Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 389, "Sister-in-law 202," begins.
Fine raindrops slid down the bookstore window, leaving trails of silver. Shen Yujie stood in front of the window, looking at the figure outside through the glass. Her fingers gripped her phone tightly, the screen still lit up. Her youthful face was reflected in the glass, filled with nervousness and anticipation.

The black umbrella that had so deeply impressed her tilted at a 45-degree angle and slowly rose as it walked toward her. In that instant, a familiar, handsome face, voted "World's Most Handsome Man" by fans—a title that was by no means an exaggeration—appeared before her. The face, contrasted with the gloomy rain behind him, created a perfect scene, like something out of a movie.

It is often said that young girls, when they are still inexperienced, should avoid seeing people or things that are too stunning.

Because it is very likely that the rest of one's life will be influenced by amazing people and amazing scenes, becoming a puppet of beautiful memories.

But at this moment, Shen Yujie obviously couldn't care less about that; she just didn't want to regret it.

The moment the automatic door opened and closed, an unknown, pleasant scent mingled with the damp smell of rainwater and rushed in.

"Why the long face?" Shen Juan's voice sounded muffled through the mask, but it carried his usual light laughter.

"Because it's boring to be alone in a bookstore taking shelter from the rain," Shen Yujie pouted, her voice unusually gentle.

"You can ask a kind passerby to buy you an umbrella."

Shen Juan glanced at the other staff and customers in the bookstore, most of whom were middle-aged or elderly. This reduced the probability of him revealing his identity and causing street riots and congestion. After all, apart from his die-hard fans, his popularity among middle-aged and elderly people in Europe and America was still quite limited.

Unlike in China, where if you randomly grab a passerby on the street and ask if they know Shen Juan, 99% of them will say they do.

His fame and influence have long exceeded the scope of what a celebrity should be, making him a figure like a big brother.

"I don't really want to trouble others. Maybe the rain will stop soon," Shen Yujie replied softly.

"Actually, I can have my team members come and pick you up."

"Then why didn't they come, but you did?" After hesitating for a moment, Shen Yujie still carefully asked the question that was on her mind. As she spoke, she observed Shen Juan's expression and reaction, her clear eyes shining with anticipation.

“Maybe it’s because,” Shen Juan thought for a moment and couldn’t help but smile at her, then responded to the girl who had already written her thoughts and feelings on her face with the same reason: “I don’t really want to trouble others.”

"Brother Juan, are you teasing or mocking me?"

Young, innocent girls are always so easily embarrassed, especially in front of someone they like and have liked for a long time.

Shen Yujie secretly rejoiced that she had put on makeup today, otherwise she was certain that her face would be too red to show anyone by now!
Shen Juan put on a cute yet incredibly annoying Hao Cun face and replied, "Emmm, how can it not count?"

The "flirting" rule ingrained in her genes compels Shen Yujie to show her charming and cute side in front of the person she likes. So she subconsciously raised her hand as if to hit Shen Juan's arm, but her rationality returned like lightning and made her freeze on the spot. Then she quickly withdrew her hand.

She felt it wasn't the right time to do that.

Love is like heavy rain; if it's too obvious or too ambiguous, it might make the person getting wet feel dissatisfied.

Shen Juan took in everything. Compared to when he first met Song the brothel madam two years ago, he was now much better at dealing with girls. So he changed the subject and started a new conversation: "I checked the time on my way here. You haven't eaten since you came in to take shelter from the rain, have you?"

Shen Yujie gently shook her head, "Not yet."

"Let's go then! Let's find a place to fill your stomach first, and then we'll think about where to go for a walk next."

After leaving the bookstore, Shen Juan opened his umbrella and led Shen Yujie into the rain. Because the umbrella was small, the two were very close and would occasionally bump into each other. This level of physical contact made the girl nervously and awkwardly swallow her saliva, while also secretly enjoying a little bit of unspeakable pleasure.

Almost two hours ago, she posted on her WeChat Moments that she found her childhood favorite while sheltering from the rain. At that moment, the person she liked was holding a deluxe edition of Harry Potter that he had just bought from the cashier. The book still faintly retained the warmth of her body. This made her feel a little strange, happy and sweet.

