Chapter Thirty-Four: Taking the Stage to Tell a Story

On the left side of the stage, there was a simple tent, where Su Tong, led by Gao Litong, waited for his turn to perform. Inside the tent, several guests had already gathered. Su Tong glanced around; both men and women were present, all dressed in trendy styles.

Musicians tended to be unconventional. Su Tong and Gao Litong sat quietly in a corner, barely warming their seats before Gao Litong received a phone call, excused herself, and stepped outside.

The area outside the tent was bustling. Gao Litong’s father was indeed generous—the host on stage held a bucket brimming with red envelopes.

“I don’t know how many red envelopes there are, and I don’t know how much money is inside,” the host said with a smile, setting the bucket down. “Do you want to know?”

“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
…

Of course the audience wanted to know—even if it was just one yuan, it was still money.

“You want to know, right? Then…” Suddenly, the host shouted with all his might, “Let me hear your screams!”

The atmosphere exploded, screams echoed everywhere.

Music began to play—the host was also a singer, a resident performer at a bar, skilled at warming up the crowd. Instantly, the mood ignited.

It wasn’t just the songs that set off the audience, but also the bucket of red envelopes. The host sang and tossed red envelopes into the crowd.

“Brother Dong really knows how to control the scene.”
“Yeah, he’s always so energetic.”
“There are real talents among the people, those TV folks can’t compare to Brother Dong.”
“…”

Inside the tent, several bar singers chatted and laughed, watching the lively scene outside.

Su Tong felt the energy too. Bar singers, especially the men, earned their living by working hard, and they had to sing well.

Female singers often had other advantages—if they weren’t beautiful, no matter how well they sang, few would support them.

“Hey, buddy, which bar do you work at? You look unfamiliar,” a young man wearing a vest and bare-chested slid over next to Su Tong.

He meant bars.

Some bars had fixed resident singers, while others didn’t—only roaming singers.

Residents were like employees; they signed contracts and couldn’t perform elsewhere until they left that bar.

Roaming singers were more like freelancers, moving from venue to venue.

Su Tong withdrew his gaze, glanced at the man beside him, and smiled, “I don’t work at a bar yet, but I’d like to try. Unfortunately, my stage presence isn’t great—I’m not sure I can stir up the crowd’s enthusiasm.”

“Heh, no worries. As long as you sing well and the songs are fiery, you’ll do fine. Don’t even think about Brother Dong’s level of stage control. I’ve performed all over Sanlitun and Houhai in Yan City, but I’ve never seen anyone better than him…” The young man laughed, chatting with Su Tong as if they were old friends, rambling on about everywhere and everything.

Just then—

“Now, let’s welcome the handsome man once dubbed the Number One Voice of Houhai in Yan City!” the host’s voice rang out.

The young man immediately stood up, a hint of pride on his face, and waved to Su Tong, “Buddy, it’s my turn. We’ll talk more when I’m done.”

On stage—

His voice was indeed excellent, perfect for rock. His hoarse vocals carried a beast-like roar, and the scene was set ablaze.

The host didn’t hand out all the red envelopes at once—he kept some back. Each singer had the task of distributing a portion of them.

This way, the audience’s anticipation grew—even if they didn’t like the show, they’d stay for the envelopes.

Su Tong realized he actually liked rock music.

He’d previously considered looking for Li Wen at her family’s bar, partly because he thought bars were chaotic and Li Wen’s family would look out for him, and partly because bars mostly featured rock music. He could handle a few days of rock, but a month straight would be unbearable. At Li Wen’s bar, he could pick and choose as he pleased.

Well, in the end, Su Tong just wanted special treatment.

Suddenly, Su Tong caught a glimpse of a corner of the square.

Gao Litong stood there, accompanied by a girl in a school uniform—youthful and striking.

Even dressed as a student, the girl’s gaze revealed a wildness and capriciousness.

Li Wen!

So she had come too; Gao Litong must have stepped away earlier because Li Wen had arrived. Su Tong glanced over, but didn’t bother with them.

“Tong Tong, do you think he’s still mad at me? He won’t reply to my texts, and I don’t dare call him,” Li Wen looked nervously toward the tent, speaking to Gao Litong.

Gao Litong pouted, “I’d be surprised if he wasn’t mad. Your temper is so sharp and caustic—who can tolerate you?”

Li Wen’s face changed, anger bubbling up, “He treated me like that! He’s just picky, thinks he’s good-looking. What’s so great about that, hmph.”

Gao Litong snorted, “Yeah, he’s just good-looking. Why won’t you let him go? Your boyfriend treats you well—are you trying to juggle two guys?”

Li Wen retorted, “We broke up yesterday. What good is his kindness? I don’t like him. I only like handsome guys.”

“Your boyfriend is pretty handsome too,” Gao Litong said, annoyed.

“Not as handsome as Su Tong.” Li Wen sneaked a glance toward Su Tong.

Gao Litong: “…”

Speechless, but she had to admit Li Wen was right—her boyfriend and Su Tong were not in the same league.

Their Su Tong, at first glance, was good-looking. Look closer, still good-looking. Keep looking, just as handsome. Look again, even better—no matter how you looked, he was always handsome…

“Hurry, let’s go! Su Tong is about to go on,” Li Wen exclaimed, pulling Gao Litong toward the stage as Su Tong rose and headed for the steps.

For Su Tong, this was his first real stage appearance, but he wasn’t nervous at all.

In the system’s training space, he’d performed on stages before ten thousand people.

The simulated environment felt entirely real to him, indistinguishable from reality.

The first time he appeared on such a stage, he couldn’t utter a sound—he was so nervous he almost fainted. But after thousands of repetitions, he’d become numb. Even if he were to hold a concert now, stage fright wouldn’t trouble him.

“Can he sing? I’ve never heard he could sing,” whispered Li Wen, tense, gripping Gao Litong’s hand tightly.

Neither had ever heard Su Tong sing; both worried he’d embarrass himself.

“Wow, so handsome!”
“Handsome guy, are you a celebrity?”
“So handsome—what’s your name? Please let me have your number, your contact info!”
“Handsome guy, take it all off, take me away, give me everything!”
“…”

With the host having warmed up the crowd, the audience was fired up. Seeing Su Tong, such a striking young man, they couldn’t help but tease him.

“Ha, let me hand out some envelopes too,” Su Tong said as he stepped on stage, instead of singing right away. Standing next to the bucket, he grabbed a handful of envelopes. “What’s the use of being handsome? Before I sing, let me tell you a story.”

With envelopes in hand, Su Tong stood calmly on stage, beginning his tale. “An elderly woman, nearly eighty, fell seriously ill and was hospitalized. In her pain, she kept telling her daughter she wished to see her first love one last time. Back then, she married the wrong man in an arranged match, endured it for decades, but now, she doesn’t want to endure anymore.”

The audience listened in surprise, young people pondering.

Su Tong continued, “Hearing this, don’t you feel moved? Life, huh!”

Indeed, everyone nodded—love shouldn’t be compromised. Marriage should be with someone you love and who loves you.

Li Wen and Gao Litong looked at Su Tong with altered eyes. This guy, after a year in Yan City, had changed so much—now he could talk and laugh on stage, telling stories and singing.

Su Tong smiled, “But the story doesn’t end there. Do you want to hear what happened next?”