ATIMFL – Chapter 54

Li Chu naturally couldn’t accept Ning Manqing’s money.

200 at most.

【Xiao Chu】: Teacher Ning, this is too much! This isn’t how I’m supposed to get rich!

【Ning Manqing】: This is a gift for my little money-grubber.

【Xiao Chu】: Then I’ll accept it, but you have to accept mine too.

【Ning Manqing】: You’re not going to send it back, are you?

Ning Manqing thought, 52,000 back… that number seemed pretty good too.

【Xiao Chu】: Of course not, but you have to promise me first.

【Ning Manqing】: Okay, I promise.

Li Chu accepted the transfer, accepting Ning Manqing’s goodwill. She immediately sent back 88,000.

【Xiao Chu】: For good luck, may Teacher Ning prosper in the new year!

A woman with 6.6 million in her pocket was never stingy with this 36,000.

Ning Manqing was amused by Li Chu, but there was nothing she could do. She had already promised, so she could only accept the 88,000.

Li Chu felt refreshed. This feeling of giving money to the female lead, so satisfying!

Of course, she still had to earn more money so she could give more to Ning Manqing in the future. Happiness was that simple.

Tang Congnan brought Li Chu more scripts, but after looking through them, none particularly interested her. Most were sweet idol dramas, and she didn’t want to act in romance.

The rest were either uninteresting, unsuitable for her, ridiculously bad, or so melodramatic they made her liver ache. In the year 2030 of another world, there were still plots about body doubles and blood transfusions. It made Li Chu’s temples throb.

While choosing scripts, Li Chu wasn’t idle. She joined a variety show as a guest for the last two episodes. The filming location was in the north, and one of the activities was skiing. As soon as Li Chu heard that, she signed the contract.

Li Chu knew how to ski. Before becoming a makeup artist, she had skied for half a year.

This kind of program where she could play on the company’s dime, Li Chu joined immediately.

When she arrived at the filming location, the regular guests were already sitting in a circle, waving at her.

Li Chu greeted each of them and introduced herself.

“We have another guest, someone you know, Li Zi. Guess who?” The MC, a veteran of the show, was a gentle beta actress with a warm smile. Everyone called her Sister Ru.

“Someone I know? Hmm… what’s their gender?” Li Chu, suddenly put on the spot, started brainstorming, going through all the artists she knew in her mind.

“I can’t tell you the gender yet, but it’s someone you’re very familiar with.” Sister Ru was being cryptic. The other guests, who probably knew who was coming, looked at Li Chu knowingly.

Li Chu was bewildered. Someone very familiar… could it be Ning Manqing?

Impossible. She had chatted with Ning Manqing that morning while on her way to the airport. Ning Manqing was still overseas. Could she have secretly flown over to surprise her on the show?

“Brother… Brother Zhao, Teacher Zhao Zhichun?” Li Chu didn’t guess Ning Manqing. She had seen the last trending topic and the comments saying she was trying to create a CP with Ning Manqing. So even if it was Ning Manqing, she absolutely couldn’t guess that.

“Nope, guess again?” Sister Ru winked at Li Chu, and the others laughed.

Li Chu felt increasingly unsure. Could it really be Ning Manqing? Should she say the name or not?

If she didn’t say it, wouldn’t it contradict her previous words? Her relationship with Ning Manqing was publicly known to be good. Wouldn’t it seem unnatural if she deliberately avoided mentioning her?

Li Chu made up her mind and said, “Teacher Ning?”

“Is it or isn’t it?” Sister Ru asked with a smile. Then she said, “Well, let’s all wait for her to come in.”

Li Chu thought, as expected of a variety show pro. Even without watching the show, she knew how this scene would be edited, and it could even generate some buzz.

A woman in black walked in. The room was warm, and she wore a black sweater. Her short hair framed a face with a cool, world-weary look, her eyes like a clear river with crushed ice floating on it.

She wasn’t conventionally beautiful, but the more you looked, the more captivating she became.

Li Chu lost all control of her expressions. The cameraman had already captured her stunned, then ecstatic, then slightly nervous look, recording it all.

“Hahahaha, Li Zi is nervous. Is she really your favorite singer? Are you surprised?” Sister Ru laughed heartily, seeing Li Chu’s flustered look.

“V-very surprised.” Li Chu stammered. Ming Zhi wasn’t her idol, but she was a fan. Seeing Ming Zhi in person made her happy and nervous.

“Hello everyone, I’m Ming Zhi.” Ming Zhi’s singing voice was ethereal, and her speaking voice was clear and pure.

Li Chu thought, this was a born songstress.

“Welcome, Ming Zhi, have a seat.”

Ming Zhi sat next to Li Chu and smiled at her as she settled down.

Li Chu returned a big smile. She really wanted to ask Ming Zhi if her throat was okay, but the current setting wasn’t appropriate, and she wasn’t very close to Ming Zhi. Asking would be presumptuous.

The variety show proceeded as planned. There were games and then skiing.

Some guests, like Ming Zhi, didn’t know how to ski at all. When asked, Li Chu said she knew a little.

Before the skiing competition, everyone had to practice. Li Chu volunteered to be Ming Zhi’s coach.

“Sister Zhizhi, trust me!”

