r18novel Chapter 1242 - 742: Awkward Yet Divine
Chapter 1242 - 742: Awkward Yet Divine
At exactly eight in the morning, the performance troupes from the province and city arrived at the mining area. Instead of heading straight to the Cultural Troupe for rehearsal, they set up two large tents in the open space in the yard and began rehearsing on their own.
When the news was reported, Mr. Wang was examining the program list Liu Yumei had given him. With this news, he immediately became anxious. As the host, how could they bear the shame if there’s too much of a gap?
Originally considering the responsibilities of leadership to make some adjustments, Mr. Wang decisively made a decision: "Alright, just arrange it this way. When the programs from the province and city are presented, we’ll just slot them in.
Xiao Liu, you’ll be responsible for this matter. Quickly gather everyone for rehearsal. Anyone who disagrees with the program arrangement can come to me. Anyone who doesn’t listen should leave directly."
"Yes." Liu Yumei responded and turned to walk out.
"Wait!"
Liu Yumei stopped and returned to Mr. Wang’s table, handing him the program list and taking a pen from the pen holder to give to him.
Mr. Wang, who was pondering while rubbing his chin with his thumb, waved his hand: "The program is just settled like this. This time, let Xiao Luo and Xiao Zhao host. As the hosts, there should be some adaptation."
"About Teacher Liu..." Liu Yumei hesitated while looking at Mr. Wang and didn’t immediately agree.
"This performance is for the people. Do you think Liu Yunli is suitable?"
"Well..." Liu Yumei obviously thought she wasn’t suitable, not only because she’s approaching sixty but also speaks with a theatrical accent, which the people couldn’t possibly like.
The problem is, does the other party think this way? Liu Yunli always thought she was very young. She remembered when she first started working, she called her "auntie" without knowing her situation, and she immediately blew up.
At that time, she was completely scared silly. From her perspective, calling the person "auntie" at twenty was already putting it mildly. Should she call her Sister Liu instead?
And this happened again just two days ago when Luo Ye and others reported. Considering Luo Ye was under twenty, calling her "grandma" was no problem, yet she couldn’t accept even being called "auntie."
So, if she now told Liu Yunli that the hosting of this performance would be changed to Luo Ye and Zhao Qianqian... she couldn’t imagine the consequences...
Seeing Liu Yumei’s eyes flickering on and off, Mr. Wang laughed: "How about this, let Liu Yunli come find me. People, can’t escape aging. After all these years, it’s time for her to face reality."
"Yes!" Liu Yumei responded, as if granted amnesty, immediately and rapidly left.
"This Sister Liu..." Mr. Wang shook his head, sighed, and took a jasmine tea container from the cupboard behind him. After thinking, he put it back and replaced it with green tea.
Most people in Ludong like jasmine tea, but green tea has more health benefits, especially for older people with high blood pressure. Green tea is the best choice.
So today, he would use this as a stepping stone to remind her, hoping she could truly exit the "fear of aging" complex.
...
When Liu Yumei walked toward her upon entering the rehearsal hall, Liu Yunli slightly curled her lips, modestly turned her gaze back, and sipped her cup of water in small sips.
"Teacher Liu..."
Before Liu Yumei could finish, Liu Yunli interrupted her: "Xiao Liu, I’ve been feeling burned out these past two days, my throat hurts, so I’ve been drinking brewed fat sea.
This time, province and city leaders are attending the performance. I’m in no shape for it. It’s okay if I lose face, but it wouldn’t be good if the troupe’s reputation suffers."
"Right, you’re absolutely right..."
"However, as a senior member of the troupe, how could I back down in critical times? I have to push through. Give me the program list."
Liu Yumei, interrupted again, twitched the corner of her mouth and squeezed a smile: "Teacher Liu, please go to Mr. Wang’s office; he’s looking for you."
"Really?" Liu Yunli raised her eyebrows and handed her cup to Liu Yumei, "Hold it for me, don’t let anyone sip from it."
"Yes!"
Watching Liu Yunli sway gracefully as she left, Liu Yumei smiled bitterly, shook her head, and went to find Luo Ye and Zhao Qianqian.
"There’s no problem with me and Luoluo hosting, just Teacher Liu, haha..." Zhao Qianqian mischievously stopped mid-sentence.
"With Mr. Wang here, your program is scheduled at the end; you can switch the stage then." Liu Yumei sighed helplessly, "Our troupe, over the years, neglected by Grandma and Uncle, has accumulated a bunch of problems. Hopefully, such a rushed performance doesn’t run into any hiccups."
Zhao Qianqian muttered quietly: "To be loved by Grandma and Uncle, one has to show some real skill, right? The programs are from ten years ago, and each struts around pompously; how is that acceptable?"
"Hurry up." Luo Ye pushed Liu Yumei, "Stop dawdling here."
Liu Yumei rubbed her face back and forth, then stood tall: "Here goes nothing!" As she spoke, she bravely stood at the forefront, weakly voiced: "Dear seniors, let’s start rehearsing."
