Chapter Sixty: Entangled in One's Own Web

Once, a rotund man with a crooked mouth named Luo declared that love is like an exam: women are the examiners, men the examinees. If you follow the rules and take the test honestly, the examiner might grant you a passing grade at best—meaning you’ll be kept as a backup, forever the second choice. The clever examinee will attempt to cheat, but all those little tricks and schemes are laid bare before the examiner’s eyes. She understands them all. Though she sees, she rarely calls them out—unless your cheating is utterly inept, in which case you’ll be shown the door. But if your cheating is both pleasing and a touch inventive, then harmony and happiness will follow.

To quote Fatty Luo, “Better have your umbrella ready.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m absolutely sure!”

“Is this really necessary?”

“It must be done!”

“All right then!”

This exchange took place between Huang Huibo and Wu Xiang one evening, right in front of the girls’ dormitory at the Film Academy.

Wu Xiang stood before a pile of candles, arranged to form letters: an ‘i’, a heart shape, and a ‘u’. Huang Huibo helped light them all. Naturally, this spectacle drew a crowd of students and faculty. It was too intriguing—what would Wu Xiang do next? Was he staging a confession in front of the girls’ dormitory?

Once the candles were all aglow, forming a striking display, Wu Xiang pulled out a large loudspeaker he had prepared and shouted up toward the roof:

“Huang Yi! I miss you! Huang Yi! I like you!…”

The outburst stunned everyone at the academy. Was this not straight out of “Speak Up If You Have Something To Say”? And Wu Xiang was using a northeastern dialect, sounding just like Grandpa Zhao from the skits.

Wu Xiang swore to the heavens he wasn’t copying anyone—though he had a loudspeaker, he needed it; after all, Huang Yi lived on the eighth floor.

Thud, thud, thud… And sure enough, the heroine herself appeared. The loudspeaker worked wonders.

When Wu Xiang saw Huang Yi’s graceful figure before him, a smile surfaced on his face, ready to speak—yet…

Suddenly, Huang Yi pulled out a red fire extinguisher from behind her and unleashed a torrent on the candles!

Hiss, hiss—the crowd was stunned, Wu Xiang frozen in disbelief.

The fire extinguisher worked splendidly; the candle display was gone in moments, and Wu Xiang ended up covered in dry powder. Whether Huang Yi meant it or not, no one could tell.

“I’ll tell you, Wu Xiang! There’s no way!” she declared, tossed down the extinguisher, turned, and headed back upstairs.

Silence reigned. No one expected Huang Yi to reject him so decisively. This was 1999—chasing girls like Wu Xiang did was rare, but she simply was not impressed.

“Xiangzi, are you…are you all right?” Huang Huibo, who had kept his distance, was shaken by Huang Yi’s dramatic entrance.

“I’m fine, let’s go.” With a thump, Wu Xiang dropped the loudspeaker, then walked away in dejection, paying no mind to the mess left behind.

Meanwhile, upstairs…

“Hahahahaha…” Back in her eighth-floor dorm, Huang Yi laughed heartily, her mouth stretched wide, tears nearly spilling.

“You can still laugh?” The spectacle had caused quite a stir; Zeng Hui and Dini couldn’t let it pass.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Haha…I can’t hold it in.” Huang Yi truly couldn’t suppress her laughter. Seeing Wu Xiang’s desolate expression was exhilarating. At last, she had her sweet revenge.

---

“I have to say, how could you…” Dini was at a loss for words.

Zeng Hui chimed in, “Now I see it clearly—Wu Xiang is actually pretty good, willing to go out on a limb and pull off something so dramatic. But you! You’re ruthless! Not only did you hurt him, you come back and laugh like this. Have you any heart? I really feel sorry for that tall bamboo pole—how did he ever fall for you…”

Admittedly, Zeng Hui and Dini’s scolding was justified, but within…

“Haha, I can’t help it, really—I just can’t stop.” Huang Yi kept laughing.

If not, then what?

Zeng Hui and Dini began to suspect something was off. Could it be…

Houhai was quite a distance from the Film Academy, at least ten miles, but its alleyways and small shops were charming, attracting many tourists to Beijing.

“Are you all right?”

“Can you not laugh when you ask if I’m all right?”

This conversation was between a man and a woman—the protagonists of the recent “legend” at the academy: Haiqing and Wu Xiang.

“Haha…” Haiqing struggled to control herself, but her eyes squeezed shut with laughter.

“Qing’er, why did I ever fall for you? You just whacked me upside the head, then had me accompany you shopping, and now you laugh at me like this. Sigh~” Wu Xiang felt salt was being rubbed into his wounds, and worse, he couldn’t complain. It was torture.

“Sorry, really, I didn’t mean it—but I just can’t help it.” Haiqing tried to stifle her laughter, but the more she tried, the more she wanted to laugh.

“Why can’t you help it?” Wu Xiang, now the object of ridicule, deeply felt what it was like for someone else’s happiness to build on his misery—and he was willing.

Why was he willing?

Simple. Haiqing had already surrendered to Wu Xiang’s advances yesterday, but with one condition: no classmates could know.

