Chapter 468: Five Steps, It's Time (8700 Words)

"Sisters, for those of us over 30, having a baby is a technical job.

Getting pregnant without protection, or even by accident, belongs to the reckless youth of those in their teens and twenties.

Back then, their young and vigorous tadpoles could pierce through any obstacle to reach their goal.

Back then, our hormones were surging, our state was full, and everything was just right; it seemed that with just a light touch, life could quietly sprout.

However, once you pass 30, everything becomes different.

Sisters, if you want to successfully receive a little angel, besides placing Wangzai Milk by the bedside, sticking a Child-Giving Guanyin sticker on your phone, and putting up a baby picture by the bed, you should also follow these steps during intercourse:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

The above steps have been personally verified by me as effective; I am currently pregnant.

Wishing the motherland prosperity and strength; I hope to help as many as I can.

I hope everyone can reach the shore soon."

……

……

"Don't move."

Gao Yuanyuan hugged the man's back.

Chen Nuo paused for two seconds, then prepared to roll over.

But Gao Yuanyuan still didn't let go, "No, wait a little longer."

Chen Nuo was a bit dumbfounded, "Huh?"

Gao Yuanyuan explained, "I read on a post that you have to block it for 30 seconds."

Chen Nuo was a little speechless.

The refractory period, every man with a penis understands; at this time, if Sun Wukong were to have the Tight-Fillet Spell recited to him, he would be very uncomfortable, so he couldn't help but question slightly, "Didn't we already put a pillow under? Does it have to be this troublesome?"

"The pillow is the first step, this is the second step," Gao Yuanyuan said seriously.

At this moment, she had long since entered the mood. Originally, as a literary young woman, she couldn't help but feel a bit shy at the beginning. But tonight the man had been drinking, and his words and actions carried a bit of a roguish air, with all sorts of tricks emerging one after another. After half an hour of tossing and turning, her sense of shame had long been stripped away layer by layer, and speaking of these things now had become a matter of course.

Besides, that, that, and that had all been done. Such a serious matter as continuing the family line, what was there to be embarrassed about?

"That's not right."

But Sun Wukong wasn't so easily convinced; Chen Nuo immediately raised an objection, "This is the third step, right? You just made me change positions."

Gao Yuanyuan had originally been lying on her stomach, but now she was lying on her back; it was indeed a change of position. She remembered and admitted, "Right, the third step."

"How many steps are there in total?"

"Five steps."

Chen Nuo shook his head with a smile and said, "Is it necessary? So troublesome?"

Gao Yuanyuan's expression dimmed slightly, "I'm too old."

Chen Nuo hurriedly comforted her, "How is that possible? Look at your skin, it's so good, pink and tender, what's the difference from when you were 18... Hey, by the way, has it been 30 seconds? I feel like I'm going to melt if I stay in here any longer."

Hearing him say this, she immediately forgot her sadness and burst into a giggle, "Alright, alright, you can come out."

Chen Nuo then rolled off.

Honestly, after such a workout, his state had recovered a little bit.

As a result, before he could even catch his breath, he saw Gao Yuanyuan change direction, lifting her long, fair legs and leaning them against the wall. Her whole body was in an inverted position of about 80 degrees, her snow-white, straight leg lines and pink, tender arches seeming to merge with the white wallpaper.

Chen Nuo couldn't help but laugh, "Is this the fourth step?"

Gao Yuanyuan said, "Yes."

Truth be told, Chen Nuo had only studied how *not* to have children, but he had truly never studied how to have them. With Gao Yuanyuan's set of procedures, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, "How can it be this troublesome? I never paid attention to any of this before; just once, and it happened once."

Gao Yuanyuan said, "Sometimes it's just like that. Many people on the internet get pregnant when they don't want to. When they want to, they have to work hard for a long time. Also, everyone is different."

Chen Nuo laughed, "Why do I feel like you're looking down on me? How long do you have to keep this up?"

"Five minutes."

"Five minutes!" Chen Nuo shook his head and said, "Alright then, I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay, you go ahead."

