A writer has arrived in the Chinese entertainment industry.

To be honest, Su Liu only said "muse" and "next work" casually to deal with the difficulties at the time. In reality, it was just like saying "I'll definitely treat you next time"—a perfunctory remark to get out of trouble.

Unexpectedly, An Wenxiu took it to heart and, despite being busy in Yanjing, still remembered to send a message to inquire about the new work.

Su Liu had no choice but to keep circling around the topic, saying that his inspiration hadn't landed yet and that he didn't have a complete story, and he finally managed to get away with it.

Last night, he called Editor-in-Chief Liu to express his apology. Old Liu really didn't care, and even asked Su Liu in a gossipy manner what was going on with meeting the "muse." He never expected that An Wenxiu would tell Old Liu such a ridiculous excuse.

Two gossipy old women.

"Click." The sound of a camera shutter drew Su Liu's attention away from his phone. Not far to his right, a woman in a black jacket was putting away her camera.

"Excuse me," she said with a smile, pointing to the glass window as Su Liu looked over, "the lighting here is amazing, it creates a wonderful atmosphere."

"My damn charm!" our great writer cursed inwardly, but smiled broadly at the woman in the black jacket and said, "It's alright."

"Would you like to see the photos?" Although she asked in a questioning tone, she moved closer on her own before waiting for a reply.

Su Liu glanced at it casually and said, "Hmm, very well shot."

"Um... are you also a student at China Southern Airlines?"

"I'm not." He glanced at the photography studio, where Chen Duling was standing in front of the white background wall, striking various poses.

The woman in the black jacket noticed his gaze and said in a tone that made an assessment of an item, "That's the 'campus belle' of China Southern Airlines."

Strange. Su Liu keenly noticed that when the words "Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics' campus belle" came out of the woman in the black jacket, there was a kind of frozen hardness to them. In short, it didn't sound like a compliment.

"yes."

"Absolutely, she's quite good at self-promotion at such a young age."

"Popularity stunt?"

"Yes, I heard she uploaded the photos online to participate in some kind of beauty pageant." The woman in the black jacket spoke like a judge banging down a gavel. "Girls like that are too mercenary."

"I heard that someone uploaded her photos to the internet without my permission."

She let out a short, cold laugh. "You actually believe that? That shows how shrewd she is. She clearly benefits from it, but she still puts on an innocent expression like, 'Oh dear, I don't know how this happened.'"

"You sound like you know her very well."

"I've seen far too many people like this..."

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the photography studio. Chen Duling had finished her shoot, packed up her things, and was saying goodbye to the people around her. Then, the woman in the black jacket looked on in surprise as the "campus belle of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics" she had mentioned walked towards her.

Su Liu stood up to greet her and took the bag from Chen Duling's hand.

"Finished filming?"

"Hmm, who are you chatting with?"

Chen Duling's gaze passed through Su Liu and landed on the woman in the black jacket.

"Oh, this lady told me some interesting things."

"Yeah?"

The two walked out of the photo studio side by side. The woman in the black jacket looked like a judge who hadn't yet struck the gavel, watching the plaintiff and defendant walk away hand in hand with a stiff expression.

Chen Duling's photoshoot today took place in Jiangning District. Students from the Art College of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics organized an environmentally themed upcycling activity and invited her to be their model. All the clothes had a "magic prop" feel to them, such as low-crotch harem pants pieced together with different colored blocks and knitted sleeves sewn under old T-shirts.

However, Chen Duling unexpectedly possessed a lively charm after putting on these strange costumes.

How was your year at school?

"Huh?" Chen Duling's brain seemed to have been hit by the sudden question, and she looked blank.

"What do you mean... 'How are you doing?' If you want to show concern for me, that's a bit too abrupt."

"I mean, about that ID photo."

"Oh...that..." Her tone was tinged with helplessness, "You saw it too."

"She's quite popular, the campus belle of China Southern Airlines."

"Don't make fun of me." She frowned. "You know what? A while ago on campus, a guy wanted to take a picture with me. I never expected that he would later show the photo to other people and say that I was his girlfriend. My roommate even came to me to confirm it. It's really speechless."

"There's such a thing?"

"And that's not all," she said quietly, looking annoyed. "For a while, people were following me all the time. Some even came all the way from other campuses to find me. I had no idea what to do. Later, I also heard some unpleasant things from my roommate."

"What did you say?"

"Anyway, it was just some unpleasant talk."

"Looks like you're not having a very comfortable time either."

"Hmm," Chen Duling hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly, "Actually, putting all that aside, university life is pretty good overall. My mom will come to stay with me starting next semester, so things should be much better then."

"Have you ever thought about what you would do if you became an actor and a star, with countless people watching your every word and action?"

"Huh? Why would I become an actor? I can't act at all. Maybe it's more plausible that I'll go build Gundams in the future."

"Who knows? Fate can be quite unpredictable sometimes."

Hearing this inexplicable statement, Chen Duling complained, "Good heavens, someone save this person from their chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)."

Next, the two wandered around the food street, eating salted duck and pork belly noodles. Chen Duling had the typical female appetite; she would say she was full after a couple of bites, and she only bought one serving of each snack. She would take one bite, and the rest would end up in Su Liu's stomach.

Then, they went to the arcade on Yutang East Road to play video games. Chen Duling was a competitive person; once Su Liu beat her, she would fight back until she won. Su Liu also couldn't bear the humiliation of losing to her, and the two of them fought for three hundred rounds in the arcade.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, casting a warm glow on the cool breeze. Su Liu, who had spent the afternoon strolling around with Chen Duling, was now sitting side by side under the shade of a tree, drinking cola.

"Let's go, I'll take you home."

Su Liu invited Editor-in-Chief Liu to dinner that evening, and he couldn't break his promise this time.

They were not far from Chen Duling's dormitory. The two walked along Zhongshan East Road, turned right into a narrow alley, lined with tall and straight metasequoia trees, and soon arrived at the east gate of the campus.

"Then I'll go in."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Oh, right," she said, as if suddenly remembering something, turning her head sharply with a sly glint in her eyes, "you mentioned becoming an actress this morning... was it just a casual remark, or did you have some ulterior motive?"

Su Liu, bewildered, replied, "What intention?"

Chen Duling's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Could it be... that you want to cast me in a movie? Didn't you say you were preparing for one?"

"You wish, Chen Duling." Su Liu chuckled. "You can't act, can you? Maybe you could play a blockhead."

"Hey, don't underestimate me. I'm very good at learning." She wrinkled her nose defiantly. "Acting is pretty much the same as cosplay, isn't it?"

"Do you really want to act?"

"I just think...it'll be a lot of fun."

"Hehe, then you'll be able to play soon."

Chen Duling didn't react at first, her eyes filled with confusion. "What do you mean?"

Su Liu leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, "I won't tell you." Then, without giving her a chance to ask further, he turned and waved, "I'm leaving."

Chen Duling watched his retreating figure and muttered to herself, "He's acting crazy."