Marry the NPC with Money, Wife Comes Knocking - Chapter 128

Chapter 128

“Friendly reminder: Audience members entering the venue, please take your seats in an orderly fashion. To avoid disrupting the performance, please remain quiet once inside. Moving around during the performance is prohibited.”

The opera stage was hidden behind heavy red curtains. The stage lights were not yet on, but the house lights illuminated the seating area.

Hua Suihe took the initiative to sit in a chair in the front row, consciously remaining quiet and following the rules.

A man dressed in a suit walked over with a composed gait and sat down beside her. Hua Suihe didn’t notice him, and the man didn’t go out of his way to greet her.

[Eh, it’s hubby Song Qi!]

[Song Qiyue! That’s the third male lead we’ve seen while following Hua Hua.]

[Why do I feel like he’s looking at Hua Hua? Does he know our Hua?]

[Hua Hua is an influencer over there too, so it’s normal for him to recognize her.]

[Song Qiyue is as handsome as expected. There’s only one male lead left to meet. I have a feeling Hua Hua will definitely run into him.]

Hua Suihe saw Song Qiyue’s name scrolling rapidly across the livestream’s bullet chat. She glanced toward the man in the white suit sitting primly beside her, only to unexpectedly lock eyes with his smiling gaze.

Hua Suihe gave a slight nod and withdrew her gaze, focusing all her attention on the big stage.

The house lights suddenly went out, plunging the entire venue into darkness. The red curtains on the stage slowly pulled back to both sides, and soft, warm light poured down. The stage backdrop was a dilapidated castle. Vivid roses struggled to grow out of the castle on the canvas, their blossoms stretching outward until they reached the girl’s feet, looking fresh and dripping with dew.

Miss Lano stood in the center of the stage, wearing vintage European aristocratic attire. With her slender waist and wide skirt, she looked like a yellow rose in full bloom.

As the music began, Miss Lano softly opened her mouth, chanting lyrics in an incomprehensible foreign language. The melody was sorrowful and winding. The girl moved her body on the stage, but the heavy skirt seemed like a weight of shackles upon her. Her movements were stiff and mechanical, her eyes hollow, like a marionette being controlled by strings.

As the curtain was about to fall, the roses behind her all withered, their petals dropping away. The lights on the stage dimmed, and the castle on the canvas looked like a rusty cage.

Miss Lano returned to her initial position, hands folded over her stomach in a dignified stance. She did not bow. She simply waited quietly for the red curtains to pull back together from both sides.

A solo opera performance thus came to an end.

The entire venue was silent.

Everyone recognized Miss Lano on the stage; that was clearly Ye Susheng.

It was already known that this Cruise Ship voyage was organized and hosted by seven young masters and misses, and Miss Lano was one of them.

The house lights came back on, followed by the sound of a broadcast.

“Today’s opera performance has ended. Audience members, please exit in an orderly fashion. Another reminder: everyone is requested to return to the Opera House at 8:00 PM tonight to participate in the Plot Discussion Meeting.”

A deep voice came from Hua Suihe’s right. “Any clues?”

Hua Suihe was dazed for a moment, then stood up as if suddenly waking. “Oh, it’s over. Then I need to go find my girlfriend. Goodbye.”

Song Qiyue blurted out, “Miss Lano is not Miss Lano, because Ye Susheng is still Ye Susheng.”

Hua Suihe ignored him. A corner of the red curtain on the stage was lifted, revealing a pair of reddened eyes. Seeing this, Hua Suihe quickly picked up her pace and ran toward the stairs at the side of the stage. She scrambled onto the stage, pulled back the curtain, and stepped inside.

Song Qiyue stared at her departing back and shook his head imperceptibly. Summarizing the full plot to successfully clear the game wasn’t his only goal for this trip.

This Hua Suihe was the real target.

Meanwhile, Hua Suihe rushed toward Ye Susheng with all her heart, only to be blocked by the massive skirt. Only upon getting close did she realize how exaggeratedly large the dress was. Standing at the edge of the hem, she couldn’t even reach out to hug Ye Susheng.

But Hua Suihe didn’t let that dampen her spirits. Giving very positive emotional feedback, she praised happily, “Ye Zi, you look so beautiful in this outfit!”

“You’re a real princess today, Miss Lano~”

Ye Susheng clutched her skirt with both hands, her eyes downcast and her expression bashful. “Hua Hua, the skirt is too big. It’s hard to hug. Let’s go change.”

“Mm-hmm, no rush.” Hua Suihe pulled her phone out of her pocket, acting on a whim. “Since the red curtain is right here, let’s take some photos together, hehe~”

The black mist coiled around her phone, aiming the camera at them from the perfect height. To get closer to each other, the two of them struck several goofy poses, taking a whole series of photos.

Hua Suihe took her phone back and inspected the photos carefully, nodding repeatedly. “Beautiful, beautiful. Our Ye Zi looks great from every angle.”

Ye Susheng also stared intently at Hua Suihe in the photos. She felt her skirt was very much in the way; if not for this dress, she could have been even more intimate with Hua Hua.

Ye Susheng pressed down on the pannier of her skirt. “Hua Hua, Hua Hua… Hua Hua has to pick out an outfit for me today. Don’t forget~”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember.” Hua Suihe put her phone away and suddenly noticed that the withered roses on the floor had somehow come back to life, returning to their original, vibrant, and beautiful state from the start of the performance.

“Huh? They’re alive again.”

Ye Susheng’s gaze followed hers downward. The roots of the roses grew out of the canvas in front of them, spreading from the castle.

The flowers were still growing outward. A flash of annoyance flickered in the depths of Ye Susheng’s eyes.

She didn’t follow the topic, but instead acted spoiled toward Hua Suihe. “Hua Hua, let’s go back and change now. This is so heavy~”

Hearing this, Hua Suihe stopped caring about the roses all over the floor. “Then let’s go back to the room. I’ve already coordinated the clothes I want you to wear.”

Ye Susheng lifted her skirt and stayed by Hua Suihe’s side as they walked out of the Opera House together toward the upward elevator.

From within the canvas of the castle where the roses grew, a person who looked exactly like Ye Susheng suddenly stepped out. She was wearing the same vintage European formal dress that Ye Susheng had worn during the performance.

With hollow eyes, she turned to look at the castle within the canvas, her gaze gradually gaining focus.

She spoke, her voice sounding somewhat stiff and unpracticed. “I am… Lano?”

“Lano… Lano…”

“No, I am not Lano.”

Lano looked at the roses on the floor coiling toward her and kicked them away.

“Get lost. I am not Lano.”

“Ye Susheng. I am Ye Susheng. Hua Hua… Find Hua Hua…”