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

Chapter 9: Should I listen to my mother?

After Li Yitong's "wall plaster incident," Chen Chao's life on set returned to its usual rhythm. However, in addition to training, studying, teasing Meng Ziyi, and playing games with Chen Xingxu every day, he had a new activity: arguing and exchanging harsh words with Li Yitong on WeChat.

Time flew by in these interesting daily routines, and before they knew it, it was the last day of the training camp. After today's training, they would officially begin filming.

During halftime, Meng Ziyi appeared as usual, carrying a bulging backpack. As if by magic, she pulled out bag after bag of snacks, including beef jerky, potato chips, fried dough twists, and dried fruit, and laid them all over the floor.

Seeing her spree, Chen Chao couldn't help but laugh and ask, "You buy so many snacks every day, is your salary enough to cover it all?"

"That's enough." Meng Ziyi unwrapped the snacks without looking up. "Besides, my mom said I have to eat and drink well on set and not mistreat myself. I'll have plenty of pocket money."

"Auntie is really open-minded."

"Of course." She raised her chin proudly and added, "My mom also told me to make more friends on set and not to stay alone all the time."

Chen Xingxu, who was silently opening a bag of potato chips nearby, couldn't help but look up upon hearing this, and asked expressionlessly, "So you're sticking to us every day because you're following your mother's orders?"

Hearing Chen Xingxu's question, Meng Ziyi was taken aback. After realizing what he meant, she blushed and hurriedly retorted, while secretly glancing at him, "No! I just wanted to stay with you guys!"

He continued chewing potato chips with a blank expression, but the barely concealed smile in the corner of Chen Xingxu's eyes betrayed that his words were just to tease Meng Ziyi.

Sitting quietly to the side, Li Yitong ate her cookies, occasionally glancing up at everyone with a gentle smile in her eyes. Of course, whenever she accidentally made eye contact with someone, she couldn't help but recall the embarrassing incident from that night and would glare at that person.

"By the way!" Not wanting to dwell on the previous topic, Meng Ziyi immediately changed the subject, "After today's training camp, we have three days off before starting filming. What are your plans?"

After thinking for a moment, Chen Chao shook his head slightly. "I don't have any plans. I'll probably just stay in the hotel."

"Me too." After his good friend finished speaking, Chen Xingxu nodded in agreement.

At this moment, Li Yitong, who had been quietly staying put, suddenly brought up a different idea: "I plan to go for a walk in the city. I've been in Ningbo for so long, but I haven't really gone out to explore yet."

"Then I want to go with you!" Meng Ziyi immediately raised her hand, indicating that she wanted to go too. After saying that, she looked at Chen Chao and Chen Xingxu and smiled broadly, "Aren't you two coming? Come along, it's so boring staying in the hotel all the time~"

Since Meng Ziyi had extended an invitation, Chen Chao would naturally give her face, "Alright, I'm free anyway."

Hearing Chen Chao say this, Chen Xingxu, who had been following his good brother's lead recently, hesitated for a moment before nodding.

After receiving their affirmative answers, Meng Ziyi excitedly pulled out his phone and started looking up travel guides, muttering to himself as he planned out the itinerary: "Then we'll leave at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, first to Tianyi Pavilion, then to the Drum Tower for snacks and a rest, and then to the Bund in the afternoon..."

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The next day, at nine o'clock in the morning, Chen Chao and the other three appeared in the hotel lobby on time.

Both girls dressed up a bit today. Meng Ziyi wore a white baseball cap, had her hair in a high ponytail, wore a simple striped vest over a white shirt, and blue jeans. She also carried a backpack and looked very energetic.

Li Yitong, on the other hand, wore a light-colored dress with a thin cardigan over it, and her long hair was draped over her shoulders, giving her a unique charm of intellectual elegance.

As for Chen Chao and Chen Xingxu, these two good brothers, their outfits today also looked very brotherly, both wearing classic men's outfits of black long-sleeved T-shirts and jeans.

After hailing a taxi, the four headed straight for their first stop – Tianyi Pavilion.

Tianyi Pavilion is the oldest existing private library in China, as well as one of the oldest existing libraries in Asia and one of the three oldest family libraries in the world. It currently houses nearly 30 volumes of various ancient books.

Walking at the front, Chen Chao looked at the buildings in the courtyard that had withstood hundreds of years of wind and rain, and at the protected, yellowed ancient books. A phrase he had once seen online came to mind: "Books outlive people."

The book collectors have long since turned to dust in history, but the books they left behind, and the thoughts hidden between the lines, remain vivid and alive after hundreds of years.

Suddenly, he had a thought: having been reborn, could he, like them, leave something behind? Would it be a series of popular songs, or unforgettable characters, or something else entirely?

"Chen Chao! Why are you walking so fast! Wait for us!" Just then, Meng Ziyi's somewhat boisterous voice came from behind, pulling Chen Chao out of his thoughts and making him stop. He smiled and turned his head slightly to wait for them to catch up.

"What are you filming?" At that moment, he also noticed Chen Xingxu quietly putting away his phone.

When questioned, Chen Xingxu maintained his usual calm expression, saying, "I took a picture of the scenery."

"But... why do I feel like you were filming me just now?" Chen Chao raised an eyebrow and continued to ask.

"...Your perception is just a matter of perspective."

Hearing their conversation, Meng Ziyi suddenly became interested. She had already almost reached Chen Chao's side, but she turned around and moved closer to Chen Xingxu, saying, "Let me see what you photographed!"

Chen Xingxu reacted decisively, immediately quickening his pace and walking forward, not intending to give Meng Ziyi a chance to get close and see the phone. Meng Ziyi, of course, was not going to give up, and immediately chased after him. The two of them, one in front of the other, quickly ran away.

"Those two are still like little kids." Walking to Chen Chao's side, Li Yitong looked in the direction Meng Ziyi and the other person had left and couldn't help but laugh and complain.

"One is genuinely naive, and the other is pretending to be naive," Chen Chao added.

Upon hearing Chen Chao's words, Li Yitong turned to look at him, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "And you? Are you genuinely naive or just pretending?"

After thinking for a moment, Chen Chao was a little unsure: "As for me, I'd say I look like I'm not stupid, but I'm actually a bit stupid."

Li Yitong couldn't help but laugh at Chen Chao's words. After she finished laughing, she suddenly whispered, "Thank you."

"Oh, what are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for keeping that day's events a secret." She paused, then said very seriously.

Chen Chao casually waved his hand in response, "There's no need to thank me. This is your privacy. How could I possibly tell you without your permission?"

Hearing the man's answer, Li Yitong looked at him, her smile softening even more.

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