*

Seeing him like this, Nan Qing was happy and laughed out loud.

She reached out her fingertip and gently poked his taut shoulder line.

"Song Beiting, I didn't bully you. Stop making that face all the time. The way you look makes me want to tease you."

Looking at the face so close to his, Song Beiting saw her smiling and relaxed, but he didn't say anything to refute her. He just looked at her quietly with a smile in his eyes.

Lin Yan and Zhou Jing were very fast.

On the third day, Song Beiting was arranged to take a set of high-quality promotional photos, and it was announced online that he was a newly signed artist of "Illusion Media".

Furthermore, they arranged for all the company's third-tier and above artists to repost the message to promote him.

The promotional materials precisely piled up labels such as "academic heartthrob", "ascetic aesthetics", "rising star", and "top-tier looks", which, combined with his downcast eyes, pale skin, and delicate features in the retouched photos, made it impossible to find a single flaw in him.

This move propelled Song Beiting's name into the top three of the trending searches.

His newly registered personal account went from 0 followers to over 500,000 within a single day, which is unprecedented for an artist who hasn't even officially debuted yet.

Moreover, with Nan Qing's permission, Lin Yan directly used her "money power" to arrange for Song Beiting to enter a variety show called "Get into Character in One Second," which was scheduled to start filming in a week.

This variety show brought together 50 actors from various fields, and with Song Beiting who was just added, the total number has become 51.

This is the first episode of the variety show. The director, Chen Li, has extremely high requirements for the actors' overall qualities. The recording period is one month, and the actors are under complete closed management. They not only have to perform impromptu and switch roles, but also complete multiple challenges such as emotional scenes and action scenes under high pressure.

Chen Li invited four top-tier Chinese film stars to serve as mentors on the show.

Finally, four groups will be selected from the 50 actors to work with their mentors to complete a short film.

Whether it's because of Chen Li's fame, the four mentors, or the show's novelty, this program is bound to be a huge hit. That's why Lin Yan tried every means to get Song Beiting on the show and make it his debut program.

After signing the contract, Nan Qing contacted Tsinghua and Peking Universities directly, and the universities quickly granted special approval. Except for important professional courses, Song Beiting was not required to attend regular classes, but he had to ensure that he passed the final exam.

In the week leading up to joining the production team, Song Beiting kept his schedule packed every day.

Acting classes, physical training classes, diction classes, vocal classes, martial arts classes, etc...

Zhou Jing arranged the best teacher in the industry for him. He would report to the company at eight o'clock in the morning and stay until eight o'clock in the evening, with almost no free time in between.

Unfortunately, he had never been involved in this industry before, and his debut variety show, "Getting into Character in One Second," was broadcast in a dual format of live and pre-recorded segments.

This means that if you perform exceptionally well, you can almost become an overnight sensation.

But if they don't perform well, they'll probably have to go through a lot more trouble.

The company also arranged an apartment in a high-end residential area for Song Beiting, but he never went there. Nan Qing didn't kick him out, so he shamelessly followed her home every day and even got the door lock code for Nan Qing's apartment.

One day, Nanqing drove him home to get his clothes.

A low-key yet luxurious Land Rover is parked at the entrance of a chaotic urban village, surrounded by old, uneven residential buildings, hurried crowds, numerous food stalls along the roadside, and many exposed electrical wires running between the buildings.

Song Beiting absolutely refused to let her go in with him, so he got out of the car alone and went home to pack his things.

He stood at the village entrance, glanced back at the black car behind him, and then turned and blended into the crowd.

Once home, Song Beiting acted quickly, not wanting her to wait for him any longer.

He packed the few shirts, jackets, and jeans that were still hanging in the closet into his suitcase, along with the worn-out computer on the table, the only photo of him and his mother in the room, and the award certificates in the drawer...

When the door closed, Song Beiting felt no attachment whatsoever to the place where he had lived for twenty years.

He will probably never return to this so-called "home".

If that person finds out he's gone, they probably won't look for him.

This is good.

He dragged his small suitcase through the crowd, his pace quickening as he occasionally glanced at his watch.

Twenty minutes have passed...

But when he returned to the intersection, he saw the familiar black Land Rover parked quietly on the side of the road, with no one inside.

He looked around but didn't see anyone.

Song Beiting took out his phone and saw that Nan Qing had sent him a message a dozen minutes earlier.

I'm at this stinky tofu stall inside.

A photo of the stall cart was also included.

He grew up here and was very familiar with the area. He knew exactly where it was at a glance, so he turned around and walked quickly inside.

The location wasn't hard to find, and soon he spotted Nan Qing sitting at the low table behind the stall.

She was wearing clothes that were obviously expensive, but she sat in the noisy environment without the slightest hint of disgust, with several snack packages on the small table in front of her.

She ate quickly, her nose even flushed slightly, and her face was covered in fine beads of sweat, but her movements remained elegant, as if she possessed her own protective aura. She seemed somewhat out of place amidst the chaotic atmosphere of the surroundings, yet somehow perfectly harmonious.

But wherever she goes, she always attracts attention.

Noticing that many eyes were on her, Song Beiting pursed her lips, pulled her suitcase, and quickly walked over to sit down on the low stool next to her.

Is there anything else you'd like to eat?

Upon hearing the sound, Nan Qing looked up, her eyes bright, her lips, smeared with red oil, becoming even more vibrant, and even her gaze carrying a hint of satisfaction.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly pointed to a small stall diagonally across the street: "I'd like to have another serving of that grilled tofu. You go ahead, and make it extra spicy."

Song Beiting glanced at the various boxes on the table: grilled tofu, stinky tofu, takoyaki, grilled cold noodles, shaved ice dumplings...

He paused for a moment, thinking that eating such a variety of foods, including spicy and icy ones, would definitely cause him a stomachache at night.

But when he met her eyes, he smiled helplessly, got up, and walked towards the stall.

"Boss, one serving of tofu, extra spicy."