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墨書 Inktalez
Wang Wei watched on, moved, and patted my shoulder. My mom pulled me down to sit, saying that from now on, I should just stay at home, and she would take care of me.
As she spoke, my mom couldn't help but shed tears.
I could see her, but I didn't say anything. I raised my hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes.
I said, "Mom, I'm fine."
"I'm fine." When you're out in the world, those three words are something you often have to say to your parents. I'm fine, really fine.
But my mom replied, "Your eyes look like that, and you still say you're fine."
I put my sunglasses back on. Wang Wei stepped in to ease the tension, saying, "Uncle, Auntie, Saning is back home now, right? Let's all be a bit happier."
I echoed Wang Wei's words.
Ke'er was crying uncontrollably beside us. I glanced at her and shook my head.
My mom said, "You haven't eaten anything yet, have you? I'll go get something for you," and then urged my dad not to just sit there. She insisted he should hurry up and prepare some food. After my parents left the table,
Wang Wei said, "Saning, that performance earlier was really good."
I looked at Wang Wei. He had already mentioned the show several times. I didn't respond to him and instead got up to walk over to Ke'er. She called out to me, "Husband, it's all my fault for not protecting you well."
I wiped away Keer's tears and said, "Ke'er, if anyone should be protecting someone, it should be me protecting you. I'm a man; how can I let a woman protect me?"
Ke'er leaned on my shoulder, her tears soaking into it.
My mother poked her head out of the kitchen and called to me, asking, "How many eggs should I add to the noodles?"
I replied one, but she insisted it had to be three.
Wang Wei, I didn't know when, had circled around to the door.
The house wasn't far from where the opera was being performed, as there were many rice fields in the countryside. So often, a seemingly short distance required a longer route. Wang Wei stood at the entrance and could see some of it.
At that moment, Wang Wei called out to me, "Is the opera coming?"
I told Wang Wei not to joke around; how could the opera come here? But Wang Wei insisted it really was coming. If I didn’t believe him, he urged me to check. I reassured Ke'er and then we both walked to the door.
Once we reached the entrance, I heard a series of high-pitched sounds; it was clearly the voice of an opera performance.
I glanced into the distance and noticed that it seemed like the opera was indeed approaching, getting closer and closer. I thought it was strange—had they changed venues?
Since the opera had moved, so had the audience. Many beams of flashlight danced across the fields.
Before long, the performers arrived at my doorstep.
The area in front of my house was quite spacious and suitable for setting up a stage.
However, instead of building a stage, they began singing right at my doorstep, instantly making the outside lively.
My mother must have heard the commotion outside because she came out to take a look and asked what was going on.
I told her that the opera had come to our doorstep. My mother's expression changed slightly as she stepped forward and said, "No wonder it's so noisy." With that, she closed the door.
Then I was let inside, and they said the noodles would be ready soon.
Wang Wei peeked outside through the crack in the door, looking quite eager. I said, "Wang Wei, if you want to see, just go out and take a look." It seemed like he was waiting for me to say that. As soon as I finished speaking, Wang Wei hurriedly went outside.
Before long, my mom brought in a bowl of noodles and called me to eat. When she saw that I was alone, she asked, "Where's your friend?"
I replied, "He went out to watch the show."
My mom urged me to quickly call him in to eat. After saying that, she probably felt it wasn't right, so she went out herself to bring Wang Wei back.
My mom secured the door, and I knew she was probably worried about others seeing my eyes.
Wang Wei came in and absentmindedly ate his food.
After we finished eating, my mom arranged a room for us to sleep in. After dinner and a shower, we returned to the room where Wang Wei entered.
The theater troupe outside had not dispersed yet. I glanced at the time; it was already eleven o'clock.
Perhaps due to exhaustion, I quickly fell asleep while holding Ke'er.
However, in the early hours of the morning, I heard singing outside. I checked the time; it was already three-thirty. Ke'er was nowhere to be seen.
