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◎“Taro ball bubble tea?”◎

After thinking for a moment, Ning Yuxuan replied to Ning Shiyue: "It's alright, as a viewer I think it's pretty good."

Ning Shiyue: […What do you mean?]

Ning Yuxuan: [So, if I weren't involved, I'd really enjoy watching it.]

Ning Yuxuan had seen public declarations of love or marriage proposals before, and each time she would sincerely exclaim, "Love is so wonderful," and then genuinely applaud the two people involved.

But if it were her, she wouldn't be so fond of this format.

Perhaps because so many people have confessed their love to her in public since she was a child, and she has rejected too many different people in the crowd of onlookers, this method is unlikely to move her.

Ning Shiyue: [Does that mean you yourself don't like it?]

Ning Yuxuan stared at her chat history with Ning Shiyue.

Clearly, Ning Shiyue would never normally share something like this with her, let alone have the time to discuss whether the video was romantic or not.

There are only two possibilities: either Ning Shiyue wants to use this spectacle to confess her feelings, or...

Ning Yuxuan: [Why are you asking so many questions? Did Xie Zhiyan ask you to help him gather military intelligence?]

There was silence on the other end for a while before they replied.

Ning Yuxuan went to brush her teeth and finally received a reply when she came back.

Ning Shiyue: [How is that possible?]

Ning Shiyue: [I have some things to do tomorrow morning, I need to go to sleep now, I can't chat with you anymore!]

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

She knew she had guessed right.

Ning Shiyue's guilty conscience was all too obvious.

She's always been like this since she was little. Ning Shiyue can't lie. Whenever she sees through someone's lies and they don't want to admit it, she'll awkwardly change the subject.

Ning Yuxuan ignored him, took a shower, and went to bed to rest.

The next morning, Ning Yuxuan got up and washed up while yawning.

Her mother had already packed the suitcases and handed Ning Yuxuan a slice of toast with an egg as she came downstairs: "You still have some time. Eat while you think about whether you forgot anything."

Ning Yuxuan took it and took a bite: "Thank you, Mom."

At 7:50, the doorbell rang.

Ning Fei opened the door; it was Liang Jihuai.

"Afei," Liang Jihuai said, standing at the door, "Have you packed your luggage? I'll help you put your suitcases in the car."

Ning Fei gestured to the several suitcases beside her: "All packed. There are only a few suitcases here. Thank you for your help, Ji Huai."

There were three pieces of luggage in total: one 24-inch suitcase and two 20-inch carry-on suitcases.

The two of them will stay in Jiangcheng for two full days, plus two half-day round trips, so they don't need to bring that much stuff.

However, Ning Fei always brings gifts for Ning Shiyue's colleagues and staff whenever she visits the set.

In addition to Ning Shiyue's birthday this time, Ning Fei also prepared a birthday gift for her son, which filled a large box.

The remaining two suitcases contained the two people's changes of clothes, toiletries, and so on.

Ning Yuxuan was eating breakfast in the living room when she came face to face with Liang Jihuai at the door.

She sized up the 55-year-old Best Actor.

Liang Jihuai stood in the entrance hall, and his height was roughly estimated to be around 1.8 meters, which was quite rare in their time.

Moreover, most people at his age, who live a life of luxury, would inevitably lose their figure.

However, Liang Jihuai still looks very tall and upright, showing no signs of gaining weight, and can be compared with young people in the entertainment industry.

As for his appearance, he was among the best of his peers, and you could tell he was definitely a handsome man when he was young.

Ning Yuxuan thought to herself that her mother's standard for lovers had always been "better to have none than a bad one" over the years, and she had only dated one person in the past twenty years. Now, however, she was willing to give Liang Jihuai a chance, which was indeed understandable.

At least in terms of appearance, this actor Liang is quite decent.

She looks like a good match for her mother.

Liang Jihuai also saw Ning Yuxuan: "Is this Afei, your daughter?"

