Chapter 65

Limited Edition Acting Masterclass Final: My Favorite Student Has Finally Let Down All Her Guards Around Me

Diao Zhiyu couldn’t help but laugh at the kiss. Hu Xiu was still wearing that bubblegum-pink puffer jacket and her raspberry ice cream-colored hat, pulling on his ear with her finger to drag him down while she kissed him. Her lips were full of toothpaste flavor. 

Diao Zhiyu was kissed until he couldn’t breathe. He cupped her face firmly. “I can tell—you didn’t have breakfast.” 

“So I ran out to eat you.” 

Her sudden boldness caught him off guard. “Eat me? What exactly do you want to eat?” 

Hu Xiu removed her finger from his ear and pointed at his face. “Look, drip coffee!” 

So nonsensical it was almost unbelievable. 

At minus 25 degrees Celsius, Diao Zhiyu dragged his suitcase, his hands so frozen he could barely feel them. Meanwhile, Hu Xiu clung to him like a koala, as he turned corners, climbed railings, and went up and down stairs. She wouldn’t let go, as shameless as she’d been back when she had once licked his neck. 

His ears were frozen but felt burning hot, and he heard Hu Xiu say, “I ran out so quickly I forgot my ID card…” 

“I brought mine…” He grinned mischievously. 

At the hotel reception, the front desk staff eyed the handsome Diao Zhiyu and Hu Xiu, who was pretending to admire the scenery a few steps behind him, and couldn’t help but ask, “Coming all the way out here to book a room, still in college, huh?” 

“We’re in a proper relationship,” Diao Zhiyu said, pushing up his glasses. The receptionist glanced at his ID card and asked again, “And the young lady behind you—can she show her ID too?” 

“Happy New Year,” Diao Zhiyu said, pulling a few pieces of New Year’s candy from his pocket. “Don’t trouble yourself. We’re in a bit of a hurry.” 

Hu Xiu was still browsing the magazine rack, trying to decide if the cover of Harper’s Bazaar or Marie Claire looked more sophisticated. Before she knew it, Diao Zhiyu had his arm around her neck and pulled her into the elevator. 

The elevator’s silver doors reflected their figures—one being held tightly, the other licking her lips, raspberry-like. They both caught sight of the reflection: her ridiculous hat and his jeans, a contrast to the illusion of formal elegance. Suddenly, they couldn’t resist and kissed passionately right there. 

They remained inseparable all the way to room 301. Diao Zhiyu teased, “Boss Bai, give me the best room in the Rongcheng Grand Hotel.” 

The door beeped as the card unlocked, and Hu Xiu pushed the door open while backing in. “Minister Qin, I’ve been expecting you.” 

That old inside joke never got old. 

Her lips seemed to enter the room faster than her body. The suitcase was tossed carelessly to the side, fog clouded Diao Zhiyu’s glasses, and jackets and sweaters were flung onto the floor. Hu Xiu’s hands, greedy and cold, slid to his waist, drawing an immediate counterattack—Diao Zhiyu’s hands were even colder than hers. 

She shrieked from the chill, and he laughed while pressing her against the wall, shoving his freezing hands against her neck. “When did you become so mischievous?” 

Hu Xiu raised one hand, gripping his arm as it pressed against the wall, sliding down to capture one of his fingers. She teased him by circling her tongue around the tip of his finger. 

A woman pinned against the wall by him, one hand licking his finger while the other tried to warm her neck, always ready to roam elsewhere. Diao Zhiyu gasped sharply. “You’re too much…” 

“Really?” 

“Your entire demeanor right now feels like that of an experienced player, making me suspect you’ve got quite a history.” 

“That’s just slander! Clearly, it was Minister Qin who led me astray.” 

After a long moment of intimacy, Diao Zhiyu leaned his hand against the wall and stepped back. “I’m going to take a shower…” 

“I’m going too…” 

Diao Zhiyu laughed in disbelief. “What’s wrong with you? Have you been possessed by someone else?” 

Her eyes followed him, and as he walked into the bathroom, she trailed right behind him. She kept staring at his face, unwilling to blink. When the shower’s warm water splashed onto her face, she just wiped it away repeatedly, all so she could keep looking at him. Was there something on his face? 

Her stare made Diao Zhiyu uneasy. He cupped her face, slipping his ring finger into her ear just as she had done to him earlier. The aroma of this “drip coffee” in his palm had changed. 

