ISWMQ – Chapter 106

The performance had been over for a long time. The lights in the entire venue began to turn on, and the bright light dispelled all the sorrow.

A few people started to leave in groups, and the venue was filled with trivial whispers, but some were unwilling to leave for a long time, sitting in their seats and wiping away tears.

The fans stood reluctantly below the stage, their teary eyes looking at the four empty chairs, which made the stage seem exceptionally desolate.

Without the four girls sitting on stage with radiant smiles, it felt too monotonous, too bleak.

There was a sense of loneliness, like when the music ends and the crowd disperses.

After finishing the large group photo she had arranged with the fan club leader, Rong Guang finally returned backstage, letting out a sigh of relief, feeling completely drained.

The number of people organized by the fan club who hoped to wear wedding dresses and take a picture with her wasn’t actually that large, but it still added up to over a hundred people.

Although it was a case of acting first and reporting later, Rong Guang discussed it with Wang Lujie and ultimately agreed. Furthermore, Big Dipper would send a dedicated person to manage the fan club’s operations in the future to resolutely prevent similar incidents from happening again.

After all, this incident was also a case of acting first and reporting later.

At the beginning of the show, Chu Siyue had noticed these fans who had privately worn wedding dresses, demanding photos and autographs from Rong Guang in the name of love.

Joking aside, she had contacted Wang Lujie right then and there.

Wang Lujie was so panicked by this work oversight that she broke out in a cold sweat. She drove to the venue as if her life depended on it and began to maintain order; otherwise, it would have likely descended into chaos.

A single camera lens couldn’t capture so many people. Even though the fan club had privately organized rehearsals, and Wang Lujie had found people to assign them their positions before the performance ended, it still took a very long time.

After the crowd dispersed, and Rong Guang had, as usual, promoted 【The Eldest Princess】 and revealed some of her upcoming schedule, Wang Lujie took charge of leading everyone out of the venue in an orderly fashion.

After all, many of the people who came were major administrators of the fan club and old fans who had been around for a long time. Offending them would have a significant impact on Rong Guang’s current stage of development.

Rong Guang let out a breath. Having resolved everything, she herself relaxed a lot. She couldn’t help but let herself slump into a chair, leaning her head back and slowly twisting her neck from side to side a few times.

The other three were also exhausted. They all lay silently in their spots, busy with their own things, with no energy left to talk.

The backstage area was very messy at the moment, with people packing things up everywhere.

Duan Nong glanced around and suddenly said to Rong Guang, “It’s too messy here. Why don’t we go back to the car to rest?”

Rong Guang felt a bit better after stretching her limbs for a while. She gave a casual reply, pushed herself up from the stool, and stood up.

As she stood up, she was still clutching her phone.

Ever since returning backstage, Rong Guang’s first instinct had been to pick up her phone and look at WeChat. After turning on both the ringtone and vibration, she hadn’t let go of it.

But Chu Feiliang hadn’t sent her any messages yet. She wondered if she was busy with something.

But it was within Rong Guang’s expectations if she was busy… After all, many people had come today. There were many industry bigwigs she had only been able to meet late in her previous life, as well as high-level executives from partner companies. Since Chu Feiliang had come with Chu Siyue, she would have to entertain them.

Entertaining guests was always a time-consuming and mentally draining task.

Lost in thought, she glanced at the backstage area where things were being moved everywhere. She knew this was no place to rest. Thinking about how she had to go to Chu Feiliang’s house tonight to celebrate the success of their concert, she figured resting now would put her in a better state later. So she said, “Let’s go.”

Yi Chun picked up her handbag and was about to follow.

Tang Shi pulled her back.

Yi Chun turned around, almost too tired to speak, and said weakly, “Why are you pulling me?”

Tang Shi was the main vocalist, and since they had been using half-open mics for the entire show, her voice was already hoarse. It was difficult for her to speak now, but she still made an effort to say, “You can go over later. Just make do and rest here for a bit.”

“Why?” Yi Chun frowned, not moving.

There were recliners in the car, enough for all four of them to have a place to sleep. Here, they couldn’t sit or lie down properly and had to keep moving out of the way for the staff. It was really a hassle.

Tang Shi pursed her lips, looked into Yi Chun’s eyes, and after a moment, said, “What kind of feelings does Duan Nong have for Rong Guang? You’ve been in this circle for so long, don’t tell me you still can’t see anything?”

