The plot of Eileen's novel was extremely complex. To force a simple summary, it was the story of a scumbag warlock.
In a sense, this warlock had some traits in common with Xu Nan. He had to commit every possible evil deed in order to grow stronger—and like all novel protagonists, he naturally had hardships ordinary people could never understand.
From the very beginning, he had been deeply trapped in a maze of schemes, advancing the plot while plotting against others and being plotted against himself...
The plot of this stage play was connected to the novel's story.
The actress played a pitiful dancer, the kind who had been cheated out of both money and body. The mastermind behind it all was naturally the protagonist, who had committed every possible evil deed. According to the novel, this was the moment the dancer recognized the protagonist's true face, but it was too late. She would die while denouncing him, and soon afterward, the protagonist would discover that he, too, was merely a pawn controlled by someone else.
Under normal circumstances, this should have been the moment when the male actor playing the protagonist stepped out from backstage... He should have been dressed in an outrageously cool and domineering outfit, radiating villainous vibes.
But now, a masked bald man appeared instead.
Other than Xu Nan, everyone was dumbfounded.
Including the actress herself. She stared intensely at the bald man. She even forgot this was only a rehearsal and instinctively tried to salvage the scene:
"Oh, not you!"
"I know you're merely another lamb he deceived!"
"I mean the person behind you!"
"Who exactly are you?!" she shouted professionally toward the person behind the curtain.
The bald man rubbed his head and muttered, "The person behind me?"
Then he instinctively stepped aside.
A