Prince charming, your persona has collapsed!

Liu Shuo wasn't much of a singer; he came just to join the fun. Sitting in the private room earlier felt boring, so he posted in the group chat, snapped a few photos of the KTV, and asked if anyone nearby wanted to hang out.

Unexpectedly, there were indeed a few familiar faces already singing at the KTV.

After all, a small county is only so big, and university students only return home for a few days.

It's not like everyone belonged to the Xu Huai Association, but there would always be four or five people studying in Jinling who, upon returning home and chatting with friends, would surely boast about how awesome Xu Huai Association was.

The usual tales of punching school bullies and kicking shady intermediaries were already clichéd.

But the real, practical achievements of Xu Huai Association? Those were undeniably impressive.

For instance, while part-time jobs in other cities for university students still paid only eleven or twelve yuan an hour, Xu Huai Association had raised the hourly wage to around twenty yuan.

Others smoked cheap cigarettes like Daqianmen.

But Xu Huai Association members smoked Li Chun.

In this society, most young people are still broke. After graduating high school, they scatter across the country and rarely return home for a few days to reunite, sing karaoke, and drink together.

But then they see a close buddy with sudden prosperity, and curiosity sparks: "Hey, where're you making all this money from?"

The buddy puffing on a Li Chun smirks: "What money? Just doing some part-time jobs outside."

The comparison hits, and others immediately feel indignant. "Damn it! Why should you earn twenty yuan an hour while we slave away for eleven?"

"Why don't we have an Xu Huai Association where we are?"

"Is Xu Huai Association really as awesome as you say?"

"Of course! Do you even know who our boss is? He's the author of the novel *I Really Don't Want to be Reborn*. You know him, right? A genius writer!"

"Him? I know of him!"

In one of the rooms, seven or eight guys gathered, boasting incessantly about their university life.

Not just them—other college students who had returned home were bound to bring up Xu Huai Association in conversation. Not only would male students idolize Zhou Yuwen, but even female students, upon hearing classmates talk about Zhou Yuwen, would find themselves intrigued, wondering about this guy devoted to helping poor college students, opening a food delivery company, and a labor services company.

It all sounded like something out of a legend!

The county's class beauties and school belles, living refined lives, often considered themselves too pretty for any local boy to match up. But after hearing everyone talk about Zhou Yuwen, they couldn't help but imagine him.

In their minds, wasn't Zhou Yuwen the kind of guy who could actually be worthy of them?

Liu Shuo wandered between different private rooms, greeting everyone. Not all these rooms were Xu Huai Association; often, there'd be only one or two Xu Huai Association connections in each group.

But after hearing about Xu Huai Association, even their friends would begin to look at Liu Shuo with newfound respect.

Although these people didn't study in Jinling, they thought that the more friends one had, the more opportunities arose—who knew when connections in Jinling might come in handy? So, they poured drinks and offered cigarettes accordingly.

To be fair, while plenty of students joined Xu Huai Association, the biggest sense of belonging was felt by vocational and junior college students. Others joining Xu Huai Association might just be in it for the decent part-time jobs.

For students with less cultural exposure, their worldview might be a bit narrower. They'd treat Liu Shuo like a big shot and take all the gossip about Zhou Yuwen as gospel.

As a result, they'd go out of their way to curry favor with Liu Shuo, calling him "Brother Shuo" at every turn.

Some even flattered him, lamenting that their city, Suzhou, didn't have Xu Huai Association.

"Brother, you guys should expand Xu Huai Association to Suzhou!"

"Yeah, exactly!"

The group of young men in the private room drank beer and exchanged banter with Liu Shuo.

Liu Shuo replied casually: "No problem! Next year, I'm planning to establish branches in Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou. You guys can all be Hall Masters!"

"Really?!"

Upon hearing this, the boys were ecstatic.

If their conversation were overheard, outsiders might find it immature, perhaps even laughably juvenile.

But the reality was, there were indeed people who existed like this—who'd get fired up and buzzing after a few words, raising bottles to show loyalty, calling out: "Brother, you're like my own brother now! I'll do whatever you need me to! Brother, can I join Xu Huai Association right now?!"

Some of the guys weren't even studying in Jinling.

But their fascination with Xu Huai Association was undeniable.

Liu Shuo grinned and said: "Why not? We're all brothers when we meet!"

"Come on! Let's drink together!"

"Cheers!"

In just an afternoon, Liu Shuo visited several private rooms and managed to recruit a few new members for Xu Huai Association.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuwen had no interest in such matters and simply stayed in the private room, singing with Su Qing and Lu Wanting.

Su Qin might be tone-deaf, but she could manage simpler songs. It was just that she felt a little shy; however, if Zhou Yuwen encouraged her, she'd hum a few lines.

Lu Wanting, though, was genuinely good at singing and absolutely adored the lively KTV atmosphere.

Zhou Yuwen had previously queued up Jay Chou's song *Rice Aroma*, and it sparked a conversation about Jay Chou. As the intro began playing, Lu Wanting excitedly tapped out the rhythm for Zhou Yuwen.

The upbeat intro of *Rice Aroma* evoked imagery of summer fields, childhood friends, and carefree adventures in the countryside.

