Professor He Tinglan closed her lesson plan just as the class bell rang.
She did not leave immediately. After organizing her notes, she walked straight toward Yun Qingqing, who was still seated.
“Student Yun Qingqing, wait a moment.”
Yun Qingqing looked up at the sound of her voice and saw Professor He already standing beside her desk.
Gu Mingyan had been about to leave while holding her hand, but she stopped when she saw this.
“I didn’t have time to say much earlier in class.” He Tinglan took out a business card from her folder and handed it to Yun Qingqing. “This is my contact information. If you truly have an interest in radiation physics, you can contact me anytime in the future if you have questions or need study advice.”
Yun Qingqing accepted the card with both hands. On it was simply printed: Professor and Doctoral Advisor, School of Physics, Yuncheng University — He Tinglan, along with an email address and office phone number.
“Thank you, Professor He.” She carefully put the card away.
He Tinglan nodded to her before finally turning and leaving the classroom.
As soon as she left, the atmosphere in the classroom immediately relaxed.
Ji Sihan was the first to come over, patting his chest exaggeratedly.
“Qingqing, you’re way too amazing! I was completely lost the whole time, and you could actually have a smooth back-and-forth with the professor!”
He gave her a thumbs-up.
“That’s a top student right there!”
Even the usually taciturn Yu Ran slightly turned his body and commented, “Very impressive.”
Gu Mingyan lifted her chin high, looking even happier than if she herself had been praised.
“Of course! Our Qingqing is just low-key and doesn’t like showing off. In reality, she’s incredibly smart!”
Meng Xian stood a few steps away, hearing every word of the conversation. The more she listened, the more irritated she felt.
She had originally believed that with her careful preparation, she would firmly outshine Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing in this class and regain some ground.
But Yun Qingqing had quietly kept up with Professor He’s questions and even received such rare recognition.
Meng Xian had always enjoyed smooth sailing in life, yet on this program she kept feeling an unwilling frustration at being overshadowed.
She adjusted her expression, stepped forward, and inserted herself into the conversation with a smile.
“Qingqing really is amazing. I was quite dazzled myself. Looks like I’ll have to ask Qingqing for advice more often in the future.”
As she spoke, she turned toward the director and asked in a light tone,
“Director, what’s our next class? Another hardcore course like this?”
She was clearly trying to steer the topic away from Yun Qingqing.
The director glanced at the schedule sheet and replied, “The next class is an acting class. Considering we have quite a few actor guests, the program team arranged some performance training.”
“An acting class?”
Meng Xian’s eyes lit up instantly.
Acting was her professional field.
Although she wouldn’t claim her acting skills were extraordinary, compared to Yun Qingqing—a complete amateur—and Gu Mingyan, whose terrible acting had been mocked by the media, she definitely had the advantage.
The group moved to another, more spacious studio classroom with wooden flooring.
When they pushed open the door, a middle-aged male teacher was already waiting inside. He wore a casual suit, and his hair was neatly combed—somewhat different from the public’s image of laid-back artistic workers.
The moment Meng Xian saw him, the smile on her lips became impossible to suppress.
“Teacher Xu Hui! It’s actually you!”
The man called Xu Hui turned at the sound of her voice. Seeing Meng Xian, he also revealed a warm smile.
“Xiao Meng? What a coincidence.”
The director seized the moment to ask, “So Teacher Meng and Teacher Xu know each other?”
“Know each other? It’s more than that!” Meng Xian said with admiration in her voice. “Last year I attended an actor training program, and Teacher Xu Hui was the lead instructor! Teacher Xu is a master in the theater world. His ‘immersive situational teaching method’ is incredibly effective…”
She went on enthusiastically about her experiences in his class and what she had gained, praising Xu Hui’s teaching achievements and industry status.
Being publicly praised like this by a student, Xu Hui couldn’t help showing a somewhat pleased expression.
“Xiao Meng is too polite. That was your own dedication. I remember your performance in the training program was outstanding—it’s quite rare among young actors.”
Meng Xian’s cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head modestly.
“That’s because the teacher taught well.”
Their mutual compliments continued for several minutes. Gu Mingyan, growing impatient from waiting, lazily yawned.
