ABMSI Chapter 40
by Suxxi“Thank you for comforting me,” Fu Duqiu turned his head slightly toward Duan Wei and said, “I’m really happy right now.”
“……”
The moment those words fell, Duan Wei froze on the spot, his cheeks flushing scarlet in an instant. Meeting the other’s calm gaze fixed entirely on him, he grew flustered and quickly looked away.
Suddenly, he had no idea what to do with his hands or feet, so he just let his arms hang stiffly at his sides and muttered, “We’re deskmates—it’s normal to help each other out.”
Fu Duqiu smiled faintly, pretending not to notice Duan Wei’s strange behavior, and continued walking toward the teaching building. The evening breeze brushed gently through their fingers, and for a moment, the world around them seemed to soften.
With Fu Duqiu joining in, Teacher Qin somehow gained an inexplicable confidence about the upcoming New Year’s performance. The very next day, he rallied all the senior-year teachers to plan a large-scale play involving every senior class.
And since Fu Duqiu was the undisputed face of the school—the ceiling of their collective good looks—he naturally became the leading man of the play. That left the question of who would play the female lead, which instantly became the hot topic among all the third-years.
“You should give it a try, come on—it won’t hurt to audition,” Duan Wei pestered Xu Jianian endlessly, trying to convince her to go for the female lead.
These days, Duan Wei had a faint sense that something was off. Spending so much time with Fu Duqiu, he’d almost forgotten about his “main mission”—to push the story along. Catching himself, he quickly decided to get back on track and focus on matchmaking the male and female leads.
This year’s play was a cliché classic—Sleeping Beauty. Fu Duqiu would play the prince, while the role of the sleeping princess had yet to be decided.
“I’m not going. I’ve never acted before,” Xu Jianian said flatly, completely uninterested.
“It’s just Sleeping Beauty,” Duan Wei coaxed. “You just have to lie there pretending to be dead—no acting skills needed.”
“Then let Peng Yan do it. He won’t have to talk either,” Xu Jianian shot back without missing a beat.
Peng Yan: Don’t drag me into this.
“Just try, come on,” Duan Wei kept pushing, undeterred. “It’s not a big deal.”
After a whole morning of being nagged, Xu Jianian finally gave in with a sigh. “Fine, fine, I’ll try, okay?”
The moment she agreed, Duan Wei’s energy skyrocketed. He turned to Fu Duqiu and said excitedly, “Let’s rehearse!”
“Who’s the female lead?” Fu Duqiu set down his pen, asking the question with an almost careless tone.
Duan Wei, unsuspecting, replied eagerly, “Xu Jianian.”
“……”
For a brief moment, Fu Duqiu’s smile faded, his eyes shifting subtly. The lazy indifference on his face disappeared, replaced by something more unreadable.
Duan Wei, completely oblivious, turned to Peng Yan. “Is there an empty classroom we can use?”
“Probably,” Peng Yan replied, glancing at Fu Duqiu. “I think there’s one across the teaching building.”
“Then let’s go.” Duan Wei stood up, leading the group out of the room—completely ignoring the look Fu Duqiu gave him as he left.
Opposite the liberal arts building stood the art building, usually bustling with music and art classes. But with finals approaching, it was practically deserted. Duan Wei randomly opened one of the classrooms; it was empty.
He flipped through the script Teacher Qin had given him, skimming it quickly before saying to the two leads, “Let’s skip the opening scenes. We’ll start right from the kiss scene—the awakening.”
“???” Peng Yan looked like he’d just heard something outrageous. “Isn’t that a bit too intense to start with?”
“This is the highlight of the whole play, okay? Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t get it,” Duan Wei said smoothly, not even blinking as he tried to set up the “Sleeping Beauty awakening kiss” scene between them.
Fu Duqiu stood silently nearby, his face unreadable—no hint of whether he was willing or not. Xu Jianian, however, looked visibly uncomfortable, frowning up at the ceiling as if asking heaven for help.
The atmosphere turned so awkward that even Peng Yan could feel it. A few classmates Duan Wei had dragged along were already facepalming on the sidelines.
Completely oblivious, Duan Wei clapped his hands. “Come on, come on! Male and female leads—your cue!”
Just when Duan Wei thought Fu Duqiu would refuse, the latter unexpectedly stepped forward with quiet composure, stopping in the middle of the classroom and saying simply—
“Let’s begin.”
Even Fu Duqiu had agreed, so no one else could really refuse. The group cleared some desks and chairs to make an open space in the classroom, stacking a few tables in the middle to serve as a makeshift bed for the scene.
Xu Jianian, completely unwilling, finally resigned herself to fate, lay down on the tables, and closed her eyes—treating it as a chance for a nap. Fu Duqiu stood beside her, head slightly lowered, his face unreadably calm.
It should have been a beautiful scene—handsome prince, pretty princess—but somehow, the two of them managed to turn it into what looked like a suspenseful surgery about to begin.
