Chapter 116: Charge!

When Li Shixin arrived at the Cultural Square, the "Li Family Troupe" was already there.

In front of the Cultural Square, a promotional board for "Only You" had been erected, prominently featuring the image of the father character portrayed by Li Shixin in the play. Inside the grand hall, a large banner was already hung:

“The performance of ‘Only You Are My Unforgettable Concern’ will begin promptly at 7 p.m. tonight. Please look forward to it!”

Wu Ming was leading Chen Boshi and others, handing over the tickets that had been rushed out the day before to the ticket office staff.

“Shixin’s here?”

“Grandpa Li, hello!”

“Grandpa Li, hello~~~”

Waving at Wu Ming and smiling as he gently patted the small, droopy head of Yiyi, Li Shixin nodded and picked up a ticket.

Reading the promotional slogan printed on it, he couldn’t help but chuckle: “The most touching drama of the year… isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”

“Not at all! Not at all!” Wu Ming grinned. “Shixin, you have to believe in yourself! I watch movies at home all the time, and very few make me cry. But every time I think about our ‘Only You,’ my nose gets all sour. Just based on that, calling it the most touching of the year is modest! If it were up to me, we’d make it the most touching ever!”

Li Shixin chuckled again, then glanced at the ticket’s note: “Alzheimer’s patients must be accompanied by adult children,” and the price of 88 yuan. He grimaced slightly.

For a commercial play at a venue like the Cultural Square, a ticket price of two or three hundred yuan was normal. Eighty-eight yuan was practically a bargain. But with his heart full of pride and wishing he could let the entire city watch it for free, Li Shixin still felt the price was a bit steep.

“It’s all Boshi’s design. Shixin, what don’t you like about it?” Seeing Li Shixin’s expression twist, Wu Ming quickly shifted the blame to his granddaughter.

“No, it’s very good. Especially the attention note, that’s quite creative.” Regaining his composure and realizing that setting the ticket price too low might not be good for the future of the small theater, Li Shixin smiled slightly and patted Chen Boshi’s twin ponytails. “You’ve worked hard.”

Looking at the kindly old man’s face, which bore a smile as comforting as an emperor soothing prisoners of war, Chen Boshi took a deep breath, her eyes twitching at the corners. “Heh heh, it’s all part of the job…”

If it weren’t for Assassin’s Creed and the Sidar project, who would want to serve this stubborn old man, the scoundrel!

Seeing Chen Boshi’s awkward fake smile, Li Shixin raised an eyebrow.

The youngest member of the fan club still hadn’t completely come around...

...

After preparing the lighting, sound, music, and stage setup with the tall members and others, it was already six o’clock in the evening.

Zhao Jinzhi and specially excused An Xiaoxiao and Zhang Shuo also arrived on time.

Outside the square, people were gradually filling in.

With some time left, Li Shixin, An Xiaoxiao, Zhao Jinzhi, Zhang Shuo, and a few supporting actors went on stage to run through the play simply and familiarize themselves with the new stage.

Backstage.

Listening to the noisy clamor outside the theater, Zhao Jinzhi looked at Li Shixin as he applied his makeup and couldn’t help but worry. “Brother Lao, is your waist okay? Will carrying Xiaoxiao on stage cause problems?”

Li Shixin adjusted his wig, tidied the fake collar of his sweater costume, and chuckled. “Not fully recovered, but only the first act will be a bit tough. After that, it’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry, Teacher Zhao!” At the makeup table, An Xiaoxiao patted her powder-applied, fair and tender face and giggled, “Last night I gave the teacher another massage. His groans aren’t as pitiful as two days ago. He’s probably almost healed. And for tonight’s show, I haven’t eaten anything since morning—I’m running on empty! So you don’t have to worry!”

“Really… haven’t eaten all day?” After spending some time with An Xiaoxiao, Zhao Jinzhi had come to understand her somewhat. Hearing this, she gave a doubtful glance.

