Chapter 297

When they returned to the studio hall, the 7th program, "Finding Faults," had already begun, with performers including Liu Wei, Feng Gong, Niu Zhenhua, Li Yi, and others.

Perhaps due to a preconceived notion, he personally liked Feng Gong more, so he found this program quite interesting to watch.

The Spring Festival Gala was divided into two groups, the first group with 30 programs and the second with 19, totaling 49 programs.

Large-scale galas like this have one downside: those who have finished rehearsing earlier cannot leave early, because the final program is "We Are Friends," which requires all actors and the audience to sing together.

This damn thing was going to be the death of him!

It was over 5 hours long.

There were some programs he had absolutely no desire to open his eyes for, yet he had to maintain a keen interest outwardly, and he couldn't miss a single clap or shout of encouragement.

Huang Zhaoyi was the 13th to go on stage, performing the piece "Farewell My Concubine," which describes the tragic love story between the Overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Yu, and Consort Yu.

As soon as she went on stage, she won a round of applause; many of the old artists present were Peking opera lovers, and as a famous big *qingyi* (leading female role) in the Peking opera circle, she naturally won a full house of cheers.

Whether he was willing or not, whether it was intentional or unintentional, Huang Zhaoyi had already left many traces in Li Heng's life, so when she appeared, Li Heng still perked up a bit.

Quite beautiful! This was his first impression of her.

Although she had sent photos as a reader, seeing the real person on-site was very different from the photos; the sensory experience was completely different.

Huang Zhaoyi was dignified and elegant, with bright facial features; her eyes, nose, and lips each had their own charm, very three-dimensional, making her memorable at a glance.

No wonder she was a top-tier big name in the Peking opera circle; with this appearance and temperament, she was simply the highest template for a big *qingyi*.

Li Heng didn't love Peking opera, but he couldn't help it because his old mother at home loved it very much; he had accompanied her to watch quite a lot in his previous life.

After listening to a segment of "Farewell My Concubine," a thought couldn't help but arise in his heart: he couldn't let his old mom see Huang Zhaoyi, otherwise she would instantly turn into a "little fan girl," and that would be terrible!?

Yu Shuheng glanced at him and asked, "What do you think?"

Li Heng thought for a moment and evaluated objectively: "To be specially invited to the Spring Festival Gala, she undoubtedly has some real skills."

Yu Shuheng said meaningfully: "She is 32 this year and doesn't have a partner yet. I heard her family is quite anxious and has been urging her to marry, and her relationship with her parents is tense."

Li Heng: "..."

Zhou Shihe, who accidentally heard the conversation between the two, smiled lightly; she didn't know if she was laughing at Li Heng, or at so-and-so, or at so-and-so?

Li Heng looked up at the stage. Huang Zhaoyi on stage was also using her peripheral vision to pay attention to him at all times. Seeing that he finally looked at her directly, her heart skipped a beat, and for no reason, her blood surged.

At this moment, she felt as if she had returned to the rainy season of her 17th year, as if she were being peeked at by the person she loved, and from head to toe, from outside to inside, an unspeakable shyness arose.

Growing up to this age, it was the first time she had this feeling.

She felt a little panicked in her heart, and also slightly secretly happy; without any reason, messy and disorganized, she just wanted him to look at her.

If he wanted, she would have no reservations about even deeper levels; even if she had to cut open her heart and lungs, she would have no regrets.

Because she was thinking about him too much, Huang Zhaoyi's performance almost showed a flaw. Her partner noticed something was wrong and secretly gave two glances to ask: Is something wrong?

Huang Zhaoyi hurriedly collected her thoughts, didn't dare to look at him again, and focused on finishing the opera.

Fortunately, she had a solid foundation and had performed "Farewell My Concubine" countless times; through familiarity, she managed to get back on track in time, dangerously avoiding any accidents.

After going off stage, her partner asked: "Zhaoyi? Is something wrong with your body?"

Huang Zhaoyi removed her makeup and shook her head.

Her partner looked puzzled: "I've known you for almost 10 years, and it's the first time I've seen you get distracted in the middle of a performance."

Huang Zhaoyi was silent, then said later: "Old Xie, thank you; if you hadn't discovered it in time just now, it might have..."

"Sigh, if you encounter something, tell us. There are still about 10 days until the next rehearsal; we'll go back and practice a few more times, we can't have a similar situation happen again." Her partner, Old Xie, was worried for her.

