"Dad, Xixi wants to hear a story."
That night, Yang Yi, keeping in mind Mo Fei's instructions, tried to coax the little one to sleep around nine o'clock. But perhaps because she was with her dad, Xixi had been excited all day. Now, wearing her little nightgown, she was barefoot, bouncing around on her father's big bed.
"Alright then, Dad will tell you a new fairy tale." Yang Yi sat by the bed, smiling. "But Xixi has to lie down and be good, okay?"
"Mm! Xixi will be good!" Xixi nodded happily, quickly slipped into the covers, and hugged the little bear plushie she'd brought from home, looking at her dad expectantly.
Yang Yi gathered his thoughts and began: "A long, long time ago, there was a beautiful princess with skin as white as snow. Everyone called her Snow White..."
That's right, Yang Yi was telling the story of Snow White. But this story wasn't as easy to tell as *Frozen*, because in his past life, he'd never actually read it—his childhood was filled with killing, not fairy tales.
So he had to improvise based on the general plot he remembered from bits and pieces he'd picked up here and there.
It seemed to work well enough. Xixi was completely absorbed, as if she were merging into the character herself.
When the little girl heard that Snow White's mother had died, a hint of sadness appeared in her small eyes.
And when she learned that Snow White's stepmother didn't like her, she grew anxious and tense.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" Yang Yi pretended to be the queen, gesturing forward as if a mirror stood before him. "Because Snow White had grown up, her skin like snow, beautiful as a holy angel, the mirror answered: 'My queen, you are the fairest here, but Snow White is a thousand times fairer than you!'"
Xixi hadn't realized the problem yet! Her big eyes sparkled with joy, proud of Snow White's beauty.
"The queen was shocked. Her face twisted with jealousy. She couldn't stand anyone being more beautiful than her!" Yang Yi said softly. "So the queen ordered a soldier to take Snow White deep into the forest and kill her!"
In the original story, it should have been a huntsman, but how would Yang Yi know those details? He casually threw in "soldier."
"No, Xixi doesn't want Snow White to die." The little girl grabbed her dad's hand, panicked.
"Silly girl, how could Snow White die?" Yang Yi comforted his daughter, smiling. "Snow White is so cute and beautiful. The soldier couldn't bear to do it, so he let her go, killed a pig instead, brought back its heart, and told the queen that Snow White was dead."
Xixi finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all that tension, the little one was feeling a bit worn out!
The story went on, slowly, slowly. By the time Yang Yi reached the part where the prince on a white horse woke the poisoned Snow White from her death-like sleep, Xixi's long-held tension eased. She finally gave in to sleep, closed her eyes, and dozed off.
Yang Yi watched his daughter for a long moment, then smiled gently, tucked the covers around Xixi, and quietly slipped out.
---
Outside, Guo Ziyi was sighing deeply on the balcony. The weather was gloomy today, with no moon in sight. The pitch-black sky made it feel even more oppressive and sleepless.
Yang Yi walked over, sat down beside Guo Ziyi, and pondered what to say.
The chubby guy spoke first: "Brother Yang, I want to drink."
Yang Yi looked at the somewhat dejected young man, nodded silently, went back to the kitchen, whipped up a big plate of sweet-and-sour peanuts, and pulled a case of beer from the fridge.
He hadn't planned on drinking the beer he'd bought. He wasn't much of a drinker, and if he did want a drink, it would be wine. These beers were only used as ingredients for cooking—dishes like beer-braised duck or beer-marinated eggs were delicious.
He never expected they'd come in handy now.
"Come on, I'll drink with you!" Yang Yi opened two cans, handed one over, and clinked it with the chubby guy's, smiling. "Come on, man, what hurdle can't you get over?"
In this world, it seemed underage drinking wasn't allowed? But the laws weren't as strict as in his past life abroad, and here at Yang Yi's place, there were even fewer taboos.
"Thanks, Brother Yang," the chubby guy said gloomily. He'd been utterly miserable today, even turning unusually quiet.
After taking a big gulp, he finally opened up: "Brother Yang, I've really made a fool of myself this time. Before I came, I told my teacher and classmates that if I didn't pass the art exam, I wouldn't go back..."
Back then, Guo Ziyi had been so confident and spirited.
A prodigy like him—without much effort, he still topped the school rankings.
A prodigy like him—active among older peers despite being two or three years younger, still drawing plenty of attention, even wowing the crowd with a guitar performance at the New Year's party, stirring many a young heart.
A prodigy like him—once he decided to apply for the acting department at Jiangchuan University, he ignored his teacher's objections and threw himself into acting classes. Though he started late, six months of effort made other students in the tutoring class feel inferior.
He thought he was invincible, so he bragged boldly. But now, reality had dealt him a heavy blow.
After two cans of beer and a lot of talking, Guo Ziyi finally let out some of his pent-up frustration. But Yang Yi didn't offer comfort—he just listened, just drank along.
"Brother Yang, I want to sing that song of yours, *The You of Once*," the chubby guy said.
Yang Yi nodded. He'd taught Guo Ziyi that song the other night, but Guo Ziyi hadn't planned to use it for the exam. The guy had some pride—he wanted to win over the examiners with his own ability. Of course, the result was pretty rough...
"Once dreamed of wielding a sword and roaming the world, to see the splendor of the earth..." Guo Ziyi picked up the guitar, strummed the strings, and began to sing.
Yang Yi couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Whether it was the alcohol or the setback, the chubby guy's singing today carried a hint of world-weariness—surprisingly good!
"...dilililidada..." The kid even started howling like a banshee toward the end.
Yang Yi cut him off, annoyed: "Alright, alright, stop singing. You're going to wake Xixi up!"
The chubby guy chuckled, put down the guitar, took another big swig of beer, and softly hummed the last few lines: "Let's drink this cup of wine / A good man's heart is as vast as the sea / Having tasted the warmth and cold of the world / This smile is warm and pure..."
They drank in silence, drowning their sorrows.
It wasn't until the chubby guy was a bit tipsy that Yang Yi slowly spoke: "Still want to be an actor?"
The chubby guy nodded without hesitation: "Yes!"
"Then why care about others' opinions?" Yang Yi said flatly. "Why dwell on one failure?"
"It's not dwelling on it. I just feel like I can't face anyone back home," the chubby guy said gloomily.
"Then take that shame, come back swinging, and prove them wrong with your results! Make them regret their ignorance!" Yang Yi said.
In his past life, hadn't he faced plenty of people who looked down on him? Especially those white and black guys who always called him a yellow monkey. But in the end, those who survived the training camp didn't escape his pursuit.
Guo Ziyi's mouth fell open as he stared at Yang Yi, stunned.
"Don't tell me one setback has knocked you down for good," Yang Yi said with a dismissive chuckle. "Don't make me look down on you."
"How could that be?" The chubby guy jumped up excitedly, his face red—whether from shame or the alcohol, he pounded his chest. "Brother Yang, just wait! I'll come back and crush it!"
"I'll make those narrow-minded people regret the day they humiliated me!"