While looking at the road, Shen Juan asked, "You must have done some research before coming here, right? Is there any restaurant you particularly want to try?"

"Yes, there is, but it's a bit far." Shen Yujie was secretly testing Shen Juan's bottom line, trying to get closer to him.

"is it far?"

"Yeah, it's quite far."

"Then let's just have dinner nearby."

Shen Juan stopped and looked at the underage girl who was inexplicably shy and too embarrassed to look up at him.

"what do you think?"

"I'm fine with anything." Shen Yujie thought her little trick had been discovered, and she was extremely embarrassed and ashamed.

The fish and chips shop on the street was lit up with warm yellow lights.

Shen Juan was helping to prepare the fish fillets when Shen Yujie took a bite of the steaming hot fries. They were a little hot, but she could barely handle them.

She suddenly remembered visiting the set of "Go Go Squid!" last year and the first time she met Shen Juan, he handed her a chocolate on set, which was sweet, just like it is now.

Are you nervous about tomorrow's concert?

People often do meaningless things when they are nervous, like she was poking at the lemon slices on the fried fish.

"I'm nervous."

"I thought you had so much stage experience and had seen so many big scenes that you weren't nervous anymore." Shen Yujie looked up at Shen Juan with some curiosity. Although she was still a little embarrassed when they made eye contact, it was no problem for her to secretly look at him like this.

Sometimes she would even fantasize about becoming a ghost and floating around Shen Juan at all times.

Although it sounds a bit like a voyeur trying to spy on others, she felt that she was just having a dream that every teenage girl with romantic feelings would have. If even fantasies can be punished, then all the girls in the world should be imprisoned for reformation!
"Actually, I'm always nervous before going on stage, but I'm even more nervous this time because..." Shen Juan wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth with a tissue, then blinked. Her clear eyes, which were considered by Xiao Chun Juan, including Shen Yu Jie, to be the most youthful and innocent, shone even brighter at this moment.

"I'm afraid a friend might yawn in the audience."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yujie felt both ashamed and annoyed.

During the Leviathan tour's Shanghai stop in July, the other members of the "Snow White and the Five Dwarfs" group naturally attended. However, she was so excited the night before that she didn't sleep well, and a photo of her covering her mouth and yawning was secretly taken by Bao Bao and sent to the group, where she was teased by everyone for a while.

But it was precisely because of this incident that she mustered up the courage to privately communicate with Shen Juan to explain, thus bringing them closer together.

So you could say that if she hadn't been photographed yawning at Juan Ge's concert that day, she wouldn't have been able to muster the courage to leave her hometown and travel to London alone to see Juan Ge and attend his concert on her 18th birthday. In a way, Bao Bao could be considered her benefactor.

We ate and chatted like that, and it got late into the night.

I don't know when the rain stopped.

After leaving the restaurant, Shen Juan no longer maintained the ambiguous distance with Shen Yujie as before. Instead, he suddenly grabbed her wrist and turned into a quiet alleyway filled with the aroma of coffee. The graffiti on the walls, which had a strong street art feel, glowed under the neon lights, and the Beatles' "Hey Jude" was playing from the speakers of a record store.

“Actually, during the rehearsal this afternoon, I kept thinking about whether you would get lost in London,” he suddenly said.

"How could I get lost when I have a map and GPS on my phone?" Shen Yujie explained softly, a little embarrassed.

"I know, but will you really not get lost?" Shen Juan looked curiously at the girl beside him whose cheeks were slightly flushed.

This year, while filming "The Matchmaker" in Hengdian, she went to the wrong film set three times in a row. Finally, she sent him a message in despair, saying, "Brother Shen Juan, save me." At this moment, she recalled that embarrassing and shameful scene, and her blush deepened.

After walking in silence for a while, we turned a corner and the songs of street performers gradually drifted away.

Shen Juan suddenly stopped and took out a small box from his pocket. The exquisite packaging gleamed under the streetlights.

