Chapter 34: The Banquet

At one o’clock in the afternoon, the audience and off-campus media began entering the theater under the guidance of volunteers.

The performance was scheduled to start at two. By half past one, various school leaders and department teachers had also taken their seats. Yin Mengxi was backstage, doing a final inventory of props. During this process, she overheard classmates discussing how Secretary Hong had arrived and was seated next to their principal. Someone whispered that it was no wonder Yunqiao couldn’t tolerate staying in the club—if she had stayed, meeting her here would have been unbearable.

As Yin Mengxi passed through the side stage, she caught a glimpse of the legendary Secretary Hong through a gap in the curtains. The woman appeared stern, with short, neatly styled hair, gracefully accepting interviews from several off-campus media outlets alongside the principal.

…So that was Tang Fei’s mother?

At exactly two o’clock, the theater lights dimmed gradually. The pre-recorded opening announcement played, followed by the curtains rising to reveal a realistic Republican-era train station set on stage.

The actors were fully immersed in their performances, while backstage, the crew was busy preparing for the next scene—

“Where is Mr. He’s briefcase? Is it on the right stage?”

“The spotlight is slightly off! Adjust the angle of the light!”

“Bring the male lead’s costume to the left stage quickly—the actor will change here as soon as they come off.”

Each segment was moving at a fast pace; any hiccup in the transitions would be unacceptable. Yin Mengxi was responsible for overseeing the left stage, confirming every small process with the respective person in charge.

This is good, pass.

No issues here, pass.

One point not ready? Quickly find someone to fix it—or roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.

Her nerves remained taut for the entire two hours, not allowing herself a moment of slack. Only when Mr. He delivered his final line and applause erupted from the audience did she finally feel the heavy stone she’d carried for three months slowly lift.

The actors took turns returning to the stage for their curtain call, while backstage became the exclusive celebration zone for the crew. Everyone hugged and shook hands, some girls even cried, saying it had been an incredibly tough time—life had felt like hell mode.

Yin Mengxi, having worked double duty, naturally felt twice the emotion. She stood with her companions in the shadows of the side stage. Though aware that the audience would never see them, she didn’t feel the slightest bit disappointed. Perhaps because she clearly understood the immense contributions made by these unsung backstage workers—including herself—and solid effort always brought steadfast confidence and honest satisfaction.

“Backstage crew, come up here!”

After most of the audience had left, Guo Yue suddenly called out from the right stage to gather everyone.

“The school leaders want to meet us, let’s take a big group photo!”

The process of greeting leadership was fairly standard. Cast and crew lined up in a row, with important leaders shaking hands one by one from left to right. Occasionally, they paused to speak a few words to key roles, while others merely served as background for the routine.

The male and female protagonists of this play were naturally key figures. The principal stood before them, expressing praise. Secretary Hong stood in front of Tang Fei and Xiao Zhi. As Yin Mengxi joined her fellow crew members queuing up from the side stage, she saw the secretary smiling and speaking to Xiao Zhi, even patting his shoulder.

They seemed… very familiar.

Tang Fei smiled more brightly, perhaps because she was in front of her mother. Her demeanor was somewhat childlike, completely relaxed and natural compared to other students who appeared constrained around school leaders. Whatever they discussed, all three suddenly laughed together—a moment that felt particularly intimate, as if they were already family.

Yin Mengxi’s heart tightened again, a fresh wave of bitterness washing over her. To put it simply, since that late-night snack, her frequency of secretly feeling jealous had gradually decreased. However, seeing Secretary Hong triggered her old habits, and this time the jealousy escalated—she used to envy only Tang Fei’s relationship with him, but now she envied their family too. What made it worse was that this was an unbridgeable gap created by birth, leaving her no way to turn this envy into motivation.

…It was truly maddening.

She quietly lowered her head, avoiding watching them talk. When the principal and secretary reached her, she bowed and shook hands politely. Afterward, during the group photo, as part of the crew, she could only stand at the far edge, while he and Tang Fei stood in the center with the principal and secretary. Through the lens, they must have appeared so far apart.

Snap.

Frozen.

—Their first “group photo.”

By the time the leaders departed, it was nearly five o’clock.

Guo Yue kept teasing, saying today’s performance was especially successful and deserved a hotpot feast. Others chimed in without prompting, reminding Senior Xiao about the promise he made days ago. He chuckled and said, “The seats are reserved, let’s go at half past five.”

