She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

After traveling all night, Xiao He arrived in the capital.

Thinking that Liu Yifei would arrive in two days, he found Yang Zi's number and dialed it. It rang twice before being answered.

"Hey, champion." Yang Zi lowered his voice a little, "Wait until we get to a quiet place—okay, go ahead and say it."

"Is Ms. Yang Zi in Beijing?"

"Yes, just finished work. What's up, are you going to treat me to dinner?"

"right."

"Really? Shouldn't you be being dragged to record a show after just getting the center position?"

"I had a few days off, so I took advantage of this break..." Xiao He paused, "to drive back to Beijing overnight specifically to thank you."

"Sure. But I'll treat you to dinner; I'm the host."

"No, you promised, thank you for campaigning for me..."

"Don't you know celebrities are very picky about where they eat?" Yang Zi's voice carried a hint of "you don't understand." "Do you know which restaurants don't have paparazzi taking pictures? Do you know which private rooms offer good privacy? Do you know which restaurant's menu won't end up in screenshots on gossip accounts tomorrow?"

Xiao He thought about it and realized that he really didn't know.

"Okay, you choose the place."

"That's right."

Xiao He found the restaurant by following Yang Zifa's address.

It's hidden in an inconspicuous alley near the China World Trade Center.

After giving Yang Zi's name, the waiter led him through a narrow corridor and pushed open the innermost door.

Yang Zi has arrived.

She sat on a sofa chair by the window, wearing a rose-colored suit jacket, a white knitted vest, and high-waisted wide-leg suit pants in the same color.

Her short hair was neatly combed behind her ears, revealing a pair of small silver earrings. Her face was lightly made up, but every stroke was carefully done. Her eyebrows were neatly shaped, and her lips were a soft dusty rose color.

There was a glass of lemonade in front of her, half-finished. When she saw him push the door open and come in, she looked up, smiled, and waved, "Come and sit down."

The food has been ordered.

Yang Zi put the menu aside and said that this restaurant had several particularly delicious dishes, and she had already made the decision for him.

Xiao He didn't argue. He took off his coat, draped it over the back of the chair, and sat down.

"Teacher Yang Zi."

"Don't call me teacher. Just call me Pleasant Goat, like we did back in school."

"Pleasant Goat, thank you so much for campaigning."

Yang Zi waved his hand, picked up his lemonade and took another sip: "Don't be so polite. You're my old classmate, who else would I help if not you?"

The dishes are here.

The two chatted as they ate, their conversation ranging from the finals stage back to their days at the Beijing Film Academy.

Yang Zi said she saw his dragon dance video during a break on set and laughed so hard she almost dropped her phone into her instant noodle bowl.

Xiao He said that during the recording, he recalled his sophomore year when the rehearsal room was crowded and a few of them were still rehearsing their lines in the corridor at one o'clock in the morning, and were chased and scolded by the dormitory aunt.

Both of them laughed when they talked about it. Yang Zi said she remembered that Zhang Yishan was in a very bad state that night, and he couldn't read his lines smoothly. In the end, Xiao He had to hold his head down and make him recite them ten times before he could correct them.

"Those were really good times."

Yang Zi put down her chopsticks and looked out the window at the lights of the foreign trade building.

"The three of us were like conjoined twins. We sat together in class, rehearsed together, and even waited for each other to eat. Now we barely see each other a few times a year, either on set or rushing to meet other people."

"Yes." Xiao He also put down his chopsticks.

"I remember once when we were rushing to finish a skit assignment, we were working on it until the early hours of the morning and we were about to collapse when you suddenly pulled three cans of coffee out of your bag and said, 'I took these from the film set.' Zhang Yishan took a sip and spat it out because it wasn't coffee at all; it was the Chinese medicine you had left over from the film set."

Yang Zi laughed so hard she slapped the table, saying that it was Chinese medicine that the director had her assistant brew when she was filming, as she was covered in injuries from being suspended by wires and her arms were bruised.

She played a prank, thinking that they could share the hardship, but Zhang Yishan ended up spitting out his drink.

At that time, she was still in the crew of "The Legend of Chusen" and her arm was injured several times, often leaving her covered in bruises.

Their eyes lit up when they talked about these things.

But Xiao He noticed a detail: when Yang Zi said "at that time," there was an extra layer in her tone.

It wasn't just simple nostalgia; it was something deeper, something he himself couldn't quite explain.

While the waiter was serving two dishes, Yang Zi picked up her wine glass, took a sip, then put it down and looked at Xiao He.

"Are you really going to pursue Liu Yifei?"

"Of course. I rarely joke around."

"She's a top star," Yang Zi said calmly. "Can you even catch up to her?"

