The Greatest Showman

When Renly returned to the Pioneer Village, it was almost eight o’clock, the beginning of the peak hours for the bar.

Upon seeing Renly, Janice Blake could only manage to greet him briefly before asking for his help. “Today is simply crazy, things are getting overwhelming. We just received a batch of new goods in the warehouse, and there’s no time to check them. Hurry up and go to the kitchen; they need more than just two hands there.”

Renly had originally planned to tell Janice that he got the role in the movie “Buried,” but upon hearing this, he immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to start working, and entered the bar’s interior.

Sure enough, the entire bar was fully occupied, even the bar counter had no empty seats. At least five tables of customers were waiting at the entrance. Without any small talk, Renly walked to the bar counter and shouted, “Neil, do you need my help here?”

Neil Tucson was pouring beer and didn’t even lift his head. He answered directly, “Kitchen, go help in the kitchen.”

Renly made an “OK” gesture and quickly walked toward the kitchen. As he pushed open the large door, he saw a three-layered cake that was grabbing all the attention. He couldn’t help but widen his eyes, “Wow, is there a special event today?”

Stanley Charlson stood next to the cake. “Hey, buddy, you’re back,” Stanley greeted him and then explained, “Tonight, some guy is going to propose here, and asked us for our help. Right now, we’re just waiting for the signal.”

“So, are all the customers here tonight friends and family of that guy?” Renly’s mind immediately tried to connect all the dots, because today was an ordinary Tuesday, but the bar was unusually lively.

“Not really, most of the guests are here for tonight’s performance,” Stanley shook his head. “There’s a British folk band performing tonight, Passenger, remember?”

“I remember,” Renly’s eyes lit up involuntarily. Passenger is a typical British band, that had been in existence for many years. Although not wildly popular, they had a considerable fan base in the UK. Later on, the band managed to make a name for themselves with the song “Let Her Go,”, “but didn’t they announce that they have given up on touring in the US because one of the members left the band?”

Passenger band only had two members.

Stanley shrugged, noncommittal. Renly then immediately realized why he came here in the first place. The bar was bustling, and he came to help. These idle conversations could wait. Turning his head, he saw a busy kitchen. “Which order is ready? I can start serving.”

“Renly, come here,” Stanley gestured towards the handle of the cake trolley. “You take charge of this. Others are handling everything else.” Stanley stepped aside, and Renly took over. “Now, light all the candles. When I give you the signal, we’ll turn off all the lights in the bar, and you slowly push it out. I’ve already arranged everything with the band on the stage; they will play the requested song.”

“Wow, this guy seems determined,” Renly exclaimed, but his hands didn’t stay idle. He picked up a special lighter and began lighting the candles.

The cake in question is a three-tier sky-blue cake, not a cliché one with slogans like “Marry Me” or “I Love You.” Instead, each layer was creatively designed with different content. The bottom layer looks like a garden, planted with strawberries and pineapples. The middle layer resembles a residence, with chocolate wafers constructing a model house. The top layer is a small statue of a man surfing, with candles shaped like “9” and “7” inserted.

Even as an onlooker, Renly couldn’t help but be curious. The cake’s unique design surely includes memories only the two people involved can understand. It will be difficult for this proposal to fail. Renly sincerely felt happy for the main character who was about to receive the proposal.

After lighting the candles, Renly carefully aligned the cake trolley with the exit, while also creating a pathway so that the other waitstaff could serve the food without any problems. In no time, Stanley’s figure appeared at the door, and he whispered to Renly, “Bring it out now. Pause at the entrance; I’ll turn off the lights, and you can come out after they’re out.”

Renly nodded in agreement, then loudly exclaimed to the other colleagues in the kitchen, “Everyone, you better learn from all this. After you go home today, I estimate that everyone is going to suffer. Thinking ahead about how to deal with that is the real problem” Since most of the kitchen staff were men, if their significant others heard of such a romantic proposal, there would be no peace for them.

Laughter erupted among the people in the kitchen.

Standing at the door, Renly waited for a moment. The lights outside extinguished, and then Renly pushed the cake cart out. The entire dark bar had only a faint glow from the kitchen behind him. All eyes focused on the candles on the cake. The bar was unusually quiet, making Renly feel strange. Shouldn’t the other patrons in the bar be restless with curiosity and excitement? But now, they were all silent, as if they knew about the surprise.

However, this thought only lingered in Renly’s mind for a moment. It quickly dissipated because of the music on the stage—surprisingly, it was the classic confession song by the Backstreet Boys, “I’ll Never Break Your Heart.” It was so blissful and sweet that one almost felt like it would melt.

