14 - I'm involved now

Luo Tang didn’t participate in the rehearsal on Saturday. Hu Yinyin was already ecstatic after hearing that he was willing to do the play, so if he didn't want to rehearse, he didn't need to rehearse. Even if he came to the rehearsal, the younger members of the Hanfu Club wouldn’t dare to play against him.

The day passed quickly, and the comic show was held as scheduled.

On the day of the comic expo, Han Junsong also came along. After he arrived, he first went after Hu Yinyin, "What are you wearing on your head, the blue isn’t shiny and it’s so small, I can barely see it."

Han Junsong’s straight male aesthetic adhered to the concept that the gaudier his clothes, the more attractive he looked. Hu Yinyin suppressed her anger, pointed to the top of her own head and said, "This is diancui! Diancui!"

After speaking, she couldn't help but punch Han Junsong.

"Who let you come! Meanie!"

Hu Yinyin was chubby and had very soft hands, so her punch didn't hurt at all. Han Junsong smiled and replied, "I came to see Luo’ge, where's my bro?"

"In the dressing room." Wei Ruxia replied.

As they were talking, the door of the locker room opened and Wei Ruxia looked up, Luo Tang had already changed.

"Wow~" Hu Yinyin and Han Junsong beside them exclaimed in unison.

Luo Tang, dressed in a Hanfu, raised his eyes and looked over. With his sharp eyebrows, starry eyes and red lips, and holding a paper fan of exquisite workmanship in his hand, he looked at Wei Ruxia with slightly lowered eyes.

Wei Ruxia stared at him for a while, then laughed. Luo Tang indeed suited Hanfu.

But he couldn’t be a younger brother-type, only immortals and gods.

After checking him out for a while, Wei Ruxia tilted her head slightly and tapped on her neck with her fan. Her hair was half up with an ancient styled bun that was tied with a light blue ribbon on the top of her head. When she tilted her head, her hair slid down her thin shoulders, flowing naturally.

"It suits you." Wei Ruxia commented.

It was almost time for the performance of ‘The Merry Son’, so Hu Yinyin quickly took them backstage. As they arrived backstage, Hu Yinyin clapped her hands to gather everyone and said, "Everyone gather up, wait in line backstage, and then go out in order. Don't mess up, do you remember the lines?"

"We know." Everyone was very excited because of the upcoming performance.

Wei Ruxia stood in front of Luo Tang in the order of admission. After listening to Hu Yinyin's question, she turned around and asked Luo Tang, "You didn't participate in the rehearsal. If you have forgotten anything, you don't have to do it."

She intended to bring up the ambiguous scene, after all, it was also the most complicated action for Luo Tang's character.

When Luo Tang heard the words, his upper eyelashes trembled slightly and his eyes rippled like a disturbed lake. His expression was still light, and he responded succinctly.

"Okay."

"Xiaxia you’re next~" the person in front called out.

"Coming." Wei Ruxia turned her head and stepped up onto the stage.

There were many venues at the comic expo. The theme for the venue they performed in was Hanfu. Compared with the Japanese cosplay and Marvel cosplay stages next door, their audience was the smallest, and they were all young ladies wearing Hanfu.

As soon as Wei Ruxia came on stage, her heroic eyes swept the theatre and the young ladies in the audience let out a ‘wow’. Their eyes were wide as they looked at Wei Ruxia and whispered to each other, "Is she a girl? She's so handsome."

At the moment when Wei Ruxia took the stage, some of the people who were wandering around the venue walked towards their stage.

Hu Yinyin obviously saw that there were more people gathering in the audience. After sighing that beauty was everything, she blessed her heart and called out, "Gōngzǐ."

Wei Ruxia pulled the corners of her lips, put her left hand over her right, her straight waist bending slightly. Her hair hung down like flowing ink and her voice was sweet and dry, "Xǔ Xiǎojiě."

