Chapter 66

At noon, Ye Feng, Gu Nian, and Xiao Rou had a fast food meal at KFC. Ye Feng wasn't particularly interested in this kind of food, but Xiao Rou liked it and insisted on going to KFC.

Ye Feng offered to pay, but Gu Nian firmly refused, saying that Ye Feng had done a lot for her and her niece, and it was only right for her to treat him to a meal.

Ye Feng didn't make a fuss about it and let her have her way.

Xiao Rou quickly finished her meal and ran to the children's play area. Gu Nian hurriedly ate a few bites and followed her.

Ye Feng could sense that Gu Nian really cared for her little niece.

Gu Nian leaned against the railing of the children's play area, her long black hair covering half of her face. Her beautiful appearance attracted the attention of many male customers in the store, who secretly glanced at her. However, she seemed completely unaware.

Ye Feng walked over and noticed that Gu Nian's eyes were red. She was watching Xiao Rou play in the children's area, covering her mouth with her hand, trying hard to suppress her tears.

Seeing Ye Feng approach, Gu Nian took a deep breath, fixed her hair, and forced a smile. "Ye Feng, I'm sorry for making a fool of myself. I was just feeling emotional, thinking about some past events."

"It's okay. If you feel bad, just let it out. There's no need to hold it in."

"Thank you, I understand. Actually, I haven't been this emotional for a long time. When I feel down, I usually go to the theater to rehearse plays with some friends to let off steam. But recently, I've been busy helping my father, so I haven't gone for a while."

Ye Feng smiled. "If you want to go, just go. What's the problem?"

"Really? I really want to go. Can you come with me? After all, there's Xiao Rou. I'm not comfortable leaving her alone if I perform."

"But I have to deliver water this afternoon."

"That's fine. You can come after you finish delivering water. We can go at 4 PM, and it will be over by 5:30 PM. It won't interfere with your work."

Ye Feng hesitated and didn't say anything.

Gu Nian looked at him, and seeing that he still hadn't agreed, she sighed. "Forget it, I won't trouble you. You're very busy."

Ye Feng asked, "Miss Gu, do you really like performing?"

Gu Nian chuckled. "Ye Feng, what I do isn't singing, it's stage acting. It involves lines and a plot. The group I participate in is a private performance troupe run by a friend. We usually perform in theaters, and sometimes we invite famous actors to join us. We mostly perform historical dramas, modern dramas, and adaptations of Western classics. I'm just an amateur actor, but I've loved this since I was a child. My mother used to take me to rehearsals and performances. Every time I stepped on stage, I felt very happy and forgot many of my worries."

Ye Feng didn't really understand much about it. He had just been trying to cheer her up, but he didn't expect it to lead to more trouble.

To be honest, Ye Feng didn't really want to go.

Seeing that Ye Feng still hadn't agreed, Gu Nian didn't push the topic further. Instead, she turned her gaze back to Xiao Rou, who was playing in the children's area. She said softly, "Ye Feng, more than three years ago, in this very KFC, Xiao Rou's parents and grandparents were all here, and the family was very happy. I had to leave early because of some matters, but I never thought that would be the last time I saw my brother and his family."

Hearing Gu Nian talk about this, especially seeing her eyes redden again, Ye Feng felt a bit depressed. He already knew that Xiao Rou's parents were likely no longer alive.

Now, this was confirmed by Gu Nian.

Gu Nian continued, "After the family reunion, my brother and his family drove Xiao Rou's grandparents home. They lived in the suburbs of Mingzhu, which was quite far. On the way, a serious car accident happened. Everyone except Xiao Rou... was gone. Xiao Rou was only three years old at the time. A three-year-old child witnessing the brutal death of her parents and relatives... I really... I really can't describe how that must have felt. For more than half a year after the accident, Xiao Rou's condition was very poor. She would often cry for no reason and rarely communicate with others. I was heartbroken to see this. I put in a lot of effort to help her overcome the trauma. Despite being just a child, she was much smarter and more sensible than other kids her age. If it weren't for that trauma, I believe she would have had a happy childhood and grown up healthily, going to school, falling in love... but... but..."

By this point, Gu Nian couldn't continue. The tears she had been holding back finally fell.

She quickly turned away and took out a tissue from her bag to wipe her eyes.

After a while, she calmed down.

