chapter 12

In my sophomore year, I developed a strong interest in playwriting, so I went to seek advice from Teacher Lu.

Teacher Lu introduced me to the renowned playwright, Li Wenzhou.

I admired Li Wenzhou deeply and memorized all his scripts, but I never dared to hope that he would personally teach me. That branch was far too high to reach.

Unexpectedly, when Li Wenzhou met me, he said I had talent and offered to give me playwriting lessons for free. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and moved to tears.

Little did I know, these lessons actually came with a price.

In the second semester of my sophomore year, he began teaching me drama. At first, he came to the university to give me lessons, but when the pandemic hit, he didn’t want to go out, so he asked me to come to his home for classes.

I revered Li Wenzhou and suspected nothing.

During class, I shared all my creative ideas with him and asked many questions.

But Li Wenzhou’s answers were mostly unsatisfactory, often just reciting textbook knowledge. Of course, he did have some different ideas, but they were mostly eccentric, rarely shining with any truly moving brilliance.

He didn’t seem like the legendary genius playwright, but more like an ordinary teacher.

Moreover, in the last few minutes of every drama lesson, he would start rambling, asking me things like, “Your skin is so nice, what skincare products do you use?”

I thought Li Wenzhou was holding back, wanting me to master the basics before sharing everything with me. I still suspected nothing.

After a few lessons, I told Li Wenzhou that I really wanted to adapt Companion of Fragrance, and shared many of my thoughts on feudal ethics and free love.

I spoke at length, but when he finally came to, he frowned and said, “Of all things to write about, why write about homosexuality?”

He looked me up and down, then ended the class early and went back to the Study.

I was utterly defeated, sitting on the sofa in a daze, unable to hold back my tears.

After a while, someone came over, put her arm around my shoulders, and comforted me gently.

It was his wife, He Shuyu.

She carefully read my article and offered many insightful suggestions. I was delighted, and soon started chatting with her, quickly forgetting my sadness.

After that, every time Li Wenzhou finished his lesson and returned to the Study, I would go find his wife and chat with her for a while longer.

Later, I told the police that I chatted with his wife out of sympathy for her, wanting to show off my knowledge. But that wasn’t true; it was always He Shuyu who was teaching me.

As our conversations grew more frequent, I realized that compared to Li Wenzhou, He Shuyu was much more like the legendary genius. When she talked about drama, her eyes sparkled with light.

But just when her eyes shone, Li Wenzhou would call out loudly from the Study, asking her to bring him tea or snacks. The light in her eyes would dim, and she would hurry to the kitchen to make tea, carefully bringing it to her husband.

I felt sorry for his wife, so I often looked for opportunities to invite her out shopping or for meals, just to help her escape her dull life as a housewife for a while. She always seemed excited before going out, but once outside, she became uneasy and anxious to return home.

He Shuyu wasn’t always like this.

Back then, she was not only an outstanding drama actress, but also had many unique insights into drama, rivaling professional critics.

Li Wenzhou had formal training, but his works were conventional and unremarkable. Only after he got together with He Shuyu did he gradually begin to shine.
Those highly rated works of his were, in fact, all completed with He Shuyu’s help; many of the novel ideas that amazed audiences originally came from He Shuyu.

Li Wenzhou’s achievements owed much to her. She was once so dazzling.

Her only weakness was falling in love with Li Wenzhou.

Li Wenzhou enjoyed the benefits his wife brought him, yet he was jealous of her talent.

Unable to surpass her in creativity, he exploited He Shuyu’s love for him, relentlessly suppressing her in their marriage. He said she couldn’t bear children and wasn’t a real woman; he compared her unfavorably to friends’ wives, saying how wonderful they were and how terrible she was… Again and again, he attacked her self-confidence.

To tame He Shuyu, he specially built the Secret Room. Whenever they quarreled, he would lock her up for a week at a time.

It’s worth noting that according to our country’s Prison Law, solitary confinement for prisoners cannot exceed fifteen days. Solitary confinement is extremely painful and can easily break a person’s will.

In the end, He Shuyu was trained into a meek wife who obeyed her husband’s every word, only knowing how to cook and do housework. She didn’t dare speak much, didn’t dare go out, feared the gaze of others, and had no heart left for drama.

Li Wenzhou was already famous in the industry, and his scripts always had a market. He rested on laurels that weren’t his, attending all sorts of events and interviews in the circle, earning far more than he did from writing.

He treated my drama writing class just as perfunctorily. He only liked recruiting pretty female students.

Until that day, when I finished my debut work, Li Wenzhou suddenly became very attentive.

He opened several bottles of wine to celebrate me, pulling me and He Shuyu to perform Companion of Fragrance together.

But before we finished even one scene, He Shuyu collapsed, and then I collapsed too.

Before losing consciousness, I saw Li Wenzhou leaning in, very close.

He smiled and said, “I don’t believe, after tonight, you’ll still like women.”

When I woke again, my whole body ached as if it had fallen apart, and I had a fever.

My teacher’s wife cared for me at my side, wiping my forehead and crying. She fed me fever medicine, and I drifted back to sleep.

It was during the pandemic, so even with a fever, I didn’t dare go to the hospital. I slept in a daze for three days and nights under He Shuyu’s care.

When I finally woke up completely, I realized I had been drugged and raped by Li Wenzhou.

This wasn’t the first time he preyed on his female students. In the past, he used money and resources, threats and inducements, to make them drop the matter.

But I couldn’t. I hated him too much, was in too much pain-I had to call the police.

But what followed was one rape after another.

Li Wenzhou simply kept me captive, intending to lock me in the Secret Room and train me as he had trained his wife.

He dragged me step by step toward it; I screamed and struggled, kicking and hitting.

He Shuyu was in the kitchen rolling out noodles, watching from afar, her face expressionless.

Li Wenzhou called out to her, “Shuyu, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up and help!”

She walked over in a daze, helping Li Wenzhou by gripping my wrist.

Suddenly, I stopped struggling and screaming.

I looked up at her through tear-blurred eyes.

She let go of my hand, raised the rolling pin high, and swung it at her husband.