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Cheng Lang handed Meng Tianye a towel wrapped around ice. Meng Tianye took it and pressed it to his face. "Are you laughing at me in your head right now?"

"Why would you think your misfortune is worth wasting my time laughing at?" Cheng Lang took out his phone, calculating the commissions and tips he had earned that night as he asked carelessly. He had always found certain people's inexplicable, baffling self-confidence hard to understand.

Why did some people always feel so self-righteously certain that their lives would attract everyone else's attention?

As a vicious cannon fodder, I've never had that kind of confidence, Cheng Lang viciously complained to the system in his mind. He could not understand why, despite both being cannon fodder, his colleague always seemed to have a few extra points of confidence over him.

The system remained silent.

Cheng Lang was already used to his System Companion staying in standby mode for long periods, so he did not think much of it. He casually asked Meng Tianye, "How are the salaries and drink commissions calculated for your resident singers?"

Meng Tianye did not understand why Cheng Lang was asking. Thinking of Cheng Lang's performance that evening, he immediately sneered. "What, you want to be a resident singer too?"

"It's not about whether I want to or not." Cheng Lang shook his head and explained, "Chen said that starting tomorrow, I'll be White Jade Capital's star performer."

Meng Tianye's face turned livid as he could not help cursing, "What star performer? It's called the mainstay!"

Only after correcting him did Meng Tianye belatedly realize what Cheng Lang had said. "Chen wants you to replace me? Just because I didn't sing onstage tonight?"

"Why?" Meng Tianye raged. "What the hell are you? Can you even sing? Why should someone like you replace me as White Jade Capital's mainstay?"

Did White Jade Capital not care about standards anymore?!

Watching Meng Tianye curse at the top of his lungs, Cheng Lang shrugged. "What's the use of throwing a powerless tantrum now? Next time you're working, remember not to bring your personal emotions into the workplace. Otherwise, you'll be the only one who loses out."

"I don't need you teaching me." Meng Tianye was so furious that his eyes had turned red. "What do you know?"

With that, Meng Tianye flung away the ice towel and stormed off.

Cheng Lang watched Meng Tianye's retreating back and shook his head. Luckily, the red marks on that kid's face had faded by the time he left.

By the time Cheng Lang returned to the first floor, word that he had been "promoted" to White Jade Capital's mainstay had already spread throughout the bar. Some congratulated him, while others were envious and jealous. "He just sang a couple of overplayed pop songs, and he gets to be the mainstay? If I'd known, I would've gone up there too."

"If you think you can do it, then go ahead." Cheng Lang had never been one to keep a low profile, endure in silence, or willingly take a loss. "When the opportunity comes, take it. Opportunities are equal."

The man was left speechless by the retort. "You—"

"Enough!" The floor manager appeared just in time. "You're on the clock! Get back to work!"

The group immediately scattered. The floor manager patted Cheng Lang on the shoulder. "From the first day you came to White Jade Capital, I knew you were no ordinary fish in a pond. Work hard."

Then the floor manager added, "Resident singers belong to the Entertainment Department, so they're not under me. I'll take you to meet Wang, the Entertainment Department manager. Wang has a bit of a temper, but he's a good guy and very protective of his people. Be smart while you're working under him."

Cheng Lang thanked him with a smile and followed the floor manager over to Wang.

Wang was a burly man in his thirties, with a blue dragon tattooed on his arm, a close-cropped buzz cut, and a black obsidian stud in his ear. He stood with his arms folded against the door of the performers' lounge, looking like someone not to be messed with.

"You're Cheng Lang?" Wang's thick brows were tightly furrowed as he gave Cheng Lang a once-over. "It was Chen's idea to have you replace Tianye as the mainstay. I don't know what you're capable of, kid, but if tonight's performance is all you've got, being the mainstay won't be easy for you."

Cheng Lang readily agreed with a grin. "That's exactly what I told Chen. I'm just a part-time waiter who wants to earn some drink commissions in peace. But Chen spotted this shining star of mine at a glance in the crowd, couldn't bear to see me buried, and insisted on entrusting such an important task to me... So, Wang, how are the hourly wages and drink commissions for resident singers calculated?"

Wang's face darkened. "Chen made you the mainstay, and that's what you care about?"

Cheng Lang blinked, looking utterly innocent. "What else would I care about?"

Wang could not help emphasizing, "Do you know what it means to be a resident singer at White Jade Capital? White Jade Capital's big boss is the Qin Dynasty, and the Qin Dynasty owns a record company."

That meant that if a resident singer performed well at the bar, there was a good chance they would be noticed by the Qin Dynasty's record company and become a contracted singer.

"I didn't expect Wang to think so highly of me too, just like Chen!" Cheng Lang's old face reddened, and he looked a little shy. "I know I naturally draw attention, but I've really never considered becoming a contracted singer. I don't want to be an entertainer. My life goal is to become a domineering CEO who can crush anyone with a word." At the very least, he wanted to become a deep-pocketed client.

Wang: "..."

Wang took a deep breath. He suddenly felt there was really nothing to say to someone like Cheng Lang. After talking past each other for half the day, Wang's attempt to put him in his place had even been deliberately twisted by Cheng Lang into praise for a newcomer.

"Let's get straight to the point!" Having fully experienced Cheng Lang's thick skin and his ability to change the subject, Wang did not want to waste any more time. "The resident singers in our Entertainment Department are either handsome and good at singing, or they have real talent and can create original songs to attract customers. What talent do you think you have that qualifies you to be White Jade Capital's mainstay?"

Wang laid out the facts and reasoned with him, hoping Cheng Lang would back down in the face of difficulty.

Cheng Lang glanced at the resident singers in the performers' lounge, all wearing different expressions, and said with a grin, "I know White Jade Capital's resident singers are all impressive. They either rely on talent or on their looks."

"It's good that you know." Wang folded his arms and sneered. "So what talent do you think you have that lets you establish yourself in the Entertainment Department?"

"I can rely on being shameless." The smile vanished from Cheng Lang's face as he fixed Wang with a steady gaze. "Making me the mainstay wasn't my idea. Chen's decision isn't something a lowly part-time waiter like me can influence either. If Wang isn't satisfied with Chen's decision, you can go talk to him yourself. Why make things difficult for a little waiter earning a daily wage?"