…Damn it! Why does this always happen whenever she runs into Song Mo?!
Gu Tang was practically starting to think that she was the kind of supporting villain who kept doing stupid things just to get an award-winning actor’s attention.
Song Mo raised his eyes. Seeing the two drinks stuck inside the vending machine, he walked over to Gu Tang’s side and patted the machine, but the drinks remained firmly wedged inside.
Song Mo naturally carried the cold, aloof aura of a domineering CEO. Faced with that kind of atmosphere, Gu Tang became slightly more restrained.
“You don’t have to trouble yourself,” Gu Tang began politely, standing beside him like a large bird sheltering a smaller one, and spoke in a small voice. “It’s just a little thing. I can handle it myself.”
Song Mo looked at Gu Tang and thought of a way to solve the problem.
“This might require shaking it harder. For safety’s sake, you should step farther away.”
…Was the award-winning actor really this enthusiastic about helping people? What an angel! As the male lead, weren’t you being a little too innocent and kind?!
Wasn’t he supposed to be a scheming character?! He was completely a good person!
Gu Tang carefully considered Song Mo’s suggestion, then offered the exact opposite advice.
“If it needs to be shaken hard, then I should do it. For safety’s sake, it would be better if you stayed farther away. What if you get hurt?”
With a grand sweep of her hand, Gu Tang sent Song Mo away from the vending machine.
The distance from standing beside the vending machine to standing safely away from it was only the distance of a light push from Gu Tang. Song Mo, standing perfectly straight, had absolutely no ability to resist.
Song Mo: ???
Gu Tang walked up to the vending machine and tested how it felt. Then she slapped it with her palm.
The machine let out a loud rumble, and the two tightly stuck drinks immediately dropped down.
A tiny screw fell down along with the cans. After bouncing several times on the floor, it disappeared into the dimly lit area.
“You were right. Giving it a good smack really does work.” Gu Tang turned toward Song Mo with a bright smile and handed him one of the drinks. “Thank you!”
Song Mo was silent for a moment.
The barrage was equally complicated in its feelings. One girl’s comment received 368 likes.
【I think my idol needs a bodyguard like her.】
“What’s wrong?” Gu Tang, completely unaware that anything was amiss, raised the drink toward him again and looked at Song Mo in confusion.
“Nothing.” Song Mo took the drink and glanced at Gu Tang’s hands, which had successfully made the vending machine roar. They looked incredibly delicate and soft. Unable to help himself, he asked, “Do you practice martial arts?”
“Dance?” Gu Tang completely misunderstood the question. “Of course. Everyone who came here practices together every day.”
Song Mo seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. His dark eyes remained fixed on Gu Tang.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Gu Tang racked her brain and finally came up with a topic.
“Is filming fun?”
Song Mo did not know why Gu Tang was asking him that.
“I forgot to introduce myself. I’m studying acting too,” Gu Tang said. “Our acting teacher often mentions you in class. He says you’re a very talented actor.”
Song Mo asked, “Your teacher is…?”
Gu Tang replied, “His name is Zhang Xiu.”
Song Mo immediately understood.
“So it’s Teacher Zhang. He was my acting teacher too. Unfortunately, he later went to another school.”
“He went to our school.” Gu Tang pointed at herself. “He said he chose our school because it was closer to home. C City was too far away.”
“That really does sound like Teacher Zhang.” Song Mo looked a little nostalgic. He clearly had some affection for this teacher. “He used to make us sing on the streets to train our ability to interact with people in public. I even got scolded by him once because I was wearing sunglasses.”
Gu Tang had still been nodding when Song Mo mentioned that Zhang Xiu had made them sing on the streets, because that was completely in line with Teacher Zhang’s personality, always going out of his way to make things difficult for his students.
But the moment Song Mo mentioned the sunglasses, she suddenly looked up and met his gaze.
Song Mo naturally had no idea what she was surprised about. He suddenly found himself meeting her watery gaze.
“Sunglasses?” Gu Tang confirmed.
“I was rather timid back then.” Song Mo assumed she was wondering why he had been wearing sunglasses, so he chuckled. “People even mistook me for a blind person because I was wearing sunglasses. It’s actually quite an interesting memory.”
Gu Tang opened her mouth, wanting to ask him about it but not knowing how to begin.
“You…”
The corridor was dimly lit with yellowish lights. Song Mo’s tall, straight figure cast an equally straight shadow. On that night when she had been on the street, it seemed there had also been a figure like this that had entered her line of sight. However, everything had been hazy, and she had not been able to see him clearly. The two figures overlapped, similar, yet somehow slightly different.
Gu Tang was still lost in thought when the door of the training room opposite opened. Lin Yueyue walked out. When she saw Gu Tang, her brows furrowed slightly, though the expression disappeared in an instant.
She smiled sweetly and walked toward Song Mo.
“Teacher Song, everyone is still waiting for you.”
Song Mo nodded, then looked at Gu Tang standing beside him and gave her a polite smile.
“Then I’ll go first. If you have any questions about acting in the future, you can ask me.”
“Okay.” Gu Tang nodded, knowing that Song Mo was merely being polite. The chances of them seeing each other again afterward were actually quite slim.
However, Song Mo’s next sentence was:
“Can you scan me?”
WeChat friend?
In a daze, Gu Tang added Song Mo as a friend. He even seriously told her to send his regards to Teacher Zhang on his behalf.
Heaven and earth could bear witness, Song Mo was Zhang Xiu’s favorite student, while she was not. She was not even sure whether Teacher Zhang could accurately remember her name.
