Chapter 59: School Art Festival

  At this time, Ai Zi Qing got along harmoniously with the Director of Public Security's family...

  But in the Huangpu family, also known as a Hong Kong celebrity, the atmosphere was unusually heavy at this time.

  "Pan Yajun is a complete waste! Even with Li Zhihua's help, he still managed to fail and get caught! What kind of waste deserves your strong recommendation?" Huangfu Xiong slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacups to rattle loudly.

  Huangfu Ze, who was sitting opposite him, had a normal expression and didn't show any unusual signs. He smiled and said: "Grandfather, please calm down first, using the defeat of Tang Feng to bring down the Tang family is a good strategy, but since it has already failed, we should look for another way."

  "Nowadays, the Tang family is no longer the solid one it used to be. Over the past year or so, we have been constraining them from all sides, suppressing their business, and with Tang Shaohua's 'help' from within, the Tang family has been declining day by day. Even if Tang Zongming had three heads and six arms, he couldn't change the fate of the Tang family's decline, let alone that he is already an old man nearing sixty who has recently fallen ill due to overwork? The Tang family is currently negotiating a big deal in an attempt to turn things around, but little do they know, this deal was something I had planned long ago... Haha... This time, the Tang family will exhaust their resources and end up with nothing, and I believe that Tang Zongming will be bedridden and unable to turn the situation around. At that time, we'll help that useless Tang Shaohua take over the family business, and there's no way the Tang family won't fall." Huang Fuzhe said this with a calm expression, a playful smile spreading across his face.

  Huangfu Xiong was overjoyed upon hearing Sunzi's words, and his earlier annoyance had been thrown out of his mind. He laughed and said: "I see that this old man still dares to compete with me, Huangfu Xiong! That useless Tang Shaohua, who cooperated with my Huangfu family, is actually gloating over his own good fortune! This time, I not only want to completely destroy the Tang family, but also make Tang Zongming lose face, and let all of Hong Kong know that the Tang family will never be able to turn things around again!"

  "The matter of breaching the agreement had already been settled with Tang Shaohua, and they would work together to destroy the contract. If Tang Shaohua wanted to play tricks and tampered with the agreement, causing errors... Haha, without Tang Zongming, what is there for the Tang family to fear?" Huangfu Ze's eyes sparkled with excitement, like a skilled hunter who had found his prey.

  ……

  In early July, the school's Art Festival finally kicked off amidst the tense review and cramming.

  Because each summer art festival coincides with the graduation of high school students, it is held exceptionally grandly.

  And this time, it was reported that Hong Kong's popular young king Zheng Shaolong will be performing at the Lianyuan High School Arts Festival!

  So students are enthusiastic! Also boiling!

  This is a live concert that can be watched for free! And the main character is Zheng Shaolong, who can make girls go crazy!

  The news spread and directly led to students from surrounding schools rushing to the joint exhibition on the day of the art festival.

  While the Lianyi High School is also open to welcome, as long as local students holding student ID cards or school badges are allowed to enter the Lianyi Grand Auditorium to participate in the Art Festival, but the seats... have already been fully booked.

  On the opening day, the school was indeed decorated with lanterns and streamers, adding a lively and festive atmosphere to the otherwise tense pre-exam period.

  The grand auditorium's windows were sparkling clean and decorated with extraordinary splendor, making Ai Zi Qing sigh in admiration that this student union wasn't entirely useless after all.

  Ever since Li Yingxin was scolded by Li Hui, she would come to the dormitory every now and then to stir up some trouble, but no points were deducted, and these insignificant small things naturally wouldn't make the four beauties of 401 feel annoyed.

  The four of us arrived at the auditorium early today, fearing that it would be crowded later and difficult to get in.

  Just as Ai Zi Qing and others were about to enter the auditorium, Zhao Zi Jun and Wen Yao Hui also rushed over from outside the school. Because they had been sent by Ai Zi Qing to practice shooting at the shooting range earlier, the two of them returned together at this time.

  "Master, this task is a bit too much for us... neither of us has ever passed..." Zhao Zijun's forehead sweated slightly, but it didn't hinder his handsome and charming appearance.

