I entered Huayu Entertainment in 2016.

However, his mother's misunderstanding was correct; he had arranged to go to Shanghai with Zhou Ye.

as predicted.

At noon, the family of three sat at the dining table. Before Wang Zian could even pick up his rice bowl, he felt two rays of gossip emanating from his parents.

My dad picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and casually asked him if there was anyone he particularly wanted to see lately.

My mother chimed in, saying that her son had grown up and could tell the family anything he wanted to say.

The two of them spoke in unison, their words full of probing.

"If you two are really bored, why don't you go find a scenic spot to stay for a while!"

Wang Zian swallowed a mouthful of rice and said calmly, "I won't be coming back for a while."

Wang Zhipeng and Zhang Ruyu exchanged a glance.

"Sigh!" Zhang Ruyu suddenly put down her chopsticks, sighed, and her expression became sorrowful.

She looked at the bowl in front of her, her eyes filled with self-blame, "Son, your parents are really useless."

"From childhood to adulthood, I have not only failed to help you, but we have also had to rely on you to help us achieve financial freedom."

Wang Zhipeng also sighed.

"Sigh! Yes! All those villagers are talking about us behind our backs, saying we all depend on you to live. Dad feels ashamed!"

"You've always been different from other kids. You're precocious, calm, and have your own ideas about everything you do. You rarely even lose your temper."

"It's saved your mom and me so much trouble!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Zhang Ruyu nodded repeatedly. "Son, we feel so useless!"

No matter how they acted, Wang Zi'an kept his head down and ate his food.

The braised pork ribs and stir-fried pork slices were cooked perfectly today; it would be a waste not to eat them.

He hears this same line several times a year. From childhood to adulthood, his parents' favorite thing to do is to package "how excellent our son is" as "how useless we are" and show off in front of him.

Who among those villagers knows the specifics of his family's situation? That's an exaggeration!

He used to be shy about it, but now...

He picked up a piece of pork rib, put it in his mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and then ate a mouthful of rice.

His father was a truck driver when he was young, and his mother was an accountant at a department store.

The department store later went out of business, and she never went back to work there.

When he was a child, he couldn't understand why his mother would fall for his father. He spent his days either chatting with people or playing games online. If it weren't for his family's martial arts skills, he really wouldn't know anything.

As he grew up, many people said he looked like his father.

He looked through photos of his father when he was young; he was incredibly handsome.

With a strikingly handsome face and sharp, almond-shaped eyes, he could easily be called the most handsome young man in the surrounding area.

His mother was the most beautiful girl in her workplace back then, with big, double-eyelid eyes, a tall and slender figure, and her skin is still fair and radiant to this day.

Although the two are almost fifty years old now, they can still be seen as they looked when they were young.

Wang Zian perfectly inherited the strengths of both of them, and then combined them himself, doubling the effect.

···

Seeing that their son wasn't responding and was only focused on eating, Zhang Ruyu and Wang Zhipeng exchanged another glance and decided to change their strategy.

They put on this sob story every year, but their son stopped buying it when he was twelve.

But it doesn't matter, they have a second set.

"Son, who did you go out to play with?" Zhang Ruyu put down his chopsticks, stopped pretending, and got straight to the point.

"A friend~!"

"Male or female?"

"A girl~!"

"Oh! Good, good!" Zhang Ruyu clapped her hands with a smile; she knew her son was susceptible to these two tricks.

"How do you look?" Wang Zhipeng couldn't help but ask; "Is she prettier than your mom?"

Wang Zian looked up at his father.

"How am I supposed to answer that question? Did you really win over my mom just with your looks?"

"What's the problem?" Fortunately, Zhang Ruyu answered for him, slapping her husband on the shoulder. "Would our son like someone ugly? Our son's taste comes from mine."

"Yes, yes, yes! You're right, honey!" As soon as Mom spoke, Dad immediately became obedient.

"What's the girl's name? Where is she from? How many people are in her family? Do you like her? Does she know?"

My mom bombarded me with questions, one after another, each one more outrageous than the last.

Wang Zian almost choked on the rice in his mouth.

"Mom~~~!" Wang Zian exclaimed speechlessly, "What on earth is going on?!"

"We just went out for a walk, and other people brought their friends along!"

"Sure, sure!" Zhang Ruyu nodded in satisfaction, looking like someone who'd been there before. "It's the first time you go out with someone, so you definitely have to bring a third wheel; it's the rule."

"Indeed," Wang Zhipeng chimed in with a laugh. "Back in the day, when your mother and I went out for fun, we brought someone along too."

"It was your mother's suggestion at the time, otherwise your grandmother would have found out immediately. So you can understand what that girl was thinking, right?"

