He Zhou's tone was very natural.

So natural that Jiang Ye didn't even realize anything was wrong for a moment.

But when she realized, the next time she looked at He Zhou, her eyelashes couldn't help but flutter slightly.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Only a hint of ambiguity, crossing the line of friendship, was quietly spreading.

Jiang Ye held her cup of ginger tea, steadied herself, and deliberately asked, "What?"

"..."

He Zhou looked over, without blinking, his tone still very calm, "After all, I'm one of your millions of fans, right?"

He reminded Jiang Ye, "The kind who voted for you."

Oh.

Jiang Ye lowered her head and took two sips of ginger tea.

She had thought too much.

But Jiang Ye still continued the conversation, "Then if you were a fan now, what kind of changes would you want to see me make?"

"It doesn't matter."

He Zhou said, "I just want you to be happy."

Jiang Ye was slightly stunned.

"I hope you do what you like. I hope you don't change your original intention when facing the market."

"And I hope you'll never be sad, never feel lost, never be dragged along by fate."

He Zhou paused and said softly, "I think the people who are still continuing to like you must have been holding on for a long time."

"For them, everything else isn't really that important. As long as you're still you, that's enough."

"Jiang Ye."

He Zhou looked at her, and said seriously, "Just keep doing what you want to do."

Jiang Ye blinked.

The ginger tea in her cup was almost gone.

And her body seemed to be warming up too, her heart was gradually beating faster.

The rain was still falling outside the window.

But she was about to come out of the rain inside.

Jiang Ye finished her ginger tea in one gulp, curved her eyes, and said confidently, "Okay, I will."

The Jiang Ye with light in her eyes was back.

He Zhou finally felt relieved.

They chatted about other topics casually.

Jiang Ye discovered that He Zhou was a good listener.

No matter what she talked about, he could always pick up on it and give her appropriate advice.

This made her feel very comfortable.

"You've listened to me talk so much, but why do I feel like you've never talked about your feelings?"

Jiang Ye asked him, "How are you doing lately, everything going smoothly?"

The topic suddenly switched to him, and He Zhou was a little uncomfortable for a moment.

He paused and said, "The same as before."

Jiang Ye: "So... You haven't found a girlfriend or anything?"

"... Not yet."

He Zhou looked into her eyes, "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

Jiang Ye didn't know why she asked this out of the blue.

Suddenly meeting He Zhou's gaze, she felt a little guilty, her eyes darted away for a second, and she said, "Just... Asking."

He Zhou chuckled softly, "You wouldn't... Be trying to urge me to get married on behalf of my parents, would you?"

"... No."

"I'm just a bit curious."

Jiang Ye's fingertips tapped on the cup, and she said, "You wouldn't... Have stopped liking anyone else after the one you mentioned before, would you?"

He Zhou raised an eyebrow, "... Which one?"

Jiang Ye: "A long time ago, when you first competed, you said you had a crush on someone for a long time."

He Zhou seemed surprised that she remembered so clearly.

He lowered his eyes slightly, as if he was thinking of something, and he curved his lips before saying, "Yeah, no."

Jiang Ye: "So, she didn't end up with you?"

He Zhou: "... No."

"... It's a loss for the Chinese entertainment industry that you're not an idol."

Jiang Ye couldn't help but sigh, "You know, some idols have collapsed several times in these years."

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou asked softly, "Aren't you the same?"

Jiang Ye: "I'm different, I needed it for work."

He Zhou: "What about now?"

Jiang Ye didn't understand for a moment, "What?"

He Zhou looked at her and asked, "You're not an idol anymore, why don't you date?"

"..."

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment, she thought for a moment and chuckled softly, "Maybe I've gotten used to it after so many years."

She had been so used to absorbing the idol code of conduct for so many years, it wasn't something she could change overnight.

"Me too."

He Zhou said softly, "I'm used to it too."

Used to liking someone and still maintaining a friend's distance from her.

Also used to considering her work, so he kept all his feelings silent in his heart.

