Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 570 A Handsome Man Overflowing with Love

Two weeks later, Minami Hamabe stepped out of her quarantine hotel and took her first deep breath of Shanghai's winter air at eight o'clock in the morning.

A light rain was falling outside, and the air was chilly, but it was much more comfortable than the dryness brought by the air conditioning in the hotel room.

A cool breeze blew in her face. Looking at the unfamiliar street scene in front of her, she subconsciously squinted her eyes. Not long ago, she was worried about the unknown, but now she could walk so peacefully. This sudden peace and sense of security made her feel dazed, as if everything was a little unbelievable.

She never imagined that she would have the courage to come to China to see Shen Juan, especially during this special time; she never imagined that she would be so excited last night about seeing Shen Juan after the lockdown was lifted that she could not sleep, but today she could accept everything that was about to happen so calmly, peacefully and naturally.

Perhaps it is because love makes people confident and brave.

From two complete strangers at the beginning, to getting to know each other through online news, to having contact information, to frequently sharing daily life, to calling each other to keep each other company, providing emotional value, and making every night after a long phone call a dream of meeting him and embracing him.

Or perhaps it's because I've come to understand the meaning of love.

Love is never an ethereal feeling, but a decision, a judgment, and a commitment. Too many people mistake infatuation for love, forgetting that true love requires daily practice, choosing tolerance and understanding even after passion fades, and being willing to communicate even when disappointment accumulates.

This is the essence of love.

At least that's how she understood it.

After sending Shen Juan the message "I have completed the procedures to be released from quarantine and come out", I waited by the roadside for about two minutes.

A black minivan slowly drove up and came to a steady stop in front of her. The door was opened from the inside, and a young girl immediately jumped out of the car, waving at her as she ran quickly toward her, her smile impossible to hide.

Hamabe Minami noticed that the girl was clutching her phone tightly, her eyes fixed on her the whole time, her face full of barely suppressed excitement, and her Japanese name was clearly visible on the lit phone screen, obviously prepared on purpose.

So she immediately walked over with a smile and politely asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, are you Shen Juan's assistant?"

Wow! A living, breathing Japanese beauty!

And she even taught herself Chinese!

Si Guoyi!

Upon seeing this, the assistant instantly displayed the excitement one would only see in anime. She looked the super cute Japanese girl in front of her up and down, her face full of barely suppressed joy and pride in her boss. After a long while, she finally came to her senses and replied in broken English, "Yes, yes, I am Shen Juan's assistant. There are too many people here, so it's inconvenient for him to come over. I'll take you to find him right now."

Upon hearing this, Minami Hamabe instantly broke into a gentle smile.

The slight disappointment that had quietly surfaced in my heart because I hadn't been able to see the person I liked right away vanished instantly.

Yes, this is Shanghai, the "Magic City".

This is his city.

Everyone who lives here knows him.

How can he travel as he pleases?
After getting into the car, the assistant would occasionally steal glances at Minami Hamabe, who was curiously looking out the car window at the cityscape of Shanghai.

Her short hair is neat yet soft, paired with lively bangs that make her face look delicate and small. When she smiles, shallow dimples appear at the corners of her lips, giving her a sweet and healing energy that is very infectious. Her eyes are bright like clear stream water, making people feel refreshed and particularly likable.

It's exactly like a little hamster!
She just felt that this Japanese beauty must have some kind of mysterious charm, otherwise how could she be so cute?

No wonder the anime heroines in Japan are so lively and endearing; they're all inspired by real life!
After about a ten-minute drive.

We arrived safely at OCT Suhewan.

"arrive."

The assistant opened the car door and helped Hamabe Minami out of the car.

As she walked, she suddenly stopped, looked ahead with some surprise, and whispered, "Boss, what brings you here?"

Something suddenly flashed through Hamabe Minami's mind. She looked up excitedly, then froze on the spot.

