Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 158 Spring Festival Gala
The final rehearsal went perfectly.

As Li Boda tidied up the props, he smiled and extended an invitation to Dong Qing beside him.

"Dong Qing, the final rehearsal went perfectly. Now we just have to wait two days to perform on the Spring Festival Gala. How about we grab a drink tonight and relax?"

"Your rehearsal is finished, but my work isn't over yet. I have a lot of work to do in the next couple of days," Dong Qing said with a hint of helplessness.

"Sorry, I've been rehearsing with you the whole time, but I only thought of you as a collaborator. I forgot you're also a host for the Spring Festival Gala. Well, after the Gala, I'll treat you to a drink," Li Boda said with a smile.

“We don’t have to wait until the Spring Festival Gala ends, we can do it today, but it will take me a long time to get off work.” Dong Qing smiled at Li Boda, her eyes somewhat alluring.

Through several rehearsals with Li Boda, Dong Qing and Li Boda became much more familiar with each other.

However, it was precisely on this basis of familiarity that Dong Qing looked at Li Boda's handsome and charming face, and coupled with the various magical tricks he displayed, Li Boda's charm increased greatly in Dong Qing's eyes.

Although Dong Qing didn't intend to establish any relationship with Li Boda, she still felt physical urges.

In the entertainment industry, many people don't actually care that much about physical urges.

So, after Li Boda waited until Dong Qing got off work, the two went to a hotel, booked a room, and then—

...Super SVIP content...

After writing tens of thousands of words, Dong Qing returned to work full of energy and high spirits.

Two days later, it finally arrived at the evening of Lunar New Year's Eve.

Li Boda visited the CCTV headquarters building once again.

Li Boda was once again assigned to a separate dressing room.

Li Boda didn't have to wait long before the makeup artist appeared and began to do his makeup. Of course, with Li Boda's natural features, makeup was a very simple task for him.

Even Tony, the hairstylist, couldn't help but marvel at Li Boda's good skin, delicate features, and exceptionally smooth hair.

Just as Tony was doing Li Boda's makeup, Dong Qing walked in with a smile.

"He's getting his makeup done!" After Dong Qing came in, she greeted Tony with a smile and then went to Li Boda's side to watch Tony do his makeup.

"You're getting your makeup done, Dong Qing. Your makeup is amazing, and this dress looks so elegant." Li Boda praised Dong Qing immediately after seeing her look in the makeup mirror.

Dong Qing smiled and sat down next to him.

I chatted casually with Li Boda.

While chatting with Dong Qing, Li Boda let Tony do his makeup.

Because Li Boda himself was in such good shape, Tony was able to do his makeup quite quickly.

Even so, it was still half an hour later when Tony finished doing Li Boda's makeup.

Looking in the mirror at himself, dressed in a slightly mysterious tuxedo, with an exquisite yet enigmatic hairstyle and makeup, Li Boda's magic show was already three points more impressive just from that image alone.

Dong Qing's eyes lit up when she saw Li Boda like this.

It's only because there's a hairstylist in the dressing room right now, and there are security cameras monitoring the room, that things could have happened between them, given their relationship and their current appearance.

After their makeup was done, Li Boda and Dong Qing said goodbye to the hairstylist, Tony, and left the dressing room.

After all, the Spring Festival Gala is such a big stage that so many people come that dressing rooms and such are particularly scarce, and Li Boda can't just hog them forever.

No sooner had Li Boda left the dressing room than someone else entered.

However, after finishing her makeup and leaving the dressing room, Dong Qing and Li Boda parted ways.

After all, compared to Li Boda's magic performance, Dong Qing, as a Spring Festival Gala host, had much more screen time and work.

She doesn't have that much time to spend here with Li Boda.

Li Boda, on the other hand, was arranged to rest in a lounge.

The main reason is that Li Boda's show is a magic performance, and magic performances require a lot of props. These props are very small and exquisite, and if you are not careful, they may be broken or lost.

Therefore, the Spring Festival Gala organizers need to be quite careful when making arrangements for Li Boda to prevent any unexpected incidents.

Li Boda was happy to accept this, since it would be easier; who would want to be crammed together with a group of people?

Time passed by little by little, and in the blink of an eye, several hours had passed, and it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

The Spring Festival Gala has officially begun.

After a few minutes of opening song and dance, the hosts, including Dong Qing, took the stage.

