A Young Woman's Heart

……

Chapter 150 Rehearsal

December this year in Hangzhou seems to be a rainy season.

The rain stopped for only a short while on Tuesday morning, but it started raining again during the second period.

At noon, you can't even see the sun; all you can see is the gloomy sky.

Mo Xueyao even had the illusion that she hadn't seen the sun in a long time.

"It's been raining for three days now..." Wang Jiale muttered, leaning on the windowsill. "Anyway, it's so cold, might as well it snow."

“If we don’t go out much, it would definitely be better if it snowed.” Mo Xueyao nodded in agreement. Although she was afraid of the cold, she really liked snow. People are always contradictory.

This was a rehearsal in the lecture hall. Today at noon, it was finally the turn of Class 2 of Grade 1. Although there was no audience member on the stage, Mo Xueyao still felt a little nervous.

"Let's practice singing first. An Ruosu, Xiao Yao, you two stand up there. Everyone else, come down here," Li Wanyan instructed.

Ye Wen, the homeroom teacher, also watched from the sidelines, but most of the time she didn't assign any tasks to the students; everything was directed by the class monitor.

She only occasionally offers suggestions.

"Uh... This is my first time standing on such a big stage." Mo Xueyao swayed uncomfortably. "I have to perform in a play and sing at the same time. Will I get double pay?"

"Yes, I'll give you double the credits!" Ye Wen said with a smile.

"What use would I have for that..." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes.

As they were talking, the music started playing.

An Ruosu was also a little flustered, and a slight blush appeared on her sunny and handsome face, making her look even more adorable.

Yes, that's right, it's cute.

Although it's a bit inappropriate to use it on boys.

"Alright, alright, you two stop staring at each other so affectionately!" Wang Jiale shouted as he walked from the backstage window to the audience seats. "There will be plenty of opportunities to see you when you're singing!"

Before Mo Xueyao could refute, the prelude ended, and it was time for her to speak.

This is Teresa Teng's "How Do You Say It".

The lyrics carry a touch of melancholy, but not so much so that they are depressing; there's even a hint of coquetry in them.

"I haven't forgotten you, but you've forgotten me~ You even got my name wrong~ That proves you've been lying to me all along. Let's see what you have to say today~"

The next song was sung by An Ruosu. At the beginning, his voice trembled slightly, but it gradually became more stable. Although An Ruosu had someone else he liked, he was still singing a duet with the "school beauty". Considering that the whole school would be watching him sing with the "school beauty", it was inevitable that he would feel nervous.

Just thinking about the envious and jealous looks from those boys should make you break out in a cold sweat, right?

After practicing the song two or three times, she was almost there. After all, Mo Xueyao had practiced it many times over the past two weeks and could sing it very well now. At least she wouldn't be singing off-key like she was at the beginning.

Singing on stage is just to get a feel for the atmosphere and avoid stage fright later.

The genre that needs the most rehearsal is, of course, stage plays.

After all, there are so many lines and actions in the script, which is 45 minutes long. The homeroom teacher had to apply to the school for it; otherwise, it would only be half an hour at most.

However, it's not a big problem. After all, some of the programs prepared by other classes are not long. Even if other classes prepare plays, they rarely reach thirty minutes. Class Two is just borrowing the extra time from other classes.

And in order to give the students enough patience to watch, the play was scheduled as the first performance in the afternoon.

This also means that you have to act well, otherwise it will be embarrassing.

Hua Yinyin, who wrote the script, was the director. During rehearsals, she kept raising various questions, among which forgetting lines was the most common problem.

"Don't be nervous. Just remember the general script. Even if you forget some lines, it's okay. You can improvise!" Hua Yinyin rolled the script into a cylinder and clapped her hands as she spoke. "Just perform boldly! But be careful to capture the character's personality and avoid any strong sense of incongruity!"

"How are you going to handle the bicycle scene?" Ye Wen asked curiously, leaning over the stage.

"Set up the bike, then we can ride it all the time." Hua Yinyin patted her chest. "I'll take care of the background music! It's all set!"

"Huh? Really? You composed the music and wrote the lyrics yourself?" Ye Wen asked expectantly.

"correct."

Ye Wen gave a thumbs up: "You're amazing."

"Live performance?" Wang Jiale was somewhat surprised.

"That's right."

"Huh, I thought you had someone else do it. Did you really do it yourself? I can't tell at all."

"Hmph, Xiao Yaoyao certainly wouldn't be surprised by something like this, right?" Hua Yinyin raised her eyebrows at Mo Xueyao triumphantly.

"A pipa?" Mo Xueyao thought of Hua Yinyin, dressed as a foreign dancer, and for some reason, she suddenly wanted to hear the clear sound of the bells on her ankles.

"Yes, that's right!"

"Mr. Xue, you must act urgently here, like you're giving it your all," Hua Yinyin said to Mr. Xue, who was playing the male lead.

The main character of the play in Class 2 of Grade 11 this time is Mr. Xue. There is no female lead. If we have to say there is one, it would be Mo Xueyao, who plays the assistant.