In the past, she had always been evasive, speaking in short sentences, distant whenever possible. Now, after being roasted by him, the fragrance was rich, and when brewed, it was like it had been mixed with milk and caramel, a sweetness lingering around him that refused to dissipate. 

She stood there completely bare, blinking with a pitiful look. Diao Zhiyu sighed. “If you came into the bathroom to seduce me, the consequences will be dire.” 

“And?” 

“Leave first…” 

“How am I supposed to leave like this?” 

“I’m worried you’ll catch a cold—the water pressure from this showerhead isn’t strong.” 

“Diao Zhiyu, you’re nervous, aren’t you?” Hu Xiu twisted the knob for the overhead shower, dousing him in cold water. Diao Zhiyu shivered and lunged at her, biting at her neck and ear. 

Their sounds were muffled within the small, steam-filled space. In a haze of passion, Diao Zhiyu whispered in her ear, asking if she was ready to admit defeat. 

“No…” Along with that word came a string of moans. 

“Being mischievous comes with a price.” 

Hu Xiu wriggled out of his grasp, crouching down to gaze at him with a dazed expression, teasing him lightly, her movements as playful as when she’d twirled her fingers earlier. 

By the time Diao Zhiyu regained his composure, it felt as though his brain had been soaked through, and warmth spread across his chest, soaking into his lungs—it had all been her scheme from the start, following him into the bathroom. 

All he could do now was make sure she wouldn’t leave room 301. Wrapped in just a towel, they clung to each other as they emerged, diving into the bed and covering themselves in the dim space beneath the blanket. Finally, Diao Zhiyu saw her eyes clearly—those guarded yet fragile pupils, now gazing at him with tender longing. 

That look ignited his passion once again. 

They carried on until nightfall, collapsing on the damp bedsheets, utterly exhausted. They woke up starving, their hunger gnawing at them. 

Diao Zhiyu glanced at the time. “Looks like I’ll have to take the earliest flight back to Shanghai. Good thing the team only gathers in the evening. I didn’t expect we’d stay up this late.” 

Hu Xiu’s phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number—likely her mother. Feeling a pang in her chest, she called back, only to find it was just the courier urging her to bring in a package left at the doorstep. 

She thought to herself, her mother probably truly wasn’t worried about her being alone in an unfamiliar city. Even now, with night falling, there was still no call to check on her. 

Diao Zhiyu asked, “Do you want to come back with me tomorrow?” 

“Yeah, I had planned to leave on the fourth day of the new year anyway.” Hu Xiu sat at the edge of the bed, wearing Diao Zhiyu’s sweater. Under the soft glow of the bedside lamp, her face showed subtle, indescribable changes. 

She said, “These past few days, it felt like all the cells in my body were dying. But after you came, it feels like that sorrowful part of me has been squeezed out.” 

The sleeves were long, and her lower lip was hidden within the sweater’s collar. Diao Zhiyu reached out to pull it down, only for his lower lip to get flicked back as she bit onto it. “It’s time to stop dwelling on whether or not my parents love me. I’m going to grab my luggage. I’ll come back and find you in a bit.”

“I’ll come with you. I’m starving—if you leave and come back later, I might already be dead by then.” Diao Zhiyu rummaged through his bag and pulled on a hoodie. “Never seen anything like this. I cross mountains and rivers to find you, get squeezed dry, and you still won’t give me a bite to eat.”

“What do you want to eat? My treat…”

“I’ll handle it. You don’t know northern food.”

When she knocked on her mother’s door, it seemed like her mom had just gotten back as well. Seeing the black sweater Hu Xiu was wearing, her mother seemed to piece something together. “Your boyfriend came to pick you up?”

“Yes…”

“Why didn’t you bring him upstairs to meet me?” She leaned against the balcony railing and gazed outside. “Is he the tall one waiting downstairs?”

Hu Xiu didn’t answer. She simply dragged out the suitcase she had packed the night before. Her mother stood in the bedroom doorway, adjusting her hair as she looked around the room. With her daughter leaving, everything could finally return to normal.

She didn’t come to the living room to see her off. Whatever lingering attachment Hu Xiu felt was swallowed down, and she only offered a plain farewell: “Mom, I’m leaving. Take care of yourself here. I’ve left my number for you, though I suppose you probably won’t need it much.”

Diao Zhiyu was waiting downstairs, unaffected by the cold, standing straight as he took her suitcase. “There aren’t many places open to eat on the third day of the New Year. Within ten miles, I haven’t found a single restaurant open at this hour. But there’s a dumpling shop in the neighborhood that’s open—we can make do with that.”