The announcement immediately caused an uproar. The cast and crew clapped more enthusiastically than the audience had during the play. Once things settled, Xiao Zhi added, “Actors, help the crew tidy up backstage. The sooner we finish, the sooner we eat.”

Everyone agreed, working diligently. Yin Mengxi was about to join them, but Jiayi, Yushan, and Stone waved to her from the back rows of the audience, signaling her to return to the Youth League office.

She pursed her lips, told Zechuan she was leaving early, and slipped away from the side of the stage. Amidst the chaos, no one noticed her departure—except Xiao Zhi, who called out to her, asking, “Why are you leaving?”

She froze, her lingering bitterness still present, suddenly hesitant to look up at him. Keeping her head down, she replied, “Oh… I need to return to the Youth League. We need to rush the article for the school’s official website.”

He acknowledged her response, though his tone seemed slightly hesitant. After a moment, he asked, “So you’re not coming to the dinner tonight?”

She hesitated, then said, “We might be busy for a long time over there, so I won’t go.”

“Go ahead, it’s fine to be a little late,” he gently encouraged her. “You’ve worked so hard, you should celebrate with everyone.”

Was this… an invitation?

Her heart stirred, a hint of sweetness mingling with the bitterness, yet overall it remained sour. Looking up, she met his strikingly handsome gaze. It was hard to say “no” to him, and she hoped he would never say “no” to her.

“Then…” she relented, “…I’ll see how it goes.”

“All right,” he seemed to smile, instantly sparking more longing in her. “Remember to send me a message when you arrive.”

…And just like that, she was swayed again.

She had already decided not to go, but his words changed her mind. Back in the Youth League office, writing the article, she typed furiously, almost flying across the keyboard. Her rapid typing stunned the other equally exhausted writers nearby.

Her draft quality was high, earning immediate praise from Teacher Sun. After circulating through the student affairs department, feedback was minimal. She made the necessary changes and sent it to the publicity department for uploading to the school’s official website. By eight o’clock, she saw her article on the homepage, with her name at the end—

“Reporter | Yin Mengxi, School of Journalism, Class of 2011.”

This was her first time seeing her name appear in public media. Although it was only the school’s official platform, it was enough to excite her. Unable to contain her joy, she quietly shared the webpage link in her family QQ group chat. Unfortunately, her parents rarely used the chat software—she had helped them register accounts earlier, but they were almost never online.

Waiting for a reply, she felt a pang of disappointment. At that moment, she inexplicably thought of Xiao Zhi, wanting to tell him about this… and hear his praise.

What would he say?

“Good”?

“Very nice”?

“Awesome”?

Sigh. It didn’t matter.

Just a few words of praise would satisfy her.

Her desire to see him suddenly grew intense. Leaving the Youth League office, she couldn’t resist heading to the gathering place. The summer night breeze was warm, causing a layer of sweat on her skin, but her heart burned hotter, restless and eager.

Though it was walkable, she still took the bus, messaging him en route, saying she’d arrive around 8:45, unsure if they’d already finished. He replied quickly, with just two concise messages—

“Not finished yet.”

“Waiting for you.”

…Eight words comforted her, dissipating much of her earlier disappointment.

How could this be?

Could it be… he possessed magic?

She found the address of the hotpot restaurant, located inside a mall. Worried about looking disheveled from the heat, she cooled off in the air-conditioned lobby before heading upstairs. Upon entering, she spotted the drama club members—several large tables, quite a spectacle. She wondered how much money this evening would cost.

She silently pitied him, searching for him but not finding him. Persistently scanning again, his figure was still nowhere to be seen.

“Xixi, you’re here?”

A cheerful voice suddenly rang out—it was Peng Zechuan, sitting with the entire logistics team, waving enthusiastically.

“Come on, take a seat—”

She went over, noticing several bottles of beer on the table. Likely halfway through the meal, they had lost control and ordered drinks to heighten the atmosphere.

She didn’t drink alcohol, and arriving late meant missing the hotpot. She ordered a plate of glutinous rice cakes to nibble on while waiting for her food. Quietly, she asked the senior sitting beside her where Xiao Zhi was.

The senior, upon hearing her question, immediately grew excited, whispering animatedly, “You came too late! You missed explosive news!”

Yin Mengxi raised an eyebrow, about to ask what the “explosive news” was, when the other eagerly continued—

“It’s Feifei! She publicly confessed to Xiao Zhi just now!”

“He said he needed to talk to her privately—they’ve been gone for ten minutes already!”

Author’s Note:

I’ll handle this myself: Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!