I entered Huayu Entertainment in 2016.

Time flew by and the next day arrived.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, making it a shade brighter than yesterday.

Wang Zian opened his eyes, stretched his back on the bed, and pointed his toes.

"Ughhhhh!"

"That feels so good!"

After stretching, Wang Zian sat up.

I picked up my phone and saw several unread WeChat messages on the screen, sent last night, close to midnight.

It's Zhou Ye.

Why would someone message me in the middle of the night?

He opened the chat window.

The first message was sent at 11:08 PM last night: "Wang Zian, what are you doing?"

A solitary message, written in a flat tone, as if asking a casual question.

Ten minutes later, at 11:18, the second message appeared: "Why aren't you replying? This is Zhou Ye!"

A meme of a little girl with her hands on her hips followed.

Five minutes later: "Are you asleep?"

His tone suddenly became cautious.

Then at 11:30: "They should be asleep! I need your help with something. Message me back tomorrow morning!"

Several pleading emoticons followed, with big, teary eyes and hands clasped together in supplication.

Singing? Reciting?

He already told her yesterday that he had no acting training and couldn't teach her.

He leaned against the headboard, staring at the messages for several seconds, unable to think of any reason why Zhou Ye needed his help.

However, he still opened the input box and quickly tapped the screen a few times with his thumb.

"I went to bed early last night and just woke up. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Wang Zian thought Zhou Ye wouldn't reply to the message soon, so he got out of bed to go to the bathroom.

I didn't expect to get a message notification as soon as I put my phone down.

"I'm at the Beijing Dance Academy, and I need your help with something!"

A location was then added.

Beijing Dance Academy.

As Wang Zian looked at those two words, the image of Zhou Ye dancing ballet in the re-examination room yesterday flashed through his mind.

She touched the ground with her toes, stretched out her body, and her gauze skirt fluttered gently under the light, as graceful as a startled swan.

"Go to the Beijing Dance Academy to practice dance? What can I do?" Wang Zian asked.

"I want to practice some musical theatre acting; can you form a team with me?"

Wang Zian stared at the message for several seconds.

Musical, singing and acting.

He remembered telling her more than once last night at the hot pot restaurant that he didn't want to apply to the Beijing Film Academy and had never studied acting.

"I can't perform!" he replied.

"It's not that we need you to perform, we just need a lead singer; I'm not very good at singing!"

Then came the expression of a little girl sweating.

She quickly added, "You sing so well, why don't you help me with a role in a movie, mainly the singing part?"

It turned out to be the case.

She needs someone who can sing well to help her with the singing parts in the musical, while she is mainly responsible for acting and dancing.

However, he still instinctively wanted to refuse.

Perhaps sensing Wang Zian's thoughts, news about Zhou Ye appeared one after another.

"Please, please!" This was followed by three small emoticons with their hands clasped together, lined up in a row.

"I really need your help~!" Behind this were big, teary eyes.

"It's not free, but I can treat you to two meals. How about that?"

Then came several more images of pitiful, crying, and pleading little girls.

She used the yellow face emoji to its fullest extent.

Wang Zian stared at the string of emojis on the screen for several seconds.

Sigh...!

Just go.

Who can blame the prince for being so soft-hearted!

I didn't have any plans for today anyway, so instead of lying in the hotel until noon, I might as well go to the Beijing Dance Academy.

He threw back the covers, put his feet on the carpet, and started replying to messages.

"I'll be there in half an hour."

Zhou Ye was sitting on the wooden floor, holding his phone, his fingers flying across the screen.

Next to her was a half-empty bottle of mineral water, with a fine layer of water droplets condensing on the bottle, leaving a small ring of water stains on the wooden floor.

A cloth bag containing dance shoes leaned crookedly next to a mineral water bottle, with pink shoelaces peeking out of the bag, exactly the same as the pair she wore in the exam room yesterday.

After seeing that Wang Zian agreed, she held her phone in the air and sprang up from the floor.

"Yes! I've finally found a partner!"

She stood up excitedly, jumping around wildly, her ponytail swinging wildly behind her head.

The wooden floorboards thumped under her feet.

However, after her initial joy subsided, she remembered something else. She had promised in the message to treat Wang Zi'an to two meals.

She sat back down on the floor, leaned against the mirror, and picked up her phone to open Dianping (a Chinese review platform).

"What are some good, and innovative places to eat?"

Her fingers kept swiping across the screen, she muttered to herself, and the stray hairs on her forehead fell down, swaying gently above the phone screen.

···

After replying to the message, Wang Zian quickly washed up.

He changed his clothes, grabbed his car keys, and went out.

He arrived at the Beijing Dance Academy exactly half an hour later.

He circled the school twice before finding a paid parking lot.

Wang Zian parked the car and walked towards the entrance of the Beijing Dance Academy.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Zhou Ye, "I've arrived, come to the entrance to greet me!"

Zhou Ye replied so quickly it was as if he were watching from the other end of the screen: "Okay, coming right away!"

A small human emoji followed behind.

After sending the message, Wang Zian touched his stomach.

He hasn't eaten anything since he woke up this morning.

I glanced at the jianbing guozi shop not far away and walked over.

Urged out the door by Zhou Ye's overwhelming string of emojis, I didn't even have time for the hotel's buffet breakfast.

His gaze crossed the road and landed on a jianbing (Chinese crepe) shop not far away.

It was a small window with a green sign that read "Old BJ Pancakes". Steam rose from the griddle through the window, a white expanse, and the aroma wafted in on the breeze, a mixture of the caramelized batter and the salty sauce, filling your nostrils.

Prince An walked over.

"Boss, one jianbing guozi, please; with sausage, spicy strips, and two eggs!"

"Okay~!"

The shopkeeper quickly made a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), and Wang Zian took it, bent down, and took a big bite.

It smells so good!

Under the streetlight to the left of the gate of Beijing Dance Academy, he stood leaning against the lamppost, holding a steaming hot jianbing guozi in his hands, eating it heartily while casually watching the people coming and going on the street.

Just as he was taking a bite of his jianbing (Chinese crepe), a group of girls walked out of the entrance of the Beijing Dance Academy.

There were seven or eight of them, all beautiful and lively.

They were wearing training clothes: black leggings, white short-sleeved or long-sleeved T-shirts, and various down jackets or coats on top.

When they walk, their backs are straight like upright poles, and their steps are light yet powerful.

As they poured out of the school gate, their chattering laughter stirred up the quiet morning atmosphere at the school entrance, making it feel like a pot of freshly boiled porridge.

One of the girls clutched her stomach and said, "No, I need to go buy a jianbing (Chinese crepe), otherwise I won't have the energy for dance practice later!"

"Do you want some?" she asked the other girls.

"Yes, yes!"

"Let's do it together~!"

The girls readily agreed; only one girl did not respond.

The girl who made the suggestion looked at her and asked:

"Haochun, do you want some?"