Wei Ruxia’s movements were clean and natural, not looking at all contrived, and the crowd quickly reacted, "Wow~ahh~so handsome~"

Hearing their favourable responses, Wei Ruxia became more and more relaxed, and she quickly finished her scene with Hu Yinyin, then went into the wings on the other side of the stage.

Luo Tang was about to appear.

Wei Ruxia stood in the wings and looked up at the stage. The sun was shining through the ceiling and lit up the stage. As soon as the young man in a Hanfu appeared, a burst of screams came from beneath the stage.

Luo Tang stood tall, holding a paper fan, and sweeping the venue with his picturesque eyes. The squeals from the venue threatened to break the ceiling.

This situation reminded Wei Ruxia of Hu Yinyin's words—Luo Tang didn’t need to act well to attract people, he could just draw them over with his face.

Wei Ruxia leaned against the door panel behind her and looked at Luo Tang's most attractive face.

Luo Tang's nature was hard to suppress, even after changing into Hanfu and stepping onto the stage, his temperament wasn’t dulled at all. He still matched those cool and gentle prose.

In the original script he was meant to have dalliance with Hu Yinyin, but looking at the distance between the two of them on the stage, there was no ambiguity at all. After Luo Tang stepped out, he said a few lines and made a few simple movements. The only praiseworthy part of the act was his face.

Sure enough, he didn't really read the script.

But it didn't matter. The focus was to promote Hanfu. Having him wearing Hanfu attracted a larger audience from the crowds, so he’d already increased their publicity.

Even if Luo Tang didn't molest her, Hu Yinyin still had to finish the scene. She glared at him with round eyes and pouted her cheeks and said, "I have an intended."

"Oh?" Luo Tang closed the fan, and said, "Then I'd like to see them."

He remembered this line clearly.

As Wei Ruxia thought this, it was her turn to come on stage. She walked up and said angrily to Luo Tang, "Cease your impertinence."

The two princes were on stage together and the audience burst into screams.

"Wow, both of them are so handsome! Oh my God, I want to buy men's Hanfu!"

"Quickly take a photo! Post it to Moments!"

Luo Tang looked at Wei Ruxia, who had just taken the stage, his eyes moved slightly.

Wei Ruxia performed well, her brows were tight and her eyes gleamed. Although she was pretending to be a young man, she still carried the temper of a girl. She wore a long gown, tied at her waist with a cloth belt that hugged close to her slender waist, and her anger wasn’t the slightest deterrent.

After Wei Ruxia finished speaking, Luo Tang paused. He held a paper fan with his right hand and patted it against his left, the end of his eyes were slightly raised, and his original coldness was weakened by this gentle movement.

He couldn't remember the choreography or the lines, Wei Ruxia didn’t expect him to respond. When she was about to say a line to Hu Yinyin, Luo Tang, who was opposite them, raised his foot and walked over.

The place where he was standing was backlit, and Wei Ruxia looked at the halo around him, a little surprised. She watched Luo Tang approach, the sounds in her ears seeming to fade away, until the boy walked up, gently pinched her chin and provoked her as his face drew closer, "Huh?"

Wei Ruxia heard the sound of the paper fan opening.

There was indeed no sound coming from the audience. Their guesses that the two princes were there to sell corruption to the female audience was confirmed, and they couldn’t handle it.

The origami fan on the stage opened completely, covering the faces of the two princes. Their faces were very close, and only Luo Tang's dark eyes were exposed by the paper fan, and he was able to pinch Wei Ruxia's chin before opening the paper fan. What the two of them did behind the paper fan was naturally easy to infer.

The field was boiling.

This was the first time Wei Ruxia saw Luo Tang's face so close, she could even see the tiny hairs on his skin. His eyes looked really beautiful up close, like black gemstones that had been polished for a long time, shiny and clear, but at present, the bright sunshine filled him, making him look very warm.

