It was 10:30 am on a Saturday when AnLing felt her phone vibrate.
King Kang: [Good luck.]
AnLing stared gleefully at Kang Jun's message as she stood at the front of the large lounge doors. For the first time since she'd started living at the hotel, they were closed.
The reason why? Well, what she had understood was that they were prepping for a huge event and so they were taking the opportunity to clean and decorate the lounge but also hold auditions for a new lounge singer.
On the door, there was a piece of paper with instructions on where to go and what to do.
In front of AnLing, two girls stared at the paper.
"So we just go in, find the lounge boss and then give in our best shot?" One girl said before she pushed the door and walked in.
Behind them, AnLing followed, not bothering to read the paper herself since the two girls seemed to already know what to do.
Inside, there were several women who came to audition. Almost every single one of them was prettier than AnLing but those who weren't, covered it up with a think layer of makeup, which made them look pretty nonetheless.
Since she had awoken that morning, AnLing was in a bind. She didn't know how hard she should try when it came to her appearance, but in the end, she didn't change her makeup much from how she usually did it.
She kept it light but slightly heavier than usual.
When it came to her clothing, it changed it entirely. Instead of her usual jeans and blouse, she wore the dress and heels that Kang Jun had gotten for her.
They were the nicest things she owned at the moment and since she knew that Hotel Helios prided itself on having talented but also beautiful staff, she knew she had to step up in the looks department despite the fact that wearing too much makeup and wearing her contacts made her uncomfortable.
Though despite everything she did, AnLing couldn't help but think she looked quite mediocre compared to the rest.
Right now she was banking on her voice.
It wasn't the best but she was proud to say that she was pretty good. When AnLing was a child she had dreamed of becoming a singer but quickly she learned that dreams didn't come true. Some things were easier for those with money, and achieving fame and fortune was one of those things.
Back then, she was poor and lived with her father, but when she entered the Lu household, her dream of becoming a singer could have been revived but then she began to date Yize and seeking the acceptance of those around her.
Relationships, status, money, marriage, etc. That soon became more important than her reckless dreams.
She was a fool back then...
And by the time she had noticed that her mentality was wrong, it was already too late to do anything about her dreams, but despite everything she still began to do vocal training and ended up working in entertainment abroad though not as a singer.
She had given up on a debut.
The reason was neither due to her status nor due to a man but she had given it up because of the troubles it would bring her. The more she worked in the industry, the more she understood how chaotic the life of a celebrity was. She wasn't ready to face that and believed that she never would be.
But that didn't change the fact that AnLing loved singing.
"Wow, it's so pretty!" A small voice in front of AnLing erupted.
AnLing lifted her gaze to look around the room. It was pretty. Since the last time she had seen it, the color of the room had almost completely changed.
Before the ambiance was dark and the room was composed of beige or brown colors with hints of red here and there but today there were much more hints of red and white which gave the room a brighter and more festive feel to it.
As AnLing walked she continued to gaze around. When she got to the end of the hall she saw a whole bunch of girls at one side and then a small crowd of waiters on the other.
The waiters were talking amongst themselves about the upcoming event. Actually, there were to be two big events happening at Hotel Helios at the same, time. The staff was so excited because they would get to see many celebrities, most importantly, they would see the one everyone called Goddess.
Who was this 'goddess'? AnLing had no idea.
Suddenly, on top of the small stage, a woman appeared.
Everyone surrounded the stage.
The woman, who must have been in her late 50's, was slim and fit. She wore a long black dress that accentuated all of her best parts. A beauty, by all means.
Most of the girls who had come for the audition looked at the woman in awe. "Oh god… It really is Madame Liu. She looks so good!" One girl gasped and then a symphony of gasps followed.
"Have you seen her body? I pale in comparison."
"Yeah, compared to her you look like a pig!"
AnLing didn't know who this Madame Liu person was so she felt a bit left out but knowing who the woman was wouldn't have changed anything. That was something she truly believed.
Standing above everyone, Madame Liu gave off an aura of intimidation. All high and mighty, the woman's gaze swooped across the sea of women, and then she cleared her throat before bringing the microphone to her lips.
"Let me begin by saying that I don't care who you are, who you know, who your parents are or where you come from. What I want is talent. I want someone willing to put in the work and not bring down the reputation of Hotel Helios.