As the hot water poured over his head, Chen Nuo let out a long, comfortable breath.

By this time, the alcohol had completely worn off. While showering, he recalled the singing practice from the day.

The song "Chengdu" was already very familiar to him, but the stage of the Spring Festival Gala was different from a KTV; it was impossible for him to just stand there holding a microphone and sing for a few minutes and be done with it. Facing a massive stage with hundreds of millions of viewers nationwide, the program's effect and watchability were the top priorities.

And from the rehearsal to the official performance, there were only three or four days in between, which meant it was impossible to arrange very complex stage design and technical support. Thus, after an emergency consultation, the program team finally decided to use the stage format he had used when singing "Hawthorn Flower" last time—one person singing, one person dancing solo.

Even so, it was a huge challenge for the choreographers, and it placed extremely high demands on the solo dancer: her physical fitness had to be top-notch, her emotional expression had to be precise, and she had to have extremely strong stage adaptability. It was best if she could improvise and dance as soon as she got on stage, entering the performance state immediately. Because she was only left with half a day, and they were about to enter the final rehearsal stage and record the backup tape.

If it were any other TV station or program team, wanting to find such a person within a few hours, or even half a day, would be almost a fantasy.

But the energy of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala program team was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

After an emergency consultation by the directing team, they actually found such a person—

She was once the top student at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, a top student at the Beijing Dance Academy, and her dance style was once hailed as the "Beijing Dance Academy Textbook," and she was also known as the Beijing Dance Academy campus belle. During her time at school, one of her dances became a template imitated by countless dance art examinees. She participated in the Olympic opening ceremony, choreographed for "My Own Swordsman," and just graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy last year. She signed with Tangren Media and won the overall championship in the third season of "Dancing Miracle."

For this reason, Cai Yinong, who hadn't contacted him for a long time, specifically called him to chat for a while. And from yesterday to today, he had been working and rehearsing with this extraordinary young dancer. All he could say was that the girl was very professional, her technique was truly strong, and although there were some bumps along the way, overall, he definitely benefited from it.

There was one more day tomorrow, and the day after was the performance.

Thinking about it, there was still some pressure.

Thinking of this, with a creak, the bathroom door opened, and Gao Yuanyuan walked in.

As soon as Chen Nuo saw her walking on tiptoes, he laughed, "What are you doing? Acting like a thief?"

Gao Yuanyuan laughed too, but she continued walking on her toes.

"No, is it really necessary?"

Chen Nuo naturally knew what this woman was doing, "How could it flow out? What are you thinking?"

Gao Yuanyuan showed a very pained expression and said, "But just now when I moved, it... quite a lot came out."

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said, "Could it be something else?"

Gao Yuanyuan said, "What?"

Chen Nuo said, "For example..."

No matter how much Gao Yuanyuan felt it was a natural human occurrence, she was a woman after all, and she still cared about her face. Hearing Chen Nuo say that, she couldn't take it and couldn't help but hit him lightly, saying, "Stop talking nonsense, how could it be mine."

Afterwards, the two began to help each other shower, chatting while they washed.

"You're so busy, I really didn't expect you to be able to come see me," Gao Yuanyuan asked while carefully applying shower gel to his back.

Chen Nuo said, "Busy is busy, but I have to make time for things I've promised you, no matter how busy I am."

Gao Yuanyuan was silent for a while, then squatted down and began to apply it to his legs and the tops of his feet.

One has to say, older women really know how to take care of people. That meticulous, gentle feeling was truly addictive.

After finishing his feet, Gao Yuanyuan stood up and began to apply it to his front, asking again, "Are your parents especially proud? To be able to let the News Broadcast play for so long, I saw online that you seem to be the first in our entertainment industry."

"Hey, what's this." Chen Nuo enjoyed the smooth caress of the woman's slender fingers, and from time to time he would be touched by even softer and smoother parts, which felt even more comfortable.

"This is nothing? Also, for you, it seems like it's no big deal."

