range, a beautiful tone, and came from a folk music background, but I never expected her to handle a song that blended folk and pop so well. Sister Fei is right—Teacher Song is the amazing one!"

As she spoke, she looked at Song Dao, who had not shown his face in a long time. "Hey."

Song Dao glanced at her, then quickly looked away.

Big sister was dressed a little sexily today.

She wore a small camisole on top and an ultra-short denim skirt below. Her bare legs were shapely and long, her butt perky, her waist slender.

The expanse of full, snowy-white skin at her chest was far too dazzling.

Every movement she made radiated seduction.

"Can getting dumped really turn someone into a genius?"

Song Dao replied, "You've never been dumped?"

"Of course I have!" Yan Yu said righteously. "I've had boyfriends since middle school!"

"Huh? Weren't you..." Lin Fei blurted out instinctively.

"I did!" Yan Yu lifted her slender neck.

"Then why didn't you become a genius?" Song Dao asked.

Yan Yu's face darkened. After holding it in for a long while, she finally said, "Maybe my simp rating wasn't high enough?"

Though they did not meet often, they kept in frequent contact and had become quite familiar with one another, so their jokes were fairly casual.

Song Dao smiled. "Then try it sometime."

Yan Yu smiled sweetly. "What a pity. There's no one in this world worth making me willingly simp for!"

The already-famous Hu Wei stood to the side, pretending to be invisible.

In truth, he was curious too. The boss was just too young!

He was only twenty-four this year. Aside from his parents' accident while he was growing up and sim... ahem, dating Miao Xiu, he had no other significant life experience.

At least, that was how it appeared from his life story.

Always Been Quiet was one thing; writing a song like that at his age was not all that surprising.

But A Lifetime of Loneliness and the song he had just recorded really did not seem like songs someone that age could have written.

Yet facts spoke louder than words.

So, he simply did not understand the world of geniuses.

What he was even more curious about now was what kind of song the boss had written for Teacher Lin, the Heavenly Queen who was about to return.

He and Kong Xi had been a little busy lately.

The company really had not been exploiting them, but there was no helping it. After they suddenly shot to fame, countless businesses and variety shows came knocking, waving money around.

They were busy beyond belief.

They had never heard that song.

They were looking forward to it immensely.

Fortunately, Director Zhang's Demon Love would premiere in another two days. When that happened, he would definitely buy a ticket and watch it at once.

If I wear a hat and a mask, I probably won't be recognized, right?

Everyone had arrived early in the morning, and by the time Kong Xi finished recording, it was already past three in the afternoon.

It was not that she was unfamiliar with the song, but because Lin Fei, this Heavenly Queen, was there.

Her standards were much higher than usual.

Although Kong Xi had no problem handling a folk-pop song, she was ultimately still somewhat inexperienced with the style.

Song Dao once again witnessed Lin Fei's formidable abilities.

In some places, she practically taught her word by word, note by note.

Then she would ask for his opinion as the original songwriter.

What opinion could he possibly have? If it sounded good, that was enough.

And so, by the time the recording was finished, everyone was starving.

During that time, Hu Wei had volunteered to go downstairs and cook, but Yan Yu stopped him.

How could she possibly let a guest cook?

Even if Hu Wei were not famous now, she would not casually order him around.

"I ordered some fruit and pastries," Yan Yu said.

Song Dao frowned.

Everyone had been hungry for half the day, and this was what she was giving them to eat?

"Have something to tide you over first. Tonight, we're having a get-together—hot pot!"

Yan Yu immediately announced excitedly, "Thanks to you all, my business has been doing incredibly well lately. We absolutely have to celebrate properly!"

Song Dao: "..."

He knew nothing good would come of this. He wanted to run.

Yan Yu stared at him. "No one is allowed to run off today!"

Kong Xi said, "I want to drink too!"

Yan Yu shot her a glance. "Kids drink juice."

The group sat around a steaming hot pot, their cups filled with baijiu.

Except for Kong Xi.

She had a glass of beer.

Not only did Yan Yu refuse to let her drink baijiu, Lin Fei did too.

As the host, Yan Yu raised her glass to the four of them. "I haven't been this happy in a long time. Today can't even be described as double happiness at the door—we've got blossoms everywhere!"

