A few days later, the official announcement came with the subtlety of a monkey hitting a bronze gong. Dean Zhao's voice echoed across the central courtyard through the campus loudspeakers, the same crackling and old system usually reserved for fire drills and reminders about long overdue library books. But on that particular morning, instead of urging students to evacuate a building, it declared:

"For the upcoming end-of-year charity gala, our School of Drama and Film is honoured to announce a joint project between Teacher Xu Jinli from the Drama Department and Young Master Li Zhen, returning alumnus and acclaimed international sculptor. May this collaboration be fruitful, innovative, and... successful."

After a beat of static, Dean Zhao's voice continued, clearly struggling to keep his tongue in check.

"Oh, and please make sure you two don't kill each other. That would be very inconvenient for our staff to cover. Thank you."

Laughter rippled through the courtyard.

Xu Jinli, standing on the terrace of his favorite rooftop studio with a paper cup of lukewarm coffee in his hands, froze mid-sip.

Excuse me?!

The cheering coming from below was half-hearted, the kind of applause given to a subpar performance, mixed with the sheer horror of watching a train wreck happen from a distance. Xu Jinli's long fingers tightened around the paper cup, strangling it until it dented. Milky-brown coffee overflowed and dripped down the white cuff of his shirt, but his mind wasn't there to notice.

No, it was somewhere else entirely...

...In a small and crowded room filled with all the things he held dear, from testaments of his past roles to the tall shadow that lingered in front of the door, unsure whether to step back into his life or not.

...In a classroom filled with early morning sunlight, when he heard those heavy footsteps once more, bringing with them the desire to hum a song he hadn't touched in years.

...Or maybe, going further back, to a summer night when the air was filled with warmth and oshmanthus, playing the role he was most proud of, in front of his favourite audience.

And now, hearing that official announcement, his mind fell into temporary shock, but not because working with Li Zhen was a bad idea or because he wasn't already bracing himself to do it. No, to put it like that was an understatement. The main problem was that he hadn't yet managed to come to terms with Li Zhen's return!

Not at all!

Especially not when the whole university was closely watching them, so there was nowhere he could hide, nor could he pretend everything was just a funny joke like he had until now!

By the time he ran down the hallway toward Dean Zhao's office, the sharp click of his boots against the floor tiles sounded like pure percussion. A deliberate, measured tempo, as if sheer rhythm could stop the chaos bubbling in his chest from spilling out.

And inside Xu Jinli's mind, the performance had already started.

Act I- Indignation.

Act II- Confusion.

Act III- The quiet, panicked realization that he would really have to stand in the same room as Li Zhen and create something serious with him.

An opening act of distress, an interlude of countless uncertainties and hesitations, and an unannounced encore of nerves so sharp they felt like splinters under his skin. It wasn't a prank as he initially thought, but an insidious scheme to drive him mad!

Because here was the naked truth.

Xu Jinli had not been prepared to see Li Zhen again.

So, when they reunited after all those years, he simply chose the easiest path out. Performing without hesitation, falling back into a role he was forced to master a long time ago. Smooth smile, rich tone, a tilt of the chin timed like a spotlight cue. But his entire being had felt like a rusty prop, a set piece wheeled onto stage in a hurry to keep the audience from seeing the gap in the scenery.

Because beneath the perfect mask, he had been, and still was, a mess.

Heart too fast, hands cold, mind split between wanting to throw something and wanting to reach out and touch.

And he could still feel the ghost of that night. The weight of his own hand on Li Zhen’s jaw, the warmth beneath his fingers, the steady line of a throat tilting back just enough to give him the upper hand...

...Why did I do that?! He thought, with a pang of embarrassment and pure mortification.

The truth was that seeing Li Zhen once more felt like missing a step on the stage's stairs. A sudden jolt, the kind that left your stomach swinging up in the sky even as you kept bowing for applause.

And now, he had to come down from the clouds and properly plan a collaboration.

.....................

Dean Zhao was waiting in his office, sipping tea like a benevolent Master waiting for his most beloved but exasperating disciple. At the moment, he was busy tending to a small bonsai he had received as a gift, focusing hard to cut just the right branch at just the right angle. In front of him, the desk was scattered with countless forms, contracts, and proposals, their amount building an unsteady paper tower, perched near the edge of the table. And right on top of it, a big clay teapot rested, emitting white steam that surrounded the bonsai like mist in a forest.

But don't ask what was in that teapot.

After Shen Yan managed to poison yet another faculty member, Zhao Feng decisively refused her offer to "regulate his inner heat", buying his own health supplements and keeping them locked in his desk drawer.

"Ah, my favourite troublemaker," Dean Zhao said without looking up. "Close the door before your storm of indignation blows my child over."

Xu Jinli obeyed, each step precise enough to hide the fact that his pulse was sprinting. "You announced my collaboration with Li Zhen to the entire campus without consulting me first."

"Indeed."

"Why?"

Dean Zhao finally looked up from among the small, green leaves, his eyebrows lifting in a silent question, as if the answer was painfully obvious. "Because if I told you beforehand, you'd have staged an entire tragedy about why it's a bad idea, and frankly, I just don't have the stamina for that today."

Duh...

But Xu Jinli crossed his arms, unwilling to take that for an answer. "I deserve to know when my career is about to be shackled to someone else's, especially when that someone is..."

"An enemy from your past?" Dean Zhao interrupted.

"A ghost from my past," Xu Jinli corrected him, but the voice that came out of his lips was thinner than intended. "I didn't even know he was back..."

"And yet, you don't seem surprised in the slightest." Reaching this point, Zhao Feng poured tea into a spare cup and slid it toward him with both hands, in a gesture that looked suspiciously like a peace offering.

Xu Jinli reached out to take it, accepting the teacup more for its prop value than comfort. "I was acting," he commented flatly. "And I deserve an award for it, but I did not think Teacher Shen was actually for real!"

"Right," Dean Zhao answered, his voice dry. "And it was a pretty convincing performance, since you managed to fool her." Then, with a concerned sigh, he continued: "But child, you've always been more honest than you think. You believe you're in full control of your life like you're directing a stage play, but sometimes, the wrong curtain just lifts, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Xu Jinli finally sat down, but more to ground himself than anything. The teacup emitted warmth in his hands, but he could feel his fingers trembling. In a second, he became painfully aware of a few things. Firstly, no matter how much he resented it, he still attracted roles he never intended to play. Secondly, no matter if he left it behind or how far away he hid, the intrigue, schemes, and conspiracies of the entertainment industry still managed to find him in the end.

And lastly, Dean Zhao could see too much, proving once and for all that he was not the genius actor he fancied himself to be.

"What's your actual reason for doing this without officially briefing me first?"

Hearing his question, Dean Zhao's shrewd eyes softened. Only slightly.

And yet, it was enough to make Xu Jinli even more tense.