My Iyashikei Game

Yao Shi Hwa appeared to be Yao Yuan’s aunt in real life. She knew that in real life, Yao Yuan killed his father and ended up joining the killer’s chatgroup. Perhaps most of the nightmares were experiences of the members of the three organizations. They were white paper dyed red by blood and turned black by despair. They were materials for Dream. Dream had never treated them as humans.

Yao Yuan’s nightmare collapsed. His life eventually turned into a black-and-white piece. This piece was slightly larger than the cleaner’s because it contained deeper despair. Han Fei picked it up. The piece contained all the traces of the nightmare. Darkness covered everything. Han Fei successfully led all the players to clear the seventh layer. The figures around him disappeared, but a few seconds later, Han Fei noticed something was wrong!

Previously, when the nightmare disappeared, he would return to the hospital. However, this time, Han Fei was still covered by darkness!

He saw a crazy world. Various nightmares were squeezed together like bubbles. Moments later, the bubbles popped. Crazy dream demons crawled out to attack Han Fei.

“Is it because I’ve triggered the ghost tattoo in the nightmare, or I’ve used power beyond the one allowed by the nightmare?” The nightmare didn’t kick Han Fei out but instead planned to drag him someplace else. Butterfly tattoos tried to attach themselves to Han Fei’s skin, but Mad Laughter’s tattoo was too strong. The darkness around Han Fei was chased away. The familiar grey mist returned. Han Fei, covered in ghost tattoos, looked like he was drenched in blood. He stood in the hospital, and the surrounding players were stunned. They wanted to come over to thank him, but no one expected the grey mist would suddenly appear to grab Han Fei.

“The dream demons are just the first step…” The opponent was very fast that Han Fei didn’t have the chance to react. The power pulled him into the staircase on the left. The twisted world appeared before Han Fei again. More bubbles burst. The dream demons swallowed Han Fei like a flood.

“The staircases meant different nightmares? The dream demons are eating my memories! They want me to forget something!” The pain spread through his body. Han Fei’s consciousness blurred, and he entered the eighth layer.

…

“My name is Zhang Beiyi. I graduated from Xin Lu Film University. These two are my roommates. We’ll be showing everyone a self-directed comedy called the Reason to Live. This creation is based on…”

“Alright. Get moving!”

Three young people stood on the simple stage. They wore simple clothes and looked nervous. Several adults sat in the audience. They were fashionably dressed and looked very impatient. There were no lighting, audio, or props. The three youngsters started a funny performance.

Zhang Beiyi played a young man who tried to commit suicide. The older youth played the landlord, who tried to stop him. The youngest youth played the parrot kept by Zhang Beiyi.

If Zheng Beiyi died, the room would be haunted, and the landlord wouldn’t get his rent, so the landlord tried to have Zhang Beiyi kill himself somewhere else. However, this sounded like asking someone to go to die. The cowardly landlord and Zhang Beiyi met many funny incidents as Zhang Beiyi looked for ways to die.

The theme was death, but the three youngsters used a funny method to present it. In the end, Zhang Beiyi also found a reason to live. The three youths had a strong foundation, but they still needed experience. However, among their peers, they were already very good. When the performance was over, the three were drenched in sweat. They looked at the adults under the stage with anticipation.

“Not bad. The story is rather complete, but there’s still room for improvement. You have the talent, but you lack something.” The few teachers communicated among themselves and said, “Go back to wait for the call.”

“Teacher, we’ve tried many times. Can you give us a chance?” Zhang Beiyi begged. “There are a total of 28 competitions. We don’t need much. Just a chance to show our faces.”

“Do you know how much money it costs the tv station to set up this program?” The teacher smiled. “Go back and wait for the call. You have the potential.”

“But…”

“Go back. Don’t make me repeat myself.” The teacher’s face changed. “Next.”

The side door opened. A new set of actors walked in and squeezed Zhang Beiyi’s group out.

“I’m sorry, teacher.” Zhang Beiyi bowed at them, but no one answered him. The three were escorted out by the workers.

Zhang Beiyi gripped his fists in unwillingly. “We lack something? That is clearly money. If we have money, do they think we still need to beg them?”

“We’ve been going around begging people for a whole year. We’ve been performing comedies everywhere, but our lives are a joke.” The eldest wiped away the ugly makeup. “Are you two still going to find the part-time job?”

“Of course.” Zhang Beiyi took out his phone to check his account. “The night security job last time was not bad. Even though the work hours are quite long, there’s no one to mind us at night, and we can use that time to practice our acting. Old Three, what do you think?”

“We’re actors. Did we go to university to become security guards? If I had known, why would I spend my parent’s money to come to Xin Lu to attend this lousy university?” Boss’ emotions frayed. His voice was loud.

