Chapter 47 Numb.47 The lipstick is worn out
Seeing the person walking in from outside the dressing room, lifting the hem of her skirt, Fu Xi crossed her arms and complained, "Why are you so late? I've sent you several messages, and you haven't replied to a single one."
The performance was almost over; the acts before them had all finished in order, and they only needed two more talent shows before it was their turn. Fu Xi had been frantically searching for them, bombarding them with messages and making a barrage of calls, but he finally managed to rouse them back.
But before she could finish her sentence, her gaze quickly fell on the person who followed Xu Wu in. She paused, then asked in confusion, "Shang Xu? Did you two go out together?"
After receiving a definite nod from Shang Xu, Fu Xi subconsciously exchanged a glance with Chu Lian beside him, then turned to look at Jie Ying, who was sitting on the sofa with his head down, scrolling through his phone. His eyebrows and eyes were mostly obscured by his hair, making it impossible to discern the subtle changes in his facial expressions, but that didn't stop Fu Xi from instantly noticing his obviously stern attitude.
That's quite strange," Fu Xi said, a look of surprise in his eyes.
This was the first time Jian Ying had ignored Xu Wu; normally, she would practically stick her face against him and act as a wobbly leg ornament.
Upon hearing this, Xu Wu coughed lightly, glancing casually at Jie Ying sitting in the corner. He noticed that apart from gripping his phone a little tighter, Jie Ying didn't seem to have any other reaction. Xu Wu quickly glanced at him and then looked back, explaining, "He said he was afraid of problems, so we just went over the lines briefly."
Fu Xi's gaze swept back and forth between the two, and after thinking for a moment, she decided to remain an outsider and not make any comments. She could only silently pray that these three wouldn't cause any trouble at tonight's New Year's Eve party. Without time to think too much, she noticed the slightly faded lipstick on Xu Wu's lips, beckoned the makeup artist over, pointed at Xu Wu, and said, "Please touch up her lipstick, we're going on stage."
Fu Xi didn't think anything of it, after all, it's only natural to unconsciously eat lipstick after putting on makeup.
But when Xu Wu heard this, he made a rare eye contact with Jie Ying, who finally lowered herself to raise her head. Then they both looked away, their gazes meeting only for a second in the air.
The moment Xu Wu licked her lips, she ignored the meaningful look that Shang Xu was giving her.
Fu Xi didn't notice the slightly subtle atmosphere in between. After the makeup artist finished touching up Xu Wu's makeup, the female host came over to urge him on during the brief moment when the curtain at the front of the stage closed.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Fu Xi clapped his hands and urged, not forgetting to remind Xu Wu, "Don't eat lipstick this time. If you want to eat it, wait until after the performance."
"I understand," Xu Wu muttered softly, not daring to object.
The two hosts and their instructors led them to the waiting area backstage. From this position, they could see the center of the stage, and a little to the side, they could see the crowd of people in the audience. The first two rows were reserved for school and education bureau leaders, and several cameras were set up in the middle of the crowd, emitting light.
The performance preceding them was a combination of guzheng and calligraphy, with the piece being "Mountain Spirit." At the end of the piece, each performer would present a calligraphy piece they had written.
The melodious strains of flowing water filled the air. Looking down at the stage, only the faces in the first two rows were vaguely visible under the stage lights; the rest were completely dark. Xu Wu stared intently, her hand unconsciously rubbing against her side. She had wanted to lick her lips to ease her stiffness, but remembering Fu Xi's warning, she had to refrain and forcibly restrain herself.
It was a strange feeling, and Xu Wu couldn't help but want to take a step forward, but she didn't move because she was thinking of the people around her.
Longing, impulse, and an uncontrollable mix of emotions filled her mind; she wanted to stand on the stage, she wanted to stand under the lights.
My heart was pounding, even harder than when I was facing Xie Ying.
The speed was both fascinating and terrifying to her, and she always felt that she would die here because of it.
Xu Wu took a deep breath, trying to calm down her fervor, when suddenly a figure pressed close to her, the other person's arm almost touching her shoulder.
It was that familiar scent of sea salt again, but perhaps because of his costume, the smell was trapped by the clothes and couldn't evaporate, so it was very faint. But for some reason, Xu Wu's nose still sensitively detected it.
The sea salt made no attempt to hide anything, even the faintest trace would seep into her body.
She then thought of the little tabby cat she kept at Jieying's house, which would also cling to her neck and rub against her like that.
“You…” Xu Wu hesitated before speaking.
But his eyes didn't leave the audience.
"There are so many people," Jie Ying said softly.
Neither of them spoke loudly; their voices were barely audible to the other amidst the noise of the backstage and the audience.
"I know." Xu Wu didn't intend to look away, and they both tacitly avoided mentioning what happened in the grove.
The gaze that fell on his profile was hard for him to ignore, but Xu Wu didn't order him not to look like she used to. Instead, she smiled and asked him, "Aren't you nervous?"
Jie Ying nodded honestly: "Yes, I will."
