The next morning…
Ye Zhou hummed an unknown tune, feeling refreshed as he arrived at the Drama and Film Club.
As he pushed the door open, the first thing that caught his eye was a standing black activity board.
Instead of today’s club activities, several lines of dialogue were written on it.
[Chen Yuhe: Ah… today’s club meeting is so boring…]
[Chen Yuhe: Then let me ask you, what did you eat today?]
[Chen Yuhe: Are you talking to me? Me, I ate yogurt, whole wheat bread, spicy hot pot, and braised chicken with rice today…]
[Jiang Yingxue: Chen Yuhe, if you don’t speak, no one will think you’re a mute.]
[Chen Yuhe: Oh! (Followed by a round smiley face with its tongue sticking out.]
The white chalk handwriting on the board was faded.
It indicated that it hadn’t been updated in a while.
Seeing this, Ye Zhou rubbed his chin and nodded slightly.
Although he wasn’t familiar with the other members yet, he had a strong impression of Chen Yuhe.
In his memory, she was a complete chatterbox.
After all, it was her coaxing and trickery that led him to join the Drama and Film Club in the first place.
However, there was one thing she said that was absolutely true: the club certainly didn’t lack beauties on par with her.
Thinking of this, Ye Zhou looked around. No one else was in the club room.
He simply picked a random book from the shelf—it seemed to be titled Basic Principles of Marxism—and lay on the sofa. Before long, he was feeling drowsy.
Suddenly, the clack, clack, clack of high heels hitting the floor approached from the distance. Ye Zhou’s sleepiness vanished instantly, and he quietly moved the book covering his face.
He saw Jiang Yingxue walk in, holding a steaming cup of coffee in both hands.
Her shoulder-length silver hair was tied into a high ponytail today.
She wore a well-fitted white shirt, a black pencil skirt cinched at her slender waist, and a pair of silver stiletto heels on her long, fair legs.
It was a look that was both efficient and intellectual.
But under Ye Zhou’s careful observation, he quickly noticed something distressing: wouldn’t this outfit be a perfect match if paired with black pantyhose? And the thickness would ideally be an ultra-thin 5–10D style!
Of course, this was just his unique perspective.
Jiang Yingxue’s peripheral vision caught sight of Ye Zhou, and her tone immediately cooled by several degrees.
“Is the book written on my legs? Is it worth you staring for so long?”
Oops, caught.
Ye Zhou hurriedly pulled the book back over his face.
Jiang Yingxue took a light sip of her coffee and said:
“Are you the only one here? Hasn’t Chen Yuhe arrived yet?”
Ye Zhou stood up and looked left and right.
“Uh… Senior Chen shouldn’t be here yet.”
Jiang Yingxue couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead and shake her head.
“That Chen Yuhe really is a handful. I clearly told her to come early today to finish handing out all the admission tickets for the new stage play as quickly as possible.”
“Sigh, it looks like I’ll have to find someone else.”
“Ye Zhou, come to my office for a moment. I have official business to discuss with you.”
Ye Zhou shrugged and smiled. The official business Jiang Yingxue mentioned was nothing more than club activities, and the activities he participated in were, to put it bluntly, manual labor.
He was either organizing stage props or on his way to moving them; he had already grown accustomed to it.
—
President Jiang Yingxue had her own private office within the Drama and Film Club.
The white walls were plastered with performance posters, the wooden desk was piled with scripts and planning booklets, a vintage lamp stood in the corner, and several succulent pots were arranged on the windowsill.
At this moment, Jiang Yingxue was holding a script bound in a black cover, flipping through it page by page.
“Ye Zhou, after passing the club entry assessment, you have now become an official member of the Drama and Film Club. You should understand this, right?”
Ye Zhou was slightly stunned for a moment before nodding.
“Good, as long as you understand. First, read through this script briefly. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come and ask me…”
Ye Zhou hesitantly took it, while the Daily Intelligence in his mind refreshed.
[Today’s Intel: Su Zhihan, a fellow freshman member, will turn a fake kiss into a real one with a male member during the kissing scene of the stage play.]
The first thing that welled up in his heart was envy and jealousy.
No way? Which male member has such lucky romantic luck? To actually be forcibly kissed by a girl, and on a stage play performance at that.
But then he felt strangely confused. If this was the Drama and Film Club, wasn’t he currently the only male member?
Could there be a mistake?
It couldn’t be a coincidence, right?
Thinking of this, Ye Zhou looked carefully at the cover of the script, refusing to believe it.
(Title: Platonic Love)
(Production: Drama and Film Club)
(Project Planner: Jiang Yingxue)
(Director: Jiang Yingxue)
(Starring: Su Zhihan, Ye Zhou)
(…)
After repeatedly confirming that the name “Ye Zhou” was correct, it finally dawned on him.
So the male member turned out to be me. Then it’s fine…
Fine, my foot! How could this be fine?
“I can’t do it, Club Leader Jiang! I’ll die, you know? I’ll suffer a social death on the spot!”
Jiang Yingxue frowned. “Ye Zhou, I’ve realized you’re a bit strange. When I ask you to handle stage props, you look miserable; now that I’m letting you perform on stage, you’re still unhappy.”
“Are you dissatisfied with this club, or are you specifically dissatisfied with me?”
Ye Zhou took a deep breath, his gaze firm.
“Club Leader Jiang, I’ve thought it over. I’ve realized that I’m only suited for behind-the-scenes work. Therefore, regarding this opportunity to play the male lead, I have decided to give it up and let someone else have the chance.”
Jiang Yingxue crossed her legs and rested her chin on her interlaced hands, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.
“I’m sorry, I can’t find anyone else because you are the only male member in the entire Drama and Film Club.”
Ye Zhou didn’t understand. “Then how did you solve it when you performed these kinds of male-female pairings in the past?”
“Isn’t that simple? We decided by drawing lots. Whoever drew the longest straw would cross-dress as a man. At most, when a play needed more people, we could just go to other clubs to recruit temporary actors.”
Ye Zhou quickly extracted the key information from Jiang Yingxue’s words.
“Wait, has this Drama and Film Club always been all-female until now?”
“Yes, it has been that way since I arrived. What’s there to be so surprised about? Except for you, who is an exception this year. Didn’t Chen Yuhe tell you before she recruited you?”
Jiang Yingxue stood up and walked toward Ye Zhou step by step, her hips lightly leaning against the edge of the desk, her long, fair left leg crossed over her right.
“So from now on, as long as a play needs a male lead or even other male characters, as long as you remain in the Drama and Film Club, you must perform. There is no room for refusal.”
Ye Zhou’s head was practically spinning.
“Can’t I have social anxiety? Never mind hundreds or dozens of people in the audience—even if there are only a few, my body will tremble and my speech will become slurred.”
Jiang Yingxue folded her arms across her chest.
“If Su Zhihan can do it despite her social anxiety, why can’t you?”
“Besides, this stage play is the Drama and Film Club’s first performance of the new semester at Jianghai University. As the opening shot, it is of the utmost importance.”
Ye Zhou shook his head and let out a sigh.
“Fine, Club Leader Jiang, to tell you the truth, the fundamental reason I don’t want to perform is that I’m worried I’ll mess up the important play you mentioned.”
“Because I don’t have any experience acting on stage.”
“Not even once.”
***