Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 126 I also want to belong to this world

The afterglow of the setting sun slanted through the glass windows of the training room, stretching Liu Yifei's shadow on the wooden floor into a slender shape.

The strands of hair on her forehead were soaked with sweat and stuck to her fair cheeks, but she still meticulously repeated the basic Kunqu movements that Zhang Jiqing taught her - gently turning the folding fan, slightly raising her wrist, and walking like a lotus, every step was precise and unambiguous.

Wu Chen leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked at her quietly.

The sun shone obliquely, stretching his figure, which intersected with the figure of a woman practicing with water sleeves on the wooden floor, appearing particularly peaceful.

Zhang Jiqing glanced at the wall clock and shouted in a deep voice, "Stop."

Liu Yifei immediately stopped, stepped back with her right foot, folded her hands in front of her abdomen, and her body stood still like a pine tree, but sweat had already appeared on her forehead.

"That's all for today." Zhang Jiqing's stern eyes held a hint of satisfaction. "It's a little better than yesterday, but my wrist is still too stiff. We'll continue tomorrow."

"Thank you, teacher!" Liu Yifei smiled sweetly, her voice filled with relief and joy after being praised.

Wu Chen then took a step closer and said to Zhang Jiqing with a smile, "Teacher, would you like to have dinner together? It's almost time."

Zhang Jiqing looked at the darkening sky outside the window and shook his head. "I'm not used to eating outside, so I won't go. I'm used to eating at home. My old man is still waiting for me. You young people should go."

"Teacher, are you adapting to living in Beijing? If you encounter any inconvenience, please tell me." Wu Chen continued.

Zhang Jiqing waved his hand. "How can it be inconvenient? It's not like we haven't lived here before, and some old friends are here too. This is a good opportunity to chat. We might not have this chance in later years."

After Zhang Jiqing walked away, Liu Yifei didn't stop. She just turned her head slightly, winked at Wu Chen, and raised a playful smile at the corner of her mouth: "Practice for another ten minutes."

"Senior Sister, haven't you been practicing all afternoon? Take a break."

"Teacher Zhang said that when practicing, you shouldn't be afraid of hard work, but you should be afraid of laziness. After all, it's only ten minutes, not too much."

Liu Yifei chuckled, and Wu Chen didn't refute her, but stood there for a while.

Finally, Liu Yifei relaxed with a "whoosh" and slumped down on the floor, looking at Wu Chen with sparkling eyes: "I'm starving!"

Wu Chen couldn't help laughing. He walked over and squatted in front of her, pretending to be serious and imitating Zhang Jiqing's tone: "Your wrist is too stiff. Keep practicing now."

"Ah, Wu Chen, are you a devil?"

Liu Yifei exclaimed, grabbing the fan and pretending to hit him, but the big movement pulled the muscles that had been sore these days. She sucked in a breath of cold air and her legs seemed to be a little numb.

"Pull me up. I feel like I'm a little numb from sitting."

Wu Chen quickly supported her arm and praised her, "Not bad."

"Of course!" Liu Yifei raised her chin, beads of sweat still hanging on the tip of her nose, like crystal amber in the sunset. "I can't embarrass you, can I?"

Wu Chen looked at her sparkling eyes and was a little speechless.

"Let's go and eat first."

Liu Yifei used the momentum to jump up, but her legs gave way and she almost fell into Wu Chen's arms. She hurriedly grabbed his shoulders and said, "Wait! My legs are numb."

Wu Chen held his arms stiffly, fearing that Liu Yifei would fall, but his nose was filled with the faint scent of gardenia from her hair.

Liu Yifei's face suddenly turned slightly red, her ears seemed to start to warm up, and the hair on her ears trembled slightly.

"Senior Sister, your ears are red." Wu Chen glanced at her and said with a chuckle, "Well, it must be because you're still hot."

"You're talking nonsense." Liu Yifei immediately retorted, "That's from the setting sun."

"Oh—then I'll get some sun, too." Wu Chen leaned his face towards the setting sun. "Hmm, it seems like there's no reaction."

At this moment, Liu Yifei leaned in fiercely, her eyelashes almost brushing against his chin, "Junior brother, I said it was the sun."

