Chapter 138: High Spirits

Ten-thirty in the evening.

Over sixty guests at Salome Cafe left with a lingering sense of satisfaction. Before departing, several university students, including Wang Peng, eagerly vied for the chance to take photos with Huang Guolun and Bai Yao. Taking photos with Bai Yao was, naturally, an attempt to flirt and get closer to her. But when it came to Huang Guolun, they were filled with genuine admiration; they had a premonition that this middle-aged man would surely become a shining star in the Chinese music scene. They felt deeply honored to have a picture with him.

Many of them had recorded videos of the performance on their phones, planning to share them across various social media platforms to help build a reputation for this master-student duo. Huang Guolun did not mind this at all. He and Bai Yao had been wearing promotional T-shirts for *A Corpse for a Beauty* throughout the night; if people were willing to post their performance videos, it served as free advertising for the film—exactly what he was hoping for.

Hu Xuefang was completely won over by Huang Guolun that night. Before leaving, she enthusiastically discussed the possibility of inviting him onto their program. She stated clearly that she would strongly recommend him to their editor-in-chief, striving to get him on the show as soon as possible.

Zhao Jing had recorded the entire evening's performance during her live stream. Shen Yumeng asked for a copy, intending to edit the highlights of Huang Guolun’s performance overnight to hand over to Hu Xuefang, giving her a well-reasoned basis to persuade her editor-in-chief. If everything went smoothly, Huang Guolun might appear on *Literary Heroes* as early as next week.

Huang Guolun was very grateful for the help from Shen Yumeng and Hu Xuefang. If he could get on *Literary Heroes*, it would be a massive boost for *A Corpse for a Beauty*. Although in this age of the entertainment explosion, few people listened to the radio at night, the sheer population of the Imperial Capital was immense. Conservatively estimated, the capital had over sixty million people. Even if only a small fraction listened to literary radio, that still amounted to hundreds of thousands of people. If this group could be exposed to the advertisement for *A Corpse for a Beauty* and subsequently spread the word to those around them, it would significantly increase the film's visibility. Huang Guolun cared quite a bit about this.

However, the most excited person that night was not one of the listeners like Hu Xuefang, but rather Zhao Jing, who had spearheaded the music showcase. When she finally ended the stream, the total value of gifts received had just surpassed 180,000, setting a new record for her single-stream earnings.

According to the prior agreement with Huang Guolun, Zhao Jing and Bai Yao would split the proceeds fifty-fifty, with each taking 90,000. After deducting twenty percent for income tax, the two walked away with 72,000 each for a single night’s work!

Bai Yao didn't see the exact figures until the end of the stream. She couldn't believe her eyes. By singing for just a little while, she had earned over 70,000 yuan—several times more than her total annual income from singing at the Houhai bars last year! It was simply too absurd. She truly couldn't comprehend how the world worked anymore. She had to lament that China was truly rich, and that the Chinese people were so wealthy!

She felt an inexplicable pride in being Chinese. However, when she thought about this 70,000 yuan combined with the 30,000 she had already saved, she realized it still might not be enough to buy a decent burial plot for her grandfather, and her heart turned bitter once more.

Zhao Yan was also stunned when she saw the income from the stream. The cafe's revenue for the night was over 6,000 yuan, a single-day record since she opened the shop. But compared to the live-streaming income, the cafe’s earnings were hardly worth mentioning. Fortunately, Zhao Yan was not the jealous type. She was a girl easily satisfied. The fact that this music showcase brought in a massive crowd and such high revenue was more than enough for her. If Huang Guolun and Bai Yao could help host a few more sessions like this, her little shop could turn losses into profits and gradually get on the right track.

If anyone was the most self-satisfied that night, it was Huang Guolun himself. He had successfully hosted his first concert; although the scale was tiny, he had created extraordinary value through music, enriched the lives of so many, and helped many people out. He felt that his day could not have been more meaningful.

As he drove Bai Yao home, Huang Guolun was exhausted, but the sense of fulfillment and joy kept his spirit high. He chatted with her while driving: "You must be exhausted after tonight's hustle. Get a good night's sleep when you get home."

Bai Yao was in the prime of her youth and wasn't as fragile as Huang Guolun. It wasn't even eleven o'clock yet, and she wasn't tired at all—just a bit hoarse. She could have gone home and studied university mathematics for another two hours without a problem. The unexpectedly bountiful harvest made her deeply grateful that Huang Guolun had brought her to do this showcase.

