Judging by the Stance, He's Terrifyingly Strong

Backstage.

Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang leaned against the corridor wall, contemplating finding a place to smoke.

Who knew how long they'd have to wait here.

Just as Long Ziqiang was looking around for a smoking room, he suddenly exclaimed, "Hey!"

"Old Bai, isn't that kid with the guitar holding a bottle of Erguotou? Whoa! He actually took a swig!"

Bai Youlou followed his gaze and chuckled. It really was.

"This show is getting interesting. Someone's drinking before going on stage."

"He's probably nervous. After all, we're just here to go through the motions and get some footage, but for him, this might be his dream come true," Long Ziqiang said with a touch of emotion.

"Looks like it's his turn. A staff member called him over. Wow, he chugged the whole thing in one go?!"

It was clear that this "hero's" feat of downing an entire bottle of Erguotou before going on stage had stunned Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang.

Just how nervous could he be?

Bai Youlou's interest was piqued. "Come on, let's go take a look and see if he goes berserk after drinking."

They couldn't see the stage, but they could squat by the entrance and listen.

Although they couldn't see what was happening on stage, the sound was very clear.

The kid who drank was named Tong Fangming. He sang a song he wrote himself, accompanying himself on guitar.

Long Ziqiang couldn't help but comment, "The song is just okay, but he's still a creative talent! Old Bai, do you think he'll pass?"

"Just for that stunt of drinking before going on stage, he'll definitely pass. It's great for the show's effect, and he didn't sing badly either."

As expected, after a sharp critique from the judges, Tong Fangming returned with a flushed face, but he was beaming.

His red face might have been from nervousness, but it was more likely from the alcohol.

However, upon seeing Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang, Tong Fangming flinched instinctively, as if the alcohol's effects had receded slightly.

The two people in front of him were striking. One had a shaved head and stood with his arms crossed like a guardian deity. Though not particularly burly, the muscles on his arms were clearly defined, and he wore tight-fitting clothes, exuding a tough, streetwise aura.

The other leaned casually against the wall, but his face was incredibly handsome, drawing attention. He was tall and carried an inexplicably dashing demeanor.

Tong Fangming felt a bit uneasy. He had just been feeling smug about passing the first round, only to be met by these two "experts"!

Why was he so sure they were experts?

Intuition!

Just by looking at their stances, he knew they were terrifyingly skilled!

But before the two old rogues could tease this slightly chuunibyou kid, a staff member from the production crew suddenly approached them.

"Teacher Bai, there's a problem with the USB drive you gave us."

"What's wrong?"

"It's corrupted. Do you have a backup?"

"Nope."

In this situation, Bai Youlou didn't suspect anyone was deliberately messing with him. If someone really wanted to prank him, it would be on a show like "Talent Show," where they'd cut off his backing track halfway through.

This was just an unexpected, accidental situation.

But he really didn't have a backup, nor did he bring USB drives for other songs. He had asked Old Zhou to take them to Hangzhou first.

"In that case, can you find me a guitar? I'll switch to a folk song and sing and play it myself."

"We don't have any instruments prepared."

The staff member replied helplessly, his eyes suddenly lighting up, "Hey, this contestant has a guitar. Why don't you borrow his?"

Suddenly, Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang's gazes shifted back to Tong Fangming.

Tong Fangming: Do I have a choice?

Before Bai Youlou could even speak, he nervously handed over his precious guitar and said, "Bro, please give it back after you're done..."

Bai Youlou was a bit puzzled. While he had a bit of a "bad reputation," he wasn't so terrifying that people would be scared of him just by looking at him, right?

But a thought struck him, and he had a guess. "Are you married?"

"Huh?! No, I don't even have a girlfriend."

What the heck? Then it makes even less sense! Bai Youlou thought. I just have a reputation as a 'Cao Cao' type, not some perverted serial killer. What are you so afraid of?

"Thank you for the guitar. However, I'm the last one to go on, so I might have to ask you to wait a little while."

"No problem, no problem."

