I became a movie star at the age of three; Dilraba and I are childhood sweethearts.

On the way back in the van, Dilraba was clearly still immersed in the shock she had just experienced, completely devoid of the nervousness and restraint she felt when she first met the film crew.

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen! Did you see that?"

"That planetary engine!"

"That's so cool!"

"I feel like it could actually move the Earth!"

"And that dungeon!"

"My goodness, I just secretly touched the wall, and it's ice-cold, with the texture of real stone!"

"Director Guo and his team are amazing!"

"And the way those extras, the way they walked around, really made it seem like they'd lived in a post-apocalyptic world for years..." "I almost thought we'd actually traveled through time!"

The girl chattered incessantly, her face flushed with excitement, and her eyes shining brightly.

Xiao Chen leaned back in the soft chair, closed his eyes, and listened quietly with a faint smile on his face.

He was neither impatient nor did he interrupt.

This girl has been following him around since she was three years old, and it's been over ten years, and she's still the same.

The smallest thing can make me happy for half a day, like a little sun that can never be fully charged.

Also good.

This industry is too complicated; being able to maintain a sense of purity is a great blessing.

And he is willing to protect this purity forever.

"Brother Chen, do you... do you think I can really play Han Duoduo well?"

After the initial excitement, Dilraba's mood dipped slightly, and her voice became much softer.

"That scene was so realistic, I was afraid that if I stood there, I would look like a tourist, completely out of place..."

Xiao Chen slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were clear and deep in the afternoon sunlight, as if they could see through people's hearts.

He didn't say anything profound; he simply reached out and, like when they were children, gently flicked her forehead.

"Trust me, and trust yourself."

His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable power.

The car sped along, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from a city of steel and concrete to a winding coastline and a simple fishing village.

When the familiar little wooden house by the sea came into view, Dilraba's eyes lit up again.

"We're here! We're here! I see Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung!"

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, she eagerly pushed open the car door and, like a joyful little bird, ran towards the two figures tending to the flowers and plants in the yard.

"Sister Anita! Brother Leslie Cheung! We're back!"

In the courtyard, Mei Yanfang, dressed in an elegant cotton and linen long dress, looked up at the sound.

Upon seeing that it was her, a gentle smile immediately appeared on his face.

She put down the small showerhead and opened her arms.

"Slow down, this girl is so impulsive."

The woman next to him, Leslie Cheung, was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and was pruning the flower branches with a pair of scissors.

Upon hearing this, he turned his head, a doting smile on his lips, but his eyes teasingly looked Dilraba up and down.

"Oh, so you went to the 'future world' and are back after recharging?"

"Look how excited you are, anyone who didn't know better would think you'd found some money."

Dilraba buried her head in Anita Mui's arms, nuzzled against her, and then looked up and made a face at Leslie Cheung.

"Guo Rong, you're the one who found money! I'm telling you, you guys didn't see it!"

"That film crew!"

"That scene!"

Wow!

"This is incredible!"

As she spoke, she gestured wildly, trying to use her limited vocabulary to describe the grandeur and magnificence of the underground city.

"It's a huge underground city!"

"Seriously, it's more realistic than any scene I've ever seen in a movie!"

"There were rocks right above my head; it felt like the sky was about to collapse!"

"There were pipes everywhere, and lots and lots of people in uniforms, it was like the real apocalypse!"

"Brother Chen said that just that set took several months to build and cost hundreds of millions!"

She pulled Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung aside and talked animatedly, as if she were the designer of that underground city.

Xiao Chen then slowly got out of the car, carrying his luggage.

Looking at the heartwarming scene in the courtyard, his steps became lighter.

Sunshine, sea breeze, flowers, and old friends.

This is probably the true meaning of "the life we ​​yearn for".

"Chen Zai."

When Mui Yan-fong saw him, her eyes softened even more.

"You're back! Are you tired?"

"My brother and I went to see your movie. The world's best actor has released another film. It's really great."

"You're joking again, Sister Mei."

Xiao Chen walked over and naturally took the suitcase from Zhang Guorong's hand.

Leslie Cheung glanced at Dilraba, who was still gesturing wildly, raised an eyebrow at Xiao Chen, and mouthed something silently.

"A little chatterbox."

Xiao Chen chuckled.

Leslie Cheung put down the scissors, patted the grass clippings off his hands, and listened with great interest to Dilraba's description.

"Oh? Is it really that amazing?"

He feigned surprise.

"Even more impressive than Hogwarts Castle from Harry Potter?"

Dilraba nodded vigorously.

"It feels different!"

"Hogwarts is a magical fantasy, but The Wandering Earth is a scientific marvel!"

"That hardcore, industrial aesthetic is just so cool!"

She paused, her eyes sparkling.

"Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, why don't you come visit the set?"

"Really! You have to see it for yourselves!"

"Photos and videos can't even capture one ten-thousandth of that feeling!"

Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung exchanged a glance and both smiled.

"Hearing Dilraba say that makes us really curious."

Anita Mui gently stroked Dilraba's hair.

"We should go and see how our Chenzai single-handedly broke through the ceiling of Chinese-language films."

Leslie Cheung leaned against a pillar, arms crossed over his chest, in an elegant yet languid posture.

He looked at Xiao Chen with a mixture of admiration, emotion, and a barely perceptible hint of...gratification in his eyes.

"yes."

He said softly.

"Listening to this girl's description, I can already picture it in my mind."

"Then we'd better go visit the set, support you as an Oscar-winning actor, and show our support as a major investor."

His tone carried his usual joking and teasing, but everyone present could hear the seriousness in it.

Given their current status, the fact that they are willing to offer to "visit the set" is itself a supreme form of recognition and support.

If this gets out, I don't know how many people will be shocked.

In the entire Chinese-language entertainment industry, besides Xiao Chen, there is no other person who could make these two willingly "stand up" for each other.

Xiao Chen smiled.

He made no polite formalities or declined.

He simply faced the sea breeze, looking at the most important people in his life.

With a calm yet incredibly firm tone, he uttered the words that were enough to drive the entire crew wild.

"You're welcome anytime."