Chapter 299: Where The Lights Are Dimmer
Higan was unfamiliar with Darkness Port. She did not know why the restaurant before her, the Dreamy Visitor, was so famous. She also was unaware that the lady owner was an amorous woman blessed with a beautiful voice and was known as the songstress of Darkness Port.
An unknown feeling made her want to stay, so she might as well head in for a look.
It was already 7.30 p.m. in the evening.
The three-story Dreamy Visitor was almost full for the night. Higan found a seat in the corner and she sat down alone as she listened to the heated discussion of the customers. Everyone was talking about how beautiful the lady owner’s voice was and how much they looked forward to the performance tonight.
A lady owner who sings? Higan’s interest was piqued. She was getting bored wandering around, so she decided to stay and find out how amazing the owner’s voice was.
******
At 8 p.m., Tang Ling was finally done with the last black iron blanks. He lowered the hammer and stretched his body. Even though he kept was.h.i.+ng his face between the sessions, he was still able to gain a little improvement by efficiently utilizing the time.
“Little Tang Tang, are you done? Are you tired?” Boss Huang’s voice boomed.
Tang Ling turned to the entrance and saw Boss Huang standing there with a grin. He was holding a dark green flower that glistened like a crystal. His lascivious smile coupled with the loathing nickname disgusted Tang Ling to his core.
“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll go after dinner,” Tang Ling said impatiently.
However, Boss Huang already strode up to him with two hunks of bread in his hand. As he disregarded Tang Ling’s feelings, he grabbed him by the hand and shoved the bread into his mouth.
As the dry bread was pushed down Tang Ling’s throat all of a sudden, he almost threw up, but before he could, Boss Huang poured a gla.s.s of water into his mouth. The boss then strongly rapped Tang Ling’s back and forced more bread down his throat. “Are you still hungry now?”
“You…win…” Tang Ling glared at the boss as his grief exploded.
Boss Huang steadily put the Sea Kiran flower into a delicate-looking box and then tossed some clothes on the table. “This Sea Kiran isn’t just beautiful. Its fragrance aids sleep and boosts concentration. Plus, it can last for three months before withering,” he said as he put the flower into the box.
Tang Ling removed his s.h.i.+rt and wiped his sweaty body. Then, he took the s.h.i.+rt the boss provided and grumbled as he changed, “Why are you telling me this? I’m not interested in flowers.”
“It’s nothing much. A single flower costs 12 Black Sea coins, and if you don’t want to increase your debt, you’d better treat the flower like your own life. If the flower dies, you die!” Boss Huang threatened with a sinister look.
Tang Ling gulped nervously. He was thinking about escaping with the flower! A single flower costs 12 Black Sea coins? Boss Huang is really living the life!
After Boss Huang packed the flower into the box, he leisurely sauntered out, but his voice echoed in the smithing room, “Little Tang Tang, if you aren’t out in five minutes, you’ll have to bear severe consequences.”
That piece of sh*t , must he call me Little Tang Tang?!
Tang Ling ultimately discarded the thought of running away with the flower. 12 Black Sea coins might sound tempting but the cunning old fox’s threats were even more severe. Moreover, he still wanted to squeeze more benefits out of the boss.
Even though he left before 8.10 p.m. and sprinted all the way to his destination, Tang Ling was still a little late when he arrived at the restaurant named the Dreamy Visitor.
The Dreamy Visitor was full with customers, so he could see nothing but people through the windows embedded with seash.e.l.ls while standing outside. Even the entrance was jammed with the ridiculous crowd. Everyone was trying to listen to the enchanting singing from upstairs.
Due to the distance, he could not hear what song the singer was crooning, but he could tell her voice was enchanting and filled with emotions, bringing the essence of loneliness and sorrow to its peak. Indeed, it was tear-jerking.
No wonder Boss Huang is spending so much effort. The lady owner is such a mind-blowing singer!
With that in mind, Tang Ling carefully hugged the box and tried to squeeze his way through the ridiculous crowd. However, whenever he thought about what he has to do next, shame rumbled in his heart. Regardless of that, he still made his best effort to move through the crowd to the point that he was touched by his determination.
Look at me! I, Tang Ling, am a man of my words. I’d climb the highest mountain and swim the deepest sea for my boss just because I’m a good person! I’m not trying to get benefits from him or whatsoever!
Tang Ling was a smart person. If he really wanted to make his way to the stage, he would have been able to do so, but as he moved his way into the Dreamy Visitor, the size of the crowd surpa.s.sed his expectations.
The three-story building was big and terribly crowded. Trying to find a standing spot to look at the stage was already a difficult task, let alone finding a place to sit.
