Chapter 35 - Crimson Show Part 1 (1/2)

The opening ceremony, with its fast-rhythm music and energetic dancing moves, ignited the pa.s.sion of the crowd. Euphoric cries of excitement were heard as the spectators cheered in antic.i.p.ation for the start of the festival.

However, the on-scene producer frowned, despite the more-than-expected success of the opening show. He now questioned the decision of the director to put Shao Xian first. Although Shao Xian's song was undoubtedly one of the more antic.i.p.ated ones of the show, it was one which caused relaxation rather than excitement, so it would run in the opposite direction of what he had planned.

In the backstage, Shao Xian waited nervously. The loud cheering and screaming she heard frightened her, despite Sai Gao's best attempt to calm her down.

Li Yiming was on the side, examining the crowd to prepare himself for the fight to come. His glance remained for a while on the knit-bag the moment he spotted it. 'Even you're here?'

As the opening ceremony finally concluded, the music switched to a cla.s.sic tune of Chinese zither. Shao Xian took one last deep breath and walked towards the stage under the guidance of the staff members.

“Divine Voice Materialized? The unknown G.o.ddess is first?”

“That's different from what was written on the pamphlet! It says that she's the seventeenth performer!”

“Wow! She's pretty!”

“Where did she get a dress like that? Honey, I want one too…”

Murmurs were heard as many discussed the reason for moving Shao Xian's performance to the first one. Although efforts were made to keep the voice low, it still inevitably created a buzzing sound which was almost as loud as the accompanying music. Visibly nervous, Shao Xian pressed on her earphones to hear the music more clearly.

“This is her first time after all…” The producer sighed as he watched it from the control center and opted to raise the volume of the instrumental music.

“She has guts showing up this unprepared? She'd be bad even for lip-syncing! A shame all of us have to perform real singing as part of the contract…” A lesser-known singer complained in a sour tone.

“You can complain here, but keep your mouth shut when you head out of this room. One of the vice-directors got fired due to a problem related to her restroom. Even Fang Shui'er seemed afraid of her. Don't stir up unnecessary troubles for the company!” The singer's manager scolded her as he stared at the screen.

“She's first?” Mr. Xie frowned and glanced at his a.s.sistant, who caught onto his signal and left.

“Thank you. It's the first time I've been to a concert like this…” The young employee who was brought in by Mr. Kong was overjoyed. She had never thought that she would get to sit in the middle of the first row of all places. It was inconceivable that the best ticket for such a big event would be used for promotional purposes.

“Don't mention it, just enjoy the music. Unfortunately, I don't think most people are here for that,” Mr. Kong chuckled, took out a cigarette and lit it up.

“Um, smoking is forbidden here,” The employee was instantly reminded of her duties.

“Don't worry. No one's going to mind.” The man said as he lit up his smoke.

“But…” The employee looked around. She noticed that all of the other VIP guests maintained their distance to Mr. Kong, which was something she could only attribute to their not wanting to condescend and interact with him.

“It's started.” Mr. Kong took a long whiff and looked at Shao Xian.