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

Pulled by Chen Chao, Meng Ziyi leaned forward, her nose almost hitting his chin. The two were so close they could see each other's eyelashes.

After a moment of stunned silence, Meng Ziyi's face flushed red, redder than ever before. She abruptly withdrew her hand, distanced herself from Chen Chao, and sat back down in her chair.

Although she shifted her gaze, pretending to look at the condiment dish on the table, her bright red ear tips betrayed her current state.

"Why...why are you pulling me!"

"If I don't pull you up, you'll fall." Chen Chao withdrew his hand without changing his expression, as if nothing had happened.

"It's none of your business if I fall!"

"Fine, I'll let you fall next time."

"you!"

Li Yitong, who was watching this scene from the side, smiled and took a sip of water, while Chen Xingxu silently turned his face to the window, where a face that could not hide his smile was reflected in the glass.

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The skewers were brought out one after another by the waiters, and the whole table was filled with them, making it look very delicious.

The lamb chops sizzled and glistened with oil, the beef skewers were sprinkled with cumin and chili powder, the grilled eggplant was topped with a thick layer of minced garlic, and the enoki mushrooms were wrapped in aluminum foil and still bubbling away...

The air was filled with the unique aroma of charcoal and spices, making one's mouth water.

Meng Ziyi picked up a piece of lamb chopsticks first, dipped it in the secret sauce, and then put it in her mouth.

"Mmm~"

Her eyes narrowed into slits, her cheeks puffed out, and she wore a blissful and content expression, letting out a slightly muffled hum.

Seeing her like this, Chen Chao couldn't help but take out his phone and secretly snap this vivid photo.

"What are you doing!" However, he had only taken one picture when Meng Ziyi, who had sharp eyes, immediately noticed. Before she could even swallow the lamb chop in her mouth, she glared at him with her round eyes, her tone carrying a hint of fierceness.

"Just recording life." Chen Chao put his phone away without changing his expression, giving a perfunctory yet self-righteous answer.

"Delete it!"

"I won't delete it."

Seeing that Chen Chao disagreed with deleting the photos, Meng Ziyi immediately reached out to grab them, but Chen Chao held the phone up high, and she couldn't reach it, so she almost had to lean on him.

"He's bullying me like this, and you two just stand by and watch?" After several unsuccessful attempts, Meng Ziyi turned to Chen Xingxu and Li Yitong, who were watching the scene unfold, for help.

Taking a bite of the chicken wing, Li Yitong smiled, her eyes crinkling into adorable crescent moons: "I think it's quite interesting."

Chen Xingxu's reaction was similar; he simply nodded in agreement and then continued to eat his barbecue in silence.

Frustrated and unable to find help, Meng Ziyi puffed out his cheeks in anger. He jumped up and down a couple more times, but still couldn't reach it. Finally, he could only sit back down in his chair, glare at Chen Chao, and say sternly, "You wait."

After putting his phone away, Chen Chao smiled and pushed the untouched slices of toasted bread from his plate in front of her: "Don't be shy, these are your favorite slices of toasted bread."

Looking at the toasted bread slices on the plate in front of him, and then at Chen Chao's seemingly harmless smiling face, Meng Ziyi finally couldn't resist the temptation of the food and picked it up and ate it.

"That's more like it," she muttered under her breath, but the corners of her mouth had already unconsciously turned up.

Sitting opposite her, Li Yitong took in the whole scene. She took a sip of water, a knowing smile in her eyes, while Chen Xingxu looked thoughtful, as if he had suddenly understood something.

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Since the barbecue restaurant wasn't too far from Chen Chao's hotel, the four of them didn't take a taxi after finishing their meal. Instead, they chose to walk back to the hotel, ostensibly to digest their food.

The nights in Ningbo in March were still a bit chilly, but for Chen Chao and his friends, who were warm and cozy after having just finished a barbecue, it was the perfect time for a walk.

The streetlights cast long shadows of the group. Although Meng Ziyi was walking ahead with Li Yitong, she would occasionally turn back to chat with Chen Chao and Chen Xingxu behind her. Her high ponytail swayed in the night wind, like a lively little bird.

As she walked, she suddenly slowed her pace, waiting for Chen Chao to catch up. They walked side-by-side, the streetlights casting flickering shadows on her face. She turned her head to look at Chen Chao and suddenly asked, "Chen Chao, why did you become an actor?"

"Hmm~ I want to try a different path." Chen Chao paused for a moment, recalling his recent training routine, and said with a soft laugh.

"A different path?" Tilting his head, Meng Ziyi looked at him with curiosity in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I just don't want to live a life where every day is the same." Chen Chao's tone was very calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "The path I had planned before was predictable, so I thought about changing the path and seeing different scenery."

Nodding as if he understood, Meng Ziyi pressed further, "So what did you want to do before?"

"A toy designer." After a moment's thought.

"Really?" Meng Ziyi's eyes widened instantly, her face showing undisguised surprise. "That sounds so cool!"

"Really." Chen Chao smiled. "But before I even entered this industry, I had already changed careers."

Looking at Chen Chao, who still had a gentle smile on his face, Meng Ziyi's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had thought of a brilliant idea: "Then when you become famous in the future, you can release your own co-branded toys! There will definitely be a lot of people buying them then."

Chen Chao, who was genuinely surprised that Meng Ziyi would come up with such a clever idea, was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. Of course, he still nodded in agreement, saying, "What you said makes a lot of sense."

"Right, right!" Hearing Chen Chao agree with his suggestion, Meng Ziyi shook his head smugly. "Then don't forget to send me a set later!"

"OK."

"I need an autograph!"

"OK."

"And I also need to write 'Dedicated to the most beautiful Meng Ziyi!'"

"Hmm... that won't do." Seeing how interesting Meng Ziyi was, Chen Chao had the urge to tease her again.

"Why?!" Upon hearing Chen Chao's answer, Meng Ziyi instantly bristled, stopped in her tracks, put her hands on her hips, and glared at him, looking just like a cat that had suddenly bristled.

"Because my handwriting is bad." Suppressing his laughter, Chen Chao began to talk nonsense with a straight face.

Completely surprised by Chen Chao's answer, Meng Ziyi was stunned for a moment. After realizing what he meant, she burst into laughter, her clear laughter carrying far in the quiet night.

Li Yitong and Chen Xingxu, who had quietly moved behind the two, exchanged a knowing glance as they watched the two bickering in front of them.

"Those two seem quite interesting," Li Yitong said with a smile, lowering her voice.

Chen Xingxu gave a soft "hmm" but didn't say anything more. However, when his gaze fell on the two people in front of him, a smile flashed in his eyes.