Chapter 191: Terrifying Popularity
"Master, is Miss Jia Na really the last to appear?"
The person referred to as Master by the intern reporter Xi Lin was Matthew, a senior reporter with a scraggly beard, a tall and thin build, but extremely sharp eyes.
"The list was sent by an insider, there's no mistake."
Matthew, who was focused on adjusting his camera equipment, didn't even lift his head when answering Xi Lin's question.
"That's still three hours away—did we come too early?"
Looking at the sparse number of colleagues around them, Xi Lin, whose cheeks were already frozen red, couldn't help but breathe into her palms, then rubbed her frozen cheeks.
"Intern, opportunity is always for those who are prepared—in our line of work, not being early is being late. If you don't stake out a good spot beforehand, with so many reporters, why would you think your photos would catch anyone else's eye?"
It was still an answer without lifting his head. Although it sounded reasonable, Xi Lin, whose body was already a bit frozen, couldn't really take it in.
"Master, I'm going to buy a cup of hot coffee, do you want one?"
"No need, just get one for yourself."
Hearing this, Xi Lin, who was already unbearable with the cold, no longer paid attention to Matthew. After setting up her camera stand, she quickly ran to the dessert shop across the street to buy hot coffee.
"Finally alive again—"
Feeling the warm air inside the shop, Xi Lin, who had been hunched over, finally straightened up.
"Couldn't they open at any other time, why did they have to choose winter—I'm freezing to death."
After quickly ordering two hot coffees, Xi Lin, whose body had mostly recovered, finally gritted her teeth and pushed open the shop door again, facing the dry and cold winter wind, and walked back to Matthew's side.
"Master, this cup is on me, you should drink some to warm up too."
"Thank you—but I hope next time you'll listen to me clearly and not buy me coffee again."
Looking at the hot coffee Xi Lin handed over, Matthew, who hadn't finished adjusting his camera, just raised his head slightly to look at her, then took the coffee, placed it on the ground, and continued to bury himself in his work.
"What an unfeeling guy!"
Seeing Matthew's lack of appreciation, Xi Lin couldn't help but complain in her heart. She then took a sip of coffee and continued to assemble her camera stand.
"People are indeed starting to arrive—"
With an hour and a half left until the opening, the area in front of the Purple Hibiscus Auction House, which had been quite deserted, suddenly became crowded.
Before long, all the best photography spots were almost entirely taken by reporters who had arrived early.
This forced those who came later to stand in the second row, finding a spot with a relatively poor view.
"Master was indeed right—"
As time quickly passed, before long, the entire outer area of the Bauhinia Bank was surrounded by a crowd of reporters. Among them were also a large number of fans of the troupe's actors, as well as various onlookers, blocking the entrance of the Purple Hibiscus Auction House completely.
And Xi Lin, standing in the front row, was even more grateful for their early arrival. Otherwise, they might have had to climb trees to take photos. "What terrifying popularity."
Now, with five minutes left until the opening ceremony, Xi Lin noticed that the majority of the people around were discussing Jia Na.
Whether they were reporters, fans, or even some onlookers who had never seen an opera, they were all discussing Jia Na in unison.
For this group of onlookers, they had never even seen Jia Na's true face. In fact, many of the rumors about Jia Na were hearsay and not entirely accurate.
However, during this time, the name "Jia Na" was mentioned so many times by others,
making them increasingly curious about Jia Na.
Their curiosity wasn't about how well she sang opera. After all, for non-opera lovers, watching opera was just an occasional novelty, not something they truly liked, let alone something they would regularly pay attention to.
But the rumored divine "beauty" of Jia Na gave them a kind of impulse to investigate and discern the truth, driven by curiosity.
And this was the main purpose for which the Purple Hibiscus Auction House spent a large sum of money to invite Jia Na and other celebrities this time.
"They're here, they're here, someone's finally here!"
As the opening ceremony of the Purple Hibiscus Auction House officially began, luxurious and imposing carriages gradually streamed towards the entrance of the Purple Hibiscus Auction House.
Even though everyone knew that the people appearing first would inevitably be some lesser-known figures, the reporters, who had been waiting in the cold for too long and were desperate for some excitement, were very cooperative and raised their cameras, taking pictures towards the carriages.
"Don't waste film. For unimportant people, just take one casual shot."
"Okay, Master."
Hearing Matthew's words, Xi Lin also symbolically took one photo, and then began to quietly wait for the guests who would appear later.—·
"Keep a close eye on people, don't miss any moment that can be called news."
"Yes, Master."
As more and more people entered, the emotions of the onlookers gradually ignited until, half an hour later, as the Nightingale Opera Troupe's carriage slowly drove in, the crowd surrounding the Purple Hibiscus Auction House became excited in unison.
"Look quickly, the people from the Nightingale Opera Troupe are here!"
"Is it Miss Jia Na? Why can't I see anyone!"
Someone shouted, and the calls for "Jia Na" continuously echoed through the crowd.
"Wrong, wrong, it's not Jia Na, but Anna-Moonshadow of the Nightingale Opera Troupe."
Anna-Moonshadow, wearing a deep black evening gown, slowly stepped down from the carriage, surrounded by Crane-Roland and David-Berg.
However, upon seeing that the person arriving was not Jia Na, the previously enthusiastic atmosphere on the scene visibly subsided a bit.
"Miss Anna is truly beautiful tonight!"
The black dress with a high slit design, paired with a snow-white faux fur shawl, accentuated Anna-Moonshadow's curves even more. Coupled with her naturally powerful aura, she exuded a captivating Charm that made it hard for the people around to look away.
"It's just, she's a bit too tall."
With a height of one meter eighty-five, plus a pair of silver-white high heels, Anna-Moonshadow's height was even a few centimeters taller than the two gentlemen beside her.
This made Xi Lin, who wasn't tall herself, feel a bit envious.
"It will be Miss Jia Na's turn soon."
Looking at the various actresses who kept entering afterwards, Xi Lin, while busy pressing the shutter, also became increasingly expectant of Jia Na's final appearance.
"Miss Jia Na is here!" Someone shouted, and upon hearing the words "Jia Na," the already lively outer area, this time, exploded in atmosphere as if water had been poured into a hot oil pan.