Chapter 10: Is Leibi an upgraded version of Sprite?

Evening was just arriving, and the streetlights illuminated the Campus Path under the sycamore trees. Ye Zhou’s returning figure was stretched long.

On the way to the Drama and Film Club, he passed the Rehearsal Room.

“Ya~”

A crisp and pleasant voice came from the slightly ajar door.

Ye Zhou paused.

“Hmm? Isn’t this Su Zhihan’s voice? At this hour, is she directing and acting herself?”

Thinking for a moment, Ye Zhou subconsciously swallowed. He peeked through the gap in the door. He swore this wasn’t voyeurism, but appreciation.

He saw Su Zhihan wearing a simple white short-sleeved shirt. With no one in the audience, she stood alone on the stage, a black jacket tied around the waist of her blue pleated skirt.

Su Zhihan’s eyes were closed and her arms were stretched out. Her appearance as she completely immersed herself in the plot outlined a soft silhouette under the warm yellow lights.

At that moment, an inexplicable throb pulsed through his body, and goosebumps broke out all over. Ye Zhou couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he truly felt the emotions she had poured in?

Su Zhihan’s gestures were light and elegant, as if they possessed magic. Ye Zhou actually felt in a daze that the scenery around her seemed to change quietly with her movements. In the hazy light and shadow, her figure became increasingly bright.

He looked at that figure and murmured softly:

“It just had to be Su Zhihan… Her acting is already so talented, yet she doesn’t forget to study it so diligently…”

“No wonder every one of Su Zhihan’s stage performances ends in success…”

“One minute on stage requires ten years of work off stage.”

“…”

But the immersed Su Zhihan soon broke this beautiful atmosphere herself. She couldn’t help but raise a hand to slap her forehead, muttering to herself:

“Ah… I forgot again. Do I have the brain of a goldfish? Only seven seconds of memory.”

“How amazing…”

A familiar voice arrived. Su Zhihan was immediately startled. She turned her head toward where the door was pushed open, seeing Chen Yuhe lightly clapping her hands.

“Is… is it Senior Student Chen Yuhe?”

“Hello, Junior Student Su Zhihan!”

Chen Yuhe waved and smiled.

Su Zhihan took a step or two back, her expression clearly somewhat embarrassed.

“Senior Student Chen, did… did you see the whole thing?”

Chen Yuhe shook her head. “No, I just got here and only saw a little bit.”

“Then… then what do you think? Right, it must have been quite ugly?” Su Zhihan clutched the hem of her clothes with both hands.

Chen Yuhe shook her head again. “It’s not ugly. On the contrary, for a newcomer, it was already very good-looking.”

“But speaking of which, do you want to hear the truth, Junior?”

Su Zhihan’s heart instantly tightened, but she still nodded seriously.

“I want to hear the truth.”

Chen Yuhe coughed lightly, changing her lively smile to a rare serious expression.

“First of all, your vocal placement and pronunciation are very accurate.”

“Secondly, you added inflection to your lines, which will make the audience more immersed in the plot.”

“Finally, there’s your body language. For example, your gestures and breathing are very natural.”

“In summary, this is my professional evaluation of you.”

“Simply put, Junior, you are a natural talent for acting. I didn’t expect our Drama and Film Club to really find a treasure this time.”

Hearing this, Su Zhihan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart began to fill with joy, and she used her right hand to intentionally hide her slightly upturned lips.

“No… it’s nothing. I was just acting normally.”

“Besides, Senior Student Chen is the one who is truly amazing, to be able to notice even these small details.”

Chen Yuhe looked left and right, asking:

“Is the Junior Student not here with you?”

Su Zhihan tilted her head and replied: “Is the Junior Student referring to Ye Zhou? Unfortunately, he is not here with me, and I haven’t seen any sign of him all day.”

“Hmm, that’s really strange. He said he was almost at the club, but I’ve been waiting for half an hour at the club and haven’t seen him come. I thought he might have stopped here with you.”

Chen Yuhe put her hands on her hips, frowning with dissatisfaction. “That hateful Junior Student, he actually learned how to stand up his Senior Student. I must give him a good lesson.”

Su Zhihan covered her mouth and smiled without saying anything.

“Then Junior Student, I’ll go back to the club to take another look. It’s getting late, so you should go back and rest early too. Remember to balance work and rest.”

“Oh right, I just bought a bottle of drink. It’s unopened. Think of it as my treat, though it might be a bit cold. Should be fine, right?”

“Thank you, Senior Student Chen. It happens that I can drink cold things these few days.”

Su Zhihan hesitated for a moment but still accepted the iced Sprite from Chen Yuhe’s hand.

She waved gently and didn’t stop until Chen Yuhe’s back disappeared at the end of her vision.

Just as she turned her head, she noticed that another bottle of transparent drink had been placed at the door. Moreover, it looked exactly the same as the Sprite in her hand.

She hesitated and slowly picked it up for a closer look. This bottle was room temperature, not cold, and the cap hadn’t been twisted open either.

“Did Senior Student Chen bring two bottles of drinks?”

“Wait? No, this bottle is called Leibi?”

“Puzzling. I’ve never drunk this kind before. Is Leibi an upgraded version of Sprite?”

***

Drama and Film Club:

Ye Zhou was complaining about Senior Student Chen standing him up while raising his hand to knock three times on the door of the President’s Office.

Immediately, Jiang Yingxue’s familiar voice, which carried a clear hint of exhaustion, came from inside:

“Come in…”

Ye Zhou pushed the door and entered.

He saw Jiang Yingxue with her silver hair draped loosely. It was a bit messy, and a slightly curved stray hair was sticking up on the top of her head.

The sleeves of her black hollow-out off-the-shoulder knit top were rolled up to her forearms. She was wearing a pair of white women’s trousers on her lower body and white sneakers on her feet. She was sitting with her long legs crossed, shaking them occasionally. She seemed somewhat irritable.

Her eyes were cold and sharp as she stared intently at the dazzlingly bright computer screen, her slender fingers tapping incessantly on the keyboard.

According to Ye Zhou’s reliable insider information, the work Jiang Yingxue had in her hands right now was related to the next script, and she was co-writing it with the Vice President.

Ye Zhou really wanted to ask Jiang Yingxue if a Vice President really existed in their club. Why didn’t he know them? Had the other person ever visited the club even once? Definitely not, right?

But seeing how she looked like she could explode at any moment, Ye Zhou thought it was better for him to obediently keep his mouth shut and say as little as possible.

“Come over and massage my shoulders…”

This was the second sentence Ye Zhou heard after standing in the office for a full thirty seconds.

“Ah? Club Leader Jiang, you’re asking me to massage your shoulders?”

“Do you see a third person in this office?”

Jiang Yingxue gave Ye Zhou a faint glance before continuing to busy herself with the work at hand.

“You need to have more physical contact with the opposite sex. You can’t just cram at the last minute every time before going on stage.”

“Only long-term Desensitization Training can build a solid foundation for you.”

“So you don’t need to ask anything in the future. You just need to know that what I ask you to do is definitely for your own good.”

Ye Zhou knew very well that once Club Leader Jiang started her long-winded explanations, he had no room to refuse.

So he sighed, took a paper cup, filled it with warm water, and placed it lightly on Jiang Yingxue’s desk.

Jiang Yingxue frowned:

“What? Ye Zhou?”

“You look like you’re very unwilling.”

“Does that mean it’s my problem?”