They were all old friends and had a certain understanding of each other's habits; given Zhaoyi's performance talent and temperament, if she hadn't run into something, she wouldn't have been distracted during the performance.

Unfortunately, the other party wasn't willing to say, and Old Xie couldn't ask deeply, so he could only earnestly urge her.

"Okay, don't worry, I will adjust my state," Huang Zhaoyi said.

"Eh, I believe you." Old Xie nodded.

Time dragged on and on, and finally, they reached the last 3 programs.

The third-to-last program was "Cleverly Establishing a Pretext"; the line "Leader, colon" amused all the peers and staff on-site, and Li Heng also watched happily.

Damn it! It wasn't easy; he was almost asleep, and finally, he came back to life.

The second-to-last program was a performance by the actors of "Journey to the West," which was standard and not as interesting as watching TV. The only highlight was being able to see Liu Xiao Ling Tong on-site.

When the closing song of the Spring Festival Gala sounded, everyone stood up and sang "We Are Friends" together.

It was very embarrassing that this song really wasn't good to listen to, and he even forgot the lyrics for a moment; fortunately, there were many people, so it didn't matter if he didn't sing, he just followed the tune and moved his lips to mumble through it.

Zhou Shihe beside him looked at him several times; for the whole song, she only heard him sing the beginning, and the rest was silent.

Seeing this, Li Heng said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Don't look at me, there's a camera in front, I forgot the lyrics."

Hearing this, Zhou Shihe smiled knowingly, then slightly increased her volume, trying to help him cover up his embarrassment so that his peers wouldn't notice.

Once the song was finished, the first rehearsal had no major flaws and finally ended successfully.

When others left the venue, Li Heng didn't rush to move, but waited for a while until he finished signing autographs for Director Deng alone before leaving.

He thought he was signing two or three books, but he didn't expect Director Deng Zaijun to bring 7 books over.

After signing, Director Deng enthusiastically invited the three of them to dinner. Li Heng didn't act coy, took Yu Laoshi and Zhou Shihe to Quanjude to eat roast duck, and they didn't finish until over an hour later.

After staying in the studio for most of the day and having a meal, it was already quite late when they got home, already past 4 in the afternoon.

After entering the room and taking a shower, Li Heng simply washed his clothes and hung them up to dry, then asked Yu Shuheng: "Yu Laoshi, what day are we going back?"

Yu Shuheng said: "The flight is at 10 tomorrow morning."

Then she reacted and asked: "Do you want to go to the Drum Tower area?"

Li Heng said yes.

He missed Zijin a little, and also wanted to go see how his dad's health was recovering? How was his second sister doing with her pastry studies? Ask his mom if they were going back to their hometown for the New Year this year?

Yu Shuheng said: "Wait for me, I'll take a shower, and Teacher will send you over later."

"Eh, okay."

Li Heng responded, full of joy, and later asked Zhou Shihe beside him: "Comrade Shihe, do you want to go out for a walk together?"

Zhou Shihe shook her head and said gently: "I didn't sleep well last night, I'm a bit sleepy, I want to take a nap."

Li Heng originally wanted to ask, are you afraid of being alone at home? But to avoid evoking her bad memories, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

20 minutes later, Li Heng and Yu Shuheng sat in the Mercedes-Benz and drove toward the Drum Tower.

Li Heng checked the interior of the car: "Teacher, do you love the Mercedes-Benz brand very much?"

Yu Shuheng looked ahead and said intellectually: "It's alright, mainly because other domestic cars can't compare to it, and I'm used to driving it."

The Drum Tower was a little far away; when they rushed over, the sky was almost dark, just in time for dinner.

They bought some things at the entrance of the alley and carried them as they walked toward the middle of the alley.

Yu Shuheng looked around and asked: "This location is not bad, did you buy it yourself?"

Li Heng replied: "No, it was scouted by Zijin's little aunt."

Yu Shuheng nodded and asked again: "Do your parents have any special taboos or anything?"

Li Heng glanced at her all-black outfit and teased: "My dad's health is not good, he has a taboo against black."

She asked: "Why a taboo against black?"

She understood white, but it was the first time she had heard of black.

Li Heng blinked: "Because coffins are black."

Hearing this, Yu Shuheng stopped in her tracks and handed the bag to him: "Then Teacher will wait for you in the car."

