Chapter 17: Entertainment Circle Reality Show 17
This chapter was translated by Daed and proofread by phoodz and Funz to be hosted on Foxaholic.com.
Tang Bingyu who had been brought here to the bar entrance was also completely bewildered. She would never have guessed that Zhou Zekai would bring her to this kind of place. 《Swapped Lives》’s participants had been requested to be the type that were rebellious at home; Tang Bingyu may be a proud little princess, but the bar wouldn’t let her in at her age. So she truly had never come to a bar before!
Therefore, it couldn’t be helped that she felt afraid. She tugged on Zhou Zekai’s hand.
“Ah Kai, are we really going in?”
There were already people entering beside them. Furthermore, before they entered, they glanced at Tang Bingyu. After all, the girl in the red dress was honestly gorgeous. She drew their attention, they couldn’t bear to take their eyes off of her.
If he could, Zhou Zekai didn’t want to come to the bar either. However, it was very obvious that to pass the rest of the days comfortably, he could only choose this blues bar. The reason why he chose this place was very simple–because this place could be considered as the bar with the best security guards in Shangjing City!
Most importantly, today was the bar talent competition that was held once every three months. As long as the contestant obtained the cheering of everyone in the bar, then the boss of the bar will reward the individual(s) in question with fifty thousand yuan! For fifty thousand yuan, Zhou Zekai threw away his integrity.
“Yeah we’re going in, why wouldn’t we? We’re going in to earn money.” Zhou Zekai held Tang Bingyu’s hand as he walked in. Suddenly he thought that there might be more people than usual today, so he wrapped an arm around Tang Bingyu’s waist and pulled her into his embrace. He shielded her with his body1 as they entered the bar.
Now the television crew truly regretted it! Why did they have to give them this kind of idea, why did they let Zhou Zekai and Tang Bingyu work hard to earn money themselves? Could the program still be broadcast after this……
Thus the television crew first arranged for cameras to follow them and the playwright-director hastily inquired those at the general headquarters. Once he confirmed that they could film, he entered the bar helplessly.
Originally they had expected that a place like a bar would have packed crowds and explosive music. In the end, the cameramen who followed Zhou Zekai into this blues bar discovered that this bar was truly different from the rest. Right now there was soothing music playing in the bar, giving people the feeling of languidness. And those bar customers were all sitting in their exclusive seats, savoring the refined wine that the bartender sent over.
To be honest, this place didn’t look like a bar at all. It would be more believable if you said that it was a teahouse.
Needless to say, they couldn’t use bulky cameras in a place like the bar. Luckily the television crew had spent money to buy hidden cameras, so the cameramen followed behind them to protect Tang Bingyu and Zhou Zekai to protect them and to film better.
It actually wasn’t Zhou Zekai’s first time here. This body (Original ZZ) had snuck over to play here before. He also liked to sing and dance. Thus, Zhou Zekai naturally knew that the bar owner organized this kind of event. So, this time, he had to win that reward money.
The languid music finally came to a halt. Someone stood on that stage singing their original song, the others listened quietly. This kind of atmosphere was truly unlike a bar.
“You and the cameramen sit here first. I’ll go over there for a moment. Stay here until I come back.”
He reassured Tang Bingyu while she surveyed this area in wonder and curiosity. Faced with this sight, Zhou Zekai only thought that she was super adorable. She was dressed up in such a mature and charming way, yet those eyes of her were enough to make many men’s hearts skip a beat.
“En en.” Tang Bingyu nodded. With the cameras around, she wasn’t afraid at all. On the contrary, she felt that this bar was completely different than what she had expected. Weren’t there wild crowds of people dancing in a frenzy in those television dramas? But what about now? Everyone was listening to music quietly, it was really extraordinary……
After he left Tang Bingyu, Zhou Zekai went to find the bartender to sign up. There weren’t a lot of people who joined this event. Usually there would be artists who wanted to debut or people with very strong confidence in their singing or dancing abilities. Zhou Zekai had initially planned to dance, but then he changed his mind. Instead, he chose to sing……
He borrowed a guitar from the bartender. While waiting for the person performing to come down from the stage, Zhou Zekai held the guitar and stood on the stage.
Today’s Blues Bar was completely different than usual. In the past, the people who liked to dance would come at night. The first half was the singing contest. Although there was also a dancing contest afterwards, Zhou Zekai mused over it and gave up. After all, the night scene was wilder. If something were to happen, then that wouldn’t be very good.
Meanwhile, Tang Bingyu sat there. She had been drinking the icy-blue cocktail that Zhou Zekai had ordered for her when she saw him take a seat on the stage with a guitar in hand.
A stage light shone down upon Zhou Zekai’s figure, making him seem inexplicably more charming. That mature and sharp features caused Tang Bingyu to think that this was what the adult Zhou Zekai would look like in the future……
His fair, clean fingers lightly plucked at the strings. After the intro, his languid and gentle voice resounded in the venue.
“I heard that Snow White is on the run~That Little Red Riding Hood is worried about the Big Bad Wolf~ I heard that the Mad Hatter likes Alice (in Wonderland)~That the Ugly Duckling will become a swan……”2
From the moment Zhou Zekai opened his mouth, everyone was drawn in by the boy on the stage. His languid voice carried warmth as he slowly sang the lyrics full of fairy tales. This was also the first original song that they have all heard in a long time (in tonight’s contest).
Tang Bingyu also stared at Zhou Zekai in a daze. She suddenly felt that what the other party released was a celebrity's aura. Tang Bingyu, who had always wanted to be a celebrity since young, was very aware that celebrities would have a unique aura compared to ordinary people.
“There’s an iridescent river that winds through Fairy Town. It's tainted by the wildest of magic, yet it twists and turns in love.”
Amidst this languid atmosphere, this song was very appropriate. Just like this, Zhou Zekai sang this song softly in tune with the clean accompaniment of the guitar. He didn’t add any melodic embellishment to his performance. He shot Tang Bingyu a radiant smile and winked at her.
The voting system here was to give the singer a “like” on the touchscreen on the table. The singer with the highest votes would win the reward money. Towards this reward money, Zhou Zekai was determined to win.
The bartender was also keeping an eye on the votes for this song. When he glanced at the screen, the results were terrific. It was higher by at least half of the previous singers’ votes. As he glanced up again at the person singing onstage, he had a feeling that this kid would be the winner of tonight’s contest.
As for the bar owner of this Blues Bar, he was already aware of the presence of the two kids and the television crew the moment they walked in. However, he didn’t stop them since this was the early hours of the business, not the night hours. There wasn’t anything that wasn’t appropriate for public view. Besides, if this footage really could be aired in the program, then it would conveniently promote their bar.
- In the raw, it was “用最佳的保护方式” which means that he “used the optimal protective method” to take her into the bar. But he basically shielded her in
- These are lyrics from a song called “Fairytale Town” (童話鎮) by Chen Yifa. A version of the English translated lyrics which gives the general gist here.