If you don't believe in yourselves, walk out the door right now because I want motivated individuals who can take anything the job throws at them but who also have a good temperament. Now, here is how I do things. You will sing without accompaniment. Chose whatever song you want. So, let's begin."
One by one, women walked up on stage and sang. Madame Liu just watched on with a bored expression, showing mild interest here and there. When it was AnLing's turn, she walked up the small stage in a daze and her fist clenched.
She could feel her heart beating in her ears and her palms beginning to sweat.
The nervousness never seemed to disappear no matter how many times she had gone on stage.
Once she stood at the top, AnLing glanced at the sea of beautiful women and then towards the waiters, who, despite working, were stealing glances at the stage.
The scene was surreal.
AnLing didn't really have a surefire way to get rid of nervousness, she usually came up with one on the spot but today it was much harder. She needed this job, but she couldn't deny that she had competition.
The girls who had gone ahead of her were fairly talented but AnLing noticed that they either didn't practice enough, didn't take care of their voices enough or they chose songs that didn't suit them or ones which they couldn't adapt into their own styles.
It was unfortunate mostly when it was obvious that they had good voices.
'Just concentrate. Breathe. Please, just breathe!' AnLing repeated to herself mentally.
'Maybe imagine them in their underwear… no, how about imagining them like potatoes.' In the end, AnLing couldn't calm down, but when the woman yelled for her to begin she couldn't do anything but sing.
'You sure have a beautiful voice.' Liang Ke's words spoke clearly in her mind and before she knew it, AnLing heard her voice escape her mouth. Robots and Blue Bird's was the song that played.
A couple of sentences flowed out melodiously but her pitch sounded strange. The sound of her heart beating resounded loud in her ears, causing her to slightly panic. She began to worry if it had an effect on the sound coming from her mouth.
Gazing at Madame Liu, AnLing noticed that she wasn't impressed. The stress, the worry, and the fear all combined into one, forming a knot in AnLing's chest.
Even so, AnLing wouldn't — couldn't— stop singing, she continued and continued and as she did the song began to sound better and better. Some of the staff had stopped what they were doing and began to watch her but she was still not satisfied.
Her voice could be much better than this! That upset her.
As AnLing arrived at the chorus, she planned to turn it up a notch. She wanted to reach her true potential.
Just then, a woman entered the room with a loud bang.
Everyone turned to look at the cause of the sound and AnLing's concentration shattered. Realizing that something was going on in the room, the girl who had just entered smiled bashfully and then said, "I'm so sorry."
It was so soft that AnLing couldn't hear the girls voice properly, but those who did hear it were in shock.
"Isn't that Goddess Xiao?" A girl almost screamed.
"It totally is!" Another said.
The people ran and gathered around the one called Goddess.
A part of AnLing was angry, but nothing could be done about it.
While AnLing watched she saw that the girl was an exceptional beauty. It was obvious that she was a celebrity, not only because people crowded her but also because AnLing recognized her face.
She wasn't sure from where though…
The inner layer of the crowd was majorly concentrated on the woman, but the lingering rest of their attention lied with AnLing.
"How unfortunate for her! But I guess that's what she gets for being plain."
"Be serious… Even if she tried harder and made herself beautiful she would never be able to compare to our Goddess."
"That's true but her voice wasn't bad, actually I think it was pretty amazing."
AnLing tried to ignore them.
Although there were some good comments here and there, she felt like they were unwarranted. She hadn't been able to get into her grove and ended up botching a couple of notes which created a dull performance.
AnLing felt pain in her heart.
Even if the woman hadn't come in, AnLing was almost one hundred percent certain that she wouldn't have gotten the job.
She needed the money. Yes. She needed this job. Yes. But having an opportunity to sing just to completely mess it up was the worst.
And she had no one to blame but herself.
AnLing couldn't help but reflect on her performance. Losing herself in her mind once more, as she was half staring at the woman surrounded by her fans. For a moment the girl— Goddess, as they called her— chatted with the people who surrounded her but then she lifted her head up.
Almost immediately, Her eyes locked with AnLing's and a strange calm yet, nervous expression appeared on her face.
"You're AnLing, right?"