“No, no—you two need to get closer,” Duan Wei said, exasperated. At this point, he felt that even the seven-thirty soap opera on TV had more romantic tension than these two blocks of wood. Like a director about to lose his mind, he started giving commands from the sidelines.
Xu Jianian stayed stiff as a corpse on the table, while Fu Duqiu seemed to completely ignore Duan Wei’s instructions—if anything, the scene was getting less natural by the minute.
Just the “prelude” had dragged on for over half an hour before Duan Wei finally couldn’t take it anymore. “What’s going on? Why does this look so weird?”
“I think so too,” Peng Yan agreed. “Maybe they just don’t have chemistry.”
Then, the quiet Fu Duqiu suddenly spoke: “How about Duan Wei does the scene with me instead?”
Peng Yan: “…”
His alpha sense immediately screamed that something was off.
Duan Wei thought about it for a second—it did make sense. Maybe if he demonstrated, Xu Jianian would feel less nervous later. So he nodded, set the script aside, and lay down on the same tables Xu Jianian had just vacated.
For some reason, as soon as he lay down and met Fu Duqiu’s gaze towering over him, his heart started to pound.
He hesitated for a moment, then propped himself up halfway. “Maybe… maybe we should pick another scene?”
“Didn’t you say this part is the highlight of the whole play?” Fu Duqiu replied smoothly, pressing Duan Wei’s shoulder back down with ease.
Every little attempt Duan Wei made to sit up felt like a child trying to escape punishment—completely useless and a little ridiculous.
Across from them, Peng Yan looked uneasy, but then thought, There are so many people here, nothing’s going to happen… right? So he stayed put, watching.
The classmates gathered behind them exchanged bewildered glances—wondering if they were really allowed to be witnessing this for free.
Lying there, Duan Wei listened as Peng Yan began reciting the narration in his most dramatic voice:
Duan Wei shut his eyes, silently cursing Teacher Qin’s questionable taste. Seriously, what kind of teenager still wants to watch Sleeping Beauty?
“The castle was surrounded by thick thorns, impossible to enter. One day, a handsome prince came to the princess’s kingdom. It happened to be the hundredth year, and the thorns bloomed, opening a path for him.” ¹
But before the thought even finished, a familiar whiff of pheromone reached his nose. He realized Fu Duqiu was getting closer.
Then, the once-dead-silent classroom burst into suppressed laughter—Xu Jianian laughing the loudest of all.
Duan Wei: So much for the wholesome teenage play, huh?!
He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, acutely aware of Fu Duqiu closing the distance.
“This is a strange place,” Peng Yan continued, his voice trembling. “All the animals are asleep. The people have all fallen asleep doing their daily work.” ²
“What could possibly wake them from their slumber?”
Feeling Fu Duqiu inch nearer, Duan Wei’s hands curled nervously at his sides. Now he completely understood why Xu Jianian had been so rigid earlier—no one could truly relax around Fu Duqiu, who always seemed to hold the upper hand in any situation.
He couldn’t resist cracking one eye open—just in time to see how close they were, their pheromones mingling, Fu Duqiu’s cool breath brushing against his face amid the sound of several people audibly gasping.
“Looking at the beautiful princess, the prince couldn’t help but kiss her.”
Peng Yan’s voice cracked on the last word.
At that line, Duan Wei’s heart nearly exploded. Panic spiked, and he instinctively tried to push Fu Duqiu away—only for the latter to pin his hand firmly against the table.
Duan Wei’s eyes flew open. Fu Duqiu was bathed in light, his face half in shadow, eyes bright like scattered stars—so mesmerizing that for a second, Duan Wei forgot to breathe.
Fu Duqiu looked down at him, and under the weight of everyone’s gaze, he slowly lowered his head. The light stretched his shadow across Duan Wei’s body.
Even Peng Yan forgot to stop the scene, his voice trembling as he continued to read:
“His lips brushed lightly against the princess’s lips—”
According to the rehearsal plan, the leads didn’t need to actually kiss—just lean close enough to imply it.
So Fu Duqiu bent down, stopping when only a few centimeters separated their lips. Duan Wei, whose heart had nearly stopped, began to breathe again.
But before he could fully relax, Fu Duqiu suddenly leaned closer—his lips brushing deliberately against Duan Wei’s cheek.
The cool touch made Duan Wei shiver violently. Fu Duqiu, on the other hand, straightened up with a faint smile, as if nothing had happened.
“The moment his lips touched the princess, she awoke and looked at him sweetly.”
Duan Wei just stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief.
“The prince smiled tenderly at the beautiful princess—”
Fu Duqiu added a line that wasn’t in the script, his tone soft but laced with amusement:
“Awake now? My Sleeping Beauty.”
Author’s Note:
¹² Excerpts from Grimms’ Fairy Tales.