“Teacher, when are we actually going to start class?”
Xu Hui’s words stopped abruptly halfway through. He turned his gaze toward Gu Mingyan, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes at being interrupted.
“Since some students can’t wait any longer, then let’s begin the lesson.” Xu Hui’s tone cooled slightly. “We’ll start with a short improvisation exercise to get a feel for it.”
He signaled his assistant to distribute several pages of script to everyone.
It was a classic scene adapted from an award-winning suspense film.
The story roughly followed a young female police officer investigating a case despite opposition. Two high school girls had been found dead after falling at a construction site behind their school. After preliminary investigation, the police concluded that the two had quarreled and accidentally pushed each other, leading to a fall, and the case was closed.
But a newly recruited young policewoman sensed something wrong. Under pressure and obstruction from her superiors, she insisted on reopening the investigation, eventually uncovering a bloody truth—
The seemingly virtuous and respected teacher was actually a beast in human clothing who molested students. When he attempted to assault one of the girls, she resisted fiercely. Enraged and humiliated, he killed her. Another girl, who had come to apologize to her friend and happened to witness the scene, was then murdered as well. He carefully staged the crime scene to look like an accidental fall.
“Finished reading the script? Now we’ll assign roles.” Xu Hui’s gaze swept across the group.
The moment he finished speaking, Yun Qingqing raised her hand almost without hesitation.
“I want to play the corpse.”
Xu Hui froze for a moment. He probably had never seen a student in an acting class so enthusiastically volunteer for the role of “corpse.”
Gu Mingyan lowered her voice and reminded her, “Qingqing! Roles like that are somewhat taboo in the industry. It’s unlucky, and there’s no room to perform. Why don’t you pick another one?”
Meng Xian nearly burst out laughing.
She had previously treated Yun Qingqing as a formidable opponent, thinking she might be quietly clever. But now, in such an obvious opportunity to showcase oneself, fight for screen time, and win favor, Yun Qingqing actually chose to play a motionless corpse—possibly without even showing her face?
Wasn’t that just foolish?
But Yun Qingqing spoke with righteous seriousness.
“Precisely because everyone thinks it’s unlucky and doesn’t want to play it, someone needs to step up. There are no big or small roles, and no roles of high or low status. I’m willing to accept the challenge of playing the corpse.”
The livestream comments were filled with rows of question marks:
【This is weird, guys. Did anyone else see Yun Qingqing’s lips curl just now?】
【I saw it too. She suppressed it immediately, but she definitely sneaked a smile.】
【Damn, why do I feel like she actually really wants to play this role?!】
Meng Xian didn’t think that far. She sneered inwardly, convinced that Yun Qingqing was just being deliberately mysterious and unconventional, trying to attract attention with such a sensational stunt.
She stopped paying attention to Yun Qingqing and focused all her attention back on the role assignments.
The remaining roles were distributed in an orderly manner.
Jiang Mingqian, whose temperament carried a steady yet slightly gloomy air, was assigned to play the beastly teacher in human clothing.
Ji Sihan and Nan Xu would play Worker A at the construction site and the witness who discovered the bodies.
Ding Manni, very self-aware, chose the likable but minor role of the deceased girl’s classmate.
Yu Ran took the role of the veteran police officer who initially believed the case was an accident and tried to persuade the female lead to stop investigating.
At this point, only two roles remained: the performer for the final corpse, and the female lead who insisted on pursuing the truth.
Xu Hui hardly hesitated before making the decision.
“Meng Xian, you’ll play the policewoman.”
Meng Xian felt a surge of wild joy in her heart, but a trace of hesitation appeared on her face at just the right moment.
“Teacher Xu, if I play the female lead, then what about Mingyan…?”
Xu Hui said bluntly, “This role has many emotional layers and is difficult to perform. Not just anyone can handle it. If it’s given to someone inexperienced, it will only drag down the entire scene.”
Meng Xian immediately turned toward Gu Mingyan with an apologetic expression.
