Chapter 25: The Bar After His Departure
Lei Xing and Liu Jinbai were also puzzled by the question. Although they had speculated for a while, it didn’t feel quite right. Thus, the three of them turned their gazes toward Lu Ke, who was most familiar with Xiahou Qian.
Feeling the pressure of three pairs of eyes, Lu Ke wanted to protest that he actually wasn’t that close to Xiahou Qian either!
“Actually, I’m more curious than you guys, okay? Xiahou Qian is young, but heās different from those other kids. Heās mature, rational, and talented. His singing is incredibly magnetic. While he might seem like the ‘weaker’ one in a relationship with Shaochen, he actually isn’t. My point is, he strikes me as a strong person. Iām not surprised he beat that kid up, but the crying… that’s baffling.” Did Xiahou Qian usually act like this in front of Chi Shaochen in private? Lu Ke wondered.
“Well, alright! By the way, Shaochen mentioned he was going to debut. Which company did he sign with?” Liu Jinbai asked.
At this, Lu Keās expression turned a bit twisted. He was the one who had made all those phone calls! Only for Chi Shaochen to use it all to please Xiahou Qian. Humph.
“You think Shaochen would feel safe putting him in someone else’s company? He registered a media company specifically for Xiahou Qian!” However, he decided to keep the fact that Xiahou Qian held 99% of the shares to himself for now.
“Thatās definitely Shaochen’s style,” Lei Xing laughed.
“Sigh… I’m really afraid the people at Night Color will tear my place down when they realize he’s gone today.” Lu Keās worry was well-founded. Many of the patrons now came specifically for Xiahou Qian. In the past, early-session business had never been this good, not to mention the die-hard fans heād attracted!
“Isn’t it normal for bars to change singers?” Jiang Mu asked. Whether it was Night Color or any other bar, singers and bands tended to be very mobile.
“Usually, yes. But Xiahou Qian is different. If it weren’t for Shaochenās instructions, I would have dragged you all to Night Color to see the scene. Every time he sings, itās like a concert. People laugh and cry to his voice, and when he finishes, they scream ‘Male God!’ and ‘We love you!’ The whole atmosphere in the bar changes when heās on stage.” Lu Ke didn’t want to admit it, but he had practically become a brain-dead fan himself! He had been finding excuses to visit Night Color lately just to hear Xiahou Qian sing.
“Isn’t that an exaggeration?” Lei Xing wasn’t entirely convinced. He thought Lu Ke might be embellishing.
“You don’t believe me?” Lu Ke checked the time on his phone.
“I find it a bit hard to believe,” Jiang Mu said with a smile.
“I just checked the time. Itās an hour until 7:00 PM. We have half an hour for dinner, then half an hour to get to Night Color. Today is Xiahou Qianās first day off. Letās go see the situation. Honestly, Iām not comfortable leaving Wang Wei there alone.” What if he really ran into some extreme fans?
“Sure, I’ve only been to Night Color once,” Jiang Mu was the most enthusiastic.
“Letās go see, then. It’s not like I have plans tonight,” Lei Xing agreed. Even Liu Jinbai, the busiest of the three, nodded. Lei Xing was currently on leave, so he had time; otherwise, it was nearly impossible for him to leave the military base.
“If we all leave, what about Shaochen and the other guy?” Jiang Mu asked, showing some consideration.
“I bet theyāll leave even earlier than us,” Liu Jinbai smiled, and Lu Ke shrugged in agreement.
It turned out Liu Jinbai was right.
Back in the villa, after everyone had left the restroom area, Xiahou Qian had suddenly whispered, “I’m scared.” But no matter how much Chi Shaochen asked what he was afraid of, he didn’t speak again. Chi Shaochen couldn’t even see his face from that position, only sensing the slight instability in his voice.
He could only continue to hold him, occasionally kissing his forehead and stroking his back.
A long time later, Xiahou Qian pulled away and said with lowered eyes, “I want to go home.”
His emotions had returned to normalāor rather, he had calmed downābut he was clearly still in a bad mood. Chi Shaochen noticed that he didn’t want to explain why.
The two left the villa, Chi Shaochen giving a quick word to the others before driving away. They didn’t speak during the ride. Chi Shaochen drove Xiahou Qian up to his apartment and followed him inside.
