Chapter 43 : Handcuffs, Whip, and Black Stockings?

Huh?

You want her to play a cross-dressing male role?

Song Qiuyu glanced at the stage play.

Coincidentally, her real-life situation was extremely similar to that of Liang Zhu.

In Liang Zhu, Zhu Yingtai disguised herself as a man and lived with Liang Shanbo.

In reality, after she, Song Qiuyu, became a girl, she disguised herself as a man and lived with Jiang Xiao, Xie Zhuran, Lin An, and the others.

It’s said that in the world of online novels, there’s a case where a tomb-raiding novelist wrote too realistically, and when the police investigated, they found out the author was really a tomb raider!

So, is there a possibility that she might also be suspected of being a girl who genuinely cross-dressed to get into a male dorm because her acting is too realistic?

Therefore, even if this short video really could become a huge hit and very profitable, as Xie Zhuran said, she can’t risk it!

“Believe me, especially Song Qiuyu, this will definitely be very profitable!”

Xie Zhuran emphasized with a raised voice.

Hearing this, Song Qiuyu frowned, her tone undeniably firm: “But I refuse!”

“You’re really against it, Song Qiuyu. Actually, cross-dressing isn’t that scary. Didn’t I do it in a skit?”

Xie Zhuran calmly spread his hands and said, “If you’re still a man, cross-dress bravely.”

“I’m very sorry, but I’m indeed not a man.”

Song Qiuyu replied instantly.

As her words fell, everyone looked at her, more or less shocked by this confession.

Xie Zhuran’s pupils even dilated.

Was Song Qiuyu finally going to confess her identity as a girl?

Or did he mishear?

Uncertain.

Should he ask Song Qiuyu to say it again?

“I’m still just an eighteen-year-old boy!”

Song Qiuyu continued.

These words stunned Xie Zhuran’s brain.

Lin An covered his face, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Jiang Xiao had an “I knew it” expression.

Song Qiuyu tilted her head, staring at Xie Zhuran, who hadn’t recovered yet, and raised an eyebrow, saying, “As for you, Xie Zhuran, Mr. Lu Xun once said that if you cross-dress once, you’ll do it countless times. Since you’ve already done it once, it’s fine to do it countless more times, right?”

He couldn’t refute it; this sentence was indeed said by Lu Xun.

Xie Zhuran closed his mouth but still didn’t want to give up.

He rolled up his sleeves, braced himself, and continued bickering with Song Qiuyu for a few more sentences, but unfortunately, he still failed to convince her and earned a “defeat CG.”

He looked as if he was fading away.

Jiang Xiao silently watched the drama unfold.

Lin An’s lips curved up, almost turning green from trying to hold back his laughter.

The stage play reached its finale.

Amidst laughter, everyone witnessed Liang Zhu transforming into butterflies, and then, without prior agreement, their eyes reddened.

Cries echoed through the large opera house.

With a click, Jiang Xiao used his phone to capture the two actors of Liang Zhu imitating two butterflies dancing gracefully and flying away.

He lowered his eyes and saw his own reddened eyes reflected on his phone screen.

“Jiang Xiao, here, wipe it.”

Song Qiuyu wiped the tears from her face with a tissue, then pulled out a tissue and handed it to Jiang Xiao to wipe his.

Jiang Xiao looked up at the tissue she offered, his lips moved slightly, and finally, he just hummed and took it.

“This is amazing, such powerful acting. After watching this stage play, I feel like I’ve become much stronger!”

Xie Zhuran said, then covered his nose with a tissue and blew it hard.

“Next year… we might also be performing on this stage.”

Lin An wiped the mist off his glasses with an eyeglass cloth.

Song Qiuyu smiled and nodded, but before that, they would hone their skills well in short videos!

The play ended, and the audience dispersed.

All the actors were busy backstage, removing makeup and changing clothes, but the head of the drama club was relatively free.

As soon as they arrived, they exchanged knowing glances with the head of the drama club.

The head of the drama club was a tall, thin senior with a scholarly demeanor.

When he saw them, he smiled warmly, appearing very approachable.

“You can borrow any props here that you need, but be careful to protect them! If you break anything, you’ll have to pay the full price!”

The head of the drama club looked at them and warned sternly.

