Turning Around
Chen Ling was very helpless.
After returning from the Timeline Save File, it was already evening. The sky outside had completely darkened, and because there were no electric lights in the Theater House, it appeared exceptionally dim and silent... He originally thought he could finally take a break today.
But facts proved that he still underestimated the enthusiasm of the group of people around him.
"Lord Special Envoy." Huang Suyue lowered her voice and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "I heard that there's a power outage in this block. I was worried it would affect you, so I immediately sent someone to purchase a batch of Lanterns and bring them to you... With all these Lanterns hung up, the brightness will definitely not be inferior to the effect of electric lights."
"..."
Chen Ling looked at the two large trucks of Lanterns outside the door, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. "...Thank you."
"No need to thank me, this is what I should do." Huang Suyue smiled, her eyes curving. The glow of a room full of Lanterns reflected in her pupils, like a sky full of unhideable stars.
"Right, is there still no progress on the thing I asked you to find?"
"...Not a species from Earth??" Chen Ling was stunned.
These petals were what Lord of the Red Dust lay upon. If these flowers weren't a species from Earth, didn't that mean Lord of the Red Dust wasn't on Earth? Then where else could she be? Hid herself in space??
"If it doesn't work, perhaps I can personally go to the South Sea Domain and find those experts to confirm again." Huang Suyue said.
"Forget it, there's no need... I'll look for a breakthrough from somewhere else."
While the two were talking, the Lanterns inside and outside the Theater House were already completely hung. Dozens of Lanterns were evenly distributed in every area, making this the brightest building in the entire Realm.
Even some residents who were bored staying in the darkness at home couldn't help but walk over to join the fun when they saw this brightly lit Theater House, resulting in an unprecedented number of people queuing up at the entrance of the Theater House. The sea of people almost blocked the entire road.
"Mister! There are too many guests outside today. When are we starting the performance?" Kong Baosheng, sweating profusely, ran over and asked.
Since things had come to this, it was already impossible for Chen Ling to slack off anymore. He waved his hand helplessly:
"Prepare a bit, let's start on time."
"Alright!"
As Chen Ling turned and went backstage to prepare, the entrance of the Theater House also became busy.
Jian Changsheng and 10 of Diamonds stood at the door with drooping faces, starting to sell today's performance tickets according to the queue order. Their movements were mechanical and stiff, like two ticket-checking machines without emotion... Since there were more and more The Audience members in the Theater House, Kong Baosheng alone couldn't complete all the work, so these two members of the "professional team" were forced to work part-time to stand guard and check tickets for Chen Ling.
"This job is really boring enough." Jian Changsheng complained softly.
"Boring, but it's also a part of disguising and lurking." 10 of Diamonds replied expressionlessly. "Only by doing ordinary jobs well can one blend into the lives of Ordinary People... And it's not like you have to stand every day. Today it's Jack of Clubs and Nine of Hearts going to search for the Red Dust Base at night, tomorrow it will be our turn."
"That's true." Jian Changsheng looked up at the endless queue behind him and couldn't help but say, "But the number of people today is really exceptionally high... Is it because of the power outage?"
"It should be."
"Tsk, if only there was a power outage tomorrow... It just had to pick the day I'm checking tickets to have a power outage, what rotten luck."
"Speaking of which, the power outages in the Red Dust Main City have been a bit too frequent recently."
"Frequent power outages? So what?"
"You've only joined the Dusk Society not long ago, and haven't dealt much with other factions... It's normal that your perception isn't that sharp." 10 of Diamonds's eyes narrowed slightly. "Sometimes, you have to be able to see the essence through the phenomenon."
"...What do you mean?"
"You, have you heard of the Scarlet Heaven Cult?"
...
Outside the Theater House.
Liu Qingyan looked at this brightly lit Theater House. When that Red-Clad Figure flashed past in an instant, her mind stirred slightly.
A red silk thread emerged in her field of vision, as if crossing the void and connecting with that Red-Clad Figure, while the other end of the silk thread was connected to her heart.
It's him, it really is him...
Even Liu Qingyan didn't expect that Chen Ling, entering the Red Dust Domain three times, would actually play three different The Role, and the shift in style between the Special Envoy of the Golden Society last time and the Famous Actor of the Red Dust this time was a bit too drastic... But this also further proved Chen Ling's top-tier attainments in disguising and lurking.
As the ticket checking began, the surrounding crowd began to approach the Theater House. Liu Qingyan, mixed in the crowd, also unconsciously moved forward along the queue.
"There are only the last three tickets left. Those who didn't line up in the back don't need to be discouraged. We will distribute tomorrow's number plates here. If you are interested, you can use the number plates to enter early tomorrow~"
Jian Changsheng's shouting voice came from ahead.
One performance ticket after another was sold, and the people in front entered one after another. In a short while, more than half of the audience seats under the Stage were filled, leaving only a few empty seats. Seeing this, the figures queuing at the back suddenly started sighing constantly.
When Liu Qingyan walked to the very front of the queue, there was only one ticket left in Jian Changsheng's hand... This would be the last admission ticket for Chen Ling's performance tonight.
Seeing that the last "lucky audience member" was a beggar, Jian Changsheng was slightly stunned, but still said:
"Hello, do you want to buy a ticket? A hundred per ticket."
"..."
Liu Qingyan reached into her pocket. There were indeed a few silver notes inside. Although she lived frugally on weekdays, like a beggar, she was actually not short of money... She took a deep look at the brightly lit Theater House, was silent for a moment, and still shook her head.
"Forget it... No need."
After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the back of the queue again, her figure gradually fading into the darkness.
Jian Changsheng was also stunned. He didn't expect that someone who had lined up so painstakingly for so long, and was just about to get the last ticket, would actually turn and leave... Even if she didn't want to watch the performance, buying this last ticket and reselling it could definitely sell for two hundred, which should be a guaranteed profit without a loss.
However, thinking of the girl's attire just now, it might really be that she couldn't afford the ticket price and could only leave helplessly... Thinking of this, Jian Changsheng also couldn't help but feel sympathy.
"Then the next one."
The figure queuing behind Liu Qingyan had already mentally prepared himself for not being able to buy a ticket and was stomping his feet in annoyance. Seeing this scene, he was immediately overjoyed. Without hesitation, he took money out of his pocket to buy the ticket and hopped into the Theater House.
Liu Qingyan silently passed through the crowd, acting as if she hadn't heard everything behind her.