"First, congratulations to Brother Hu Wei for making it big!"

A modest smile appeared on Hu Wei's face, but his grateful gaze immediately turned toward Song Dao.

"Then, congratulations to our little sister Xi Xi for reaching even greater heights!"

Kong Xi's gaze likewise fell on Song Dao.

Without Song Dao, she would have only been a major internet influencer. Whether people in the mainstream music industry acknowledged it or not did not matter—she knew it herself.

But now, she was a real singer.

This upcoming song would take her another step up in the Chinese music scene!

"And finally..." Yan Yu smiled at Lin Fei. "Congratulations to our National Goddess, Heavenly Queen Sister Lin Fei, on making a sensational comeback!"

Lin Fei held her glass with a smile. "Thank you."

She was extremely confident in this song!

"Cheers!" Yan Yu called out loudly.

"Cheers!" everyone said in unison.

After three rounds of drinks.

Everyone was a little tipsy by then.

Yan Yu, who had already drunk two hundred milliliters of baijiu, smiled and asked Song Dao, "Teacher Song, what kind of girl do you like?"

That question instantly woke everyone else up.

They stared intensely at Song Dao, looking like a pack of gossip-hungry onlookers.

Song Dao had also drunk over a hundred milliliters and was looking for a chance to slip away. Hearing the question, he answered without thinking, "Pretty ones."

"What kind of answer is that?" Yan Yu said discontentedly.

She pressed on, "Tell us your specific requirements. Sister Fei and I are surrounded by beauties—we'll definitely be able to find one that suits you!"

Kong Xi, who had drunk half a bottle of beer, blinked her beautiful, bright eyes and suddenly felt a little nervous.

What did Sister Yu mean by that?

Was she trying to introduce a girlfriend to Senior Brother?

"What, are you trying to set me up with someone?" Song Dao directly voiced Kong Xi's thoughts.

"Of course! You're so outstanding and handsome—it wouldn't be hard at all for you to find a girlfriend you like!" Yan Yu admitted it outright.

"Forget it. I just want to make money." Song Dao shook his head and refused.

What a joke.

After two lifetimes, he had finally achieved the free life he truly wanted. Wasn't being alone great?

Why would he need a girlfriend?

Kong Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief beside them.

Yan Yu, however, exchanged a look with Lin Fei, revealing expressions that said, Just as expected.

"You really don't want to find someone?" Yan Yu looked at Song Dao. "Don't completely lose heart because of one failed relationship. Besides, how can you write even better songs if you don't date?"

Song Dao said with an amused smile, "Does playing a murderer mean I have to kill a few people too?"

"You're just being argumentative!" Yan Yu rolled her eyes. She had finally confirmed it—Song Dao really was a little misogynistic, just as Sister Fei had said!

She had deliberately dressed so sexily today. Even Senior Brother Hu Wei had been too embarrassed to look at her, but Song Dao had acted as though he had not seen a thing!

Ignoring someone and wanting to look but being too embarrassed to stare openly were not the same.

As a woman, she was very sensitive to such things.

She did not continue the topic. Instead, she raised her glass and started urging everyone to drink again.

Children raised in wealthy families only had the question of whether they wanted to socialize or not. There was rarely anything they did not know how to do.

So Song Dao ran off again.

This time, he did not even bother with Hu Wei.

He went straight for the bathroom escape.

When Yan Yu came to her senses and could not find him, she cursed furiously, "No wonder the fans who like him call him Brother Dog. He really is a dog!"

Lin Fei had remained quiet from beginning to end.

No one even needed to urge her—she accepted every drink offered.

After downing six or seven liang of baijiu, her snow-white cheeks were only lightly flushed, while her eyes remained incredibly bright.

Hu Wei could drink just as much.

Although Teacher Song had run away, he and Kong Xi had both already toasted everyone.

He was filled with emotion over suddenly becoming famous at nearly thirty.

People said one should be established by thirty, that getting older meant becoming mature.

But deep down, he was truly excited.

He desperately wanted to find someone to share this joy with.

Yan Yu had just asked him whether Zhang Qian had contacted him after he became famous.

He said no.

But he had lied.

Just last night, Zhang Qian—who had blocked and deleted him, and whom he had deleted after discovering it—suddenly added him again.