I looked out the window; it was still brightly lit outside. I thought to myself, Damn it, they're still performing at this hour! Don't they need sleep?
Cheers from the villagers occasionally rang out.
I got out of bed, put on my clothes and pants, and headed towards the door, wondering if Ke'er had gone out to watch the show.
Moreover, I was puzzled about what kind of play it was that so many people enjoyed watching, especially at such a late hour.
I put on my sunglasses and stepped outside. Just as I did, I spotted a familiar figure and heard a familiar voice.
I focused my gaze, and damn it, wasn’t that Wang Wei? This guy was out here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, coming to watch a play. I walked up to him and called out, "Wang Wei!"
Wang Wei turned his head and said, "Saning, you can't sleep either? Come on, this play is really good."
I glanced at the stage and saw several people making their entrance in full costume.
I asked, "Why are they still performing at this hour?"
Wang Wei didn’t even look at the stage before replying, "I just asked; tonight is an all-night show. They’ll be performing all night long."
I didn’t think much of it. Sometimes in the countryside, they would hold events and invite a theater troupe to perform for three days and nights straight.
After watching for a few minutes, I didn’t find the play particularly interesting.
I searched for Ke'er in the crowd but couldn’t spot her anywhere.
I said to Wang Wei, "What are you watching? You should go home and get some sleep!"
Wang Wei replied, "Saning, you just don’t get it! Look at that actress on stage; isn’t she beautiful?"
I said, "No matter how beautiful she is, it has nothing to do with you. Go to sleep."
However, Wang Wei clearly had no intention of sleeping. I didn’t press him further, but just as I was about to head back inside, someone called out to me.
I turned around to see someone on stage holding a microphone. He announced, "We invite a villager to come up and perform."
Then he pointed at me, calling out in a theatrical voice.
I turned to glance but ignored him. Damn it, my eyes could perform! I was about to head home when Wang Wei tugged at me and said, "Saning, just give it a try! Think of it as fun."
I replied, "Damn it, let go." I stared at Wang Wei and repeated myself until he finally released my hand.
But when I looked back at Wang Wei, I noticed he was already sweating profusely.
I walked into the house, feeling a bit strange.
The theater troupe gave me an odd feeling. Once I returned to my room, I paid no attention to Wang Wei. Throughout the night, my parents didn't show up at all.
The next morning, I found Wang Wei sitting at my bedroom door.
After I got up, I asked, "Wang Wei, did you finish watching the play?"
Wang Wei turned to look at me, and I suddenly noticed how pale his face was. Seeing me speak to him, he stood up and said, "Saning, I didn’t watch the play. You called me back in the middle of the night, so I came back."
I glanced at Wang Wei and said, "Weren't you the one who wanted to drag me to perform? Why did you come back inside?"
Wang Wei suddenly gasped. He said, "Saning, something's not right! This theater troupe seems off!"
I asked what was wrong.
But then Wang Wei said something that left me bewildered yet shocked: "Saning, I don’t like watching plays!"
I retorted angrily, "Damn it! You don’t like watching plays, yet you were so into it last night!"
"Wang Wei said, 'Saning, I'm not lying to you. I usually just like to get things done; I have no interest in watching plays!'
'What do you mean?'
Wang Wei replied, 'I suspect that Theater Troupe has some issues. There's something strange about them.'
Hearing Wang Wei say this, I also felt there was something off about the Theater Troupe. When I watched them last night, it seemed like their feet barely touched the ground.
But my eyes couldn't discern anything; it didn't seem like they were ghosts.
Wang Wei claimed he didn't enjoy watching plays, yet from the very first moment he saw the performance, the words 'watching a play' were hanging on his lips. It might really be that the Theater Troupe was not right.
As I pondered this, my mom had also gotten up. I asked her, 'Who invited the Theater Troupe?'
She replied, 'They came on their own!'
I quickly asked, 'What?' I felt quite surprised."
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