On Saturday, Zhou Zhuofei broke her usual habit of sleeping in and got up early. As she was preparing to leave, she bumped into Xiao Wang returning from his workout.
He looked surprised. "You're up this early? Have you eaten breakfast?"
Zhou Zhuofei waved the paper bag in her hand. "I packed so to eat on the way."
"Do you want to drive you?"
"No need, the school is pretty far." Her words sped up as she glanced at the clock on the living room wall. "Oh no, I'm running late—gotta go!"
She pressed her hands on Xiao Wang's shoulders, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and said, "See you tonight!" before rushing out the door.
Zhou Zhuofei had recently taken on a small gig—though "gig" wasn’t quite the right word since it was unpaid.
Du Yu’s company was hosting a grand 10th-anniversary comic convention in City K this year. Alongside inviting renowned "big nas" from various circles, they had also organized several activities.
One of them was a stage play competition, which had attracted many participating teams—including the ani club from Zhou Zhuofei and Du Yu’s alma mater. Since Du Yu had stayed active in the community, she’d kept in touch with the club. Not long ago, she’d shared so news with Zhou Zhuofei.
The current students were planning to put together a stage play for the competition, but they were still short a few roles.
So, Du Yu asked Zhou Zhuofei if she’d be interested in filling in.
"It’s not a major role—just buy a costu and attend a few rehearsals."
After graduating, Zhou Zhuofei had gradually drifted away from the scene, but she’d always kept her passion for the ACG world alive.
At first, she felt a little awkward, thinking it might seem odd for soone who’d been out of school for years to join a bunch of college kids.
But when Du Yu ntioned that other alumni had also agreed to help, Zhou Zhuofei suddenly felt the whole thing take on a deeper aning. So, she happily agreed to join.
Later, through Du Yu’s introduction, Zhou Zhuofei t the new president of the ani club. After a quick discussion, she picked a role, ordered a costu, studied the script, and started attending rehearsals.
Since her character didn’t appear often, she didn’t need to join the regular practices—just the full-group run-throughs.
Weekends were reserved for these full rehearsals. Zhou Zhuofei had already attended two, and everything had gone smoothly. Today was the final rehearsal before the competition next week.
The venue was at their old university. Zhou Zhuofei drove from downtown to the outskirts, parked, and walked toward the rehearsal hall while finishing her breakfast.
Seeing the students coming and going, surrounded by familiar scenery, Zhou Zhuofei felt like she’d been transported back to her college days—as if she’d sohow grown younger.
She quickened her pace and entered the rehearsal hall.
"Good morning, everyone!"
A chorus of voices replied, "Morning, Mumu-jie!"
During the first rehearsal, Zhou Zhuofei hadn’t been used to the noisy environnt, but she’d gotten accustod to it—even started to miss it.
After all, back in the day, she’d been one of the loudest in the club.
Once everyone was in place, they began the rehearsal. Zhou Zhuofei’s role was minor, so she spent most of her ti waiting backstage, chatting with others about ani and gas.
It had been ages since she’d had the chance to talk offline with so many like-minded fans, and she was thoroughly enjoying it.
Everything was proceeding smoothly when Zhou Zhuofei suddenly spotted Du Yu at the entrance.
She was the first to notice and stood up. "What brings you here?"
"I was just reviewing a performance at the dical university next door and thought I’d drop by to see how you guys are doing."
Du Yu was a familiar face to many in the group, so quite a few people ca over to greet her.
It took her a while to respond to everyone before she finally pulled Zhou Zhuofei aside for a private chat.
"So, how does it feel? Like you’re back in college?"
"Absolutely. Lately, I keep rembering how we used to rush back to the dorms right before curfew after rehearsals—especially in winter, when the cold wind felt like knives on our faces."
Even though the mory wasn’t exactly pleasant, Zhou Zhuofei couldn’t help but smile.
"Back then, we poured so much ti and money into these performances, all out of pure passion. It was so intense."
"You’re still plenty passionate now—coming back to help the juniors even after graduating." Du Yu patted her shoulder encouragingly. "That’s what you call staying true to your roots."
"How long are you staying? Want to grab lunch with us later?"
Post-rehearsal group als had always been a tradition in the ani club, one that hadn’t changed over the years.
"I’ll leave after seeing you perform. I’ve got other things to attend to."
Du Yu stayed just long enough to watch Zhou Zhuofei deliver her lines before saying her goodbyes and heading out.
Rehearsals continued until noon. Those who were free ate together, while minor roles like Zhou Zhuofei could head ho, leaving the main cast to polish their performances.
By the ti she got back, Zhou Zhuofei felt like a drained battery—utterly exhausted, both physically and ntally.
She dropped her things on the floor and collapsed onto the sofa, not wanting to move an inch.
So. Tired.
"Back already?" Xiao Wang erged from the study at the sound of movent and found her in this state.
Zhou Zhuofei responded weakly, "Mhm."
"Tired? Want to rest in bed?"
She weakly waved a hand. "Can’t move. I’ll just stay here."
Xiao Wang walked over, ruffled her hair, and set a glass of water on the coffee table before returning to his work.
After resting for over half an hour, Zhou Zhuofei finally started to recover. Just then, her phone buzzed—a ssage from the ani club president.
[Mumu-jie, the organizers gave us so complintary tickets. We saved one for you!]
[Oh, you don’t have to! Give it to the others—I don’t really have anyone to invite anyway.]
[It’s fine, we have plenty. This one’s for you—thanks again for helping out, senpai!]
[Alright, thanks then.]
