The Interdimensional Reseller – CH172

Chapter 172: Performance Mishap

Zhuang Feixue looked at the gemstone necklace in her hand, unable to put it down. Girls always like accessories, and she was no exception. She had all sorts of jewelry in her box, but none quite as fine as this.

She’d heard that Zhou Ting recently proposed to Feixu and gave her a sapphire heirloom necklace. Feixu seemed unsure whether to accept.

Zhuang Feixue had seen Zhou Ting’s necklace too—it was stunning. Supposedly passed down from the Ming dynasty and originally belonged to a concubine in the imperial court. It was not only a rare treasure but a true antique.

Although she and Zhou Ting were long over, hearing he had used a family heirloom to propose still made her feel a little sour inside—even if she didn’t show it.

She used to think Zhou Ting’s necklace was amazing, but after seeing the one from Chu Feng, she suddenly felt the Zhou family’s necklace wasn’t all that impressive.

Having a good younger brother might be even better than having a boyfriend.

Chu Feng watched her expression and thought to himself: Giving jewelry really works. With a gift this precious, even depression should be cured.

“Where did you get this necklace?” Zhuang Feixue asked curiously.

A necklace of this quality was usually a collector’s item—not something you could just go buy.

“From Illya’s family,” Chu Feng said.

Zhuang Feixue was surprised. “From Illya’s family?”
So her brother was mooching off someone, and he even dragged him into it? That’s not good.

“Illya, maybe you should…” Zhuang Feixue began.

Sensing her emotions, Illya shook his head and said sincerely, “It’s fine, really. It was cheap. I still have plenty, and I don’t even like this one.”

Illya wasn’t lying—Crescent Trading Company was doing very well in the other world, and Illya really didn’t care much for gold, silver, or jewelry.

Zhuang Cheng: “…” He actually didn’t like this? A gemstone necklace like this, and Illya didn’t like it? That was just too much.

Zhuang Cheng looked at Illya and said, “Second Brother-in-law, since you don’t like it, can you give one to me?”

Illya shook his head. “No.”

Zhuang Cheng said, a little deflated, “Why not?” Why? Why?! He was a real younger brother too, wasn’t he? Why did he get nothing? “You’re a guy, you wouldn’t need it—unless you’re into cross-dressing.”

Zhuang Cheng mumbled, “I’m not into cross-dressing, but if I don’t use it, I can give it to my future girlfriend!”

Illya replied calmly, “Gifts for girls are more sincere when you earn them yourself. Besides, you’re so young—why are you even thinking about a girlfriend?”

“If he ends up with a boyfriend, then he really won’t need it,” Chu Feng casually added.

Zhuang Cheng: “…”

Zhuang Feixue forced a laugh and said, “That’s not something to joke about.”

If Chu Feng got a boyfriend, fine—but if the younger brother did too, their dad would probably go insane.

…

“Sis, are you on vacation these days?” Chu Feng asked.

Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “No. I have an event tomorrow.”

Chu Feng was confused. “Why is there still an event?”

Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “These are events that were scheduled a long time ago.”

In fact, many endorsement deals and appearances had shown signs of backing out lately, but the bosses were too afraid to offend her to say anything directly. Seeing that, Zhuang Feixue proactively canceled quite a few. The one tomorrow, however, couldn’t be canceled.

Chu Feng asked curiously, “What kind of event is it?”

“It’s the Tianyin Gala. I’ll be singing a song.”

“Then Sis, don’t you need to prepare?”

Zhuang Feixue smiled. “No need. I’ve already rehearsed. It’s an old song I know well.”

Chu Feng nodded. “Alright then.”

“Do you want to go? I have tickets,” Zhuang Feixue offered.

Illya asked with curiosity, “Front row?”

Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Yes!”

Illya nodded back. “Then I’d like to go.”

He was quite curious about this kind of grand gala.

Zhuang Cheng looked sourly at the tickets in Chu Feng’s hand. Chu Feng’s was a VIP ticket—only a few existed for the entire show and were worth tens of thousands. Even with money, you might not get one. His second brother treated their sister way better than he treated him. And the sister treated the second brother way better than she treated him too! Was he adopted or something?

“Sis, didn’t you say there were no tickets?”

Zhuang Feixue glanced at Zhuang Cheng and said, “You don’t need one.”