Shen Juan stood in a corner not far from the lobby, his black down jacket zipped up so high it almost touched his chin, a black mask covering most of his face, only his slightly upturned eyes showing, as gentle as the first snow about to melt in winter. He was carrying a brown paper bag with the coffee shop's logo, the one she had mentioned several times during quarantine. A warmth immediately spread through Hamabe Minami's heart. She hadn't expected that her casual remark would be remembered by him.

Upon hearing the voice, those clear eyes immediately turned to her, their gaze lingering on her for two or three seconds.

Then she took off her mask, revealing an absolutely flawless smile, and said in a gentle voice, "Minami, it's been a long time."

She looked at the man not far away, the man she had met countless times in her dreams, in different ways and with different backgrounds.
Hamabe Minami's thoughts suddenly became somewhat dazed.

Even though she knew that pure love and fearless courage were irreplaceable things that only existed in youth.

But she still couldn't resist risking everything.

Since her debut, she has seen too many meticulously crafted plots in film and television dramas and performed countless touching scenes, but those were all like excitement through a screen. Only the scene in front of her now is so real that she can feel the warmth, and the impact it brings is far stronger than any scene in the script.

Being loved is actually being seen.

And it was always seen.

My gaze passes over the noisy crowd, piercing through the clamor, neglect, and chaos, and gently falls upon you. I see not only your beauty, but also the anxiety and unspeakable pain and sorrow deep within your heart. I see your tears, your worries, your hesitation, and all your broken moments. I clearly see your strengths and weaknesses, your joys and sorrows, and yet I still steadfastly choose to love you, this not-so-perfect personality.

She thought she had probably met the most imperfect yet perfect boyfriend. They met when she was 17 and their relationship blossomed when she was 20.

Tears of happiness gradually blurred my vision.

The little crybaby girl put down her luggage and all her worries, ran over quickly, and bumped straight into his arms.

"I miss you so much. I miss you so much, so incredibly!"

It's true that you shouldn't meet someone too amazing when you're young.

Love is indeed the greatest magic in the world.

It can make me brave and fearless, but it can also make me soft, pitiful, and prone to feeling wronged and wanting to cry.

I used to be able to do many things on my own, and I wasn't afraid of being alone. No matter what I encountered, I didn't think it was a big problem. But now, whenever something small happens, I want to call you to comfort me, I want to rush to you and ask for a pat on the head and a hug, and I want to curl up next to you and keep snuggling into your arms.

Although I don't know whether this change is good or bad.

But I know
I really can't help but like you.

I really can't help but love you.

The light rain continued to fall, splashing tiny droplets against the car window. The wipers swung back and forth in a rhythmic motion, repeatedly brushing away the rain streaks on the glass. The city outside gradually came into focus: the gray, deserted streets, pedestrians wrapped in heavy coats, and the bare treetops.
Everywhere you look, the winter scenery is completely different from Tokyo, unfamiliar yet refreshing, which makes your originally calm mood lively. You can temporarily forget the fatigue of the journey and just want to take a closer look at everything outside the window, and then engrave everything you see into your mind, making it the background of this beautiful memory.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go?" Shen Juan turned to look at her.

Holding her still-steaming coffee, Minami Hamabe looked out the window at the passing street scene and replied with a smile, "Anywhere is fine with me!"

During her fourteen days of quarantine, she read through all the travel guides for Shanghai, but once she arrived and reunited with Shen Juan, those popular tourist spots suddenly lost their appeal.

Because she preferred to simply stroll around with the person next to her.

No scenic spot, however beautiful, can compare to Shen Juan.

Shen Juan hummed in agreement and directed the driver to turn the car into an old street. The rain had gradually stopped at some point, and the sycamore trees on both sides of the road were exceptionally tall, with thick branches extending upwards and intertwining overhead. Although most of the leaves had fallen, the appearance of midsummer was still evident.

"This is near Wukang Road," Shen Juan said gently, "There aren't many people here this morning, would you like to come down for a walk?"

