Hu Xiu certainly hadn't figured out how Zhao Xiaorou obtained Ning Zechen's WeChat. In the Snowpiercer setting, surveillance cameras were everywhere (though areas with zombies had minimal monitoring), and field controllers constantly monitored the internal environment. Yet Ning Zhenchen had still written his number on Zhao Xiaorou's palm - such an intimate gesture caught on camera would undoubtedly cost him a two-thousand-yuan pay deduction.
After working until 7:30 pm, Hu Xiu took the subway intending to hear about Zhao Xiaorou's week of flirting with Ning Zechen on WeChat. But when she knocked on Zhao Xiaorou's door carrying cake and milk tea, she saw—
Ning Zechen wearing a white T-shirt and gray shorts, his mouth stuffed with unfinished salad.
Especially the physique clearly visible beneath the white T-shirt. While Qin Xiaoyi wore white T-shirts with a refreshing youthful vibe, Ning Zechen exuded sexiness, vitality, and vibrant energy.
His particularly foolish smile when turning around made Hu Xiu completely believe this silly boy had made himself at home, having been cozying up at Zhao Xiaorou's place for several days.
He glanced back at her, grinning brightly yet brainlessly: "I thought you dressed like that deliberately to get Diao Zhiyu's attention, but it turns out it's genuine."
Hearing Diao Zhiyu's name made Hu Xiu blush. She wore a brown thin-checkered blazer with black slim-fit trousers, one spot dirtied from the subway, making the outfit appear somewhat worn.
A response floated from the bathroom: "Dressing formally in the hospital is normal. And don't underestimate her rustic-looking clothes - that blazer cost over two thousand yuan. She really spares no expense on herself."
"But she's not my type. I prefer yours," Ning Zechen replied smoothly, sounding more like family than Wang Guangming ever did.
Returning to the sofa, he sprawled with legs wide open, shoving a palm-sized lettuce wrap into his mouth, cheeks bulging like a hamster's before swallowing it in few bites. The carbonated drink gurgled down his throat - this animal-like drinking manner left Hu Xiu stunned.
Even more deadly was the deity emerging from within—Zhao Xiaorou fresh from the shower, wearing silk pajamas that revealed both shoulders and long legs, looking as beautiful as a movie star.
Most importantly, she carried herself like blooming silk trees, not properly sitting on the sofa but stretching and twirling by the bay window before lightly settling on Ning Zechen's lap: "Feed me..."
"How about giving you what's in my mouth?"
"Disgusting..." Zhao Xiaorou's laughter shifted pitch: "You're so dirty, but—I love it."
Hu Xiu felt it was time to leave.
The table held Caesar salad, two different grilled meat power bowls, and pasta with pesto, three glasses of red, yellow and orange juice arranged together. Zhao Xiaorou loved ordering tables full of food, eating throughout the day before discarding leftovers, but with Ning Zechen devouring everything voraciously, there was no worry about unfinished food.
Hu Xiu brimmed with questions and curiosity—how they lived, how such lifestyles accommodated friendships, where career ceilings lay... These thoughts resembled conservative elders' mentality—never mind.
After eating, Ning Zechen noticed Hu Xiu staring but showed no surprise: "Sorry, I eat like this backstage too. Only five minutes between leaving scenes and next call time—if I don't eat fast, I'll starve for two-three hours. Oh, forgot to introduce myself—Wang Wei."Such an old-school name. Hu Xiu paused for two seconds: "I'll just call you Ning Zechen."
"Whatever..." Ning Zechen eyed the cake Hu Xiu brought: "The cream square looks good. It's been so long since I've had this kind of break—this is what life should be like. Performing every day, my back's about to break from standing. Finding someone as beautiful as Rourou really is my luck."
His eyebrows moved faster than his mouth. In Hu Xiu's eyes, Ning Zechen didn't just look satisfied with the food, but rather... the contentment after indulging in intimate pleasures.