Ning Fei smiled and nodded: "Yes, Ning Yuxuan."

Ning Yuxuan, holding up a piece of toast, greeted Liang Jihuai: "Hello, Teacher Liang."

Liang Jihuai nodded: "Hello, may I call you Yuxuan?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Of course, Teacher Liang."

The two didn't talk much more. Liang Jihuai helped Ning Fei pull the suitcase outside and put it in the trunk of the car, while Ning Yuxuan continued eating her breakfast.

At 8 o'clock sharp, Ning Yuxuan put on a light jacket and got into the car with Ning Fei.

Liang Jihuai was driving and turned on the navigation: it's a total of about twenty minutes' drive from home to the airport.

Ning Yuxuan and her mother sat in the back row.

Liang Jihuai first asked the two if they wanted anything to drink: "There is purified water and tea in the car."

Ning Fei took a bottle of purified water to drink and then got a package of black tea in a cardboard box for her daughter.

Then Liang Jihuai chatted with Ning Fei for a few minutes, mentioning that the weather in Jiangcheng was even hotter and more humid than in Beicheng, and that they should take precautions against heatstroke.

“I happen to have some cooling patches for preventing heatstroke at home, so I took a few packs and put them in the car,” Liang Jihuai said. “You and Yuxuan can take them if you need them. I’ve taken them on a plane before without any problems.”

Ning Fei realized that her daughter was indeed sensitive to heat, so she didn't refuse: "Then thank you very much."

Liang Jihuai laughed and said, "No need to be so polite, it's just a small matter."

Ning Yuxuan took a sip of the black tea in her hand and thought to herself that Liang Jihuai was quite considerate.

Although it was because he had feelings for his mother, it must be said that many men wouldn't be this attentive even when pursuing someone.

Ning Fei took the heatstroke prevention patch and put it in her bag.

The car was quiet for a moment, perhaps because the two of them were mindful of Ning Yuxuan's presence and were not completely relaxed.

There's still some time before we reach our destination, and it would be awkward to remain silent.

Ning Yuxuan broke the silence: "Teacher Liang."

Liang Jihuai: "What's wrong, Yuxuan?"

Ning Yuxuan: "I heard that the film in which my mother first won the Best Actress award was a collaboration with you."

Liang Jihuai: "Yes, Yuxuan, you heard right. That was your mother's first movie after her debut, and my fourth movie."

Ning Yuxuan: "That must have been your first collaboration, right? What was it like when you first met my mother?"

Ning Fei glanced at her daughter and said helplessly, "Xuanxuan, that happened so many years ago, why are you asking about it?"

Ning Yuxuan: "I'm just curious!"

Liang Jihuai chuckled a few times: "It's alright, it's alright, Afei, don't blame her. I'm actually quite happy to reminisce about my glorious youth. The first time I met your mother, let me think..."

With Ning Yuxuan starting, Liang Jihuai talked a lot about the times he filmed with Ning Fei back then.

Previously, Liang Jihuai was afraid that Ning Fei wouldn't like it, so he didn't dare to keep reminiscing about the past. Now that Ning Yuxuan took the initiative to bring it up and would occasionally ask questions, he naturally talked about a lot of things from the past.

Ning Fei felt a sense of nostalgia as well.

She was only twenty-three years old at the time, the prime of her life.

Naive, enthusiastic, and full of expectations for the future.

At that time, she was not yet married.

Laughter could be heard from time to time during the less than half-hour drive.

Ning Fei had mentioned the past to her children before, but the perspectives of those involved were always very different from those of bystanders.

Now, listening to Liang Jihuai recount her mother's past, Ning Yuxuan has gained a deeper understanding of Ning Fei from that time—

It turns out that my mother wasn't always this gentle person. She used to be a lively little girl who would play pranks on her colleagues on set and even secretly eat potato chips behind the director's back. When she was caught, the director gave her a severe scolding.

