Chapter 102: Drunken Eyes
Amidst enthusiastic laughter and applause, the "Stars Spinning Wheel" game finally came to an end with the accompaniment music ceasing.
"Alright, let's look at the statistics, whether the boys sang more songs or the girls sang more songs..." Both the male and female team captains went down to the stage, and the host, Egg Bro, was the only commentator on the spot. "Huh... it's a tie!"
"What do you mean 'tied'? Hanyou grabbed our Ah May during the last song, that was a foul!" Pei Yansang, having just caught her breath, immediately jumped over to protest, "In my opinion, the last song shouldn't count!"
"Wow, you're really quick to criticize. In my opinion, it's her taking the microphone that's a foul!" Hou Beihua quickly retorted.
The two captains undoubtedly engaged in another round of verbal sparring, while Li Sishi, now free, rubbed her head, which had been pinched painfully by the merciless iron hand, and then made a pitiful pouting expression.
But even when a beautiful person pouts, she still has a unique charm, prompting the host, Dan Ge, to have the photographer give Li Sishi a close-up shot: partly to liven up the atmosphere, and partly because Li Sishi looks more lively and vibrant than usual, with a cuteness that is different from her cool and ethereal appearance.
Pei Yansang glanced back at the camera and immediately started making a fuss again, saying that the boys were ungentlemanly and bullied the girls. Look how angry Ah May is. The judges should take a good look at the situation.
"No, I think it's quite cute." Whether it was to explain or for some other reason, Shang Hanyou hurriedly pulled over Hou Beihua's microphone and said something.
Seeing that the effect was almost there, Pei Yansang immediately handed his microphone to Li Sishi: "A joke to liven things up is enough. If we continue like this, Li Sishi, this little sister, might be written about in the newspapers and magazines as someone who 'can't take a joke.'"
Li Sishi understood Pei Yansang's meaning, so she put on a slightly arrogant smile and said, "Okay, if you say I'm cute, I'll forgive you."
Captured by the camera, her smile, which blossomed from the moment she appeared, was so captivating that it made one gaze at her in awe.
Looking at that smile, and thinking about the powerful backers behind Li Sishi, some well-informed people sighed with mixed feelings: It has to be said that after experiencing four beauty pageants and a year of ups and downs, the adult Li Sishi is more attractive than before, and is more likely to become a legendary beauty who captivates the world.
And at this time she was so young, and fortunate
With such a family background, one wouldn't become a hidden gem whose brilliance has been extinguished by the dark side of this circle.
On the contrary, as long as she doesn't do anything reckless or encounter any unavoidable natural disasters, for at least the next twenty years, a large number of male celebrities in this industry will likely fall at the feet of this legendary Miss Hong Kong...
Zhuang Menghua clapped her hands gently from below the stage, looking at Li Sishi on the stage with great satisfaction: whether it was her starting point, talent, or qualities, Li Sishi was superior to Huang Qianyan back then.
If the Zhao family hadn't shifted their focus from movies to television, investing heavily in resources and promoting Li Sishi for several years, she would surely have become a rising star who could rival top actresses like Xia Yingyun.
The resources she has now are still a bit insufficient for her – even a newcomer with a demanding and critical personality like Zhou Shengyi has been recognized by her, so most directors in the Hong Kong film industry wouldn't think there's a problem with her.
The only problem is that, limited by her company and age, Li Sishi has not yet been able to acquire many connections.
However, the film industry in Hong Kong desperately needs connections to pave the way for acquiring resources.
Zhuang Menghua silently considered the recent news, then called Lu Yiting over and said a few words, asking her to make sure Li Sishi had as much "social time" as possible while arranging her schedule.
As the year draws to a close and she comes of age, she can now go to many places she couldn't go before, and people no longer need to worry about her being a minor when inviting her out. So it's time for Li Sishi to try developing her own network of contacts.
Lu Yiting nodded: "I understand."
Although a child raised by one's own family may attract covetous eyes, this should not be a reason to restrict her freedom—no matter how great her acting talent is, she still needs to accumulate life experience to portray the most authentic and moving characters.
To put it bluntly, even if the agent is very worried about the artists under their management dating, if they don't date, young girls like Li Sishi can't accumulate enough experience to portray the various aspects of life in their roles.
Huang Qianyan misjudged her back then. Despite her intelligence, she was love-struck and was taken advantage of because she wasn't careful enough, which became a regret... But Li Sishi is different. Both her personality and family background give her enough capital to correctly view other people's "love".
In this case, it's not a big problem for Li Sishi to gain experience through casual dating, whether it's public or private—of course, it shouldn't affect her work too much, and ideally, it should complement her work.
