Yang Feng started to feel torn and distraught. The money for the meal alone had come mostly out of his own pocket, nearly ten thousand yuan, which was no small sum.
Now he had to fork out this much again, and looking at his classmates around him, Yang Feng felt a shiver run down his spine. Expecting them to cough up nine thousand for singing?
Forget it, they’d probably scatter with a whoosh, and then what’s the point of singing?
The waiter, seeing Yang Feng’s expression, couldn’t help but sneer. He had seen plenty of this type, blowing their money to put on airs, only to end up embarrassingly short.
"Sir, are you going to sing or not? If you’re not singing, we have plenty of people waiting for this luxury room."
The waiter couldn’t help but say coldly, his attitude a far cry from the respectful one he had earlier. Such was the harsh reality.
Yang Feng gritted his teeth, but with no money in his pockets, asking his father for more just wasn’t an option. Just as he braced himself to say they wouldn’t sing, Ye Ling walked over.
"We’ll take this private room. Here’s my card, go ahead and swipe it,"
Ye Ling said with a slight smile as he handed over a gold card. The waiter was momentarily stunned, then quickly nodded. He had seen a fair share of the world and knew that the overdraft limit on such a card was hefty, at least a million.
Seeing Ye Ling bail him out, Yang Feng felt awkward for a long time but then forced a smile, "You’re doing pretty well for yourself, aren’t you? Okay, I owe you one."
"Why even mention it? We’re all classmates here. It doesn’t matter who pays, as long as we’re happy,"
Ye Ling said with a small smile. The singing had already started on the other side. After the waiter swiped the card, he returned it respectfully to Ye Ling. Then came a table piled high with fruit plates, snacks, red wine, and beer.
A group of classmates, who hadn’t seen each other in a year, began another round of wild bombarding—and of course, drinking games.
"Ye Ling, how about you and I sing a song as thanks to you?"
Chen Lei nudged Ye Ling, who nodded, "Sure, but be warned, I’m known as the Donghai King of KTV. Competing with me in singing is plain suicide."
"Pah, you’re scaring me? Your croaking voice? Dream on,"
Chen Lei hastily waved his hand off and laughed heartily before standing up and picking the song "My Good Brother" by Little Shenyang and Gao Jin.
As much as Little Shenyang was known on the stage for playing feminine roles or for comic relief, his songs were quite good and fit well with people’s expectations.
Ye Ling took the microphone, coughed softly, tested it, and indeed, you get what you pay for—the quality and service were excellent, no echoes or distortions at all.
The music began to play softly, and all the classmates quieted down, watching the transitions on the LCD screen.
In your moments of glory
Let me sing you a song
My good brother
Tell me your sorrows
We’ll walk the road ahead together
Even if we have to cross rivers, we’ll do it side by side
A little hardship, a little tiredness
What does it really amount to?
When you need me
I’ll be there to get through with you
My good brother
Tell me what’s on your mind
Ups and downs are part of life
But we must live on with strength
Having cried, having laughed
At Least You Still Have Me
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The bond of friendship, ah, higher than the sky
Vaster than the earth
Those years, we will definitely remember
The bond of friendship, in this life of ours
The greatest rarity
Like a cup of liquor
Like an old song
The music slowly stopped, and within the private room, only Ye Ling’s voice remained. As for Chen Lei, he had already stopped singing, looking at Ye Ling in disbelief.
The high notes of Xiao Shenyang were not delivered by Ye Ling, but instead, a version that was more melancholic and profound resonated, touching people’s hearts even more.
Ye Ling’s voice was deep yet magnetic, and with his experiences, when he sang, it naturally carried a hint of vicissitude, adding more depth to the charm.
"Good! Sounds great! Ye Ling, you really are a dark horse! I think you could go on ’The Voice of China’!"
"The Voice of what? ’The Voice’ is better to listen to. I’m just that stubborn, just that stiff."
Ye Ling chuckled, setting down the mic in his hand while the other classmates also took the mics and queued up other songs.
Chen Lei quickly sat beside Ye Ling, "I was wondering how you managed to charm Lin Yuqing away. Turns out you’re the true low-key tycoon, skilled in everything. Heh, if I were a girl, I might have been charmed by you too."
"Beibei, help! Your husband is here making passes at me," Ye Ling quickly pretended to surrender, eliciting laughs from Li Beibei.
While the crowd sang and horsed around, Ye Ling stood up and went to the restroom. Having consumed so much beer, he really couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Just as Ye Ling left the private room, suddenly the door was kicked open, and a man wearing a black short-sleeved shirt entered, his face gloomy.
"Who are you? How rude of you to barge into our room like this!"
Yang Feng immediately stood up, considering himself the protector of the class. At such a critical moment, it was natural for him to step forward for justice. Maybe it would impress some of the girls, and he wouldn’t have wasted his evening.
Thump, without uttering a word, the man in black lifted his leg and kicked Yang Feng away, sending him flying onto a sofa not far off.
"Damn! What are you doing! Brothers, this jerk dared to hit Brother Feng, get him, beat this son of a bitch to death!"
A guy who had always been curry favoring Yang Feng suddenly howled, grabbing a heavy glass ashtray from the coffee table and hurling it at the man in black.
The others, too, were filled with righteous anger. Damn, at today’s class reunion, they wouldn’t let this guy mess things up!
Suddenly, the more than twenty guys in the room were ready for action. Yang Feng struggled to his feet, sneered coldly, "Who the hell are you! You should have asked about me before causing trouble here!"
Before he could finish, the man in black coldly pulled out a dark metal object from his chest and aimed it straight at everyone in the room.
"Ask your mama. If anyone else says another word, I’ll slaughter them!"
Instantly, everyone panicked, with some of the more timid individuals going weak at the knees, their faces pale with terror, nearly falling to the ground.
The girls also didn’t dare to breathe loudly, fearing that the metal object would strike and cause serious harm or even death.
"Hurry up and scram! Clean out this private room within a minute, or you’ll all be sorry!" the man in black sneered, leaning against the doorframe, watching the bewildered and stunned bunch. These kids, who had not seen much of the world or bloodshed, couldn’t stir up any trouble.
"But, we have paid for this room!" Yang Feng said stubbornly, but before he could finish, the man in black raised the object in his hand, and Yang Feng wisely shut his mouth.
What else could they do? They had to leave. Life mattered more than anything, even more than dignity.
Ye Ling came out of the bathroom and saw his classmates leaving the private room one by one, faces filled with shock or fear, looking frustrated.