Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

The sound of water stopped.

Long He walked back to the living room, wearing a large Lakers jersey with the number 24 on it. Once again, he bare his two long, white legs and swaggered them in front of Ding Heng, his cleavage barely concealed.

She sat cross-legged on the sofa, water droplets dripping from her hair, spreading a small dark stain on her light-colored clothes.

Taking the goji berry tea from Ding Heng, Long He asked in surprise, "You usually drink goji berry tea?"

"Occasionally, occasionally."

"Brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're still young...you need to take care of your health!"

"what?"

"Nothing much, just a couple of reminders."

Long He took a sip of tea, a thought rising in his mind.

Practice your skills, but don't let those women end up draining his brother's wallet...

Ding Heng sat down in front of the TV, picked up the game controller, and turned on his PS5.

The screen displayed an interface, and Ding Heng browsed through the game library.

What to play?

"casual."

"Then this..."

Ding Heng opened the "Nonsense Kitchen" app and casually asked, "Speaking of which, I haven't asked you yet, why did you buy me a PS5 back then?"

"I came across a video where a girl bought her boyfriend a PS5, and he was extremely excited."

"Boyfriend...?"

"Hmm...you're my brother, more or less."

Long He said shyly, "Besides, I was leaving back then, so I wanted to leave you something as a souvenir."

Ding Heng handed the other handle to Long He, looking lost in thought.

"I'm sorry, Longhe."

"what?"

"Back then... I never even thought of leaving you a farewell gift or anything."

"Why are you saying this? We're brothers!"

Longhe waved his hand magnanimously and began to learn how to operate the joystick.

Games start.

The first challenge was a kitchen for two. Long He was in charge of chopping vegetables, while Ding Heng was in charge of cooking and serving them—it was incredibly easy.

As the third stage began, orders surged, and Longhe started to get overwhelmed.

"Left, left, left! The food's burnt!"

"I'm cutting! What's the rush!"

"Ma'am, you've been chopping those vegetables for almost a minute now."

"This handle isn't working properly!"

Long He began to argue, his hands moving more and more erratically, and in the blink of an eye, the kitchen was a complete mess.

"I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore."

She tossed the controller onto the coffee table, then slumped back onto the sofa: "What a crappy game."

Ding Heng could tell that Long He was in a bad mood, so he didn't force her to continue. Instead, he went downstairs to take out the trash and bought some steamed buns and porridge.

Back upstairs, each person carried a bowl of porridge, and two small dishes were placed on the coffee table.

Longhe picked up a bun, took a bite, and the juice spread in his mouth.

"Hmm, is Old Wang from the main gate still making these steamed buns?"

"He's his son now."

"is it?"

Longhe began to reminisce: "Back when we were in elementary school, if we were just a little sweet-talking, Old Wang would give us an extra steamed bun, and we could save money on breakfast."

"Then you took them all and ruined the Water Margin cards."

Have you ever seen anyone collect all 108 of them?

"Do you think that's possible? You're the only one who's still so persistent even in sixth grade, and you can't be persuaded to stop!"

"Wasn't it all your doing that started this!"

Longhe retorted confidently, and the two began to reminisce about their childhood, talking non-stop until the day they parted.

"Ding Heng".

"Ok?"

"Do you think... people change as they grow up?"

In which aspect?

I can't quite explain it...

Long He stared blankly at the TV screen: "Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing now if I hadn't debuted."

Ding Heng did not respond.

"I might get into an ordinary university, study an ordinary major, and find an ordinary job after graduation."

Long He sighed, "But it certainly won't be like now, where most of the time there's not even anyone to talk to."

"Don't you have teammates?"

"teammate……"

Long He gave a wry smile and put down the porridge bowl.

"Zhou Yi isn't really that bad. It's just that she's too desperate for fame, to the point of madness. She'll jump on any bandwagon and take any gig, regardless of whether it's appropriate or not."