Zhao Xiaorou slid off Ning Zechen's lap, twisted to grab a fleece blanket to drape over her shoulders, while her leg remained resting on Ning Zechen. Ning Zechen stroked that leg, his fingers flowing like water under the still lamplight. Hu Xiu got goosebumps and averted her gaze, which Zhao Xiaorou noticed: "Hu Xiu, if you'd asked Qin Xiaoyi for his WeChat, maybe you'd be the one enjoying this right now."
Milk tea shot out of Hu Xiu's nose, and she felt like she'd turned into a steam locomotive: "No, no, no..."
"Don't let her denial fool you—her head's definitely full of indecent thoughts. Qin Xiaoyi carried her out of the Haunted House. With that kind of close physical contact, if she doesn't have erotic dreams about it, she'd be defying nature."
"Diao Zhiyu loves pulling stunts like that. After playing Qin Xiaoyi for so long, he really thinks he's some Prince Charming now."
After saying this, he stretched lazily, his T-shirt clinging to his chest before springing back, as he glanced around at the PR gift boxes and luxury packaging surrounding them, seeming quite satisfied to be enveloped by such extravagance.
"My feelings for Qin Xiaoyi are pure." Of course Hu Xiu wouldn't tell Zhao Xiaorou and Ning Zechen about her dream—being chased by zombies, then carried by Qin Xiaoyi as they ran wildly, reaching the forest's edge to kiss bathed in sunlight, a dream as innocent as something from Disney. That would be public humiliation.
Her feelings for Qin Xiaoyi were extremely clean. Even if she wanted to date him, she wouldn't dream of erotic scenarios. Though Qin Xiaoyi had his unique sex appeal, she'd mentally neutered him to the point where even holding hands would make her blush with heartbeat.
Seeing Hu Xiu's burning cheeks, Zhao Xiaorou shrugged: "Won't take his WeChat, won't invite him upstairs when he sees you home, won't even have a single erotic dream—such Platonic love is truly tragic and heroic. I'll write down your story and enshrine it in a nunnery."
Ning Zechen laughed heartily. His character in the show was deeply devoted, having loved Lin Qiumei since childhood. To conceal his identity while seizing power in Rong City, he acted rough and cunning, often appearing like a bandit.
But the Ning Zechen off the Snowpiercer set just seemed like a bandit—the kind so sexually charged he appeared to lack intelligence.
He studied Hu Xiu sitting stiffly on the side sofa: "Is it because of your boyfriend that you don't dare do anything with Diao Zhiyu?"
"No, that man isn't..." Hu Xiu said hurriedly.
"Don't even mention it..." Zhao Xiaorou crunched loudly on her salad. "Even with Hu Xiu's poor fashion sense, she wouldn't go for that greasy-faced man. The one you saw was a blind date her dad set up—he won't leave and she can't make him, colluding with my ex-husband. Her dad's a piece of work—because his mother cheated, he's been emotionally blackmailing his daughter to get married early. But when parents say 'you're not young anymore, it's time to marry,' what they really mean is—""You can't keep living so carefree anymore. It's time you faced some harsh realities and learned life's hard lessons. Kids who actually take their parents' advice seriously are probably all good kids - masochists who excel at enduring hardships and thriving in competitive environments."
"Oh..." Ning Zechen paused. "But actually it doesn't matter. Married women, those with boyfriends - we don't mind if they come in and have romantic interactions with us. It's all part of the performance. There are plenty of married women chasing after Qin Xiaoyi, and he treats them all with proper respect."
Hu Xiu's heart skipped a beat hearing this. Ning Zechen leaned back on the sofa: "We get to meet all kinds of people - students, Internet celebrities, those with obvious plastic surgery, coquettish types, arrogant married women, wealthy second-generation heirs who book private sessions, and even celebrities."
"Recently we had an Arhat Game session where all sixteen participants were men. One gay guy took a liking to me, insisted on dancing with me, and even asked me to buy him earrings at the department store."
"Thankfully Lin Qiumei and I are paired in the performance, otherwise he probably would have wanted to marry me."
