Chapter 190: March 21, The Day Of The Stage Play
Ning Qing gurgled in laughter and shied away from her. “Xiaofu, Luo Xi is different from normal people. If you really like him, then you have to understand his upbringing and his background. The love that every person needs is different and Luo Xi lacks love especially. If you want to be together with him, then break up with Ou Ze first.” Xia Xiaofu stopped what she was doing. Her almond shaped eyes that were sparkling moved around and she said in a girly voice, “I got it, I was planning to tell Ou Ze that.” Ning Qing nudged her shoulder ambiguously and said, “Then Xiaofu, you should be okay with the kissing scene together with Luo Xi for tomorrow’s stage play, right?”
Upon hearing her words, Xia Xiaofu felt her entire body burn up. Ning Qing this vixen, she had predicted everything, even knew that she and Ou Luoxi…had even kissed…
“Ning Qing, why did I make friends with you? You are such a bad friend. Don’t you dare leave!” Xia Xiaofu balled her fingers into a small fist wanting to hit her. “Ah, help me!” Ning Qing immediately ran away. The two bickered along the way, and without noticing, both of them ended up in the lobby. The floor of the lobby was made out of marble and was a little slippery. Ning Qing slipped a little and when she was about to fall, her tender slim waist was caught by someone. Ning Qing did not have to look because she knew the person who caught her. She had a whiff of that crisp and mesmerizing masculine scent; it was Lu Shaoming.
Ning Qing smiled as she looked up, that delicate face of the man was enlarged in front of her, and it was really her handsome billionaire husband. Only to pity, the expression on her husband’s face was not too good. His lines were tight and cold, just like that time when she asked him for a compliment. He gave her that expression as if she owed him 10 million dollars or so. Ning Qing felt wronged in her heart; she did not know what she did wrong this time.
Xia Xiaofu caught up with her, she saw Ning Qing being hugged by Lu Shaoming and quickly took the chance to tease them. She coughed lightly and said with a smile, “Ning Qing, I think you are such a great director! Especially when you are directing kissing scenes – you are so professional. Someone must have given you all this experience, right?”
Ning Qing: “…” Xiao Fu, wait for me to take revenge on you!
Xia Xiaofu waved her hands and ran away in a flash. Ning Qing was still looking at Xia Xiaofu’s figure, and at this moment the palm on her waist drew away from her. Lu Shaoming let go of her and went to enter the elevator. “Young Master Lu!” Ning Qing ran over. “President!” Zhu Rui, who was behind him, also ran over. He wanted to say, “President, we are going to attend a meeting. The meeting hall is just a few steps away. Why are you taking the elevator?”
Zhu Rui looked at the pair enter the elevator. The door closed, and he blinked twice at Ning Qing aggressively. Ning Qing did not see it at all. He really wanted to remind his Madam, Madam, don’t be silly ok? Didn’t you and Goddess Xia consider who taught you this kissing technique? Saying such a thing… What would President, who still has amnesia, think about this? President was already in a bad mood from the moment he came to the office this morning, as if he had eaten a bomb and was ready to explode any moment.
…
Ning Qing stood diagonally behind Lu Shaoming. He wore a maroon round neck shirt paired with grey casual trousers today. He was looking suave and handsome. She always felt that he looked best in maroon. A man his age was just like a glass of a premium collector’s French red wine, and already emanated the fragrant scent of elegant aged wine all over.
“Young Master Lu.” Ning Qing opened her mouth to speak. “Last night…” Before she could complete her words: Ding! The elevator doors opened and two staff members walked in. The staff saw Lu Shaoming and was surprised. The President had not chosen to take his own VIP lift. “President.” The staff members nodded their head and bowed down to greet him and retreated to a corner of the lift.
At this point, regarding the words that Ning Qing wanted to say – she could not say them anymore. She bit down on her pink lips and raised her gaze to look with admiration at the back of his head which was clean and neat. Lu Shaoming used the mirror on the elevator to look at the girl behind him. She was biting her lips, and her soft and red lips had a red scar on them due to her biting down on them.
His palms that were in his trousers pockets balled up into fists. Last night, he only brushed against her lips. That taste was really good, but this taste was also tried before by another man.
Xia Xiaofu said, who was it that gave her kissing experience? Lu Shaoming’s chest was exhaling lightly. He knew from the start that she was a girl with a past and had her own story. He was crazed with her last night. He forgot that she had used tricks to get close to him, forgot how her gaze was when she was looking for another man’s shadow on him, and forgot what she had said previously, “Never did own in the past, and would not come again in the future.” What did she take him for?
He’d gone out of his way and bought an ice cream for her last night. Couldn’t she wait even 10 minutes for him? It was okay that she left, but couldn’t she even send him a text message?
“Miss Ning, we have found the person who purposely locked you in the freezer. It was Ye Ting who ordered her subordinate to do so. We have fired them both and sent them to the police station. I will represent the company to apologize to you,” he said.
