Chapter 565: Teaching Drama?

The birthday banquet has already started. Has Chairman Mu not arrived yet?I don't know... Perhaps something delayed him?He might still be getting changed. After all, it's his birthday banquet, so he needs to prepare meticulously.That's true...I heard Chairman Mu invited several celebrities to perform today. Maybe he wants to make a grand entrance as the finale?Several guests conversed privately. At that moment, most people's attention was on the stage. Only a very few noticed a red-clad figure, carrying an oil-paper umbrella, slowly walking towards them.

Kong Baosheng, who had been focused on eating small cakes at a table, saw Chen Ling arrive. He quickly stuffed the remaining cake into his mouth and hurried over."Sir, you're finally back! I'm almost full!"Chen Ling smiled faintly, "Nothing happened while I was away, did it?"Kong Baosheng thought seriously for a moment. "Yes.""What?""Several very beautiful female celebrities came to talk to me. They were all asking about you, Sir. They seemed very eager to make friends with you..." Kong Baosheng blinked. "See? I told you, Sir, you're much more handsome than those top male celebrities!""...Did you answer them?""No, I told them if they wanted to meet you, they should come find you themselves." Kong Baosheng thought for a moment. "Oh, by the way, some of them are performing on stage later. I'll point them out to you! They're all very pretty."Chen Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After the host warmed up the audience, a male singer took the stage. As music began to play from the speakers on either side of the stage, melodious singing echoed throughout the venue.At the same time, excited cheers faintly rose from outside the manor, as if many people were shouting the singer's name.Mu Chunsheng's birthday banquet was originally a grand affair, and the invited guest lineup had already been announced. Although some of the celebrities' die-hard fans were not eligible to enter, there were quite a few supporters cheering from a distance outside the manor. Even if they couldn't see anyone, hearing the sound was enough.The security of the Big Dipper Consortium did not deliberately drive them away. After all, this, to some extent, demonstrated the consortium's influence, contributing to the lively atmosphere without disturbing the social interactions of the esteemed guests inside the manor.

Chen Ling stood outside the crowd, casually taking a glass of wine from a passing waiter. He appeared relaxed and unhurried, like a genuine guest attending the banquet.Not far from him, Director Wang Jincheng stood stiffly, his gaze scanning the surroundings cautiously, seemingly still searching for traces of Li Ruohong, occasionally looking up at the sky...Chen Ling wondered if it was his imagination, but it seemed as though the light had been dimming little by little since a moment ago, as if dark clouds were silently gathering in the sky.

"Hello, I'm Lu Aizhen. I don't think I've seen you around before?" Just as Chen Ling leisurely watched the performance, a woman in a magnificent long dress approached him, her lips slightly upturned in a fiery, enthusiastic smile.Kong Baosheng, seeing her, subtly nudged Chen Ling, indicating that she was one of the people who had approached him earlier."Jinghong Tower performer, Lin Yan," Chen Ling replied politely. "I just arrived in the main city recently.""Jinghong Tower... I haven't heard of it. Have you signed with a company?""Yes, the Huang Corporation.""The Huang Corporation has good taste," Lu Aizhen said, looking at his almost perfect face, her eyes momentarily unable to move away. She proactively handed Chen Ling a slip of paper. "This is my private address. If you have time, you're welcome to join me for afternoon tea.""Thank you."Chen Ling symbolically accepted the note, then continued watching the performance, as aloof as an iceberg.Seeing this, Lu Aizhen pursed her lips in slight boredom and turned to leave... As a well-known female star in the main city, she naturally wouldn't make a fool of herself.

After Lu Aizhen left, several other figures came up to Chen Ling one after another to strike up a conversation. Even when some female stars performed on stage, their eyes found it hard to stray from the red-clad figure in the crowd. The obscure Chen Ling suddenly attracted a great deal of attention.Of course, under Chen Ling's cold demeanor, no one managed to chat with him for more than five sentences before losing interest and departing.

In the crowd, an old man also wearing a theatrical robe saw this and let out a cold snort."Young man, where are you from?"Chen Ling looked at him, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. At the same time, Kong Baosheng seemed to recognize him and whispered into Chen Ling's ear: "That's Li Hanxiang. He's one of the oldest generation of renowned performers in the main city... Back when my grandmother ran Jinghong Tower, he was also a performer there. Reportedly, he was quite mediocre at the time, but later he was poached by a large consortium and gradually gained fame by scandalmongering with female celebrities... However, now that he's older, and with fewer and fewer people performing opera, his seniority has only increased."Chen Ling's eyebrows lifted slightly. He had heard Kong Baosheng mention that Jinghong Tower had produced many famous performers years ago, and it seemed Li Hanxiang was one of them... although his means of achieving fame were questionable."My hometown is a small town outside the main city. I just arrived in the main city this year," Chen Ling replied politely.The old man scrutinized him from head to toe, the disdain in his eyes growing more intense. With his hands clasped behind his back, he spoke unhurriedly:"Oh, so you're from the countryside... And who was your master?"Chen Ling thought for a moment. "My master was an unrenowned performer.""An unrenowned performer?" The old man scoffed. "It seems the Huang Corporation is getting more and more impoverished. They're even pushing unknown performers onto the stage now?"

"Wild performer? You're the wild performer!" Kong Baosheng naturally had no fondness for this traitor of Jinghong Tower. Hearing him dare to insult Chen Ling, he immediately flew into a rage, pointing at Li Hanxiang's nose and ready to shout back.This outburst instantly drew the attention of several surrounding guests. The female stars who had just been conversing with Chen Ling saw the scene, roughly guessed what had happened, and looked at Li Hanxiang with disdain and disgust.Almost no one in the entertainment industry was unaware of Li Hanxiang's true character. His early days of scandalmongering were common practice among many present, but after gaining fame, he secretly exploited aspiring young actresses. His reputation was already in tatters.Chen Ling raised a hand to stop Kong Baosheng, his eyes calmly fixed on Li Hanxiang, and he slowly said:"Senior, what guidance do you have for me?""Young man, listen to my advice. Opera isn't something just anyone can perform... Don't think that having a pretty face is enough to succeed in this industry. How many tunes have you learned? How many years have you practiced? Do you even know how to write the four elements: 'Singing,' 'Recitation,' 'Acting,' and 'Martial Arts'?" The old man seemed to relish lecturing a junior. With his hands clasped behind his back, he spoke with an air of composure.Chen Ling raised an eyebrow but said no more, instead nodding with a polite, perfunctory smile:"Yes, Senior is right."Li Hanxiang glanced at the stage. A dance performance had just concluded, and the host was slowly stepping forward to announce the next act: a traditional opera performance.Li Hanxiang smoothed the sleeve of his ornate theatrical robe, straightened his back, struck a pose, and slowly walked towards the stage."Young man, let me teach you... what 'opera' truly is."