Yi Chun paused, her lips twitching. She said, “Are the two of them already together…?”

“No such thing.” Tang Shi glanced in the direction Duan Nong and Rong Guang had left and said thoughtfully, “But I’m afraid there will be a result today. Whether it works out or not, who knows.”

Yi Chun thought about it and really didn’t follow them. She picked up her phone, removed the heavy ornament from her head, and said, “Oh.”

After that, she didn’t say anything more.

Although they had agreed before going on stage that no matter what conflicts they had before, today they had to act as if nothing had happened, coordinate well, and fight this final battle properly.

Indeed, no one wanted to mess up during their final farewell stage.

Plus, once they got into the zone, no one had the mental energy to do anything bad. Each of them worked desperately, wanting to enjoy that stage. So this time, all four of them performed exceptionally well.

Besides, with so many years of friendship between them, a few quarrels wouldn’t necessarily lead to an irreparable rift.

What’s more… Yi Chun pursed her lips. It was indeed her who had done something wrong.

As if trying to ease the tension, Yi Chun glanced at Tang Shi, seemingly hoping she would put in a good word for her with Rong Guang. She then said, “I wonder if the Captain will agree. I actually quite hope the two of them can get together.”

Tang Shi glanced at her, her lips twitching into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She said, “Is that so?”

That one rhetorical question deftly choked back whatever she had planned to say next.

Yi Chun’s face flushed red. She bit her lip and ultimately said nothing, lowering her head to look at her phone again. Serves her right for running her mouth, insisting on provoking Tang Shi’s sharp tongue.

The faint, ambiguous smile didn’t leave Tang Shi’s lips, lingering there lightly.

She actually really hoped Rong Guang wouldn’t agree to be with Duan Nong.

It was Rong Guang who said that in this life, one’s own happiness is the most important thing.

That’s how Rong Guang advised herself, and it’s how she always demanded of herself.

But it’s hard to be happy with someone like Duan Nong; it would even be exhausting.

Duan Nong was good to people, and she didn’t even have that many ulterior motives.

But her kindness came with a prerequisite: people needed to remember it, to be constantly aware of it, as if her kindness wasn’t a given but a bestowal of grace. Moreover, her sense of aggression was too strong, making people feel uncomfortable from the bottom of their hearts.

Even if the two were lovers.

Most girls are very perceptive. Tang Shi selfishly thought that a gentle and meticulous person like Rong Guang deserved better.

At the very least, it should be someone who was willing to be good to Rong Guang unconditionally.

Gentle people deserve to be treated even more gently.

Especially Rong Guang.

The things Duan Nong had said in the past still faintly echoed in her ears. Tang Shi rubbed her brow in frustration, remaining silent. She was also waiting for the result, and she was very worried.

Before long, Duan Nong returned alone.

It seemed to have started snowing outside. The world had turned into a vast expanse of white at some point, but the layer of snow wasn’t thick; the gray flagstones on the ground were still faintly visible.

The snowflakes on Duan Nong’s body quickly melted after she came inside, turning into water spots that clung to her hair and clothes, making her look a bit disheveled.

Yi Chun was stunned. Seeing Duan Nong like this, she subconsciously asked, “Nongnong, what’s wrong?”

Duan Nong shook her head, her face expressionless. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, but she held back her tears, looking utterly listless, like a frost-bitten eggplant.

She looked at Yi Chun, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something. The emotions in her eyes shifted a few times before finally turning to disappointment.

After a long moment, Duan Nong gave a cold laugh, picked up her small handbag and phone, and actually just left.

Yi Chun shuddered at her mocking smile. The hand she had extended to support Duan Nong froze in mid-air, unable to truly lift for a long time.

After a long while, she turned back dazedly and looked at Tang Shi. “She left…?”

“Yes, she left.” Tang Shi withdrew her gaze, her expression impassive as she looked back at her phone.

Yi Chun grew a little anxious. “Duan Nong left. Is Rong Guang still going to the company’s party tonight? If two of us four are missing, what kind of situation is that? There will be a lot of mainstream media there tonight…”

Looking at Yi Chun, a sudden, even malicious, thought arose in Tang Shi’s mind.

She said softly, “I don’t know either.”

She suddenly really wanted to see.