"This is an early coming-of-age gift. I hope you like it." He looked down into her eyes, his voice as soft as the wind.

Trying her best to control her emotions and not get too excited, and to not lose her composure in front of Shen Juan, Shen Yujie's breath caught in her throat the moment she opened the box. The Audemars Piguet watch was radiating a captivating glow, and there was also a photo of the two of them together on the set of "Go Go Squid!".

She looked shy in a yellow cardigan, while he looked so cool in Han Shangyan's signature black outfit that female fans were dizzy.

On the back of the dial are engraved tiny date numbers: 2018.5.27—the day they first met.

“The internet says that giving a watch can express eternal love and commitment, or symbolize cherishing the time you spend together, or reflect the giver’s thoughtfulness and taste.” Shen Juan smiled easily. “As for what it specifically symbolizes, I think you can slowly experience and feel it for yourself.”

Suddenly, his voice was interrupted by the distant sound of bells, twelve heavy strikes slowly echoing through the night sky.

When Shen Yujie looked up, she found that the light in Shen Juan's eyes was brighter than any light she had ever seen before. "Happy birthday, Xiao Shen. From now on, you are an adult who has turned 18." He smiled and took out his phone. The screen showed a countdown that had just reached 00:00. The lock screen photo had been changed to a picture of her making a wish on her birthday cake that she had posted on her WeChat Moments last year.

"Although the venue and our resources are limited, we still want to maintain the sense of ritual for a birthday celebration, so..."

The lighter clicked to life.

The candlelight illuminated the faint beauty mark under his eye, so faint that even his fans, except for those close to him, didn't know about it.

"Use the lighter as a candle and make a wish!"

In the dim candlelight, his eyelashes cast trembling shadows beneath his eyes, so beautiful that one was speechless.

Shen Yujie suddenly remembered four months ago, when she was so nervous before the college entrance examination that she couldn't sleep. In the early morning, she received a voice message from him: "Don't worry, it's not difficult for you to get into Beijing Film Academy with your academic scores, so just do your best. The way you were biting your pen while doing practice questions was more serious than when I was memorizing my lines."

So she closed her eyes and made a sincere wish in her heart: "I hope you will succeed in whatever you do in the future!"

Opening her eyes, she blew out the candlelight lit by the lighter and just then discovered that Shen Juan was recording this moment on his phone.

Aren't you curious about what I wished for?

"Curious, but don't want to know." Shen Juan pressed the pause button on the screen and then put the lighter back in his pocket.

Shen Yujie was a little speechless at Shen Juan's reaction, but the atmosphere between the two was now quite harmonious and natural, a far cry from the awkwardness she felt when she first met her idol. So she said to herself, "In short, they are all wishes related to you."

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You missed me that much?"

"Hmm~"

Xiao Shen followed suit and raised his eyebrows as well.

But I didn't really think about you intentionally~ because I know that I should be grateful when I meet you and let go when you pass by. So I just think of you in many small moments, such as a movie, a song, a lyric, a street, and countless moments when I close my eyes.

Just like now, I'm thinking of you right now.

And it's the kind of longing that I really, really want.

London at midnight is a place outside of time.

The two strolled along the Thames, the lights of the London Eye in the distance shimmering, connecting countless moments of their encounters.

"Actually, I was at the bookstore today," Shen Yujie suddenly nudged Shen Juan lightly, "I thought you wouldn't come."

Upon hearing this, Shen Juan suddenly stopped, grasped her icy-cold right hand, and then led her forward.

"Actually, when I saw the WeChat message you sent me this afternoon, I also thought you wouldn't be waiting for me there."

"I was planning to leave, but the rain just won't stop." Shen Yujie silently felt the warmth coming from Shen Juan's palm and replied in a very low voice.

Shen Juan blinked and laughed, "Then should I thank the British weather so that my trip wasn't in vain?"

Shen Yujie didn't answer the question, but instead asked, "What if... I mean, what if you come here and can't find me?"

"Then let's just pretend nothing happened!"

"Aren't you going to tell me?" Xiao Shen asked, puzzled.

