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

Zhang Yuan sat in the office for half an hour.

The materials for "Go Fighting!" were spread out in front of me—a printed program outline, with the logo of Dragon TV printed in the upper right corner of the cover.

She got it from insiders through someone; it wasn't even public information.

She had reviewed the lineup of regular guests several times: Huang Bo, Sun Honglei, Huang Lei, Luo Zhixiang, Wang Xun, and Zhang Yixing.

Six people.

They're all seasoned veterans who've been through the mill in the industry.

Zhang Yuan picked up her coffee and took a sip—it was cold.

She didn't even bother to soak it again.

This program is still in the preparation stage, and not many people know about it.

Well-informed agents in the industry are already making inquiries, but Dragon TV is keeping a tight rein on the matter and hasn't opened up official channels for communication yet.

She needs to secure the spot first.

I scrolled through my phone's contacts, down more than a dozen screens, and found a name—Deputy Director Li.

We exchanged business cards at an event some time ago, and haven't been in touch for ages.

Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and dialed the number.

"Mr. Li, this is Zhang Yuan—Ye Mo's agent. It's been a while since we last contacted each other. Have you been busy lately?"

They exchanged pleasantries for almost two minutes.

We talked about the weather, then about the Spring Festival movie season, and then about last year's viewership ratings.

Then she changed the subject.

"Hey Director Li, I heard our station is going to have a new variety show after the New Year? 'Go Fighting!'?"

The other side paused for a moment.

"Your information is quite accurate; it's still in preparation and hasn't been officially announced yet."

"Has Director Yan's side—all the guests been confirmed?"

"We've finalized the cast with six members, and we're still discussing guest appearances; they'll rotate each episode."

Zhang Yuan gripped her phone tightly, her tone even but her speech a beat faster.

"Li Tai, I'll get straight to the point. Ye Mo wants to be a guest star, just for one episode."

"Ye Mo?"

"Yes, you should know how popular he is right now—he was just nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and three movies are coming out next year, both of which are highly anticipated."

Li Tai did not respond.

Zhang Yuan continued.

"What was the biggest problem with the first episode of 'Go Fighting!', a new show? The audience didn't know who you were."

"Regular guests have their own chemistry, but that chemistry needs time to develop. What drew the audience in for the first and second episodes? Topics, novelty, and a popular person with great variety show appeal to stir things up."

She paused for a moment.

"Ye Mo is the one who caused this trouble."

Li Tai remained silent for a few seconds.

"You make a good point, but the guest appearances aren't something I can decide on my own—Director Yan has his own ideas about the guests; he even wanted to invite Chow Yun-fat for the first episode."

"So I'm here to fight for it, just to be allowed to talk to Director Yan in person once."

"Okay, I'll give him your contact information."

"Thank you, Mr. Li. I'll treat you to dinner another day."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yuan leaned back in her chair.

It's not done yet.

But the door had already been knocked on.

Two hours later, Director Yan called.

"Zhang Yuan, right? Li Tai told me that Ye Mo wants to be a guest star?"

"right."

"To be honest, the competition for our guest star spots was fierce. Several A-list celebrities were in contact with us—some even offered very low prices, just to ride the wave of popularity from the first season."

"Director Yan, I'm not here to negotiate a lower price. Ye Mo's fee can be the same as that of a normal guest star. I just want to say one thing—of the A-list celebrities you're currently contacting, how many are appearing on a mainland variety show for the first time? How many can generate the audience's anticipation of 'This person actually came!'?"

Director Yan did not respond.

Zhang Yuan brought up the data on the computer screen.

Do you know how many followers Ye Mo gained on Weibo last week? After the Hong Kong Film Awards nominations were announced, he gained two million followers in a single week and trended on Weibo four times.

"Sixty-five percent of his fans are between eighteen and thirty-five years old—which happens to be the core audience of variety shows, and you've seen his variety show performances, which is the most valuable thing."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for about five seconds.

