Chapter 36.1

On the way home, Yan Zhao vaguely sensed that Shen Yuanting was not in a good mood.

The man didn’t show it much—or maybe he really hid it well. Whether it was his gaze, expression, or subtle movements, everything seemed normal. However, Yan Zhao still felt that his overall aura was a bit low.

Perhaps due to their familiarity with each other or relying on his intuition as an actor, he increasingly caught the subtle emotional changes in Shen Yuanting.

Coincidentally passing by a street at the end of class time, many students wearing the school’s special coarse cloth uniforms walked in groups, heading to restaurants or small stalls to buy dinner.

Yan Zhao said, “Stop for a moment; I want to buy some snacks.”

Shen Yuanting parked the car by the side of the street, thinking that it might be inconvenient for Yan Zhao as a celebrity. Just as he was about to open the door and get out, the big star had already put on a mask and a hat. Leaving behind a casual “wait for me,” he swiftly slipped out.

His baseball jacket was inflated by the wind, with embroidery on it depicting a fierce phoenix’s wings.

Although Yan Zhao didn’t reveal his face, the facial contours he exposed were enough to attract attention, not to mention his tall figure and genuine temperament. A group of high school students all looked towards him, and some girls whispered excitedly, “His profile looks like my baby…”

A classmate asked, “Who’s your baby?”

The girl replied, “Zhao Zhao!”

Yan Zhao: “???” Does he have high school mom fans???

Yan Zhao stood on the street and glanced around. Because it was near the school, there were surprisingly many snack stalls here, such as rice pudding, egg cakes, cold noodles, liangpi (cold skin), and candied haws (tanghulu).

Yan Zhao bought a box of takoyaki. The owner had just flipped them out of the mold, so they were still hot.

Shen Yuanting waited for him to come back, started the engine, and a gust of heat approached his cheek. In the corner of his eye, a takoyaki with salad dressing was waiting on the side.

Yan Zhao held the skewer and smiled at him, saying, “I’ll give you the first bite.”

Shen Yuanting kept his emotions bottled up inside, unable to directly express himself, but he could still accept a few snacks being fed to him.

In the smiling eyes of the young man, there seemed to be a light.

After a moment of silence, Shen Yuanting said, “…too hot.”

“Can’t you just blow on it yourself?” Yan Zhao complained, moving the takoyaki back and carefully blowing on it twice, afraid of blowing away the sprinkled seaweed.

He handed the takoyaki over again, and advised, “Eat slowly.”

Shen Yuanting hummed, turned his head, took a bite, and chewed slowly. The takoyaki was soft and the seasoning was good, but he didn’t pay attention to these details. His gaze was fixed squarely on Yan Zhao.

Where couldn’t he see that Yan Zhao was trying to comfort him? This clumsy way was somewhat cute.

Yan Zhao’s face flushed from being looked at by him. Shen Yuanting was handsome with single eyelids, but his eyes were bright. When he focused on someone, the intensity in his eyes could almost mesmerize them.

He’s really handsome, and his eyelashes are so long they could be used as toothpicks!

After Shen Yuanting finished eating, Yan Zhao was about to pull his hand back, but his wrist was held by the man’s rough hand. Shen Yuanting avoided the chopsticks and pressed his face against the back of Yan Zhao’s hand, gently rubbing it twice, like a spoiled big cat.

This is not good, Yan Zhao’s heart is about to melt.

Yan Zhao said, “Don’t be like this…”

Shen Yuanting whispered, “I like it.”

Yan Zhao stiffened in his seat, the man’s warm breath spreading on the back of his hand, creating a blush.

After a silent moment, Shen Yuanting sat up straight and said, “Feed me another one.”

“I haven’t eaten yet!”  Yan Zhao glared at him, skewered another takoyaki into his own mouth, chewed, and then took another one for Shen Yuanting.

The two of them quickly devoured all six takoyaki and returned home.

…

Yan Zhao received an email from Yu Youyi.

Just like in the original story, the young girl had an excellent script but lacked funds. Even slightly famous actors wouldn’t accept the low pay, so she sent audition notices to acquaintances, hoping someone could help her out.

Yan Zhao guessed that the person she most wanted to hire was Ying Hongyu, but the schedule for the renowned actor was planned for the next year, making it impossible for him to free up time on short notice.

But Yan Zhao had the time, and according to the original story, this movie would be a hit, so he definitely wanted to give it a try.

That’s just how worldly he was.

Attached to the email was the audition script. Yan Zhao glanced at it and was surprised to find that the theme of the movie was actually Go.^[1]Go is an abstract strategy board game for two players in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent.

Despite its niche subject, it couldn’t skimp on the plot.

The male lead had once won the world championship four times but was banned for five years due to a conflict with his opponent. He returned to the chessboard field at the age of twenty-six.

‘The Return of the King’ was the theme of this movie.

And Yan Zhao was auditioning for the male lead.

However, he didn’t expect to run into Ning Yunfan on the day of the audition.

Before the final film was released, not to mention other celebrities, even Yu Youyi herself didn’t believe this movie would be a hit. But Ning Yunfan had been reborn and wouldn’t miss this opportunity—so when they met head-on, it was a showdown of acting skills.

Ning Yunfan had seen Yan Zhao’s acting skills on the set of “You in Teaching Building Seven,” but he remained skeptical, attributing Yan Zhao’s exceptional performance that day to luck.

Ning Yunfan smiled, “Is Brother Yan also here to audition for the male lead?”

Yan Zhao responded lazily, “Hmm.”

Ning Yunfan pretended to be modest and said: “Yan Ge’s acting skills are so good, it looks like I don’t stand a chance.”

Yan Zhao had seen the movies Ning Yunfan acted in, not considering him as a rival and not interested in cultivating a plastic friendship. He nodded and spoke frankly, “I also think so.”

Ning Yunfan’s smile froze, and he cursed in his heart.

Yan Zhao thought he was a qualified vicious male supporting character, causing trouble for the male lead, Ning Yunfan, every day.

Ning Yunfan auditioned before him, and Yan Zhao sat in the waiting area.

Besides them, there were other actors in the rest area, so news of Yan Zhao and Ning Yunfan competing for roles quickly spread in some circles.

There were speculations about who would pass the audition:

“Teacher Yunfan has previous experience in filming. The character in ‘Deep Summer’ and the male lead in this movie are very similar in personality. He should have an advantage.”

“Teacher Yan did well in that web series… ‘Teaching Building Seven,’ wasn’t it? Not bad.”

“That hasn’t even been released yet, just a trailer! Fragments cut together, what acting skills do you need? Stirring BGM, and you’re moved to tears. It’s just manipulative.”

There was also those who was interested in his relationship with Ning Yunfan:

“Yan Zhao is quite arrogant… Aren’t he and Ning Yunfan in the same group? Why is he so sarcastic?”

“I heard their relationship in the group was never good. There have been rumors online that they might disband.”

“I wouldn’t be able to stand it if I had a teammate like Yan Zhao!”

Yan Zhao was unaware of these things as he reviewed the script.

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Go board game