Chapter 115: The Countless Chives Living at the Bottom of the Food Chain

An Xiaoxiao had a shoot coming up shortly, so Li Shixin did not linger at the Cultural Plaza for too long. After soothing Sun Yaowen, he sent Zhang Shuo off with An Xiaoxiao to the set.

The Cultural Plaza was only four streets away from the 98 Plaza. Thinking he should give his aging back a bit of exercise, Li Shixin decided not to hail a taxi and chose to walk back with Zhao Jinzhi instead.

After walking for two blocks along the sidewalk, Li Shixin began to feel that something was off—it was clearly two people walking together, yet it felt as if he were walking alone.

Zhao Jinzhi wasn't exactly a chatterbox, but she wasn't usually so silent and introverted as to be ignored either.

With this thought, Li Shixin looked back at her. "Little Zhao, are you in a bad mood today? Why so quiet?"

Zhao Jinzhi looked up and adjusted the scarf covering her nose and mouth.

It was true that she hadn't said much to him today.

This old fox had stirred up a mess that left Huaqi in a very passive position. The copyright issue was a minor matter, but Huaqi’s scale in the industry meant it had no shortage of rivals. If this wasn't handled well, it was easy to foresee many people jumping at the chance to tear pieces off Huaqi.

That was only one aspect.

The other was her arrangement for Li Shixin.

The end of the month was approaching. The company’s monthly artist signing review meeting was about to be held, and her assistant had already prepared Li Shixin’s file to be submitted.

On one hand, Zhao Jinzhi wanted to test the stance of the middle management, as well as the actual level of control her son and those behind him held over the company’s management. On the other hand, she genuinely wanted to give Li Shixin a leg up. Now, with this incident, the difficulty of that step had increased.

Sighing inwardly, Zhao Jinzhi cast a secret glare at Li Shixin.

Isn't this all because of you, you old troublemaker?

With a hint of resentment, she shook her head. "It's nothing."

Seeing the slight frown on Zhao Jinzhi’s face, Li Shixin curled his lips.

Ha! Women—saying one thing while meaning another.

Clearly unwilling to dwell on the topic, Zhao Jinzhi asked, "Old brother, what do you plan to do about the play? Sun was right earlier; I felt it on stage too. Without that music, without that minute or so when the younger version of the daughter came on stage, not just the audience, but even I as an actress couldn't fully express my emotions. This is a very serious problem."

Hearing this, Li Shixin laughed. "Little Zhao, this play has four acts. It doesn't necessarily have to save all the core elements for the very end to be released."

Zhao Jinzhi didn't quite grasp his meaning.

Seeing her confused look, Li Shixin chuckled. "Don't you worry about this, I'll handle it. Your part doesn't need to change; just perform it as you have been."

Watching the confidence on Li Shixin’s face—reminiscent of a hot-blooded youth—Zhao Jinzhi sighed.

This old man was eccentric, as cunning as a fox, and never played by the rules. But that vitality he possessed, which really shouldn't belong to a man his age, was truly impossible not to admire.

As they talked, the two arrived in front of the 98 Stadium Plaza.

"Alright then." Li Shixin pointed toward his home. "I'll accompany you this far. I need to go back and make some adjustments to the script, and after that, I have to rehearse with Xiaoxiao again and get the big guy and the others to adjust the stage. You head back on your own."

"Do you need me to walk you home?" Zhao Jinzhi stopped and raised her face, pointing at Li Shixin’s waist. But as the words left her lips, she felt it might be a bit too intimate, so she awkwardly withdrew her finger. "I could help you deliberate on the script."

"No need. What’s a little ache like this? Besides, your part shouldn't change, otherwise, the revisions would be too large and we don't have the time to re-rehearse. Just go back, get some good rest, and prepare for the performance tomorrow."

Watching Li Shixin wave his hand and walk away with a hobble while clutching his back, Zhao Jinzhi bit her lip.

Standing in the lazy afternoon winter sun, she pondered for a long while before silently taking out her phone.

...

The first thing Li Shixin did upon returning home was call Wu Ming.

With the successful premiere of the drama troupe, the spread of word-of-mouth from the first batch of viewers, the recommendations from his old fans, and his ace in the hole—the large fan club room that provided free tea—the number of Li Shixin’s "believers" was shooting up like a rocket.

Over the past two days, the number of registered members in the fan club had already exceeded a thousand.

When she received Li Shixin’s call, Wu Ming was busy researching how to set up another fan WeChat group.

Hearing that Li Shixin had passed the audit for the Cultural Plaza and was set to perform at 7:00 PM tomorrow, Wu Ming immediately perked up.

Upon receiving his instructions for setting up the venue, she patted her chest firmly, telling him to rest assured.

After hanging up, Wu Ming put away her phone and hopped onto the stage of the small theater.

"Everyone!"

A group of old fans, who were busy playing chess, gossiping, or playing mahjong, stopped what they were doing.

"Tomorrow night at seven, our Shixin is confirmed to hold a special drama performance at the Cultural Plaza! What do you all say?"

Upon hearing this news, the group of old fans was beyond excited!

"Great! We must be there!"

"We've been waiting for this!"

