Finally, Alex strung the last note. Without realizing it, the judges had their eyes shut tight throughout his performance.“Eh, are you done?” Bruce asked in surprise when he realized Alex had stopped.“Yes. The one minute is over,” Alex replied.“Ehnm.” The first female judge cleared her throat. “I will be honest with you. This song, by itself, is a masterpiece. If you choose songwriting and composing as your career, you will make it.” She paused.Alex nodded. At least something positive. Even though he had not heard the rest, he believed it would also be positive. It seemed possible that he might get a pass, judging by how impressed she appeared.“But…” she continued. “The issue is your singing. You have nice control and all that, but your singing is bad. It is not up to a superstar standard, not even close. And it is all because of your voice. It has the ability to resonate with people and pull them into your storytelling, but it is too crude and unrefined.“You need to work hard o

Alex found himself moving with the flow. Mandy was a very bold girl, and she made him feel the heat of the moment. Eventually, she took him to her house nearby.“Your home looks nice,” he commented as he carefully set his guitar down. She did not give him a chance to continue admiring it and instead planted a kiss on his lips. It was a good thing this was not this world’s Alex’s first kiss.Mandy’s right hand roamed over his body. She squeezed his biceps, hardened by the harsh training he had been subjected to these days, then slid over his chest and brushed against his nipples.Soon, she yanked off his upper cloth and tossed it aside, then pulled off her own clothes completely. It was easy for her since she was wearing only a singlet and a very short skirt, with absolutely nothing underneath. As an experienced hookup girl, she never wore anything inside.Reality dawned on Alex. He was letting himself down for cheap pleasure. What happened to maintaining a solid celebrity image and di

Alex’s order was brought to him, tea and buns. That was all he could afford. It might have sounded strange to have tea in the evening, but people of this world did not have such rules.Tea could be drunk anytime.He sipped his tea and ate the buns while thinking about the mess he had gotten himself into today, dreading the possibility that his guitar might have been spoiled.Suddenly, he saw a police car drive in a few houses away from Mandy’s apartment. He was seated at a table outside the tea shop, facing the street, so he could see every movement clearly.“What are the police doing here this time? It’s never a good sign seeing them park on our street,” the server from the tea shop said. She was beautiful and young, her body showing she was still developing.Alex guessed she might be around his age, eighteen or nineteen. She was serving a new customer who sat directly opposite him. The girl was average-looking, her hair scattered carelessly.She did not seem to care about her appear

“What do you want?” he asked warily. “I don’t have anything with me. No cash.”The man did not slow down. As he drew closer, Alex could see his full frame clearly. He was not taller than Alex, but he was bulkier, thicker through the shoulders, and looked much older.“What do you want?” Alex repeated, his voice tighter now.The man reached to his belt, pulled out a dagger, and pointed it straight at him.“Give me everything you have,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.“Please, I don’t have anything on me. Just let me go, please,” Alex said, tugging at his pockets and turning out the inner lining to prove he had no money.The robber narrowed his eyes.“What’s that on your back? Give it to me,” he said coldly.“No way.” Alex stepped back. There was no chance he would ever give up his guitar.(Ding! New mission: defeat the robber and protect your guitar at all costs.Reward number one: a random level increase.Reward number two: new technique, Fighting Proficiency Level One.Penalty for

After the treatment, the landlady gave him food before he returned to his house. He did not have the strength to check his system and went straight to sleep.The next day, when he woke up and came down, the first thing he did was check his system.(Mission complete: defeat the robber and protect your guitar at all cost. Reward no 1: a random level increase. Acting level 5.Reward number two: new technique. Fighting proficiency level one added.)“Shit! Why acting?” Alex felt like crying. His Singing level was the only thing he wanted to increase.It would greatly boost his chances in the reality show Superstars Of Tomorrow.But the system was quite unreliable.(Fighting proficiency is integrating with host.)The system announced suddenly. He felt a sharp headache as new information surged into his mind. A few minutes later, the headache subsided. Information about fighting was ingrained into his mind and body.There was nothing visibly different, but Alex felt that if he fought the rob