There's no need to tell you this.

"Why? Telling me would have moved me even more." Shen Yujie looked up into Shen Juan's eyes.

"But at the same time, it will make you feel guilty and regretful, won't it? You might feel that if you had waited a little longer in the bookstore, you would have seen me. You might also feel guilty for making me come all this way for nothing. In my opinion, these negative emotions are unnecessary."

"But then you've just wasted your time, haven't you?"

"So what if it's a waste of effort? Who says effort has to be rewarded?" Shen Juan said with a relaxed smile.

"If I find you in the bookstore, we can both get the feelings we want. If I don't find you in the bookstore, I can still satisfy my own feelings. In short, the act of coming to find you can bring me enough positive feedback, so I am actually a very self-centered person."

If this is what I am, then I would say I really like this self, I absolutely love it!
The echoes of Big Ben's midnight chimes still reverberated in the air. As Shen Yujie gazed at that familiar, gentle smile, she suddenly felt that all her inferiority, timidity, and unease had vanished the moment he stood across from the bookstore with his umbrella.

It turns out that true love isn't about looking up at someone through a screen, but about him abandoning his ongoing concert rehearsals and braving the heavy rain to come find her, and on the midnight of her 18th birthday, bringing all the starlight of the Thames, Big Ben, and the London Eye to her, illuminating her world.

My phone kept vibrating in my pocket.

Many friends who knew she was "traveling" in the UK sent her birthday wishes in London time zone right on time.

Shen Yujie subconsciously looked up at the person next to her. He was looking down at his phone's navigation, trying to plan a suitable walking route. His handsome profile suddenly reminded her of a quote she had once seen online: "The gentleness of the gods is tinged with fine wine, and the face of the young man is astonishing to the stars."

"Are you cold?" Shen Juan suddenly pulled her closer to him.

Nestled in his warm embrace, Shen Yujie suddenly felt that this once-in-a-lifetime 18th birthday, though lacking a proper birthday cake and the face-to-face blessings of friends, was already perfect enough with the breeze of the Thames, the warmth of his palm, and the ever-burning streetlights.

“Shen Juan, senior,” she suddenly said, “Do you know what? You’re a million times more reliable than the London weather!”

"Is that so?"

Shen Juan paused for a moment, then laughed out loud. He said to the girl, whose eyes were filled with enthusiasm and sincerity, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Then let me be your weather forecaster from now on. You can come to me when the weather is good, and you can come to me even more when the weather is bad."

"Really?!"

Shen Yujie was so happy she almost jumped for joy.

Do you hope it's true?

"I hope so! I really hope so! I desperately hope so!"

"That's true."

"That"

"While shyness can be endearing, it can also be frustrating if someone is always too shy to speak."

"As your employer, can I give you an advance on your salary?" Xiao Shen finally made up her mind to throw away those self-esteem and face that were unique to adolescence but were actually unnecessary, and revealed her long-hidden feelings and what she really wanted without reservation.

"Okay, so what form of salary is it?"

Silence reigned all around. Shen Yujie remained silent, simply gazing at Shen Juan with an indescribable emotion welling up in her eyes. Suddenly, as if summoning all her courage, she gently raised her hands to encircle Shen Juan's neck, her toes slightly raised, and with a hint of nervousness and anticipation, she kissed him.

The midnight bells have long since faded away.

But the starlight that belongs to 18-year-olds has only just begun to shine.

Through this awkward yet exceptionally long and passionate kiss that softened her entire being, Shen Yujie suddenly understood that love is never a one-way pursuit, but rather the mutual approach of two souls over time.

Just like now, he braved the heavy rain to come to her with an umbrella, and she reached out and caught the moon that belonged to her.

On a rainy night in London, at the moment of adulthood, all the longing and waiting before received the gentlest answer.

　Sorry, sorry, I was exceptionally busy at work today, so my update time and word count were a bit low.
　　Then, "Sister-in-Law 202" officially kicked off with Xiao Shen.

　　Thank you all for your votes, monthly passes, and subscriptions!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)