Chapter 27

 Chapter 27: Reporting on the Evening Party

Three days later, on Thursday.

Zhang Yiyang stood outside the office, silently giving himself a pep talk, trying to calm his slightly nervous heart.

"It's okay, no need to be nervous. I have the skit script and a complete set of materials provided by my junior; it's foolproof!"

Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this year it coincided with the National Day, creating an extended eight-day holiday. Today was the last day before the holiday, and Zhang Yiyang was here to report on the progress of the preparations for the welcome party.

This report was crucial.

If the report went smoothly, it meant that most of the main performances for the welcome party would be confirmed, and they could focus on rehearsals according to the established timeline. With only three or four days of rehearsals during this long break, they'd still have plenty of time to relax.

However, if the report didn't go well, it would be troublesome. They'd have to make further adjustments to the welcome party's program, and considering the time required for selecting scripts, casting, and rehearsals, their precious holiday would be completely gone.

In short, this report not only affected the success of the upcoming welcome party but also the precious holiday time of all those involved.

However, Zhang Yiyang was relatively confident. Yesterday, Lu Zhixing had already provided him with the detailed script for "In Your Eyes," along with all the virtual scenery assets used on stage.

After reading the script, Zhang Yiyang understood why Lu Zhixing had said it wasn't quite a skit. Although its form leaned towards stage play, it was presented mainly from a first-person perspective, not a third-person view. In other words, the audience's perspective wasn't that of an all-seeing observer but rather that of one of the characters, making it more akin to a gaming experience.

Initially, Zhang Yiyang had some concerns about this novel approach, worrying that such an innovative creative mode might fail. However, after reading the script, he was thoroughly impressed.

Combined with the art assets that Lu Zhixing had somehow acquired and could be used directly, Zhang Yiyang was now certain that they could conquer the faculty mentors completely.

There was even a possibility of securing more resources from the college.

Once he had calmed his nerves, Zhang Yiyang gently knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He entered the room and saw Professor Fang Ling, the faculty advisor for the college welcome party, just finishing up with a document.

"Professor Fang, I'm here to report on the progress of the preparations for the welcome party."

Professor Fang glanced at him, "Hmm, please have a seat. Have you finalized the language acts?"

Professor Fang was known for her strict standards, and this time, the college had given a strict order that the welcome party's popularity must rank in the top five. Professor Fang was at the forefront of this effort, naturally passing the pressure down onto Zhang Yiyang and Yan Wei.

If it were in the past, Zhang Yiyang would have felt extremely intimidated when facing Professor Fang, not knowing how to report. However, now that he had his junior, this "external support," he could hold his head high and meet Professor Fang's stern gaze head-on.

"Professor Fang, for the language acts, we have two options. One is 'Undercover Trainee,' and the other is 'In Your Eyes.' Here are the scripts," Zhang Yiyang said, handing over the two printed scripts.

Professor Fang took the scripts, starting with "Undercover Trainee." As she read through it, her brows furrowed.

"This script...

"There are indeed many comedic elements and punchlines, but is the satire a bit too aggressive? I'm not worried about anything else, mainly concerned that it might skew the entire tone of the evening. After all, our event is supposed to represent the image of the School of Game Design, and it's going to be showcased in front of all the faculty and students. We should aim for a more stable and dignified approach."

For these professors in the college, they weren't concerned that the skit's satire might offend some talent show programs. They viewed the college welcome party as a relatively minor event with limited influence within the Jinghai University campus. They didn't worry that talent show organizers might take offense, as they likely wouldn't even be aware of this skit's existence.

Instead, these professors were more concerned about the impact on the "college's image." In Chinese universities, there's still a conservative leaning, and the welcome party serves as a platform to showcase the college's image, similar to the concerns of the annual Spring Festival Gala decades ago about whether it made the audience laugh to the fullest.

"Undercover Trainee" presented a risk in terms of whether it was suitable for college leadership, and even the university leadership, to see.

In such a context, the type of skit that favors a "happy ending" and is less risky is usually more appreciated. Although such skits might not be as funny, they are more stable and have fewer risks.

Of course, both Zhang Yiyang and Lu Zhixing disagreed with this perspective, given their different roles and perspectives.

Zhang Yiyang had already anticipated this concern and prepared a solution.

"Professor Fang, you don't need to worry about this. We have another language act, right?

"My idea is this: we don't want a typical 'happy ending' skit that follows the cliché of making the audience laugh first and then squeezing in some moral lesson at the end. If we want humor, we'll make the audience burst into laughter throughout, and we won't forcefully insert values at the end.

"So, 'Undercover Trainee' goes first, 'In Your Eyes' goes last, and as long as we manage to bring the overall tone of the evening back to balance, it should be fine."

