Hearing the girls' laughter, Chen Cheng's handsome face instantly drooped.
He silently pursed his lips.
Looking completely crestfallen.
Lin Yizhou patted his shoulder.
"Bro, you holding up okay?"
"I'm fine, man." Chen Cheng silently downed a cup of clear tea.
When the conversation turned to Jiang Liuyue, she gave a brief rundown of her situation.
She had just graduated, signed with Wanxiang Galaxy upon entering the industry, and was now in the cast of The Legend of the Civet, having lucked out by bumping up from the sixth female lead to the second.
Hearing this, Shu Qing studied her closely.
"Oh!" She dragged out the syllable. "I know now. I think I scrolled past a news article about you. The Wanxiang Galaxy rookie who was two hours late to the set, right!"
"I knew you didn't seem like that kind of person. It really was Li Feile's doing."
"Li Feile's reputation in the industry isn't great, but everyone is too afraid to speak out against her."
Jiang Liuyue pretended not to know.
Feigning confusion, she asked, "Why is that?"
Shu Qing looked left and right.
Chen Cheng was one of her own and could be trusted.
Lin Yizhou didn't seem like a gossip either.
After a moment of thought, she lowered her voice and said:
"According to reliable sources, Li Feile has a very powerful financial backer behind her, so nobody dares to offend her."
"Once you cross Li Feile, your career in the entertainment circle is pretty much over!"
Chen Cheng had also heard some rumors.
Hearing this, he nodded in agreement and said:
"I've heard the seniors in our company talk about this too, but the backer's identity is highly secretive. No one has managed to dig up who it is yet."
At his words.
Shu Qing felt a little indignant and replied:
"Just because your circle doesn't know doesn't mean our outside circles don't."
"What circle?"
"The wealthy elite circle." Shu Qing indicated that although her family wasn't filthy rich, they barely managed to scrape past the threshold.
She cautiously looked at the other three.
"Swear that you won't breathe a word of what is said today to anyone else."
Chen Cheng grumbled, "Does it have to be this secretive?"
"Get lost! Just tell me if you want to hear it or not."
"I do."
"Then swear!"
"Alright, fine."
The few of them, including the highly socially anxious Lin Yizhou, formally swore that the contents of their lunchtime chat would absolutely not be leaked.
Only then did Shu Qing speak with peace of mind.
"According to a reliable grapevine, Li Feile's backer is the CEO of Huanyu Group."
"Do you guys know Huanyu Group?"
"Huanyu Entertainment is one of their biggest sources of revenue. They also have tourism, hotels, real estate, and tech finance. They cover almost every sector."
Jiang Liuyue nodded.
Then she looked at Lin Yizhou.
Lin Yizhou answered honestly, "The agency I signed with after returning to the country is Huanyu Entertainment."
Then the topic naturally shifted to how popular his boy band was abroad and why he chose to return.
"Why?" Chen Cheng asked curiously.
"My family called me back," Lin Yizhou said. "They are getting older and felt uneasy about me being abroad all by myself."
"Besides, we agreed from the start that I would have a few years to develop freely. Our group has ranked first for several consecutive years, and the company plans to have us promote newcomers. Some members were also preparing to go solo. After thinking about it, I decided to just come back."
Chen Cheng nodded and said, "Bro, coming back was the right move. Eating kimchi and salads every day over there is pure torture."
Lin Yizhou smiled shyly.
His temperament seemed incredibly gentle and harmless.
"Yeah."
He didn't argue with that.
Over the course of the meal, the group grew much more familiar with each other.
When Shu Qing went to pay the bill, she was informed that someone had already taken care of it.
She looked at them in confusion.
"Who?!"
"Who secretly paid the bill?"
Her first suspect was Chen Cheng.
Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "Auntie, if I can freeload a meal from you, I'm not stupid enough to pretend to be a big spender."
Jiang Liuyue also shook her head.
She wasn't wealthy enough at the moment to afford a meal that cost over four thousand.
Finally, Lin Yizhou, sitting in the corner, quietly spoke up.
"It's a rule in my family. There's no reason to let girls treat."
Chen Cheng was a bit surprised.
He patted his shoulder and said, "Not bad! Good on you, bro. And you're quite rich too!"
Shu Qing didn't think much of it.
"He is a top-tier star abroad, after all. The appearance fees he earns are much higher than your acting salary. Did you think everyone was as broke as you?"
This remark made Chen Cheng shut his mouth, looking a little dejected.
Jiang Liuyue smoothed things over, saying:
"How about this: we'll let Yizhou treat us for this meal, and next time, we'll take turns paying. We can consider it a celebration of making new friends."
"Deal!"
Everyone nodded.
They all felt this was very reasonable.
There was still plenty of time before afternoon classes.
Shu Qing planned to go to the mall to check out some new designer bags. Jiang Liuyue wasn't interested, so Shu Qing dragged Chen Cheng along to accompany her.
Chen Cheng muttered his complaints but obediently followed her anyway.
Jiang Liuyue looked at Lin Yizhou and asked:
"I plan to head back to the classroom to rest for a bit."
"What about you?"
Lin Yizhou nodded slowly and said, "I'll go with you."
The two of them took a slow stroll back.
Jiang Liuyue didn't speak.
However, she noticed a gaze beside her occasionally stealing glances at her.
Whenever she turned her head, Lin Yizhou would resume silently staring straight ahead, as if he hadn't been the one peeking just a moment ago.
It happened again.
Catching him in the act of sneaking a look, Jiang Liuyue abruptly turned her head.
Lin Yizhou was caught red-handed.
His face instantly flushed red.
He stammered, "S-sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Jiang Liuyue couldn't help but laugh, adding, "Are you sorry because you were secretly looking at me?"
"Don't worry."
She pointed at her own face and said:
"I'm not famous yet. Right now, this face doesn't charge copyright fees. Look all you want."
The awkwardness on Lin Yizhou's face eased up a bit.
He explained further:
"I wasn't intentionally peeking."
"It's just that you look very familiar."
"Familiar?" Jiang Liuyue touched her cheek, but she had no impression of the man in front of her.
Judging by how easily he had just paid a dining bill of over four thousand, and how well-mannered he seemed, his family background must be quite good.
Meanwhile, her current identity came from an ordinary family.
How could she possibly know Lin Yizhou?
Was he deliberately trying to hit on her?
It didn't seem like it.
With his severe social anxiety, maybe there really was someone around him who looked similar?
Jiang Liuyue joked, "Could it be that I look like your first love?"
Lin Yizhou's face reddened again.
"No."
Jiang Liuyue didn't catch his drift and asked, "What?"
Lin Yizhou was very patient.
He stopped walking, looked at her, and explained:
"I've never been in a relationship."
"In the past, my family was very strict."
"Later, when I went abroad, the foreign agency was even stricter. They didn't allow idols to have any romantic relationships."
"So, no."
Jiang Liuyue smiled. Looking at the honest and easily bashful handsome guy in front of her, she felt a bit like teasing him.
"Then who do you think I look familiar to?"
Lin Yizhou actually took her seriously and carefully studied her face again.
After a long time.
Using a very sincere tone without a trace of calculation.
He said:
"You look like the kind of girl I would have had a secret crush on back in school."
