Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

Su Yu noticed that Anxi walked very fast, with a pace similar to his, so he didn't need to deliberately slow down.

The girl walked with a brisk pace, her red tracksuit making her look like a moving fire in the crowd.

"Where do you live in Beijing?" Su Yu asked.

"I'm staying at a friend's house in Chaoyang for now."

"friend?"

"Yes, a very good friend." Anxi finished speaking, paused, and then added, "She works as an extra."

Su Yu nodded, not thinking much of it. It was normal for Anxi, who did stand-up comedy, to know actor friends.

After entering Joy City, the two took the elevator to the sixth floor and found a Hunan restaurant that didn't look too crowded.

The waiter handed over the menu, which Su Yu flipped through before handing it to An Qian: "You order, it's on me."

Anxi took the menu and, without any hesitation, ordered four dishes: stir-fried beef with yellow peppers, fish head with chopped chili peppers, stir-fried minced meat with pickled green beans, and a seaweed and egg drop soup.

......

While waiting for their food, the two sat facing each other, with a table between them.

Su Yu placed his hands on the table with his arms crossed, while An Qian leaned back in her chair, swinging her canvas shoes.

"What have you been busy with lately?" Anxi asked first.

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head: "Writing a script, preparing to shoot a feature film."

Anxi's eyes lit up: "Feature film? What genre?"

"A coming-of-age film, telling the story of an ordinary girl who has a crush on the school heartthrob."

Anxi tilted her head, a faint smile on her face. "It sounds... pretty cheesy."

"Whether it's cliché or not doesn't matter, as long as it's entertaining. Let me tell you, the more clichéd the story, the more touching it is; because cliché means that most people can resonate with it."

Anxi thought for a moment and nodded. "That makes sense. Is the script finished?"

"I've written more than half of it; I should be able to finish it before summer vacation."

When will it be filmed?

"It depends on the money. We'll film if the money's right."

Anxi picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and as she put it down, she suddenly remembered something: "By the way, you said last time you recorded ten songs? Really?"

Su Yu took an MP4 player out of his pocket and handed it to her: "Listen to this."

Anxi took the phone, put on her headphones, and pressed play.

Anxi listened intently. Her head was slightly lowered, her eyelashes drooping, and her fingers tapped lightly on the table.

Su Yu noticed that her fingers were long, with distinct knuckles, and her nails were neatly trimmed without any nail polish.

After listening to the first chorus, Anxi looked up and took off one earphone: "Did you sing this?"

"Um."

"How much was repaired?"

Su Yu blushed instantly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I've fixed quite a lot."

When Anxi smiled, her braces were visible. "I knew it! Your live performance wouldn't sound the same."

"The way you're saying that makes it sound like I sing terribly."

"It's not bad, but it's not that good either." Anxi put her headphones back on and continued listening.

After listening to three songs, she handed the phone back to him, her expression becoming more serious: "Su Yu, did you really write these songs?"

"Both the lyrics and the music."

Anxi stared at him for two seconds, her gaze not one of doubt, but more of a re-examination.

"What's wrong?" Su Yu felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.

"It's nothing, I just think you're a really interesting person." Anxi picked up her water glass and took another sip. "You can make movies and write songs, are you planning to do everything in the entertainment industry?"

Su Yu scratched his head sheepishly: "I was just messing around."

......

The dishes were served. The stir-fried beef with yellow peppers was so spicy that Su Yu's eyes were watering, but An Qian was perfectly fine, eating one bite after another with her chopsticks.

Su Yu drank two glasses of water before he recovered.

Are you from Hunan?

"No, but I can eat spicy food." Anxi picked up a piece of fish head meat, carefully removed the fish bones, put it in her mouth, and looked as satisfied as a cat that had stolen a fish.

Watching her eat the fish, Su Yu suddenly asked, "Anxi, how old are you exactly?"

Anxi paused for a moment with her chopsticks: "Eighteen."

Su Yu's eyes widened: "Eighteen? You were only seventeen when you transferred ten thousand yuan to me last year?"

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

Su Yu put down his chopsticks and asked with some inquiry, "Aren't you a rich kid?"

"no."

"Then where did you get so much money?"

Anxi put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and said calmly, "I'm good at English, and I started working when I was fifteen; I've earned some money."

Su Yu was stunned. She started working at fifteen? This girl was much more capable than he had imagined.

In his previous life, he dropped out of school at sixteen and went south, feeling that he had had a tough time. He never expected that Anxi had gone a year earlier than him.

"So your parents don't care about you?"

Anxi's expression faltered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure: "They can't stop me, but if I want to do it, they can't stop me."

Su Yu nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He picked up his water glass and raised it towards Anxi: "To you, starting work at fifteen, you're better than me."

Anxi raised her glass and clinked it against his, a sweet smile on her face. "Stop flattering me."

.......

After dinner, the two strolled around Xidan.

Anxi stopped at a small stall in Mingzhu Shopping Mall, picked up a hair clip, held it up to her head, and then put it down.

Su Yu said to buy it if you like it, but An Qian said no need, as she already has a drawer full of them at home.

