ECG -Chapter 63 Fourth Sister Treats You Guys for Free

Ferry Crossing Bar

After Lin Hao finished singing four songs, the band took the stage. But not a single one of them spoke to him. In fact, they didn’t even spare him a glance.

Walking over to Wu Xiaozhou, he said, “Come on, let’s head back.”

Wu Xiaozhou wasn’t happy about it.

“Damn, why does every one of them act so full of themselves?”

Lin Hao tugged him toward the exit. Standing outside the bar, the two lit cigarettes.

“I don’t get it either,” Lin Hao said. “Ever since they arrived, they’ve all had cold expressions on their faces. It’s like none of them can stand me.”

“Maybe they think you were with the previous band?” Wu Xiaozhou guessed.

Lin Hao thought about it for a moment and shook his head.

That didn’t seem likely. In most nightlife venues, bands and solo guitar singers belonged to completely different circles and rarely interacted. Once his time slot was over, he left. Some solo performers would even rush off to another venue afterward.

“There are three female singers,” Wu Xiaozhou said with a grin. “Two of them are pretty hot.”

Lin Hao rolled his eyes.

“Has Bai Zhitao contacted you lately?”

“Come on!” Wu Xiaozhou curled his lip. “We’re all lovey-dovey. You think not calling means we’re not in touch? We chat on QQ every night!”

“So that’s why you never sleep in the middle of the night.”

“Oh, right!” Wu Xiaozhou suddenly asked. “Did Han Ying call you after winning the award?”

He had almost forgotten about it. It was only after seeing the female singers inside the bar that the matter came back to him.

“She did,” Lin Hao replied. “Called me the next evening.”

“Did she cry?”

Lin Hao burst out laughing.

“Why would she cry? She probably cried on the day she won. By the time she called me, the excitement had already worn off.”

“Did she mention paying you back?”

Lin Hao nodded.

“She did. But that prize money isn’t enough to accomplish much. She doesn’t have much money right now either. She said that once she starts earning, she’ll pay me back immediately. She also thanked me a lot.”

Wu Xiaozhou nodded.

“Not bad. At least she has a conscience.”

Lin Hao nodded as well.

But deep down, he knew it had little to do with conscience.

It simply meant Han Ying was smart.

For the next few years, if she wanted to become famous, she would need him. Unless one day she found a songwriter whose style suited her perfectly—but even then, she would still have to pay for the songs.

“Haozi, how good is this band anyway?” Wu Xiaozhou interrupted his thoughts.

Lin Hao froze.

He had been leaving immediately after finishing his set these past few days and had never actually listened to them perform.

So he shook his head.

“Haven’t heard them.”

“Come on, let’s go back in and watch,” Wu Xiaozhou suggested. “Nothing to do if we go home anyway.”

Lin Hao thought about it and agreed.

Why not listen for a bit?

According to some of the waiters, this band ranked among the top ten in the provincial capital. He was curious to see what level they were really at.

The two turned around and headed back inside.

As soon as they entered, they saw Fourth Sister.

Today, she was dressed in a cool and sexy outfit: a thin black top on her upper body and an extremely short denim skirt hugging her curves below. Her legs were straight and snow-white, and on her feet were transparent plastic high-heeled sandals that showed off her delicate toes.

She still smoked More cigarettes, as always. The slender brown cigarette rested between her long fingers.

Fourth Sister was momentarily surprised when she saw Lin Hao.

She hadn’t expected him to still be here.

“Fourth Sister,” Lin Hao greeted.

With a grin, Wu Xiaozhou said, “Fourth Sister, you look beautiful no matter when we see you!”

She laughed brightly.

“You little rascal sure know how to talk! Go on, have whatever you want to drink. Fourth Sister is treating you guys tonight!”

Wu Xiaozhou immediately gave her a thumbs-up.

“Fourth Sister, now that’s generous!”

That made her laugh even harder.

As the two walked deeper into the bar, Lin Hao felt puzzled.

Had something good happened to Fourth Sister?

She usually wasn’t this cheerful.

Could it be that she had taken a liking to this goofy fool?

Thinking of this, Lin Hao turned and glanced at Wu Xiaozhou.

