Chapter 69 Side Story 1

Chapter 69 Extra 1

New Year's Eve, light snow.

A month ago, after a unanimous vote by the board of directors, Nan Liujing succeeded as chairman. From that day on, CEO Nan became Chairman Nan.

Over the past year, Huanhai Electronics frequently dominated trending topics, with eight out of every ten trending stories being negative news. To maximize the improvement of the company's image, and coinciding with the end of the year, Nan Liujing allocated a significant portion of his funds to support charitable causes.

The largest share of charitable spending went to children's homes.

He made this decision after recalling what Shen Gali had told him about his past—the only lie he had ever told, and how he'd been haunted for years by not having a father, while plenty of people blew such a small, pride-protecting lie out of proportion.

Nan Liujing felt that perhaps, in places he couldn’t see, there were many children like Shen Gali, who had never experienced complete parental love and didn't know what family warmth felt like.

Besides donating money, Special Assistant Lin suggested preparing a theatrical performance for the kids at the children's home in the name of Huanhai Electronics. After discussion among the company employees, it was decided that the script would be *Snow White*, hoping to convey to the children that even without parents, there are still many kind people in society willing to embrace and care for them.

The leading roles for *Snow White* were also voted on by the company employees. Nan Liujing served as the general director, while Shen Gali was appointed as the assistant director.

No other reason—Nan Liujing just wanted to take his wife everywhere he went.

The play was rehearsed for a week, but lazy-ass Shen Gali only showed up once. He glanced at the prince's lines, considered his work done, and went home to crash.

On New Year's Eve, the actors went to the company lobby for a final run-through, while Nan Liujing took Shen Gali and some other employees to the children's home to set up the stage.

An old figure quietly appeared in a corner of the audience, silently watching the few busy people on stage.

His gaze wandered back and forth between Nan Liujing's legs, and an involuntary, gratified smile spread across his lips.

The children's home director noticed the old man in the corner and trotted over to greet him softly: "Mr. Nan, you're here. Why didn't you tell us? Do you need me to go call Chairman Nan for you?"

Nan Feng's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed.

He shook his head: "No, it's okay. He probably doesn't want to see me anyway."

On stage.

While everyone else did the grunt work, Shen Gali was assigned light tasks like arranging flowers. Nan Liujing personally led the setup of the big props and then ran over to help Shen Gali arrange the flowers.

The stage was ready, and the crew went backstage to check costumes and props. Nan Liujing glanced at his watch—twenty minutes until the show started—but the actors who had been rehearsing at the company hadn't arrived yet.

He called to ask about the situation, and the person on the other end sounded even more freaked out:

"Chairman Nan, I'm sorry. It's New Year's Eve and the traffic is terrible. We're stuck on Century Avenue and haven't moved for half an hour."

Nan Liujing thought it over. Century Avenue was about six miles away, and with the traffic jam, there was no way to make it in twenty minutes and still get changed.

Outside, the teachers had already seated the kids. Almost every kid from every children's home in Jinhai City was seated.

The employees nearby barely breathed. They expected Nan Liujing to blow up over this last-minute disaster. But surprisingly, he remained calm.

He thought for a moment, then turned to look at the stage staff: "The actors can't make it on time, but we can't make the kids wait. There are exactly eight of you here, and you've seen the script. You'll temporarily play the roles of the seven dwarfs and the queen."

With no other option, the staff had to suck it up and go along.

"What about Snow White, the witch, and the prince?" someone asked. "For the prince, maybe Chairman Nan can step in, but what about the two female parts? Should we grab outside teachers to fill in?"

Nan Liujing figured that wouldn't work. The teachers hadn't read the script, and memorizing all the lines and moves in just ten minutes was pretty much impossible.

While he was thinking, his eyes wandered and landed on Shen Gali, who looked like he had nothing to do. In that moment, his gaze brightened.

Shen Gali: ...

Nope, not me, don't even look at me.

"Don't look at me. My memory is worse than a six-year-old's, and I've only seen the prince's script."

Nan Liujing crouched in front of him, took his hands, and gave them a gentle shake: "The prince works too. You up for it?"

