I Went Crazy Killing in the World of Gods and Demons - Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Xie Qingling opened the picture sent by Dong Jia.

It was a ticket for a dance drama performance. Besides the title “Butterfly Lovers,” the ticket featured a stage photo of a girl.

The girl was dressed in bridal attire, wearing a floral crown, exquisitely adorned yet her face was full of sorrow, as if on the verge of tears. The intricate and beautiful red wedding dress did nothing to lessen the melancholy between her brows; instead, it created an intensely conflicting, decadent beauty.

After joining the department and seeing Shen Huaizhou’s face every day, Xie Qingling had thought her aesthetic standards had become exceptionally high and picky. Yet, this girl still managed to captivate her at first glance.

The girl wasn’t someone with absolutely flawless features, but in this stage photo, she radiated a breathtaking, peerless charm.

It was a very unique, indescribable feelingunforgettable after just one look.

This must be what people online called an “aura beauty.”

The kind you instantly recognize as stunning, and who grows more extraordinary the longer you look.

Beside the girl’s stage photo, a line of small text was printed:

“Zhu Yingtai: Played by Xia Ke’er.”

Xia Ke’er?

Xie Qingling froze, feeling the name was somewhat familiar.

After racking her brain, she finally remembered: throughout their four years of university, she had often seen Dong Jia playing videos in their dorm, studying dance moves by analyzing footage.

In those videos, the name Xia Ke’er appeared frequently, so naturally, Xie Qingling had memorized it.

But…

Taking another look at the bright-eyed, radiant girl with an ethereal temperament on the ticket, Xie Qingling began to doubt her memory.

Because in Dong Jia’s videos, Xia Ke’er hadn’t been this dazzlingly beautiful and peerless.

The change was truly remarkable.

In what felt like a blink, it was as if she had become a completely different person.

Modern makeup and styling were truly powerful, capable of transforming an otherwise unremarkable girl into someone so brilliant and eye-catching.

It wasn’t just Xie Qingling; even Jiang Lvlv recognized Xia Ke’er.

Jiang Lvlv sent a shocked emoji.

Jiang Lvlv: OMG, am I seeing this right? Is this Xia Ke’er? I used to watch her performances with Jiajia, and I don’t remember her being this pretty!

Jiang Lvlv: She’s so beautiful! It’s just that the play seems badit’s clearly a tragedy. Work is already miserable enough; I don’t want to go get my heart broken.

Dong Jia: Right, right? I’ve watched her climb step by step to where she is today. It’s seriously inspiring, guys.

Dong Jia: I saw in her interview that back when she wasn’t famous, there were times she didn’t get a single performance all year and could barely afford food. Of course her energy and Spirit weren’t great then. But now… hehe, she’s a star in the spotlight!

Dong Jia: You know what they saysuccess nourishes a person. Success is the best armor!

Dong Jia: Also, how can you call this getting your heart broken? This is Be aesthetics! It’s clearly another form of He!

Xie Qingling: Okay, I’ll go with you. Is it tomorrow? I’ll finish writing my self-criticism tonight.

Dong Jia: ??? Did I hear that right? Self-criticism? What kind of boss makes employees write self-criticism?

Dong Jia: Then hurry up and write it! See you tomorrow at the opera house entrance!

Xie Qingling: …Don’t even mention it.

She also wanted to know why, even after starting work, she still had to frequently write self-criticisms.

Xie Qingling sighed gloomily and then began scribbling nonsense.

Because the self-criticism required such length, Xie Qingling repeatedly ran out of words and was left speechless. She could only rephrase terms that had already appearedlike “repentance,” “regret,” “self-reflection,” “turning over a new leaf,” and so onpadding it with a lot of irrelevant, meaningless content until it became so verbose and tedious that if any of her former Chinese teachers saw it, they would disown her as a student.

After piecing it together like this, she finally completed the twenty-thousand-word self-criticism.

The next day, after submitting the self-criticism, Xie Qingling finally felt liberated.

One day of her seven-day holiday had already passed, leaving only six days left. She absolutely had to relax and enjoy it properly.

For this rare holiday, Xie Qingling made thorough preparations, changing into her usual comfortable clothesthough she still wore a long dress to conceal the unconventional weapons she carried.

After all, strictly speaking, Xie Qingling never truly had time off.

Even during her holiday, if Ling Fang needed to assemble the team for an urgent situation, she still had to comply.

