After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 145 International Event: The Opening Ceremony Officially Begins!
The glass exteriors of skyscrapers reflect the city's dazzling lights, and unusually, thunder rumbles in Beijing today, suggesting it's going to rain.

Good, good. Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the Olympics. If it rains tonight, the air quality will definitely be very good tomorrow, and the sky will definitely be even bluer.

In the sweltering heat of northern China, there's no such thing as "cooling off." When temperatures reach 35 or 36 degrees Celsius in the height of summer, it's like being baked in an oven if it doesn't rain, and if it does rain, it's like being steamed, or even worse.

Huffing and puffing, Yao Shuli returned to the hotel holding a palm-leaf fan that was completely out of character for her. With each flick, her jet-black hair swayed, and her figure swayed gracefully, like a fairy walking with the wind, making people drool.

"What's Shen Ming'en up to? Giving someone a palm-leaf fan as a gift?"

Walking down the hotel corridor, Luo Luo helped Yao Shuli carry her bag and other cumbersome things, sweating profusely, and still couldn't help but complain about Shen Ming'en.

The things celebrities use are all related to "trends". In the hot summer, an essential item that everyone should have is an electric mini fan, right?
But he was quite something; when he heard that Yao Shuli was hot, he sent her a palm-leaf fan!
There are no cute little decorations on it; it's just an ordinary palm-leaf fan, the kind you can buy casually at a village market, the kind that every village auntie uses.

It's a palm-leaf fan, but it's not even straight. The shape is more like a spoon. When Luo Luo first saw it, she thought Shen Ming'en had given Yao Shuli a spoon to flip.

Mentioning this made Yao Shuli beam with joy, but well…

"This is quite useful," she said, waving the palm-leaf fan in her hand.

Because of its shape, this spoon-shaped palm-leaf fan can actually catch more air, and a single wave can bring out quite a lot of wind. It's also quite creative in appearance. Most importantly, it's of good quality, hand-woven, and very practical. In fact, it's more cost-effective and cooler than those mini handheld electric fans.

Just ...

Ok……

It does seem to be quite inconsistent with her image.

She even trended on social media yesterday because she was holding this palm-leaf fan...

Sometimes Yao Shuli couldn't understand what was wrong with netizens these days. Even if she was a female celebrity, she shouldn't be forbidden from using a palm leaf fan, right?

Amidst laughter and conversation, they returned to their hotel room. The team members put down their things, said goodbye to Yao Shuli, and left one after another. Only Luo Luo, whose nose was itchy, was in no hurry to leave. On one hand, she wanted to tell Yao Shuli about the work arrangements for the rest of the day, and on the other hand…

And while we're at it, let's also chat about her father, Shen!

"Sister A-Li..."

On the sofa, Luo Luo poured Yao Shuli a glass of warm water and said with a pout:
"You said you did so much for that guy, why hasn't he made a single move?"

"What did I do to help him?" Yao Shuli took the water glass, brought it to her pink lips, took a small sip, and then kept waving the palm-leaf fan that Shen Mingen had given her. Her bright eyes darted left and right, dodging the question, and she pretended to be stupid.

"...We don't need to do all this among ourselves, do we?" Lolo silently rubbed her forehead and said bluntly, "If it weren't for Uncle's connections, how would he be qualified to participate in the creation of the three Olympic theme songs?"

"Especially last night's solo performance at the Temple of Heaven, Teacher Chen Guangrong was willing to play a supporting role for him and hand him the microphone. What's their relationship? Why would someone help him like that?"

One thing Luo Luo knew was that this teacher, Chen Guangrong, actually had a very close relationship with Yao Shuli's father, and their friendship seemed to be quite deep.

They helped him secure the opportunity to compose three theme songs for the Olympics, and they covered for him so that those capitalists wouldn't find out until the very last moment...

Even the most idiotic person would probably know that Shen Ming'en has powerful connections!

Everyone knows what kind of background Hajime has, and the capital behind him doesn't support him. If he really had connections and influence, would those eager entertainment industry investors dare to target him like that?
The only possibility is that Yao Shuli helped him out.
The clever assistant, Yao Shuli, already knew this, so she didn't intend to hide it from Luo Luo. She simply said softly, "Whatever you think is fine, but don't go around spreading rumors, okay?"

"...How could I be so reckless?" Lolo's forehead was covered in black lines.

Then she noticed Yao Shuli staring at her with a look of distrust...

Luoluo: "..."

That's incredibly disrespectful!

Yao Shuli smiled faintly, her skin as white and tender as snow under the pure white light, as if bringing a touch of coolness to the hot summer.

"Don't make him sound so bad," Yao Shuli laughed, then shook her head, defending Shen Ming'en, saying, "For an event of this caliber as the Olympic theme song, let alone us, who would have fought for such an opportunity for him? If his own work wasn't up to par, the organizing committee wouldn't have used it..."