"Ye Feng, I'm sorry for making a fool of myself. You're the first person I've ever talked to about this. No matter how depressed or bitter I felt, I always kept it to myself. It often made me very irritable and strange, causing many people to have a bad impression of me. For the past three years, I've been taking care of Xiao Rou alone, and no one can understand the hardships I've faced. Now that I've met you, I don't know why, but I trust you. Ye Feng, you won't laugh at me, will you?"

Ye Feng shook his head. "No, of course not. I understand how you feel. The pain you've endured is not something that can be easily described."

Gu Nian smiled and suddenly said, "Thank you, Ye Feng."

At that moment, the system notification sounded again.

"Congratulations, the space owner has received a significant amount of gratitude again. This time, you have earned 1000 points of merit. Please continue to work hard and earn more points of merit."

In this situation, he had once again earned 1000 points of merit from Gu Nian. This was the third time he had earned merit points from the same person, which left Ye Feng feeling a bit overwhelmed. He had some resistance towards Gu Nian and wanted to distance himself from her, but in fact, it was because of her that he had earned so many merit points. In this sense, Gu Nian was not harmful to him but rather very beneficial.

This made Ye Feng feel a bit ashamed. He knew that his feelings towards Gu Nian weren't bad, but the inexplicable resistance made him act coldly towards her.

Just then, Xiao Rou came out of the children's play area. Ye Feng picked her up and smiled at Gu Nian. "Miss Gu, let's go. We should finish delivering the remaining water quickly, and then I'll accompany you to the theater to watch your performance. How about that?"

Gu Nian's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really? You're not joking?"

Ye Feng smiled. "Do you want to make a pinky promise? A hundred years, no changing."

Gu Nian beamed. "No need. I trust you won't lie to me. Alright, let's hurry and deliver the water."

The water delivery for the afternoon was concentrated, so it took less than two hours to finish. Ye Feng and Gu Nian, along with Xiao Rou, went directly to the private rehearsal venue in the main street of Huaxia District, Jianhua Road.

Although it was an amateur performance group and an informal rehearsal, all the actors took it very seriously. They wore costumes, applied makeup, and carefully set up the stage.

Ye Feng sat in the audience with Xiao Rou in his arms, looking at the stage. He noticed a long banner hanging from the top of the stage. It didn't have any promotional or slogan-like text but rather a somewhat cautionary message.

"Life is like a play, and a play is like life. Some people are obsessed with the stage, creating a brilliant legacy in the world of performance. Others fall into the mire of life, sinking deeper and deeper until they are destroyed."

Ye Feng thought about it and found the message quite profound.

After arranging everything, Gu Nian went backstage. There were only a few minutes left before the rehearsal started. The troupe formally lowered the curtain, and someone announced the start of the rehearsal before raising the curtain again.

Watching the scene, Ye Feng sighed. Who would have thought that Gu Nian, the daughter of the wealthy Gu Zhengyang, a princess misunderstood by many employees of the Gu Group, would have such a deep interest in acting?

Today, Gu Nian was participating in a historical drama, a very popular type where the protagonist travels through different time periods. Ye Feng didn't understand the content of the play and had never been interested in it before. However, sitting in the audience and watching the scenes unfold so closely, he found himself drawn into the story. Even Xiao Rou in his arms was completely engrossed.

Especially when Gu Nian appeared on stage, her ancient Chinese attire left Ye Feng utterly amazed.

Off the stage, she was a princess of a wealthy family. On the stage, she was a classical beauty with a gentle frown and a hint of sorrow.

Her beauty was like a flower, her dress like a cloud. The flowing water of the Xiang River, the cloud-like hair of the Wushan Mountains. Through the ages, the sword enhances the hero, and the beauty complements the cloud-like dress.

In the grand play that Gu Nian was rehearsing, a series of colorful scenes created a beautiful dream. She walked gracefully in the courtyard, wrote poetry by the window, recited poems under the moon, and admired flowers by the water. Her long black hair flowed down to her waist, and she wore a deep robe, walking with a graceful gait. Her hair was adorned with a fragrant peony, and her dress fluttered in the wind, her sleeves flowing gracefully. Her hair was loosely tied, her face lightly made up, and her fingers were delicate, standing tall and elegant. She danced the缠绵 (intimate) dances of the Han and Tang dynasties, sang the凄婉 (melancholic) songs of the Ming and Qing dynasties, recited the beautiful moments of life, and wrote the joys of life, lamenting the fleeting beauty of life and the passing of time...

[Considering the effort I put into writing this, do you have any votes? Any reviews? Any tips? Any praise?......]

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