[The Phantom of the Opera] The Beast and the Canary

I couldn't help feeling cold all over my body, and stayed for a while, but when I looked over again, his expression had returned to normal, and he was talking with the two new bosses in a low voice.

That terribly cold look in Sen's eyes just now...was it an illusion?

Before I could get to the bottom of it, one of the new bosses—a pudgy one with silver curly hair— stood up and clapped his hands, "Quiet, quiet, girls. I have something important to announce." Let's call it He is short boss.

No one paid him any attention.The girls were basking in the joy and excitement of seeing the big shot.

It stands to reason that Mrs. Geary should come to the rescue.Her prestige in the theater has always been very high, and many girls are afraid of the slender cane in her hand.But she was quite abnormal today. Not only did she not come out to suppress the scene, but she also stared at Hester impolitely for a long time.

Because I watched it for too long, it even caused whispers from the people around me.

Carlota hugged her little white dog, drank tea slowly, and said in a calm voice, "I never thought that Mrs. Giri would show such an expression to a young man when she was old."

No matter where, there is never a shortage of good people.There was a booing sound from the crowd: "Oh-oh-"

I frowned when I heard that, if I hadn't considered factors such as identity and occasion, Carlotta's fat and tender face would have already been branded with my five finger marks.

Just when I was thinking about how to take revenge in private, a voice sounded: "Ma'am, you are joking. The reason why Mrs. Geary looks at me like this is because we are old acquaintances."

It's like the ice and snow accidentally poured into the ears in the deep winter, the first breath of air after the rain, the golden scales condensed on the lake by the bright sun... This voice is so sweet that it is almost unreal. Looking at the reputation, it really is Hearst say.

Looking at the expressions of the people around, some were shocked, some blushed, some were confused... They were obviously shocked by this voice.

I was also shocked, but not by his voice.Wearing a mask, proficient in architecture and music, knowing Mrs. Geary, with a beautiful voice...isn't he really a phantom?

Thinking of this, I looked at his face again, this time observing more carefully, from the eyebrows to the lips, without missing any details.Unfortunately, I found nothing except finding no expression on his face.

Phantom can't grow into this look.If he was so handsome, why did he go that far with Christine in his previous life.

Moreover, Phantom's figure is not so tall.He was a cold ghost in the shape of a skeleton, but the man in front of him was a perfect man with broad shoulders, straight back, slender legs, and no flaws from head to toe.

The two people are so different... I probably think of Phantom too much recently, so I think of him.

I looked away, and I was about to whisper something to Christine, but that cold and compelling gaze appeared again.

I turned my head, and sure enough it was Hester looking at me.He folded his arms, and kept rubbing his right index finger against his chin. His eyes were gloomy and long winter night. Looking carefully, there seemed to be a trace of imperceptible hatred...

I'm at a complete loss.Blinking vigorously, and looking over again, his face returned to calm... After repeating this several times, I suspected that I had hallucinations.

After this commotion, the short boss found a gap to interject.He cleared his throat and said, "Girls, I have good news to announce--Mr. Opportunity to participate in casting."

Boss Gao echoed, "Girls, you are really lucky. You know, there is a high probability that this drama will be performed in the palace."

There were suppressed gasps and screams all around, and many girls happily hugged each other.

Christine tilted her head and whispered in my ear, "They must not know what the show is about."

"Why do you say that?"

"This play is also called "The Abominable Shepherdess". Although the name is similar to the "Lovely Shepherdess" written by Mozart when he was 12 years old, the plot is not so innocent and cute... How should I put it, it is about a family The story of a fallen man, abandoned by his fiancée."

I was stunned: "Huh?"

Christine said: "The hero was originally good-looking and his family was well-off, but because of the deliberate murder of his enemies, he lost his property and fields, and also left an ugly scar on his face. After his fiancée learned about it, the first The first reaction was to abandon him and quickly marry another man from the same town. After the prelude, there is no heroine in this drama. Basically, the hero sings the aria alone... the second act At the beginning of the movie, the heroine was directly locked into a cage by the hero..."

Me: "..." Why is this plot so familiar.

"Anyway, this play has been rejected by many actresses, and it's also the only Hearst opera that didn't have a popular actress." Christine blinked, "I heard someone say that This, I thought the person who wrote this drama was inferior and dark, but I didn’t expect that the real person is so young and handsome, maybe he wrote it to go against the trend.”

Indeed, there are too many scripts on the market in which men abandon women. Occasionally, a woman abandons a man, which is quite refreshing.

After whispering, Hester and Viscount Shani had already left.The rehearsal resumed, I held up my skirt and got into a jumping position, but I heard a buzzing voice behind me:

"I swear, Mr. Hurst actually looked at me just now."

