171: Chapter 171 The Theater Before the Performance

The Golden Finger in her mind stirred. An Zhuo initially thought the "Favor of the Big Shot" had been triggered and quickly clicked in to check, but to her surprise, it was the blind box draw game that hadn't been online for a long time.

This blind box series could be said to be the most valuable thing in the entire system. The Cooking, dancing skills, and martial arts foundation she had drawn previously had all come in handy, and they were especially suitable for developing a side career after retiring from the industry.

Although the price had risen to an outrageous level, An Zhuo's remaining Reputation Points were just enough to go all in.

She clicked it without hesitation.

"Want to understand if the gibberish behind you is scolding you or praising you? Buying this Language Translator is a deal you can't lose on."

？ ？ ？ Why did the name become so long?

After An Zhuo finished complaining, she gave it a try. It seemed this "cheat" allowed her to instantly master the listening, speaking, reading, and writing of multiple languages—English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and even dialects like Cantonese and Wenzhou dialect were all included.

A bargain! If she couldn't be a star in the future, she could become a translator. Simultaneous interpretation pays so much nowadays.

An Zhuo was satisfied, feeling that it was truly a waste of her talents to be an artist and go hungry every day.

The stage crew began to urge her to get ready. With only a few minutes left before the show, her back stiffened, and she hurriedly adjusted her state. She shouldn't have drawn a blind box now; if she were to get carried away while performing on stage and blurt out a couple of foreign sentences, wouldn't that be a complete disaster?

An Zhuo tossed her phone to Sister Cheng. While silently reciting her lines in her heart, she walked to the side of the curtain to regulate her breathing.

The phone clutched in Sister Cheng's hand buzzed several times, seemingly in a hurry. She didn't know who it was.

After a minute, Sister Cheng's own phone rang. Her heart skipped a beat; it was a call from Ji Yunqi: "What's the matter, President Ji?"

"Has An Zhuo gone on stage yet? Tell her she must perform well today. Director Lin—" The person on the other end took a deep breath, "Director Lin Zhongxi has come to see her!"

Sister Cheng's heart also started pounding. For a moment, she was too nervous to speak. The person on the other end asked again, "She has already gone on stage, right?"

"Yes—" Sister Cheng stood on her tiptoes, looking through the gaps over the bustling crowd backstage. An Zhuo, who had been standing by the curtain, had already stepped into the spotlight.

"Sigh, forget it. Her teacher just notified me, so it's fine if it's too late. It's a pity we didn't make it in time."

"You don't need to worry about that, President Ji." It was rare for Sister Cheng to have her own opinion in front of Ji Yunqi. "Zhuo Zhuo has never been careless when acting."

"That's true." The voice of the originally tense and excited Ji Yunqi also relaxed. "She will definitely be fine."

Ni Xishan arrived very early today. She had finished coordinating the outfits for the upcoming airport meet-and-greet activity early on, so Zhu Mian told her to put work aside for a moment and go watch thunderstorm to relax—

"You can't waste the tickets; many people want them but can't get them."

Ni Xishan had received two tickets. Originally, An Zhuo wanted her to invite a friend or family member to go with her, but Ni Xishan ultimately invited a domestic contact for high-end fashion she had been trying to win over recently.

What a perfect social occasion; it was stylish and could also allow the brand to evaluate whether the artist's temperament matched their style.

Even Zhu Mian, who always volunteered to work overtime, felt inferior when he heard about how seriously Ni Xishan took her work.

Other people work waiting for their salary, but she works by pouring in her own network resources. She thinks of nothing but work. MC must have really lost their minds to fire her.

Zhu Mian decided to go back and tell his parents to hurry up and dump all their MC stocks; this company was doomed sooner or later.

An Zhuo also heard about this. While marveling at Ji Yunqi's ability to hire people, she didn't forget to remind her to be generous with the reimbursement of travel expenses for Ni Xishan.

Building relationships with these high-and-mighty brands is the most expensive thing; one must never let employees pay out of their own pockets.

Ni Xishan's seat was good. Although it wasn't in the first few rows of the VIP section, it was right on the central axis, and the view was very good.

The brand director sitting next to her, who always liked to look down on people, was originally acting haughty, but after seeing the people who entered one after another and took their seats in the front row, she quickly retracted her arrogance.

"Your artist has such a big reputation; so many celebrities are here to support her."

Celebrities? Ni Xishan only recognized stars on screen. Looking at the faces of those people sitting in the front, it might be a bit difficult for them to get on TV based on their looks, but they all looked quite powerful and influential.

Although she didn't know the details, Ni Xishan puffed out her chest, "Of course. Our artist is highly recognized by investors."

The director continued to marvel at how big the stars in the front row were. Ni Xishan didn't quite understand, so she simply turned her head to look at the few people beside her.

According to the seat numbers on the tickets, the people here should all be An Zhuo's friends.

Next to her was a cool girl with short hair, narrow eyes, and thin lips, who was currently using a disposable alcohol pad to repeatedly wipe the armrest of the chair. Judging by her estimated age, she looked quite like a classmate of An Zhuo.

The woman on the right was wrapped in a bucket hat and a mask, almost covering even her eyes. Her eyelashes were long and Korean-style. From the bit of hair color peeking out from the edge of the hat, one couldn't tell if it was blonde or dyed.

Ni Xishan guessed that this must be An Zhuo's friend in the industry. An idol? That must be Lu Qingcheng. She heard that An Zhuo and she had a good relationship.

Until one second before the lights went out, three long-legged men arrived late. Just as Ni Xishan's eyes lit up, the lights in Baihua Hall went dark.

By the time her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the handsome men had all sat down. She looked around but couldn't find them. The lights on the stage turned on, and Ni Xishan hurriedly shifted her attention over.

Director Lin Zhongxi sat next to Director Xi Weifeng, and the two occupied the best seats in the VIP section.

Most of the people around them were their juniors, admirers, or investors. They were all familiar with each other and consciously left space for the two famous directors to talk, without crowding up to flatter them.

Director Lin Zhongxi came to the mainland this time mainly to pay respects to his ancestors. The last time he met Director Xi Weifeng was more than a decade ago. The two had each led the most glorious generation of TV dramas and movies in the mainland and Hong Kong/Taiwan respectively, and they had once cherished each other's talents.

Having not seen each other for many years, both had aged quite a bit, but they were able to talk to each other even better than before.

Director Xi Weifeng still maintained his high-quality, low-output pace of one drama per year, while Director Lin Zhongxi hadn't released any works for many years.

In recent years, many excellent film directors had emerged in the mainland. As a great senior, his remaining influence was still there, but he was about to completely give up the stage.