Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

After the opening announcement, the theater lights gradually dimmed, leaving only the row of warm-colored lights that were lighting up in sequence at the front of the stage, spreading out along the edge of the curtain and forming a slowly moving boundary of light and shadow between the floor and the scenery.

Fu Ningna sat in her private stand, where the seat was wider than the regular seats, and the paint on the edges of the armrests was newer than that on the spectator side, still maintaining a uniform sheen that could be seen under the lights.

Fanes sat beside her, still holding the program in his hand, looking down at the synopsis on the second page. "A dragon kidnaps a princess, the princess gradually understands the dragon's loneliness in its lair, and when the knight arrives to rescue her, he finds himself superfluous—the structure of this story is indeed quite different from the traditional narrative direction."

Furnessa leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on the edge of the curtain slowly being drawn back on the stage: "How is this different? This is clearly a new kind of artistic creation. It explores understanding and resonance across races, rather than the simple good-versus-evil dichotomy of traditional narratives."

Fanes folded the program and placed it on his lap: "But according to the setting, dragons are usually male, princesses are female, and knights are male—this is originally a love triangle between two men and one woman, and it has little to do with 'crossing species'."

Furnessa turned to look at him: "Settings can be reinterpreted. Writers can adjust a character's gender and position, making the original gender setting a narrative element that can be reinterpreted. And in today's performance, the dragon was indeed played by an actress."

Fanes thought for a moment: "But if I remember correctly, Blackie is female, right? The role it played on stage was also a dragon. If we follow this logic, then it can be considered to have participated in the performance of this play."

"It's normal in this chaotic world," said Funina.

Fanes thought that those more abstract interpersonal relationships in winter were not unacceptable.

The stage curtain had been fully drawn back. The lights spread out above the set, creating a warm halo. In the center of the stage stood a woman in a dark robe, holding a white mask in her hand.

She was giving a monologue, her voice echoing through the theater, clearly audible even through rows of empty seats. Several prop bushes were pushed up from both sides of the stage, spun around a few times to adjust their direction, and then stabilized after completing their movement.

The first half of the story moves faster than Fanes had anticipated. The princess is taken away by the dragon shortly after her appearance, and the knight's appearance takes up most of the remaining time.

The knight walked around the edge of the stage several times, stopping at the same spot each time and looking in the same direction.

The interaction between the dragon and the princess takes place only in an area separated by a semi-transparent curtain at the back of the stage. The audience can only see silhouettes softened by the curtain—the outline of the dragon's wings slowly unfolds on the curtain and then retracts, forming a stable sequence of outlines that is cyclical at fixed intervals under the light.

Fanes noticed that during the curtain call, Little Black was invited to stand alone at the front of the stage for about two beats. When the curtain was pulled back for the second time, it was crouching under the lights in the center of the stage, looking down at the clapping crowd in the audience.

Xiao Hei's posture was straight and upright, still maintaining the outline of the dragon form, with the curvature of its wings and the angle of its standing remaining stable.

He stood under the lights for a while, then slightly adjusted his posture, glanced at the private stands where Funina was, and quickly turned back.

Then the curtain slowly closed in front of it, and the stage lights went out one by one, hiding the silhouettes of those slowly leaving the stage in the darkness behind the curtain, leaving only the row of exit signs above the audience seats that were slowly brightening, arranged along the edge of the aisle, guiding people toward the exit.

Most of the streetlights outside the theater were already on. When Fanes and Funina came out through the side door, Little Black was squatting on the steps outside. The silver-blue coating on his body had been washed off, and a layer of moisture remained on the surface of his scales, which shimmered with a damp sheen under the light.

Fanes walked over, squatted down, and looked at its scales: "You did a good job tonight. Although you didn't have any lines and just stood behind the curtain for a while, the silhouette effect was really good, and the audience applauded."

Xiao Hei turned its head to look at him, its tail lightly brushing against the edge of the steps, making a soft rustling sound.

Fu Ningna stood beside her and said, "It was very stable on stage just now, and its finishing move was also very well done. If there is a similar opportunity in the future, we can continue to work together."

Fanes stood up and glanced at the shop at the end of the street that was still lit up: "Let's go get something to eat. There's a shop that's still open at this hour, mainly serving noodle soup and grilled skewers."

The storefront of the late-night snack shop was larger than Fanes had imagined, with several wooden tables arranged along the wall, and the lighting inside was warm.

They chose a table further inside and sat down. Fanes ordered a bowl of clear soup noodles and a few skewers of grilled chicken.

Funina ordered a bowl of seafood chowder and a plate of grilled vegetables. Little Black was squatting at the corner of the table, with a small dish full of water in front of him.

Fanes lowered his head, took a sip of soup, and then put down the bowl. "So, this performance was arranged by the theater troupe who approached you?"

Fu Ningna also took a sip of soup: "They started planning this performance a long time ago, but they were always short of a suitable dragon role. They happened to meet Xiao Hei in a very random situation. At the time, it was squatting in an alley near the opera house, observing the drain at the base of the wall. The troupe happened to be passing by, thought it was suitable, and took the initiative to ask it. After discussing it with the troupe, I felt that this arrangement was feasible, so we let it participate."

Fanes picked up a skewer of roasted chicken: "So, are they paying it per performance or per show?"

Fu Ningna put down her soup bowl: "We settle accounts by performance, and each performance will be settled after it ends. Today's show is the premiere, and there are several more shows scheduled afterward. We expect to complete all the performances by the middle of next month."

Fanes finished chewing and swallowed: "Then its schedule is quite full. If there are similar invitations in the future, we can consider establishing a short-term cooperation framework, creating a template for specific cooperation content that can be reused repeatedly, simplifying the subsequent cooperation process."

Fu Ningna put down her soup bowl: "It's really popular. Quite a few actors and staff members have taken photos with it backstage. Some even said they hope to have the opportunity to go on stage with it next time."

Fanes looked at her: "And you? How are you feeling tonight?"

Funina scooped up a small piece of vegetable with a spoon: "It's pretty good. Although there's still room for adjustment in the pacing of the performance, the overall narrative and stage direction are within expectations."

Fanes finished the last bite of his noodles: "That's good."

After finishing their late-night snack, they walked back along the street. Most of the pedestrians had already left, and the streetlights cast two slowly moving slanted shadows behind them.

Xiao Hei followed beside them, taking small steps, occasionally stopping to sniff the base of the wall by the roadside.

As they reached the side gate of the Moman Palace, Fanes slowed his pace, as if using that moment of silence to reassess the distance and direction of the next few steps: "Then I'll stay at your place tonight. It'll save me the trouble of going back to the hotel."

Funina had already pushed open the side door: "The guest room has been cleaned and the bedding has been changed."

After speaking, Funina walked down the corridor, the hem of her dress swaying slightly in the lamplight. Fanes followed behind her, pausing briefly in front of a door at the end of the corridor.

Xiao Hei had already gone inside and was squatting on the carpet in the corner of the room, starting to check the traces of stage paint left in the crevices of its claws.

Fanes closed the door and heard the last footsteps on the street outside the window gradually fading into the distance. The door closed with a short, sharp sound as it fell back into the frame, the sound traveling a distance along the seam of the frame before completely disappearing.