Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

Filming began in early June and wrapped up in mid-July.

Zheng Guodong later told someone, "The biggest impression of working with Lin Yuan was his speed. Not the kind of speed where you rush to finish a shoot, but the speed where he always knew what he wanted. After a shot was finished, he wouldn't say, 'Let's do another take to guarantee it.' It was either good or it wasn't—if it was good, we'd move on to the next one; if it wasn't, he'd tell us what was wrong, fix it, and then we'd shoot again, and it would be good in one take."

Xu Heng's assessment was even more succinct: "His storyboard is more detailed than my editing plan; I suspect he's already finished editing the film in his head."

The campus scenes in June and the rainy scenes in July were all filmed on the campus of Jinghua University. This saved on location fees and travel time, and the actors could even go back to their dorms to sleep after filming each day—something unimaginable on the set of "Qian Xuesen." Qian Zhuangzhuang exclaimed, "So making a movie is like working a regular job, nine to five, with a lunch break. Yuan-ge, you should have told me sooner!"

"Why didn't you search for 'how to become a good new actor' earlier?"

"...I'll still search."

On the day filming wrapped, Zheng Guodong sat down next to Lin Yuan with two bottles of beer, took a swig, and remained silent for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yuan asked.

"I was thinking that after 'Qian Xuesen' was finished, it was the best film I'd ever worked on," Zheng Guodong said, looking at the darkening sky over the playground in the distance. "Now I'm not so sure."

Lin Yuan took the beer without saying a word.

August 5th.

There are still two weeks until Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day).

At 10:00 AM, Tianxing Entertainment's official Weibo account simultaneously released two messages—

The first item is a movie poster.

The scene is simple: an old piano with a maple leaf on its keys. Light shines obliquely down from the upper left, illuminating half of the keys while the other half remains in shadow.

Movie title——

《不能说的秘密》

Director: Lin Yuan

Starring: Lin Yuan, Gu Zhiwan

The second link is to the theme song's release.

Song title: Secret

Lyrics and music: Lin Yuan (Lyrics by Vincent Fang, Music by Jay Chou)

Arrangement: Lin Yuan (Michael Lin)

Singer: Lin Yuan

The poster's bottom left corner features a line of small print: "Released nationwide on August 19th, Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day)."

Weibo exploded.

No, this time it's not frying, it's burning.

With the Huabiao Award-winning film "Qian Xuesen" preceding it, Lin Yuan is no longer a "newcomer" in the film industry. However, "Qian Xuesen" was a historical epic, while this film is a youthful campus romance—the difference is so vast that one might wonder if it was made by the same person.

But what caught everyone off guard was that song.

The theme song's play count surpassed ten million within two hours of its release.

Because of this song, once you listen to it once, you want to listen to it a second time.

404 Dormitory.

Xie Wanyin, wearing headphones, lay motionless on the table.

Su Zhiyuan turned around from her desk and glanced at her: "What's wrong?"

Xie Wanyin did not respond.

Su Zhiyuan reached out and took off one of her earphones.

Xie Wanyin suddenly looked up, her eyes red.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Listen to it yourself." She shoved the earphones into Su Zhiyuan's hand.

Su Zhiyuan put on her headphones.

The prelude is a piano solo. Clean and restrained, like raindrops falling on piano keys, one drop, two drops, and then spreading out into a vast expanse.

Then Lin Yuan's voice rang out—

The cold coffee left the coaster.

The emotions I held back were saved for much later.

"The past I desperately want to salvage"

It's still clearly visible on my face.

The piano gently supports the vocals, just enough to build up the emotions.

The most beautiful days are not rainy days.

"The eaves where we once sheltered from the rain"

Su Zhiyuan's finger stopped on the page.

Scenes of memory

"The dream of swinging on a swing is no longer sweet."

You said that letting go of love gradually will allow you to go further.

Why bother trying to change time that has already passed?

You used your fingertips to stop me from saying goodbye.

Imagine you are by my side before I lose you completely.

You said that letting go of love gradually will allow you to go further.

Perhaps fate only allowed us to meet.

Let us only fall in love in this autumn season.

Only after the petals have fallen do we discover these fragments of happiness.

How am I supposed to pick it up?

The coda concludes with a piano solo, the last note fading into the air.

Su Zhiyuan took off her headphones and remained silent for a long time.

"How is it?" Xie Wanyin's voice was nasal.

"...Just how much more is he hiding?"

Gu Zhiwan walked in from the balcony, holding her phone with the screen still lit up—she was listening too.