Li Heng showed his neat, clean, white teeth and smiled very brightly: "Oh my, even someone as wise as our Yu Laoshi has times when she gets tricked."

Yu Shuheng looked at him and then walked toward the courtyard on the left.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Standing at the entrance, Li Heng clapped and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

After a while, a voice came from inside; it was his second sister, Li Lan.

"Second sister, it's me."

"Little brother?"

"Yes."

With a creak, the door opened from the inside. Li Lan poked half her head out, originally wanting to tease her little brother a few times, but when she saw Yu Shuheng with her rich scholarly temperament behind him, her expression froze. The next second, with a "duang," she closed the door again.

Li Heng was stunned and knocked on the door again: "Sister, what are you doing?"

"Wait a second, I'm filthy, I'm going to change my clothes, let Mom come to open the door."

Saying this, Li Lan ran into the house in a flash. As soon as she met them, she hurriedly said: "Comrade Tian Run'e, Comrade Li Jianguo, stop listening to Peking opera, hurry up and tidy up, your son brought his wife back."

Li Jianguo and Tian Run'e were both dumbfounded and turned their heads to ask in unison: "What wife?"

Tian Run'e asked again: "Is Zijin back? Didn't she go to her grandmother's house and not have time?"

"It's not Chen Zijin, you go open the door and see for yourselves, I can't describe that woman, anyway, her aura is huge. I'm going to change my clothes." After saying this, Li Lan dove into her bedroom.

The old couple looked at each other for a while, and Li Jianguo stood up: "I'll go open the door, you tidy up the coffee table."

"Okay, you hurry up, don't let people wait." When Tian Run'e responded, she had already moved nimbly.

Afraid of keeping the guest waiting, Li Jianguo ran with suspicion. Before long, the courtyard gate opened again. With just one glance, he saw Yu Shuheng and instantly understood why his little daughter said that woman had a special aura just now.

More than just an aura?

Her scholarly atmosphere was simply full marks, and the feeling she gave people was particularly comfortable.

As a high-level intellectual, Li Jianguo instantly had a thought: this girl's family background was probably not simple, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to cultivate such a daughter.

"Dad," Li Heng called out.

"Eh, you're back," Li Jianguo said happily, but his eyes looked at Yu Shuheng.

Li Heng introduced: "This is my university teacher, Yu Laoshi."

It's a teacher? No wonder her scholarly temperament was rich. Li Jianguo hurriedly opened the door completely, stepped aside, and said: "It's cold outside, Yu Laoshi, please come in."

Later, he explained apologetically: "That girl just now got her clothes dirty while working, she's ignorant and neglected you, Teacher."

Yu Shuheng was an iceberg most of the time, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to conduct herself; on the contrary, she was very handy in social situations, and she smiled warmly like jade:

"Everyone loves beauty, and beautiful women are all like this. I heard from Li Heng that Uncle, your health doesn't allow you to blow in the cold wind, hurry up and go inside."

"Okay, okay, Teacher, hurry in and have a cup of tea to warm up." Li Jianguo beamed and led the way in front.

They walked through the courtyard and entered the main room.

Tian Run'e, who had been prepared, immediately brought a cup of hot tea and handed it to Yu Shuheng: "Yu Laoshi, our home is a bit simple, please sit for a while. Are you hungry? I'll go stir-fry some dishes right away."

"Auntie, don't worry, we just ate not long ago." Yu Shuheng took the teacup and sat on the sofa generously.

Li Heng drank half a cup of hot tea and said to Tian Run'e: "Mom, I'll stir-fry the dishes, I know Teacher's taste."

Hearing this, Tian Run'e immediately indicated: "That's fine, let your sister help you."

Being so familiar with Yu Laoshi, he didn't have any intention of accompanying her; anyway, this woman had dual attributes of ice and fire, could switch at any time according to the needs of the environment, and could switch freely, so he didn't need to worry.

Sure enough, the result was about the same as he had guessed.

Not long after, he could hear laughter from outside while in the kitchen; it was Comrade Tian Run'e laughing, laughing happily. It was very clear that this old mom hadn't withstood the test and had been corroded by Yu Laoshi's sugar-coated bullets.

After Li Lan finished showering and changed her clothes, she accompanied the guest outside for a while, then came to the kitchen to help.

As soon as she entered the door, this sister asked directly: "Little brother, which one is this?"

Li Heng was stunned: "Which one what?"

