Huayu 1995

Chapter 14: Who can withstand this?!

Gaining the favor of your superiors does not mean everything is settled.

It's not easy to fit into any workplace.

By pleasing the leaders, one loses the stance of sharing a common enemy with the lower-level employees.

Such a forceful arrival is bound to provoke their hostility.

Fortunately, Su Chao didn't seem to care too much.

When he got to the sound engineer's place, he found that someone had actually asked him to sing.

"You knew Sister Hong and President Yan before, huh? You seemed to be having a great time chatting."

Sound engineers hold a very high status in nightclubs.

No singer dared to offend him, and they would even share 5% of their earnings with him.

However, simply giving him 5% according to the rules is not enough. Without more benefits, he might make things difficult for you.

When it's your turn to sing, if the sound effects aren't up to par, you'll have to yell at the top of your lungs.

Or if the equipment suddenly makes a howling noise that startles the guests, you will not only have wasted your performance, but you will also be harassed by angry guests.

"I don't know them," Su Chao continued before the sound engineer could even breathe a sigh of relief. "The person who introduced me here is someone they know well. Sigh, why do I have to be introduced? With my abilities, I could easily pass the interview on my own merits, don't you agree, bro?"

The sound engineer's face was like a rollercoaster.

Finally, he forced a smile and nodded in agreement.

"Next up is our newest member, Su Chao! Not only is he incredibly handsome, but his singing is also the best in the entire show. Please don't hesitate to ask him to sing any songs you'd like to hear; let him experience the passion of Casablanca!"

The last one to appear was Shabao Liang.

He gave Su Chao a lot of face and praised him in every way, acting like a kind older brother next door.

However, Su Chao easily grasped the truth behind his flattery.

He not only instigated his peers to hate him, but he also stirred up trouble among his customers.

"Thank you, Brother Liang. I'm a little embarrassed by your praise. I'm only eighteen years old, and there's still a lot I need to learn from seniors like him. This is my first time here. If there's any song you'd like to hear, I'll do my best to sing it well, as long as I know it. Thank you, brothers and sisters."

Su Chao pretended to be young, well-behaved, and shy.

The problem is that he's really young, and handsome too.

If he and Sha Baoliang have any conflict, they don't care who is at fault; everyone else thinks Su Chaoyan is right.

The song the customer requested was "If Heaven Has Feelings".

The Mandarin version is called "The Dream Chaser".

Speaking of which, choosing Cantonese songs over Mandarin songs, or avoiding overly popular mainland pop songs like "The Big Sedan Chair," "The Boatman's Love," and "Today I'm Really Happy," is a characteristic of high-end karaoke bars in this era.

Everything has to be sophisticated and classy.

Fortunately, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also part of China, so they cannot be considered to be worshipping foreign things.

As for the claim that Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment are no longer viable, and that mainland Chinese entertainment is about to rise...

Su Chao did not dampen their enthusiasm. Instead, after the song was finished, he started to gossip about the song to please them.

One cannot help but mention the movie "A Moment of Romance" starring Andy Lau and Wu Chien-lien.

Andy Lau is riding a motorcycle with a bloody nose, and Wu Chien-lien, dressed in a wedding gown, is on the back. Accompanied by a classic song, this scene is undoubtedly one of the most romantic moments in Chinese-language films.

Most people probably don't know that the Mandarin version of this song was originally called "Youth Without Regrets". In 1991, the female writer Sanmao passed away, and Luo Dayou added four lines of lyrics to "Youth Without Regrets" to commemorate Sanmao, which led to the well-known song "Dream Chaser".

Su Chao didn't say much off-topic, but his words, inserted at the end of the song, created a very relaxed atmosphere.

It's hard to find fault with his singing, which isn't particularly outstanding.

They couldn't bring themselves to make things difficult for him.

For example, he'd be asked to sing repeatedly...

Requesting songs costs money; it's fifty yuan per song, and all the money goes to the singer.

However, this money is not easy to earn.

Wu Xiubo was once forced by someone's husband to sing "Love You Ten Thousand Years" for three or four hours straight, causing him to cough up blood from his vocal cords.

Singing three or five songs in a row is nothing, try singing thirty or fifty.

You might have the life to take this money, but you might not have the life to spend it.

Now, Su Chao sings well and can talk eloquently on stage, attracting a lot of applause.

Of course, many people are also unhappy.

Clap your hands, damn it!
You didn't come here to attend class; you came to the karaoke bar to degenerate. You should be drinking, getting drunk, and harassing young girls...

And those men, did you see your female companions staring at this newcomer with such infatuation?

Shouldn't you be angry?

Shouldn't we make things difficult for him like we made things difficult for Wu Xiubo?

Actually, the reason is quite simple.

Su Chao had already said that he was only eighteen years old. How much malice could these so-called successful people, who are generally in their thirties or forties, possibly harbor towards an eighteen-year-old?

Moreover, Su Chao's previous song "My Life's Love" touched the hearts of many men.

This reminded them of their ideal woman.

If you can't even muster the interest to spend money, where does the anger come from to unleash a powerful attack on Su Chao?

"Hey, I don't know if it's a beautiful young lady or a handsome young man, but they requested Huang Bo to sing 'Your Appearance' in Qingdao dialect. Next, let's welcome the talented and humorous Qingdao guy... Huang Bo!"

After Su Chao finished announcing the program for Huang Bo, he left with the two new flowers he had just received.