“Hey, hey!” Seeing Zhao Jinzhi’s skeptical look, An Xiaoxiao got a bit flustered. “Teacher Zhao, I’m an actress too! I have some professional ethics! If I say I haven’t eaten, then I haven’t! Look, look, my belly’s all sunken!”

Showing the belly under her lifted shirt, which was indeed sunken with a perfect A4 waist, Zhao Jinzhi nodded.

Relieved.

This kid may not be very bright, but she did have some integrity.

Seeing Li Shixin smile and stand to make the final preparations on the stage side, Zhao Jinzhi gently pulled An Xiaoxiao aside.

“Xiaoxiao.”

“Hmm, what is it, Teacher Zhao?”

“In the fourth act, the final singing part…”

“Didn’t Teacher Li say that part was canceled?”

“No, you go on as usual, just like in our premiere.”

“But didn’t they say the song is copyrighted and can’t be used?”

“Don’t worry about that. Just trust me.”

“Oh!”

...

At seven o’clock.

All the audience had taken their seats.

Nearly two thousand seats on the first floor and the mezzanine were completely full.

In the front row of the audience, watching his stern father-in-law, Sun Guowei leaned forward. “Dad, what’s wrong?”

“Oh.” Zhang Yaozhong came back to himself and sighed. “I’m a little uneasy. I’ve been running around all these days to arrange such a grand venue. For this matter, so many people have gone out of their way for this old man’s face. If it fails today, I won’t have a place to put this old face of mine.”

“How could it?” Hearing the old man’s worry, Sun Guowei laughed. “Dad, didn’t you watch the premiere? Teacher Li should be fine.”

“You don’t know!” Zhang Yaozhong shook his head slightly, then told his son-in-law about Li Shixin’s back injury causing a poor rehearsal yesterday and the deletion of the ending scene due to song copyright issues.

After hearing this, Sun Guowei exhaled sharply.

He roughly understood why Zhang Yaozhong had been running around for “Only You.”

Having stepped down from leadership, the old man wanted to preserve his reputation and help the new leaders settle in quickly. Since retirement, apart from some old cadre meetings, he no longer participated in any other official occasions.

But having managed affairs all his life, this year and more, though he outwardly looked like he was leisurely tending flowers and living as a recluse, he was actually restless.

Running errands for “Only You” was partly because the old man was truly moved by the play. Also, Sun Guowei guessed it was a rare opportunity for the old man.

To contribute to the city’s spiritual and cultural development, and more importantly, because this was a community cultural event, not an internal cultural system affair.

No one could fault him for still wanting to be involved after retirement.

Honestly, it was quite childish.

But once retired, what else could he do if he didn’t have this drive?

If this endeavor succeeded, it would definitely boost his standing and presence within the cultural system.

But if it failed…

“Uh… Dad, you meddling in this is a bit awkward.” Looking at the full audience and the front row filled with cultural bureau leaders and a group of retired comrades of Zhang Yaozhong, Sun Guowei clicked his tongue.

On stage, the theater host’s warm-up was entering its final moments.

Li Shixin, having prepared everything, stood behind the main curtain.

Peering through the gap in the curtain at the full audience on both levels, he took a deep breath.

“Teacher Li, are you nervous?”

An Xiaoxiao stood nearby, noticing his slight trembling and asked, tilting her face up.

Looking down at the usually carefree An Xiaoxiao, who now had slightly trembling lips, Li Shixin smiled faintly. “No, I’m excited. Xiaoxiao…”

“Teacher Li.”

“Focus. When you’re on stage, think only of your role. Nothing else.”

“Got it!”

“All right. Now, please enjoy the Yue Dong Drama Troupe’s presentation of ‘Only You Are My Unforgettable Concern’!”

Amidst thunderous applause, the host stepped down and gently nodded as he passed Li Shixin. “Teacher Li, the stage is yours.”

Smiling slightly at the host, Li Shixin patted An Xiaoxiao and pointed to the spacious, magnificent center stage. “Xiaoxiao, let’s go!”

“Woof!”