This kiss was naturally fake. Wei Ruxia's chin was pinched by Luo Tang, and the boy's fingertips were soft and warm, like a cat's paw pad, full of tenderness.

Her heart seemed to be beating in her eardrums and Wei Ruxia could only hear her own heartbeat, fast and powerful.

She looked at Luo Tang, her lips curled up, their lips were almost close enough to be kissing if they moved a little further forward. She wondered if they were as soft as his fingertips.

"Do you remember the next lines?" Wei Ruxia asked, looking up at him.

The young man pursed his lips slightly, his Adam's apple moved slightly, and his voice was soft, "I just remember to be with you."

"Wow! Boss, do you know how many fans our Hanfu club has now? Two thousand! There are so many photos on Weibo, and if you search romantic photos it’s all pictures of you two kissing.” Hu Yinyin held her phone and jumped up and down beside Wei Ruxia.

Looking at the excited child, Wei Ruxia emphasized the key point, "We didn’t kiss."

"Who cares, it looks like a kiss." Hu Yinyin was exploding with happiness. Although she had been dumped by a scumbag, Luo Tang was there to rescue her. Now the performance was a complete success and the Hanfu revival had been promoted. She was really super pleased!

Wei Ruxia had tied up her hair, and although the air conditioner was on in the venue, she still felt a little hot. After Wei Ruxia changed her clothes, she said to Hu Yinyin, "Luo Tang and the others haven't finished changing yet?"

She would be going home with him later.

"In the men's locker room, I’ll go with you." Hu Yinyin just finished changing.

The men's locker room was on the opposite side, because there were a lot of people who needed to change clothes and make-up during the expo, people from different stages had different locker rooms.

There were cubicles in the dressing room and they could close the door while they were changing, so there were also girls inside.

Wei Ruxia had become famous after the first act and as soon as she entered, a girl came over and asked, "You were the Bai Sheng just now. You’re really a girl! You’re so handsome!"

Being pulled by the girl, Wei Ruxia just smiled gratefully and said, "Thank you."

"By the way, your Wen Ziran, I just saw him in that locker room, he’s also changed his clothes. Wow, you two are really a good match~ Either as a boy girl CP or a boy boy CP!" The girl was delighted and after she’d finished, she added, "I totally ship you guys."

Hu Yinyin had given her a pop culture lesson, so she knew CP meant ‘a couple’.

These girls jumped on the ship too quickly, she and Luo Tang had only acted in a play.

"Hey, Fatty~" Han Junsong saw Wei Ruxia and Hu Yinyin as soon as he came out of the locker room.

When he shouted, Wei Ruxia and Hu Yinyin saw him, and they walked over together and entered the dressing room.

The dressing room was only a dozen square metres, with two dressing tables and hangers. Luo Tang had changed his clothes. Although he had changed and taken off his wig, Wei Ruxia could still see the shadow of his previous appearance.

"Why is there a broken mop here?" Hu Yinyin asked, looking at the corner.

There was a mop stick in the corner. The mop head underneath was gone, and the wooden mop stick stood alone in the corner.

"Someone came to clean and broke the mop after pushing too hard." Mentioned this, Han Junsong wanted to laugh when he looked at the one-meter-long mop stick.

While the two were chatting, Luo Tang handed the Hanfu to Wei Ruxia and asked, "Do you want to go?"

After folding the Hanfu, Wei Ruxia said, "Okay."

She wanted to leave quickly. Her grandma had been sick these past few days and couldn't drive to pick her up, but she was also worried about Wei Ruxia taking the bus by herself, so she had sent an acquaintance to pick her up.

The person hadn't contacted her, so she didn't know the specific time. She thought it would be better to go back early and wait, rather than have someone wait for her.

The group went to exit the dressing room, Hu Yinyin hugged Wei Ruxia's arm and said, "My parents have also come to pick me up, Xia Xia, I won’t see you for a long time~"

Wei Ruxia didn't speak before Han Junsong, who was opening the door for them, replied, "Oh, then I’ll be seeing you again soon, it's been a long time since I saw your folks."