Ning Qing did not expect that he would speak. There were two other staff members in the elevator. He did not tell her personally, but he did it professionally. He said that it was an apology, but he did not even turn his head. Ning Qing did not speak, Lu Shaoming’s voice got lower and lower, and it had a touch of disdain. “Miss Ning, where did you go last night?” He did not want to ask, but he could not help himself. The two workers could not help but focus their gaze on them. Ning Qing held her hand out to tuck the hair by her cheeks to place it behind her ear to camouflage her pain and awkwardness. “I went out with my friends last night…” At this moment: Ding! The elevator doors opened. Ning Qing had not finished speaking and the man in front of her had already left. The doors of the elevator closed before her eyes.
…
The next day, March 21 arrived. The Cabbage Plume press conference attracted the professionals in the industry together with the top 28 media outlets of T city. Because it was Ning Qing’s first stage play, the venue held the top moguls and investors of the entertainment circle, not to mention the horde of fans. The venue was huge and pompous. It was a sea of people, and the day that many people had anticipated finally arrived.
The marketing manager for Cabbage Plume went on stage to make his speech excitedly, “Thank you for those present here for coming to Cabbage Plume’s big launch event. Cabbage Plume has endured…”
Ning Qing listened on from backstage. In the makeup room, the staff had already prepared in full. The clothing rack had a row of Fan Chengsi designed costumes, inviting the glances of many. The assistant director and lighting director were discussing where to take the scene later. The atmosphere was nervous. Ning Qing took a deep breath in and she asked Xiao Zhou, “Xiao Zhou, did you see Young Master Lu? He still has not arrived?” Xiao Zhou nodded and said, “I didn’t see him. Ning Qing, didn’t you make a pact with Young Master Lu? It’s the first production in your life; won’t he be coming to have a look? There is a special meaning behind the journey for love.”
Ning Qing’s expression darkened. Yesterday after he left the elevator, he was not in the office for the rest of the day. Ning Qing took out her phone, looked for his contact, and wrote a text message to him.
[Young Master Lu, the performance is about to start, are you coming? I beg you to come. Please, I want to see you.]
…
At this moment, Lu Shaoming was seated in his luxury multi-purpose vehicle. He heard his phone ring, so he took it out to have a look – it was a text from that girl.
Lu Shaoming held his phone and looked outside the windows with his dark eyes. He did not speak. Zhu Rui, who was seated in the driver’s seat, looked and had already guessed that it was a text message sent by his Madam. He said, “President, where are we going now? Shall we return to the office?” The man in the backseat pursed his lips and still did not speak. Zhu Rui worked with his President all these years. He knew President’s personality well. He did not mention Ning Qing, but indirectly said, “President, today is the press conference for the launch of Cabbage Plume. This project is very important, the marketing department planned this for 3 whole months. I think President has to go and take a look.” Lu Shaoming was silent for a few seconds and then said, “Yes.”
A smile quickly rose on Zhu Rui’s face. He realized that after President lost his memories, he was becoming more and more difficult. He obviously likes Madam but would not say it out loud, just like now he wanted to go visit Madam’s stage play but needed Zhu Rui to give him an excuse to attend it instead. President’s sulky behaviour was actually very cute.
10 minutes later, the multi-purpose vehicle stopped at the entrance of Guang Qing, and Zhu Rui followed behind Lu Shaoming to walk into the main lobby. When the duo were about to enter the elevator, a person ran towards them in a rush and said, “President, something went wrong! We just received news, our formula for Cabbage Plume has been leaked…”
…
Ning Qing waited for 10 minutes or so until the marketing manager ended his speech and announced the official start of the Cabbage Plum stage play advertisement. Lu Shaoming still did not come. A thunderous applause came from the audience. Ning Qing reined in her emotions, turned to everyone, and said smiling, “Okay, it is time for us to go on stage now. Do not be nervous; you all are the best. We only need to act according to what we rehearsed and everything will be fine.”
As she spoke, she looked towards Ou Luo Xi and Xia Xiaofu, “Luo Xi, Xiaofu, we will be depending on you two.”
“No problem.”
…
Yin Shuiling sat in the front row. She came to attend Ning Qing’s production. Fan Chengsi came as the costume designer, and was also seated in the first row. They did not sit together, because Yin Muchen was at Yin Shuiling’s side. Yin Muchen accompanied her to the play.
The lights of the stage had all been switched off. Crystal red lights adorned the four corners of the room. They grabbed everyone’s attention. The curtains opened, and the actors walked out.
“Wow…” The entire audience was taken aback.
