Chapter 120: At Ease
"Chu Yue, why should I be so nervous about meeting my mom? Why are you acting so weird today?"
Ren Limeng smiled bitterly for a moment, and the curve of her mouth corners quickly recovered, and her smile became even deeper as she asked knowingly. She stared at Li Chuyue steadily, and her deep eyes were completely in a "wartime state".
Ren Limeng had already dared to conclude that Li Chuyue was definitely sent by the program team and Meixiang Theater to test her. This sudden banquet at noon was like a "Hongmen Banquet". The program team seemed to want to dig deeper into the story between her and her mother Wu Murong.
That would be an underestimation of her and her mother.
Despite her mixed feelings, Ren Limeng suppressed all her emotions when she saw her mother Wu Murong coming towards her at the door of the restaurant's private room. She walked slowly forward with a calm expression, greeted Captain Li who was next to Wu Murong, and gently turned her head and called out "Mom".
Wu Murong glanced at Ren Limeng indifferently and said, "You still remember to come back."
She turned her head to look at Captain Li, who had opened the door beside her, and introduced him with emotion, "This is my worthless daughter. Fortunately, she didn't choose our group today, otherwise she would definitely hold us back."
It was as if he hadn't noticed the sudden chill in the atmosphere around him, nor did he care about the guests, including Shen Xingzhi, and the group leaders and actors who had gathered at the dining table inside the door.
Wu Murong maintained a calm expression without a trace of smile on her face until she saw Li Chuyue beside Ren Limeng, and her indifferent look finally eased a little.
"Li Meng, you know your mother is always striving for perfection in her profession. I heard from her that you were on duty during the New Year holiday and didn't return to Mei City. It's great that you can come back to visit us this time while recording the show. Let's not stand here anymore, let's go in!"
Feeling the subtle atmosphere between the mother and daughter in front of him, Captain Li forced a smile to smooth things over and pulled Wu Murong into the room first.
Expected situation.
But it is really ironic to ask the director of Qianfang Troupe, who has only been in Mei City for three or four years, to help explain for the mother and daughter in front of the camera.
Ren Limeng curled the corners of her lips silently. She could feel the kindness in Captain Li's words. She also knew that Yan Fangshu had specially greeted Captain Li of her own group in advance and asked her to conceal her relationship with her mother in front of the camera.
But no matter how hard she tried to hide it, it was only in front of the camera, and Ren Limeng chuckled softly in her heart. Her face still had a perfect smile.
Ren Limeng never thought that she would meet her mother during this recording. No matter how big the scale and momentum of "Shan Hai" is, it is also a variety show of the platform. Her mother has never participated in these "messy" promotional programs. Even during the Huangmei Week activities, her mother has always only performed.
Is it because she has been too far away from her mother over the years?
Does her ever-stubborn mother ever change?
"Li Meng, is Master Wu your mother? You're so low-key! Then why don't you sit next to your mother? We're just getting together for lunch, there's no need to be so formal! Li Meng is indeed connected to our Meixiang Theater. She's actually Master Wu's daughter. What a coincidence!"
At the dinner table, Xu Kai smiled and stopped Ren Limeng who wanted to sit next to Captain Liu at the table below, and amiably extended his left hand to point to the empty seat next to Wu Murong.
Due to the delay in changing clothes, Ren Limeng and Li Chuyue arrived late. Apart from the scattered seats at the bottom of the table, there were only three empty seats reserved on Xu Kai's left. Captain Li sat below Xu Kai, and Wu Murong sat next to Captain Li, where there happened to be an empty seat.
Maybe, not exactly.
"Just sit there. She's here to work today. There's no need to discuss personal matters."
Ren Limeng had a gentle smile on her face and was thinking of saying something to refuse, but Wu Murong had already spoken lightly, interrupting Xu Kai's enthusiastic invitation, without any regard for Xu Kai's face in her words.
As the mainstay of the Qianfang Troupe for many years and one of the only three national first-class opera actors in Meixiang Theater, Wu Murong has the status and qualifications to not care about the theater's promotion department, even if the person who spoke up is the director of the promotion department.
It was also based on this that until this moment, Ren Limeng still felt a little incredible as she looked at her mother who was a few steps away from the dining table.
She had been wondering all the time why her mother agreed to participate in today's recording at Meixiang Theater?
The lunch reception at noon was just called a "small gathering" and there was no formal recording. It seemed as if the Meixiang Theater was just inviting the main actors of the program to have a simple meal together.
Although they looked around and didn't see any cameras, everyone knew tacitly that all the communication at this moment would definitely be captured by the hidden cameras.
All the recorded sound sources are good materials for "transplanting" the program images.
"Li Meng, you came back in such a hurry to film this time. Didn't you have time to go home and see your parents? The production team is the same. If you had told us in advance, we would have squeezed in a schedule for you to go home!"
Xu Kai seemed not to notice the silence of Ren Limeng and her daughter. While drinking, he did not forget to look at the two of them, and his cheerful tone revealed full concern.
"Thank you, Mr. Xu, for your concern."
