Chapter 13: In the Most Romantic Place Under the Starlight

Because things went so smoothly, Ying Zenan returned to Hu City that same day.

As for Ying Jing, she stayed in the Imperial Capital with Wei Yi.

The two discussed going out for a stroll that evening.

A taxi drove past the Dynasty Entertainment building, and Ying Jing leaned against the window, her gaze fixed on the skyscraper, never once looking away.

The two got out of the car nearby. Wei Yi went to a shop next door to buy milk tea, while Ying Jing stood under a tree to wait for her.

A "click" sound rang out.

She frowned and looked toward the person responsible.

A young man immediately trotted over, holding a camera in his hand.

"Sorry, you looked so beautiful just now that I couldn't help but take a picture. If you don't like it, I can delete it immediately." Abu felt he was having a bit of bad luck; not only had he been severely lectured by his master for photographing Ying Zenan during the day, but now, at night, he had been caught by the subject herself while photographing a pretty girl.

Ying Jing looked at herself in the photo. So, in the eyes of others, that was the look she had when she was gazing at Dynasty Entertainment.

"Thank you, I really like this photo. Could you send me a copy?"

"Of course! Then, can I keep this photo? I'm Abu from 'Xiao Xian' tabloid. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm a legitimate paparazzo. It's just... I've photographed so many stars and artists, but you're the first person I've felt looked like they had just finished acting in a movie, even just by standing there."

"Is that so? Thank you."

"You're not an artist, are you? I haven't seen you in the industry."

Ying Jing shook her head.

"I'm not."

"You're so good-looking, haven't any entertainment companies approached you?" That was impossible! With this kind of appearance, she would definitely become a hit in the entertainment industry. If she had even a little bit of acting talent, becoming a huge star would only be a matter of time.

Ying Jing thought about it; there had been quite a few.

She had been hit on at school and while out and about.

In her past life, she had entered the entertainment industry early, spent ten years reaching the pinnacle of status, and then... died and came back.

Looking at it now, those were all things she had already played through.

"How about we add each other as friends? It'll be easier to send you the photo. If you ever enter the industry, you can contact me. I've got you covered in the Imperial Capital." The paparazzo, who hadn't even finished his apprenticeship, spoke boastfully. Anyone else would have dismissed his words.

But Ying Jing was different. When he said the name "Abu," she knew exactly who he was.

This young man before her would become famous for a single shot in the near future. As his influence expanded, he would capture a series of scoops—top artists' romantic scandals and their subsequent downfalls—rapidly establishing his position in a short time to become the number one paparazzo in China, whom no artist wanted to provoke.

In her past life, Ying Jing had suffered at his hands, too; he had photographed her several times.

However, they were all minor matters. Aside from the times she was at odds with the male and female leads, she had been a law-abiding, good girl.

It was worth noting that in her past life, after Lu Zishu rose to power, Abu joined his company directly, becoming the person who protected the female lead in the entertainment industry.

With that kind of power, how could any exposés about the female lead ever leak out?

That was right; Lu Zishu's true love was a certain young starlet in the entertainment industry, whom he eventually groomed into a top-tier actress.

What satisfied Ying Jing was that although her life had been turned upside down by those two, she had always stayed one step ahead of the female lead in her career.

In this life, the plot had changed, and Ying Jing had met Abu before he became famous.

She hadn't yet decided whether she wanted to step back onto the path she had already walked once before.

To become the light that illuminates him, in a place where she could touch the moon.

Just then, Wei Yi returned holding two large, icy cups of milk tea, and Abu had already left.

Taking the milk tea from her friend, Ying Jing took a deep sip of the pearls inside.

"Where are we going next?"

Three minutes later.

The two young ladies, who hadn't yet decided where to go, were trapped in a dessert shop on the side of the road.

A sudden downpour swept across the entire Imperial Capital.

The sky was occupied by dark clouds, and the light gradually faded away.

When the wind and rain dispersed, the fresh air after the rain rushed in.

Before leaving, the shop owner gave them a sticky note and a pen.

"You can write whatever you want on it. You can take it with you, or leave it here. We will keep them well, and you are welcome to come back and retrieve them at any time."

Ying Jing looked at the paper and pen on the table, unsure of where to start.

Wei Yi, however, quite liked it.

"Doesn't this feel like going back to the days after school when we'd buy milk tea at the shop next door and write notes to stick on the wall, reading other people's dreams while looking at a wall full of sticky notes?"

How nostalgic.

Hearing her say that, Ying Jing's heart stirred.

She picked up the pen and wrote quite a bit on the paper.

Wei Yi tried to peek at what she was writing.

"What is it? So sentimental, you're even writing poetry."

It felt like it didn't mean much, but that was because she hadn't seen it clearly.

Wei Yi went to the shop owner to post her note.

Ying Jing held up the paper filled with words, the ink not yet dry, against the glass. The falling raindrops clung to the outside of the window, reluctant to flow down.

*The sudden heavy rain has trapped me here.*

*Trapped in a world very close to you.*

*I only need to look up.*

*You might be in one of the windows of that building, also watching this rain fall.*

*I miss you so much.*

*Thinking of our meeting.*

*It was the warmth after the rain cleared.*

*What a pity, you didn't manage to appear.*

*Otherwise, you would have surely seen.*

*That I am thinking of you.*

*You must have felt the wind blowing from this direction.*

*Stepped on this very stone path underfoot.*

*I am right across the way.*

*And I am incredibly glad you didn't appear.*

*Otherwise, I would be even more disheveled than this rainstorm.*

*...*

Ying Jing took the poem with her.

In the colorful city, walking on the bustling avenue.

Her friend noticed her good mood.

"What are you so happy about?"

"I've been thinking." Ying Jing walked beside Wei Yi, a beam of light occasionally shining on them. "Just now, I made a very important decision, one so important that it might change my entire life. If you ask me if I will regret it, I will answer you with absolute certainty: absolutely not."

The path she walked before was so lonely; how could she bear to let him continue forward alone now?

She wanted to stand in the most romantic place under the starlight.

To become his only moon.

Her friend listened, only half-understanding.

"Although I don't know what nonsense you're talking about, best friends should spoil each other without limits. No matter what decision you make, I will support you without reservation."

The bright, youthful girls clinked their milk tea cups on the street and smiled at each other.

Afterward, the two went to grab some skewers, and by the time they returned to the hotel, it was almost ten o'clock.

Ying Jing opened her phone, which had been on silent, and found several new messages.

There were some from her brother, others, and... Wen Fucheng.

She skipped over Ying Zenan and clicked on the chat box with Wen Fucheng.

【Wen Fucheng: There is a specialty roast duck restaurant in the Imperial Capital. Would you like to go try it together?】

Yes, yes, yes, she wanted to.

Ying Jing couldn't wait to call him and express her interest. There was silence on the other end of the line, and her heart sank—he wouldn't have changed his mind, would he?

Wen Fucheng hadn't changed his mind, but...

"I sent that message to you five hours ago."

Ying Jing glanced at the time and felt instantly aggrieved.

"Is that so? What a pity."

He couldn't bear the disappointment in her tone; she sounded like a little kitten that had been greatly wronged.

"It is a bit of a pity, so I just bought it and brought it back."

Ying Jing was stunned...

Before the call ended, she heard him say again.

"Come upstairs, I'm on the 33rd floor. Wait... let me come down to get you instead."