Chapter 671: Can You?
Translator: Lan_ Editor: Efydatia
The director had nodded again and again as he spoke on the phone. The instructions he got had made his eyes glitter.
“I’m reminding you that you can find a way to convince the girl…”
Directors were always far-sighted. After several failures to convince Qin Guan, the director had decided to approach Wang Xiaoya.
The girl had promised that she would get him to come. It seemed like she would make a good matchmaker in the future.
That was why Zhou and Li had taken Qin Guan there. Their real destination was a shooting site not far away.
When he realized where they were going, Qin Guan was stupefied.
“Do you mean the exact place where the choir used to practise at primary school?”
“Exactly!”
He suddenly remembered a time when he and his friends would put flour and rouge on their faces and wear white shirts and blue pants.
“That small auditorium has remained the same?”
“Yes! Even the small hole on the floor is still there!”
Qin Guan stood up suddenly and asked, “Only one show? Is it a live one?”
“It’s a recorded broadcast. We hope that’s convenient for you… You know the local gala is pretty plain…”
Before Zhou could finish, he was interrupted by his friend. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go! I’ve missed those uncomfortable folding chairs!”
Ten years before, the auditorium seats had been some wooden chairs that felt cold against one’s bottom in the winter.
They all followed Qin Guan to the hall. Zhou was the last one out, so he locked the door with a smile. He is the same guy he was back then. He is still just as kind and sensitive.
After going through the scratched wooden gate, they reached the small hall of their memories. The actors, the director, the host and the gatekeeper were standing by the entrance, craning their necks around to peer at them.
As soon as they recognized Qin Guan, the director rushed over to them.
“Thank you so much for your support of the culture of Y city, comrade!” Qin Guan shook hands with him speechlessly. Actually, he had gone there just to reminisce. Suddenly, Wang Xiaoya squeezed through the crowd and rushed up to her handsome uncle.
“Uncle Qin Guan!”
“Xiaoya!”
Qin Guan hugged the little girl and lifted her up.
“See?” Li Jian whispered to Cong Nianwei. “He is ready to be a father. He is very familiar with holding children. You have been lovers for a long time. Just get married already!”
Cong Nianwei raised an eyebrow at him like a strict middle school monitor. Li shivered and moved away from her.
Qin Guan walked into the hall, surrounded by everyone.
“Our gala is a recorded broadcast, so each part can be shot multiple times. The best parts will be broadcast to the audience for entertainment purposes. We were really bold to invite you here. Our budget might be limited, but we can at least cover your cab fare…”
The director explained the situation with a plain accent. He was really afraid of offending Qin Guan, but Qin Guan felt warmth in his heart. He was deeply moved.
He is an honest man. As a citizen of Y city, I feel really optimistic!
Qin Guan put Xiaoya down and got to work.
“So which part should I take over, director?”
“Anything you like. Don’t be shy. You could even recite poetry.”
Qin Guan’s advantage was his looks. His pretty face allowed him to do anything he wanted.
While Qin Guan was talking with the director, Wang Xiaoya was showing off.
“I’m not boasting! Uncle Qin is really coming!”
“We don’t care. All he can do is sing or dance. He has nothing to do with our rehearsal. He is not some kind of god. A fashionable young man like him does not have the experience old men like us do.”
The two men had sided against the little girl.
What a joke! A young man could never understand traditional folk opera!
Wang Xiaoya defended her Uncle Qin.
“Nonsense! My uncle is good at operas! He can do anything!”
What big talk!
The two old men turned their eyes to Qin Guan.
“Operas focus on heritage. What Wang Xiaoya is saying makes sense. Every year we argue over the performance, but this year we would like to retire and surrender the stage to our rising star. This will be a new era for folk opera.”
“I agree with Lao Zheng. We should bid farewell to the old ways and welcome a new beginning!”
