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

After the audition, Li Ran sent her assistant, Xiao Chen, away and drove to the airport alone.

Go and greet someone you never expected.

After parking the car, he pulled down his hat brim, covered his mouth and nose completely with a mask, and walked towards the noisy crowd at the arrival gate.

The flight information board scrolled, and Li Ran raised his wrist to check the time.

A short while later, a tall figure, also fully armed, appeared at the exit with the flow of people.

Dragging a small suitcase, she scanned the crowd of people waiting at the airport with sharp eyes, and almost without hesitation, she accurately located Li Ran.

Her eyes crinkled slightly, clearly she was smiling, and she waved at him, quickening her pace as she walked straight over.

Li Ran also saw her: "Let's go, Sister Baizhou, let's talk in the car! If we get photographed here, it's bound to trend on social media."

Wang Churan leaned closer, her tone sly: "That's great! The rumored girlfriend of top star Li Ran—that title sounds amazing. I couldn't be happier!"

Li Ran glanced at her speechlessly, then turned and walked out of the airport.

Wang Churan followed half a step behind him, watching his back, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned under her mask.

After leaving the airport and getting into the car, Wang Churan took off her mask and hat, breathed a sigh of relief, and casually tidied her long hair.

Li Ran started the car, drove onto the main road, and looked ahead, asking, "You suddenly came to the capital, is there work?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Churan turned her head and glared at him with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.

"Li Ran! How dare you ask? I've been in Shanghai getting all clean and smelly for almost two months! What happened to making me cry?"

"Men's words are indeed deceitful!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ran smirked and said, "Why would I need to talk to you? Besides, you bombard me with messages on WeChat every day."

"How can that be called bombing?"

Wang Churan said matter-of-factly, "That's a daily greeting from a suitor, an essential step in cultivating feelings,... a little romance, understand?"

As she spoke, she laughed first, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Li Ran.

Li Ran finally couldn't help but chuckle, "Sister Bai Zhou, when did we start dating?"

Despite saying that, a secret masculine pleasure secretly swept through his heart.

"Even unrequited love is still love! Unrequited love is the first step towards great love!"

Wang Churan spoke confidently, then waved his hand, "Alright, alright, I'm just teasing you. I mainly came to Beijing to film a variety show, and since I was passing through, of course I had to come see our pure yet ruthless Li Ran-ge. Surprised? Aren't you?"

"Hehe," Li Ran chuckled twice, "A pleasant surprise, a real surprise. Alright, let's eat first. What do you want to eat?"

"Roast duck!" Wang Churan answered quickly, her eyes curving into crescents.

Li Ran wasn't particularly familiar with Beijing's cuisine. He went through the list in his mind and remembered that he and Zhou Ye had gone to a restaurant near the Workers' Stadium before, where the environment and taste were quite good.

They then turned around and drove in that direction.

After parking the car, the two walked to the restaurant.

Wang Churan walked beside Li Ran, occasionally turning her head to say a word to him. Her tall figure and outstanding appearance attracted some attention.

Li Ran subconsciously kept a little distance, pulling his hat brim even lower.

Just as I was about to reach the restaurant entrance, a clear female voice, tinged with uncertainty, suddenly came from behind me:

"Brother Li Ran?"

Li Ran paused, then turned around.

A girl wearing a beige knit sweater and light-colored jeans was running over excitedly; it was Zhang Jingyi.

She wore an undisguised happy smile, and was accompanied by a girl who was slightly taller and had a pure and sweet appearance; it turned out to be Zhang Ruonan.

Li Ran recognized her and knew she had acted in "Cry Me a Sad River," but it would still be a year before she truly entered the public eye with "Your Wedding."

He was curious about how Zhang Jingyi and Zhang Ruonan met.

"Jingyi?" Li Ran stopped and waited for Zhang Jingyi to run up before saying gently, "What a coincidence, are you here for dinner?"

"Yes!" Zhang Jingyi nodded, her eyes shining as she looked at Li Ran.

Then he subconsciously looked at Wang Churan beside him, a hint of doubt and scrutiny flashing in his eyes.

Who is the woman next to Li Ran?

Li Ran noticed her gaze, smiled, and said, "Perfect, let's go inside and talk."

