Chapter 10: You

Hengdian, small grove

Qin Lan, who had arrived here early in the morning, held her script in hand but was not as focused as usual, instead glancing around occasionally.

As the sun rose higher, Qin Lan's eyes showed a hint of disappointment.

Then again, Hengdian was neither small nor large; to meet by chance at the same spot while memorizing lines meant their routines overlapped, so running into each other once or twice elsewhere was perfectly plausible.

You can't just because someone looks good and treated you to breakfast start talking about fate and destiny—it's too far-fetched.

Even so, Qin Lan, still low in spirits, lingered a little longer, until the sun grew hot enough to be uncomfortable, then prepared to pack up and leave.

But just as Qin Lan took off her headphones, someone tapped her shoulder; she turned and her beautiful eyes instantly brightened.

Yan Li, dressed in ancient costume, smiled at her: "No scene today?"

"Mm~"

Qin Lan murmured in reply; seeing the person she'd been waiting for appear suddenly stirred her emotions.

"You… you have a scene today, so why did you come here?"

"Ah, don't mention it."

Yan Li waved his hand, sighing: "I lost my key. I searched everywhere yesterday, and today I have few scenes, so I came over to check."

Qin Lan volunteered: "I'll help you look."

"Sure."

Yan Li didn't refuse; he searched with Qin Lan for a while, but found nothing, and shook his head.

"Forget it. I'll tell the innkeeper. I'll get new keys made after filming wraps up."

Qin Lan, who had been bending over searching for the key, stood up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and declared grandly:

"You still have scenes—today I'm free. Here's what we'll do: you go ahead and work, I'll keep looking here. If I find it, I'll bring it to you."

Yan Li: "..."

This girl's sincerity made him feel slightly embarrassed!

Losing the key was just an excuse; in truth, he came to the grove to fulfill the "fate" mentioned in today's intelligence report 5.

No other intention—he just didn't want to disappoint the girl. Yeah, that's all.

Yan Li had actually wanted to come over this morning, but he couldn't take time off for makeup.

By the time he slipped away to the grove during filming, it would've seemed odd, so he needed a logical reason—and he hadn't expected Qin Lan to believe him, let alone be so enthusiastic, which gave Yan Li a tiny pang of guilt.

While Yan Li felt moral unease, Qin Lan, completely unaware of the truth, was lost in thought.

If Yan Li had no scene today and was here memorizing lines, their meeting would've meant a small connection—but they'd already met a few times before.

But Yan Li had a scene today; logically, he shouldn't have been here, yet he came to the grove for some reason—and just happened to appear at the exact moment she was here.

Could this be fate?!

For a girl in her early twenties like Qin Lan, the word "fate" between a man and woman carried explosive emotional weight.

Of course, this was also greatly due to Yan Li's handsome, martial appearance and well-built physique.

If he were average-looking, meeting him daily wouldn't mean anything; if he were ugly, seeing him often would just make her curse her bad luck.

Likewise, if Qin Lan weren't beautiful, she could have waited until dark and still never seen Yan Li's shadow.

Regardless of gender, accumulating goodwill after just a few encounters always stems from what's called "attraction at first sight."

————

After much persuasion, Qin Lan gave up on searching alone; nearing noon, Yan Li, unwilling to return to the set for the risky boxed lunch that might cause diarrhea, invited Qin Lan to lunch to thank her for helping him search for the key.

"If anyone's paying, it should be me—I still owe you breakfast."

Qin Lan began arguing over who should treat whom; Yan Li didn't refuse—reciprocity was the way of friendship.

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

One reason was they couldn't eat it all; another was, he'd only intended to treat her to a cheap breakfast—maybe a few yuan at most—but Qin Lan had ordered premium dishes and signature items, plus drinks and alcohol, pushing the total toward three digits.

Yan Li sighed: "I've taken advantage of you big time."

Qin Lan, rinsing utensils with tea, smiled: "If you feel guilty, 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; after asking, he learned she was from the Northeast.

Yan Li was familiar with Northeastern girls—his "ex-girlfriend" Dong Xuan was also from the Northeast.

Dong Xuan looked pure and fair-skinned, her slightly chubby cheeks adding sweetness, her demeanor quiet and demure, always gentle as water.

But once he won her over and got to know her, Yan Li realized he'd been fooled by her appearance.

