Chapter 4: The Unplugged Performance Show!

During the following days, Garen focused on learning two more songs. One was "Those Flowers," and the other was "Fleeting Fireworks." The first time he heard the lyrics and melody of the latter, he was captivated; he had never encountered such a style before, flawlessly blending classical elements with modern pop. In addition, Garen prepared another song, "Just Once," in case he needed it. These were relatively simple, so he could quickly master singing and playing them.

Aside from his musical studies, that laptop lost its internet connection again at night, nearly identical to the previous day. Garen paid special attention to the time and found it happened precisely at eleven o'clock. The next morning at six thirty, the network returned right on schedule. Garen began to suspect that every night from eleven to six thirty there would be a blackout. Fortunately, this time, after the outage, no websites failed to open. On a whim, Garen tried accessing the campus website of the Huaxia Conservatory of Music in this world, only to be redirected to a vulgar site.

At noon, Cai Fei and Wang Qilin came home together. Seeing Garen cooking, Wang Qilin was surprised: "Garen, what’s gotten you into the kitchen today? Are you quitting singing to become a chef?"

"Get out of here!" Garen retorted, carrying out a plate of scrambled eggs with green peppers and another of stir-fried celery with meat, setting them on the table. "I’ve found a new job. Starting tonight, I’ll be performing at Wenzi Tea & Wine Bar in Houhai. You guys should come by at eight!"

"Really? That fast?" Wang Qilin exclaimed. "In that case, we’ll definitely come support you. Right, Cai Fei?"

He nudged Cai Fei, who responded immediately, "Of course! Our class is having a gathering tonight anyway. Let’s meet at Garen’s new workplace. We’ll tip you well! At the very least, we can’t let this meal go unappreciated!"

Cai Fei laughed, pulling out his phone and posting in their class group chat: "Everyone, listen up! My buddy is singing tonight at Wenzi Tea & Wine Bar in Houhai. That’s our party location. Drinks are on me, no need to be shy!"

Soon, a slew of voice replies arrived. Cai Fei clicked one, which turned out to be a woman’s voice, bold and brash: "No problem! I’ll drink as much as you want. If I lose tonight, I’ll handle all the class duties from now on. If you lose... hehe, Old Cai, introduce us to that ballet-dancing pretty boy you live with; I love artsy types!"

Hearing this, Garen shivered involuntarily, and Wang Qilin beside him also felt a chill. "Uh, Old Cai, you have girls in your class?"

Cai Fei was a bit embarrassed by the message, but Wang Qilin’s comment made him defensive. "Pfft! You little brat, still looking down on our sports university? If you keep it up, I’ll give her your number!"

"Hehe, no, I wouldn’t dare!" Wang Qilin laughed sheepishly, adding, "I’ll call a few friends over too. I’ve been chatting with a girl lately, so I’ll invite her and some of her friends. Hey, Old Cai, want me to introduce you?"

"Is that really happening?" Cai Fei’s expression shifted, grinning lecherously.

"Of course, but the drinks—"

"I’ll pay!" Cai Fei waved generously. "Invite as many as you want!"

Wang Qilin was delighted, and the conversation quickly shifted from Garen to women, an irresistible topic for the two.

At six forty in the evening, Garen arrived twenty minutes early at Wenzi Bar. Outside, crowds of young men and women had gathered, some holding LED signs with Wen Tao’s name, clearly his fans. Entering through the back door, Garen found the interior already decorated with balloons and streamers, giving it the feel of a school union event.

"Garen’s here!" Wen Tao greeted him and pointed to a room beside the stage. "That’s the lounge. Take a rest there. We’ll rehearse when everyone arrives."

"Alright," Garen replied, guessing Wen Tao’s approach would differ from the previous bar—perhaps not expecting singers to perform for hours at a stretch, but the specifics eluded him.

Inside the lounge, a man and a woman were already present. The man greeted Garen warmly, "Hello! I’m Wu Yusheng, junior at Huaxia Conservatory. We’re friends now, let’s look out for each other!"

Garen smiled, "Hello! I’m Garen."