Renly slowly pushed the cake cart forward, searching for the main characters in the crowd. At that moment, he remembered that he had forgotten to ask Stanley where he should place the cake cart.

Suddenly, the spotlight behind him on the stage lit up, aiming at the cake cart. Renly realized that the climax was coming. He took a small step back, leaving the stage to the two main characters.

At that moment, the music from the band behind him abruptly stopped, replaced by a light and lively guitar melody. The familiar tune made Renly pause his steps, and his eyes began to search around with a somewhat bewildered look, trying to find someone who knew the situation and could explain it to him.

“I was Cleopatra, I was young and an actress. When you knelt by my mattress, and asked for my hand… “The melody that rang out was unmistakably the song “Cleopatra” composed and performed by Renly. This song tells a tragic story, full of regrets and sadness, which is not suitable for the atmosphere of a marriage proposal.

Before Renly could find someone who understood the situation, the lights in the bar came on. The light was a bit blinding, so Renly reflexively squinted his eyes. Through the narrow opening of his eyes, he vaguely saw that the entire space was densely packed with people. Everyone stood up in unison, applauding vigorously. Following everyone’s gaze, Renly turned his head towards the stage. A surge of emotion overwhelmed him in an instant. Before he could realize it, the warm mist had already blurred his vision.

Stanley, Neil, Janice… and all of the bar’s waitstaff were there. Everyone stood together on the stage, with Neil in the centre, who was holding a microphone and singing loudly, “But I was late for this, late for that. Late for the love of my life. And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time.”

The melody was abruptly cut off at this moment. Neil shouted into the microphone, “Three, two, one!”

Then, everyone in the audience shouted in unison, “Congratulations, Renly!” Bang, bang, bang, everyone raised the confetti cannons in their hands and, pulled the triggers one after another. Colourful ribbons rained down from the sky, and the continuous popping sounds, accompanied by cheers, shouts, and screams, filled the entire Pioneer Village.

A wave of happiness and joy violently surged in Renly’s chest, and the overwhelming emotions left him somewhat at a loss.

Behind him came a sudden push, and when he turned around, he was surprised to see the kitchen staff. They had all come out at some point, pushing Renly onto the stage. Neil welcomed Renly, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome our true hero of this evening, Renly Hall!”

“Dum, dum, dum,” everyone pounded the tables, creating a powerful sound that was no less loud than when people are watching a football game at a bar.

With a blurry vision, Renly looked at all the faces in front of him, searching carefully. It was then that he noticed all the patrons in the bar were familiar; he could name each and every one of them.

Now, looking back, Renly finally realized that something was amiss. He went to audition for “Buried” today, and everyone knew about it. However, whether it was Janice or Neil, they didn’t inquire at all about it, not even mentioning it. They hurriedly sent Renly away to the kitchen, so he didn’t have time to take a good look at the bar guests, and naturally, he didn’t notice anything unusual.

“So, no proposal couple?” Renly finally came to his senses. Everyone in the audience shook their heads, giving a unanimous negative answer. “And no Passenger band?” Stanley laughed heartily, shaking his head in denial. “So, all of this is for my surprise party?” The unanimous confirmation from the entire audience left Renly somewhat bemused.

For this party, they really went all out. “Wait, how did you know I was coming today?”

Stanley shrugged, “We didn’t. We planned that if you didn’t show up by nine, Neil would call you, saying the bar was too busy and short-staffed.”

A realisation dawned on Renly, and a smile uncontrollably appeared on his lips, “Thanks.” Upon careful thought, apart from this word, he couldn’t find a more accurate word. He could only say it again, “Thank you, I mean it.”

Although he hadn’t worked in the Pioneer Village for long, he had truly become friends with all of them. Looking at the sincere faces before him, Renly couldn’t help but shake his head with a light laugh, “Why do I feel like I’m accepting a proposal? If that’s the case, okay, I say yes.” This response caused everyone to burst into laughter and they all went into uproar.

Finally, there was one more question to be asked.

After the laughter settled, Renly looked at Neil, “How did you know I got the role this time? Did you call the Actors’ Union?”

Unexpectedly, after this question came out, everyone froze. The noise stopped, and Neil was the first to react, “You got the role? Wow, congratulations, congratulations! It seems like today is going to be a double celebration!”

T/N – 10 CHAPTERS🤯🤯… I did say you should look forward to this week😁.

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