.

"Hua cheng loved the opera. When he was a kid, late at night he would sneak out and sit outside an open window of the opera house, listening to the show and he would pretend that the performer singing about being saved from a monster by a hero was him. "

Or, Hong-er grows up, and doesn't need to pretend anymore.

(Note: kinda obvious but by opera i mean peking/beijing style not westen lol)