Shen Gali knew you can't dodge your fate. He couldn't just let the charity show tank on Nan Liujing's watch; if it brought public backlash, he'd be caught in the crossfire too.

"Fine..."

Nan Liujing stood up: "Good, the prince's role is set. Now we need an older actor for the witch and one for Snow White. Does anyone have relatives or friends living nearby? Please call and see if they can come as soon as possible."

"For the witch role, maybe I could give it a shot." Just as everyone was about to make calls, an old voice sounded from the corner.

Everyone turned. Nan Liujing, in front, clearly froze.

"Nan... Chairman Nan, I mean, Consultant Nan." The employees immediately snapped to attention and greeted him in unison.

Nan Liujing didn't know why Nan Feng was here or when he had arrived. But even though he resented his father, he wasn't about to risk the kids' patience.

After a long pause, he looked away and said quietly: "Alright. Try to memorize the lines as best you can. If you can't, just improvise."

"Then... what about Snow White...?"

The second those words were out, everyone looked at Nan Liujing in unison.

Nan Liujing: .

The big hall was filled with the laughter of kids.

Bai Wei, sitting in the front row, had just left the company's annual party and rushed over. Besides wanting to see her precious Li Li's directorial debut (even if it barely involved him), she'd also been committed to charity work for children's homes over the years. Before she found Shen Gali, these children's homes were her only comfort—hoping that if she did good, her own lost child might be treated kindly too.

As she visited more homes, she grew more sympathetic to these kids' tough situations.

For example, the little girl next to her—a seven-year-old with severe autism. After years of illness with no cure, she watched helplessly as her parents dumped her at the children's home gate and took off.

The teachers said the girl barely talked to anyone, spending most of her time sitting alone in a corner, staring into space. The home had arranged doctors and therapy, but it didn't help much.

While other kids were laughing and chatting, she remained unmoved, staring at the flowers on stage in a daze.

Bai Wei gently patted her little hand and said softly: "The show is about to start."

Suddenly, the stage lights went out. In the pitch darkness, the kids instinctively went quiet. They could vaguely make out a tall figure staggering around. Then the lights came on, and the narrator's voice began:

"Once upon a time, in a distant kingdom, there lived a very beautiful princess. Her skin was as white as snow, so everyone called her Snow White."

The kids excitedly looked toward the stage, eager to see the legendary unparalleled beauty of Snow White.

The next second: The kids—

Help... save me! Such a... such a sturdy princess! Not just the kids—the teachers were stunned too.

This was clearly a man, wasn't it? This was clearly Nan Liujing!

The pitifully small-sized costume bore an unbearable burden, forcibly encasing a body 192 cm tall and weighing 170 jin (about 187 lbs). His shoulders were so tight he could barely move, wrapped around his powerful, robust biceps, leaving no gap.

The floor-length dress intended for the princess became a knee-length skirt on him, and even under such a beautiful dress, he wore men's dress shoes because he simply couldn't fit into the size 38 prop shoes.

Everyone felt Nan Liujing's tension, to the point that even they felt like they couldn't breathe.

After the initial shock wore off, the children's innocent voices chimed in one after another: "Why is the princess so muscular? His clothes are too tight."

"He's even wearing men's dress shoes! Teacher, would a princess wear men's dress shoes?"

"This princess is a man, right!"

Teacher: I don't know, don't ask me.

On stage, Nan Liujing faced a sea of innocent eyes. No one was mocking him, but he still felt mortified.

He suddenly understood how Shen Gali felt when he was in front of a crowd and desperately wanted the ground to swallow him up.

When Nan Feng, playing the witch, made his entrance, the children were stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter that nearly lifted the roof off.

"Why does the witch have a beard!"

"Why is the witch also wearing men's dress shoes!"

"So scary."

The children's noise drowned out the sound system. Nan Feng felt he had to come up with a reasonable explanation to shut the kids up and ensure the play could continue.

The little girl with autism stared blankly, fixated on the two men's dress shoes.

