Chapter 8 Hello, Senior!

It was already past nine o'clock in the evening when the selection process was completed. The first meeting of "Twenty Changes of Mountains and Seas" was recorded from day to night, with more than ten hours of preparation and recording. Where the camera was not focused, all the guests on the scene showed some fatigue on their faces.

Finally, it was time for the last step - the group photo session. All the guests stood up and walked towards the open space in front of the host's stage. They put on bright and enthusiastic smiles on their faces again, and chatted enthusiastically with the people around them as if they had endless energy.

Ren Limeng and Xu Chichi followed the crowd tacitly and walked towards the left corner. Even if the on-site staff did not give clear instructions and requirements, they were still clear about the customary standing rules in the entertainment industry. If their status and fame were not enough, even if they forced themselves to occupy the middle position, apart from the discussions of others, the photos they posted would only cause ridicule from the onlookers.

None of them want to go the black and red route, so there is no need to stand out at this time.

Shen Xingzhi walked at the end calmly. He noticed that his teammates were scattered on both sides. On one side were Ren Limeng and Xu Chichi who were already standing on the far left, and on the other side were Yan Baiwei and Li Qingzi who were moving to the side of the C position.

Chen He and Chen Xi were standing in the C position, and there was a space for one person around them. Shen Xingzhi did not walk to the middle as usual, but walked straight to the leftmost side.

"Brother Xingzhi, why are you coming here? There's still room in the middle!"

As Chen Xinglu passed by, the crosstalk artist Guan He, who was standing on the left side, couldn't help but speak out, his eyes full of surprise.

It should be said that the rules in not only the entertainment industry but also the world of fame and fortune are always similar, just like he is obviously one year older than Shen Xingzhi, but he still subconsciously calls Shen Xingzhi "Brother Xingzhi". Some tacit understandings are not stated explicitly, but everyone knows it.

"Well, I'll look for my teammates."

Guan He and Shen Xingzhi looked at each other. Guan He looked around. Although they had been divided into four teams, they still stood separately when taking group photos. He didn't expect Shen Xingzhi to have such a strong sense of teamwork. As a captain, he felt inferior to him.

Xu Chichi noticed that Shen Xingzhi was walking towards them, and excitedly grabbed Ren Limeng's arm with his left hand. After looking around, he whispered, "Limeng, Limeng, do you think Brother Xingzhi is here to see us?"

Of course, after all, there were no stars around them that Shen Xingzhi was familiar with.

Everyone was lining up in a chaotic manner, secretly pushing towards the middle, as if the closer they stood to the middle, the more they could prove their higher status in the circle. However, Chen Xingzhi, the top male star at the scene, walked abnormally towards the outermost side. Amidst the crowd of people, it was difficult for Ren Limeng not to notice Chen Xingzhi's actions.

A complicated look flashed in Ren Limeng's eyes. She vaguely felt that Shen Xingzhi's attitude towards her was not just towards a stranger, nor was it just because she was his "schoolmate". He was always like a gust of wind. No matter how powerful and smart she was, she could not figure it out, let alone catch it.

You already knew that, didn't you?

"Brother Xingzhi, why are you here?"

Xu Chichi was a little shy, and quickly met Shen Xingzhi's gaze, then smiled and lowered his head slightly, revealing his face at the best angle, and asked knowingly.

"We're on the same team, so we stand together. [Taxue Exclusive]"

Shen Xingzhi wanted to take the two of them to the middle position for a photo. Xu Chichi nodded yes and prepared to walk to the right, but Ren Limeng shook her head and did not move her foot.

"Everyone's almost all spread out and standing in line. I see other teams aren't forming lines, so I'll just stand here!"

If Chen Xingzhi took them there, they would become the target of public criticism. It was just a group photo, so why cause any more trouble? What's more, her social energy today was completely exhausted. Ren Limeng just wanted to take pictures in the corner and go home. She didn't want to be involved in any disputes anymore.

"Then Li Meng, Brother Xingzhi and I will go."

Xu Chichi finished speaking without hesitation, his eyes falling on the crowd that was almost lined up, a hint of eagerness flashing in his eyes.

Shen Xingzhi stared at Ren Limeng quietly. When he heard her refusal, he just curled the corners of his mouth slightly, turned around and left with Xu Chichi without saying a word.

After taking a group photo as required by the program team, it was almost half past ten when the recording was officially announced to be over.

After a very long filming, the guests left the camera and naturally put away their smiles on their faces. They followed their assistants and others and prepared to leave.

Ren Limeng has no agent and naturally no assistant. After returning the microphone on her waist to the program staff, she took out her mobile phone and skillfully opened the taxi-hailing app.

Although the headquarters of the Orange Platform is in Xiangcheng, she currently does not have the financial ability to buy a house and still rents a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment near a mature commercial area in the old city. The work of the agricultural channel often requires business trips to the grassroots level, so Ren Limeng has never bought a car.

"Li Meng, where are you going? How about I give you a ride?"

Xu Chichi noticed Ren Limeng's actions and widened his eyes in surprise. "It's so late, and you're still taking a taxi? It's too unsafe for a girl to go alone!"

