Chapter 422 - 268: "Long Aotian

Chapter 422: Chapter 268: "Long Aotian

Bai Weiwei refused to sing "Secret That Cannot Be Told."

To her, a request like Lin Chu’s felt far too intimate—a sort of verbal, emotional flirtation.

Growing up in her dad’s guesthouse, she had seen too many guests and heard too many stories.

—Most people who came to Dali were either nursing a broken heart or looking for a fling.

Who could blame them, when that’s how all the artsy books and films portrayed it?

In the ears of the locals, a nickname like "The Capital of One-Night Stands" was actually quite repulsive. Your cheating, your philandering, your broken pieces—what did any of that have to do with the city?

It was a stain on this beautiful scenery.

At this moment, her mood was even a little... punk.

After a moment’s thought, seeing that most of the audience were middle-aged and that no one besides Lin Chu was requesting songs, Bai Weiwei decided to liven things up. She cued the backing track.

’Time to up the difficulty!’

"Hard-to-Recite Scripture."

When her magnetic, slightly world-weary voice flowed from the microphone, the soaring accompaniment and rapid-fire singing instantly captured the entire room’s attention.

Lin Chu smiled, a hint of quiet amazement blooming within him.

’Damn, she’s actually got some real skill.’

This song was known as the Level 8 Cantonese proficiency test. Even he, at the peak of his lung capacity, would struggle to finish it with clear enunciation. Yet she sang it with exceptional precision.

’What kind of monster is she?’

’As expected of a professionally trained singer.’

Lighting a cigarette, Lin Chu listened at his leisure. A voice this beautiful was truly a pleasure to hear.

After "Hard-to-Recite Scripture" ended, the room erupted in applause.

Her technique and emotion were both on point, no less than the original soundtrack from the TV show. Even the non-professionals in the audience could tell how difficult it was.

This young lady was genuinely impressive.

Seeing the audience’s reaction, a hint of smug satisfaction touched the corners of Bai Weiwei’s lips. She gave everyone a moment to breathe, and after a minute’s rest, she completely switched styles and continued to show off her skills.

"Small Town Story."

A sweet song by Deng Lijun, melodic and gentle.

Another perfect performance.

A few white-haired old men couldn’t help but pull out their phones to record.

Lin Chu was speechless.

’Damn.’

’Why didn’t she go on The Voice of China!’

For her third song, she sang rock: Cui Jian’s "Fake Monk."

After three songs, Lin Chu suddenly realized that many of the men in the room had been thoroughly conquered. A few had even changed seats to be closer to her, and the air was filled with their unending applause and cheers.

’Ptooey!’

’A bunch of bootlickers.’

As he mocked them, torn between laughter and exasperation, Lin Chu felt a sudden urge to "interact" with her.

But he wouldn’t stoop to the "bootlicker" behavior of those other guests.

This kind of aloofness and pride was an inseparable part of his character.

At this very moment, Lin Chu was suddenly reminded of several past incidents.

Like deliberately leaving his watch in Hou Chengjin’s bathroom the first time they had dinner... 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Or the displeasure he felt at the first dinner with a group of professors when his Peking University MBA program started...

Or high-key announcing he was a young, ten-billion-dollar tycoon at Jackie Chan’s party...

Or all the times he’d made it rain in live-streaming rooms...

*Hiss...*

Deep down, he really did have a bit of a "Long Aotian" complex.

The subconscious motive behind all these actions screamed one thing—’Fuck, look how awesome I am. Why aren’t you all kneeling and licking my boots? You have to think I’m awesome! How could I not be awesome?’

Letting out a long plume of smoke, Lin Chu thought about all this and couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle again.

’It’s... a little stupid.’

’But it’s also fucking adorable.’

Better to be flamboyant than to stand around like a nobody. It was all about getting people to look at him.

"Great song!"

"Hey, waiter! I’m covering everyone’s tab tonight."

"Singer, sing ’Secret That Cannot Be Told’!"

As the third song ended and the applause died down, Lin Chu stood up, dog in his arms, and waved his hand, his voice laced with a flamboyant tone.

Hearing this, the entire little bar fell silent for a moment.

Lin Chu had just requested this song, but the "singer" had refused to sing it. Now he was requesting it again, but this time with a reasonable offer—"I’m covering everyone’s tab."

This...

He certainly was a stubborn one.

But some people also suspected that there was some kind of history between this young man and the singer, that this was a sort of spat.

Eheh.

’Things are getting interesting.’

A few of the older guys had peculiar smiles on their faces.

Young people just love to show off. The moment things don’t go their way, they want to make a big scene.

And for what? To pick up a girl, of course.

Bai Weiwei’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly, a sense of helplessness welling up inside her.

This behavior wasn’t exactly humiliating—after all, this was a business, even if for her it was just a hobby to help her family, not to make money—but it was truly exasperating.

However, from a business perspective, she couldn’t really refuse.

In this "profession," refusing the first time could be seen as a small act of willfulness. Being willful again might cause the customer to "go crazy."

*Sigh...*

She let out a long breath.

"Alright. Thank you, sir."

"Here is ’Secret That Cannot Be Told,’ dedicated to you."

She said nonchalantly, and then, just as nonchalantly, began to sing.

Lin Chu sat unceremoniously on a table, listening to her sing the entire time.

But perhaps because she felt "forced," her performance of this song wasn’t nearly as stunning. It felt like she was just going through the motions.

When the song was over...

"That was way too half-hearted..."