Entertainment Industry: I am a top-tier movie star

Chapter 20 Nazar's Confession

The classroom was so quiet that you could hear each other breathing.

Naza suddenly stood up and walked to the window.

"Chen Nianbei".

With her back to him, she spoke softly, "Tell me... if we weren't acting, but really living in that era, what would you do?"

Chen Nianbei paused for a moment, then laughed: "That's a very vague question."

"Let's assume something." Naza turned around, leaned against the windowsill, and looked at him.

Her face was half bright and half hazy between the lamplight and the darkness of the night.

Chen Nianbei thought for a moment: "If it were really in that era... I might be even more cowardly than Zhou Ping."

Why?

"Because I know..."

Chen Nianbei said, "I know how difficult it is to resist, and I know how tiring it is to persevere."

He spoke calmly, but Naza understood the deeper meaning behind his words.

"And what about you now?" she asked.

Chen Nianbei stared at her for a long time.

So long that Naza thought she had said something wrong, so long that she began to wonder if she should change the subject.

Then he said, "Now... I'll figure out what I want and then go after it."

"What are we fighting for?"

"Strive for the roles you want to play, strive for the life you want to live, strive for..." He paused, "...the things you should strive for."

That made his heart flutter.

She walked back to Chen Nianbei and sat down in the chair next to him.

The two were very close, close enough that they could smell the faint scent of laundry detergent on him.

"Chen Nianbei," Nazha called him, her voice even softer than before.

"Um?"

"I……"

She paused, as if gathering her courage, and said, "I think I might... like you."

She said it.

He spoke directly, frankly, and without hesitation.

Chen Nianbei smiled.

He looked at Naza, this twenty-year-old girl, whose eyes were surprisingly bright, her cheeks flushed slightly, and her lips were slightly pursed, as if she were nervous or expectant.

"What are you laughing at?" Naza glared at him, but her eyes were still bright.

"I'm laughing at how cute you are," Chen Nianbei said.

Nazar's face turned even redder.

She looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly did something she hadn't expected.

She leaned over and gently touched his lips.

Quickly, lightly, like a butterfly skimming across the water.

Then he quickly stepped back, lowered his head, and gripped the hem of his clothes tightly with a nervous expression.

Chen Nianbei was stunned.

The warmth of that prickly texture still lingered on my lips; they were soft and carried a hint of sweet peach-scented lip balm.

The classroom was eerily quiet.

All you could hear were two heartbeats, thump thump thump, and you couldn't tell whose was whose.

After a long silence, Chen Nianbei spoke:

"Nazar".

"Hmm..." Naza's voice was very soft, almost inaudible.

"You..." Chen Nianbei paused, "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Know."

Naza raised her head, her eyes resolute, "I like you, I wanted to kiss you, so I did."

She spoke with conviction, but her trembling eyelashes betrayed her nervousness.

Chen Nianbei looked at her and suddenly felt a pang of tenderness in his heart.

"Nazar," he said gently, "we..."

"I know."

Naza interrupted him, her tone urgent, "I know you might not like me, or you haven't thought it through yet, or... or there might be some other reason."

It's okay, I just wanted to tell you that I wanted to kiss you, that's all.

She spoke very quickly, as if she was afraid that she would lose her courage if she slowed down.

Chen Nianbei fell silent.

In his past life, he might have responded immediately, perhaps saying, "I like you too," perhaps hugging her, perhaps...

But now he's been through so much and knows how complicated this industry is.

"Nazar," he finally spoke, his voice gentle, "thank you."

Naza was stunned: "Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for liking me," Chen Nianbei said. "And thank you for being so brave."

"And then?" Naza looked at him, her eyes filled with both expectation and unease.

"And then..." Chen Nianbei thought for a moment, "and then we'll just let things take their course, okay?"

"What does 'let nature take its course' mean?" Naza pressed.

"It means..."

Chen Nianbei looked at her and said, "Don't force it. Let things be as they should be."

Naza stared at him for a long time, as if trying to decipher the meaning behind his words.

Then she smiled, a smile tinged with disappointment.

"Chen Nianbei, you're so cunning," she said.

"Is there?"

"Yes," Naza said confidently. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, but you just won't say it clearly."

Chen Nianbei laughed as well: "It's no fun if you explain it too clearly."

"That……"

Naza leaned closer, blinked, and asked, "Can I kiss you again?"

Chen Nianbei remained silent.

Nazadang tacitly agreed.

This time she kissed him a little longer, but only a little.

Their lips touched, warm and soft.

Then she stepped back, stood up, and picked up her backpack.

"I'm leaving."

She said it with a triumphant smile on her face, like a kitten that had just stolen some fish.

"I'll see you off." Chen Nianbei also stood up.

"No need," Naza waved his hand. "I can go back by myself."

Naza left, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

Chen Nianbei stood there, smiled, shook his head, and began to pack his things.

Backpack, script, water bottle.

Tidy up, turn off the lights, and lock the door.

Stepping out of the teaching building, the night breeze was quite cool.

Chen Nianbei took a deep breath; the cold air made him more alert.

He looked up at the night sky; there were few stars, but the moon was very bright.

Like those piercing eyes.

He smiled and walked towards the dormitory.

On the way, I received a text message from Nazar: "Arrived at the dorm."

He replied, "Get some rest."

Naza replied instantly: "You too, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Putting away her phone, Chen Nianbei pushed open the dormitory door.

Wang Hao was video chatting with his girlfriend when she saw him come in. She quickly said a few words and hung up.

"Nianbei's back!" Wang Hao smiled knowingly. "Why are you so late today?"

"I practiced acting a bit more." Chen Nianbei put down her backpack.

"Yeah?"

Wang Hao leaned closer, "I just saw Nazha come out of the teaching building, her face was all red, you two..."

Don't make wild guesses.

Chen Nianbei interrupted him, "It's just a rehearsal."

"Okay, okay, rehearse." Wang Hao chuckled, clearly not believing him.

Chen Nianbei was too lazy to explain and went to wash up.

When I returned, Wang Hao was already lying in bed playing on his phone.

"By the way, Nianbei,"

Wang Hao suddenly said, "Zhang Lei came back from the 'Brotherhood of Blades' set today to pick up some things. He said they need a few young actors and asked if we wanted to give it a try."

Chen Nianbei's heart skipped a beat: "What role?"

"It seems like he's playing a minor supporting role, with limited screen time, but he gets to appear on screen," Wang Hao said.

When is the audition?

"Tomorrow afternoon," Wang Hao said. "Zhang Lei said if we're going, we should wait for him at the school gate, and he'll take us to find the director."

Chen Nianbei thought for a moment and said, "Then let's give it a try."

"Okay," Wang Hao said excitedly, "What if it works!"

Chen Nianbei smiled and climbed into bed.

After lying down, he took out his phone.

Naza sent another text message: "Can't sleep."

He replied, "Count sheep."

Naza: "I've counted to a hundred, but I still can't fall asleep."

Chen Nianbei: "Then let's count to one thousand."

Na Zha sent an angry emoji and said, "Chen Nianbei, you really don't know how to talk."

Chen Nianbei laughed: "Then what should I say?"

Nazar: "Say you like me."

Chen Nianbei stared at the text message, her finger hovering over the screen.

After a few seconds, he replied, "Go to sleep early, we have rehearsal tomorrow."

She tied her hair up with a string of ellipses, then said, "Hmph, goodnight, bad guy."

"Good night."