Zhuang Cheng: “…”

Zhuang Feixue looked happily at Chu Feng and said, “How long are you staying in the capital this time?”

Chu Feng shook his head. “Not long.” He was busy. As long as he confirmed that Zhuang Feixue wasn’t suicidal, he could leave.

Zhuang Feixue said a little regretfully, “So not long again?”

“The gala tomorrow should be spectacular,” Chu Feng said, changing the subject.

Zhuang Feixue nodded. “It should be. The stage was specially designed, and a lot of money went into it. You’ll have a different kind of experience.”

Chu Feng smiled. “If that’s the case, I look forward to it.”

After chatting for a while, Zhuang Cheng walked Illya and Chu Feng out.

“Second Brother, what made you suddenly show up? Was it because of the news online?” Zhuang Cheng asked.

“Your second brother was worried Sis Feixue might get depression. You spend more time with her—do you think she has it?” Illya asked.

Zhuang Cheng blinked. “Probably not. Sis is very strong. Second Brother-in-law, did you give that necklace because you were worried she’d get depressed?”

Illya nodded. “Yes. I read online that when girls receive jewelry, they become happy. Not sure if that’s true though.”

Zhuang Cheng: “…” Of course that’s true. “Actually, Sis doesn’t have depression—I do!”

Chu Feng looked back at Zhuang Cheng. “You? If you have depression, go see a psychologist!”

Zhuang Cheng: “…”

The next day, Chu Feng and Illya arrived at the gala on time. The Tianyin Gala was a massive event, and the venue could hold tens of thousands. Many girls had glowing faces as they held up light boards to support their idols.

Illya frowned, looking a little unwell.

Chu Feng handed him a bottle of water. “You okay?”

Illya shook his head. “I’m fine. I just feel like… something’s about to happen.”

Chu Feng: “…” A sixth sense?

Chu Feng frowned, his heart tightening slightly.

Illya didn’t have prophetic powers, but his intuition had always been pretty accurate.

Chu Feng looked at the sea of people and thought silently: What could happen? A fan war?

He looked toward the stage. Many fans were holding purple light boards, while others held blue ones. The two fan groups were clearly separated.

Chu Feng frowned. These two groups were fans of Luo Qiu and Ming Li. The two had worked on a drama together, playing rivals who fought bitterly over a girl.

The drama had ended, but the fans were still locked in a battle.

Even though things looked tense, they probably wouldn’t actually fight.

Illya glanced at Chu Feng and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Chu Feng shook his head. “Nothing.”

Illya rested his chin on his hand. “The show’s about to start.”

Chu Feng took a deep breath. “Finally.”

Illya looked at the program list. “Feixue’s performance is the finale.”

Chu Feng frowned and said, “Nothing bad is going to happen, right?”
Illya shook his head. “I don’t know.”

One celebrity after another came on stage, and the atmosphere of the venue kept reaching new highs. When a popular male star came out, the audience erupted in cheers.

“Luo Qiu, I love you!”
“Honey, I love you!”
“Ahhhhhh!” …

Illya puffed out his cheeks, covered his ears, and said, “The audience is way too loud. I can’t even hear what they’re singing!”

Chu Feng: “…” That’s the whole vibe we’re going for!

The audience was visibly fired up watching the performances. Illya, on the other hand, started getting bored and even yawned several times.

After more than an hour, it was finally Zhuang Feixue’s turn to perform.

Illya immediately tensed up. Chu Feng glanced at him and asked, “Is something going to happen?”

Illya shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Chu Feng looked toward the stage. It was a lift stage that could raise people into midair.

Zhuang Feixue made her grand entrance while suspended midair.

She was wearing the ruby necklace that Chu Feng had gifted her.

With the necklace and the stage lights, Zhuang Feixue looked like a fairy descending to earth.

Chu Feng thought to himself: Clothes make the man, and packaging makes the star. If a celebrity wants to shine, they need proper styling!

Smoke and colorful lights swirled around the stage. Watching Zhuang Feixue suspended in midair, Chu Feng felt that she looked unusually stunning tonight.

“Do you hear that sound?”

Chu Feng frowned. “Sound? What sound? The fans screaming?” The venue was overwhelmingly loud with fans shouting—probably just going along with the crowd.

Illya shook his head. “No, not that.”

