Once seated, Su Er realized that Xiao Shiyu's seat was right next to her.
As the lights converged on the stage, the banquet officially began. Singers and idols performed on stage from time to time, accompanied by changes in the lights.
But as Shu Sui said before, most of the time was spent chatting downstairs, with occasionally well-dressed people approaching to ask if they could take a photo together.
Su Er took off her shawl, curled her lips into a gentle smile.
After taking photos with their respective people, Su Er and Xiao Shiyu chatted during their free time.
Xiao Shiyu smiled gently and asked her, "Has Director Duan's filming wrapped up?"
Su Er swallowed the steak in her mouth, and the hunger in her stomach was relieved a little. "Well, it's been a while. I'm currently preparing for my next film."
"Innocence?" Xiao Shiyu asked.
Su Er looked at him in surprise. She hadn't officially announced it yet. "Senior brother, how did you know?"
Xiao Shiyu said, "I've also been in contact with this project recently."
Su Er couldn't hide her surprise and delight. She leaned closer, covered her mouth, and whispered, "Is it the character Han Ruo?"
Xiao Shiyu smiled and nodded.
“That’s quite different from the roles you played before, Senior Brother.” Su Er blinked thoughtfully, then gave a thumbs up and said, “But if you were to participate, Senior Brother, with your acting skills, you would definitely be able to portray this role very well.”
Their conversation ended with another round of group photos. As the banquet drew to a close, jazz music was played in the venue, and all the celebrities, executives, and guests sitting on the stage stood up and gathered below the stage, swaying gently to the rhythm of the music.
Su Er tried to blend into the crowd and fool everyone, but the lighting technicians managed to spot her sneaking around perfectly.
A cold light followed her, and Su Er had no choice but to smile, lift her skirt, and walk into the center of the crowd. She raised her arms and waved them a few times to the rhythm of the music, then spun around a few times, which drew applause and cheers.
The lighting technician then let her go and went to look for the next figure.
At this banquet, Su Er was only familiar with Shu Sui and Xiao Shiyu, so she naturally stood with them.
They are all alumni, and Shu Sui and Xiao Shiyu had worked together before, so they are quite familiar with each other.
Shu Sui said in surprise, "I didn't know you two were so close. I was thinking of introducing you two."
Su Er said, "I met my senior brother when we were rehearsing a play in the club. At that time, we couldn't come up with a play for the final exams, and my senior brother helped me."
"Is it Ms. Shen's class?" Shu Sui said. "Her class is the strictest."
Su Er couldn't help but shudder when she recalled that painful time. Xiao Shiyu smiled when he remembered Su Er back then, "I remember that little Er shed a lot of tears because of this."
Su Er was truly driven to desperation at that time. This was the only course she had to pass. She found out that Xiao Shiyu had gotten the highest score in this course, so she didn't care about anything else. Whenever she saw him, she would follow him around and keep saying, "Senior brother, please help me. If you don't help me, I'm going to fail this course."
She was wiping away tears as she spoke, which drew stares from passersby.
Xiao Shiyu handed her a tissue, and seeing her red and swollen eyes, his heart softened, and he agreed.
Su Er eventually passed the course, and that's how their friendship began.
Looking back on that time now, it's actually quite an interesting memory.
Shu Sui found it amusing and couldn't help but tease, "A handsome man and a beautiful woman, didn't they spark any romance?"
"There was such a time," Su Er said with a frank smile. "Actually, there was a period when I had a crush on my senior brother."
At that time, she had only been in university for a short time, so it seemed reasonable for her to develop feelings of affection for a senior who had saved her from dire straits.
Shu Sui noticed Xiao Shiyu's astonishment, then looked at Su Er, who was now speaking so casually about it, and asked with a smile, "Just a crush? You didn't take any real action?"
"I was shy back then, and I also found out that my senior had someone he liked, so I gave up."
The innocent love that arises in youth is tinged with cautious apprehension and a fear of not daring to move forward, for fear of losing a precious friendship due to momentary recklessness, so it is better to keep at the distance of friends.
Later, Su Er gradually let go of this matter under the pressure of her heavy studies, and started a new relationship. Her friendship with Xiao Shiyu has lasted until now.
The reason she can talk about it so casually now is simply because everything is in the past, and she also feels a bit of self-deprecation about her youthful days.
As they were chatting, a man suddenly approached Su Er with his phone and said, "Ms. Su, let's take a picture together."
Su Er didn't think much of it and nodded, "Okay."
The man handed his phone to another person accompanying him and walked to Su Er's side. "Miss Su, you look absolutely radiant tonight."
Su Er smelled the strong smell of alcohol on him, frowned, straightened up, and, not wanting to talk to him any longer, replied perfunctorily, "You flatter me, let's take a picture."
But as soon as he finished speaking, Su Er's face darkened abruptly, and he nudged the man away with his elbow. "Sir, please have some self-respect."
The man laughed mockingly: "What's wrong with me?"
There is indeed a possibility of physical contact when taking group photos, mostly with the waist slightly tucked in.
But that moment was different. Su Er could clearly feel his hand moving down her waist. If she hadn't dodged in time, it would have touched her buttocks the next second.
Su Er didn't want to get into a conflict with such a person in public, so she turned to leave.
But the man was clearly not willing to let Su Er off so easily. He looked at her darkly and threatened, "Do you know how much money I spend on your brand in a year? Go ask the senior executives here how many of them dare to offend me."
The loud voice attracted the attention of those around her. Su Er clenched her fists, trying her best to suppress the urge to curse. Xiao Shiyu came over in time to block part of her view and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Shu Sui also stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "Mr. Wang, you're so angry, let me take a picture with you."
The song ended at this point, and during the group photo session, the man was pulled away by his friends.
Su Er's face was still pale and hadn't recovered. Shu Sui came over and put her arm around her shoulder. "Okay, smile. Let's go take pictures."
Su Er forced a smile. "Senior brother, Sister Sui, thank you for what you just said."
"Hey, don't be so polite. There are a lot of people like that. Just stay away from them in the future," Shu Sui patted her back and comforted her softly.
Shu Sui could tell that Su Er was well protected and possessed an inherent pride and purity that had never been tainted by worldly affairs.
Such purity... is what she once lost, and what she yearns for most at this moment.
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