Chapter 67: What Do You Think of Me

After flawlessly performing the opening theme song for the New Year’s Eve Gala, Qin Haiyu returned backstage, her heart already drifting toward her husband. She searched and looked around, but couldn’t find any trace of him behind the scenes. Instantly, she pouted in disappointment.

At that moment, Yu Zhile happened to walk by and witnessed his wife’s little expression of annoyance and loss after failing to find him. He could barely resist laughing. If it weren’t for the many celebrities and staff present backstage, he would have rushed over to sweep her up in his arms and smother her with kisses.

Her disgruntled little pout was as adorable as a baby’s!

Just then, Ye Fei suddenly approached Qin Haiyu, asking with concern, “Haiyu, are you feeling unwell? You seem a bit pale.”

Qin Haiyu smiled and sat down, mumbling, “It’s nothing, I just didn’t sing one part as well as I’d hoped.”

Ye Fei sat down beside her, gently patting the back of her hand to comfort her. “Not at all! I think you sang beautifully! After two years away, to return to such a grand stage with thousands watching—if it were me, I'd be so nervous I wouldn’t even know how to sing.”

Qin Haiyu smiled again, unsure how to respond to Ye Fei.

At that moment, Yu Zhile walked over and said sternly, “Miss Qin, please step outside for a moment.”

“Ah… Oh! Sure!” Qin Haiyu stood up, a little surprised and delighted. Her husband had come at just the right moment!

She cheered inwardly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to deal with Ye Fei, who was so forward and troublesome.

Ye Fei asked suspiciously, “Why are you asking Haiyu to leave? She needs to get ready for her next performance!”

Yu Zhile fixed Ye Fei with a cold, handsome, and serious stare. “I called her out because there’s something she needs to handle! Do I need to report that to you?”

With that, Yu Zhile strode out with icy indifference.

Qin Haiyu hurriedly followed, while Ye Fei’s face soured as she muttered under her breath, “Hmph, just a backstage worker, acting so arrogant!”

Yu Zhile had been intentionally arrogant for Ye Fei’s benefit. He led his wife to a secluded corner where nobody else was around, finally letting his expression soften as he smiled and asked, “That scheming woman is pestering you again?”

Qin Haiyu sighed. “Now, whenever she spots me, she comes over pretending to be friendly. I really don’t know how to shake her off.”

Yu Zhile suggested, “Why not play the villain for once? Just tell her outright she’s a schemer and to stop pretending to be close?”

“That’s not good,” Qin Haiyu replied. “It’s never wise to make enemies.”

Yu Zhile pinched her cheek and smiled. “You’re just too kind, always gentle even to people you dislike. You’re bound to suffer because of it! But you’re right—making an enemy of a schemer isn’t worth it. You won’t have much to do with her in the future anyway. Just brush her off and tolerate it.”

Qin Haiyu quickly protested, “Don’t pinch my face, I’ve got foundation on!”

“Oh, there really is foundation!” Yu Zhile examined the thin layer of powder on his thumb and forefinger and said with relief, “Luckily I didn’t kiss you, or I’d have ended up kissing a layer of makeup!”

Qin Haiyu glanced around with a bright smile and asked, “Husband, why does this feel like we’re eloping or sneaking around? Aren’t you worried someone will discover us?”

“What’s there to worry about?” Yu Zhile wrapped his arm around Qin Haiyu’s waist, pulling her close to his chest and lowered his voice, “You’re my wife. Even if people find out, so what?”

Qin Haiyu tilted her head and smiled, “But no one knows you’re my husband!”

Yu Zhile gazed at her face, which haunted his dreams, and slowly lowered his head, intending to kiss her. But Qin Haiyu quickly turned away, stopping him. “No kissing! I’ve got lipstick on! As soon as the opening hosts finish, I have to get back on stage. There’s no time to touch up my makeup!”

“Oh, what a pity.” Yu Zhile released his hold around her waist and smiled regretfully. “The hosting is nearly done. Go get ready and sing well. Dad’s in the audience watching you! If you spot a fan sign in the front row with ‘Dad’ written on it, that’s him!”

“Pfft!” Qin Haiyu laughed. “Dad bought a fan sign? That’s so unlike him! He always looks so serious and dignified, holding a fan sign like a star-struck fan is just too out of character!”

Yu Zhile replied, “Before the show started, I teased him about it. He insisted he didn’t buy it, said someone gave it to him when he walked in.”

Qin Haiyu playfully punched her husband’s chest, scolding him, “How dare you mock your own father! So unfilial, you deserve a beating!”

Yu Zhile caught her little hand and kissed the back of it, laughing, “Alright, hurry back and get ready. We’ll sneak out again for a tryst later!”

“Pfft, okay!” Qin Haiyu skipped back happily, with Yu Zhile following behind. As she returned backstage, a girl who had been looking for her breathed a sigh of relief and quickly reminded her, “Sister Qin, please get ready, you’re about to go on stage!”

“I’m ready!” Qin Haiyu answered earnestly, and she couldn’t resist casting playful glances at her husband in the distance.

On stage, the four hosts finished their opening remarks, thanked the sponsors and VIP guests, and then announced loudly and clearly, “Time ticks by, and before we know it, we’ve arrived at the final night of 2025!”

“Fate has brought us together tonight!”

“Destiny gathers us all under one roof!”

“Meeting all of you is the greatest blessing of our lives!”

“Now, please welcome singer Qin Haiyu with a song we all know and love—‘Little Luck’!”

As the hosts left the stage and the dance troupe took their places, Qin Haiyu nodded towards her husband’s direction and then walked confidently onto the stage.

Yu Zhile made his way to the right side of the backstage area, where Yang Bing was standing. Something seemed amiss—perhaps there was a problem with the live broadcast, and Yang Bing appeared to be in trouble.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Zhile leaned in to ask Yang Bing.

Yang Bing put an arm around Yu Zhile’s shoulder and led him aside, saying, “Two big names have to finish their performances at another TV station’s New Year’s Gala before coming here. They’re stuck in traffic on the way to the airport, and their flight will be missed, so they'll be absent.”

Yu Zhile replied, “That’s normal! Surely you’ve prepared for emergencies like this?”

Yang Bing sighed, “We did! The real headache is that Cai Lanlan won’t make it either! We spent a fortune renting an extravagant piano just for her performance, and now that she’s not coming, the piano is wasted. We’ll have to substitute her piano act with another program.”

Yu Zhile’s interest was piqued. He quickly asked, “Where’s the piano? How extravagant is it? Can you show me?”

Yang Bing replied awkwardly, “Not now. The piano is stored in the lift below the stage and will be raised up during the show. But if Cai Lanlan isn’t coming, it won’t be used.”

“What a shame…” Yu Zhile asked, “Isn’t there anyone backstage who can substitute for her performance?”

Yang Bing shook his head. “This is Cai Lanlan! Even if someone else plays well, they wouldn’t dare go onstage in her place. The comparison would be humiliating!”

Is Cai Lanlan really that talented?

Is she as good as Lang Lang, whom I know?

Yu Zhile was curious.

What a pity!

He glanced at Yang Bing, itching to see the piano for himself, and asked, “Yang, what do you think of me?”