Chapter 43: TVB Gala Night

In the TVB dressing room, Zhou Huimin was fixing her hair in front of the mirror when Lin Qingxia pushed the door open and walked in.

"Ah-Man, I heard you're singing a duet with Him Jai tonight?" Lin Qingxia leaned against the dressing table and asked with a smile.

Zhou Huimin's hair clip paused for a beat: "How does Sister Qingxia know? Isn't the program list supposed to be confidential?"

"The whole of TVB is buzzing about it." Lin Qingxia picked up a comb and helped tidy her hair ends. "Even Sixth Uncle was asking, saying he never expected Him Jai to pick such a passionate song."

Zhou Huimin pressed her lips into a smile: "He said this song best suits tonight's atmosphere."

A sudden argument broke out from the neighboring dressing room.

"On what grounds are you moving my segment to the second half?" a sharp female voice rang out.

"This is Miss Fang's arrangement..." a staff member explained in a low voice.

Lin Qingxia raised an eyebrow: "From the sound of it, is that 'Jade Maiden Faction Leader' throwing a tantrum?"

Zhou Huimin shook her head helplessly: "Ever since 'A Life's Love' won an award, she's been..."

Before she could finish, Xiang Qian pushed the door open: "Ready?"

TVB Studio One, resplendent in gold and splendor.

Shao Yifu and Fang Yihua sat in the front row, while brothers Xiang Qiang and Xiang Sheng made a rare appearance in the guest seats.

"Sixth Uncle," Fang Yihua said quietly, "I hear the Xiang family has been acquiring record companies lately?"

Shao Yifu gently stroked his cane: "It's a good thing for young people to have ambition, as long as they play by the rules."

On stage, Wang Mingquan and Zheng Yuling were hosting.

"The next act is something special!" Wang Mingquan said with a mysterious smile. "A certain talented gentleman is going to perform an original classic hit!"

Zheng Yuling picked up the cue: "And he's going to ignite this winter together with our 'Golden Song Heavenly Queen'!"

The camera swept across the audience, and Jackie Chan led the heckling: "Him Jai! Give us one!"

Just as Xiang Qian and Zhou Huimin were about to take the stage, the sound engineer suddenly ran over: "Mr. Xiang, there's a problem with the backing track!"

"What problem?" Xiang Qian frowned.

"Someone swapped it out! What's playing now is..."

Zhou Huimin's face changed: "It's the slow-tempo version of the backing track!"

Xiang Qian gave a cold laugh and said to the sound engineer: "Don't worry about it, proceed as planned."

The stage lights flared up, and a rousing prelude rang out.

Xiang Qian made his entrance in an all-red leather outfit, exchanging a smile with Zhou Huimin, who wore a silver sequin mini-dress.

"You are like a fire in the winter!" Xiang Qian's voice was unexpectedly high and powerful.

Zhou Huimin took up the next line: "Blazing flames have warmed my heart!"

Their perfectly coordinated dance steps set the whole venue ablaze, and the audience below couldn't help clapping along to the rhythm.

At the climax of the song, Xiang Qian suddenly spun around, wrapped one arm around Zhou Huimin's waist, and completed a stunning lift.

Thunderous applause erupted from below, and even the usually stern Shao Yifu clapped along to the beat. After the gala ended, at the celebration banquet.

Jackie Chan pushed through the crowd holding a champagne glass: "Him Jai! Never expected you to be such a great dancer!"

Before Xiang Qian could answer, a heavily made-up actress suddenly bumped into them, spilling red wine on Zhou Huimin's skirt hem.

"Oops, sorry~" the actress apologized exaggeratedly, though her eyes were full of provocation.

Xiang Qian's gaze turned cold, but before he could speak, Fang Yihua had already walked over: "Miss Zhang, your contract expires tomorrow."

The actress's face went deathly pale in an instant.

Late at night, Xiang Qian and Zhou Huimin stood on the TVB rooftop.

"Never expected you to get more and more impressive." Zhou Huimin said softly.

Xiang Qian gazed at the night view of Victoria Harbour: "Because you are that fire."

Zhou Huimin suddenly rose on her tiptoes and whispered by his ear: "Then you'd better be careful not to get burned."

The night wind blew, and the ferry's horn sounded from afar.

On this night, the lights of Xiangjiang shone especially bright.