Seeing that the woman didn't believe him, Chen Nuo explained, "What, that's not what I meant. Actually, this time it was all thanks to the Spring Festival Gala. Think about it, strictly speaking, only the last 20 seconds reported on me, saying how busy and tired I am; the rest was all advertisements for the Spring Festival Gala. If I really want to be proud, hehe, unless one day these few minutes are all introducing my great achievements, then you'll see how proud I am."

"I think it's only a matter of time. The person who called you just now, was that the director of the movie you filmed last time?"

"Yes. He's urging me to go to America. I've actually told him before, Americans, they think we're like them, breaking promises all day long. Haha."

Gao Yuanyuan also laughed, "Is this movie of yours preparing to enter a competition or taking the commercial route?"

"Competition," Chen Nuo said, "It's quite complicated to explain, and it also involves his inheritance over there. I'll tell you in detail when I have time."

Gao Yuanyuan nodded, and immediately asked with curiosity and anticipation, "Then which film festival, have you decided?"

Chen Nuo said, "Venice."

"Huh?"

Honestly, this was the moment it became clear that congratulating him on the News Broadcast was just being polite; the current Gao Yuanyuan was truly interested and extremely excited. The movement of her hands stopped abruptly, and she looked up, staring straight into his eyes, widening them as she confirmed, "Venice!?"

Chen Nuo smiled, "Yes, why are you so excited? It's just entering the competition, it doesn't mean I'll win an award."

"I know. I just..." Gao Yuanyuan looked at him, "Last time I went to Venice with Zhang Dao, we didn't get anything."

Chen Nuo smiled, "Want me to get revenge for you?"

"A little bit."

At this moment, the look in Gao Yuanyuan's eyes as she watched him was so scorching it felt like it could melt steel; that feeling could make any man feel like he was floating on clouds, thinking he was a god.

"If you can collect the three major European awards... then you won't need to rely on the Spring Festival Gala anymore."

After returning to the bedroom, Chen Nuo was truly tired, and he had to get up early tomorrow, so he turned off the lights, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep.

Unexpectedly, Gao Yuanyuan's hands started acting up again.

He opened his eyes helplessly, grabbed Gao Yuanyuan's hand, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"……How did your song practice go today?"

"It's alright."

"What's the song title exactly?"

"Secret, you'll know when you see it on TV."

"Is the girl dancing for you pretty?"

"Skinny as a rail, what's there to look at."

"I'm also very thin."

"It's different, she's thin all over, just bones. Unlike you, here, and here, they are... right, quite big."

Chen Nuo pinched her up and down twice, and Gao Yuanyuan endured it without a sound. In the darkness, the woman's voice came, "How many steps are there in that post in total, do you still remember?"

"What post?"

"I just said that."

"Oh." Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be five steps."

"Right, five steps. So how many steps is it now?"

"Uh... four steps?"

"The first step, prop up a pillow; the second step, adjust your posture; the third step, block the exit; the fourth step, stand on your head to let more go in. Do you want to know what the fifth step is?"

Chen Nuo had an ominous premonition and asked, "What is it?"

Gao Yuanyuan's voice was muffled, as if her head had already burrowed into the quilt, "The fifth step, seize the opportunity and do it a few more times."

Chen Nuo gasped, his features crinkling. It wasn't quite uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either; it was quite distressing. He pressed down on the head under the quilt and said, "...Wait a minute, be clear, exactly how many times?"

But there was still no answer, because Gao Yuanyuan was no longer able to speak with her mouth.

……

……

January 22, 2012, New Year's Eve.

According to the regulations in the "Spring Festival Gala Cast and Crew Manual"—"Performers in technical programs must arrive 10 hours before the live broadcast, and performers in general programs must arrive no later than 6 hours before the live broadcast."

Consequently, Jin Chen and her manager arrived at the backstage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala early at 9:00 AM.