"Pretend! You keep pretending with me! What rank does this woman outside have?" Li Lan squatted down to peel garlic, and while peeling, her gossip heart exploded.

Li Heng complained: "Don't woman this, woman that, she is my university teacher."

"Indeed, this is your sister, no, hmm, let me change my tone."

Second sister hummed a few times, cleared her throat, and said: "Congratulations, little brother, you've captured a teacher. Among the younger sisters-in-law, what rank does she have?"

Li Heng was speechless and lowered his voice: "You should use your pig brain properly; is a woman like her someone I can subdue?"

"Heh! Why destroy your own prestige by boosting others' morale? There is no woman in the world that a man cannot conquer. If one sleep doesn't work, sleep two; if two don't work, sleep until she behaves. I believe in you, you are the man of our dignified Old Li family, you must have this ability." Li Lan was as domineering and fierce as ever.

"Hey, can you speak properly? Don't instill corrupt thoughts in me as soon as we meet, okay?" Li Heng was convinced.

Li Lan put away her joking and asked seriously: "Does she like you?"

Li Heng replied: "No."

"Do you have crooked thoughts about her?"

"No."

Li Lan rolled her eyes: "Then how about we make a bet."

Li Heng asked: "What bet?"

Li Lan said: "Within 4 years, if she sleeps in the same bed as you, you'll lend me some money to do business."

Li Heng turned around: "Money is not the issue. The problem is, what if you lose? What will you bet with me?"

Li Lan rolled up her sleeves: "If I lose, I'll be responsible for helping you get her into bed."

Li Heng's mouth twitched, and he changed the subject: "Have you decided to settle down in the capital?"

"Hmm, I have this idea, but I still have to go back to Shaoshi to ask for his opinion." Li Lan said.

Li Heng felt it was strange: "You are Li Lan, when did you ever need to ask for others' opinions to do things?"

Li Lan looked at him with disdain: "I'm not you, that person spent his youth here with me, I have to give him an explanation."

Li Heng asked: "What explanation?"

Li Lan said domineeringly: "Draw lots. Shaoshi and the capital; if he draws Shaoshi, I stay in Shaoshi; if he draws the capital, he better roll to the capital quickly to meet up with me."

Li Heng asked: "I understand, it means you're not dumping him?"

Li Lan said: "I'm a good person, I can't bring myself to do that. Of course, if he's not willing to come to the capital, I won't force him. Feelings are things that are easy to gather and easy to part; we won't have to break each other's heads when we meet in the future."

Li Heng didn't express an opinion after listening.

One was that he didn't have any emotional foundation with that second brother-in-law, and the number of times they had met in their lives could be counted on one hand, so there was nothing to regret or not regret.

Two was that in terms of feelings, his own behind wasn't clean either, so he wasn't qualified to point fingers.

About 20 minutes later, his own mother, Tian Run'e, came in, glanced at her second daughter, walked to his side, and asked in a low voice: "Manzai, you and this teacher?"

Li Heng was dizzy: "Mom, I can't stand this look of yours, we are innocent, okay?"

"Innocent now doesn't mean innocent later, did you really not have evil intentions?" Tian Run'e didn't quite believe it.

Seeing her mother's expression, Li Lan almost laughed: "Look, little brother, look for yourself, even Mom is suspicious of you. You should reflect on yourself properly, just how bad have you become?"

Tian Run'e glanced at her youngest daughter, stared at her son, and demanded an attitude.

Li Heng felt like dying, very depressed: "Mom, when did our mother-son relationship reach this point? Even basic trust is gone?"

"Don't call me Mom, Mom, don't play the emotional card with me. Don't I know what kind of goods I gave birth to? The teacher is beautiful to this point, and you're walking so close; in the future, either you'll have a problem, or she'll have a problem, or you'll have a problem together. You'd better weigh it clearly." Tian Run'e's tone was a bit heavy this time.

Could she not be heavy?

There was already a Chen Zijin at home, and there were Song Yu and Xiao Han outside; if there were one more teacher, whew! Just thinking about it, Tian Run'e felt her scalp tingling.

Li Heng was very innocent: "Mom, you're being a bit unreasonable, framing people out of thin air without any evidence."

Tian Run'e pursed her lips and said: "It's not easy being your mom, I can only give you a preventative shot in advance. If we wait until there's evidence, it means the raw rice has already been cooked into cooked rice; at that time, could I still be a devil and break you two up?"

