Yu Guang Immersive Theater.
"Li Yin, take a break and have lunch," Yifan said, pulling out a few tissues to hand over, but then reconsidered—Li Yin couldn't possibly sweat—and put them back.
"How much is lunch?"
"It's free; it's part of the employee benefits."
"That's awesome!" Li Yin gleefully found a seat, then nervously asked, "So, did we sell any tickets?"
"Two. One to my good friend Xie Jialin, and the other to a new customer who just added me on WeChat. I scheduled both of them for the evening show since the atmosphere will be better then."
"Two tickets, that's 536 $after the discount." Li Yin clasped her hands, swallowed hard, and said, "Yifan! Forget lunch; let's practice a few more times!"
"Relax, relax. We've been practicing all morning. It's definitely fine."
Li Yin got up and began pacing, muttering her lines under her breath.
This performance demanded a lot from the actors. Li Yin not only had to play a ghost to scare people but also had to act as a guide at the beginning, leading everyone into the venue.
"Welcome, everyone, to the wedding in our town. Please put on your wedding bow tie. If you encounter any emergency, untie the bow tie and wave it in the air, and I will lead you out. Oh, by the way, this wedding is a bit special. It's being held in my father's old mansion. The mansion is quite old and might experience some lighting issues, but don't worry, I'll be here to help you throughout."
Li Yin bit her lip, memorizing the lines, then suddenly looked up and said, "I feel like I'm still not fully immersed in the emotions for the ending part."
"You're already doing great."
"Really…" Li Yin crouched down, frowning slightly. "What does it truly mean for two people to genuinely love each other…"
Seeing her so serious, Yifan felt a warmth in his heart. He set down his takeaway, squatted beside her, and said:
"Have you heard this poem? 'Until mountains crumble and rivers dry, thunder roars in winter and snow falls in summer, heaven and earth unite, only then will I part from you.'"
"I've heard it."
"I think true love means even if all of that happened, the two would still stay together."
"That's hard to imagine. Can such love really exist?"
"I don't know. I haven't experienced it."
The boy and girl sat on the ground, letting time pass quietly, the scent of violets filling the room.
Li Yin hugged her knees and asked, "Yifan, when we have time, can you take me out on a date?"
"Sure, I can." Yifan pursed his lips, then released them. "You want to get a feel for what it's like to date, right? I get it; I'll help you."
"But…" Yifan added, "If we go out, it shouldn't be called a date. It should be called a tryst."
Li Yin was curious. "Why?"
"Because it's a date with a ghost—a tryst."
"So cute!"
"Right?" Yifan scratched his head, pleased that the pun he'd thought of all morning worked so well.
The atmosphere at this moment was oddly warm—fragrant, cool, and just a little soporific.
As for the two spectators coming tonight, Yifan wasn't nervous at all.
For someone as thrifty as him, earning money no longer seemed like the most important thing.
Rather than making money, helping Li Yin find a sense of achievement in acting mattered more to Yifan.
Money's greatest use was buying jade, and jade made Li Yin happy.
Yifan said, "I wonder what will happen after we gather ten pieces of jade. Maybe we should go to a jade mine, absorb as much as we can, and then run away. Anyway, you can fly, so they won't catch us."
Li Yin shook her head. "That would be rude."
"Hey, when you absorbed my jade Buddha, why didn't you think that was rude?"
"…" Li Yin tilted her head. "At the time, I didn't know my actions would turn the jade into stone."
That's…a good point. I have no argument.
Yifan mused, "If your ability to absorb energy is unlimited, would you someday absorb all the jade on Earth?"
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Li Yin shook her head quickly. "I wouldn't absorb that much."
"Of course not. I was just thinking, wouldn't it be nice if there were a sustainable energy source? For example, if you set up a chamber at home with various objects, and just sleeping in it every day automatically improved your powers. Wouldn't that be better than buying jade?"
"That's a great idea!" Li Yin admired the thought.
"Then next time we have a tryst, I'll take you to browse the antique market and see if we can find something like that."
"Alright!" Li Yin turned to Yifan, her eyes sparkling with joy.
Yifan avoided her gaze, stretching to ease his awkwardness.
He noticed that ever since Li Yin met his mom, there'd been a subtle shift in her demeanor as a ghost.
Pretending to be a couple, calling him "husband," suggesting a date—these were all things she'd brought up after meeting his mom.
It felt like…he'd missed something important in the middle.
When he had the chance to visit his parents, he'd have to ask indirectly.
"Let's eat. No stress. Life is half bitter and half sweet. Happiness is eating good food."
"Got it!" Li Yin said, then added after a moment, "Yifan! Let's go!"
"…"
Yifan was increasingly reluctant to meet Li Yin's gaze as he unpacked the takeaway.
Today's meal was stir-fry: shredded pork with garlic sauce, stir-fried pork, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. It cost 43 $, leaving a balance of 1960.
While eating, Yifan said, "By the way, this afternoon the bed delivery guy will come to the house. I've coordinated with the landlord. When we get back tonight, you'll have a bed to sleep on."
Li Yin swallowed a bite, set down her chopsticks, and wiped her mouth before smiling. "Thank you, Yifan."
Noticing Li Yin didn't like talking while eating, Yifan nodded and fell silent. After they finished eating and cleaned up, Yifan asked,
"Li Yin, this is a world twenty years ahead of your time. Are you adjusting well?"
"At first, it was hard, but you helped me figure out how to get home and even found me a job. It's much better now."
"Also…" Li Yin added, "For some reason, I feel like people in this world are kinder than those in my time."
"That's definitely an illusion." Yifan declared. "This era is full of scams and bad people. Even boys need to learn to protect themselves."
Li Yin looked Yifan up and down and tilted her head. "Yifan, you're so small. Can you protect yourself?"
"?"
Yifan didn't understand and argued, "I'm a solid six-foot guy who used to be on the school basketball team, strong in physical confrontations. How am I small?"
"Oh, sorry. You're very tall, very tall. It's just that for some reason, I always see you as small. That's my issue."
Li Yin bowed her head in apology, then straightened up with a serious expression. "Don't worry, Yifan! If you ever face danger, I'll definitely protect you!"
Hearing this didn't make Yifan happy at all; instead, he felt inexplicably annoyed.
Objectively speaking, Li Yin's combat ability was undoubtedly stronger than his. Her words weren't wrong.
But they still felt irritating.
"Wait!" Yifan found the key point. "Li Yin, your combat ability is only superior because you know magic. Let's arm wrestle and see who's small!"
Li Yin said nothing, floated to the counter, propped up her right arm, and said, "Let's go."