Morning And Evening Chapter 27

Today was the second rehearsal, including the dance. After two runs, He Mu felt he wasn’t dancing very well. He was just going through the motions. His mind was filled with thoughts of Chang Ming’an. The other actors and staff, however, were very accommodating, praising him profusely. After all, laymen only watch the spectacle. He Mu’s choreographed movements weren’t complicated, but they were fluid and graceful, pleasing to the eye.

After another round of lighting and music, the director decided to take a break. During the break, some actors started excitedly trying on costumes and discussing makeup and accessories. He Mu sat quietly in a corner, checking the time on his phone. It was getting late. He should go home.

The script supervisor’s name was Fei Qingqing, He Jun’s classmate, a second-year graduate student. She walked over excitedly and started talking to He Mu.

“Junior brother, I’ve prepared some clothes for you. Would you like to see them?”

What would a typical boy’s reaction be if he had to wear women’s clothing for a performance? Disgust? Shyness? Unhappiness? Before He Mu could decide, Fei Qingqing led him backstage.

The backstage area was quite small, filled with props for going up and down the stage and some miscellaneous items. Fei Qingqing prepared a very simple outfit for him: a loose white chiffon top and a light, flowing light blue long skirt that reached about mid-calf. This outfit not only fit the storyline and made it easy to showcase the dance moves, but also largely blurred He Mu’s male characteristics. It was indeed a thoughtful preparation.

“Thank you,” He Mu said, holding the clothes.

Fei Qingqing took a step back and scrutinized He Mu’s face. He Mu felt a little embarrassed by her gaze. He lacked experience in interacting with women his own age and seemed somewhat awkward.

“When the time comes, just let half your hair down. The lights won’t be bright, and you can just wear light makeup. You won’t even need to groom your eyebrows. You’ll look so delicate…”

He Mu whispered, “No need to try…”

Fei Qingqing readily agreed. “It’s too late today. Let’s try it next time. Next time we can try on the makeup together.”

He Mu felt like he had been granted a pardon. He carefully hung his clothes back up, picked up his bag and put it on his back, wrapped a scarf around his neck, and seeing that everyone was busy with their own work, he didn’t know who to say goodbye to. He walked out by himself, and almost took two steps back from the howling cold wind as soon as he stepped outside.

“Hey, wait a minute,” He Jun hurriedly caught up. “Let’s go together.”

He Mu nodded indifferently, and the two walked side by side into the cold wind. They finally turned a corner and entered the school. The teaching buildings blocked most of the wind, and they could finally talk. Seeing that He Mu was just walking with her head down, He Jun initiated the conversation. “Do you like it?”

“Huh?” He Mu had been lost in thought the whole way and didn’t react for a moment.

“This story,” He Jun said, “is about utopia.”

“It’s good,” He Mu thought for a moment. “But I may not have read enough of it, so I don’t understand it very well.”

He Mu was a man of few words, and He Jun had never had a proper conversation with him before. Seeing him respond, He Jun asked with great interest, “What don’t you understand?”

Utopia is so wonderful, free from worldly views and the distractions of daily life. Poets can concentrate on writing poetry, pianists can create to their heart’s content, and the heroine is unwilling to leave. However, the painter she falls in love with insists on leaving and taking her away.

“Why did he insist on her leaving?” He Mu pondered. “If they like each other, it would be fine for them to stay together.”

He Jun glanced at him and smiled. “Have you ever been in a relationship?”

He Mu blushed as she thought of Chang Ming’an, and taking advantage of the darkness, stammered, “N-nothing…”

He Jun sighed. “Love is about letting people go out and move forward.”

He Mu asked, “Did they eventually make it out?”

He Jun said, “An open ending. It all depends on how you think about it.”

He Mu nodded blankly. The two walked and talked, with He Jun explaining the scene to He Mu, recounting his previous performances with the crew. He Jun’s story was quite interesting, and He Mu listened more than she spoke, keeping the conversation lively. They walked until they were not far from Chang Ming’an’s apartment building. He Mu pointed in the direction of the student dormitories and said, “You should go that way?”

He Jun touched his nose. “I’ll see you off.”

The two continued walking and happened to run into Chang Ming’an coming downstairs. The three met at the main entrance. He Jun respected and admired Chang Ming’an very much, and always greeted him sincerely whenever they met. Chang Ming’an hadn’t expected to run into him like this. He glanced at He Mu, whose face was hidden in his scarf, and made conversation. “I came out to buy something.”

He Jun said goodbye to the two and said to He Mu, “See you the day after tomorrow.”

He Mu nodded, stepped aside slightly to let Chang Ming’an, who was about to go out to buy something, walk out. But Chang Ming’an didn’t go any further. He said goodbye to He Jun and walked back, saying, “I think we have some at home, so we don’t need to buy anything.”

The two went to press the elevator button. He Mu, staring at his toes, asked, “Um, did you buy a hot water bottle…?”

“I bought it,” Chang Ming’an was caught off guard by the question, and then he said, “No, I didn’t buy it.”

“Oh,” He Mu said, “aren’t you going to buy it?”

“Ding—”

The elevator has arrived.

Chang Ming’an glanced at the wide-open elevator doors, put his hands in his pockets, and said, “The elevator’s here. It’s too cold. Let’s buy it tomorrow.”

He Mu was more than happy to do so, and quickly stepped into the elevator, pressed the floor button, as if afraid that Chang Ming’an would change his mind.

The elevator doors closed again, and Chang Ming’an asked, “You and He Jun seem to know each other quite well.”

Are we that close? He Mu tilted his head suspiciously. “We’re alright.”

“The play they put on is pretty good. I heard it’s a Christmas performance. Want to go see it?”

He Mu’s eyes widened. Chang Ming’an was inviting him to see a play? Although he had originally intended to invite Chang Ming’an as well, it was always a pleasant surprise to hear him make the invitation. But he was going to be on stage, so how could he watch it with him? It would be too awkward to refuse. After thinking it over and over, and hesitating again and again, He Mu finally said, “Okay, okay.”

Seeing that he finally agreed after thinking for a long time, Chang Ming’an secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was bedtime again, and Mu Mu had already crawled into her cat bed with a hot water bottle, too lazy to move. He Mu had put her favorite little mouse by the door of the cat bed, but Mu Mu ignored it, so she had to leave the little mouse behind and go back to her bedroom to crawl under the covers.

It’s still a bit early, not time for bed yet. But in this warm weather, where else is a good place to go besides the blankets?

He Mu lay on the pillow playing on his phone, letting two layers of blankets cover him. Chang Ming’an leaned back on the pillow, covered by the blanket, reading by the light of the desk lamp. He wasn’t very nearsighted, but he wore glasses when reading and driving, appearing refined and focused.

He Mu pressed a few buttons on his phone and then got bored, so he simply put the phone down and tilted his head to look at Chang Ming’an.

Chang Ming’an thought He Mu was going to sleep, so he dimmed the lamp light again and again, and finally turned it off completely, took off his glasses, and lay down. He Mu was afraid of the cold, so he liked to burrow into the blanket and sleep soundly. Chang Ming’an was lying on his side facing him, so He Mu carefully moved closer to the warmer spot under the blanket, curling up into a tiny shrimp.

“Be careful not to suffocate.”

Chang Ming’an smiled and, as if holding a child, lifted He Mu by the armpits and pulled him out of the blankets, letting his head peek out. He then rubbed He Mu’s disheveled hair.

He Mu blushed and responded, resting her forehead on Chang Ming’an’s shoulder before closing her eyes to sleep.