Chapter 8: The Kiss Scene
“Ah, my fair maiden, you walk in beauty, like the night, cloudless and starry…”
On stage, Lu Li recited the lines with gusto. After the initial awkwardness, he quickly found his groove. Although he had no acting experience, the thick skin and ability to pretend that he had honed in his past life made him increasingly comfortable on stage. He didn’t know who wrote these cheesy lines, it definitely wasn’t his Yi Bao.
As he recited the line, Lu Li’s gaze lingered on Chu Jingyi in the audience. She blushed for some reason, covering half her face with the script.
Opposite him stood Wen Hupo, dressed in a princess gown. She stood ramrod straight, her smooth blonde hair cascading down her back like a golden river. The current scene depicted the young prince and princess meeting by the lake, pouring their hearts out to each other, unaware that in the next scene, the princess would be cursed by the witch to sleep forever.
The young prince was innocent and romantic, the young princess shy and yearning for love – at least that’s what the script said. But looking at the expressionless Princess Hupo in front of him, Lu Li couldn’t associate her with “shyness” or “yearning for love.”
At least, could she make a gesture? Don’t just stand there like a wooden stake? Lu Li complained inwardly.
Finally, Wen Hupo began to speak her lines. “Ah, my dear friend, my heart burns like a furnace, like a lost deer, like…” Her voice was monotone, like a third grader reciting a textbook, perhaps even worse.
This is a disaster, please stop, my head is about to explode… Lu Li couldn’t bear to watch and looked away.
But the boys in the audience excitedly clenched their fists. “Amazing! Hupo’s performance is perfect!”
“She’s just like a princess from a dream!”
“This is nothing for her!”
Lu Li forced himself to keep a straight face, barely suppressing his laughter. They were so shameless in their flattery. Why didn’t anyone praise him? He was the one who was performing exceptionally well! Lu Li saw a flicker of triumph in Wen Hupo’s eyes as she smirked at him provocatively. She seemed to be very pleased with outshining him.
If this continues, we’re doomed. Class 1 of the second-year liberal arts program will become the laughingstock of the entire school on New Year’s Eve. Lu Li looked at Silly Goose. The little girl was gazing at him with adoration, as if she truly saw him as the prince. No one in the entire class was reliable.
The scene ended, and the prince and princess left the stage. It was the fairies’ and the witch’s turn. The witch, jealous of the princess’s beauty, cast a sleeping curse on her. If the princess didn’t wake up after ten years, she would turn into bubbles and disappear forever. Lu Li felt that this plot was a bit different from the Sleeping Beauty he remembered. He didn’t know who wrote the script.
Then it was the prince’s turn. He volunteered to rescue the princess, overcoming all obstacles and finally reaching the sleeping princess.
Lu Li could hear a few girls whispering in the audience, “Lu Li is… quite suitable…”
Another girl quickly covered her mouth. “Be careful, don’t let the Class Monitor hear you…”
Wen Hupo lay on the “crystal bed” made of three desks, her eyes wide open. Lu Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, “Hey, Sleeping Beauty sleeps with her eyes closed.”
“The script doesn’t say that.” she whispered back.
“Only Zhang Fei sleeps with his eyes open.”
“Oh.” Wen Hupo was quite obedient. She closed her eyes obediently, but her eyelashes were still trembling, and she would occasionally peek at the surroundings. The next scene was the kiss scene. The prince awakened the princess with a kiss of true love, and they lived happily ever after. Of course, all the kissing and hugging were just pretend. It wasn’t realistic to actually kiss anyone on stage, even though the boys in the audience were glaring at Lu Li with envy.
The narrator’s voice boomed: “After overcoming countless obstacles, our prince finally reached Princess Aurora. Can he awaken his beloved from the curse?”
Chu Jingyi suddenly tugged at the girl beside her. “Isn’t the narrator’s line a bit off…?”
“What’s off about it?”
Chu Jingyi felt a little uncomfortable. “The princess isn’t Lu Li’s beloved.”
The girl said in confusion, “But we’re acting, aren’t we?”
“But…” Silly Goose thought for a moment. “The wording is too straightforward… Should we change it?” She suddenly regretted making Lu Li play the prince.
On the makeshift stage, Lu Li, playing the prince, leaned down slightly. From the audience’s perspective, it looked like they were kissing. Chu Jingyi rested her chin on her hand and said nothing. The girls in the audience clasped their hands to their chests, deeply moved by the scene. The boys, on the other hand, were stamping their feet and shouting, “I can take his place!”
Looking at Lu Li’s awkward posture as he kissed the air, Wen Hupo finally chuckled. “Outstanding representative, you really have a talent for acting.”
“You’re not bad either, quite suitable for playing Sleeping Beauty.” As long as she lay there motionless, it was perfect for her.
“The script should be revised.”
“How?”
“Change it so that the prince is a playboy, two-timing, wanting both the fish and the bear’s paw.”
“Are you the bear’s paw?”
“I’m neither.”
The first rehearsal ended there. Chu Jingyi, the director, gathered everyone with a sullen expression. She first pointed out some problems with the performance. For example, some girls who were playing maids came in evening gowns, stealing the spotlight; some added lines without authorization, disrupting the rhythm of the performance; and some hadn’t even memorized their lines, having to take out a small piece of paper halfway through, ruining the viewing experience.
Finally, Chu Jingyi said that the kiss scene was inappropriate for teenagers and that the kiss of true love should be changed to a fairy casting a spell to break the curse. She also said that some lines were too suggestive and needed to be revised. Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, wanting to laugh but not daring to. This wasn’t about being considerate of teenagers, it was just the Class Monitor being jealous, right? Everyone in the second year knew that Chu Jingyi liked Lu Li.
This was the first time Lu Li had seen Silly Goose act so willfully. After the meeting, he discreetly squeezed her soft hand. “Jingyi, everyone has been preparing for this play for so long, isn’t it a bit too much to change the script now?” Silly Goose looked at him with a pitiful expression. “I’ll listen to you.”
During the last class in the afternoon, they rehearsed again. This time, the student in charge of writing the script had tactfully revised the text, making it more palatable for the Class Monitor. Wen Hupo was still as out of place as ever, but she had the advantage of good looks and temperament. Even without any acting skills, she could just stand there and receive applause. It was said that because of the “kiss scene,” the role of the prince was originally assigned to a girl. It was the boys in the class who made a fuss, which led to the role being given to Lu Li.
Before leaving school, Lu Li didn’t forget to go to the activity classroom and take his laptop. He hadn’t forgotten that he had to watch a movie with his sister tonight.
Thinking about watching the movie, Lu Li felt a strange mix of anticipation and dread. What movie would she choose this time?
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