Chapter 143 - 121: The Village Gala Begins

You can never guess what a woman is thinking. No matter how much you try, you’ll never figure it out.

There were quite a few girls like Lei Xiaohui who wanted to have a little fling with Li Xiang. For the Li Family Village gala, people from all the surrounding villages had flocked over to join the fun, including many of the girls who had previously been on blind dates with him.

One of them, a girl named Yao Yao who worked at a nightclub, even approached Li Xiang and asked if she could add a last-minute performance. She was an excellent dancer and offered to perform a traditional Chinese dance.

In truth, she was better at more provocative and fiery routines, but she was back in the countryside, after all. So, she chose a more traditional classical dance.

She had a Douyin account as well, but it had never taken off—she only had twenty thousand followers. If Li Xiang could give her a boost, she’d definitely blow up.

Classical dance could be very sexy and alluring, too—if one wore less clothing. But the weather was too cold, and the countryside was more conservative, so the hanfu she brought was rather modest.

Li Xiang was delighted to hear this and asked her to perform a short piece as a trial. It was truly stunning, captivating the attention of everyone nearby.

Someone secretly mused, ’No wonder King Zhou partied so hard back in the day. This girl is wearing so much clothing, yet she’s still so enchanting when she dances. Absolutely incredible!’

Li Xiang made the final call and added her to the program.

Zhao Xueqing was speechless. ’Aren’t the rumors spreading that Li Xiang is a total player, the philandering type? So why is everyone here? And they’re all orbiting around him.’ Among the crowd were many of her former high school classmates, some of whom had never even been on a blind date with Li Xiang.

Zhao Xueqing glanced at Jiang Cai’Er. ’You’re not very good at this, are you?’ she thought. ’I really thought you had managed to fool a lot of people.’

A straightforward guy like Lei Jiaming was utterly baffled. ’What’s going on? How has Li Xiang become even more sought-after? Are players really more popular than nice guys?’

Jiang Cai’Er was exasperated. ’I went to all that trouble to smear my brother’s name, and you all are still swarming him like moths to a flame! Can’t you show a little restraint?’

There were some who were more reserved, of course, like Zhao Xueqing and a few other girls who only cast glances at Li Xiang from a distance.

Shen Wenqian covered her mouth with a light laugh. ’My cousin is so popular,’ she thought. ’It’s not always a good thing for a man to be this handsome.’

"Qianqian, introduce me to your cousin," a girl whispered, sidling up to Shen Wenqian.

"Are you kidding me? I thought you were my best friend, and here you are trying to become my cousin’s wife?"

The girl was one of Shen Wenqian’s classmates, though they weren’t from the same village.

"Hey, I’d just be your cousin’s wife, not your stepmom. What are you getting so worked up about?"

"Get lost!"

"I’m serious, though."

"Stop joking around. You’re only a high school freshman. You’re too young."

"But he’s just so handsome. Besides, I heard he made several million in less than half a year. Is that true?" The girl thought, ’It’s fine if he’s a little older, it’s not a huge age gap. If I can just snag him, I’ll be set for life—no need to struggle for thirty years. Actually, why should a girl struggle at all? Marrying well is all that matters.’

’So what if he’s a playboy? Playboys are more fun. Where else in all the surrounding villages could you find someone so handsome? No, even the top young heartthrobs in the country can’t seem to compare.’

’Besides, those celebrity heartthrobs are a world away, but Li Xiang is right here.’

"I can’t take it anymore! Can you please stop giving my cousin that thirsty look?" Shen Wenqian was getting goosebumps. Faced with her classmate’s relentless pestering, she finally blurted out, "He already likes someone!"

"Who is it?"

"It’s not you, that’s for sure. Let’s drop it. The show is about to start!"

As evening fell, Li Xiang’s backyard was a sea of people. Some were even pulling up daikon and carrots from the vegetable patch to eat. "These radishes look amazing," they’d say. "Let’s pull one up and have a taste."

And you know what? They were crisp, refreshing, sweet, and delicious.

And so, Granny Li Xiang’s meticulously tended radish patch suffered the consequences.

But since everyone had come to show their support, eating a few radishes was no big deal. Granny Li Xiang didn’t mind at all; she even brought out candy to share.

Unexpectedly, however, people weren’t interested in the candy. They much preferred the fresh radishes just pulled from the soil.

This made Granny Li Xiang incredibly happy. She stood with Third Granny and a few others, beaming. Tonight was lively—so very lively. Everyone praised her for having such a wonderful grandson, one who would put on such a bustling event just to make her happy.

