Chapter 113: Endure a Moment of Lymph Node Trouble; Take One Step Back from Prostate Enlargement (Please Favorite and Vote!)

Chapter 113

Early the next morning, Li Shixin felt a surge of energy as he looked at the sudden influx of "acclaim points" in his system.

Since yesterday afternoon, acclaim points had been steadily trickling in. Although they couldn't compare to the tens of thousands he had received live on the spot, as the "Huaqi Copyright Extortion" incident fermented online, points were coming in by the hundreds. Bit by bit, like sand accumulating into a tower, they had actually totaled over 70,000 by the end of the night!

Lying under his quilt, Li Shixin pulled out his old-fashioned cell phone and saw that his Weibo following had surpassed 100,000. He raised his eyebrows in satisfaction. As expected, a celebrity is a creature of topics. As long as there is a topic, there is no shortage of heat—even if that heat was borrowed or provoked.

Looking at his comment section, it was filled with voices of support. Li Shixin chuckled. How sweet it is!

After a moment of thought, he posted an update on Weibo: "Waking up this morning to see such strong support from friends on Weibo, I am moved beyond words. If my remaining years allow, I will certainly create better works and screen performances to repay your favor! My deepest thanks!"

This triggered another wave of support and a frenzy of criticism toward Huaqi. Most importantly, seeing another 7,000 acclaim points hit his account, Li Shixin smiled.

Originally, he had been quite happy when a company of Huaqi's scale came to discuss copyright. In his mind, everything except the stage play rights—such as film and television adaptations—was negotiable. The licensing fee didn't matter; his goal was to secure roles in the adapted productions. Who would have thought that Manager Wang would try to pull a fast one on him right from the start?

As the saying goes, "Suppressing your anger leads to lymph node nodules; taking a step back leads to prostate hyperplasia." When he was a twenty-year-old idol trainee, he had to swallow his pride and play the fool, but now that he was an old man in his sixties, he had no intention of suffering such indignities.

Confucius said, "At fifteen, I set my heart on learning; at thirty, I stood firm; at forty, I had no doubts; at fifty, I knew the decree of Heaven; at sixty, my ears were attuned; at seventy, I could follow my heart's desires without overstepping the line."

What does "ears attuned" mean? Naturally, it means keeping one's ears comfortable—by crushing anyone who says something unpleasant!

Heh, heh!

He figured that with another day of fermentation, he would likely rake in another 40,000 to 50,000 points. If he was lucky, one of Huaqi's competitors might even reach out to him. With his current level of exposure, he had the leverage to write the role of the lead in the film adaptation into the contract and demand a price higher than what Huaqi had offered yesterday. Li Shixin gave himself a silent thumbs-up.

Excellent!

After giving himself a silent pep talk, he invested the 70,000 acclaim points into his lifespan.

User: Li Shixin.
Lifespan Remaining: 178 days.
Biological Age: 63 years, 34 days.
Current Acclaim Points: 213.

Feeling a milky-white holy light bathe his entire body, Li Shixin stretched fiercely. With a series of satisfying cracks from his joints, he exhaled a long, deep breath. In a spirit of gratitude, he bowed toward the window. "Thank you, Manager Wang, for extending this old life of mine. You are too kind!"

...

Ring-a-ling-a-ling.

At nine in the morning, Li Shixin finished washing up and had just applied two medicated plasters to his aching lower back when his old phone rang. Seeing Sun Yaozhong’s name on the caller ID, he answered quickly.

"Good morning, Brother Shixin!"

Hearing Sun Yaozhong’s voice on the other end, Li Shixin laughed heartily. "Old Sun, calling this early—is there good news?"

"Brother, the Culture Plaza is all set. Starting today, the Rongdian Arts Channel will begin running scrolling subtitles for our performance, and the Culture Bureau’s official newspaper will start running a feature on you today as well. As for the show date, I took the liberty of setting it for the day after tomorrow. That won't be a problem for you, will it?"

