The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1823 Everything is fine

From daydreaming and spacing out to being shocked and annoyed, and then to a smile spreading across the face, everything happened in a short, fleeting moment, a mere half-second or a second, witnessing the vicissitudes of life.

Struggling, pulling, rising and falling.

But in the end, everything was alright.

Carefully donning the mask, like a clown's painted smile, people can only see the upturned red lips of a wide grin, but cannot see the truth beneath the thick layers of paint. The heartbreak and loneliness, the solitude and sorrow, are all hidden in the cheerful and bright smile.

Just like the inappropriate physical comedy just now, just like Jasper tacitly pretending not to see anything, yes, everything is fine.

Calm and undisturbed, yet magnificent and grand.

Emmanuel froze completely, his brain unable to keep up, acting solely on instinct and relying on the photographer's intuition, remaining rooted to the spot.

Without zooming in or changing the framing, I continued recording with a medium shot.

It's not a close-up, nor a medium shot, and it's not in focus; it's just a medium shot.

Subconsciously, Emmanuel thought that Theo probably didn't want to be seen by others. He tried his best to pretend that nothing was wrong, pushing away all the scrutinizing and prying gazes. He even deceived himself by locking himself in the boundless darkness of his memories, hiding behind a mask.

Therefore, he should keep his distance and remain quiet in this position, neither too close nor too far.

Just like Jasper.

"Oh."

Theo sighed softly, all the emotions in his eyes, expression, and the corners of his mouth vanishing like smoke, effortlessly completing the cover-up.

Then, I lay back on the sofa, spread my arms, and completely relaxed, letting myself sink deep into the sofa. I crossed my legs on the coffee table and lay down in a slightly exaggerated posture, as if I were enjoying a rare vacation on the white sand beach of the Mediterranean coast.

"Sorry. Continue."

Theo seems ready to enjoy it all, in a vacation-like manner.

Jasper didn't even want to look at Theo, pursed his lips, and said with a look of disgust, "No, I don't want to talk about it now."

Theo had relaxed again and joked in a lighthearted voice, "No, Jasper, please."

Jasper: "Damn it. No, I'm not talking about it."

Theo was still adjusting his position, searching for the most comfortable and relaxed posture. "It's okay, keep going. Keep going."

Jasper glanced at Theo furtively, and the two exchanged a brief look before quickly looking away, displaying a tacit understanding of mutual concealment.

Jasper didn't insist any further. "Okay."

After taking another drag of his cigarette, Jasper began to speak.

"This human project team held a dinner, attended by scientists and other respected figures from around the world, to discuss the theory of the ultimate secret."

"Why are they infertile? Why are no babies being born?"

Jasper was very serious and focused, and Theo stopped mocking and teasing him. After completely relaxing, a hint of focus appeared in his eyes.

Theo tilted his head slightly, detached himself, and stood aside, seemingly very much looking forward to Jasper's joke. His expression of preparing to laugh was a bit exaggerated. Even before the joke was told, the corners of his mouth were already turned up, as if he was preparing to false start in a 100-meter race.

"Some say it's because of gene experiments, gamma rays, and pollution—the same old stories."

"Anyway, there was an Englishman sitting in the corner, not saying a word, focused on eating..."

Haha, hahaha.

"The Englishman," Theo seemed to have already sensed the joke and burst out laughing. His left hand was still petting the cat, and his shoulders and body were completely relaxed, so that the laughter came out effortlessly.

They were even a little too relaxed. Jasper glanced at Theo: "The punchline hasn't even started yet, and you're already laughing?"

But Jasper didn't stop. At least... excessive praise was better than no praise at all. Jasper's lips curled up, as if he had been encouraged.

"So they decided to ask him."

They said, 'Tell me, why aren't any babies being born now?'

Jasper mimicked the pose perfectly, pretending to be eating, holding food in his hand, his mouth greasy. "He looked up, still holding a large chicken wing in his hand."

He said, 'I really didn't know.' Then he said, 'But this stork meat is really delicious, isn't it?' Hahahahahahaha.

Theo laughed out loud too, "Haha."

After laughing for a while, Theo realized that Jasper's joke and his own complaints were exactly the same, and that the human task force was obviously a joke.

The laughter grew even louder and more unrestrained; the more they thought about it, the funnier it became. The existence of those guys was a complete joke.

Hahahaha!

Theo burst into laughter, looking at Jasper, laughing so hard that tears were almost streaming down his face.

Jasper was the same; "He swallowed the whole stork meat, hahahahahaha."

Theo leaned back and forth, "Stork... haha... want to try some?"

It wasn't a particularly funny joke, and Jasper would have just laughed it off, but Theo seemed to have completely lost control, collapsing onto the sofa and laughing until he fell silent, though still laughing silently.

Jasper, craving an olive from his cigarette, picked up a tin can from the coffee table, opened it, popped an olive into his mouth, and exclaimed, "Italian!"

Theo slumped into the sofa, tilting his head to look at Jasper. "No stork meat?"

Jasper was stunned, almost spitting out the olive in his mouth, his shoulders trembling violently.

Theo was very pleased with his decisive strike, and a smile crept onto his face.

He wasn't the only one. Behind the monitor, Scarlett almost couldn't hold back her laughter, clenching her fists tightly to barely suppress the urge.

As Scarlett turned around, she saw all the staff members turn their heads and chuckle quietly.

That last line was another improvisation by Anson, another comedic performance.

But this time no one felt confused or worried, because the comedic performance that flowed so effortlessly only made the hidden sadness and bitterness more and more obvious.

Anyway... the end of the world is coming soon, so why not dance?

Then, Emmanuel noticed that his camera lens had subtly moved slightly to the left and then slightly upward, so that Anson was curled up in the lower left corner of the frame, leaving a large space at the top of the frame, almost squeezing Anson out of the frame.

Seemingly submerged at the bottom of the sea, yet also seemingly crushed by endless pressure, those invisible and intangible yet real emotions surged forth once more.

Theo was tired.

He laughed and laughed until he got tired. He lay on the sofa, his shoulders, arms and expression completely relaxed, as if he was so exhausted that he was about to melt into the sofa.

From extreme anxiety to extreme relaxation, then to extreme happiness, and finally freefalling into the abyss of extreme fatigue.

The ups and downs, seemingly flamboyant and intense, are actually all hidden beneath a calm surface, as if witnessing a world crumble before one's eyes.

That weariness and sadness were slowly eroding and even devouring Theo; he was right there, yet it seemed as if he could disappear at any moment.

(End of this chapter)