"You still dare to laugh!"
Chen Jianhao pulled a long face and said, "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? My cousin is not someone to mess with. Offending her today means you're going to suffer in the future!"
Though he spoke with utmost seriousness, Lu Chen felt no fear at all. He smiled and said, "Boss, do you mean you want me to sign this contract?"
"Sign it or not, suit yourself."
Chen Jianhao waved a hand and said, "Starting tonight, though, you're the resident singer at Forget-Me-Not Bar!"
Lu Chen was instantly overjoyed. "Thank you, Boss!"
He used to be a request singer, occupying the absolute lowest rung of the bar singer hierarchy. With no base pay, he relied entirely on a cut of the tips. When he was lucky, he might pick up a filler slot to earn a little hard-earned cash; when he was unlucky, he couldn't even get a single song to sing all night.
A resident singer was entirely different. While there was still no fixed salary, performance slots were guaranteed, his share of the tips jumped to 70%, and he could also take outside gigs—performing at other bars.
Compared to being a request singer who moonlighted as a waiter, Lu Chen wouldn't need to serve tea and water to customers anymore once he became a resident singer, and his income would skyrocket!
"Sing well."
Chen Jianhao tossed a Jinwei beer to Lu Chen and encouraged him, "Xiǎo Gāo, if you can keep up your current standard and pull out a few more standout original songs, I believe you'll make a name for yourself sooner or later and become the first star to walk out of Forget-Me-Not Bar!"
Chen Jianhao had never said such words to any other singer in the bar, not even to signed artists like Zhang Nana or Qín Hànyáng—both of whom had vastly more experience and fame than Lu Chen! Compared to Su Qingmei, he had much higher hopes for Lu Chen's future.
Deeply moved, Lu Chen took the beer and drained it in one breath.
He set down the empty bottle, wiped the foam from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, and said earnestly, "Boss, if that day really comes, I'll buy a stake in Forget-Me-Not Bar from you with my own money, no matter how much it costs!"
Chen Jianhao was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Alright, then you can come back and be the little boss, hahaha!"
He knew Lu Chen was just expressing that he wouldn't forget his roots.
Still, Chen Jianhao didn't take it too seriously. There were simply too many talented and gifted young people drifting around Beijing; how many of them actually managed to break through? Most remained obscure and eventually vanished without a trace.
Gesturing with a flick of his finger, Chen Jianhao said, "Little Boss Lu, your customers are looking for you now. Go on!"
Lu Chen looked back and saw a few familiar patrons waving at him.
As a bar singer, unless you were a massive superstar, you couldn't afford to refuse interaction with customers. Drinking together, chatting, and talking about music, life, and ideals could also earn you a cut of the alcohol sales.
Most of the patrons at Forget-Me-Not Bar were well-behaved, with virtually no shady business going on.
Lu Chen liked working here precisely because of this atmosphere.
"Then I'll head over."
Hesitating for a moment, Lu Chen asked, "Boss, the tips tonight—the split for resident singers applies, right?"
Chen Jianhao flew into a rage. "Get lost!"
Lu Chen scurried off, protecting his head.
***
By the time he walked out of Forget-Me-Not Bar, it was close to midnight.
In Beijing in May, late night still carried a hint of chill. The night wind swept down the deserted pedestrian street, making Lu Chen instinctively hunch his shoulders and nearly sneeze—the temperature difference between inside and outside the bar was a bit too sharp.
Yet his heart was burning hot.
The source of that heat was tucked safely inside his jacket pocket: forty-seven hundred-yuan bills, burning hot to the touch.
Although he had already become a resident singer at Forget-Me-Not Bar, Lu Chen still completed his final shift as a waiter before collecting his wages for the month.
From the head cashier, Lu Chen learned that Xiǎo Gāo, the waiter who had always had it in for him, had been given the boot by the boss. As for the reason—well, the sound engineer Pàngzi running out of the audio room for no reason to cozy up to him made things faintly clear.
At that, Lu Chen could only laugh. He wasn't a petty villain, but he certainly wasn't some high-and-mighty moral saint either; seeing a guy he loathed get kicked out naturally put him in a fantastic mood.
Yet however great that felt, nothing could top the sheer joy brought by forty-rentice crisp, brand-new red bills.
One-third of this money was his wages as a waiter, which wasn't much since he hadn't worked a full month. The other two-thirds came from the evening's tips—the 70% cut for resident singers!
Chen Jianhao was a pretty good boss. While strict with his staff, he wasn't stingy or harsh with compensation, and singer tip splits were always settled on the day without carrying over.
Over 3,000 yuan in tips was the largest single extra income Lu Chen had ever received in the half-year and more that he'd worked at Forget-Me-Not Bar!
And this was only the beginning!
Suddenly, Lu Chen was filled with hope for the future. The gloom and depression that had gathered between his brows had entirely vanished, and he broke into a run toward the subway station.
Running like a wild youth!
Catching the very last subway train of the midnight run, Lu Chen returned to his tiny pigeonhole of a home.
He took a quick shower and went straight to bed.
He slept without a single dream.
