My wife is a witch princess.

She reached out, not to help him up, but to touch the spot on his costume where he had been hit.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

This isn't a line from a script.

Xia Li changed the lyrics on the spot without saying a word!

Song Che looked at her face, which was so close to his own, and shook his head: "It doesn't hurt."

Xia Li nodded, then reached out to help him up.

Her hands were steady, and she pulled him up in one go.

The two walked side by side to the front of the stage and bowed to the audience.

The applause erupted, louder and longer than any of the previous performances.

There are two highlights: Xia Li's acting is superb, and Song Che's fighting looks like real kung fu.

Students in the audience were shouting "That's great!" and some were whispering among themselves.

As he bowed, Song Che glanced at Xia Li.

Her expression had returned to normal, though her cheeks were slightly flushed from her earlier movements, and her breathing was a little faster than usual. Noticing his gaze, she turned her head and looked at him with her blue eyes.

Then, the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

It wasn't the "princess's smile" required by the script.

It's Xia Li's style, but a genuine "well done" smile.

The curtain slowly closed.

Just before the doors were completely closed, the stage lights suddenly flickered.

Immediately afterwards—

Snapped.

The entire performance was plunged into darkness, with only some light coming from outside the window, when suddenly the power went out.

It's probably a power supply failure.

The stage and audience lighting, as well as the green signs for the emergency exits, were all turned off.

Some gasps came from the audience, and a teacher shouted, "Sit still!"

Several beams of light from cell phone flashlights lit up and swayed haphazardly in the darkness.

Footsteps came from backstage: "Electrical box, go check the electrical box!"

In the darkness, Song Che instinctively reached out to check where Xia Li was.

Then he saw it.

In the center of the stage, where Xia Li stood, there was a thin layer of silver light.

But in absolute darkness, it existed clearly—like the soft moonlight enveloping her.

No, it wasn't caged either.

To be precise, the light was emanating from her.

To be more precise, it came from her silver hair.

Each strand of hair becomes unique, coming together to form a hazy light.

She seemed to be wrapped in a painting woven from moonlight.

It looks like movie special effects.

Song Che's breathing stopped.

This is not a reflection.

There was no light source on the stage that could reflect her light.

This is... her own light.

Xia Li seemed to have noticed it too.

She turned her head in the darkness, and her silver hair moved with the movement, causing the faint light to ripple like waves on a stream, which was very eye-catching.

Some people in the audience noticed it too.

"Is there a light in the middle of the stage...?"

"Is it... an actor?"

"What light is that? Fluorescent powder."

Whispers spread.

Several beams of light from cell phone flashlights shone onto the stage, and under the direct glare, the silvery sheen disappeared.

About ten seconds passed.

Click.

The power is back on.

No one paid any more attention to Xia Li after that.

The sudden illumination caused everyone to squint.

The lights in the audience area came back on, and the green lights for the emergency exits remained steadily lit.

The curtain has been drawn back, and the host is on stage giving his introduction.

Song Che and the other actors went on stage again for a curtain call, and applause rang out once more.

On the judges' panel, several teachers exchanged glances.

The female teacher was quickly jotting something down in her notebook, her brow furrowed.

Backstage, the atmosphere was both lively and strange.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was the first to rush up: "That was amazing! Sister Xia Li, your last look was incredible! And Brother Che, was the fall you made real or just acting? The script was changed a lot... but it was a good change."

"An accident," Song Che said simply, but his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Xia Li.

She had already taken off her princess dress, revealing a simple sweatshirt and jeans underneath, and was removing her eye makeup in front of a small mirror. Her silver hair was now loose again, appearing as a beautiful silver-white under the ordinary backstage fluorescent lights, without any unusual luster.

"When the power went out just now..." Lin Xiao, who was playing a wizard, hesitated before speaking, "Xia Li, did you put something fluorescent on your hair?"

Xia Li looked at the girl who asked the question in the mirror and shook her head: "No."

"That's probably glitter from stage makeup," another classmate chimed in. "When the lights dim, even the finest glitter becomes very noticeable."

That makes a lot of sense.

Everyone quickly put that aside and started discussing the performance, talking about which judge laughed a few times, which segment received the loudest applause, and who improvised and added scenes, and then they all laughed together.

The dressing room was noisy.

Xia Li took a makeup remover pad and, looking in the mirror, slowly wiped away the color from her face.

Song Che walked to her side and pretended to pack his backpack: "Just now..."

"Hmm?" Xia Li turned her head to the side.

“Your hair,” Song Che said, “in the dark…”

Xia Li looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue.

These questions are actually quite silly; he already knew the answers.

“…Never mind, it’s nothing.” Song Che finally changed the subject, “You acted quite well.”

Xia Li nodded and continued wiping herself in front of the mirror.

After wiping off the last bit of lipstick, my clean face looked refreshed again.

She suddenly turned to look at Song Che: "You acted well too."

"Me?" Song Che was taken aback. "I almost really fell."

“But you didn’t panic,” Xia Li said, her tone flat. “And you knew I would stop you.”

She was referring to the lift on the stage.

“…Yes,” he said, “I know.”

During the awards ceremony, the host announced that the No. 1 Middle School Drama Club had won first place.

The judges gave special comments on Xia Li, who played Princess Silver Moon: "...This student broke the traditional framework of the princess role and portrayed a resilient female image. Especially in the moment of character transformation, the aura that emanated from within was very moving."

It's all nonsense. It's just Xia Li playing herself, completely overwhelming them.

When Xia Li went on stage to receive the award, everyone pushed her to the front.

She accepted the medal and the small crystal trophy—the trophy was decorated with a silver moon inside.

She bowed to the audience, her silver hair falling with the movement. She was very familiar with these etiquettes, and every gesture revealed the arrogance of a nobleman.

This time, Song Che stared intently at her hair.

There were no abnormalities.

It felt as if those terrifying ten seconds in the darkness were just an illusion.

By the time we returned, it was completely dark.

One by one, the streetlights lit up, their glow spreading out in the cold air.

Xia Li held the trophy, and Song Che carried the bag as they walked side by side on their way home.

The trophy was a little cold, and Xia Li's hands were red from the cold.

When Song Che saw this, he switched the backpack to one shoulder, freeing up one hand, and naturally took her hand, stuffing them both into his coat pocket.

Xia Li's hand stiffened for a moment, but she didn't pull it out.

"Are you cold?" Song Che asked.

"A little," Xia Li said honestly, her fingers curling slightly in his palm.

Her fingertips were icy cold, so Song Che gripped them tighter, trying to warm them. The two continued walking, their footsteps clearly audible on the quiet street.