I thought to myself, I am not the only one having hallucinations...

"Come on, little Janes, there are so many girls here, and you are not special, how can you be sure that he must be looking at you?"

"Miss Geary can testify!"

...Ah, why did it involve me?

Little Janss tugged at the corner of my skirt, and tearfully made a gesture of please: "Miss Geary, tell me, did Mr. Hurst just look at us all the time?"

I hesitated and said, "I don't know if I've been looking at it all the time, but I seem to have glanced this way twice."

Little Janss immediately puffed up her chest stiffly: "Look, I'm not lying! And I really looked at him several times. At that moment, Miss Geary was standing in front of me. If she didn't talk to Chris If Ting chats, he will definitely be able to see it!"

"Okay, okay, we believe you."

"I really envy little Janss. Mr. Hurst is the most handsome person I've ever seen in my life. There's nothing wrong with his facial features. It's just like a painting..."

"He put on the mask again when he left. It seems that being too good-looking is also an annoyance. You must wear a mask when you go out..."

What else did they say later, I gradually couldn't hear clearly, and a past event about the mask emerged in my mind without warning: It was three years ago, one afternoon after I was locked in the iron cage by the phantom, he suddenly stretched out. The boat returned to the cave and dragged me out of the cage.

At that time, he was wearing a hooded cloak, a black shirt and black trousers, black gloves on his hands, and black boots on his feet. He was as lifeless as a vampire nobleman living in an ancient castle.

He wrapped his arms around my wrist and dragged me to the river, the iron chain clanging all the way.Turning my face to the river, he bent down, his voice was cold, and he almost said every word close to my ear: "I found that you are very good at deceiving people."

I was imprisoned for two days without water or rice, and I was barely able to walk, and I had no energy to refute his slander.

And he was silent for a few seconds, not sure if he was waiting for me to speak, or thinking about something else—after a few seconds, he suddenly took off his mask, showing a terrifying side face like a ghost, and commanded condescendingly:

"Kiss my face."

In fact, it is not impossible to kiss, I have never disliked or feared his physical disability.But when I thought that these abnormal behaviors of his might have something to do with Christine, I couldn't restrain the jealousy in my heart, and turned my head away angrily.

The phantom paused, did not speak, and only smiled contemptuously.As if my reaction didn't matter to him.

This made me more sure of one thing - he was stimulated by Christine.

In the following three years, I would often think of this scene. Sometimes I was very angry and wanted to rush up and ask him what he thought of me;

However, these thoughts are so humble that even I feel a little contemptuous, let alone Phantom, so I just think about it.

The strings were played, the accompanying dance ended, and the rehearsal proceeded to the stage where Carlotta sang solo.Thinking of the time in the previous life, the phantom would show up and cut off the ropes of the props, interrupting Carlota's performance, and her heart beat wildly.

I thought that after three years, my feelings for him would fade a little, but it wasn't until we actually met that I realized that not only did it not fade away, but it became even stronger.

On the other side, Carlota was interrupted by Hearst in public, feeling that she lost her face, and was throwing a tantrum: "I won't sing anymore! Isn't Hearst very good at popular actresses? Then you still What do you want me for? Just let him give you another one! I, stop singing! Goodbye!"

The short boss scratched his wig, frowning.Boss Gao ran around Carlota bowing his arms, his mouth was flying up and down, and he was full of good words.

I looked up, trying to catch any trace of the phantom, even if it was just a fleeting shadow.

then……

My face turned pale: “How is Joseph in his post?”

"Joseph is a mechanic, and of course he is in his position at this time."

It is true to say so, but... no, no!

He wasn't there in his previous life!

If he was there, how would Phantom cut off the prop rope?How else would Christine perform in place of Carlotta?

Christine looked worried: "Meg, what's the matter with you, your face is so ugly, are you uncomfortable..."

Before the words were finished, Carlotta held the colored silk in her hand, looked around triumphantly, cleared her throat like a clap, and started singing.

I stared closely at the props on her head.

The world is dead silent at this moment, the sound disappears, the picture is dim, my eyes do not blink, and only the banner of "Hannibal" above Carlotta's head remains in the center of the field of vision.

She didn't move until she ended the song and bowed happily to take the curtain call. The props on her head didn't even move.

It was like being hit hard on the back of the head by someone, and suddenly, the world became noisy again.Applause, voices, and footsteps poured into the ears like a tide, and the picture also glowed with bright and colorful colors.I took a few steps back, my throat felt dry, and my heart beat faster and harder, almost jumping out of my chest.

Never before had there been such a clear realization as now that the phantom had disappeared.

It's no wonder that in the past three years, the number of times he showed up was almost nonexistent. It turned out that he really... disappeared.

He disappeared.