Chapter Ninety-Seven: Only You Are the One Attachment I Can Never Forget in This Lifetime

“Comrades, thank you so much! Cases involving health supplements scamming the elderly usually lack direct evidence, but this time we have physical proof and video footage of these vermin confessing on the spot—the evidence is irrefutable. We’ll check if this gang has a record elsewhere, and if the amount involved is enough, we’ll make sure to deal with them properly! Here, let me thank you on behalf of the seniors!”

“It’s only right—it’s you comrades who do the hard work.”

After escorting the police officers from the station out, Li Shixin was immediately surrounded by the crowd in the performance hall—not for anything else, but because his stroke act earlier had fooled everyone completely!

“Oh, Shixin! You scared me to death just now; I really thought your cerebral thrombosis had come back!”

“Exactly! If you hadn’t told us beforehand to stop the scammers and wait for the police if anything happened, I’d have gone after them with my cane!”

“Brother Shixin, honestly—your acting was too convincing! I’ve worked at the hospital for years, and I couldn’t tell at all that you were acting!”

A chorus of complaints from his old fans sounded more like praise to Li Shixin.

“Ha ha!” He clasped his hands in thanks, calming the crowd and collecting a small wave of applause points.

He found Director Wang outside the crowd.

“Director Wang, about this…”

Seeing Li Shixin, Director Wang and Liu Jianye were full of admiration and immediately gave him a thumbs-up. “Sir! I’ve witnessed it today. Brilliant! Those fake drug sellers had it coming—your acting is so good that even a real doctor would be fooled! I saw you convulsing on stage from the doorway, got so frightened I called emergency services. If the police hadn’t stopped us, we almost blew our cover!”

After showering Li Shixin with praise, Director Wang took out the keys he’d recovered from the lecturer earlier and pressed them into Li Shixin’s hand.

“Sir, the place is yours. I have high hopes for your little theater! When you put on a real show, I’ll definitely come and buy a ticket to support you!”

“Oh, don’t say that, Director Wang! If you come, I’ll have peanut tea ready for you—how could I charge you for a ticket?”

With work lined up for the whole winter, Li Shixin knew he’d need this chubby director often. Returning the courtesy, he cheerfully accepted the keys.

He was about to discuss plans with his old fans when he noticed the group of elderly folks who had been lured in for the lecture still standing in the performance hall, looking at him expectantly.

Judging by their age, they were no younger than his own fans.

Li Shixin walked over and smiled, “Dear brothers and sisters, you’ve all seen what happened today. These people are not legitimate health supplement sellers—they’re here to scam you out of your money! From now on, be careful with flyers and lectures claiming to promote health, especially those companies with names like ‘Sunshine’ or ‘Longevity.’ Don’t let yourselves be deceived again!”

Hearing his earnest advice, the seniors exchanged glances and finally burst out laughing.

Their laughter left Li Shixin a little bewildered. “Is there something funny?”

A grandmother in the crowd called out, “Thank you for your concern, young man. We all know these health supplements are just scams. None of us brought any money today!”

Ah?

Seeing their genuine, hearty smiles, Li Shixin was speechless. “So you knew these scammers’ tricks from the start?”

The seniors sighed in unison, “How could we not? When these schemes first appeared years ago, who among us didn’t fall for them? Back then, I bought three sets of so-called magnetic therapy—over twenty thousand each. When I got home and opened them, it turned out to be nothing but a thick electric blanket. As they say, learn from your mistakes; these days, scammers can’t fool us anymore!”

“And you still came knowing they were scammers?”

Li Shixin grumbled, and the elders responded with a sigh. “What else can we do? It’s freezing in winter—staying home is enough to drive anyone mad. It’s rare to have a few fools come along, cover our bus fare, give us gifts and snacks—what’s not to like? We’re just looking for a warm place to pass the time!”

Well then.

Li Shixin understood.

Turns out these seniors weren’t easy targets at all.

They were sharp from start to finish!

As he chuckled at his needless worry and felt a bit sorry for the self-assured scammers, the elders began to ask about the little theater.

Much like his own fans, these seniors had nowhere to go during winter and were suffocating at home.

Learning that the place which used to scam people was about to become a theater, they perked up.

When they started peppering him with questions about performance times and clamored to support the shows, Li Shixin’s eyes shone.

It seemed his little theater had real potential!

Especially for seniors lacking outdoor entertainment during the winter, its appeal was high.

...

Having successfully recruited a new group of fans among the elders, Li Shixin sent them off and called his old supporters over.

The venue was secured, but the performance hall had been used for other purposes for a long time, leaving it damaged in many places.

It clearly hadn’t been maintained for ages and looked quite rundown and dirty.

If it was to become a stage for drama, it needed serious work.

Faced with this challenge, the grandmothers patted their chests confidently: cleaning up and decorating? Who hasn’t spent half a lifetime doing just that? Is this even a problem?

He inspected the hall, gave instructions on key tasks like setting up the stage, and watched as his fans eagerly organized a cleaning plan.

Li Shixin felt reassured.

What defines a true fan?

This—this is what a fan is!

Look at those idol fans—immature, unable to take care of themselves.

But his own?

Amazing! They were already figuring out how to wash the curtains, fix broken seats, tackle carpentry and masonry, and decorate the performance hall.

Their skills rivaled an encyclopedia of life skills!

At that moment, Li Shixin, now almost invisible in the bustle, found the wrinkles on his fans’ faces utterly adorable and beautiful.

To have such capable fans and be their idol—he truly was living the dream!

o(￣▽￣)ｄ

Seeing his fans had taken charge of sprucing up the theater, Li Shixin found a quiet corner and pulled out pen and paper.

The essence of theater wasn’t the venue.

It was the drama itself.

He wanted his fans to be excited and, at the same time, to earn as many applause points as possible. The little theater needed to stage at least two shows a day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

With that performance frequency, he needed plenty of plays.

He quickly made a list. After jotting down classics like “Teahouse” and “Thunderstorm,” he remembered yesterday’s incident with Elder Zhang Mingrong going missing, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

“Only You, My Unforgettable Attachment in This Life”

He wrote the title in bold letters on his drama list.

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