Huayu Entertainment: It was the young actress who took the initiative.

Yang Xuwen and Meng Ziyi collapsed to the ground and rested for a while.

Yang Xuwen struggled to his feet, rubbing his aching legs:

"I can't take it anymore, I'll ruin myself if I keep practicing like this."

Meng Ziyi slowly sat up and looked at Chen Mo:

"Chen Mo, aren't you tired? You seem to be in such good shape."

"good."

Chen Mo stretched his shoulders. "This is only my first day here. You guys have been training for two days already, you must be much more tired."

"When I finished training on the first day, I wasn't in as good shape as you are now."

Yang Xu smiled wryly, "You seem perfectly fine to me now."

Chen Mo smiled but didn't say anything.

"By the way, how about we have dinner together tonight?"

Meng Ziyi suggested, "I know a good barbecue place nearby. It's been open for many years and the food is delicious. It's perfect for welcoming Chen Mo back."

Yang Xu's eyes lit up: "Great! After a day of training, we need to replenish our energy."

Just as Chen Mo was about to agree, his phone vibrated.

It was a message from Li Yitong: "I just arrived at the hotel and am going to drop off my luggage. Are you free tonight? Want to have dinner together?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and replied, "I'm with Yang Xuwen and Meng Ziyi, we're about to go eat. Do you want to come along?"

The reply came quickly: "Okay, where are you? I'll come find you after I drop off my luggage."

Chen Mo sent over the address of the barbecue restaurant that Meng Ziyi had mentioned.

"Li Yitong is here too," he said to the two of them.

"Li Yitong?"

Meng Ziyi's eyes lit up. "Huang Rong?"

"Um."

"That's great!"

Yang Xu said, "It's a good opportunity to familiarize myself with the characters beforehand. Huang Rong, Guo Jing, and Yang Kang all have quite a few scenes in the play."

The three packed their things and left the training room.

……

Evenings in Hengdian are always lively, with film crews heading back to their hotels after work, as well as fans and paparazzi holding cameras and waiting in the shadows.

The barbecue restaurant is not far from the training room; it's only a ten-minute walk away.

The shop isn't big, but it's doing very well. There are several outdoor tables set up at the entrance, and quite a few people are already sitting there.

I stumbled upon this shop yesterday while passing by.

As Meng Ziyi led the way, he said, "The owner is from Northeast China, so the skewers taste especially authentic, especially the fatty edges and grilled kidneys."

The three of them found a seat further inside and ordered some skewers and beer.

After ordering, the beer arrived first.

The three clinked glasses, and Yang Xuwen downed his glass in one gulp.

"Ah...that feels so good, I feel like I've come back to life."

"Drink slowly."

Meng Ziyi teased him, "If you get drunk before the skewers even arrive, no one will be there to carry you."

"impossible."

Yang Xu waved his hand, "I can hold my liquor pretty well."

Just then, a voice came from the doorway: "Chen Mo!"

The three turned around, and Li Yitong stood at the door, waving at them.

Today she wore a light blue denim jacket over a white T-shirt, black skinny jeans, and her hair was tied in a high ponytail, looking refreshing and energetic.

"Over here."

Chen Mo stood up.

Li Yitong walked over and greeted the three of them with a smile:

Hi everyone.

"Hello, Sister Yitong."

Meng Ziyi quickly stood up. "I am Meng Ziyi, the actress who plays Mu Nianci."

"Yang Xuwen, Guo Jing."

Yang Xuwen also stood up.

"Don't be shy, have a seat."

Li Yitong sat down next to Chen Mo. "I just arrived at the hotel, tidied up, and came over. Have you been here long?"

"No, we just arrived too."

Chen Mo poured her a cup of tea.

"How did your training go today?" Li Yitong turned to look at Chen Mo.

"good."

"He's alright, but we're both exhausted!"

Meng Ziyi couldn't help but interject, "Sister Yitong, you have no idea how hypocritical our martial arts instructor is."

"Oh?"

Li Yitong raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious, "How exactly is this double standard?"

"Coach Wu was incredibly kind to him!"

Meng Ziyi paused and then complained, "They're incredibly mean to us; their double standards are so obvious."

Yang Xuwen nodded in agreement: "Yes, I got a real dressing down from Coach Wu yesterday, but today when Chen Mo arrived, Coach Wu was all smiles, like he was seeing his own father. At first, I thought they were relatives."

As Li Yitong listened, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up as she looked at Chen Mo.

"Don't they know?"

"Know what?"

Meng Ziyi was curious when he heard this.

Li Yitong took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "When Chen Mo auditioned, he 'sparred' with Director Wu and beat him up."

"What?!"

Yang Xuwen and Meng Ziyi exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

People at the surrounding tables all looked over.

Meng Ziyi quickly lowered his voice: "Beat...beat them into submission?"

Yang Xu opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

Meng Ziyi's eyes widened as he looked at Li Yitong, then at Chen Mo.

"Really?"

Chen Mo smiled and said, "It was just a friendly exchange, a chance to learn from each other."

"Learning from each other?"

Meng Ziyi didn't believe it. "For an old hand like Coach Wu to back down, it must be more than just a 'sparring match'."

Yang Xuwen also realized: "So Coach Wu was so polite to you because you beat him into submission."

"Oh My God……"

Meng Ziyi looked at Chen Mo with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

"Chen Mo, you're amazing! Instructor Wu is a veteran martial arts choreographer from Hong Kong. I heard he was very famous in the Hong Kong martial arts circle back in the day!"

"Just lucky."

"Don't be modest! No wonder your movements were so precise during training; you've been hiding your true talent!"

Yang Xuwen, standing nearby, exclaimed, "No wonder you can do such difficult moves so easily."

Just then, the skewers arrived.

Lamb skewers, beef skewers, chicken wings, kidneys, chives, enoki mushrooms...

A table was set out, and the aroma was irresistible.

"Come on, let's eat first, don't go hungry."

Chen Mo greeted everyone.

The four of them ate and chatted.

Meng Ziyi was still preoccupied with what had just happened: "Chen Mo, when did you start practicing martial arts? Who did you learn from?"

"I've loved it since I was little, and I've just been practicing on my own," Chen Mo said vaguely.

"How can you achieve this level of skill through haphazard practice?"

Meng Ziyi was somewhat skeptical. "Do you have some kind of martial arts master as your teacher, one you're not comfortable revealing?"

Chen Mo was amused by her: "Really, no. I just watch videos, read books, and figure things out on my own."

"You're incredibly talented."

Yang Xu took a bite of a lamb skewer and said, "I feel like I'm going to die after just two days of training."

Li Yitong said with a smile, "You can ask Chen Mo for advice more often during training in the future, so you'll get scolded by Coach Wu less often."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Meng Ziyi's eyes lit up. "Chen Mo, can you teach me more in the future? Coach Wu is too fierce, I don't dare to ask him anything."

"No problem." Chen Mo nodded.

Teach me too!

Yang Xuwen raised his hand, "Guo Jing has too many action scenes, I'm afraid I can't handle it."

"Okay, let's all improve together."

The four people clinked glasses.

The atmosphere is getting better and better.

Meng Ziyi was lively and straightforward, and quickly struck up a conversation with Li Yitong.

The two chatted about everything from acting to skincare, from gossip about Hengdian to which restaurants in Beijing are good.

……

I will update five chapters around midnight tonight. I humbly request that my godfathers with monthly tickets vote for me after midnight to help me climb down the rankings.

Thank you to my godfathers. I will remember to read this every day.

Love you guys.