"Seriously, just because I work out doesn't mean I'm gay. Desperation really knows no gender boundaries."
This sent Zhao Xiaorou into fits of laughter, but Hu Xiu felt something beginning to weigh on her heart.
Ning Zechen offered Hu Xiu some salad, but she waved it away without much thought. "Aren't you curious about what type of people Diao Zhiyu attracts?"
Seeing Hu Xiu remain silent, he continued on his own: "He's very popular with young girls. Those teenagers and women in their early twenties don't call him Minister Qin - they all call him big brother."
"Married women too - they make eyes at Diao Zhiyu secretly. And then there are those lolita-types, or normally proper but somewhat shy girls like you - they all become completely infatuated with him."
"Is he... very popular?"
"Of course. When you came for the group session, you were probably a first-timer, right? You'll understand when you meet repeat customers."
"Among Snowpiercer's customers, there's this Tycoon Ladies Club - four or five women who often come as a group and have attended dozens of sessions."
"Sometimes they book two sessions in one day, not for any particular reason but just to surround themselves with handsome guys. Probably unhappy with their family lives."
"Once the Tycoon Ladies Club brought ten other wealthy women for a private booking. Both Qin Xiaoyi actors were there, playing Qin Xiao and the American military police respectively. Wow, nobody was doing the tasks - the handsome guys were completely surrounded, covered in hands everywhere, couldn't even walk."
"Those older women reek of cheap perfume that can't cover their decaying odor of aging. We can only comfort ourselves thinking they genuinely like us."
This made Hu Xiu somewhat angry: "Can't you refuse?"
"No way, why would we be upset when we're getting paid?"
"Do you care that much about your salary?"
"Miss, you're not getting it. Making them happy means we can get tips. Remember that QR code for tips?"
"We're actually thrilled when the Tycoon Ladies Club comes. Our daily wage is a few hundred, but if we make them happy, we can get eight hundred to a thousand in tips."
"Isn't this basically a host club?"
"Everyone gets what they want. Performing with you is performing, performing with them is also performing - and we get paid. What's not to like?"
Hu Xiu's heart sank with Ning Zechen's words: "So... it's all just acting?"
"What else would it be? Making customers happy is our job, especially since repeat customers mean more tips."
"Don't be fooled by how Qin Xiaoyi maintains his dignity in the performance - he can make ten thousand yuan a month in tips."
Zhao Xiaorou listened intently: "What about you?""It's pretty much even. After all, the people who like me are all like you—wealthy, with time to spare, and harboring some personal desires. I'm quite the married women's heartthrob."
"Want a drink?" Zhao Xiaorou stood up to get beer from the refrigerator, but after circling around unsatisfied, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey and twisted it open: "Wang Wei, although I've told you not to act in front of me and to be straightforward, don't break Hu Xiu's heart either. If you hurt her, I'll dump you."
"Understood. But we have to make sure she doesn't indulge in unrealistic dreams. We're all veteran NPCs working in Escape Rooms and Live Action Role Playing Games—we've done both Sichuan-Chongqing and Beijing styles, played ghosts and monsters, and by the time we got to Snowpiercer, we'd already become numb to players.
Live Action Role Playing Games emphasize setting and plot, while Immersive Theaters focus on interaction and experience. We have our own workplace rules too.
We know how to play along in each scene—how to tease different types of girls, how to tempt them, we each have our own methods;
We never take players too seriously either. Everyone comes a few times for the novelty, but once the excitement fades, they stop coming.
We're all clear about this, so we don't develop real feelings for anyone. Just like if you ever find me in your way, I can exit stage left."
Growing increasingly restless on the sofa, Hu Xiu stood up and sat cross-legged on the floor, folding gift boxes and wrapping paper.
Perhaps unable to easily process tonight's revelations, the Qin Xiaoyi in her heart—who she thought was genuine and had some special feeling for her—had tonight transformed into a shallow boy flitting among the flowers.
