After talking with Tan Yiming, Xiang Chai agreed with his point of view - escaping is not the way to solve the problem. If he still cherishes Qi Ji as a friend, he must have a candid talk with her.
It's just that you need to think carefully about how and when to talk.
Before that, he chatted with Chen Ziran several times. Unfortunately, Chen Ziran was too busy. Every time he started, Chen Ziran was called away by the director/agent/assistant/other artist.
guess: You are so busy, how do you feel like you are working 24 hours a day
Face genius Chen Ziran: 24 hours no, almost 20 hours.
The face genius Chen Ziran: Yesterday I shot three sets of magazines, and I rushed back to the crew to shoot the big night. This morning I took off my makeup and went to the variety show. I could only sleep in the nanny car.
guess: ... You really won't die suddenly like this
Face genius Chen Ziran: There is no way, one step into this circle, a lot of times it is not you who make money, it is money that earns your life.
Xiang Guai knows how popular his old classmate is now. Although he is not a fresh meat, his popularity is enough to cause the airport to be blocked.
Face genius Chen Ziran: Sometimes I still envy you.
guess: What do you envy me for
Face genius Chen Ziran: I envy you for not being red!
guess:…
guess: [goose spreads its wings].gif
guess: [goose pecking wildly].gif
guess: [goose chases dog].gif
Chen Ziran replied with a small video - a swan fluttered its wings to grab the old man, but the old man grabbed his long neck and screamed.
Face genius Chen Ziran: Alright, let's get down to business.
guess: [Fighting Goose Doubt].jpg
guess: You still have business in your mouth
Face Genius Chen Ziran: I will premiere the movie next week, the literary film I told you about last time, and point to the one that won the award.
guess: The best actor, the third one for you
Chen Ziran, a genius face: Don't mention the pot without opening it. Don't look at me as a three-timer. Our company has spent a lot of money to send me into the group.
The face genius Chen Ziran: I have a few places for relatives and friends. I will give you two tickets. You can bring your little boyfriend here.
Xiang Gu hesitated for a moment, but replied quickly.
guess: One is enough.
Face genius Chen Ziran: What's the matter, are you and your partner all right
guess: Don't think blindly.
guess: He likes straight men. Except for basketball, he is a game. He is not interested in literary and artistic works. He also sleeps when he goes there.
The face genius Chen Ziran: ... OK.
Face genius Chen Ziran: It sounds like he and I have a common language.
guess: Then I'll quit, you two have a relationship
Face genius Chen Ziran: [No, no, I'm a straight man].jpg
Face genius Chen Ziran: But I'm really curious, how did the two of you get together because you feel like you can't get along.
In fact, Xiang Guai also wanted to know how he and Cen Manchuan, who were so different from each other, got together.
※
In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the premiere.
In the venue, the stars were bright and the stars gathered.
The best actor is often less than 40 years old, and he holds several awards at home and abroad. He usually lives a low-key life and rarely appears in the spotlight of the media.
Xiang Guai is also a small fan of his, but he is very curious and has never asked Chen Ziran about the gossip of the actor.
The location of the premiere was selected in the west of the city, and the hall was large enough to accommodate a thousand people. The people sitting in the front row were all people in the circle who had a good personal relationship with the actor.
Chen Ziran's ticket for Xiang Guai was very early, and the fifth row was seated on the side for easy entry and exit.
When Xiang Guai took his seat, he accidentally discovered several familiar faces—the voice actors of Blockbuster Studio. It turned out that all the miscellaneous and minor supporting roles in this film were contracted by Blockbuster Studio, so they also had admission letters in their hands.
Xiang Guai was startled, and hurriedly clicked on Tan Yiming's Moments on WeChat to have a look. He found that he had updated a news about working in the United States a few hours ago, and Xiang Guai was relieved.
It's fine to say that he is a thief with a guilty conscience, or that he wants to make a fuss, but at this time, Xiang Guai is really not ready to talk about it.
Soon, the lights dimmed.
On the main stage, the host Pingting in a long silver dress stood and said the host's speech with a smile on her face.
