Abstract Art Award Winner

"Sister Bai, please say a little more, we love to hear it."

"Yeah, tell us more. If it costs money, we're willing to pay. These things are really explosive. We usually only get the rinds of the melon when we eat out, and we rarely get this kind of first-hand information that hasn't been leaked yet."

"That's right, we're all on the same side, and we promise we won't tell anyone, really."

Everyone pleaded with Bai Bin to say more.

But Bai Bin shook her head: "I won't talk about it, I won't talk about it. I dare not say the rest. With technology so advanced now, who knows if someone is eavesdropping on my phone? If someone hears that I said it, wouldn't I become a sinner?"
Even those rumors I mentioned earlier could be suppressed, let alone what I'm about to say. I certainly don't dare say them. Didn't you see I didn't even dare mention names when I was talking about it?

There was nothing the others could do; after all, Bai Bin had the final say.

But to be honest, this kind of talk is indeed sensitive. If it were on a news platform, it could be broadcast as news, but it might not be the case elsewhere. It might even get a 404 warning here.

Therefore, they didn't ask any more questions, but instead chatted about other things casually.

None of the people sitting at the table had formal acting training; the closest they came to it were Yin Zheng's music and Tan Jianci's dance.

The remaining students are Zhou Le, who majored in civil engineering; Bai Bin, who majored in international law; and Chen Duling, who majored in aircraft manufacturing engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Each one is more outrageous than the last.

"Hey, did you guys have to do design work when you were studying aircraft manufacturing? Did you use CAD?"

"Yes, you'll need to use CAD for mechanical drawing. Of course, in addition to that, you'll also need to be familiar with advanced mathematics, engineering mechanics, university physics, materials science, CNC, aircraft assembly and testing, and manufacturing systems."

During my internship, I also had to go to the workshop and use lathes and milling machines to machine parts. It was pure manual labor, the work of a beast of burden. If I hadn't become an artist, I would have really only been able to make beads.

Because Chen Duling had been exposed to these things, she spoke fluently and fluently, using slang and jargon.

But after saying that, he looked at Zhou Le and said, "But you're pretty much the same... No, you seem to have been to a construction site before, right? You've already worked as a yak-horse laborer before you started carrying buckets and running away. Haha, I can only say that I avoided taking decades of detours back then, while you took a few more years than me."

Seeing Chen Duling's somewhat smug look, Zhou Le was also helpless: "There's nothing we can do about it. Back then, although I was considered a campus heartthrob, campus beauties were valuable, but campus heartthrobs weren't. I didn't have any family background, and I didn't date anyone in college. Everyone around me was destined to work on construction sites and in design institutes."

There were so few ways to learn about the entertainment industry. If there had been some kind of male aesthetics contest back then, I definitely would have participated. Let whoever wants to take this detour take it; I certainly didn't want to.

"Haha, you have no idea how many people participated back then, but I was the only one who used an ID photo, and I still managed to get selected."

"That means you're incredibly good-looking. This is what they call 'a person with a wealth of knowledge exudes elegance.' If you ask them what books they like to read, most people will only say something like 'No Longer Human,' but you have a wealth of knowledge in mechanical principles, mechanical design, mechanics of materials, engineering mechanics, calculus, and C++. Any one of these subjects would be a top-notch discipline in construction."

"Haha, I have actually read the book you mentioned, 'No Longer Human.' It is indeed well-written, but I am particularly annoyed by those who take out the book to show off all the time."

A person who loves reading may not have actually read this book, but those who don't love reading but like to show off will definitely claim they've read it, whether they understand it or not is another matter entirely.

These words made the others nod in agreement. In any case, none of them were bad at studying properly. If we really had to say who was bad, it would probably be Tan Jianci who was slightly worse, since he was admitted through a special talent program, which didn't really have much to do with his academic studies.

Although Yin Zheng is from a music academy, as far as Zhou Le knows, Yin Zheng can learn fluent and pure British English just by watching British dramas. He should be able to do well in other subjects as well. At the very least, he should be able to get into a top-tier university.

It's just that some people have a good family background and the ability to pursue their dreams.

So they could do whatever they wanted.