When Liang Jihuai mentioned this, Ning Yuxuan looked at Ning Fei in surprise: "Mom! So you liked to eat snacks when you were young, and you even ate them secretly!"

Ning Fei found it both amusing and helpless: "Sigh, I never expected that Ji Huai would come to see us off today and expose all my secrets."

Liang Jihuai also laughed and said, "Yuxuan, I won't dare to talk to you about these things anymore, otherwise your mother will be angry with me."

...

When they arrived at the airport, Ning Yuxuan was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

After checking in, Liang Jihuai escorted the two to the security checkpoint.

Ning Fei thanked him again: "Thank you, Ji Huai."

Liang Jihuai: "You're too kind. Have a safe journey. Send me a message after you land."

Ning Yuxuan also said, "Thank you, Teacher Liang. I hope to hear you talk about my mother's past again in the future."

Upon hearing this, Liang Jihuai's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and his tone sounded as if he were flattered: "Of course, no problem."

Before coming, he was very nervous, worried that Ning Fei's daughter would be resistant to him.

Unexpectedly, things went so smoothly that the other party even extended an olive branch in the end.

Liang Jihuai waved goodbye to the mother and daughter and watched them enter the security checkpoint.

Now that it was just the two of them, Ning Fei said, "Why aren't you usually so curious about my past experiences on film sets?"

Ning Yuxuan said seriously, "Isn't it because you never tell me about secretly eating potato chips!"

Ning Fei was amused by her daughter.

After laughing, she asked her daughter, "You seem to have a pretty good impression of Ji Huai?"

Ning Yuxuan nodded in agreement: "It's alright."

Ning Fei said half-jokingly, "Why? Just because he talked to you about potato chips?"

Ning Yuxuan spoke frankly: "That's only a secondary reason. The main reason—"

She said in a serious tone, "This teacher Liang has maintained a good figure and her face is also well-maintained. She and you look quite good together."

Ning Fei paused for a moment, then patted her daughter on the back: "What nonsense are you talking about? How can you talk about your elders like that!"

Ning Yuxuan smiled and said, "Didn't you ask me that?"

The mother and daughter joked as they lined up for security check.

It was exactly nine o'clock after I passed through security, and there was still some time before boarding.

Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei went to the VIP lounge to rest.

After replying to a few messages, Ning Fei leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest.

Ning Yuxuan also processed a few work-related messages. Chen Jun and Zhou Lin had already started work by this time.

Wu Shangdong's side is very efficient. They only reached a verbal agreement at the dinner last night, and they sent someone to contact Chen Jun this morning.

If all goes well, the contract should be finalized in the next couple of days.

I wonder if the process is progressing so quickly because of Xie Zhiyan.

After all, Xie Zhiyan's personal visit to pick her up at the banquet that day had sparked considerable discussion, and Ning Yuxuan had heard about it.

After finishing her work, Ning Yuxuan got up and went to browse the food area in the VIP room.

Xie Zhiyan sent her a message asking if things went smoothly.

Ning Yuxuan replied truthfully: 【Yes, I'm in the lounge, about to board the plane.】

She casually snapped a picture of the food provided in the lounge and sent it to him: "Any recommendations?"

He flies all over the country all year round, so he should know more about the VIP lounges of various airlines than she does.

Xie Zhiyan: [The osmanthus cake tastes good, you can try it. The crab-flavored fermented bean paste should also suit your taste.]

Ning Yuxuan replied with "Thank you very much, President," and picked out a few of her favorite dishes.

Before 10 o'clock, Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei boarded the plane on time.

After landing in Jiangcheng at 12:30, the two took a car to the hotel where the film crew was staying.

Ning Shiyue booked a suite at the same hotel for the two of them.

He originally wanted to pick them up in person, but Ning Fei refused, so he could only call a car for the two of them.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Ning Shiyue was already waiting downstairs, pulling a suitcase in each hand as he went to the front desk to help the two of them register.

