Chapter 166: Maxing Out Karaoke King

Chapter 166: The Karaoke King

After delivering the porridge, Meng Fan felt utterly bored. It was the weekend, yet when he reached out to Zhang Zhouwei and the others, they all claimed to be on dates, and Da Fei’s group was busy too, leaving Meng Fan with nowhere to go.

The Karaoke King task had only 130 songs left. Knowing it could be finished but leaving it hanging felt restless. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead—how could he have forgotten his followers?

Tsujigiri Shonen!

Meng Fan remembered having his WeChat and immediately sent a voice invitation, which was answered almost instantly.

"Are you busy this afternoon?"

"Not at all! Do you need a ride, Meng? I’ll be there in a flash!"

"No, no, it’s not about the car," Meng Fan quickly interjected, then asked, "Among our followers, do you know how many are in Hangzhou?"

"Quite a few! Didn't we meet a bunch at Songcheng last time? We even started a group for the Hangzhou locals; besides watching your streams, we’ve held plenty of offline meetups."

"That’s perfect. I’m treating you all to karaoke this afternoon. Want to come?"

"Come? Of course! Where are you? I’ll be there immediately!"

"…Try to keep the headcount under ten. I’ll send you the address on WeChat."

"Understood, consider it done!"

Twenty minutes later, Meng Fan welcomed Tsujigiri Shonen and two other followers into the private room. Every few minutes, another arrived until nine followers had gathered—four men and five women. With Meng Fan, the gender ratio was perfectly split; Tsujigiri Shonen’s coordination skills were truly impressive.

Since only 130 songs remained, and he was with a group of followers, Meng Fan didn't hog the microphone. He let loose, eating, drinking, and singing along with everyone else.

Though most of the ten were strangers, they were of similar age and shared common interests, so the atmosphere remained harmonious and fun.

By the end of the afternoon, Meng Fan had cleared forty-some songs of experience. After singing, they grabbed a meal together before parting ways—a little perk for the followers.

That evening, Meng Fan didn't invite anyone else. He simply pulled on his cap and headed to a KTV. From 7:00 PM until 12:30 AM, he polished off the remaining ninety songs with ease.

"Ding! Occupied the microphone for 1,000 songs at KTV. Task progress for [Karaoke King] complete; Reward: +1000 points."

"Ding! Task [Karaoke King] completed. Achievement title [Karaoke King] acquired (Singing Skill +5, Vocal Charisma +3)."

At that moment, Meng Fan was in his third "gate-crashing" room of the night.

He hadn't chosen this room because it was full of girls, but because the vibe was electric. The six women were completely lost in the moment, drinking and singing with such abandon that they hadn't even noticed a stranger had slipped in.

By now, they were so tipsy that the music had stopped, and no one was singing.

The track playing was "Give Me a Reason to Forget." Meng Fan, who had been about to leave, hesitated and picked up the mic.

He wanted to test the effects of his new stats.

"The rain has stopped."

As Meng Fan sang the first line, he was stunned. With his boosted singing skill, the improvements to his pitch, range, timbre, and quality were impossible to analyze—it just sounded incredible.

"…Why is the sky so grey? I still remember you said we should be happy."

As he sang, he couldn't help but pour his emotions into the lyrics.

Suddenly, the six drunken girls fell silent, their expressions dazed. They felt as if they had heard something deeply moving, yet they couldn't quite place it, though a faint smile tugged at their lips.

"…It still feels like I’m alone. Whenever I smile, my heart is weeping bitterly."

To test the true power of his vocal charisma, Meng Fan worried the cap was dampening the effect, so in a moment of impulse, he took it off.

"Give me a reason to forget, the you who loved me so much."

The moment he removed his cap, the six girls looked up and froze, but instead of screaming, they were completely swept away by his voice.

One of the girls burst into uncontrollable tears.

"Some love, the more you try to pull away, the clearer it becomes…"

When Meng Fan finished, the other five girls were also weeping, even the one who usually never cried.

The song was about the agonizing pain of a fading love, naturally tear-jerking, and with the girls already intoxicated and Meng Fan’s +4 vocal charisma, the effect was devastating.

As the song ended, Meng Fan put his cap back on to leave. Halfway out, he felt a pang of guilt, stopped, took off his cap, and broke into a wide, hearty laugh.

The joy in his laughter was also a form of charisma, and combined with his infectious smile, the six girls who had just been sobbing began to laugh through their tears.

"This… this might be going a bit too far!"

Meng Fan chuckled to himself, but not knowing how to explain, he pulled his cap low and slipped out. He stopped by the counter to order a generous spread of food and drinks for their room as a small gesture of compensation.

Leaving the KTV, Meng Fan realized that a +6 singing skill (including the black-tech mic) and +4 vocal charisma were terrifying. His technique might not be professional-grade, but with that level of charisma, he was more lethal than most pro singers.

He wasn't sure about everything else, but making a room cry was easy, and with his smile, making them laugh was even easier.

A few steps outside the KTV, he passed a small shop. Meng Fan took off his cap, walked in, and asked, "Boss, do you have any Wahahahaha…?"

The boss burst into laughter: "Is everyone obsessed with TikTok today? You’re the fifth one to ask that today, hahahaha!"

Meng Fan felt sheepish: "Wishing you a happy new year in advance."

He scurried away.

He hadn't gone two steps when his phone rang.

It was nearly 1:00 AM. Meng Fan figured it could only be Meng Caiwei, but when he looked at the screen, he froze.

Su Qingcen!

They had exchanged numbers before, but he had never dared to reach out. To have his idol call him in the middle of the night left Meng Fan both nervous and thrilled.

He took a deep breath and answered, "Hello?"

"I’m sorry for calling so late. I hope I didn't disturb your rest?" Su Qingcen said apologetically.

Meng Fan: "No, no, I’m still up."

Su Qingcen: "It’s like this. I had work in Hangzhou today and just finished. For some reason, I’m feeling a bit down and wanted to talk to someone, but I didn't want to talk to anyone in the industry. I remembered you were in Hangzhou, so I called. It might be presumptuous, but I really want to see you smile. Your smile has… a kind of magic. It makes people feel inexplicably happy."

Meng Fan was stunned. Could it be that his charisma had just peaked, drawing Su Qingcen—who was already looking for someone to talk to—straight to him?

He laughed, "Magic? You might as well call it toxic. How about this, should I start a video call?"

Even though he had met her before, the thought of a video call with his idol still made his heart race.