Chapter 70

Ranlong's breath was hot, and the smell of alcohol from his mouth sprayed on Qiu An's ears.

As if she knew how shameful what she said was, she lowered her voice to a low, soft and gentle level.

Qiu An's breathing stagnated, and he turned his head to look at her. The light from the bedroom shone on her pupils, and her eyeballs were watery. She looked like a stray puppy wagging its tail, looking for her to recognize its owner.

Yuan Chengyin didn't hear what Ranlong said. She only saw Ranlong's lips opening and closing, causing Qiu An's face to turn red, and the blush spread all the way to her neck.

Yuan Chengyin couldn't imagine how embarrassing the words Ranlong had said were. He shook his head in disgust, put the pillow aside, and made room for the two of them.

Ranlong was in much better spirits. He and Yaoling, one a drunk and the other pretending to be drunk, chatted incoherently but kept on chattering. This gave Yuan Chengyin time to think about how to test Qiu An.

Yuan Chengyin brewed a pot of calming tea. When the water boiled and he poured the tea in, the two noisy people picked up the cups and blew on them to cool them down.

Yuan Chengyin interrupted, "By the way, Xiaoran, Qiu An, did you guys know that 'The Sound of Falling Leaves' is stuck in review and might have to be delayed?"

"Huh? Never heard of it!"

"I've heard a little bit about it. Drink slowly, the tea is very hot."

Ranlong was clumsy after drinking, and Qiu An was afraid that she would get burned, so he took the tea and helped her blow it.

"Well, it's like this. The recent trending searches just created a lot of buzz. If the review process takes too long, the buzz won't last until it's released. I'm wondering if you'd be interested in participating in a variety show together so we can promote our movie?"

Before the two could express their opinions, Yao Ling chimed in: "Variety show? Great, great. Which show is it?"

"'In the Name of Survival' is a very popular mystery reality show in the past two years. The third season is in preparation. The show director asked me a few days ago if I had any recommendations, and I just thought of you guys."

"A mystery variety show?" Ranlong asked doubtfully. She remembered discussing something with Yuan Chengyin and the others. Was it this? Why did it sound so unfamiliar?

"Are you interested?" Qiu An asked her.

Yuan Chengyin winked at Ranlong.

Ranlong saw her blinking and looking uncomfortable, so he asked with concern, "Hey? What's wrong with your eyes? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Yuan Chengyin clenched her fists, nearly crushing the teacup. She said unkindly, "...a little bug has flown in. Wait until I catch it and kill it."

Yao Ling tugged at Yuan Chengyin's clothes to comfort her, and at the same time, she started the conversation: "Hey, why don't you first tell her what this variety show is like? Only then will she know if she's interested."

"You've all played script-killing games, right? This show is a bit like an immersive script-killing game. The plot format for the first two seasons is that several guests form a travel group and go on a tour together. During the tour, they encounter unexpected cases, and then everyone works together to solve puzzles, deduce, and finally solve the case. The third season may add some new settings, but the core of script-killing games will remain unchanged."

Ranlong asked her, "Why is a mystery variety show called 'In the Name of Survival'?"

"Because the first season was set in the wilderness, in addition to reasoning, it also included the challenge of wilderness survival."

Ranlong hesitated. "Will there be a third season? Oh, I'm not very good at doing things, and my reasoning skills aren't strong either. Wouldn't it be a joke to be on a show like this?"

Yuan Chengyin became anxious and started biting his nails.

They agreed to work together to find out about Qiu An, but one of them turned out to be a stupid teammate!

Yao Ling took the finger that Yuan Chengyin had put in her mouth, gently stroked her fingertips, and said, "Don't worry, I can help you arrange the script. How powerful and smart a character you want, just act it out! So, Yin, where will the show be this time? If it's still in the wilderness, the audience will get tired of it, right?"

"That's right. Each season has a different theme. This season's theme is 'Jiangnan Water Village.' If you can be a guest, I'll discuss with the program director and set the location in Zhilin. It will also be a good opportunity to promote 'The Sound of Flying Leaves.'"

Yao Ling continued, "Zhilin... wouldn't a small town be more suitable for the 'Jiangnan Water Village' theme? I've been to that area before, and there are many places that would be suitable! Like Zhenhe Town, Bailu Town, Fugang, Luochuan, Yunxiu..."

Ranlong suddenly interrupted her mid-sentence: "Qiu Anan, why are you shivering? Are you cold? Do you want to put on some clothes?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuan Chengyin and Yao Ling looked over at the same time.

Yuan Chengyin saw clearly that Qiu An clenched his fists tightly when Yao Ling pointed to a certain town.

-

Three days ago, three clear-headed and intelligent heads gathered together to discuss how to find out Qiu An's past.

They knew even less for sure than they had imagined.

After all, when friends interact with each other normally, they will quickly exchange information about their hometowns and families. However, Qiu An has always avoided discussing such topics.

Ranlong and Yuan Chengyin had long known that she was very sensitive about her past. The memories of that time might have left some psychological trauma on her, so they always cooperated with her to avoid it, intentionally or unintentionally.

