Chapter 86 Party
Tan Chunying was able to perform smoothly, of course. She had recovered quite well, at least she didn't need to apply for a replacement program. And on the day of the end-of-month party, Tan Xiao specifically asked her teacher for leave.
"Ask for leave? Go back home to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival?" Ji Huiming said that the senior students of Nanchu No. 1 Middle School only have one night off during the Mid-Autumn Festival, allowing students to go back for reunion with their families, which is basically equivalent to not having a holiday.
"No, I have to accompany my mother to rehearsal. I didn't have to go to the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, but my mother injured her hand not long ago. Although it has healed after stitches, the live broadcast crew is worried about accidents and asked me to be a backup actor." Tan Xiao lowered his head, perhaps a little embarrassed. It is not easy to take a leave in the third year of high school.
"Well, although this is your family's business, you still have to be careful in your senior year of high school and try to stop these activities for now. Let it go this time. After all, your mother is injured, and this is also something that brings honor to our Nanchu." Ji Huiming only mentioned it briefly, and he felt that Tan Xiao still knew what was going on.
"Oh, wait, these are the mooncakes that the class was going to give out. If you want to take a leave, just take one." Ji Huiming handed a mooncake to Tan Xiao, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Thank you, teacher, and happy Mid-Autumn Festival." Just as Tan Xiao went out with the mooncakes, Kong Xuan came in. As they passed each other, they exchanged glances.
"Teacher, I want to ask for leave." Kong Xuan said.
"You're taking a leave too?" Ji Huiming looked at Kong Xuan, "How come you're the same as Tan Xiao? Did you two make an appointment?" He joked, "You don't want to watch Tan Xiao dance, do you? If I see you on the live broadcast, you're done."
"No, I'm not feeling well." Kong Xuan held his forehead, "I have a high fever."
This is what Tan Xiao taught him.
He originally wanted to come in and spit out some blood. Tan Xiao said that if you were like that, you would be happy to ask Teacher Ji to accompany you to the emergency room and stay with you until your fever subsided.
"I see you don't look very well." Ji Huiming had a thermometer and some daily medicines, so he took Kong Xuan's temperature on the spot. He didn't touch Kong Xuan, but just took a look at the temperature and gasped, "39.8 degrees?! My God, are you okay?"
Ji Huiming stretched out his hand to touch Kong Xuan's forehead, but Kong Xuan's feet swayed and he dodged Ji Huiming's hand.
Ji Huiming wanted to help, but he swayed in the other direction and held onto the wall.
“……” There’s something a little weird and indescribable feeling.
"Are you okay?" Ji Huiming simply went out and called Tan Xiao who had not yet walked far, "Tan Xiao, come here, help me help Kong Xuan downstairs. I'm going to drive now to take Kong Xuan to the hospital. His fever is almost 40 degrees."
"No need, teacher. I'll take him there. My mom is taking me to Qiyunling, so it's on our way." Tan Xiao stopped the teacher. How could he let Ji Huiming take him there?
"That's fine. Send me a message when you get there." Ji Huiming thought about it and sighed, "Maybe you studied too hard and didn't pay attention to your health. This big guy has a high fever. Almost 40 degrees is too exaggerated. You should let him rest more." It's a big holiday, and Kong Xuan's family is not home. It's too miserable. Because Kong Xuan lives in Tan Xiao's house, he feels relieved to ask Tan Xiao to send him.
Tan Xiao heard Ji Huiming mumbling and was also surprised, "Is it almost 40 degrees? I only heard him say he was not feeling well, I didn't expect it to be so serious."
"Yes, you touch him." Ji Huiming said.
Tan Xiao pretended to touch Kong Xuan's hand, but it was cold.
“You can’t feel it this way.” Kong Xuan moved closer and put his forehead against his.
Tan Xiao: "..."
Their foreheads suddenly touched together, and their noses almost touched.
Tan Xiao was caught off guard. Kong Xuan didn't say he would act like this. Where did he learn this? He blushed a little.
Ji Huiming: “???” This is so strange, who has a fever?
"Kong Xuan, have you ever cooled down your temperature by yourself? I see Tan Xiao's face is redder than yours. Is Tan Xiao's face hot ?" Ji Huiming asked curiously.
Tan Xiao was unable to answer for a moment and just stood there. He even heard the younger students passing by whistling, which made him feel guilty.
Ji Huiming turned around angrily and said, "If anyone whistles again, you seniors will have a high fever!"
Tan Xiao turned Kong Xuan's head and said, "...Forty degrees will definitely burn him to death! Teacher, I'll take him to the hospital!"
…
It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the temperature had not yet dropped, so the weather was fine. Nanchu, as the venue for the Huaxia Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, had already built a special X-shaped stage and installed a huge suspended screen at the foot of Qiyunling Mountain, surrounded by mountains and rivers.
After the party is over, this place will not be demolished, but will become a part of Nanchu's tourism industry, used to receive tourists from home and abroad to watch folk art performances.