After going upstairs, Ning Shiyue asked the two if they had eaten enough on the plane and if they wanted to have another lunch.

"No need," Ning Fei said. "The airplane food was delicious, and Xuanxuan and I both ate very well."

Ning Yuxuan also said, "Well, I'll keep my belly open and wait for you to keep your promise tonight. You won't back out at the last minute, will you?"

Ning Shiyue: "Don't underestimate me!"

Ning Fei looked at the two of them: "What did you two siblings agree on this time?"

Ning Yuxuan explained, "That day, Ning Shiyue promised me that he would eat spicy food with me after I came to Jiangcheng. Mom, you can also be my witness so that he won't go back on his word later."

Ning Shiyue glanced at Ning Yuxuan with displeasure: "I'm not you, how could I possibly back out at the last minute?"

Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow: "When did I change my mind? How come I didn't know?"

Ning Shiyue scoffed lightly: "There are too many! For example, back in middle school, we made a bet that whoever ranked lower in the final exam would give half of their New Year's money to the other person, but when the results came out, you didn't give me any at all!"

Ning Yuxuan argued confidently: "That's because I was ranked higher than you to begin with. I'm already being generous by not asking you for anything in return!"

Ning Shiyue rolled her eyes: "You're seventeenth, I'm sixteenth, who's ahead?"

Ning Yuxuan stated the facts and reasoned: "But there are dozens more students in our grade than in your junior high school, and my percentage is higher than yours."

Ning Shiyue: "We agreed on rankings, not percentages!"

Ning Yuxuan: "Percentages are more reasonable, okay! Besides, this happened so many years ago! Ning Shiyue, you're still bringing it up now, you're really petty!"

Ning Shiyue was so angry that he laughed.

She asked him to give examples, and now she's turning the tables on him.

During a brief pause in their banter, Ning Fei took a sip of tea and slowly said, "Xuanxuan, Xiaoyue, are you thirsty? Have some water before you continue."

Ning Shiyue made a reservation at a restaurant for tonight, and there are still a few hours left in the afternoon.

There happened to be a famous local museum nearby, so the three of us went for a visit.

In the evening, Ning Shiyue took the two to a restaurant.

As Ning Shiyue said, this shop has both local characteristics and suits Ning Yuxuan's taste perfectly.

The responsibility of ordering food once again fell to Ning Yuxuan, who ordered several dishes from both light and strong flavors.

The light dish was ordered for Ning Fei; as for the dish full of chili peppers…

Ning Yuxuan held up her phone to start recording, and gestured to Ning Shiyue: "Let's begin."

Through the phone screen, Ning Yuxuan saw the young man's eyebrows furrow rapidly.

Ning Shiyue expressed his objection: "They only said they wanted to eat spicy food, they didn't say they wanted to film a video."

Ning Yuxuan said matter-of-factly, "Of course we have to take pictures! It's a rare opportunity. Who knows when we'll get another chance to eat this again? How can we not record it?"

She then looked at Ning Fei and said, "Mom, why don't you take a picture too, so we can have a two-camera setup?"

Ning Fei's lips curved into a smile: "Okay."

Another phone was pointed at Ning Shiyue, who was holding chopsticks.

Ning Shiyue: "..."

"How can they gang up on the birthday person like this..." Ning Shiyue muttered, picking up his chopsticks and putting the stir-fried lotus root slices into his mouth.

After putting it in his mouth, he noticed that the other two people present were staring at him.

"What's wrong?" Ning Shiyue raised an eyebrow, feigning nonchalance. "It's just a little bit spicy, it's no problem for me at all—cough cough..."

As they were talking, a peppercorn suddenly got stuck in their throat.

Ning Shiyue started coughing violently and quickly grabbed the lemon water from the table next to him and poured it into his mouth.

Ning Fei quickly grabbed two napkins.

