Chapter 17: Recommendation

Although Chen Nuo had sensed the aura of his own kind in Ma Yanran and had thus adopted an attitude of keeping his distance, this girl seemed to have truly locked onto him. Having barely managed to escape the "accidental encounter" at the cafeteria at noon, he was now forced to accept the "desk-mate" situation in the afternoon class.

The very, very bad side of Chen Nuo's heart began to stir.

Damn it, if I eat, I eat; the last time I broke my fast was the last time, and a friendly chat wouldn't be impossible. Besides, it's not like she'd expect me to take responsibility, and if I really tried to, she might even slap me twice and tell me to get lost and stop trying to take advantage of her.

But his very, very good side remained powerful.

How did you admonish yourself at the beginning of your rebirth? "A scumbag is not my wish, university is more precious; if it were for semiconductors, both could be cast aside." Chen Nuo, have you forgotten your vows and determination?

I dare not forget, I dare not forget! Chen Nuo secretly encouraged himself.

A battle between heaven and man, and heaven was still the victorious side.

After class in the afternoon, Chen Nuo didn't give Ma Yanran a chance to speak at all. The moment the teacher left, he followed right behind and slipped away, running extremely fast. By the time Ma Yanran chased out of the classroom, she couldn't even find his shadow.

The other girls were all left speechless! How could this person be like this? Is he really that hard to catch?

Chen Nuo fought this guerrilla war with Ma Yanran for three days, which also guerrilla-ed away his chances of being a scumbag again. On this day, Li Er came to teach the acting class again. After class, Li Er suddenly said, "Chen Nuo, come with me for a moment."

Amidst the surprised and envious gazes of his classmates, Chen Nuo followed Li Er away.

Once in the office, Li Er glanced at Chen Nuo twice and asked indifferently, "How is your singing?"

"Um, average, I guess."

"And dancing?"

Chen Nuo realized something was wrong at this moment, puffed out his chest, and said, "I can learn."

Li Er took off her glasses and sat behind the desk in deep thought, wiping the lenses. After wiping for a while, she put them back on and said, "Chen Nuo, I've decided to provide you with an opportunity, but whether you can grasp it depends on yourself."

Chen Nuo had a vague premonition and said, "Teacher Li, please tell me, what kind of opportunity? I will certainly not let down your expectations."

Li Er nodded and said, "I hope so. Hmm, you should know the Hong Kong director Chen Kexin, right?"

"I know him."

"Then what movies has he directed?"

Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment. Apart from *Comrades: Almost a Love Story*, the ones in his memory didn't seem to have been filmed yet. "Comrades: Almost a Love Story, and also..." *The Warlords*.

Li Er didn't seem to have high requirements for him, nodding and saying, "Knowing *Comrades: Almost a Love Story* is enough. He is currently preparing a new drama. The male and female leads have all been decided; they are all first-tier superstars from Hong Kong and the mainland. Now, only the third male lead hasn't been cast. He's seen many people, but he isn't satisfied with any of them. I want you to go and audition. But you must practice singing, dancing... never mind, just stretch your ligaments and go running."

"Understood, Teacher Li."

Li Er looked at Chen Nuo with a gaze like she was looking at an alien. "And then?"

Chen Nuo asked suspiciously, "And then what?"

"Apart from saying 'understood,' you don't have anything else to say?"

"... Thank you, Teacher Li, I will work hard?"

Li Er stared at Chen Nuo for a long, long time, then said, "Looking at your expression, I thought I had just asked you to go buy groceries with me tomorrow... Forget it, get out."

Fine, if she says get out, I'll get out.

When he returned to the classroom, Chen Nuo discovered that it wasn't just Ma Yanran; many people were looking at him with greedy eyes, as if they were staring at a delicious feast.

Fuck, I need to run as soon as school ends.

