There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

"Alright, let's not talk about that now. Can you answer my question seriously?" The old man waved his hand and said:

"I'd like to know why you like opera."

"Why........"

The young man pondered for a moment and said, "You'll understand why after you've seen this opera."

The old man hadn't expected the young man's answer. He glanced at the young man, realizing he couldn't get anything more out of him, and decided to change the subject.

"So, what kind of person do you think Ms. Shanara is?"

Hearing the old man's words, the young man glanced at him with some surprise, wondering to himself, "Does this old man know I'm a staff member? Wait, I'm not wearing a uniform."

Thinking this to himself, the young man said aloud:

"He seems like a cold person, someone who gives off an unapproachable vibe. Oh, and he's very talented, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to write so many famous opera librettos."

“I remember a reporter once interviewed her and asked her why she wanted to be an opera director. Ms. Shanali said at the time that it was for her dream.”

"Dreams," the old man said, lost in thought upon hearing the young man's words.

He knew Shanara loved opera, but the old man wasn't quite sure why she loved it so much.

As for whether older people dislike opera, the answer is no.

He doesn't dislike these things that appear in peacetime for enjoyment, after all, didn't they fight bloody battles back then so that future generations could live in such an environment?

The only reason he disliked her was because his granddaughter wanted to become an opera director.

He also had some understanding of the work of an opera director, which was not only very tiring, but also extremely difficult to become famous.

Especially in the very beginning, without any funds, it was extremely difficult to find investors with a great script.

He didn't want his granddaughter to do such a tiring and thankless task, so naturally he strongly opposed it.

This resulted in Shanara running away from home, and she was gone for several years.

To be honest, when the old man first saw the news of his granddaughter's fame in the newspaper, he was quite happy and looked forward to when she would come back.

The old man had been eagerly anticipating the performance by Feng Hua City and was ready to welcome his granddaughter, but after waiting for more than half a month, he hadn't seen a single person.

This infuriated him, but he was too proud to go over there, which led to the stalemate.

"Sigh." The old man sighed to himself:

"At least I've become famous, so it's not too bad."

Looking up at the stage, the old man unconsciously recalled events from his youth.

"I must join the army. Once I become a soldier, my family's living expenses will be more than enough!"

"No, it's too dangerous! Do you know how high the mortality rate is for joining the army?"

"Of course I know that if I die, the compensation will be more than enough!"

"Shut up, don't say such unlucky things!"

........

As his memory faded, the old man's eyes regained their clarity. Amidst applause, a woman in a dark red dress with blonde hair walked to the center of the stage.

The old man recognized her at a glance; the girl in front of him, who was both familiar and unfamiliar, was his granddaughter, Shanara.

Shanara, who stepped onto the stage, immediately spotted the elderly man sitting in the first row.

Their eyes met for a moment, then looked away in tacit agreement.

Shanara's lips curled into a happy smile, stirring the hearts of countless young people in the audience...

------------

Chapter 77: The Performance Begins!

The opening ceremony ended quickly, and as Shanara left, the interior of the opera house, including the stage where preparations were underway, became dim.

"Hurry up, hurry up, just like in rehearsal, don't mess it up!"

Scott directed his wizards to quickly set up the scene using magic, and as the lights came back on, the orchestra, holding its instruments, was already in position.

On stage, Alice, dressed in a formal suit, stands in the center of the band, holding a baton.

“That’s the one next to Ms. Shanara…”

The young man had already focused his attention on the stage, and he no longer paid much attention to the old man beside him.

After all, the performance has already started, and no one would chat idly in the audience when the performance begins; that would be disrespectful to the performers.

"Yes, it's very nice music."

The young man swayed gently to the music, making his own assessment in his mind.

Behind the stage, Lu Qing and Fang Qingrou secretly observed the scene and noticed that after the music started, the audience below the stage quieted down and listened attentively, and a smile unconsciously appeared on their faces.

"It looks like it's working really well," Fang Qingrou whispered in Lu Qing's ear.

“The overture seems fine, the key is what happens after the main event begins,” Lu Qing said seriously.

She paused, then added, "I don't think things will be as simple as they were during rehearsals."

"Ah."

