ECG -Chapter 68 Knees Too Weak

The band’s opening number began.

Lin Hao’s eyes immediately lit up. When Zhuang Lanlan was behind the drums, she looked nothing like the doll-like girl she had seemed earlier. She was overflowing with energy and charisma, her movements dynamic and powerful. Her fundamentals were exceptionally solid—she was genuinely impressive.

The arrangement of the opening song was excellent as well. They were using the latest Coca-Cola commercial soundtrack, and it was full of excitement and momentum.

Lin Hao nudged Wu Xiaozhou.

“Stop staring at legs all the time. Pay attention to how this bassist is playing!”

Wu Xiaozhou shot him a look and pointed toward the stage.

“Where? Where the hell are there any legs to look at?”

After thinking about it, Lin Hao realized he had a point. The only woman on stage, Zhuang Lanlan, was completely hidden behind the drum set.

Fourth Sister leaned against the bar, quietly nodding to herself. This group already looked far more agreeable than Zhao Xiaoyi and his crew. As for their actual skill level, she couldn’t really judge it herself. She could only rely on the customers’ reactions. In that regard, she was still an outsider.

Her gaze drifted toward Lin Hao in the corner, and she remembered what had happened after he left the previous night.

The moment Lin Hao stood up and dragged Wu Xiaozhou out, she understood.

That little fox had tossed the problem into her lap. Whether to keep this band or not had become entirely her decision and had nothing to do with him.

To begin with, she had been hesitant. After all, this group hadn’t been around very long, but customer feedback had been fairly positive. Compared to that, their conflict with Lin Hao was hardly a big issue.

But that little fox had patted his butt and walked away, leaving her feeling somewhat irritated.

His meaning had been obvious:

You’re the boss. Keep them or fire them—your choice.

She couldn’t help grumbling inwardly.

You little brat. Fine, then I’ll keep them around just to annoy you every day!

As soon as the office door closed, she was about to speak with a cold expression when—

Thud!

Zhao Xiaoyi suddenly dropped to his knees.

Using his knees to shuffle forward at surprising speed, he wrapped his arms around one of Fourth Sister’s legs.

“Fourth Sister! Fourth Sister! I was wrong! Please, don’t fire us!”

He burst into loud sobs.

That single move completely ignited Fourth Sister’s anger.

What the hell kind of person is this?!

She raised her hand and slapped him.

Smack!

The blow left Zhao Xiaoyi dizzy and disoriented.

Then she struggled free of his grip and drove the heel of her high-heeled sandal straight into his chest.

“Get lost!”

she roared.

Thud!

Zhao Xiaoyi fell backward onto the floor.

His crying stopped instantly. One hand covered his face as he sat there, utterly confused about what he had done wrong.

Earlier, while Lin Hao had still been in the room, his knees had already felt weak, but he had been too embarrassed to kneel in front of an outsider.

Now only the three of them remained, and Fourth Sister had kept a cold face the entire time.

Zheng Laoliu’s warnings echoed in his ears.

Thinking about He Qing’s influence in the provincial capital, and recalling Lin Hao’s attitude just now, Zhao Xiaoyi became convinced that Fourth Sister and Lin Hao must be involved with each other.

Otherwise, what nightclub performer would dare speak to the boss that way?

If he failed to get through this crisis, then there might not be a single nightclub left in the provincial capital willing to hire them.

Then another thought crossed his mind.

Fourth Sister was a beautiful woman. If she could be involved with that pretty-boy Lin Hao, maybe she could also be moved by his sincerity.

And so, with a moment of weakness, he had dropped to his knees.

His sudden kneeling stunned Zheng Laoliu as well.

He had never expected Zhao Xiaoyi’s backbone to be this soft.

And kneeling was one thing—but actually grabbing Fourth Sister’s leg?

You dare touch her leg?

Did Zhao Xiaoyi not know what kind of presence this tigress was in the provincial capital?

He had spent five or six years working the nightclub circuit. There was no way he didn’t know.

Or had he become so obsessed that he was trying to take advantage of her even at a time like this?

Everything happened too quickly.

By the time Zheng Laoliu reacted, Zhao Xiaoyi had already been kicked to the floor.

He hurried over and tried to pull him up, but Zhao Xiaoyi seemed to have lost his mind. Crawling on the ground, he actually tried to reach for Fourth Sister’s leg again.

Seeing that he couldn’t stop him, Zheng Laoliu panicked.

Smack!

He slapped Zhao Xiaoyi across the face as well.

Zhao Xiaoyi was completely dumbfounded.

What the hell did I do wrong? I already got down on my knees! Why is everyone hitting me?

Just as that loud slap echoed through the room, the office door opened.