“But since you’ve come all the way to the north, I can’t let you leave without giving you a proper impression of the place.”

“What kind of impression?”

The two of them walked to a street near the market. Diao Zhiyu stopped in front of a fireworks stall, carefully picking some out. After paying, he carried a plastic bag back to Hu Xiu, a little smug. “I bet you’ve never played with these before.”

The cheap plastic casing and festive red packaging added to his delight. He handed her a sparkler and lit it, wrapping his arms around her from behind as he swayed it. “I don’t think any girl can resist this.”

He moved his hand in circles, and Hu Xiu could see the glowing trails spelling out the English words be happy—her smallest emotions, all noticed and understood by him.

He let go to crouch and light some firecrackers. “This is my favorite—a thousand crisp bursts, pure celebration. Those double-bang crackers are a bit too rough; they go off with a boom that shakes the ground.”

The smell of sulfur mingled with the sound of the popping firecrackers. Amid the flashes of light, Diao Zhiyu called out, “Does this count as us celebrating a wedding?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing—Happy New Year!”

Hu Xiu lit one sparkler after another. Among the fish-tail-like sparks and curling smoke, not far away, the boy let out a gentle yawn.

After catching the first flight and then a high-speed train, Diao Zhiyu finally arrived, the dark circles under his eyes sagging like a collapsed arch. Hu Xiu’s heart raced. The tear troughs on his cheeks and those dark circles gave him a morbid beauty. When she first met him, she thought it was part of his alluring charm.

His double eyelids on the left eye only appeared when he was tired. Thinking back to the masquerade ball on the Snowpiercer, he often chose to stand by the bar rather than sit with the other players—because he was shy.

The smile that once required payment to witness in the Snowpiercer game was now completely free, reserved exclusively for her.

“There’s actually another game. Do you know what snap-poppers are? We used to throw them at each other’s feet when we were kids, trying to catch each other off guard. It was dangerous though—if you didn’t throw them right, they could explode in your hand.”

“But I didn’t buy any because—those things are terrible for relationships. People usually end up fighting after a few throws.”

“That’s fine, we can throw them! I won’t go easy on you.”

“Forget it—why should couples hold such grudges against each other? Is there something else you want to play?”

They passed by a street-turned-ice rink, where the steps had become natural slides due to the pre-New Year snow and rain.

The ice bore new and old scratches, and if it weren’t the New Year holiday, plenty of people would be skating here.

Seeing the ice, Diao Zhiyu chuckled. “When I was a kid, I’d play on this stuff until I was covered in mud, and then get beaten by my mom when I got home. But there are no ice sleds here now. Do you know how to play?”

Seeing Hu Xiu shake her head, he looked a little smug. “Squat down and give me your hand.”

With her hand in his, Diao Zhiyu walked quickly ahead, pulling her as she slid across the ice. What kind of novel game was this?

Diao Zhiyu leaned down slightly. “Sneakers have low friction, so they’re really slippery on ice. If I go any faster, you’ll definitely fall. Believe me?”

Before he finished speaking, his legs slid out from under him. Letting go of her hand, he fell forward. Hu Xiu grabbed his arm out of reflex, but her footing slipped too, and she landed on his back.

She guessed it must be close to minus thirty degrees Celsius. But because they were running around and bundled up, she didn’t feel cold.

Diao Zhiyu refused to give up. “Here, let me teach you how to run and glide. Put one foot in front and the other behind—you’ll slide farther that way.

“Keep your weight slightly forward. Otherwise, whether you fall forward or backward, it’ll hurt like hell.”

“I can’t believe you have so many fun things to do in the winter. My Spring Festivals were just spent at home reading or practicing piano. There wasn’t much else to do. Later, when I was in college, I started following idols, so I traveled a bit more, but mostly I just stayed in my dorm watching Korean variety shows and gossiping in fan groups with Zhao Xiaorou.

“At the time, we were both calling ourselves Lee Donghae’s wives. We even had rankings, and we were pretty high up…”

“Northern kids grow up wild like this,” Diao Zhiyu said, exhaling a cloud of white breath. Then he seemed to spot something. “Wait here.”

When he came back, he was holding two skewers of candied hawthorn. He looked content. “Now this trip to the northeast feels complete.”

Hu Xiu opened her mouth to take a bite, and her lips—unsurprisingly—got stuck to the candy. “This cold? I thought only licking iron could get you stuck like this!”