Gentle and quiet was only one side of Dong Xuan; in relationships, she was actually domineering, jealous, liked to control Yan Li, and was clingy.

Ironically, Yan Li himself preferred to be the dominant, active partner in romance; over time, combined with other reasons, they broke up.

Thinking of this, Yan Li's earlier little thoughts faded.

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

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

Yet precisely because of this, Qin Lan felt unusually comfortable around Yan Li.

In fact, on the set of Huanzhu Gege 3, she had a suitor.

He was good-looking and not a bad person, just had a touch of inexplicable confidence that slightly lowered his appeal.

But that wasn't a major flaw; the main issue was that Huanzhu Gege 3's set was crowded, and his overly enthusiastic behavior made Qin Lan, a newcomer, wary of gossip that might affect her work.

After she told him she wasn't interested, he somehow misunderstood and thought she was shy, redoubling his advances until Qin Lan found it unbearable.

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

Thus, against the backdrop of this suitor, Yan Li's calm, friendly, harmonious presence allowed Qin Lan to relax and forget her troubles.

Of course, it might also be because of that "fate" word earlier—making her find Yan Li especially appealing now.

It's well known that if you like someone, everything they do is right; if you dislike someone, everything they do is wrong.

Yan Li's demeanor was calm, and Qin Lan felt at ease and comfortable interacting with him.

If Yan Li were to shower her with attention, Qin Lan might think he was passionate and unrestrained.

…

"Ah, you just graduated from university?"

During dinner, as they talked and exchanged personal details, Qin Lan looked at Yan Li with some surprise.

From the moment she first met Yan Li to their last two relatively familiar encounters, Yan Li had given her the impression of a rugged, masculine appearance and demeanor, with mature and composed speech and conduct—so much so that she'd always assumed he was twenty-five or twenty-six.

"Why would I lie to you? I went straight to the set after graduation photos—I was born in November 1980, and I won't be twenty-two until a few months from now. Doesn't look like it?"

Yan Li attended Beijing Film Academy's vocational program, which was two years, but he'd lost two years in martial arts school, so he wasn't a standard recent graduate; his age was about the same as a typical four-year university graduate.

"A little."

Qin Lan smiled, then her eyes lit up: "You're from 1980? Then you have to call me sister."

She was born in July 1979, graduated university last year—she was just over a year older than Yan Li.

"Why do women always want to be someone's older sister?"

Yan Li couldn't help but complain, and Qin Lan's beautiful eyes flickered as she pressed: "Always? Who else wants to be your sister?"

"My ex-girlfriend—also born in 1979, a few months younger than you. When we first met, she kept trying to make me her little brother."

Yan Li admitted it openly—he had no feelings for Qin Lan now, and even if he did, he wouldn't hide these things.

They'd broken up anyway!

For some reason, Qin Lan felt a tiny twinge of discomfort, and became even more curious about Yan Li's ex-girlfriend.

"Was your ex your classmate? Was she pretty? Did she have fame?"

But Yan Li didn't want to talk more—he'd dated her, after all. No matter what happened later, he wouldn't gossip about her affairs to everyone.

Even saying that much had been a slip—he was lucky Qin Lan didn't know Dong Xuan and couldn't connect the dots.

Yet the less Yan Li said, the more Qin Lan wanted to find out; since direct questions failed, she switched to indirect tactics.

"You can't tell me her specific details, but can't you at least say whether she was pretty?"

Yan Li thought for a moment—it wouldn't affect Dong Xuan—and nodded: "She's very pretty, among the most beautiful in our school."

That one sentence stirred Qin Lan's competitive spirit.

As a non-professional who broke into the entertainment industry and was chosen by Qiong Yao to star in *Huan Zhu Ge Ge 3*, she relied entirely on her lovely face.

So Qin Lan asked the deadly question: "Who's prettier—her or me?"

Yan Li wasn't stupid—he knew this was a trap, but Qin Lan nagged and insisted, promising repeatedly, until he finally spoke hesitantly.

"You're both pretty…"

Before Qin Lan could accuse him of being evasive, Yan Li glanced at her again and added: "You have better poise and are slimmer; her skin is whiter…"

He'd been about to add a comment about her figure, but seeing Qin Lan's forced smile, he cut himself off instantly.

This woman broke her word—she promised not to get mad!

New book period—please follow, vote, and tip!





(End of Chapter)