Li Heng: "..."

Tian Run'e said earnestly: "Don't blame me for being suspicious, this Yu Laoshi is indeed very charming. You are young, and after being together for a long time, I'm afraid you'll make a mistake."

The reason she was so cautious in instructing her son today was that during her chat with Yu Shuheng, she found that she and her husband couldn't quite handle the other party; the other party was not only knowledgeable but also very appropriate in her words and actions, revealing a kind of indescribable nobility.

The couple immediately understood that this Yu Laoshi's family background was probably more powerful than they imagined; it would be fine if their son was a dedicated person, even if he walked together with her, they wouldn't worry.

But what kind of goods was their son? Didn't she know?

If he provoked her but couldn't take responsibility, he would have a hard time in the future.

Actually, it was mainly because Tian Run'e had psychological trauma; her husband used to be a leader in the Education Bureau, but what kind of end did he come to now?

She was really a bit afraid, really didn't want to provoke wealthy families; she had been poor for ten or twenty years, suffered for ten or twenty years, and was afraid that the stable life she had finally achieved would be lost again.

As for Zijin, as for the Chen family, that was something that couldn't be helped; her son had already slept with their girl, so whether they were willing or not, the Old Li family had to stand up and accept this cause and effect.

If there were more, if there were a few more Chen families, she, Tian Run'e, would also be afraid.

Cooking took about 40 minutes. Since they had already eaten, Li Heng just accompanied them to drink a little wine, and most of the time they were talking.

Don't look at Tian Run'e instructing her son in the kitchen not to provoke others; at the dining table, she appeared very hospitable, taking care of Yu Shuheng meticulously inside and out, very thoughtfully.

After 9 o'clock, the two left the Old Li house.

Tian Run'e, Li Jianguo, and Li Lan personally sent them to the alley entrance and urged Yu Laoshi to come over and play more often in the future.

Hearing her mom's hypocritical words, Li Heng looked at the sky and left in the car.

Watching the Mercedes-Benz disappear at the street corner, Tian Run'e couldn't help but sigh: "This Yu Laoshi is really good, she looks likable."

Li Lan curled her lips: "Mom, you weren't like this with little brother in the kitchen just now."

Tian Run'e said: "That's different, your brother has almost become an old slicker now; if I don't speak heavily, he'll just treat it as wind in his ears.

Besides, this Yu Laoshi is good, but the temple is too big for our small family, we can't afford to worship her."

Li Jianguo interrupted the mother-daughter dialogue: "Xiao Heng is just having a normal relationship with the teacher, don't make a fuss, look at it rationally."

Hearing this, Tian Run'e felt it was right, felt she might have really overthought it, and didn't speak again.

Li Lan curled her lips: "You two are old and can't keep up with the times; I felt they had a problem at a glance.

You saw it when we were chatting just now, what teacher is so interested in what happened to a student when he was a child? Either she's innocent and romantic, or she has hidden thoughts, or she's..."

Tian Run'e asked: "What?"

Li Lan reached out and pointed to the sky: "Or she's already slept with him and has a bond."

Li Jianguo and Tian Run'e looked at each other and both accelerated toward the house; it was too cold outside, and they were too lazy to listen to their second daughter's nonsense.

Regarding their second daughter's words, the old couple already had experience; when she was serious, they had to listen patiently and take it in; if she was joking, they would just pretend they didn't hear it.

Thinking about it, she just passed 20 in the second half of the year; at this age, who doesn't act crazy occasionally?

On the other side, inside the Mercedes-Benz.

Li Heng asked: "Yu Laoshi, you drank wine, are you okay?"

Yu Shuheng looked ahead: "This little bit of wine doesn't affect me."

After driving for a while, she suddenly asked: "Does your mom love Peking opera?"

"Yes, she's an old Peking opera fan," Li Heng replied.

Yu Shuheng asked: "When you were at home, didn't you hear the sound?"

Li Heng asked: "What sound?"

Yu Shuheng glanced at him sideways and didn't speak.

Actually, as soon as she entered the Li house, she heard it; she heard that the Peking opera sound in the recording tape came from Huang Zhaoyi, and the segment she sang was "The Drunken Concubine."

However, afraid that the little boy would miss her, she automatically guarded the gate for Runwen and didn't mention this matter.

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Updated first, edited later.

(To be continued)

(End of chapter)