Ning Yuxuan stopped Ning Fei: "Mom, don't rush, let's record a video first..."

Upon hearing this, Ning Shiyue coughed and glared fiercely at Ning Yuxuan.

Once she caught her breath, Ning Shiyue's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were blazing as she glared at Ning Yuxuan: "I was almost choking to death! You were so busy filming, and you wouldn't even let Mom hand me any tissues!"

Ning Yuxuan said without batting an eye, "You're still far from choking to death. Besides, handing you the tissue later won't stop you from choking."

Ning Shiyue: "..."

Ning Yuxuan added fuel to the fire: "The clip of you coughing right after saying it was no challenge is very entertaining. I've already saved it and will show it at your wedding."

Ning Shiyue retorted, "...You wait, I'll go back and find all your childhood videos, edit them into a special, and play it on a loop at your wedding."

Ning Yuxuan immediately retorted: "Then I also have childhood photos of you wearing a pink dress and having a red dot on your forehead. I'll post them on Weibo and buy a trending topic: Ning Shiyue's stunning childhood art photos."

Ning Shiyue: "You don't even have money to buy me balloons, yet you want to buy trending topics?"

Ning Yuxuan: "That's different. One is to surprise you, and the other is to embarrass you. The latter is definitely more important."

...

After a thrilling online battle, Ning Yuxuan and Ning Shiyue were both thirsty and drank their respective beverages.

Ning Fei, who had been watching the whole thing, elegantly took a bite of the fish cake in the casserole and asked, "Xiao Yue, what did you mean by not being able to afford balloons?"

Ning Shiyue paused for a moment: "...It's nothing, I just said it offhand."

Ning Yuxuan glanced at Ning Shiyue and said, "He took on a side job, acting as an information broker."

Ning Shiyue moved his lips, then shut up again.

He silently took a sip of lemonade, thinking: Brother Zhiyan, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I'm doomed before I can even get started.

Ning Fei smiled and shook her head: I wonder what kind of riddle these two siblings are playing again.

This made her nostalgic for the time when she first brought her two children to Beicheng.

At that time, she had just returned to work, and her family was far from being as well-off as they are now. However, after escaping the oppressive environment of the Lin family, the two children quickly adapted to life at their new school.

Back then, the two children were young and would bicker all the time, just like they do now, but they would also team up to cover for each other in front of her.

Seeing her two children now grown up and able to interact with her like they did when they were little, Ning Fei felt that all the hardships she had endured over the years were worthwhile.

After tonight, Ning Shiyue will be another year older.

Since this wasn't a celebration at home, Ning Fei only ordered a small five-inch cake in advance to avoid waste.

After they had almost finished eating, the three of them took out the cake and lit the candles.

Ning Yuxuan picked up her phone again: "Don't worry, I'll definitely make you look really handsome this time!"

Ning Shiyue closed his eyes and made a wish.

Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan tacitly refrained from asking what the wish was.

After eating the cake, as the three were preparing to return to the hotel, Ning Shiyue received a call from the director.

After hanging up the phone, Ning Shiyue said, "The director said the moon is very nice tonight, and he wants to add a night scene on short notice. He wants me to go to the set."

Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan exchanged a glance.

Ning Yuxuan glanced at the half-moon hidden by clouds in the sky: "Looks like you'll have cake to eat again."

Ning Shiyue's lips curled up slightly: "There might really be a movie to film."

However, he also knew that today was a special day, and the crew probably wanted to prepare a surprise for him.

Ning Shiyue asked, "I'm taking a taxi to the film set now, do you want to come with me?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Why not go? Try the cake your crew prepared and see how it tastes."

This restaurant is not far from the hotel and the film set.

Fifteen minutes later, the three arrived at the film set by car.

Sure enough, as soon as they arrived at the filming location, several actors took handheld confetti cannons and set them off as Ning Shiyue entered.

Then the director himself appeared and led Ning Shiyue to the three-tiered birthday cake prepared by the crew.

