Chapter 66#
The People in the Story (Part 3)#
Xia Wenshi said, “I studied at Huai’an University for four years and only went to the old gymnasium for the opening and graduation ceremonies. It’s closed year-round, and students are forbidden from entering alone. I heard that a two-story basement was designed when it was built, but I don’t know if it was ever completed. I still haven’t figured out its full layout.”
Luo Xingyan had no interest in these things. He was incredibly bored and chose to read a book in the car.
Xia Wenshi was shocked when he saw this in the rearview mirror. “Xiao Luo, what are you reading?”
Luo Xingyan replied lazily, “A magazine.”
Xia Wenshi gasped, “Hiss, you actually like to read?”
After all, with his red hair and punkish look, Luo Xingyan seemed like the classic case of “the one who went to herd cattle when told to study.”
Luo Xingyan couldn’t be bothered to reply.
He pulled out another copy of “Fantasy World” from behind him and tossed it to Ye Sheng. “You should read this too.”
Ye Sheng took the magazine and saw the “Story Magazine Press” logo at the top. He immediately knew what Luo Xingyan was up to.
Although they couldn’t find any remaining copies of “Night Navigation,” they could still find other books published by the Story Magazine Press a century ago.
“Fantasy World” focused on fantasy, featuring various Xianxia and Western fantasy stories, as well as fairy tales for children.
Ye Sheng read ten lines at a glance with a photographic memory and finished it in just over ten minutes.
While Xia Wenshi went to park the car.
Luo Xingyan analyzed the situation with Ye Sheng by the roadside, “You can’t just assume there’s a connection between the Story Magazine Press and the Story King just because their names have two characters in common. I’m about to puke from reading all these magazines, and I haven’t found any clues.”
Ye Sheng commented, “I can see you’re really bored.”
Luo Xingyan: “…” He admitted he was only reading out of boredom, but that was no reason for Ye Sheng to ignore his efforts like that.
“Crown Princess, I advise you to be careful recently.” Luo Xingyan chuckled humorlessly. “You disrupted the Urban Night-Crawlers’ plan at the Luo Lake Mansion, messed up the Story King’s narrative rhythm, and you’re a wanted person in the entire Forbidden Zone of the Gods. I think the Story King is going to make a move on you.”
Ye Sheng: “Oh.”
Luo Xingyan was so annoyed by his cold, impatient, “the Story King is nothing” attitude that he laughed. But Luo Xingyan himself had a peculiar way of thinking, and his anger surprisingly turned into a bit of admiration. His cat-like eyes narrowed as he extended an olive branch, “Ye Sheng, don’t you feel constrained going to and from class with a bunch of ordinary people at Huai’an University?”
Ye Sheng: “…” Here we go again.
Luo Xingyan said, “Have you ever thought that your personality might be better suited for competition, killing, and living on the edge of life and death?”
Ye Sheng asked warily, “What are you trying to say?”
Luo Xingyan: “Do you want to try a different way of life? You don’t necessarily have to join the Bureau of Unnatural Affairs. You could become a ‘bounty hunter’ with other ability users.”
Ye Sheng’s mouth twitched.
Even Ning Weichen couldn’t persuade him, let alone this idiot Luo Xingyan.
Ye Sheng said, “No, thanks. I’m very satisfied with my current life.”
Luo Xingyan sounded like he had heard a joke. “You’re really satisfied?”
Ye Sheng ignored him.
Satisfied? Not really. Unsatisfied? Not exactly. Most people in this world live just for the sake of living. The more one pursues perfection, the more one traps oneself. When he was very, very young, he had promised someone that he would grow up slowly, just like a normal person.
He was curious about his origins and actively investigated heresies, but there was always a line, drawn from his blank childhood, that bound his soul, preventing him from taking that dangerous step.
Luo Xingyan was about to say more.
Xia Wenshi had already walked over, twirling his car keys, his face beaming.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Your Huai’an University senior will lead you on an exploration of the 300-million-yuan old gymnasium!”
After the rain, the ground was covered with scattered osmanthus flowers, their delicate fragrance mixing with the fresh scent of the earth. When they entered, the old gymnasium was packed with people, a dense crowd. Many were students who didn’t go home for the holiday and had volunteered as free labor just to get a glimpse of the campus’s current celebrity.
