Chapter 79

"Is this... a theater?"

After about twenty minutes of riding, as soon as Li Qian stopped the car, Xie Bing jumped off the back seat. In a daze, she looked up and saw the sign "Daming Lake Theater," feeling somewhat surprised.

Li Qian went to park the car, locked it, and came back to call her, "Come on, I'm taking you to listen to a play!"

Xie Bing, still a bit dazed, followed Li Qian forward. Just before entering, she deliberately looked up again. Yes, it was indeed called "Daming Lake Theater"!

Li Qian brought her... to listen to a play?

After entering the theater, on the left was the ticket office, and on the right was a tea room.

Just as they entered and turned to look, Chu Bingbing was already waving to them to come over.

So Li Qian called out to Xie Bing and led her, still a bit confused, over.

Cao Zhan, his wife Cao Lina, and his third concubine Chu Bingbing were all there. Cao Lina was accompanied by a boy around ten years old and a girl around seven or eight, whom Li Qian had met before and knew were Cao Zhan's children from his wife and second concubine. In addition, there was one more person who made Li Qian a bit surprised.

Of course, he had met this person before.

As soon as Li Qian and Xie Bing entered, everyone stood up. Cao Zhan nodded, while his wife Cao Lina, a typical well-bred lady, greeted Li Qian and then looked down at the two children. At this moment, Little Cao Boyuan was already leading his sister, bowing respectfully and saying, "Uncle Li, hello!"

Li Qian laughed and responded, "Hello!" Then he greeted Cao Lina and Chu Bingbing in turn, but... it was a bit awkward to address them. He called them "Sister-in-law" and "Little Sister-in-law."

Then, he turned to Professor Wang Huaiyu and nodded, saying, "Hello, Teacher Wang!"

That's right, this familiar person was none other than Professor Wang Huaiyu from the National Art College of Shandong. When recording the demo for "Wuxing Wusu," it was Fu Zhenbang from Old Struggle Records who had brought him in to play the piano. At that time, Li Qian learned that he and Cao Zhan were quite close friends.

And later, from Cao Zhan, Li Qian learned many interesting stories about him.

For example, although Wang Huaiyu had been learning the piano since childhood and was said to be quite good at the violin, his true specialty was the suona and sheng. It was said that his suona skills, even if not among the top five in the country, were at least in the top ten. Moreover, his sheng was the best in the country!

This person, despite being a professor at the university, often tried to persuade his students to give up the piano and learn the suona. His reasoning was that the suona was what the Chinese should play, whether in times of great joy or great sorrow. It was the sound of the Chinese people. It was said that he had formed a small folk band and, every Saturday and Sunday, went to the countryside to perform at weddings and funerals. He didn't do it for money but to experience the joys and sorrows of ordinary people. As a result, his suona skills became even better!

Actually, it was easy to understand that anyone who could be friends with Cao Zhan was not a normal person!

Although... Li Qian felt he was quite normal.

Wang Huaiyu had already stood up. Hearing Li Qian call him "Teacher Wang," he waved his hand and said with a smile, "Don't call me that. I and Old Cao are sworn brothers. We don't need to be formal. I admire you just as much as Old Cao. If you respect me, you can call me Old Wang or Brother Wang!"

Li Qian laughed and called him "Brother Wang," then turned back and waved to Xie Bing, who was still standing at the door, dumbfounded. When she approached, he introduced her, "This is Xie Bing! She is a member of the Wuxing Wusu group. I'm currently producing their album. I heard she's on holiday and hasn't left, so I invited her to listen to a play." Then he turned to introduce Cao Zhan and the others to Xie Bing.

Actually, there was no need for much introduction. During the demo recording, Xie Bing had already met Cao Zhan and Wang Huaiyu, so the focus was on introducing Cao Zhan's two wives and two children.

Chu Bingbing had been staring at the little girl. After Xie Bing somewhat awkwardly greeted everyone, she walked over and took Xie Bing's hand, saying with a smile, "Welcome, welcome! Sister, hello! I'm Chu Bingbing. You're Xie Bing. Look, we should be very close!"

After saying this, she turned to Li Qian and winked, deliberately asking, "Hey, isn't Little Lu here?"

Well, even a fool could understand what she meant!

Li Qian just smiled calmly and said, "Her holiday is only three days, so she didn't come back."

At this moment, Cao Zhan and his wife Cao Lina, who knew who Wang Jinglu was, both smiled. However, Xie Bing still hadn't figured out the situation. No matter how they pressed her, Wang Jingsnow never revealed the relationship between Wang Jinglu and Li Qian. One reason was that she didn't know the details, and another was that she was really a bit confused.

Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people and ordinary fans, they would think that stars, idols, singers, and actors naturally shine brightly and that others are always behind the scenes serving these big stars, always centering around them. But the reality was clearly not like that.

Take Cao Zhan, for example. He could write lyrics and compose music, and was a well-known eccentric talent in the industry. Although he wasn't among the top few, in the music industry, even someone like Liu Mingliang, who was at the top, would treat Cao Zhan as an equal. As for Li Qian, although he had only released five songs, the success of those five songs meant that even now, when facing Liu Mingliang, the other party would be polite and respectful, never putting on airs.

Not for any other reason, but because lyricists and composers naturally stood above singers!

If you were a successful music producer, you would be even more impressive!

For example, according to the unwritten rules of the industry, although Li Qian was not Liao Liao's producer, her most famous songs were all Li Qian's works, and she became famous entirely because of Li Qian's works. Therefore, it was widely acknowledged that Li Qian had made her famous, and she was considered his protégée. No matter when she met Li Qian, she had to be respectful, or people would think she was ungrateful and ungrateful.

This example applied to other singers as well!

