m.y.a.r.t.i.s.t. is r.e.b.o.r.n

61-80

When leaving, Shen Huai talked with Director Yu and the others. Shen Huai usually looked cold, but if he really wanted to make friends with others, he could be particularly meticulous and thoughtful, and take their words to heart.

It didn’t take long for director Yu and the others to make friends with him.

Shen Huai took them to the car, then returned to the theater.

Chu Mei Bo stood alone in the corridor, staring at the stage.

It was already a little late, and the sky gradually started to darken. The originally busy stage was deserted, and several waiters were cleaning tables and floors as if the time of prosperity was left behind.

The lanterns along the corridor were antique ones, swaying in the autumn wind. 

The dim yellow light fell on Chu Mei Bo’s face, casting a half light and half dark shadow.

She looked just like when Shen Huai first met her, like an old photo of the Republic of China. History passed her by, leaving behind only her figure.

Shen Huai frowned slightly and called her name.

Chu Mei Bo looked back as if she only now returned to this world.

Shen Huai asked her, “What’s the matter?”

Chu Mei Bo’s face appeared a little stunned, then she shook her head, “Nothing, just remembered some things from the past.” 

Shen Huai didn’t speak and waited quietly for her to go on. 

Chu Mei Bo’s eyes returned to the stage again, and she whispered, “When I met Yun Chu Yi, she was only 16 years old. She studied with me under the same master. She looked down on me as a layman, always trying to squeeze me out. I had a bad temper too, I was angry at that time, so I made a bet with her.”

“Gambling, movies or Beijing opera, which one will keep being popular in the future.”

At this point, Chu Mei Bo suddenly stopped. 

Yun Chu Yi didn’t see the ending, but she saw it. She had won, but she was not happy. 

She looked at the stage and thought of the high spirited woman who was once standing on stage. She raised her chin high and said, “Even if you learn to sing and learn to imitate figures, so what? Learn to be a copy and lose your own spirit. People like you can’t even get on stage.” 

Now, Chu Mei Bo has understood what Yun Chu Yi said, but she will never see again her opponent who was both an enemy and a friend.

Shen Huai was silent.

Now he understood why when Xue Ling sang the aria before, Chu Mei Bo’s reaction was so fierce that she didn’t care to reprimand Xue Ling face to face.

Xue Ling learned from Yun Chu Yi but she didn’t get a chance to meet her goddess. A hundred years ago, she couldn’t even go on stage. But now she not only got on stage, but no one even heard the problems with her singing. How far had the decline of Peking opera progressed? Although she scolded Xue Ling, she didn’t mention anything else? Is it not for the old friends she mourned? 

Shen Huai said softly, “Everything in this world is changing. It’s a normal thing, you should not be too sad.” 

Chu Mei Bo sighed: “I’m not sad, I just feel a little scared. Do you think that one day, movies and TV dramas will gradually decline like Beijing opera, and there will be something new to replace them?”

Shen Huai had never seen Chu Mei Bo so depressed before. After thinking about it, he said, “Don’t be too pessimistic. Even if movies become unpopular, your performance will always exist in this world, that is the most precious wealth.”