46 Knowing you as a friend is probably the happiest thing
Berlin in February was as cold as northern Beijing. The thin sunlight struggled to penetrate the clouds, losing its last bit of warmth by the time it reached the pedestrians. Jin Lang's fingertips tapped gently on the car window, his slightly weary features reflected in the glass. He had booked a familiar hotel not far from the film festival. As the taxi passed through the nearby streets, festival posters adorning the facades of buildings rustled in the wind. As one of the world's three major international film festivals, the Berlin Film Festival is a pilgrimage site for filmmakers at this time of year. For an actor like Jin Lang, who wasn't trained professionally, some honors are coveted but unattainable, and the cheers of fans are but fragile glazed tiles. Maintaining sanity and clarity are paramount in this fickle world. His thoughts ended as the car door opened. The crystal chandelier in the hotel lobby cast his shadow across the marble floor. The front desk clerk, after confirming his reservation, apologetically informed him that check-in was still early. Jin Lang nodded in understanding, but explained that he needed to rest quickly after the long flight and asked if he could contact him as soon as he had the room ready. He picked up his backpack and walked out. "Mr. Gin!" Just as he was about to step out the door, someone seemed to call him. Turning around, he saw the staff member from earlier. They explained that a room was available, but it would take about 20 minutes to clean. He could rest in the lobby for a while until someone would show him around. Jin Lang found a seat that wasn't too conspicuous. He hadn't slept well on the plane and was having a headache. He lowered the brim of his hat and closed his eyes. "Jin Lang? Is that you?" a female voice whispered in his ear. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he reflexively tightened the metal strip of his mask, lowering his head and muttering, "You got the wrong person." "Don't worry, it's me!" Jin Lang raised his eyelids. The woman opposite him, wearing a black leather jacket and a Pitta mask, was Lin Yuwei. "Yuwei, sorry! I thought..." "A fan?" she replied with a smile. "No problem, why are you sitting here?" "I was waiting for a room. I was a little tired after landing, so I took a nap!" Jin Lang explained, his muscles relaxing behind the mask. Lin Yuwei glanced around and saw that he was alone. She asked in surprise, "Your agent and assistant aren't here? Is this... a private trip?" "Yes, it's Chinese New Year, everyone's taking a break! Are you... going to have breakfast?" "Yes, yes!" The hotel staff saw the guests talking and kept a polite distance from them. Jin Lang caught a glimpse of them and turned to ask if...
Berlin in February is as cold as northern Beijing. The thin sunlight struggles to penetrate the clouds, and by the time it falls on pedestrians, it has already exhausted its last bit of warmth.
Jin Lang's fingertips tapped lightly on the car window, his slightly tired features reflected in the glass. He had booked a hotel he was familiar with, not far from the film festival.
As the taxi passed through the nearby streets, the film festival posters hanging on the exterior walls of the buildings on both sides rustled in the wind.
As one of the world's three major international film festivals, the Berlin Film Festival is a pilgrimage site for filmmakers every year. For an actor like Jin Lang, who doesn't come from a professional background, some honors are desirable but unattainable, and the cheers of fans are but fragile glazed tiles. Maintaining sanity and clarity is crucial in this fickle industry.
My thoughts ended as the car door opened.
The crystal chandelier in the hotel lobby cast his shadow on the marble floor. After confirming the reservation information, the front desk staff told him apologetically that it was still too early for check-in.
Jin Lang nodded to show his understanding, but explained that he wanted to rest as soon as possible after the long flight, so please contact him as soon as you have tidied the room.
He picked up his backpack and walked out.
“Mr. Gin!”
Just as he was about to step out the door, he seemed to be called by someone. When he turned around, it was the staff member who had just been there.
The other party explained that a room was vacant, but it would take about 20 minutes to clean. He could rest in the lobby for a while and wait for someone to come and guide him.
Jin Lang found a less conspicuous seat to sit down. He hadn't slept well on the plane and had a headache at the moment. He lowered the brim of his hat and closed his eyes to rest.
"Jin Lang? Is that you?"
A girl's voice sounded in my ears.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he reflexively tightened the metal strip on his mask, lowered his head and muttered, "You've got the wrong person."
"Don't be nervous, it's me!"
Jin Lang raised his eyelids and saw the woman opposite him wearing a black leather jacket and a pitta mask on her face. It was actually Lin Yuwei.
"Yuwei, I'm sorry! I just thought..."
"A fan?" she replied with a smile. "Nothing, why are you sitting here?"
"I was waiting for my room. I was a little tired after landing, so I took a nap!"
The muscles behind the mask relaxed as Jin Lang explained.
Lin Yuwei looked around and saw that he was alone. She asked in surprise, "Neither your agent nor your assistant are here? Is this... a private trip?"
