Of course, Hong Kong doesn't only have Lan Kwai Fong for bars, but this place has the most character. The prices range from expensive to affordable, making it accessible to both university students and white-collar workers. The bar He Zhengcheng and his two friends entered was lively and not too pricey.
This bar was considered a music bar, and they occasionally met singers here. However, the three of them liked music but weren't interested in chasing celebrities. They had even gone on stage to sing here occasionally.
The three of them were part of a band that also had a female lead singer, but now... after graduation, she no longer played with them.
"Hello, Brother Kun!" The three of them ran into an acquaintance as soon as they arrived at the bar.
"You guys are here. Do you want to go up and sing today?" Brother Kun, one of the bar's managers, had known them for several years.
"What, no one else?" Li Mingyuan wouldn't be fooled by Brother Kun's enthusiasm. The three of them liked music, but their skill level was limited, at best good, not excellent, let alone top-tier. Before, the rich second generation had often begged Brother Kun for a chance to perform on stage.
"One band had a little accident and needs some more time to get here. Do me a favor, and I'll treat you to drinks tonight!" Brother Kun said.
"How about it, guys, interested in going up?" Li Mingyuan asked.
It was strange; among the three rich second generations, Li Mingyuan was the drummer, Shi Hongwen was the bassist, and He Zhengcheng was the guitarist. One could only say their interests were different... "No problem, Brother Kun has been good to us. We can't refuse this favor." Shi Hongwen said. "Alright then!" He Zhengcheng said with a straight face. They had watched the World Cup and absolutely loved its theme song. They had rehearsed it a few times and felt the effect was good. Their desire to perform was very strong now.
They went backstage at the bar to prepare. They had originally only planned to sing "The Cup of Life," but now it seemed they needed to prepare a few more songs. While someone else was performing, they discussed with the host to set their order.
"What? Someone just sang it!" Li Mingyuan was very annoyed. Why were they so unlucky?
"The Cup of Life" was released in March and topped the singles charts in 30 countries worldwide. The World Cup had pushed the song's popularity to its peak, so there were certainly many people who wanted to hear and sing it.
"What language did they sing it in, English or chinese?" He Zhengcheng seemed to remember something and asked the host.
"It was English!" The host replied.
"Then we'll sing it in chinese Mandarin," He Zhengcheng declared.
"Are you sure?" The host asked.
"I'm sure!" He Zhengcheng said confidently. The other two didn't object, and they then arranged five songs.
"You still have the chinese lyrics for 'The Cup of Life'?" Shi Hongwen asked.
"I don't remember them all. You guys help me check, so we don't embarrass ourselves up there!" He Zhengcheng found paper and pen and wrote down the lyrics from memory. He deliberately changed some lyrics to give the other two room for improvisation.
He Zhengcheng now seemed to be operating on a dual-core system, one inwardly refined and the other with high emotional intelligence. For people to coexist harmoniously, it's best not to appear too special. After all, being only slightly better than others and very lucky makes one too easily envied.
Under his guidance, the final lyrics were still the ones he remembered.
"You must fight for your ideals"
"Persist in glory, win the Holy Grail of love"
"Fight for survival"
"..."
"Move forward, the world is at our feet"
The lyrics weren't particularly great; after all, they were a translation. This level was already acceptable; not everyone could achieve faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance.
They didn't have much time to prepare, and soon it was their turn.
Standing on stage, a little nervous, a little excited, they quickly began their performance.
"GoGoGo! Alealeale"
"GoGoGo! Alealeale"
The chinese version of "The Cup of Life" wasn't much of a surprise. The biggest impression this song gave people was the "GoGoGo! Alealeale" part. Fortunately, the atmosphere was good.
Hong Kong people love football, and even though the bars in Lan Kwai Fong aren't a concentrated area for fans, "The Cup of Life" was still liked by many.
He Zhengcheng and his friends weren't performing for others' appreciation; they were doing it for their own enjoyment.
The subsequent performance was ordinary; the interaction between the stage and the audience wasn't very good. Despite this, after they left the stage, the three of them still felt great. Other bands served the audience; they entertained themselves. Their limited skill level was certainly a factor... Leaving the backstage area, each took a drink and found a place to sit down.
"What a shame, if we had known in advance and had some time to rehearse, the effect of this performance would have been even better!" Shi Hongwen said, still feeling a bit unfulfilled.
"Forget it, such opportunities aren't easy to come by. We prepared a lot before, but just never got the chance." Li Mingyuan said.
"Exactly, contentment is happiness!" He Zhengcheng echoed. Although performing on stage was fun, doing too many embarrassing things wasn't good either.
"It's a pity Qian Yabo isn't here this time!" Shi Hongwen said.
Qian Yabo was a member of their band, but starting in their senior year, everyone spent less and less time together. She chose to pursue postgraduate studies and was admitted to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, also in a computer-related field, but her focus was on hardware, seemingly in integrated circuit engineering design.
Of course, the main reason everyone chose her as the lead singer was her attractive appearance and good figure. Then, internally, there was some conflict between He Zhengcheng and Li Mingyuan over uneven distribution of spoils. Who knew she wouldn't choose internal distribution and found a more ambitious partner outside?
"Hey, look over there, several beauties!" Li Mingyuan exclaimed.
"Where?" He Zhengcheng turned to look, seeing three or four tall, distinguished girls sitting together.
"It's true, good eye!" Shi Hongwen remarked.
"Any interest in going over and trying your luck?" Li Mingyuan rubbed his hands, eager to try.
"We can give it a shot!" He Zhengcheng said nonchalantly.
The three walked over. As they got closer, He Zhengcheng saw more clearly.
"You first or me first?" He Zhengcheng seemed a little impatient.
"What's wrong, trying to snatch my target?" Li Mingyuan seemed to have his eye on someone.
"Then you go first and try. We might not be interested in the same person." He Zhengcheng said.
"Alright!" Li Mingyuan straightened his back and walked towards one of them.
"Are you really not worried he'll snatch your target?" Shi Hongwen whispered, somewhat maliciously trying to stir things up.
"Worried, and not worried!" He Zhengcheng seemed to recognize someone among them.
The result came quickly. Li Mingyuan had set his sights on an even more seductive one.
"Marry me!" He Zhengcheng walked up to a tall beauty, striking a domineering CEO pose, and said in Mandarin.
"Why?" The girl asked.
"Because I can read faces!" He Zhengcheng replied. The girl didn't seem to be from Hong Kong.
"Then what did you see?" The girl asked.
"Your face is very good and very beautiful, but now your destiny is just missing me! So, marry me!" He Zhengcheng said shamelessly, without any embarrassment. Fortunately, he wasn't the short, poor, and ugly guy he used to be...
"But you don't even know me!" The girl was a little annoyed, but her voice was particularly interesting! This handsome guy in front of her was quite interesting.
So, the whole world judges by appearance, and beauties even more so!
"I can spend the rest of my life getting to know you!" He Zhengcheng said, truly shameless!
"..."
Although the girl had very high emotional intelligence, she had never experienced the unique and utterly shameless flirting of the internet era. She stared at He Zhengcheng, dumbfounded, her adorable baby voice falling silent.
After a few simple exchanges, He Zhengcheng could finally confirm the girl's identity. That's right, it was her, Taiwan's future number one beauty.