Wu Xiaozhou touched his face. “What are you looking at?”

The band was playing loudly. Once you walked a few steps deeper into the bar, you practically had to shout to be heard. Lin Hao could tell from his lip movements what he had said. He chuckled and ignored him.

The two of them found an empty table diagonally across from the stage and had just sat down when a waiter hurried over.

The waiter looked at them awkwardly. The place was packed tonight. If these two occupied a table without ordering anything, the floor manager would definitely scold him later.

Lin Hao beckoned him over, cupped a hand beside his mouth, and shouted into his ear, “Four Qingdao beers!”

Then he stuffed a hundred-yuan bill into the waiter’s hand.

The young waiter hesitated, unsure whether he should accept the money.

Lin Hao nudged him with the hand holding the bill.

“Go on!”

The waiter took the money and trotted away happily.

Although Fourth Sister had said what she did earlier, Lin Hao had no intention of taking advantage of her generosity.

Nor did he want to make things difficult for the waiter. If the bar had been quiet, it would have been fine to sit around for a while and drink a complimentary pot of tea.

But tonight the place was nearly full. If he and Wu Xiaozhou sat there drinking free tea without spending a cent, it would have been a little shameless.

On stage—

The guitarist was singing.

The melody of the song was quite good, but Lin Hao had never heard it before. It was probably one of their original compositions.

He nodded inwardly.

The guy’s voice wasn’t bad. It had strong tension and expression. However, when he reached the climax, his vocal consistency fell apart. His voice became thin and shrill, dragging what should have been an eighty-point song down to about forty.

When the song ended, many customers applauded and cheered.

The guitarist bowed and offered a few words of thanks.

Lin Hao had been watching him the entire time. At that moment, he clearly caught a glance from the guitarist.

He found it a little strange and couldn’t understand why the guy was looking at him that way.

The guitarist flicked his long hair back and spoke into the microphone again.

“Next, I’d like to dedicate a song to all our friends here—Blue Lotus!”

As soon as he announced the title, several customers began whispering among themselves, while many more whistled in excitement.

Leaning against the bar, Fourth Sister froze for a moment when she heard the song title.

Blue Lotus was Lin Hao’s original work, and he had just performed it earlier that night.

What was Zhao Xiaoyi trying to do?

Just then, a group of people entered through the bar’s front door.

The man leading them looked to be around forty years old, with slicked-back hair shining under the lights.

“Brother!”

Fourth Sister immediately walked over to greet him.

He Qing smiled.

“Business is pretty good tonight.”

Behind him, a short middle-aged man with cropped hair said to Fourth Sister,

“Little sister, you’ve made a fortune. Aren’t you going to get Brother Ma a carton of Huazi cigarettes?”

Fourth Sister laughed brightly.

“Brother Ma, if you take a stroll through the seafood wholesale market, you could probably collect a whole sack of Huazi cigarettes. Are you really missing this one carton from your little sister?”

The man burst out laughing.

“Old He, your sister gets stingier every year!”

He Qing laughed as well.

“Come on, let’s go listen to some music.”

The intro to Blue Lotus began.

After being rearranged for a full electric band, the song’s introduction sounded much richer and fuller than before. It was genuinely impressive.

“Nothing can stop…”

“Your yearning for freedom…”

The guitarist’s voice carried a trace of laziness, giving the song a completely different flavor.

Lin Hao sighed inwardly.

By now, he understood the meaning behind that earlier glance.

It was a challenge.

He turned toward Wu Xiaozhou.

The guy had already wrapped his hand around a beer bottle.

Lin Hao quickly pressed his hand down and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

He told him that Fourth Sister and her brother were not ordinary people in the provincial capital. Even if they wanted to embarrass the band, there was no need to throw a beer bottle.

Still fuming, Wu Xiaozhou asked what other method he had in mind.

Lin Hao replied, “Just listen to me and do exactly what I say.”

After finally calming down this hot-headed fool, Lin Hao looked up and saw Fourth Sister walking toward them.

Smiling, he waved her over.

Her slender waist swayed gently as she sat beside him.

Lin Hao leaned close to her ear. Just as he was about to speak, a captivating fragrance drifted into his nose.