Chapter 36

"Find a partner?!" Furen laughed in disbelief, clearly uninterested. If he wanted to vent, he could easily do so with the two maids at home; there was no need to waste energy on this.

Of course, if a woman came on to him, Furen wouldn't turn her away.

Seeing Furen shake his head, Song Kui patted his shoulder and teased, "Young brother, are you not interested in women, or are you just too picky and proud?" This remark drew a round of good-natured laughter from the other colleagues.

Furen, in a good mood, didn't mind Song Kui's joke and sneered, "Mainly, I'm just afraid of dying, and I don't like using condoms!"

The colleagues were taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, drawing curious glances from nearby guests.

After a couple more rounds, the sky grew dark, and the bar became more crowded. The dancing crowd swayed even more wildly.

However, as they danced, the lights in the bar suddenly went out, leaving only the dim glow of the wall lamps. Just as everyone was feeling puzzled, a beam of white light shone on the karaoke stage, followed by the soft sound of accompaniment. A middle-aged man in a white suit appeared in the light, and the young, sophisticated crowd began to clap.

"Welcome, new and old friends, to the Julan Bar!" the man grinned, his white teeth making a strong impression. "Today is Julan's monthly karaoke day. I'm sure you're all excited, right? Ha, yes, if you win the monthly karaoke championship, you and your partner will have all your expenses covered at Julan until the next karaoke day. I won't say more. The rules are the same as always: put 500 yuan in the karaoke box to get a chance to sing. Of course, before that, our boss, Ms. Julan, will sing a song for everyone..."

Before he finished, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

Amid whistles and screams, the stage lights came on one by one, illuminating the bar in a rainbow of colors.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

The crisp sound of high heels tapping the ground echoed as a beautiful woman with a sexy outfit and long black hair appeared from backstage, gracefully ascending the stage. Her slender figure, prominent chest, beautiful face, alluring eyes, and bright red lips exuded an irresistible charm with every move.

Song Kui and the other colleagues whistled excitedly, but Furen remained unmoved, treating her with a casual glance.

Seeing Furen leaning against the bar with no reaction, Song Kui couldn't help but ask, "Young brother, don't you want to kiss such a beautiful mature woman?"

Furen took a sip from his bottle and said, "She's just average! Compared to Madam Ling, this woman is far inferior."

Actually, he was just being honest, but Song Kui and the other colleagues were stunned.

"Y-Young brother, you're talking about the Director Ling from the Supervision Department, right?"

Furen smirked, "Who else? Just that woman, uh, no, Madam, she always looks at me unfavorably, so I don't have a good impression of her either!"

"Pull the other one! It's not just you. Anyone who has been complained about, regardless of the outcome, is looked at unfavorably by Madam Ling!" Song Kui revealed. "If she heard what you just said, you'd be in for a rough time!"

Furen casually glanced around at his colleagues and said dismissively, "I've already clashed with her twice, and she hasn't been able to do anything to me!"

"Really?!" Song Kui became interested. "Tell me more!" The other colleagues also perked up, eager to hear the gossip.

Furen waved his hand, "It's about the supervision inquiry, better not to say, it's against the rules!"

The words "against the rules" immediately extinguished Song Kui's and the others' curiosity. Fortunately, at that moment, Ms. Julan had already started singing "Sweet Honey," causing a stir among the guests, many of whom began to hum along.

Song Kui and the others also started humming, but Furen ruined the mood by saying, "This woman's singing is not bad, and her lung capacity is good, but her voice is too low. It doesn't match her figure and appearance at all."

"Brother, what do you know!" Song Kui protested. "Ms. Julan originally had a great voice, but she was framed early in her career, and her voice was ruined. She had to leave the music industry in regret and turned to other businesses!"

Furen's eyes narrowed slightly, surprised. "Really?"

A colleague nearby chimed in, "Of course, it happened in the early 1990s. Our police department investigated for a while, but it was never resolved. It's been ten years now!"

While Furen and the others were discussing Ms. Julan, she had finished singing and left the stage. An eager person had already put 500 Hong Kong dollars in the karaoke box and was about to perform.

Indeed, it was a performance, but the first one on stage was a young man who chose to sing "Legend of the Hungry Wolf." Unfortunately, while Zhang Tian's song is a legend, his performance was more like a howl.

He was booed off the stage halfway through. Furen asked Song Kui, "Brother Song, is it common to stop singing halfway?"