"Nice to meet you, Garen!" Wu Yusheng gestured to the woman, "This is Liu Qianqian, who won ‘Dream Star Show’ weekly champion—not to be underestimated, a formidable woman!"

Liu Qianqian’s lips curled into a slight smile. "Wu, aren’t you teasing me? Didn’t you also compete on ‘Dream Star Show’?"

Her words, for reasons unknown, sounded oddly biting to Garen; there was a hint of mockery. Wu Yusheng, however, wasn’t bothered. "Ah, but I never made it past the first round, unlike you!"

Liu Qianqian scoffed, barely smiling as she turned to Garen, "Did you compete on ‘Dream Star Show’?"

"Uh, no," Garen shook his head. He’d sung in bars for over two years, but never felt qualified for such a stage—and besides, he’d heard the competition was costly, requiring greasing palms at every turn, especially with the band and sound engineers. As for the judges, even more money and connections were needed. It was said that those who paid the host would get more airtime to share their tragic stories; those who didn’t, wouldn’t even get to perform.

"Oh? Never competed? Then how do you know Wen Tao?" Liu Qianqian’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. "I heard all the singers Wen Tao hires for this bar have appeared onstage before!"

Garen didn’t want to answer, but feared seeming rude, so he forced himself to reply, "I just came by yesterday afternoon and applied directly."

"Oh," Liu Qianqian smiled meaningfully, "Heh."

After that, conversation ceased. Garen didn’t mind; he had no desire to talk further with this woman. Wu Yusheng, however, felt awkward and sat beside Garen, chatting with him about his past work, where he’d performed, and what genres he sang. For some reason, every time Garen spoke, Liu Qianqian would let out a faint but audible chuckle.

Before long, two more singers arrived. Wu Yusheng greeted them immediately, clearly instructed by Wen Tao to welcome everyone. He introduced the newcomers: one woman named Ai Ya, and a man named Zhao Liang, both former contestants on "Dream Star Show." Their attitudes contrasted sharply with Liu Qianqian’s. Especially Ai Ya, who was last year’s top ten—ending up sixth, but among those present, she was the most accomplished, even surpassing Wen Tao.

Yet Liu Qianqian showed no friendliness toward Ai Ya or Zhao Liang; instead, she spent the evening with a sour expression. Garen took the chance to ask Wu Yusheng about it when they went to the restroom.

It turned out Liu Qianqian, like Wen Tao, was last week’s weekly champion, but was quickly knocked out by Sun Youpeng, who had returned for a second challenge. At the time, Liu Qianqian’s face darkened, and she hadn’t recovered since. Hearing this, Garen found her somewhat pitiable, but thought her attitude toward others was flawed—perhaps her defeat was partly due to her personality.

At seven sharp, Wen Tao entered with three others. "Everyone’s here!" he clapped his hands and introduced the trio, "This is tonight’s band. Since we’re performing entirely ‘unplugged,’ your song choices must fit the theme. If anyone isn’t ready, now’s the time to change. Anyone?"

Unplugged meant no electronic instruments, abandoning the full electric band effect. Instead, acoustic instruments were used for pure sound, achieving a raw, honest musical quality. It was a protest against the excessive electronic manipulation of current pop, favoring authentic performance. Still, microphones, amplifiers, and pickups were permitted.

No one spoke up, showing everyone had chosen suitable songs, an unspoken consensus.

"Tonight’s the first night, so it may be a bit taxing. Each person gets half an hour to perform, and everyone will have two rounds. Is that alright?"

"No problem!" Wu Yusheng replied first.

Half an hour each, two rounds totaling an hour—easy for everyone, and splitting the time allowed for plenty of rest.

"Garen, have you prepared your three songs?"

"Yes, I’m ready," Garen nodded.

"Good. You won’t sing only those three; during this time, any requests from guests are yours to perform. Understood?"

Garen nodded again. He wasn’t a debut singer, unlike Wu Yusheng and the others who could pick their own favorites; he’d sing whatever guests requested. Still, that was fair, since earning five hundred a night wasn’t easy.

"After everyone’s rounds, I’ll set aside a request time. Any tips from guests during that time belong to you all, including Garen—I won’t take a cut," Wen Tao said, casting a meaningful glance at Garen.