Mud beads

Yu Zhu and Echizen Tetsu's conversation ended on the topic of freedom.

When Yu Zhu brought the bag of dumplings from the doorway into the house, the dumplings had already thawed. A ring of water had seeped out from the bottom of the plastic bag, and the dough was soft and stuck together. She didn't have much of an appetite, but she still boiled some water and cooked a few. She divided the rest into two bags and put them back in the freezer.

The following afternoon, rehearsals for "The Genealogy" officially began in the small auditorium of the Faculty of Arts.

The auditorium was behind the old library and was usually used for lectures. As soon as the door opened, a musty smell of wood, dust, and old curtains hit you. Below the stage were rows of dark red soft chairs with worn, frayed backs. Only two stage lights were on, casting light in the center of the floor while the edges remained dark.

Teacher Meng came in with a stack of scripts and told everyone not to rush to take their positions, but to go over the relationships between the characters.

"Zeus, Asteria, Perses, Hecate." She wrote on the blackboard with chalk, then turned to look at the boy dressed as Zeus. "Don't act too slick. The more polite you are, the more intimidating it will be."

The boy raised his hand: "Teacher, I was going to give you a sly smile."

Several classmates nearby burst out laughing.

Teacher Meng tossed a piece of chalk into the chalk box: "Go back and watch 'Empresses in the Palace,' and see how Chen Jianbin acted in it."

The atmosphere in the small auditorium immediately relaxed. Some people were marking their lines, some were writing the pinyin for Greek names, and others were quietly asking if Asteria and aspirin were related. Yu Zhu stood at the edge of the crowd, holding her few pages of paper, her fingers pressing the corner of the paper.

She wasn't used to being in crowded places.

Even though she had memorized her lines perfectly, she still tensed up and kept looking at the paper during the first rehearsal.

"I would rather fall into the sea than let the God-King's hand touch me—"

"Stop, stop, stop." Teacher Meng waved the script in her hand.

"You have to read the lines with feeling." She walked over, her voice loud. "Think about it! She's running away, someone's chasing her, the sky is pressing down, the sea is right beneath her feet! Fear is okay, but you can't be weak. Asteria didn't beg for mercy."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Yu Zhu's hand trembled slightly. She pressed the script to her chest: "Understood."

Teacher Meng stopped looking at her, turned her gaze to the stage, and clapped her hands: "Everyone, let's do it again. Slow down the pace, and look straight ahead."

Yu Zhu nodded.

The second time, she was still a little stiff, but her voice was more relaxed. The girl dressed as Hecate stood beside her, whispering encouragement, "Say it boldly, your voice is very beautiful."

Yu Zhu glanced at her, relaxed a little, and said, "Thank you."

She stood back in the center of the stage. The small auditorium was hot, and sweat clung to her clothes on her back. The audience was a sea of ​​dark chairs, and a few students in the front row who had come to join the fun looked up at her. She was holding a piece of paper, the edge of which was creased by her fingertips.

"The King of God reached out to me from the clouds," she began. "I heard thunder rolling overhead. He wanted my obedience, my body, and for me to offer him my fear—"

The dialogue was a revised translation by Teacher Meng, making the sentences more forceful than the original. As Yu Zhu read this, the face of Etsuya Tetsu suddenly flashed before her eyes.

He was like Zeus. Always standing on high, reaching down, never asking her wishes.

He demands obedience, unwavering yet unequal love. But sometimes he is like Perseus—beautiful, dangerous, and with an alluring destructive quality when he gets close.

Yu Zhu's heart slowly tightened.

"I refuse to be anyone's trophy!" She raised her eyes, her voice growing louder. "The sea will catch me, the night will catch me. If freedom is only about falling, then I will fall!"

Her voice echoed through the empty auditorium, reverberating several times before finally fading into silence.

The boy playing Zeus touched his arm and said, "Teacher, I feel like my reputation will be ruined after the official performance."

Teacher Meng's furrowed brows finally relaxed: "That's right."

Everyone laughed along. The laughter was gentle and clean, falling gently in the warm breeze. Yu Zhu stood there, script hanging at her side, palms sweaty. She smiled too, a hint of shyness in her eyes.

Moth

The rehearsal ended at 5:30.

Yu Zhu put the script into her canvas bag and rushed off to make lemon tea.

Liang Xia has already gone to work at the new store, leaving only Liang Dong working the day shift. The ice maker and freezer are still humming as usual, and the dishcloths are neatly folded on the counter; everything is as normal.

But Yu Zhu knew that today was the last day that Nong Ning Tea would be open for business.