"The most beautiful thing isn't a rainy day, but the eaves where we once sheltered from the rain." She recited this lyric softly.

"The movie you acted in," Shen Qingci sat up in bed, "is it the story in this song?"

Gu Zhiwan did not answer.

She looked down at the poster on her phone screen—an old piano, maple leaves, and a dim, half-lit light.

Then she remembered what Lin Yuan had said on WeChat.

"The male and female protagonists meet briefly, separated by an entire era, and each harbors a secret they cannot tell anyone. They have so much to say, but ultimately cannot express it."

Only at that moment did she fully understand that the entire song "Secret" tells the story of a love that cannot transcend time and whose truth cannot be revealed.

602 Dormitory.

Qian Zhuangzhuang took off his headphones, his expression complex.

"Brother Yuan."

"Um."

"Was this song written for me?"

"……no."

"Then why do I feel like you're describing me when you talk about that 'unspeakable feeling' in the lyrics?"

"That's your imagination."

"Impossible." Qian Zhuangzhuang shook his head firmly. "I've lived with you for so long, and every time you look at me, it's clearly a look of wanting to say something but holding back—"

"That's disdain."

"..."

Zhou Zixuan poked his head out from the top bunk: "Yuan-ge, that line, 'The most beautiful thing isn't a rainy day, but the eaves where we once sheltered from the rain'—to be honest, that line really has some substance. What were you thinking when you wrote it?"

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair and did not answer.

Zhou Zixuan waited a few seconds, then nodded knowingly: "I understand. I can't say. It's a secret."

Chen Mo sat by the window without saying a word, only turning down the volume of his headphones by one notch and glancing at Lin Yuan.

Then he did something very unusual.

He sent Lin Yuan a WeChat message.

[Chen Mo: Well done.]

Lin Yuan glanced down at his phone but did not reply.

He just slightly curved the corners of his mouth.

This song is like a fuse.

After it was ignited, a massive online speculation began.

The topic trended on Weibo from the afternoon onwards and never came down.

[#LinYuan's new song The Secret That Cannot Be Told#] has reached number one.

[#The most beautiful day is not a rainy day#] followed closely behind.

[#What is the secret that can't be told?#] It suddenly dropped to third place.

The comments section is full of all sorts of guesses.

[@Music blogger A-Jie: The piano dominates the entire song, not for showing off, but to speak for the lyrics. The fading out in the coda is like swallowing back an unspoken sentence—"the secret that can't be told"—even the piano is speaking for him.]

[@Campus Romance Observer: 'The most beautiful thing isn't a rainy day, but the eaves where we once sheltered from the rain'—a single line speaks louder than a thousand words.]

[@DramaFanGirlXiaoYuan: So what exactly is "The Secret That Cannot Be Told"? Is it an unrequited crush? Is there some misunderstanding? Or is it a relationship that can't be made public on campus?]

[@EatingMelonPasserby007: To be honest, when I first heard that Lin Yuan was going to make a romance film, my first reaction was, "Oh no, the youngest director at the Huabiao Awards is going to fail." But after listening to this song, I changed my mind. Someone who can write a song that evokes such vivid imagery can't possibly make a bad movie.]

[@College student and film enthusiast Xiao Chen: I've already made plans with my roommate to see the premiere on Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day). We absolutely have to get tickets. Just for this song alone, the film is worth a ticket.]

[@Passerby A: I feel Lin Yuan has evolved since "Qian Xuesen," and now he's actually quite promising. I'll go see the movie first.]

The words "The Secret That Cannot Be Told" act like a hook, piquing everyone's curiosity.

Some guessed it was unrequited love, some guessed it was a misunderstanding, and some guessed it was a tragedy—"How can I pick up the fragments of happiness?" This sentence seems to be hinting at some kind of irretrievable loss.

Tianxing Entertainment President's Office

Fei Zhao looked at the backend data and dialed Lin Yuan's number.

"Secret" garnered over 30 million views on its first day and is currently ranked number one on the annual new song chart.

"Lin Yuan."

"Um."

"This song is really good."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Thank you, Sister Fei."

"But I don't want to hear thank you. I want to hear you tell me that movies are better than songs."

"The movie is better than the song."

"You always say the same thing."

"And they did it every single time."

Fei Zhao smiled and hung up the phone.

Outside the window, the August evening breeze, carrying the last warmth of late summer, wafted in through the half-open window.

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The piano prelude is playing on repeat for the eighth time in my headphones.

He recalled sitting in the music room two months ago and playing this melody for the first time.

It's raining outside the window.

What was he thinking at that moment?

I can't say.