For him, any kind of performance or event would make him hesitate just to be thrown into a crowd, and he would wish to find a crack to shrink himself into.
Socializing and communicating with people is like the end of the world to him—no, it's worse than that; he'd rather it be the end of the world.
“That’s really bad, and you’re not good at this kind of front-of-the-scenes work.” Xu Wu reluctantly looked away, raised her head slightly to look at him, and said seriously, “But I really like this feeling.”
Seeing his own facial expression reflected in her dark pupils, Jie Ying was taken aback.
Taking advantage of the time before the show ended, Xu Wu, unusually, talked to him about his family.
Her parents divorced long ago, and her mother remarried after she was three years old, a period of only two months. Ms. Fang and her new family did not welcome her as an outsider and were highly xenophobic.
"You, you won't..." Jie Ying looked at her again and asked softly, "Won't you be scared?"
“I don’t remember,” Xu Wu smiled, but seeing that his expression was still tense, she explained helplessly, “I really don’t remember. I was only three years old then, and I don’t remember anything.”
Therefore, the feelings and experiences were not preserved.
She could no longer feel any emotion, no matter what it was.
"Although they didn't like me, they still gave me a room and didn't actually make me sleep under a bridge." Xu Wu shrugged, managing a joke. Seeing that Jie Ying's expression had eased considerably after hearing this, she smiled and said, "When I was little, they wouldn't let me touch the TV or anything like that. But luckily, they would always leave me behind when they went out, so I would sneak over and watch TV. Once, I accidentally turned on the movie channel, and they were showing a horror movie at that time. I was almost scared to death. I stayed in bed all night, afraid of being grabbed by a ghost."
Xu Wu's words immediately conjured up an image of a miniature dumpling huddled in the blankets, trembling with fear. Xie Ying couldn't help but smile, and the fierceness in her eyes dissipated considerably.
"I once saw a broadcast of my idol's concert and I was so captivated by it that I really wanted to go in."
"Concert?"
"Everyone was so happy. Lots of people were waving glow sticks and shouting their names. The idols were standing on the stage waving down at the crowd, and there were colorful ribbons floating everywhere."
Despite saying that, Xu Wu looked somewhat dejected as he looked down at the audience.
Jieying noticed this.
"A long time ago, I was all alone."
She murmured to herself, "That's why I envy them."
Hearing her say that, Jieying recalled an essay assignment her teacher gave in elementary school titled "The Person I Most Want to Be."
What did he write at that time? I don't quite remember, but he was never interested in these kinds of assigned essays. He wrote that he wanted to become a teacher or a doctor.
It was probably just something I wrote randomly, that doesn't matter.
"Back then, I thought that becoming any kind of artist would be great," Xu Wu said.
“Wu Ke might not be suitable to be an idol,” Jie Ying stammered in response.
"I think so too. If I were an idol, I'd probably be the type that would give my manager a headache."
"So—" Jieying asked her, "Does Wu like that feeling?"
The curtain on the stage was drawn again as the host spoke, blocking the gazes from all directions below the stage.
Xu Wu blinked, various words jumbled and then formed between his lips, only to be interrupted by Fu Xi's sudden appearance just as he was about to speak.
"What are you daydreaming about?" She patted Xu Wu on the shoulder: "Come on, it's time to go on stage."
The unfinished words were swallowed back down Xu Wu's throat.
The actors in the first act stood in their respective positions on the stage, and several student volunteers helped carry the props up and set them up before quickly leaving.
This scene depicts the princess and prince's first encounter, so the knight doesn't need to appear so early. Therefore, Jieying only needs to stand in place and wait.
He watched the princess and prince interact quietly; it was a Xu Wu completely different from how they usually were.
She was confident, and her every move was natural, as if she was born to be this way.
I don't know if it's because my eyes are wearing a filter, or because of the stage lighting effects.
The area was dark except for the places Xu Wu had been, which were glowing.
Her hands, her profile, her every smile and frown.
He wanted everything she had, and he had long since lost control of his thoughts, which had been taken away by her.
On the stage, the prince drew his sword and pointed it at the princess's throat. The princess looked nervous and was startled, staggering back a few steps.
Then, with a clang, the sword was blocked by another sword. The knight's body completely shielded the princess behind him, and his expression, reflected in the gleaming sword, was extremely cold.
The prince was stunned.
The knight sheathed his sword, and the tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.
The next second, a soft hand came up to my shoulder and gently touched it.
Jie Ying glanced sideways and saw Xu Wu's slender fingers, whose skin even had an unhealthy, cold white hue under the light.
He was lost in thought.
Her nails seem to have grown a bit long.
Author's Note: (Kneels down gently) Please forgive me again. [Pleading]
This month has been so busy! [Clown][Clown]
Try to balance things out; things will be much better by June. Also, the campus content is almost over.
Compensation was distributed via red envelopes [crying emoji]
I'll post a short piece about 520 tomorrow in the updated author's notes section. It won't be long, maybe a few hundred words.
Goodnight everyone~
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