Qin Xiaoyi and Diao Zhiyu were like two sides of a cassette tape—flip to different sides in the walkman and you'd hear different content. The magnetic layer could be recorded over with new material, making it hard to distinguish which side was the original.
Disappointment and worry rose from the depths of her heart. Beyond the sadness, she felt a faint concern—was it good for such young boys to embrace this superficial world and devote themselves to being hypocritical actors, when it came to being human?
He'd said Rong City was a melting pot, and so was society. She, Hu Xiu, hadn't always been a good person herself throughout her life.
"Hu Xiu, don't be sad. We all like you too, remember that mixed-race looking Qin Xiaoyi?
He only saw you once, but after he quit he asked me about you, said he thought you were really smart.
So don't fixate only on Diao Zhiyu—there are plenty of actors on Snowpiercer.
And from what I know, Diao Zhiyu does have one particular trait. He's nice to everyone in the game—he'll engage in deceit with those after money, can't help but care for the pitiful ones, counter-teases those who like to tease him, and doesn't mind those who take by force either. He won't even pull away if you hold his hand or wrap your arm around his.
But there's one type that has him completely wrapped around their finger—those who come back for him again and again, offering their sincere hearts, only romancing him in the game, with eyes for no one else—he's particularly susceptible to that.
In that case, you, Hu Xiu, are exactly that type. Yes. Whenever he sees you after work, he lights up, even stops drinking to cross the street and find you."
"I... don't know whether to believe that or not."
"I, Ning Zechen, never lie outside of Snowpiercer."
After these words, the three fell quiet. The TV was playing the 2018 hit historical drama, where the palace maid who framed the female lead was kneeling in apology, crying pitifully.
Ning Zechen ate his cake and remarked, "That girl was my classmate. She was selected as an outstanding graduate to become an actress back then. Now she gets speaking roles.""Just playing a palace maid?"
"Of course. Getting lines is already quite good—it's not easy to gain seniority in the crew to have your own script.
For acting departments at institutions like Central Academy of Drama and Shanghai Theatre Academy, the entry threshold isn't exactly low. For performance majors from ordinary schools like us, being extras is common.
Having seen many handsome men and beautiful women in our small circles, we generally know who might become famous. When average-looking people suddenly gain fame, it's usually because they have backing."
Hu Xiu watched the slender female lead on TV: "What does it take to become a star or lead actor?"
"Great fame depends on fate. How good-looking you are or how hard you work doesn't matter as much as timing and destiny—it's all about luck."
Zhao Xiaorou took a drag of her cigarette: "I believe that when an actor has that special spark, I feel they'll make it. Being able to embody any role and having audience appeal is what matters most.
Recently, young actors in the entertainment industry all look like little old ladies—with deep nasolabial folds at just over twenty, they could play someone's mother by thirty.
It's not that I have a TVB bias, but Hong Kong actors really do have distinctive features beyond just being good-looking.
When I browse gossip forums, every time I see those unpopular yet troublesome people, I know there's always a reason why they never make it."
"I suspect you're subtly referring to me."
While fetching ice from the kitchen, Hu Xiu followed and asked in a lowered voice: "What exactly is your relationship? Boyfriend-girlfriend, or just physical needs?"
"We're dating. Don't make it sound so vulgar—I've told you before I like this type."
"What if he's just acting? You could get hurt."
"My ex-husband was an actor, what's there to fear? His profession requires discretion anyway, which works since I don't want to go public. Before we started dating, I made one thing clear: no acting with me, complete honesty and transparency. It's been quite enjoyable this past week, especially physically."
"Then... can Li Ai know about this?"
Zhao Xiaorou's ice scoop paused for a second: "No reason not to tell."
They returned to the living room in silence. Ning Zechen, bored, was flipping through channels with the remote—from news to home shopping—where he pointed at the model on screen and said with a lecherous grin, "Wow, fishnet stockings! Such sexy legs."
Zhao Xiaorou took a sip of milk tea with her eyes closed: "That's how we tie up cured meat for Chinese New Year too."
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