Chapter 458: Her Splendor, His Delight (4)

"This is great, Si Jia, she really didn’t notice! And she doesn’t plan on checking it at all. It looks like she’s really going to wait until right before she goes on stage to change, so she’ll definitely never find out!"

"Even if she does find out, it won’t matter. The gala is about to start. She won’t have time to prepare anything new!"

Clearly, Meng Sijia was very pleased with this result. A triumphant smirk appeared on her face as she spoke.

"Right. You’re so thorough, Si Jia."

At 8:00 PM, all the corporation’s employees and their families had arrived, and the gala officially began.

Backstage, Shen Nian could hear the sounds from the main stage. She didn’t need to see it to imagine how dull and uninteresting the performances were.

’Of course, I’m comparing them to the shows of a later era,’ Shen Nian thought. ’For people in this time, these performances are probably considered pretty good.’

Performances began and ended one by one, with waves of applause coming from the audience. Shen Nian estimated the time. It was almost her turn, so she headed into the nearby dressing room to get ready.

"She’s going in. She’s going in to change."

Meng Sijia and her companion had been watching Shen Nian the whole time. When they saw Shen Nian finally take her package and enter the dressing room to change, they couldn’t help but grow excited.

"I need to start getting ready in a bit, too. Keep an eye on things for me."

"Yeah, don’t worry, Si Jia. I’ll definitely keep watch for you."

She was long used to being Meng Sijia’s follower. She knew Meng Sijia’s character wasn’t the best, but as long as she could reap the benefits she desired, that was all that mattered. She didn’t care about anything else.

While it was tense backstage, things weren’t exactly relaxed out in the audience either.

"Why isn’t it Xiao Nian’s turn yet?"

"It should be soon. It looks like there are only a few performances left."

"The wait is killing me! Why did they schedule Xiao Nian’s act so late!"

Lin Jingyun was starting to worry. The later a performance was in the program, the less of an advantage it had.

"Sister Jingyun, didn’t Xiao Nian tell us not to worry? Let’s just wait and see her on stage."

While Lin Jingyun and Zhang Ying were focused on Shen Nian’s appearance, Lu Cheng, sitting in the employee section, had no interest in the onstage performances. All he could think was:

’Why isn’t my wife out yet? When exactly is her performance? And what is her act going to be like?’

Fortunately, the current act on stage ended quickly, and the host soon brought the news they had all been waiting for.

"Our next act is, ooh, quite a surprise! The performer is a family member of one of our corporation’s employees! And her act has been kept completely under wraps—even I don’t know what she’s going to do! Okay, without further ado, let’s give a big welcome to Shen Nian, wife of Group Leader Lu Cheng, with her performance!"

After making the announcement, the host turned and walked offstage. Down in the audience, hearing those words, many people turned their gazes toward Lu Cheng.

Some of them knew Shen Nian was performing tonight, but most did not.

But now, their interest was definitely piqued. For one, it had been a long time since a family member had performed. For another, Shen Nian had become so famous within the company recently that it was impossible for them not to pay attention.

And Lu Cheng, upon hearing the host’s announcement, paid no mind to the many eyes that turned his way. His gaze was glued to the stage, waiting for Shen Nian to appear.