News about celebrities always spreads fast, and this time was no exception.
The group had just finished arranging the work and the publicity had not yet officially started, but some forums online and the entertainment pages of some newspapers were already scrambling to quote 'a certain person with knowledge of the situation' as saying that a hotel in a certain province in the Mainland would be hosting a concert on the night of its opening, and it had been confirmed that a number of heavyweight stars would participate, including two well-known kings of Chinese music, which would be a rare performance by the two kings on the same stage in recent years.
The others would also be top Hong Kong and Taiwan singers.
No one bothered to find out who this 'someone in the know' was. Like the 'relevant departments' and the 'enthusiastic public,' they did not know whether they were doing a good deed or not. Anyway, following the tradition of keeping their names anonymous, they inherited and carried forward the good work very well.
At the same time, experience tells us that especially some seemingly groundless news online may turn out to be more accurate than the figures from the National Bureau of Statistics on the news broadcast. So this news immediately caused a stir among the majority of young star-struck fans, such as those in universities.
While everyone was still speculating about the details of the event, Mr Jin, who often posts nonsense in the forums, was the first to gain some insight. He immediately excitedly called Feng Yiping and asked, 'Yiping, is this the concert you were talking about?'
He felt that Feng Yiping on the other end of the line seemed very happy and relieved when he answered the phone, 'Yes, instructor, it's this concert,'
'Your hotel?' Mr Jin asked.
'Yeah, but you have to keep it a secret,' Feng Yiping said, 'if not, I won't be able to relax for the next few months until the concert.
'Oh, sure, just remember to get me some autographs. By the way, what are you doing now?'
Feng Yiping looked apprehensively at the group of enthusiastic parents of staff members over there, 'I'm taking the folks on a day trip to the capital,'
'Okay, I won't bother you anymore, just remember what you promised me!'
'No problem,' said Mr Jin. After the phone call had been on hold for a long time, Feng Yiping was still holding the phone and talking to himself. He slowly walked back, and when he was close to the people queuing at the ticket gate, he said loudly with a serious expression, "Okay, I'll be right back,'
and hurriedly walked through the enthusiastic villagers. He said to his grandfather, parents and wife, who were surrounded in the middle, "There's an emergency in Hong Kong, I have to go back to the office immediately to deal with it,'
'Okay, go ahead, Xiao Gao is here to take us,' Grandpa said.
'Go ahead,' Feng Zhenchang also said,
'Be careful on the road, don't drive fast,' Mei Qiuping also added.
'I know, Gao, I'll leave it to you here,'
Gao Zhiyi, who was surrounded by people, said with a smile, 'Don't worry,'
Li Jia was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling, and she collapsed all over Gao Zhiyi, unable to speak. She knew that Feng Yiping was just making an excuse, and if Gao Zhiyi hadn't stopped her, she would have asked him what it was.
Feng Yiping had decided that he would definitely create some work opportunities for Gao Zhiyi among girls in the future.
He smiled and bowed to the dozens of parents, 'Sorry, I can't stay with you all,'
'That's fine, you go ahead. Business is important. Will you have dinner with us tonight? I'll show you the photos then,' Many people said almost the same thing.
They watched Feng Yiping, who was walking, and when they heard this, they trotted up. They said to the three parents in the middle, 'What a good young man!'
Feng Zhenchang said, 'You have no idea, he is so opinionated, and in many ways he gives us no peace of mind. We can't control his personal affairs at all, and in high school he even hid his girlfriend from us.'
He was interrupted before he could finish his sentence. 'What's the big deal about young people having a few friends nowadays? However, for families like yours, which are not small and insignificant like ours, you really have to choose your daughter-in-law carefully,'
Feng Yiping ran to the car, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and only then let out a sigh of relief. He really couldn't handle the scene just now.
It had been going well. The main group, accompanied by their children and Gao Zhiyi, had arrived in the capital by train yesterday afternoon. After a night's rest, they had visited several famous attractions in the capital today.
It had all been going quite smoothly, until one of the mothers started asking about Feng Yiping's personal life. Then, to Feng Yiping's surprise, he discovered that not only middle-aged aunties liked to play matchmaker, but middle-aged uncles were also keen – although, of course, they were mainly interested in different people.
Then, the good sightseeing trip turned into a matchmaking conference. An older man said first, 'There's a girl in our village whose grades are worse than Yiping's. She also went to a university in Shanghai last year. I heard that she's doing well and even got a scholarship. The girl is really good-looking and has a good personality. Her parents run a small business on the street and the family is doing well. Do you want me to introduce you? Let's contact each other first to see if it works,'
and then someone else said, 'There's a girl in our town who's also pretty good. She got into a university in the provincial capital the year before last.'
At first, these people were a bit reserved, recommending people who were not related to them. Later, those who followed suit were much more straightforward, and some even recommended their own nieces and nephews without any hesitation. Fortunately, everyone had a bottom line and did not recommend their own daughters.
Feng Yiping said that he had a girlfriend. 'Alas, you have just entered university for less than a year, do you know everything about the girlfriend you are looking for? This is a big deal, you cannot be sloppy. It is better to find someone from the same place,'
Feng Yiping said that his girlfriend and he were from the same town. 'We're all from the same county,'
Feng Yiping said, adding that he had been dating his girlfriend for a few years. 'What could I possibly understand at that age?'
......
Feng Yiping knew that these people really didn't have any ulterior motives such as plotting to take over Feng Yiping's family fortune. Most of them genuinely cared about and loved Feng Yiping, which is why they were so enthusiastic about introducing him to girlfriends.
For example, his own mother was actually quite happy to do this kind of thing. It seems that she helped the village introduce two wives, without any benefit. After the two couples got married, she often went out of her way to mediate conflicts between the young couples, just like after-sales service.
She really didn't want or expect anything in return, but she just enjoyed it.
So, today, when faced with such a group of people, and they wouldn't listen to his explanations, Feng Yiping was so tired. Why didn't he drag Huang Jingping over today?
He was looking for an opportunity to get away, but there was not a single phone call today!
He wanted to ask for help, but his parents and grandfather's explanations were just as useless. Besides, it was not good to say too definitely, otherwise it would be suspected of looking down on people.
What was even more infuriating was that the three guys, Wang Jinju, Gao Zhiyi and Li Jia, completely took this as a joke. It was really fortunate that the counsellor called.
When he fled home in a panic, Huang Jingping was waiting at the door with a smile, 'Oh, the popular young master is back! You have such a good memory, tell me, which nice girls are there?'
Needless to say, it must be Wang Jinju who told on her.
'I don't know, I'll look at the photos tonight,' Feng Yiping said, and then slapped her on the butt, 'I told you to look at the jokes!'
Huang Jingping put a cushion behind her back, pretended to look sad, and said, 'All these universities, that university, and those preparing to study abroad, how can I, a teacher training student, compare?'
Feng Yiping pretended to hit her again, 'Go and get changed!'
Despite all the talking and laughing, Huang Jingping not only changed her clothes, but also put on the title credentials that Feng Zhenchang and the others had given her—the jewellery.
That night, when she walked into the Quanjude private dining room with Mei Qiuping's arm around her, the villagers never mentioned the topic of the day again. A few of them, taking no notice of Li Jia's audacity, helped them receive the photos they had received from QQ and then paid to have them washed out urgently. They didn't take those photos out again.
Even if they did, what would happen? How could this girl in front of them be worse than those they had introduced?