Hear this life

Wen Tingli quietly lifted a corner of the curtain and looked down.

Such a large open-air theater was packed with people.

Dong Qinfang told her that a large number of customers had been coming in since the evening. Now not only the garden on the seventh floor where the competition was held was crowded, but other floors were also filled with citizens who came to watch the fun.

All the sodas in the beverage department on the first floor have been sold out, and the sales departments on each floor are extremely busy.

The White Dragon Gang probably never dreamed that despite all the trouble they made in the newspapers, Xinxin not only did not fall into a low ebb, but on the contrary, because of their hard work in the early stages, it ushered in the most lively night since its opening.

Wen Tingli's attention was firmly fixed on the VIP seats in the front row.

She was looking forward to seeing Lu Shicheng in the audience.

She wanted to thank him in person.

After the Xinmin Evening News broke the news about Qiuhua Company and her last night, the situation suddenly took a turn.

A reporter found out that Qiuhua Company is from Southeast Asia. The "Beauty Sour Plum Candy" produced in cooperation with Wen Tingli this time is Qiuhua Company's first heavyweight product to enter the Shanghai market. They attach great importance to the promotion of this product, and they chose to cooperate with Miss Wen Tingli because she is currently in the limelight.

In order to present the best advertising effect, Qiuhua Company tailored a dress for Miss Wen in advance and specially invited an experienced Western photography team from America.
Unexpectedly, Wen Tingli's father passed away suddenly. Wen Tingli was too sad to continue participating in the competition. In addition to claiming the liquidated damages stipulated in the contract, Qiuhua Company also demanded that Wen Tingli pay ten times the loss on the grounds that "for every day the American photographer stays in Shanghai, our company needs to pay one more day's fee."

【It was only now that Miss Wen realized that there were so many sinister clauses hidden in the contract.】

[Alas, Miss Wen's feelings are pitiful, her ambitions are pitiful' - Wen's father has been receiving treatment at Cixin Hospital for months, and Miss Wen's original intention of participating in the Shanghai Flower Beauty Pageant was to raise medical expenses for her father. It is said that during Wen's father's illness, Miss Wen was extremely filial by his bedside, and this was confirmed by Dr. Thompson of Cixin Hospital and a group of patients... and so on.]

After these news broke out, those who were concerned about the matter turned from doubts to sympathy for Wen Tingli. In less than half a day, the door of Xinxin's management office was filled with flowers and gifts given to Wen Tingli by the audience. The audience was eager for Wen Tingli to win the championship in the competition to avoid malicious claims from Qiuhua Company.

So this unprecedentedly lively scene appeared tonight.

At the same time, Qiuhua Company refused to make any response to the matter. This "arrogant" attitude caused a lot of discussion from the outside world and further expanded the influence of the incident.

Gao Xiaowen rushed to the backstage to find Wen Tingli. As soon as she entered the room, she found Wen Tingli sitting in front of the makeup mirror in deep thought. She comforted her bluntly, "Don't worry. The Lu family is very experienced in dealing with this kind of situation. Don't look at the fierce fuss in the newspapers. The outside world has not yet figured out Qiuhua's true background. At most, the fuss will die down after a while."

Having said that, Wen Tingli still felt a little uneasy.

Unfortunately, when Qiuhua Company delivered the contract yesterday afternoon, it only sent a manager from the sales department, and Lu Shicheng himself did not show up.

Wen Tingli asked the manager, and the manager only said, "Mr. Lu has been very busy recently, so I asked Mr. Fangda to handle this matter today."

Wen Tingli once wanted to call Kuang Zhilin's apartment, but finally gave up because she felt it was a bit presumptuous. Therefore, she was unable to meet Lu Shicheng until the moment she went on stage.

Suddenly, the host said, "Let's welcome contestant number 17, Ms. Wen Tingli."

The whole audience erupted in thunderous applause, so loud that it almost drowned out the people on the stage.

Wen Tingli had to put aside her distracting thoughts and walk to the front of the stage.

"Ms. Wen, come on!" "Don't be afraid! We all support you!"

Wen Tingli was filled with mixed feelings and bowed deeply to the audience. The following performance did not disappoint the audience, and she contributed a more exciting program than the preliminary round.

It was still a comedy, this time she played the role of "A Cat Owner". In the story, a teacher had a cat. The old teacher had nothing to do, and his biggest hobby was to recite books and scold the cat. The cat was very dissatisfied after being scolded, so it made fun of its owner in various ways.

Due to the limitation of the venue, the big cat was just a white fur ball prop tied by a hidden string in the old man's hand from beginning to end. However, relying only on one person and one puppet, Wen Tingli not only brought an old man full of sourness and pedantry to life, but also brought to life a small-minded big cat.

The audience laughed so hard that they fell over. These scenes happen in every household and every day, but the closer they are to life, the more they can arouse everyone's emotional resonance. What's more, the "old gentleman" on the stage is actually a little girl, but her words and deeds are exactly the same as those of an old uncle in real life. Whenever the audience thought of this, they slapped their thighs in admiration.