Few in Huai City knew about the trouble the Xie family had caused within the Qin family, except for the upper-class elite.
After a long period of depression, Xie Wenci slowly recovered after the school year started.
He looked at his worried father and overwhelmed brother, his heart filled with secret resentment.
Ever since that banquet, the Qin family seemed to have been intentionally or unintentionally suppressing the Xie family.
With his family in turmoil, he had to find a breakthrough.
After enrolling, he learned that Ning Weichen was also at Huai’an University.
Xie Wenci was so excited he almost jumped off the sofa, an unnatural flush appearing on his cheeks.
This was his chance! This was the Xie family’s chance!
From his father, he had also vaguely heard about Ye Sheng and Ning Weichen. However, in Xie Wenci’s mind, the ambiguous and romantic encounter on the train was just one of Ning Weichen’s many love affairs.
A fleeting romance, just an act. How could Ye Sheng, the bastard son of a mistress, possibly hold on to the heir of the Ning family?
Knowing that Ning Weichen liked men made it even easier.
Before coming to act in the promotional video, Xie Wenci had a special makeup photo taken. He was elected the male lead by an overwhelming number of votes. The theme of the video was a secret crush, so the male lead was a complete “white moonlight” character.
Xie Wenci changed his usual delicate and gentle style, putting on a white shirt, clean makeup, and a melancholic expression.
He was wildly praised by a group of fans in the comments section.
“Ahhh, baby Wenci is the handsome top student straight out of a campus novel!”
Xie Wenci smiled with satisfaction.
He figured that since Ning Weichen had fallen for Ye Sheng on the train, he probably liked the pure and innocent type.
He saw a comment.
“Baby Wenci is the ‘white moonlight’ who studied art abroad in a BL stand-in novel [Heart][Heart].”
Xie Wenci specifically liked that comment.
He felt that the difference between him and Ye Sheng was like that between a stand-in and a white moonlight—heaven and earth.
Only in trashy, low-class novels would a country bumpkin stand-in win against a perfect white moonlight.
Huang Qiqi was setting up the scene and discussing the plot with the director.
“For a secret crush theme, I don’t think the male lead’s image needs to be too specific. It’s a bit like being a fan of a celebrity. Because the person you like is so outstanding, you want to become outstanding yourself. You don’t even need to understand the person you like. A secret crush is supposed to be ambiguous and hazy. Why else would they say a secret crush is a girl’s dream?”
Huang Qiqi said with a smile, explaining her understanding of a secret crush. She pointed her script at the huge stage in the center of the gymnasium. “See, the first scene is the male lead playing the piano on stage, and the female lead falls for him at first sight from below.”
The director was an external expert they had specially invited from the neighboring Huai City Academy of Arts. He nodded and then asked, “Who are the female and male leads?”
Huang Qiqi said, “The female lead is Guang Xueping, and the male lead is Xie Wenci.”
The director raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Xie Wenci? I thought the male lead would be that super handsome guy from your university who’s been trending three times.”
Huang Qiqi said, “I wanted that too. But the handsome guy wasn’t willing.”
Soon, the male and female leads arrived late.
The female lead was the girl next to Chen Can yesterday. She was indeed good-looking, but her temperament didn’t match the script at all.
The director’s frown was so deep you could kill a fly with it. He first sent her to remove her makeup and change her clothes.
He was actually very dissatisfied with Xie Wenci as well, but he couldn’t say anything.
The director sighed and said, “Classmate, I suggest you consider the lead actors before writing the script next time.”
Huang Qiqi gave an awkward but polite smile. She was so embarrassed that her gaze shifted, and when she saw Ye Sheng and the others, she immediately ran over happily. “Boss Ye, you’re here! Haha, Xiao Luo is here too?”
Luo Xingyan snorted in response, not looking at anyone and just glancing around.
Xia Wenshi held a small electric fan, blowing it at his forehead. “We came to join the fun. By the way, what role is Xiao Ye playing today?”
Huang Qiqi said, “Xiao Ye didn’t want to be the lead. He’s just playing an ordinary audience member today. He’ll be in the audience with the female lead, watching the male lead play the piano on stage.”
