Mysterious Assistant of the Washed-Up Queen

"HMM... I'm a bit tired, just came out for some water..."

Xu Qingqiu absentmindedly answered while she observed her surroundings.

After making sure that no one was around, she suddenly, sneakily tugged at Li Chunhua's sleeve.

"What's up?"

Li Chunhua looked at her, puzzled, unsure of what she was up to.

"SHH."

Xu Qingqiu signaled her to be quiet, and only when they reached a corner did she whisper, "Sister Hua, has everything been arranged for the concert?"

"It was arranged a long time ago. Do you really need to be so secretive about this?"

"AH, no, it's not that... I want to add another song, but I don't want Chu Tian to know..."

Li Chunhua frowned seriously at Xu Qingqiu.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I want to perform a song, but I don't want Chu Tian to find out. If he asks, could you cover for me?"

"Just this? What are you up to? Trying to give him a surprise?"

As soon as Li Chunhua asked this, Xu Qingqiu's face flushed red, and she said softly with her head lowered, "I suppose you could say that... Sister Hua, please?"

Seeing her resort to acting coquettishly, Li Chunhua found this the hardest to bear.

"Alright, alright. Is such secrecy really necessary for something so trivial? Anyway, don't worry. I'll take care of it when I make the program list."

"Thank you, Sister Hua! MWAH."

"EH! Get lost, don't bother me. I'm busy here! Go on!"

"Okay then, I'll go practice. Don't forget, Sister Hua!"

"TCH."

Watching Xu Qingqiu's retreating figure, Li Chunhua pursed her lips, feeling speechless.

This sickly-sweet scent of love is truly nauseating. Is being in love really so great? Everyone acts as if they've lost their minds. Humph!

Despite her sour mutterings, a hint of loss couldn't help but appear in Li Chunhua's eyes.

She had been so busy with work that she hadn't really thought about her own romantic life. She had believed she would never be troubled by matters of the heart in this lifetime. Work alone occupied all her time and energy. Love is just a waste of time.

But now, seeing Xu Qingqiu like this, for some reason, she felt somewhat empty, as if she had missed out on something.

Li Chunhua's gaze drifted out the window involuntarily. Looking at the desolate autumn streetscape and the yellowing leaves, she began to lose focus.

I mean, who hasn't had moments of youthful stirrings?

It's not like she's pretty, just plain average. If it weren't for the demeanor honed from years of being an agent, she would probably go unnoticed in a crowd.

Thinking it over, she was already in her thirties. Would her life just pass by like this? Is it better to be alone or with someone?

If it had been in the past, her answer would have been without doubt, but now... She hesitated.

"Forget it! What's so great about love? It's a waste of time!"

After a good while, she shook her head, deciding to cast aside these annoyances. Love, what's that compared to a career!

"Eh? Sister Hua, you're here. What are you thinking about?"

Hearing the voice, Li Chunhua turned around just in time to see Chu Tian slowly coming over with a large cup in his hand.

That cup looks incredibly familiar; isn't it the one Xu Qingqiu just took to get some water? Did she finish all that water already? No, Chu Tian must have drunk it. These two really aren't trying to hide it, are they?

As for this, she had long given up the struggle. It's her company, after all; let them be as they wish.

"How come you're out here too? Taking turns resting?"

"Hey, I just came out for some fresh air!"

Chu Tian pretended to be nonchalant as he discreetly surveyed the area. Seeing that there were no other people around, he suddenly leaned towards Li Chunhua and whispered, "Sister Hua, is everything ready for the concert?"

"UH-HUH?"

Li Chunhua had just nodded when she suddenly felt that something was off.

Why does that question sound so familiar?

"What do you want?"

She immediately got a bad feeling. She stepped back half a step, pressing against the wall, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked at Chu Tian warily.

"Why such a big reaction, Sister Hua?"

Chu Tian looked hurt by Li Chunhua's response.

Is it really so bad just to ask about the concert preparations?

"Never mind what I'm doing. You tell me, what do you want?"

"HAHA, what could I possibly want? I just wanted to know if everything's been arranged for the concert. Just casually asking."

"Well, everything's fine with the concert. Do you have anything else you want to ask?"

