Bai Lu got scammed, but I became a superstar through e-commerce.

"If you can't do it, you should go back and pack your things as soon as possible."

This sentence kept echoing in Bai Lu's mind.

Bai Lu's lips began to tremble, not from the cold, but from being provoked by him.

He rarely called her by her full name, and even less often spoke to her in such a businesslike tone.

Looking at Qingxiao's expressionless face, she felt a surge of indescribable emotions.

It wasn't anger, it was resentment.

She couldn't bear to push him away, but he turned around and questioned her about whether she could handle it or not.

Okay, she's very capable.

She slammed her hand down on his back with all her might.

Qingxiao leaned forward, his feet slipped on the rocks on the bank, and he fell straight into the river.

Water splashed up, landing on the grassy slope beside them, and also on the hem of Bai Lu's trench coat.

The staff on the shore all let out a low gasp in unison.

The river water instantly reached Qingxiao's chest, less than 1.2 meters deep, but the moment he sank so suddenly, Bai Lu's heart clenched.

She crouched on the bank and looked down. There were only ripples spreading out on the water. The belt of her trench coat was dangling into the water, but she didn't notice it at all.

Three seconds later, Qingxiao's head broke through the surface of the water.

He was soaked to the bone, his hair was plastered to his forehead, his lips were white from the cold, and water droplets clung to his eyelashes.

His hat, which he hadn't had time to take off, was still floating on the water.

Bai Lu squatted on the shore watching him, her eyes red and wet, but the corners of her mouth were curved.

"You said yourself that you have to be ruthless. Now let's see if I can pull it off."

Her voice was soft, but the last syllable rose with an unusual pride, revealing a deep emptiness and heartache within.

Qingxiao stood in the water, his teeth chattering from the cold, but he coughed and smiled at her, saying, "That's more like it."

Chen Yu stood up from behind the monitor and shouted hoarsely into the walkie-talkie, "Passed!"

After that boat passed, Bai Lu squatted on the bank without moving.

When Qingxiao climbed out of the river, he was soaked to the bone. His hoodie was so wet that it became extremely heavy, and he left a watermark on the ground with every step he took.

Bai Lu took off her down jacket to hand it to him, but Qing Xiao stopped her.

"It's okay, I'll change my clothes right away."

Next, they filmed the subsequent encounter scene in quick succession.

The second day's cafeteria scene also began filming, the second scene focusing on the unreasonable and demanding behavior.

The production crew laid out prop dishes on the table: braised pork, sweet and sour pork, stir-fried vegetables, and seaweed and egg drop soup—all the standard fare from the school cafeteria.

Qingxiao sat across the table, looking at the plate of glistening braised pork in front of him, and had a bad feeling.

Bai Lu sat opposite him with his legs crossed, poking at the braised pork on his plate with his chopsticks.

She picked off the thinner pieces and stuffed them into her mouth, then picked up the fatter pieces and tossed them across the table into Qingxiao's plate.

One piece. Two pieces. Three pieces.

By the time the fifth piece was thrown, the fatty meat on Qingxiao's plate had piled up into a small, white mountain.

"You really don't eat any fatty meat at all?"

"I won't eat it."

Bai Lu tossed a trembling piece of fatty meat onto his plate without even lifting his eyelids.

"You eat it for me, don't waste it."

Qingxiao looked at the pile of fatty meat on his plate, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

The second piece, I chewed and swallowed. The third piece, I chewed for a long time, and a glistening trail of oil seeped from the corner of my mouth.

He slammed his chopsticks on the table.

"No, I can't eat anymore."

Bai Lu looked up. She swallowed the lean meat in her mouth and tapped the edge of his plate with her chopsticks.

"No. It must all be eaten. No food can be wasted."

Qingxiao stared at the plate of fatty meat.

Five or six pieces of white, fatty meat were piled on the plate. He gritted his teeth, picked up his chopsticks, and stuffed another piece into his mouth.

Another piece. Another piece. When there were only two pieces left, his Adam's apple bobbed and then stopped. Chen Yu, who was sitting behind the monitor, could clearly see the way he was trying to swallow.

The extras at the surrounding tables had completely lost their patience.

"Who is this woman? She dumped all the fatty meat on others, ate the lean meat herself, and forced others to finish it all?"

"This is just too much!"

"And that guy, how come he's so obedient? I've never seen a girlfriend so demanding. We're eating in the cafeteria, not in an idol drama."

"Look at how she slammed her chopsticks on the table, as if she was saying, 'If you dare leave any food on your plate, I'll hit you.'"

"If I had a girlfriend like that, I would have run away long ago."

The murmurs were neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to reach Bai Lu's ears.

But she didn't turn around, didn't explain, and didn't even show a change in expression.

She just stared at Qingxiao until he reached for the last two pieces of fatty meat. He picked them up, put them in his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed them. Then he looked up and showed her the empty plate.

Bai Lu then looked away, put his chopsticks on his plate, stood up, and took both of their plates to the recycling area.

I paused for half a second as I passed the table of those extras, and glanced at them sideways.

"What's it to you? I'm happy to give it to him, and my boyfriend is happy to eat it."

"Passed."

Chen Yu took off his headphones and looked at the script supervisor next to him, who was also stunned.

"The expressions of the extras next to me just now didn't need to be acting; they genuinely couldn't bear to watch. When President Qing swallowed that last piece of white stuff, their brows furrowed as if they had witnessed a crime scene."

He paused for a moment, looked at the previous post, and added a sentence.

"If this scene is edited out, the audience's dislike for Lin Xiao will reach its peak."

Bai Lu put down her plate, turned around and stuck out her tongue at Qing Xiao: "Did you hear that? The director said my character will be hated to death."

Qingxiao leaned back in his chair, his stomach still churning, unable to speak, he could only wave his hand.

The final scene is the one where Lin Xiao is writing her diary at her old desk.

Outside the window stands a bare locust tree, with delicate wind chimes hanging from its branches.

Without lines or an opponent, she held a pen and wrote on paper, the sound of writing rustling softly, occasionally interrupted by the sound of wind chimes.

Chen Yu streamlined the film crew to the most basic configuration, leaving only one camera and one microphone boom.

That scene was filmed in one take.

When Chen Yu called "Cut," Bai Lu put down his pen, stared out the window for a while, then stood up and walked to Qing Xiao.

"Filming has wrapped. Thank you for helping me take the first step towards my dream of debuting."

Qingxiao smiled and asked, "Do you remember your birthday this year?"

"Of course, my first wish is to debut this year."

Bai Lu recalled with a smile that on September 23, the two of them sang "Happy Birthday" in their small rented room in Qingxiao.

"I told you, your birthday wish would definitely come true. This is the birthday gift I'm giving you, a belated gift."

Bai Lu's heart softened instantly, as if struck by something, and she fell directly into Qing Xiao's arms.

Qingxiao was slightly taken aback, but quickly reacted and hugged Bailu tightly.

Bai Lu nestled against Qing Xiao's chest and whispered tenderly, "This is the best birthday gift I've ever received. Because of you, my world has become colorful."

Qingxiao affectionately stroked Bailu's hair: "Because of you, my world has become colorful."

Unexpectedly, this scene was captured by the director.