Liang Dong was tidying up the refrigerator in the kitchen. There were still some unused supplies inside, and he checked the dates and made a list of them. Seeing Yu Zhu come in, he looked up and smiled, "There are still a lot of guavas left, want to get a special cocktail?"

"OK."

Yu Zhu put her bag in the locker, washed her hands, and stood behind the bar. The locker under the bar was empty; the straws and paper cups that were once full were gone, leaving only a few for the evenings, leaning against the wall.

After waiting for a long time, the machine spat out a small receipt, the thermal paper curled at the edges, still warm from the ink.

Yu Zhu tore off the receipt, folded it, and put it in her pocket.

When it was time to close, Liang Dong mopped the floor, and Yu Zhu washed the rags. They wouldn't be open tomorrow, so the rags didn't need to be soaked in disinfectant anymore. She wrung out the rags and folded them in a transparent acrylic box.

"How's the live stream going lately?" Yu Zhu turned to ask Liang Dong.

"Not bad." Liang Dong poured the dirty water into the sink, turned on the tap to rinse the mop, and said, "It's showing its true colors."

Yu Zhu was a little surprised.

Liang Dong didn't look at her, but his ears felt a little hot. He bent down to wring the mop dry and hung it on the hook on the wall: "If I don't show my face, they won't believe I did it; they'll say I'm cheating."

"and then?"

"Hmm... there have been a lot more people lately."

Yu Zhu took out her phone and glanced at his account. In the replay window, the camera angle wasn't carefully chosen; Liang Dong was sitting in front of the computer wearing headphones, with old furniture behind him. The lighting hadn't been adjusted either, shining directly down from the ceiling, which only accentuated the sharp angles of his face. Even as the game progressed to the endgame, he showed no extra expression; his lips were slightly pursed, and his long, slender fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.

The barrage of comments was very dense.

[Floating, floating, floating, floating, floating, floating]

[Raise your hands high and pass the light to the broadcaster!]

Honestly, this isn't auto-aiming at me.

[Chang'an's No.1 Male Model]

The comments were a mix of good and bad, some heartwarming and encouraging, others downright offensive. Yu Zhu watched for a while, then put down her phone: "Do you read the comments?"

After washing his hands, Liang Dong walked over to her and stood beside her: "I won't look. I don't have time to look while I'm working."

"That's good." Yu Zhu put her phone in her pocket. "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to resist secretly looking at it."

"I was just kidding." Liang Dong smiled, lowered his head, and looked a little unconvinced. "When I see bad reviews, I wish I could stop and argue with them."

Yu Zhu looked at his slightly pouting lips and smiled: "Your acting was pretty good during the live stream."

"Really?" Liang Dong suddenly looked up, his eyes lighting up. "You think my acting is pretty good?"

"what?"

"Someone approached me to act in a short drama." He hesitated a bit, "They said my... appearance is alright. If I'm interested, I can audition."

Yu Zhu was stunned.

She'd seen short dramas before. Vertical screen, fast-paced, three minutes per episode, with incredibly melodramatic dialogue. She never imagined Liang Dong would be involved with this.

"Do you want to go?" she asked.

Liang Dong didn't answer, but simply handed her his phone: "Take a look."

Yu Zhu took the phone. The message from the other party was short and very polite, including the address, time, and contact person. Liang Dong stood next to her, looking down at her profile, waiting for her to finish reading.

"I think it's worth a try." Yu Zhu handed the phone back to him. "The interview is free."

Liang Dong took the phone back: "You think it's a good idea too?"

"Okay." Yu Zhu thought for a moment, "Send the address to your sister before you go, and send me a copy too."

Liang Dong looked up: "Why do you need to send the address?"

"If you get detained," Yu Zhu said seriously, "I can call the police."

Liang Dong looked at her for two seconds, then her eyes crinkled into a smile: "Okay."

Liang Dong added, "They also asked me to prepare a talent."

"Sing?"

"Won't."

"Dance?"

Liang Dong looked up at her, his expression revealing a clear resistance.

Yu Zhu pursed her lips, which were slightly upturned. "Indeed, with your long arms and legs, it's probably a bit disproportionate."

Liang Dong also lowered his head and smiled.

Thinking about the afternoon's drama festival rehearsal, Yu Zhu tentatively suggested, "Perhaps we could try reciting a poem, or a short monologue."

"Can you?"

"I'm not really good at it either," Yu Zhu said, lowering her head a little embarrassed. "But I'm rehearsing a stage play in the small auditorium recently. If you don't mind being embarrassed, I can practice with you for a while."

"Not at all!" Liang Dong replied quickly.

After saying that, he lowered his eyelashes again, "Sister, please teach me."