"Who are you looking for, buddy?" A guy in a black vest gestured with his chin at Pei Shaocheng.
Pei Shaocheng pulled his hat brim down a little lower and sat down in a nearby seat, saying, "I'm a graduate, and I just happened to be passing by, so I came back to visit."
The people on stage looked at each other in bewilderment. The boy in the vest asked suspiciously, "How did you get in at this hour?"
The girl with the ponytail next to him tilted her head, seemingly finding the man's figure and voice somewhat familiar. She got up and walked off the stage, trying to get closer to Pei Shaocheng, when suddenly her eyes lit up and she exclaimed in surprise:
"Y-you, you're Pei Shaocheng, right?!"
Pei Shaocheng did not respond, but when the girl shouted that, everyone else started to scramble up.
The fair-skinned little boy in the low-cut shirt was the first to catch a glimpse of Pei Shaocheng. Upon meeting Pei Shaocheng's eyes, which were hidden under the brim of his hat, he let out a scream and bowed ninety degrees: "Holy crap, it really is Pei Shaocheng!!"
"Really?!"
"Oh My God?!"
Seeing that he no longer needed to hide, Pei Shaocheng simply removed his mask.
She clutched her chest in her low-cut top, almost crying with excitement, "Holy crap, Holy crap, Senior Brother Pei, do you know how much I admire you?! I can't believe I bumped into you in person in the middle of the night! Quick, someone pinch my philtrum!"
The girl with pigtails quickly pulled him back, afraid of scaring Pei Shaocheng away.
She cautiously observed the man before her, who seemed to have stepped out of a movie screen, neither daring to linger nor reluctant to look away.
"Hey, Senior Pei, could you please sign a few papers for me?" The girl took out paper and pen from her bag, held them out to Pei Shaocheng with both hands, and said timidly with flushed cheeks, "If my roommates knew I met you, they would be so envious!"
"I want some too! I want some too!"
"I...I still have me!"
Pei Shaocheng glanced down at the small booklet spread out in front of him, took it, and signed his name with practiced ease.
The woman in the low-cut top started frantically waving her eyes again: "Senior brother's handwriting is so beautiful!"
Pei Shaocheng handed the book back to the girl, glanced at the stage, and said, "You guys continue, I'll sit for a bit and then leave."
The group nudged and bumped into each other, none of them wanting to go first.
Pei Shaocheng frowned slightly. The boy in the black vest cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, it's like this, senior... We've seen your performance of Macbeth in the video footage, and we all think it's the most classic version among all the graduates." He paused, "Could you please give us some pointers?"
After he finished speaking, everyone held their breath and looked at Pei Shaocheng, their eyes filled with obvious fear and expectation.
Pei Shaocheng looked at the boy in silence for a while, then finally took the script from his hand.
"You guys go through the play once."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately became excited, their fatigue from the previous rehearsals vanished, and they pushed and shoved each other as they quickly returned to the stage.
Watching their lively and cheerful backs, for a moment, Pei Shaocheng felt that time and space blurred and overlapped together.
The man in the white shirt was standing under the spotlight, one hand in his pocket, staring at the dust floating in the air. Noticing the gaze on him from behind, he turned around, then casually beckoned to him with his index and middle fingers (the ones holding a cigarette), and smiled.
Pei Shaocheng's gaze deepened, and everything returned to that summer once again.
The cicadas chirped tirelessly, and the air felt thick and heavy, as if a downpour had been holding back.
Pei Shaocheng pushed open the door to the rehearsal hall and immediately smelled a scent of tobacco mixed with mint. He couldn't help but frown, and immediately spotted the source of the smoke.
The same thing happened last time. He dared to smoke freely in front of Lao Luo. If it were anyone else, Lao Luo would have already told him to "get out."
Many people in the rehearsal hall noticed Pei Shaocheng, and someone walked over to the man and reminded him. Only then did the man stop marking the script and turn to look at Pei Shaocheng.
