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Chapter 1529: Chapter 1372: Acquaintance (Please Subscribe!)
Afternoon.
Amusement Park.
Teeming with people.
Due to the fact that Qingyan City locals don’t need tickets, the place is almost packed to the brim. Fortunately, they don’t need to go through the main entrance; the Performing Arts Center is located at the very back of the amusement park, so they can enter from backstage.
"Miss Nian’er!"
The manager of the Performing Arts Center had been waiting for a while.
Of course.
He hadn’t forgotten Qin Shiqi and her sisters either. In the past, when there were performances here, the sisters often came over. Upon seeing Tang Qing, he was even more surprised and said excitedly, "Boss Tang, I didn’t expect you to come too."
Despite the sunglasses.
He recognized him at a glance.
"How much longer until it starts?" Tang Qing asked with a smile.
"Fifteen minutes, this way please."
Following that.
Following the manager, they went through the backstage to the theater hall. Along the way, they saw quite a few people in acrobatic costumes. To be honest, Tang Qing had only seen acrobatic performances on TV in both his past life and this one.
Every time he saw them,
he was always shocked by those acts that needed years of hard training.
The average person enjoys the spectacle.
A discerning person.
Would see the effort these people put behind the scenes. If there’s one profession that truly exemplifies the idea of ’ten years of work behind the scenes for one minute on stage’, Tang Qing thought it was no other than these performers.
Going up to the second floor.
There was a separated VIP hall here.
Twenty seats.
All quite spacious and the chairs more comfortable, and they were located right in the middle. Although the amusement park grants free entry to locals and the Performing Arts Center generally doesn’t charge either, today’s show required tickets.
The tickets were free.
Provided by the Performing Arts Center to various units in Qingyan City.
In addition.
Each enterprise under the Tang Family also has free tickets. And sure enough, upon entering the VIP hall, Tang Qing saw several familiar faces.
"Little boss, you’re back?" Dou Jiao exclaimed in surprise. Bored out of her mind while on maternity leave, there was a show to watch, so she had gone to Sky Eye to grab a few tickets and invited Qi Yan, who had become one of her best friends, to join her.
Pan Yue was there, of course.
"Sister Jiaojiao, Brother Pan," Tang Qing called out, then looked at Qi Yan, who was still sporting a very non-mainstream look, and laughed, "Sister Yan, if I’m not mistaken, today isn’t the weekend. You dare to skip work?"
Upon hearing this.
Qi Yan naturally knew Tang Qing was joking.
Her eyes shifted.
And she looked towards Lin Jiaxue.
"I’ve been caught! Sister Jiaxue, in light of the fact that I make your clothes on a regular basis, don’t forget to whisper some sweet words in your man’s ear tonight, okay? Don’t let him dock my wages, alright?"
There were no outsiders present.
Otherwise, Qi Yan wouldn’t have said this.
"..."
Being ’teased’,
Lin Jiaxue’s face immediately turned red.
"Alright, I won’t dock your wages," Tang Qing said with a smile.
"Thank you, boss!" Qi Yan said playfully with a bow and a giggle.
Following that.
Dou Jiao and the others were chattering away with Qin Shiqi, leaving only Tang Qing and Pan Yue sitting in a corner, "Brother Pan, from now on, you are also one of Qingyan City’s own, haha."
"Wherever Jiaojiao is, that’s where I’ll be," Pan Yue said with a smile.
"A real man."
Tang Qing commended.
"Jiaojiao, I’m back, Tang Qing?" Just then, two more people entered from outside. Tang Qing was stunned; she came too? It was none other than Dou Jiao’s cousin.
Cui Xin.
"How come you’re here?" Tang Qing asked with a smile.
"My family doesn’t welcome me, so I’ve come to spend Chinese New Year with Jiaojiao," Cui Xin said, her tone full of resentment. Just thinking about what her family had done to her boyfriend made her angry.