  "Master?" Li Hui looked at Ai Zi Qing and Zhao Zi Jun with a strange expression, as if they were monsters, with an appearance that was completely suspicious.

  "They didn't know?" Zhao Zijun was taken aback, then suddenly realized that Ai Ziqing did things in a low-key manner and wouldn't take these 'small matters' out to talk about. Moreover, they basically had no intersection at school, so it wasn't strange that others didn't know. And in any case, they couldn't make Ai Ziqing's marksmanship known to everyone.

  Ai Zi Qing gave him a glance, just about to come up with an excuse to get rid of the three dorm friends, when Wen Yao Hui explained: "Even I couldn't beat her, so it's only normal that Zijun and I acknowledge her as our master."

  "Oh! Mainland girl, you've actually deceived us for so long! Wen Yao Hui and Zhao Zi Jun are actually your disciples!" Li Hui was even more unyielding upon hearing this.

  Her shouting wasn't a big deal, but the two people she mentioned were well-known figures in school, and when Li Hui shouted like that, the surroundings suddenly quieted down...

  At this time, a disbelieving voice sounded behind Ai Zi Qing: "Master?" The voice was somewhat shrill and off-key due to surprise.

  Several people turned their heads to take a look, and it was Li Yingxin and several student union cadres walking towards the venue together. At this time, they were already standing behind several people, because there was some congestion earlier, so they didn't attract attention from several people.

  "Right, our mainland sister is Wen Yao Hui's master, how about that? How about that?" Li Hui saw Li Ying Xin and immediately showed off with pride.

  "It's impossible, just because of her? Is she worthy?! Lee Wing Yan had already changed from initial shock to disdain. In her eyes, Ai Zi Qing was always a poorly dressed and not well-off mainland girl. If such a mainland girl could become Wen Yao Hui's master, then she might as well die!"

  "Die at 38, are you worthy of her? Are you in debt to K again?" Li Hui's small temper flared up, not caring if the other person was a student union cadre or not, and she started scolding as soon as she opened her mouth.

  "You!" Li Yingxin suddenly remembered the humiliation of that night! Instantly, she was furious, her chest heaving, and her cheeks flushing bright red.

  "How are you talking? Which class are you from?" One of the student cadres, a man who took the lead, shouted at Li Hui.

  Ai Ziying took a glance and recalled that this was Lu Qihua, the student union president mentioned by Li Hui before. It's said that he had been pursuing Li Yingxin in vain and didn't get along with Wen Yaohui.

  He looks quite handsome, but I really can't understand why Li Yingxin took a liking to Wen Yao Hui, this effeminate little pretty boy.

  Actually, Ai Zi Qing had always evaluated her disciples this way in her heart.

  "Chairman, does that mean we'll be penalized for swearing too?" Li Hui rolled her eyes at Lu Qihua with a hint of mockery.

  "Watch your mouth! You're affecting the school's atmosphere, and expulsion wouldn't be excessive!" How could Lu Qihua tolerate Li Hui's disdainful words? Ever since he became the student council president, wherever he went wasn't it all about receiving everyone's flattery?

  This also led to his self-confidence inflating to an unattachable extent, and the only thing that made him suffer a great blow was pursuing Li Yingxin but failing to get her, and actually losing to Wen Yaohui's little white face! And apart from these, who else dares to speak to him like this?

  Before Li Hui could speak, she was pulled back by Ai Zi Qing. Ai Zi Qing smiled and shook her head: "Director Li, isn't your control a bit too broad? Whether Yaohui is my apprentice or not has nothing to do with you, does it?"

  "You think you're worthy? Who knows what kind of seductive tricks you've used!" Li Yingxin gritted her teeth, looking at Ai Ziqing, but her gaze flickered to the side, where Wen YaoHui was frowning, and her heart ached.

  Ai Zi Qing slightly narrowed her eyes, but there was no clever person nearby who could sense this dangerous signal...

  Only then did Ai Zi Qing slowly step forward, without warning, and pinched Li Ying Xin's pale chin. As the latter cried out in surprise and retreated, she applied gentle force, preventing her from retreating further. Then, shaking her head slightly: "Don't try to test my patience, because I don't have any."

