Capítulo 21: First World: Secret Performance

Street theater de Qi was officially open, entertaining multitudes far and wide and when l say far and wide, l mean within the confines of the town.

Everyday, Wen Qinxi would drop off Qie Ranzhe's food and run off to showcase his talent. The main acts included the classics like little red riding hood, a weird version of Romeo and Juliet and mulan among many.

Surprisingly the audience seemed generous as long as the story was funny or had some face slapping drama in it. The cast was short handed but Wen Qinxi made it work with his brother and a handful of servants.

The female lead roles apparently ended up on his lap because Lee Jienjie's father wouldn't let her. It was also a weird historical setting in the game not allowing women to be performers though Wen Qinxi had a strong suspicion that Jolie had something to do with it.

Wen Qinxi as usual got ready in the tent that Master Lin kindly provided. Though he didn't agree with Lin Jingxie and Lin Mingxu performing for an audience, he had already asked them to make money and couldn't go back on his word. When they told him how they planned on making money, he deliberately reduced the total cost before showing him so his son didn't have to do this for long.

"Jin-ge, today's character is more romantic than usual we have to put a lot of makeup to make you look more feminine," said Lee Jienjie who had appointed herself as the makeup artist with itchy hands, slapping on too much turning him to a ghost.

Today's play was adopted from Mulan with one of the servants acting as the General. Wen Qinxi was extremely thrilled to play this character, one of the greatest women in history. "No, l told you less is more, didn't l? l don't want to look like a drag queen,' he reprimanded an enthusiastic Lee Jienjie.

"No l was wrong, drag queens actually look gorgeous, you just want to turn me into the ghost from The Grudge," said Wen Qinxi grabbing the rogue powder from her hands.

"What are drag queens?" asked Lee Jienjie completely missing the point.

"They are beautiful queens that's what they are," he said putting on makeup on himself. He had once designed a dress up game for high schoolers when he was in undergrad and learnt a few makeup tips from college girls to improve the gaming experience. Though unprofessional it was still better than what Lee Jienjie planned to do to his face.

With a beautiful dress on, Wen Qinxi went on stage to perform what he called a masterpiece.

***

All the way across town within the bounds of the forest, Qie Ranzhe had just completed his training for the day. The boy had been working extra hard as he planned on joining the newly established branch of the Platinum guild that had ties with the emperor. The guild was prestigious and paid well which meant he could take care of the boys and improve his status.

For some reason, he felt the desire to be in the same plane as Lin Jingxie. Maybe it was because he didn't want Lin Jingxie to look down on him or be worthy to be his friend? Whatever the reason, Qie Ranzhe worked his butt off practicing a lot more as though training for the Olympics.

He arrived in the camp but the atmosphere seemed off, actually it had felt off to him for four days now. The boys seemed busy with something that is everyone apart from Machu and Xie Ruen.

Whenever he came back mid-afternoon, the camp would be completely empty and when they did come back, they would be chatting silently in groups as though discussing a secret. The one time he tried sitting next to them, they stopped whispering and began talking loudly changing whatever subject they were discussing.

He brushed it off and never asked, the boys deserved to have their own secrets unless it involved something that could bring them harm. If they didn't tell him about it, it meant it wasn't an emergency so Qie Ranzhe didn't probe any further. After bathing in the river near the camp, he came back to a now completely deserted camp, even Xie Ruen had disappeared.

Though he wasn't a busybody, curiosity finally got the best of him, prompting him to ask the only person left in camp. "Where is everyone?" asked Qie Ranzhe putting on a clean set of clothes.

Machu who had just walked in, paused in his tracks with a bowl of warmed up beef chow mein delivered by Lin Jingxie. Though busy Wen Qinxi still found time to deliver food to Qie Ranzhe otherwise they might end up having another friendly tussle which Wen Qi wasn't looking forward to.

Machu seemed hesitant to tell the truth and so half-assed it like a pro. "They went to watch some boring play. Ahem...here eat while its hot," he said with shifty eyes sitting next to him.

"Oh," replied Qie Ranzhe while stirring the noodles getting ready to eat. He had to admit after a long day of training the only thing he looked forward to was Lin Jingxie's cooking. For him it felt as heartwarming as what a home cooked meal should feel like.

Whenever his thoughts strayed in this direction, he always felt like kidnapping Lin Jingxie and make him cook only for him. It was a terrible thought but somehow he couldn't get rid of it as it intensified with each meal.

"By the way, have you noticed Lin Jingxie has been acting weird these days?" he asked making Machu choke on a steamed bun he was munching on.

He violently coughed only calming down after drinking bucket loads of water. "Eat your food slowly next time," said Qie Ranzhe patting his back while handing him another cup of water.

"Not really, his just happier l guess, *cough, *cough, thats probably it," replied a barely recovered Machu hoping Qie Ranzhe would stop questioning him.

Qie Ranzhe stopped patting him while looking like he had just been struck by lightning. Teenage boys had a few things that made them this happy and the most probable cause was girls. "Fuck! Did he get a girlfriend?" asked Qie Ranzhe with his heart beating so fast as fast as a car on a race track.

Machu paused his actions pondering on whether to say yes or no but judging on Qie Ranzhe's exaggerated reaction, he decided to tell the truth. "No, he's the performer in the play the boys have been going to. He said that it was for an important project so his been performing and people donate money," explained Machu crossing his fingers that they would move on and talk about something else.

Qie Ranzhe frowned glaring at Manchu, he could tell the guy was withholding information which made him feel anxious. "Spill it before l make you," he said in calm but incredibly terrifying voice.

"He, um.....he's been.....how can l say this. He's acting as the female lead in all the plays. Dress and everything," said a nervous Machu. He had heard that Lin Jingxie looked so good in a dress and makeup on but he hadn't actually seen it for himself. Xie Ruen hadn't gone too because he was still afraid of Lin Jingxie, he only went today because the others literally dragged him there.

"What the fuck did you say," asked Qie Ranzhe with all the blood drained from his face. He didn't wait for Machu to reply storming out of the room in large strides heading for the town square.

Machu ran after him yelling, "Ran-ge please calm down. Its not a big deal," secretly lighting a candle for Lin Jingxie. His useless speech fell on deaf ears as Qie Ranzhe was too overwhelmed by whatever emotion that was controlling him.