Hamabe Minami's eyes lit up, and she nodded quickly. The car stopped by the roadside, and both of them put on masks and pulled their hat brims down.

As I opened the car door, a blast of cold air hit me.

Minami Hamabe, who wasn't wearing a scarf today, subconsciously shrank her neck, but the next second, her hand was gently grasped.

Shen Juan didn't say anything, but simply held her hand tightly and led her towards the sidewalk, walking at a leisurely pace.

The streets were quiet, with the occasional electric bike or bicycle passing by, only to quickly disappear into the stillness. The old houses along the roadside exuded a charm that had been shaped by time, and through the windows one could see the warm and cozy scenes inside. Looking at the brick walls bearing the marks of time, Minami Hamabe suddenly felt very at ease and at peace.

This sudden feeling of comfort made her want to share it. She subconsciously turned her head to look at Shen Juan, but before she could say anything, she found that he was also looking at her. The mask covered their expressions, but the smile in their eyes could not be hidden. Suddenly, she felt that even the air around her became sweet.

"Have you been eating properly at the quarantine hotel?" Shen Juan's voice was very low, as if he were whispering in her ear.

“Yes!” Minami Hamabe looked up at him and replied with a smile, “It’s just so boring, all I want to do every day is get out and see you!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Juan tightened his grip on her right hand.

Like a silent response.

The two walked side by side to an intersection. There was a flower shop on the corner, with various flowers displayed in the glass cabinet. They looked even more vibrant under the lights. Shen Juan looked at the flowers and suddenly remembered the knowledge he had learned from his mother who owned a flower shop. He pointed to the different flowers through the window and introduced the varieties and interesting facts to Mei Bo one by one.

Hamabe Minami listened with a smile, her eyes full of seriousness and joy. She even nodded slightly when she heard something interesting. But after a while, she seemed to suddenly remember something and looked up at Shen Juan, asking, "By the way, Shen Juan-kun, is that butterfly pastry shop you mentioned to me last time far from here?"

"It's not far, want to go buy some?"

"Ok!"

Minami Hamabe nodded vigorously, her voice full of anticipation: "I saw it in a video before, it looked delicious."

Shen Juan smiled, "Okay, I'll take you there."

The shop selling butterfly cookies is indeed not far from here, hidden in a small alley, with a not-too-long queue in front.

The two consciously lined up at the back of the queue, temporarily stopped talking, and both lowered their heads, pretending to be looking at their phones, looking very busy.

Even before Minami Hamabe got close, the aroma of butter and sugar wafting from ahead made her mouth water.

Shen Juan leaned close to her ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Is there any particular flavor you want to eat?" The girl, Abin, shook her head.

"Then one of each flavor, please."

"Huh? Isn't that too wasteful?"

"I think it's more important to figure out your favorite flavors than to avoid waste. And if you really can't finish it, my assistants will help you solve the problem, so you don't need to worry about that."

His warm breath brushed against her ear, and Minami Hamabe felt her entire face instantly flush. She quickly nodded, "Okay!"

The line moved faster than expected, and soon it was their turn. Hamabe Minami looked at the neatly arranged butterfly cookies in the glass case, listened to Shen Juan deliberately announce his flavor in an unfamiliar voice, paid, and then took the full paper bag from the clerk, who randomly picked one and handed it to her.

"Be careful of the burn."

Minami took a careful bite, and the rich milky aroma and just the right amount of sweetness melted in her mouth.

Her eyes immediately curved into a happy smile, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up. She mumbled indistinctly and excitedly, "Oh my!"

Seeing her satisfied expression, Shen Juan smiled along with her. He reached out to tidy her bangs that had been ruffled by the wind, then took out his phone from his pocket, turned on the camera, and pointed the lens at the girl who looked like a hamster when she ate.

"At 10:08 AM on December 11th, Beijing time, investigator Shen Juan said, 'Let's find out exactly what flavor of butterfly pastry 20-year-old Hamabe Minami likes best.'"