Li Shixin hadn't expected Sun Yaozhong to be so efficient! "Of course not! Old Sun, thank you so much! Is there anything you need me to do on my end?"

Sun Yaozhong laughed on the phone. "Of course there is, why else would I call? There are two main things. First, the Culture Plaza only provides the venue; you'll have to provide the staff for the stage and theater setup, so get organized quickly. As for ticket prices, you set them, but the Plaza has a strict requirement: no 'sky-high' prices over 500 yuan. I assume, given your original intentions, I don't even need to mention that. Second, the Culture Plaza needs to review the content of the performance. It's a mandatory procedure to comply with the Propaganda Department's regulations. You should bring your actors over this afternoon for a rehearsal so the person in charge can take a look. Alright?"

After two days of massages from An Xiaoxiao combined with safflower oil and plasters, Li Shixin’s back still throbbed, but it was much better. After considering the schedules of An Xiaoxiao, Zhang Shuo, and others, Li Shixin nodded. "Done. I'll arrange it now and get back to you once the time is set."

"Splendid! I'll wait for your news. Old Li, give it your best! Talk to you later."

After hanging up, Li Shixin contacted the crew and learned that An Xiaoxiao only had one scene in the afternoon, which might not wrap until six due to set design. After calling Zhao Jinzhi and receiving a promise that she was available on call, he finally felt at ease.

...

At 1:30 PM, Li Shixin arrived at the Culture Plaza with An Xiaoxiao, Zhang Shuo, and Zhao Jinzhi.

It was called a "Culture Plaza," but there wasn't actually an open-air square. It was a massive cultural palace—a four-story building spanning over 50,000 square meters that housed a cinema, a stage theater, a film museum, and exhibition halls for books and paintings.

As soon as they arrived at the entrance, Li Shixin saw Sun Yaozhong waiting for them. Seeing the group, Sun Yaozhong smiled and greeted them, leading them directly to an office on the second floor.

The Culture Plaza was a key cultural facility, and unlike the loose, informal nature of the Children's Center, each department had dedicated staff. The leader in charge of the theater was surnamed Song, a woman who looked to be in her forties. Perhaps because of Sun Yaozhong, she was very polite to Li Shixin and his group.

After some pleasantries, she suggested beginning the preview immediately. Since retiring, Sun Yaozhong had been idle for so long that he was eager to see this project move forward; he had set the performance date quite soon, so they couldn't afford to dawdle.

According to Sun, this preview was just to check the content, so Li Shixin didn't make a big fuss; he skipped the complicated lighting and sound details. While Li Shixin and his team went backstage to change, Director Song and her colleagues sat with Sun Yaozhong in the audience.

Listening to their old leader chatter away, Director Song giggled and teased, "When you were in office, Director Sun, I never saw you put this much heart into anything."

"Ha," Sun Yaozhong puffed out his cheeks, feigning anger. "Little Song, that’s not objective! That sounds like you're saying I didn't do my job when I was in office!"

"I wouldn't dare! Your strict style was famous throughout the system!" Director Song quickly apologized with a smile.

"Heh," Sun Yaozhong laughed as well. "But I really do love this play. And since I retired, I've had more opportunities to come into contact with folk works. I deeply feel that on our cultural front, plays with heart like *Only You* are becoming increasingly rare. We should pay more attention to them."

"Oh my, such high praise from the old director. We’ll have to watch carefully and learn."

As they were speaking, the backstage was ready. Following the chime signaling the start, Li Shixin, playing the father, walked onto the stage carrying his daughter on his back.

"Dad, put me down. I can walk myself," An Xiaoxiao delivered her first line.

"No need, Dad isn't tired."

Li Shixin continued to use a labored, trudging gait to convey the environment of walking through puddles on a rainy day. However, seeing his awkward posture and his slightly trembling, off-pitch voice, the cultural workers in the audience frowned.

This old actor... he doesn't seem to be doing very well...