Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Just as Zhou Ye was thinking about how to get the director to take back what he said...

Huang Xiao, the actress who plays the female teacher Sang Xia in the drama, gracefully walked through the crowd toward Li Ran, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Then I'm sorry, little brother Li Ran." Huang Xiao's voice was deliberately lowered and soft, with a slight rise at the end.

Before she finished speaking, her hand had already risen and was aimed precisely at Li Ran's abs.

Li Ran instinctively tensed up and backed away, her ears turning red.

Huang Xiao teased Li Ran, "Why are your ears all red, little brother?"

Seeing this, Zhang Ruoyun pulled her away. "I let you touch me, but I didn't tell you to make suggestive remarks. Wipe your drool."

"Get lost, I didn't drool." Huang Xiao glared at him.

Director Ding said, "Is Li Ran still shy? Xiao Tian, ​​Xiao Zhou, you two go and desensitize him too."

Just as Zhou Ye was about to suggest that he talk to Li Ran to help him desensitize, Tian Xiwei had already walked over.

"Li Ran, let me touch it too!" Xiao Tian didn't give him a chance to react and just touched it.

Li Ran was more natural this time and didn't dodge, but his expression was still a bit stiff.

At this moment, Zhou Ye silently cried out in his heart: What are they doing? What are they doing? Ugh, what are they doing? What are they trying to do?

She pushed her way through the crowd, rushed to Li Ran's side, and squeezed past Tian Xiwei. She reached out and started rubbing Li Ran's stomach repeatedly, as if she wanted to rub off something dirty.

The others around just thought Zhou Ye was eager to touch her too, but only Zhang Ruoyun, who knew about her relationship with Li Ran, understood what was going on: this girl was jealous.

Seeing Zhou Ye's somewhat comical actions, he burst out laughing. Seeing Li Ran clutching his stomach and laughing heartily, everyone around them also laughed.

Caught up in the laughter around them, Li Ran reached out and grabbed Zhou Ye's hand, saying, "Okay, it's all red from rubbing it anymore."

Zhou Ye only then realized what had happened, released his grip, his cheeks slightly flushed. In contrast, Li Ran, after this commotion, calmed down and returned to his usual composure.

Seeing that Li Ran had returned to normal, Director Ding quickly said, "Actors, take your positions, prepare for filming."

……

After finishing today's filming, dusk had quietly enveloped the entire set.

Zhang Ruoyun rubbed her slightly sore shoulders, her gaze sweeping over the staff packing up the equipment before finally settling on Li Ran, who was talking to Zhou Ye.

Zhang Ruoyun smiled and suggested to him, "I've been busy all day, and my stomach is growling. How about we go get some barbecue?"

Li Ran's gaze lingered briefly on Tian Xiwei's face. He then turned his head slightly to look at Zhou Ye, his eyes questioning, as if he wanted to confirm whether she was willing to let Tian Xiwei go with him.

Zhou Ye sensed his gaze and nodded almost imperceptibly, his face showing no obvious expression.

After receiving Zhou Ye's tacit approval, Li Ran turned to Tian Xiwei, who was standing to the side, and with a gentle smile, sincerely invited her, "Xiao Tian, ​​please join us! Thank you so much for taking care of me yesterday."

Tian Xiwei naturally noticed their little interaction, but upon hearing the invitation, her big eyes lit up instantly, and a sweet smile immediately bloomed on her face, with two shallow dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth. Her voice also carried a cheerful tone.

"Okay! Li Ran, you're too kind. We're colleagues in the same production crew, it's only right." She thought to herself that he was still her idol after all.

Zhou Ye stood aside, taking in Tian Xiwei's sweet and innocent appearance, and felt a churning in his stomach, making him feel inexplicably nauseous.

She subtly averted her gaze, avoiding Tian Xiwei's eyes, and said in a cold voice, "Then let's go!"

Although Zhang Ruoyun suggested the dinner, since they were in Changsha, the host, Li Ran, naturally had to show her hospitality.

Li Ran said cheerfully, "Since we're on my turf now, this meal is on me. I'll show you around Changsha's nightlife."

He led the three of them to an inconspicuous food stall deep in the alley. Before they even got close, the aroma of barbecue wafted over them.

