The Drama Club

Chen Xiaoqiu opened her mouth, just as she called out "Lanlan," her hand loosened, the phone dropped to the ground, and her whole body swayed. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell straight to the ground.

Guo Yujie rushed forward and caught Chen Xiaoqiu's limp body.

The skinny and the fat guy were both stunned.

"Go notify the old leader!" I shouted at the two of them, then took out my phone and dialed 120.

Chen Xiaoqiu was sent to the hospital. The examination revealed she was suffering from overwork and needed rest.

Chen Xiaoqiu's mother rushed over. Seeing Chen Xiaoqiu lying in the hospital bed, her eyes turned red.

The old leader was very apologetic and said to Chen's mother, "I didn't take good care of Xiao Chen. Old Chen entrusted her to my care, and I let her... alas..."

The skinny, the fat guy, and I also rushed to apologize and comfort Chen's mother.

"Don't say that, it's all because our Xiaoqiu is too competitive. I've tried to advise her, but she's been like this since she was a child," Chen's mother began to complain.

Chen Xiaoqiu's father worked in the central government and was not in their hometown of Minqing City. Since both sets of elderly parents lived there and didn't want to move to the capital, Chen Xiaoqiu also chose to attend university in Minqing City, and her mother stayed with her. The four elderly people hadn't been notified yet, so Chen's mother had only called Chen's father. She hadn't told anyone else.

However, it wasn't long before there was a commotion outside the ward.

A young girl with a bun hairstyle stumbled in, her makeup smudged from crying, and she was dragging a young man by the hand. The young man looked embarrassed, with a clear handprint on his face, looking extremely disheveled.

"Cousin!" The girl rushed to Chen Xiaoqiu's bedside and burst into tears.

Only then did we realize that this girl was Chen Xiaoqiu's cousin. It wasn't hard to guess who she had dragged along.

The skinny and the fat guy glared at the young man, Ma Yibing.

Chen's mother hurriedly pulled the girl, Lanlan, aside. "Lanlan, why are you here? Don't cry, your cousin is fine, just tired. Don't overthink it, it has nothing to do with your play."

"How can it not be related! It's because of the play!" Lanlan glared fiercely at Ma Yibing.

Ma Yibing cowered.

I saw Chen's mother and the old leader looking confused, and the old leader's eyes gleamed with shrewdness. Sensing trouble, I signaled to the skinny and the fat guy.

The skinny guy lunged next to Ma Yibing and lecherously hooked his arm around Ma Yibing's shoulder. Ma Yibing was tall and handsome, but now he was hunched over and listless. Being hooked by the skinny guy, who was half his height, he became meek.

"Chen Xiaoqiu is resting, so let's not make noise in the ward," I said.

Guo Yujie pulled Lanlan aside. "Little sister, don't cry. Wipe your tears, let's go sit outside."

The fat guy chimed in with a couple of words and then explained to Chen's mother, "When Chen Xiaoqiu fainted, she was calling her cousin. The young lady was very anxious then."

The old leader looked at me.

I gritted my teeth and nodded at the old leader, then followed the two of them out, leaving the fat guy in the ward.

We found an empty corridor. It was unclear what kind of room it was, as the door was closed and there was no sign. Although the corridor was bright, it was eerily quiet.

The skinny guy pushed Ma Yibing against the wall, crossed his arms, and said sinisterly, "Your name is Ma Yibing, right? From the drama club? Come on, tell us what's wrong with that kimono."

Ma Yibing hit the wall, gasped in pain, and had nowhere to retreat.

Lanlan was still crying. Hearing the skinny guy's words, she wanted to curse Ma Yibing, but I stopped her.

"Cousin Lanlan, don't be in a hurry. You can tell us one by one," I advised.

Lanlan glanced at me. "Who are you to my cousin?"

"Her colleagues. She just started working with us a few days ago, and this happened. We can't just stand by and do nothing," I explained.

Lanlan's gaze flickered between me and the skinny guy, then she looked us up and down and pouted. "I'm telling you, you have no chance. The people who want to chase my cousin could form a line from here all the way to the capital, so many elites..."

"Alright, alright, who's interested in your cousin?" The skinny guy interrupted impatiently and turned to Ma Yibing. "Kid, don't think about fooling us. I'm putting it out there, if you lie or hide anything, I'll make one phone call and have the police station in your area summon you to their office every three days. Do you believe me?"

The skinny guy was pure bluff. If he were willing to go down in flames and make a false report, that would be one thing. Otherwise, with his "capabilities" regarding the police station, he could at most ask Little Gu for a small favor. The police station where Little Gu worked had no jurisdiction over the Minqing Drama Academy. However, this kind of troublesome method was simple and effective. Even if Ma Yibing hadn't committed any crime, being constantly sought out by the police at school would be a hassle for him.

Ma Yibing was clearly not a pure student from an ivory tower. He was intimidated by the skinny guy and said tremblingly, "What do you want to ask?"

"That kimono! Tell us everything you know!" the skinny guy said.

"I'm not really clear about the matter of that kimono..." Ma Yibing began hesitantly.

The skinny guy sneered, pointed at Ma Yibing, and made a move to turn and leave.

Ma Yibing quickly grabbed the skinny guy. "No, that, big brother, big brother, I didn't mean that. I'm telling the truth, I really don't know much."

"Then what do you know?" I asked.

"I just know that the outfit was strange. Or maybe it wasn't the outfit itself that was strange," Ma Yibing scratched his head and sighed. "Do you know the play we're rehearsing? It's an old play in our drama club. It was the first play performed when the club was founded, over twenty years ago, and it's been performed for over twenty years. Almost every cohort has performed it."

Ma Yibing introduced us to their drama club. It was a student organization within the Minqing Drama Academy, recruiting not only acting majors but also students from other departments interested in drama. Because they had produced a few stars, the club had a large number of members, but very few could actually perform on stage. Rehearsing a play was not easy. Apart from geniuses like Chen Xiaoqiu, others generally needed two to three months for rehearsal, and that was assuming no accidents and full commitment. The members were all students, and moreover, students from a drama academy. Some might be scouted by film crews midway through and debut, while others might voluntarily withdraw due to academic reasons or other factors. Under such circumstances, successfully staging one play per academic year was already a great comfort to the drama club president.

Ma Yibing was the current president of the drama club. After taking over, it happened to be the year for the play Big Family to be performed, so he began preparations.

Big Family was an old play in the drama club, and the stage, props, and costumes were all ready-made. He had been busy looking for actors. First, he naturally looked for the capable members of the drama club. There were no problems with the male roles, and casting went smoothly. However, on the female side, the role of Maeda Suzuna remained unfilled, and no one was willing to take it. Ma Yibing didn't think much of it at the time. He had heard before that senior students who had rehearsed Big Family in previous years had also struggled with this role. He simply assumed that the role of Maeda Suzuna often required bowing and kneeling, which was very strenuous during rehearsals, and many people were unwilling to do it.