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

Before Chen Chao could reply, a second voice message popped up: "And another thing! You said you'd help me find out which wall in the hotel was the cleanest, how's that coming along? I'm a bit short on snacks lately, I'll treat you when you get back, half for each of us, no need to be shy!"

Hearing the voice message coming from his phone, Chen Chao couldn't help but laugh out loud. He pressed the record button, lowered his voice, and replied, "Okay, then I'll personally pick it for you, and I guarantee it will be fresh."

Just seconds after the message was sent, Li Yitong called directly via WeChat.

The call connected quickly, but before Chen Chao could even speak, Li Yitong's voice, though lowered, couldn't hide her laughter: "Chen Chao, you're finished. I've already taken a screenshot and saved it."

"When you become a big star, I'll sell our chat history to marketing accounts with the headline 'Shocking! Top male star invites actress to a late-night feast of plaster.'"

"Then I'll reserve a trending topic in advance too." Chen Chao didn't take Li Yitong's threat seriously at all. "Let's call it 'Li Yitong is addicted to plastering walls, Chen tries to persuade her but is threatened instead.'"

Upon hearing Chen Chao's words, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by an uncontrollable burst of laughter.

Slightly out of breath from laughing, Li Yitong replied haltingly, "Can you be serious for once? I'm still on set. I almost disturbed the other actors who were filming."

"Oh, okay? Then you go ahead and get busy. We'll talk about the wall plaster feast later." Although Li Yitong said that, Chen Chao still continued to tease her on purpose.

"Get lost! Just you wait!" Li Yitong said with a laugh before hanging up the phone.

Chen Chao put his phone back in his pocket, the smile on his face not yet completely gone. Deng Chao, who had already sat down again, was facing him, looking at him with a straw in his mouth, his eyes full of the knowing look of someone who had been there before, but he didn't say anything, only raising his eyebrows meaningfully.

"Brother Chao, what's with that expression?" Feeling a little uneasy looking at him, Chen Chao couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing much~" Deng Chao took a sip of his cola and slowly uttered two words, "Youth is wonderful."

Zhang Benyu, who went back to get his things, passed by Deng Chao, glanced at his expression, and then looked at Chen Chao. Although he didn't know what Chen Chao had discovered, he still cooperated by saying, "It's really good."

"What kind of riddles are you two playing now?" Chen Chao said with a hint of helplessness.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Standing up, Deng Chao reached out and gently patted Chen Chao's shoulder, saying sincerely, "I just think you're a kid with a bright future ahead of you."

—————————————————————————————

And so, Sun Yi stayed at the guesthouse and hotel booked by the film crew, and openly stayed in Dong Zijian's room, since the two were already officially a couple.

The brick-and-wood structure of the guesthouse wasn't very soundproof. On Sun Yi's first night there, Chen Chao was lying in bed scrolling through his phone when he vaguely heard a low but barely suppressed laugh coming from next door, accompanied by a slight creaking of the bed.

His room was next to Dong Zijian's, so Chen Chao naturally knew what the sound was about. He quickly stuffed his phone under his pillow and pulled the blanket over his head.

............

The next morning, while having breakfast in the living room, Dong Zijian sat down next to Chen Chao with a bowl of porridge. He had noticeable dark circles under his eyes and looked rather listless.

Sun Yi came downstairs a few minutes later than him. She was wearing a thin turtleneck sweater, her face was rosy, and she looked very energetic. She greeted everyone with a smile.

Chen Chao, head down, sipped his latte, pretending not to see anything. Zhang Benyu, meanwhile, sat down opposite him with his bowl in hand. Looking at Dong Zijian, he instinctively wanted to say something, but Deng Chao tapped his hand with his chopsticks, saying, "Eat your breakfast."

"I haven't said anything yet!" Zhang Benyu felt a little aggrieved when he was suddenly knocked on.

"It will be too late by the time you tell me." After giving him a meaningful look, Deng Chao glanced at Dong Zijian and Sun Yi.

That night, the noise from next door was similar to the previous night. Just as Chen Chao was about to drift off to sleep, he was pulled back by the faint laughter and the protesting sound of the bed.

After staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, he turned over, picked up his phone, and sent Ji Ran a WeChat message: "Buy me a pair of noise-canceling earplugs tomorrow."

The message had barely been sent when Ji Ran replied, "What's wrong?"

He typed a few words first, then Chen Chao deleted them, and finally only replied with one sentence: "The neighbor is doing renovations."

—————————————————————————————

Several days passed quickly, and night fell again. The town became quiet. After finishing filming, Chen Chao and his group washed up and chatted in the courtyard as usual.

It was the season when osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, and the osmanthus tree in the corner of the courtyard was in full bloom. Its fragrance wafted in the evening breeze, making people relax unconsciously.

Leaning on Dong Zijian's shoulder, Sun Yi whispered something to him, and the two remained as inseparable as ever.

Slumped in a bamboo chair, Deng Chao idly swung his legs, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the courtyard before finally settling on Chen Chao, who was drinking tea from an enamel mug. A smile crept onto his lips.

"Ah Chao~" he said in a very affected voice, even drawing out the last syllable.

Looking up at Deng Chao, Chen Chao was very wary. Every time Deng Chao called him in this tone, it was never anything good.

"Sing a song for me." Deng Chao was unusually serious today, not in the mood for pranks. "It's that song you hummed in the yard last time. I can't stop thinking about that melody these past few days. You have to take responsibility for it."

"Yes, yes, yes," Zhang Benyu replied in perfect unison.

"Give me a song." Gao Huayang, who was usually taciturn, took the initiative to speak, raising the beer can in his hand.

Holding the thermos cup prepared for her by her assistant, Zhao Liying smiled at Chen Chao. Although she didn't say anything, the expectation in her eyes was clear.

"Alright." Facing everyone's gaze, Chen Chao let out a soft breath, put down the enamel mug in his hand, stood up, took out his phone and flipped through the demos he had recorded before, "Well then, here's a new song that hasn't been released yet, 'Misplaced Time and Space' for everyone."

Seeing that Chen Chao was about to start singing, everyone quieted down. A simple piano prelude flowed from the phone speaker. Chen Chao closed his eyes and spoke in a slightly lower voice than usual, with a hint of hoarseness.

"A movie that couldn't even fill half a row of viewers, until the lights suddenly came on at the end. The credits froze on the name of the production and distribution company, and I watched them hurry away..."