Amused by the sudden sense of ceremony, Minami saluted Shen Juan's phone camera and said, "Hi! I will definitely taste it carefully and give the most objective and fair taste report!"

The two walked and chatted, trying different flavors as they went. Before long, it was lunchtime. Since they had already filled their stomachs with the bag of butterfly cookies, they went to a secluded coffee shop. Shen Juan chose a window seat and ordered two coffees and some nice-looking desserts.

While waiting for their food, the two chatted casually about their recent lives without deliberately trying to find topics to talk about. He said that he had written a Japanese song for his Japanese fans during this period, and she said that she had finished watching Shen Juan's regular show "Back to Field" while in quarantine. Occasionally, when she was silent, she would quietly listen to Shen Juan's Mandarin single "The Best Is All for You".

Hamabe Minami couldn't resist secretly taking out her phone to capture this beautiful scene that made her feel at ease just by looking at it. In the photo, Shen Juan was looking down at his phone, his nose casting a beautiful profile in the sunlight streaming through the window. She quickly pressed the shutter, and the sound of the camera made Shen Juan look up.

"What are you filming?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Anyway, I wasn't taking pictures of you." She hurriedly put away her phone, her adorable arrogance barely concealed in the coffee shop air.

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow and reached out to pinch her soft cheek: "Let me see your phone's photo album, and I'll believe you."

"No! It's full of secrets!"

"What do you mean by 'secret'?"

"A secret is a secret, so don't make wild guesses!" Minami Hamabe said firmly, but her eyes unconsciously drifted elsewhere.

After all, a whole screen was filled with photos of Shen Juan taken secretly. If this kind of behavior were discovered, it would be considered perverted in Japan!
She didn't think she was a crazy woman.

At least not when I'm outside during the day.

Seeing this, Shen Juan stopped teasing her and gently ruffled her hair. "Okay, if you don't want to look, then don't look. But next time you want to take a picture of me, you don't have to be sneaky. I can pose with you. After all, we're boyfriend and girlfriend, so Minami, you don't need to feel shy or embarrassed."

"I already told you I didn't film you," Ah Bin stubbornly insisted.

"Okay, you didn't take any pictures of me. So, do you think the photos Minami-chan took today are good?" Shen Juan suppressed a laugh and continued to ask.

"looks great."

"Oh, okay? Minami-chan, can I get a pat on the shoulder?"

"Eh?"

“We finally managed to meet, but you just kept staring at the scenery and taking pictures. Even if I’m very tolerant, I’ll still get jealous.”

"You even eat vinegar from your own hometown?"

"eat!"

"Oh." Feeling a sweet warmth spread through her heart as Shen Juan gazed at her with such sincerity and passion, Hamabe Minami quickly lowered her eyes. She looked at the reflection of light on the table and gently bit her lower lip, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upwards slightly. After a few seconds, she mumbled softly, "Okay, I understand."

It was already 2 PM when I came out of the coffee shop.

Shen Juan suggested going for a walk in the nearby park, saying that it would be less crowded since it was a weekday. So the two of them strolled slowly along the road, carrying the paper bag of unfinished butterfly pastries in their hands. They exchanged a few words occasionally, but mostly walked side by side in silence. Far from feeling awkward, they felt at ease instead.

Hamabe Minami held Shen Juan's warm hand and looked at his handsome profile. Suddenly, she felt that this time was really good. There were no onlookers or fans to disturb them, no dazzling flashes from the media. All they had was a happy and beautiful time with the person they loved in a strange city they had never been to before.

What kind of long-distance relationship has no future?

What do you mean by 14 days of quarantine only resulting in 7 days of being together?
What scumbag/playboy? What messy private life?

None of the above matters.

Because, to put it simply, dating is about finding the attractive qualities in the other person, not about deliberately digging out their flaws.

So the best time to show your love is to see each other more often!

When you're feeling high, just let your emotions run wild!

