212 Pure-Hearted and Ascetic
As it turned out, the program team’s arrangements were more thoughtful than Wang Heng and Han Yixuan had expected. The car picking them up was parked in the parking lot next to the terminal. After picking up the three of them, it went straight to the hotel, where rooms had already been arranged. The schedule for tomorrow and the day after was also printed on a notice sheet and handed to Pei Ningle.
Even if Wang Heng and Han Yixuan hadn’t come along, Pei Ningle alone probably would have had no problems.
“Anyway, tomorrow morning, our program team’s car will come downstairs to pick you up. Miss Pei, although tomorrow’s rehearsal is not the official recording, I hope you will take it seriously.”
Pei Ningle agreed earnestly, “I understand.”
“Okay, then I’ll take my leave. Rest well and adjust your state.”
After explaining the business, the staff member left.
Pei Ningle walked around the room and whispered, “Is this a star-rated hotel? It seems pretty good.”
Wang Heng: “It’s a slightly high-end chain hotel, probably not star-rated.”
Han Yixuan looked at the darkening sky outside the window and suddenly asked, “What are we eating tonight?”
Wang Heng looked at Pei Ningle and asked, “What do you want to eat? Hot pot, roast duck, or instant-boiled mutton?”
Pei Ningle thought for a moment and shook her head. “Not those. Let’s just have porridge.”
“Porridge?”
Wang Heng stared at her, stunned.
Han Yixuan was originally checking food stores on Dianping with her phone. Hearing Pei Ningle’s statement, she also looked up in astonishment and repeated, “Porridge?”
Pei Ningle waved the notice sheet in her hand and explained, “Tomorrow is the rehearsal, and the day after tomorrow is the official recording. I can’t eat too much, nor can I spend too much energy on eating.”
“Energy?” Han Yixuan couldn’t help asking, “Does eating require energy?”
Pei Ningle said as if it were a matter of course, “Of course. Barbecue, hot pot, instant-boiled mutton, these things take a long time to eat, and when you’re full, you need more time to digest. Just for this meal, it always feels like half a day is gone.”
Hearing this, Wang Heng understood what the girl was thinking.
In fact, in his memory of the first timeline, before every concert, Pei Ningle would temporarily refuse stimulating food, only eat light meals, and deliberately control her food intake.
Han Yixuan asked again, “Then if you drink porridge, will it make you sing better?”
Pei Ningle thought for a moment and said, “It should… Actually, I had this feeling in the recording studio last time. Not being full makes vocalization feel better. If I’m full, I can’t hit the high notes at the end.”
Han Yixuan: “Don’t they say you only have strength when you’re full?”
Pei Ningle: “Maybe I’m an exception? But if I want porridge, you two don’t have to. For example, instant-boiled mutton or something, you can…”
At this point, the girl felt something was wrong. She originally didn’t want her two friends to have to curb their appetites because of her. But on second thought, if they ate separately, wouldn’t it become a private date between Han Yixuan and Wang Heng?
At this time, Wang Heng said, “I have no objection to eating plain porridge and side dishes for these two days. What about you, Little Xuan?”
“Of course I have no problem,” Han Yixuan laughed. “Except for accompanying Little Le to eat big meals, I usually eat very lightly myself, and my appetite isn’t big. Little Le doesn’t need to lose weight, but I still want to!”
Wang Heng: “Actually, you don’t need to lose weight either…”
Han Yixuan’s eyes lit up. “Really? Do you think my figure is good?”
Wang Heng looked away, cleared his throat, and said calmly, “Yes, pretty good.”
Pei Ningle was instantly a little unconvinced. “What about me?”
Wang Heng touched the tip of his nose. “Very cute…”
The petite girl almost jumped up. “Is cute used to describe a figure!”
**
The night grew deeper, but the Penguin building in Rongdu was still brightly lit.
Lu Qi sat in her office, reviewed the work progress of her subordinates, personally solved a few difficult bugs, and then leaned back in her chair, stretching lazily.
At this moment, a news pop-up in the bottom right corner of the screen caught her attention.
“Sing My Song, recording starts recently, goes online next week…” Lu Qi clicked on it casually, with a trace of curiosity. “What kind of show is this?”
Looking at the introduction page of the news, she suddenly realized.
“Original singer talent show? Heh, that’s a bit novel.”
Suddenly, her phone rang.
Lu Qi picked up her phone and saw that it was her mother calling.
After connecting, she heard her mother asking, “Qiqi, how have you been recently? You’re alone in Rongdu…”
Lu Qi had already foreseen how much redundant information her mother would nag about next, so she quickly interrupted, “Mom, what do you want?”
Mother: “You child are always like this, not gentle at all like a girl…”
Lu Qi sneered. “You just haven’t seen me when I’m gentle.”
Mother: “Then bring a good man home for us to see?”
Lu Qi: “Just wait, during the Spring Festival next year.”
Mother: “Don’t be too casual…”
Lu Qi: “Don’t worry, I’m not casual at all. I already have a target.”
Through the phone, although she couldn’t see her mother’s expression, it wasn’t hard to detect her mother’s sudden excitement just by listening to her voice: “What kind of target? Which family’s man have you set your eyes on? What kind of young man is he?”
Lu Qi sneered. “Don’t ask. Anyway, check the results next year. If not next year, then the year after.”
“Aiya, girl, you’re not young anymore, not a teenage girl. You can’t drag things out for two years!”
“Alright, Mom, what exactly do you want?” Lu Qi forcibly pulled the topic back. “Just say it if you have something. Don’t worry about the rest.”
Her mother seemed to hesitate for a moment and said tactfully, “You only stayed at home for a few days this Spring Festival, too hastily. Little Jiu didn’t even see you…”
Lu Qi was a little confused. “So you mean, let me make a special trip back just to see Little Jiu?”
Her mother added, “Although you are cousins, she has always been most clingy to you since childhood. Isn’t your relationship particularly good? And, Little Jiu’s family is moving too. Because of her father’s job transfer, they are going to Rongdu next month. So her parents contacted a school in Rongdu for her to transfer there first. You might need to take care of her for a few days…”
Lu Qi understood. “So I need to pick up Little Jiu and help her settle down in Rongdu, right?”
“Yes, you also know that her parents are both working on construction sites. When they get busy, they can’t take care of the family, so that child…”
“I understand. Mom, give me a specific date. I’ll arrange the work on hand and go back for a day to pick up Little Jiu. Alright, that’s it. I have some things to deal with quickly here. Bye, Mom.”
With that, Lu Qi hung up the phone in a hurry.
On the computer screen, a new message notification flashed—another subordinate sent her a message, the kind that needed urgent processing.