Last time, a variety show asked her to be a judge. She didn't even understand basic music theory, but she went anyway and got roasted by the contestants until she was speechless. She came back crying, saying they were targeting her.

Long He shook his head and sighed.

"Zheng Shiyu, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. She's incredibly lazy. If she can lie down, she'll never sit; if she can sit, she'll never stand. She'll ask for leave from rehearsals whenever possible, and if she can't, she'll just slack off."

Her agent keeps urging her to post on Weibo, and she manages to produce only two posts a month, both of which are advertisements. She's not worried about losing all her fans; to put it nicely, she's easygoing; to put it bluntly, she's lazy.

Ding Heng joked, "You seem to know them quite well."

He could vaguely sense that Long He didn't actually dislike her teammates that much.

Just like when she was a child, whenever someone comes to her to be friends, she always treats them with sincerity and puts loyalty first.

But reality often delivers a harsh blow to her!

"You know, those two, one really wanted to be famous, and the other didn't, but they ended up in the same group. At first, they argued and gave each other the silent treatment every day."

I tried to mediate in the middle, but unfortunately, my emotional intelligence was too low, and I ended up pleasing neither side, resulting in them all disliking me.

She picked up the bowl of porridge, took a sip, and then put it down.

“I’ve thought it all out. Once I go solo, I’ll help Zhou Yi get some connections and get her a chance to be a regular guest on those variety shows. She’s actually not bad, she’s just too impatient. As Sister Song would say, she needs someone to give her a push and help her stabilize her career.”

Zheng Shiyu… I'll leave her two songs, and after that, she can do whatever she wants. She's not short of money; her family is well-off. Being a star is just for fun. If she really can't make it, her parents can support her back home for the rest of her life.”

Ding Heng listened quietly.

"As for Chan-ah..."

Long He's tone suddenly turned somber: "Chan Ya... she's different from them."

"How are they different?"

"Chan-ah was eliminated."

Long He sighed, "She trained there for four years, but was cut from the group just before her debut. She was then transferred to a new group, but that group also flopped. The company felt she had no potential, so... they basically packaged her up and shoved her into a domestic group."

Ding Heng remained silent.

"She's different from us. Zhou Yi, Zheng Shiyu, and I, no matter what we do, at least have a way out. She can't. If she fades into obscurity, she'll have to go back to China. What can she do back in China? The entertainment industry in her hometown is booming, and she's not particularly qualified, plus she's too old. Change careers? She barely went to school, what can she do?"

Long He grew increasingly worried; one could tell she was genuinely concerned about Jin Canya's future.

"So she's the hardest working person in the group. She's always the first to arrive and the last to leave for rehearsals. When we're on variety shows, while everyone else is thinking about how to get more screen time, she's thinking about how to make the process go smoothly and not make things difficult for the director. In every interview, she's the one who handles the vast majority of the questions, and she never deliberately avoids them or acts like a diva."

Long He sighed again: "But hard work... is the least valuable thing in this industry."

The kitchen faucet wasn't turned on tightly, and water droplets were clearly visible in the quiet space.

Long He looked up and forced a smile: "You're being sentimental again... Why am I talking to you about this? You're not even in this industry."

Ding Heng didn't respond; he simply picked up the bowls from the coffee table and stacked them neatly.

"I'll go wash the dishes."

"I'll do it."

Long He pressed Ding Heng back onto the sofa, then took the bowl and went into the kitchen.

Working in this house makes Longhe feel fulfilled.

Just like when Ding Heng's mother assigned chores to the two of them when they were young, she was always more proactive than Ding Heng.

The sound of rushing water filled the air.

Long He stood by the pool, his shoulders swaying slightly.

Ding Heng saw this and gradually understood.

Longhe believes that people change as they grow up because she has never changed.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't have any feelings for her teammates; after four years of working together, they were just colleagues.

For the other three, it would be best to part ways amicably and with everyone having a good time.

If things really get too messy, going online to tear each other apart and stage a big drama can at least generate buzz for both sides.