Ultimately, his ability to sing the Olympic theme song is all due to his own talent.

"Yes yes yes~"

Lolo felt like she'd been force-fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark:

"Well, you've done a lot for him. If it weren't for your solo performance at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, those people would probably have discovered him long ago. But you've done so much for him, and yet he's shown you so much gratitude?"

Seeing the palm-leaf fan that Yao Shuli was waving in her hand, Luo Luo added, "I only bought you a palm-leaf fan that costs a dozen yuan on Pinduoduo?"

"What's wrong?" Yao Shuli pouted slightly, shaking the palm-leaf fan in her hand, and said, "It's fine, it's cool and practical."

Lolo: "(￢_￢) Shoot"

"Is that what you mean!" She couldn't help but roll her eyes and said bluntly, "Sister Li, what's your relationship with her now, please tell me?"

"us……"

This question really stumped Yao Shuli for a moment.

Calling her and Shen Mingen friends is too simplistic; their relationship has long since crossed the line. They even kissed backstage at the "Peak Singer Challenge." It would be incredibly rude of either of them to say they're just friends.

They're not friends...they're lovers, couples?
It doesn't seem like that...

How can you say you're a couple if you've never confessed your feelings?

Strictly speaking, it seems that they are only at the "ambiguous" stage, wanting to move forward, but never crossing that threshold.

It seems as if there's a layer of paper separating us from the window, and we haven't been able to break through it yet.

We've been in a state of ambiguity for a long time since we met, and we're both willing to give or sacrifice some of our own things for each other. It seems like we should really take that step.

But this step just doesn't seem like something a girl should take...

Girls, after all, need a sense of ritual.

Thinking of this, Yao Shuli didn't know how to respond to Luo Luo for a moment. Meanwhile, the assistant, whose nose was itchy, took the opportunity to frantically cricket at her father, saying all sorts of things…

"Oh, Shen Ming'en is just stringing you along on purpose. I've seen plenty of men like that..." and other such nonsense.

Yao Shuli definitely believed Shen Mingen, but the fact that he hadn't given her the "sense of ceremony" she wanted was indeed like a boulder pressing on her chest, leaving her unsure how to refute it.

And it was at this moment...

"Dong Dong Dong~"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

The sound interrupted the assistant's cricket chirping, who was itching from the noise. Muttering, "Who could it be so late?", Luo Luo reluctantly went to open the door.

She has some sense of security, so she looked through the peephole to see who was outside. What she saw made her mouth twitch...

Click, the door opened, and Luo Luo scolded Shen Ming'en outside:

"What are you doing in Ah Li's room so late at night? Don't you know men and women shouldn't be so close? Don't you know this easily leads to rumors? What's your relationship with Ah Li that you're knocking on her door so late? Have you no shame? You *&%￥#@…"

"...Did you eat a bomb?"

Shen Ming'en was inexplicably scolded and felt completely innocent. Who could tolerate his cockroach-like, bullying nature?!

"What are you barking about in the middle of the night? Did I kill your whole family or something? Why do you act like you're seeing your mortal enemy when you see me?"

Shen Ming'en wondered if he had dug up the woman's ancestral graves, so what was the reason?

"Lolo!"

Having finally heard Shen Ming'en's voice, Yao Shuli quickly came over and tugged at Luo Luo's sleeve...

"Cut~"

Lolo pouted, turned around and went back to her room to pack the things she would need for tomorrow.

"I said..." Watching the latter's retreating figure, Shen Ming'en couldn't help but say to Yao Shuli, "Have you considered changing your assistant?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Shuli couldn't help but laugh and asked, "What? Are you going to introduce me to someone?"

"It's not impossible," Shen Ming'en said, shrugging.

"You should find yourself an assistant first," Yao Shuli said with a light laugh.

If we're talking about who in the entire Chinese entertainment industry is most in need of an assistant, it has to be Hajime!
So far, he's handled all the work himself; he's incredibly busy!

"Then do this~" Shen Ming'en pointed at Luo Luo and said, "Send her to me, and I'll train her for a few days. She's almost indistinguishable from the father to the son. This is unacceptable!"

"Who are you talking about?! You *&%￥#..." Luo Luo bared her teeth and claws, about to yell again.

“See, see, I told you so!” Shen Ming’en refused to back down.

The two of them fight every time they meet...

"Okay~"

Yao Shuli also tends to take sides, speaking to Luo Luo with a hint of reprimand, but towards Shen Mingen, she only shows helpless affection; she truly cannot bear to blame Shen Mingen.

Besides, Shen Ming'en didn't do anything wrong, right?

"What are you doing here so late at night?" Yao Shuli asked.

Shen Ming'en pursed his lips, picked up the tote bag in his hand, handed it to Yao Shuli, and said, "I brought you something."