Then, Nan Feng, feigning indignation, muttered to himself in a corner:

"Damn Snow White, just because he likes wearing men's dress shoes, the king decrees that everyone in the kingdom, regardless of age or gender, must wear them. I have to trick him into eating this poisoned apple so I can freely wear my favorite high heels."

At this point in the play, the children should have been worried about the princess's fate.

But instead, the children:

"Haha, that's so ridiculous! Why does the princess like men's dress shoes? Does he have some weird thing for them?"

"It's because he's so muscular that if he wore high heels, he'd snap the heels off!"

Nan Liujing: ...

Yes, you're absolutely right.

When the princess ate the poisoned apple and fell into a coma, the dwarfs shuffled onto the stage, hunched over, and sobbed for a long time beside the crystal coffin. Their cries attracted a prince who happened to be passing by.

Shen Gali had been sitting backstage, spacing out, when someone told him it was time to go on stage.

The moment he appeared, the children shouted indignantly: "What a handsome prince! Why would a prince like such a muscular princess, and a man at that! This makes no sense!"

Shen Gali: Tsk.

Distracted by the children's shouts, he suddenly forgot his lines. He racked his brain for a long time but couldn't remember them.

Guess I'll just have to wing it.

He leaned over the crystal coffin, took one look at Nan Liujing's heavily made-up face, and quickly looked away.

Don't look, don't look, or you'll get a sty.

Staring at the ceiling, unable to bear the sight, he said: "Dear princess, although you may not be easy on the eyes, I know you have a kind and pure heart. People shouldn't just focus on outward appearances, so allow me to give you a kiss of admiration."

Nan Liujing whispered: "Why aren't you looking at my face when you say that?"

The children burst into laughter: "Haha, prince, if you're being held hostage, just kiss the princess!"

Shen Gali closed his eyes and lowered his head, following the script to fake a kiss in Snow White's direction.

Even though they were an old married couple who had done everything, they couldn't actually kiss in front of the kids.

Just as his lips were only a few centimeters from the fiery red ones, the curtain system malfunctioned for some reason and suddenly closed.

The children: ?

As soon as the curtain closed, Shen Gali sighed in relief and tried to get away, but the back of his head was pressed down. He instinctively struggled, but to no avail—when it came to strength, he was always no match for Nan Liujing.

The unique scent of lip gloss filled his nostrils, and the next second, it was completely overwhelmed by Nan Liujing's distinct presence. His lips were sticky, and then the lingering scent of the lip gloss unexpectedly slipped into his mouth.

After a long while, Nan Liujing released him, looking at his rosy lips, unsure if it was from the smeared lip gloss or because he had been thoroughly kissed.

He gently wiped Shen Gali's lips with his finger and chuckled: "You messed up my performance. Think about how you're going to make it up to me tonight."

Shen Gali: "From the moment you came on stage, this performance was doomed."

Nan Liujing's gaze drifted as he slowly looked at the curtain that still hadn't been fixed: "Actually, that's not true. Listen to them."

From behind the curtain came the children's roar of laughter. They didn't see the suddenly closing curtain as a system malfunction; instead, they were convinced that you didn't have to be beautiful to be a princess.

You can be one, and so can I.

And you don't have to be beautiful to be loved.

You can be loved, and so can I.

Listening to the children's heated discussions and laughter, Shen Gali looked at Nan Liujing's ridiculous face and suddenly couldn't help but burst out laughing.

So it turns out the world doesn't lack right or wrong things; what it lacks is meaningful things.

Even though they had to find last-minute replacements because the original actors couldn't show up, and every substitute looked completely out of place, the children in the audience—abandoned by their parents for years—let out genuine laughter for the first time.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. It didn't matter how good or bad the performance was; as long as the audience was happy, it was a success.

Seeing Shen Gali's rare smile, Nan Liujing felt an immense sense of achievement.

He sat up, pulled Shen Gali into his arms, and complimented his outfit: "My wife is really beautiful, like a little prince who stepped out of a fairy tale."

The moment he was embraced, Shen Gali heard a "rip" sound from Nan Liujing's clothes. It was the sound of fabric tearing.