Zhao Xiaorou twisted her ankle on the last step, the shoe bending at an angle that looked excruciatingly painful.
She didn’t stop, striding up to Li Ai with an imposing air, only for her shoelace to come undone again—the final steps were shuffled in loose shoes.
From Hu Xiu’s angle, she saw Zhao Xiaorou’s back and Li Ai’s face. In that moment, she felt certain that whatever emotion had flickered across Li Ai’s expression, Zhao Xiaorou had seen it too.
Two dramas unfolded before the grand ballroom on the first floor: Intelligence Division Chief Han Yiqiu was passionately confessing his love to movie star Shen Ling, while not far away, beyond the wall of spectators, another small crowd had gathered around two players from the police station. The girl was beautiful and pure, her Mary Jane shoe buckle undone, ankle bone flushed red, staring fixedly at the man before her. The man in the same police uniform watched her calmly, his composure gradually crumbling.
"Do you love me…"
"I love you. I knew it the first time I saw you in the café. Even though your heart belonged to someone else, and I wasn’t free either, I could wait. Life would surely grant me a greedy opportunity.
The day I got divorced, even injured, I was secretly ecstatic—finally, I could offer you a new love. But you didn’t take it."
Seeing Li Ai remain silent, she took another step closer. "If you lack the courage, or have no love to give me, say it. I can accept it. I’ll leave Shanghai and start over. This love—I’ll bury it and destroy it."
Li Ai only watched her.
Not far away, Shen Ling was still in character: "It’s Du Mingquan I like, Han Yiqiu. Give up. Stop pestering me."
Spectators quietly gathered around Li Ai and Zhao Xiaorou. One player remarked, "This man is so indecisive. How can he make a girl cry?"
Another complained, "Look at her—she’s so domineering, even her tears feel like a forced checkmate. If it were me, I’d stay far away."
Amid the Republican-era interlude of players’ theatrics, the audience grew increasingly curious about how this would end, lamenting that phones weren’t allowed in the venue.
It felt somewhat like being forced onto Mount Liang.
Diao Zhiyu approached Hu Xiu and gently bumped into her. Hu Xiu understood the cue: Shen Ling was about to die, Du Mingquan would rush over from this direction, and Zhao Xiaorou and Li Ai’s conversation would be interrupted.
But this dialogue was too important. Surrounded like this, nothing could be clarified properly. Once they left this door, they might not even remain friends.
Hu Xiu had always thought of Li Ai as a gentle older brother, but now it seemed that a man often silent harbored turbulent emotions within—a painful reality.
Before, entangled in legal troubles, he couldn’t express himself. Now, wanting to speak, perhaps his skills had rusted, and hurting others wasn’t his intention, so he chose to say nothing.
Thus, he successfully drove Zhao Xiaorou mad.
Of course, Hu Xiu hoped Li Ai would lay his cards on the table. The man who drank wine and played the guitar like a shamisen knew that Zhao Xiaorou hovering nearby lately was her surrender.
Li Ai didn’t speak. Instead, he crouched down, fastened Zhao Xiaorou’s shoe buckle, and slowly stood before her. "Luring me into this play to force my hand—you’re full of tricks."
"I had no other choice."
Tenderness leaked from his eyes without conscious permission. "You’re truly a headache. You have a hundred ways to corner me, then turn and walk away. Zhao Xiaorou, I’m a man."
"You liked Xu Meng before."
"And you…" Li Ai didn’t finish.The audience was bewildered, scattering sparsely to watch the play. Li Ai finally said, "A fake marriage in the play is meaningless. Once we step outside the play, we can't even communicate normally. After all this testing, we've never succeeded once."
Zhao Xiaorou had nothing to say.
He took a deep breath: "Be my girlfriend. Let's forget all the past baggage and give it one last try. If it still doesn't work out, we'll just be friends."
Zhao Xiaorou stood there dumbfounded, as if she didn't understand what he meant. Du Mingquan charged over aggressively with the Mafia players, the crowd was pushed aside, and when she refocused, Zhao Xiaorou was in Li Ai's arms, her shoes fallen off.