The reason was clear: if classmates didn’t know, then her mother wouldn’t either. That way, she’d be safe—not accused of cozying up to a wealthy man while still in school.

A very sound reason, but Wu Xiang was frustrated. He wasn’t really rich—he was her classmate.

“But you’re a wealthy classmate! You toss around millions like nothing—that’s not rich?” Haiqing’s point was valid.

What now? Most people already knew Wu Xiang was pursuing Huang Yi, the story had spread. Wu Xiang was fond of the martyr act—so he staged another.

The candle-lighting, the loudspeaker shout—all Wu Xiang’s ideas. Now he finally understood what it meant to “entrap oneself.”

Yet he found the experience rather sweet, knowing Haiqing’s rejection was just for show—the fiercer the refusal, the…

“Haha…” Her laughter was infectious, and Wu Xiang was a bit annoyed. Haiqing, after calming herself, said, “I just feel so satisfied, really. Whenever I think about us, it seems you’re always getting the upper hand, but now I’ve finally evened the score! Ha ha ha…”

The less dignified her laughter, the more Wu Xiang conceded defeat. Forget it; since they were out, might as well enjoy the evening. “Qing’er, are you hungry? Shall we get a late-night snack?”

Haiqing agreed, but had a caveat. “Can you stop calling me that? Qing’er, Qing’er—it makes me sound so frivolous. Can’t you pick something else?”

“What should I call you? ‘Yi’? ‘Little Yi’ won’t do either—wrong generation.” Wu Xiang was helpless.

“Haha…” Once again, Haiqing seemed to have her laughter nerve struck; she couldn’t stop.

“All right, all right, don’t die laughing now.” Wu Xiang was deliberately teasing her.

She tried to compose herself, though her dignity was long gone. “Well, your clothes are dirty—how about I wash them for you?”

“Oh please, you’ll probably make me act it out again. I can’t take it.” Wu Xiang genuinely cared for her—previously, it had all been a game.

---

“Haha…” Haiqing’s threshold for laughter was low; she could laugh at nearly anything. “Let me tell you something—I laughed so hard just now that Zeng Hui and Dini figured it out. I couldn’t stand their interrogation, so I confessed everything.”

For girls, the go-to was tickling.

“Holy hell!” Wu Xiang was startled; he knew exactly what Haiqing meant. “Are you planning to make me act again?”

“Haha…No need, I trust them, they shouldn’t spill the secret…”

They looked every bit a sweet couple, blending into the crowd without drawing attention—but at the Film Academy, the news was explosive.

“Did you hear? Wu Xiang went after Huang Yi and got shot down.”

“Serves him right—finally hit a brick wall! He’s been too lucky.”

Male students enjoyed this sort of talk; the girls had a different take.

“Huang Yi is so strange—what’s wrong with Wu Xiang? He hasn’t even graduated and he’s won awards; his film box office numbers are higher than many teachers achieve in a lifetime. And with her figure, she dares act coy? Really!”

“Exactly!”

“I remember when Wu Xiang first started school, he liked Huang Yi. Don’t forget their bet. I think this is all to get her attention.”

“No way—it’s so childish.”

“But honestly, I find his childishness quite endearing.”

“Haha, you’re not into him, are you?”

“Get out!”

There was talk of every kind; Wu Xiang’s friends consoled him, and he accepted their kindness with a smile.

He wasn’t affected much, attending classes as usual. He’d anticipated this, and Haiqing’s situation seemed secure. But when he followed Professor Han’s instruction to audit the photography class, someone approached him.

“You’re Wu Xiang, right? You’re pretty creative. I happened to snap some photos yesterday, and today the school paper staff asked me for them. I figured I’d need your permission first.”

The person before him had a round face, was a bit chubby, with thick brows, large eyes, and naturally curly hair. Wu Xiang recognized him immediately—wasn’t this the future director Ning Hao!

Yes, it was him. Wu Xiang recalled that Ning Hao graduated from the Film Academy, and happened to be in the photography department.

“Hello, I’m Wu Xiang. May I ask your name?” Facing a future director, Wu Xiang could not be rude.

“Hi, I’m Ning Hao. Sorry—I didn’t get your permission before taking the shots; I had equipment on hand and just took them.” He was quite courteous.

No wonder—Wu Xiang was younger, but already a well-known director, class of ’97, while Ning Hao was a freshman from the class of ’99.

“It’s fine, let me see. Wow, they’re really good!” Wu Xiang was impressed.

“So, can I submit them to the school paper?”

“Of course not!” Wu Xiang was excited, but not foolish.

(P.S. I know some readers will complain that my writing about love is bad, but why do I persist? Because this segment is actually a practical theory on how to win someone’s heart. Does it relate to the plot? Absolutely—don’t forget what movie the protagonist is shooting right now. I won’t write anything unrelated to the plot. Also, Luo’s material is worth checking out—his talk on romantic relationships is in the second season, episode one of “Logic Thinking.” If you find it useful for your own pursuit of love, hey, give me a tip, a recommendation, haha…)