Song Kui laughed, "Young brother, you don't know. This is a unique feature of Julan's karaoke. If the audience is dissatisfied, you can be booed off the stage no matter how well you sing."

Furen was taken aback, "How can that be fair? What if someone deliberately causes trouble?"

"Sir, most of the guests here are office workers from Central, they wouldn't be so uncivilized," a slightly hoarse but magnetic female voice interjected. Furen didn't need to turn around to know it was Ms. Julan.

The colleagues who came for the Happy Hour all knew Ms. Julan and greeted her. Song Kui introduced Furen, "Julan, let me introduce you to Furen, the rising star of the police force!"

"Officer Furen, nice to meet you!" Ms. Julan extended her hand.

Furen, though slightly annoyed with Song Kui, had to turn and smile at Ms. Julan, lightly shaking her hand. He said insincerely, "Ms. Julan, your singing is very good!"

"Hey, young brother, that's not what you said earlier," Song Kui teased. "You only praised my sister's singing skills!"

Furen touched his nose, trying to avoid the issue, "Brother Song, you didn't tell me Ms. Julan was your sister earlier!"

Song Kui laughed, "If I had, would you have come to this bar?"

"Of course, I would have come earlier if I had known!" Furen fibbed.

Julan's bar was always busy at night, and she didn't mind a few more or fewer customers. However, she was concerned about Furen's comment on her singing and looked at him intently, "Officer Furen..."

Furen gestured to stop her, "Since you're Brother Song's sister, call me Alen."

Ms. Julan, experienced in the ways of the world, quickly adapted, "If Alen says so, I'll call you that. But you don't have to call me boss. I'm a few years older, so just call me Sister Julan!"

"Okay, Sister Julan!" Furen, who had a good impression of Ms. Julan, agreed, "I'll call you whatever you want!"

"That's better!" Ms. Julan gave Furen a flirtatious look and continued, "Alen, your brother said you praised my singing. Do you know how to sing?"

"A little, a little!" Furen modestly replied. In fact, he not only knew how to sing but was also skilled with various instruments. This was a small ability he had gained during a certain cycle, which the main god didn't value and left with him.

Hearing Furen's response, Ms. Julan felt a bit disappointed, but Song Kui added, "Julan, don't believe Furen. He knows a lot but always keeps it to himself."

Furen was speechless and helpless, but he wasn't annoyed by Song Kui's revelation. After all, they were siblings, and it was natural for him to favor his own. Fortunately, Song Kui had worked with him on cases, so they were comrades. If it were someone else, Furen would have been upset.

Ms. Julan, a bit resentful, asked, "Alen, is that true? Is what my brother said correct?" She had a special fondness for singing, but a past incident had prevented her from returning to the music industry, so she was eager to talk with someone who understood music.

Furen, who always stood by his words, insisted, "I really only know a little!"

Ms. Julan, slyly, said, "Then why don't you sing a song for me to hear?" The colleagues, led by Song Kui, started to cheer.

Furen was taken aback but quickly countered, "Then you have to cover all the expenses for our table tonight!"

Even though Song Kui and Ms. Julan were siblings, the drinks and snacks were at most discounted, not free, due to the presence of the ICAC. Furen's request was a personal suggestion, but if it succeeded, everyone would benefit, so the colleagues cheered even louder.

Ms. Julan smiled seductively and said, "Of course, no problem, but you have to win the karaoke championship, and the 500 yuan entry fee can't be waived!"

Furen's lips curled into a proud smile, "Deal!"

So, after another guest finished singing, Furen put 500 yuan in the karaoke box and stood on the stage.

The white-suited host approached and asked, "Sir, which song would you like to sing? I'll arrange the accompaniment."

Furen replied, "Do you have an accordion?"

"Ah?!" The white-suited host was taken aback, "Sir, are you planning to accompany yourself?"

"Exactly!"

Given Furen's insistence, the white-suited host had to find him an accordion, an imported Yupiter, with five left-hand variations, free bass double reeds, 106 right-hand keys, 15 variations, and seven chin variations, one of the best.

Furen immediately sat down on stage, tested the microphone, and the melodious accordion music spread out, immediately capturing the attention of most of the guests.

"Wow, this guy plays well, he seems to have a lot of talent!"

"Maybe he's a professional."

"Let's wait and see. Maybe he can't sing well!"

"..."

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