Chapter 145: Shocking News of Tragedy

The bald man was visually about 180 centimeters tall, and his weight was probably around 180 pounds as well. Just standing there in front of someone gave off an intense sense of oppression.

He stared fixedly at Zhou Miao, his hands constantly rummaging inside his pants pockets as if trying to pull something out. Seeing this, Zhou Miao's bodyguard not far away quickly walked over.

However, the next second, the bodyguard stopped in his tracks and let out a speechless twitch of his lips.

The man pulled out a smartphone and asked somewhat timidly, "Can we take a picture together?"

"Uh, no problem."

Zhou Miao broke out in a cold sweat. Taking a photo was fine and all, but he had made it look like he was about to gank him.

Under the table, Zhou Miao quietly placed the wine bottle he had been clutching onto the floor, then stood up to take a photo with the bald man.

Looking at the photo on his phone, the bald man was extremely excited. "Thank you! I'm your loyal fan."

Zhou Miao looked him up and down. The man appeared to be over thirty years old, and male fans of this age group were quite rare among his fanbase.

Zhou Miao couldn't help but ask, "Which of my songs do you like the most?"

"'Sweet' and 'Simple Love'."

Zhou Miao's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and he forced a smile, saying, "That's nice."

After seeing off the fan, Gu Xi poured Zhou Miao a full, large glass of beer. "Come, come, come! We didn't settle the score on stage just now, so tonight I'm going to let you experience what Drunken Boxing is really like!"

Zhou Miao couldn't help but offer a bitter smile. His alcohol tolerance was truly abysmal; he was the kind of person who sat at the kids' table during wedding banquets, so how could he possibly outdrink these seasoned drinkers?

Yet how could these old fellows let him off the hook? A senior entertainer is offering you a toast and you won't drink? Are you showing disrespect?

Since a senior entertainer has toasted you, aren't you going to return the toast? Are you showing disrespect?

Thud. With a flushed face, Zhou Miao slumped forward and collapsed heavily onto the table. Gu Xi immediately burst into loud laughter. "He's down already? Looks like his Drunken Boxing isn't mastered yet."

Zhang Tuo impatiently filled his glass. "Hurry up and drink yours! Why is your bottle going down so slowly? Are you raising sharks in there?"

Tan Yue summoned Zhou Miao's bodyguards, instructing them to send Zhou Miao back safely and to drive slowly on the way.

The van had barely driven a few dozen meters when Zhou Miao, who had just been dead drunk a moment before, immediately sat up straight. Looking back over his shoulder, he said with a sense of relief, "Good thing I was quick-witted, otherwise that drinking session could have lasted until tomorrow morning."

Upon seeing this, the bodyguard Ding Ning burst into laughter. Zhou Miao took two bottles of iced cola from the car refrigerator and tossed one to Ding Ning.

"How is Dragon Brother's injury?" Zhou Miao asked. It had been quite a while since the sulfuric acid incident, and with his busy schedule lately, he hadn't found the time to go visit him.

"He's about recovered. He's been doing rehabilitation exercises at home lately. His wife has fattened him up quite a bit during this period, so he really needs to lose some weight," Ding Ning replied.

Hearing this, Zhou Miao smiled. "No worries, let him rest more and spend time with his family. Everything is fine on my end; once he comes back, I'll give you a long vacation too. You've been following me day and night lately, so sister-in-law must have had plenty of complaints about me."

Ding Ning grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth. "Not at all. Among all my comrades who work as bodyguards, I have it the easiest, and the pay is the highest. They all envy me and A-Long."

Ding Ning wasn't just flattering Zhou Miao here. Being a bodyguard was a profession that traded time for money, and staying close to an employer for extended periods inevitably meant learning many of their secrets.

Quite a few of his comrades were bodyguards for celebrities, and during private gatherings, they would often vent their frustrations. Those little bastards looked clean and harmless on the surface, acting completely innocent, but behind closed doors, they were essentially reincarnated sex maniacs.

Guarding people like that, they had to keep poker faces on the outside while feeling utterly disgusted on the inside.

Before working for Zhou Miao, Ding Ning had served as a short-term or long-term bodyguard for quite a few other celebrities. By comparison, Zhou Miao was simply miles better.

His character was rock solid, he didn't have all sorts of messy drama, he was generous with money, and he respected people. He never bossed his employees around just because he was the boss, and on top of that, he was so talented. A young man like this deserved to be successful.

...

After the third episode of *Southern Tunes and Northern Melodies* aired, a bizarre phenomenon occurred: the songs occupying the first and second places on all major music charts shared the exact same title—"Drunken Boxing."

Online debates raged incessantly over which of the two versions of "Drunken Boxing" was superior.

At that moment, Gu Xi posted a photo online. It showed Zhou Miao slumped drunk across a table while Gu Xi posed beside him in a Drunken Boxing stance.

"Whose 'Drunken Boxing' is stronger? The results have already explained everything. Ginger is spicier the older it gets!"

Seeing this, Zhou Miao couldn't help but laugh. This stubborn old man really had a strong competitive streak.

Other variety shows were green with envy at the exceptionally high attention and discussion volume generated by *Southern and Northern*. Whether they were willing to admit it or not, *Southern and Northern* had already become the phenomenal hit variety show of the year.

Furthermore, all six participating guests harvested lucrative returns, with their fame and market value skyrocketing. Even before the variety show had concluded, invitations for other shows were flying in like snowflakes.

Ignoring them entirely, Zhou Miao had Gu Zhiyin reject all of them on his behalf. After finishing this variety show, he needed to catch up on the schoolwork he had fallen behind on lately.

In addition, the arrangement for the music-arrangement teacher that the school had promised to find him was now set. Once *Southern and Northern* wrapped up, his formal studies would begin.

However, while variety show invitations were easy to decline, invitations from his hometown were impossible to brush off.

On December 31st, Suzhou would host the Gusu Cultural Festival, and the organizers had specifically sent an invitation asking both him and Hu San to attend.

Zhou Miao found it a bit puzzling. It was completely normal for the cultural festival to invite him to perform, but why invite Hu San as well?

The invitation also included a handwritten note in the margin mentioning that a mysterious gift would be presented on that day.

Zhou Miao guessed to himself, A mysterious gift? Could they be sending me a local beauty?

...

Ever since Zhou Miao and Zuo Qiu met in the cafeteria a few days prior, Zuo Qiu had formally notified all trainees about the final evaluation.

Every trainee who had reached two years of training duration was required to participate, even if they had just arrived at Rainbow, as long as they had spent a full two years accumulated across other entertainment agencies, it would count.

The evaluation mainly consisted of three major categories: vocal skills, dancing, and talent showcase.

The chief examiners were Zhou Miao, Zhao Li, and An Qi, and the three of them would decide the trainees' fates.

Zuo Qiu had even specially established an award: every eliminated trainee would receive a ten-thousand-yuan study grant, encouraging everyone to return to school and enjoy their youth.

As soon as this news broke, the entire Rainbow agency was shaken, especially the trainees who had arrived at Rainbow only recently; they were practically dumbfounded.

Following that, hundreds of trainees acted like madmen, practicing day and night.

As for the so-called ten-thousand-yuan study grant—phrased nicely as a study reward, but bluntly put, it was merely a severance consolation prize—not a single trainee was willing to accept it.

Unfortunately, Zuo Qiu hadn't even considered whether they were willing or not. A month from now, Rainbow was destined to welcome a massive storm!