He plays Feng Yuxiu, and his girlfriend is a fairy-like beauty.

When the dinner party ended, Yang Mi stopped at the restaurant entrance.

The night breeze from Victoria Harbour blows through Hong Kong, carrying the salty smell of the sea.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a business card.

It wasn't one of those fancy business cards with gold foil embossing; it was plain white with only the name and phone number printed on it.

"Take this." She handed him the business card. "Call me anytime if you've thought it through. This is a long-term commitment."

Ye Mo took the business card and glanced at it.

"Thanks, Honey."

"Don't thank me, I'm not doing charity." Yang Mi smiled. "I have high hopes for you. Just don't regret it later if you don't sign me."

Yang Mi patted his shoulder and turned to walk towards the Alphard.

He took two steps, then turned back to look at Liu Sishi. "Sishi, let's go."

Liu Sishi stood next to Ye Mo and remained silent for a moment.

Then he raised his head, his expression as reserved as ever.

Good luck with your audition.

Four words, spoken very softly.

"Okay." Ye Mo nodded.

Liu Sishi turned and left.

The hem of her white shirt was lifted slightly by the sea breeze, but she didn't turn around.

in the car.

Yang Mi leaned back in her chair, kicked off her high heels, and put her feet on the blanket.

As the Alphard drove through the undersea tunnel, the lights outside the car window flickered across her face.

"You haven't said much today," Yang Mi said.

Liu Sishi sat beside her, looking out the window.

"I don't know what to say."

"Since you came back from the grasslands, you've always been quite talkative when you talk about him with me. How come you suddenly become speechless when you're in front of him in person?"

Liu Sishi did not respond.

"I just asked him if he had a girlfriend," Yang Mi turned to look at her, "and you stared at him for four seconds while he was drinking his soup. I was counting."

Liu Sishi turned to look at her, her eyes filled with warning.

"Are you bored?"

"I was just taking a break from my busy schedule," Yang Mi chuckled. "But he's really an interesting guy. Few people in the industry would refuse the offer I made, but he rejected it without even thinking—what's so great about going it alone? Isn't he stubborn?"

"He's stubborn," Liu Sishi said, her tone carrying a complex meaning.

It sounds like both a complaint and a defense.

"But do you think he's right to be stubborn?" Yang Mi finished the sentence for her.

Liu Sishi did not deny it.

Yang Mi sighed and adjusted the seat back to a different angle.

"Today, neither of us got anything done on our business. We made a wasted trip to Hong Kong, only to have a meal—the typhoon shelter crab was pretty good." She paused. "But his attitude—no company contract, no dating—either he's really ambitious, or he already has someone in his heart. Which do you think it is?"

Liu Sishi remained silent for an even longer time than before.

"I have no idea."

The lights of Victoria Harbour outside the window were stretched into golden streaks by the speed of the car.

Liu Sishi looked at the light outside the window, her fingers unconsciously twirling the hem of her shirt.

Yang Mi closed her eyes. "No rush, let the bullets fly a little longer."

Liu Sishi didn't say anything more.

Ye Mo returned to the hotel and placed the business card on the bedside table.

I took a shower, but didn't blow-dry my hair; water droplets were running down my neck.

He sat on the edge of the bed, a towel draped over his shoulder, and picked up his phone to start a video call.

I answered it after it rang twice.

Liu Yifei was lying on the bed, her hair spread out on the pillow, and a face mask on her face, only her eyes and mouth were visible.

"Filming wrapped up?" Her voice sounded a little muffled through the face mask.

"Killed. Ah Jie is officially offline."

"Did you wash off the blond hair?"

"There's still a little left!"

"So you're still going with that thug look?" Liu Yifei's eyes crinkled. "That's fine. Keep it that way from now on. You won't even need to lift a finger when you go out to fight. Just glance at the other side and run away."

Ye Mo smiled and then cleared his throat.

Yang Mi came to see me today.

Liu Yifei blinked.

"Yang Mi? What does she want with you?"

"They want to sign me, set up a studio, and affiliate with her company."

"Oh." Liu Yifei's tone was suspiciously calm. "Who else?"

Ye Mo was taken aback.

"What? Who else?"

"She came to the dinner alone?"

