Chapter 19: The Eleventh and Twelfth Days.

On the eleventh day of "The Promise of Three Lifetimes," the four regular guest couples and one pair of guest stars rehearsed their respective short plays. Su Shengxin knew that "acting in a play" was merely a gimmick, but as an actor, he still studied the script and interpreted his character with great seriousness. Shang Yin even felt that, at times, Su Shengxin seemed completely immersed in the story.

Su Shengxin raised several questions regarding the narrative. In the end, some were answered, while others were revised by the show's screenwriters upon realizing that the plot logic was indeed inconsistent.

Influenced by Su Shengxin, Shang Yin also became more earnest. While he had long since noticed the inconsistencies in certain passages, he had initially been indifferent, figuring he would only act in this play once. However, having witnessed Su Shengxin’s dedication and attention to detail that day, he looked at the script in his hand and actually joined in the discussion of the content.

When he heard Shang Yin say, "I have a few questions as well," Su Shengxin glanced at him with marked surprise. Shang Yin swept his gaze past Su’s face, dropped it back to the script, and said, "These two sentences are contradictory."

Su Shengxin looked at him again before returning to work.

During that day’s rehearsals, all intimate scenes were skipped as required. The producer said, "Now is certainly not the right time. A kiss after such a long separation must take place in front of the audience!"

...

Then, on the twelfth day, the centerpiece of "The Promise of Three Lifetimes" finally arrived.

A Hong Kong singer remarked, "The previous days felt like the verse, specifically building up to this..."

Su Shengxin realized that the production team of "The Promise of Three Lifetimes" actually held the script in high regard. They had rented a stage where the scenery, props, and costumes were all incredibly realistic; the stage was also equipped with the XR projection technology that the Shangzhou Group intended to promote.

Thinking about what was to come, Su Shengxin felt a bit nervous. He had never lost his heart to anyone in his life, nor had he ever known that maneuvering around another person could be so secret and exhilarating. They longed for each other, yet they also competed with one another.

The first pair to take the stage was the pianist and the prima ballerina, Zhou Zhenyu and Ye Jiayin, who were performing a period piece. The ballerina played a "goddess." Dressed in beautiful, light gauze, she utilized her professional training to dance within a "lake." On stage, the moon, lake, trees, and flowers were so lifelike that it was hard to distinguish them from reality. The pianist played an ordinary mortal youth. He already possessed thick eyebrows and large eyes, with sharp facial features; now, enhanced by makeup and styling, he looked surprisingly handsome. He accompanied her dance by playing the bamboo flute, and it was only then that the audience discovered the pianist could play the flute as well.

At the end of the story, due to pressure, the goddess had to leave the mortal realm. The prima ballerina was hoisted into the air by stage wires, her movements remaining graceful and fluid. Before departing, she returned to the male lead one last time, her body suspended in mid-air. After their gazes lingered on each other's faces for a long time, the goddess finally landed a kiss—cautious and delicate. The two rubbed their lips against each other. The wires pulled the "goddess" away several times, but the male lead held onto her arms tightly. They were truly inseparable, both wanting to continue touching each other, both wanting to leave behind more memories. Thus, one moment the goddess was pulled away by the intervention of the heavenly gods, their lips parting, and the next, she "flew" back, and they seized every fleeting moment for one last bit of intimacy, kissing each other desperately and urgently.

Perhaps because of the "final farewell" in the script, perhaps because of the show's popularity, but mostly, likely due to the three-week ban on intimacy, the two displayed an unusual level of closeness. The ballerina had previously mentioned that since they married, they would hug and kiss many times every day. Now, with one having just danced and the other having just played music, both looked absolutely stunning. The atmosphere had long since been set, but every time they were pulled apart by the wires before they could be satisfied, and since the production team had warned that any "return flight" could be the last one—followed by the "intimacy ban"—each time, they were just as urgent as the characters they played, both satisfied and unfulfilled.

Finally, the "goddess" was taken away.

"This segment is interesting," the Best Actress laughed.

Next was the couple consisting of the Great Director and the Best Actress, Jin Ranqiu and Qing Lan.

A director and an actress, they naturally acted with ease. Their piece was heartwarming. In this play, they portrayed two people nearing their seventies. Both suffered from severe illnesses and had lived lonely lives, yet they had encountered their destined love at the very end of their journey. With their lives already in a countdown, they had no need for hesitation; their love was pure.

In the short play, on the day of their kiss, snow was falling from the sky. On the real stage, snowflakes also drifted down, looking incredibly beautiful. As elderly characters, the protagonists' kiss was very unique—shy and restrained, yet because they had waited so many, many years for this moment—far longer than the younger couples—the kiss was also filled with longing, like a drought-stricken land meeting rain.

Again, due to the script, the show, and the frustration of these past days—with the production team providing the venue and creating romance, making the guests reminisce and express their love, holding hands and kissing cheeks, yet strictly forbidding anything else—the couple wanted to use this opportunity on this special occasion to tell each other, "I love you."