And so
Lu Yiting then quietly asked Zhuang Menghua if she had any suitable candidates at the moment.
To create a perfect couple where one plus one equals more than two, the choice of the man is especially important. Pei Yansang has been paired with several men, but currently, Hou Beihua is the only one who is relatively well-received by the TV station executives and the citizens of the port city.
“Let’s see how things go in the early morning first,” Zhuang Menghua replied in a low voice. “Hanyou is talented, but he’s a bit lacking in appearance and age. Let’s see if there’s any spark when they collaborate.”
Lu Yiting nodded upon hearing this: Ling Chen is indeed a suitable candidate in terms of age, family background, appearance, popularity, and other conditions.
Although Shang Hanyou and Li Sishi always have a harmonious vibe when they're together, it's a pity that he's a bit older and not suitable for casual dating; he's more suited for marriage.
But he was focused on his career at the time, while Li Sishi was on the rise. They needed time to date and adjust their moods, so how could they possibly have the opportunity to have a relationship with marriage in mind?
Unaware that she had been arranged to be perfectly in charge, Li Sishi was still sitting at the dressing table removing her makeup.
Tonight, the women's team finally took the flag of victory from the men's team, and this outcome made her feel extremely happy.
"Are you going to hang out later? Apei has invited quite a few people." Le Yun walked over and asked, then added, "After the annual event, we always take advantage of this opportunity to get together and have a get-together."
After all, everyone is on the go all year round because of work. Sometimes, if we don't run into each other, we might not see each other in real life even once a year. The only time we can get together to meet is during the year-end anniversary celebration.
Based on this premise, a group led by people like Pei Yansang, who had a wide circle of friends, would gather their friends and invite those who hadn't made any plans to go out to bars for a few rounds after performing at major events each year.
"Standard practice?" Li Sishi's eyes widened. "Then why didn't you call me last year, Master?"
"Could you even get into a bar last year?" Le Yun retorted. "What good would it do me to call you in, to go in and sit in a corner like Er Jian, trembling at this bizarre and wonderful world?"
The reason was so irrefutable that Li Sishi shut her mouth—and then nodded, indicating that she would probably go.
This is a great opportunity to expand your network, and since it's an event organized by Pei Yansang, it's basically safe and reassuring.
Le Yun immediately became happy: "Your senior brother is a gamer who can't get along with people, you're much more to my liking... Okay, I'll go talk to Apei."
Hurry up.
Li Sishi nodded, then picked up her cell phone and called Lu Yiting, telling her about Pei Yansang's invitation to go to a bar.
Upon hearing that Pei Yansang had organized the outing, Lu Yiting, who was already planning to help Li Sishi expand her social circle, wholeheartedly agreed. After reminding Li Sishi to be careful not to get too drunk by Pei Yansang, a drunkard, she generously gave her a day off the next day so she could enjoy herself as late as she wanted.
Having resolved her worries, Li Sishi told her assistant Zuo Lili, then changed her clothes and got into Ye Shanyun's car.
To avoid being spotted by fans, the vans were definitely not allowed, so the celebrities who arrived in their own cars were responsible for transporting everyone.
In no time, Li Sishi arrived at the bar arranged by Pei Yansang. She walked in with some curiosity and found that, apart from the fact that there were fewer people than in ordinary venues, it was not much different from other bars.
However, the atmosphere at the event should be much better than those gatherings of wealthy women. There won't be too much scheming and competition, nor will there be any need to worry about the petty tempers of certain individuals. Moreover, the audience will mostly consist of professional singers, so there's no need to lie and flatter others.
In her past life, she didn't have the chance to attend private parties in the entertainment industry, but in this life, she can witness firsthand whether singers' bars and KTVs are truly a battle of the gods, with the original songs played out loud.
Seeing Li Sishi's interested smile, Shang Hanyou, who had sat down next to her to avoid drinking, laughed and said, "What are you looking at? Why are you so happy?"
"I was just thinking, you guys all seemed so listless when you were getting paid to sing on TV before, but now that you're getting paid to sing here, you're all really enthusiastic... It's kind of funny," Li Sishi replied with a smile.
“How can that be the same?” Shang Hanyou put down his cup. “You don’t need to worry about too many things when you sing here!”
“That’s true.” Li Sishi nodded.
Singing on stage is for performance and to grab attention, but singing here is primarily for personal enjoyment; the feeling is definitely different. (YushuGu.COM)
Having figured this out, Li Sishi relaxed and leaned back on the sofa, waiting for the heat on her face to subside: her ability to drink alcohol was something from her past life, and her body had only just been exposed to alcohol, so she was bound to be a little overwhelmed.