Xiang Guai was listening carefully when suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
He took a look and found that it was a message from Cen Manchuan.
Teacher Cen: Guess, which of these houses do you think is better
Teacher Cen: [Share rental information 1, 2, 3, 4… ]
Teacher Cen: No. 1 is next to my school, but the price is a bit expensive.
Teacher Cen: No. 2 is cheap, but I think the decoration is too bad. I'm afraid of cockroaches.
Teacher Cen: Although No. 3 is a bit far, there are several buses around, so the traffic is very convenient.
Teacher Cen: If number 4...
guess: Wait.
guess: Didn't we agree that when you have money, let's talk about the shared lease
guess: It's too early for a viewing.
Teacher Cen: It's not too early. The house is very popular in the graduation season.
Teacher Cen: And I'm rich now!
Xiang Guess was stunned.
rich? Where did Cen Manchuan get the money
Xiang Gui talked to him about this, and suggested that he should take advantage of the summer vacation to find a job. With his education, he could make a lot of money by going to the gym as a personal trainer or as a basketball coach for children. And the job is sustainable, so he doesn't have to reach out to his family for living expenses when he goes to graduate school.
But it's only been over a week since the last time we met. Did Cen Manchuan find a job with a salary advance
guess: ... You don't care about uncles and aunts asking for money, right
Teacher Cen: How is that possible!
Teacher Cen: I sold the motorcycle.
guess: ? ?
guess: Don't you like that motorcycle very much?
Teacher Cen: [Golden Retriever wagging his tail].gif
Teacher Cen: But guess what, I like you more.
He should have been moved by the affectionate confession sent by Xiang Guaiwang's boyfriend, but in fact, he felt very powerless.
That motorcycle was a 20th birthday gift from Cen Manchuan's parents, which has a very special commemorative meaning.
Cen Manchuan wanted to live with Xiang Guai, and even sold his most beloved motorcycle. But he didn't think about it, if his parents asked where the motorcycle was, how would he explain it.
Xiang Guai was angry with Cen Manchuan for the countless times, and felt guilty for this anger for the countless times.
After all, Cen Manchuan is just a 21-year-old boy who lives in a happy family and has never suffered setbacks. Xiang Guai is far more mature than him.
Xiang Guai suddenly realized that maybe in this relationship, it is not "Cen Manchuan is not suitable for him", but "He is not suitable for Cen Manchuan".
When he realized this, the bitterness in Xiang Guai's mouth could not be suppressed.
guess: I was at the premiere of Chen Ziran's movie and couldn't keep playing with my phone.
guess: Let's talk about renting when we meet.
Teacher Cen: Well~
Xiang Guai simply put the phone on airplane mode and put it back in his pocket.
He sat in his seat, absent-minded and confused.
He and Cen Manchuan only dated for three months, but they ran into a wall several times because of their different ways of thinking.
To describe it, it's like they have an elastic rope connecting each other, one wants to go left, the other wants to run right, no one is right, no one wants to let go, the one who wins in the end, only will seriously injure the other.
Xiang Gu once thought that this was love, but now, he is not sure anymore.
On the stage, the host has already left, and the video starts to play on the screen.
Xiang Guai tried hard several times but could not concentrate on the movie. In the end, he could only look at the close-up of the actor and gave up the idea of watching the movie.
It was dark everywhere, and at this moment, a figure approached from the darkness.
It was a girl with a bob head, wearing a long skirt, slightly fat, not slim.
She stopped beside Xiang Chai and asked in a low voice, "Is there anyone next to you?"
Xiang Chai was awakened from his deep thoughts and looked sideways: "No one is there, please sit down..."
The latter words were all swallowed into his stomach-because he met a pair of familiar, smiling eyes that he hadn't seen for many years.
"Old classmate, it's been a long time." Five years later, Jin Qiji, who is already a mature beauty, has curved eyebrows and eyes, but she is still as round and lovely.
Xiang Guai was hit by this unexpected huge surprise, and the corner of his mouth raised uncontrollably: "Qi Ji?!! You, when did you return to China?"