They had thought this time was early enough, but upon entering, they discovered that the backstage was already bustling with noise and activity. Makeup areas, rehearsal areas, corridors, and corners were packed with people; costumes and props were flying everywhere, staff members were running about in a hurry, shouts rose one after another, and there were even people warming up their voices in the stairwells.

The two of them were instantly bewildered, staring at each other with wide eyes.

Jin Chen frowned and asked, "What should we do? Do you want to make a call and ask?"

Her manager shrank her neck and said timidly, "How about we wait a bit and see..."

Jin Chen was both annoyed and amused, "Wait for what? Don't you have Director Ha Wen's number? Ask where our dressing room is."

Her manager hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Should we try looking for it ourselves first? It's only this big anyway."

Jin Chen was left speechless, but there was nothing she could do—her manager was a "connection hire" named Wang Xinxin. She was two years younger than Jin Chen and had just graduated from a junior college last year; one could say that regarding the entertainment industry, she was an even newer newcomer than Jin Chen. Her personality was not only introverted but she was also timid. But there was no help for it; who told her that her cousin was someone close to Cai Yinong?

She sighed, put on her bag, tugged at Wang Xinxin's arm, and said, "Fine, let's go, let's look for it. If it really doesn't work, I'll call Director Ha's assistant myself."

As they walked deeper into the corridor, they looked around. The CCTV backstage at this moment was like a chaotic wet market, filled with all sorts of people.

The various dressing rooms were the same, like a cafeteria during an annual meeting—noisy and steaming with heat; many people were huddled inside touching up makeup, changing clothes, practicing moves, or reciting lines.

The studio backstage had three full floors, each with over a dozen dressing rooms and waiting rooms; people were coming and going upstairs and downstairs, and there were even people sitting on the floor in the corridors applying makeup.

Being newcomers and unfamiliar with the place, trying to find the dressing room with their names on it among so many people was harder than finding a specific minivan at a highway service area.

After wandering around for more than ten minutes until their heads were spinning, Jin Chen and Wang Xinxin finally stopped.

"It's no use, we have to call. Give me the phone, I'll call," Jin Chen said, panting.

"Then... okay." Wang Xinxin timidly took out her phone from her pocket.

The two were flipping through the phone for the number when suddenly someone walked past, turned their head to see them, paused, and let out an "Eh?"

Jin Chen looked up, and her eyes lit up, "Sister Li!"

It was exactly the person she had intended to contact—the assistant to the Spring Festival Gala directing team, Director Ha Wen's right-hand woman, Li Xiaoyuan.

Li Xiaoyuan was in her thirties and very capable; her only issue was that she was extremely serious. Seeing the two of them standing in the middle of the corridor with confused expressions, she couldn't help but frown and say, "Why did you two come so early?"

Jin Chen's heart skipped a beat; she glanced at Wang Xinxin and then asked cautiously, "Weren't we told to arrive at 9 o'clock?"

Li Xiaoyuan said, "No, you only need to arrive 6 hours early. You are a general program."

"Ah?" Jin Chen was petrified on the spot.

Then she glared fiercely at Wang Xinxin, who also looked blank and stammered, "Sister Li... isn't our Chenchen a technical performer?"

Li Xiaoyuan said, "Of course not. What are you doing? Technical performers refer to those directly involved in the technical presentation of the performance, such as acrobatics, magic, martial arts, dragon and lion dances—those that are particularly reliant on lighting, props, and camera positioning, and need to come early for a final dress rehearsal. Yours is a song and dance program, which belongs to general performers."

She paused and added, "Didn't I tell you yesterday? Forget it, since you're already here, go to the dressing room and rest for a while. I'm still adjusting the schedule here, so I'll be going."

After speaking, she was about to continue walking forward, but Jin Chen quickly called out, "Wait a moment, Sister Li, where is our dressing room? We've been looking for a long time and couldn't find it. Could we trouble you to take us there?"

Li Xiaoyuan paused, turned back, and realized, "You're looking for the dressing room? —Yours isn't here, come on, follow me."

As she spoke, she led the way quickly, and Jin Chen and Wang Xinxin hurried to follow with their bags.

