Chapter 86 Long time no see!
Before embarking on the journey back to her hometown, Ren Limeng had imagined many scenes of seeing each other again. Mei City is a very small place, and the opera circle is even smaller, so it is normal to run into some acquaintances.
On the way to Meixiang Theater, Ren Li dreamed that she might suddenly meet her parents at a corner of the theater, or Yan Fangshu who was participating in the Huangmei Week activities in the Youxiang Hall of the theater, but she did not expect that the first acquaintance she met was Li Chuyue.
The words "Long time no see" were accompanied by a smile of emotion, as well as a sense of relief that time had passed. Ren Limeng walked forward calmly and lightly hugged Li Chuyue, who was standing there in a daze.
Li Chuyue's eyes suddenly trembled, and she subconsciously stretched out her hands, ready to hug Ren Limeng back. However, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar face in front of her, a hint of hesitation finally flashed across her eyes. Until she felt the real warmth in her arms, she finally raised her arms slowly and hugged her old friend.
The camera shows the surprise and bewilderment of old friends reuniting, but only the two of them know that their last meeting was not a pleasant one. There was only tears, accusations and hatred that bordered on insults, and a determination to sever ties...
It has been a long time since we last met. It’s been fifteen years since we last met. The childhood friends who had the best understanding of each other have finally become unrelated colleagues at work.
"Li Meng, do you know each other?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Chen Xi's eyes, and Guan He beside him exclaimed, "Why do I feel that Teacher Chu Yue looks so familiar? You must be Li Meng's former partner! Did you participate in the Opera Fenghua Challenge together? The one where you won the championship in 2018?"
Noticing the surprise looks from the people around him, Guan He explained with a wry smile, "Li Meng and I both participated in the 2018 Opera Challenge, but I didn't even make it to the finals. Li Meng, I think, won the championship with Teacher Chu Yue."
Listening to Guan He's words, Xu Kai on the side opened his mouth slightly, with shock in his eyes, his gaze fixed firmly on Ren Limeng, and he looked again at the most ignored guest of the show in his eyes except for the label of "Meishi people".
The 2018 Opera Brilliance Challenge is still a highly talked-about and proud event in the Meishi opera community. It was the only challenge in Meishi in all those years to have won a championship, and it also produced Li Chuyue, a rising star in Huangmei Opera. Back then...
Xu Kai's eyes flashed, and there was a complex surprise in his eyes as he looked at Ren Limeng. If he remembered correctly, some old people in the theater sometimes mentioned this competition inadvertently, and blurted out praise that they were the two talented Huangmei Opera stars. Many old actors still talk about it over and over again, sighing and regretting that the daughter of one of the two talented stars, Huangmei Opera master Wu Murong, turned out to be rebellious, changed careers inexplicably, and then became mediocre.
"Li Meng, you..."
Xu Kai really wanted to ask if Ren Limeng was Wu Murong's daughter. Wu Murong was indeed the specially appointed instructor of the Qianfang Troupe and a senior and respected actress in the theater. He looked up at the cameras around him and finally took a deep breath. Reason overcame his surprise. "We still have a group photo from the 2018 Opera Challenge here. It's on the display wall inside the first floor. But you're wearing makeup in the photo, so it's completely invisible."
Xu Kai often heard many people mention Wu Murong's daughter. People mostly used words like witty, lively, cheerful, smart and naughty. But Ren Limeng in front of him was dignified and elegant, which was in line with the public's description of the usual image of the host profession, but she really didn't look mischievous at all as she did in the photo.
Although Xu Kai and other theater staff who were watching the filming of the "Mountains and Seas" program did not recognize Ren Limeng, everyone remembered the 2018 Opera Challenge, which was the pride of Meishi Huangmei Opera.
Sensing the shock of Xu Kai and the others around her, Ren Limeng just smiled and said, "It's been many years. Girls change a lot when they grow up."
She didn't want to talk much, and everyone exchanged glances secretly, tacitly stopped asking questions, and continued to move forward with the live recording. Li Chuyue and Han Tai led everyone to visit the Meixiang Theater. After a tour, the program team asked Shen Xingzhi and the other three to go to the dressing room to change into Huangmei Opera costumes, experience opera costumes, and take a group of program promotional photos.
"Li Meng..."
The Huangmei Opera costumes were too familiar to Ren Limeng. She changed quickly and sat in front of the mirror in the dressing room, staring silently in the mirror. The theater makeup artist was using an eyebrow brush to outline willow-leaf eyebrows. This was the makeup for a Huadan. The Daomadan makeup she was familiar with had more sword-like eyebrows, and the simple headdress was not as complicated and gorgeous as that of a Huadan.
Looking at the exquisite royal blue pearls and bright flower headdress on her head, even sitting in the familiar dressing room of Meixiang Theater, Ren Limeng still knew for sure that she was no longer an opera actor.
There is nothing to miss. This is the path she chose herself. She now likes hosting very much. She likes the sense of control, the excitement of being able to adapt to circumstances, and even more so the joy of incorporating her thoughts and ideas into every word of the microphone and telling the world loudly.
What made her feel a little lost were the people and the laughter that could never return.
"Mengmeng!"