When Qiu An went home with Ran Long for the first time, Ms. Hu felt very sympathetic and concerned for this beautiful girl who was spending the New Year at someone else's home, and couldn't help asking more about the situation at home.

At that time, Qiu An almost gave in, but was interrupted by Ran Long.

She said, "Mom, don't be so nosy. If someone doesn't want to talk, don't force them to talk. It's so uncultured."

Qiu An looked at her and smiled, but eventually swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Ranlong feels a little regretful now.

Not just because she missed a very important clue.

Also, after laughing, Qiu An turned his gaze back to the chopsticks and stayed there for a little longer.

Ranlong didn't pay much attention to it at that time. She just thought that she was thinking of bad memories, so she tried her best to make jokes to make her forget the past.

Looking back now, she realized that maybe Qiu An really wanted to say that at that time.

Perhaps her lonely expression also concealed the regret of missing the opportunity to talk.

She had the opportunity to be a listener and share her burden.

If only she had been more careful and patient at that time, everything would have been better.

"What are you thinking about?" Yao Ling interrupted her thoughts and asked her, "We guess Qiu An is from the south, do you agree?"

Now, without any clues, they can only guess little by little based on their impression of Qiu An, trying to piece together a complete picture of her.

There is no doubt that Qiu An is from the south.

Even though she has practiced her Mandarin to a very standard level for filming, with no longer a noticeable accent, in her daily interactions, it's clear that she's not used to the bold words popular in northern China, and her pronunciation leans towards the soft, Wu dialect.

"Yeah, I agree. She doesn't like spicy food, so those places where people love spicy food can be ruled out. Also, I've seen her early scenes as an extra, and her skin was quite fair back then. She probably couldn't have taken care of herself back then, which means she's more likely to live near mountains or rivers than at high altitudes with strong sunlight."

Seeing Ranlong's thorough analysis, Yao Ling couldn't help but tease, "I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful. You've even seen her early performances as an extra. You must have researched her a lot, right? I heard you used to be her biggest hater."

Ranlong glanced at her and was inspired by the word "archaeology" she said.

Thinking of the true and false "archaeological" materials circulating on the Internet, and thinking of what Qiu An once told her, that some classmates in her class could not afford school uniforms.

After chewing his lips and thinking for a while, Ranlong suddenly said with certainty, "Perhaps, her hometown is in Zhilin, not far from Hengzhen."

"Oh? How do you mean?"

Yuan Chengyin and Yao Ling pricked up their ears.

"She used to live in a small town. It was very poor, probably so poor...that they didn't even have internet."

Ranlong is a serious internet addict who relies on the internet for both money and entertainment. She understands better than anyone the immense convenience that the internet brings to people.

I also understand better than anyone how difficult it is to come out of a place without internet access and information isolation.

"In an environment where information is spread by word of mouth, with no one to guide her, how could she have known about the career path of becoming an actor? Unless the news from the town could spread to Qiu An through the most primitive means. This means that she lives very close to Hengzhen. Moreover, Qiu An was still studying when she was acting in Hengzhen. Without the support of her family, she couldn't have traveled far."

Fortunately, she still had a chance to make up for the regret of not letting Qiu An speak out that day.

It turned out that she had learned a lot about Qiu An without realizing it.

Hopefully enough... enough to catch that ray of light filtering through the curtains.

Ranlong's analysis was well-reasoned and Yaoling and Yuan Chengyin both agreed with her.

They printed out a map, centered on Hengzhen, and circled several possible areas. They then searched through many forums for archaeological posts that had survived, and after several comparisons and considerations, they finally pinpointed those locations.

"Zhenhe Town, Bailu Town, Fugang, Luochuan, Yunxiu..."

However, there is still one question that always lingers in Ranlong's mind.

Even Yao Ling couldn't answer her.

For someone like Qiu An who has no connections and lacks professional training and work experience, Hengzhen is undoubtedly a much better choice than Beiji.

The film and television city in Hengzhen welcomes all aspiring actors and actresses; a more organized organization has been established to facilitate extras. Furthermore, Hengzhen offers lower costs for food, clothing, housing, and transportation than in northern Jilin, and boasts a more pleasant climate, eliminating the need to worry about winter, making it a popular choice for young actors entering the industry.

So why did Qiu An work hard there for a while and then suddenly go north?

Is it to study at Jiying?

Or is it to escape from your hometown?

However, after she arrived at Beiji, it took a long time before she went to Jiying for further studies.

Did he suddenly find a way to get into Jiying, or was it because he made some money and his life became more comfortable?

But in fact, neither of these two speculations is true.

During the first two years after she entered Jiying, the school had stricter management over the people coming and going due to some special reasons; and the latter... she couldn't even afford a down jacket, so how could she be called "at ease"?

What is the reason?

She still has so many problems.

Will there be a day when Qiu An will open his heart to her and tell her the secrets hidden deep in his heart?

She could always be with her, doubly compensating for her regrets and healing her wounds.

The premise is... the person she needs is her.