“Boss… Did something happen to you? You were not in the zone during the performance. You got one line of the script wrong.” Zhang Beiyi was sharp. He placed his hand on Boss’ shoulders.

“Other than being extras and doing part-time jobs, we only had five official performances this time. Two of them, we begged a small theatre to give us a chance. The reaction was just okay; the three had us join some kind of reality tv. We were ordered around like monkeys and weren’t even given any credit. What kind of life is this?” Boss turned to Zhang Beiyi. “Are you sure you want to continue like this?”

“Opportunities are given to those who are prepared. Since we’re chasing our dreams, we have to be ready to sacrifice a lot.” Zhang Beiyi didn’t plan to give up.

Boss shrugged and took out his phone. It contained a few audio messages and pictures his family sent him. His father from the countryside broke his back. When he was sent to the hospital, they found out that he had many other illnesses. No one could manage the farm. “I can’t continue this joke with you two anymore.”

“Boss, how can you call our hard work a joke? You know how much we’ve suffered during this year. Are they a joke in your eyes?” Zhang Beiyi grabbed Boss’ shoulders.

“I don’t want to argue with you.” Boss avoided Zhang Beiyi’s eyes. “I have surrendered. Poor people do not deserve to be in the money-burning industry.”

“Are you quitting being an actor?”

“Yes. I’m going to focus on earning real money. Honestly, it’s not that I love money, but I don’t want my children in the future to have to give up their dreams because they didn’t have money.” Boss gave the rental room key to Old Three. “Perhaps this past year isn’t a joke for you two, but it is for me.”

“Do you have to go today?”

“Consider that performance my swan song. At least we had a stage and some audience.” Boss walked very fast, as if he was afraid of having second thoughts. Zhang Beiyi and Old Three looked at Boss silently. No one stopped Boss. They knew that he was right.

“The messages on Boss’ phone came two days ago. He still insisted on helping us complete this performance. He also wanted to give this one last try.” After leaving university, Zhang Beiyi learned many things, like hard work didn’t mean everything. “Anyway, it’s time to get to work!” Zhang Beiyi patted Old Three. He was always optimistic. “For us, having a last performance is more meaningful than anything.”

The two left the audition and rode bicycles to a large convention center. After contacting the middleman, they were asked to change into security guard uniforms. Due to their good looks, they were assigned to guard the front door.

“I always think my face is one of my few advantages.” Zhang Beiyi adjusted his uniform. He was always serious, no matter what. “Old Three, don’t worry. We’ll succeed in the future. If all else fails, we’ll find a female producer. We’ll play rock scissors paper, and the losing one will present himself to her as a present. Don’t look at me like that! I was just joking!”

In his carelessness, Zhang Beiyi turned around and accidentally bumped into someone. He knocked the man’s sunglasses slightly askew.

“I’m sorry.” Zhang Beiyi quickly apologized.

“Forget it. Look at how poor you are. Your monthly allowance won’t be enough to fix my glasses.” The man was unhappy, but he didn’t want to get mad in a public place. He grumbled and left.

Zhang Beiyi loosened his tightened fists. The smile returned to his face. “We slept and ate at the set last month. We spent around 170 RMB. That sunglasses cost at most 100 RMB. Why is he acting so proud? When I’m rich, I’ll buy two expensive pairs of sunglasses. I’ll wear one in the day and the other at night.”

The work of a guard was boring, but Zhang Beiyi and Old Three treated it seriously. A black car stood, and a middle-aged man came out. When they saw the man, Zhang Beiyi and Old Three immediately moved their gazes away.

“Zhang Beiyi?” The man’s eyes were sharp. He recognized them immediately. “I haven’t heard from you two since graduation. What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Professor Jiang…” Zhang Beiyi had thick skin, but even then, he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Old Three and he were Professor Jiang’s best students. He didn’t expect them to meet like this after graduation. Due to pride, Zhang Beiyi said after some hesitation, “We’ve accepted a role as security guards, so we’re here to experience it.”

“Do you think an actor can lie to a director?” Professor Jiang was disappointed. “Both of you have my number. You can call me at any time, okay?”

“Yes.” Zhang Beiyi spat out his tongue, trying to use that to end this interaction.

After Professor Jiang left, Zhang Beiyi relaxed. He was handsome and good at his studies. He was arrogant in the past, but now, ‘I’m sorry’ became the thing he said the most.

“Old Three… how about we commit a crime to get into jail? We’ll have a place to stay and food to eat. If we run into someone familiar in there, there’s no need to feel inferior.” Zhang Beiyi touched the work tag around his neck. It felt like a dog tag.

The convention ended, and they got off work early. To prevent seeing Professor Jiang again, Zhang Beiyi led Old Three somewhere else. They got their daily payment, bought some beers and instant noodles, and started drinking.