Li Ai wanted to pick them up, but Zhao Xiaorou, barefoot and stepping unevenly on the ground, refused to let go no matter what.
Exercising her girlfriend rights for the first time, she greedily cried loudly in Li Ai's arms, as if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
The Immersive Theater was truly a magical place. Hu Xiu was shocked by Zhao Xiaorou's recitative-like parallel sentences. She rarely spoke seriously, having used all her sweet words for Lee Donghae during her girlhood, just like her own heartfelt confession last time.
It could only be said that the special environment gave people special inspiration, which was utterly marvelous. As for the timing, it wasn't about the right person or the right moment—ex-wife, Wang Guangming, Wang Wei, Xu Meng, Gong Huaicong, Ma Liang...
These people were like interludes interspersed among them, and their real issue might be—they had never honestly faced their own hearts.
Neither was without a past, repeatedly angering each other yet unable to let go—this was the hardest-to-understand crux of love.
And also its charm.
The game ended, Zhao Xiaorou was clattering her shoes on the ground: "Did I hear that right?""
Li Ai looked at her ankles, bent down and said, "Get on my back. Let's set three rules: first, don't wear shoes with straps anymore."
"What about the other two rules?"
"Haven't thought of them yet..."
Hu Xiu quietly slipped away, changed clothes, and went to check the popularity stickers. Dai Li and Du Mingquan's stickers had already surpassed Diao Zhiyu's. Many players in this session had come because of the hot search and were still greeting Hu Xiu.
More than feeling uncomfortable, she felt a faint sense of loss. The fact that an idol was experiencing a scandal and losing fans was happening to her.
It wasn't like it hadn't happened before as a fan—when Lee Sungmin got married in Super Junior, fans still told him to leave the group. In the Immersive Theater, many people genuinely treated it as dating.
Diao Zhiyu went out, and there were still players taking photos with him. He agreed to each one, striking gentle poses, then clasped his hands together in thanks.
A new player asked if they could add him on WeChat. Diao Zhiyu gently waved his hand: "Sorry, I have a girlfriend."
The player laughed: "What are you thinking? I have a husband too. I just thought you acted well and wanted to be friends."
He still refused gently, taking out his phone with an apologetic look: "It's dead, really sorry."
He walked to Hu Xiu's side, not even glancing at the popularity stickers, and asked: "How are those two doing?"
"Together..."
"Really?"
"Li Ai said to give it a try, otherwise neither of them could get past this testing phase."
Diao Zhiyu looked at Li Ai and Zhao Xiaorou who were still getting used to physical contact not far away: "I'm a bit annoyed."
"Why?"
"The audience is indeed cruel; they need novelty to be stimulated. My sincere confession to Shen Ling actually lost to Zhao Xiaorou and Li Ai's anguished love story."Diao Zhiyu curled his lips: "Look at how thrilled that couple is!"
Zhao Xiaorou obediently returned home, waving goodbye to Li Ai without even a kiss, as innocent as a high school girl.
She hadn't quite adapted to the rhythm of romance yet. She initially thought dating Li Ai would be like with other men—acting, being spoiled, manipulating—figuring even if it ended in breakup, the loss wouldn't be significant.
But having finally reached this stage with Li Ai, she unexpectedly lay awake all night, recalling the reasons behind every failed relationship.
Wang Guangming cheated, and she refused to tolerate it, playing the victim on Weibo; Wang Wei was dumped because she found him brainless with too many wealthy women in his contacts; Gong Huaicong was pursued for his status and popularity, only to become a fleeting presence in his life.
With Ma Liang, she tried keeping it real and being herself.
Yet if not for craving male admiration, she wouldn't have become a stepping stone.
Whether acting or not acting, she failed either way—she didn't even know how to be herself anymore. Love was casually discarded like food in a convenience store microwave, a puddle reflection after rain, an empty bottle left on a roadside bar, lost in the eyes of one man after another.
