I entered Huayu Entertainment in 2016.

Chapter 42 A Trip Together

The moment I pushed open the door of the teaching building, sunlight poured down from above, and the sky was clear and blue.

The weather in Yanjing today is unusually nice for February.

The sky was a pure, unadulterated blue, without a single cloud, not even a grayish-white haze.

The sunlight shone down from above, warmly shining on my back, melting away the chill and tension that had accumulated in the examination room.

Zhou Ye stood at the top of the steps, tilted his head back to face the sun, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly.

She opened her eyes, a genuine and unreserved smile spreading across her face.

Her lips curled up, and her eyes narrowed into two crescent moons. The redness in her eyes from crying on stage was now just a faint pink ring.

"It's finally over! The chances of passing this time were extremely high!"

When she said this, she clenched her fists and raised them in front of her chest, and her voice returned to its usual crisp and cheerful tone.

Then she looked at Wang Zian, her eyes flashing.

For some reason, those words she had just spoken on stage flooded back into her mind.

Her face went from slightly flushed to crimson, then to deep red, and then she looked away, pretending to look at the playground in the distance.

"Wang Zian, what are you going to do next?"

Wang Zian stood beside her, looking up at the clear blue sky above.

The sunlight illuminated his entire face, making it bright and clean. His almond-shaped eyes were slightly narrowed, reflecting the sunlight.

"Take a rest, then go home tomorrow."

Zhou Ye nodded and let out a very soft "Oh~!"

"The art exams are over, but there's still the college entrance exam!" Wang Zian looked down at Zhou Ye, who seemed a little dejected. "You don't want to pass the art exams but fail the college entrance exam, do you?"

Zhou Ye knew he was right, but she still pursed her lips, her eyes showing some disappointment.

Let's go home now!

Couldn't we have stayed in Yanjing a few more days?

"But~!" Just as she was lost in thought, Wang Zian suddenly spoke up again; "I want to wander around Yanjing for a couple more days. I've been so busy with exams lately that I haven't had a chance to really enjoy myself."

Zhou Ye's eyes lit up instantly.

"I want to play too! Let's go together!" she exclaimed, tugging at Wang Zi'an's clothes. "You have a car, take me with you! I've been so bored at home these past few days!"

Wang Zian's gaze swept quickly over Zhou Ye's hand, which was gripping his sleeve.

As if burned, Zhou Ye immediately loosened his grip, hid his hands behind his back, and took a small step back.

Wang Zian felt that if someone poured a ladle of water on her head right now, the water would turn into steam and float away.

"Okay!" Wang Zian said, looking at the school gate, "I'll come find you after I've made arrangements!"

"Okay~!" Zhou Ye's voice was very low, like a mosquito's buzz.

She took her hands out from behind her back, put them in the pockets of her down jacket, and lowered her head, shuffling her toes across the ground.

An ambiguous atmosphere quietly spread between the two of them.

"Let's go, let's go! It's almost noon!"

After saying that, the two walked silently side by side toward the door.

As he approached the door, Wang Zian skillfully pulled a black mask from his pocket and hung it over his ears.

Zhou Ye glanced at him out of the corner of his eye but didn't say anything.

She noticed it from the day of the first test: Wang Zian didn't like being watched by others.

The moment the two walked out of the school gate, Zhou Ye hadn't even taken two more steps before he was surrounded by a group of reporters.

Several of them are art exam preparation institutions.

Judging from Zhou Ye's expression, she must know him.

Wang Zian gave Zhou Ye a subtle look, then turned and left.

Not far from the entrance, a vehicle with a sticker that read "Today's Payment Notice" was parked quietly.

Xiao Yu was taking pictures of Wang Zi'an and Zhou Ye as they came out with their cameras.

Xiao Yu put down his camera only after Wang Zian had walked away.

In the photo, Wang Zian is wearing a black mask, only revealing his eyes, but his profile looks as handsome as a movie poster in the viewfinder.

"Editor-in-chief, do we really need all these photos we've taken?"

Editor-in-Chief Sun looked at his subordinates, calmly took a sip of mineral water, and spoke like someone who had been through it all.

"Xiao Yu, take more photos; they'll come in handy someday!"