At 6:30 in the morning, Lu Chen woke up right on time.
He worked two jobs, logging more than 15 hours a day, with only two days off a month.
Today was his Sunday off, and normally he could have slept in. But driven by his biological clock, his eyes snapped open anyway. Staring at the lead-gray cement ceiling of his shabby room, not a shred of sleepiness remained. Lu Chen felt a twinge of panic; he was terrified that once he woke up, everything he had gained in his dreams would vanish.
Familiar yet unfamiliar memories quickly surfaced in his mind, instantly banishing his anxiety.
Rolling out of bed, Lu Chen briskly threw on his clothes, slipped into his worn-out sneakers, and rushed through his personal hygiene routine before escaping the basement.
At this hour, everyone else was still asleep. Through the fireboard partitions, he could hear a chorus of overlapping snores—they were all Beijing drifters, the ant tribe, for whom sleeping until noon on a Sunday was the ultimate luxury.
Leaving the residential compound, Lu Chen crossed the street, jogged over to the riverbank, and started running along the man-made canal.
Between a grueling work schedule and too little rest, he had never developed a habit of morning exercise; running to his part-time job at KFC every morning was about as much working out as he ever got.
But today, he just wanted to run. Otherwise, his heart felt hollow and restless, thoroughly uncomfortable.
By now, day had broken. The willow-shaded riverbank was still draped in a thin morning mist, and the walkways and flowerbeds along the road were already dotted with early risers doing exercise, most of them elderly.
A few birdcages hung from tree branches, where thrushes hopped about, occasionally letting out crisp, melodious chirps.
After running briskly for ten-odd minutes, Lu Chen's stamina was mostly spent. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead, his breathing grew heavy, his legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and his mouth went dry, tasting faintly of rust.
This was his body protesting its lack of prolonged exercise; after all, his usual run to work lasted four or five minutes at most, and at a much slower pace.
Yet there was a voice inside Lu Chen's head, urging him, encouraging him, supporting him, telling him to keep going.
For the sake of his future, he needed a healthy, robust physique!
Thus, sustained by a stubborn belief, Lu Chen gritted his teeth and kept running until his stride gradually grew light again.
He was still young; youth was his greatest capital, which meant anything was possible.
Close to noon, Lu Chen returned to his basement dwelling.
Of course, he hadn't spent the entire morning exercising; most of the time went to mundane chores. He deposited the money he earned the night before into his bank card, stopped by a nearby shopping mall to pick up an affordable yet decent set of sportswear and sneakers, and finally ran to the supermarket for daily necessities.
Running back and forth with a full load, Lu Chen's clothes were soaked through with sweat—one layer drying only to be soaked by the next—sticking to his skin in a clammy, uncomfortable mess.
Yet he couldn't spare the time to shower and change. He first booted up his computer and transferred 4,000 yuan from his newly deposited bank card to his mother, Fang Yun, and his younger sister, Lu Xue.
Inside his pocket, he had just over 300 yuan left.
Yet Lu Chen wasn't worried, because he was filled with hope for the future!
With the transfers completed, Lu Chen felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His entire body relaxed, and only then did he feel the accumulated fatigue and soreness settling into every part of his frame.
His physical exertion today had truly been massive, pushing well past his usual limits and inevitably triggering aftereffects.
Tearing off his sweat-stunk clothes, Lu Chen headed straight for the bathroom to take a shower.
*Jingle-ling-ling*—right at that moment, the phone sitting on his small desk began to ring, its indicator light flashing incessantly.
Without even looking, Lu Chen reached out and picked it up.
"Big bro, what are you up to?"
From the other end of the line came Lu Xue's familiar voice, crisp and melodic with the vibrant energy of youth.
Lu Xue was seventeen years old, a second-year high school student back in their hometown.
Lu Chen replied, "Just about to take a shower and grab some lunch!"
Lu Xue let out a soft "hmph" before asking, "Big bro, did you strike it rich or something? Why'd you send me money?"
"Sort of," Lu Chen laughed. "Made over four thousand yesterday, wired three thousand to Mom, and threw five hundred your way for pocket money. Aren't you touched? Hurry up and say I'm the best brother in the world!"
"Go die!"
Even across the phone line, Lu Chen could picture his sister rolling her eyes. "Not bad, I suppose, but you really didn't need to give me this much. Mom gives me allowance, and you shouldn't work yourself so hard either. Take care of yourself."
Listening to his sister's rambling chatter over the phone, Lu Chen couldn't help a pang of heartache wash over him.
Before the family's misfortunes, Lu Xue had been the little princess cherished by everyone. Ordinarily, 500 yuan wouldn't even be enough for her to buy a pair of shoes; she never had to push money back and forth like this.
"All right, study hard, and call me if anything comes up."
After chatting for a few minutes and confirming everything was fine at home, Lu Chen ended the call with Lu Xue.
He rushed into the tiny bathroom, closed the door, and twisted the faucet.
Cool tap water rushed through the showerhead, turning into fine jets of water that hammered against his body.
Lu Chen closed his eyes as memories of the past surfaced in his mind.