The old gentleman had a warm smile on his face, "I've been waiting for you for a long time, sir. I'm glad you can come to the appointment - in fact, so far you are the only audience member who has actually come to the appointment in person. For this, I would like to express my sincere thanks to you.
Thank you for not making this terrible old man like me too sad, at least there are still people willing to come and see me."
Jiang Yan didn't have much reaction to this overly exaggerated description. "I'm serious, Master, there is no need to thank you. This is my own wish to see you. But your words are very interesting: listening to your words, you seem to know that I am in advance."
Want to come? I thought this was a random draw."
"Be careful what you say!" The out-of-shape manager stood up and said angrily, "It's a rare blessing to meet the chief. I hope you understand your position clearly-"
Before he could follow up with threats and scoldings, Jekyll grabbed his shoulders. "No, White, there's no need to say that. It's our honor to be able to see the audience. In front of them, we are the best."
student."
The subtle change in the manager's face seemed to imply a lot of struggle. "But, Eric," he tried to retort, "he's not even wearing a dress! This is really..."
"This proves that our goal has been achieved. This time drama is no longer something shelved on the shelf. More people are interested in this great art. This is something we should be happy about." The smile on Jekyll's face was like a mask.
Generally perfect, "Now, as we have agreed - can I be alone with this audience friend for a while? A lovely audience should have such qualifications."
The expression on the manager's face changed from red to white for a while, and finally he managed to twitch his lips and said: "As you wish, chief." After that, White walked out of the room quickly with his hands behind his back, and disappeared together with the receptionist who led the way.
Behind the heavy door.
"I'm really sorry." The chief said apologetically, "I hope you can understand this poor man. He is just a little excited: 'Silent Night' has never been such a huge success."
Jiang Yan nodded slightly, "I understand." Just as he was about to continue speaking, Jekyll's words directly followed the previous topic:
"Of course, I haven't answered your question just now. In fact, the audience members who met me were indeed randomly selected, but I still remember the faces of the audience members who originally sat in those seats. In other words, I can almost recall the appearance of all the audience members.
.”
Jiang Yan raised his eyebrows, "This is a bit unbelievable."
"I know." The chief shrugged very calmly and walked straight to the table in the corner of the room. This room seemed to be his dedicated lounge or dressing room. After all, it was hard to imagine that there would be a special reception room backstage. The orderly table
There is something special in the corner of the dressing table filled with all kinds of cosmetics: a wine container with a set of cups. The brown spirit in it is probably quite high. You can drink it in such a place near the stage.
I'm afraid it's one of his special privileges.
"Let's talk about the audience around you." Jekyll uncorked the wine container. "The people sitting on your left and right are women, a Luper and a Kuranta.
They are all young, and none of them are wearing dresses. On the left is a Ms. Li Boli with heavy makeup. The purple eye shadow seems to be to cover some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. As for her male companion..."
These words came out of his mouth continuously, without interruption. It seemed that he was not discussing the audience in the back row a hundred meters away in the dark theater, but describing some photos he had seen from the magazine at hand.
The details of the pixels are described vividly.
He poured the wine into two wine glasses, "So you see, I didn't lie." He walked slowly and handed the wine glasses to Jiang Yan, "But I also want to tell you the truth, not everything is true.
Drawn at random - you are not, I told White to arrange for you to have this opportunity."
Jiang Yan hesitated for a while and took the glass. "In that case, I guess you want to see me if you have something to do."
"Yes. We have looked at each other through masks, and we are not considered 'complete strangers'. But for a person like you, a person who I can feel has noble blood from the inside out, I am really interested in you."
Jekyll raised his glass gently to Jiang Yan, "As I know, you also have some questions about me. We should meet."
"...Yes, we really should meet." Jiang Yan also raised his glass slightly in greeting. After watching Jekyll take a sip of the wine, he sipped slightly at the rim of the glass. "Actually, I have a book here.
, if possible, I hope you can sign it for me."
"I'm flattered." Jekyll took the autobiography that had just been opened. "It's just a humble work. If you're interested, just let me know and I'll give you a copy from my place." He picked up the pen from the table and said
Jiang Yan took advantage of the opportunity when he put down his wine glass and put down his own glass as well. "A friend of mine asked me to ask you for this. If possible, I hope you can write 'Dear.J' for her on the title page.