Fang Qingrou nodded without saying anything, simply watching the orchestra's performance quietly.

The divination on the first day indicated that they would not face any danger in the thirty days leading up to the performance.

After the first day, Fang Qingrou performed divination again every day, and the results were all similar, with no change.

However, when it comes to questions about potential risks or unforeseen events on the day of a fortune-telling performance, the results are always chaotic.

According to Fang Qingrou, it is completely incomprehensible.

This situation generally indicates that the divination result has been interfered with by something more powerful or existing than the divination itself, or that the divination involves too many things, resulting in extremely chaotic information.

It doesn't matter which one it is, because they can't solve either one.

Soon, the overture ended, and amidst bursts of applause, the entire stage fell into darkness once again.

"It's your turn, Lu Qing. Hurry up and get ready!" Shanara came up behind Lu Qing and patted her on the shoulder.

"Okay, I understand!" Lu Qing nodded.

The opera's plot unfolds in reverse chronological order, primarily to wow the audience from the very beginning. Shanara specifically designed this particular storyline.

Lu Qing, dressed in a pure white dress and wearing pure white high heels, sat quietly on a stone chair in a room that looked like a prison.

As the stage lights came back on, the scene around Lu Qing gradually blurred, but soon it became real again.

What was originally just a prop prison has become a real cage.

Dark gray stone walls, metal-gleaming fences—Lu Qing sat on a cold stone chair, a sliver of moonlight shining through the iron window high in the wall onto her.

"It's so cold..."

Feeling the cold air, Lu Qing subconsciously hugged her chest.

It wasn't until after she finished the action that Lu Qing realized something was wrong.

She had experienced this scene many times before, but never before had she felt the coldness in the air.

Moreover, her actions just now could actually be considered adding drama.

However, upon checking the performance level, the values ​​had actually increased significantly.

"Did the realism increase after the performance officially started?"

Lu Qing felt the cold in the air and thought to herself.

She looked at the bulletin board in her mind, which displayed the current plot and what she needed to do.

[Your name is Laura. You are imprisoned by demons in the Demon King's castle, unable to escape. You try to fall asleep on this cold stone chair.]

[Lyrics (sung in a prison cell): Cold prison, impenetrable walls, terrifying screams, tonight is another sleepless night........]

[Dance (singing while dancing in a cramped cell): Video]

[Performance Ratio: 86]

[Cheer Value: 77] (This value represents the level of reaction from the audience. Note that cheering does not mean that they are currently cheering in the audience.)

"One more cheer point has been added..."

"call."

She exhaled softly, and a pale white mist blew from her mouth.

"It's so cold, and there's no bed or blanket. I'll catch a cold," Lu Qing thought.

"Splash!"

As he stepped down from the stone chair, the iron chains on his ankles and wrists made a crisp sound.

In this frigid environment, the shackles and handcuffs became incredibly cold and heavy, conditions that could not be encountered during rehearsals.

The lyrics and dance don't require looking at the billboard; Lu Qing already knows them perfectly well. However, in the current situation, completing the song might not be a problem, but completing the dance at the same time would be too difficult.

But there was nothing she could do about it. Seeing that her acting skills were starting to decline, Lu Qing could only grit her teeth and keep dancing.

The cramped room limited her range of movement, while the handcuffs and shackles restricted her range of motion.

Following the movements she remembered, Lu Qing slowly began to move.

The moment she started moving, the performance value stabilized, while the cheering value slowly increased.

After dancing for a while, she parted her lips slightly and began to sing:

"A cold prison cell, impenetrable walls, terrifying screams—tonight will be another sleepless night."

"Roar!"

In the nearby cells, as if to cooperate with Lu Qing, the many creatures imprisoned inside began to roar to the sky.

These sounds, combined with the clanging of chains, surprisingly created a breathtaking accompaniment.

"Moon, moon, a serene gaze falls upon my window. A chirping insect crashes headfirst into a spiderweb in the corner, its terrifying feeding display revealed at this moment~"

"On the hard ground, the shadowy silhouette of a rat darted swiftly past; a bat with scarlet eyes hung upside down outside my iron bars."

"Ah~ how I miss you so much right now, my warm and kind sister, where are you now........."