The raindrops outside tapped against the eaves, while inside, Lin An and Gu Nian squatted in perfect sync, wildly flapping at the air.
At the same time, they continuously imitated the sound of balloons popping, making crisp noises.
It made everyone watching almost think they were about to perform a Beatbox routine on the spot.
However, they never went off-key throughout, and the robber team on the other side also maintained their strong conviction, showing no signs of breaking character.
Jiang Xiao’s face was filled with fear, and he kept cowering behind Song Qiuyu.
His tall body trying to hide behind a more petite figure enhanced the dramatic effect of this scene due to the height difference.
Jiang Xiao, slightly stiff, asked: “Big brother! What’s that sound now?”
Song Qiuyu calmly walked towards the non-existent door, his expression seemingly lost in thought for a moment: “A P90 automatic submachine gun…”
At this point, Song Qiuyu’s eyes lit up, as if he had suddenly understood everything, his tone filled with conviction and nostalgia: “Long time no see, old friend!”
Jiang Xiao turned to look at the person on the chair, slightly stiff: “So, she really secretly called the police?”
Song Qiuyu hissed contemplatively, rubbing his clean chin, his left hand holding his right elbow, head tilted, a slight hint of disdain in his tone: “Heh, I didn’t expect the police in Chinatown to respond so quickly.”
As if the robbers’ voices were completely isolated by the door, the wedding procession outside wore puzzled expressions, somewhat at a loss.
Lin An adjusted his glasses, turning to Gu Nian: “The atmosphere’s all there, why aren’t they reacting? What should we do, Big Brother?”
Seeing this, the instructors acting as judges couldn’t help but look forward to it, knowing well what was about to happen.
So far, these kids had performed very well.
Now it was just a matter of whether the script and acting could provide more surprises!
Then, Gu Nian also crossed his arms, rubbing his chin, looking as if he was seriously contemplating a solution.
Jiang Xiao’s body trembled like a sieve, and he was already squatting on the ground with his head in his hands, less stiff than before: “What should we do, boss? We’re surrounded by police! Quickly use your invincible brain to think of a solution!”
As these words fell, Gu Nian seamlessly finished his thoughts. He put an arm around Lin An’s shoulder, a calm, smiling expression on his face: “Don’t panic!”
At the same time, Song Qiuyu strode over to Jiang Xiao, pulling him up from the ground, his tone full of disappointment: “Don’t panic!”
As soon as Jiang Xiao was pulled up, the next second, he was pulled forward by Song Qiuyu, an action that, though done with a hand, had the dominance and assertiveness of a kick to his backside.
He even frowned roguishly, seemingly confident in what he was about to say.
Song Qiuyu pointed at the person on the chair, a crooked smile on his face: “The person is still in our hands, they wouldn’t dare do anything to us!”
Xie Zhuran, who was pointed at, had eyes full of a desire to survive, afraid of being torn apart (killed).
The bride-to-be trembled, while the groom-to-be, Gu Nian, was equally confident, completely unfazed: “I used to be an emcee, this is a small scene. I’m telling you, completing this whole process will take a lot of time!”
He clapped Lin An heavily on the shoulder: “Listen to me, you can’t go wrong. Let’s stuff some red envelopes first.”
Lin An seemed to understand: “Alright, I’m good at this!”
He immediately fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a handful of air, then squatted down, aimed for the lowest invisible door crack, and stuffed the imaginary red envelope in.
Jiang Xiao seemed to actually see the red envelope and was stunned for a moment: “Big brother, they stuffed a small piece of paper!”
Song Qiuyu glanced out of the corner of his eye, scoffing lightly: “What small piece of paper? This is a negotiation letter sent by the police. I didn’t expect them to find a negotiator so quickly, quite something.”
With a triumphant expression, she waved her hand at Jiang Xiao, giving an arrogant command: “You go get the letter.”
The skit continued, and the information gap between the robber team and the wedding procession grew wider. Both the bride’s cross-dressing and Jiang Xiao’s cold-faced portrayal of a timid sidekick robber doubled the dramatic effect of the skit.
