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

"Ah Chao, wait a moment." After escorting Zhao Liying to her room and saying goodbye, Chen Chao had just turned to leave when he heard Sister Zhao's voice behind him.

"Come inside and sit with me for a while, I'd like to chat with you," Zhao Liying said with a smile, facing Chen Chao's questioning gaze.

"Okay." Looking at Sister Zhao, whose cheeks were rosy and whose little face looked quite cute, Chen Chao didn't think much and nodded in agreement.

"Time flies." After entering the room and taking their seats on the sofa, Zhao Liying spoke first. "This is our third collaboration. From 'Duckweed' to 'Princess Agents' and now 'The Story of Ming Lan,' it's been two years in the blink of an eye."

"Yes." Hearing what Sister Zhao said, Chen Chao nodded in agreement. "Thank you so much for taking care of me during this time, Sister Liying."

"Silly boy, what are you talking about taking care of?" Zhao Liying smiled, turned her head to look at him, looked directly into his eyes, and her eyes were filled with undisguised emotions.

Chen Chao opened his mouth, about to speak, when Zhao Liying suddenly leaned in, hooked her arm around his neck, and kissed him.

After a brief moment of stiffness, Chen Chao reached out and put his arm around her waist, beginning to respond proactively.

A beautiful night...

The next morning, when sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains and Chen Chao woke up, there was no one beside him.

There was only a note left by the pillow with a message from Zhao Liying: "I'm going to catch up on my schedule now. Consider last night as a wrap-up gift. Don't worry about it or feel guilty."

Following this text, Zhao Liying also drew a small smiley face in a very childlike way.

After reading the note, Chen Chao smiled and shook his head. He naturally wouldn't dwell on such things. Adult relationships don't need to be about right or wrong; it's best to let things take their natural course.

Just as Chen Chao finished washing up and was about to have breakfast, Chen Quan called, "Chao, are you awake? We have to fly to Beijing today. The recording studio is already booked, and Brother Ji is already waiting for us there."

"Okay, I'll be right down."

........

After arriving in Beijing, Chen Chao and his team met up with Ji Ran, who was waiting for them at the airport. They then went directly to the recording studio. The person in charge of producing Chen Chao's album was the well-known Zhang Yadong.

"These... are all your own compositions?" After listening to the demo while looking at the sheet music, Zhang Yadong's gaze towards Chen Chao changed. "Eleven songs, each with a different style, but the melodies and lyrics are solid, and they all share the same theme, which is quite in line with the style of a young person like you."

When Zhang Yadong took on this job, he had listened to Chen Chao’s previous albums and singles. He originally thought that this young man’s second album would continue the love song theme, but he did not expect that he would change the track directly.

"Yes, I suddenly had an idea, so I wrote it down. I would appreciate any guidance from Teacher Zhang."

"I wouldn't call it giving pointers, but your album is really good." Shaking his head, Zhang Yadong's words were full of admiration. "I dare say, once this album is released, its performance will definitely not be worse than your last one."

For the next two weeks, Chen Chao spent every day in the recording studio. His singing skills were already solid, and he could also compare his singing with the original songs from his memory, so the recording progress was not slow.

Faced with Chen Chao's performance, Zhang Yadong couldn't help but praise him, saying that he was born to be a singer.

During the album's recording, Li Yitong, Meng Ziyi, and Li Lin would frequently message him. Li Lin would chatter on and on, recounting her preparations for playing Lin Wan'er.

As for Li Yitong, this wicked little kitten is also secretly working hard, although when she contacts him, they mostly bicker. Of course, Sister Meng is also very talkative, but she is not as talkative as Li Yitong.

At the end of January, the recording of the entire album "Qingyu" was completed. After handing over the remaining post-production work to Zhang Yadong and Ji Ran, Chen Chao rushed to New Classics Media's BJ branch to participate in the photo shoot and prepare for the upcoming press conference.

As for the music video for the new album, Chen Chao is currently unable to find the time to film it and will have to wait until later to make up for it.

The location for the costume fitting photos was set at the New Classics Media Beijing branch studio. When Chen Chao arrived, most of the other main actors had already arrived.

As soon as Chen Chao stepped into the photo studio, he heard a very clear voice, "Chao, you've finally arrived!"

Subconsciously looking in the direction of the voice, Chen Chao saw Li Qin wearing a white down jacket and a black baseball cap. "I was just wondering when you were coming!"

After noticing Chen Chao's appearance, in addition to Li Qin, two other figures approached, namely Li Yitong and Meng Ziyi.

"Chen, the male lead, is really arrogant~ We've been waiting for you for ages."

"Ah Chao~"

When facing Chen Chao, Li Yitong and Meng Ziyi had completely different attitudes. The mischievous little cat continued her usual bickering style, while Meng Ziyi couldn't help but pinch him.

"Hi, Sister Qin, Tongtong, and Sister Meng, it's been a long time." Chen Chao greeted the three beautiful women who had come up to him with a natural smile.

"Why do you only call me Tongtong? Instead of Sister Tongtong!" Hearing Chen Chao's words, Li Yitong couldn't help but widen her eyes and complain with some dissatisfaction.

"Hmm~ I just don't think it suits me very well." Chen Chao gave an ambiguous answer, rubbing his chin.

Not far from Chen Chao and his group, two female celebrities were curiously observing this "lucky charm for her dramas": Chen Yao, with her lively eyes and quiet, gentle temperament, and Chen Duling, with her pure and scholarly appearance.

Seemingly noticing their gazes, Chen Chao, who was chatting with Meng Ziyi and the others, also looked at them, smiled and nodded as a greeting, and they returned the polite nod.

After chatting with Meng Ziyi and the other two women for a while, Chen Chao continued to greet the other actors on set, chatting with them about anything, whether he knew them or not.

Before Chen Chao could talk to the actors for long, director Sun Hao, producer Chen Yingjie, and screenwriter Wang Juan arrived together.

After speaking briefly with Chen Daoming, the most senior and most famous actor in the series, the three of them finally approached Chen Chao, the male lead.

"Director Sun, President Chen, Screenwriter Wang, hello." Before the three could speak, Chen Chao greeted them first.