  Rumor has it that her gentle words were like lovers' whispers, but Li Yingxin suddenly felt a chill all over her body and struggled to break free.

  But who would have thought that Ai Zi Qing suddenly let go, and then wiped her fingers on the corner of her clothes with a look of disgust.

  Also because of her sudden release, Li Yingxin retreated too fiercely and sat down on the ground, instantly making Li Hui and others laugh loudly.

  This series of actions basically happened in an instant, and even Lu Qihua, who was about to step forward to stop her, hadn't had time to react before Li Yingxin had already sat down on the ground.

  "Are you going too far?" Lu Qihua helped Li Yingxin, who had turned pale, to her feet and turned to shout at Ai Ziqing. However, the latter was not moved in the slightest. She merely raised an eyebrow and looked at him before turning around and entering the venue with the crowd.

  Li Yingxin gazed intently at Ai Ziqing's back, her eyes growing increasingly resentful. The cold hum of Wen YaoHui's voice still lingered in her ears...

  "Yingxin, are you alright?" Lu Qihua looked up and down at Li Yingxin, seeing her pale face, and didn't know if she was hurt somewhere.

  He had no idea that Li Yingxin's face was frightened by Ai Ziqing's sudden gloomy aura.

  "It's nothing!" Li Yingxin gritted her teeth and pushed away Lu Qihua's hand that was supporting her, slowly withdrawing her gaze from Ai Ziqing's back, saying: "You all go in first, I'll come over in a bit."

  Lu Qihua was taken aback by the words and saw Li Yingxin's calm expression, so he nodded and led the crowd into the meeting venue first.

  After everyone left, Li Yingxin picked up the phone and dialed a number. Her expression became increasingly resentful: "Yang Zhijie, I agreed to what you said yesterday, but I won't participate. You solve it yourself."

  "I'm right behind you." Yang Zhijie sneered over the phone.

  Li Yingxin quickly turned around, scanning the surroundings, and only then saw Yang Zhijie walking out from the corner, accompanied by a tall male student, who was none other than Li Weihao, the one beaten up by Ai Ziqing when she first arrived in Hong Kong!

  "Did you see that?" Li Yingxin was somewhat annoyed. It turned out that as early as yesterday, Yang Zhijie had found Li Yingxin and claimed to know about her grudge with Ai Ziqing, hoping to take advantage of this gathering to create some trouble and avenge his brother.

  Ke Li Ying Xin did not respond, because in her eyes, Ai Zi Qing although always silent, but at most is just a mainland girl with good skills, and she is the school's recognized genius, only hoping to use this art festival to humiliate this ignorant woman, naturally will not be with Yang Zhi Jie such people together.

  But today, she really felt Ai Ziying's threat to her, and Wen YaoHui's attitude hurt her to the extreme...

  A crazy woman can do anything.

  So there is this scene now.

  Yang Zhijie heard Li Yingxin's tone of inquiry, and sneered with a raised lip: "Director Li, don't pretend to be noble at this time. Since our goals are the same, let that girl lose some face today. Of course, if she can shed some blood, it would be even better."

  Yang Zhijie is so because of Li Weihao's request, but mainly because he has been repeatedly defeated by Ai Ziqing, who is closely related to his arch-rival Zhao Zijun, and naturally cannot tolerate it.

  "You!" Li Yingxin was about to get angry, but hesitated for a moment, remembering Yang Zhijie's identity and the fact that she needed him today. It seemed they had taken advantage of her!

  At this point, Li Yingxin hugged her chest and smiled: "Say it, think about what to do, but can't make too much noise, after all, the venue setup is arranged by the student union. If something really happens, I will also be responsible." Just now, Yang Zhijie said that he wanted Ai Ziying to shed some 'blood'. Li Yingxin was indeed afraid in her heart, and the first thing she thought of was the TV stage light falling and hitting people on the stage to death or disability...

  "What's on your mind, Director Li? Today's school art festival has attracted people from surrounding schools because of Zheng Shaolong's performance. With such a grand scene, if I were to make a fool of myself on stage, I'd probably jump off the building and kill myself when I get back!" Li Weihao said with a gloomy smile.

  "Go ahead and tell me what to do." Upon hearing this, Li Yingxin felt a bit more at ease, and was slightly excited.