This name."
"I believe she will like this thoughtful gift - I forgot about this. I haven't asked your name yet?"
Jiang Shao watched Jekyll pull off the pen cap in a very awkward way and handed it to his right hand, "Jiang Shao. This is a name from the Yan Kingdom. The meaning is a bit complicated. You can understand it as 'Lone Walker by the River'."
Meaning. Aren’t you right-handed?”
Jekyll smiled and said, "Yeah, although it's not a secret, few people really notice it. My father once taught me very strictly to write and do other things with my right hand: acting requires mastery of acting.
The ability of ordinary people, not to mention that everyone is more accustomed to shaking hands with the right hand... it's that simple."
When he said this, he was finishing the "To my dear..." section at the top. After Jiang Yan exposed his identity as a left-hander, he simply handed the pen to his left hand and quickly wrote a message on the title page.
and signature.
"This feeling is much more relaxing." The sincerity of this sentence cannot be doubted. Jekyll seemed to be telling some secrets hidden in his heart, "It doesn't feel good to wear a mask. I mean there are all kinds of things in this world."
There are so many kinds of masks: pretending to use your right hand is a kind of mask, clothing is also a kind of mask, and so are the expressions on your face and the lies in your mouth. Dressing up hypocritically all the time makes people feel scared and tired, just like wearing a mask at a dance
After a long time, your nose will hurt."
Jiang Yan was noncommittal, "Pretending is human nature, or people can't survive without masks. Unguessable intentions and emotions surround everyone all the time. If you don't fear this and don't hide your weaknesses, then you can't.
It’s an unimaginable situation—at least I can’t imagine a society where people would run around naked without any pretense.”
"You're right." This statement seemed to really make Jekyll laugh. "Restraint is a good thing and a virtue. I don't mean to be harsh. But I have some thoughts on this matter: you know that in nature
, living things have 'protective colors' and other various camouflage measures, which make people feel exquisite. In comparison, the camouflage that humans are born with seems too revealing: humans themselves have no camouflage."
Jiang Yan waited quietly for the next chapter, "But humans are the animals that are the best at disguise: deceiving others, deceiving the same kind, and even deceiving themselves - they must learn to deceive everything, because if they don't do this, their fragile lives will be ruined."
It would be difficult to maintain it. Then I realized a truth:
"Masks symbolize power. People can show their power as a creature by wearing a disguise that belongs to them or does not belong to them, thereby gaining power. But at the same time, another statement is also worth noting."
Jekyll's expression is mysterious, like a child sharing his heart.
"Power is the best mask."
The two looked at each other in silence until a knock on the door came from outside. "Chief, it's a meeting from the audience."
"...It doesn't look like that a coincidence." Jiang Shao smiled helplessly, and Jekyll shrugged. "Yeah, it's not a coincidence. But it's a pleasure to talk to you, and it doesn't feel awkward like wearing a mask. Even I
I feel relaxed even unconsciously.”
Jiang Yan took the only signed autobiography from the chief's hand and held the spine of the book very carefully.
"——I have a question." Jekyll looked at the audience walking towards the door and asked, "When a person like you encounters a very difficult problem, the kind of problem that cannot be solved, will you
Choose to ignore it?”
Jiang Yan turned back to look at the old gentleman, and Jekyll continued, ""Ascension" is the goal I have always been committed to. Now that it is over, I don't know what will happen next."
Jiang Yan's eyes were calm and he said calmly:
"Look, I'm already here."
Jekyll's perfect smile wavered for the first time.
"...very good answer."
Jiang Yan nodded and said goodbye to the masked actor. He opened the door and walked all the way to a windy place. The drizzle still didn't stop. Jiang Yan opened the title page, which read a message:
“To dear J,
"Virtue to me is like my right hand, strong and powerful.
"—Yours sincerely, Eric Jekyll."
Jiang Yan looked at the gorgeous handwriting and said nothing.
Virtue is to me like my right hand, strong and powerful—
But no matter how convenient it is, I can't always use it without using my left hand.