So, although stars might shine brightly in the public eye, when it came to their status within the industry, they naturally stood a notch below lyricists, composers, and producers of the same level.

Of course, whether in the film and television industry or the music industry, there were a few top-tier figures who were indeed at the pinnacle of the industry, even to the point where most lyricists, composers, and producers had to curry favor with them. However, there were only a handful of such people. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, even someone like Liu Mingliang was only on equal footing with Cao Zhan in the industry, not in a position to curry favor.

Xie Bing, on the other hand, was just a minor singer in a minor group.

When they met Li Qian during the demo recording and he called Cao Zhan with a phone call, they didn't think much of it. It was only later, after hearing some descriptions of Cao Zhan from their agent Aunt Wu and producer Li Jinlong, that they realized how impressive he was, which made them understand why Li Qian and he were such good friends, as they were both very impressive.

But now, knowing who Cao Zhan was and what his name meant in the industry, Xie Bing couldn't possibly be as calm as she was when she first met the bassist Cao Zhan.

Even when they first met Li Qian, despite his young and unimpressive appearance, the girls of Wuxing Wusu were all very respectful. How much more so now, when Cao Zhan was not only already famous but also so cool, mature, and had the air of a master?

So, Xie Bing's face showed obvious tension.

After greeting everyone, she even turned around and bowed to Cao Zhan, saying carefully, "Teacher Cao, I've heard many of your works, and I really like them!"

Of course, this was flattery!

Although Cao Zhan was indeed famous in the industry and had become famous early, as Li Qian had once commented, even when he did rock music, it was very niche and alternative. Later, when he turned to writing folk songs, country songs, and love songs, they were still niche. He was the type who was well-known within the industry but unknown outside. Given Xie Bing's age and taste, she simply couldn't possibly like Cao Zhan's work, which was why she didn't know who he was before being introduced.

So, although her flattery was sincere, even her expression was sincere, it was useless. Cao Zhan looked at her and pointed to Li Qian, saying, "You have him writing songs and producing your album, so you don't need to flatter me!"

Xie Bing's face turned red instantly.

Wang Huaiyu chuckled, Chu Bingbing burst out laughing, and Cao Lina pushed Cao Zhan, muttering, "Your mouth!"

But Cao Zhan was relaxed and said to Xie Bing with a proud air, "This kid is trying to woo you!"

This time, Wang Huaiyu laughed heartily, Chu Bingbing winked at Li Qian with a mischievous smile, and Li Qian just shook his head with a helpless smile.

...

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, the busiest time for the performing arts market, and tickets for the Daming Lake Theater were hard to come by.

However, the tickets Cao Zhan had booked were for a private box, and the best one at that.

When the time was right, everyone got up and headed to the entrance. Chu Bingbing showed the tickets, and they all walked in. Upon reaching the second-floor box, they found that the box was designed very cleverly. The approximately twenty-square-meter box was divided into two levels, with three eight-person tables arranged in a triangular shape, each with four armchairs.

The table in front was right next to the railing, offering a perfect view of the stage. The two tables behind, being about thirty to forty centimeters higher, ensured that the view was not obstructed by the people in front.

After entering the box, Cao Lina moved two chairs to the railing, and Little Cao Boyuan excitedly led his sister to sit there, each on a stool, leaning on the railing to watch the stage.

Then, Cao Zhan, Wang Huaiyu, and Li Qian sat in the front row, while Cao Lina sat with Xie Bing in the back.

As for Chu Bingbing, she was busy serving the waiters, bringing tea and sunflower seeds.

Being served by the clever and lively Chu Bingbing and accompanied by the elegant Cao Lina, Xie Bing felt very uncomfortable.

Often, after Cao Lina said a few sentences, Xie Bing would hastily respond with a couple of words, feeling extremely awkward.

Soon, the curtain on the stage was drawn, and the drums and gongs began to play. After Chu Bingbing finished serving everyone, she came to sit at Xie Bing's table and said to Cao Lina, "Sister, I'll keep Little Bing company. You go enjoy the play!"

Cao Lina nodded and said to Xie Bing, "My husband and I both love this, but the third sister doesn't really like Peking Opera. So, I won't be formal. I'll go listen to the play. You two are young, so you can chat!"

Xie Bing nodded, and when she saw Chu Bingbing stand up, she also stood up, looking a bit dazed.

After Cao Lina moved a chair to sit behind Cao Boyuan and his sister to listen to the play, Chu Bingbing burst out laughing, pulled Xie Bing to sit down, and said, "We, as concubines, have to follow the rules, but you're a guest. Why be so formal? Come, have some sunflower seeds! The sunflower seeds sold here are made by Old Li, who uses ingredients from the river basin and Northeast. Old Li's sunflower seeds... try them!"

Xie Bing picked up a handful of sunflower seeds and started to crack them slowly.

The play hadn't started yet, but after entering the theater, Chu Bingbing instinctively lowered her voice. As they chatted, she asked, "From your appearance, it seems you haven't listened to a play before?"

Xie Bing was still a bit dazed, but after Cao Lina left, facing the more lively Chu Bingbing, she felt more relaxed and replied, "I have heard plays, but I haven't heard Peking Opera."

Chu Bingbing said, "Oh," and suddenly asked, "I forgot to ask, where are you from?"

Xie Bing, gradually regaining her composure, replied, "I'm from Huzhou, Zhejiang. We mainly have Kunqu, Huangmei, and Yueju there."

Chu Bingbing blinked and looked at Xie Bing, then said, "You know, your sweet voice really sounds like someone who grew up listening to Yueju. Can you sing?"

Xie Bing smiled and shook her head, just as the opening gong sounded.

***

For some reason, it was "pending review." I'll make some changes to see if it can be successful. (To be continued)

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