"I watched him build up his tall buildings, I watched him feast his guests, I watched his buildings crumble." Fulen sang his favorite lines on the street. Perhaps they were written by a modern person, or perhaps by an ancient one. Fulen didn't care, nor did he want to delve into the stories behind these lines. He only liked the desolate human sentiment they described.
Watching, coldly watching, not getting close, not kicking someone when they're down, silently watching like an outsider, not asking for help, not letting others ask for help, treating everything as a transaction. Only family, true friendship, and love were worth paying any price for. Fortunately, the world preferred friendships that burned brightly and quickly, allowing Fulen, an unremarkable person, to escape unscathed.
But who can always remain aloof? Fulen also envied those who could become sworn brothers after just a few words. However, perhaps it was because Fulen's emotional intelligence was too low; while others spoke in various jargons and slang, Fulen simply couldn't understand the social intricacies, so he eventually let them be. Doing his own thing was enough.
Thinking of this, Fulen couldn't help but feel a little down. After all, even if superficial friendships were just that, they were at least lively and seemed quite grand and interesting.
Having mostly shaken off the distracting thoughts, Fulen saw a large sign that read: "Wonderful Music, Romantic Love, Perfect Dance." He scoffed to himself, thinking, "With advertising slogans like these, I could find hundreds, even thousands, in modern times. A quick search on a certain engine would bring up all sorts of messy things—though mostly ads, of course, since it's China's only search engine."
Then the name of the play appeared below: "The Phantom." Fulen scoffed even more internally.
The author is probably Rosell he thought. Although he hadn't seen "The Phantom" himself, he had come across it when searching for plays to show off his knowledge, as it was arguably the most classic musical.
Unexpectedly, this musical was not as famous as Rosell's work; there was no co-author, only a solitary name: Wandering Soul. However, Fulen meticulously studied the musical's signboard. Finally, Fulen confirmed it: indeed, this play was truly not by Rosell.
"In two worlds, the same play name and the same renown, yet no coincidence?" Fulen had always believed that coincidences existed, but he never expected to witness one himself.
"Let's go," Fulen thought, an idea stirring within him. "Let's see what this play is about. There's no way the plot is the same, right?" As it happened, when Fulen watched various shows, sometimes there were links at the bottom of the video. By chance, Fulen clicked on one, became engrossed, and ended up watching the whole thing.
Although the magical elements of this play weren't as prominent as later fantasy works, with the music and lighting, it was truly quite magical, at least stronger than the horror and fantasy atmosphere created by most web novels. However, most current fantasy works are about leveling up, but they are much more enjoyable to read. As for classification, that can be done by background.
Classics, well, watching one or two is fine, but after seven or eight, one gets tired of them. After all, everyone knows that a book everyone wants to read but can't even get through half a page of is called a classic. In that sense, for most Chinese students, English vocabulary books are the most classic, since many students spend two or three years memorizing words and are still on "abandon." (That would be me.)
This theater was much more formal than the Sohier Circus where Fulen worked. They wouldn't Open the Door every day. Every art industry, at least before informatization, still maintained a certain aloofness. Even in a brothel, if you wanted to see the most beautiful courtesan, it wasn't something you could do casually.
Theaters, Circuses, storytelling, and other slightly more high-end arts would only be performed two or three times a week. After all, people get tired, and while they might want to watch more after seeing it, they still need a break, and it also helps to ensure a full house.
As for Sohier Circus, judging by the few Spectators Fulen had for his performance today, it was clear that with more shows, fewer people showing up was to be expected.
Though he grumbled, Fulen still felt that Sohier Circus was good. Otherwise, a fixed Circus wouldn't let a newcomer who had only joined the Circus for half a month perform on stage. But the boss truly was casual; to this day, Fulen still hadn't seen the boss, who was referred to as Miss Sohier.
Today, Fulen was not stingy and bought a regular ticket. One reason was that Fulen was not in a very good mood today. Thinking that he still had to be discreet in this world made him uncomfortable, but who could blame him when this world was so easy to be manipulated in? If it were all just about fighting spirit, then Long Aotian would be here by now.
Spending money to make himself less angry, that's what impulsive consumption is like. However, Fulen still felt that after impulsive consumption, he would become even more depressed, and thinking about the reason for his depression would make him even more depressed. Fulen nodded. It was indeed a merchant's consumption trap.
After Fulen bought the best box seat ticket and found out its location, he leisurely started walking upstairs. As for the second reason, it was because Fulen had just finished his first magic show today, and he was quite happy. While strolling, Fulen felt that the Trickmaster potion should be starting to digest.
Currently, there are generally three types of tickets for theatrical performances in Trier. The first type is standing tickets, but these are usually purchased by lower-class people, and some high-end theaters do not sell them. The second type is seated tickets, but these are for the main hall. Current architects are still people-oriented, so there are no particularly bad viewing positions, only relatively better ones, which is why the scalping business is not very good in this world. The third type is seated tickets for box seats.
Box seats are divided into two types: one for wealthy families who have a good relationship with the theater and have fixed box seats, paying a large sum of money annually, so even if they don't watch, the box is reserved for them; the other type is temporary box seat tickets, which are not the crowded large boxes, but rather boxes for only three to five people.
Just like the box in front of Fulen now, Fulen did not suddenly barge in, but politely knocked on the Door before pushing the Door open. After all, one must be polite.
The first thing Fulen saw when he Opened the Door was a young girl. What was most noticeable about her was her eyes; they were filled with sadness. At this moment, she was turning her head to look at the box's Door. Fulen hadn't expected only a young girl to be quietly waiting inside for the play to begin, so he looked at her for a moment.
The young girl didn't say much; she simply sat back in her chair and looked down at the stage where the curtain was being drawn. Her beauty, Fulen thought, surpassed that of the maid he had seen. The maid was merely the type that grew on you, whereas this young girl was as light as a willow catkin, with a graceful figure and exquisite features. She was, in Fulen's opinion, the most beautiful woman he had seen so far.