The Art of Acting
March 7th's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her consciousness awoke from a deep sleep.
She felt lighter than ever before, and the fatigue of the past few days had vanished without a trace. This was the most restful sleep she had had in days.
She opened her eyes, and as her vision gradually focused, the first thing she saw was a familiar figure from behind.
On March 7th, looking at the figure on her bed, her face stiffened. Following the hem of his clothes upwards, she saw Bai Luoming leaning against the headboard, asleep with his eyes closed.
He probably slept sitting up all night.
The position wasn't exactly comfortable, and his brows were tightly furrowed.
Even when she was asleep, her face showed deep fatigue.
Looking at the exhausted Bai Luoming in front of him, March 7th felt as if her heart skipped a beat.
She looked at his furrowed brows, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the blanket.
Heartache, guilt, and a hint of secret joy that she herself was unwilling to admit—these intertwined emotions left her somewhat at a loss.
'Evernight! Evernight, are you there?'
She cried out in her heart.
A languid figure emerged from the shadows beside the bed. Evernight stretched and yawned, looking like she hadn't woken up yet.
"What's wrong, honey? You're so energetic first thing in the morning."
'Am I... am I really okay to do this?' March 7th asked herself softly. 'He seems to have hadn't slept all night... I feel like a bad woman.'
Evernight glanced at Bai Luoming, who was sleeping restlessly, and a sly smile curved her lips.
"That's the effect I wanted, darling." She leaned closer to March 7th, her voice seductive, "Make him feel incredibly guilty, make him feel like he owes you something. Men, they're all susceptible to that."
March 7th bit her lower lip, looking at Bai Luoming's tired sleeping face, her mind a mess.
Evernight's voice continued to echo in his mind, "Darling, you need to understand that while you're being soft-hearted now, others won't. Don't wait until everyone else has stood up and kicked you out, and you're still stuck in the same place thinking, 'Was this right?'"
Evernight's words were like a needle, piercing the softest spot in March 7th's heart.
Yes, she can't back down.
She looked at Bai Luoming, her fingertips tracing the soft fabric of the quilt.
Finally, she murmured softly.
It was as if she was speaking to herself, and also as if she were apologizing to him.
"I'm sorry, Luo Ming... I know this was wrong..."
But... I can't give you up.
Perhaps it was because of the large movements on March 7th, or perhaps the sleeping position was too uncomfortable, Bai Luoming's eyebrows twitched, and he slowly woke up.
He opened his eyes, still somewhat dazed, and after a few seconds, his gaze finally focused on March 7th, who had already sat up.
He was taken aback at first, then a clear look of joy appeared on his face, but that joy was quickly overshadowed by deep apology.
Bai Luoming sat up straight, stretched his stiff neck, and his joints made a soft cracking sound.
He stared intently at March 7th, his voice hoarse from not having slept all night.
"March 7th, I'm sorry, I... about the space station, actually..."
He spent the whole night preparing, wanting to make things clear.
However, March 7th simply turned her head to the side, let out a soft snort from her nose, puffed out her cheeks slightly, and didn't even look at him.
Bai Luoming's prepared words were stuck in his throat.
His Adam's apple bobbed twice as he looked at her puffed-up profile, feeling somewhat at a loss, and was about to try a different approach to continue speaking.
At that moment, Evernight's figure appeared out of thin air beside him.
Evernight extended a slender, pale finger and gently pressed it against his lips, stopping him from saying what he was about to say.
"Darling, try to say 'I'm sorry' as little as possible," she said softly, a hint of amusement in her voice. "If you really feel sorry, show it through your actions."
Bai Luoming was stunned, not quite understanding what she meant.
Evernight looked at his stunned expression, a mischievous glint in her eyes and a smile playing on her lips.
"We can start with small things, darling." She tilted her head towards March 7th, hinting, "For example, right now in March 7th, a hot breakfast is really needed!"
Upon hearing Evernight's words, Bai Luoming seemed to be awakened, and suddenly realized the truth.
Yes, saying more is not as good as doing something.
He looked at March 7th, his voice softening unconsciously. "Then wait for me a moment, I'll go prepare breakfast for you."
After saying that, he stood up, rubbed his slightly numb legs, and quickly left the room.
The door closed, Evernight turned to March 7th, nodding approvingly.
"Yes, that's it. Your acting is great, darling." She walked up to March 7th, leaned close to him, and said in a lighthearted tone.
"Keep this attitude, and that guy will fall for it."
She paused slightly, and her tone suddenly became serious.
"Honey, you don't want Bai Luoming to dislike you because you didn't act well, do you?"
Upon hearing this, a blush rose to March 7th's face, and she retorted softly, "What?! I didn't act..."
But when she heard Evernight's praise, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and even the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.
Bai Luoming walked out of March 7th's room and stood in the train corridor. Instead of rushing to the kitchen, he raised his hand and rubbed his throbbing temples.
He felt like he was caught in something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
Evernight's words sounded reasonable, and making up for it with actions was fine, but why did he always have the illusion that he was being manipulated by the two of them?
The moment the idea popped into Bai Luoming's mind, he instinctively rejected it. After all, judging from March 7th's situation, she didn't seem like the type to set up such a scheme, and her acting skills didn't support her doing such a thing.
Just as Bai Luoming was lost in thought, he heard a "click," and Xing's door suddenly opened.
Xing emerged with messy gray hair, rubbing her eyes. She looked exhausted, clearly the result of working through the night.
She was yawning when she looked up and saw Bai Luoming standing at the door of March 7th's room, and her eyes immediately lit up.
"Hey, what's going on here?"
She strode over and slapped Bai Luoming on the shoulder with her palm.
Bai Luoming was pondering Evernight's words when he was suddenly patted by Xing, causing him to stiffen and almost jump up.
He only breathed a sigh of relief after turning around and seeing that it was Xing. He replied irritably, "You scared me! I thought it was someone else. By the way, did you not sleep all night?"
"Plans can't keep up with changes," Xing yawned again, mumbling indistinctly.
Then her gaze swept over Bai Luoming, looking him up and down, focusing on his slightly disheveled collar and the closed door behind him, her eyes gradually becoming meaningful.
She raised an eyebrow, nudged Bai Luoming with her elbow, and asked with a wink, "Not bad, bro, you've already won over March 7th?"
Bai Luoming sighed, a wry smile appearing on his face, and shook his head.
"I don't know."
He genuinely doesn't know right now.
March 7th's attitude was so strange; it seemed like he was angry, but not really angry, leaving him completely baffled.
"I'll go prepare breakfast for her now, and then we'll see how things go after she eats," he said, somewhat frustrated. "To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what she's thinking right now."
"Keep it up, bro." Xing patted him on the shoulder again, speaking earnestly, "When girls are angry, you really have to coax them a bit more. I'm going back to catch up on my sleep; that laptop last night was too difficult, and the system requirements were too high."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards her room. Before closing the door, she turned back, gave Bai Luoming a thumbs up, and mouthed "Go for it!"
The door closed again.
Bai Luoming was left alone in the corridor again.
He watched as Xing went back into his room, feeling somewhat bewildered. If he was going to sleep, why was he out here at all?
Bai Luoming shook his head helplessly and strode towards the kitchen.