"How much did you drink?" Even in the dim light, the flush on her cheeks was still visible, and Shang Hanyou frowned.
"Not much, five or six cups, after all, Sister Pei and my master are here, it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse."
"Drink." Li Sishi was a little helpless as she was caught and "educated" by Pei Yansang and Le Yun, two big drinkers, as soon as she came over.
It's fortunate that they're singing on a small stage in a bar now, otherwise she might not have been able to get away.
"Oh well, I'll go over there and get you some hot water." Seeing that she was completely slumped over and had lost her usual composure, Shang Hanyou thought for a moment and took out the pink and white pig-shaped thermos that Li Sishi had given her before.
"Thank you..." Li Sishi said lazily.
"Consider it payment for the voice-nourishing tea you brought me before." Shang Hanyou chuckled. "Don't wander off. It's pitch black, and if I can't find you, I won't run errands for you anymore."
"Okay, go ahead!" Li Sishi gently kicked his shin. "I'm actually a little thirsty."
As Shang Hanyou's figure receded into the distance, Li Sishi, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to her corner booth, simply changed to a more comfortable and less dignified posture, sprawling on the sofa as if she had no bones.
"Wow, how much did you drink?" Ling Chen, who was passing by, had already walked past when she noticed something was wrong and turned back to look at Li Sishi, who was sprawled out like a rag doll. She was both amused and exasperated.
"I didn't drink much, I'm just a little tired because I'm not used to this kind of occasion..." Even though there was singing all around, she still felt a little drowsy.
It's probably because young people always love to sleep in late, and they've been so busy with work lately that their bodies are sending out signals that they want to rest now that they're finally relaxing.
"Then you can take a nap, I'll protect you from the side." Ling Chen sat down with a teasing tone.
"No need, no need. If you want to play, go ahead and play. Someone's watching over me here," Li Sishi waved her hand.
"Who is it?" Ling Chen frowned.
"Hanyou"
"He went to get me some hot water," Li Sishi replied casually.
With half-closed eyes, the interplay of light and shadow illuminated the man's fair skin and handsome face. His slightly furrowed brows possessed a subtle yet alluring quality—no wonder he's the number one on the latest list of male celebrities that wealthy women most want to keep as their sugar daddies…
"What are you laughing at?" Ling Chen looked over suspiciously.
"Um... have you ever heard of that list of male celebrities that rich women most want to keep?" Li Sishi said vaguely.
"You're asking for trouble, you gossip!" Ling Chen, both amused and annoyed, leaned over and pretended to punch her.
However, this also proves one thing: he did know.
This ranking list might even show you your current position...
"An explanation is just a cover-up!" Li Sishi laughed as she dodged his attacks.
"I want to hook up with a rich woman? I want to hook up with a rich woman?" Ling Chen chased after her with a big smile, playfully punching her. "Then why don't I hook up with you first? You're beautiful, young, and rich. It's like skipping twenty years of hard work..."
"Sorry, I want to focus on my career right now..." Li Sishi slumped on the sofa, but her tone was that of an official declaration, which made Ling Chen laugh out loud again.
But after the two looked at each other and laughed for a while, the atmosphere seemed to start to change.
In the distance, Li Dewen was still diligently performing his breathing vinyl record on the small stage, singing "Full Moon Nocturne" with dramatic ups and downs that touched people's hearts: "But my heart is still occupied by her every moment, she is like the moon, still silent..."
Apart from the music, the two people in the corner, whose smiles had faded, remained silent.
A dimly lit environment can always evoke strange emotions in people's hearts.
Feeling a little awkward in the early hours, he reached for his glass to take a sip and ease the tension, but those slightly tipsy eyes held a captivating gaze that he couldn't bear to look away from.
As she watched him approach, Li Sishi suddenly felt a sense of unease.
It's too early, we should avoid it...
Just as she was about to turn her head, Ling Chen stopped what he was doing first, then squinted slightly and plucked a small tuft of white fur from beside her temple: "When did you get this on?"
"It should be Sister Pei's. I was drinking with her just now..."
Li Sishi leaned forward and looked down at the passing colored lights to get a clear look at the fluffy white thing in Ling Chen's hand, and said with great certainty.
As he looked up after speaking, he unexpectedly saw someone standing at the corner in front of him.
A wisp of steam leaked from the rim of the pinkish-white pig-shaped thermos, drifting upwards as if the person's cheerful face would become obscured in the dim light and light mist.
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