The sensation of their lips touching felt almost devout, old-fashioned, and filled with joy.

At the end of the story, because both were in such unbearable pain, they decided to go to the paradise together. They injected all the medication given to them by the doctor. Amidst the falling snow, they knelt on the ground, foreheads pressed together. Holding each other's faces, the male lead said, "I love you. Meeting you in this life is the greatest happiness of my life."

The female lead replied, "Me too. I love you too. Meeting you in this life is the greatest happiness of my life."

They kissed for a long time again, murmuring "I love you" and "I love you too," until suddenly, two lines of tears fell down the Best Actress's face, followed by the Great Director's.

Kiss after kiss.

"I..." the producer was stunned, saying, "That 'crying' wasn't in the script!"

A staff member remarked, "They might... truly be moved. It wasn't the characters crying; it was them."

On stage, the two lay in the snow, and finally, the heavy snow completely covered their cold bodies. After the lights dimmed, the Great Director and the Best Actress seemed not to have fully emerged from the scene; they held hands, looking at each other for a long time.

Everyone agreed that the show was actually quite good.

The third pair was the athlete and the singer, Li Mingzhe and Jiang Shen.

The singer played the male lead whose face was disfigured by a fire. Thus, in terms of makeup, half of the singer's face was made to look terrifying, scarred, and uneven. In the script, this character had long held a secret crush on the tall, sunny youth; they had been good friends who spent every day together at an orphanage. During childhood, the male lead often sang various songs for the second lead.

After the accident left him disfigured, the male lead dared not appear before the second lead, but he secretly moved into the apartment next door, tracking his movements like a madman, inquiring about everything, and singing on his balcony whenever that person was sad—on the anniversary of his mother's death, the day he lost a game, the day his girlfriend left him...

The second lead loved those songs from next door and had also seen the boy living there—the one who wore a half-mask, both beautiful and mysterious. He did not know that this person was his childhood friend.

At the end of the story, the male lead knew his ugly appearance made him unworthy, and that he was dark, extreme, and possessed a terrifying sense of possessiveness. Since the other had worked so hard to get from the orphanage to where he was, he should have a bright future. Finally, he decided to give up everything and end it all.

But in the end, he couldn't bear to leave without a single memory. On the day of their formal farewell, he arrived at the other's door. The second lead looked at him with surprise, and he, wearing his mask, walked up and, with immense cherishing and caution, with excitement and trepidation, kissed him on the lips.

The second lead froze for a moment, then immediately reacted, embracing him and kissing him deeply in return.

After a breathless kiss, the male lead smiled and said he was returning next door. But in reality, once back in his room, he packed all his luggage, and while humming a love song he often sang in childhood, he left the building, disappearing from the second lead's world forever.

Li Mingzhe had no intention of merely "acting" the role; he just wanted to kiss to his heart's content, as he had been stifled for too long. Just now, in the short play, as required, Jiang Shen had sung several old classic love songs, constantly enticing him.

In this moment, Li Mingzhe's high testosterone levels and lung capacity as an athlete were fully displayed. Since Jiang Shen was a singer, his lung capacity was also astounding. They sucked and bit at each other's lips, stirring their tongues to explore one another—Jiang Shen remained passively receptive, losing all control.

The producer exclaimed excitedly, "Real couple! See that? This is a real couple!!!"

Su Shengxin: "..."

The producer continued, "On this show, the audience is rooting for real couples!!!"

Today, the guest stars, the female-female couple Jiang Wen and Xiahou Miao, were also participating in the shoot.

Jiang Wen and Shang Yin exchanged hypocritical greetings. "Seeing you again, President Shang."

Shang Yin replied coolly, "Seeing you again, President Jiang."

The background for Jiang Wen and Xiahou Miao’s short play was 16th-century England. Xiahou Miao’s character was a young lady of a noble family, and Jiang Wen’s character was her portrait painter. The young lady lived in luxury but was actually very repressed and despairing. She was destined to marry a man notorious for his extravagance and debauchery.

On the third day of the portrait session, the painter asked her, "Miss, are you unhappy?"

The young lady was surprised, and the painter pulled out a clean paintbrush—the finest one in the set. She gently swept it across the corners of the young lady's eyes and said, "Miss, these two spots... have no sign of a smile; they are extremely melancholic."

The young lady blinked, watching the painter.

The painter then used the brush to sweep across the corners of her lips and said, "And these two spots... are not a real smile, either. The arc is wrong. You seem very unhappy."

The young lady stared at her blankly. She was the first person to notice these things.

In the story, over the next few days, the young lady began to seduce her. She said, "A fake smile is indeed not beautiful; it will affect our painting. Painter, can you tell me something interesting?"

So, while painting, the artist told the young lady about her own childhood on a ranch—a life completely different from the young lady's. The young lady listened intently, occasionally laughing out loud. As the painter spoke, she observed the genuine smile from just above the frame, carefully recording and recreating it with her brush.