The Drama Club

Chen Xiao Qiu opened her mouth and had just called out, "Lanlan," when her hand went slack and her phone fell to the floor. She swayed, rolled her eyes back, and collapsed.

Guo Yujie rushed over and caught Chen Xiao Qiu's limp body.

The Thin Man and the Fat Man were both stunned.

"Go notify the old leader!" I shouted to the two of them, then pulled out my phone and called 120.

Chen Xiao Qiu was taken to the hospital. The examination showed that she had overworked herself and needed rest.

Chen Xiao Qiu's mother hurried over. When she saw her daughter lying in the hospital bed, her eyes turned red.

The old leader felt deeply apologetic and apologized to Chen's mother. "I didn't look after Xiao Chen properly. Old Chen entrusted her to my care, but I let her... Sigh..."

The three of us—the Thin Man, the Fat Man, and I—also rushed to apologize and comfort Chen's mother.

"Don't say that. It's all because our Xiao Qiu is so competitive. I've tried talking to her, but she's been like this since she was little." Chen's mother went on, complaining at length.

Chen's father worked in the central government and wasn't in his hometown of People's Celebration City. Since both sets of grandparents lived here and didn't want to move to the capital, Chen Xiao Qiu had gone to university in People's Celebration City, and her mother had stayed with her. The four grandparents hadn't been told yet. Chen's mother had called Chen's father, but no one else.

Before long, though, there was a commotion outside the hospital room.

A young woman with her hair in a bun stumbled in, her makeup smeared from crying. She was clutching a young man by the arm. He looked awkward, with a clear handprint on his face, and seemed utterly miserable.

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

Only then did we realize she was Chen Xiao Qiu's younger cousin. It wasn't hard to guess who the young man she'd dragged in was.

The Thin Man and the Fat Man glared at Ma Yibing.

Chen's mother hurriedly pulled Chen Xiao Qiu's cousin aside. "Lanlan, what are you doing here? Don't cry. Your cousin's fine, just exhausted. Don't overthink it. This has nothing to do with your play."

"How can it have nothing to do with it? It's because of that play!" Lanlan glared viciously at Ma Yibing.

Ma Yibing shrank back.

Seeing the confusion on Chen's mother's and the old leader's faces, I sensed trouble. The old leader's eyes were practically shining with interest, so I gave the Thin Man and the Fat Man a look.

The Thin Man sprang over to Ma Yibing and slung an arm around his shoulders like a thug. Ma Yibing was tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome, but now he had his head bowed and his shoulders hunched, with none of his usual confidence. With the Thin Man, who was half a head shorter, hanging off him, he looked utterly cowed.

"Chen Xiao Qiu needs to rest. Let's not make a fuss in the hospital room," I said.

Guo Yujie took Lanlan by the arm. "Little sister, don't cry. Wipe your eyes, and let's go sit outside."

The Fat Man chimed in, then explained to Chen's mother, "Chen Xiao Qiu was on the phone with her cousin when she fainted. The girl was already really worried then."

The old leader looked at me.

I reluctantly nodded to him, then followed the others outside, leaving the Fat Man in the hospital room.

We found an empty corridor. There was a door at the end, but we had no idea what room it led to, and there wasn't even a sign. The corridor was brightly lit, yet so quiet it felt eerie.

The Thin Man shoved Ma Yibing against the wall, folded his arms, and said ominously, "You're Ma Yibing, right? From the drama club? Come on, tell us what's wrong with that kimono."

Ma Yibing hit the wall and sucked in a breath from the pain. There was nowhere for him to run.

Lanlan was still crying. When she heard the Thin Man, she looked ready to curse Ma Yibing, but I stopped her.

"Little cousin Lanlan, don't rush. Let's hear from each of you in turn," I said, trying to calm her down.

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

"We're her colleagues. She'd only just started working with us when this happened. We can't just stand by and do nothing," I explained.

Lanlan's gaze shifted between me and the Thin Man. She looked us up and down, then curled her lip. "Let me tell you, you don't stand a chance. The line of people chasing my cousin stretches all the way to the capital. So many talented, accomplished men..."

"Enough already. Who said we were interested in your cousin?" the Thin Man cut her off impatiently. He turned to Ma Yibing. "Don't even think about pulling one over on us. I'm telling you right now: if you lie or leave anything out, I'll make one phone call and have the local police station keep showing up at your school to invite you in for tea. Believe me or not."

The Thin Man was bluffing, plain and simple. Unless he was willing to risk getting in trouble himself by making a false report, his connections at the police station amounted to little more than asking Little Gu for a small favor. And Little Gu's station didn't have jurisdiction over People's Celebration City Drama College. Still, it was an easy and effective way to make trouble. Even if Ma Yibing hadn't done anything wrong, he'd be in a bad way if the police kept showing up at his school.

Ma Yibing was clearly no sheltered innocent. The Thin Man's threat scared him, and he asked nervously, "What do you want to know?"

"That kimono! Tell us everything you know!" the Thin Man said.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure about the kimono..." Ma Yibing began hesitantly.

The Thin Man sneered, tapped Ma Yibing, and made as if to leave.

Ma Yibing hurriedly grabbed him. "No, wait. Big brother, I don't mean it like that. I'm telling the truth. I really don't know much."

"Then what do you know?" I asked.

"I just know something's off about that costume. Though it might not be the costume itself." Ma Yibing scratched his head and sighed. "Do you know the play we're rehearsing? It's one of our drama club's old productions. It was the first play the club put on when it was founded, more than twenty years ago, and they've performed it for over twenty years. Almost every class has put it on."

Ma Yibing told us about the drama club. It was a student organization at People's Celebration City Drama College. Its members weren't limited to students in the acting department; anyone from another department who was interested in drama could join. A few of its members had become celebrities, so it now had a huge membership, though only a small number ever got to perform onstage. Staging a play was no easy task. Unless they had a talent like Chen Xiao Qiu, most people needed two or three months of rehearsals—and that was assuming nothing went wrong and everyone was fully committed. The club members were all students, and they were at a drama college, at that. Some might be picked up by a production crew halfway through rehearsals and make their debut, while others might quit on their own because of their studies or other reasons. With all that going on, the club president considered it a blessing if they managed to put on one play per school year.

Ma Yibing was the drama club's current president. After taking over, he found that the play scheduled for that school year was The Big Family, so he began making preparations.

The Big Family was an old production for the club, so the stage setup, props, and costumes were all ready. Ma Yibing had been busy looking for actors. Naturally, he started with the capable members of the drama club. Casting the male roles went smoothly, with no problems at all. But on the women's side, no one was willing to take the role of Maeda Suzuna. Ma Yibing hadn't thought much of it at the time. He'd heard before that the students who had staged The Big Family in previous years had also struggled with that role. He assumed it was because the character had to bow and kneel so often, making rehearsals exhausting, and people simply didn't want to do it.