Chapter 566: Teaching Opera?

"The birthday banquet has already started, hasn't Chairman Mu arrived yet?"

"I don't know... maybe something delayed him?"

"Maybe he's still changing clothes. After all, it's his birthday banquet, he has to be meticulous."

"That's true..."

"I heard Chairman Mu invited a few celebrities to perform today. Maybe he wants to make a grand finale entrance?"

“……”

Several guests were exchanging thoughts privately. At this moment, everyone's attention was basically on the stage. Only a very few people noticed a red-clad figure carrying an oil-paper umbrella walking slowly toward them.

Kong Baosheng, who was focused on eating a small cake at the table, saw Chen Ling coming, stuffed the rest of the cake into his mouth in one go, and ran over quickly.

"Sir, you're finally back. I'm almost full!"

Chen Ling smiled slightly. "Did anything happen while I was away?"

Kong Baosheng thought seriously. "Yes."

"What?"

"A few very beautiful female celebrities came to talk to me, all asking about you. They seem to really want to be friends with you..." Kong Baosheng blinked. "I told you, sir, you look much better than those top-tier male stars!"

"...Did you answer them?"

"No, I told them if they want to know you, they should come find you themselves." Kong Baosheng thought for a moment. "By the way, a few of them seem to have to perform on stage later. I'll point them out to you in a bit! They are all very beautiful."

Chen Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

After the host on stage warmed up the crowd, a male singer took the stage. As the speakers on both sides of the stage began to play music, melodious singing began to echo over the venue.

At the same time, bursts of excited screams faintly rang out from outside the manor, as if many people were shouting the singer's name outside.

Mu Chunsheng's birthday banquet was originally a grand affair, and the lineup of invited guests had been announced long ago. Although some die-hard fans of certain celebrities weren't qualified to enter, there were quite a few people cheering from afar outside the manor. Even if they couldn't see the people, hearing the sound was enough.

And the Beidou Consortium's security didn't deliberately drive them away; after all, this to some extent demonstrated the Beidou Consortium's influence, enlivening the atmosphere without disturbing the social interactions of the VIPs inside the manor.

Chen Ling stood outside the crowd, casually taking a glass of wine from a passing waiter, looking as leisurely and relaxed as a guest who had truly come to attend the banquet.

And not far from him, Police Bureau Director Wang Jincheng was standing stiffly, his gaze scanning the surroundings vigilantly, seemingly still looking for traces of Li Ruohong, and looking up at the sky from time to time...

I don't know if it was Chen Ling's illusion, but it seemed that since just now, the daylight had been darkening bit by bit, as if dark clouds were gathering silently in the sky.

"Hello, I'm Lu Aizhen. I don't think I've seen you before?" Just as Chen Ling was leisurely watching the performance, a woman in a gorgeous long dress walked to his side, her slightly raised lips as enthusiastic as fire.

Seeing her, Kong Baosheng silently nudged Chen Ling, signaling that this was one of the people who had come to ask about him earlier.

"Jinghong Tower opera singer, Lin Yan." Chen Ling responded politely. "I just entered the main city not long ago."

"Jinghong Tower... never heard of it. Have you signed with a company?"

"Signed with the Huang Consortium."

"The Huang Consortium has good taste." Lu Aizhen looked at that near-perfect face and couldn't take her eyes off it for a moment. She took the initiative to hand a note to Chen Ling. "This is my private address. If you have time, you are welcome to come and have afternoon tea together."

"Thank you."

Chen Ling accepted the note symbolically and continued watching the performance, as cold as an iceberg.

Seeing this, Lu Aizhen pursed her lips with some boredom and turned to leave... After all, she was a well-known female star in the main city, so naturally, she wouldn't ask for trouble.

After Lu Aizhen left, several figures came to chat with Chen Ling one after another. Even when a few female stars were performing on stage, it was hard for their eyes to move away from the flash of red in the crowd. The unknown Chen Ling attracted the attention of many people for a while.

Of course, under Chen Ling's cold-faced offensive, no one could talk to him for more than five sentences before leaving with waning interest.

In the crowd, an old man also wearing an opera robe saw this and snorted coldly.

"Young man, where are you from?"

Chen Ling looked at him, a flash of doubt in his eyes. At the same time, Kong Baosheng seemed to recognize him and whispered in Chen Ling's ear: "He is Li Hanxiang, one of the most senior famous actors in the main city... Years ago, when my grandmother opened Jinghong Tower, he was also an opera singer in the building. It is said that he was lukewarm at the time, and later he was poached by a large consortium and gradually became popular by creating scandals with female stars... But now he is old, and since fewer and fewer people sing opera, his seniority has become higher and higher."

Chen Ling's eyebrows raised slightly. He had heard Kong Baosheng say before that Jinghong Tower had produced many famous actors in the early years. It seems this Li Hanxiang was one of them... It's just that his means of becoming famous were not honorable.

"My hometown is a small town outside the main city. I just entered the main city this year," Chen Ling replied politely.

The old man sized him up and down, and the disdain in his eyes grew stronger. He put his hands behind his back and spoke unhurriedly:

"Oh, so you're from the countryside... Then who is your master?"

Chen Ling thought for a moment. "I studied under a nameless opera singer."

"A nameless opera singer?" The old man sneered. "I see the Huang Consortium is getting more and more shabby. Where did this wild opera singer come from, and they have to force him onto the stage?"

"Wild opera singer? You're the wild opera singer!" Kong Baosheng naturally had no good feelings for this traitor of Jinghong Tower. Hearing him dare to scold Chen Ling, he instantly became anxious and pointed at his nose, ready to scold him back.

This shout instantly attracted the attention of several guests nearby. The female stars who had just chatted with Chen Ling saw this scene and roughly guessed what had happened. Their eyes toward Li Hanxiang were full of disdain and disgust.

Almost no one in the circle didn't know what kind of person this Li Hanxiang was. Not to mention creating scandals in the early years—everyone present had basically done that—after becoming famous, he even privately set up those young actresses who hadn't yet become famous. His reputation was already rotting in the streets.

Chen Ling raised his hand to stop him, his eyes looking calmly at Li Hanxiang, and said slowly:

"This senior, any advice?"

"Young man, take my advice. Opera is not something anyone can sing... Don't think that just because you have a good skin, you can do well in this line of work. How many songs have you learned, and how many years have you practiced? Do you know how to write the four words 'sing,' 'recite,' 'act,' and 'fight'?" The old man seemed to enjoy the feeling of lecturing the younger generation, standing with his hands behind his back, looking very composed.

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow, still not saying much, but nodded with a smile and perfunctorily:

"Yes, senior is right."

Li Hanxiang glanced at the stage. At this moment, a dance performance had just ended, and the host walked slowly onto the stage, announcing the next opera performance.

Li Hanxiang smoothed the sleeves of his gorgeous opera robe, straightened his back, and walked slowly toward the stage with a pose.

"Young man, let me teach you... what 'opera' really is."