When a customer requests a song, it will be written on the small blackboard.

The singer currently performing can choose to announce the next singer's performance.

Huang Bo grinned.

He didn't expect Su Chao to praise him so much.

Sha Baoliang secretly urged him to deal with Su Chao, but he wasn't stupid and knew his own limitations, so he didn't take any action.

If you keep Su Chao out, and you secure the top spot, what benefit do I get?
However, the competition in Casablanca was too fierce, so Huang Bo had no choice but to team up with Sha Bao Liang.

He actually preferred to team up with Zhou Xun, but that girl is too arrogant. Now, perhaps he could consider teaming up with Su Chao.

"Su Chao, do you have an English name?"

Sister Hong came up to Su Chao and handed him a bottle of water.

Without hesitation, Su Chao took it, unscrewed the cap, and poured it all in.

Then he said gratefully, "Lance, thank you for the water, Sister Hong! I was so thirsty!"

Su Chao wasn't the type of person to easily trust others. Of course, he knew he shouldn't accept food or water from strangers, but at least today, Sister Hong had no reason to harm him.

His decisive and efficient performance indeed greatly increased Sister Hong's goodwill towards him.

In addition, he doesn't actually have an English name.

Lance was a spur-of-the-moment idea; he was incredibly lazy, and it was his ultimate dream.

Moreover, this English polysemous word, derived from Old French, means "spear warrior," which perfectly matches his physical characteristics and personal temperament.

If he says he doesn't have an English name.

Hongjie might just come up with a name for him on the spot.

Getting a nightclub madam to give you an English name will definitely become a black mark on your record in the future.

Even though Su Chao no longer cared about such empty fame, he still had to consider whether a bad reputation would prevent him from finding a wife.

"Okay, Lance, there are guests in the Qingyu'an private room on the second floor. Go and entertain them. The flower basket you saw when you sang 'A Lifetime of Love' was from them."

Sister Hong paused for a moment and then said, "These customers are from Hong Kong. If they are rude, just make an excuse to leave. Don't offend the customers while working in a karaoke bar, but we are not to be trifled with either."

This is what I said...

If Zhou Xun and Yang Kun heard this, their eyes might turn red.

You damn old hag, that's not what you said to us. You clearly said if you don't want to work here, then get out.

Can we please stop treating people differently?

There was no way around it; Su Chao was just too good at charming people, and every move he made hit her weak spot.

She calls everyone "sister" and is incredibly sweet-talking. Others call her "Sister Hong" in a very perfunctory way, but Su Chao calls her that more affectionately than a real sister.

One song she added to her playlist remained untouched for over half a month.

Su Chao selected it on his very first day.

Then, she sang the song with great passion and perfection.

She casually handed them a bottle of water, only to realize afterward that these singers wouldn't easily drink water offered by others.

It's as if bad people are everywhere in the world waiting to harm them.

Before she could retract her hand, Su Chao took the bottle without any suspicion and drank half of it.

As a nightclub madam, Sister Hong can't remember when she was first trusted like this.

I ask you, who can withstand this?!

So even though she wanted to slap herself after she finished speaking, she still told Su Chao to be careful.

"Sis, don't worry, just watch!"

Holy crap, the number one fan!

We have to serve him properly and make sure the top-ranked customer is satisfied.

Su Chao beckoned over to Lü Bu, who was in charge of maintaining order at the scene, put his arm around Lü Bu's shoulder, and said loudly:
"Dude, you work here, right? Take me to the Qingyu'an private room."

"Brother, please go ahead!"

Lu Bu involuntarily bent over.

Another day of being so impressed that I wanted to kneel down and call him godfather.

Sister Hong is a notorious female devil here; even Wu Xiubo was bullied to tears by her.

Most people, when they go to the restroom and see her coming from the direction of the restroom, will instantly realize they don't need to pee anymore.

However, this female demon actually showed concern for Su Chao, whom she had just met, and even offered him water. Holy crap...

Could this female demon have taken a liking to our Brother Chao?

"Where are Feng and Dongzi?"

Su Chao didn't forget the younger brother he brought along to broaden his horizons.

"I arranged a place for them and even got them two bottles of beer. It's for our security team to drink. The drinks at the karaoke bar are too expensive; a bottle of beer costs a hundred yuan, and they only sell imported ones..."

"Okay, tell them that after we're done, we'll find a place to get some barbecue skewers..."

"Wow, that's so extravagant!"

Lu Bu's mouth was practically watering. "Father, I like spicy food."

"Alright, you go ahead. Let's pretend we don't know each other for now. You can even say bad things about me to others, like you're jealous of my good looks, and then infiltrate their ranks to gather information for me, keeping an eye out for any troublemakers in the karaoke bar who might try to harm me..."

Su Chao gave some instructions, then knocked on the door and entered the Qingyu'an private room.

It really is one-way glass.

The scene below is clear at a glance, and the sound can be heard clearly.

Huang Bo had finished singing, and it was Wu Xiubo's turn to sing his share for the day.

Resident singers all receive a basic salary.

To earn this money, you must ensure that you sing a certain number of songs every day.

Su Chao is one of the five newcomers.

If there are more than five songs, they are basically all requested by customers.

Wu Xiubo sang an English song, and when you closed your eyes and immersed yourself in it, his stage presence was indeed very sophisticated and edgy.

Unfortunately... he's gained weight.

The way he twists and turns makes him appear particularly... composed.

(End of this chapter)