“This is minus thirty degrees, big sister!” Diao Zhiyu leaned in and licked her lips. “Let me help…”

“Get away from me! You’re clearly making it worse and just trying to take advantage of me.”

“Who would want to take advantage of you in this freezing weather? I’m just trying to help because I pity you.”

Her face turned sideways, her tongue trapped by the frozen candy. Awkwardly, they were only centimeters apart.

The sight of two people helplessly stuck to a frozen candied hawthorn skewer in the snowy field was utterly ridiculous. Yet in Diao Zhiyu’s eyes, those fragile, wet, dark, and evasive eyes of hers—the ones that had hesitated to truly open up to him even after they started dating—finally looked at him with an unreserved, genuine smile.

The black pupils, once so dishonest—close yet distant, cold and detached—sensitive to and subtly aware of everything around her, always seeming ready to retreat, as though there was someone else nearby who made him uneasy. But now, those eyes reflected a steady joy, their flickering transformations bringing a quiet sense of accomplishment to his heart. To say he didn’t feel it would be a lie.

Even if it were just an act, Diao Zhiyu had performed all the way to today. From being an actor to attending masterclasses, he could finally graduate from all that tension and just let go, playing and laughing alongside her.

The candied hawthorn in their hands still wasn’t finished when they returned to the hotel room. The two of them bit into it with crunching sounds. Hu Xiu sniffled, “In my next life, I want to be born in the north—I’ve been conquered by hawthorn.”

“It’s not hawthorn that conquered you—it’s northern handsome guys.”

“Diao Zhiyu, you’re getting a bit thick-skinned.”

“You might be chatting with a rising star in the film industry right now, you know. Better cherish this. Having a scandal with a big star and enduring public criticism isn’t easy.”

She was amused to the point of wiping tears from her eyes. “Fine, then I’ll aim to get into the interpretation bureau and become an official conference interpreter. That way, if we’re seen together, there won’t be any talk about who’s out of whose league.”

“You’re already more than good enough.” Diao Zhiyu leaned against the headboard. “This movie is going to take a month and a half to film in the southwest. After I’m back, I’ll probably still look for roles in immersive theater. Hopefully, I can find something part-time that doesn’t take up too much time, so I can do stage plays with the rest of it.”

“Stage plays?”

“Immersive theater is still somewhat game-like. To really hone acting skills, I’ll need to go somewhere less commercial.

“Even though you thought I looked cool in Snowpiercer, the acting requirements there weren’t high.

“As for Zhao Xiaorou’s escape room, forget it. The producer can just hire someone. Spending all day in a place like that would ruin anyone. There’s no way to improve your acting, and actors without growth have no future.”

“Speaking of that—” Hu Xiu rummaged through her bag. “My notes from acting class—I’ll show you. I remember taking them very seriously. A few days ago, when I was bored at my mom’s place, I even finished reading An Actor’s Self-Cultivation…”

She felt a paper envelope, unfamiliar to the touch. It was kraft paper, stuffed with two thick stacks of cash.

In disbelief, she opened another compartment. There was a pack of Russian purple-wrapped chocolate candies and a paper bag of dried beef jerky—things she’d seen on her mom’s dining table.

Panicking, she opened her suitcase. She had thought it was just overpacked or that the wheels were worn out, making it hard to pull. But now, upon opening it, she found it full of gifts: brand-new loungewear with the tags still on, a green mohair sweater hand-knitted with care, boxes of salted egg yolk pastries, her childhood favorite finger biscuits, assorted candies, and her casually praised favorite sorghum toffees—piled up in multiples.

All were silent gifts from her mother. Sitting at the bedside, Diao Zhiyu pursed his lips. Hu Xiu sat there in a daze. In the quiet room, the rustling sound of packaging seemed deafening. She gently closed the suitcase lid, afraid that too much noise might shatter the dream.

Diao Zhiyu simply watched her silently.

Limited Masterclass on Acting – Final:

1.  The quickest thing she learned was romantic scenes. Anything involving physical contact, she picked up with exceptional speed.

2.  Emotions of sadness and happiness don’t cancel each other out. For a girl sensitive to the absence of love, remember to supplement her “nutrition” in measured doses—small amounts, given frequently.

3.  Scenes imagined in the mind are never as direct as acting them out in person. Responding to needs and appearing at the right time can sometimes be more effective than any remedy.

4.  Parents are never completely devoid of feelings for their children. The love that’s hidden, inexpressible, or indirect must also be acknowledged.

5. Saying “I love you” is never just lip service...