"Okay, you've convinced me. Guest appearances are fine. Filming will start after the New Year, around mid-March. I'll let you know which episode it is once I've decided."

"Thank you, Director Yan."

"But you're right—a good sense of humor is the most valuable asset. Make sure Ye Mo stays on top of other variety shows before we start filming. We need to be the first to appear on our show."

"no problem."

hang up.

Zhang Yuan put her phone on the table.

It became.

---

Late January.

Yanjing.

Ye Mo dragged his suitcase out of the Capital Airport and hailed a taxi.

The driver was a man in his fifties, and I glanced at him several times in the rearview mirror.

"Young man, are you that—?"

"no."

"I didn't say which one—"

"None of them."

The driver shut up.

Celebrities are human too; they can't just run into fans recognizing them anywhere.

Unless you're like Liu Yifei, who has reached the level of a national goddess.

Outside the car window was the winter street scene of Yanjing.

The tree branches were bare, the sky was overcast, and people were waiting for the bus wrapped in down jackets by the roadside, their breath turning into white clouds.

Rental housing.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a blast of stuffy air rushed out.

The room wasn't big; it contained a bed, a table, and a wardrobe. The window faced the neighborhood's garbage station.

The curtains were drawn before I left, and now they're covered in a thin layer of dust.

Ye Mo pushed his suitcase to the corner of the wall and sat down on the edge of the bed.

I took out my phone and scrolled through it.

The real estate agents have sent another message.

"Hello Mr. Ye, the four-bedroom apartment in Chaoyang District that you viewed before is now being sold urgently by the owner, with the price reduced by almost one million yuan. Would you like to take a look soon?"

Ye Mo looked at the message, his thumb hovering above the screen.

Last year.

He lay on this bed calculating his earnings—"SPL" and "Brotherhood of Blades," after taxes, several million.

At that time, he thought several million was a lot.

That's enough to buy an apartment in Yanjing.

That's enough; I don't need to rent this run-down room facing the garbage dump anymore.

He currently has over 100,000 yuan in his account.

The rest—were all thrown into Chen Sicheng's films.

Ye Mo typed four words in reply.

"I'm not considering it."

The other party replied immediately: "Mr. Ye, the owner is really in a hurry to sell, the price is negotiable—"

"I'm out of money, sorry."

After sending the message, I placed my phone face down on the bed.

Staring at the ceiling, tens of thousands.

I used to think it was a lot of money when I had tens of thousands of yuan left in my pocket.

I have over 100,000 yuan now, but I feel so damn poor.

He turned over and buried his face in the pillow.

The pillow still smells of laundry detergent from last year's wash before I left.

---

night.

Doorbell rang.

Ye Mo got out of bed and opened the door.

Liu Yifei stood at the door.

A white down jacket that reached to the knees, with a light gray fur trim around the hood.

He was carrying two plastic bags with the supermarket logo printed on them.

"Excuse me—it's so heavy!"

She squeezed past Ye Mo and put the plastic bag on the table.

One bag contains vegetables and meat, and the other contains snacks and drinks.

Why didn't you tell me you were coming?

"I told you."

"You didn't say."

"I sent a WeChat message."

Ye Mo picked up his phone and scrolled through it—there was indeed a message sent after he put the phone down.

"Since you didn't reply, I came straight here." Liu Yifei took off her down jacket and draped it over the back of the chair, revealing a gray sweater underneath. Her hair was casually tied in a ponytail. "Anyway, you're definitely at home—you don't have money to go out and have fun right now."

"...You're so direct."

"To be honest," Liu Yifei pulled out a chair and sat down, looking around. "Your room is even messier than the last time I came."

"I just got back."

"so what?"

"I didn't have time to pack it up."

Liu Yifei stood up, pushed the plastic bag on the table aside, and walked over to him.

I stared at him for several seconds.

"You've lost weight again."

"no."

"Yes, her chin is more pointed now."