Chu Feng: “…”

“The sound of bees.”

Chu Feng’s brow twitched. With so much noise, how could Illya tell there were bees? But that wasn’t the most important issue right now. The bodyguard who died protecting Xue Ying… he was a bee master!

Chu Feng looked back at the stage, and his expression changed.

A few bees were flying straight toward Zhuang Feixue. The safety measures on the lift stage weren’t great to begin with—it was already risky. Now, with the bees, the danger was multiplied.

The bees flying toward her were three to four times larger than normal. A single sting from a regular bee could leave a big welt—these ones could be lethal.

The bees moved extremely fast and closed the distance to Zhuang Feixue in seconds.

Startled, Zhuang Feixue lost her footing and fell from the stage.

Most of the audience hadn’t noticed the bees. When they saw her falling, they cried out in shock.

Illya moved in a flash, catching Zhuang Feixue midair and landing steadily on the ground.

The bees followed, but with a wave of her hand, Illya knocked them to the ground.

Her gray mist had many uses—it could cloak, it could kill, and dealing with a few bees was no problem. Once the bees touched the mist, they died instantly.

The audience, who hadn’t clearly seen the bees earlier, finally realized what was happening.

Screams erupted:
“Bees! There are bees!”
“Why are there so many bees in the venue?”
“Qin He—Qin He’s here?!” Qin He had been known to follow Xue Ying closely and was fairly infamous. Many people instantly guessed the context.

A huge swarm of bees began flying toward the stage. If it had only been a few at first, one might chalk it up to coincidence—but now it was obviously premeditated.

Seeing the swarm approaching, Zhuang Feixue was terrified. She wanted to run, but her legs gave out. She couldn’t even move and could only close her eyes in fear.

Illya raised his hands and released a large wave of gray mist, shielding himself and Zhuang Feixue.

The buzzing bees that touched the mist fell like they’d been hit with heavy-duty pesticide. Soon, the stage was littered with bee carcasses.

Illya stood calmly on stage. His frame was a little slender, but he gave off an incredible sense of security. His image was projected onto the big screen. While the crowd was first frightened by the bees, they were then stunned by her beauty.

“Whooooa!”
The shallow fanboys (and girls) finally snapped out of it and started howling like wolves. The howls only grew louder, and many fangirls trembled in excitement.

“Honey, you’re so handsome!”
“Honey, I love you!”

Illya stood on the stage, frowning at the deafening screams.

Security guards quickly subdued the crazed Qin He and took him away. With such an incident, the event couldn’t continue—luckily, Zhuang Feixue was the last performer. The others had already finished. Even though the audience didn’t get to see her full performance, Illya’s dramatic rescue made the ticket price feel worth it—maybe even more exciting than a typical show.

Zhuang Feixue was taken backstage in a daze.

Su Miaomiao rushed to her, agitated. “Sis, that Qin He went way too far—he actually attacked you on stage!”

“Yeah.” Zhuang Feixue had underestimated Qin He’s madness. She didn’t expect his hatred to run so deep. “Sis, where’s Illya?”

Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “No idea. She was just here a second ago.”

They had just come backstage together, but in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Zhuang Feixue glanced at her phone. There was a message from Chu Feng saying he and Illya had left.

“Sister Feixue, did you see the crowd out there? A full-on public ‘boyfriend upgrade’ in real time!”

Zhuang Feixue: “…” Most of the audience at the scene were fans of those young idols, but once Illya came on stage, they all… went crazy. Truly, no one can resist temptation! The power of beauty is terrifying. In the entertainment industry, as long as you’re good-looking enough, you really can do whatever you want.

“Sister Feixue, Illya is an ability-user! You hid it so well!”
Zhuang Feixue: “…” She had no idea, okay? If she had known, she probably wouldn’t have been able to keep the secret.

“The National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities showed up and took all the bees from the stage.”

Zhuang Feixue asked in confusion, “Weren’t they all dead?”

“Even dead ones are valuable for research!”

Zhuang Feixue nodded. “That’s true.”

“Those bees looked like they’d been injected with some kind of growth hormone—seriously terrifying!” said Su Miaomiao.

Zhuang Feixue: “…Exactly. If Illya hadn’t been there today, I probably would’ve been stung to death. Being stung to death by bees, my body would’ve swollen into lumps… What a miserable way to die.”

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