CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 39: A FLYING KICK!

"Okay, coming right now!"

The call from the coordinator finally broke the subtle atmosphere between the two.

Xu Qingqiu hurriedly gathered her dress and ran towards the backstage entrance, with Chu Tian following closely behind, stuffing a water bottle into his bag while keeping up with her.

Reaching the entrance to the stage, they saw the previous singer just stepping up; it was her turn next.

"Teacher Xu, please have a seat here and wait for a moment. You’re up next."

"Okay, thank you."

Xu Qingqiu expressed her thanks but didn’t sit down. With just a few minutes to go and her dress being cumbersome, she preferred to keep standing.

Chu Tian stood quietly behind her, curiously peeking through the gap at the vast, noisy crowd below.

Since it wasn’t an official music festival but just an event where several celebrities were invited to perform, the audience was not well-organized, standing clustered together.

"Teacher Xu, it’s your turn. Get ready."

"Three, two, one!"

Following the cue from the staff, Xu Qingqiu took the microphone in her hand, delicately lifted her skirt, and gracefully stepped onto the stage.

"If pride wasn’t smashed by the cold waves of reality"

"How would one understand the effort needed to reach faraway places~"

Currently, she could sing only two songs: one was "The Original Dream," which she performed during a competition, and the other was "In the World," released just yesterday.

This commercial performance had been scheduled beforehand, leaving no choice but this song, which Chu Tian had expected.

Watching the confident girl on stage singing the song he had given her, Chu Tian revealed a smile reminiscent of a doting aunt.

Not bad, not bad. The singing is quite good, almost sounds like the original singer; it does justice to the original work.

The sound quality is a bit poor, with a lot of noise and serious electrical interference. But for a small event, it’s tolerable.

The audience is quite respectful too. Whether they genuinely recognize her or not, the scene is quite lively.

Just as he was commenting expertly, he suddenly saw a man at the front holding a large bouquet of flowers, staring intently at Xu Qingqiu on stage.

Chu Tian initially thought he was mistaken and leaned forward to check if the man was really gazing at Xu Qingqiu.

Indeed, he saw clearly; his perfect vision even caught the lecherous smile on the man’s face.

Isn’t this guy with the bouquet supposed to be accompanying someone? Staring so intently at a female celebrity, isn’t he afraid his companion will hit him?

Chu Tian looked at him with disdain, feeling quite uncomfortable.

Usually, seeing Xu Qingqiu frequently didn’t bother him, and even when many fans called her ’wife,’ he didn’t mind.

But this lecherous man’s persistent gaze made him utterly uncomfortable, as if something beautiful was being desecrated.

Where is this guy’s companion? What scared her off? She better come back quickly and set him straight! It’d be best if she gouged his eyes out!

Due to his status, he certainly couldn’t just go over and beat the man up just because he didn’t like the look of him.

So, Chu Tian silently prayed for the man’s girlfriend to appear soon—preferably to give him a good beating!

What a jerk, enjoying what’s in his bowl while eyeing what’s in the pot, looking at others with such a sleazy expression.

TSK TSK TSK! Disgusting creature. Saliva almost dripping out. Truly revolting!

Filled with discomfort, he glared fiercely at the man, as if his gaze could kill.

Meanwhile, Xu Qingqiu was almost done performing on stage, waving to the audience, which instantly whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

It was understandable, as the show had just aired yesterday, and her name was still trending. She was at the height of her popularity. Many people wanted to seize this opportunity to get close to her, hoping for some bragging rights later.

A variety of cell phones were held overhead, and the audience in the front row pressed forward, hoping to get closer to her, maybe even shake her hand—that would be even better.

The security guards were working hard to maintain order, continuously urging the audience to move back.

At that moment, the sleazy man suddenly took two steps forward, bypassing a security guard, and walked towards the stage with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

The surrounding security guards were all stunned for a moment.

Their first reaction was: how could someone rush onto the stage?

Most of the other audience members were rational, at most wanting to get closer to the stage. But who would suddenly rush up there? Normal people wouldn’t do such a thing. Even without malicious intent, they would inevitably face police questioning afterward, wouldn’t they?

Who would look for trouble without cause, just to be closer to a celebrity? They weren’t sasaeng fans, so how could they be so irrational?

So, the man’s appearance initially stunned the group of inexperienced security guards.

By the time they realized they should intercept him, they noticed the man was still holding a bouquet.

Could it be a pre-arranged gesture to present flowers? Modern celebrities really know how to create buzz—perhaps they feared a lull and had arranged for someone to present flowers to boost their image? This was, indeed, their second reaction.

Only Chu Tian realized something was wrong. He was an assistant and was in charge of coordinating these matters. How could he not know if there was a flower presentation segment?

Moreover, I’ve been watching this man, thinking he was just accompanying his girlfriend. So he was waiting to present flowers? But presenting flowers with such a sleazy demeanor? What on earth is he thinking? Just by looking, one can tell he’s no good. How could they possibly let him go on stage? What if he suddenly gives Xu Qingqiu a bear hug when he gets close? Wouldn’t my boss be taken advantage of in a big way then?

Thinking this, he couldn’t care about anything else and rushed onto the stage to politely stop him. As an assistant, such an action wouldn’t be too out of line.

Just as he stepped onto the stage, an unexpected event occurred.

The man, who had been holding the flowers, suddenly threw them away, strode onto the stage, and began stripping off his shirt while shouting loudly, "Xu Qingqiu, I love you!!" as he dashed toward her.

Xu Qingqiu had already noticed this man and had some doubts, but seeing that the security guards didn’t stop him, she thought he might have been arranged by the organizers.

Even though she was reluctant, she still forced a smile and waited for his arrival.

After all, she was here and had been paid. It was just a bouquet of flowers, so there was no need to make an unpleasant scene.

But she never expected this man to suddenly drop the flowers, start stripping, and run toward her. The whole situation terrified her; her face instantly paled as she stared wide-eyed in horror, feeling complete despair as the man neared.

Chu Tian, who had just stepped onto the side of the stage, had been watching him and immediately saw his actions.

As the man dropped the flowers and ran onto the stage, Chu Tian dashed towards him.

Just as the sleazy man was about three or four meters from Xu Qingqiu, Chu Tian leaped into the air and delivered a flying kick that struck the man’s arm.

He put all his strength into that kick, sending the man flying. He then landed smoothly, casually adjusting the small, pink bag slung over his shoulder.

Everyone at the scene was shocked by this, but the head of security was the first to recover, running towards the area while shouting for the man to be caught.

The officers on duty also rushed over quickly, immediately subduing the sleazy man.

Chu Tian turned, walked over to Xu Qingqiu, and asked softly, "Are you okay?"