Ye Mo remained silent for a second.

"Liu Sishi and others also came to visit the set, and we had dinner together that night."

The screen fell silent.

Liu Yifei peeled off the face mask, crumpled it up, and threw it on the bedside table.

Now you can see her whole face clearly—her skin, freshly removed from the mask, has a moist sheen, and her eyebrows are slightly furrowed.

"Yang Mi and Liu Sishi. They're here to visit you on set."

"They happen to have an event in Hong Kong—"

"Perfect." Liu Yifei repeated, the sourness in his tone palpable even through the screen. "Last time it was Liu Sishi riding a horse alone with you on the grassland while filming, and this time it's Yang Mi and Liu Sishi visiting the set together and treating you to dinner. Comrade Ye Mo, the female celebrities around you have more lines than you have lines."

"I rejected Yang Mi."

"I knew you'd refuse. You're not the kind of person who would sign with a company." Liu Yifei rolled over, lying on her back with her phone held above her face. "That's not what I'm angry about."

"Then what are you angry about?"

Liu Yifei looked at the camera and pursed her lips.

"I'm angry that I can't sit at that dinner table. You finished filming, and I wanted to celebrate, but I can only see you on my phone screen. Yang Mi and Liu Sishi can sit across from you and eat, but I have to look for my keys under the carpet." Her voice grew softer and softer until it became a soliloquy, "I also want to be by your side, openly and honestly."

Ye Mo held his phone, remaining silent.

"I know what you want to say." Liu Yifei turned back, propping her chin up with a pillow. "Now is not the time. My mother hasn't given her approval yet, and your career is on the rise. If I officially announce it, the paparazzi can dig up your family history for three generations. I understand the logic."

She paused for a moment.

"But sometimes I just don't want to understand."

Ye Mo looked at her face on the screen.

"That day will come."

"Which day?"

"The day you can call my name in front of everyone."

Liu Yifei looked at him; there were still some red marks on his face after the mask was removed.

The corners of her mouth slowly turned up.

"Don't complain that I'm shouting too loudly."

"Won't."

"Good luck with your audition. If you pass, I'll send you a big red envelope."

How big?

"The daily wage for the top extra in Hengdian back then was eighty yuan."

"You're so stingy."

"That's called staying true to your original aspiration," Liu Yifei said confidently.

Three days later, Ye Mo received a screen test notification from Liu Weiqiang.

The time is next Monday, and the location is Liu Weiqiang's studio.

There is a PDF attached, and the file name is "Experimental Play Script Excerpt".

Ye Mo opened the file.

The first page has only one line of text at the top.

Infernal Affairs

He stared at those three words, his finger hovering over the screen, not moving for a long time.

Infernal Affairs

He knew all too well what that name meant in his past life.

The last peak of Hong Kong cinema, the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film, the dream of every Chinese-language male actor.

Tony Leung plays Chan Wing-yan, Andy Lau plays Lau Kin-ming, Anthony Wong plays Wong Chi-shing, and Tsang Chi-wai plays Han Chen—every name is etched in the history of Hong Kong films.

How many times has that rooftop scene been analyzed and dissected? How many people have etched the line "Sorry, I'm a police officer" into their memories?

Hollywood remade it, and it won an Oscar.

But that was in a previous life.

In this lifetime, this movie hasn't been made yet.

The PDF in his hand is the scene from when Chen Yongren first met Liu Jianming.

Undercover agents versus undercover agents.

Two people living in lies are speaking the truth to each other face to face, but neither knows whether the other is telling the truth or not.

He turned down a page and saw the audition scene.

My mind has already started to dissect the character of Chen Yongren—staking out the rooftop, unshaven, and with eyes full of exhaustion.

But when he smiles, he has a bit of a roguish air about him.

He lies more naturally than he tells the truth, but he is actually more tired than anyone else inside.

A character so complex that he could be written into film history.

Liu Weiqiang added a message on WeChat: "Don't prepare too much when you come, just for this scene. I want to see you at your most natural."

He read the script again, then glanced out the window.

The sunlight was very bright.

The surface of Victoria Harbour is sparkling with countless tiny gold particles.

He had only one thought in his mind.

This is his first leading role.

We must win.

......