Li Boda sat in the lounge, watching the television playing footage of the Spring Festival Gala.

Although he was watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV, he was actually in the backstage dressing room, so it was like watching the Gala live.

One program after another took turns on stage. Singers and sketch comedians were fine, but the backup dancers, or even those who were just there for a brief appearance, came and went in a hurry.

The backstage corridor was packed with people. When it was time to go on stage, they rushed up in a huge swarm, and in the blink of an eye, they rushed off the stage again, and that was it!

Although some of them only rushed onto the stage, jumped once, and then hurriedly rushed off the stage, the whole process only lasting a second or two, these people still had an uncontrollable excitement and agitation on their faces.

Upon seeing this, Li Boda could only feel a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep emotion/reflection).

After more than twenty performances, it was finally Li Boda's turn to take the stage.

He wore all sorts of props on his body, hiding them completely inside his clothes and belt. Then, guided by the staff, Li Boda appeared in the audience below the stage.

Once everything was ready, the previous program ended, and the camera was already pointed at Li Boda the next second.

"So-called close-up magic..."

Li Boda sat in the audience and showed off a little magic trick with a rubber band.

This magic trick seems incredible to those who don't know it, but to those who do, it's really just that simple.

However, these days there aren't many magic trick reveal performances, so most people are amazed when they see Li Boda's magic trick.

Li Boda then performed a magic trick involving passing a coin through a glass.

The magic tricks performed one after another amazed the audience.

Dong Qing also widened her eyes and stood aside to cooperate, shouting and yelling along with the audience.

Although Dong Qing's role as Li Boda's partner was that of a shill, she was actually completely confused by Li Boda's performance from beginning to end. This was because, in order to make the performance more realistic and mysterious, Li Boda did not use any magic tricks or props.

They simply used magic to perform these spells.

Li Boda didn't use any of the props that were supposed to be used.

So Dong Qing, who was originally acting as Li Boda's accomplice, was truly dumbfounded this time.

When the magic show ended and Li Boda stepped off the stage, Dong Qing was still staring at him with a bewildered expression, completely clueless about what had happened.

It was already past ten o'clock when Li Boda's magic show ended.

This time, Li Boda did not stay at the scene to watch the Spring Festival Gala, but chose to leave the CCTV headquarters building directly.

Of course, if there weren't any special circumstances, it would have been the right choice for Li Boda to stay here and continue watching the Spring Festival Gala.

After all, Li Boda's family doesn't live in Beijing, and he doesn't need to spend the Spring Festival with his family. Rather than staying alone in a hotel, he might as well stay at the Spring Festival Gala and join in the fun.

However, there were special circumstances surrounding Li Boda's case.

After leaving the CCTV headquarters building, Li Boda went directly to a hotel, arrived at a room door, and gently knocked on the door.

Then, the door opened, and Gao Yuanyuan's beautiful face came into Li Boda's view.

"Boda, you're finally here." Gao Yuanyuan's eyes lit up when she saw Li Boda. She threw herself into his arms and kissed him without giving him a chance to speak.

...Super, super, super SVIP...

The next day, Li Boda slept until noon before finally waking up comfortably. Gao Yuanyuan, still half-asleep, nestled excitedly against Li Boda's chest.

Gao Yuanyuan had already made an appointment with Li Boda to spend the New Year with him in Beijing.

So Gao Yuanyuan booked a room well in advance and waited for Li Boda.

Li Boda stayed with Gao Yuanyuan in the capital for two days, and then slunk away.

Because Gao Yuanyuan actually wanted to take Li Boda home so that he could meet her parents.

This startled Li Boda.

If he meets his parents this time, Gao Yuanyuan will probably pressure him to marry her next time.

Li Boda, who was extremely averse to marriage and unwilling to give up the forest for one tree, naturally dared not stay in the capital and fled back to Shanghai early on.

After returning to Shanghai, Li Boda once again embarked on his commercial performance tour.

As a result, Li Boda's price for this commercial performance has been raised once again.

The price for this commercial performance is even higher than at this time last year, with 600,000 to 700,000 being quite common, and some even offering a million to invite Li Boda to perform a magic show.

That's right, this time, Li Boda's commercial performance wasn't singing, but magic.

Li Boda naturally wouldn't refuse, as magic was a piece of cake for him.

Wearing a tuxedo, Li Boda began performing magic tricks one after another.

(End of this chapter)