Cash up front, not empty promises

[He's actually critiquing them???]

[A little-known fact: Breaking Dawn Band's songs are worth way more than that flop group's.]

[A well-known fact: Nan Zhou is the vocalist in his group.]

[His voice really did crack. I heard it too.]

[He was just saying whatever. Some people actually think he's serious? Shipping a couple doesn't warrant this.]

[Huo Xingye, find someone else to ship yourself with!! Does it have to be this guy???]

They chatted a little longer. Seeing that their break was almost over, Nan Zhou was about to come out from behind the bar when he saw the manager hurrying toward them.

"Mr. Nan Zhou, please come with me."

Nan Zhou and Huo Xingye exchanged a look.

Seriously? I'd only just sneaked a drink, and I'd already been caught and was getting punished?

"What is it?" Huo Xingye asked.

"We need Mr. Nan Zhou's help with something," the manager said.

His anxiety didn't look feigned. Nan Zhou told Huo Xingye he'd see him later, then followed the manager through the crowd to a lounge.

The door opened onto a spacious, luxurious room, where the members of Breaking Dawn Band, who had performed onstage earlier, were standing or sitting.

Besides them, there were production staff and camera operators, as well as...

The man who had brought Huo Xingye the duck at the bar earlier.

In front of the cameras, the manager wiped away his sweat and explained the situation to Nan Zhou. "The band's guitarist accidentally cut his hand just now. They still have another song to perform later. Could you help fill in, Mr. Nan Zhou?"

The moment he finished, the floor director responsible for coordinating things on-site widened her eyes. She was about to speak, but Nan Zhou spoke first.

"I can. But-" Nan Zhou paused here and looked toward the production team. "You'll have to pay extra."

"..." The floor director was speechless.

On the way over, the production team had issued a new task card, which stated that their daily wages from working at the bar would be their budget for the following day.

As the bartender, Huo Xingye earned 300 a day. Nan Zhou was a server and earned 200 a day, making 500 in total.

"All right," Xiao Sheng answered.

With Huo Xingye absent, he felt he could handle things again.

After all, not one person here could keep him in check.

"This is my appearance fee." Nan Zhou took out his phone, opened the calculator, and tapped in a string of numbers.

The floor director looked at it and nearly spat blood.

Xiao Sheng was somewhat stunned too.

As the vice president of a major entertainment company, he had a certain understanding of artists' performance fees.

The price Nan Zhou had quoted was at the very top of the pyramid!

What kind of joke was this, coming from an idol in a barely known group?

Fortunately, the floor director spoke up then. "Mr. Nan Zhou, Director Pei said that any daily funds obtained through additional means on the show cannot exceed five hundred."

This time, Nan Zhou's eyes widened. "I'm only worth five hundred?"

The floor director said, "Your current role is a bar server."

Nan Zhou said, "..."

Nan Zhou loosened the bow tie at his collar. "Let me remind you: you get what you pay for."

Breaking Dawn Band's lead singer, who had been silently watching from the sidelines for some time, finally couldn't hold back. "Someone with lousy skills can't play 'Breaking Dawn.'"

"Breaking Dawn" was the song they would be performing later.

It was also Breaking Dawn Band's signature song, the one that had made them famous.

Nan Zhou glanced at him and smiled.

His smile held a measure of condescension from someone in a superior position.

"Trying to goad me won't work. Cash up front, not empty promises."

"You!"

His bandmates held the lead singer back.

[Hahahahaha, when will I ever stop laughing at Nan Zhou talking back to the production team?]

[What is he being so arrogant for! I'm speechless.]

[Nan Zhou doesn't know shit about guitar. He's just being a smart-ass to give himself an out.]

[Can the haters shut up? He doesn't look like he can't play. If he can't, I'll wait right here to be proven wrong.]

[Huo Xingye is asking his camera operator what's happening over here. Sob, more food for us shippers.]

Xiao Sheng took two steps forward. "You can work out the variety show side of things with Pei Feng yourself. I can pay eighty percent of your asking price into your personal account. But-"

He paused too, mimicking Nan Zhou. "I'll need to inspect the goods first."

This time, Nan Zhou thought for a moment and nodded. "Fine. Give me the score and a guitar."

The guitarist handed Nan Zhou a tablet, his own guitar, and a set of finger sleeves.

Nan Zhou's gaze lingered on the tablet for roughly half a minute before he set it on the equipment belonging to a nearby crew member.

"Let's give it a try." Slipping the guitar strap over his shoulder, he brushed his fingers across the strings.

An exceptionally pleasing progression of chords immediately rang through the room.

Those chords weren't written in the score, but they were extremely catchy. Yue Yang, the bassist who had been sitting in a corner playing on his phone, looked up at the sound.

The next second, a familiar melody rang out-"Breaking Dawn."

The room became utterly quiet, with only the guitar playing.

Although he was only standing in a small room of twenty-odd square meters, the way Nan Zhou played the guitar made it seem as though he were giving a concert in a stadium packed with ten thousand people.

He simply stood there, uninhibited and languid, one hand holding the guitar's neck while the other strummed up and down over its body, his expression thoroughly relaxed.

Yet in those clear, dark eyes, there seemed to be a wild soul ready to burst out of that body with the music at any moment.

The members of Breaking Dawn Band couldn't help widening their eyes. The drummer even slapped the guitarist on the shoulder, saying with his eyes, "Fucking amazing. Better than you."

[!!!! Is this real? They're playing a recording, right?]

[He learned it after one look at the score???]

[Holy shit! He's so hot! I'm about to become a fan, somebody slap some sense into me!]

[Obviously fake. If Nan Zhou were this good, why would he even be an idol? Ridiculous! It's scripted and prerecorded, right?]

[Am I hearing things, or is the "Breaking Dawn" Nan Zhou's playing a little different from the version I've heard before?]

[To the person above, it is. I think it sounds even better!]

[I hereby declare that, starting today, I'm a fan of Nan Zhou's career! With skills like these, I'm bowing down!]

When the song ended, Nan Zhou looked at Xiao Sheng. "Alipay or WeChat?"

Xiao Sheng said, "..."

At that moment, Xiao Sheng was still completely immersed in the performance, the shock in his heart yet to fully subside.

As an industry insider, he understood the value of the ability Nan Zhou had just displayed far better than the viewers did.

His eyes flickered slightly as he opened WeChat. "Add me. I'll transfer it to you."

The floor director was excited too. According to the production team's original arrangements, Nan Zhou was supposed to find a pretext to sing a song with the band, not play guitar.

After all, he had never publicly shown that he could play guitar.

When the manager had suddenly said he would be filling in for the guitarist rather than the lead singer, she had thought there had been a miscommunication and had intended to correct it. Instead, Nan Zhou had not only agreed, but also pulled off something this impressive.

"You changed the score?"

Suddenly, Soul Band's lead singer demanded loudly, "Who gave you permission?!"