Chapter 10: You're Both Pretty, She's Just Paler

Hengdian, small grove

Qin Lan arrived here early in the morning, clutching her script, but wasn’t as focused as usual—instead, she kept glancing around occasionally.

As the sun rose higher, Qin Lan’s eyes held a hint of disappointment.

Then again, Hengdian wasn’t tiny, but neither was it huge; if they’d bumped into each other here to memorize lines, it meant their routines overlapped, so meeting once or twice elsewhere wasn’t surprising.

You can’t just because someone looks good and once shared breakfast with you start talking about fate and destiny—it’s too far-fetched.

Still, though she felt low, Qin Lan stayed a little longer, waiting until the sun grew hot enough to make her pack up and leave.

But just as Qin Lan took off her headphones, someone tapped her shoulder—she turned, and her eyes lit up instantly.

Yu Yanli, dressed in period costume, grinned at her: “No scenes today?”

“Mm~”

Qin Lan murmured in reply; seeing the person she’d been waiting for appear suddenly stirred something inside her.

“You… you have scenes today, so why are you here?”

“Ah, don’t mention it.”

Yu Yanli waved his hand, sighing: “I lost my key. I searched everywhere yesterday, and today I’ve got few scenes, so I came over to check.”

Qin Lan volunteered: “I’ll help you look.”

“Sure.”

Yu Yanli didn’t refuse; they searched together for a while, found nothing, and he shook his head.

“Forget it. I’ll tell the guesthouse. I’ll get new keys after filming wraps.”

Qin Lan had been crouching to search; now she stood up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and declared grandly:

“You’ve got scenes—you go ahead. I’m free today. I’ll keep looking here, and if I find it, I’ll bring it to you.”

Yu Yanli: “...”

This girl’s sincerity made him feel slightly guilty.

The key story was just an excuse—he came to the grove because today’s “fate” clue in the intel said “yuan.”

No hidden meaning—he just didn’t want to disappoint the girl. That’s all.

He’d wanted to come early, but filming and makeup made it impossible to take time off.

By the time he slipped away, showing up at the grove during shooting hours would’ve seemed odd, so he needed a plausible reason—and he hadn’t expected Qin Lan to actually believe him and become so enthusiastic, making him feel a little guilty.

While Yu Yanli wrestled with mild moral discomfort, Qin Lan, clueless about the truth, was lost in thought.

If Yu Yanli had no scenes today and was here memorizing lines, their meeting would’ve meant a small connection—but they’d already met a few times before.

But today, he had scenes—he shouldn’t have been here—and yet he came, just at the right moment, right when she was here.

Could this be fate?

For a girl in her early twenties, the word “yuan” between a man and woman carried explosive weight.

And this was also heavily influenced by Yu Yanli’s handsome, martial appearance and well-built physique.

If he were average-looking, meeting him daily wouldn’t mean anything; if he were ugly, she’d just curse her bad luck after seeing him too often.

Likewise, if Qin Lan weren’t beautiful, she could wait until nightfall and still never see Yu Yanli’s shadow.

Regardless of gender, a certain fondness built over just a few meetings always stems from “attraction at first sight.”

————

After much persuasion, Qin Lan gave up on searching alone. As noon approached, Yu Yanli, unwilling to risk diarrhea from the crew’s boxed lunch, invited Qin Lan to lunch to thank her for helping find the key.

“I should be the one treating you—you still owe me breakfast.”

Qin Lan insisted on paying; Yu Yanli didn’t refuse—this back-and-forth was how friendships worked.

Whoever paid picked the place; Qin Lan chose a restaurant and quickly ordered several dishes. Yu Yanli hurried to stop her.

One reason was they couldn’t eat it all; another was—he’d only meant to treat her to a simple breakfast, maybe a few yuan—but she’d ordered premium dishes and signature items, plus drinks and alcohol, pushing the bill straight into the hundreds.

Yu Yanli sighed: “I’m taking a huge advantage here.”

Qin Lan, rinsing utensils with tea, smiled: “If you feel bad, just treat me next time.”

“Deal. I know a great barbecue spot—I’ll take you there.”

Qin Lan’s face was soft and gentle, but her demeanor was open and cheerful, with a bold, straightforward energy—she turned out to be from the Northeast.

Yu Yanli knew Northeastern girls well—his ex-girlfriend, Dong Xuan, was also from there.

