Chapter 13

Cheng Lang gave the person who had spoken from below the stage a thumbs-up. This one was a pro.

"I honestly didn't expect this," Cheng Lang said, clutching his guitar and sighing at the ceiling. "If I'd known you were all hidden masters, I wouldn't have shown off."

The audience burst into cheerful laughter.

Cheng Lang was getting a headache. "Then today I'll sing two songs the guests requested—"

"I'll request one that fits the occasion," another guest said mischievously. "Sing 'Men Cry, It's Not a Crime.' I picked it especially for you. Can you feel how much I care?"

The audience roared, slapping tables and stamping their feet.

Cheng Lang held his guitar and stared at the lights. This was not the treatment a star performer should have to endure.

"Hey!" a guest called out, trying to console him. "Take it easy. I went to hear crosstalk at the Grand View Stage before. Their top performer had it much worse than you. Compared with the crowd there, we're being gentle."

Cheng Lang had nothing to say. They really were treating him like a crosstalk performer.

Cradling his guitar, Cheng Lang sighed mournfully. "Only today did I learn that gentleness could hurt so much."

The audience went wild with laughter again.

The same guest kept going. "It's fine. You fob us off with your mass-produced tenderness, and we'll shower you with our devoted tenderness. We'll hurt each other until one side drops."

Cheng Lang shuddered. "At this hour? Could you not?"

"Scared?" someone asked with a grin. "Don't worry. I'll take you home tonight."

Cheng Lang looked stricken. "I'm an orphan. What home do I have? Just take me to..."

Cheng Lang gave an address. The guest who had been bantering with him found it increasingly familiar. Someone else chimed in, "Isn't that the cemetery they built last year?"

Cheng Lang nodded. "It may be new, but the scenery's quite nice. There's an old locust tree halfway up the hill. I'm right beneath it..."

The guests grew more unnerved by the second and hurried to stop him. "Weren't you going to sing? Get on with it. You've nearly talked your way through the whole two hours."

Cheng Lang looked at the guest and summed it up. "You scare easy, but you keep asking for more."

The audience erupted again. The guest he had teased took no offense and ordered Cheng Lang a drink without thinking.

Cheng Lang glanced at the drink and was hesitating when the woman who had teased him earlier suddenly spoke. "Two hundred thousand."

"To request one song from you," she said evenly.

Cheng Lang was genuinely wary of this woman, who seemed perpetually after both his looks and his soul. He clutched his guitar and began trembling again. "Th-there's no need. It's just one song."

"I'm talking about one song," the woman said, looking at him. "Don't you want to protect your worth as the White Jade Capital's star performer?"

She couldn't help smiling, and laughter warmed her voice. "You know, in the entertainment industry, even a popular C-list performer charges more than two hundred thousand to sing one song at a commercial event. Qin Dynasty Records signs the White Jade Capital's star performers every year. With your talent, if you debuted, you'd certainly command more than that for a single song."

"I knew you had a good eye," Cheng Lang said, gazing at her with admiration and a hint of shyness. "Just like Wang from our Entertainment Department, you saw my inner qualities at a glance."

Wang, who was standing below the stage, was caught off guard when Cheng Lang suddenly mentioned him. His face darkened. "Damn it, that brat's putting words in my mouth again!" When had he ever seen Cheng Lang's inner qualities? All he'd seen was a show-off!

The woman couldn't help laughing.

The male guest who had helped Cheng Lang earlier raised an eyebrow. "What's this, General Manager Lü? Thinking of signing him?"

General Manager Lü smiled. "That depends on whether he wants to sign."

The man turned to Cheng Lang. "What are you waiting for? This is General Manager Lü of Qin Dynasty Records. Every singer at the White Jade Capital dreams of signing with them. Your chance is here. Grab it."

Below the stage, Wang's expression changed.

Cheng Lang caught on quickly. He looked at General Manager Lü in sudden realization. "You came to the White Jade Capital today to sign Meng Tianye, didn't you?"

Amusement flashed in General Manager Lü's eyes. She liked Cheng Lang more and more. He was handsome, sang well, had a sense of humor, and was clever to boot. "I could sign just one person. Or I could sign another."

Something else occurred to her, and she smiled. "Don't worry. I'll respect your wishes and let you sell your art, not your body. We can take our time negotiating the contract."

With her long, red-painted fingers, General Manager Lü tapped the table. "Two hundred thousand for one song is my show of sincerity. Of course—"

She looked at Cheng Lang and changed tack, half serious and half teasing. "If you're willing to offer something extra, I'm willing to pay extra too."

"But I'm not willing." Cheng Lang hugged his guitar and gazed at General Manager Lü pleadingly. "I'm a man destined to be a domineering CEO. Controlling the pulse of the global economy and ruining my rivals with a word—that's my life goal. You're beautiful and kind. You understand, don't you?"

General Manager Lü smiled at him. "You could be a domineering CEO's man right now."

Cheng Lang lowered his head. At last, he understood why turning someone's own moves against them was a legendary martial art.

"Ooh!"

Seeing Cheng Lang back down, the audience started heckling him again. This time, though, he didn't dare push his luck. "It's getting late. Let me sing for you!"

"No rush! We're enjoying the crosstalk."

"Keep talking!"

"Come on, live up to your name!"

As the guests laughed and called out to him, Cheng Lang ignored them and sang with his guitar. After two songs, he finally got the room under control.

By the time Cheng Lang left the stage, his throat was almost on fire, probably from all that talking.

Chapter 13:

"Whoever gave you that name got it right!"

Below the stage, Wang looked at Cheng Lang with a complicated expression, though there was admiration in it too. "You even dared to make jokes at my expense and Chen's. You've got guts!"