“Mingyan, don’t take it to heart. Teacher Xu just has high expectations for classroom performance. He’s not saying you’re bad…”
【Xianxian is really too kind! Obviously she deserves the female lead based on her own ability, yet she still worries about others’ feelings.】
【Exactly. Teacher Xu already made it clear—the role is difficult. Meng Xian’s acting is good, of course she should play it.】
【Gu Mingyan struggles even acting as a flower vase. She should stop trying to grab the female lead…】
“What nonsense are you rambling about?” Gu Mingyan interrupted Meng Xian’s speech without the slightest politeness. “When did I ever say I wanted to play your role? Stop making things up yourself.”
Meng Xian was choked speechless, her expression stiffening as the words she had prepared got stuck in her throat.
“Then you—”
“Qingqing wants to play a corpse, so of course I’m going to play one with her. Otherwise wouldn’t she get bored lying on the ground alone?” Gu Mingyan rolled her eyes.
Throughout the entire exchange, Yun Qingqing kept smiling sweetly.
【??? Even though this is the wrong moment, why am I shipping this? What kind of life-and-death bestie bond is this?!】
【LOL Gu Mingyan may speak bluntly but she’s right. She never wanted to fight for the female lead. Meng Xian kept talking to herself—kind of awkward.】
【+1. Feels like getting the benefit and still pretending to be modest.】
Xu Hui was slightly surprised by Gu Mingyan’s attitude but still nodded.
“Alright. Then the other corpse will be played by Gu Mingyan. Everyone go change into costume. Rehearsal begins in ten minutes.”
The acting class officially began.
However, everyone quickly discovered a serious problem.
The heating in the spacious studio classroom seemed to be broken.
While it wasn’t freezing, the indoor temperature was clearly low. Standing around in normal spring-autumn clothing for too long made a chill creep in.
To fit their roles, everyone except Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan—who were playing corpses—had to change into the classroom’s costume clothes.
Jiang Mingqian’s teacher’s suit was relatively thick, but everyone else’s costumes were old and thin, completely unable to block the cold wind seeping through the classroom.
Especially Meng Xian, the female lead.
She was wearing only a poorly made light blue shirt. The moment the cold wind rushed in, she shivered uncontrollably.
While trembling and reciting her lines, Meng Xian comforted herself in her mind.
It’s fine. Just endure it.
Yes, it’s cold—but as the female lead, the screen time and discussion will definitely be much higher than the two people lying motionless on the ground.
During the break, Meng Xian was almost frozen stiff.
Using the excuse of organizing her emotions, she stepped toward the edge of the camera frame and secretly glanced at her phone.
She had assumed people would praise her dedication, praise her subtle acting, praise her professionalism despite the harsh conditions…
But when she opened the livestream, the comments were the complete opposite:
【HAHAHA sorry but I can’t hold it in—Meng Xian’s nose almost ran into her mouth while saying her lines.】
【I SAW IT TOO!! Yellowish, and the close-up showed it super clearly.】
【Damn, now that you mention it, that’s kinda gross… the fairy image just collapsed.】
Meng Xian abruptly covered her mouth and instinctively looked around. After confirming no one was paying attention, she hurriedly pulled out her makeup mirror.
In the mirror, the tip of her nose was red from the cold, and beneath it there was indeed a faint but unmistakable trace that looked less than clean.
She hurriedly wiped her nose, then tried to find the kind of comments she wanted to see.
However, aside from teasing her runny nose, the chat was flooded with two other names instead:
【By the way, Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan are way too committed to playing corpses. They haven’t moved at all.】
【Seriously. From the beginning until now there’s been zero movement under the white cloth. I almost want to call an ambulance.】
【Their acting is way too realistic. It’s kind of scary.】
Meng Xian frowned, unable to understand why two “corpses” with no lines and barely any camera time were getting so much attention.
At that moment, Ji Sihan—who was also freezing—shivered as he put on his coat and rubbed his hands while walking over to the two bodies lying on the ground.
“Do you two want to get up and drink some hot water? Lying there the whole time must make you numb.”
As he spoke, he casually lifted the white sheet covering them.
Underneath, Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan were still wearing their own thick sweaters and coats. Their hands were folded over their stomachs, their breathing slow and even.
They had actually fallen asleep comfortably!!
Ji Sihan’s eyes widened.
“…You two really know how to enjoy life!”