Huayu: You were supposed to be a top star, but you've become capital?

After lunch, on the way back to the film set, Yang Chaoyue glanced at Yang Yang several times.

Yang Yang was looking at his phone when he noticed her gaze and looked up.

"What's wrong?"

Yang Chaoyue hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't resist:

"Yang-ge, what's the relationship between Chen Duling, who was eating earlier, and Shen-ge?"

Yang Yang glanced at her and smiled, "What, curious?"

"A little bit. I noticed she kept glancing at Shen Ge while we were eating. She would laugh whenever Shen Ge spoke...tsk."

Yang Yang didn't reply and continued looking at her phone.

Yang Chaoyue waited a while, but didn't hear anything more, so he asked again, "She and Brother Shen are really classmates?"

"Yeah, a high school classmate."

"Then..." Yang Chaoyue paused, "...just classmates?"

Yang Yang finally put down his phone and looked at her: "What do you want to ask?"

Yang Chaoyue blinked but didn't say anything.

Yang Yang smiled and said, "Don't overthink it. Let's not pry into Brother Shen's affairs."

Yang Chaoyue said "Oh," but his gossipy soul was still burning inside.

She recalled the messages she had seen in the car, the smile on Lin Shen's lips when he replied, and Chen Duling's quiet face at the dinner table earlier.

Then I thought of Bai Mengyan.

Mengyan is still in class at the company and knows nothing about it...

Yang Chaoyue sighed silently to himself.

Being an assistant is really tough.

Knowing too much, yet unable to ask questions or speak.

too difficult.

At the same time, Lin Shen's car turned a corner on an old street in Huairou and stopped in front of a courtyard house.

Chen Duling got out of the car and looked around. It was a very ordinary courtyard, without even a sign.

"Where am I?"

"It's a friend's teahouse, not open to the public." Lin Shen walked ahead and pushed open the door. "There are too many paparazzi around here, so it's not convenient to show you around. Just make do with a seat."

Chen Duling followed her inside. The courtyard wasn't large, with an old locust tree and a few leaves still hanging on it.

She laughed: "I understand, she's a big star."

Lin Shen glanced back at her but didn't say anything.

The room was warm and filled with the aroma of tea. The two sat down, and the owner served the tea and then left.

Chen Duling warmed her hands with the teacup, looked around, and then looked at Lin Shen: "Wow, you've even managed to get into a place like this to drink tea now."

Lin Shen poured her tea: "You talk as if you've been here before."

"I've never been here, but I've heard of it." Chen Duling took a sip of tea. "Places like this usually don't accept outsiders, right?"

"The boss is my friend."

"Oh—" Chen Duling drawled, her eyes darting around, "Male or female?"

Lin Shen looked at her and suddenly smiled: "A woman."

Chen Duling blinked, didn't reply, and lowered her head to drink her tea.

Lin Shen stopped teasing her: "Tell me, why did you suddenly decide to come to the film set?"

Chen Duling put down her teacup, tracing the rim with her finger: "I came to see you before I went back to school."

"Auntie, are you sure you're okay with going so far alone?"

Chen Duling looked up, a sly smile on her face: "I told my mom I've gone back to school."

Lin Shen paused for a moment, then laughed: "So you snuck out?"

"Of course not." Chen Duling said, then added a little guiltily, "...You won't tell on me, will you?"

"What am I complaining about?" Lin Shen picked up his teacup. "I don't have your mother's contact information."

Chen Duling was relieved and continued drinking her tea.

She thought for a moment, then looked at Lin Shen and asked, "Should I not have come?"

Lin Shen met her gaze, his smile fading, and said seriously, "Of course not, I welcome you here."

"Why didn't you tell me? I could have arranged for someone to pick you up. It's a rare opportunity for you to come, so I should have shown you around. My film crew is currently tied up and I can't leave for the time being."

Chen Duling shook her head: "It's okay, I'm going back to school after I finish watching you."

She pursed her lips and said in a softer voice, "I just wanted to come and see you."

The tea room was quiet for a while.

Lin Shen looked at her and suddenly smiled: "Now that you've seen it, what do you think?"

Chen Duling didn't avoid his gaze, and just stared straight at him.

After a long pause, she finally said, "It's alright."

Lin Shen chuckled: "After looking at it for so long, that's all you're going to say?"

Chen Duling paused for a moment, then whispered back, "Do you want me to say you've become handsome?"

"..."

Lin Shen was a little confused by this approach: "It's not that serious."

After a moment of silence, Chen Duling suddenly smiled:

"It's quite true, it definitely looks better than before."

"Okay, okay, stop talking about me. Lin Shen, how are you feeling since you got into the Beijing Film Academy?"

Lin Shen looked up: "What? How is it?"

"Well..." Chen Duling thought for a moment, "Anything fun about university life, filming, etc."

Lin Shen thought for a moment and replied, "I didn't go to school much."

Chen Duling was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Really. I went out to film a movie not long after my freshman year, and I had even less time after that. To be honest, I don't even recognize everyone in my class."

Chen Duling blinked, somewhat surprised: "That's so exaggerated?"

"Otherwise what?" Lin Shen smiled. "You think being a celebrity is easy?"

Chen Duling rested her chin on her hand, looked at him, and suddenly asked:

"And what about the film crew? Did you meet anyone... who caught your eye while filming?"

She asked casually, but her eyes were darting around. Lin Shen met her gaze and was taken aback.

This girl asked pretty direct questions.

"I'm filming all day long, getting up at six in the morning and finishing work in the early hours of the morning. When I get home, I just collapse into bed and sleep. I don't have time to think about these things."