Li Xiaoyuan took several turns, passing through corridors, elevator entrances, and a closed passage, finally bringing them to an independent area on the east side of the CCTV studio building. There were two security guards watching the entrance here, clearly isolated from the chaotic flow of people outside.

Once inside, the environment immediately became much quieter; the corridor was clean and tidy, the lighting was soft, and even the air carried a faint scent of disinfectant and face powder. The area was empty, and the whole section had not yet fully come to life.

On both sides were rows of uniform dressing rooms, but unlike the temporary signs downstairs with program names, the doors on this floor only had concise name tags, usually three names to a room. Some had two, and only a very few had one.

Jin Chen looked as she walked:

"Han Geng, Chen Kun." "Feng Gong, Cai Ming." "Zhang Guoli, Deng Jie." "Li Guyi." "Wang Fei." "Eason Chan, Dicky Cheung, Zhang Qian."

……Every single one was a household name.

Her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

After graduating last year, under the company's arrangement, she played a small supporting role in a martial arts drama called "Seven Weapons: Peacock Plume." This resume here was like putting a small match into a galaxy. Every name above could be said to be her dream and goal.

At this moment, the door of a dressing room ahead suddenly opened with a "click," and a graceful, exquisitely made-up middle-aged woman walked out.

She was wearing a well-tailored dark coat, black-rimmed glasses, and a limited-edition Chanel bag hanging on her shoulder. Seeing them, she paused, then immediately smiled like a flower, and said in Mandarin with a heavy Cantonese accent:

"Assistant Li, what a coincidence."

Li Xiaoyuan's face still didn't have much of a smile; she frowned and said, "Hello, Miss Huo, why are you here so early?"

That tone sounded very uncomfortable to Jin Chen.

But the person who arrived, the gold-medal manager of Emperor Entertainment, Mani Fok, was clearly accustomed to the cold faces of CCTV staff. She smiled as if nothing was wrong, "The dressing room is different from the previous rehearsal, so I came over to familiarize myself with the location first, see what's missing, so I can bring it over later... Who are these two beautiful ladies?"

Li Xiaoyuan said, "Performers doing a program with Mr. Chen Nuo."

Mani Fok was slightly startled, then revealed a standard professional smile: "Nice to meet you. So, are you going to Mr. Chen's dressing room now?"

"Yes."

Mani Fok said generously, "Then I'll go with you, recognize the door, and when Ah Sa arrives, I'll bring her over to say hello too."

"Ah Sa visiting Mr. Chen..." Jin Chen silently recited in her heart, feeling that this pairing was somehow strange.

But she immediately realized that this was the manager of Twins.

Look at her—capable, grand, and composed. Then look at her own manager, Wang Xinxin, who was still secretly peeking at the names on the wall. Jin Chen couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Comparing people really makes one angry. Sometimes she thought it was really quite uncomfortable. Take this opportunity, for example; it wasn't something Tangren helped her fight for, but recommended by a professor she was close with at the Beijing Dance Academy. Sigh, after the Spring Festival Gala, perhaps she should have a good talk with the company. Otherwise, compared to others in the same company, it was really too unfair.

Li Xiaoyuan led them to the very end of the corridor. This dressing room was completely different from the others; a name was cleanly and neatly posted on the doorplate:

"Chen Nuo"

Li Xiaoyuan turned the doorknob and pushed the door open to enter.

Even though Jin Chen was not very familiar with the internal layout of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, she could see at a glance that this dressing room was clearly not ordinary; it was completely different from the temporary one used during the rehearsal that day—

The room was spacious and bright. Outside the corner floor-to-ceiling windows facing south was the street view of East Chang'an Avenue in Beijing. Sunlight shone in, warm and cozy. Two independent vanity tables were set against the windows, complete with lights and mirrors, and unopened cosmetics were placed on the tables. There was a row of sofas against the wall, and next to the sofa was a black clothing rack with the stage costume she wore during yesterday's rehearsal hanging on it—a red and white color-blocked dress.