After school, when he returned to his residence, Chen Nuo rummaged through the drawer of the TV cabinet. Sure enough, he hadn't remembered wrong; there really was a disc of Jacky Cheung's songs, containing all his signature hits. He turned on the stereo system, plugged in the microphone, and started singing.

"Love is like a hungry wolf, the mouth is sweet..." Just as he was belting it out, he didn't notice the bedroom door behind him open. Yang Mi stood at the doorway, holding a bag, dumbfounded.

A few minutes later, the two of them were singing together with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Two days later, Li Er called him to the office again and asked if Chen Nuo had a suit, preferably formal wear.

"They are in quite a rush now, they need to start filming soon. If they are satisfied with your image, it's very likely that this time you go, they will have you audition in costume. You'd better be mentally prepared."

Chen Nuo didn't need mental preparation, but his wardrobe certainly did. The suitcase he had brought to the capital to take the film academy entrance exam didn't contain any suits or formal wear.

"Don't go to class this afternoon; go buy a high-quality one. Do you have money?" Li Er stared at him and asked.

Chen Nuo nodded. "I have money."

"Then go quickly, and it's best to find a female friend with good taste to accompany you. Look at what you're wearing right now; are you going to direct traffic?"

Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing? Before leaving school, Chen Nuo went to the restroom to look in the mirror: a green jacket paired with a yellow sweater, plus blue jeans and a pair of red AJ sneakers.

But he still took out his phone and made a call: "Um, Yang Mi? Do you have any plans this afternoon?"

Yang Mi was studying at a training institution outside the school. Over the past few days, Yang Mi and Chen Nuo would occasionally chat about exams and acting, so they were much more familiar than before and had exchanged numbers. He remembered Yang Mi saying yesterday that her class this afternoon had been pushed to Saturday because the teacher who taught them body movement had something to attend to.

Sure enough, when Yang Mi heard on the phone that Chen Nuo wanted to buy a suit and wanted her to accompany him for reference, she readily agreed, saying they would meet downstairs in an hour.

One hour? Chen Nuo was a bit surprised. That short?

In his experience, the prettier the woman, the longer it takes for her to go out. He had even seen a woman who started getting ready and putting on makeup at 8:00 AM just because she was going out to watch a movie at 5:00 PM.

He checked his watch; it was already past 12:00. So, he found a place to fill his stomach and arrived at the main entrance of Xinxin Garden exactly at 1:00.

And then he waited and waited, for 5 minutes. If it were a pure-hearted boy, he might have kept waiting.

But Chen Nuo couldn't.

He knew this creature called "woman" too well. He didn't even call, because it was useless. If she told you on the phone to "wait five minutes," it didn't mean anything. Because at this time, "five minutes" in any woman's mouth was an imaginary number.

He went straight upstairs. After opening the door, he found Yang Mi lying on the living room sofa, watching TV with her legs crossed, a facial mask on her face.

"Eh? Why are you back?" Yang Mi propped herself up. "Didn't we agree to meet at the residential area entrance?"

"Oh, I came back to use the restroom. By the way, what time is it now? Shouldn't we be leaving?"

Yang Mi said, "Let me see... Ah, it's already 1:00?"

At 1:30, they finally left the house.

Yang Mi was wearing a white casual tracksuit, her hair tied in a high ponytail. Her bare face was pink and translucent, her small face, round eyes, and curved eyebrows looked just like a small apple freshly picked from a tree.

Although the outfit was plain, she was youthfully invincible.

"A new shopping mall opened nearby two months ago. It's super big inside, bigger than Xidan. Not only do they sell clothes, but they have everything to eat and drink." Yang Mi walked in the lead, then suddenly turned back and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Of course, Chen Nuo couldn't say he had gone to eat a bowl of soybean paste noodles earlier while she was applying her mask. He shook his head and said, "No. You accompany me to pick out clothes, and I'll treat you to a meal."

Yang Mi nodded with satisfaction. "Sensible." She waved her hand forward. "Let's go!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====