My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

The faint sound of a camera shutter came from behind the distant reefs.

The sound was completely drowned out by the waves, but Chen Yi keenly caught a glimpse of light reflecting off that direction.

He did not let go of Hanikezi's hand, nor did he turn his head to find the exact location of the camera.

In my mind, the edges of the blue virtual panel shimmered faintly.

[Camouflage Beginner] is in continuous operation. Currently, it is in a state of visual blurring and light refraction protection. All images captured by the telephoto lens will appear out of focus and have overexposed faces.

Chen Yi's lips twitched slightly.

The paparazzi under Mr. Zhou's command are indeed dedicated; they followed him all the way from the airport to this wild beach.

Unfortunately, they are destined to only shoot a bunch of unusable footage today.

"Have you seen enough?"

Chen Yi lowered his head.

Hanikezi's gaze was still fixed on the two people's intertwined hands, and she was completely in a daze.

Upon hearing Chen Yi's voice, she abruptly pulled her hand back and turned her face away.

"Who's looking at you!"

Hanikezi's voice was shaky, "I saw a crab on the sand!"

Chen Yi didn't expose her flawed explanation and put his hands back in his pockets.

"Let's go," Chen Yi said, starting to walk back. "Didn't you say you wanted to eat meat?"

Half an hour later, the two sat down at a secluded seafood restaurant.

This is an old shop located deep in an alley. It doesn't have a glittering facade, but it's very popular with locals.

Chen Yi directly requested a small private room on the second floor, the one closest to the window.

The private room connects to a small balcony. With the curtains half-drawn, you can see the night view outside while perfectly avoiding any possible paparazzi angles from across the street.

Hanikezi took off her hat and mask, holding the tablet computer she used to order food in both hands, her eyes gleaming with greed.

"One serving of refreshing dessert soup, please."

She swallowed hard, her finger swiping across the screen. "This typhoon shelter-style fried crab looks so crispy, and this coconut chicken..."

She was halfway through pointing when her finger suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Her conflicted face was reflected on the tablet screen.

"no."

Hanikezi slumped her shoulders. "Sister Hong made me weigh myself before she left. If I eat all of this, I won't even be able to fit into the belt of my period costume when I join the crew next week."

Reluctantly, she crossed the stir-fried crab and coconut chicken out of her shopping cart, leaving only a plate of boiled vegetables and a bowl of seafood porridge.

Chen Yi sat opposite her, looking at her pained expression, and simply pulled the tablet away from her.

What are you doing?

Hanikezi glared at him.

Chen Yi ignored her and tapped rapidly on the screen.

Typhoon Shelter Crab, Original Coconut Chicken, Steamed Scallops with Garlic and Vermicelli, Signature Qingbuliang (a sweet dessert soup), plus two servings of grilled oysters.

Add everything back to your cart and click "Place Order".

"You're insane!"

Hanikezi jumped up in a panic to grab the tablet, exclaiming, "I can't finish it! And it's too high in calories!"

"I'll pay."

Chen Yi tossed the tablet onto the table, leaned back in his chair, and looked at her. "If you can't finish it, I'll pack it up and take it with me. You can just eat what you want."

Hanikezi opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

In my mind, a blue virtual screen instantly popped up with a prompt.

"Ding!"

"Extremely intense emotional fluctuations detected in the female lead!"

"[Social Insight] Feature triggered: The target person's happiness level is skyrocketing, and their favorability rating is continuously breaking through the limit!"

Chen Yi turned off the control panel, picked up the barley tea on the table, and took a sip.

The food was served very quickly.

With no cameras pointed at her and no other guests present, Hanikezi completely shed her celebrity persona.

Wearing disposable gloves, she held a huge crab leg in both hands and ate it, her face covered in sauce.

Chen Yi ate the scallops slowly and deliberately, occasionally pulling out a tissue and handing it over.

"Slow down," Chen Yi said. "Nobody's going to take it from you."

"You have no idea how I've been these past six months!"

Hanikezi chewed on crab meat, mumbling a complaint, "I'm getting sick of eating boiled chicken breast every day! Ծ‸Ծ"

Chen Yi chuckled as he looked at her unladylike appearance.

