Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qin Ze came out of the shower half-naked. He was wearing a pair of baggy pants that made him seem fit and skinny. Without much body fat, abs had formed. His half a month of working out had reduced his meager amount of fat to almost nothing.
Qin Baobao admired her brother’s body excitedly and then spoke with defiance, “So what if you have some muscles? Who are you showing off to?”
Her eyes lingered, looking at it again and again.
Just as guys would camp outside the cafeteria and judge girls by their legs and waist, girls also admired male bodies.
Qin Ze held his breath to make his abs more prominent. “I’m showing off to you; do you still remember our promise?”
Qin Baobao pretended to be confused. “What promise? We made a promise?”
“D*mn it, I knew you would go back on your word.” Qin Ze rolled his eyes as he wiped his hair and walked towards his room.
“Baobao, what promise?” Wang Zijin asked with a smile.
Qin Baobao pouted. She then spoke in a hushed tone, “I had a bet with him that I’ll do the cooking for a month if he manages to get abs. However, I can worm my way out of it, and there’s nothing he can do about it.”
“The two of you are so interesting.” Wang Zijin laughed out loud before commenting enviously, “Does a good body run in your family? Both of you are in such good shape.”
“You’re great, too.” Qin Baobao chewed on a dough fritter.
“I get fat easily. If I don’t train, I can gain five pounds a month. I’m so jealous of people who can eat and not get fat.”
By the time the three of them finished their food, it was 8:30. Qin Ze saw that his sister was still in her pajamas and slippers and appeared to be very at ease. He then asked, “It’s the weekend today?”
“No, it’s Friday,” she replied.
“Then, aren’t you going to work? Look at what time it is.” Qin Ze reminded her and rushed her to go prepare for work. He was like her brother and father. If he did not watch her, she would sleep till noon.
“No rush.” Qin Baobao waved dismissively. “Now that we’re done eating, let’s discuss something.”
It was rare for his sister to be so solemn.
“What?” Qin Ze asked.
Qin Baobao handed her phone over, and there was a notification on it. ‘I am a Singer’ season two airs on July 13, 2017.
“So?”
“You’re so slow. You deserve to be ordinary your whole life.” His sister rolled her eyes at him. “I told you that I’m taking part in season two of the show, right? The people in the show are all small-time singers, but they are a big deal to me. I’m a newbie; how can I compete with known singers?”
Qin Ze chopped his sister on her head with his hand. He grumbled impatiently. “Urgh, just spit it out. So wishy-washy.”
In a strange occurrence, Qin Baobao did not fight back. “I’m being promoted based on writing my own songs. I promised the company that I would write my own songs so they’re putting their resources into me. Since I’m writing my own songs, inspiration’s important. Tardiness is what’s not important.”
“You’re really asking for it.” Qin Ze covered his face. “Sigh, Qin Baobao where did you get your confidence from? You’re making really big promises.”
Qin Baobao beamed. “I still have you, don’t I? Besides, I don’t have to write all of it. No matter how talented a singer, they cannot mass produce songs. The company is going to make its decision after I take part in the competition. If I gain lots of popularity, they would assign a songwriter to me; and we’ll publicize them as my works.”
“Then, take your time writing.” Qin Ze shrugged as he stood up and headed for his room.
Qin Baobao grabbed him. “You have to produce that song now.”
Wang Zijin cut in. “Invisible wings? En, that song sounds really good.”
Qin Baobao shook her head. “Not that one. He still has another half-completed song. It’s really good.”
Wang Zijin’s eyes immediately lit up.
Qin Ze wanted to reject it since he didn’t exchange for that song. The system has a rule that test tracks cannot be publicized in any form. Moreover, a song cost about 30 points.
Ding! “Main mission, standing out: help Qin Baobao finish ‘Legend’. Seventy points will be rewarded for success, and the same amount of points will be deducted for failure.”
“That’s so little.”
Qin Ze mumbled, concealing his surprise at the sudden mission. The system said that the appearance of a mission was determined by the host’s inner desire. This mission probably came from his desire to look good before the beautiful lady.
The beautiful lady was clearly referring to Wang Zijin and not Qin Baobao.
Qin Ze had no interest in impressing Qin Baobao, who he had known since young.
“Grab pen and paper.” Qin Ze put on airs and started bossing his sister around.
Qin Baobao ran to her room to get pen and paper.
Qin Ze wrote the lyrics down on the paper, drawing a staff and adding notes to it on the spot. Qin Baobao and Wang Zijin were stunned.