Initially, his solution was to use a "happy ending" skit later in the program to dilute the effect and bring the tone back in line. However, he hadn't expected that Lu Zhixing would provide a more perfect solution.

So, Zhang Yiyang decided to stick to the standard answer and present this more perfect solution.

Professor Fang nodded and picked up "In Your Eyes," saying, "Alright, let me take a look at this one."

Initially, she had some worries about what Zhang Yiyang had said. Could another language act truly bring back the evening's tone?

However, those worries quickly dissipated as she was surprised to discover that "In Your Eyes" was an innovative form of stage play, and it was incredibly moving, evoking tears throughout!

First of all, part of it was presented in the first-person perspective. This meant that the actors on stage would speak to the audience directly, and the audience, in turn, would play a role in the interaction. However, the audience wouldn't see any specific individuals.

This approach was common in video games but rare in traditional stage plays.

At first, Professor Fang was puzzled by the unconventional first-person perspective. However, as she read further into the detailed plot, it all made sense.

This was done to enhance the audience's sense of immersion.

The plot of "In Your Eyes" could be summarized as follows: An angel found the main character and informed him that his mother had passed away. She had a chance to enter heaven, but the angel needed to ask the main character some questions to determine if his mother qualified. As the angel and the main character engaged in this dialogue, the life of the main character and his mother gradually unfolded before the eyes of the entire audience.

The main character shared the story of his life with the angel:

He was born in an ordinary residential compound associated with a mechanical factory. From a young age, he was exceptionally well-behaved and obedient to his mother.

When his mother was cooking, he would quietly play with his toys. As he grew a bit older, he would take the bus by himself to the city far away to learn drawing and piano. He would play soccer with his friends on the playground. Due to their financial constraints, he avoided buying snacks at the corner store.

Later, he took an exam, but he had no particular talent for music or art, so he had to give up. He found solace in running due to his loneliness, and he kept running faster and faster, eventually becoming an athlete.

In school, he met a girl he liked, and every time the school held sports events, he would finish first. The girl applauded and brought him water. As he grew older, he broke records and won gold medals. He even competed in the Olympics, although he didn't secure a top position. Still, he made his parents proud. After retiring from athletics, he coincidentally reunited with the girl he liked. They lay together on the playground, watching the sunset, and naturally, they became a couple.

Later, he organized numerous charity runs, raising funds to help many disabled children. His mother passed away peacefully, telling him that she had no regrets in life.

However, the angel quickly found flaws in his story and sternly criticized him for not telling the truth. In the details of his memories, the angel unveiled the true story:

In reality, he had no talents, and he was quite foolish and mischievous as a child. The scenes from his past, including playing with toys, learning art and piano, and avoiding the corner store, were all altered. He was willful, mischievous, and somewhat unsociable, never making it easy for his mother.

As he grew older, he didn't become an athlete; instead, he accidentally fell, landing him in the hospital. From then on, he was forced to use a wheelchair, and all those running scenes were just fantasies from his wheelchair.

In the classroom, he felt the unusual gazes of his classmates. Every time he passed through the school building, he was under the scrutiny of all his peers. The teacher had arranged for classmates to assist him, but some of these classmates seemed impatient, and he felt like he was troubling others.

The girl sitting in front of him was the only one who genuinely cared about him, but he didn't dare to confirm if it was affection, nor did he dare to get closer.

He tried hard to live like a normal person, but his mother was forced to give up her job to take care of him, and the family's financial situation was strained due to medical expenses.

He hated himself, hated that when he was healthy, he had been reckless and hadn't made things easier for his mother. And when he became more responsible, he felt like a burden.

So, after his mother's passing, when he dreamt of an angel, he came up with this story to deceive himself. It wasn't about deceiving the angel but about overcoming his own guilt. In his dream, he painted this scene to compensate for his regrets.

Just when the protagonist thought everything was irreparable, his mother appeared.

This time, his mother narrated the story of her child's life to the angel:

Parents saw a baby sleeping soundly in the crib, saw him grasp toys, watched him take his first wobbly steps while babbling, saw him ride around on his father's back like a noble steed, saw him clumsily press piano keys...

So, all those scenes that the protagonist was dissatisfied with were moments that brought immense joy and satisfaction to his parents.

And even when the protagonist was confined to a wheelchair, he was always finding ways to make his parents happy. He daydreamed about running and raising funds to help disabled children. He wrote and drew all of these thoughts down, even though his writing was childlike and his drawing skills weren't remarkable. Yet, within these works, there was the purity of a child's heart.

"Child, your mother's life has been incredibly happy.

"You don't need to fantasize about another life, because you've already lived a truly magnificent one."

In the end, the angel asked the protagonist to close his eyes and wake up from the dream. His mother had gone to heaven, and the protagonist could finally let go of all his burdens and live his life, remembering his mother's love.