Some Things Just Can't Be Hidden

How much is a dream worth?

To some people, it was worthless. To others, it was priceless.

Long Ziqiang looked like a champion enforcer for some gang, but deep down, he was actually an artsy young man.

Once he had gotten happily drunk, the guy had fearlessly borrowed a guitar from a singer at the bar and performed a song on the spot.

He really was an excellent singer. The bar's customers didn't hold back with their applause, and even the owner bought him a drink.

That was a huge boost to his ego!

Long Ziqiang wasn't deliberately showing off, but under these circumstances, it was hard for him not to.

After returning to his seat, he rubbed his bald head, bared his big teeth in a cheerful grin, and asked, "Director, not bad, right?"

"Your singing was pretty good, but from today onward, you're not allowed to touch your head anymore, and you're not allowed to smile like that either."

"Huh? Why?"

Old Zhou promptly added, "To get closer to the character. Haven't you read the script?"

"Is it really that strict? Making money as an actor is no easy task." Long Ziqiang sighed.

"Then you're wrong. It's mainly your looks holding you back. If you were especially handsome and had that voice, whether you became an actor or an idol singer, making money would be incredibly easy."

That blunt truth stung Long Ziqiang a little.

People who were lacking in the looks department often deliberately ignored the benefits and advantages that appearance brought in this world.

They usually preferred to blame their failures on not working hard enough or having bad luck. It made them feel a little better.

After all, "You're useless because you're ugly" was somewhat damaging to one's self-esteem.

Long Ziqiang couldn't quite hold back and instinctively said, "It's not that exaggerated, is it?"

But after taking a look at Bai Youlou, he suddenly realized that a vivid example wasn't right in front of him? This "senior" of his, the director, was an idol himself!

Damn, what a handsome bastard!

This world was one giant beauty-based competition.

Long Ziqiang had actually heard Bai Youlou's songs before. The songs were average, his voice was decent, and he had no real technique. But he couldn't withstand all those female fans screaming as they voted for him and bought his digital albums. They had somehow made very ordinary songs feel like smash hits.

Of course, all of that had already scattered like smoke after he had slept with someone he shouldn't have.

However, he didn't use this to mock Bai Youlou. Instead, he raised his glass with a regretful look. "Then that's a real shame, Director."

He was almost thirty and still had the nerve to take the entrance exam for film school. He had also managed to thrive in a chaotic place like a bar. When it came to handling people and relationships, Long Ziqiang actually knew exactly what he was doing.

Praising someone wouldn't cost him anything, and he was getting paid for it.

Even if he had already received ten thousand yuan, he wouldn't turn around and mock anyone. The entertainment industry had its own rules, and small fry had their own way of surviving.

Small fry were people too.

But what happened next made Long Ziqiang feel that things were starting to fall apart.

After finishing their drinks and leaving the bar, it was still early. They had gone drinking a little after four, and now it wasn't even eight.

Since they had nothing else to do, they decided to sort through the filming props they had just borrowed that day.

They called them filming props, but they were really just various borrowed musical instruments.

Someone like Long Ziqiang, who knew how to have fun, grew a little eager the moment he entered. He picked up a guitar and tested its tuning a little before praising it repeatedly. "This is really nice!"

"Be careful. They're all borrowed, so don't break anything." After giving that reminder, Old Zhou looked over the list and frowned. "Why are there so many instruments we can't use? Our movie is about a jazz band."

Old Zhou didn't understand musical instruments. He couldn't even recognize all of them, but he could read their names.

There were a bunch of guitars, electric pianos, and things like that on the list, none of which they needed at all.

Aside from the drums the protagonist had to play, they mainly needed some orchestral instruments.

"I added them. I'm going to make the background music and the theme song later, then we can record them at a studio. It'll save money." Bai Youlou answered while moving things.

"What?"

"Arrangement. Don't understand?"

"What I mean is—"

Old Zhou wore a bewildered expression, as if he thought he had suffered a hallucination.

It was obvious what had confused him, and Bai Youlou had his own way of answering.

As it happened, all the instruments here needed to be tested.

The first was the guitar Long Ziqiang had just played.

Once Bai Youlou picked it up and lightly strummed it, a pleasing rhythm seemed to flow out of it.

Even a layman like Old Zhou could hear that Bai Youlou was far better than Long Ziqiang.

As for exactly how much better, judging from Long Ziqiang's astonished expression, the gap had already reached the height of a three- or four-story building.

This was bad!

Bai Youlou had originally only intended to test it briefly, but as he played more and more smoothly, he gradually found his old feeling again and couldn't quite stop himself.

"I once dreamed of carrying a sword as I roamed the world."

"To see the splendor of the world."

"A young heart is always a little reckless."

"Now you make the whole world your home..."

"..."

"Nothing can stop your longing for freedom~"

"..."

"I once crossed mountains and seas."

"And passed through crowds of people."

"..."

The only audience present consisted of Old Zhou and Long Ziqiang, but Bai Youlou was getting more and more into it.

Showing off a little had been part of his plan from the beginning. If he didn't show off today, he would have to do it tomorrow anyway.

That's right. I'm Xia Luo!

Some things just couldn't be hidden.

It was just like liking someone. Even if you hid it under the bed, in the closet, behind the curtains, or even on the outdoor air-conditioning unit, people would still find out.

It couldn't be hidden. It simply couldn't be hidden.

Bai Youlou's goal was to manipulate Long Ziqiang, this older artsy young man.

People with dreams were the easiest to fool.

It was like hanging a carrot in front of a donkey.

A nuclear-powered donkey, at that.

But perhaps it was because he had been drinking, or perhaps because the moonlight that night was especially enchanting.

Without realizing it, he forgot that his primary purpose in performing for them was to manipulate Long Ziqiang. He didn't even look at him, becoming completely immersed in his own world.

Even so, the shock he brought Long Ziqiang was not diminished in the slightest.

After singing two songs with the guitar, Bai Youlou switched to the electric piano.

This made him start questioning his entire life.

Long Ziqiang had originally thought Bai Youlou was someone who relied solely on his looks to make a living, but Bai Youlou had just shown him up completely.

Long Ziqiang himself only knew how to fool around with a guitar, yet Bai Youlou was already about to move on to a third instrument.

Unlike Old Zhou, he was half an expert. Bai Youlou's skill and proficiency were already enough to make him crack apart on the spot.

Oh, no. Not just three instruments.

The male protagonist in the script played drums.

Long Ziqiang had previously thought Bai Youlou would definitely need to find a substitute, but now, if he didn't know how to play, that would be the strange part.

Long Ziqiang began to feel inexplicably parched. He really couldn't hold back and asked Old Zhou, "Is the entertainment industry really this hard to survive in?! Someone like him is only an idol?"

Old Zhou didn't answer the question. Instead, he gave his response by staring blankly: How the hell would I know?!

This was ridiculous.

How could Old Zhou, his manager, not know what skills Bai Youlou had?

What idiot of an artist wouldn't tell his own manager about his specialties?

Yet reality slapped Old Zhou across the face. Not only did such an artist exist, he was the very artist Old Zhou had managed before.

They spent at least three hundred out of every three hundred sixty-five days together, and this was the result?

So, aside from knowing that Bai Youlou had special talents, he had no idea what those actual talents were.

You know how to play this many instruments, and you kept it hidden from me?!

No!

Damn!

He could write songs too?!