"Give it a try. If you fail, so be it. Life is about the experience. As for the result..." Xiao He leaned back in his chair, "Let it go with the wind."

Yang Zi fell silent.

It wasn't the usual quiet. There was still a little more than half a glass of lemonade left, but she didn't drink it. Instead, she unconsciously rubbed the rim of the glass with her index finger.

"Pretty Sheep," he called her by her nickname, "What's wrong?"

When Yang Zi heard those three words, she paused for a moment, then smiled and said it was nothing.

The two continued chatting and drinking, and gradually, they became intoxicated.

Yang Zi spoke up.

"I think you're right. Life is about experiences, not the outcome. So there's something I've been keeping to myself for a long time. I've never dared to say it. But today..."

She looked up at Xiao He, her eyes filled with the warmth of alcohol, and something else entirely.

"I feel I should say it today."

Xiao He put down his chopsticks, straightened up, and felt the air suddenly become quiet.

Actually, I like you.

Yang Zi said it didn't feel like a confession, but more like saying something she had thought about for a very long time and finally decided to say.

"what?"

Xiao He was stunned; his ears rang.

"You...like me? Aren't we brothers?"

From his freshman year until now, he has never associated "Yang Zi" with the word "love," let alone imagined that another person would think that way.

"Aren't the three of us a brotherly trio?"

Have you ever seen a man and a woman who actually become like brothers?

Yang Zi looked at him with a smile that said, "You finally asked."

Xiao He fell silent, then suddenly thought of something.

"That doesn't make sense. What about you and Zhang Yishan? Do you also like them?"

He likes me. I like you.

Yang Zi spoke calmly, as if stating a secret that should have been seen through long ago.

She picked up her glass, took a sip, and then put it down.

"So the three of us became brothers. Only you didn't realize it."

Xiao He remained silent.

He recalled that during their sophomore year, when they were rehearsing a skit, Zhang Yishan suddenly asked Yang Zi, "Who do you like?" Yang Zi replied, "I like Mu Tou." Zhang Yishan laughed, and after laughing, he glanced at Xiao He.

He hadn't thought much of that look at the time, but now it suddenly came back to him in his mind like a rewind.

"It's all because my old self was too slow-witted," he told himself.

"Do you know?"

Yang Zi's voice pulled him back to reality. She put down her chopsticks, rested her elbows on the table, propped her cheeks up, and looked a little unfocused, probably because of the alcohol, or maybe just because she had wanted to say these things for a long time.

"You can go after Liu Yifei. There's so much difference between you two, yet you still went for it without hesitation. There's nothing between us, but I've never dared to say it."

Her voice was soft, neither a complaint nor a question.

It was the tone of someone who had finally breathed a sigh of relief after pouring out their heart.

"I've been waiting for you to speak, but instead, you said... you said you were going to pursue another woman."

She lowered her eyes.

"I thought if I didn't speak up now, it would be too late. It's not that it's too late. I've been waiting and waiting, but all I've gotten is loneliness."

Yang Zi raised her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly under the light, and there was a subtle glint in her eyes.

She reached for the bottle, but her fingers wobbled when they touched the neck of the bottle. Xiao He reached out and helped her hold the bottle down.

"Pleasant Goat, you're drunk."

Yang Zi didn't struggle; she just stared at the hand that was being held down and remained silent for a long while.

"Those years in college were really great."

Her voice was a little hoarse from the alcohol, but she was still smiling.

"The three of us were like an inseparable triangle. We sat together in class, formed a team for rehearsals, and even waited for each other to eat. At that time, I thought, if only time could stop in those years. We wouldn't have to rush into society, we wouldn't have to be busy with our own lives. You were next to me, and I was next to you. That was my entire youth..."

As Yang Zi finished speaking, a car returning home late drove past the window, its lights sweeping across the glass before going out again.

Xiao He looked at Yang Zi.

The girl he had known since freshman year was sitting across from him, a smile on her lips, but her eyes held a different kind of smile.

"Yang Zi," he said.

"Um?"

"Thank you for telling me."

Yang Zi stared at him for a long time, then a slow smile crept onto her lips: "Don't you feel awkward?"

Xiao He smiled gently: "Liking someone is a wonderful thing, and it's my honor."

"Okay." Yang Zi picked up the lemon water, took a sip, and then put it down.

"Then I'm not embarrassed anymore. Anyway, it's good to say it. I've been holding it in for years, and I've finally cleared out my inventory."

The two continued to drink and chat, talking about the future, until finally it was time for the party to end.

Yang Zi stood up: "Alright, let's go."

Xiao He immediately said, "I'll take you."

"No need, I called a car. Why do you think I didn't dare drive here today?"

She walked to the door, put her hand on the doorknob, and suddenly turned around.

"My original plan was to get you drunk, hehe..."