"Yes, it's New Year's Day, everyone should take a break! You... want to go have breakfast?"
"Well, yes!"
Seeing the guests talking, the hotel staff kept a polite distance and did not approach.
Jin Lang caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, turned around and asked if the room was ready, and the other party smiled and nodded.
Lin Yuwei said considerately, "Then you should go and get some rest. We'll have dinner together sometime in the next two days! I'm quite familiar with Berlin!"
"good."
…
The heavy curtains blocked the light like a screen, and the room was dim. Jin Lang lay on his back in bed, his body entangled in the soft duvet, but his consciousness was as clear as if he had been doused with cold water.
He raised his hand and turned on the reading light, then took out the relationship contract sent by Zhang Yi from his mobile phone mailbox. The unexpected encounter with Lin Yuwei just now reminded him of this matter.
At first, he mistakenly thought that Liu Yuwei was married and had children, and the faint hope in his heart was crushed to ashes, so he agreed to take on this job. For him at that time, it was just a matter of cooperating with the program crew to act out a scene, pretending to be moved in front of the camera, which was not a difficult thing.
But now, everything seems different.
His index finger slid slowly across the screen, and Jin Lang's brows became tighter and tighter.
Although I have never participated in a dating variety show before, I have seen pigs run even if I have not eaten pork. Even the contracts given to first-line stars list clauses involving personal freedom and privacy so bluntly, not to mention those ordinary people who have no say.
--Guests are not allowed to disclose their relationship during the recording period and within 6 months after the end of the program without the written consent of the program team.
--Guests must comply with the emotional development path set by the program team, including but not limited to specific dialogues, behaviors or conflicts.
The last sentence made him completely disappointed.
--The program team has the right to disclose the guests' family background, emotional history and other information according to the needs of the plot.
He sighed and pressed lightly with his knuckles on his temples. No wonder Zhang Yi specifically told him to read the contract carefully.
I called Zhang Yi, exchanged a few pleasantries and learned that he had already checked into the hotel, then got down to business.
"I don't want to take on that dating show anymore." His tone was calm, but he didn't allow for rebuttal.
Zhang Yi was silent for two seconds, but he wasn't too surprised. "Have you read the contract?"
"Hmm." Jin Lang's fingertips tapped the edge of the bed unconsciously.
"After all, we haven't signed a contract with the production team. I can be a guest for one or two episodes and show up in the studio so things don't get too awkward."
After a pause, he added.
"As for Lin Yuwei...if Shen Cheng has a suitable script, I can give it to her. It'll be considered as repaying the favor she gave me before."
After listening to this, Zhang Yi chuckled softly.
"Okay, now that you've made up your mind, I won't try to persuade you any further. We can talk more about this when you come back."
After hanging up the phone, Jin Lang stared at the ceiling for a moment, and suddenly felt the pressure in his chest dissipate a lot. Now that he had made up his mind, he might as well make it clear to Lin Yuwei as soon as possible.
So he found the other person's profile picture on WeChat.
[Yuwei, are you free tonight? I'd like to treat you to dinner!]
Elsewhere, Lin Yuwei returned to her room after dinner and sank into the sofa. She bit her straw and sipped her coffee slowly, her mind already beginning to think about how to make the most of this chance encounter with Jin Lang.
The phone screen lit up, and when he looked down, the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.
May your wishes come true and the new year be auspicious.
She tapped twice and replied quickly.
[Okay, see you in the lobby at 5:30!]
…
After sleeping soundly for several hours in the hotel, Liu Yuwei finally recovered from the fatigue of the long-distance flight.
At noon, she and Ren Yiming ran to the little baguette sandwich shop near the school, where there was always a long line. Back then, the Western food in the school cafeteria was expensive and tasteless, so this little shop became a savior for all students. The moment they pushed the door open, the aroma of butter and toasted bread hit them, and Liu Yuwei felt like she had stepped back in time, back to her youth.
After eating and drinking, the two of them took a leisurely stroll along the school street.
The afternoon wind blew away the thick clouds in the sky, and the sunlight finally broke free and poured down without reservation. The whole street was instantly coated with a layer of warm gold.
In Europe, sunshine is like some kind of mysterious call. As long as the sky clears, everyone will flock outdoors without any prior arrangement, like sunflowers chasing the sun, greedily absorbing every inch of warmth.
As we walked to the school gate, we happened to see a group of students taking photos in front of the sculpture. A group of high school-aged kids huddled together, making hand gestures and smiling broadly.
Seeing Ren Yiming staring at the group of children in a daze, Liu Yuwei couldn't help but touch him lightly with his elbow.
"What are you thinking about?"
Ren Yiming withdrew his gaze and asked instead of answering directly.
"Liu Yuwei, what was the happiest thing during your two years in Germany?"