Tong Fangming, whose buzz had somewhat faded from fright, was no longer as scared. He was, however, curious if these two were really the experts he sensed they were.

This was a perfect opportunity to wait and see.

Before long, it was Long Ziqiang's turn to go on stage.

He was quite accustomed to stages like this now. He grinned, "Old Bai, I'm off! Let's rock their world."

Bai Youlou didn't even bother with him, making a shooing gesture, telling him to get lost.

But before going on stage, this guy still remembered to show off to his new little bro, Tong Fangming. "Your Brother Long here sings original stuff too, you know~ Better than what you write, kid."

Tong Fangming's eyes lit up. "Bro, you're a songwriter too?"

"Ahem, I didn't write it, Old Bai did. He's the real deal."

Sensing Bai Youlou's glare—You better get lost before I do something about you—Long Ziqiang didn't dare to say another word and sheepishly went on stage.

This left Tong Fangming and Bai Youlou staring at each other.

Before long, singing could be heard from the stage, just through a closed door.

"Girl, my story unfolds because of you. For you, I learned to endure, for you, I changed all my bad habits. Girl, I don't want to see you suffer the same pain. So I learned to spoil you."

"..."

"Why'd they add a DJ to this song?!"

Tong Fangming asked in surprise, tapping his foot.

As a songwriter himself, he could naturally pick up on subtle differences.

While also tapping his foot, Bai Youlou satisfied his curiosity. "Because your Brother Long likes that style."

"Oh~ Bro! Did you really write this?"

"Yeah~"

"Amazing! It's just... the love in the lyrics is a bit weird," Tong Fangming said cautiously.

This kid is quite good at flattery.

Bai Youlou didn't disappoint him. "It's not about love, it's actually about fatherly love."

So that's it! Tong Fangming suddenly understood, but he was also a bit surprised. "Huh? Bro, you have kids already?"

"Heh, yeah, singing on stage right now."

Whoa...

However, the subsequent turn of events caught Tong Fangming off guard.

Long Ziqiang was eliminated!

"What?!"

To be honest, though he hated to admit it, Tong Fangming felt that the quality of his own silly song, sung while drunk, wasn't as good as Long Ziqiang's, even with the DJ added.

Yet, he had successfully advanced, while Long Ziqiang was eliminated. This truly confused him.

Bai Youlou patted the kid's shoulder. "Don't overthink it. It's purely because he's ugly. You keep going."

Wait a minute!

Tong Fangming seemed to realize something. Although he was a bit hazy from the alcohol, looking at Bai Youlou's face, it felt increasingly familiar. He instinctively asked, "Brother Bai, your surname is Bai?"

"Obviously."

"And your given name?"

"Piao."

"...So what's the name of the song you're going to sing?"

"...'Miss Dong'."

Bai Youlou had actually been pondering what song to sing just now, but hadn't decided.

But since Tong Fangming asked, he chose a song he had just thought of. It was also partly because the kid had helped him choose it, considering he was using the kid's guitar.

At this moment, Long Ziqiang, who had already been eliminated, was giving his final remarks on stage.

"This song is an original. I'm already very satisfied that everyone got to hear it."

The judge Yu Zhan had only been instructed to eliminate the guy whose appearance was too "social." He wasn't aware of his relationship with Bai Youlou. While feeling it was a pity, he asked, "You didn't write it? Who did?"

Long Ziqiang seized the opportunity, clutching his T-shirt to make the words "Whiplash" more visible. "The director wrote it. I'm an actor in this movie."

This piqued even Zhen Dongjun's interest, as his main profession was acting. "Which director?"

Long Ziqiang grinned, his shiny bald head gleaming even brighter, and loudly declared, "Bai Youlou!"

Brothers, the performance of the new book is a bit unstable, and I'm feeling a bit anxious. I'm shamelessly asking for monthly votes and recommendation tickets to let me know someone is reading, okay?

PS: Brothers who are saving the book, please support the read on Tuesday. Qidian ranks recommendations based on Tuesday's read numbers. I'm bowing down to you, Duang! Duang! Duang!