Jin Chen couldn't help but take a light breath.

No matter how much of a rookie she was, no matter how little she understood the "golden corner and silver edge" rules of the office, she knew that in a hierarchy-conscious system like the Spring Festival Gala, there was always an invisible class distinction in the arrangement of dressing rooms. What it meant to have an independent dressing room like this at this time.

Along the way just now, anyone with a single name was a superstar or an older generation singer.

But none of them were independent dressing rooms with such 270-degree corner bay windows. According to the layout, it was estimated that there wouldn't be more than four such rooms on one floor.

"You will use Mr. Chen's dressing room this time. You can rest or practice, but be careful not to make a mess. If Mr. Chen comes and wants to practice again, Xiao Jin, you'll have to work hard," Li Xiaoyuan said.

So that was the reason. No wonder she was arranged here; it was because the program team was afraid he would need to practice more and let her come here to accompany him. Unexpectedly, CCTV also had such a thoughtful side. Jin Chen thought sarcastically in her heart, while nodding busily on the surface, "Okay, Sister Li."

Li Xiaoyuan nodded and added, "The makeup artist and styling team won't arrive until about eleven o'clock. That's it, I'm leaving."

Mani Fok, who was behind, also politely said "Bye-bye," and then the two left together.

The door closed gently, and the whole world instantly became quiet.

Jin Chen stood where she was, slowly put down her bag, and looked at the furnishings around her. She felt a little nervous, but more than that, she felt anticipation.

Today was her first time stepping onto the stage of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

And her partner was that Chen Nuo.

This opportunity would be the turning point of her future destiny. Thinking about it now, she really felt like she was dreaming.

In just a few short days, it could be said that her destiny had undergone a earth-shaking change. Time and fate, no matter what, she must seize this opportunity.

Jin Chen's eyes became firm.

"Come, Xinxin, come help me stretch my legs."

"Ah? Chenchen, isn't this too early? What time is it? Didn't you not sleep much last night? I think, do you want to sleep on this sofa for a while?"

"No need, I'll practice for a while now."

"No, Chenchen, this is really too early, I'm worried about your stamina..."

"Stop talking, I know what I'm doing, hurry up and come over!"

……

……

Chen Nuo arrived at the backstage of the Spring Festival Gala around 3:00 PM.

That's right, like a sluggish train, he was late. He was about an hour later than the scheduled time.

The reason for being late sounded ridiculous.

It was because he had been too tired these past two days. Rehearsals during the day were already exhausting, and at night he had to be drained by that madwoman Gao Yuanyuan time and time again. These two days they had to do it several times, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, saying they were striving to hit the mark in one go. As a result, he slept too late, forgot to charge his phone, the alarm didn't go off, and he slept from 4:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

And he hadn't even woken up yet!

If it weren't for Qi Yuntian being driven crazy, actually finding Gao Yuanyuan's agency and getting Gao Yuanyuan's phone number, otherwise... it might have really come down to using the backup tape.

"Mr. Chen, you're here." Several people from the Spring Festival Gala were waiting behind the door. Seeing their group, their eyes lit up immediately, and they rushed up to meet them.

Chen Nuo was still dressed in a mask and hat; fortunately, no one saw him blushing.

"Sorry, I'm late."

"It's fine, it's fine. This way, please follow me."

Seeing the smiling assistant surnamed Li, Chen Nuo felt even more apologetic. He quickened his pace to follow him and asked, "There's still time, right?"

"There's time, there's time. Um, the dancer has already arrived. After you finish your makeup, Teacher Chen, you can go on stage with her for one last practice. Does that work for you?"

"Fine."

The backstage of the Spring Festival Gala was as busy as ever. Chen Nuo had been here once before, so he had some experience. Following Li Xiaoyuan as he hurried along, his group—aside from the slightly eye-catching Black girl, Tang Mu—was nothing out of the ordinary compared to the handsome men and beautiful women filling the backstage area at this time; Gulinazha, Qi Yuntian, and Linghu were even less worth mentioning.