"Hey, you actually came?" He raised an eyebrow slightly, looking quite surprised.
Pei Shaocheng pursed his lips, feeling inexplicably choked up.
He suddenly received a text message in the middle of the night last night. It only briefly stated the time and place, but the first word "Pan" plus a "^_^" made Pei Shaocheng instantly know who the sender was.
Given his personality, he would have deleted such ambiguous messages without hesitation. But for some reason, he couldn't tear his gaze away from the word "Pan" this time.
The name seemed to be imbued with some kind of mysterious power, always making him unable to stop thinking about the slender finger that had slid across his chest and those smiling, cunning peach blossom eyes.
So, by the time he realized what was happening, he was already standing there.
The man, with a cigarette between his fingers, beckoned to Pei Shaocheng to come over. Pei Shaocheng's eyes darkened, but he still stepped forward to stand before him.
The other person put a cigarette in their mouth, grabbed Pei Shaocheng's clothes for support to stand up, then blew a puff of smoke at him and smirked: "Let me formally introduce myself, my name is Wen Yuhan."
“I know,” Pei Shaocheng said.
Of course he knew who he was; the name kept popping into his head lately, sometimes at inopportune times, disturbing Pei Shaocheng's peace of mind.
Wen Yuhan nodded: "Your name is Shao... what was it again?"
Pei Shaocheng's expression darkened, realizing that the reason the other party had always called him "Pan" was simply because they didn't know his real name.
Seeing that the other party remained silent, Wen Yuhan did not feel embarrassed. She patted Pei Shaocheng's shoulder and laughed casually, "I think I should continue to call you Pan!"
Pei Shaocheng.
Pei Shaocheng gazed intently at Wen Yuhan: "My name is Pei Shaocheng."
Chapter 12
Wen Yuhan was taken aback by the other party's sudden serious attitude and couldn't help but meet those dark and deep eyes.
After a moment, he smiled and said, "Understood, Shao Cheng."
The word "Shaocheng" is neither too light nor too heavy, like a ripe fruit falling from the treetops into a calm lake.
With a splash, ripples spread.
...
Wen Yuhan took Pei Shaocheng's hand and led him towards the stage. Although it was summer, Wen Yuhan's hand was still icy cold, just like when she first touched Pei Shaocheng.
Pei Shaocheng felt his arm muscles tense as the other person gripped his wrist. He tried to appear natural and asked in a low voice, "Don't we need to look at the script first?"
"No need," Wen Yuhan said, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "You should get a feel for it first."
He waved to a boy sitting in the first row reciting his lessons and said loudly, "How about it, Xuanzai? Here's the boyfriend I found for you."
The boy called Xuanzai had noticed Pei Shaocheng as soon as he entered the rehearsal hall. His big, bright eyes seemed glued to Pei Shaocheng, and his fan-like eyelashes fluttered incessantly.
Pei Shaocheng felt uncomfortable under his gaze, frowned, and then looked at Wen Yuhan in confusion, tentatively confirming, "Boy...friend?"
“Hmm, he plays your boyfriend.” Wen Yuhan stubbed out her cigarette, then added, “One of them.”
Seeing that Pei Shaocheng remained silent for a long time, Wen Yuhan looked at him suspiciously: "What's wrong? Don't tell me you can't accept this."
Pei Shaocheng remained silent.
"Hmm, that can't be right." Wen Yuhan looked Pei Shaocheng up and down, muttering, "You looked quite energetic before, I thought..."
"Ahem!" Pei Shaocheng hadn't expected the other party to be so direct in front of so many people, so he quickly coughed to interrupt, "No, that's acceptable."
Wen Yuhan's eyes lit up with laughter again as she nodded and said, "That's good. Hey, can you stop being so tense all the time?"
