?Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Premiere Interlude   Chapter 180: Chapter 180: Premiere Interlude                                   Fu Han’s gaze inadvertently met his, and both were startled for a moment before quickly diverting their eyes. It was like a dragonfly skimming over wild grass alighting onto the surface of a pond, touching the water for less than a second before flying away, without even causing a ripple.


    The premiere was about to start, and even backstage the cheers of the audience could be heard.


    Bai Wei’s parents had been led to their seats in the audience by Zhao Ting, leaving only Bai Wei and Fu Han in the makeup room. The rest had gone out to attend to their duties, entrusting Fu Han with the task of escorting Bai Wei backstage.


    “Okay, the mic is all set up, we can go,” Fu Han said, patting Bai Wei’s shoulder with a faint smile on her face. After all, this was the first work she had done as a photographer, and she was very much looking forward to it.


    The two had already left the waiting room, but after a few steps, Bai Wei suddenly stopped, “Where is Luo Qinghe? Where is he?”


    Fu Han pointed to the makeup room at the end of the corridor, “That’s his makeup room, he should have already gone to the front, let’s hurry.”


    Bai Wei nodded but then suddenly gripped Fu Han’s wrist anxiously, “Fu Han, I have a bad feeling. I’ll go to the front myself. Please could you check Luo Qinghe’s waiting room to see if he’s there?”


    Through the walkie-talkie someone was already urging Bai Wei to hurry up onstage. Time was tight, and they couldn’t dy any longer. Fu Han quickly replied, “Okay, you go ahead to the front, I’ll go check for you.”


    Except for Bai Wei, the corridor was empty. The piercing sound of her high heels on the floor echoed, thump, thump, thump, involuntarily evoking a sense of oppression in those who heard it.


    Fu Han didn’t know why her heart was suddenly in turmoil. She took a deep breath before slowly heading towards the end of the corridor, where the only sound now was that of her boots.


    …


    The premiere of “Longing for Return” was packed without an empty seat. A giant poster of the characters was projected onto the movie screen, with Bai Wei and Luo Qinghe at the center, followed by Xia Ning and other actors behind them.


    On stage stood the director, producer, and a host of supporting actors. The host was good at controlling the room, steady in speech and witty, eliciting bursts of warm apuse from the audience from time to time.


    Bai Wei quickly scanned around backstage, filled with nervous tension. Luo Qinghe was nowhere to be found, nor was he on stage. Where on earth could he be?


    The host had finished a speech drawing from authoritative references when his enthusiastic voice rose once more, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s wee with warm apuse the leading actress of ‘Longing for Return,’ Bai Wei, and the leading actor, Luo Qinghe, to share with us the ups and downs of this film.”


    The microphone was already handed to Bai Wei, and the spotlight had already hit the top of her head. She had to go up now.


    Climbing the stairs lined with a red carpet, her high heels made no sound, much like the stormy waves in her heart, which, despite her calm exterior, seemed like nothing was wrong at all.


    There she stood in the center of the stage, with He Xing on her left and Xia Ning on her right, holding her head high, neck proudly arched, like a majestic swan.


    The host waited but Luo Qinghe didn’t appear on stage. Her smile deepened, “Dear guests and friends, it seems your apuse wasn’t enthusiastic enough. Let’s give a louder round of apuse to wee our leading man, Luo Qinghe!”


    Thunderous apuse erupted once again, and the audience thought Luo Qinghe was merely ying a joke on everyone.


    Only Bai Wei’s heart sank. Before the host could speak again, she took the initiative to recite her prepared speech, “Good evening, friends. Thank you for joining us at the premiere of my new movie ‘Longing for Return.’ In this film, I y a …..”


    However, she was interrupted before she could finish, not by someone, but by the sounds of surprise from the audience below, and the noisy chatter and discussion.


    Bai Wei turned following everyone’s gaze. Behind them, on therge electronic screen which originally disyed their movie poster, a not-so-child-friendly video was ying. More than that, the sounds emanating from it were very… very intimate; it was unmistakably a mature [adult] event.


    The first to react was He Xing, who reprimanded towards the side of the stage at Liang Tao, “Turn it off now!”


    Liang Tao finally realized what was happening and frantically pulled the plug. The screen went dark in an instant, and nothing could be seen.


    From the appearance of the inappropriate scenes on the screen to the moment Liang Tao unplugged the power, only a few seconds had passed. Furthermore, because of the angle of the camera, only the bodies of a man and a woman could be seen grappling with each other; neither of their faces were clear. The woman’s face was a blur, while the man’s was just the back of his head.


    Even though the host was experienced, he had never dealt with such a major scandal in all his years, so he just stood gaping stupidly at the now-dark screen,pletely unresponsive to his role as the host.


    He Xing, ever adaptable, calmly took the microphone from the host’s hand and spoke with a cid expression to the audience below, still stunned by the event, “Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the incident that just urred. The problem is being solved as we speak. Let’s continue with the discussions about the film’s production.”


    The host finally came to his senses, looking gratefully at He Xing and swiftly taking back the mic.


    The actors and director on stage were all unaware of exactly what had happened, but the movie was the fruit of everyone’sbor, and they all hoped for its sess. Thus, despite feeling unsettled, they gathered their wits and followed the process rehearsed earlier.


    For Bai Wei, even though she responded to every question from the host, it was obvious that her mind was elsewhere. No amount of makeup could hide her paleplexion, but luckily her lipstick wasn’t a bold red that would have made her face look too ghastly pale.


    In contrast to her state was Xia Ning, who stood the entire time next to He Xing. Whatever the question, she managed to bring He Xing into her answers, turning a simple question into a long description, and she even managed to share a lot about her rtionship with He Xing without any prompts.


    If it hadn’t been for He Xing’s repeated interjections, the premiere would have almost be Xia Ning’s solo performance.


    Although she yed the second lead actress in the movie, sharing romantic scenes with the leading man and third male lead, she did not mention those two at all, making it seem as if He Xing was the only one she acted alongside in the film.


    Luckily, although He Xing was not part of the entertainment circle, he was always the dream man of young women in A City, so the audience below did not really mind Xia Ning’s words.


    Finally, the time for the creative team to share ended, and the film premiere officially began. The electronic screen was back to normal, with the film now ying on it.