The journey to the dressing room was smooth and uneventful.

Pushing the door open, they heard a cry of surprise. It turned out Jin Chen was inside changing clothes and looking in the mirror, and she had been caught off guard and startled.

Chen Nuo took off his mask, gave her a polite smile, but said nothing. He sat in the makeup chair and let Tang Mu begin applying his makeup.

This time the makeup was relatively simple. After all, since he was singing a folk song, there was no need for eyeliner or much eyebrow grooming. Tang Mu designed a natural and casual look for him. After blowing out his hair, finishing the makeup, and changing clothes, it was ten minutes to four.

According to the staff who arrived at the dressing room later, their group was the last one that hadn't yet gone on stage to check the equipment and blocking.

Thus, Chen Nuo wrapped a down jacket around himself and was ushered by a group of people toward the No. 1 Studio Hall.

When they went inside, the studio hall was indeed mostly empty, with only Ma Dong and some on-site staff there. Seeing him arrive, the nervous look on Fatty Ma's face instantly relaxed.

"Master Chen, you've finally arrived."

Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Sorry, Director Ma, something came up, I'm a little late."

"It's fine, it's fine. Go backstage quickly and get ready. I'll have Zhu Jun and the others come over right away."

"OK."

……

……

Chen Nuo stood at the entrance to the stage.

To create a good environment for his preparation, everyone on site consciously kept their distance from him. A quiet aura seemed to be drawn around him; he stood there alone, his eyes peaceful and his breathing steady.

He was indeed very calm inside.

After all, this was his second time on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

If there was any difference, it was that this time he had a backup dancer with him. But other than that, there was nothing special. And precisely because of that, he had been able to sleep until the afternoon.

That might sound a bit outrageous, but because of that rare, long, deep sleep, his mental state was surprisingly good now. The fatigue from the non-stop travel since returning to the country had all been quietly smoothed away by that sleep last night.

His mind was very clear.

A few hours ago, during the final stage rehearsal before the performance, his execution was quite good—for him, it was at his baseline. After all, singing wasn't acting; no matter what, he had his limits. Just like Liu Yifei, although she had practiced dance since she was a child under the guidance of Liu Xiaoli, based on his observations over the past two days, even if Xixi didn't act and just kept practicing dance, even with ten years of hard work, she would absolutely not be able to compare to Jin Chen.

He, Chen Nuo, was the same; his talent had a ceiling. No matter how much he practiced, at most he was just a KTV-level singer, unable to compare to Chen Eason.

Therefore, what he said on the News Broadcast was true. His requirement for himself was truly to let things take their natural course, not to be overly demanding, and just be an amateur performer.

Thinking of Jin Chen.

He couldn't help but recall the first time he saw her a few days ago, when he was slightly startled by her somewhat familiar face.

He hadn't expected that in his past life he only remembered her as an actress, but in this life, he found out she was actually a dancer by training, and she danced so well and had won so many awards!

What surprised him even more was that a few hours ago, during the final rehearsal to check the equipment and camera blocking, he clearly felt that Jin Chen's state was even better than during practice; her dance moves were steadier, her blocking was more precise, and the fit between her movements and the music reached a level of "silky perfection."

But precisely because of this, a slight doubt arose in his heart.

As an actor, he was accustomed to "controlling the field" before an official shoot—that is, consciously reserving his emotions and state to avoid putting too much into the rehearsal and then being unable to perform when it really mattered.

Just like the rehearsal a few hours ago, he had subconsciously kept himself from getting too immersed.

But what about Jin Chen?

She was a dancer, did she not need to "control her state"?

This doubt flickered in his mind, but it didn't linger for long.

Just then, the host's voice rang out from the loudspeakers in front of the stage.

It was Zhu Jun speaking.

Chen Nuo's heart gave a jolt, and all his thoughts suddenly returned to calm.

He looked forward, his expression clear.

It was time.

PS:

Ahem, ahem, ahem.

(End of chapter)