As he spoke, he gestured for the two to come to the performance area and briefly introduced the character he was going to play to Pei Shaocheng:
"Andrew, a Narcissus-like figure. A charming and flirtatious master, surrounded by countless lovers, yet the only one he truly loves is himself. His lingering in the world of romance is merely a way to enjoy the pleasure of others being attracted to him and falling deeper into his trap. He uses these to demonstrate his own value, only to discover in the end that the person hidden beneath this perfect exterior is nothing more than an empty shell."
As Wen Yuhan spoke, she fiddled with the lighter in her hand, finally clicking it to light the flame and then blowing on it.
"Let's act?"
Pei Shaocheng paused slightly, then hesitated and said, "You haven't mentioned the specific context and lines yet."
Wen Yuhan shook her head: "You can improvise the lines yourself. The setting... is up to you, how about a bar?"
This was the first time Pei Shaocheng had encountered such a casual request, and he stood still without moving.
Wen Yuhan patted Xuanzai on the shoulder: "You take care of Xuanzai." After saying that, she nimbly jumped off the stage and sat in the seat in the center.
Seeing this, everyone else stopped what they were doing and looked toward the performance area.
The man called Xuanzai cracked his knuckles and stretched his limbs, then leaned against the only table, his eyes half-closed as he scanned Pei Shaocheng up and down. One hand held a non-existent wine glass, gently swirling it. Beneath his innocent exterior seemed to lie a captivating soul, waiting to intertwine with another.
Wen Yuhan rested her arms on the back of the chair, propped her chin on her hand, and watched Xuanzai's performance before turning her gaze to Pei Shaocheng.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Time passed in silence, and Pei Shaocheng finally took a step and walked towards Xuanzai.
He was a full head and a half taller than the other person, so much so that when they got close, Xuanzai had to raise his chin to meet his eyes.
"Speak up..." someone in the audience couldn't wait any longer and whispered a reminder.
Wen Yuhan was quite patient, tapping her thigh lightly with her index finger.
"Uh..." Another ten seconds passed, and the two people on the stage were still staring at each other, speechless.
Xuanzai finally couldn't help but chuckle, winking at Pei Shaocheng, who had an icy expression, and said, "Junior, you're making me feel all hot and bothered."
The people in the audience laughed along with him, cursing Xuanzai for being shameless and harassing a freshman.
Pei Shaocheng still kept a straight face, but his expression grew increasingly gloomy. For some reason, he just couldn't get into character when he looked at the other person. His mind was completely blank, to the point that he even doubted whether the feeling of being completely absorbed in the role he had experienced when performing "The Afternoon of a Faun" had ever existed.
A clear voice came from the crowd.
"It's okay, take your time."
All eyes turned to Wen Yuhan, who was sitting in the middle. He smiled at Pei Shaocheng and pointed to his chest with his index finger: "Feel it here."
Pei Shaocheng looked at Wen Yuhan quietly, and his agitated mood miraculously calmed down a lot, and then turned into a steady and calm rhythm.
Wen Yuhan wasn't in a hurry to urge him, and just waited for him to finish making the adjustments. Then she gestured with her chin to Xuanzai: "Continue."
Xuanzai nodded, getting back into character. He tiptoed and put his arm around Pei Shaocheng's shoulder, whispering a chuckle in his ear, "I come here often, but this is the first time I've met you. My name is Xuanzai, what's yours?"
Pei Shaocheng's Adam's apple bobbed: "Andrew."
It must be said, he was born with a beautiful voice. Deep and magnetic, like a fine, mellow wine. The audience was involuntarily drawn to this captivating voice.
Xuanzai was also taken aback, but quickly came to his senses.
“Andrew…” he murmured the name, nodded, and said, “Let’s have a drink together, Andrew.”
"Um."
"Stop for a moment." Wen Yuhan interrupted from below the stage, sighed softly, stood up from his seat, and walked towards the stage.
“Andrew, you’re too passive,” Wen Yuhan said to Pei Shaocheng. “Although Xuanzai is playing an extroverted character, you are the one who is aggressive. Right now, you’re completely controlled by the other party and you don’t feel like you’re attacking at all.”