  "What needs to be done has been done. If you want to help, you can send this to Ai Zi Qing later. It contains a mild throat medicine that will make your voice hoarse immediately after drinking it... it'll take an hour to recover..."

  "Then she won't be able to go on stage?" Li Yingxin frowned.

  "So it's up to you, Director Li, to push her onto the stage. And with time being so urgent, there's no room for her not to go!" Yang Zhijie sneered coldly.

  "What if she didn't drink?"

  "Haven't you had a drink? Hehe, this was originally the follow-up move. If you hadn't agreed today, I was going to bribe the student union cadres to send water. Actually, I've already tampered with her instrument. Even if she goes on stage smoothly, it's not necessarily possible for her to finish singing smoothly."

  ……

  The scene was indeed extraordinary, Ai Zi Qing and others found their seats according to the class location, then saw many students from other schools standing outside or bringing their own stools, it was truly enthusiastic, and couldn't help but sigh at the charm of the stars.

  "Zi Qing, you have a program, go to the backstage to prepare!" The speaker was Li Hui, who was very puzzled. Why did the student union come to let her fill out the form when Ai Zi Qing only wrote solo, and in these days, she didn't even practice simply? Was she going to perform like this on stage?

  Ai Zi Qing nodded slightly, actually this time was completely just going through the motions for school.

  If she performs, she won't dance or anything, and the only things that are barely passable are her decent throat and the few instruments she knows how to play. These were all from her previous life.

  But singing a song by herself she still has confidence in, at least she won't be pelted with rotten eggs.

  Afterwards, Ai Zi Qing bid farewell to Li Hui and several others, then headed straight for the backstage. At this time, those students who were going to perform had already taken their positions and started changing clothes.

  Ai Zi Qing didn't need to change into anything else, because today she had already picked out a long dress from the many expensive clothes her godmother Guo Min Ting had bought for her. The dress was both elegant and luxurious, with a hem that reached just above her knees, perfectly showing off her slender white legs. Paired with a pair of delicate high-heeled shoes, the effect was indeed very good. All she needed to do now was go on stage and perform.

  At this time, a group of cadres walked in and said they were distributing water to everyone. Then each person was given a bottle one by one. Aizhen didn't think there was anything wrong with that, but when the cadre handed her the water and helped her unscrew it, he smiled and said: "Is this your first time participating in such a large-scale event at our school? Don't be nervous, drink some water."

  Ai Zi Qing smiled and accepted it, but didn't drink.

  At this time, Ai Zi Qing saw a 25- or 26-year-old handsome man walking into the backstage, causing the girls who were about to perform to...

  "How did you get here?" Ai Ziying looked at Tang Feng who walked into the backstage.

  "Come and take a look at Shao Long's performance, and also come to see you." Tang Feng said with a natural smile, actually today's main purpose was to attend Ai Zi Qing's performance.

  Later, when their fellow students who were reapplying makeup and rehearsing saw Tang Feng and Ai Zi Qing standing together talking, although they couldn't hear what the two were saying, they also felt a pang of regret.

  Ai Zi Qing felt herself being swept by waves of gazes, feeling extremely helpless.

  After that, Ai Zi Qing and Tang Feng were led by a tutor to a temporary rest room used as the 'VIP room', where Zheng Shao Long and his agent and musicians were resting.

  Surprisingly, when Ai Zi Qing and Tang Feng entered the house, a quarrel was underway inside. No, it should be said that it was a one-sided scolding...

  "Old Li, you're not new to this either! You..." Zheng Shaolong's face was extremely ugly as he loudly scolded a middle-aged man, but when he saw Tang Feng and Ai Ziqing enter, he immediately stopped, let out a very helpless sigh, and began explaining to Tang Feng.

  Originally, Zheng Shaolong was going to perform a piano piece, and Old Li was the master in charge of the piano accompaniment this time. However, during the break, Old Li saw a guitar placed inside the instrument room, and because he loved this instrument very much, while waiting for the performance was a bit boring, so he picked it up to practice, but the strings suddenly broke, cutting his hand...

  To know this kind of performance, if one is careless, it will be ruined, let alone with music problems?