The rain really did continue to fall for two days, just like the weather forecast said.

Jiang Ye was too lazy to go out, so she just stayed in the hotel and watched movies.

She chose two movies.

One was a movie that Cheng Zhen had filmed last year.

She played a supporting role in it, her role wasn't big, but her character was distinct and memorable.

Although Cheng Zhen was known in the industry as a resource coffee, she was also a resource coffee with a bit of backbone.

Even if the script was good, she wouldn't take it if she felt her level wasn't enough to play the lead, instead, she would choose interesting supporting roles to play.

The other was the movie that helped Gu Jin successfully transition from an idol to an actress.

The film was very well-made, the subject matter was about real social problems, and it received good reviews when it was released.

And after this film, Gu Jin gave up her dream of being an idol and focused on acting.

Jiang Ye watched the movie and even took screenshots of Cheng Zhen's scenes and sent them to the group chat.

She had already booked a private screening for Cheng Zhen when the movie was released last year, but she hadn't had time to watch it.

Now she finally had the chance, she watched it, complained, and publicly executed Cheng Zhen.

Cheng Zhen was furious in the group chat.

【Aren't you on vacation in LA?！！】

Jiang Ye: 【This shows how much I love you, I'm willing to waste my precious vacation time on you:）】

Cheng Zhen: 【... Get lost!】

Jiang Ye laughed in the group chat, and then she laughed at He Zhou, who was watching the movie with her.

It was a very strange experience to have a good friend suddenly appear on the screen playing another role, especially since Cheng Zhen was playing a character that was very different from her.

"Hahaha, look at her outfit!"

"I'm dying, I have to make this into an emoji!"

He Zhou suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about becoming an actress?"

Jiang Ye was adding Cheng Zhen's emoji to the group chat, and she asked, "Why would I become an actress?"

She thought for a moment, "Because actors get paid more? It's okay, I'm not really short of money."

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou: "Because your friends, and other idols, many of them have become actresses, and they seem to be doing well."

He had also heard that the end of an idol's career is usually to transition to acting.

He Zhou asked, "Have you ever considered developing in that direction?"

Jiang Ye looked at him and suddenly smiled, "Then why haven't you become an idol?"

He Zhou was stunned, and he instantly understood what she meant.

"It's not impossible."

Jiang Ye said, "But I just don't want to."

"I'm not a professional, and I'm not interested in playing a role."

She joked, "So, I think I'll just stay away from the film market."

She was still in touch with Cheng Zhen and Gu Jin, and they would occasionally talk about interesting things that happened when they were filming.

Occasionally, she would go to visit them, and she saw things about filming that she had never seen before, and she thought they seemed happy like that.

But compared to the noisy film set, she still preferred the quiet practice room and the stage where every light shone for her.

The company had also asked her about her plans for acting.

But Jiang Ye said no.

She wanted the image of herself that the audience had to always be Jiang Ye, the shining star on stage.

That was enough.

Two days later, the weather finally cleared.

Jiang Ye's mood also improved a lot.

She had already figured out what she needed to think about, but since she had already taken a vacation, she didn't plan to go back to China now.

Thank goodness.

He Zhou asked her, "Where do you want to go next?"

"Since I'm already here, I might as well do something exciting."

Jiang Ye counted on her fingers, "I want to ride a roller coaster, and I also want to try extreme sports, like rock climbing, bungee jumping, skydiving, I want to try them all."

He Zhou: "..."

Jiang Ye blinked and looked at him, "Are you scared?"

He Zhou: "..."

He Zhou's scalp felt numb listening to her.

But to make Jiang Ye happy, he still gritted his teeth and said, "No."

Jiang Ye suddenly laughed, "I'm just kidding. You look like you don't want to go."

"Anyway, I've already solved my problem, it doesn't matter where we go."

She curved her eyes, "Where do you want to go to find inspiration, I'll go with you."

•••

Finally, they rented a car and started a road trip.