Still, Zhou Zhuofei wasn’t sure who to give the ticket to. Logically, it should go to Xiao Wang, but he’d never shown much interest in these things.
She walked to the study door and tentatively asked, "Do you have plans next weekend?"
"Saturday or Sunday?"
"Sunday."
"Isn’t that the day of your competition?"
"Yeah. My junior just told they have a spare ticket. Would you like to co?"
Xiao Wang paused, swiveled his chair to face her, crossed his arms, and leaned back with a knowing look. "Well, do you want to co?"
"Uh… it’d be nice if you could, but if you’re busy, it’s no big deal."
"Let check my schedule."
Xiao Wang turned around, clicked the mouse a few tis, then said to Zhou Zhuofei, "I have sothing to take care of, but I’ll try my best to make it before your competition. I rember it’s at three o’clock, right?"
Zhou Zhuofei was overjoyed and imdiately threw herself at Xiao Wang, hugging him tightly. She cupped his face and planted kisses on both cheeks. "You’re the best!"
Xiao Wang simply smiled without a word, one arm wrapped around Zhou Zhuofei while the other discreetly closed the schedule on his desktop—making sure she didn’t notice the note he’d already marked for next Sunday.
Though the competition was on Sunday, Zhou Zhuofei had been swamped all week. She and her team had to finalize costus, makeup, and run a full rehearsal with all their gear.
As a result, Zhou Zhuofei had been rushing to her university right after work every day, while Xiao Wang had also suddenly beco extrely busy. The two of them often only reunited late at night at ho.
But exhaustion left them with little energy for conversation, and after exchanging a few words, they’d collapse into sleep.
Zhou Zhuofei sensed sothing was off about Xiao Wang’s deanor. She assud it was work stress, but with her own hectic schedule, she didn’t have the bandwidth to address it. She decided she’d talk to him properly after the competition.
Before she knew it, the day of the convention arrived. The event started at 10 a.m., but Zhou Zhuofei didn’t need to be there that early. She had lunch at ho before driving to the venue.
Inside, the convention was buzzing with energy. Zhou Zhuofei hadn’t experienced such a lively atmosphere in ages. If she hadn’t been part of the competition, she would’ve loved to explore.
She found her club mbers, all gathered and making final preparations. Zhou Zhuofei changed into her costu, put on her wig and makeup, then helped others with theirs.
By the ti everything was ready, it was almost ti for the competition to begin.
Only then did Zhou Zhuofei realize Xiao Wang still hadn’t arrived. Had work held him up?
She pulled out her phone to ssage him. He responded imdiately—still on his phone—saying he’d be there in ten minutes.
So work had delayed him after all. Zhou Zhuofei replied, telling him to head straight to the stage when he arrived.
After that, she couldn’t spare any more attention for her phone. They were about to go onstage, and all personal items had to be handed over to the backstage crew.
While waiting backstage, Du Yu slipped over to see her.
"Interview ti! How does it feel to be back onstage after so many years?"
"Not bad. Less nerve-wracking than company etings."
The remark sent both of them spiraling into nostalgia.
Back when they’d first competed, they’d been so nervous their hands and legs shook, relying on each other for encouragent.
Now, years later, neither of them was still the type to lose sleep over excitent or stage fright.
Zhou Zhuofei sighed. "I just never thought I’d get another chance to perform."
"Go for it. I’ll be watching from the audience."
"Shouldn’t you be working? Is slacking off to watch the show really okay?"
Du Yu winked. "How could I miss your grand return?"
"Oh, by the way—Xiao Wang’s coming later. Keep an eye out for him, will you?"
Du Yu agreed without hesitation, then studied Zhou Zhuofei’s face and reminded her to touch up her lipstick.
"Got it. Now go on, shoo."
After a long wait, it was finally their turn to take the stage.
Zhou Zhuofei wasn’t nervous at all. Compared to the pressures of the workplace, this was nothing.
She moved through her performance calmly, executing every step just as they’d rehearsed.
After the main storyline concluded, there was a final segnt—a runway-style showcase where all characters would appear one by one before gathering for a group bow.
Each character was paired with another, usually based on their relationships in the story.
Zhou Zhuofei’s partner was the love interest of her character in the original work, played by a quiet underclassman from the university. Most of her scenes had been with him.
According to the script, they were supposed to enter from opposite sides of the stage, et in the center, and strike a pose.
But just as Zhou Zhuofei was about to step out, she glanced up and noticed sothing odd about the figure across from her.
She wasn’t particularly close with her co-star, but after so many rehearsals, she’d grown familiar with his appearance. Though the costu obscured his face, his build seed… different.
Before she could dwell on it, a stagehand nudged her forward, signaling her to go on.
Zhou Zhuofei walked out, matching her steps with her partner’s to ensure they t in the center at the sa ti.
Then, abruptly, the upbeat music cut off. After a few seconds of silence, a different song began playing.
It was Zhou Zhuofei’s favorite song.
She froze, assuming it was a technical error. But even with the wrong track, the show had to go on. Just as she prepared to continue as planned—
Her partner broke script, dropping to one knee.
The audience, thinking it was part of the act, erupted into cheers.
Zhou Zhuofei caught a glimpse of his profile beneath the hood. A wave of familiarity washed over her.
Why did he look more and more like Xiao Wang?
At that mont, he pulled a small velvet box from his pocket, opening it as he lifted his head and pushed back the hood.
Xiao Wang gazed up at her, holding out a diamond ring, a smile playing on his lips.
His voice echoed through the speakers.
"Beautiful lady, will you do the honor of becoming my wife?"
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