The moment the door closed, Xiahou Qian hugged him tightly, pressing his face against Chi Shaochenās chest. Hearing the manās steady heartbeat finally allowed him to find a trace of peace.
“Letās do it now, okay?” Xiahou Qian looked at Chi Shaochen. He wanted a more intimate contact to confirm… something.
Chi Shaochen didn’t understand the meaning in his eyes, but he saw that Xiahou Qian truly wanted itāeven if it wasn’t out of pure desire. He didn’t refuse. He keenly sensed that Xiahou Qian was currently suffering from an extreme lack of security. Throughout the process, he stayed face-to-face with him, embracing him with as much force as possible and kissing him with a domineering intensity.
By the time Chi Shaochen was holding the exhausted Xiahou Qian as they drifted to sleep, Lu Ke and the others had arrived at Night Color. It was exactly 7:00 PM. To save time, they hadn’t even cleaned up the BBQ, but they weren’t worried; the helpers would handle it later.
Night Color was packed just like the previous month. Fortunately, the seat Chi Shaochen had reserved hadn’t been canceled, so the four of them sat down.
Because they knew Xiahou Qian was leaving, Lu Ke had already arranged for Wang Wei to find a replacementāalso a handsome guy. However, the regulars quickly noticed the person on stage wasn’t the one they knew. Many called over waiters to ask. Upon hearing he had resigned, faces filled with disappointment. Some even asked where he went, looking as if they would chase him to another bar.
The waiters didn’t know much, so they couldn’t give many answers. However, a few higher-status patrons who knew Wang Wei personally approached him directly. Wang Wei, having prepared for this, told them that Xiahou Qian had signed with an entertainment company and would debut soon. He encouraged them to support him when the time came.
As a result, while the new handsome guy sang on stage, the audience wasn’t buying it. They gathered in groups to discuss their “Male God Qianchen.” Learning he would debut soon, they vowed to keep their eyes peeled for every newcomer in the industry.
“Honestly, with the Male God’s charm and singing level, even a blind person would find him, right?” a girl at the table next to Lu Ke said.
“You’re right, Juan-zi! Thatās the most sensible thing youāve said all day!” her friend replied.
“Haha, I can’t wait to see my Male God crush everyone in the entertainment industry! With his looks, body, voice, and aura, those ‘little fresh meats’ won’t even be dust compared to him. When his album comes out, I’m buying at least two copiesāone to listen to and one for the collection!” another girl chimed in.
“Since I heard the Male God sing, I can’t stand anyone else. Itās so frustrating,” the last girl sighed.
“Iām buying thirty or forty copies! I’ll give one to every student and teacher in my class who hasn’t bought one! Once they hear his voice, theyāll start throwing money at him themselves!” the girl who earlier mentioned giving out copies said.
“Iām buying three!” the first girl said decisively.
“Doesn’t your family have a tight budget? I thought you worked for your own living expenses,” the girl who talked about crushing everyone asked.
“I’ll start working an extra night shift tomorrow. Since the Male God isn’t here anymore, I won’t be coming to the bar anyway,” the girl replied. Talk about a die-hard fan.
“Well, I won’t be coming back either. It’s boring without him,” the wealthy girl added.
“Me too. I need to save money for the album!”
…
Lu Ke gave the others a “See?” look. They were speechless. He hasn’t even debuted and he already has fans buying dozens of copies and working extra jobs to support him?
“Business is going to drop for a while,” Lu Ke sighed. “At least these women and gay patrons won’t be back, and even the straight men whoāve heard him will come much less often.” Recently, the age demographic of the bar had lowered significantly. Every time he came, he saw a crowd of handsome men and beautiful women, but they were all there for Xiahou Qian. Truly a case of “Success is due to Xiao He, and failure is due to Xiao He.”
“Man, now I really want to hear him sing,” Jiang Mu said.
“The company starts operating tomorrow. There should be works soon. Concerts will be even better than a bar. I heard he wrote all those songs himself,” Lu Ke added.
“Fine.” If today hadn’t gone so poorly, he might have asked Xiahou Qian for a private performance. Now, heād just have to wait.
Lu Ke was relieved that at least no one had trashed the place. The four didn’t stay long before leaving.
“Sigh~” Watching the boss leave, Wang Wei sighed. He was depressed tooābeing forced to stay here when he couldn’t hear Xiahou Qian sing was just cruel. He understood the fans completely; they were all captives of Xiahou Qian’s voice!
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