Half an hour later, most of the dishes on the table had been eaten.

Hanikezi took off her gloves, held the bowl of chilled dessert soup, and leaned back in her chair contentedly.

The atmosphere in the private room suddenly became quiet.

The night breeze blowing in from the window carried the humid heat unique to Sanya.

Hanikezi held a spoon and unconsciously stirred the coconut milk in the bowl, her eyes gradually losing their previous brightness.

"Actually, I'm quite scared," Hanikezi suddenly said.

Chen Yi put down his chopsticks and looked up at her.

"My position has always been awkward throughout these past few years since my debut!"

Hanikezi looked at the streetlights outside the window. "I wouldn't say I'm not famous, since everyone recognizes my face. But I also wouldn't say I'm famous, because I don't even have a single representative work that I can be proud of."

She gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"When I go to record variety shows, the script the production team gives me is always to be funny and beautiful. As long as I quietly play the role of a pretty vase, they are satisfied."

"When President Zhou removed me from the role of the second female lead, I didn't even have the right to argue with him. Because in the eyes of capital, a pretty face is something that can be replaced at any time."

She raised her head and looked directly into Chen Yi's eyes.

"Chen Yi, you got a Golden Melody Award nomination in just one month, and even Director Li from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television personally stepped in to protect you. But what about me? It seems like I can't do anything except dance."

The only sound in the private room was the faint whirring of the exhaust fan.

Chen Yi did not respond immediately.

He picked up a wet wipe from the table, dried his hands, and then placed his hands on the table with his arms crossed.

"Do you think you're just a pretty face?"

Chen Yi countered with a question.

Hanikezi bit her lip and remained silent.

"At the Dali stop, we conducted training exercises in Cangshan."

Chen Yi's tone was extremely calm, without any attempt to comfort him, only a firm statement of facts: "You sprained your ankle, it's so swollen you can't even wear shoes, but your first reaction was to tell me to ignore you and go finish the mission."

Hanikezi was stunned for a moment.

"I watched you perform the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras Dance from the audience."

Chen Yi continued, "That kind of stage presence is something that a pretty face alone cannot achieve."

Chen Yi leaned forward, closing the distance between the two.

"You're not just a pretty face."

Chen Yi looked into her eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "Your dance has been seen by everyone. In the future, they will see even more of you."

Hanikezi tightened her grip on the spoon, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

Looking at Chen Yi's calm yet powerful face, her heart felt as if it had been struck heavily by something.

In this industry, everyone praises her beauty, and everyone teaches her how to please the camera.

Only Chen Yi told her that she wasn't just a pretty face.

"Are you full?"

Chen Yi stood up and picked up his coat, which was draped over the back of the chair.

"I'm full," Hanikezi immediately stood up, grabbing her hat and mask.

The two walked out of the private room one after the other.

After going downstairs to pay the bill, I pushed open the restaurant door and was greeted by a night breeze.

The alley was quiet, with only a few streetlights casting a dim yellow light.

Chen Yi pulled up his black mask, lowered the brim of his hat, and prepared to walk towards the intersection.

Suddenly, a faint pulling force came from behind.

Chen Yi stopped in his tracks.

Hanikezi walked behind him, reached out a hand, and grabbed the hem of his black short-sleeved shirt.

She didn't look up.

The night wind blew away half of her voice, but those words still clearly reached Chen Yi's ears.

"If they ask me why I'm happy in the future..."

Hanikezi's fingers, gripping the hem of her clothes, trembled slightly. Her voice was barely audible. "Can I say it's because of you?"

Chen Yi's breath hitched for a second.

He turned around and looked at the girl standing in front of him with her head down.

Before he could even speak, the glaring red warning in his mind flashed wildly again.

"warn!"

"Remnants of Star Entertainment Media have been detected breaching the outer defenses!"

"Three unregistered commercial vehicles are rapidly approaching the current street, suspected of carrying high-definition live-streaming equipment!"

Chen Yi suddenly turned his head.

At the corner at the end of the alley, two blinding headlights suddenly shone, directly onto the ground where the two of them were standing.