Xia Wenshi: “Are there any lines?”
Huang Qiqi said, “No.”
“Xiao Ye has such a nice voice and he doesn’t get to say a single word?!”
Xia Wenshi was about to say something out of frustration, but when he turned around, he found that Ye Sheng was already gone.
The old school gymnasium was not open to individuals. It just so happened that the architecture department’s activity and the filming of the promotional video coincided, so the school let them handle both matters during the five-day holiday.
On the second floor of the old gymnasium, Su Wanluo was chatting with a group of architecture students, gathered around a middle-aged man with dark skin and simple clothes.
The middle-aged man was one of the workers they had found who had participated in the construction of the old gymnasium.
The worker said, “I’ve worked on construction sites for decades. Day after day, it’s just repetitive manual labor like laying bricks, shoveling sand, and digging. I don’t have any particularly deep impressions of building the gymnasium back then.”
“If I have to say something, I only remember that Principal Yuan argued with the foreman many times, and they always parted on bad terms.”
“There were two major arguments. One was when Principal Yuan wanted to switch to a different cement supplier, but the foreman thought that company’s building materials had quality issues and refused to sign the contract. The other time was about the two basement floors of the gymnasium. Principal Yuan said the budget wasn’t enough, but the foreman said it was impossible for the budget to be insufficient.”
Su Wanluo asked doubtfully, “So Principal Yuan won both arguments?”
The worker said honestly, “That I don’t know.”
Su Wanluo’s hand, holding the pen, turned white. She lowered her head and said softly, “It seems your foreman was a very stubborn person.”
The worker hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “No. Actually, our foreman was a good person. He wore a red hat but didn’t have any airs. The other foremen I’ve met were always looking for people to fine, but he wasn’t like that. He often helped out, and by the end of the day, he might have done more work than us.”
Su Wanluo smiled. “So what happened to your foreman later?”
The worker was stunned, a little confused. “Well… miss, I wasn’t close to him. We all just went home after the work was done. He must have gone home too. I don’t know where he lived.”
“I see.”
Su Wanluo’s lips trembled, and she said no more.
The architecture and civil engineering students gathered around the worker, asking questions and laughing together. After the interview, the group even took a photo with the worker.
The worker stood awkwardly, stiffly facing the camera, managing a forced smile.
The photo showed an old, dark, and weary face.
Su Wanluo watched him quietly, lost in thought.
She was actually very familiar with that expression.
In her childhood memories, she had seen too many people like this. Their clothes were always stained with dust, cement, and rust that could never be washed out.
They came from rural areas all over the country, between forty and fifty years old, the pillars of their families, living in the simplest dormitories and doing the most strenuous work. Their skin was peeled from the sun, and their hands were covered in thick calluses.
They couldn’t really laugh, nor could they really cry.
Because her father was also such a person.
Sometimes very honest, but other times very stubborn.
After seeing the worker off, the tasks for today’s activity were almost complete.
A classmate suggested, “This year’s freshmen are filming a promotional video over there. It looks lively. Should we go take a look?”
Su Wanluo followed the voice and also saw the stage over there.
Filming the promotional video was always a very lively event every year.
In the magnificent hall of the gymnasium, the chandelier shone brightly. On the stage, the male lead, dressed in a black suit, was testing the piano.
Below the stage, the female lead, in a white dress and without makeup, looked as pure and beautiful as a gardenia flower.
Next to the female lead were the freshman extras. Everyone cherished this hard-won opportunity to be on camera and had dressed up meticulously.
Only one person was an exception.
Su Wanluo looked at that person and said, “Let’s go take a look.”
They were on the second floor. Su Wanluo held onto the wall as she went down the stairs.
Perhaps because she hadn’t eaten breakfast, she was feeling a bit hypoglycemic, light-headed and dizzy.
The white walls of the old gymnasium were smooth and cold, but when she reached out her hand, it felt as if she were touching the scorching red brick wall of her elementary school on a summer afternoon, across the years.
The theme of the freshman promotional video was a secret crush.
The budding feelings of a young girl’s heart were to be performed in this building filled with blood, lies, darkness, and injustice.