"My God!" Zhao Qianqian was speechless, covering her face, "So embarrassing, seeing her earlier, I thought she was going to fearlessly blow up the fortress like a hero in the movies."
Luo Ye smiled and gave her a playful slap on the back without saying a word. She wasn’t surprised by Liu Yumei’s behavior. After all, she was dealing with her seniors, and in this industry, seniority is a common thing. If everyone hadn’t gotten used to being hands-off and not wanting to worry, how would Liu Yumei have the chance to step up?
"Xiao Liu, speak up a bit, we’re not as hard to deal with as you think." A man in his fifties in the audience said with a hearty laugh.
With this introduction, everyone started expressing their opinions one after another.
"Exactly, with this competition against the provincial troupe, we don’t want to embarrass ourselves. Don’t worry, no matter how it’s arranged, everyone will cooperate."
"Yes, yes, this event was organized because the provincial and city leaders care about the people. It’s a meaningful performance, and there’s nothing for everyone to fuss about."
"We’re all just old bones and can’t handle too much. Xiao Liu, you sincerely treat the troupe’s matters as your own, which is why you’re willing to work so hard, and we appreciate it."
"Yeah, the troupe had some issues before, but now they’re all solved. In the future, let’s all work together to restore the reputation of the Mine Art Troupe, shall we?"
"Yes!"
"..."
For a moment, the hall was filled with excitement.
Liu Yumei let out a long sigh of relief, immediately feeling at ease. She had been nervously chatting with Luo Ye and Zhao Qianqian just now because she was a bit scared of truly facing these seniors. Luckily, it was her overthinking.
The rehearsal continued in an orderly manner. Liu Yumei stood next to Luo Ye and Zhao Qianqian, sighing heavily.
Luo Ye glanced at her sideways and shook his head with a smile, "Still not relaxed yet?"
"No, it’s just that I realized I’ve always been overthinking things, unfairly blaming everyone. Actually, they’re quite lovable. See how seriously they’re rehearsing today?"
"It’s understandable. When Yao Wenyuan was in charge, everyone understood that unless you were a pretty girl, you wouldn’t get ahead, so they slacked off.
People influenced each other, and due to Yao Wenyuan’s way of doing things, the troupe’s reputation wasn’t very good, and everyone’s enthusiasm was low.
Now that Yao Wenyuan has left, it’s like the stumbling block in front of us has been removed. Even if we’ve passed the prime age for career advancement, restoring the troupe’s reputation will sound good when we retire, right?"
"Spot on analysis," Liu Yumei said, shrinking her neck, "Luoluo, Qianqian, we’ve got trouble coming."
Luo Ye and Zhao Qianqian followed her gaze and saw Liu Yunli walking over, her eyes red and swollen, angrily approaching—not graceful at all.
"Teacher Liu..." Liu Yumei rushed over to meet her.
Liu Yunli pushed her away, stood in front of Luo Ye and Zhao Qianqian, and looked them up and down, "You two will get old one day too!"
With those words, she turned and walked straight out of the rehearsal hall.
"Did she... did she call us old?" Liu Yumei’s eyes widened, "Did I hear that right?"
"Xiao Liu, take Liu Yunli’s program off the list." Mr. Wang walked over, looking helpless. No matter how hard he tried to persuade her, she just couldn’t accept that she was already considered "old."
The final result, naturally, was that the talks broke down. Liu Yunli claimed she wasn’t feeling well and needed to go home to rest. Mr. Wang thought for a moment and promptly approved her request.
The guard rushed in, breathless, "Luo Ye, someone outside is looking for you, saying he’s your brother. You better go out and see."
"Okay." Luo Ye responded, looking at Zhao Qianqian, "Can you fill in for me first?"
"Sure, you go on." Zhao Qianqian looked at the guard suspiciously, "Is there something else going on? Why are you so anxious?"
"You’ll see when you get out there." The guard said, attempting to pull Luo Ye along, but thought better of it mid-action and just waved his hand, "Hurry up!"
"Pfft!" Zhao Qianqian burst into laughter, clutching her stomach, "Sister Liu, that was the energy you should have had just now."
"Alright, you stay here and keep an eye on things. I’m going out to take a look; Wang Liang’s expression is too off. We can’t afford to let Luoluo suffer." Liu Yumei said and ran out.
"Her suffer?" Zhao Qianqian exaggeratedly flared her nostrils and twisted her mouth, "The person who’d make her suffer probably hasn’t been born yet."
As soon as Luo Ye stepped outside, she saw Liu Yunli tugging on Luo Feng’s sleeve, not letting him leave, while shouting loudly, "Pervert, you stinking pervert..."
Wen Su looked helpless, "Aunt, can you please let go? I accidentally bumped into you, and I apologize. I’m sorry, please let go..."
Luo Ye just slapped her forehead, oh my god, second brother, aren’t you just asking for trouble? Even Auntie couldn’t handle it, and here he goes calling her Great Aunt...
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The first Chapter is up, been writing all afternoon... Guys, pink, tips, subscription, encouragement, I’ll get to writing the next Chapter... (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)