From negotiation letters and red envelopes to ransom and bride price, Song Qiuyu’s opening bid was 500,000, but Gu Nian thought it was too little, as the initial agreed bride price was 1,000,000. Song Qiuyu then mentally cut the price down to 300,000, delighting the groom and making the bride jump with anxiety…
From replacing the truck with a BMW, the newlywed’s city parade plan became, in the robbers’ eyes, a clear understanding of their escape route, warning them not to struggle anymore…
To Gu Nian affectionately reciting his promises to the bride, saying he would hold her hand, ensure she had no worries about food and clothing, and that he would “eat her up” (be hers forever) in this life, to Song Qiuyu scaring himself, imagining he was “eating prison food” (stuck in prison) forever and would never get out, and the bride wanting to faint…
Finally, Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao even pulled open the imaginary curtains together, ready to escape, only to encounter the groom and groomsmen who were on standby, all rising at the same time…
The instructors on the judging panel were already laughing so hard that tears streamed down their faces, nodding their approval enthusiastically.
While their initial coordination was good, there was still some awkwardness at the start.
But as the skit’s plot developed, their acting improved significantly, and even Jiang Xiao’s performance got much better!
Excellent, truly excellent, especially Song Qiuyu’s performance.
She acted too well, portraying the robber leader’s wickedness and rebelliousness so realistically that it didn’t even seem like acting.
They say that when you act opposite someone with good acting skills, even those with lesser skills will be influenced and improve; today, they witnessed it firsthand.
Finally, the skit came to an end.
“Beautiful!”
The tall, lean instructor applauded, excitedly standing up. Other instructors beside him also rose, showering them with praise.
“We look forward to you shining brightly under the spotlight in the future. Work hard, young people!”
“You did very well this time, but don’t get complacent. Go back and refine it further. We look forward to you bringing us an even more spectacular performance on the day of the cultural show!”
“Your future is bright!”
Xu Tongtong, watching from the side, widened her eyes, exclaiming in disbelief.
She seemed to have underestimated Song Qiuyu’s capabilities.
Could Song Qiuyu be… a genius?
She took a deep breath, took two steps forward, and proactively said:
“Your performance was truly amazing! I’ve recorded the entire thing and will edit it to include in the military training vlog. I’ll upload it online so more people can see your performance!”
The instructors nodded with satisfaction. Compared to Song Qiuyu’s group, Xu Tongtong’s group’s performance of the same skit seemed too ordinary.
Therefore, there was no need to elaborate on who passed the interview.
Seeing Xu Tongtong’s actions, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret, though there was nothing they could do.
Xu Tongtong’s lips curved upward slightly when she saw the instructors’ reaction.
She composed herself, her gaze falling on Jiang Xiao, and offered a thoughtful compliment: “Jiang Xiao, your acting was also fantastic! The contrast in your character’s personality is so great; most people couldn’t pull that off. You really worked so, so hard.”
She blinked, “It’s such a pity, I wish it had been me performing alongside you.”
The more she spoke, the redder her face became, “Jiang Xiao, you must be tired, do you want to sit down and rest for a bit?”
“…”
Song Qiuyu saw through everything, pursing her lips.
Come on, tone it down. Drinking too much tea at night will cause insomnia, and they have target practice tomorrow.
Mental state is paramount!
She touched her throat, feeling a bit thirsty, and mumbled about going to buy a bottle of water, turning to take the opportunity to pull Jiang Xiao away from there.
Besides, the interview was over, and they should return to their dorms.
Once back, she’d have to find a chance to give Jiang Xiao a talking-to.
She couldn’t let Jiang Xiao be led astray by Xu Tongtong.
However, where Jiang Xiao had been standing, there was no one left, not even a single strand of hair. Xu Tongtong was also gone.
Huh?
When did they leave?
She asked the others and then quickly chased after them to find them.
At this moment, Jiang Xiao had already entered the convenience store, holding an umbrella.
After a brief exchange with the owner and buying two bottles of mineral water, he turned around, opened his umbrella again, and prepared to leave.
Just then, a strand of pink hair unexpectedly entered his field of vision.