It was a little past nine o'clock in the evening. Because it had been too hot in Beijing recently, Shen Ming'en was wearing a white T-shirt, black shorts, and slippers. His outfit was as casual and down-to-earth as it could be.

It's worth mentioning that there seemed to be some water droplets on the outside of the tote bag he handed over. It was thundering outside, and it seemed to be raining now. Judging from this, it seemed that Shen Ming'en had bought this from outside.

"what……"

With curiosity, Yao Shuli opened the bag and found two exquisite round transparent glass jars inside. They seemed to contain some warm drinks. One jar was reddish and contained some red dates, longan, goji berries, and other things. The other jar contained some pinkish-white milk-like drinks, which also had some red dates floating in them.

"It's just some...that..."

Shen Ming'en raised his hand to speak, but for some reason, he always found it difficult to say those words. He waved his hand from side to side and mumbled for a long time before finally saying, "Just drink it, it will warm you up."

"Pfft..."

Yao Shuli blushed, amused by Shen Mingen's reaction.

She probably already knows what's inside...

Hot drinks for Auntie!
Although she didn't really need it in the middle of summer, Shen Ming'en had to admit he was thoughtful, as she had indeed had some stomach pain during the day...

Whether a woman experiences abdominal pain or discomfort during her menstrual period depends entirely on the quality of her diet.

Girls who can eat and drink a lot and are chubby rarely complain of excruciating pain; only those who regularly control their diet would do so.

Yao Shuli already struggles to eat and drink properly, and that idiot nutritionist keeps talking about "nutritional meals" all day long, which are all nonsense about "scientific combinations." They feed her until she's so thin and weak; it's hard to guarantee she won't suffer during her period.

Shen Ming'en found it while browsing videos in his room, so he bought it specifically for Yao Shuli...

In addition to these, there was also a piece of cooked pig's head meat that he had bought from outside in the bag.

It's the part around the pig's snout; it won't be very fatty.

"Gulu~"

The glutton swallowed hard, glanced at Luo Luo who was tidying up the room, and after making sure she hadn't noticed, quickly closed the bag and took it back.

It's funny to think about it now. Who would give a girl a pig's head?
They haven't even sent over a big pig's trotter yet!

"Okay, it's getting late. You should finish your drink and get some rest. I'm going back now." After delivering the things, Shen Ming'en planned to head home.

But before leaving, as if remembering something, he casually said:
"Oh right, wait for me after the opening ceremony performance tomorrow, shall we go together?"

"Okay, sure." Yao Shuli smiled and nodded.

She stood at the doorway, wearing a warm-white gauze dress and carrying handbags in both hands. A strand of her hair fell across her face, and she truly looked like an ethereal fairy...

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving." Shen Ming'en waved and pushed open the door to leave.

Watching Shen Mingen's departing figure, Yao Shuli's gaze became somewhat wistful...

Looking down at the hot drinks for her aunt in her handbag, Yao Shuli's gaze fell on the piece of pig's head. For some reason, as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly went back to her room, calling out:

"Lolo, find someone to do something for me!"

Luo Luo had just finished packing her things and hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to Shen Ming'en when Yao Shuli suddenly came back and shouted this, leaving her a little dazed...

"Wh...what's wrong, Sister Li?" she asked blankly.

Yao Shuli's pretty face flushed slightly. She lowered her head and whispered something in Luo Luo's ear...

No one knew what Yao Shuli said, but after hearing it, Luo Luo's eyes widened instantly, and she exclaimed in disbelief and exasperation:

"You want to be with him...you?!?!?!?!"

"Sister Li, you're so confused!!!"

……

Time flew by and the next day arrived. As expected, it was a beautiful sunny day. Because of the rain yesterday, the air in Beijing was unusually fresh. The white clouds in the sky were clearly distinct from the azure sky. I quickly pulled back the curtains, and the beautiful scenery outside the window was simply breathtaking.

Because of the performance today, staff from the organizer came early this morning to help Shen Ming'en choose clothes and do her makeup.

Actually, these things are usually handled by the agent and assistant, that is, the company. But it's because Shen Ming'en has a very bad relationship with the company, and the company doesn't care about him at all, so we had to trouble everyone on the organizer's side...

As the saying goes, "clothes make the man," and Shen Ming'en is naturally a handsome man with a cool and aloof look. His tall stature of over 1.8 meters makes him a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. When he puts on a stylish Chinese-style performance outfit, his aura immediately shines through.

But to say that Shen Ming'en stands out from the crowd is really not that simple...

When you go downstairs to the stadium, you'll find that every celebrity coming out of the hotel that the organizers booked specifically for the performing stars is dressed to the nines.

Today is the opening ceremony, which isn't really a showcase for celebrities anymore. However, because they're here to perform, they all managed to get tickets to the opening ceremony through various connections...

