Free Web NovelChapter 652: Chapter 229 Xia Zhijin’s First Performance_3
Chu Yanyan introduced them, "Li Yuan, these two are my roommates, Zhang Xiulan and Sun Junjun."
Li Yuan greeted them with a smile, "Hello, Seniors!"
Under the slightly dim streetlight, Zhang Xiulan studied Li Yuan’s face. It seems so familiar, like I’ve seen him somewhere before, but I just can’t recall where...
However, just one look at Li Yuan’s height and appearance was enough for Zhang Xiulan to understand how he had managed to win over Xia Zhijin.
Clearly, this is a true tall, wealthy, and handsome guy. He’s incredibly generous too, casually giving his cousin a gift worth tens of thousands...
Zhang Xiulan smiled and greeted him, "Hello, Li Yuan. You really are tall and handsome. You and my cousin make a perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman."
Sun Junjun also gave him an intrigued look and joked, "Tee hee, Junior, we’re being pretty shameless tagging along to the KTV. You don’t mind, do you?"
Li Yuan shook his head and smiled. "I’d be delighted to have you both join us."
With that, he took Xia Zhijin’s hand and looked toward Chu Yanyan.
"Yanyan, let’s head over now. I’ve already booked the room."
...
The group of five, one man and four women, rode in Li Yuan’s BMW X6 to a wholesale-style karaoke club called Leishi KTV, located next to Tech University.
The venue’s atmosphere and quality were quite decent, and it was only about two kilometers from the university campus. In his previous life, Li Yuan had sung here a few times.
Since it was a Monday, the KTV wasn’t very crowded, and the sound of singing from the private rooms could be heard from far away.
Li Yuan had already booked a deluxe 988 package while they were waiting, which came complete with a fruit platter, beverages, snacks, and more.
After Zhang Xiulan and Sun Junjun had entered the private room, Zhang Xiulan couldn’t help but praise, "The sound system at Leishi KTV is excellent, and the atmosphere is great too. You’re quite good at picking places, Li Yuan."
Sun Junjun gazed at the dazzling array of fruits, snacks, and drinks, her heart stirring. Whenever we used to go to a KTV, we’d always have to carry a big bag to sneak in our own snacks and drinks. The things they sell inside are just ridiculously expensive, several times the price of what they cost outside.
At the entrance to the room, Chu Yanyan approached Li Yuan and said with some embarrassment, "Li Yuan, I said it was my treat. How could you pay so quickly?"
Li Yuan smiled faintly. "Yanyan, we’re all family. There’s no need to stand on ceremony."
Chu Yanyan’s cheeks flushed slightly. "Alright then, let’s go in and sing."
...
Inside the private room, as the only man present, Chu Yanyan and Zhang Xiulan both urged Li Yuan to be the first to choose a song.
Li Yuan, however, steadfastly refused, using the excuse of ’ladies first.’ Chu Yanyan didn’t insist and simply picked a few songs herself.
...
Li Yuan sat beside Xia Zhijin, held her hand, and asked, "Zhijin, what do you want to sing? I’ll help you pick."
Xia Zhijin’s body went rigid. This was the first time in her life she had ever been to a KTV to sing.
She glanced at Li Yuan and said shyly, "I only know a few old songs."
Li Yuan chuckled and gently patted her head. "No problem, I like old songs too. The classics are the best."
He pulled Xia Zhijin to her feet, smiling. "Come with me. Let’s go pick our songs together."
At the song selection kiosk, Li Yuan personally showed her how to use it.
"Zhijin, see? There’s a section for classic oldies, or you can just type in the song title. You can also search by the artist’s name, and here are the current popular hits..."
After Li Yuan’s hands-on tutorial, Xia Zhijin, with a slight tremble in her hand, found the classic oldies mode. Her heart began to pound as she scanned the list of songs, some familiar, others unknown.
Before her parents passed away, she had been a very cheerful little girl who loved to sing and dance. But their accidental death left her an orphan, forcing her to grow up all at once, and she became withdrawn...
Under Li Yuan’s watchful gaze, Xia Zhijin’s hand trembled as she selected three songs: "Tomorrow Will Be Better," "Fruit of Midsummer," and "At Least I Still Have You."
She spoke shyly, "Li Yuan, I’ve chosen."
Li Yuan looked at the songs she had picked. All three were classics from around the year 2000 that he also knew how to sing. The first one, "Tomorrow Will Be Better," was a staple for elementary school choir competitions.
He ruffled her hair and smiled. "Zhijin, I’m really looking forward to hearing you sing."
Xia Zhijin’s cheeks flushed pink. She looked at him nervously, her pearly teeth slightly parted. "I don’t sing well. You’d better not laugh at me."
