CHAPTER 149: CHAPTER 149

"I don’t sing well."

Actually, her singing was quite good—at least better than Luoyang’s. She was just being modest.

But Xia Liang didn’t pay it any mind. Glancing at the others, he pointed and said, "It’s fine. Look at them, their singing is a little strange, too."

Hearing Xia Liang’s words, Jin Xinqiao’s lips twitched. No matter what, I shouldn’t be compared to these people.

Nearby, Tong Dongnuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "I’m telling you, Xia Liang, aren’t you afraid they’ll hear you and try to kill you?"

Xia Liang shrugged indifferently. "I’m just speaking the truth. Is that not allowed?"

「」

Meanwhile, Luoyang was shaking dice with the other male students. He was holding a cup of beer, about to chug it, when he looked up. In that instant, he saw Xia Liang laughing and joking with Tong Dongnuan and Jin Xinqiao.

A flare of anger surged through him. I’m the one treating everyone today! Those two broads... they started picking on me the moment they walked in, and now they’re laughing it up with some pauper.

Finding the scene unpleasant, Luoyang naturally wanted to see Xia Liang make a fool of himself. He had noticed that Xia Liang hadn’t sung a single song the entire time, so he concluded that Xia Liang definitely couldn’t sing.

Luoyang’s eyes darted around for a moment before he put down his glass. The others were a bit confused and urged him to hurry up and drink. Waving his hand to silence them, Luoyang took advantage of the quiet moment between songs to shout loudly at Xia Liang, "Xia Liang, why don’t you come sing a song? Don’t ruin everyone’s mood by being the only one sitting out!"

Luoyang’s meaning was clear: sitting there sulking and chatting instead of singing was ruining the atmosphere. The guys were already annoyed that Xia Liang was monopolizing the two beauties, so this comment immediately put him on the spot.

Seeing everyone’s displeased gazes on him, Xia Liang sighed internally. *Sigh*, I just wanted to keep a low profile, but you all are forcing me to flex.

Just as he was about to respond, Tong Dongnuan, who was sitting next to him, came to his rescue. "Xia Liang can’t sing, so don’t force him."

Luoyang’s expression soured seeing Tong Dongnuan defend Xia Liang, but since she had spoken up, he could only let it go. After all, that crazy woman is truly vicious. It seems her temper hasn’t changed a bit over the years.

Just when Luoyang was caught in an awkward position, Xia Liang himself spoke up. "Since everyone is having such a good time, I’ll sing a song."

Hearing this, Luoyang was thrilled. I was going to let you off the hook, but you walked right into this yourself. Don’t blame me for what happens next!

He grinned cheekily at Xia Liang and said, "What song do you want to pick?"

Xia Liang was a little surprised. This guy isn’t as ruthless as I thought. He’s actually letting me pick a song I know. If it were me, I would’ve instantly picked something impossible for him, like the song *Tante*.

Without another word, Xia Liang went straight to the song selection screen, with Luoyang following close behind. He watched as Xia Liang selected a song that looked vaguely familiar: *Butterfly*. Luoyang felt like he had seen that title somewhere before but didn’t give it much thought.

To ensure Xia Liang was thoroughly humiliated, Luoyang even clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. "Everyone, everyone! Let’s have our very own Xia Liang perform an English song for us!"

He then pushed the song to the top of the queue. As the melody slowly began to play, all the guys in the room showed expressions of surprise.

"Holy shit! This song?"

"No way, can Xia Liang actually sing this?"

"Hold on, isn’t this song in Japanese? When did it become an English song?"

"Hahaha, Luoyang probably saw an English word and just assumed it was an English song."

The burst of discussion left Luoyang feeling a bit awkward. Hearing the familiar melody, he finally remembered what song this was. It was a memory from his childhood: the theme song from *Digimon*. He’d only thought it looked familiar at first. The thought that Xia Liang had made him look like a fool yet again made Luoyang grit his teeth in anger. Hmph, a Japanese song? Let’s see you try to sing it. If you mess up, I’ll tear you to shreds.

Just as Luoyang was stewing in his thoughts, the song’s prelude finally finished.

Xia Liang opened his mouth to sing.

The first line, sung in perfect, resonant Japanese, filled the room.

As soon as the first line left his lips, everyone felt goosebumps rise on their skin. It wasn’t because the singing was terrible—on the contrary, it was breathtakingly good. Everyone exchanged glances, their minds flashing back to their childhoods, gathered around the TV to watch *Digimon*.

The God-Tier Singing Skill that Xia Liang had purchased was once again demonstrating its power. In his voice, the crowd felt as if they had all become the Chosen Children, urging their own Ancient Creatures to evolve.

After the song ended, everyone was lost in the moment, savoring the memory. It wasn’t until a full two minutes later that someone finally snapped out of their daze and began to clap.

CLAP. CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.

"That was incredible! Xia Liang, you sang that perfectly!"

"I’ve got goosebumps all over! Holy shit, his singing almost made me Digivolve!"

"My childhood is back!"

"That was amazing! Sing another one, Xia Liang!"

The crowd, having completely forgotten how they’d been trying to corner him moments ago, now clamored for Xia Liang to sing another song.

The plan had been to embarrass Xia Liang. Now, seeing how brilliantly he sang and how well-received he was, Luoyang couldn’t even begin to describe his regret.

However, in the face of everyone’s pleas, Xia Liang just waved his hand. "Let’s leave it at that. It’s the only one I know."

With that, he set down the microphone.

Of course, nobody believed him. His Japanese had been far too fluent. It didn’t sound at all like someone awkwardly singing from a phonetic transcription. No one would believe he couldn’t sing other Japanese songs.

As Xia Liang sat back down, Tong Dongnuan was utterly astonished. "What the hell? Xia Liang, when did you learn to sing behind my back?"

What the actual fuck?

Xia Liang shot Tong Dongnuan a look. "What’s that supposed to mean? You say it like I was cheating on you. Can’t a guy just be naturally gifted?"

"Naturally gifted? Heh." Tong Dongnuan scoffed. She suddenly remembered a time she had asked Xia Liang to sing, and the result had been a sound akin to the wailing of ghosts and the howling of wolves.

Xia Liang paid her no mind and gestured toward the song selection screen. "How about it? Want to give it a try? Pick a song, we can go up together."

Hearing this, Tong Dongnuan’s eyes lit up with delight, her expression one of eager anticipation. "Sing what? A love song?"

Holy shit! What the hell?

Xia Liang stared at Tong Dongnuan with wide eyes. For a rare moment, she actually grew a little shy under his gaze and raised her voice to cover it up. "What are you looking at me for?"

Xia Liang’s mouth twitched. He almost blurted it out loud. I see you as my bro, and you actually want to sleep with me?!

In the end, he managed to hold his tongue.

He just said blandly, "I meant we should sing *A Hug Between Brothers*."

What the fuck! Of course! What the hell was I even hoping for?! To think that this blockhead would finally get a clue today!

Tong Dongnuan took a deep breath, crushing the hope that had just begun to swell within her.

Pfft—

Hearing Xia Liang’s response, Jin Xinqiao couldn’t help but let out a laugh. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would’ve thought this was an act. Can a man really be this dense? Or does he actually just think of Tong Dongnuan as one of his bros?