SGSHE111

The look on Jing Heguang’s face right now was just as terrifying as the day he’d scared off that woman from the Jin’s.

Yet, Xing Ming wasn’t afraid.

He felt a twinge of guilt, the way Jing Heguang put it made him sound like…a total scum.

Come to think of it, was he?

He’d slept with Jing Heguang just last night, only to say something like that today.

Xing Ming denied it: “No, that’s not what I meant. I was just saying it off the cuff.”

Jing Heguang eyed him skeptically. “Really? You’d better not be lying to me.”

After a moment’s thought, Jing Heguang mimicked Chun Fen’s tone: “I gave you my purity, you know, you can’t just back out now!”

Xing Ming smiled. “I’ll take responsibility.” He added, “Weren’t you going to get me some porridge? After we eat, let’s go downstairs and see what’s happening across the street.”

Last night, the troupe leader, master Wang, had been caught red-handed fooling around with a married Wanhu. The Wanhu’s brother-in-law himself, a Qianhu, had even charged in with a blade in hand. One could easily imagine that the scene at the rival theater across the street would be even more dramatic than the plays themselves.

Jing Heguang threw on a robe and went downstairs to bring the porridge up to the second floor.

By the time the two of them started eating, the ‘side dish’ to their meal, the commotion outside, was already unfolding.

The sound of arguing from across the street grew louder. People were crowding the ground-floor entrance and leaning out the second-story windows of their own theater, craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

Chun Fen stood by the front entrance, grinning gleefully.

Li Xia, standing beside him, was nearly jostled out the door but was saved by a quick pull from Sister-in-law Zhou, the kitchen matron.

Sister-in-law Zhou steadied the boy, fished a handful of melon seeds from her pocket to share with the two youngsters, and then began cracking them open with a loud ‘snap-snap’ sound.

Those people had tried to bully their theater, only to become the laughingstock themselves.

Everyone in the theater shared the same sentiment: it felt incredibly satisfying. So satisfying!

Listening closer, it turned out the troupe leader from the theater across the street had been sleeping with the newly arrived wanhu commander.

“So, ‘brother’ actually meant ‘lover’ all along?!”

“And the wanhu commander’s wife is heavily pregnant too. Those two scoundrels…”

“Oh my! It looks like a fight has broken out!”

At that shout, Xing Ming, who had been sipping porridge by the window, leaned out to look.

Jing Heguang also smiled and leaned out to admire the fruits of his handiwork.

Down below, a woman was accompanied by three tall men.

Judging by their attire, they were military officers, broad-shouldered and burly, they all carried swords at their waists.

The previously arrogant troupe leader Wang was being held aloft by one of the men like a helpless little quail.

The woman in the lead was furious: “That bastard actually went behind my back to fool around with a man!”

Fuming, she turned to the eldest of the three men and burst into tears: “Father, I can’t go on living! Tomorrow, those gossipers will laugh at me to death!”

The man comforted his pregnant and emotionally volatile daughter: “It’s alright, we won’t give them the chance to laugh at you. We’ll have nothing to do with that blind fool. Later, father will find you someone better!”

“Break one of his legs!” Wiping away tears, the woman glared at the cowering troupe leader Wang. “Break one of his legs too, let them be a matching pair of ‘brothers’!”

Hearing this, Jing Heguang glanced at Xingming, whom he often called ‘younger brother Xing’, and recalled how Xing Ming sometimes called him ‘brother Jing’.

He whispered, “We’re ‘brothers’ too, a matching pair.”

Xing Ming shot him a playful, sidelong glance: “Don’t use that phrase, just hearing it makes my legs ache!”

Jing Heguang laughed: “What is there to fear? There’s no third party between us.”

***

With the theater troupe leader crippled and his powerful backer toppled, the troupe naturally never recovered.

Over the next few days, anyone who could leave did so. In the blink of an eye, only an empty building remained.

Shortly after, a nearby restaurant leased the premises across the street, giving patrons a place to dine while spending the entire day at the theater.

The date of Qixi, the Double Seventh Festival, drew near.

Qixi was the Valentine’s Day of ancient times, it was a festival filled with anticipation for young people, possessing a youthful spirit that set it apart from other holidays.