“Okay.” Ming Zhi nodded in agreement.

Skiing wasn’t easy to learn, and Ming Zhi wasn’t particularly talented. Despite Li Chu’s patient explanations, she still couldn’t quite grasp it.

Her expression became agitated. She took off her goggles and didn’t speak, but her face looked impatient. Her breathing grew heavier.

Li Chu’s explanation trailed off. She asked with concern, “Sister Zhizhi, are you alright?”

Li Chu didn’t think Ming Zhi was impatient with her. Her expression was more like she was enduring some kind of pain, becoming increasingly irritable.

Ming Zhi nodded and took a deep breath, as if trying to calm herself.

“Let’s take a break.”

The camera was still rolling. Li Chu helped Ming Zhi take off her equipment and, seeing Ming Zhi’s slightly red face from the cold, took off her own gloves and fished out something from her clothes.

“Sister Zhizhi, don’t mind that this is from my clothes.” Li Chu held a hand warmer, placing the non-sticky side against Ming Zhi’s face, rolling it to warm her up.

“Thank you.” Ming Zhi seemed to have relaxed a bit and thanked Li Chu.

She raised her hand and pinched her microphone, giving Li Chu a small smile. Li Chu also pinched her own microphone, preventing the show from recording their conversation.

“Actually, my behavior just now would have put off a lot of people. I didn’t expect you to not get upset. It seems I really am your favorite singer.” Ming Zhi laughed. Although she looked world-weary, her smile was exceptionally gentle, with a hint of melancholy.

Li Chu thought of her songs. They were healing, but beneath the surface, there was a lingering, gentle sadness.

“I could tell you were uncomfortable. May I ask, is it a physical issue?”

“It’s a gland problem. I had surgery, and it’s a bit unstable, which makes my mood unstable too.”

Li Chu subconsciously asked, “Is that why you didn’t attend the New Year’s Eve event?”

“No, that’s a secret.” Ming Zhi put a finger to her lips. The emotions in her eyes were complex, too complex for Li Chu to decipher.

“Then you rest here for a while. I’ll ski down that slope for you.” Li Chu pointed to the slope where they were practicing, naturally changing the subject.

“Okay.” Ming Zhi found this thoughtful younger sister very endearing.

Li Chu showed off her skills when she reached a spot where Ming Zhi could see her. Li Chu couldn’t see Ming Zhi’s expression, but she hoped she was happy.

Li Chu knew a little about Ming Zhi’s gland surgery. She had seen comments while listening to Ming Zhi’s songs. One song felt like a rebirth, and a comment said that Ming Zhi had also experienced a rebirth. Li Chu, curious, had looked into it.

Although Ming Zhi had only risen to fame in recent years, she had actually been in the music industry for a while. She just hadn’t used this name before. Despite her heavenly voice, she had always worked behind the scenes, writing lyrics and composing music for her lover.

They went from having nothing to the singer gaining fame in the industry. Upon winning an award, the singer proposed to Ming Zhi live on major media outlets.

But this beautiful and passionate love story didn’t have a happy ending. It ended messily in divorce.

Ming Zhi underwent pheromone mark removal surgery and then reappeared in the music scene with the name ‘Ming Zhi,’ bringing her own works. Only then did everyone realize how beautiful her singing voice was.

What exactly happened, Li Chu wasn’t entirely clear. The media at the time had speculated wildly, with many hinting at infidelity, but both the singer and Ming Zhi clarified that there was no cheating, refusing to elaborate further.

Li Chu skied back. By then, Ming Zhi had put her equipment back on.

“You ski beautifully. That scene gave me some inspiration for a song. If I can write it, would you be the female lead in my MV?”

“Yes! For free!”

This episode of the variety show aired on Little New Year’s Eve, a week before the Lunar New Year.

When the show aired, Li Chu went viral again. Her line “For free!” became a meme across various circles. The clip of her skiing was also cut and circulated, gaining her a wave of fans, and even a small group of CP fans for her and Ming Zhi emerged.

@LiLi’sGirlfriend: Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh baby, you’re amazing! Not only can you act, but you can also ski! Super cool, super cute!

@ChenChen: World-weary songstress x sunshine sweetheart, their interactions are so harmonious, the CP is fragrant!

@DontStealMyBlueThanks: Hahahahaha, to make Li Li, whose ideal is to be rich, say she’ll do it for free, if that’s not love!

Qing Li CP fans also celebrated, especially the part where Li Chu guessed the guest.

@IHaveAQingLiTree: It’s obvious our girl hesitated before answering, and then she said ZZC’s name. Later, when guessing Sister, she hesitated again. I’m guessing why she hesitated: because our girl knew Sister wouldn’t come, so she didn’t guess her first. But then she became unsure. What does this mean? Tell me!

@LiLiYuanShangQing: What we’re shipping is real!

@WhoSingsForMengMengQingLi: What we’re shipping is real!

Across the ocean, Ning Manqing typed a comment with a straight face.

@TaoTao’sOfficialGirlfriend: What we’re shipping is real!

What’s Tao Tao appearing for free? Tao Tao even gives her money! That’s love, understand?

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Sorry for the delay; I’ve been travelling due to work, and of all the times, my laptop decided to take a paid leave now. I’ll try my best to get the chapters out daily.

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