Participating in international events and taking various photos to share on their social media can help maintain their public image and increase their fan base—it's a win-win situation.

To put it bluntly, they would be willing to come and watch the opening ceremony even if they were paid to do so.

As luck would have it, Shen Ming'en happened to see Zhou Chujian as he came downstairs...

The latter seemed to have seen him too, but the one with the itchy nose acted like a mouse seeing a cat when he saw Shen Ming'en, pretending not to see him and turning away.

It wasn't that he didn't want to say hello, it's just that he knew all too well that if he greeted Shen Ming'en at this moment... he would easily get slapped in the face by Shen Ming'en!

The scene of the performance of "Thousands of Mountains and Rivers" at the Temple of Heaven the day before yesterday is still vivid in my mind!
He rushed off before the performance was over that day, just so he wouldn't run into Shen Ming'en.
What a twist of fate! We've run into each other again...

Shen Ming'en is a thief too. He chased after Zhou Chujian as he ran, shouting as he did so.

"Hey, Teacher Zhou!"

At that moment, many colleagues around were just going downstairs to go to the opening ceremony. Shen Ming'en's shout was so deliberate that it immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Zhou Chujian wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Go ahead and yell for your mom!

"Ha...Ming...Teacher Ming'en."

Zhou Chujian stopped, turned around, forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and greeted Shen Ming'en.

"Where are we going, Teacher Zhou?" Shen Ming'en asked with a laugh. "You're not going to perform at the Olympic opening ceremony like me, are you?"

Shen Ming'en's words had a double meaning: firstly, it was a sarcastic remark about Zhou Chujian, and secondly, it was an announcement to everyone that he was going to perform at the Olympic opening ceremony.

That's just how "high-profile" he is; whether others believe it or not is another matter.

Zhou Chujian's lips twitched upon hearing this. He actually wanted to say that Shen Ming'en was "bragging," but...

But now, probably no one, including him, has any right to laugh at Shen Ming'en!

He had mocked Shen Ming'en many times before, only to be proven wrong!
Does he still have that qualification now?
In the end, all he could do was stand there, trembling with anger, gritting his teeth...

"Shen Ming'en, aren't you exaggerating a bit too much?"

It's worth mentioning that while Zhou Chujian remained silent, his assistant, who had an itchy nose, was quite talkative, saying things like:

"Do you know how significant the Olympic opening ceremony performance is? Do you really think that just because you sang a solo at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, you're qualified to sing the opening ceremony's theme song?"

"You should take a good look at yourself and see what you're really made of!"

"I'm definitely heavier than you guys, aren't I?" Shen Ming'en said without any restraint. "With your teacher Zhou's level of skill, you might get him cut from the 'Beijing Welcomes You' segment!"

"you!"

One sentence was enough to make Liu Wei so angry he almost cursed.

Because of Shen Mingen, Zhou Chujian's expression was off in the "Beijing Welcomes You" MV performance, and his lip movements were completely out of sync with the official live performance in the Forbidden City. They received news last night that the Organizing Committee is reportedly discussing cutting Zhou Chujian's scenes...

God knows how long Zhou Chujian prepared for this opportunity. It was bad enough that the chorus was given to Shen Mingen, but to have a small clip cut out of him as well, he would really be devastated!

All of this is thanks to Shen Ming'en. How could they not be furious?!

"Hahaha……"

After Shen Ming'en finished kicking them while they were down, he laughed and left nonchalantly, leaving the two of them standing there, furious but too afraid to shout out loud because of the many people around them.

I feel so awful!

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

It's worth mentioning that many of their peers nearby were also secretly astonished by this sight, and then began discussing it among themselves:

"Zhou Chujian is really pitiful..."

"Wow, who would have thought that Shen Ming'en would sing two Olympic theme songs?"

"Hey, he just said he's going to perform at the opening ceremony later, is he going to sing the third song too?"

"...How could that be? He was just saying it to show off. That was a live performance broadcast worldwide. He couldn't handle the situation."

"But he looked very serious about getting dressed up..."

"Nonsense, who the hell would watch an opening ceremony where people aren't dressed up properly?!"

……

Shen Mingen's words sparked a lot of discussion. Although Shen Mingen has been "high-profile" enough, and although he has publicly stated more than once that he participated in the creation and performance of three Olympic theme songs...

although!

He even sang the promotional theme song for the Imperial Ancestral Temple area solo!
But people still didn't believe him...

Not only these colleagues, nor just Zhou Chujian, Feng Yucan and others, but even the itchy-nosed rabble in the teahouse next door didn't believe it.

But sometimes, reality is just that dramatic, that ironic...

When Shen Ming'en stood at the opening ceremony of the Bird's Nest and sang "Me and You," all the ridicule vanished.

And tonight...

Shen Ming'en still has a lot to do.

……

(End of this chapter)