Jing Heguang managed to scrape together some funds and consulted uncle Yu several times.

Uncle Yu was surprised at first, but upon hearing Jing Heguang’s plan, he was overcome with delight.

To think he was capable of such careful planning and dedication, he must truly care for the young master!

Uncle Yu secretly chipped in some of his own money to help Jing Heguang with the preparations.

Everything was arranged without Xing Ming’s knowledge. Everyone in the theater troupe knew about it, save for the two youngsters and Xing Ming himself.

By the fifth day of the seventh lunar month, even Chun Fen and Li Xia were in on the secret.

Everyone beamed whenever they saw him, though Xing Ming simply assumed they were in high spirits.

With the rival theater across the street out of business, their own troupe was on much firmer ground. There was no longer any need to worry about losing customers or having their painstakingly crafted plays forcibly ‘stolen’ by others, it was truly a wonderful turn of events.

Rehearsals for the theater’s major production, ‘Flowers Startle the Branch’, were proceeding smoothly.

In the blink of an eye, the day of Qixi arrived.

Red lanterns hung from the shops lining the street, and countless stalls sprang up in front of the storefronts.

The space in front of the theater entrance had been leased to two lantern vendors, who gifted a number of river lanterns to the troupe.

Dusk fell. Jing Heguang tried on the new outfit once more in the room, then held up the other one to gauge its size. “I wonder if it fits right?”

Uncle Yu chuckled. “It was made based on the troupe leader’s own clothes, using the same shop and tailor we always use, it’s bound to fit perfectly!”

Jing Heguang smiled, though he couldn’t help asking, “So, is this outfit alright?”

He didn’t have much money, both of the groom’s outfits were of the simplest style and fabric.

Jing Heguang knew Xing Ming wouldn’t mind, yet he still said, “We really ought to hold a proper ceremony later on. The way things are now, I’m truly shortchanging younger brother Xing.”

“Don’t worry about such things, just live a good life together from here on out.”

Uncle Yu glanced out the window and gave his forehead a light slap. “I’m going to go over the details with Sister-in-law Zhou and the others one more time, just to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Jing Heguang said gratefully, “Thank you, uncle Yu! Sorry for the trouble.”

***

In Xing Ming’s room.

He was hesitating between two outer garments.

One was the dark-colored garment he usually wore, the other, sitting beside it, was a pale blue robe he had purchased just a couple of days ago.

The fabric of the dark garment was the most ordinary sort, a bolt could be bought for mere coppers, whereas the pale blue robe was different, both the material and the weave looked far more refined.

Xing Ming thought for a moment and muttered, “It’s just for the Qixi Festival, I’ll only wear it for the day. If nothing else, I can wear a veiled hat when I go out.”

He was naturally handsome. If he wore such exquisite clothing, he would certainly draw a lot of attention.

But the thought that Jing Heguang might mistake him for someone else made the extra trouble seem worth it.

After all…these might well be the last days they spent together.

Xing Ming changed into the outfit and stepped out of the room.

***

Chun Fen, who was catching the breeze on the second floor, stared wide-eyed for a long moment before finally believing what he saw: “Troupe leader, you look so dashing in that outfit today!”

“You look amazing today, troupe leader!” Li Xia nodded earnestly as well.

Xing Ming smiled and said, “I look the same as always, don’t I? Was I ugly on other days?”

Chun Fen couldn’t take his eyes off him and grinned sheepishly. “No, you always look good, but today’s outfit makes you look especially handsome!”

It was like seeing someone who usually dressed plainly suddenly appear in magnificent attire, it was truly striking.

Shortly after, Xing Ming surprised several more people.

Everyone found the change novel. They stole extra glances at him, their eyes filled with playful amusement.

Xing Ming felt they were laughing at the outfit he had specially chosen, it really didn’t look like his usual style. And this change was all for Jing Heguang’s sake.

Xing Ming glanced toward Jing Heguang’s doorway, thinking that Jing Heguang would surely take him out to celebrate today.

It was the Qixi Lantern Festival, after all, a day when countless young men and women went out to enjoy the festivities.

Whatever others had, Jing Heguang was so attentive that he certainly wouldn’t let Xing Ming go without.

