Chapter 41 - Imitation Show
Chapter 41: Imitation Show
After some delay, Mu Jingzhe and Little Bei’s dinner was taken care of casually. Fortunately, everything went smoothly after that.
The June 1st cultural performance started very quickly. The venue of the performance was the largest auditorium in the county. In the front row sat the leaders, and behind them were the teachers from the various schools, as well as some staff. Further back were the parents.
It was rare for the county to be so lively. Many people even sneaked in to take a look. If there were no seats, they would sit on the ground or stand.
They were interested in such lively performances.
The auditorium was soon packed with people.
The order of the performances was decided by drawing lots. Little Bei was one of the last few to perform, so it wasn’t bad.
There was limited space backstage, so the performers who were due to perform later would watch from the front. Mu Jingzhe, who was carrying Little Bei and Xiao Wu, was also in the front.
The county had put in a lot of effort this time, so it was pretty good overall. They’d even chosen two young hosts.
The two young hosts looked around 11 or 12 years old. At first, they were a little nervous when they went up, but they gradually got better.
The little girl was very lively, but she spoke with a slight accent. The boy was steady, and the two of them cooperated quite well.
Everyone liked such children. When they went down, the audience applauded.
After Little Bei clapped, she secretly told Mu Jingzhe, “Auntie, I want to be a host next time too. I’m not as impressive as them yet, but I’ll be equally impressive in the future.”
“Yes, I believe you.” Mu Jingzhe encouraged her.
Little Bei, who was satisfied, watched the show obediently.
There weren’t many types of performances. To be specific, there was a large-scale choir, a poetry recital, a dancing performance, and some musical instruments. Overall, they were quite good, and two of them were quite stunning. Everyone was watching with relish.
Soon, it was Little Bei and Xiao Wu’s turn to prepare.
Mu Jingzhe followed them backstage so they would get ready. As she waited, she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. While Little Bei was nervous, she was more excited and was looking forward to it. Xiao Wu, on the other hand, was confused and a little shy.
It was finally Little Bei’s turn.
Little Bei walked forward with her head held high and her chest puffed out. After taking a few steps, she realized that Xiao Wu wasn’t following her, so she quickly stepped back and pulled Xiao Wu up again.
As she pulled Xiao Wu, he was dragging a stick that was longer than him.
Kind laughter rang out from below.
Little Bei was wearing the ancient clothes Mu Jingzhe had made for her. There were even mosquito nets inside, but no one knew about it. They only thought that her outfit looked very nice.
Mu Jingzhe nervously covered her face in shame.
This costume had been specially modified by her. Previously, when she had gone into town, because she didn’t have time, she had completely changed it by using a mosquito net.
Right now, the tv show ‘New Legend of Madame White Snake’ hadn’t aired yet. Otherwise, with the addition of the veil, everyone would think that she was acting as the bride, Madame White Snake.
Since Little Bei would continue to participate in the county competition, she couldn’t keep wearing the same old attire. Hence, Mu Jingzhe had taken this opportunity to perfect the outfit.
Little Bei and Xiao Wu said a few words.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Shao Bei, and this is my younger brother, Shao Zhong. Today, we’re going to perform ‘Monkey God Thrice Slays the White Bone Spirit’ for everyone. I’m the little White Bone Spirit[1].”
After Little Bei stabilized herself, she started introducing their performance. Following that, she immediately got into the character of the Little White Bone Spirit and started acting vividly.
Seeing that Little Bei had started, Xiao Wu quickly looked at the words in front of him and clapped his hands together, playing the role of Little Monk Tang.
The little White Bone Spirit wanted to eat Little Monk Tang, but the Great Sage Equalling Heaven saw through it.
The audience below watched with relish, as this was a novel program that they had not expected.
They were all waiting for the new actor who would play the role of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven to come up. They didn’t expect Xiao Wu to flip his robe around to reveal the words ‘Great Sage Equalling Heaven’, switching from the role of Little Monk Tang in an instant.
He picked up the stick and shouted before hitting the little White Bone Spirit. It looked like a fierce hit, but when the stick was about to land, he became very careful.
Everyone laughed out loud.