  Ai Zi Qing looked at the broken-stringed guitar in the corner of the wall, and suddenly felt a little suspicious.

  "Hurry up and contact another pianist, don't say anything else for now."

  "What's the hurry? Where can we find a piano teacher?"

  "I've already called, but it's only been 15 minutes since the start. Now I'm contacting the company to rush over, at least it'll take more than 30 minutes..."

  Because Zheng Shaolong's program was the first opening show, time was extremely rushed.

  After all, they are big stars, and it doesn't exist to say that for the sake of giving a grand finale performance at Lianyue University, they deliberately waited until all performances ended before taking the stage. In fact, agreeing to sing at the opening ceremony of your art festival is already very face-giving.

  Among the discussions and arguments, Tang Feng suddenly turned his gaze towards Ai Zi Qing.

  Aizi Qing put the water in her hand on the table and said, "The songs I can play are very limited." This was not modesty, but a fact. After all, in her previous life, she only loved guitar, and instruments like piano were only slightly involved, and after work, due to occasional socializing, high-end projects increased, and she could only play a few classic songs, which were very limited.

  Zheng Shaolong casually picked up the full bottle of mineral water on the table, and when he twisted open the cap, he was stunned for a moment. But seeing that the water in the bottle had not been drunk by anyone, he only hesitated for a second before drinking it down. Then, still looking unwell, he sat there. This time, due to Old Li's mistake, his performance encountered problems!

  Although it's a charity performance, if it were to be cancelled, it would definitely cause a huge stir, especially since this time's concert is not just being watched by students from one university. If because of these small matters, it affects oneself...

  "Let's see if the school can postpone the opening of the art festival, we'll first get some people from the company to..." As soon as he said this, Zheng Shaolong suddenly felt a tickle in his throat, a slight pain, and then let out two light coughs, but unexpectedly it became even itchier...

  "Oh no, I think I've got a problem with my throat!" Zheng Shaolong's voice was already somewhat hoarse...

  His face turned white in an instant, a moment of performance...

  Ai Zi Qing narrowed her eyes, if the previous broken guitar string had already made her suspicious, then now, she could be certain that it must be the student council playing tricks! Otherwise, how could it be so coincidental? First, the guitar string broke, and then Zheng Shao Long drank the water he placed on his desk, and suddenly became hoarse, apart from human interference, she couldn't imagine what else could cause this.

  Everyone also naturally noticed the bottle of water on the table and looked at Aizi Qing together.

  "The student union just sent it over, I haven't drunk it yet." Ai Zi Qing raised an eyebrow, she didn't want to be misunderstood.

  "It's absolutely not Zi Qing." Tang Feng shook his head and said to Zheng Shaolong's agent, "For now, let's think of a solution. This way, Little Li will go find Shaolong's former backing vocalist, and this time, just pretend to sing."

  The broker hastily agreed and went to search in the car.

  "Xiao Wang, after the performance, go and get the school leaders to come over. This matter must be investigated thoroughly!" Tang Feng's face was also unpleasant as he said this, because he too had realized that this was aimed at Ai Zi Qing. The people present were not fools either, who among them hadn't been struggling in the entertainment circle for many years? These small details were naturally understood with just a thought.

  Half a minute later, Zheng Shaolong's agent, Little Li, ran back, with sweat on his forehead: "Director Tang, Shaolong didn't bring the accompaniment tape and singing tape. There was only an original soundtrack of 'The Rainy Night' in the box, and the accompaniment was cleared during editing!"

  "Are you thinking of him in this windy and rainy weather?" Ai Zi Qing asked.

  The broker nodded perfunctorily, his forehead already sweating profusely, where was there still time to bother with Ai Zi Qing.

  "In the rain and wind of longing, I can try." Ai Zi Qing suddenly said, this song she happened to know how to play, because it was a classic Cantonese song that her past life liked, so she had specially searched for the score online.

  "Will you?" Everyone turned their heads towards Ai Zi Qing at once!

  "Let's try it out, there's no other way, is there?" Ai Zi Qing shrugged her shoulders.

  "Just cut out the female voice inside and let Ziqing sing, otherwise it's easy to expose." Tang Feng nodded slightly and instructed directly, not caring whether Aizi Qing agreed or not.