Yan Fangshu's voice came from outside the dressing room. Ren Limeng immediately stood up and turned to look at the door. Yan Fangshu, wearing a red and blue costume with a flowery makeup on her face, walked towards Ren Limeng impatiently, "I miss you so much!"
"Are you done performing? Fangfang! Long time no see!"
At this moment, Ren Limeng smiled sincerely and happily. She quickly walked towards Yan Shufang and hugged her tightly.
"Hold me gently, I can't breathe. I heard you were in the dressing room right after I got off the stage, so I came over right away. Are you sisters enough?"
Yan Shufang greeted the other people in the dressing room familiarly. She was the mainstay of the Qianfang Troupe. Although she performed at the Meixiang Theater, she often came here for large-scale events and was very familiar with the theater staff. Of course, as an actor in the troupe, she also took on many activities outside the theater and performed in the countryside.
"That's really nice! I didn't raise you in vain!"
As if remembering something, Ren Limeng quickly regained her dignified demeanor. She took Yan Shufang's arm and turned to look at Chen Xi, who was standing in front of the dressing table on the other side. "Sister Chen Xi, this is my good friend Yan Fangshu. She's an actress from the Qianfang Troupe and she's also at the Meixiang Theater today, performing at the Huangmei Week performance."
"Hello, I'm Chen Xi. Like Teacher Li Chuyue, have you studied opera together since childhood?"
After Chen Xi greeted Yan Shufang, she looked at Ren Limeng with some tentativeness in her eyes. The atmosphere between Ren Limeng and Yan Shufang was completely different from when she met Li Chuyue just now, and she became a little curious.
"Yes, we are from the same drama school, Mengmeng, have you seen Chuyue? You haven't seen each other for many years, right? It's all because you are busy hosting every day and never come back all year round. You must have forgotten all of us childhood playmates, right?"
Yan Shufang's tone was teasing, and the faint complaint also invisibly explained a certain estrangement. She didn't know what was going on between Li Chuyue and Ren Limeng, but over the years, she had never been able to get them together. Either one of them happened to be busy, or the other one had to rush around.
In short, the three of them could never get together, and even if she was stupid, she could see that the so-called "things going on" were all excuses.
But both Ren Limeng and Li Chuyue kept silent about it. After repeated questioning, Ren Limeng could only say, "We have grown up, it's normal not to be that close, some things can't be forced."
Yan Fangshu certainly understood the truth, and she could also understand what people often said about temporary friendship, but she still felt very sorry. The three of them had been in the drama troupe together since they were five or six years old, and then went to drama school together, and participated in various large and small competitions. The deep feelings of so many years had become a temporary thing in the past, and it was hard not to feel regretful.
Especially Ren Limeng and Li Chuyue, the two had partnered together in many competitions when they were young, and they cooperated well even when they played opposite roles. Why did they suddenly break up?
Yan Fangshu sat in the program crew's work area, looking at Ren Limeng and Li Chuyue who were recording, and sighed silently in her heart. The two of them were very far apart, and there was no sign that they had ever been close. Li Chuyue was patiently and quietly teaching Chen Xi the Huadan hand gestures on the left, while Ren Limeng was playing with props on the sword and gun handle rack with Guan He on the right.
"Li Meng, you're pretty good with the double-headed gun!"
Guan He also skillfully played with the long sword prop in his hand, performing a sword flower lightly and neatly. Neither he nor Ren Limeng needed any teaching from the theater actors. It was more of an experience than a remembrance. As former opera actors, these were their old partners in daily practice.
"Brother Xingzhi, do you want to try a gun too?"
Guan He noticed that Chen Xingzhi, who was learning the posture of a young man from Han Tai, looked over frequently, and greeted him warmly. Chen Xingzhi glanced at Ren Limeng, who had just finished a neat gun show and had regained her dignified posture, and said "hmm" softly.
"Teacher Han, Li Meng and I can teach Brother Xingzhi. We both used to be opera actors. Li Meng studied the female role of a warrior, and I studied the male role of a martial artist in Peking Opera. Don't worry, we know what we are doing!"
Han Tai plays the role of a young, promising and elegant young man in "Peach Blossom Fan". Guan He looks at Han Tai's posture and singing voice and thinks he should play the role of a young man. He probably is not proficient in martial arts, so he doesn't need to make things difficult for the actor in front of the camera.
"Damadan? Did you and Li Meng know each other before?"
Chen Xingzhi's rare curiosity made the cheerful and generous Guan He suddenly smile shyly. He secretly glanced at Ren Limeng next to him, as if he wanted to explain a few more words, but was afraid of offending the beauty.
"We must have passed each other countless times."
Guan He's final answer was a bit hasty, but even Han Tai, who was "watching the show" on the side, could see the regret behind this sentence. His eyes wandered between Guan He and Ren Limeng, and then looked at Shen Xingzhi who seemed indifferent beside him.
Did he remember that the people who were frequently searched in the past two weeks were Shen Xingzhi and Ren Limeng?
He originally wanted to get to know the guests in advance for the show, but the gossip about Ren Limeng and Meng intensified. Han Tai thought he could see the two guests flirting with each other on the spot, but why did the male lead... seem to have been replaced?
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