“Cheers for Boss! Cheers for ourselves! We must have looked handsome when we were working! Cheers…”

“Stop drinking. We have a small performance tomorrow. Even though the pay is small, we need to treat every performance seriously.”

The city was busy. The two young men carried a dream that seemed unlikely.

A few hours later, Zhang Beiyi who was already at home was woken up by his alarm. He jumped up immediately. “Old Three! Stop sleeping! Now that Boss is not here, we’re missing an actor. One of us has to play his role!”

“I’ll do it. I’ve memorized all his lines.”

The two prepared everything and rode to a small theatre. They didn’t have any time to rest. They put on the makeup and tested the lines. Old Three needed to play both the parrot and the landlord, so the whole thing was ridiculous.

“This is our only choice, but we’ll have to rewrite our old scripts. This is a chance for us to revamp ourselves.” Writing comedy was hard. The timing was crucial. It tested the actor’s skills.

“While we have time, we should practice more.”

The clock moved, but Zhang Beiyi still didn’t receive any notice. He looked out the window. Some of the audience members had left.

“Did the show end early?” Zhang Beiyi left the dressing room and found a worker. “Hi. Why are so many people leaving? We still haven’t performed!”

“Tonight is the specialty performance for Xi Xiao Troupe. Your performance is merely there to make the schedule look better.” The worker said directly.

“Even so, we’ll take the stage!” Zhang Beiyi said firmly.

“The problem is Xi Xiao Troupe’s audience is too passionate. They insisted on an encore. Adding an impromptu Q&A session meant that they had taken over your time slot.” The worker shrugged. “You can find the boss but don’t push your troubles on me.”

“Are you kidding? Haven’t we already discussed this?” Zhang Beiyi shouted. At that moment, a door opened, and the theater boss walked over. After a cough, the boss took out two money-filled envelopes. “You know that football teams have supplement members, right? You are those members. You are necessary.”

“But it should be our turn to perform. We’ve already put on the makeup!” Zhang Beiyi didn’t take the envelope.

“I’ll be clear. The audience is here for Xi Xiao Troupe. No one is interested in you.” The boss shoved the two envelopes to Zhang Beiyi. “The payment is lower than normal since you haven’t performed. Take the money and go.”

“We’ve worked so hard on our new script…”

“So what? No one is willing to watch it.” The boss was annoyed. “If there’s someone outside who requests to see your performance, then you can take the stage. If not, you need to leave!”

The awkwardness continued until another worker ran over. “Boss, there is a person in the audience who asked me whether there’s an actor called Zhang Beiyi. They’re waiting for him to take the stage.”

Hearing that, Zhang Beiyi burst with joy. He shoved the envelopes back. “Do you hear that? I, Zhang Beiyi, still have a fanbase!”

“Hell must have frozen over. Someone came purposely for your performance?” The boss took back the envelopes and signaled the workers to decorate the stage.

Zhang Beiyi happily ran back to the dressing room. “Old Three, prepare to take the stage!” Zhang Beiyi was excited, knowing that his fans purposely came to see him. Even his gait was confident. He and Old Three walked onto the stage!

Everything was ready. They took their position. The curtain slowly rose. The spotlight shone on the two actors.

Zhang Beiyi was ready to start his lines, but after he opened his mouth, he noticed he couldn’t speak.

There were only two members in the audience. Comedies were mostly popular among youngsters, but the two members were elders. They wore simple clothes but purchased the most expensive stageside tickets because it was closest to the stage.

“Mom, dad?”

They were Zhang Beiyi’s parents, and they were the only audience.

Zhang Beiyi, who was not defeated by anything, felt his nose sour. Then, his tears started to fall. Zhang Beiyi couldn’t continue his lines. He worked so hard, so why was life so unfair?

When Boss left, he didn’t cry. When his pride was trampled on, he didn’t care. When his teacher saw him in a sad state, he didn’t cry. But his emotions exploded in their moment.

“Xiao Bei, what’s wrong? Mom and Dad are here for you. My son is such a good actor!” Zhang Beiyi’s parents walked to the stage and hugged their son. “It’s alright. Come home to rest if you’re tired. You’re so amazing. You’ll succeed eventually.”

Zhang Beiyi’s parents led him down the stage. The couple consoled Zhang Beiyi as they walked out of the theatre.

The spotlight shone in the middle of the stage. The large theatre only had Old Three left.

He experienced everything with Boss and Zhang Beiyi, but he had nothing to show for it. He had nothing and no one.

He waited for a long time, but Zhang Beiyi didn’t return. Old Three walked to the center of the stage. The spotlight shone on him, and he slowly opened his lips.

“My name is Han Fei. I graduated from Xin Lu Film University. I’ll present everyone with a light comedy, the Reason to Live. This writing is based on my life.”