"Sigh... I've suffered a big loss."
Chen Ling walked on the mountain road home, lowering his head to look at his cotton-padded coat with two holes beaten into it, his eyes full of distress.
There was no salary during the exam preparation period, and naturally no subsidy for torn clothes. Calculating this way, he had gratuitously lost a piece of clothing during his part-time job... This added to the difficulties of a family already without a source of income.
Of course, he still gained something today.
[Current Expectation Value: 40%]
Since being instructed by Qian Fan to replace Wu Youdong for the investigation, the audience's expectation value had been steadily increasing. It rose by 5% when he went to the teahouse to find the law enforcers, and by a full 10% when he swept through the tavern.
Originally, Chen Ling thought that the law enforcers returning to the tavern would also yield expectation value, but in reality, it did not. It seemed that the audience's expectation value only increased when he was personally present to witness the situation.
Chen Ling felt that he had vaguely figured out a way to quickly obtain expectation value.
After walking along the mountain road for over two hours, he finally returned to Hanshuang Street. Before entering the door, he heard a clear and melodious opera aria drifting out from the house:
"The little nun is sixteen years old,
In the prime of youth, her hair was shaven by the master.
Every day, she burns incense and changes water in the Buddha hall,
Seeing several young men playing at the mountain gate.
He looks at me,
I look at him.
He and I, I and he,
Both of us care deeply for each other..."
Upon hearing this opera excerpt, Chen Ling's eyebrows slightly rose.
This segment from Longing for the World is a classic opera scene, known to the world in his previous life because of the famous film Farewell My Concubine. Chen Ling had heard it many times, but he had not expected that the opera repertoire in this world would be the same as in his previous life.
What surprised Chen Ling even more was that Chen Yan's voice was so beautiful, and his singing skills were extremely solid. Even those famous performers he had seen in theaters in his previous life paled in comparison to him.
Logically speaking, without the guidance of a famous teacher, it should have been almost impossible to reach this level...
As he thought, Chen Ling walked into the house and saw Chu Muyun still sitting in the living room in the same posture, earnestly holding a book and studying it.
"Don't tell me you haven't moved all day?" Chen Ling couldn't help but ask.
"I did move. I went out for a walk in the morning to get some air."
Chen Ling nodded. "Did A Yan not disturb you?"
"No, he didn't."
"That's good." Chen Ling sat down at the table and looked toward the bedroom, where Chen Yan was practicing drawing his eyebrows in the mirror while opening his mouth to practice his singing. With a complicated expression, Chen Ling said,
"A Yan has been interested in opera since he was a child. Unfortunately, the Third District is too small, and there's no one to teach him... Our family can't afford a teacher either."
"Opera... indeed, not many people understand it these days," Chu Muyun said, glancing at the bedroom. "As far as I know, there are very few people in Aurora City who understand it."
Chen Yan's singing gradually quieted down. It seemed that upon hearing Chen Ling's return, he immediately ran to the living room and asked excitedly,
"Brother, does my makeup look good?"
Chen Yan blinked his eyes. The almond-blossom-red eye shadow spread out to the sides, delicate and soft. His eyes were raised and outlined with thick black eyeliner, making them particularly bright.
Chen Ling recognized this as the makeup for a "dan role," but perhaps because Chen Yan had taught himself, there were still many differences compared to his previous life.
Even so, it was still a perfectly flawless face of a beautiful youth that no one could find fault with.
"It looks good," Chen Ling replied sincerely. "But there are some details that don't seem quite right... I'll help you adjust them when I have time."
"Brother, do you also understand opera makeup?"
"A little bit."
Chen Yan's eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at him.
"Brother, do you think I can perform at the New Year party after returning to school?"
"Of course. You're the only one in the Third District who can sing opera. When the time comes, you'll put on your costume, do your makeup, and start singing—all the classmates will be shocked," Chen Ling chuckled.
"Does he still go to school?" Chu Muyun asked in surprise.
"Yes," Chen Ling nodded. "He just started his first year of high school... but he fell ill shortly after enrollment. Now that he's recovered, he should be able to enroll with the next batch of freshmen."
"Brother, what should I sing then?"
"If it's just you singing alone, Longing for the World would be good..."
"Then I'll practice more!"
Chen Yan's eyes lit up. He immediately threw on his open red opera robe and ran back to the bedroom to practice again.
After all, Chen Yan was just a 15-year-old boy—an age when he longed for friends and attention. When Chen Ling was in school, he had also fantasized countless times about taking a guitar onto the stage to show off in front of all the teachers and students.
Too bad... he couldn't play at all.
But for Chen Yan, combining his hobby with performing was extremely exciting.
"Not so fast," Chen Ling said with a helpless smile. "Clean up and get ready for dinner soon."
Chen Yan obediently came to help Chen Ling wash vegetables. Just then, he caught a glimpse of the two large holes in the cotton-padded coat, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Brother, what happened to your coat?" his tone suddenly turned serious.
"It's nothing, just a scrape."
Chu Muyun, who was reading a book, looked over upon hearing this, and his eyes behind the glasses immediately narrowed...
"Did you get shot?"
Chen Yan jerked his head up.
"No, they missed," Chen Ling explained, feeling Chen Yan's gaze. "They were too slow with their shots, and I dodged... I'm not hurt."
Chu Muyun examined him and nodded slightly, "You really aren't injured."
"Brother, who shot at you?" Chen Yan asked coldly.
"It was..."
Chen Ling was about to say Ice Spring Street, but seeing the bone-chilling cold in Chen Yan's eyes, he hesitated and said, "Just two small-time thugs... already arrested by law enforcers."
He knew Chen Yan was a Fusionist and remembered that night when Chen Yan had gone on a rampage in Ice Spring Street... If he mentioned Ice Spring Street again, he feared Chen Yan might go back to massacre the street overnight.
After all, the street was likely already occupied by law enforcers now. If Chen Yan went there, he might encounter a Judge.
Hearing this, Chen Yan's expression softened. He silently picked up the torn cotton-padded coat,
"...I'll sew it for you."
Chen Yan made all his own opera robes, so mending a coat was no difficult task for him.
"How did you defeat them when they had guns?" Chu Muyun stared into Chen Ling's eyes, as if trying to see through his mind.
"They had guns but didn't know how to use them—they fired several shots and only hit my coat... Why do you ask?"
Naturally, Chen Ling couldn't mention he possessed [Killing Dance], which involved the theater and the existence of "viewers."
"...Nothing."
Chu Muyun withdrew his gaze and stared at the book cover, lost in thought.
After the three finished dinner, they returned to their rooms. The night covered the entire sky, with only the blue aurora floating silently.
As Chen Ling fell asleep, his consciousness had long drifted into the theater.
In the dim, silent room,
a figure approached slowly.
It was Chu Muyun.
His glasses reflected a pale glow under the aurora. Those cold eyes stared at the sleeping Chen Ling, a flicker of killing intent appearing in his eyes.
His right hand, clutching a short blade as cold as the moon, slowly rose...