Qi Ji sat down and said with a smile, "I just came back yesterday. Chen Ziran and I have discussed it, and I want to give you a surprise."
For Xiang Gu, this was indeed an unexpected big surprise.
…
When the premiere was over, Chen Ziran only made a hasty appearance at the celebration banquet, and then came to join Qi Ji and Xiang Gu.
The three discussed where to sit and chat.
Qi Ji said: "After so many years away, what I miss most is the fried chicken and milk tea shop at the back door of the school... Is it still there?"
"It's still there." Xiang Gu said, "But Chen Ziran..."
"I'm fine." Chen Ziran put on the mask, "This evening, the students have all gone back to the evening practice, so no one is going to eat."
So the three took a taxi and went straight to Huawu High School.
Hua Wu was not far from the Affiliated High School. After Xiang Gu went to college, he would occasionally come to the back street of the Affiliated High School.
The back street of the Affiliated Middle School was narrow and dark, and when it rained, the ground was covered with mud. But even so, it didn't stop the students from running here every rest day.
In their second year of graduation, it was renovated. There are colorful floor tiles under his feet, and the small shops on both sides of the street also have unified signs.
"I remember that it used to be a fried skewer stall. The uncle was lame, but the wife was beautiful."
"I remember that this place used to sell wolf-toothed potatoes. It was three yuan for a big box. When I went to Korea, I couldn't eat it anymore."
"And there, Liangpi is very spicy. Once I eat it, my mouth will be swollen for two days..."
Chen Ziran unceremoniously complained about her: "Miss Jin, can't all your memories of high school be inseparable from the food street at the back door of the school?"
Qi Ji put her hands on her hips, obviously she hadn't seen her for many years, but she was still young and charming when she was 16 years old: "What's the matter? Chen Ziran, don't think that you have a famous aunt now and don't dare to beat you! Believe it or not, I'll give you a series of links now. Twelve feet, I guarantee you will be on the headlines tomorrow!"
"Okay, there is a kind of you to come? I'm not as thick-skinned as you, but I'm too embarrassed to share my interview in the circle of friends, what is "China's Flower Jin Qiji, Shining in the Hall of Korean Stage Dramas", I rely on, what flower, does it hurt? Ashamed."
Seeing how they were bickering, Xiang Gu couldn't help laughing.
It's strange, in the past five years, each of them has developed in their own fields, but when they get together, they are still teenagers.
Hearing Xiang Gu's laughter, the two of them looked at each other anxiously: "Why are you laughing! It's been a long time since we've been here, so why don't you lead the way!"
Xiang Gu quickly begged for mercy, and obediently led the two to the milk tea fried chicken shop at the end of the alley.
At this time, the store was supposed to close.
Seeing that three people came in suddenly, the owner's aunt hurriedly said, "If you don't do it, you won't do it, it's going to close!"
Qi Ji hurriedly put on a pitiful expression, and said aggrievedly: "Auntie, don't you remember me? I used to be a student in the high school attached to me. I graduated for several years. The first thing I did when I came back was to eat your fried chicken. Alright, alright!"
The shopkeeper's aunt looked at her once, then looked at her twice and three times, and suddenly said, "You are that little girl who can speak Korean, aren't you?!"
Qi Ji hurriedly said yes.
"I remember you!" Auntie said, "At that time, you could contract fried chicken legs from a store by yourself, and I had to buy more every time you came."
Qi Ji: "..."
The three found a seat and sat down.
Qi Ji touched his stomach and said, "It's not good to eat too much in the evening. First, you need two pairs of chicken wings, a piece of original chicken, and three chicken drumsticks. The milk tea should be an extra-large cup, full of sugar, and jumbo coconut. !"
"..." Xiang Gu said, "a glass of lemonade and a hamburger."
Chen Ziran was still sitting there wearing a mask. He flipped through the greasy menu, thinking about the weight problem of the manager, so he could only say, "I just want a glass of plain water."
While waiting for the food to be served, the three chatted about the recent situation.
Needless to say, Chen Ziran, his news is overwhelming. His previous idol dramas starring Taiwanese actresses have created a craze in Taiwan.