Dong Xuan looked pure and fair-skinned, her slightly chubby cheeks adding sweetness; her aura was quiet and demure, and she treated others gently.

But once he’d won her over and got close, Yu Yanli realized he’d been fooled by her appearance.

Her gentleness was only one side—actually, she was possessive in relationships, jealous, liked to control him, and was clingy.

And Yu Yanli himself preferred being dominant and proactive in love; over time, with other reasons, they broke up.

Thinking of this, his earlier little hopes faded.

Romance was pointless; women were too troublesome—career mattered more.

With this mindset, Yu Yanli interacted with Qin Lan naturally—neither overly attentive nor cold, treating her purely as a friend.

Ironically, the more he acted this way, the more comfortable Qin Lan felt around him.

In fact, on the “My Fair Princess 3” set, she had a suitor.

He was good-looking and decent, but had a strange, unwarranted confidence that slightly lowered his appeal.

Still, it wasn’t a major flaw—mainly, the “My Fair Princess 3” set was crowded, and he was too forward; as a newcomer, Qin Lan didn’t want gossip affecting her work.

After she told him she wasn’t interested, he somehow misunderstood, thinking she was shy, and intensified his advances, making her miserable.

These days, Qin Lan came to the grove during breaks to memorize lines, partly to avoid him.

Thus, against the backdrop of this suitor, Yu Yanli’s calm, friendly, low-key companionship let Qin Lan relax and forget her troubles.

Of course, it might also be because of that “yuan” moment—she now found Yu Yanli especially appealing.

As everyone knows: if you like someone, everything they do is right; if you dislike them, everything they do is wrong.

Yu Yanli’s calm attitude made Qin Lan feel at ease.

If he’d been overly attentive, she might’ve thought him passionate and straightforward.

…

“Ah, you just graduated college?”

During lunch, as they talked about themselves, Qin Lan looked at Yu Yanli in surprise.

From their first meeting to their recent, slightly closer encounters, Yu Yanli gave her the impression of a rugged, masculine, mature, and steady man—she’d assumed he was twenty-five or twenty-six.

“Why would I lie? I took my graduation photo and came straight here. Born November 1980—I’ll be twenty-two in a few months. Doesn’t look like it?”

Yu Yanli attended Beijing Film Academy’s vocational program, which was two years—but he’d wasted two years in martial arts school, so he wasn’t a standard fresh graduate; his age matched that of a typical four-year college grad.

“A bit.”

Qin Lan smiled, then brightened: “You’re ’80—so I’m your senior.”

She was born in July 1979, graduated last year—she was a bit over a year older than Yu Yanli.

“Why do girls always want to be someone’s older sister?”

Yu Yanli couldn’t help complaining; Qin Lan’s eyes flickered. “Always? Who else wanted to be your sister?”

“My ex-girlfriend—also born in ’79, a few months younger than you. When we first met, she kept trying to make me call her sister.”

Yu Yanli admitted it openly—he had no feelings for Qin Lan now, and even if he did, he wouldn’t hide this.

They were already broken up!

For some reason, Qin Lan felt a tiny pang of discomfort—and grew more curious about his ex.

“Was your ex your classmate? Was she pretty? Famous?”

But Yu Yanli didn’t want to talk more—he’d dated her, and no matter what happened, he wouldn’t gossip about her.

He’d already said too much; luckily, Qin Lan didn’t know Dong Xuan, so no one could connect the dots.

But the less he said, the more Qin Lan wanted to know; since direct questions failed, she switched to indirect tactics.

“You can’t tell me her details—but can you at least say if she was pretty?”

Yu Yanli thought it over—it wouldn’t hurt Dong Xuan. He nodded: “Very pretty. Among the top in our school.”

That one sentence ignited Qin Lan’s competitive spirit.

As a non-professional, she’d broken into the entertainment industry and been chosen by Qiong Yao for “My Fair Princess 3” thanks to her face.

So she fired the deadly question: “Who’s prettier—her or me?”

Yu Yanli wasn’t stupid—he knew this question was a trap, but Qin Lan nagged and promised not to get upset, so he finally hesitated and spoke:

“You’re both pretty…”

Before Qin Lan could accuse him of being evasive, he glanced at her again and added: “You have better poise and are slimmer. She’s just paler…”

He’d been about to compare their figures, but seeing Qin Lan’s forced smile, he snapped his mouth shut.

This woman broke her promise—she swore she wouldn’t get mad!

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(End of Chapter)