And the more someone is like that, the more likely they are to come into contact with people who love to show off. It might be acceptable to listen to someone showing off in other fields, since it's just for fun. But when they show off in their own field, it becomes unbearable to listen to. It's full of loopholes and the more you listen, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

They had a great time chatting that evening, and afterwards they felt like they hadn't had enough, so they thought they should go to the second venue to continue chatting.

"We didn't drink in the first round, otherwise we would have gone to the second round to have some. The main reason is that it was our first time meeting Teacher Zhou, and we didn't know what kind of personality he was, so we thought we should keep a low profile. But now we see that Teacher Zhou is such a nice person and so interesting."

Tan Jianci and Yin Zheng both felt there was nothing wrong with drinking; it was simply a matter of how much alcohol one could drink.

Yin Zheng's alcohol tolerance is decent, but Tan Jianci's is just average. He always drinks too much, but even so, he never refuses to drink when it's time to drink.

Then Bai Bin looked at Chen Duling.

"Dudu, why don't you go get some drinks or water? If you're really tired, I'll arrange a car to take you home first. After all, our own energy is more important. There will be many activities in a while, so don't let these things affect your appearance on camera."

If all else fails, we can always get together another time.

They still care about their younger siblings, so they let them go if they can, without forcing them.

Chen Duling thought about it.

"It's okay, I'll go too. Although I won't drink much, the atmosphere is already right, so I can just drink less. It doesn't matter. Besides, I haven't had a drink in a long time, and I don't have anything else to do in a few days, so I might as well rest."

"Alright, shall we set off now?"

"Walk."

Afterwards, Tan Jianci paid the bill and then got into Yin Zheng's car.

"Hey, who'd like to sit in the passenger seat and help me check the navigation?"

After getting into the car, Yin Zheng asked.

"I come."

Tan Jianci raised his hand voluntarily.

Therefore, Tan Jianci sat in the passenger seat, while Zhou Le sat in the back with the two actresses. However, Bai Bin was old and it was not appropriate for her to sit in the middle, which was the least desirable seat. In addition, the two actresses also did not want Zhou Le to sit in the middle.

Finally, Bai Bin, Chen Duling, and Zhou Le sat in the back row. Although Zhou Le had relatively long legs, Bai Bin and Chen Duling were both a bit thinner, so they didn't feel cramped.

However, the road to the second venue wasn't in good condition, so the car kept swaying back and forth. As it swayed, Zhou Le and Chen Duling's legs kept bumping into each other. Although it was winter, the car was quite hot with the air conditioning on, so the constant bumping was inevitably a bit awkward.

Neither of them could say anything, so they could only chat along with the other people's topics.

The second venue is a bar, which is relatively high-end.

Yin Zheng knew the manager here, so after making a phone call to confirm that there were private rooms available, he drove directly to the parking lot.

When the group went inside to sing, they didn't have to go through the main entrance that everyone else used. Instead, there was a special passage that led directly from the parking lot.

"The environment here is nice, it feels quite upscale, but it's a bit far from the city center." "That's normal. If it were closer to the city center, it definitely wouldn't be this big, and it wouldn't be this lively. Many unique things have to be located in more remote places."

Hearing this, Bai Bin turned around and asked, "Zheng, you don't mean this 'special feature' literally, do you?"

"No, oh dear, Sister Bai, what are you saying? Do you think I'm that kind of person? The special features I'm talking about are things that other bars don't have, like opera performances and folk dances, basically more variety."

If Yin Zheng had only taken Zhou Le and Tan Jianci out for fun, he definitely wouldn't have come here. But with Bai Bin and Chen Duling also there, he had to consider it.

You can't exactly take people to a flower market, can you? It's inappropriate and doesn't look good.

"Oh, there are these too? No problem, if you want to see them perform, we can ask them to do a show. Anyway, it's on me today."

"It's alright, I'll treat you to what I said I would. Besides, I've come all this way, why should I let Sister Bai pay?"

"No way, we're all family here, why are you talking like family? If it were an outsider, I would definitely eat it without any guilt, but we're family, why are you talking like 'you' and 'me'? Do you think you'd punish me for saying something wrong?"

"No, no, please. I'll just provide the place today. I think we can just have a few drinks and chat here without any outside interference."

"I think this is a good suggestion. We can just chat. Anyway, there's karaoke in this room and some other things to do. If all else fails, we can play some games or sing some songs."

Zhou Le continued.