Lu Wanting grabbed the microphone and danced along to the music.

She even motioned to Peng Xiaoyong to join her.

But Peng Xiaoyong was more reserved. Adjusting his glasses, he stayed seated.

Seeing how much Lu Wanting loved the song, Zhou Yuwen asked if she could sing it.

Lu Wanting nodded enthusiastically, saying she absolutely could.

"Why don't you start singing?"

"Me? Really?" Lu Wanting looked slightly flattered.

Zhou Yuwen smiled and nodded, saying of course she could.

And so, Lu Wanting started singing the first couple of lines, and Zhou Yuwen joined her, singing all the way to the line: "Cherish everything, even if you don't have it all."

Zhou Yuwen sang with skill, surprising the group when he started—a talent that made heads turn. Peng Xiaoyong and Su Qing might not notice, but a keen music lover like Lu Wanting immediately picked up on it.

"Not bad!"

Lu Wanting gave Zhou Yuwen a thumbs-up.

Zhou Yuwen simply smiled lightly in response.

Then the two of them continued singing:

"Do you remember when you said home is the only castle…"

A tricky line to sing—it would usually make people go off-key—but with Zhou Yuwen leading, Lu Wanting managed not to miss a single note, making her even more impressed with Zhou Yuwen, giving him repeated thumbs-up.

Zhou Yuwen just chuckled softly and finished the song with Lu Wanting.

"That was amazing!"

Before the music even stopped, Lu Wanting began clapping. She said, "Hey, did you ever take formal singing lessons? I think you sing so well!"

Zhou Yuwen replied matter-of-factly: "Sort of."

"Is it true that you write songs, as Su Qing said?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, what other songs can you sing? Let's sing another duet!" Lu Wanting blinked expectantly.

To be honest, for her, a girl far from home in a foreign land, life could get lonely. It was rare for her to find someone who shared a passion for music, and she felt naturally delighted.

Zhou Yuwen, on the other hand, remained mindful of maintaining boundaries. He said, "Uh, the songs I like might not be to your taste. Why don't you sing with my cousin?"

Zhou Yuwen offered the microphone to Peng Xiaoyong.

But Lu Wanting grabbed it before he could, pouting: "He's not good enough! You sing with me. What songs do you like? Hey, do you like Mayday?"

"They're alright."

"Then let's sing Mayday together!" Lu Wanting suggested.

Zhou Yuwen glanced at Peng Xiaoyong.

Peng Xiaoyong adjusted his glasses and said, "She wants to sing, so you should just sing with her."

Seeing Lu Wanting getting close to his cousin, Peng Xiaoyong was undoubtedly unhappy. He wasn't the most magnanimous person, but there wasn't much he could do.

After all, it was Lu Wanting herself who had decided to come to spend the Chinese New Year in her hometown to experience the holiday atmosphere.

But Peng Xiaoyong, as a man, felt a responsibility to make Lu Wanting happy.

Over the past few days since returning to his hometown, he could tell Lu Wanting wasn't particularly enjoying herself.

Not that she was upset.

But Peng Xiaoyong felt his hometown was too plain, unable to offer much in terms of excitement, which made him feel guilty.

Today, for once, Lu Wanting's face showed a cheerful smile.

So singing songs it was.

After all, Zhou Yuwen was still family.

Consequently, for the next few songs, Zhou Yuwen accompanied Lu Wanting—from *Staying Alive* to *Moonlight Sonata* to Sodagreen.

Lu Wanting grew increasingly thrilled, saying it seemed as though Zhou Yuwen knew every song she did.

Zhou Yuwen commented, "I listen to a wide variety of music."

"What's your favorite song?"

By now, Lu Wanting had seated herself beside Zhou Yuwen, smiling as she asked him the question.

Zhou Yuwen replied that he didn't have any particular favorite.

Seeing Lu Wanting's excitement, Peng Xiaoyong was naturally happy for her too.

But it was impossible to say he didn't feel slightly jealous.

Frankly, he didn't like KTVs. Being a traditional engineering-oriented guy, they just weren't his environment.

Just as he found himself at a loss for what to do, a call came through—it was regarding a job opportunity he had previously reached out for.

So Peng Xiaoyong left the room and found a quiet corner to take the call.

The caller was highly impressed by Peng Xiaoyong's credentials and offered him a position with a salary in the range of 8K-10K.

But Peng Xiaoyong wanted a base salary above 10K.

The caller explained, including bonuses and dividends, the overall package would exceed 10K.

Nevertheless, Peng Xiaoyong insisted his ideal was 10K as the starting base.

"Um, Mr. Peng, your resume is quite outstanding, but it's impossible for us to start with a high base salary. You'd face the same terms in any company in Jinling, to be honest."

The HR representative was polite and sincere.

Peng Xiaoyong was about to continue negotiating. But as he walked through a deep corridor, he suddenly noticed a few brash, yellow-haired girls cornering a tall high school student against the wall.

Initially, Peng Xiaoyong didn't plan to intervene. But then he realized—the cornered girl looked like his cousin?

Turning back, he caught the yellow-haired girl sneering at Liu Yilin, saying: "Why won't you just sing with us? It's not like we're asking you to sell yourself. Why act all high and mighty?"