Chapter 20

The crowd below burst into laughter.

Cheng Lang swept his gaze over them and finally realized the predicament of being beset by troubles from within and without.

Wang, standing guard below the stage, was delighted by Cheng Lang's misfortune. Served the kid right for making him the butt of jokes every day!

Cheng Lang sighed helplessly. "...You invited the wolves in. The crosstalk performers from Grand View Stage are here to wreck my show."

Cheng Lang pointed toward the Yao Liangsheng and Yao Liangjing brothers. The lighting technician cleverly shone a spotlight on them, making the fellow disciples hidden among the guests stand out at once.

The bar patrons all turned to look.

The two brothers exchanged a glance, then looked at Cheng Lang onstage, unable to figure out what he was up to.

Cradling his guitar, Cheng Lang struck an innocent, timid pose and pitied himself. "They say crosstalk performers have sharp tongues, and they especially love sticking together. If anyone offends a crosstalk performer, their whole gang will come out and make that person the butt of jokes. Not only will they curse him out, they'll drag all eighteen generations of his ancestors into it too—"

"Oh, cut it out!" Yao Liangsheng was young and hot-blooded after all. Unable to hold back, he stood up and confronted Cheng Lang. "What do you mean, crosstalk performers have sharp tongues? Yours isn't exactly kind either. Nothing's even happened yet, and we're already a gang?"

The crowd roared with laughter. Yao Liangsheng laughed too. "...We're the same kind of people. We should be learning from you, shouldn't we?"

"I'm actually not particularly good at insulting people." Cheng Lang glanced at Yao Liangsheng and continued defending himself innocently. "Everyone knows I'm different from those crosstalk guys. They deliberately trained their sharp tongues to make money. If we explain it under criminal law, if they make me the butt of jokes, that counts as intentional assault."

"Hey!" The audience broke into applause and cheers. Sure enough, listening to Cheng Lang banter was far more satisfying than listening to crosstalk.

Amid wave after wave of cheers, Cheng Lang continued, "...If they don't make me the butt of jokes and skip straight to cursing my ancestors for eighteen generations—"

"Would you sue them?" a guest below called out in the tone of, Are you that bad a sport?

Cheng Lang shot him a glance and said tearfully, "I'd thank their ancestors for eight generations."

The quick-witted guests slapped their thighs and burst out laughing.

"Everyone knows I'm an orphan. My parents abandoned me when I was little and dumped me at an orphanage." Cheng Lang hugged his guitar and played up his misery. "It's like a young man and woman fell in love and played a game. When the song ended and the crowd dispersed, they deleted their accounts. And while they were at it, they deleted me, their baggage, too... Tell me, with parents who can't handle losing like that, how miserable do I have to be?"

"I want to curse them! But we value filial piety above all virtues, and the grace of giving birth is greater than the heavens. A son can't curse his father. But if that crosstalk gang makes those two the butt of jokes, then it has nothing to do with me."

"How does it have nothing to do with you?" someone below fed him the line. "You just said that if those crosstalk performers made you the butt of jokes, it would count as intentional assault."

"That's enforcing justice on Heaven's behalf." Cheng Lang grinned. "After all, it's been the rule since ancient times for grandsons to curse their fathers."

The double meaning sent the crowd into hysterics.

Note: In arguments, people generally call themselves "father" and call others "grandson."

"Your new star performer at White Jade Capital is a crosstalk performer?"

In Qin Mu's private room in the second-floor VIP area, Chu Suiyi watched Cheng Lang onstage, constantly landing punchlines, with a baffled expression. He could not help sighing. "I really can't figure out what you're thinking anymore."

Qin Mu lowered his eyes as he watched Cheng Lang thrive onstage, frolicking as freely as a fish in water. His long fingers tapped lightly against his knee.

Chen stood awkwardly behind Qin Mu, hesitating to speak. "This really isn't White Jade Capital's usual performance style!"

"It's mainly Cheng Lang..." Chen thought for a moment, but could not find the right words to describe him.

"He's pretty entertaining!" Chu Suiyi smiled and asked Qin Mu, "Did you see that video circulating online?"

Qin Mu said nothing. Chu Suiyi was used to it and continued on his own. "His methods are ruthless, and every strike hits the mark. That president of some calligraphy and painting association couldn't withstand him at all. You recruited someone like that as your star performer. Be careful he doesn't play the pig to eat the tiger."

"I heard that when Qin Third came over, this guy volunteered to perform onstage. After that, he became White Jade Capital's new star performer and even squeezed out your previous one?" Chu Suiyi continued gossiping.

Chen furrowed his brow thoughtfully.

"No way!" Chen could not help defending Cheng Lang. "He's just an orphan with no parents and no background. He used to work part-time at White Jade Capital, selling alcohol for commissions. He's never dealt with those people from the Qin Family's main branch."

Chu Suiyi smiled but said nothing more.

That only made Chen more uneasy. After thinking it over, he said, "Should I replace him?"

"No need." Qin Mu spoke blandly. "He's already here with me. What kind of trouble can he possibly stir up?"

Chu Suiyi's ears perked up as he looked at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu still wore that deadpan expression, calm as an ancient well. Chu Suiyi blinked, then suddenly said, "Next month is the Qin Family patriarch's eightieth birthday. Doesn't the old man love listening to storytelling and crosstalk the most? Why not bring our star performer along? Whether he performs well or not, it'll still be a show of your filial devotion."

And it would conveniently test whether the kid had any connection to the Qin Family's main branch. Chen suddenly understood and looked at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu fell silent for a moment before saying, "All right."

For some reason, Chen suddenly felt nervous on Cheng Lang's behalf.

"...I refuse to accept this!" Down below, Yao Liangsheng, who had been mocked into a grandson, rolled up his sleeves and challenged Cheng Lang. "If us crosstalk performers making you the butt of jokes counts as intentional assault, then what does you making us the butt of jokes count as?"

Cheng Lang looked at Yao Liangsheng with an innocent expression. "Was I making you the butt of jokes?"