Upon seeing them laugh, Xiao Wu couldn’t help but laugh too.
Little Bei, who had expected better from him, held back her laughter and continued saying her lines. “I’ll transform!”
With her back facing the stage, she put on a pair of large white rabbit ears and a hair clip. “Actually, I’m not the White Bone Spirit. I’m a rabbit spirit. I won’t eat you. I want to marry you.”
Xiao Wu quickly reverted back to his Little Monk Tang identity and clasped his hands together. “No, Patron.”
The robe he was wearing hung around his neck, and the bottom was empty. That made it convenient for him to flip the robe over and change identity.
On one side were the words ‘Monk Tang’, and on the other were the words ‘Great Sage Equalling Heaven’.
He could change his identity simply by flipping the robe to the front or back.
Little Bei continued to perform and recite her lines. Xiao Wu flipped his robe again and nervously watched as Little Bei finished her performance before hitting the Rabbit Spirit.
“Hit you.”
“Stop!”
Little Bei jumped away. “No, I’m changing my story now.”
The audience below the stage was confused. “Eh?”
This was completely unexpected.
Even the teacher who had seen the performance in town was surprised. This hadn’t happened before.
Under everyone’s curious gazes, Little Bei hid behind Xiao Wu and put the rabbit hair clip on Xiao Wu’s head. She took off her ancient costume to reveal a different costume underneath.
When Little Bei appeared behind Xiao Wu, everyone quickly discovered her new identity—Nezha[2].
“Nezha!”
“This is Little Nezha!”
Everyone’s impression of Nezha was basically that he was a character that wore a dudou[3], a bun, and a lotus dress and had a round face. He was also a cute, chubby boy who looked like a girl and flew around swiftly on his Fiery Wind Wheels.
Although Little Bei didn’t have the Fiery Wind Wheels, her cosplay included all the other elements. The lotus flower dress and the dudou she had put on underneath were instantly revealed when she took off the ancient costume. Also, her hair was now tied up in a bun with a hair clip.
Then, there were also the Universe Rings made from bamboo rings. The wooden rod originally used to hit the White Bone Spirit didn’t go to waste either, as it was now used as her Fire-Tipped Spear.
There was also no shortage of Nezha’s Red Armillary Sashes, which were made from red cloth strips.
Little Nezha was portrayed vividly by Little Bei.
Xiao Wu, who finally didn’t have to perform anymore, started playing the flute for his sister.
After the performance, Little Bei took Xiao Wu’s hand and bowed to thank the audience. When they were about to head off the stage, loud applause came from the audience.
They shouted Little Bei and Xiao Wu’s names enthusiastically and asked them to continue acting.
Their names were shouted louder and louder.
Xiao Wu kept turning around and seeing smiling faces.
He was still very young and adorable. He didn’t know how to act, so no matter who he was portraying, there was no difference. He simply followed the instructions, recited the lines, and acted out the movements. There was no way he could compare to Little Bei, who brought every role to life whenever she acted.
However, there was a contrast between his appearance and hers that made it an amusing performance.
The combination produced a marvelous chemical reaction.
This imitation and transformation, coupled with the bamboo flute performance, was very surprising.
After they got off the stage, the applause continued.
It wasn’t just the leaders sitting in the front row. The people from the city also nodded and discussed the performance. They even asked the cameraman if he had taken photos.
They’d even brought cameras with them.
Seeing that everyone liked it, Mu Jingzhe clapped along with everyone else. Her hands were red from clapping, and she felt extremely proud.
She happily went backstage to pick up Little Bei and Xiao Wu.
She completely missed Ji Buwang, who was in the middle of the audience.
After Ji Buwang and Mu Jingzhe parted ways, he didn’t leave, as he was still very curious about who she was, and his heart was a mess.
He hadn’t expected to see such an interesting performance.
Besides, the curly-haired little boy…
Ji Buwang rubbed his head. After the performance ended, he couldn’t help going backstage.
[1] a shapeshifting demoness who desired to eat the flesh of Monk Tang
[2] a protection deity in Chinese folk religion
[3] A dudou is a traditional Chinese form of the bodice, originally worn as an undershirt