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墨書 Inktalez
As time flowed on, the arts performance around three o'clock was in full swing. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, Yang Qianfan was completely unfazed, sprawled across two seats, sleeping like a water buffalo, drooling and snoring. It wasn't until a loud crash of drums jolted him from his slumber that he finally stirred.
"What’s going on? What’s happening?" Yang Qianfan exclaimed, eyes wide open like a startled bird. He leapt from his seat and saw several performers in costumes beating drums on stage. His heart finally settled as he yawned and mumbled, "What kind of nonsense is this? Dressed like they’re in a play."
"It is a play, but not a singing one; it should be considered acting!" Wang Yuhan replied with a faint smile, explaining, "The performance is organized by the student council members."
"Since it's organized by the student council, why didn’t I see you participating? Aren't you part of the council too?"
"I wanted to join, but they said I was too straightforward and lacked the flair for acting, so they didn’t let me perform with them. They just arranged for me to present flowers on stage."
"Come on—if you’re not performing, there’s no need to be so smug about it," Yang Qianfan scoffed, casting a disdainful glance at Wang Yuhan that revealed his underlying contempt.
In truth, the concept of the performance was quite clever. It revolved around absurd non-mainstream culture, intertwining characters from "Red Lantern Record" and "Xixiangji" with elements from "Romeo and Juliet," while weaving in character fates from "Dream of the Red Chamber." They added modern comedic elements that transformed what were originally poignant and melancholic storylines into something uproariously funny. The most thrilling moment came at the end of the skit. Just as Captain Hatoyama drew a kitchen knife to threaten Hong Niang—played by Jiang Xi—Guan Yunchang suddenly descended with his Daguandao. As Guan Yunchang thought he could land gracefully before Captain Hatoyama, he accidentally stepped on a piece of watermelon rind and fell flat on his back. Scrambling to his feet, he picked up the offending rind and sighed dramatically, "Protecting the environment is everyone's responsibility; waste sorting starts with me." After tossing the rind into a prepared trash bin, he noticed Captain Hatoyama brandishing a rusty kitchen knife at Hong Niang's throat. Without hesitation, he charged forward and shouted at him using an exaggerated Peking Opera tone: "Where is Qin Qiong? Speak up!" His left hand shook dramatically as if he were a mighty tiger.
Seeing this, Hong Niang had a sudden idea and rushed to Guan Yunchang's side. Pointing at Captain Hatoyama, she mimicked him with her own Peking Opera style: "It is this man who has kidnapped Qin Shubao! He intends to use Qin as leverage for my Great Tang East Sea Oilfield!" Her righteous indignation left everyone speechless.
Guan Yunchang could only gasp in disbelief before bellowing, "This is outrageous!" With another fierce glare and flourish of his Daguandao, he swung it down towards Captain Hatoyama's head. At that moment, the crowd erupted into cheers as the familiar tune of "The March of the Big Knife" filled the air: "The big knife strikes down upon the heads of the devils!" The story concluded amidst thunderous applause.
Yang Qianfan and Wang Yuhan laughed uncontrollably along with those around them, gasping for breath.
"That was... so funny!" Yang Qianfan exclaimed through tears of laughter. One hand clutched his stomach while the other pointed at the actor playing Captain Hatoyama. "Who... who was that person playing the Japanese Devil? They were hilarious!"
"She’s our Vice President in the student council and also the class leader of Sophomore Class Four. Her name is Zhu Hui. Don’t mistake her for a boy!" Wang Yuhan replied.
"What? She's a girl?" Yang Qianfan's eyes widened in surprise as he pointed at Zhu Hui on stage. He pondered aloud, "No wonder! I was wondering why that actor playing Captain Hatoyama looked so short while Guan Yu seemed so tall and imposing."
“It's precisely because she's the shortest one in our student council that we chose her to play the role of the Japanese Devil. If we had someone tall and imposing like me, with such extraordinary looks, I doubt we could achieve the same comedic effect,” Wang Yuhan explained with a laugh.
“Ugh—you're really full of yourself,” Yang Qianfan scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. Then she asked, “So who’s playing Guan Gong?”
“Oh, that guy is something else entirely. Wang Yuhan paused for effect, then articulated slowly, “He’s the president of the student council, named Luo Minggang. He’s a direct admit from Tsinghua University, you know!” The envy was evident on his face as he mentioned Tsinghua University.
“Top student… top student. There are plenty of top students in China, but I haven’t seen one win a Nobel Prize. Besides putting on airs and pretending to be cultured, what else can they do?” Yang Qianfan said dismissively, sneering again.
“Alright, alright, you don’t need to explain. I know sour grapes when I see them and that durians smell bad,” Wang Yuhan teased him with a smile.
Before Wang Yuhan could finish his sentence, a wave of enthusiastic applause erupted in the room. Instinctively, both of them turned to look at the stage, where Li Lingfei had already made her entrance and was walking toward the piano.
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