Now, wanting to seriously commit to a relationship, she found herself too nervous to sleep.
At 3 a.m., she couldn't resist sending a message: "I miss you a little."
The unspoken words in her heart far exceeded those five. Li Ai replied instantly: "I'm working on designs, I'll come find you after finishing."
Zhao Xiaorou responded with a refusal. Li Ai called back, his voice tense: "Are you having second thoughts again?"
"If you come to my place, it'll be just like other relationships—but with you, I want to cherish this properly.
This home holds too many bad memories for you, and almost for me too. I'll look for a new place tomorrow."
"Don't bother house hunting, I have other plans for that. Would you... like to go on a date with me?"
If not for the date, Zhao Xiaorou wouldn't have discovered how cliché Li Ai's approach to romance was. He actually took her... coffee bean tasting.
At a suburban coffee plantation, Zhao Xiaorou accompanied Li Ai examining various washed beans—from red and green fresh beans to sun-drying methods, then fresh roasting on-site before hauling back a whole case. Li Ai's satisfaction peaked as he enthusiastically explained how Yunnan's surprising roast of small beans could completely replace so-called premium foreign coffee beans.
After drinking cup after cup of coffee, Zhao Xiaorou felt palpitations and actually fell asleep on the return trip. Li Ai placed his hand on her forehead: "Do you have a fever? Or are you unwell?"
Zhao Xiaorou thought to herself—it's all because I stayed up all night too nervous to sleep. This revived-wood-in-spring feeling left her utterly clueless about how to date properly.
After storing the beans back at REGARD, Zhao Xiaorou was so drowsy she could barely keep her eyes open. Leaning against the beanbag sofa in the storeroom, she woke up to find herself in Li Ai's home.
The walk from the shop upstairs took five minutes, through a narrow revolving door barely fitting one person and creaky stairs—yet she hadn't noticed any of it? Li Ai laughed: "I just realized you're a really heavy sleeper."
"Am I heavy?"
"Not at all. With your small hands and slender frame, I could carry three of you. Want something to eat? I'll go downstairs to cook noodles."Zhao Xiaorou held onto his arm. This man's sturdy arm felt different from when they first met—back then he had appeared more dejected, with the weariness of a fifty-year-old lurking in his thirty-something body. Though gentle, his eyes had lacked vitality; now, exhaustion was ever-present in his gaze, yet he seemed incredibly alive. Gripping his arm as they reviewed design drafts on the computer, Li Ai had produced numerous house blueprints over two to three months, predominantly in Italian and Japanese styles, all while talking incessantly.
If assisting Zhao Xiaorou with clients was work—a struggle in a sea of bitterness—then coffee and design were his sanctuary.
The second rule of their three-part agreement was to never bring up the past. Yet Zhao Xiaorou couldn't resist whispering, "Why were you so resistant about the 600,000 lent to REGARD before..."
"I don't want that money, nor do I want it granting you power over me. Equality matters deeply to me."
Zhao Xiaorou's heart raced. But Li Ai didn't get angry—he just set the computer on the floor. In the ten-square-meter space where retractable areas were scarce, he bent down and straightened up, his face now inches from hers.
The move was dangerously intimate. A man and woman alone in a room—nine times out of ten, sparks would fly.
Instead, Li Ai bent over, pulled out a ceramic knife, and meticulously peeled an orange. With Zhao Xiaorou's chin resting on his shoulder, he warned, "Keep this up and I'll have to attack you."
The third rule, proposed by Zhao Xiaorou, was to avoid excessive physical contact until they were fully prepared, ensuring their love remained pure.
Summoning courage, Zhao Xiaorou murmured, "Maybe... you could kiss me? I promise not to cross the line."
Li Ai turned, "Can I trust that?"
He leaned in, his face drawing closer as her heartbeat quickened. It's back—her love had returned.
She'd thought love would only emerge during some thrilling adventure with Li Ai, even considering whether to take him to an amusement park.
As he neared, his hand cupped her chin, and he suddenly rubbed his stubble against her cheek, his other arm firmly encircling her waist, leaving no room for escape.
