You're already divorced, why are you so anxious about him becoming a succubus?

On the way back, Lu Ci remembered Chen Feng's two missed calls and dialed them back.

The phone was answered after ringing twice.

"Hey? Did you sleep well yesterday?" Chen Feng's irritating, hoarse voice came through the receiver, laced with a gossipy, mischievous grin.

"Tell me honestly, I saw you walking with our class beauty, Lin, last night. A man and a woman alone together in the middle of the night... Did anything unspeakable happen? Hehehe..."

"Get lost, stop gossiping here." Lu Ci snapped, quickly steer the conversation back on track, "Get to the point."

When it came to serious matters, Chen Feng's voice instantly rose eight octaves:

"Holy crap, you didn't know?! Those two songs you sang on stage last night have gone viral online!"

"I stayed up all night yesterday, cutting the part of you singing into a short video and even bought some traffic to promote it."

And guess what? The likes have already surpassed 500,000! My inbox is flooded with messages asking which bar it is! My phone has been ringing non-stop since 6 AM, and all the booths and tables for next week are already booked!

Lu Ci was slightly taken aback after hearing this, then genuinely happy for his childhood friend, and said with a smile, "Awesome, Boss Chen! You've hit the jackpot right from the opening day, this is fantastic news!"

"But all these people are here for you! What if they come at night with a ton of money, only to find you nowhere to be seen? Wouldn't they just smash my shop to pieces? You idiot!"

Chen Feng paused for a moment, then said, "Since you're unemployed anyway, how about this: you can come and sing for me! I won't pay you a salary, I'll give you a percentage of the shares! Thirty percent of the stock!"

"How about that? You've brought your own talent to the production! Pretty good, buddy? You don't need to worry about anything else—sourcing, management, socializing—you just need to quietly sing here and be the star performer!"

Thirty percent of the shares are dry stock!

This is no small sum. Given the location and investment of Chen Feng's upscale bar, coupled with its current explosive popularity, the monthly dividends from this 30% stake will definitely be a considerable amount.

"Old Chen, I know you're a good friend. But I'm not a professional singer after all." Lu Ci weighed the pros and cons, analyzing the situation rationally:

"Traffic comes and goes quickly; once the hype dies down, where will we find such high visitor numbers again?"

"Oh, let's talk about that later!"

Chen Feng is also a shrewd businessman; he is all too aware of the current market environment.

Do you know how fierce the competition is in the bar industry in Jiangcheng right now? Anyone with a little spare cash is jumping into this business!

There are quite a few bars owned by big internet celebrities and minor stars. We've finally encountered such a windfall; we absolutely must seize this opportunity!

"Even if the hype fades eventually, we can still make a killing from this wave of popularity!"

"Friendship is friendship, business is business. Don't worry, I'm the sole owner of this shop. Nobody else is interfering. I make all the decisions! Giving you 30% of the shares is definitely a good deal!"

Chen Feng continued to offer tempting conditions: "And you don't have to come every day. These days, scarcity drives up prices, so let's use a scarcity marketing strategy!"

You just need to come over two or three days a week to keep things quiet and sing a few songs, that's enough! The rest of the time, let Qin Meng handle it.

After listening to Chen Feng's analysis, Lu Ci silently made some calculations in his mind.

Indeed, he only has a few hundred yuan left on him. The money in the stock market will be used as seed money for the next investment after he cashes it out in a couple of days, so he can't just touch it.

He urgently needs a stable source of income to make a living and, incidentally, to achieve his life goals.

His life goal is to retire early.

Moreover, it only requires going two or three days a week, giving you complete freedom of time while also receiving a share of the profits—it's truly a wonderful job.

"Sure," Lu Ci teased with a smile, "Thirty percent, that's so much money you're giving me every month, don't you feel bad about it?"

Chen Feng laughed loudly on the other end of the phone: "Feeling sorry for you? Let's not even talk about how close we are, like brothers since we were kids."

Do you know how many people these days go from being internet celebrities and live-streaming singers to becoming big stars? What if you actually get incredibly lucky one day and become a big star too? Then, if you just pluck a hair from your leg to help your buddy out, that'll be enough for him to live on for a lifetime!

Lu Ci shook his head helplessly, thinking about the empty promises Chen Feng had made.

To be honest, he has absolutely no interest in becoming a big star.

However, if you just want to gain some popularity in this small circle and make some quick money to improve your life, it's not a bad choice.

"Alright, since Boss Chen has put it this way, it would be ungrateful of me to be coy any further." Lu Ci readily agreed.

"The day after tomorrow, I'll be there on time the night after tomorrow."

Chen Feng was overjoyed: "OK!"

When Lu Ci returned to Shen Nian's bachelor apartment by taxi, it was already close to noon.

Pushing open the door, the room was quiet. The little girl had obviously gone to school; she had a meeting today where she was to give a speech as a representative.

Lu Ci grabbed some bread and milk from the refrigerator and ate a few bites, then threw the dirty clothes he had changed out of yesterday into the washing machine to wash and dry.

Because of the lingering effects of the alcohol from last night, as soon as his head hit the pillow, a wave of fatigue washed over him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

……

"Click".

A soft click came from the security door. Lu Ci groggily opened his eyes, picked up his phone and glanced at it; it was already six in the evening.

The sound of Shen Nian changing her shoes could be heard from outside.

"Brother Lu?"

As soon as Shen Nian put her bag down in the entryway, she spotted a pair of familiar men's casual shoes next to the shoe cabinet. Her previously somewhat gloomy face instantly blossomed into a bright and reassuring smile.

Last night, she waited alone on the sofa in the living room for half the night, and she was really scared as she looked at the unanswered messages on her phone.

She didn't know why she was so terrified. It felt like being abandoned by her parents on the side of the road. She was afraid that Lu Ci would never come back, afraid that he would leave her world forever.

At this moment, the pair of shoes lying quietly in place were like a reassuring pill, allowing Shen Nian's anxious heart to finally settle down.

Hearing the shouts outside, Lu Ci rubbed his somewhat messy hair and walked out of the second bedroom wearing a loose white cotton vest.

Because he had just woken up, his voice was still a little husky and lazy: "You're back? What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you."

Looking at Lu Ci's casual, homely demeanor, Shen Nian felt a warm current fill her heart.

But when she thought about how she had stayed up late last night in fear and anxiety, the little girl's spoiled temper resurfaced.

She deliberately pouted her full, rosy lips, crossed her arms, and turned her head away haughtily: "Hmph! I told you, I'm not going to talk to you anymore!"

Then, her clear, large eyes darted around, her gaze cunning and scrutinizing as she looked at Lu Ci.

Although she had never been to a bar, she had heard of quite a few.

Brother Lu didn't come home last night, and he didn't even reply to messages. Could it be that he was drugged and taken advantage of by those flashy, sexy women at the bar?

"Tell me honestly, where did you stay last night?" Shen Nian took a step closer, like a vigilant little police dog, trying to smell some perfume on Lu Ci that didn't belong to her.