····

The entrance exams for the Beijing Film Academy have thus come to an end.

Wang Zian first returned to his residence and rested for an afternoon.

When I woke up, the room was already dark.

He thought for a moment, picked up his phone, and called his parents first.

The phone rang four times before being answered.

It was his mother's voice; there was the sound of a spatula hitting a wok in the background, she was probably cooking dinner. "Hey, Zian? Finished your exams?"

"The exam is over. It went well," Wang Zian said.

Prince An is not an orphan; his parents are in good health.

However, he was different from other children from a young age, and was very mature.

His parents knew there were many things they couldn't help him with, so they mostly supported him and didn't offer any unsolicited advice.

His parents would only offer advice on interpersonal relationships and social interactions, sharing their experience.

So even if he suddenly says he's going to take an exam at the Beijing Film Academy.

Although they didn't understand, they still supported him unconditionally.

Then he called his teacher again to tell him that he needed to ask for two more days off.

The homeroom teacher was silent for two seconds, then only said, "Just keep it in mind!"

After obtaining permission from his parents and homeroom teacher, Wang Zian felt at ease staying at home.

The day after the art exam.

Wang Zian had not yet contacted Zhou Ye, but Zhou Ye had contacted him directly.

I invited him to visit the Summer Palace and Nanluoguxiang, and then to Houhai in the evening to listen to the singers perform.

They agreed to meet at the subway station entrance.

Zhou Ye was wearing a light blue long down jacket today, her hair tied in a high ponytail. She was standing at the subway entrance waiting for him, holding two bottles of mineral water. She had already drunk half of one bottle, and the other was for him.

She waved to him as soon as she saw him, her ponytail swinging behind her head.

"Hurry, hurry, I checked the route. Take Line 4 from here and enter through the North Gate of the Summer Palace..."

There weren't many people at the Summer Palace. Late February is the off-season, and there was still a thin layer of ice on Kunming Lake. The sunlight reflected off the ice, creating a dazzling white light.

Zhou Ye stood by the lake, put his hand on his forehead and looked into the distance, saying that the island looked like a matcha cake.

They walked in the corridor for a while. Zhou Ye looked up at the colorful paintings above her head and counted how many stories she recognized—the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, Sun Wukong's Three Battles with the White Bone Demon, and the Oath of the Peach Garden.

She pointed to a painting and said it was Daiyu burying flowers, while Wang Zian said it was Xi Shi washing silk. The two stared at the painting for more than ten seconds, and finally Zhou Ye said, "It really looks like Xi Shi."

Go to Houhai in the evening.

The lights were all on, and the lakeside bars reflected their colorful neon lights on the water, red, blue, and green, which were broken into shimmering scales by the night breeze.

A hoarse male voice sang a folk song from a half-open window, the guitar chords and the singing echoing on the water.

Zhou Ye stood by the railing, holding a cup of hot milk tea in his hand, gazing at the colorful lights across the lake, and remained silent for a while.

Wang Zian stood beside her without saying a word.

When the wind blew, it ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead. She reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing an ear that was slightly red under the light.

····

Wang Zian took two days off, but after the first day, Zhou Ye was immediately summoned away by his older sister.

Then they sent her directly back to her hometown.

She said her parents had been waiting at home for a long time and had enrolled her in a tutoring class for academic subjects, urging her to go back quickly.

Zhou Ye complained to him on WeChat, sending him an emoji of a little girl squatting in a corner drawing circles, followed by several crying and exploding emojis. She said she didn't want to go back at all, but she had no choice but to go back.

Wang Zian leaned against the headboard, looked at the series of emojis on the screen, and laughed.

He typed a few words: "Go back and study your academic subjects. No matter how well you sing 'The Oriole', you still have to take Chinese in the college entrance exam."

The next morning, Wang Zian went to Beijing South Railway Station to see her off.

Zhou Ye was dragging a small suitcase, wearing a long black down jacket, and her ponytail was tied tightly.

She stood in front of the security checkpoint for a while, looking back at him several times.

The last time she turned around, she waved to him, her lips moved slightly, and she said, "Let's contact each other on WeChat."

Wang Zian nodded, watching her drag her suitcase into the security checkpoint and disappear around the corner.