Although it was winter, the backstage area was heated, and the air conditioning was running at full blast. Combined with her performance just now, this left a faint sheen of sweat on Luo Zhaoyin’s forehead.

Hearing Ling Xiaoli’s question, she nodded shyly.

“Mm, a little.”

The pink-haired woman, seeing that Ling Xiaoli was ignoring her, deliberately raised her voice again.

“Ling Xiaoli, I hope you’ll have this kind of luck next time too! But honestly, I’m not optimistic. You have neither talent nor looks. Sooner or later, you’re bound to fall flat on your face, aren’t you?”

Her voice had already risen several decibels.

The volume attracted the attention of those nearby, but no one said anything. They simply watched the spectacle in silence.

Ling Xiaoli continued to ignore her and smiled at Luo Zhaoyin instead.

“It’s normal to be nervous. Don’t worry. After you’ve done it a few more times, you’ll get used to it. Let me tell you something—when you’re nervous, just imagine everyone below is a cabbage, a radish, or a tomato. Then you won’t feel nervous anymore!”

Luo Zhaoyin burst out laughing.

“But what if I get hungry after imagining them that way?”

The pink-haired woman felt somewhat uncomfortable.

What was wrong with Ling Xiaoli? Normally, with that foul temper of hers, Ling Xiaoli would have exploded long ago.

But today, she had ignored her the entire time, making the pink-haired woman look like a clown. Unable to stand it, she continued:

“Oh, my! Is someone deliberately refusing to answer because she knows she can’t refute me? How pitiful.”

Ling Xiaoli continued to ignore the pink-haired woman.

“If you get hungry, that’s easy. Just eat after you come offstage!”

Before she could finish speaking, the pink-haired woman finally lost her temper.

“Ling Xiaoli! I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?”

The two of them were chatting and laughing, yet neither paid her any attention. Did they think she was invisible?

However, before Ling Xiaoli could respond, Luo Zhaoyin turned around first and looked directly into the pink-haired woman’s eyes.

“Not interrupting while someone else is speaking should be basic courtesy, shouldn’t it?”

“What do you mean?” The pink-haired woman immediately stood up, her voice shrill. “Are you saying I’m impolite? Are you very polite yourself?!”

The spectators’ eyes lit up.

The opponent in the imagined “battle” had changed, but a spectacle was still a spectacle.

Unfortunately, just then, a man’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Why are you making so much noise? Yuan Yuan, your voice is the loudest one here.”

Upon hearing that voice, everyone nearby hurriedly returned to what they had been doing.

Well, there was no more show to watch.

The pink-haired woman, Yuan Yuan, stiffened when she heard him. She instinctively tried to defend herself.

“Brother Zhao, I wasn’t making noise…” Her voice was noticeably softer now.

The middle-aged man known as Brother Zhao quickly walked over, his expression stern.

“You weren’t? I could hear you from far away. With lungs like that, save your energy and sing harder later!”

Yuan Yuan opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But when she saw Brother Zhao’s serious expression, she lowered her head.

“Yes, Brother Zhao. I’ll go prepare first.”

She turned and left the area dejectedly. Before leaving, she still didn’t forget to shoot Ling Xiaoli a vicious glare.

After Yuan Yuan left, Brother Zhao’s expression instantly changed from gloomy to sunny. With a bright smile, he turned to Luo Zhaoyin.

“Zhaoyin, I watched the performance. You did extremely well today! Old Yu even asked me to look after you, but I can see that there’s no need for that at all. You did a wonderful job on your own!”

As he spoke, he looked at Ling Xiaoli beside Luo Zhaoyin and said amiably:

“You did well too. Your singing was much better than during the rehearsal.”

He didn’t mention Ling Xiaoli’s unauthorized change to the “script” or the fact that she had canceled the dance.

Ling Xiaoli could only marvel at the rapid series of changes.

Just moments ago, she had been planning to join the “battle” with the pink-haired woman. Before she could even say anything, the situation had developed at lightning speed, and suddenly, there was nothing left for her to do.

But Brother Zhao’s blatant difference in treatment—had he specifically studied Sichuan opera’s face-changing technique?

Could this be the power of the female lead’s halo?

It was simply terrifying!

Even she had managed to benefit from it a little.

While Ling Xiaoli’s mind wandered, she maintained a smile and said:

“It’s all thanks to A-Yin guiding me so well.”

Hearing this, the smile on Brother Zhao’s face grew even brighter.

Tsk!

Sure enough, hugging the female lead’s thigh—no, befriending the female lead—was the only way for Ling Xiaoli to survive!

Once she became someone important to the female lead, even the author would have no chance of writing her to death!