Chen Duling stared at him for a long time, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved up.

The smile was quite nice, but Lin Shen always felt there was something else going on in it.

"Oh—" Chen Duling drawled, "I see."

She picked up her teacup, took a slow sip, and didn't ask any further questions.

But Lin Shen noticed that her gaze was a little brighter than before.

It was as if they knew something, or as if they were waiting to see something.

This girl seems to have become more astute than before.

Lin Shen didn't respond, but instead poured her another cup of tea: "What, you don't believe me?"

"I believe you." Chen Duling blinked. "I believe everything you say."

Lin Shen smiled and didn't explain further. Chen Duling didn't press the matter and changed the subject:

"So what are your plans for the future? Will you just keep acting?"

"I'll definitely continue acting, but I also want to do something else."

"for example?"

Lin Shen thought for a moment, then didn't elaborate: "You'll probably know after you graduate."

Chen Duling pouted: "You're keeping me in suspense again."

Lin Shen smiled without saying a word. Chen Duling looked at him and suddenly said:

"Actually, I've been thinking about whether I should continue acting in the future."

Lin Shen raised an eyebrow: "What? Got some ideas after filming 'The Left Ear'?"

"A little. It was quite tiring during filming, but when it wrapped up, I was a little reluctant to leave."

Lin Shen nodded: "That's normal. That's how filming is. It's tiring but addictive."

"And what about you?" Chen Duling looked at him. "Are you addicted?"

Lin Shen thought for a moment and said seriously, "Well, at first it was just work, but later I found that it was quite fulfilling to play a role well."

Chen Duling listened and nodded. Then she asked, "Do you think I'm suitable for acting?"

Lin Shen looked at her; the girl's face showed a hint of expectation.

"Suitable."

Chen Duling was taken aback: "Are you so sure?"

"Hmm." Lin Shen nodded. "You look good on camera, and..."

He paused, then smiled and said, "When you're acting, you must be really dedicated, right? Just like playing a video game, always thinking about winning."

Chen Duling blushed at his words and lowered her head to drink her tea.

After a while, she whispered, "You still remember?"

"Of course, you've beaten me so many times, wouldn't I remember it for the rest of my life?"

Chen Duling looked up and glared at him, but the corners of her mouth were already turned up.

After finishing another round of tea, Chen Duling glanced at her phone and suddenly said, "I should go."

Lin Shen was taken aback: "So fast?"

Chen Duling stood up and patted her clothes: "I was just planning to take a look at you and then leave."

Lin Shen also stood up: "No, I'll show you around the capital tomorrow."

Chen Duling smiled and shook her head: "You're still working on set, I don't want to bother you."

"It's not that bad," Lin Shen said. "You have to take half a day off, after all."

Before Lin Shen could say anything more, Chen Duling suddenly leaned closer, looking at him with a smile:

"What? You don't want me to leave?"

Lin Shen was taken aback by her question. This girl was bolder than before.

He smiled and said, "It's not easy for you to come all this way, so it would be a shame if you left in such a hurry. It would make me feel like I didn't treat you well."

Chen Duling nodded at him, her short hair swaying gently with the movement:

"I'm not going to compete with you. I'm a good student, I need to go back to class."

Lin Shen was speechless at her words and chuckled.

Okay, he can't refute that reason.

Chen Duling glanced at the time: "It's getting late, you should go back to filming. I'm really leaving."

Lin Shen followed her out, saying, "I'll see you out."

"No need, no need," Chen Duling waved her hand. "I'll just take a taxi."

"That won't do." Lin Shen had already taken out his phone. "It's hard to get a taxi around here. I'll have a driver take you."

Seeing that he had already tapped the screen, Chen Duling didn't refuse this time: "Thank you."

Lin Shen sent a message, then looked up at her: "I'll be there soon."

Chen Duling nodded and stood at the door to wait. Lin Shen also walked over and stood next to her.

A gust of wind blew by, and the leaves of the old locust tree rustled.

Chen Duling suddenly remembered something and took out her phone from her pocket:

"By the way, let's add each other on WeChat."

Lin Shen paused for a moment, then smiled, opened the QR code, and handed it over.

With a "beep", the addition was successful.

Chen Duling lowered her head to change the nickname, saying as she did so, "I'll ask you to play games when I get back, so don't pretend to be dead."

Lin Shen chuckled: "Don't worry, I won't play dead."

Chen Duling looked up at him, her eyes gleaming mischievously: "Your skills haven't deteriorated, have they?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Shen objected: "How could that be? I practice occasionally, okay?"

"Oh—" Chen Duling clearly didn't believe her. "How occasionally is 'occasionally'?"

Lin Shen: "..."

Seeing his discomfiture, Chen Duling laughed even harder: "Then I won't let you have your way. Don't cry if you lose badly later."

Lin Shen laughed in exasperation: "Who told you to give way? Fight seriously."

"Okay." Chen Duling nodded, then blinked, "But don't say it's the mouse that's broken again."

Lin Shen: "..."

The car headlights turned from the street corner and slowly stopped at the entrance.

Seeing his discomfiture, Chen Duling laughed even harder and waved her hand:

"Alright, alright, you should go back now. See you next time."

After saying that, he opened the car door and got in.

Lin Shen stood at the doorway, then suddenly remembered something: "Hey, you—"

Before she could finish speaking, the car window rolled down, and Chen Duling poked her head out: "What? Want to chat for another five cents?"

Lin Shen was speechless for a moment, and finally just waved his hand: "Fine, you can leave now."

Chen Duling smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents, and waved to him, "Bye-bye, you defeated opponent."

The car window rolled up, and the car slowly drove away.