The two of them actually wanted to spend less money here; they could just buy some alcohol and pay the minimum charge, without having to spend too much.

Once inside, instead of ordering the most expensive drinks, they looked at the cocktails instead.

"How about we drink this kind? It has to taste better. Otherwise, foreign liquor will make you drunk, baijiu is too strong, and beer will make you bloated."

Bai Bin suggested.

"Okay, let's have cocktails then."

A cocktail costs one price, but it's not expensive for celebrities like them.

So the group ordered a variety of cocktails, and when they ran out, they would find a new one and ask the bartender to make it.

Anyway, those names are all so fancy, you can't tell what they actually are just by looking at them.

Zhou Le drank three or four cups and started to feel a little tipsy, while Tan Jianci only drank one and a half cups and was already feeling quite smug, wanting to show off what he had actually learned at the Beijing Dance Academy.

Seeing this, Zhou Le suggested that they stop drinking, since they had already talked enough.

"Shall we head back first?"

"Isn't going home too far? Let's just find a hotel to stay in and talk about it tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I'll arrange the hotel accommodations then."

The group took turns treating each other. Although they didn't order any expensive drinks when they were eating, the total cost, including the room fee, minimum spending requirement, snacks, and other miscellaneous items, amounted to tens of thousands of yuan.

Zhou Le is a local, so he shouldn't be too shy to show his appreciation.

So Zhou Le went to a five-star hotel and asked around. Luckily, they had rooms available, so they booked one for each of them.

When the bar manager learned that the group was leaving, he offered to drive them back to their hotel in two separate groups.

The first wave consisted of Zhou Le, Chen Duling, and Tan Jianci.

Chen Duling was alright, but she was still young. Tan Jianci had really drunk too much, so he needed someone to take care of him. Bai Bin and Yin Zheng were in another car.

After arriving at the hotel, Zhou Le first settled the room, then escorted Tan Jianci upstairs. He checked on Tan Jianci's condition and only left after confirming that he would be fine sleeping like this.

Yin Zheng, Bai Bin, and Chen Duling all returned to their respective rooms.

Zhou Le had planned to take a shower and go to bed early in his room, and then go home tomorrow.

I had just taken off my clothes and stepped into the bathroom when my phone rang.

When I went over, I saw it was Chen Duling.

"Hey, Dudu, what's up? Are you feeling unwell? I'd like to buy you some medicine."

"No, it's just that we were talking about engineering mechanics at the bar earlier, but I was thinking about it again in the car just now, and I feel that there's something wrong with what you said before."

"what?"

Zhou Le was also stunned. He had been in the entertainment industry for so long, and this was the first time he had met a girl who wanted to talk to him about engineering mechanics.

"Okay, let's chat then. Or we can wait a bit. I'm going to take a shower now, it'll be quick, no more than five minutes."

"It's okay, we can chat while we shower. I'm showering too, so I can just turn the volume up a bit. The main thing is that once this idea popped into my head, I wanted to talk about it right away, otherwise I'm afraid I'll forget about it later."

Besides, it's not like we're video chatting, what are you afraid of? I'm not afraid, why are you, a grown man, being so hesitant?

Zhou Le had nothing to be afraid of. Since they were going to talk about academic subjects, then so be it. He was definitely not going to lose to his opponent in this regard.

Chen Duling went to university in 2012 and started acting in 2014. Even if she had excellent grades in school, she certainly didn't have any practical experience. At most, she completed some projects assigned by her teachers.

I have truly experienced the baptism of work. On the construction site, I not only had to be a construction worker, but I also had to calculate quantities in the engineering department, such as reinforced concrete.

There are also various data related to this project and the patents that need to be used when large gantry cranes are in operation, which also require the application of the discipline of engineering mechanics.

Back then, he not only worked like a beast of burden on the construction site, but he also once went out to represent the project department in a competition held by the head office. The competition there used all sorts of professional questions that ordinary laborers simply couldn't answer.

And so, while taking a shower, the two argued loudly over their phones, but Zhou Le kept the other person completely under his thumb the whole time.

This made Chen Duling, who always prided herself on being a good student, a little angry.

"I'm just finished washing. Wait for me a moment, I'll be right there. Let's do the math right here and see how it could possibly be the method you described..." (End of Chapter)