With just the two of them left, Bai Yao expressed her heartfelt thanks: "Teacher, thank you so much for bringing me to host this music showcase and letting me earn so much money."

"Why are you being so polite again? The money you earned is what you deserve. No need to thank me."

"No, no, I must thank you, and Sister Jing and Sister Yan too. I really never expected to earn so much."

"To be honest, I didn't either. It might be because it was the first time, and people found it fresh. Future streams likely won't earn as much."

"Teacher, you aren't taking a single cent of this. I feel bad taking it all. How about we redistribute it? I think Sister Jing’s implication earlier was that she wanted you to take a share as well, so the three of us should split it, not just the two of us."

Bai Yao hadn't received the money yet. Zhao Jing had already initiated the withdrawal from Sunny Live, but since it was a large amount over 100,000, it wouldn't arrive immediately. Sunny Live promised arrival within 24 hours, so Zhao Jing would likely receive the funds tomorrow, at which point the split would happen. Bai Yao needed the money desperately, but she couldn't stand the thought of her mentor—who had essentially given her a new lease on life—getting nothing while she took all that cash.

Huang Guolun replied: "Just take what is yours; there's no need to calculate with me. I said it before: I didn't do this for the money. I did it to fulfill a small wish of mine. It would be vulgar to mix money into it."

"But... so much money..."

"Alright, enough nagging. I know you're saving up. You have a great opportunity to make money now, so just work hard and don't think about anything else. As for me, honestly, I've never been that interested in making money. You should be able to see that, right?"

Huang Guolun’s display of nonchalance left Bai Yao speechless. Of course, she could see that he wasn't interested in making money—but that was only because he never lacked it! If he were ever broke, she’d love to see if he was still indifferent to making money.

But then again, what did Teacher Huang’s family actually do? How could they be so wealthy? After having been in close contact with him for a while and visiting the North Suburb villa several times, Bai Yao could see that the true pillar of the Huang family was the old man. He looked scholarly and possessed an extraordinary air; he clearly seemed like a man of great importance. Yet, Bai Yao never quite figured out what kind of business the old man was in. She had never heard the Huang family discuss it, nor had she heard Huang Tao mention it. It seemed as if the Huang family deliberately avoided the topic, which made Bai Yao feel it was quite mysterious, yet she felt too embarrassed to ask.

Regardless of what they did, it was certain that the Huang family was extremely wealthy. Thus, it was understandable that Huang Guolun didn't care about money. Since Huang Guolun had put it that way, Bai Yao had no further arguments. She could only say: "Then... thank you, Teacher."

"Don't stand on ceremony with me."

Just as Huang Guolun was about to chat more, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller: it was Huang Guokun. Huang Guokun had been watching the live stream all night and was incredibly excited. He had wanted to call right when the stream ended, but he had been interrupted by a call from a high-level executive about urgent business. No sooner had he hung up than he called Huang Guolun.

Huang Guolun put on his Bluetooth headset and answered while driving: "Hello?"

"Lun! That music showcase you and Xiao Bai did at the cafe tonight was fantastic!" Huang Guokun was smoking a cigar, so excited he could barely speak clearly.

Huang Guolun laughed in surprise: "Oh? You were watching our stream online?"

"Of course! I watched the whole thing! I even sent you two several hundred yuan worth of 'Rainbows'!"

"Why did you send those? What a waste of money. Are you flush with cash again? You have to pay tax on those gifts, you know."

Huang Guokun laughed heartily: "Even if I have to pay tax, I’d still send them! I really didn't expect your musical proficiency to have reached such a level. Are those original songs you sang tonight really all written by you?"

Huang Guolun chuckled: "Of course. Who else? You?"

"I couldn't write stuff like that," Huang Guokun said with heartfelt emotion. "You're playing music on such a high level now! I was thinking while watching—why don't you and Xiao Bai form a master-student duo and debut together? If you're worried about Xiao Bai debuting alone, then just debut together! Our company will promote you heavily. With the musical talent you two have, a little push and you'll definitely be huge! If you don't become famous, I'll take my head off and let you use it as a soccer ball!"

"Haha, quit talking nonsense. Don't go getting ideas about me again. You know I don't want to step into the muddy waters of that industry. I'm living my life comfortably as it is, and I don't want to become a public figure and live a constrained life."