Chapter 101: I Have Long Been Parched and Eager! (Please Bookmark and Vote!)

Chen Boshi’s eyes twitched involuntarily at the sight of the two companions before her.

Damn it!

Why did I have to run into these two pests when I was in such a mess?

What am I going to do?

“Hey, Yiyi, Sansan, you two aren’t tutoring today?”

“Don’t try to get close!” Chen Yiyi sneered coolly. Seeing the stack of flyers in Chen Boshi’s hand, each bearing a photo of Li Shixin, she snorted heavily once more.

“You traitor!”

Obviously, Su Sansan had also seen the flyers. “At school, you kept saying you were innocent, that your grandmother forced you. Tsk, tsk, look at you now, handing out flyers supporting that old geezer in the middle of winter. Chen Boshi… do you still have a shred of honesty left?”

Faced with their ridicule, Chen Boshi’s face fell. “But it really was my grandmother forcing me!”

“Your grandmother forced you?”

“Yes! Emmm… can we put it another way? It just feels like you’re all cursing me.”

“Bah!” Both friends immediately turned cold. “I don’t stoop to talk to a traitor like you. Sansan, let’s go!”

Watching them leave in a huff, Chen Boshi bit her lip tightly.

“Wait!”

Just as they were about to disappear from sight, Chen Boshi straightened up from the snow, patting her rear.

Damn it!

Looks like this fairy’s reputation has been utterly ruined.

No, I can’t bear this grievance alone!

“What are you doing?”

Seeing their frosty expressions, Chen Boshi took a deep breath. “Do you really think I betrayed Husband Xin? No! I’m forced into this—I’m undercover in the enemy’s camp for now!”

???

Seeing the sorrow on her face, the two companions chuckled. “Keep acting, then!”

“Chen Yiyi, have you forgotten who gave you that signed photo of Liu Xin by your bedside? Su Sansan, have you forgotten who helped you get that prized signed baseball cap from the leader?”

“You… don’t say that! You’ve already betrayed the organization! If you want it back, I’ll go home and get it for you now!”

“That’s right! But you’re no longer worthy of the things given by Husband Xin, you traitor!”

“No! I’m not bringing these up to reminisce, but to remind you—I’m the most loyal Xin fan, the founding member who brought you both into the fan club! There’s no way I’d switch sides without cause! Life just pushed me into a corner; I had no choice!”

Seeing the tears of emotion on Chen Boshi’s face, the two companions softened a little. “So… you really do have your reasons?”

“Yeah!” Chen Boshi nodded firmly. “Keep mocking me, keep ridiculing me! I’ll keep undercover. One day, you’ll see that my heart bleeds red—I truly mean it!”

“So you say you jumped sides unwillingly, forced by your grandmother?”

“Exactly! Absolutely forced by my grandmother…”

Seeing Chen Boshi pounding her chest emphatically, the two companions could no longer hold back. “Leader! I knew you wouldn’t betray us so easily! You’re going undercover in that old geezer’s fan club—what’s the plan?”

Looking at her not-so-bright companions, Chen Boshi wiped away tears. “Step one: gain the trust of their core members—my grandmother. Then… wait for the right moment to strike!”

“How exactly? Do you need our help?”

Seeing how easily she had them hooked, Chen Boshi bit her lip. “If you join me and assist, that’d be perfect. But I worry…”

“Worry what?”

“That your resolve isn’t strong enough to endure this lonely, tough mission.”

“Impossible!” “No way! Leader, if you can do it, so can we! Just say what you need us to do!”

Seeing the two still not quite bright companions, Chen Boshi gave a sly smile and held up the flyer.

“Since you two are so determined to protect the honor of the Xin fan club, even if it means infiltrating the enemy, then… let’s start with handing out flyers!”

……

Just as Chen Boshi successfully lured her companions onto the sinking ship, a storm was brewing on the fourth floor of the Children and Youth Center in Wang Wenyu’s office.

“Director Wang, we’re supposed to be reasonable here, right? The students are on break now, yet you allowed this drama troupe to come in. It’s seriously disrupting us!”

“Yeah, Director Wang, what’s going on? A bunch of old folks making noise every day in the performance hall. Their rehearsals, their applause—it all echoes straight up to our second floor. We’re teaching vocal music here; it’s impossible to carry on!”

“You think you have it bad? I’m tutoring Chinese here. When students are reciting texts, the drama troupe downstairs is acting out ‘Teahouse’ lines. The students get distracted and start mixing them up!”

“Besides, those old folks are way too dedicated! I tried to stagger their rehearsal times so students could come earlier, but they’re there at six o’clock in the morning, before dawn! Standing silently in the corridors like a group of walking corpses. A few of my students who watched horror movies over the break thought the apocalypse had come and wet themselves out of fear!”

Listening to the renters’ complaints, Wang Wenyu was also exasperated.

The Children and Youth Center was an old building with poor soundproofing. The tenants on the second floor were right above the performance hall.

Previously, the hall had been unused for a long time, occasionally rented for health product events with little impact. But now, with daily drama rehearsals, conflicts arose.

What could he do?

“Everyone, listen to me. If those old folks leave doors open or turn up the volume too loud and disturb you, I can definitely negotiate. But they’re rehearsing normally in their own space. The building isn’t soundproof; what can I say? Please tolerate it. They’re old, it’s not easy for them.”

“They’re struggling, so we should suffer?”

Wang Wenyu’s attempt to soothe only ignited their anger.

“We rely on this winter’s income! If we tolerate them, who pays for our losses? You, Director Wang?”

Seeing their relentless complaints, Wang Wenyu lost his temper. “What is this? You chose this place yourselves. So what if you rented it? Does the performance hall have to stay empty? If you’re bothered by the old folks, go negotiate yourselves! I can’t help!”

Watching Director Wang storm out, the tenants were full of fury.

“Everyone, we have to find a solution! This small theater can’t keep going. Otherwise, our whole winter’s work is wasted!”

“What solution? Argue with a bunch of old folks? You’ll be flat on the ground in no time, and all your efforts over the years will be for nothing!”

“So, is there really no way?”

“Wait! Not no way. They only rented the theater a few days ago, right? I saw their flyer—tomorrow’s the opening night. You think they’ve got all their commercial permits sorted already? No way!”

“Huh? You mean… report them? Get the Cultural Bureau involved?”

“That’s a good idea!”

“Exactly. They rushed this drama troupe setup—no commercial licenses, no safety guarantees, no fire plans. If anything goes wrong, a bunch of old folks that age can’t move quickly—it’d be a disaster! We report them, and the authorities will take it seriously!”

“Alright! Let’s do it! Not today, but first thing tomorrow morning we call and report, so their opening night gets shut down!”

“Got it!”

……

The scheming on the second floor did not disrupt the rehearsals below.

After the final run-through ended perfectly, Li Shixin breathed a long sigh of relief.

Glancing at Zhao Jinzhi, An Xiaoxiao, and Zhang Shuo on stage, he clapped.

“Excellent! Keep this level up, and the official performance will be flawless. Tomorrow, everyone, stay sharp!”

Looking at the group of devoted old fans in the audience, Li Shixin narrowed his eyes.

It had been many days since a big round of cheers had poured in. His great blade was already ravenous and restless!