"Do you think I should be happy?" Liu Shishi's beautiful eyes rolled slightly, adding a touch of spirit to her.
"That depends on whether you think of yourself as a star or an actress, Sister Shishi." Zhang Yang leaned forward slightly, narrowing the safe distance between them.
"Is there a difference?" Liu Shishi was quite interested in what Zhang Yang had to say, and she relaxed naturally.
Zhang Yang noticed it all. He pushed the vegetable salad toward Liu Shishi and spoke at length. "For an actor, having a role remembered means they did a good job, and that's worth being happy about."
"But if you're a star, whether you work as an actor, a singer, an athlete, or in some other profession, everything you do is to become famous. Having a role remembered is still worth being happy about, but only because it can boost your popularity."
"If the show is popular but the star isn't, you might not feel so great."
Liu Shishi nodded thoughtfully. "Then I might be half a star?"
"Half?" Now Zhang Yang was curious. "What do you mean?"
"I think being happy that my roles are appreciated and being happy that I become famous each count for half." Liu Shishi smiled gently. "Actually, when I first started out, I wanted to be famous."
"Now that I've been through more, I don't think fame is that important. It feels pretty nice to do a good job with a role and leave something behind in this world."
If anyone else had said that, Zhang Yang would have scoffed.
But he believed it coming from the woman before him, the most laid-back actress among the 85 Flowers, nicknamed "Xianyu Si."
"Sister Shishi, I think we should shake hands." Zhang Yang suddenly held out his hand.
"Hm?" Liu Shishi looked puzzled.
"I feel the same way you do." Zhang Yang smiled brightly and said earnestly, "Chasing fame and fortune too hard can make you lose sight of who you are and the people around you. But going through life without any goals feels empty. I think your attitude is great."
"You're not just flattering me, are you?" Liu Shishi's eyes gleamed.
"Of course not." Zhang Yang shook his head. "I'm not flattering you. I genuinely think we're kindred spirits. We could even start an organization."
"An organization? What kind?" Liu Shishi started eating the vegetable salad with her fork.
"Xianyu Gate!" Zhang Yang declared.
"Salted fish?" Liu Shishi furrowed her brows.
Did those two words suit Liu Shishi?
"Sister Shishi, you've heard of a salted fish turning over, right?" Zhang Yang explained the expression to Liu Shishi, then continued, "Our Xianyu Gate is about not chasing great achievements in life, but preferring a relaxed, laid-back lifestyle and taking life's challenges and competition in stride."
Liu Shishi's brow immediately relaxed.
Come to think of it, she felt the words "salted fish" suited her quite well.
"So we're the two founding members of Xianyu Gate?" Liu Shishi smiled. "How should we find new members?"
"There's no need to go looking for them. That wouldn't fit our principles." Zhang Yang shook his head, then nodded. "If we meet someone like-minded in our daily lives, we can bring them in. We shouldn't go out of our way to recruit people."
Liu Shishi gave him a thumbs-up, then chatted with Zhang Yang at length about Xianyu Gate.
Meanwhile, Hu Ge sat in a car with the window down, enjoying the breeze.
His personal assistant looked confused. "Bro, you told me to call and say you were leaving. Did you just come to the Bund to enjoy the breeze?"
"Yeah, just enjoying the breeze." Hu Ge looked completely nonchalant.
In fact, he'd heard from Cai Yinong that Nicky Wu was pursuing Liu Shishi, and he wanted to make things a little harder for the latter.
Nicky Wu was certainly an excellent man, better than more than 95 percent of men by any measure. Even though he'd been married, he was still a good match for most women.
But Liu Shishi was seventeen years younger than Nicky Wu and had never had a boyfriend. She was beautiful, had a great figure, was famous, and didn't lack money. She was a rising star; there was no need for her to date an older man.
He thought of Liu Shishi as a younger sister, but he couldn't just tell her what to do when it came to love.
After meeting Zhang Yang today, he'd had a sudden idea: he could help bring the two of them together. It wasn't like he was playing matchmaker; he just wanted Liu Shishi to spend more time with a young, handsome guy so she'd have someone to compare Nicky Wu with.
If Nicky Wu could still win Liu Shishi over after that, Hu Ge would give them his blessing.
"A'Yang, don't let me down. You're both clueless about relationships, and a handsome man and a beautiful woman make a good match." Hu Ge slowly rolled up the car window.
If Zhang Yang had known what Hu Ge was thinking, he would definitely have said, "You're actually a really nice guy."
The good times never lasted long. It wasn't until her assistant called that Liu Shishi realized it was already past three in the afternoon.
If she kept chatting with Zhang Yang, they'd be able to have dinner together.
She used to get so engrossed chatting over afternoon tea with Tang Yan and Yang Mi, too.
After Liu Shishi hung up, Zhang Yang spoke first. "Sister Shishi, it's getting late. I have a lot to take care of back at school, so let's set another time for our next meeting."
The word "meeting" made Liu Shishi laugh again. She usually seemed cool and composed, but in truth, she laughed easily.
"Sure, let's set another time." Liu Shishi's smile was beautiful.
Zhang Yang was momentarily dazzled. He silently recited the Scumbag Sutra: Don't give up an entire forest for one tree. Don't—
Zhang Yang walked Liu Shishi to the underground parking garage beneath the restaurant building. Her assistant had already brought the car around.
"Do you want me to take you to school?" Liu Shishi rolled down the window after getting in.
"No need. I have a few other things to do." Zhang Yang declined Liu Shishi's kind offer.
Liu Shishi said nothing more. She waved to Zhang Yang, then rolled up the window.
After driving out of the parking garage, her assistant asked Liu Shishi, "Sister Shishi, you seemed really happy today."
Was she happy?
Thinking of the things Zhang Yang had said, how humorous and witty he'd been, the corners of her mouth curved up without her noticing.
"I really was happy."
"Because I started a party today."
Assistant: ?
Meanwhile, Zhang Yang stood in the elevator, wondering whether he should fly to Xiamen.
The reason, naturally, was the updated content in the Entertainment Opportunity Guide.
[Time: 11-03-11 12:13 Location: Hall of Mental Cultivation, Tong'an Film and Television City, Xiamen Guide: (Unlock pending/1 Character Point)]
Zhang Yang was very familiar with the Hall of Mental Cultivation at Tong'an Film and Television City in Xiamen.
At this point in time, the set had been rented by the Palace Lock Pearl Curtain (Palace 2) production crew.
The night before, while scrolling through Weibo, he'd seen Yang Mi post that she'd be making a guest appearance in a role there in the next few days.
"Could this opportunity have something to do with Da Mimi?"
"Really, I just need to be of help to the crew and get Yu Zhen indebted to me."
"Though that guy is shameless and a plagiarist, the shows he produces really do make people famous."
To be honest, he wanted to go there and see if he'd get lucky.
But the next moment, his mind changed, because the Opportunity Manual updated again.
[Time: 11-03-11 15:33 Location: Outside Room X, Building X, Shanghai Theatre Academy Guide: (Unlock pending/1 Character Point)]
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