Tang Ling had no other option other than forcing his way through the crowd. Boss Huang had told him that he must get up to the stage as quickly as possible, and if he did not push himself forward, judging from how packed the place was, the lady owner might already be gone before he even got close to the stage.
Would Boss Huang beat him to death if he failed?
Therefore, Tang Ling was like a deviant in the crowd. Without paying attention to the singing at all, he tried his best to make his way to the stage. He was so concentrated on moving that not only did the angelic voice of the lady owner not attract him, but he also did not even notice the gaze that landed on him from the moment he squeezed into the building.
The gaze came from the second floor.
Since the second and third floor were built in a cascading structure, people from both the floors could see everything that happened in the lobby.
Therefore, Higan saw Tang Ling.
She did not want to notice him on purpose, but Tang Ling was like a fish swimming against the current among the crowd, so his eye-catching movements caught her attention. There were other customers who saw him too, but all they spared was a glance.
Higan was somehow attracted by the slightly thin figure with black hair. She saw him hugging the box like it was his family heirloom as he carefully and strenuously weaved through the crowd. A strange sense of kindness and familiarity rumbled in her heart.
The feeling was alien to Higan who could not blend with the crowd or have any close contact with people. A ruminating gaze appeared in her eyes as she glued her attention to him.
When she saw Tang Ling purposely step on people’s feet to cause a commotion just so he could seize the little window and move forward quicker, Higan felt tickled, so she chuckled. Her little chuckle sounded abrupt in the silent second floor and attracted several hostile gazes.
The lady owner was singing a sorrowful song. What was the girl chuckling at? Could she just be quiet and listen to the song?
However, Higan did not care about the gazes and what people thought. She reached out to some seeds named the Green Jade, which was a type of mutated branch of the sunflower seed from the old civilization, and put them in her mouth.
She chewed as she propped her cheek on her hand, gazing at Tang Ling as he made his way to the stage. Higan felt slightly delighted by the scene, which was rare for her.
“Whatever, the girl with the seeds is beautiful.”
“Fine, her hands are pretty.”
Those that shot her the hostile gaze were somehow attracted by Higan’s beauty. Their sights were glued to her and they came up with excuses to brush off her interruption. They did not know that she did not care about what they thought of her. She was only looking at Tang Ling with a faint smile under her veil.
She did not even want to know why she would be captivated by the young boy with the mask on the first floor, but since she had the desire to look, she would just do as she pleased.
******
Neither did Tang Ling have any idea about what happened on the second floor, nor did he realize that someone was on to him.
All he knew was that he had spent 120% of his effort and endured countless killing gazes from the crowd to make it to the front. He was only less than 20 meters away from the stage that the lady owner was singing on, and due to the rules, the front seats were reserved by VIP guests, so it was not crowded at all.
Tang Ling heaved a breath of relief. Curious, he started to check out the lady owner singing on the stage. He wanted to know why a man like Boss Huang was so attracted to the lady owner. Was it only because of her singing?
The answer was a solid no!
At first glance, Tang Ling felt that the woman on the stage possessed an unusual charm that could captivate all men.
The attraction was not because of her beauty but her actions, her gaze, her smile, her movements, and her devotion to singing. Everything about her emanated an indescribable and amorous charm like she was the woman among all women.
An idiot like Tang Ling could only describe her with his limited vocabulary. He still did not understand the meaning of ‘feminine fatale’. All he felt was that the lady owner wearing the loose, long dress singing on the stage was what a woman should behave and look like.
Perhaps because the lady owner noticed his attention, she unintentionally glanced over to where Tang Ling was standing before she ended the first song.
When he was noticed by the woman of all women, his face started to heat up and blush. Then, he scratched his head bashfully and chuckled foolishly.
After that, he successfully attracted a lot of hateful gazes from the people around him. Most of them thought, ‘What a dumb kid! He must be an innocent kid who was captivated by the lady owner’s irresistible charms.’
The first song ended and thunderous applause erupted from the crowd, startling Tang Ling.
He was just there to be an errand boy, delivering the flower to the lady owner. Why did he feel shy and smile so dumbly?
After the applause, the whole Dreamy Visitor returned to silence and everyone waited patiently for the lady owner’s second song.
Tang Ling could finally wait in front of the stage, free from all the pus.h.i.+ng and squeezing. It was at that moment that he felt something strange. He felt like he was being watched. After all, his Precise Instinct allowed him to be a hundred times more sensitive than normal people.
Who’s watching me? He frowned under his mask as he subtly scanned the surroundings. The crowd remained as packed as ever.
Is it the man behind me? Or the table on the third floor? Is it…?
Tang Ling was careful and meticulous with his scanning. To keep it down, he tried to turn around as naturally as possible.
Then, the lady owner’s voice echoed from the stage.