There were no classes today, so Shen Nanxing spent the day comfortably lounging on the couch at home, reading novels to pass the time. In the afternoon, Xie Ling suddenly informed him that a research report was due, and he needed to go back to school. The research was related to the “Classical Chinese” course, where the teacher had unexpectedly assigned them to choose a classical work they liked and analyze it, aiming to spark their interest in the subject. Shen Nanxing had already completed the assignment over the weekend, thinking that submitting the digital version was enough, but it turned out that a hard copy was also required.

Once he arrived at the university, Shen Nanxing found a printing shop, printed the report, and even bought a folder. As soon as he entered the campus, he noticed an unusually large crowd. It seemed like some big figure had arrived, with people gathered in layers, both inside and outside the crowd. Shen Nanxing tried to make his way through, but it was in vain. He stood on his tiptoes to get a better view but could only see heads, nothing else.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd, followed by loud screams.

“Ahh, after waiting so long, I finally get to see my movie king idol!”
“Movie King Xu is still as handsome and gentle as ever. I think I’m falling in love!”
“Finally, something good happened at Jing University! Movie King Xu is really here to film!”
“Ugh… I finally got to see my idol, I swear I’ll be nicer to people tomorrow!”
“Ha, but tomorrow there’ll be a lot of people,” a nearby student quickly pointed out.
“Wow! My goddess is still as fair-skinned and beautiful, I love her!”
“I have to say, good-looking people have such great chemistry when they stand together!”
“They’re filming, don’t bring reality into this, okay?”
“No way, they’re actually hyping this?”

From these conversations, Shen Nanxing pieced together what was happening. In short, a celebrity had come to Jing University to film, causing a huge stir. The people gathered were fans of the movie king and the female celebrity.

Just as Shen Nanxing was considering whether he should take a detour, Xie Ling called him.

“Xingbao, have you arrived at school?”

“What’s up? Is the teacher urging us to submit the report?” Shen Nanxing raised his voice, trying to be heard over the noise around him. It was so loud that he couldn’t hear what Xie Ling was saying.

“No,” Xie Ling replied.

Shen Nanxing found a quieter spot and continued, “I’ll be there soon.”

The crowd was gathered near the Music Plaza, with the library on the left. Shen Nanxing planned to pass through the small door on the left side of the library and then circle back to the West Teaching Building. This way, he could avoid the crowd and not have to worry about getting squeezed. However, Xie Ling quickly stopped him.

“Wait, wait! Xingbao, don’t hurry over yet! Movie King Xu is at our school, can you help me take a few pictures of him?”

Shen Nanxing was quite surprised. He hadn’t realized that Xie Ling was into fan culture. “Since he’s your idol, wouldn’t it be more meaningful for you to take the pictures yourself?”

Xie Ling let out a dramatic sigh. “I want to, but Yanran just broke up today, and I’m still comforting her. I can’t go right now!”

“Xingbao, please, please, help me! Even if you don’t get the pictures, it’s okay. Just go for the fun of it!”

Shen Nanxing sighed and reluctantly agreed, “Alright, but I can’t guarantee that I’ll get the photos.”

“Okay, okay, thank you, Xingbao! I’ll treat you to milk tea later.”

Once he agreed, Xie Ling was ecstatic on the other end of the phone. After hanging up, Shen Nanxing looked at the dense crowd and steeled himself to squeeze in. But before he could even act, the fans suddenly surged forward. They rushed ahead in a massive wave. Some of them were holding support signs while shouting, “Brother, wait for me!” “Ahhh, Goddess, I’m coming!”

Shen Nanxing thought to himself, “Are people really this obsessed with their idols?” They could have stayed home reading novels instead of doing this!

Actually, it wasn’t entirely accurate to say that they came to shoot a film today. The main reason was to take promotional photos. Xu Yuan looked at the enthusiastic fans and responded politely, which sent a group of female fans into a frenzy, waving their hands excitedly. Even in the most basic blue-and-white school uniform, his gentle and reserved aura couldn’t be hidden.

After five years since his debut, Xu Yuan had grown from an unknown actor to a popular movie king. His youthful, delicate features had matured, and his personality remained humble and composed—never arrogant or rash. Fans loved this about him. He had the gentle charm of a “neighbor’s older brother” while also exuding maturity and stability. Most importantly, his acting skills were exceptional, which his fans were most proud of.

Liu Ke, on the other hand, had a different story. With her charming looks and personality, her company insisted on creating the “pure and innocent” image for her, refusing to let her embrace a sexy persona. The problem was, her acting was subpar. In her last drama, she played a “naive and sweet” character, which caused her to gain a lot of hate online. People were saying, “If you’re not cut out for this, don’t force it.” Furious, she created a fake account on Weibo and argued with fans for hours. The drama ended when her agent found out.

Looking around, Liu Ke noticed that most of the people at the school were there for Xu Yuan. She couldn’t help but feel envious. When would she be as popular as him?

The drama they were filming was campus-themed, and Jing University, a prestigious institution, had invited them to take some photos there. The purpose was to encourage high school seniors to set their sights on Jing University.

“Alright, that’s a wrap for today,” the photographer said, making an “OK” gesture after taking the last batch of photos.

Liu Ke instantly relaxed, wearing a blue-and-white shirt and gray skirt. When she smiled, she radiated youthful energy. “Xu laoshi, it’s finally over.”

Xu Yuan had a faint smile on his face. “Yes, it’s finally done,” he said, though his smile was starting to freeze.

At that moment, Xu Yuan’s manager, Lin Qingyan, came up to the stage and addressed the fans below. “Thank you so much to all the junior students for your support of Xu Yuan. There will be a fan interaction session soon, so feel free to sign up and join us!”

The fans’ enthusiasm immediately surged.

“Pick me, pick me, pick me!”

“I, I, I! I’m the ugliest, but I want to have a sweet dream, pick me!”
“I can’t even imagine, if I get chosen, I’ll be the happiest little girl!”
“I’m a guy, according to the principle of combining like terms, pick me!”
“…”

Xu Yuan glanced helplessly at Lin Qingyan. “I don’t think there was any mention of an interaction session before?”

Lin Qingyan, confident and composed, replied, “Sorry, this was added last minute.”

Xu Yuan had no choice but to agree, “Alright then.”

Their conversation caused the fans in the audience to burst out laughing.

Xu Yuan folded the prop in his hand — a “test paper” — into a paper airplane and tossed it into the crowd. “Let’s choose the fan who catches this paper airplane to come up for an interaction.”

The paper airplane was light, and with the help of the wind, it flew through the air for quite a while before slowly descending. Two tall boys standing in front of Shen Nanxing excitedly reached out to catch it. They both jumped and tried to grab it, and one of them swung his hand so forcefully that the paper airplane fell directly onto Shen Nanxing’s head.

“Ouch!” Shen Nanxing exclaimed, covering his head with both hands, and felt the “paper airplane” resting on top.

The two boys in front of him froze in shock. They immediately blamed each other: “It’s your fault!”

It was clear that they knew each other.

Shen Nanxing looked at the deformed paper airplane in his hands and thought, “So this is what it feels like to get lucky.”

He had been worried about not getting any photos, and now, look, the opportunity was right in front of him. Heaven was still on his side.

Xu Yuan looked at the crowd, still in heated discussion, and asked, “Which fan managed to catch it? Could you raise your hand?”