Xiang Guai is now a rookie actor who has made a name for himself in the domestic musical circle. Although he is young, he is talented and hardworking. His first work was a masterpiece directed by Director Tang, and even before he graduated, the crew rushed for it.
As for Jin Qiji, she also made her debut in South Korea, but her focus is on drama, step by step from the small theater on Daxue Road in Seoul to the Thousand People Auditorium.
"Then are you coming back to visit relatives this time?" Xiang Gu asked, "Or are you planning to stay in China to work?"
"...Not at all." Qi Ji smiled, her eyes drooping, full of happiness.
She brought her hand under the table to the table, and on her left middle finger, a silver platinum ring gleamed: "I brought my boyfriend back to get engaged."
Xiang Guess: "… "
Chen Ziran: "..."
The two did not control the volume, and shouted in unison: "Are you married????"
"Not yet." Qi Ji smiled and said, "He is Korean and six years older than me. He wants to settle down first, because he is afraid that I will run away."
Chen Ziran was stunned.
Xiang Guess was even more shocked, his whole brain was dumbfounded.
He only learned the true meaning of the sentence in the classmate's record a few days ago, and he has been tossing and turning. Before he could have a deep conversation with Qi Ji, he actually heard the girl say that she was engaged!
Xiang Gu's mind was in chaos, and he wondered if all the previous things were all his own misunderstandings? Could it be that Qi Ji wrote that sentence without any special meaning, just to amuse him
But... but...
Chen Ziran's face was pale, and even a mask could not cover his ugly face: "Why are you suddenly engaged, there is no news from your circle of friends!"
Qi Ji asked back: "Dating in love is his and I's private matter, why should we announce it to the world in the circle of friends?"
She said: "I met him through a working relationship. He is a senior, and I am a foreigner. When we first started dating, I was not very optimistic about this relationship, and always felt that it would not last. ... But gradually, We got along more and more. I started to realize that he was the one I had been waiting for. So when he proposed to me, I said yes."
Speaking of her lover, Qi Ji's face was filled with a smile bathed in love.
That smile will not be fake.
Xiang Guai hesitated for a moment, but still asked from the perspective of caring for his friends: "How long have you been dating, is he your first love?"
"He's my third boyfriend." Qi Ji said frankly, "Could it be that you think my charm, Jin Qiji, is so small that I can't even find a boyfriend?"
"No... no."
The girl smiled and fell into memory: "My first boyfriend... In fact, I don't know if I should call him my boyfriend. He was the one I met when I first transferred to another school. Like me, he is of Korean ethnicity. , go to study high school over there. But... Whether it is ourselves or our family, it is too simple to think about studying abroad.
"Even if we speak the same language, we are different from Koreans. We are Chinese, with different life backgrounds, different accents, and different cultures... And Yegori is mostly a girl group. , Men's team reserve, there is simply a shrinking entertainment circle, much more complicated than the Huawu High School. I have also been discriminated against because of my nationality and appearance.
"Probably because of loneliness, the boy and I came together...supporting each other, encouraging each other. You ask if we love each other, and I'll say yes, we gave each other everything we could give back then. But when we got into college, After that, we broke up naturally.”
Xiang Gu didn't know what to say, but vaguely, he felt that Qi Ji's experience seemed familiar.
Xiang Guess didn't let himself think about it, he patted her hand and comforted her: "... first love always leaves regrets."
"First love?" Qi Ji smiled, looking at him with round eyes with brown-red eyeliner, and muttered, "He's not my first love."
Just this look, just this sentence... Xiang Gua felt as if something had burst in his heart.
He understood that the words Qi Ji wrote in the classmate's record was not a harmless joke.
It was a rich and vivid stroke left in the imprint of youth.
It was a past that she could recall with a smile when she grew up.
Xiang Chai was at a loss for words. He wanted to say sorry, but felt that the apology was too late.
Chen Ziran looked at her and then at him. In the end, the popular artist still didn't say a word.
"Actually... After I met true love, I realized that whether it was the first love that was hidden in worship, or the companionship caused by loneliness, those are not love." Qi Ji slowly and firmly started to Guess pull his hand out.