As soon as he spoke, Han Junsong opened the door to a group of rough looking boys, startling him.

"Fuck!"

After swearing, Han Junsong raised his brows and took a step back subconsciously. As soon as he backed away, the crowd at the door hurried in.

There were more than a dozen people in the group, crowding the locker room and several of them blocked the door.

Hu Yinyin, who was about to threaten Han Junsong to not meet her parents, was shocked to see so many people pouring in. When she saw the person who led them, Hu Yinyin's face turned green with anger.

"Xu Xian, what are you doing!?"

Xu Xian had just finished a performance, his clothes had been changed, but the wig and makeup hadn’t been removed, making him look evil. He looked at Hu Yinyin first, and then at Han Junsong next to her.

"What am I doing? Naturally, I came to settle the accounts."

He brought so many people over, and was obviously expecting a fight. A dozen people didn’t leave them good odds and in such a small place, it was inevitable they would get hurt.

Han Junsong frowned and looked at Xu Xian, and said coldly, "I was the one who beat you that day, so you should settle it with me. Let Hu Yinyin and the others go first."

"Let her go first?" Xu Xian gritted his teeth and looked at Hu Yinyin, pointing a finger at her angrily, "This bitch hung me on Weibo! Now all of Weibo is attacking me. I can’t even log on to my Weibo account anymore! Let her go? I want this bitch to kneel and apologise today!"

As Xu Xian spoke, Hu Yinyin became scared, angry, and anxious. Her eyes were red with fury. She really didn't expect that she was so blind to have liked such a scumbag before.

"Heh." Xu Xian looked at Hu Yinyin and sneered, "After you’ve kneel down for a while, let's see if you were dreaming or I was."

Xu Xian glanced at Luo Tang and Wei Ruxia standing in the corner. He knew Wei Ruxia, she was Hu Yinyin's good friend, but his grudge with Hu Yinyin had nothing to do with her. More importantly, the tall boy standing next to her didn’t look like someone to cross.

Xu Xian looked at Wei Ruxia and Luo Tang, raised his finger to the door, and said, "I’m only here to deal with Hu Yinyin and this bastard. People who aren’t involved should leave, now, lest they get hurt by mistake. "

Luo Tang had been leaning against the dressing table, his arms folded, and watching the battlefield in front of him with a calm expression. When Xu Xian let them go, he raised his eyes slightly and glanced at Wei Ruxia.

Wei Ruxia had been standing in the corner. After Xu Xian had finished speaking, she’d reached out and picked up the broken mop stick, then got up and walked behind Xu Xian. Wei Ruxia aimed at the back of Xu Xian's knee socket and swung down.

After a ‘bang’, Xu Xian felt a pain in his knees and knelt in front of Hu Yinyin with a ‘thud’.

Wei Ruxia put the stick in her hand on the ground and looked at Xu Xian, who was unable to kneel and had rolled to the side in pain. She spoke with a calm expression and a light tone, "I’m involved now."

From the moment Xu Xian said he was going to hurt Hu Yinyin, she couldn't help it.

Hit a woman? Can he even fight?　

The author has something to say:

Tangtang: I might not have to make a move today.

This novel really feels like reading a shoujo manga, I feel like I can see every 'kyah' sfx. I really like this kind of easy-going story, where every character is just ridiculously beautiful/cool all the time. Just turn off the brain and replenish the soul.

Also, I considered adding Hanfu pics up top but I'm not sure which dynasty they're meant to be in, and robe+belt kind of covers most of them. I assume they'd be wearing the kinds of Hanfu you see in Xianxia dramas? Like this, this or this (a modern one on a skateboard with airpods hahahah).

Ahhh, I really wanna read faster and do multi-chapter releases but life just suuuuucks at the moment. Being an adult suuuuucks!