Chapter 3418: Loving the House and Thus Loving Its Crow

The next day was the final day before Tawana's concert in Yanjing.

Today, all staff were on high alert, urgently beginning the final preparations.

The heaviest task today belonged not to anyone else, but to Tawana herself as the main act.

She needed to coordinate with the team, running through the entire concert process several times in succession to form muscle memory, ensuring every step was clear, distinct, and error-free.

Although Gu Qiuyi's performance lasted only half an hour, due to insufficient preparation time, she still had to coordinate with Tawana's team, making her workload substantial as well.

She brought her full team today; the large-screen backgrounds and lighting combinations for several songs had been meticulously programmed in advance according to the songs, so her team needed to use Tawana's team's equipment to perfectly present them when she took the stage.

Besides that, the two also had some verbal interactions, including mutual greetings, introductions, and welcoming the audience together, and so on.

Although they had only just met, for today's performance and the three shows afterward, they had to present to the audience the feeling of being very familiar or even close friends, only then could the stage effect be better.

In fact, Tawana also especially wanted to become friends with Gu Qiuyi.

After all, the mindset of loving the house and thus loving its crow is something everyone has; it's rare to meet someone closely related to Ye Chen, and although getting closer to her might not necessarily bring any benefit, at least in her heart she would feel much closer to Ye Chen.

Thus, while trying on makeup backstage, Tawana looked regretful and said to Gu Qiuyi: "Qiuyi, isn't it a bit too early for you to retire from the music scene now?"

Gu Qiuyi smiled: "Not too early; retiring at this age is just right, not delaying the wonderful life about to begin."

Tawana pondered for a long time, then said very sincerely: "I still think we two get along so well—why not team up together and do dozens of world tours? I'll help you boost your influence in Europe and America, you help me boost mine in Huaxia, we'll both progress together, and in the future we'll become the two most beloved female singers worldwide—how wonderful would that be!"

Gu Qiuyi couldn't help but say: "Your influence in Huaxia is already huge—where else do you need my help? If we really teamed up for a tour, it would just be me benefiting from your fame; with my influence in the international music scene, I couldn't help you much—I could only be helped by you."

Tawana said seriously: "Even if I help you, it's no problem—I'm wholeheartedly willing. When your influence grows greater, we'll ultimately still be able to achieve things together."

Saying that, Tawana added: "With your influence in the Chinese world, you can easily stay popular until fifty—look at Huaxia's Wang Fei, she's still hot now, isn't she?"

Gu Qiuyi gave a mysterious smile, looked at her, and asked: "Tawana, you're being so good to me—is it because you like Ye Chen gege?"

Tawana hadn't expected Gu Qiuyi to see through her thoughts so clearly, even saying it outright, and her heart instantly tightened with nervousness.

Seeing her flustered and unsure what to do, Gu Qiuyi couldn't help but smile and say: "Oh, you don't need to be so nervous—there are far too many girls who like Ye Chen gege, and moreover, Ye Chen gege is so outstanding; any girl who's interacted with him and doesn't like him would be abnormal."

Tawana, seeing no outsiders around and that Ye Chen wasn't present, gathered her courage and said: "I do like Mr. Ye, but the situation might not be quite as you imagine—other girls who like Mr. Ye might hope to one day be with him, but I dare not entertain such a thought..."

Gu Qiuyi curiously asked: "Why?"

Tawana opened her heart for the first time, holding nothing back, and said bluntly: "My emotional history over these years has been quite complicated, there's a lot of media coverage about me outside, and moreover, after I met Mr. Ye, something big happened soon after, which is related to some of my past immature behavior, so someone like me has already ruined my reputation in emotional matters—I dare not hope Mr. Ye would be interested in me."

Gu Qiuyi nodded understandingly; after all, she'd been in the entertainment industry for so many years, she knew all too well what it was like.

Still, she smiled and comforted Tawana: "Many things might not develop as we assume; who knows what the future holds?"

Tawana asked her: "You must also like Mr. Ye, right?"

"Like?" Gu Qiuyi shook her head, smiled faintly, and said: "Liking isn't enough—Ye Chen gege is the one person besides my family whom I love with my whole heart in this life."

Saying that, Gu Qiuyi asked her: "Do you know why I want to retire from the entertainment industry?"

Tawana shook her head and asked: "Why?"

Gu Qiuyi smiled and said: "My future life plan has only one goal: one day to marry Ye Chen gege and become known as Ye Tai Tai, so I must start preparing from now—first, I need to cut ties with the entertainment industry; I didn't enter it originally for fame or money, and my earlier goals in joining have already been achieved, so I thought of making a clean exit—too many fans make direct retirement seem irresponsible, so I gritted my teeth and held on to finish this farewell concert; once this final show in Yanjing ends after a while, I'll have completely said goodbye."

"Moreover, I don't want my wonderful life to be wasted in the entertainment industry, where every word and action is monitored by society with no privacy at all—even if I fall in love later, I'd be scolded by fans; to me, the entertainment industry is just an amusement park—play enough, then go home."

Tawana was secretly shocked, never expecting Gu Qiuyi to speak so openly about her feelings for Ye Chen, and she couldn't help but ask: "But... but Mr. Ye is already married..."

"I know," Gu Qiuyi said with a smile: "Ye Chen gege's life is destined to be rich and colorful—whether it's his current wife, or me, or other women, they're all parts of his life; I never thought of monopolizing his life—I only want my own place in it."

"My goodness..."

Tawana couldn't understand, exclaimed: "Aren't Huaxia women all very traditional? Why would you have such a bold idea? This is too shocking and unconventional."

Gu Qiuyi smiled and asked her: "Shocking and unconventional? I think it's fine—I've been in the entertainment industry this long, though I've always kept myself pure, I've also seen too many dirty and sordid things; I'm sure the European and American entertainment industry is the same, even more chaotic than here; after seeing so much, people's tolerance grows higher, and moreover, you don't understand Ye Chen gege enough yet—if you knew his abilities, you'd realize that worldly norms will ultimately lose the power to bind him."

After saying that, Gu Qiuyi stood up, smiled, and said: "Come on, it's about time for rehearsal!"