Surrounded by everyone, Ning Shiyue blew out the candles and made a wish once more.

It's clear that everyone in the crew gets along well; Ning Shiyue always had a faint smile on his face, and there was no sense of him forcing a smile.

As people gathered around the birthday girl to offer their blessings, many came to greet Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan.

Ning Fei hasn't been on set for many years, but before retiring from acting, she left behind many classic works and was an idol for many young actors in the crew.

Several actors from different film crews came over to express their respect and praise to Ning Fei.

There were fewer people on Ning Yuxuan's side than on Ning Fei's side, but it wasn't deserted.

A young male actor approached with a grin: "Taro ball bubble tea?"

Ning Yuxuan blinked, guessing who it was: "Watch me dominate the whole scene?"

That day, Ning Shiyue caught her playing the game, and Ning Shiyue invited one of his friends from the film crew to team up with them for a game.

This person knew his online name in the game, so he was probably a friend that Ning Shiyue had invited back then.

Zhuang Yiming grinned: "Yes, yes, that's me! Hello, Teacher Yuxuan, I'm Zhuang Yiming, Ning Shiyue's colleague, and the third male lead in the drama."

Ning Yuxuan smiled and said, "Hello, you don't need to call me teacher, just call me Yuxuan."

Zhuang Yiming readily agreed: "Okay, Sister Yuxuan! You and Teacher Ningfei just arrived today, right? The weather here in Jiangcheng is especially hot and humid. Are you getting used to it?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Fortunately, we didn't stay out in the sun for too long. We went to the museum in the afternoon."

Zhuang Yiming gave a thumbs up: "Brilliant!"

"Oh, right," Zhuang Yiming added, "I watched two episodes of that variety show you and Teacher Ning Fei were on, 'Mom,' and I really loved it! I already told Brother Shi Yue that I was your fan!"

The two exchanged a few casual pleasantries.

Zhuang Yiming is very good at socializing. No matter which film crew he goes to, he can get to know people immediately. In addition, Ning Yuxuan is not as "respected" as Ning Fei, so there is no pressure to communicate with peers.

Ning Yuxuan wasn't as outgoing as Zhuang Yiming, but she didn't mind chatting with him.

As they talked, Zhuang Yiming brought up their previous gaming sessions: "I was too shy to add you as a friend before, Sister Yuxuan. How about we add each other as game friends today? We can play together again sometime!"

Ning Yuxuan: "Sure."

The two took out their phones and swapped friend lists.

On the other side, Ning Shiyue was also in a good mood.

Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan came to see him today, bringing him birthday gifts, and the crew also prepared a surprise.

With today being a holiday, the fatigue from filming for the past two weeks has been completely swept away.

Ning Shiyue took out his phone and took a picture of the three-tiered cake prepared by the crew. Then he picked out a few more photos that Ning Yuxuan had taken of him at the restaurant and posted them on his WeChat Moments.

Soon, many people liked and replied.

Among a long list of "Happy Birthday" messages, one reply stood out from the rest.

Wow, is that Teacher Yuxuan and her boyfriend in the back? They look so well-matched!

Ning Shiyue: "??"

What is it?

Ning Shiyue clicked on the cake photo he had posted, zoomed in with two fingers, and finally found Ning Yuxuan and her "boyfriend" in the corner.

Ning Yuxuan and Zhuang Yiming had their backs to the camera, their heads huddled together, fiddling with their phones, seemingly doing something.

Judging from their backs, they do seem quite intimate.

Ning Shiyue: "..."

What is Zhuang Yiming doing when he's not paying attention?!

Ning Shiyue turned around to find the culprit, but didn't notice that there was another like notification in the message list, from "Brother Zhiyan".

[Author's Note]

Someone: Upon seeing his younger brother's post on WeChat Moments, his first thought was to find a wife.

Before finding it: Hehe.

After finding it: No, hehe.