Ren Limeng's eyes were calm and gentle. She picked up her teacup, raised her wrist slightly, tilted her head back, and drank water in one go. She was so skillful that Shen Xingzhi, who was sitting in the main seat, couldn't help but look sideways.
Because of the upcoming live broadcast and afternoon performance, everyone drank tea instead of wine. It was obviously just a cup of plain tea, but Ren Limeng drank it with the vigor of a toast. In his memory, Ren Limeng had never drunk alcohol.
In their junior year, after Chen Xingzhi and Ren Limeng hosted an event, the event sponsor decided to sponsor their club. They participated in the private banquet in the evening as representatives. It should be Ren Limeng's first time to attend such a social gathering. Every time Chen Xingzhi looked at Ren Limeng, he could clearly see her forced calmness.
Especially when someone at the table warmly invited her to have a drink or two to toast the host, Ren Limeng's whole body stiffened for a moment. She forced a smile and said that she was allergic to alcohol, but this common excuse to avoid drinking obviously did not satisfy everyone at the table.
"Could it be that Mr. Li's sponsorship amount didn't satisfy you, Li Meng? Li Meng, you're the female host representative of your club. A toast is polite. Just take a sip. You students are just showing your appreciation. We won't let you drink more!"
Driven by the alcohol, the booing voices didn't even carry much malice, it was just the inevitable drinking culture of the banquet. Looking at the tall figure standing on her left with a bottle of wine in his hand, Ren Limeng felt a little panicked, and she subconsciously looked to Shen Xingzhi on the right.
Maybe...it was just because of her subconscious dependence that she didn't actually think Shen Xingzhi could say anything.
Ren Limeng tightly grasped the teacup in her right hand, took a deep breath, and prepared to make a righteous and firm refusal. But before she could open her mouth, Shen Xingzhi had already slightly turned sideways, leaned forward, and slowly stretched out his right arm, and his broad palm covered her teacup lightly and completely.
"I'll toast Mr. Li with a full glass later. Li Meng is my junior and hasn't seen anything like this before. Brother, drink with me!"
As Shen Xingzhi spoke, he stood up. An equally tall figure stood behind Ren Limeng. Shen Xingzhi didn't seem to even glance at Ren Limeng. He just raised his head cheerfully and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp. Then, he calmly stretched out his left hand and held out his glass in front of Ren Limeng.
Ren Limeng suddenly lost all her nervousness. Her eyes looked at Shen Xingzhi, who was lazily and casually smiling at the person coming to her left, and slowly fell on his right palm, which was still casually hanging on her wine glass. Her slender white palm seemed to become particularly thick, able to steadily receive everything from her.
But in the years that followed, Ren Limeng no longer had this hallucination.
Too many times, Ren Limeng had to try her best to cope with and learn to face the situations in the name of work, with high-sounding excuses and interpersonal politeness. During this process, she has changed from a little girl who could only put on a smile and hide behind others to a female host who can smile brightly at any time.
Ren Limeng can now catch herself steadily in any situation.
Therefore, even if Xu Kai at the table kept asking questions with bad intentions, Ren Limeng could cleverly fool him with a smile on her face, or change the subject at the right time, with an ease that showed that she was obviously familiar with the rules of the table, making Xu Kai grit his teeth but unable to ask any questions.
Wu Murong is obviously a very rigid and stubborn person, so how could she give birth to a daughter like Ren Limeng, who is so smooth and worldly-wise that he can't even grasp her, like a loach!
"Li Meng, you're going to compete on the same stage with Teacher Wu this afternoon. Are you nervous? It's amazing! I never thought you'd be able to perform on the opera stage again. I'm so happy for you! Captain Liu, thank you for giving Li Meng this opportunity!"
Li Chuyue finally spoke softly, her face filled with excitement. Everyone at the table could see that Li Chuyue seemed extremely happy that Ren Limeng had the opportunity to perform. She sincerely expressed her silent blessings to her friend and her gratitude to Captain Liu beyond words.
He performed really well, and he is worthy of being the current ace actor of Meixiang Theater. He did not show any hesitation when he tried to persuade her when they were alone just now.
Ren Limeng smiled without saying anything, but she felt as if there was another self watching coldly from the sidelines. She could understand Li Chuyue's performance at the moment, just as after so many years, she had actually already seen through Li Chuyue's embarrassment back then.
But it was in vain by then.
At fifteen or sixteen, she was too young to see through the inferiority and desires in the hearts of her equally young friends.
But even though Ren Limeng is still as ambitious now, she will never trample on anyone's sincerity in vain at any time, and there should be a bottom line even if she uses any means necessary.
Ren Limeng respects the differences of all individuals, but she doesn't understand why Li Chuyue always likes to use her as a warning, even though she has warned her many times, both explicitly and implicitly.
Why don’t you learn your lesson?
Ren Limeng's gaze turned silently to Han Tai beside Li Chuyue, then slowly moved to the right, directly meeting Li Chuyue's sincere and happy gaze, and she slowly curled up the corners of her lips.
It seemed as if she didn't notice the mother-daughter fight that Li Chuyue specifically mentioned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