Seeing the morale was high, Wu Ming was very satisfied. "Since that's the case, let's all prepare. The Cultural Plaza theater starts at seven, so we’ll all gather in front of the plaza at six-thirty. Bring your fan club uniforms. Tomorrow night is the time to bring honor to our brother Shixin!"

Hearing the troupe leader’s command, the group of old fans responded with a roar.

"Understood!"

Instantly, withered hands still clutching mahjong tiles, playing cards, chess pieces, and dominoes were raised high.

After cheerfully arranging the support plans, Wu Ming jumped off the stage.

She relayed the audio and lighting matters Li Shixin had entrusted to her to the "Big Guy" and his group, then pulled out her phone and dialed Chen Boshi’s number.

"What is it, Grandma! I'm about to pass this level! You're calling and ruining my rhythm!"

Hearing the clanging and hacking sounds coming from the other end of the line, Wu Ming chuckled. "Little one, your Grandpa Shixin is performing at the Cultural Plaza tomorrow night. Why don't you bring your two classmates and come help out?"

"Not going! No time!"

"Oh?" Hearing her granddaughter's flat refusal, Wu Ming raised an eyebrow. "I heard those game cartridges for the Switch, like that Zelda, Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy, and God... they aren't cheap, are they?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Grandma, tell me the truth. When you bought me the Switch, had you already calculated that it would come to this day?"

"Ha, Chen Boshi, don't underestimate the elderly. One word: are you coming or not?"

"Ha, haha, Grandma, you're too naive. Do you think..."

"Even if you hadn't bought those games for me, I would still go! Grandpa Li is my old friend too! With something this big happening, I must contribute in my own small way! Not only am I going, and bringing Yiyi and Sansan, but I’m also going to notify every one of my classmates to bring their parents along tomorrow!"

Hearing her granddaughter's heroic response, Wu Ming nodded with satisfaction.

"That's a good girl..."

...

At Wu Ming’s home.

Chen Boshi, eyes gleaming, sprang up from the sofa, tossed her controller aside, and clamped the phone between her neck and shoulder to use her hands.

She opened her class group, exercised her privileges as the group admin, and @'d everyone: "Is everyone still alive?"

"Tian Tian the Demon King (Chen Yiyi): Alive."

"Sisi-chan (Su Sansan): Barely."

"Barely +1"

"Barely +2"

"...+45"

Very good. Seeing everyone had surfaced, Chen Boshi smiled slightly.

"After dinner tomorrow, does anyone have any plans?"

"Tian Tian the Demon King (Chen Yiyi): Pooping."

"Sisi-chan (Su Sansan): ...+1"

"...+45."

Seeing the responses from this bunch of idiots, Chen Boshi chuckled and tapped away on her screen.

"After you're done pooping, at 7:30 PM, come to the Cultural Plaza to watch the renowned actor Li Shixin’s masterpiece, 'The Only Worry I Can Never Forget in This Life.' Wouldn't that be fun?"

The group exploded upon seeing this message:

"Pfft~~ Class Monitor, have you lost it? Who watches old antiques like plays anymore? Isn't it better to stay home and admire my Sherlock?"

"Too busy with Auto Chess, goodbye!"

"Addicted to PUBG, can't pull myself away, forgive me!"

"Monitor, how much were you paid to shill for this actor? It's okay, tell us, we won't discriminate against you."

"..."

Seeing her classmates’ lack of interest, Chen Boshi raised an eyebrow and flicked her twin tails.

School's out, do you think you've escaped the control of this fairy?

Ha.

Foolish humans...

Ridiculous.

"Sigh, it's just that I’ve found the coursework too easy lately; I finished my winter break homework in less than a week and I'm quite bored. I had no choice but to watch the play with my grandma."

"Actually, it's quite a headache... I only bothered you all to ask what you do to kill time when you've finished your homework."

"I didn't know until I asked, but I'm shocked. So that's how you spend your holidays! PUBG, Auto Chess... very impressive!"

"Oh? You know, should I suggest to the teacher when school starts that we get more homework for the next semester?"

(((;꒪ꈊ꒪;)))!

As soon as the message was sent, the class group fell into chaos.

"Who the hell finished their homework?"

"No... school's only been out for a week, who does homework, you jerk!"

"Please, no nuclear weapons!"

"Class Monitor, please show mercy!"

"Isn't it just watching a play at the Cultural Plaza at 7:30 tomorrow? What's the big deal? No nukes, we'll go! We'll go, okay?"

"Going! Must go! Whoever doesn't go is a jerk! Can we ignore the Class Monitor's support?"

Watching the group of idiots submit to her divine might, Chen Boshi hummed with laughter.

"Very good. But most importantly, you must call your moms and dads, grandpas and grandmas, and nana and pop-pops to come watch too. If they don't come, you know what to do, right?"

"Cry!"

"Throw a tantrum!"

"Refuse to go to tutoring!"

"Download my mom's best friend's photos from my dad's phone!"

"Spit everywhere!"

Heh.

Chen Boshi nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, all good children. You must persist until they agree to come! Be good, your Class Monitor loves you all the most. Chen Yiyi, Su Sansan, you two are in charge of taking attendance tomorrow night. If anyone is missing... hehehehehe."

On forty-five phone screens, seeing the cleaver emoji flash from Chen Boshi’s black cat avatar... the group of brats felt a chill run down their spines!