Once ready, Xie Qingling went downstairs with her bag, looking as if she were heading out for an appointment.

Ye Anran, who was on duty on the first floor and also writing a self-criticism, saw her and was so envious she nearly cried. She said, “Hey, I really envy you. You just started and already made contributions, getting a holiday. Who knows when I’ll ever manage to scrape together a break?”

“What are you up to? Got plans?” Ye Anran asked.

“Yeah, going to see a dance drama with my friend.”

“Dance drama? Is it Butterfly Lovers?”

Xie Qingling was surprised and asked curiously, “How did you know?”

“Don’t you know? The dance drama Butterfly Lovers is super popular right now! Tickets are extremely hard to getscalpers online are selling them for as much as three thousand!”

“That’s insane?” Only then did Xie Qingling realize how precious the tickets in Dong Jia’s hands were. She tentatively asked, “Is this Butterfly Lovers really that good?”

Ye Anran said, “I wouldn’t know; it might just be marketing. The word-of-mouth for this dance drama is incredible. I heard everyone who sees the live version comes out raving about it, turning into spontaneous promoters. So naturally, it blew up.”

In Xie Qingling’s existing impression, dance dramasbeing a form of appreciation with a relatively high barrier to entrywere quite niche. Online discussions about such entertainment were also scarce, and she herself rarely went to watch them.

She never expected this Butterfly Lovers to be so popular; it seemed like the whole world knew about it except her.

After a pause, Ye Anran added, “However, I’m quite familiar with Xia Ke’er, the principal dancer of the Butterfly Lovers troupe. Half of the hype around Butterfly Lovers is probably because of her. You often see her on variety showsshe’s been incredibly popular lately, with more fans than some movie stars. I heard someone even plans to invest in her as a lead actress for an award-winning film.”

“Got it. I’ll go verify it today then,” Xie Qingling bid her farewell. “It’s getting late; I should head out now.”

“Bye.” Ye Anran stared at the unfinished self-criticism on her desk, a bitter taste in her mouth. Especially after learning that Xie Qingling was going to watch Butterfly Lovers, her mood completely collapsed.

She really wanted to see Xia Ke’er live too!

Riding her motorcycle, Xie Qingling arrived at the opera house entrance.

Dong Jia was already waiting there.

Seeing Xie Qingling on the motorcycle, Dong Jia exclaimed, “Wow! That’s so cool! Is this new?”

“Of course not, it’s provided by my department at work.” Xie Qingling took off her helmet and smiled. “After the performance ends, I can take you for a ride.”

“Great! But we don’t have to wait until after the showwe can go for a spin now!” Dong Jia jumped excitedly and glanced at the time. “The performance lasts three hours, from 4 to 7 PM. We still have plenty of time!”

The thought of riding such a cool, mechanical motorcycle made Dong Jia’s heart race, as if a movie scene had come to lifeit felt… kind of cringey but thrilling.

The two first had lunch near the opera house before Xie Qingling took Dong Jia for a ride around the nearby streets.

An hour later, at 3 PM, they returned to the opera house entrance.

By then, Butterfly Lovers was warming up and about to begin.

Several performers in costume were doing backflips and other dance moves at the entrance, drawing cheers from the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Butterfly Lovers will begin admission shortly. Please proceed to the left entrance with your tickets. The Rainbow Feather Dance Troupe thanks you for coming.” After the performance, someone came out, bowed to the audience, and announced the show’s imminent start.

Xie Qingling and Dong Jia followed the crowd into the venue and quickly found their seats.

Their seats were at the back edge of the theater, with poor visibility and far from the stage, offering a less-than-ideal viewing experience.

Dong Jia sighed regretfully. “These were the only tickets we could get. This dance drama is just too hard to get tickets for.”

“But it’s okay. Even though we can’t see the goddess up close, I brought my autograph book. Since she rarely comes to Future City, I’ll wait backstage later and try to get her signature.” Dong Jia quickly cheered up.

As she said, she had followed Xia Ke’er even during her unknown years when she was just a nobody.

Seeing her idol achieve fame brought nothing but joy, and getting an autograph would keep her happy for a long time.

Soon, it was 4 PM.

As melodious music filled the air, the lights in the theater dimmed completely.

Everything turned dark, with only faint outlines of people visible.

