The Birthday Banquet Begins
Jinghong Theater.
Kong Baosheng crouched on the threshold of the Theater House's main door, an old-fashioned wooden box by his hand. At this moment, he was resting his chin on one hand, staring blankly at the pattering light rain on the street, lost in thought.
Today, Kong Baosheng had changed into a brand-new white shirt with an exquisite Black Waistcoat over it. Chen Ling had specially taken him to buy this yesterday. It was also Kong Baosheng's first time wearing such formal clothes, so he was careful with every movement. He even had a piece of newspaper padded under his butt right now to prevent the dust on the threshold from dirtying his pants.
"Kid, why are you dressed so formally like a human today?" One of the "Door Gods" at the entrance saw this and asked with a sneer.
"I might be a human model, but you two are true dog models." Over the past few days, Kong Baosheng had grown bolder towards these two annoying "Door Gods". He glared and retorted, then said proudly,
"Today, our Mister is going to attend the Beidou Consortium's birthday banquet. As his assistant, I'm going with him!"
"The Beidou Consortium's birthday banquet?"
The two froze for a moment, then laughed out loud, "Come on, a Thespian from a small broken building wants to go congratulate Chairman Mu on his birthday? Do you know what level of people get invitation cards to the birthday banquet? You're probably still not awake yet!"
A figure slowly walked out from behind the stage. The hem of the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe brushed lightly with his footsteps as he floated across the Theater House lobby, stopping behind Kong Baosheng.
Seeing this figure, the two "Door Gods" froze in place at the same time.
Today's Chen Ling had once again changed into that familiar Theatrical Robe. This was the first time everyone had seen the boss of this Theater House truly dressed in theatrical costume. Although Chen Ling usually looked handsome, changing into these clothes now, his whole temperament became increasingly transcendent and worldly. The two "Door Gods" had also seen quite a few exceptionally good-looking stars on normal days, but seeing Chen Ling in his Theatrical Robe at this moment, they couldn't help but be startled inside.
Kong Baosheng turned around and also froze for a moment, the light in his eyes faintly brightening:
"Mister, you look much better than those big stars! I've seen photos of those Famous Actors from before, and they're quite a bit lacking compared to you..."
Chen Ling already looked good to begin with. After embarking on the Path of the Actor, his appearance had become even more handsome and natural. Although it couldn't be felt on normal days, if compared with photos of him before embarking on the Divine Path, one could still see the difference. Coupled with the fact that he was currently using the fictional face of "Lin Yan," which Chen Ling had deliberately adjusted, his appearance was even more extraordinarily handsome.
Regarding this point, First Senior Brother had also mentioned it when they were in the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path. The core of the Path of the Actor was Performance. The emotional feedback received from The Audience would imperceptibly change a person's appearance, which was the so-called "popularity nourishes a person." In short, there was no one ugly among those who embarked on the Path of the Actor... Of course, except for Clown.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people in the Red Dust Domain dreaming of finding the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path, embarking on the Path of the Actor, and becoming a superstar sought after by everyone to reach the pinnacle of life... However, the vast majority of people holding this thought were destined to miss out on the Path of the Actor.
Chen Ling smiled slightly and patted Kong Baosheng's head, not continuing this topic:
"Are things all packed?"
"Yes."
"Let's go, the birthday banquet is about to start."
Under the astonished gazes of the two "Door Gods," Chen Ling stepped out of the Theater House. Kong Baosheng, carrying the wooden box, was just about to follow when he suddenly remembered something. He grabbed two Oiled Paper Umbrellas from the corner and hurriedly chased after him.
"Mister, the umbrellas!"
The misty drizzle, carried by the slanting wind, blew Chen Ling's Great Crimson Theatrical Robe upwards. Chen Ling turned back, took the Oiled Paper Umbrella, and casually opened it. A dark yellow umbrella canopy silently bloomed in the misty rain like a flower without petals.
On this street, the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe was still somewhat eye-catching. Some passersby turned their heads to look at Chen Ling. Seeing the face behind the rain curtain falling from the umbrella's edge, a flash of stunning amazement passed through their eyes, and they began whispering to each other.
Kong Baosheng held an umbrella for himself with one hand and carried the wooden box with the other, quickening his pace to follow behind that figure in red, gradually disappearing at the end of the street.
...
Beidou Consortium.
"I am Wang Jincheng, Chief of the General Police Bureau. This is my invitation card."
At the entrance of the manor, the chief, wearing a crisp black uniform with a medal pinned to his chest, handed over an invitation card and spoke expressionlessly.
Seeing this invitation card, a flash of astonishment passed through the eyes of the manor butler in charge of receiving guests. He seemingly didn't expect this person to actually do them the honor of coming. After all, Mu Chunsheng had tried to invite people from the Police Bureau to dinner many times before, but they were all ruthlessly refused. The other party didn't seem to intend to have too deep of an entanglement with them. Sending an invitation card to the Police Bureau this time was also just with a try-it-and-see attitude.
"So it is Chief Wang, I have admired you for a long time." The butler said respectfully, "The Chief's arrival brings light to our humble Beidou Consortium."
The chief waved his hand uncaringly and handed a reasonably well-packaged box to the butler,
"Since it is your Chairman Mu's birthday today, I brought a small ornament as a gift. Although it's not expensive, it's the thought that counts."
"The Chief is too polite." The butler took the gift box with both hands, his face full of smiles, "Please come in quickly. If you need anything, you can find a waiter or me at any time. There's still an hour before the birthday banquet officially begins. Have a good time."
The chief nodded slightly and walked straight into the manor. Although the birthday banquet hadn't started yet, quite a few guests had already arrived, and the manor was already bustling with noise and excitement.
Right at this moment, a slight sound came from the chief's chest. His expression changed slightly, and he found a place with basically no one around to quietly press the button on the Walkie-talkie.
"What is it?"
"Chief, the people responsible for watching the Cabaret sent a message. Two people from VIP Box 001 went to the birthday banquet with Li Ruohong."
"What??" The chief frowned tightly, "Are you saying Li Ruohong brought those two suspected Dusk Society members to attend the birthday banquet? What exactly is he trying to do?"
"We don't know. Our people have already started searching inside the Cabaret, there should be results very soon."
The chief pondered for a long time, then still said:
"Good, if there's any progress, synchronize it with me immediately."
"Yes."
The chief put away the Walkie-talkie and swept his gaze across the venue of the birthday banquet. After a moment, he slowly stood up, took a glass of champagne from a waiter, and inadvertently moved closer to the direction of the manor's main gate.
Li Ruohong bringing those two Dusk Society members to the birthday banquet was definitely premeditated. He wanted to first see what those two guys looked like... He had a premonition that there was probably a dark undercurrent surging behind this birthday banquet.
At the same time,
The butler was registering the guests and gifts one by one with pen and paper. As soon as he looked up, he saw a figure in red holding an Oiled Paper Umbrella slowly walking this way in the misty drizzle.