"That's because you haven't seen me in too long."

"A month and a half." Liu Yifei's voice was a little flatter. "The last time we met was in early December, and now it's late January, a month and a half—your chin has become noticeably sharper."

Ye Mo didn't speak.

Liu Yifei didn't press for an answer.

He turned back and started taking things out of the plastic bag.

"I bought beef, tomatoes, and eggs, but you have nothing in your fridge—at least you had two boxes of instant noodles last time I came."

"I've finished my instant noodles."

"So what did you eat today?"

"Airplane meal".

Liu Yifei paused for a moment. She didn't turn around.

"Ye Mo".

"Um."

"You really are—never mind, I'll cook first."

Before cooking, the two cuddled for a while.

---

The kitchen is very small; it's so big that it's full if two people stand inside.

Liu Yifei was washing tomatoes by the sink, the tap running loudly.

Ye Mo leaned against the door frame and watched her.

"You invested all your money in Chen Sicheng?" Liu Yifei didn't turn around.

"almost."

"Is a few hundred thousand yuan enough to live on?"

"That's enough, it's not like we're not going to stop."

"But I want you to go out to eat with me? Or go shopping?"

Ye Mo didn't reply.

The two of them have been together for almost two years, but they never dare to go to crowded places on dates.

Either cook at home, drive to a small shop in the far suburbs, or meet at the last row of the movie theater late at night.

"Once you win the Best Actor award, or save up a hundred million—we won't have to hide anymore." Liu Yifei placed the tomatoes on the cutting board, his voice lowered.

"I know."

"Your mom lately—"

"She's still keeping an eye on it, but she's more relaxed than before. She thinks it's a good thing that you were nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards—her exact words were, 'This young man is somewhat ambitious.'"

"A little bit ambitious?"

"That's a very high compliment for you. The last time she praised my cousin's boyfriend, she said 'not bad'."

Ye Mo chuckled.

Liu Yifei poured the beef into the pot, oil splattered up, and she took a half step back.

"Are you sure Chen Sicheng's movie will make money?"

"able."

How can you be so sure?

Ye Mo thought for a moment.

"Because he and Baoqiang are real brothers, two real brothers getting together to make a movie about brotherhood—you can't fool people with that kind of thing."

Liu Yifei flipped the spatula, but didn't say anything.

after awhile.

"Ye Mo".

"Um."

"What if you really lose everything—"

"You promised to support me."

"Yes, but you have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"From now on, whatever you invest your money in, discuss it with me first."

Ye Mo looked at her.

The kitchen light bulbs are old and the light is yellowish.

A few strands of Liu Yifei's hair fell out of her ponytail and clung to her neck.

"it is good."

Liu Yifei turned her head and glanced at him.

Then I smiled. Very softly.

"Anyway—no matter what you do, I'm sticking with you."

Ye Mo didn't laugh.

He reached out and pulled her close, then kissed her on the forehead.

Liu Yifei closed her eyes briefly.

"Alright—let me cook."

She turned back.

But the curve of her lips was still there.

---

Dinner consisted of beef brisket with tomatoes, a stir-fried vegetable dish, and a pot of rice.

The two sat at the small table, their knees occasionally touching.

The night sky over Yanjing outside the window is devoid of stars, save for the streetlights and the lights of distant office buildings.

Ye Mo ate three bowls of rice.

Liu Yifei started looking at him after eating half of his meal.

"What are you looking at?"

"When you eat, you eat like a normal person."

"Doesn't he usually look like that?"

"You usually think about other things, like making money, getting nominated, and that two-year bet."

Liu Yifei placed her chopsticks on the bowl.

"Don't think about it tonight. I just came. Let's have dinner tonight."

Ye Mo picked up a piece of beef and put it into her bowl.

"You eat too."

The wind outside the window swept across the garbage station, and the faint sound of plastic bags rustling could be heard.

But the room was warm.

......