In preparation for the live broadcast in the evening, the place is packed with staff.
Tan Xiao had nothing to do. He was standing in the audience wearing a wizard robe and a peacock mask on his head. People were coming and going, and no one cared about how strange his clothes were. There were so many people wearing different clothes today, so he just watched people putting name tags on the backs of the chairs in the audience silently.
Such a rare event naturally brought together people from all walks of life, including city leaders, local companies that sponsored the stage, and local literary and artistic talents. In addition, tickets for the event were not sold to the public, but only to local villagers, and were given to Nanchu citizens in the form of gifts and draws, but now was not the time for them to enter.
Tan Xiao watched for a while and then went backstage.
"Tan Xiao."
"Small talk."
Many people greeted Tan Xiao. Over the years, he had been a familiar face at most of Nanchu's cultural and artistic activities.
Although Tan Xiao couldn't recognize him, he nodded politely in response.
"Hey, Tan Xiao came to perform and is still reading a book? What grade is he in this year?"
"I'm in the third year of high school." Tan Xiao was indeed holding a book in his hand. He stuffed it back into his schoolbag and responded with a smile.
"Hurry up, then."
Tan Xiao has already walked to Tan Chunying. She is still having the final communication with the on-site director. Next to her is today's host, who is wearing a mask and confirming the introduction with Tan Chunying to make sure she doesn't punctuate or mispronounce some professional vocabulary.
Tan Xiao raised his chin towards the host as a greeting, and then said to Tan Chunying: "The lunch box is here."
"Then let's eat first." Tan Chunying stopped and went to get the meal.
The lunch box doesn't taste that good, and Tan Chunying and Tan Xiao are both picky eaters . But for the evening's activities, they have to eat something, or else they will eat the mooncakes later.
Tan Xiao clicked on a live broadcast room to eat, which was a live broadcast of the Jiuyi Mountain Scenic Area. It was also quite lively there, and the opening ceremony had started much earlier, and the singing and dancing segment had already begun.
"They held a sacrificial ceremony this afternoon," Tan Chunying said after taking a look. This was not the first time they had held a sacrificial ceremony. This year, they combined it with the Mid-Autumn Festival event and made a big deal about it, but it was still the same process. In essence, they held it to attract tourists, so they put a lot of effort into the performance. Tan Chunying was interested in watching it a few more times.
"Yes." Tan Xiao watched the show, eating his rice bite by bite. He finished it in great pain and went to get some water.
At this time, the audience also started to enter the venue, and Tan Xiao was stopped outside for the Nth time.
"Tan Xiao?"
Tan Xiao saw that the visitor was a middle-aged man in a suit and tie. He was definitely not an actor and did not have a work badge. However, he was not sure who he was, so he responded with a "Hey, hello."
"How did you get here faster than me?" The other person laughed twice, "Don't senior high school students only have evening self-study?"
Tan Xiao quickly judged that the other person should also be a schoolmate. Judging from his age, well, he was probably the right person. Tan Xiao replied, "I took an afternoon off to help my mother. She was injured...Principal Bai." He had seen the principal's name tag on the seat and boldly assumed that this was their principal.
Sure enough, the other party nodded, "I see. That's what I thought."
"Have you found your seat? Do you want me to take you there?" Tan Xiao actually remembered where he should sit.
"Okay." Principal Bai could also choose to let the staff show him to his seat, but wouldn't it be better to have his own students? After he got to his seat, he chatted with Tan Xiao and asked about his students' performance.
When Tan Xiao was about to leave, Principal Bai looked over and said with a smile, "Look, your senior is here too." He waved in one direction.
Tan Xiao didn't recognize the face either, so he just kept smiling and waited until the man came closer.
"Zhanxue, I mentioned you today. I wanted to ask on behalf of a friend how your new book is going." Principal Bai said kindly. This person was none other than Ruan Zhanxue, an outstanding graduate of No. 1 Middle School and a cutting-edge writer. In fact, Ruan Zhanxue had already graduated when Principal Bai joined No. 1 Middle School, but that did not stop him from having a good impression of talented people.
Ruan Zhanxue's seat was right next to Principal Bai. As a well-known figure in the arts and cultural circles of Nanchu in recent years, he was also invited to watch the event live.
"I'm still holding it in." Ruan Zhanxue smiled bitterly when she heard Principal Bai's question, and then greeted Tan Xiao, "Junior Tan Xiao, long time no see."
"Senior, long time no see ." Tan Xiao also called out politely. The last time they met was at the school anniversary celebration.
"Is there another performance today?" Ruan Zhanxue had a good temper, and since Tan Xiao had given him Feng Shui advice before, his tone was quite intimate.
"I'm just preparing for the performance today, I may not go on stage." Tan Xiao said honestly, "Although I've asked for leave, I hope I don't have to go on stage. I can still take a break."
