Smile Code (Lost Laughter) 失笑 - Zhu Le 祖乐

47

I cannot accept that I am not the special one

Returning to the Rongmao Theater to perform together, Lu Ming was obviously in a good mood: "It's rare to have six people here at once. This time I've written a very interesting script and even made a simple app."

The six people were handed scripts that began with a backdrop set in the 1980s, featuring six boys and girls living in a dilapidated building. They witnessed and became involved in a murder case, which led to various personality changes and shaped their subsequent life stories. It was like a sandbox game, where each person's actions could alter or influence the story's direction. Lu Ming said it was similar to "The Sims," with initial skills in beauty, money, and ability, and each person could choose one talent or distribute points evenly among all three.

"I understand now, the app is used to keep track of everything. Every choice you make in the story will affect your ending."

"Exactly."

Guan Xingxin laughed and said, "Uncle Lu also said he'd go to the factory to place orders, and he hasn't stopped researching scripts either."

"Keeping up with the times. This kind of offline sandbox game is much more expensive than selling plays. But I'm really grateful that you all are willing to help me test this script."

Each person was here for different reasons, but the common goal was perhaps... not to feel lonely. Gu Yi felt complicated at this moment, glancing at Liang Daiwen. Staying here with them certainly felt like a form of therapy. The script laid out in front of her helped her to temporarily lift her spirits, at least not disrupting the fun of the game.

She and Yu Dule both chose money for the game, Liang Daiwen maxed out his ability, Guan Xingxin maxed out her beauty, and Xu Guanrui and Lu Ming distributed points evenly across all three. Lu Ming laughed and said, "It's like life preferences by fate. I got a cross-dressing role. Whoever plays with me, don't mess up the performance."

The love stories of the three men and three women in the script were all quite different. Liang Daiwen was a quiet, restrained boy in his youth, skilled with knives due to his family's profession as chefs, but seemed timid by nature. Xu Guanrui was a small-time thug from a poor family, often getting hurt while helping others, but had always looked out for Gu Yi. Guan Xingxin was a simple and sincere older sister who had secretly loved Yu Dule for a long time, while Yu Dule liked Lu Ming's character in the story... After witnessing the murder, none of them reported it, and each person began making their own choices.

Gu Yi often woke up suddenly in her dreams because, with money, many people would come to disturb her, the door constantly crowded. Guan Xingxin, being beautiful, had many admirers, but because she witnessed the killer, she always had a blurry shadow in her mind and was often weak and sick. Liang Daiwen, due to his abilities, soon became successful in his career but never spoke of his past. Every time an event occurred, the outcome changed depending on the choices made. As Guan Xingxin read, she laughed: "How strange, as soon as I take a script, I always end up with a role that's not the protagonist, but this story really feels like a battlefield for Gu Yi."

For a moment, no one spoke.

The plot moved to 1998, when, for the first time in the story, Liang Daiwen fought for Gu Yi, and Xu Guanrui, the leader of the small-time thugs, became his rival. The two boys liked the same girl, and they exchanged a few lines in a confrontation.

"She's mine."

"We're competing on the same stage, we both have the right to."

"Then let's see who can win her heart. You're so weak, you've just started learning to fight, how could she like you? Confession only counts as a victory if it reaches her heart. You're so good at holding back, she'll never know."