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

"However... Honey, there's something I might need to tell you beforehand."

His voice was clear and bright, with a subtle hint of mockery.

Yang Mi curiously came closer.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Xiao Chen slowly pulled out the red appointment letter, opened it, and clearly displayed the three gold-embossed characters for "Associate Professor" before her eyes.

He looked at her blank expression, chuckled softly, and slowly began to speak.

"If I accidentally end up teaching your class in the future..."

"You're not allowed to cause trouble during class."

Yang Mi: ?

Yang Mi's eyes and mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg.

Associate...Associate Professor?

She blinked, then blinked again, wondering if she was seeing things.

She looked up at Xiao Chen, whose handsome face was adorned with a mischievous smile.

With a loud bang!

A surge of heat rushed to the top of my head.

Yang Mi's face turned red from her cheeks to her ears at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Even her fair neck was tinged with a beautiful pink.

What...what did she just say?

She said she wanted to protect a... associate professor?

God!

This is practically a public execution!

Seeing the girl's embarrassed expression, Xiao Chen's smile widened.

The school leaders around him were all trying hard to suppress their laughter, their shoulders shaking.

Yang Mi was so ashamed and angry that she wished she could disappear into the ground.

But her inherent stubbornness kept her from giving up.

She stubbornly tried to save face.

"What happened to the associate professor...?"

"Then you're younger than me too!"

"I can handle the professor just as well!"

She shouted loudly, but if you listened carefully, you could hear a trembling sound indicating a lack of confidence.

"Pfft."

Wang Jinhua and Ye Huimei finally couldn't help but laugh.

This girl is so interesting.

Xiao Chen was amused by her adorable stubbornness and let out a low laugh.

He put away the engagement letter and stopped making things difficult for her.

"Okay, then I'll be relying on you to protect me at school from now on."

He offered a way out.

Yang Mi nodded haphazardly, her mind still blank.

Xiao Chen exchanged a few more pleasantries with her, agreed to contact her again later, and then turned to get into his car.

"Let's go, Honey."

Even after the black Phaeton slowly drove away and disappeared into the traffic, Yang Mi remained standing there like a wooden stake, dumbfounded.

Several of her classmates cautiously approached.

"Mimi, you...you know Xiao Chen?"

"My God, you even patted him on the shoulder and said you'd protect him? You've got some nerve!"

"He just said... he's an associate professor? Is that true?"

The chatter of her friends finally brought Yang Mi back to her senses.

She watched the car leave, her pretty face flushing red and then turning pale, her expression extremely complex.

That soft and cuddly little bean from when I was a child.

How did he suddenly become such an unreachable big shot?

Is he an associate professor?

Yang Mi bit her lip, feeling a mix of emotions.

There was shock, embarrassment, and a strange feeling that even she couldn't quite explain...

……

After finishing the reporting, it was already afternoon.

The black Phaeton sedan smoothly merged into the traffic flow of Beijing at dusk.

Outside the car window, neon lights were just coming on, and bizarre and colorful lights flowed by.

The light and shadow intertwined on Xiao Chen's overly delicate profile.

He leaned against the car window, his gaze fixed on the rapidly receding street scene outside, his expression indifferent.

It was as if the little commotion at the entrance of the Beijing Film Academy had never happened.

Wang Jinhua glanced at him in the rearview mirror, her tone slightly amused.

"That little girl, her name is Yang Mi, right?"

"You've got some nerve, daring to say you're protected."

The assistant in the driver's seat chuckled silently, his shoulders twitching slightly.

Ye Huimei in the back seat also smiled, her eyes gentle.

"Xiao Mi has always been a strong-willed and competitive child."

"When I was little, I would fight with other kids for you, and if I couldn't win, I would bite them."

"I was startled when the teacher called me to the kindergarten."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen finally reacted.

Back when he was in kindergarten, Yang Mi and the other two little ones always protected him from the front.

Yang Mi, in particular, is like a little firecracker, always rushing to the front.

His lips curled up very slightly, and it was gone in an instant.

"Yes, it's her."

The voice was very soft, without any emotion.

Wang Jinhua didn't see the smile on Xiao Chen's lips. Seeing that he wasn't in a good mood, she changed the subject.

"Alright, you've finished registering. You have to go back to the film crew tomorrow."

"I'll treat you tonight, let's have a nice meal."

"This is to celebrate Xiaochen's successful entry into university."

She paused, as if recalling something.

"I heard that a new restaurant called Guo's Cuisine recently opened in the south of the city. It specializes in private dishes and has a good reputation."

"Shall we go try it?"

Ye Huimei naturally had no objections.

"Great, I'm hungry too."

Xiao Chen nodded indifferently.

"You decide."

He has never been picky about food and drink.

The words "Guo Family Cuisine" stirred something deep within his mind, something long forgotten.

Guo Family Cuisine...

This name sounds familiar.

After a moment of recollection, a name came to Xiao's mind.

Guo Degang?

He remembered his past life, that famous crosstalk performer who would later become very popular.

In the early stages of my business, I did indeed run a restaurant called Guo Family Cuisine.

However, he ended up losing everything, which became a classic joke in his story.

It seems they lost several million.

Calculating the time, this world is only one year ahead of the time when Guo Family Cuisine opened in my previous life.

interesting.

The car turned around and headed south of the city.

Before long, the group arrived at their destination.

The storefront of Guo's Cuisine was much more impressive than Xiao Chen had imagined.

The building features blue bricks and gray tiles, a vermilion gate, and two large red lanterns hanging at the entrance.

Above the door are three large, elegantly written characters: "Guo Family Cuisine".

The entrance is bustling with traffic, and business is booming.

It seems that Guo's cuisine looked alright at first.

As soon as they got out of the car, the greeters at the door recognized Wang Jinhua with sharp eyes.

"Sister Hua! What brings you here!"

A middle-aged man wearing a traditional Chinese jacket, who looked like the lobby manager, jogged out to greet them.

His face was full of ingratiating smiles.

"Please come in, please come in!"

"We've reserved the best private room for you!"

"I'll have someone call Mr. Guo over right away. He's going to perform a crosstalk show tonight."

Wang Jinhua's status in the domestic entertainment industry is well-known.

She is the helmsman of Shishiba Culture and a powerful, uncompromising agent in the industry.

It would be an honor for any store to have her personally visit.

As the manager led the way, his gaze inadvertently swept over Xiao Chen and the others behind Wang Jinhua.

Those who could be brought by Wang Jinhua were definitely either rich or noble.

He was stunned at first glance.

They paused for a moment.

This...this is...