She has been through all these years, whether it is safe or not. Besides, she has encountered many more unsafe things than this.

"Thank you, Sister Chi Chi. No need. It's so late. We have to gather again at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. You should go back quickly too. I miss my big bed so much!"

The first lesson Ren Limeng learned in the workplace was to distinguish between work partners and friends. She smiled gratefully, and Xu Chichi did not force her.

After leaving the recording hall, Ren Limeng walked outside as if she was familiar with the route. The Orange recording shed was set up like a maze, but as a "family member" of the platform, the winding roads naturally did not pose any difficulty for Ren Limeng. She dragged her exhausted body and just wanted to go home quickly.

When she was about to walk out of the greenhouse, at the last corner, Ren Limeng paused and looked at Shen Xingzhi who was making a phone call in the stairwell.

Outside the quiet corridor, Shen Xingzhi heard the sound of someone leaving and subconsciously looked up, just in time to meet Ren Limeng's flickering gaze under the dim light.

After a moment of hesitation, Ren Limeng walked slowly towards Shen Xingzhi, who had hung up the phone and was standing still. When she left the camera, the perfect smile with eight teeth on her face disappeared, and she lowered her head with a faint expression.

"Junior, when you see a senior, don't you even say hello?"

Chen Xingzhi's voice was cold, with the last syllable rising, as he called out to Ren Limeng, who treated him as nothing. His deep voice was particularly clear in the silence.

There was only a corridor between them, and Ren Limeng had no chance to pretend to be stupid and leave. After all, she had to consider the variety show recording tomorrow.

"Hello, senior!"

Ren Limeng took a deep breath with a headache, turned her head, raised an imperceptible smile, and finished speaking as if to get things done, only to receive an even deeper voice from Shen Xingzhi.

"Ren Limeng, I haven't seen you for so many years, you are so perfunctory."

Ren Limeng didn't understand Shen Xingzhi's accusations, just like she didn't understand Shen Xingzhi's performance on the scene today. In an instant, the accumulated emotions even overwhelmed the physical fatigue.

She looked at Shen Xingzhi calmly, neither humble nor arrogant, and said, "Shen Xingzhi, Senior Shen, after not seeing you for so many years, do you still want me to chase you?"

Her smile was filled with blatant irony. For a moment, she even suspected that she had lost her memory. It was him who rejected her ten years ago. Why did he want her to reject him now?

It is true that their marriage was entirely accidental, and she was lucky to have taken advantage of the moment when he was impulsive, but marriage is a matter between two people, and if he had not been impulsive, she would not have succeeded.

Moreover, regardless of other things, her feelings back then were so sincere that she even dared not recall them now. But at that time, he was like a piece of thousand-year-old ice that could not be warmed. She had exhausted all means, but in the end she still had to choose to let go.

Ren Limeng has been too busy these past few years and has little time or energy to reminisce about her somewhat hypocritical youth, but the scenes of the past have long been deeply engraved in her memory...

She and Shen Xingzhi got married at the same time that he became famous overnight. Although they were married, she could hardly see him at all. The dense messages and shares on social media could only be exchanged for simple "um", "okay", and "good" from him. It was almost worse than talking to his mobile assistant.

Finally, one night, he took the initiative to go back to school to find her. She enthusiastically prepared for half a day, dressed up beautifully and ran to the playground downstairs to meet him, but all she got in return was his cold "notice".

The first point is that he has signed with Hanxing Entertainment and will be entering the entertainment industry audition next week to become an idol singer;

The second point is that he decided to divorce her and asked her to prepare to go through the procedures in the next two days.

Ren Limeng's bright smile froze on her lips, and her bright eyes dimmed little by little as he spoke.

In fact, when she was worried about gains and losses, she had imagined many times that Shen Xingzhi would regret and divorce her, but the reality seemed to be even more indifferent and calm than the worst expectation.

Ren Limeng was silent for a long time. Shen Xingzhi looked at her bewildered expression, with a hint of surprise in his eyes. Just as he was about to add something, he heard Ren Limeng's firm voice ringing in his ears.

"Senior Xingzhi, can we not get a divorce? I won't tell anyone about us and won't cause you any trouble. Don't you need a marriage partner? I promise that I will be your best choice."

"Li Meng, thank you. Getting married did solve my immediate problem, but this story is fake after all. I wasn't thinking clearly that day and was a little too emotional. Calm down. This is unfair to you. You just have good intentions and shouldn't have to endure so much. This is my business after all."

"It can also be our business!"

Ren Limeng felt that the courage she had accumulated in three years of college was not as much as she had at this moment. She never thought that she would really say these words. She had always been so timid and always rationalized everything between them to him based on their relationship as friends.

The moon was bright and clear, and everything was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were from the nearby playground, and the voices in her heart that she finally revealed word by word under the moonlight.

"Senior Xingzhi, I like you. Marrying you isn't as kind and great as you think. If it were someone else, I definitely wouldn't agree! I'm willing to do it because it's you. I don't know if you have any feelings for me. If you're willing... could you be my boyfriend?"