Not only did they refuse to arrange performances for them through the company,
her mother even went directly to her boyfriend. Fortunately, her boyfriend was resolute and wasn’t persuaded, but this led to a total fallout with her family. The old man didn’t take a stand either, so she had no choice but to come here.
To seek refuge with Dou Jiao.
Who would’ve thought,
Dou Jiao didn’t dare to get involved either.
Frustrated.
"So, that’s how it is." Tang Qing nodded, turning his gaze toward the man beside Cui Xin. He had to admit, the man who had captivated Cui Xin so was quite handsome indeed.
A small beard.
A handsome face.
A tall build.
An impressive image.
"Tang Qing, this is my boyfriend, Gong Lang." Cui Xin pulled Gong Lang forward to introduce him, "This gentleman here is Jiaojiao’s boss, and the richest man in Huaxia, Tang Qing."
"Hello, Boss Tang." Gong Lang promptly extended his hand.
"Hello."
Tang Qing shook hands with Gong Lang briefly.
Truth be told.
He didn’t really like this ’Western etiquette’ of handshaking. He found the traditional Huaxia greeting of cupping one fist in the other hand more to his preference. After all, who knows what the other person had been doing with that hand before the handshake.
Cough cough.
Better not to think about it.
Thinking too much could lead to a tendency for ’obsessive cleanliness.’
My bad.
"I can only look up to Boss Tang’s achievements," Gong Lang complimented.
"You flatter me."
"Tang Qing, can you allow us to find a place in the Amusement Park to sing?" Dou Jiao wouldn’t listen, so Cui Xin had no choice but to seek Tang Qing’s permission. With Dou Jiao there, she might not starve, but her vault was nearly empty.
What’s most important is.
She needed to show her determination to resist, to stand up to hardship rather than avoid difficulties by staying idle at home.
"This, I’m afraid, is not a decision I can make," Tang Qing apologized. Cui Xin had already made this request at Dou Jiao’s wedding, and now she was asking again; of course, he had no intention of getting involved in such a trifle.
Regardless of whether the two make it or not.
He wouldn’t earn any bit of favor.
Foolish.
Upon hearing this.
Cui Xin’s expression collapsed.
As expected.
Tang Qing and Dou Jiao were in cahoots.
"None of you are helping me." Even though Cui Xin was a strong girl in general, at the face of this kind of ’abandonment by all,’ she still felt forsaken by the world.
She had never experienced such ’frustrations’ before.
A distinguished family background.
Enabled her to grow up with smooth sailing, pursuing her passion for music, but when it came to personal happiness, her family’s pressure drove her to the edge. For a moment, she really considered eloping with Gong Lang.
No, that’s wrong.
Right now, it is almost like eloping.
"Sister, don’t make it hard on Tang Qing," Dou Jiao sighed.
"I know, it’s just that I feel so choked up inside," said Cui Xin somewhat dejectedly, sitting down. It was true that this matter had nothing to do with Tang Qing; she just didn’t want to admit defeat. Gong Lang, seeing this, felt a pang of disappointment as well.
He reached over to take Cui Xin’s hand.
"It’s okay, we’ll find a way," Gong Lang comforted her.
"Mhm."
"..."
Watching all of this.
Tang Qing shook his head, feeling like he was watching a soap opera. The outcome for these two was already fixed; given the Cui family’s means, how could they fail to deal with an ordinary person like Gong Lang, who was currently putting on a performance.
For whom?
Obviously, for Cui Xin.
The Cui family had already written the script, one that benefited both sides. Tang Qing couldn’t help but sigh. There was a soap opera’s plot, but not everybody’s happy ending. Perhaps that’s just life.
...
Time was up.
Just like watching a movie.
The lights inside the venue dimmed.
The performance began.
The first act was rhythmic gymnastics.
Three teenage girls.
Performing movements that stretched the limits, which ordinary people couldn’t achieve, yet they made it look effortless. Among all the acrobatic acts, this was probably the one with the most visual impact.
Naturally.
The spectacular performance.
Earned the audience’s continuous applause.