So ticklish!
Both flushed crimson from the teasing. "I really need to cook noodles now," Li Ai said, "I'm starving."
Zhao Xiaorou wondered if he'd pulled away because too much time had passed—inexperience making him fear revealing awkwardness.
Checking her flushed face in the mirror, she lay on the bed, reminiscing: the scent of sun-drenched summer beans, the citrus fragrance lingering on fingertips, the cotton sheets preserving warmth and scent, the roughness of stubble against skin... These tingling sensations from nerve endings were love.
Having finally made a good start, she was determined to hold onto it this time.
After trending online, Diao Zhiyu seemed to receive endless offers. More agencies approached him—for film, theater, celebrity gigs, even commercials.
He often showed up at Hu Xiu's place late at night. She'd be dizzy from studying, only to join him for midnight snacks, waking up puffy-faced like a bloated fish the next day.
Diao Zhiyu refused idol dramas and agency contracts, focusing solely on theater acting. He spent days studying eccentric Roles, and to maintain balance, worked as an advertising model on free weekdays.
During her commute, Hu Xiu transferred at Jing'an Temple station and froze at the sight of a lightbox ad: Diao Zhiyu in a white T-shirt holding a tennis racket, glowing under the lights—radiantly handsome.The feeling of seeing your significant other appear in advertisements is truly peculiar.
When I showed Diao Zhiyu the photo of the lightbox at night, he scoffed disdainfully: "The unreleased ones were much more handsome than this. They chose this one because the client thought it resembled her son."
"Client daddy..." Hu Xiu laughed: "Their reasons for selecting things are always so bizarre. When I wrote the Mattel advertisement before, it was the same - they kept rejecting my drafts, saying I lacked resonance because I don't have children."These are still acceptable, just blows to the self-esteem." What we often encounter are many temptations, with the price being selling ourselves out.
Remember when I told you about being replaced in that TV drama? It was because they invited me to ktv, where the famous director was leading everyone in doing drugs. No one could leave the scene, but I walked out.
There was also this male agent who wanted to sleep with me once - he touched my hand in a bar and said just one time would get me into an amazing film crew... This industry is full of temptations."
"Oh my..." Hu Xiu gently stroked Diao Zhiyu's hair: "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"This is men's business. I used to think I shouldn't make you bear such things with me. Your perception of artists was so beautiful - I didn't want to shatter it.
Now I've realized that maybe if you understand me better, you won't be so quick to push me away."
"I'll support you if money gets tight. Since I stopped going to Shanghai Bund, my income has become much more stable."
"But I won't get to see you on weekends, and during weekdays when work gets busy, I hardly have time to check my phone - I just collapse into bed exhausted.
We only get two nights a week to meet... would you consider moving in together?"
"Ah?"
"I've said my piece. Think about it." Diao Zhiyu's face flushed slightly: "I'm swapping Roles with Du Mingquan next week. On Saturday, I'll be playing Du Mingquan."
Hu Xiu gasped: "Really?!"
"Why would I lie? See how excited you are - I guess you've lost interest in Han Yiqiu too. Any translation work scheduled?"
"Nothing arranged yet, but of course I'll go if you're playing Du Mingquan."
"Just as I thought. The only reason you wouldn't go is if Han Yiqiu wasn't charming enough. I've finally figured it out - Qin Xiaoyi will always be your favorite, everyone else is just replaceable substitutes."
How could that be? Though Han Yiqiu's acting has improved rapidly, even in Live Action Role Playing Games there's that unattainable object of admiration. Qin Xiaoyi is that unattainable object of admiration - of course he's irreplaceable.
Hu Xiu playfully poked his chest in mock annoyance, only to have him grab her hand and pull her down. Hu Xiu thought to herself, thankfully he didn't see the message she sent Zhao Xiaorou. With Du Mingquan next week, she definitely couldn't pass up the chance to tease him.
"Zhao Xiaorou, can I borrow your color printer? I need to print something."
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