Given Duan Nong’s temper, she definitely wouldn’t be attending tonight’s banquet.

But it was uncertain whether Rong Guang would go—although she also felt Rong Guang probably wouldn’t.

After all, the evening banquet was hosted by Star Cluster. Among the four of them, Rong Guang and she herself had favorability ratings for Star Cluster that were below negative, and an infinitely large negative number at that.

If Duan Nong didn’t go, Rong Guang didn’t go, and she herself didn’t go either…

Tang Shi’s eyes flickered, and she smiled faintly.

Yi Chun looked up just in time to see the smile on Tang Shi’s face. Not knowing what she was smiling about, she muttered, “What are you smiling about? How can you still smile at a time like this…”

Suddenly, someone entered from not far away.

She was wearing a luxurious and elegant black-and-white gradient evening gown. The hem of the dress swayed and trailed on the floor. From a distance, her waistline was distinct and her figure was exquisite. A slender necklace hung on her neck, accentuating her delicate collarbones under the light.

Both Yi Chun and Tang Shi stared blankly for a moment. It took them a while to realize that the person walking over was actually Chu Feiliang.

Chu Feiliang looked around backstage but didn’t see Rong Guang. So she smiled, thought about what Rong Guang had said before, and turned her gaze to Tang Shi, asking, “Where’s your captain?”

“Cap… Captain?” Tang Shi dazedly stood up subconsciously. Looking at Chu Feiliang, she pointed to a small door behind her and said, “She’s resting in the car, but…”

“But what?” Chu Feiliang was about to leave, but seeing Tang Shi’s hesitant expression, she stopped again and gave Tang Shi a good-natured, radiant smile.

Tang Shi’s face betrayed her and turned completely red. Her mouth moved much faster than her brain, and she blurted out everything that had just happened. “The Captain might be in a bad mood right now. Nongnong went out alone with her just now… When Nongnong came back, she was crying… No, that’s, what I mean is…”

The more anxious Tang Shi got, the less she could organize her words. She became so flustered that her face and neck turned red, and she couldn’t form a complete sentence for a long time.

Chu Feiliang shook her head in amusement, waving her hand to stop her rambling. She thought to herself that Rong Guang’s description of Tang Shi was really accurate.

A little stutterer who gets flustered easily and starts speaking nonsense when nervous. She had no idea how someone like this became NO.1’s main vocalist. She’d heard that the thing Tang Shi did most often was forget the lyrics and then improvise new ones on the spot.

And the improvised lyrics were very… very out of place, yet seamlessly integrated.

That was a skill in itself.

Rong Guang had also said in the end—Tang Shi’s ability to adapt on the spot was very similar to her own.

But Chu Feiliang felt that the more similar point was probably the way they both stuttered when they got nervous, right?

“Okay, thank you.” Chu Feiliang, carrying something in her hand and lifting her skirt with the other, walked gracefully towards the small door.

After her figure disappeared through the doorway, Tang Shi froze for a moment, touched her burning cheek, and murmured, “No wonder the Captain likes her so much…”

She wasn’t into women, but when faced with Chu Feiliang, just looking at her face and figure from a distance made her blush to the point of congestion. She couldn’t even speak clearly, stuttering, and didn’t dare to look directly into her eyes…

Let alone Rong Guang, who had spent half a year with her day in and day out. Who could possibly withstand that…?

“Why do I feel like something’s not quite right…” Yi Chun moved closer to Tang Shi, looking thoughtfully at the small door Chu Feiliang had just walked through. “Was Teacher Chu holding wine just now? Why did she look less like she was catching up and more like she was… aggressive? As if after hearing what you said, she was going over to…”

She didn’t say the last word, startled by her own thought.

After a moment, Yi Chun saw that no one was around, glanced at Tang Shi, and for a moment, couldn’t care about anything else. She said quickly, “Don’t you think Teacher Chu just now looked like she was going to catch a cheater and assert her authority as the main partner?”

Tang Shi paused, a belated look of conflict finally appearing on her face.

Duan Nong wouldn’t come back later, would she?

If the three of them happened to run into each other, that would truly be the drama of the year.

“Film Empress Chu’s Relationship Exposed,” “Third Party Intrusion,” “A Three-Person Drama.” She could almost predict these keywords would become popular memes for the next year, or even two!

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