"Li Ran is here! It's been so long since I've seen you!" The receptionist, wearing a floral apron and a friendly smile, clearly knew Li Ran. As she spoke, she quickly wiped the water off her hands.

Li Ran nodded and asked familiarly, "Aunt Zhang, are there any private rooms left? There are four of us."

"What a coincidence, the small private room at the very back just became available," the proprietress said warmly, leading them inside through a main room with six or seven square tables.

"The usual?" the proprietress asked Li Ran.

Li Ran didn't look at the menu, but skillfully recited the names of the dishes: "Spicy crayfish, freshwater prawn hot pot, charcoal-grilled chicken feet, roast beef..."

"Oh, and we also have braised pork hock, and a plate of fried noodles. For drinks, we'll have osmanthus rice wine with iced coconut to cool down the spiciness."

Li Ran then looked at the others, and Zhang Ruoyun said, "Let's get a few beers!"

"That's about enough, there's too much we can't finish it." Zhou Ye looked at what Li Ran had ordered and figured that since most of the celebrities didn't have big appetites, it should be enough.

Li Ran knew how big Tian Xiwei's appetite was; someone who could eat seven hamburgers in one meal would probably find this insufficient.

He looked at Oda and asked, "Where's Oda?"

"Let's order this for now! We can order more if it's not enough!" Tian Xiwei smiled at Li Ran when he asked her.

Before long, the delicious food was served, filling the air with its aroma. The four of them began to eat and chat.

Tian Xiwei put the peeled shrimp meat into her mouth. While slurping the soup that remained between her fingers, she turned her head to look at Li Ran next to her. He was eating a roasted pig's trotter, with a few grains of cumin still stuck to the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, what a coincidence," Tian Xiwei said, wiping her fingers with a tissue, her tone tinged with disbelief.

"I just recently expressed on Weibo that I really hoped to have the opportunity to work with you on a film, and it turns out that we've met on our first film together."

Her eyes curved into crescent shapes, and her tone was full of undisguised laughter.

Upon hearing this, Li Ran paused, put down the bone in his hand with some confusion, casually wiped his mouth, and looked at Tian Xiwei: "Huh? When did you post this on Weibo? I have no recollection of it at all?"

Seeing that he genuinely didn't know, Tian Xiwei wasn't disappointed at all; instead, she found his current state somewhat amusing.

"It's the Weibo post where you officially announced joining Wajiji Entertainment! I even reposted it, with the caption 'Looking forward to future collaborations,' how come you didn't see it?" She raised an eyebrow slightly, her tone a little teasing.

Li Ran then realized what was going on and smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "Oh... that one. There were too many comments at the time, so I only flipped through a few pages and then stopped looking."

He paused, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "So, you've been paying attention to me for a long time?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Xiwei immediately revealed two sweet dimples, her eyes shining as if filled with starlight.

She leaned forward slightly, her tone tinged with a hint of pride: "Yes! Actually, I started watching you play back in 2017."

Do you remember the final at the Bird's Nest that year?

She looked up at Li Ran, "I was watching the live stream, my heart was pounding. Seeing you guys finally defeat STK, I thought you'd lift the championship trophy on your first try! But in the end, you lost to SSG..."

At this point, she sighed softly, her voice tinged with regret, "I cried for a long time that night, my eyes were swollen, and the next day my mom even teased me, saying I was 'more heartbroken than if I had lost something myself.'"

Li Ran was completely stunned when he heard this, his eyes filled with surprise.

He never expected that Tian Xiwei had started paying attention to his career so early on, and even remembered the details of the competition from a few years ago so clearly.

He couldn't help but laugh, his tone carrying a hint of confirmation: "So, you're still one of my longtime fans?"

"Of course!" Tian Xiwei nodded vigorously, her tone very certain. "I watched every single match you played after you joined IG in 2018. Even if I didn't watch the live stream, I would watch the replays."

"Watching you win the world championship later, I was so excited that I jumped around in my room for a long time. I was even happier than if I had won the award myself!" Her face was beaming with a genuine smile, as if those times of cheering for victory and sighing for defeat were just yesterday.

Zhou Ye, who was drinking iced coconut juice to cool off from the spiciness, heard the conversation between the two and immediately felt alarmed. Oh no, it seems that Tian Xiwei is after me!