Huang Yuanshan was filled with emotion in the audience: "What a madwoman! As long as she stands under the spotlight, she can even forget who she is. Who can not be moved by such selflessness and concentration? Wen Tingli was born to act. When I first saw her perform in a drama at Xiude Middle School, I knew she had this talent!"

At the curtain call, Wen Tingli burst into tears.

The audience watched and clapped even harder. Anyone would be hurt by what this girl had been through recently, but the performance just now was so wonderful that everyone at the scene forgot all their worries for a moment.

Even the passers-by who had just come to watch the excitement were convinced and applauded Wen Tingli.

Wen Tingli left the stage amid thunderous applause, and Dong Qinfang came forward to give her a big hug. Needless to say, many newspapers will spontaneously report on this performance tomorrow, and Xinxin's popularity will continue for quite some time.

In the award judging session, Wen Tingli lived up to expectations and won the title of "Flower of Shanghai". ***
That night, on the tree-lined avenue outside Lu Mansion.

A Rolls-Roy sedan came speeding over, and the iron gate of Lu Mansion slowly opened to both sides.

Suddenly, a girl flashed out from the shade of the tree and shouted into the car: "Mr. Lu!"

The person sitting in the car was not Lu Shicheng, but Fang Da.

Following the sound, he looked outside and recognized the girl as Wen Tingli. She was wearing a plain black satin loose cheongsam and a white crown on her head. Her face had become much thinner and her facial features had become more eye-catching, but she was too thin. When she suddenly walked out from the shadows of the trees, she looked like a vague shadow.

Looking closer, I noticed that Wen Tingli not only had sweat on her forehead, but also two small red spots on her face from mosquito bites.

It seemed that she had been waiting under the tree for a long time.

"Miss Wen."

Wen Tingli walked to the car window and found that Lu Shicheng was not in the car. She could not hide her disappointment.

"Hello, Mr. Fang."

Fangda quickly opened the car door and got out.

"Miss Wen, are you here to see Mr. Lu? How long have you been here?"

"I came after the game." Wen Tingli's voice was a little hoarse. "This time, thanks to Mr. Lu's help, my father's funeral will be held tomorrow morning. Before that, I want to thank Mr. Lu in person."

"Miss Wen, I'm sorry." Fang Da nodded sympathetically. "Unfortunately, Mr. Lu has something important to do tonight and will probably be back around two or three in the morning. If Miss Wen doesn't mind, you can go into the mansion and wait."

That was too late. For Lu Shicheng, who had been busy all day, it would only be a disturbance, not to mention that she had to go back to keep vigil.

"If you have anything to say, I can convey it to Master Cheng for you."

Wen Tingli solemnly handed the brocade box in her hand to Fang Da.

"Please help me pass this gift to Mr. Lu, Mr. Fang." She explained, "This is the prize for the champion of the 'Flower of Shanghai' tonight. There is only one of this kind. It is a Gu embroidery made by an old embroiderer from Qingpu in the late Qing Dynasty. The craftsmanship is quite good. I hope Mr. Lu doesn't think it is crude. Of course, Mr. Lu's great help this time cannot be repaid with such a small gift. I just--"

Fang Da quickly accepted the brocade box and said, "Miss Wen, you are worrying too much. Mr. Lu will never think it is crude."

Wen Tingli didn't know what to say for a moment. After hesitating for a long time, she couldn't help but ask again: "I wonder if Mr. Lu is free to see me tomorrow? At least let me thank him in person."

Fang Da smiled and said, "If it's about Qiuhua Company, Miss Wen doesn't have to worry too much. Mr. Lu Xiao has explained that another candy company under the Lu family is preparing to launch a pear juice syrup recently. In order to promote sales, they are planning to find someone to advertise it. If Miss Wen doesn't mind, you can consider advertising this pear juice for free for a year. Our company will be honored."

"Is this what Mr. Lu said?"

"That's exactly what Mr. Lu said."

Wen Tingli paused for a moment, then suddenly a brilliant smile blossomed on her face. She nodded as she smiled: "I do! I couldn't be more willing!"

She had never felt so relaxed, grateful and relieved.

The favor that Lu Shicheng helped her with was like a mountain that she couldn't move forward from.

Indeed, after dealing with him so many times, she already knew Lu Shicheng's character quite well. He would not take the opportunity to make any demands on her, and he would not even take the matter to heart. But he did lend a helping hand to her in times of crisis after all, which made her feel grateful but also heavy-hearted.

I don’t know when I will be able to repay such a great favor.

But she never expected that he would ask her for "remuneration" so soon, and in an open and aboveboard way that was equal to her personality.

She was relieved of the heavy burden on her mind almost instantly.

"I'm willing to advertise for your company for free for two or three years, not to mention one year." She was so happy that she was incoherent. "After I finish the funeral tomorrow, I can sign a contract with your company right away."

(End of this chapter)