…For an award-winning actor, Song Mo was really far too down-to-earth. He was truly a good person.
Kind, friendly, approachable, respectful toward his teachers, practically the embodiment of every positive quality.
Gu Tang watched Song Mo and Lin Yueyue’s backs as they walked away and clicked her tongue twice.
Someone this outstanding being paired with Lin Yueyue felt like a bit of a loss for him.
She did not know whether Lin Yueyue’s hearing was simply too sharp, but she suddenly turned around and looked at Gu Tang.
Gu Tang whistled while looking up at the ceiling, pretending that she had not been the one clicking her tongue just moments ago.
Gu Tang had questions in her heart, and the barrage exploded as well:
【WHAT DID I JUST SEE!!! Song Mo is the person Gu Tang met!】
【NO!!! They definitely aren’t the same person!】
【As a passerby, I think Gu Tang is trying to get close to Mo Bao = =. Tsk, Mo Bao has seen plenty of women like her.】
【↑ Sister above, could you stop pretending to be a passerby? Song Mo was the one who added her as a friend. Who exactly is trying to get close to whom?】
【We solved the case this quickly? Our detective squad just finished assembling!】
【Impossible! C City is so big. How could they possibly have such a coincidence?】
【Will this part get cut when they replay it? Good thing I recorded the screen.】
When Gu Tang returned to the training room, everything inside was still exactly as it had been when she left.
Gu Tang sat in the corner, thinking about the possibility that she had once happened to encounter someone that famous. It really was the kind of coincidence she could brag about.
Gu Tang looked toward Xu Piaopiao, who was still monopolizing the dance mat and having the time of her life. There was no way for Gu Tang to telepathically share this explosive piece of news with her.
Someone walked over.
Gu Tang looked up and saw Yin Fan.
He was probably there to put away his instrument. He placed the guitar on its stand.
Gu Tang’s eyes lit up. She realized that she now had someone to share her news with and waved at Yin Fan repeatedly.
Yin Fan noticed her little gesture and looked back at the others. Chen Xing was still surrounded by people, and apparently there was no one else available to be her audience, so he came over to Gu Tang.
Gu Tang’s eyes were shining brightly. She gestured for him to come closer again, indicating that he should bring his ear over.
Yin Fan obediently lowered his head and listened to the little secret she could not wait to share with someone.
“Remember how we were just talking about that time I mistook a street singer for a blind person in C City?” Gu Tang began.
His eyelashes trembled slightly. The warm breath from her words spread beside his ear, turning into an itch that lingered all the way down his neck. Yin Fan briefly held his breath because of the incident Gu Tang had brought up.
His gaze paused on the floor as thoughts raced rapidly through his mind.
He actually did not want Gu Tang to know that the person had been him. Their relationship was already somewhat complicated, and there was no need to add another layer of unnecessary entanglement.
If Gu Tang brought up something that might be related to him, he could bring Chen Xing into the conversation as a shield. The two of them had both graduated from the same school.
Gu Tang had no idea what he was thinking and continued talking about her discovery, sounding faintly pleased with herself.
“I think I know who it was.”
Yin Fan’s expression did not change.
Gu Tang chuckled.
“I think that person was Song Mo.”
Yin Fan looked at Gu Tang, his expression faint between his brows. Her mistaken guess did not make him particularly happy. If anything, he felt even more at ease than he had a moment ago.
Gu Tang looked at him with a grin.
“Didn’t expect that, did you? I’m actually this lucky. I just went for a walk on the street and happened to run into someone at Song Mo’s level, an award-winning actor. I really am destined for greatness. Heaven itself is ordering me to rise to prominence.”
Yin Fan saw the joy in her eyes. He opened his mouth, the corners of his lips moving into the familiar shape of a mature smile.
“That’s really great.”
Gu Tang smiled smugly.
Yin Fan remained composed and elegant, watching her quietly bask in her own triumph with a gentle gaze.
Whether during the filming of Gunshots or during the activities for Dream Girl Group, wherever Song Mo was, no one could see his existence.
The young girl was already strikingly beautiful. Her eyes were bright, and when she smiled radiantly, there was an innocent allure that was almost bewitching.
Even if… even if it was these eyes, there was no place for him in them.
Yin Fan shifted his gaze away and raised a hand to rub his temple, concealing the darkness in his eyes.
Reason told him that this was nothing more than the most natural law of survival, the strong prevailing over the weak.
Desire did not see it that way.
Author’s Note:
Little Theater:
Yin Fan: I actually have a strong sense of professional ethics. I don’t want to get tangled up in some messy situation with someone I have an improper relationship with.
Gu Tang: The boy in my memory was Song Mo.
Yin Fan: …Huh?
Just ask, who can escape the verdict of “it’s actually pretty good,” realizing that what you once rejected is actually quite good?
==
Someone asked earlier whether Yin Fan had secretly been in love with Gu Tang from a very early stage. You’re all overthinking it【waves hands】.
How could someone like Yin Fan, who is self-destructive and extremely restrained when it comes to desire, fall in love with someone just from meeting her once? Being captivated by her appearance is a given, though. As for his impression when Gu Tang ran away, it was nothing more than, 【What a timid girl.】
I mentioned earlier that “Yin Fan is someone whose coolness carries no trace of sensual desire.”
Gu Tang personally helped nourish his desire, allowing him to grow into an unexpected version of himself.
Gu Tang, the nemesis of scheming characters and the destroyer of tsunderes, makes her entrance!【Pfft】