She said a lot of pointless things.

She said she was preparing for her wedding in a few days and had invited several close classmates to be bridesmaids, only for them to tell her that her ex-boyfriend had become famous.

She said she knew perfectly well what those little bitches were thinking—they were definitely waiting to laugh at her.

But she did not regret it!

—So what if one of your songs became popular?

Just like that junior from Central Conservatory of Music who had also been dumped by his girlfriend. He had released two hit songs in a short time, but so what?

It had only been a few days. Was anyone still discussing him online?

This was a fast-paced era. People forgot things easily, so you would be the same.

Take this chance to do more commercial performances, attend more events, and make more money—that was the real truth!

There was only one meaning behind all her words: Hu Wei, you would not stay famous for long, so do not expect me to regret it!

Hu Wei did not care about that at all.

If he only had one song, then perhaps things really would turn out as she predicted—he would be forgotten after only a few days of fame.

But what if I always had songs?

He had no interest in saying any of this to her.

Nor did he delete Zhang Qian.

Since you want to witness how I fade away after being famous for a few days, then stay in my Moments and watch slowly.

After returning home and taking a shower, Song Dao lay on his bed in pajamas, feeling a little sleepy.

He paid close attention to his health.

In his previous life, staying up late and keeping an irregular schedule had caused his hair to thin by middle age.

The once-handsome man had turned into a greasy middle-aged guy.

With such a great start in this life, he absolutely could not ruin a winning hand again.

Before going to sleep, though, he planned to do a round of draws.

Thanks to Kong Xi and Hu Wei's "tireless efforts," along with the reputation he had slowly accumulated himself, his reputation had finally surpassed one million.

Five thousand per draw—he could draw two hundred times!

The songs the Dog System gave to other people not only had incredibly high sing-along appeal, but were also of better quality. When it came to him, though, they were the kind that had once been wildly popular but struggled to last...

It felt more like the system wanted him to become a producer.

There were no major problems with his memories from his previous life; only the actual contents of songs had been blocked.

He remembered almost all of those famous singers, from third-tier artists to first-tier stars, and then Heavenly Kings and Queens.

Among them were far too many songs suited to his vocal range and tone.

So he had been quietly saving up his reputation points.

At the same time, he wanted to see how much reputation it would take to unlock higher-tier song systems.

But even after it passed one million, the system still showed no reaction whatsoever.

He immediately decided to pull.

Two hundred draws—surely that would get him a few treasure chests, right?

I'll fucking do consecutive ten-pulls until I draw this damn system to death!

Whether it had heard his thoughts or not, Song Dao didn't even look as he repeatedly selected ten-pulls, draining all one million reputation points in one go.

Six Bronze Treasure Chests gleamed conspicuously in the air!

"HAHAHAHA!"

Song Dao leaped up from his bed with wild laughter.

He threw a powerful punch.

Last time, he'd needed sixty draws just to get one. This time, two hundred draws had given him six!

His luck had absolutely exploded!

Even though they were still bronze, he was thrilled.

There was also a huge pile of various instrument skills and knowledge, and he even spotted several foreign languages among them.

He selected them all and used them at once.

The influx nearly knocked him unconscious.

It wasn't until more than ten minutes later that he vigorously rubbed his head, took a deep breath, and slowly came back to his senses.

Fuck, I can't be this reckless next time. Having so much knowledge pour in all at once didn't feel very good.

He then looked over the small items.

He found quite a few new things compared to before.

Steady Typhoon Candy x6

--As an artist, one must not only have stable emotions, but also good stage presence. One candy guarantees steady stage presence for two and a half hours.

Stamina Candy x9

--As an artist, one must have good stamina...

Luck Candy x1

--Increases the host's luck stat.

Huh?

This one seemed pretty interesting.

Though it didn't explain the details, the fact that only one had appeared in two hundred draws was enough to prove how precious it was.

Besides that, he had also gotten quite a few Emotion Stabilizing Candies and Throat Lozenges.

He might not have much use for them for now, but they would come in handy when he took on commercial gigs or appeared on variety shows in the future.

Finally, Song Dao's gaze fell on the six glowing Bronze Treasure Chests, and he silently prayed.

Then he silently commanded, Open them all!