This question is like a stone thrown into the deep pool of memory, but what comes out seems to be all the painful and sad past events.
Ren Yiming coughed lightly, as if he was worried that she would fall into bad memories.
Liu Yuwei came back to her senses, raised her head slightly and looked at him, a smile suddenly spreading across her face.
“You!”
"I?"
Ren Yiming obviously didn't expect this answer, and his expression was rarely frozen.
"Didn't you ask me what the happiest thing is?" She tilted her head and smiled even more deeply, "Knowing you as a friend is probably the happiest thing!"
Ren Yiming was stunned. The sunlight fell on her face, casting a furry halo. Her smile was so bright, like a beam of light shining into his heart.
He took a step forward almost instinctively and gently wrapped his arms around her, his movements so light as if he was afraid to disturb the resting butterflies. This hug was so short-lived that it seemed like an illusion, and it disappeared in an instant.
"Don't be too moved, my friend!"
Liu Yuwei blinked and spoke in a deliberately exaggerated tone.
"What about you?"
She walked backwards on the cobblestones, the light dancing in her hair.
“What makes you happiest?”
Just as Ren Yiming was about to speak, she raised her index finger and shook it, "Don't plagiarize my answer!"
He chuckled and looked towards the dome church in the distance.
His Adam's apple rolled slightly. "Besides getting to know you, the happiest thing is probably proving to the old man that I'm not the waste he calls me!"
As he finished speaking, a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes, and Liu Yuwei keenly captured this moment.
She knew that Ren Yiming had a bad relationship with the elders in his family, but she never took the initiative to inquire about it. Naturally, she couldn't make any comments without knowing the whole picture.
"You know, I was really confused when I first heard you were a rich second-generation!"
She deliberately used a light tone to break the slightly heavy atmosphere.
"Why would a dandy kid come and pick a fight with the Germans? Could he be being exiled to the frontier to be reformed?"
Ren Yiming was amused by her exaggerated expression.
"I didn't expect that you would jump into the fire pit on your own initiative."
She turned and walked over to him.
"If I don't jump into the fire pit, how can I meet you!"
The shadows of the two people overlapped on the stone road, and Liu Yuwei suddenly became serious.
"I admit that I was a bit prejudiced at first, but later I realized that you are different from the rich second generation I had in mind!"
"The Ren Yiming I know is free and easy-going but sincere. He's uninhibited but always keeps his word. He has his own ideas and aspirations. He likes children and is kind to animals."
Liu Yuwei raised his head and looked directly into the other person's peach blossom eyes with a clear gaze.
"How could such a person be a waste!"
The sound was as clear as a church bell, making people's hearts buzz.
Ren Yiming's breathing stopped. Her eyes appeared transparent amber in the sunlight, and she could clearly see her own reflection.
"Don't you think I'm not doing my job properly by opening a bar?"
He lowered his head and kicked a stone away.
Liu Yuwei let out a soft "tsk".
"Perhaps in the eyes of a business tycoon like your father, the only correct way is to take over the family business step by step like your brother did."
She picked up a fallen oak branch and twirled it between her fingers.
"But for ordinary people like us, as long as we can support ourselves, whether it's running a bar, a nightclub, a small shop, or a breakfast stall, it's all legitimate work."
"Although I don't know why you suddenly returned to Ling'an, if it was simply to prove yourself to others again, there was really no need."
She suddenly threw the branch into the air, spun it twice, and dropped it between the two of them. She stepped on it with her toes, making a slight cracking sound.
"Your life belongs to you. As long as you live happily and in harmony with your heart, your father will sooner or later understand that some people are born to be towering trees standing against the wind, but the world also needs dandelions and small wildflowers!"
Ren Yiming felt his heart being hit hard by something soft.
How he wanted to hug the person in front of him tightly right now, tell her that he returned to Ling'an in order to step into her life path, and that he bowed to his father in order to hold her hand openly.
But he was afraid that his abrupt words would break this rare warmth. After all, some things still had to wait for a good time.
In the end, he just reached out and rubbed the top of her head, and the hair lingering on his fingertips was warm with the warmth of the sun.
"Let's go!" She smiled with her eyes narrowed, her pupils filled with tiny golden rays.
The church bells in the distance rang slowly, startling a flock of white doves.
Walking side by side, Ren Yiming quietly shortened the distance between them, letting their sleeves touch each other subtly.
No matter what the future holds, at least at this moment, the sun is shining, and she is within reach.
Author's Note
Lazy Cat on the Cloud
author
04-14
This part about returning to school was not in the outline at all, and I wrote a lot of male second characters unconsciously... I went to reflect on myself, maybe I was too biased and the male protagonist not only did not shine but also seemed very thin, ah
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