“Just because I took another look at you in the crowd, I’ve been unable to forget your face…” Qin Baobao sang based on the score, stumbling a little. After half a month at Star Talent, she had received professional training and practice. She could read some music scores now.
“I’ll sing it once for you.” Qin Ze motioned for his sister to keep quiet. He coughed when he saw the light in the two ladies’ eyes. He sat down, and mustered his breath before he started singing:
“Just because I took another look at you in the crowd…
“I’ve been unable to forget your face.
“Dreaming of bumping into you again someday,
“I began missing you alone from then…
“You’re by the skies when I’m thinking of you…
“You’re before my eyes when I’m thinking of you…
“You’re in my mind when I’m thinking of you…
“You’re in my head when I’m thinking of you…”
His clear but deep voice resonated in the air, giving one a sense of love and blues. Qin Ze was rather good at singing, and his voice was good with great breathing techniques, making him suitable for singing. Qin Baobao was not entirely clueless so she could catch a few minor mistakes he made when she compared it to the score. Nevertheless, she was still surprised, not by her brother’s voice but by the song. It sounded really good.
Wang Zijin clapped.
Qin Baobao’s smile widened. She instinctively wanted to kiss her brother, but considering that there were outsiders around, she changed it to a pat. “I’ve not doted on you for nothing,” she praised him.
“Ding, mission complete. Seventy points awarded.”
Qin Baobao was excited to have her new song. She took the new song to work with her excitedly, saying that she wanted her company’s professional band to record the accompaniment for it.
There was only Wang Zijin and Qin Ze left in the house.
Qin Ze was focused on his stocks, embracing his childhood of taking his father’s place. Wang Zijin was seated at the other end of the sofa, watching a drama with her earphones on. When Qin Ze looked away from the screen and reached for his teacup, he saw Wang Zijin seated next to him, her eyes fixated on his screen. He had no idea how long she had been there.
“The stock market’s been pretty lively recently,” Wang Zijin spoke first.
“That’s because our government’s been promoting it. After fourteen years of boom, it was stagnant for about three years. At the beginning of the year, the tables turned. In half a year, the numbers grew by fifty percent. If one watched the news, they would notice that the industry commended will see a rise in their stocks. Even a dummy knows that there’s an invisible hand controlling things behind the scenes,” Qin Ze said with a smile, “That’s what my dad said. I’m just repeating after him. Don’t laugh at me if I get it wrong.”
Wang Zijin curled her lips. “You intend to make a quick buck?”
“I have the intention, but I lack the capital.” Qin Ze smiled. “Miss Wang, how about you invest?”
“What miss? I’m poor like a church mouse. I’m even here to rely on the two of you,” she said pitifully.
Qin Ze smiled.
“Baobao’s always complaining about not having money. Is she trying to chase me out in a roundabout way?” Wang Zijin asked.
“If Qin Baobao didn’t want you to move in, she has a hundred different ways to get the idea out of your head before you came to Shanghai. We really are poor. Don’t you know her? She spends as much as she earns. Things were better when she had a stable job. However, she gave up her promising future, insisting on becoming an artist. She’s only paid three thousand a month; it’s sad.”
“Therefore, to go from rags to riches, you have to help your sister.”
Qin Ze paused before he came to a realization. “Sister Zijin, after so long, it was all a trap. You’re just trying to get me to support her.”
“Yep.” Wang Zijin was unabashed about being exposed. “See, you can write songs. Baobao looks good, and she can sing. You’re the dream team. Why are you so opposed to her being in entertainment?” she continued.
“I’m not opposed to it, but my family is. I’m just following suit. It’s called political correctness.” Qin Ze had plans on using his sister to get a head start, but he was scared of his father’s rage if he were to find out. He was stuck and undecided himself.
“Besides, the entertainment circle is so complicated. With all the unspoken rules and predators, it’s tough for a newbie to rise to fame unless they sleep their way to the top. Given Qin Baobao’s beauty, she’d be a goner in two years.
“Tch,” Wang Zijin interrupted Qin Ze in feigned anger. “Why are you talking about your sister in this way?”
At 7 PM, Qin Baobao called. “Qin Ze, don’t cook tonight. Let’s go sing karaoke.”
“Screw you.” Qin Ze grumbled. “You know I don’t like places like that.”
“I don’t either, but Chen Qinghong and Zhang Ya are dragging me there. She probably wants to introduce boyfriends to me again. I don’t want to go alone. Come accompany me and bring Zijin along.”