They nodded repeatedly.

“Handcuffs, candles… hmm…”

Thinking of what the head of the drama club had just said, Song Qiuyu subconsciously looked up at him.

“Candles are disposable items, special props, so you don’t need to protect their integrity, but that doesn’t mean you can abuse them indiscriminately!”

The head of the drama club emphasized.

“Okay, okay, thank you, senior!”

Song Qiuyu quickly picked up two more candles and put them into her backpack.

She also picked up a small whip and three collars of different styles.

It must be said that the drama club’s prop room was truly a treasure trove; it had all sorts of strange and wonderful props.

Monocles, chain watches, devil horns, succubus tails, angel halos, parchment scrolls…

If only they could borrow props from the drama club for their future short videos.

The head of the drama club stood by the side the whole time. When he saw this, he frowned. What kind of video were they planning to shoot?

“Senior, do you have black stockings?”

Xie Zhuran searched the entire prop room back and forth, scratching his head in frustration.

“Huh? Black stockings?”

Cold sweat trickled down the head of the drama club’s cheeks.

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but glance at Song Qiuyu and pressed Xie Zhuran, “Junior, are you guys filming something legitimate? Why so many of these kinds of props? You’re not going to shoot some strange film, are you?”

“Yes, it’s very legitimate, just a short video.”

Xie Zhuran said.

“…”

Can your short video really pass the review?

“So, senior, do you have black stockings here?”

The head of the drama club shook his head.

Song Qiuyu couldn’t help but feel moved.

She thought that if they bought black stockings, the number of times they could use them in the future would truly be few and far between, but after all, it was a necessary prop, so they had to buy it.

Jiang Xiao, who needed to use black stockings to cover his head, quietly put the doctor’s stethoscope prop and white coat into his backpack.

“Qiuyu, should we also take these animal plushies?”

Lin An suddenly turned around and said.

Song Qiuyu turned her head and saw him holding a hedgehog plushie in his left hand and a pangolin plushie in his right.

“I was thinking that since the character I’m playing is timid and often afraid to speak, perhaps I can use these animal plushies to express my feelings more vividly?”

Lin An explained.

“Sure, take them!”

Song Qiuyu weighed this suggestion and felt it was feasible.

After ransacking the prop room, they carried their heavy backpacks and walked straight towards Male Dormitory Building Three.

As they passed the school’s small shop, Song Qiuyu suddenly stopped.

Thinking of the broken clothes-drying pole in the dorm, she took out her phone and checked her current balance.

Balance… 404.4.

With twenty days left in the month, that meant she had only about twenty yuan to spend per day on average.

In this situation, she had to save wherever possible.

However, a clothes-drying pole was something they absolutely had to buy!

Recalling how she was forced to let Jiang Xiao help hang up her pants that morning and his hand accidentally touched her underwear, her pearly teeth bit her lip, her ears tinged slightly red, and she secretly swore never to let such a thing happen again.

And the black stockings needed for the short video also had to be bought.

If she bought those, she would truly be eating dirt next.

“Hmm, the dorm’s clothes-drying pole is broken. Should we chip in to buy a new one?”

She suppressed the turmoil in her heart, feigned calmness, and proposed the suggestion as subtly as possible.

As soon as she spoke, Jiang Xiao was the first to stop and look back at her.

He noticed she seemed a bit embarrassed but didn’t think too much, simply associating it with her family’s financial situation and her recent dietary changes, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Lin An also noticed when he turned back and couldn’t help but feel helpless.

He didn’t think it was that embarrassing to ask everyone to chip in for a clothes-drying pole.

Rather, it was something the entire dorm would use, so the cost should naturally be split.

However, Song Qiuyu’s reaction was suspicious; most likely, she didn’t have much living expenses left and was tight on cash.

If not, Song Qiuyu might have just paid for it herself.

Because Song Qiuyu was that kind of person.

Of course, Xie Zhuran also noticed.

He even wanted to tell Song Qiuyu not to pay at all, as a clothes-drying pole wouldn’t cost much anyway, and he wasn’t short of that money.

Moreover, Song Qiuyu had put in the most effort for this short video.

Looking at Song Qiuyu’s watery eyes, all three of them fell silent for a brief moment.