Chapter 65. Is Numb.65 used for self-pleasure?

The curtain falls.

Xu Wu returned backstage and was about to sit down and rest for a while when she looked around twice but couldn't find her down jacket. She frowned and wondered if someone had moved it because she had just left it in a random spot in her rush to go on stage.

But that shouldn't be the case. She glanced at the empty sofa with only a few cushions, and her confusion grew.

Was it really taken by someone?

Xu Wu was a little irritated.

The heating in the large backstage lounge wasn't very strong. Although the crowd of people inside prevented too much cold air from getting in, her Republic-era student uniform, being a light summer outfit, was clearly unbearable after standing there for a while.

The cold wind, blowing freely in and out with the door wide open, clung relentlessly to her exposed calves, its chill creeping up her and making her shiver.

"Senior."

Xie Xun Chuan's clear voice came from behind.

Xu Wu turned around, her gaze immediately locking onto the down jacket he was holding in his arms. She paused, her brows furrowing even deeper, the annoyance she had previously concealed now clearly visible on her face.

"You took my clothes?" she asked, squinting inquiringly.

"Yes, when I came over from the stage, I saw someone asking whose clothes these are, so I put them away for you in case you couldn't find them." Xie Xun Chuan smiled and spoke frankly, letting the scrutinizing gaze wander over his face without changing his expression.

When a director came to the school to cast a role, he praised Xie Xun Chuan's eyes, saying they were beautiful, full of charm, and the slightly upturned shape even made him look a bit sinister when paired with flamboyant makeup.

At this moment, he met Xu Wu's gaze with those same eyes, but the other was even more indifferent than him. Her face, which was so strikingly beautiful it was almost ghostly, showed no change in expression, but her light and airy gaze did not conceal the oppressive feeling.

Xie Xun Chuan almost couldn't maintain the smile on his lips.

Fortunately, Xu Wu didn't hold out for long. She gave a faint "hmm," took the clothes, and held them with one hand without putting them on.

"Aren't you cold, senior?" Xie Xun Chuan noticed her action and asked considerately.

"It's alright, not that cold." Xu Wu withdrew her gaze from him; his greedy, venomous gaze, almost devouring her, made her uncomfortable.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

Xu Wu pretended not to see Xie Xun Chuan's hesitant lips and lowered her head to take out her phone to unlock it and check the messages.

It was a notification from her agent that she had passed the audition for the role she had auditioned for some time ago, and that she had also received the schedule for joining the production team and the script reading session.

Xu Wu glanced at it briefly and replied with an "okay".

She put in a lot of hard work to land this audition role. The script was very well written, but unfortunately, the director and screenwriter were both newcomers. Unlike the big IP adaptations, this was a completely original work.

Even though they were unknown, there were still too many people in the entertainment industry who wanted to climb the ladder, so the number of people at the audition was even greater.

Xu Wu auditioned for the role of the third female lead, who doesn't have many scenes in the script. Her character is a beautiful assassin burdened with national and personal hatred. She makes a brief appearance but dies tragically and lives on in the memories of the main characters.

A good performance will be outstanding, and the character's highlights will be no less than those of the male and female leads, which is why the competition for a spot is exceptionally fierce.

"Senior, you..." Xie Xun Chuan tentatively began.

The next second, he was interrupted by a female voice from outside: "Xu Wu, your fans are here."

Xu Wu said "I understand," and without waiting for Xie Xun Chuan to say anything more, pointed to the source of the sound and walked away from him.

After taking a few steps, he glanced sideways and out of the corner of his eye, he could still see Xie Xun Chuan's fist clenching and unclenching in resentment, his eyes completely calm.

There was a huge trash can next to the exit near the main gate, and she casually threw her down jacket into it without even looking at it.

It was a real pity. Xu Wu took one last look at the down jacket that was completely covered by the lid, pursed her lips, and felt even more disgusted with Xie Xun Chuan.

That dress was given to her by Jieying when he was in high school, and she kept it with her even during the years he left Lijiang.

After each wash and drying, the unique scent of Jieying on this garment gradually fades until almost nothing remains.

So the person who smelled of sea salt was replaced by her, and her clothes were now indistinguishable from someone else's scent.

It fades, then covers up again.

The cycle repeats itself.

But Xie Xun Chuan happened to bump into it.

Xu Wu couldn't help but feel nauseous when she recalled the image of him holding his clothes tightly against his body as he walked in.

It's dirty; someone else touched it.

What she really wanted wasn't clothes, but someone to give them to her.

Xu Wu stepped forward and left the theater. The cold wind blew in her face and hit her hard. She unconsciously shrank her neck because of the cold. Her hair was blown wildly by the wind, and her skirt clung to her legs, outlining her extremely perfect leg shape.

"Fog!"

A dozen or so people outside were eagerly waiting, and when they saw the person, their eyes lit up and they shouted.

Xu Wu looked in the direction of the sound and saw that several of the dozen or so people were wearing masks, while the faces of the others were red from the wind. When they saw her, they all swarmed around her, their faces full of joy, and stuffed the letters and gifts in their hands into her arms.

