Lei Yuhua felt a surge of heat rush to her head, and her ears were ringing.
The dazzling designer surrounded by Director Zhuo and the actors was actually Zhou Qiqi!
Just moments ago, she had been mentally cursing Zhou Qiqi as a "parasite" and a "fox borrowing the tiger's power"!
All those praises he had just given to the "powerful female designer" now felt like invisible slaps, resounding and painful against his own face.
Things like "capable", "good temperament", "even better looking than in the movies"...
It turns out she was praising Zhou Qiqi, whom she looked down on the most!
Lei Yuhua's vision went black for a moment, her feet felt unsteady, and she almost lost her footing.
Just when she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground, Director Zhuo enthusiastically grabbed her arm and, without saying a word, led her toward Zhou Qiqi.
"Designer Zhou! Come, come, let me introduce you!"
Director Zhuo's face was radiant, and his voice was loud and clear.
"This is Officer Lei Yuhua from the military region's cultural troupe! Officer Lei is a distinguished guest of our city's cultural troupe. I've long admired your name and always wanted to meet you! That's why I've come here today!"
Zhou Qiqi had just finished speaking with the dancer when she heard the sound and turned around.
When his gaze fell on Lei Yuhua's face, his smile instantly faded, and his eyes showed a hint of detachment and understanding.
She clearly recognized the woman in front of her as Zhou Shuhua's daughter. The two had met briefly at the hospital that day; she had rushed over and even snorted at her.
Zhou Qiqi didn't say anything, but simply extended her hand and touched fingertips with Lei Yuhua politely, her tone as flat as plain water: "Officer Lei, hello."
Director Zhuo was so engrossed in the success of the program and his admiration for Zhou Qiqi that he didn't notice anything amiss.
He happily continued to increase the stakes:
"Officer Lei just said he had something important to tell you! Right, Officer Lei? Please tell me!"
He looked at Lei Yuhua eagerly, waiting for her to speak.
Lei Yuhua felt her throat was dry, her lips moved, and her mind went blank. She couldn't utter a single word about wanting to get to know the "designer" and make clothes for her mother.
What to say? How to say it?
Looking at Zhou Qiqi's face, she felt incredibly embarrassed.
Just as she stood frozen in place, her cheeks flushed red, wishing she could bite off her own tongue, Zhou Qiqi spoke first.
His tone remained calm, with a businesslike efficiency:
"Director Zhuo, excuse me for interrupting. There are still a few lighting and set design transitions backstage. I just checked the effect and I think it can be adjusted and optimized a bit more. I need to go over there quickly to meet with the lighting technician. I'm afraid it will affect the afternoon's rehearsal if I'm late. Can we talk about it later?"
She glanced at Director Zhuo, then looked away from Lei Yuhua. "Excuse me."
"Oh! Yes, yes, yes! Work is the priority! Work is the priority!"
Director Zhuo slapped his forehead and nodded quickly, his face full of understanding.
"Comrade Zhou, hurry up! Your work ethic is truly impeccable! No wonder your business is so successful! Officer Lei, look at how dedicated and responsible Designer Zhou is!"
He didn't forget to turn back to Lei Yuhua and sigh, his tone full of admiration.
Zhou Qiqi nodded slightly, turned around and walked towards the backstage area. Her figure in the beige coat was tall and neat, and she quickly disappeared into the busy crowd.
Lei Yuhua looked in that direction, feeling the heat on her face still lingering, and a heavy stone weighing on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
Director Zhuo then turned to Lei Yuhua:
"Officer Lei, how was our performance just now? You're a professional, could you give us some pointers and tell us if there's anything we need to revise? That way we can practice more!"
Lei Yuhua took a deep breath and forced herself to pull her attention back from Zhou Qiqi.
She composed herself, striving to regain her professional demeanor as a "guide," cleared her throat, and tried to make her voice sound steady and objective:
"Yes, the overall choreography and concept are good. The costumes and stage design are really outstanding and very creative, which are the biggest highlights, no doubt about it."
She paused, then swallowed back the words "especially Zhou Qiqi's designs."
"However, the actors' basic skills, especially some spinning and jumping movements, are still lacking in execution and are not clean and crisp enough. If they can work harder to practice and refine their movements more precisely, coupled with such good costumes and stage design, it is not impossible for them to compete for first place in this performance."
As she spoke, she highlighted a few more movements. Her words were quite fair and pointed out the shortcomings of the city's cultural troupe actors.
Director Zhuo nodded repeatedly after listening:
"Yes, yes, yes! Officer Lei, you're absolutely right! We'll definitely work on improving our basic skills! Your suggestion was so timely!"
Lei Yuhua had no interest in further pleasantries.
She felt extremely uncomfortable and just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
"Well then, Director Zhuo, you go ahead with your work. My mother is still waiting outside, I'll head over now."
She forced a smile and turned to leave the backstage area as if fleeing.
Pushing open the side door of the small auditorium, the afternoon sun outside was a bit dazzling.
Lei Yuhua immediately saw her mother, Zhou Shuhua, still sitting in the same chair on the side, staring blankly at the stage. The tear stains on her face had dried, but her eyes were still somewhat dazed.
Lei Yuhua walked over with heavy steps.
Hearing the noise, Zhou Shuhua turned around.
When my daughter left, she was beaming with excitement and full of anticipation. How come she came back with a long face, evasive eyes, and looked like a wilted eggplant?
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