As Anxi approached the entrance of Joy City, her phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID, walked to the side to answer the phone, and lowered her voice. Su Yu only heard the last sentence: "Okay, Mom, I'll be right back."

After hanging up the phone, Anxi walked back, looking a little apologetic: "My mom's urging me to go back. That's all for today?"

Su Yu nodded: "Okay. How are you going to reply?"

"Take a taxi."

"Then I'll see you to your car."

The two walked to the roadside, and Anxi waved to flag down a taxi.

She opened the car door, glanced back at Su Yu, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Su Yu, could I take a look at your script once it's finished?"

Su Yu was taken aback: "You're interested in the script?"

"I'm just curious to see what kind of nonsense you can write."

Su Yu smiled and waved his hand: "Okay, I'll send it to you when I'm done."

Anxi got into the car, rolled down the window, and waved to him: "I'm leaving now, thanks for the treat."

You're welcome. Take care on the road.

The taxi merged into the traffic and soon disappeared from sight.

Su Yu stood by the roadside, hands in his pockets, when he suddenly remembered something; Anxi hadn't taken off her glasses the entire time. Not while eating, not while shopping.

........

The subway sped through the tunnel. The carriage was crowded. Su Yu leaned against the door, watching the lights rushing past the window.

He recalled Anxi's expression when she said, "I speak good English and started working when I was fifteen," as calm as if she were talking about someone else.

A 15-year-old girl went out to work alone, doing translation and leading tour groups, and saved up money to transfer 10,000 yuan to a hater she met online as a chat fee.

This girl is interesting.

Meanwhile, in an apartment in a residential complex in Chaoyang District, Liu Yifei collapsed onto the sofa like a deflated balloon the moment she opened the door.

"Hahaha!!!"

A cheerful laugh came from the kitchen, and Shu Chang came out carrying a plate of sliced ​​fruit. "How was it? He didn't recognize me, did he?"

Liu Yifei rolled over on the sofa, buried her face in the cushions, and said in a muffled voice, "No. He said I look a bit like Liu Yifei, but not quite as pretty."

Shu Chang placed the fruit platter on the coffee table, laughing even harder, bending over and clutching her stomach. "I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts; he said you're not pretty enough?"

Liu Yifei lifted her head from the cushion, her hair was messy, her glasses were askew, and her braces gleamed silver under the light.

"Shu Chang, do you think I'm crazy?" Liu Yifei took off her glasses and rubbed her nose. "Why would I dress up and pretend to be ugly to see him?"

Shu Chang sat down next to her, picked up a piece of apple, took a bite, and said slowly, "Because you're afraid he'll recognize you as Liu Yifei and then stop being friends with you."

Liu Yifei was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"If he knew I was Liu Yifei, he definitely wouldn't have spoken to me like that today. He would have been very polite, said 'Hello, senior sister,' and acted very formally."

Liu Yifei took the Berlin Bear off her backpack, pinched its face, and said, "This Su Yu, he's scolded me, complained about me, and given me advice; he treats me like an ordinary person."

Shu Chang smiled at her. "So when do you plan to tell him?"

Liu Yifei thought for a moment, then said with a troubled look, "I don't know, let's think about it later."

She sat up from the sofa and looked at her appearance in the small mirror.

The short hair was a wig, the braces were a prop, the black-rimmed glasses were non-prescription glasses, and her skin was covered with dark foundation. She and Shu Chang spent over an hour getting ready for this look in the room.

"Do you think he might think I'm not good-looking?" Liu Yifei suddenly asked.

"If he only cares about looks, then he's not worth being friends with."

Liu Yifei nodded, hung the Berlin Bear back on her backpack, leaned back on the sofa, and slowly smiled.

"He said he wrote ten songs and posted them online. I listened to them, and they're pretty good."

Shu Chang immediately became interested: "What song?"

Liu Yifei took the computer and opened a music website to play music; Shu Chang's expression was subtle after listening to "By the Lake Baikal".

"This song...was he really the one who wrote it?"

"Um."

"He's quite talented."

Liu Yifei put her phone away and looked at Su Yu's QQ avatar on the screen; it was a panda he had casually drawn, round and chubby, ugly-cute in a way.

She remembered how Su Yu stood at the entrance of Joy City waiting for her in Xidan earlier that day.

Wearing a black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and white canvas shoes, her hair was blown slightly up by the wind. She was holding a phone and looking around.

When he saw her walking over, his expression first showed confusion, then changed to confirmation that "Oh, you're Anxi," and finally he smiled brightly.

Liu Yifei put her phone on the coffee table, took a strawberry from the fruit bowl and popped it into her mouth, saying indistinctly, "Shuchang, I think I might like him a little."

Shu Chang was drinking water and almost choked: "What did you say?"

"I said, I think I might like him a little."

Shu Chang put down her water glass, stared at her for three seconds, and asked, "You like a hater?"

Liu Yifei swallowed the strawberry and said seriously, "He's not a hater anymore, he's a very interesting person."

Shu Chang was silent for a moment, then smiled: "Alright, so what are you planning to do?"

Liu Yifei leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, thinking for a long time.

"I don't know, let's be friends first."