He Qing walked in with two men behind him.

“Oh?”

A smile hung on He Qing’s face.

“Rehearsing a comedy sketch in here? Those slaps are sounding pretty lively.”

The smile remained, but his words carried a chilling edge.

Zheng Laoliu shuddered from head to toe.

Everyone in the provincial capital knew one thing:

It wasn’t He Qing’s anger or cursing that was frightening.

It was when he smiled while hiding a knife behind it.

He quickly released Zhao Xiaoyi and stood up, forcing a smile onto his face.

“Brother Qing, it’s a misunderstanding… just a misunderstanding!”

He Qing didn’t even look at him. “Sis, what’s going on?”

Zheng Lao Liu looked at Fourth Sister anxiously, terrified she might say something unfavorable about him.

At that moment, he honestly felt like dumping Zhao Xiaoyi into the Songhua River. How had he never noticed before that this idiot’s brain was seriously defective?

Silently, he prayed that today’s incident wouldn’t drag him into the mess.

The two men behind He Qing casually sat down on the sofa. Zheng Lao Liu immediately recognized the shorter one.

His heart skipped a beat.

The man was Ma Daya from the seafood wholesale market. If he so much as coughed, the entire seafood industry in the provincial capital would catch a cold and be unable to work.

As if brushing dirt off herself, Fourth Sister patted her thigh and said impatiently, “Nothing serious. It’s a band matter. Brother, stay out of it.”

Zheng Lao Liu relaxed a little.

He Qing narrowed his eyes and looked at him.

“What’s your name again?”

“Zheng Ziqiang. I’m the sixth child in my family, so my friends all call me Zheng Lao Liu.”

He bowed and nodded repeatedly as he answered.

“Oh, right!”

He Qing slapped his forehead.

“Hou San introduced you.”

“Yes! Yes!” Zheng Lao Liu quickly replied. “Third Brother asked me to come over and help out.”

“Fine. Just don’t bully my little sister.”

Zheng Lao Liu forced a smile.

In Xuecheng, the capital of Long Province, who would dare bully her?

He Qing waved his hand and said to the two men on the sofa:

“Let’s go, Old Ma, Old Seven. Didn’t you hear my little sister? She doesn’t want me interfering in her business. Sigh… I’m getting old…”

Ma Daya stood up with a chuckle. The man called Old Seven, whose face was full of fierce-looking flesh, remained expressionless. The three of them walked out.

The huge stone in Zheng Lao Liu’s heart finally dropped.

He hurriedly wiped away his sweat.

It seemed Fourth Sister didn’t intend to make a big issue out of this today. Otherwise, his good days would be over.

Including the guy lying on the floor.

The Snow Kingdom Band had endured setback after setback over the past few years. They had only just managed to build some reputation. One wrong move and everything could be extinguished completely.

Just as he was about to speak, Fourth Sister looked at him.

“Old Liu, get this guy out of here. Then go settle everyone’s wages at the bar.”

“Have them finish the second set tonight. Once they’re done, they can pack up and get lost. By tomorrow afternoon, find me another band to audition.”

“Okay! Okay! Don’t worry, Fourth Sister. Consider it done!”

Zheng Lao Liu understood.

Zhao Xiaoyi’s kneeling stunt had made everything worse. Given the circumstances, this was already the best possible outcome.

The comforting part was that Fourth Sister still wanted him to recruit the next band. That meant he had passed this hurdle. As for Zhao Xiaoyi and the others, they should still be able to find work at other venues.

He yanked Zhao Xiaoyi up from the floor.

Zhao Xiaoyi opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.

Zheng Lao Liu immediately barked:

“Shut the hell up!”

Just like when he had arrived, Zhao Xiaoyi left with his head hanging low.

Watching the two men’s backs disappear, Fourth Sister felt a wave of disgust.

If Zhao Xiaoyi had waited just a few more seconds before kneeling, she might have let the band continue working for a while longer.

Who could have imagined that this spineless coward would do something so revolting?

Thinking of Lin Hao, she couldn’t help grinding her teeth.

That brat was practically a little fox.

He didn’t want to do a single thing that might offend anyone.

When it came to slapping people in the face, he had enjoyed himself thoroughly. But when it was time to throw them out, he left the dirty work to her.

…

After the opening number, a female singer stepped onto the stage.

Staring at her pair of long, straight legs, Wu Xiaozhou’s eyes lit up again.

In a low voice, he asked:

“Haozi, when are we going to put together a band and start gigging too?”

Lin Hao laughed.

“You want to make money, or you want to look at legs?”

Wu Xiaozhou immediately adopted a serious expression.

“I want to improve my professional skills.”

“Get lost!”