Welcome to the Misogyny Game

Even when it's within reach, it feels like being worlds apart.

Looking at his smile, Liu Chaoque felt a faint sadness in her heart. Someone who might have once known her was abandoned in a corner of the palace of memories because of forgetting. He looked at her smile, and all he could do was look at her smile.

Xi Jingrong composed herself, urging everyone to keep working, while she led her people to stroll backstage.

"This is a lift platform; the singers will go up from here."

"This is a wire harness; it can be used for flying performances."

"This bag contains dry ice, and this bag contains fireproof sand. We always kept these on hand in case of a fire during a performance."

"This is the lighting room. These are some student council members in charge of lighting: He Xu and Liu Hao."

He Xu and Liu Hao stood up and greeted the five people awkwardly. After some awkward small talk, the door to the lighting room closed. The two breathed a sigh of relief, but before they could catch their breath, the door to the lighting room opened again. Looking at the group of people of varying ages, wearing polo shirts and carrying thermos bottles, and with slicked-back hair, the two stood there politely as smiling background figures, listening to the leader talk eloquently. They couldn't help but wonder if this was really about their lighting equipment.

Mu Li was one of the younger ones among them, and he looked quite young. If it weren't for the fact that the group subtly followed his lead, one might have mistaken him for a student who had infiltrated the ranks of the big shots.

"Mr. Chong, how about we go look around somewhere else?" The old chairman of an electronics company suggested, seeing that he seemed uninterested.

Chong Yue nodded aloofly, and the group of industry bigwigs then left.

"Who was that Mr. Chong just now? He's so young."

After the group left, He Xu patted Liu Hao on the shoulder. She glanced at him, pretended to think, and then took out her phone.

"Perhaps his name is Chongyue. He's quite low-key, doesn't give interviews, and doesn't do marketing. I only saw his name and photo in a research paper. Is this him? I thought he was quite handsome, so I took a screenshot."

Looking at the silhouette in the photo, He Xu couldn't help but give a thumbs up: No way, sis, you managed to see this? You truly are a gossip guru.

"low profile."

Liu Hao pressed down with one hand, but couldn't help feeling proud: It has to be me.

As the group of five watched, Wen Xia and Nan Chu were occasionally amazed by the complete backstage equipment and set design.

"It feels like if it gets any bigger, it could be used as a CW (China's largest online community for television and film)."

"What's the point of CW? Now, we have to rely on our own folk jokes."

Wen Xia and Nan Chu started arguing. One felt that although CW had become boring now, it used to be very exciting. The other felt that CW was not interesting and that it was better to watch some funny clips.

Anyway, nobody thinks the current Spring Festival Gala is good. It's been ten years, and the CW is still so bad.

"Do you have electronic fireworks here?" Liu Chaoque asked curiously.

"Yes," Xi Jingrong replied quickly. "Would you like to go and see? But those are just electronic devices; they'll be set off at the end of the show. What color fireworks do you like?"

"Can we choose the color of these fireworks?"

Liu Chaoque thought: Maybe it's because it's computer-controlled, and you can set whatever program you want to put in, but isn't this program pre-set? It shouldn't be able to do whatever you want, right?

"can."

Xi Jingrong looked at Liu Chaoque and said earnestly.

Liu Chaoque slightly turned her head to avoid his gaze; she really couldn't stand the way he looked at someone she could only admire from afar.

“Then I want to see green chrysanthemums!” Wen Xia interjected.

Xi Jingrong was still looking at her, with a hint of longing in his eyes.

Liu Chaoque couldn't stand it any longer and turned to look at him, as if they were having a contest where whoever blinked first would lose.

Finally, Xi Jingrong turned her face away as if admitting defeat.

"I want to see green chrysanthemums, Brother Tianqing, do you know how to make them?" Since the president hadn't spoken, Tianqing didn't dare to say anything. He tugged at Wenxia's sleeve, reminding her to be mindful of the atmosphere.

Wen Xia: Okay, but she really wants to see green chrysanthemums.

"Don't you want to see anything?" Even though he turned his head away, Xi Jingrong still stubbornly wanted her answer.

Liu Chaoque originally intended to give Wen Xia a perfunctory answer, but looking at Xi Jingrong, for some reason, he blurted out: "I want a gold as dazzling as the stars."

I want to see starlight, I want to see fireworks blooming under the starry sky.

He remained silent for a long time before finally replying, "Okay."

After wandering around backstage, they returned to the audience seats.

Because the show was about to start, all the seats in front and behind were full. Liu Chaoque stood on tiptoe to look and saw that there were only a few individual empty seats left. Many seats were covered with things, such as books or napkins.

She really wanted to summon a gust of wind to blow it to the ground, or summon a fire to burn all the books to ashes. Sit down, if you dare, sit down.

But when she is actually able to do it, she can't have these dangerous thoughts.

She subconsciously calmed down.

The system was hiding its merits and fame behind its back, holding a copy of "A Guide to Confusing Human Behavior".

"Why don't we sit over there?"

Nan Chu pulled Liu Chaoque and the others towards the front row. Perhaps due to the habit of reserving seats in class, no one wanted to sit near the teacher. Now, at this cultural performance, the seats were occupied by various leaders, each speaking in an official tone, which looked rather boring and serious.

Perhaps the most important reason is that, sitting in the front row, they became cautious even when speaking in hushed tones, feeling uneasy from the inside out.

Liu Chaoque had no problem, especially since Mu Li from her family was among the leaders, which made her even more relaxed.

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

Led by Mu Li, a dozen or so leaders entered through the small door on the side. They chatted happily and seemed quite pleased. Mu Li maintained a fake smile and dealt with them.

Could this be the way big shots interact? Liu Chaoque thought about the school leaders he had met before, and wondered if it was really the same all over the country?

After they took their seats, Mu Li sat in front of Liu Chaoque. She could see the whorl of hair on his head clearly, making it hard not to suspect that the two of them were doing it on purpose. Liu Chaoque deliberately sat in the middle seat, and Mu Li glanced at her and also chose the middle seat. She felt that he should be the center of attention, and he felt that as long as he was closer, even if it was in a corner, he would be willing to sit there.

What about luxury hotels or roadside stalls? Aside from the bizarre dishes Siman came up with on a whim, he could only stomach one bite.

Liu Chaoque: This is a creative dish!

When the lights dimmed and the host came on stage, the students clapped and cheered. Liu Chaoque quietly stroked Mu Lidi's hair, forgetting that he had put on hair oil today.

Mu Li raised her hand.

The lights came on, and two crosstalk performers came on stage. Liu Chaoque took the napkin handed to him and carefully wiped the oil off his hands.