The ring on her knuckle, hard and cold, ran across the boy's palm.
She looked down at it with gentle eyes: "if you ask me now what love is, I will tell you this - it is mutual tolerance, mutual growth, companionship, and tacit understanding. When I am by his side, I will think of his old age. go, and when he grows old, I will too.”
"Xiang Gu, Chen Ziran." The girl took their hands again, her round and white fingers tightly holding them.
She said word by word: "I wish you all the best to find love that accompanies you to grow old together on this path of growth that you don't know where it will end."
…
The meal was late into the night.
The owner's aunt was still sitting at the cash register, chasing Korean dramas, and her voice was very low. Only when she passed by, could she hear the heroine saying "Oba, Sarang hey".
A taxi stopped in front of the milk tea shop, and a middle-aged man in his early thirties got out of the car.
He is mature, tall, and looks very "Korean", not handsome or ugly, but has a good temperament.
Qi Ji introduced that this is her fiancé, the male lead in her last drama.
The man's Chinese is very poor, he can only say "hello" in jerky Chinese and then switch to English.
He said that he often heard the names of Chen Ziran and Xiang Cai from Qi Ji's mouth. Thank them for accompanying her in her youth before he appeared.
Xiang Guai said that you were welcome. For Xiang Guai, this girl was also a fond memory of him when he was seventeen.
Chen Ziran didn't speak, just nodded.
Qi Ji is not from Huacheng, her home is in the northern coastal area. This time, she brought her fiancé to Hwaseong to meet two friends specially.
Tomorrow, they will set off for Qi Ji's hometown.
Now that we're gone, we don't know when we'll meet again in the future.
Before leaving, Qi Ji hugged Xiang Gu, and then hugged Chen Ziran.
Each hug was extraordinarily long.
Xiang Gu's eyes were red, but he didn't cry. He thought that Qi Ji was going to get married, which should be a blessing. If she cried, it would be too unlucky.
So, he kept holding back his tears, watching the girl say goodbye and get into the car.
Until the taillights of the taxi disappeared into the darkness.
At this moment, Xiang Gucai finally burst into tears.
He was afraid that Chen Ziran beside him would laugh at him, so he wiped his tears and looked at Chen Ziran secretly.
Who would have thought... Chen Ziran buried her head, tears like a river, she couldn't cry herself.
Xiang Guai was taken aback and hurriedly asked him what was wrong.
Chen Ziran said nothing, just happy for Qi Ji.
But Xiang Gu thinks that Chen Ziran shouldn't be "all right".
A somewhat bold idea jumped into Xiang Gu's brain.
"Ziran, you wouldn't be..." he asked softly.
Xiang Guess understood everything in an instant.
Once Chen Ziran deliberately played tricks in front of Qi Ji, deliberately did bad things, and was careful again and again... There were reasons.
Xiang Gushua tried to persuade him, but he didn't know where to start.
"Forget it." Chen Ziran wiped away tears and put on his mask again, "It's all over."
Xiang Chai could only say in a nonchalant manner, "If you are looking for it, you will surely find a girl who loves you very much."
"No way." Chen Ziran said with a wry smile, "You don't understand, from the day I gave up the college entrance examination to enter this profession, my love and my marriage were not free."
"… "
"I'm an idol, what do you think I'm selling? Is it my acting skills, is it my singing voice, is it the level of lines I need to dub later?... No, no, I'm selling boyfriend power, yes The love that countless fans have placed on me." Chen Ziran said, "If I am in love, who will be responsible for their love that has nowhere to be placed?"
Unless he is confused, the idol artist's love does not belong to him.
Chen Ziran often jokes that he is envious of Xiang Guess not being popular. Xiang Gu never knows how much sincerity there is.
Xiang Gu stretched out his arms and gave this friend a tight hug.
Chen Ziran lowered his head and wiped the tears from his eyes on Xiang Guai's shoulder.
"Xiang Gu," Chen Ziran said in a low voice, not knowing who he was talking to, "You said, if everyone can be with the person they liked when they were seventeen, how lucky they would be."