Seeing her looking as tense as a soldier heading into battle, Li Yuan couldn’t suppress a laugh and gently pinched her cheek.
"Zhijin, I’m sure your singing is beautiful. Even if you just recited the lyrics, it would sound better than most people singing."
Xia Zhijin giggled, rolled her eyes at him, and asked sweetly, "Li Yuan, aren’t you going to pick a few songs?"
"Sure," Li Yuan said with a smile. "I’ll pick a few too."
The song selection at Leishi KTV was quite comprehensive. Li Yuan glanced at the current pop music charts. To me, these are all classic oldies.
He casually chose a few songs. Since his rebirth, his voice had improved significantly. Coupled with the vocal lessons he had taken with Jiang Zhiyu, he could now handle almost any type of song.
After they had selected their songs, Li Yuan wrapped his arm around Xia Zhijin and listened as the other three women—Chu Yanyan, Zhang Xiulan, and Sun Junjun—sang.
Perhaps because they were first cousins, Chu Yanyan’s voice was somewhat similar to Xia Zhijin’s, and she sang beautifully. Zhang Xiulan’s voice, on the other hand, was powerful and piercing. Combined with her lively personality, she was what Li Yuan would consider a KTV mic hog. As for Sun Junjun, she chose very obscure songs, and Li Yuan thought she was a little off-key.
As Li Yuan was listening to the girls sing, the two large characters for "Natural Beauty" suddenly appeared on the KTV’s main screen.
He instinctively widened his eyes, his expression turning strange. Wait, isn’t that the song I sang?
He saw that Zhang Xiulan had already picked up the microphone and was introducing it with a grin.
"Yanyan, Junjun, have you heard this song? It’s super popular online, and I think it’s lovely. They say a college student wrote it."
Chu Yanyan nodded. "’Natural Beauty’? I think I’ve heard it on Cool Dog Music. Isn’t it by a singer called Life Like Summer Flowers?"
Zhang Xiulan smiled and explained, "Not entirely. It’s a duet between a man and a woman. It’s a shame there’s no music video, so we’ll just have to sing along with the rhythm."
Soon, the instrumental intro ended.
Zhang Xiulan began to sing softly.
*Another quiet night*
*Sitting alone in the rocking chair, enjoying the cool air*
*I admit it’s really peaceful*
*Just like the old man downstairs, eh...*
While Chu Yanyan and Sun Junjun didn’t know the story behind the song, Xia Zhijin, sitting right beside him, certainly did. Or rather, she knew everything about Li Yuan. She kept many things hidden in her heart, but that didn’t mean she was unaware.
Li Yuan clearly felt Xia Zhijin’s grip on his hand suddenly tighten, her palm growing a little damp.
He met her gaze, his own heart pounding with unease. Leaning in, he whispered into her ear, "Hey, Zhijin, how about we sing ’Tomorrow Will Be Better’ together later?"
Xia Zhijin rolled her eyes at Li Yuan, a strange expression on her face. She knew exactly who he had sung "Natural Beauty" with and understood perfectly why he had just suggested that.
"Okay, Boss Li!"
Hearing Xia Zhijin call him "Boss Li," Li Yuan knew she was jealous. She always called him that when she was jealous. It was like a special nickname, just for her. When he was with Zhong Tingyue, she liked to call him "Senior." With Bai Weixi, she would call him "Brother" or "Husband." And when he was with Jiang Zhiyu, she would call him "Xia Hua" nonstop...
Chu Yanyan, sitting on Xia Zhijin’s other side, smiled. "Zhijin, have you heard this song before?"
Xia Zhijin nodded slightly. Of course, she had.
"Tee hee," Chu Yanyan added, "I think you and Li Yuan should sing this together. It’s perfect for a male-female duet."
She turned to him. "Right, Li Yuan?"
Li Yuan coughed awkwardly. "Uh, that song... I don’t really know how to sing it." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Chu Yanyan, assuming he was telling the truth, said with a hint of disappointment, "Oh, well, never mind if you don’t know it. But it’s really easy to learn and simple to sing. You’d pick it up after a few listens."
Hearing Li Yuan claim he didn’t know how to sing a song he himself had written, Xia Zhijin couldn’t help but snicker, shooting him a shy glare with her beautiful eyes.
Soon, Zhang Xiulan’s solo version of "Natural Beauty" came to an end.
Another song title appeared on the big screen: "Tomorrow Will Be Better," the one Xia Zhijin had chosen.
Zhang Xiulan asked with a grin, "Who picked this one?"
"Zhijin did," Li Yuan replied.
"My cousin picked it?" Zhang Xiulan quickly passed the microphone over, eager to hear her beautiful cousin sing.
"Here’s the mic, cousin. The stage is all yours."
