chapter 2

It was time to get ready for bed.

Before leaving the Study, I couldn’t help but turn back for one last look at that wall.

A faint rustling, ghostly and elusive, like invisible mosquitoes buzzing around me.

The sound was subtle, yet its presence was impossible to ignore, keeping me perpetually unsettled.

I study playwriting.

Now, I suddenly realize that sometimes life is just like a drama.

My name is Yang Yi, a junior at the College of Liberal Arts, A University.

I love playwriting and aspire to become a playwright.

Teacher Lu from my department appreciates my work and introduced me to the renowned playwright, Li Wenzhou.

Li Wenzhou doesn’t teach at the university. He’s a reclusive genius, eccentric and solitary.

He always keeps to himself, working at home, rarely socializing with other writers, but that doesn’t affect his fame in the field.

I have some talent, but not enough for him to be particularly fond of me.

But I am persistent, determined, and hungry for success.

My unfortunate family background forced me to be independent from a young age, shaping my pragmatic and ambitious nature.

I know that in this profession, connections are crucial. If you can’t get into the circle, even if you write great scripts, you’ll be struggling on the outside for three to five years, maybe even longer.

If you want a shortcut, you need someone to guide you, to help you climb higher.

I printed out all of Li Wenzhou’s plays, read and memorized them until I could recite them fluently, even quoting the exact lines from specific acts and scenes.

Practice makes perfect, indeed. By the end, I even developed some acting skills, and my writing took on a distinct Li-style flavor.

In the end, it was this clumsy diligence that moved Li Wenzhou.

In the second semester of my sophomore year, Li Wenzhou began giving me playwriting lessons. One-on-one, free of charge.

I had nothing to offer in return, except my youthful and attractive body.

After three months of lessons, I moved him on another level. He took me from the university to his home; from his Study to his Bedroom.

I am twenty-three this year, Li Wenzhou is forty-three, a full twenty years older than me-old enough to be my father-but we became lovers.

Now, in the second semester of my junior year, I-a poor student from a humble background-am living in this grand villa.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, classes moved online, so I simply moved in with Li Wenzhou long-term.

Online classes, playwriting lessons, romance-none were left out.

There were even times when I attended online classes from his Bedroom.

Last year, Teacher Lu, who had introduced me, was teaching a course I took. During a presentation, I turned on my camera. He saw the background behind me and was visibly stunned.

Soon, the fact that I had become Li Wenzhou’s lover spread throughout the university, eventually becoming an open secret.

For Li Wenzhou, it was just a harmless romantic affair; but my reputation at school was utterly ruined.

But I didn’t care. I pursue success, but I haven’t compromised myself for it-I truly admire and love my teacher, sincerely.

Because of love, I am unafraid of criticism. I argue with those who insult me, and my feelings for Li Wenzhou only deepen.

This is called the “Romeo and Juliet Effect”: the greater the external resistance, the deeper the love. The forum threads cursing me piled up to hundreds of pages, yet Li Wenzhou and I sang and drank at home, playing Romeo and Juliet, acting out dramas for fun.

Drama blended into life, and days passed quite happily.

Under Li Wenzhou’s guidance, I quickly completed my first work-a play adapted from a Kunqu Opera. As a debut, it was quite impressive.

I didn’t dare slack off, striking while the iron was hot. Every day, besides university classes, I trained in writing, read widely, and asked my boyfriend whenever I had questions. My progress was rapid, and now I’m already planning my second script.

I thought everything would go smoothly, that I could focus solely on writing and ignore everything else.

But now, I’ve discovered Li Wenzhou’s secret.

This is the Villa Area on the outskirts of the city-beautiful, elegant, and quiet. The neighbors are all well-mannered, never noisy, never nosy.

The villa is filled with light, spacious and bright, without winding corridors or hidden corners. Living here lifts your spirits, making it hard to imagine a horror movie setting.

Yet, in such a transparent house, there exists a hidden side unknown to others.

After living here for a while, I noticed there were always faint sounds lingering in my ears, impossible to ignore.

I don’t believe in supernatural things. There must be someone else in this house.

Li Wenzhou always insists I’m hearing things, that I’m overstressed from studying, and experiencing auditory hallucinations.

I thought of the legendary gaslighting effect, and became even more convinced my senses weren’t wrong, while Li Wenzhou seemed to be hiding something.

These past few days, while he was out, I measured the house and sketched a rough floor plan, only to discover there really is a hidden space-about twenty square meters.

I planned to investigate the Secret Room entrance the next time he went out.

Unexpectedly, the day after I learned this secret, a positive COVID case appeared in the community, and the area was locked down.

Everyone had to stay home, including Li Wenzhou.

With him watching, I didn’t dare make a move.