Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

In late April, Shanghai was already starting to feel summery, with daytime temperatures often exceeding 20 degrees Celsius, and the breeze carrying a hint of warmth.

Chen Chao, who had just finished filming a scene, was sitting in the makeup area having his makeup removed by the makeup artist. He closed his eyes and let the makeup artist do his work on his face, while his mind was still reviewing his performance.

"Ah Chao, look who's here." Just then, Ji Ran's voice suddenly rang out, and for some reason, his tone carried a hint of teasing.

"Hmm?" Chen Chao gestured for the makeup artist to stop, opened his eyes, and saw a girl wearing a yellow knitted cardigan and blue jeans standing at the door, holding a milk tea bag in her hand, looking at him with a squinting smile through the mirror in front of him.

This person was none other than Li Yitong.

"Yitong? What brings you here?" Chen Chao stared in surprise, quickly stood up from his chair, and strode over.

"I just happened to be in Shanghai for a gig, and since I had some free time afterward, I thought I'd drop by and see you," Li Yitong said with a smile, handing Chen Chao the milk tea bag.

"I also brought milk tea for you and everyone in the crew. I didn't know what you wanted to drink, so I bought the same flavor for everyone. As for you, I bought your favorite jasmine milk green tea."

"Thanks, you even made the special trip." Chen Chao took the milk tea bag from Li Yitong's hand and nodded with a smile.

Since Chen Chao finished filming "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", the two of them have basically not met offline. They usually chat on WeChat. He really didn't expect that Li Yitong would suddenly come to visit him on set.

"Why are you being so polite with me?" Li Yitong's gaze unconsciously fell on Chen Chao's current makeup and look, and her eyes lit up. "Wow, your Night Lord look is so handsome!"

"Really?" Chen Chao touched his face and shook his head. "I don't feel anything. I prefer Shen Wei's look."

"It's because the makeup and styling are simple, and you don't need to wear a wig!" Hearing Chen Chao's words, Li Yitong couldn't help but retort. "Oh, right, I also brought you your favorite strawberry pastry—strawberry mochi."

As she spoke, she took out an exquisitely packaged box from her bag and handed it to Chen Chao.

"Oh, thank you for remembering that I like strawberries." Chen Chao was touched as he took the box from Li Yitong. He really didn't expect that Li Yitong would remember that he liked strawberries.

"Of course, I remember everything about you." Li Yitong muttered in a very low voice, a slight blush rising on her cheeks.

Watching the interaction between the two, Ji Ran nodded thoughtfully. He seemed to understand why Chen Chao had rejected his suggestion of a pure and innocent boy persona when they were discussing establishing a persona.

After exchanging a few more words, Chen Chao took Li Yitong and Ji Ran to talk to director Zhou Yuanzhou, and then distributed the milk tea that she had brought to visit the set to the crew members.

"Ahem, my good friend Li Yitong is visiting the set. Everyone, take a break and come over for some milk tea."

"Thank you, Teacher Li Yitong!"

"Teacher Li Yitong is so wonderful!"

......

As Chen Chao spoke, the crew members gathered around and thanked Li Yitong, who was standing next to him. Li Yitong greeted everyone without any airs.

After distributing milk tea to the crew members and actors, Chen Chao took Li Yitong back to his private dressing room. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit the set? I could have arranged for someone to pick you up."

"Hehe, I was just thinking of giving you a surprise." Sitting on the sofa, Li Yitong relaxed and swung her legs, looking around the dressing room. "Your dressing room is quite tidy. I thought guys' dressing rooms were all messy."

"How have you been lately? Any new projects on your plate?" Knowing that Li Yitong's last question was just to make conversation, Chen Chao didn't answer and changed the subject.

"It's alright. I'll be joining a new project next month, a period drama, and I'll be the female lead." Li Yitong didn't hide anything when Chen Chao asked her, and answered with a smile.

"But filming period dramas is really tough. I have to get up early every day to do my makeup and hair, and I have to be suspended by wires all the time. I feel like I'm becoming an aerial acrobat."

"Not bad, another lead role. Period dramas are really tiring, so you should take better care of your health and not overwork yourself."

"Okay." Nodding, Li Yitong looked at Chen Chao with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Um... about what happened on Happy Camp last time, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I caused you trouble."

"It's nothing, I didn't take it to heart." Chen Chao naturally knew what Li Yitong was talking about, and just waved his hand with a smile. "Just like I said last time, we've always been good friends, let others say what they want."

Upon hearing the words "good friend," Li Yitong's eyes flickered slightly. Although she smiled and nodded in agreement, she couldn't help but think to herself, "Good friend? Who wants to be your 'good friend'!"

She had always had feelings for Chen Chao, but Meng Ziyi made the first move, and out of a sense of not wanting to betray her good friend, she suppressed her feelings.

After she accidentally revealed it on Happy Camp, she felt incredibly bittersweet seeing so many people online shipping them as a couple.

Moreover, after learning from Meng Ziyi that she and Chen Chao were not dating, Li Yitong had some different thoughts in her heart. That's why she took the opportunity to come to Shanghai to visit the set.

.........

After the film crew finished work that evening, Chen Chao took Li Yitong to a nearby Northeastern Chinese restaurant. Just as Li Yitong remembered that he liked strawberries, he also knew that Li Yitong loved Northeastern cuisine.

"I'm not very familiar with Northeastern cuisine, so you should order." Chen Chao handed the menu the waiter gave him to Li Yitong with a smile, saying, "Order whatever you want, it's on me today."

"Then I won't be polite~" Smiling, Li Yitong took the menu from Chen Chao, thought for a moment, and then ordered a few of her favorite dishes, as well as two bottles of beer.

Of course, when ordering, Li Yitong specifically avoided tomatoes, which Chen Chao didn't like, and sweet potatoes, which Chen Chao was allergic to.

"Would you like to drink more?" Chen Chao asked, somewhat surprised by the beer option on the menu.

"Hehe, eating Northeastern cuisine naturally needs to be paired with some beer to make it more enjoyable." Facing Chen Chao's questioning gaze, Li Yitong stuck out her tongue and winked playfully.