"Everything's been taken care of? That's our Sister Hua, always so competent! How many guests have you invited?"

Seeing he seemed to be discussing serious matters, Li Chunhua's wariness diminished considerably, and her arms, which had been crossed in front of her, relaxed naturally.

"The guests won't be a problem. Right now, Qingqiu's fame is significant, and many people want to establish a good relationship with her. So, we've already confirmed three guests, and we're still filtering the rest."

"MHM."

Chu Tian nodded absentmindedly while drinking water and asked, "How long is the duration set for now? Can it hold up?"

A concert usually consists of around thirty songs, with a duration of three to four hours.

However, for various reasons, Xu Qingqiu could only sing a limited number of songs—barely over a dozen—which wouldn't suffice for an entire concert.

And now, with the rushed preparations, the duration was somewhat awkward.

She wasn't like those lesser-known singers hosting fan meetings or fan meets, where the venue was small, the crowd was limited, and there was room for interactive games.

Despite the shorter concert duration, the audience was large—over ten thousand people. Handling it like a fan meet definitely wouldn't work.

So, the only option was to fill the remaining time by inviting guests, aiming for at least a two-hour duration.

"As for the duration, it's currently set for about one and a half hours. We're still about half an hour short..."

At this point, an idea struck Li Chunhua.

Could it be... Xu Qingqiu asked me to add a song just now, and Chu Tian is here too. Could it be...

Before she could finish her thought, Chu Tian spoke up.

"Sister Hua..." Chu Tian glanced behind him and around before continuing, "I want to add a song to give Qingqiu a surprise then. Could you help with that?"

Before he even finished speaking, Li Chunhua felt a surge of irritation rise in her stomach.

She struggled to suppress her temper, taking deep breaths, but it was in vain; she couldn't calm down.

Gradually, Li Chunhua's face darkened. Staring at Chu Tian, who was looking at her with an expectant expression, she finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Get lost!"

"HUH? What do you mean? What's going on?"

Chu Tian looked bewildered at Li Chunhua, who had been fine just moments ago but had suddenly erupted. His head was buzzing.

He carefully replayed the conversation in his mind. I didn't say anything wrong, did I? So why this reaction? Could it be menopause? Is she always this fickle?

"Sister Hua, please don't get angry. Just tell me if it's possible or not."

"Fine. I've heard what you said. Now, please! Immediately! Get out of my sight!"

"Alright then!"

Hearing her agree, Chu Tian swiftly made himself scarce.

Having achieved his goal and seeing Li Chunhua looking like she was about to explode any second, he didn't want to linger a moment longer. He ran off faster than a rabbit.

Watching his hasty retreat, Li Chunhua felt even angrier.

What was I just thinking? That dating is a waste of time, and work is more important?

The thought hadn't even settled when Chu Tian came over with the same request.

First Xu Qingqiu, then Chu Tian. Even the first thing out of their mouths was identical, and both harbored the exact same idea. What is this? A coincidence? This is clearly a public display of affection, isn't it? Have I committed some unforgivable sin to encounter these two lunatics?

Just thinking of the recent scene made Li Chunhua feel like her lungs were about to burst from anger.

So what if they're dating? Does being in love give them the right to flaunt it everywhere? Do they look down on single audiences? Or do single audiences have no rights? One person showing off is one thing, but what's the meaning of them taking turns?

The more Li Chunhua thought about it, the angrier she became. It's inhuman! Far too cruel!

She returned to her office and looked at the documents in her hand, trying hard to calm down and focus on work. But the scene kept replaying in her mind, infuriating her so much she almost flipped the table.

「Meanwhile」

Chu Tian skulked back to the recording studio.

"Back already? Weren't you going to get water? Why did you come back with an empty cup?"

"AH? Oh, there was no water left..."

Chu Tian answered distractedly, then carefully asked, "Qingqiu, what's wrong with Sister Hua? She seemed to be in a bad mood, didn't she?"

"AH? Was she? I saw her a while ago, and she seemed fine. I didn't notice her being in a bad mood."

"Really? Then what happened?"

"Did you run into her just now? Did Sister Hua lose her temper?"

"..."

After pondering for a moment, Chu Tian wasn't sure how to explain, so he brushed it off.

"It's nothing. I must have been mistaken."