As evening fell, the two dined at a private restaurant with a high degree of privacy. Shen Juan ordered a large table full of dishes and specifically asked that they not be spicy. Hamabe Minami sat opposite him, quietly watching him confirm the taste with the waiter. Suddenly, her heart felt as if it had been soaked in warm water, and she became completely soft-hearted.

After leaving the restaurant, Shen Juan turned back and asked her if she wanted to go to the Bund. She hesitated because the Bund was crowded at night.

But Shen Juan saw through her thoughts in an instant and smiled, "How about we just look around on the other side instead of going to crowded places?"

"Ok!"

A phone call summoned a car to the familiar Pudong Riverside Avenue, where we found a quiet spot with few people and parked.

The two got out of the car and walked to the railing by the river.

The Bund across the river was brightly lit, and the international buildings outlined their magnificent silhouettes in the night. Cruise ships slowly passed by on the Huangpu River, leaving behind trails of dazzling lights. The evening breeze by the river was a bit colder than during the day, and Minami Hamabe subconsciously shrank her neck. Seeing this, Shen Juan shielded her from the wind.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"It's alright." Minami Hamabe shook her head, her eyes fixed on the golden splendor across the river, and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's beautiful."

"When you were in the neon lights, did you ever imagine that you would see the Shanghai night view like this?" Shen Juan gently hugged her from behind.

Minami Hamabe thought for a moment and replied, "I've dreamed about it."

"In a dream?"

"I'm very good at dreaming. I mean, I'm very good at using my imagination to construct these possible future scenarios."

"So I'm part of your future?"

"You are in every future I imagine."

Looking into the girl's clear and bright eyes, Shen Juan suddenly wanted to take off his mask and lean down to kiss her forehead. However, there were quite a few pedestrians taking a walk along the riverside avenue to digest their food in the evening, so he could only hug her even tighter, resting his chin gently on the top of her head and breathing in her faint fragrance.

After a while of quiet, a river breeze suddenly blew in, and Minami Hamabe broke the silence with her voice.

"You know what? All the questions in the world like 'What are you doing?', 'Are you busy?', 'Have you eaten?' actually mean 'I miss you.'"

"If you miss me, just give me a call."

"I'd like to, but I can't keep chasing after you like a little girl asking for candy, can I? You'd get annoyed, wouldn't you?"

You're thinking too badly of me.

"I just don't want to bring my negative emotions to you. You're my boyfriend, not my confidant."

"But I never felt that you were too difficult to handle when you were in pieces."

Upon hearing this, Minami Hamabe's eyes, which had been lowered, suddenly widened. Her heart felt as if it had been gently bumped by something soft, and a warm, tingling sensation spread through her.

It took her a while to come to her senses. She subconsciously turned around, tilted her head slightly, and cautiously looked at Shen Juan, who was so close to her, as if worried that this tenderness was just a fleeting illusion.

But in just two seconds, the hesitation and worries hidden in her eyes were completely enveloped and melted away by the surge of warmth. Her eyes reddened slightly, and a burning happiness and sweetness slowly spread in her heart.

"I don't really like to share my daily life with others because most of my life is quite boring. The food I eat is ordinary, and the scenery I pass by is also very common. I often spend a long time adjusting parameters and arranging angles, but I still can't take a photo that I'm satisfied with, until I met you."

"So, Shen Juanjun, I am truly, truly grateful that you appeared in my life like a gift," she said quietly.

"So what about today?" Shen Juan looked at her gentle, quiet, and adorable face and couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair.

How was your day?

"I'm so happy and blessed today! I think I'll never forget the feeling of walking with you in Shanghai."

"Since it's so unforgettable, let's deepen this happiness even further."

Under the tense, anxious, and expectant gaze of Hamabe Minami, Shen Juan gently pulled off their masks.

Then he leaned down slightly and kissed her.

Soft lips, a soft heart, a soft person.

Shen Juan, overflowing with love, is destined to become a significant and memorable figure in the lives of countless young women yearning for love.

(End of this chapter)