"Okay, okay, it's from the sun, okay." Wu Chen couldn't help laughing as he looked at the face that was puffed up like a bun.

"Let's go and eat first."

Liu Yifei nodded angrily, hiding the faint blush on her face, and followed behind, stepping on Wu Chen's shadow and stomping her feet from time to time.

We chose a small restaurant near Beijing Film Academy for dinner. It wasn’t big, but it was quiet.

Liu Yifei was extremely hungry. She ate rice in small bites from the bowl, her cheeks slightly puffed up, like a hamster stealing food.

Her eyes suddenly widened: "The spareribs in your bowl are mine!" Wu Chen paused with his chopsticks and looked at the meat in the bowl: "Is your name written on it?"

"I've been eyeing it for a long time. I just put it on top!" Liu Yifei gently poked the back of Wu Chen's hand with her fingers, her eyes blinking, and then said in a gentle tone, "Can you give it to me? It's the thinnest one, and the thinnest one looks the best!"

"Huh?" Wu Chen was stunned. He looked at it carefully, but couldn't understand what was so beautiful about it. Finally, he couldn't help but laugh: "Here you go, here you go."

"Thank you, Junior Brother." Liu Yifei smiled with bright eyes and white teeth, and glanced up at him with the corners of her eyes curved, which made Wu Chen stunned for a moment.

After dinner, it was dark and the street lights came on one by one.

Wu Chen looked at his watch and asked, "Shall I take you home?"

Liu Yifei shook her head: "No rush, I'll practice for a while."

"Still practicing?" Wu Chen frowned slightly. "Didn't Teacher Zhang say that we should practice at a fixed time every day and not overdo it?"

"I know." She pursed her lips, but her eyes were firm. "But I always feel that it's not good enough. I'm still young. I just need to practice for a while longer."

Wu Chen looked at her and suddenly understood - she was not trying to be brave, but really wanted to do well.

"Who usually picks you up then?"

"My mom will come over." Liu Yifei smiled, "But I told her to come later today."

Wu Chen paused, then nodded: "Okay, then I'll accompany you."

On the way back to the training room, the night breeze was cool.

Liu Yifei suddenly jumped in front of Wu Chen and walked backwards. "Hey, if I practice Kunqu Opera for two years, will I be better than Teacher Zhang?"

"There is everything in dreams."

"Be serious!" She grabbed Wu Chen's sleeve and shook it. "What if I'm gifted?"

Wu Chen looked at her eyes, which were shining brightly under the streetlight, and deliberately pondered: "Well, then the media headlines will be 'Shocking! Four Little Flower Actresses Turned to Becoming Opera Masters'."

"and then?"

"Then your fans collectively unfollowed you, saying, 'Give me back my Fairy Sister.'"

Liu Yifei laughed so hard she nearly bumped into a telephone pole, but Wu Chen pulled her back: "Watch the road!"

She used the momentum to spin around, her hair brushing Wu Chen's nose. "What about you? Will you stop being a fan?"

The night wind suddenly quieted down for a second.

"Me?" Wu Chen raised an eyebrow. "I'm waiting to collect the ticket money. Front row seats at Master Liu's premiere will pay at least ten times the price."

"Stingy!" She wrinkled her nose and kicked him, then ran into the training room, turned on the light, picked up the folding fan, and started practicing again.

Wu Chen sat aside and looked at her quietly.

Her movements were not perfect, and she would occasionally stumble slightly due to fatigue, but she never did things perfunctorily. Every turn and every raise of her hand was done with seriousness, almost stubbornness.

Sweat slid down her neck and soaked her collar, but she was unaware of it. She just concentrated on repeating the movements over and over again.

Wu Chen suddenly felt that Liu Yifei was more beautiful than ever at this moment - not the kind of exquisite and picturesque beauty, but a kind of tenacity that came from the bones, like a flower growing against the wind and rain, stubborn and lively.

"Senior Sister." Wu Chen suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" Liu Yifei stopped and turned to look at him.

"Aren't you afraid of getting tired from practicing like this?"

She tilted her head, her eyes curved into crescents: "It's tiring, but worth it."

"why?"

"Because... didn't you say that people who work hard and silently belong to this world?"

(End of this chapter)