"Wuwu, why are you dressed so lightly?" The girl closest to her noticed her thin costume and was surprised. Without saying a word, she carefully wrapped the newly bought scarf from the bag around Wuwu's neck.

Xu Wu was taken aback when a scarf that could ward off the cold wind was suddenly put on her icy neck. Her body, which had been numb from the cold wind, seemed to be warming up as her fingertips grew warmer because of this action.

Her lower half of her face was almost entirely hidden in a light-colored scarf, revealing delicate eyebrows and a dazzling smile. She explained, "I've only been out for a short while, it won't take up too much time, so I didn't have time to put it on."

Upon hearing this, the fans started chattering:

"It's getting cold, so remember to keep warm."

"Yes, it's not good to catch a cold."

"Wuwu's performance today was superb; I almost cried."

Xu Wu smiled and apologized. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man wearing a mask but holding a camera who seemed to be taking pictures of her. He seemed to be startled by her sudden probing gaze and quickly lowered his head to fiddle with the camera. As he moved, his long bangs and the mask almost completely covered his face, making it difficult to see clearly.

The man was wearing a long black trench coat, the hem of which reached his calves, revealing a good body proportion and straight, long legs. Unfortunately, he was too timid and hesitant, which made him lose his presence.

Several fans noticed the direction Xu Wu was looking and followed her. After seeing who she was looking at, the girl standing next to her pouted and complained, "That person is really strange. I was sitting very close to him and I've been taking pictures ever since Wu Wu came out, but when we talked to him just now, he ignored us."

It's not unusual for female celebrities to have male fans; what's unusual is that newcomers who aren't very well-known still have male fans who come to follow them offline.

That's why I wanted to communicate with this male fan, based on the premise of sharing the same interests, but who knew he would ignore me.

Seeing that someone had taken the lead in speaking, the others echoed:

"Yeah, I wanted to ask him if he wanted a poster of Wuwu or something, but he didn't even give me an answer."

"Haven't there been several news reports lately about celebrities being stalked by obsessive fans? He seems so strange, he might not be a fan. You should be careful, Wuwu."

"Yes, yes, he's acting suspiciously, like a pervert. Wuwu, you have to be careful."

Faced with a dozen or so young fans who were all talking at once and expressing their concerns, Xu Wu, holding a pile of gifts, obediently did not refute them.

She glanced again at the man who was hiding to the side, using the building as cover to continue taking pictures. There was an inexplicable sense of familiarity about him, but she didn't give him much of a look.

Xu Wu asked them for a larger bag to put away the gifts and letters, then treated them to hot coffee to warm up, took a group photo, and then told them to be careful on their way back to the hotel, promising to reimburse their taxi fare.

At 7:30 p.m., Xu Wu changed her clothes and left the theater. After discarding her down jacket, she was left with only a black base layer and a scarf given to her by a fan. In the northern weather where the temperature dropped sharply as winter approached, it was undoubtedly like walking on thin ice.

Left with no other choice, she could only silently tighten the scarf around her neck a little more. But before she had taken two steps, she looked up and met the man's gaze in the distance. She raised her eyebrows slightly, stood still, and let him get closer and closer, his eyes growing deeper.

The man stopped just four or five steps away from her, shielding her from much of the cold wind.

Xu Wu finally felt her breath catch in her throat. She raised her hand and touched her face, which was a little stiff from the cold.

The next second, a trench coat, warmed by a man's body heat and carrying a strong scent of sea salt, was draped over her. Her icy body was enveloped by this warmth, dispelling the lingering chill, and the warm breath seeped through the thin fabric onto her delicate skin.

The teeth marks hidden behind the scarf on the back of her neck had long since disappeared, but for some reason, when she met the man's dark eyes hidden behind his bangs, she felt a faint burning sensation.

Once their bodies had warmed up enough, Xu Wu could not tell whether the scent lingered around her nose was sea salt or freesia. The two scents mingled and drifted merrily between them, even stimulating their five senses.

She slowly adjusted her coat, and said meaningfully, "A weirdo?"

She was repeating what her fans had told her.

The man paused visibly, and the fingers hanging at his sides twitched.

Xu Wu continued slowly, "Pervert?"

“Jieying, you haven’t changed at all,” she slowly added, enunciating each word clearly, “Little pervert.”

She calmly observed Jie Ying's slightly flustered and helpless hands, unsure of how to approach her. Her other hand, holding the camera, was unconsciously clenching, her nails turning white.

She knew who this fully armed person was from the first glance, but she had no intention of exposing him.

"I, I..." Jie Ying stammered again, her voice trembling with nervousness.

He held the camera in his hand forward, but after a long while, he couldn't come up with a coherent explanation.

"Did you take my picture?" Xu Wu asked.

Jie Ying nodded without stopping.

"So what are you going to do with this photo?"

Jie Ying didn't react in time.

Xu Wu's expression was calm, but her tone was sullen and harsh: "Like in high school—"

She took a step forward: "For masturbation?"

She stopped walking, and Jieying, standing in front of her, was so stiff that she couldn't lift her head.

Her ears were already bright red.

Author's Note: One more chapter to come.