The actors’ costumes were Fan Chengsi’s designs. The design combined the Chinese style of calligraphy ink embroidery and the Western influence of casual elegance. Aqua blue was the main shade, and it was a feast for the eyes. When Ou Luo Xi and Xia Xiaofu walked out, the awe was stunning. Yin Shuiling only heard the two senior journalists in the fashion industry beside her exclaim, “Before this, Ning Qing had kept the costume designer a secret; I did not think she would use Fan Chengsi’s designs! Xia Xiaofu’s costume was made out of real silk that was printed with flower patterns and hand painted with flower petals! It was literally custom made for her. It is so pretty that I am about to cry.”
“That’s right, look at what Ou Luo Xi is wearing on him! It’s a Moth orchids Tang suit matched with trousers. The color is light gold and its inlays are all handmade. Ning Qing made use of a catwalk to open the production, and the fans are glued to their screens.”
Yin Shuiling’s cold eyes had a touch of warmth in them. She looked sideways at Fan Chengsi who sat a few seats away. He was also looking towards her. When their gazes collided, Yin Shuiling gave him a thumbs up.
He was brilliant.
Fan Chengsi’s eyes had the gentleness and pampering touch of warmth At this time, Yin Shuiling felt pain in her other hand. It turned out that it was Yin Muchen holding onto her hand. He exerted strength and was making her feel pain. Yin Shuiling knew that he was punishing her for looking at Fan Chengsi. She did not have any expression and withdrew her gaze, took back her own small hand fiercely, and focused on the performance.
The play was set in the Minguo Period, where a famous cosmetic company’s only son, Ou Luo Xi, went missing among the crowd and fell in love with a commoner, Xia Xiaofu. They were loving and sweet and dated until marriage. They were in love and inseparable, and had deep feelings for one another.
After that, Ou Luo Xi lost his memories after getting into a car crash. He was taken away by his own parents, and that resulted in him being separated from Xia Xiaofu. To reunite with her own lover again, Xia Xiaofu went on a journey seeking love; she went to the capital. She became an employee in Ou Luo Xi’s cosmetics company. The couple that were previously in love reunited again and regained their feelings for one another. They worked together to create Cabbage Plume successfully.
On the stage, there was a mini science laboratory. Ou Luo Xi and Xia Xiaofu acted out the process where they used the essence of botanical ingredients to create Cabbage Plume successfully. At this moment, applause rang from every corner.
“Ning Qing actually had so much guts to move the process of bringing Cabbage Plume to the stage. She then used the format of a stage play to express this brilliantly. The audience was able to accept it and did not find it boring; it was definitely a first in the advertising world – remarkably groundbreaking.”
“That’s right, wanting to write a good piece of work is easy, but being a good script writer is hard. A novel and a stage play are totally different from one another, but I did not think that Ning Qing could take up this challenge so well at such a tender age. No matter. With regards to the stage props, lighting, and costumes, she did very well, making me have a whole new level of respect for her.”
These professionals were full of praise, but the fans did not understand the professional jargon. They came solely for the performance and everyone was enjoying the feast for both their eyes and ears.
Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Oh my god, I counted just now, in 30mins of performance, Goddess Xia has changed 7 sets of costumes. Even the lab coat in the experimental lab was designed by Fan Chengsi, it is the one and only in this world.”….
“Keep quiet, keep quiet, our Luo Xi is going to kiss our Goddess.” The applause died down quickly; the highlight of the show was coming. The fans placed their palms together before their chest, and pinned their eyes to the stage.
Ning Qing changed the thin muslin into a beaded curtain. Small light-purple daisy crown jade balls gave out a romantic vibe. The light shone out from the inside and created a mysterious hazy effect. Xia Xiaofu lightly lay back on the antique folding screen, and Ou Luo Xi cupped her face to kiss her slowly. The kissing scene continued for one minute. The fans were looking on in a blur. Everyone was shouting their hearts out. “OH MY GOD, they…kissed!”
…
Ning Qing let out a satisfied expression backstage. This production was going perfectly and nearing its end. It was time for her to make her entrance. She turned around to change her clothes. But at this moment, Xiao Zhou ran to her in a hurry saying, “Ning Qing, things are amiss! Your clothes that you were planning to wear for the scene later were cut multiple times by someone! I think you probably cannot wear them on stage now.”
“What?” Ning Qing walked into the changing room. The white organza dress that was hung up in the changing room was cut by scissors multiple times. “Ning Qing, when I came to check on it just now, it was fine. But upon looking at it now, it has become like this. Someone must have taken the chance to destroy it. What should we do now, Ning Qing? You are going to go on stage soon; it is already nearing the end, and we cannot delay it.”
At this time, Fan Chengsi’s assistant also walked over and said in shock, “Oh my, this dress is what our Young Master Fan specially designed for Ning Qing. Who was so evil? Director Ning, should I give a call to Young Master Fan to think of a plan?”
Ning Qing’s expression was heavy and dark, she immediately waved her hand said, “No, we are out of time already.”
“Then what should we do?” the assistant and Xiao Zhou asked.