Before long, however, Jing Heguang changed out of his new clothes and stepped out wearing his old ones.

At first glance, he was struck by how stunning Xing Ming looked.

Clad in a pale blue robe, Xing Ming resembled the young master of a distinguished family, exuding a fresh, vibrant charm.

Jing Heguang was transfixed, standing rooted to the spot.

The others chuckled, their gazes darting back and forth between Xing Ming and Jing Heguang.

Feeling his face heat up under their scrutiny, Xing Ming gave a soft, clearing cough: “Ahem…”

Jing Heguang snapped out of his daze and walked toward Xing Ming with an eager look in his eyes. “Younger brother Xing, you look absolutely splendid in blue.”

At this remark, the troupe members, who had been holding back their amusement, could contain themselves no longer and burst into good-natured laughter.

Jing Heguang swept a glance over them before calmly taking a seat beside Xing Ming. “Ignore them, and they’ll soon lose interest.”

After all, if the people involved didn’t react to the teasing, there was nothing left to watch.

Xing Ming composed himself, and sure enough, the others turned their attention elsewhere.

Seeing that everyone was growing restless, uncle Yu spoke up: “It’s Qixi today. Usually, we perform for others, how about we put on a show for ourselves? There’s nothing particularly fun to do outside anyway, and running into crowds would just be a hassle.”

Xing Ming was taken aback, wondering what had prompted uncle Yu to suggest such a thing.

As members of an opera troupe, they performed almost every day. The idea of ​​singing more opera seemed rather tedious.

To Xing Ming’s surprise, however, the others responded with great enthusiasm. “Right! Today, we’ll sing just for ourselves!”

“There are too many people outside, they’re a real nuisance.”

“How about we sing something cheerful? No need to stick to our usual roles, let’s just sing for the fun of it.”

As the group chatted away, Jing Heguang nudged Xing Ming. “How about the troupe leader sings for us? Why not take on the role of the young male lead today?”

“We’ve never seen the leader play the young male lead before! Come on, hurry up…”

……

Amidst the chatter, a slightly bewildered Xing Ming found himself backstage, changing into a groom’s outfit.

Having never played a young male lead or a groom before, he didn’t realize that the costume wasn’t merely stage attire, but actual wedding garments.

Clad in the fresh outfit, Xing Ming joined the others on stage to sing a segment from ‘The Wedding’.

The plot of ‘The Wedding’ was simple, depicting a marriage ceremony filled with universal rejoicing, and the music was lively and spirited.

Singing in his natural male voice and treating the moment as a bit of fun, he sang with a smile that reflected his genuine inner joy.

After finishing the groom’s lines, the scene shifted to the moment of fetching the bride.

Uncle Yu and the others, dressed as attendants, appeared carrying a bridal sedan chair.

Realizing there was actually someone inside the sedan chair, Xing Ming instinctively glanced down at the audience.

Jing Heguang is the jealous type, I hope he doesn’t fly into a fit of jealousy over this.

But when he looked, Xing Ming couldn’t see Jing Heguang anywhere!

He wondered to himself, Where did he go?

In the blink of an eye, the sedan chair was carried right up to his side.

Xing Ming quickly stepped back and said, “Uncle Yu, you all carry on singing, I have something to attend to and need to leave.” With that, he headed down from the stage. Uncle Yu was dumbfounded: “Don’t go!”

Xing Ming paused: “Uncle Yu, I’m going to find him.”

Uncle Yu asked: “Find Jing Heguang?”

“Right,” Xing Ming nodded matter-of-factly. “He’s probably not too happy that I sang that song. But it’s fine, I’ll just coax him a bit. You guys carry on having fun!”

Jing Heguang wasn’t hard to coax, if a little coaxing didn’t work, a kiss would, and if one kiss wasn’t enough, a few more would do the trick.

Uncle Yu huffed: “He isn’t unhappy at all.”

As he spoke, uncle Yu and the other three men lowered the sedan chair carrying the bride.

Jing Heguang smiled and lifted the curtain. He, too, was dressed in a groom’s red robes.

With a handsome smile, he said: “My groom, you can’t run off now!”