Chapter 99: Zhao Hongbing Gets His Head Split Open
Seeing Xu Xiaolu come in, Zhao Hongbing waved dismissively, then sat down beside him.
“Damn it, why are you so slow? You went out to rinse your mouth, and you were gone for twenty minutes!”
“Young Master Bing, I... mmph—”
Before Xu Xiaolu could finish, Zhao Hongbing pressed a hand to his head and shoved him down in one motion.
“Who the hell wants to hear your explanation... hiss—”
Ten minutes later, Xu Xiaolu was tidying his hair as he said, “Young Master Bing, guess who I just saw in this karaoke bar?”
“What the hell do I care who it was!”
Zhao Hongbing said impatiently, eyes closed, as though he were still savoring the moment.
He seemed annoyed that Xu Xiaolu had broken his train of thought.
“Yang Mengke. She came here with Su Bai, along with a whole group of people!”
What?
Zhao Hongbing sat bolt upright at once.
During this period, he felt as if he were losing his mind.
When he opened his eyes, it was Yang Mengke; when he closed them, it was still Yang Mengke.
If this went on, he was going to go insane.
One Xu Xiaolu was nowhere near enough to satisfy him.
“Which private room? Let’s go take a look!”
Inside Su Bai’s private room, after singing a few songs, Xue Qianqian said with some regret, “Too bad they don’t have your song The Actor here. I really like that song. It’d be great if I could sing it with you once.”
Su Bai sighed inwardly. As expected, some things were fated; in the end, it really did come down to chemistry.
He smiled and said, “I’ve got the track on my phone. Wait a sec, I’ll connect it to their system.”
Xue Qianqian immediately sprang up in excitement.
“Really? That’s amazing!”
The music began, and Xue Qianqian unconsciously slipped into the song.
“Keep it simple, speak in simple ways
Leave out the rising waves of emotion
You’re not an actor after all
So don’t stage all those scenes
I have no objections; I only want to see how you’ll round it off
Your sadness is too obvious, like an actor without talent
The audience can see it at a glance.”
The moment Xue Qianqian sang, everyone froze.
There was no awkwardness at all. Not the slightest hint of it.
People always say that when someone sings another person’s song, even if it sounds good, there’s usually still some kind of difference.
Maybe it was because they were used to hearing the original; when they heard someone else sing it, there was always a faint sense of unfamiliarity.
But now, hearing Xue Qianqian sing The Actor, it felt as though the singer and the song were made for each other.
The moment Xue Qianqian opened his mouth, it was as if the story had already unfolded before everyone’s eyes.
“The performance I was meant to play along with, I played as if I saw nothing
Pushing the person who loves you most to improvise on the spot
When did we start drawing in our bottom line
Going along with the times and watching those clumsy performances
But if you once loved me so much, why perform all those little details
What kind of person should I become to delay your weariness
So it turns out that after love drops its guard, all those things
Are the real test.”
When the two of them harmonized, everyone’s mouths fell open in astonishment.
Even the always proud Hua Xingyu, who never yielded to anyone in the music world, was staring at them in disbelief.
If he remembered correctly, the two of them had just met, hadn’t they?
They had never met before, let alone rehearsed together.
So why did their voices fit together so perfectly?
It was as if they had already merged into the very soul of the song.
Hua Xingyu had once believed his own singing skill was better than Xue Qianqian’s, but seeing how the two of them could handle live harmonies so flawlessly, and do it with such seamless spontaneity, he completely changed his opinion of Xue Qianqian.
If it were himself, could he do that?
No, he couldn’t.
He could take a song and rearrange it into a style that suited him, and make it highly distinctive.
But he could not sing someone else’s song and fit it together so perfectly on the very first try.
That was exactly what Hua Xingyu admired about Xue Qianqian.
When the song ended, applause broke out in the private room.
Yang Xiaomi stood up and said, “That was amazing, really amazing. It was so good my ears are practically pregnant!”
“Especially the harmonies between the two of you. I’ve got goosebumps all over!”
Tian Ye nodded in agreement.
Then he looked at Su Bai and asked, “How about when you go on the show, you sing The Actor with Xue Qianqian too? Rehearse it a few more times, polish a few of the tonal parts a little more, and it’ll absolutely become a true classic in the music world!”
Just as they were speaking, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.
“Well, well, this is lively.”
“Holy hell, it’s all big stars in here!”
“Are you all having a good time?”
“I came by to toast everyone with a drink.”
With his unsteady swagger, Zhao Hongbing strutted in smugly. He swept a glance over everyone, then headed straight toward Yang Mengke.
“Yang Mengke, we meet again. Since old classmates have run into each other, shouldn’t we have a drink together?”
“Let’s treat it as a celebration for you successfully being selected as a host for the national broadcaster.”
“From now on, you can count as half a Beijinger.”
“If anyone ever fails to recognize what’s good for them and gives you trouble, just mention my name, Zhao Hongbing.”
“Other places aside, but in Beijing, on my turf, there’s no one who dares not give me face.”
With that, Zhao Hongbing stared fixedly at Yang Mengke.
His meaning could not have been clearer.
You’ll be living and working in Beijing now, and in Beijing, if I, Zhao Hongbing, want to deal with someone, it couldn’t be simpler.
A threat. A naked, blatant threat.
“Get lost! I don’t want to say it twice!”
Su Bai’s expression instantly darkened.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongbing planted a foot on the table holding the fruit platter.
“Well, if it isn’t my brother-in-law?”
“I’m standing right here. What can you do about it?”
“And let me remind you one last time: I’ve put up with your crap again and again because you’re Yang Mengke’s brother.”
“If you keep talking nonsense, I...”
“In Beijing, you’re the first person who’s ever dared speak to me like that!”
Su Bai fixed Zhao Hongbing with a cold stare and was just about to step forward when Tian Ye immediately blocked him.
Then Tian Ye turned and smiled ingratiatingly at Zhao Hongbing.
“Young Master Bing, calm down, calm down!”
“We’re all family here. Is it really worth getting this angry?”
“Come on, come on, I’ll drink with you!”
As he spoke, Tian Ye directly picked up two bottles of beer from the table and handed one to Zhao Hongbing.
“Get lost! Do I need your pathetic ass to toast me?”
“Who do you think you are? If you want a toast, fine, but let her toast me!”
Zhao Hongbing’s eyes were bloodshot. Though he was telling Tian Ye to get lost, his gaze never left Su Bai, while his finger pointed at Yang Mengke.
Then Zhao Hongbing said to Yang Mengke, “Yang Mengke, I’m telling you plainly right now: I’ve taken a liking to you!”
“Either you come with me, and we all stay peaceful.”
“Or your brother Su Bai keeps disrespecting me again and again, and you know it yourself.”
“Let’s just wait and see who’s stronger in Beijing.”
“Heh, so you’ve been a celebrity for a few days and think you’re somebody now?”
“You’d better think it through. When you’ve thought it through, call me.”
With that, Zhao Hongbing turned to leave.
He had only just reached the doorway when, with a dull crash, a bottle full of liquor smashed into the back of his head.
Clutching his bleeding scalp, Zhao Hongbing turned around with difficulty, then stared at Su Bai in disbelief.
Before he could say anything, Su Bai kicked him flat to the floor.
Then Su Bai picked up a shard of broken glass from the ground and drove it straight into Zhao Hongbing’s leg.
“You think you can threaten my sister, do you?”
“Come on, bring it on. Come at me!”
“Damn it...”
Then, with one hard stomp, he ground every last shard of glass deeper into Zhao Hongbing’s leg.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Zhao Hongbing let out a shrill, miserable scream.