I understand!

But you don't understand!

Wang Zian opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He really didn't know how to explain it to his parents; he and Zhou Ye had really just made plans to take a trip to Shanghai.

The two had known each other for more than half a year and had been chatting on WeChat, but the total time they spent together face-to-face was less than the length of an art exam season.

What's there to explain? The more you explain, the less clear it becomes.

Wang Zian couldn't sit still any longer after being teased by his parents.

He quickly finished eating the rice in his bowl, put down his chopsticks, and stood up from the table.

I can't stay in this house anymore.

That afternoon, he packed his suitcase and boarded the high-speed train to Shanghai.

It was two days earlier than the time agreed upon with Zhou Ye.

Perfect, I'll take a look around by myself first.

He bought a new camera specifically for this trip.

The Nikon D810 comes with a 24-70mm lens.

This was his first step in learning photography.

After thinking about it that night, Wang Zian collected a lot of study materials the next day.

He has already finished reading it and is preparing to put it into practice during this trip.

····

After checking into the J Hotel in the heart of Shanghai, Wang Zian ordered a dinner for himself in the hotel room.

During the meal, Wang Zian admired the view outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

As one of the world's highest-altitude hotels, it offers unparalleled luxury with panoramic views of Lujiazui and the Huangpu River.

Now you can even see the Bund's dazzling light show.

The next morning, Wang Zian was awakened by the sunlight streaming through the French windows.

The electric curtains at Hotel J weren't fully drawn, leaving a gap in the middle through which the pale golden light of the Huangpu River, unique to the early morning, shimmered and fell directly onto his pillow.

He rolled over in bed, reached out and pressed the curtain switch. The gray blackout curtains that covered the entire wall slid open silently, and the Shanghai skyline, like a huge oil painting suddenly unfolded, abruptly filled the entire floor-to-ceiling window.

The skyscrapers of Lujiazui gleamed coldly in the morning light, the Oriental Pearl Tower still shrouded in the lingering mist of the previous night, and a sand-carrying ship slowly sailed from south to north on the Huangpu River, its whistle muffled by the double-pane glass.

He originally wanted to take a boat on the Huangpu River, but after the college entrance examination, there were so many people traveling that he couldn't get a turn.

Wang Zian took out the Nikon D810, which still had a faint plastic smell from the new machine.

He picked up his camera, took a test shot of Lujiazui outside the floor-to-ceiling window, and then went to the restroom to wash up.

After a quick breakfast, Wang Zian went to TJ University and National Chiao Tung University for a stroll. At that time, universities were still open to the public.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a prestigious university; the campus is quite large. Wang Zian took a lot of photos during the campus bus ride around the campus.

Finally, he wandered around and eventually arrived at a school.

Shanghai Theatre Academy!

To be honest, he was just curious about the differences between the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Beijing Film Academy.

····

The gate of the Shanghai Theatre Academy was simpler than he had imagined.

It wasn't one of those newly built, grand gates, but rather an old-fashioned iron gate with a security booth standing at the entrance. Inside, a security guard in a dark blue uniform was looking down at his phone.

A row of sycamore trees lined the sidewalk outside the gate, their shade providing cool respite for the entire street.

People were standing in twos and threes at the entrance; some were walking in with backpacks on their backs, while others were taking photos at the entrance.

Wang Zian stood across the street and observed the situation.

He recalled the online guides for sneaking into universities: just walk in confidently, don't hesitate, don't be nervous, and the security guards will assume you are a student of the university.

He turned off the camera and hung it around his neck, striking a pose as if this were his alma mater, and strode towards the school gate.

Just as he was about to reach the door, a figure suddenly strode past him and walked into the school gate ahead of him.

Those steps were so confident, without the slightest hesitation.

Wang Zian secretly quickened his pace to follow the man.

Just as the two walked one after the other to the guard post, the security guard suddenly raised his hand.

"Stop!" The hand blocked the way for the person walking at the front.

Wang Zian felt a little guilty, but he remained calm and continued walking inside without stopping.

He walked past the man, gave him only a casual glance, and went inside.

Strangely enough, he was not stopped.

"Why didn't you stop him? He might not even be a student at your school!" the man accused Wang Zi'an agitatedly.

The security guard merely glanced back at Wang Zi'an, shook his head, and replied in a flat tone:

"Look at him, with that camera hanging around his neck. That's the kind of person we have at our school."

The man paused for a moment, then shouted again, "Does being unattractive make me a suspect? I'm from your school!"

The security guard looked up at him, draped his arm over the guard booth door frame, and replied unhurriedly, "So, which college are you from, and who's your advisor?"

「···」