Zhang Jingyi nodded obediently: "Okay."

Zhang Ruonan also came over, looked at Li Ran curiously, then at Wang Churan, and smiled politely.

The four entered the restaurant and, guided by a waiter, entered an elegant private room.

After ordering, Li Ran was thinking about how to introduce the food when...

Wang Churan looked at Zhang Jingyi and spoke first, "Hello, junior!"

"I am Wang Churan, Li Ran's girlfriend."

The private room fell silent for a second.

Zhang Jingyi was slightly taken aback. She glanced at Wang Churan, then quickly turned to Li Ran, her face full of confusion.

In "Mao Xue Wang," didn't he just say that he was focused on his career and hadn't considered dating? How come he suddenly... has a girlfriend?

Li Ran's forehead twitched, and he almost wanted to facepalm.

He glared at Wang Churan and said in a low voice, annoyed, "Wang Churan, are you out of your mind? Can't you be normal for once?"

"Just kidding!" Wang Churan chuckled and nudged Li Ran lightly with his shoulder.

Then she winked at Zhang Jingyi, "Let me reintroduce you, Wang Churan, an actress. Also Li Ran's... well, passionate suitor."

"Are you never going to stop?" Li Ran rolled his eyes at her, deeply feeling that her thought process and actions were extraordinary.

"What's wrong?" Wang Churan said matter-of-factly, "I am indeed pursuing you, I'm just stating a fact."

Li Ran had no choice but to say helplessly to Zhang Jingyi, "Jingyi, just ignore her! That's just the kind of person she is."

Zhang Jingyi breathed a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't her girlfriend.

She nodded politely to Wang Churan: "Hello, I'm Zhang Jingyi, Li Ran's junior from high school."

"I know," Wang Churan said casually, taking a sip of her tea. "Otherwise, why would I call you my junior? I watched the episode of 'Back to Field' where you and Li Ran were. Your interaction was quite natural."

She put down her cup, suddenly sighed, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at Li Ran with a pitiful expression.

"Sigh, it makes me sad. I've acted in three dramas, including a hit like 'Serenade of Peaceful Joy,' but it seems like my popularity isn't even as high as when my junior from elementary school recorded a variety show with you."

"These days, is creating a romantic pairing more effective than actually acting?"

Li Ran was too lazy to engage with her dramatic antics and simply ignored her, turning instead to look at Zhang Ruonan, who had been sitting quietly since entering, her eyes subtly darting between the three of them.

She took the initiative to break the slightly awkward atmosphere: "Zhang Ruonan, hello. I've seen your performance in 'Cry Me a Sad River,' it was very moving."

"what?"

Zhang Ruonan, who was seriously observing the drama and trying to figure out the complicated relationships between the characters, was suddenly called out and almost didn't react.

A hint of embarrassment at being caught showed on her face, and she quickly waved her hands, "Hello, hello, Li Ran! I... I also saw your trending topic! Oh no, I mean the competition... Oops!"

She became increasingly flustered as she spoke, and finally laughed first, a faint blush spreading across her innocent face.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous." Her smile was clean and a little naive, making her very approachable.

Looking at her like this, Li Ran couldn't help but laugh, thinking to himself that the saying "a smile can kill a man" was indeed true.

Seeing this, Wang Churan, standing nearby, curled her lip and interjected, "Wow, our Li Ran brother is really knowledgeable, he's read everyone's works. Was he so free when he was playing professionally? Did he even have time to watch angst-filled teen movies?"

That sour, teasing tone slipped out again, and she even made a small, jealous expression, though everyone could tell she was mostly acting.

"What's it to you?" Li Ran glanced at her, too lazy to argue with her.

Remembering his earlier question, he looked at Zhang Jingyi and asked, "By the way, how did you two meet?"

Zhang Jingyi explained gently, "Oh, we met in a game. Later, we happened to attend a brand event offline, and that's how we got to know each other."

Zhang Ruonan nodded vigorously, adding with a touch of pride, "That's right, Li Ran! Jingyi is just like you in the game, a top-tier jungler!"

"But we're playing King of Glory, and she's dominating the jungle, so I just get carried to victory!"

Li Ran smiled; he was a top-tier jungler in real life too…