Chapter 186: Chapter 82: Top Star of the ’60s Cultural Troupe (21)

She pulled He Qingran close and whispered, "Sister, I know you can’t wait to marry yourself off, but you can’t drag me along with you!"

"Think about it. We’re living in this huge house all thanks to Hero Huo. We can’t just use his reputation one second and be inviting strange men in the next, can we?"

"Unless Hero Huo comes back from the dead, I can’t even think about my own marriage for at least three years. By then, no one could blame me, right?"

"I’m still young!"

He Qingran gave her a skeptical look and held up three fingers. "Really? Three years? You’re not just trying to get rid of me?"

"Yunyun, you don’t have anyone looking out for you now, worrying about your life. You can’t expect me to worry about everything for you. You need to be a little more proactive yourself."

"You’ve adopted two children, so you have to be responsible for them. They’re little and don’t understand anything now, but just wait until they’re older. See if they don’t start asking you for a father!"

"Ruyuan really looks up to Brother Hao."

Xia Zhaoyun nodded repeatedly. "You’re right, Sister. I’ll focus on my career for three years, and after that, when I consider marriage, I’ll definitely do so with a responsible attitude toward myself and the children."

He Qingran smiled in satisfaction. Looking all chummy and sisterly, she linked her arm through Xia Zhaoyun’s and continued to mutter, "In that case, why not consider this Brother Hao first? Maybe he’ll still be single and thinking about starting a family by then?"

"Tsk, tsk. If you weren’t in the picture, I’d definitely make a move on him myself."

"He’s such a good catch, don’t let him go to waste! As the old saying goes, ’A man chasing a woman is separated by a mountain, but a woman chasing a man is only separated by a veil.’ All it takes is the effort to lift that veil, and you’ll have him..."

Seeing her getting more and more out of line, Xia Zhaoyun pried her arm away and said irritably, "Sister, your competition is over, so you’ve got nothing better to do. But I have to compete this afternoon! How can you mess with my focus like this?"

That single sentence shut up the exasperated He Qingran.

However, He Qingran’s matchmaking spirit hadn’t faded. She sidled up to Liu Mingkun and began to subtly inquire about Huo Tianhao, wanting to vet his character in advance.

Liu Mingkun, in turn, furtively used her questions as an opening to probe for information about her.

The two went back and forth, both quite blatant in their probing. Xia Zhaoyun couldn’t help but think, ’It’s great to be young,’ feeling a brief pang of envy. But the thought was fleeting, and she remained firm in her decision.

By the afternoon, more than half the audience had left. This time, He Qingran and Liu Mingkun were looking after the two children.

Xia Zhaoyun was getting ready backstage. Frowning slightly, she addressed the man who was sitting sprawled on a bench against the wall, his arms crossed. "Brother Hao, did you see that sign?"

She pointed to the "Staff Only" sign.

Huo Tianhao raised an eyebrow, pulled a work pass from his pocket, and hung it around his neck. He tapped the two words on it: "Props Master!"

Xia Zhaoyun glanced at it, but then her eyes widened in shock at the two words written below "Props Master." Her gaze darted back and forth between his face and the pass in disbelief as she started hiccuping uncontrollably.

Huo Tianhao handed her some water. "Take a big sip and swallow it in seven small gulps."

Xia Zhaoyun took it and followed his instructions. Sure enough, her hiccups stopped. "Brother Hao, you... your name is Huo Tianhao?"

Huo Tianhao nodded, a smile playing on his lips as he thoroughly enjoyed the look of shock and panic on her face. "That’s right. I have the exact same name as the Hero Huo Tianhao from your factory—your supposed sweetheart, partner, and the father of your children."

"But for now, you should focus on your upcoming performance. We can talk about everything else after the competition is over."

That bombshell was potent. A moment ago, Xia Zhaoyun had been feeling that post-meal drowsiness that comes with summer afternoons, but now she was wide awake!

The contestants were told to gather. The person in charge said a few words and then had everyone draw lots one by one to determine their performance order.

The line was arranged by height. People were generally shorter in that era, with most women standing around five-foot-three. Someone like Xia Zhaoyun, who was five-foot-six and over five-foot-seven in her wedge heels, naturally ended up at the very back of the line, the last to draw.

She looked at the number on her slip of paper, her eyes betraying no emotion. This left the few people secretly watching her feeling both disappointed and, simultaneously, strangely excited.

Xia Zhaoyun was scheduled to perform last—an extremely unfavorable position for any contestant.

The Golden Microphone semi-finals had already been going on for two and a half days. It was now late afternoon, and the judges and contestants were all mentally and physically exhausted.

The later it got, the more irritable everyone became, losing the patience to critique performances with care. As a result, scores tended to get lower and lower. At the same time, the psychological pressure on the contestants mounted. With the combined mental and physical drain, it was difficult to deliver one’s best—forget an exceptional performance, even a normal one was a challenge!

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