The last person to be saved was Li Hongran, a big guy. He encountered wolves while climbing the mountain. Although he killed the wolves, he was also bitten in many places. He only had time to make a phone call to the protagonist played by Mr. Xue before he gradually fell into a coma due to excessive blood loss.

This is also the climax of the whole play. Mr. Xue has to speed up his bicycle ride to his destination, and the background music starts at this moment.

The music should be stirring and inspiring, conveying a sense of striving forward, but it should be distinguished from war songs, since this is not about going to the battlefield to kill the enemy, but about rescuing people.

Therefore, composing music for it is quite difficult.

Although she hadn't heard Hua Yinyin play the background music yet, Mo Xueyao was still full of anticipation.

I wonder what the music she composes will be like?

"Gao Yuan, bring the props up." Hua Yinyin began to instruct the other students to set up the scene, while Li Wanyan assisted and directed from the side.

Since bicycles cannot move, the feeling of moving forward is conveyed by the cyclical movement of the backdrop.

This part of the sponsorship was provided by the school. It was a huge backdrop with two background patterns. The patterns could be rotated manually, somewhat similar to the barber's poles found in many barbershops, except that this backdrop was not cylindrical and was much larger.

In addition, Gao Yuan also provided a wolf costume, but the workmanship was not very realistic.

The main reason is that when it's worn by a person, there will definitely be some awkwardness.

Hua Yinyin had a brilliant idea. She had someone add a thin piece of paper in front of the shadow puppet, just like in a shadow play. With the addition of a light, the silhouette would be projected onto the paper, minimizing the awkwardness caused by the overly clear image.

After a long search for suit actors, An Ruosu was finally chosen.

Because his physique is just right.

"Alright, now let's try it out, Li Hongran fighting the giant wolf!" Hua Yinyin directed the others to push the props up. "An Ruosu, how do you feel inside the suit?"

"It's alright." Because of the leather case, An Ruosu's voice sounded muffled.

"You need to imitate the animal's movements as much as possible to make it look realistic," Hua Yinyin demonstrated simply. "The wolf's favorite move is to pounce. After a struggle, you can pounce on Li Hongran and knock him to the ground, then bite his neck. This way, Li Hongran will fight back and hold his head against you, preventing you from biting him..."

"Yes, and the movements should be swift and decisive. When it's time to push someone down, do it immediately without hesitation," Ye Wen added from the side.

"Alright, let's try it now. Li Hongran, An Ruosu, are you ready?"

"OK!" Li Hongran made a gesture.

"start!"

However, the actual effect was not so good. After An Ruosu pounced on her, the two of them started rolling around on the spot.

"Can you two be serious? Li Hongran, put in a little more effort, don't hold back so much, your movements look so weak!" Hua Yinyin adopted the aura of a director.

Mo Xueyao suddenly felt that she might be quite suitable to be the class monitor.

Well... of course, to be the class monitor, you need to have good grades in all subjects.

"If I use too much force, I might hurt him?" Li Hongran waved her fist.

"It's okay, the sheath is very thick, just don't hit the head or any vital areas!"

"OK, I'll give it a try." And so, the battle between humans and werewolves began once again.

After several attempts, even Li Hongran was panting heavily. Hua Yinyin still didn't seem particularly satisfied. She frowned and said, "Well, okay... let's leave it at that for now. It's effective, but it's not perfect yet."

"An Ruosu, take a rest," Li Wanyan said from the side.

Having received permission, An Ruosu quickly opened the leather holster and crawled out. He felt even more suffocated inside than Li Hongran. Even though he was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt, he was still sweating profusely, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.

"After the doctor temporarily stopped the bleeding and gave him a blood transfusion, the helicopter that the assistant had called arrived." Hua Yinyin read from the script and said, "Xiao Yaoyao, this is the time for you to appear. Together with Xiaoxue, carry Li Hongran onto the helicopter, and the play will be over."

“Every time I come here, I always feel like I haven’t finished writing,” Mo Xueyao muttered.

"This is about leaving room for interpretation. A story doesn't have to be completely written out. Sometimes leaving some blanks makes it more memorable!" Hua Yinyin said, hands on her hips. "Anyway, that's the general flow. Everyone should understand now, right? We still have some time, let's take a break and then rehearse one more time!"

"Acting in a play is so tiring." Mo Zhuyou pouted; she was in charge of moving props.

"Damn, I didn't even say I was tired!" Li Hongran rolled her eyes. "Look how much sweat I'm putting on!"

"It's normal for the male lead to be a little tired."

"What about An Ruosu?"

"Him? He's... rather unlucky? He got such a tiring role that doesn't give him any screen time."

Everyone nodded in agreement and cast pitying glances at An Ruosu.

……

Chapter 151 Receiving the Letter (Part 1)

December 29th, a chilly morning.

Even though the alarm clock had rung and Mo Xueyao was already awake, she still didn't want to get out of bed.

I didn't even want to stick my arms out of the blanket, so I just let the alarm clock keep ringing.

"Ring ring—ring ring—"