Indeed, one of Li Xiang’s main motivations for organizing the village gala was to create a lively atmosphere and make his grandmother happy.

The kittens, finding it too noisy and crowded with strangers, followed their mother down into the cellar to hide.

The cellar was part of their daily patrol route; not a single corner of the house was to be left unchecked for mice.

Nourished daily by the Spirit Medicine Porridge, the kittens seemed to be growing more intelligent, becoming much smarter than before. This was especially true for Xiaobai, the calico, and the little tabby. Still, they were a far cry from the Little Fox and Er Huang.

The Little Fox and Er Huang were hiding out in the doghouse. Li Xiang had specifically told the Little Fox to stay out of sight. With so many people around, gossip spread fast, and a rare, protected animal like the Little Fox would attract unwanted attention.

So the Little Fox burrowed into a pile of straw in the corner of the doghouse, with only its head peeking out.

It was cold in the winter, but the doghouse was filled with plenty of straw, which the two had made warm and toasty.

Li Xiang had originally considered letting it stay on the back mountain, but the nights were cold out in the wilderness, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Whenever someone peeked in, Er Huang would let out a few barks—WOOF! WOOF!—to drive them away. It was already dark, and the lighting inside the doghouse was poor. The curious visitors couldn’t see clearly, only that there was a dog inside that wasn’t to be trifled with.

The newly built stage had excellent lighting effects, and the sound equipment was decent too. It had all cost a little over 20,000 yuan—not expensive, but it would do. For a rural village’s very first gala, you couldn’t set your expectations too high.

There were many plastic chairs, along with long benches borrowed from various households, but there still weren’t enough to go around. The crowd was much larger than expected, leaving many people to watch on their feet.

The Chicken Blood Stone Jungle was already packed with people sitting and standing; some of the more agile ones even climbed onto the large stones for a better view.

Some children wanted to get up there too, but the stones were too large, so they had to ask the adults for help. Fearing they might fall, their parents either stood guard beside them or simply held them while sitting on the stones themselves.

The first Li Family Village Gala had also attracted sponsors. He Zhixiang, the coffee merchant from Yunnan Province, had custom advertising boards made and a banner hung at the venue. His coffee estate was now pivoting to retail, and his online sales were exploding, thanks in no small part to Li Xiang’s promotions. So this time, he generously threw down 200,000 yuan to secure the most prominent advertising spot.

After all, Li Xiang had over two million followers. For a live stream lasting at least an hour, 200,000 yuan was a great deal.

Next was Xu Xuan. Eldest Young Master Xu owned many businesses in Rongcheng, including a massive esports amusement park and a movie theater—the kind perfect for a casual outing. He was advertising both of these ventures.

But since the amusement park and movie theater relied on in-person business, unlike coffee that could be sold online, their advertising fee was lower—only 100,000 yuan.

The third sponsor was a local restaurant. Li Xiang had just accepted a 100,000 yuan fee to do a promotional visit to the restaurant, so he gave them a discounted price of 50,000 yuan for the gala sponsorship.

Jiang Jianguo launched a drone into the air, which began recording and live-streaming the event. Additionally, Li Xiang’s new TV was brought out to mirror the stream, but at 75 inches, it was a bit too small. It looked great at home, but it was hardly noticeable outdoors.

Many others in the crowd were filming on their phones as well.

In the live stream chat, many fans had already logged on early, waiting with bated breath. As time passed, the viewer count steadily climbed.

He Zhixiang came online and started showering gifts.

Xu Xuan and Zhang Youyou logged on, offered their congratulations, and also showered the stream with gifts.

The moment Luo Feifei logged on, she dropped ten Carnivals, instantly rocketing to the top of the leaderboard. Every appearance by "Little Aunt" was a grand affair.

The other fans enthusiastically smashed the like button.

The gala hadn’t even officially begun, yet the concurrent viewership had already surpassed twenty thousand, launching the stream into the top three on the hourly popularity charts.

When the gala officially kicked off, the two hosts, Li Xiang and Jiang Cai’Er, made their grand entrance in formal wear. The platform boosted their stream with extra traffic, and the viewer count instantly shot past fifty thousand. Less than a minute later, it broke one hundred thousand.

Li Xiang, clad in a sharp suit, stood ramrod straight. "Respected elders,"

Jiang Cai’Er, in a sparkling evening gown with her hair in an elegant updo that accentuated her long, graceful neck, added, "Beloved folks,"

In unison: "Good evening, everyone!"

Thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. The live stream was just as fervent, with comments and gifts flooding the screen.

Li Xiang’s voice was deep and magnetic. "As the bells bidding farewell to the old year echo across the land, and as festive fireworks blossom against the starry sky, a brand new spring makes its way toward us."

Jiang Cai’Er’s voice, as crisp and pleasant as pearls dropping onto a jade plate, was filled with heartfelt emotion. "She soars in on colorful, heavenly wings; she follows the footsteps of Kuafu in his chase of the sun, arriving with gentle grace."

In unison: "At this very moment, rosy dawns dance with colorful wings, and the beat of the drum resonates with the rhythm of our steps..."

While the two delivered their impassioned opening on stage, the audience below couldn’t help but whisper amongst themselves.

"To think Li Family Village could produce two such beautiful children. They look just like the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden," an elder from another village praised.

"He’s so handsome! Is that Li Xiang? The famous influencer from our county? I wouldn’t even mind if he forced himself on me!" a young girl whispered to her friend, giggling as she said it.

Her friend replied, "In your dreams! Why wouldn’t he pick me instead?"

"If he tries anything with you, I’ll come ’rescue’ you!"

"Piss off! Don’t you dare ruin my big chance. Mind your own business, you hear?"

...

"Damn, is Brother Xiang wearing makeup, or is his skin just naturally that good? It’s so fair and rosy, he’s practically glowing! And his eyes are so, so bright!"

"That’s called having a fire in your eyes!"

"The girl is gorgeous, too. I hear she’s a high school junior, ranked first in the entire school on her recent finals. She’s got a great shot at getting into Qingbei."

"Amazing! Li Family Village really produces some incredible talent!"

Meanwhile, the live stream chat was buzzing with its own discussions.

Luo Feifei stared at Jiang Cai’Er for a long moment, a feeling of indignation welling up inside her. ’I should be the one up on that stage hosting with Li Xiang right now,’ she thought. ’Hmph. If I were actually there, I could’ve easily made this the number one stream on the entire internet tonight!’

As a trending young actress with over a hundred million fans and the title of "Little Celestial Immortal," she had every right to be that confident.

But, alas... She sighed softly, a little wistfully. ’Isn’t this because of my ’Fat Auntie’ disguise? My main account, the celebrity Luo Feifei, hasn’t ’met’ Li Xiang yet.’

’Yes, next year,’ she vowed. ’I will definitely be there for next year’s gala.’

Right now, Luo Feifei was actually in the Imperial Capital. She had been invited to perform a traditional-style song at this year’s CCTV Spring Festival Gala and had already gone through several rehearsals.

Due to her young age, her mother, who also served as her manager, was with her to look after her.

Her mother was in the hotel bathroom putting on makeup. Soon, she would have to take Luo Feifei to an important party. But when she came out, she was stunned. ’My goodness, darling, you have... unique taste. Are you seriously watching a gala from some tiny mountain village? People would laugh us out of town if they heard about this!’ She quickly dragged her daughter away.

And so, in the live stream, Top Aunt made a dazzling entrance, showered the chat with gifts, and then promptly went offline, leaving everyone baffled.

You can’t say she isn’t a die-hard fan—she’s number one on the leaderboard. But you can’t say she *is* a die-hard fan, either—she never actually watches the stream. So strange!

Some people guessed that the top-ranked "Fat Auntie" definitely wanted to be Li Xiang’s sugar mommy.

...

On stage, the opening remarks came to an end.

Li Xiang’s voice rang out again. "And now, please enjoy a famous scene from the Peking Opera, *The Case of Chai Mei*, performed by the Party Secretary and Head of Li Family Village, Li Jinyu! He will be accompanied by the joint orchestra of Li Family Village, Lei Family Gully, Zhangjiawan, and He Family Platform!"

After the announcement, Li Xiang and Jiang Cai’Er shared a smile, gave a slight bow to the audience, and exited the stage.

Jiang Cai’Er went to join her classmates, while Li Xiang joined the opera troupe’s orchestra. He had a part to play on the Qu Di.

Li Jinyu’s family only owned a few types of instruments for their opera performances: a tanggu drum, a large gong, a small gong, a small drum, large cymbals, a suona, a jinghu, an erhu, a yueqin, and a Qu Di.

Li Xiang’s maternal grandfather was on the erhu, Lei Xiaohui strummed the yueqin, Li Xiang played the Qu Di, and Lei Jiaming beat the tanggu drum. A few other old-timers and young men filled out the rest of the orchestra.