Principal Bai and Ruan Zhanxue both laughed. It is not easy to be a senior in high school.
"Senior, I've been reading your book recently. Please sign it for me when you have time. We have the version you gave me in our book corner, but I went to buy a new one." Tan Xiaozhen took out a copy of "Five Flavors and Seven Emotions" from his bag, which indeed showed signs of being flipped through.
"Oh, thank you for your support." Ruan Zhanxue signed "TO Tan Xiao" on the title page for him, and also added a message, wishing him good luck in the college entrance examination.
"Thank you, senior." Tan Xiao glanced at the backstage and waved, "Then I'll go to the waiting room first."
Ruan Zhanxue and Principal Bai sat together, sitting next to each other.
"Teacher Lin has been feeling much better recently." Principal Bai started chatting about school matters. "Now he's clamoring to come back to teach, but we didn't dare to because his blood pressure was so high before that he was hospitalized."
"Really?" Ruan Zhanxue always had a smile on her face. "Teacher Lin still refuses to admit his age. My classmates and I went to see him last time, and he wanted to teach us."
"Yes, after all, he has been teaching for a lifetime. He must have been quite old when he taught you, right? To be honest, such old people are our treasures." Principal Bai sighed, and when he saw that the screen was already being debugged, his attention was instantly diverted again.
"Our screen is really big, and I heard from my friends in the Propaganda Department that we will use VR technology tonight for real-time rendering. The degree of simulation of the special effects is just one word -" Principal Bai paused and said, "expensive!"
As we all know, special effects are created with money.
Ruan Zhanxue was amused, "After all, this is not a one-time stage."
"Yes, when the tourists come back from the folk village, they can watch the performances on the stage by the Nanxi River at night. We can be said to be keeping up with the pace of those big tourist cities. I heard that a lot of programs have been arranged, including large-scale light shows and situational dramas."
Principal Bai spoke very logically, but suddenly he thought for a moment, "But I remember that we didn't mention that the stage should be cross-type before."
"Really? Maybe it's better this way." Ruan Zhanxue looked at it. The X-shaped stage divided the audience into several areas. People who are used to watching traditional stages might find it a bit awkward, but the experience is definitely not bad. He lowered his head thoughtfully. There was a green carpet under his feet, which blended in with the green mountains around him.
It looks good, Ruan Zhanxue chuckled.
"That's right." Principal Bai nodded. "This one looks good and has a sense of design. It's also quick to build. The last time I came here to fish, the stage was just in its infancy. This is Chinese speed."
At this time, the hosts of the branch venue had already come on stage. There were two hosts, one male and one female. The male one was wearing a mask just before he came on stage. After taking it off, he looked quite gentle and his stage presence was also OK. But he looked unfamiliar, unlike the familiar faces who usually hosted activities in Nanchu.
The two greeted everyone, "Hello everyone, I am Jiao Yang, the host of tonight."
"I'm Jin Yuan."
Principal Bai was curious. Why would they use a newcomer for such an important occasion? Could he be related to someone else?
The live broadcast of the main venue of the evening party also began. The host of the main stage introduced the sub-venues that would appear this time, "...The bright moon rises over the sea, and the world is at this time together. Tonight we will also present to you the charming customs and practices of each sub-venue. We will see the romance and passion of Southern Chu——"
The camera cut to the Nanchu branch venue, and scanned the two hosts on the stage who were smiling and waving, and also scanned the cheering audience, who were waving the clapping props and glow sticks distributed in their hands.
In the crowd, Principal Bai and Ruan Zhanxue both followed suit and shook the props.
After the camera left her sight, Ruan Zhanxue bent down and stood up, saying apologetically, "I'm going to the bathroom."
Principal Bai didn't care. The show on the main stage was being broadcasted. He was busy holding up his phone to record the video. "It's just started. Come back soon."
Ruan Zhanxue crouched down in the aisle, quickly stepped back, left the stage, and walked quickly towards the exit.
A black and red figure appeared before him, and Tan Xiao stood in front of him, "Senior."
Ruan Zhanxue paused and glanced at him.
The young man was still wearing the wizard robe. He had left the backstage at some point, still holding a slingshot in his hand. He suddenly asked, "Uh, is it the senior?"
Ruan Zhanxue: “…” What, you’re not sure?
"Sorry, I'm a little face-blind." Seeing Ruan Zhanxue's speechless look, Tan Xiao knew that he had not recognized the wrong person. There were simply too many people wearing suits at the scene today, and men's suits were all in the same few styles and colors.
Tan Xiao smiled shyly and handed Ruan Zhanxue a Nuo mask phone case produced by their family, "How about I give this to you, so that I can recognize you when you use it."
"..." Ruan Zhanxue looked up at the sky speechlessly and said with a smile, "No, what do you mean?"
Tan Xiao said softly, "I'm just curious. I want to ask you, senior, why are you in such a hurry to leave? The show is about to start."