Xie Qingling’s professional instincts kicked in, and she scanned the darkness a few extra times.

Then, the lights brightened, and with the stage lighting effects, Butterfly Lovers began.

The performance was divided into four acts, told from the perspective of the female lead, Zhu Yingtai.

From leaving home to pursue studies, to meeting the male lead and growing close, then returning home only to be told the female lead had been betrothed to Ma Wencai, the final scene concluded tragically with a lovers’ suicide.

This was Xie Qingling’s first time watching a dance drama live. She wasn’t particularly artistically inclined, but if asked about her impression of this performance, she could say with certainty: it was breathtakingly beautiful.

The stage lighting effects, the hauntingly beautiful atmosphere enhanced by swirling mist, combined with the dancers’ agile and powerful movementsgraceful as startled swans and soaring dragonsall came together to create an extraordinarily beautiful audio-visual feast.

Especially the lead performer, Xia Ke’er.

Xie Qingling wasn’t a professional judge, so she couldn’t evaluate the technical level of Xia Ke’er’s dance skills, but she could affirm that Xia Ke’er was the kind of dancer who could truly captivate the audience.

As her skirt fluttered, her figure moved with ethereal lightness, like a dancing butterfly constantly fluttering and spinning, or like a fleeting Spiritbeautiful yet fragile, evoking profound sorrow and endless tears.

No wonder Ye Anran said that everyone who watched it live would spontaneously recommend it to others afterward.

Xia Ke’er was too beautiful.

The Butterfly Lovers was too beautiful.

It was a beauty born from the fusion of body and stage, interpreted through life and soulindescribable, incomparable. The experience of watching it live was completely different from seeing it on screen.

Throughout the entire three-hour performance, no one left their seat or went to the restroom.

It continued until the final scene: the lovers’ suicide.

Xia Ke’er appeared on stage wearing a red dress, performing sorrowful and poignant dance moves like a flower weeping blood.

Because of the Red Wedding Dress, Xie Qingling shuddered involuntarily whenever she saw this aesthetic of beauty. The spell she was under instantly broke, and she became fully alert.

She had actually been so entranced.

Xie Qingling frowned, sensing something was amiss.

She needed to maintain some level of awareness at all times, ready to receive Ling Fang’s instructions at any moment.

That had been utterly unacceptable, Xie Qingling thoughtshe almost had to write another self-criticism report.

Just then, on stage, Xia Ke’er removed her red outer garment, revealing pure white mourning clothes underneath.

Outwardly, the red dress symbolized joyous celebration and marriage, but inwardly, everything was crumblingshe had already resolved to join her beloved in death.

Her dance steps were chaotic yet beautiful; every arch of her back, every kick, every spin carried a wild, desperate beauty, as if she were rushing toward that beautiful yet sunless tomb destined never to see daylight.

Gradually, she drew closer to her beloved’s “tomb.”

And then, on Xia Ke’er’s plain white clothes, a stain of crimson began to spread.

Soon, the red gradually soaked through her originally white garments. With every movement Xia Ke’er made, the red stain deepened.

Clad in mourning clothes, she seemed to have performed magic on herself, changing once again into a “wedding dress.” Only this time, the “wedding dress” satisfied her completely. With a foolish laugh and two streams of bloody tears from her eyes, wearing this brilliantly red wedding dress, she resolutely rushed toward another world to reunite with the person she truly wished to marry.

Worldly rituals and the separation between life and death could not hinder her urgent steps.

With a heavy “thud,” Xia Ke’er, who had been dancing and rushing toward her doomed future, collapsed heavily before the “grave,” marking her death and the end of her love-suicide.

The curtain slowly closed, signaling the end of the play.

The stage effect was truly breathtaking. The audience was so immersed they could hardly extricate themselves, failing to realize immediately that the performance had concluded.

As the curtain fell, the theater fell into a brief silence, broken only by faint sobs. Then, thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue.

Dong Jia was flushed with excitement, tears streaming down her face as she clapped her hands vigorously.

Xie Qingling, likewise moved, applauded heartily.

But as she clapped, Xie Qingling’s hands suddenly froze.

She twitched her nostrils, sniffing intently at the faint traces of blood in the air. Accustomed to dealing with blood, her expression instantly turned grim.

That vivid crimson all over Xia Ke’er earlier…

Xie Qingling was startled.

Were their props really that realistic?