He Zhou was driving, and Jiang Ye was in the passenger seat, eating ice cream.

He Zhou looked at her, "It's too cold, eat less."

Jiang Ye's teeth were chattering from the cold, "No way, I have to make up for all the ice cream I didn't eat before."

As female celebrities, especially female idol group members, the public's standards for their body management are very strict.

People like Cheng Zhen, who don't gain weight easily, are the minority.

Most female celebrities are very restrained when it comes to their desire for food.

Although Jiang Ye wasn't as strict as Lin Zui, who hardly ever eats anything high-calorie, she still ate very little.

Once she felt like she had exceeded her daily calorie intake, she would immediately go to the gym to burn it off.

Jiang Ye held a spoon in her mouth, her words unclear, "Why don't we go eat fast food tomorrow? I want to eat a super-sized fried chicken."

He Zhou smiled helplessly, "Are you being childish?"

"No."

"I'm a gentleman who overeats, it's never too late."

Jiang Ye said, then scooped up another big spoonful, and naturally asked He Zhou, "Do you want some?"

He Zhou casually said, "No."

But after he said that, he realized that if he had said yes, would Jiang Ye feed him with the same spoon?

Then, in a roundabout way, wouldn't that be indirect kissing?

Unfortunately, he didn't have the chance.

After Jiang Ye refused, she ate the spoonful herself, with a bit of white ice cream on her lips, then she gently licked her lips.

He Zhou's mind instantly went blank.

"Hey hey hey, watch the road-"

Jiang Ye felt that He Zhou's driving skills were clearly not very good.

He could actually get distracted while driving, she didn't know what he was thinking about.

Fortunately, they arrived at a small town with few people, without any major incidents.

The location was remote, so the price of the B&B wasn't very expensive.

Jiang Ye's English wasn't very good, so He Zhou was responsible for negotiating the accommodation, and she, wearing a mask and hat, carried her luggage and obediently followed him.

After He Zhou finished negotiating, she seemed to hear the owner say a blessing.

Jiang Ye didn't hear clearly, so she asked He Zhou, "What did he say?"

He Zhou naturally picked up their two pieces of luggage and smiled, "He wished us a pleasant trip."

--To be precise, he wished you and your lover a pleasant trip.

After putting their luggage away, He Zhou asked, "Want to go for a walk?"

Jiang Ye: "Sure."

He Zhou took his guitar from his suitcase and went out with Jiang Ye.

He had come to find Jiang Ye under the pretext of finding inspiration, so it wasn't strange for him to bring his guitar with him.

The area was vast and sparsely populated, and they hardly saw anyone along the way.

Jiang Ye also took off her mask, feeling the natural breeze blowing, and she suddenly said, "You're carrying a guitar, and I'm walking beside you, we look like a wandering band."

"It's kind of like that."

He Zhou thought for a moment and said, "If our phones and luggage get stolen, and we can't pay, maybe we can go busking to earn enough money to get home."

"That would be too miserable."

Jiang Ye laughed, "My performance fees in China usually start at seven figures."

They walked for a while and sat down by a field.

Jiang Ye: "Have you got any inspiration?"

He Zhou: "I'll try."

Jiang Ye propped her chin on her hand, watching He Zhou intently.

The sun was setting, and He Zhou was bathed in an orange light as he played the guitar, making her a little lost in thought.

He Zhou played a few notes and then stopped.

Jiang Ye asked, "A new song?"

"Yeah."

He Zhou asked, "Does it sound good?"

Jiang Ye smiled, "Of course it sounds good, you wrote it."

Her gaze unconsciously drifted down, landing on He Zhou's fingers pressing against the guitar strings.

"Want to try?"

He Zhou said, "I remember you can play."

"I'm not very good."

Jiang Ye shook her head, "And I haven't played in a long time."

The last time, it seemed, she had played to surprise her fans at an anniversary concert.

It had been three or four years since then, she must have gotten rusty.

"It's okay, I'll teach you."

He Zhou naturally handed the guitar to Jiang Ye, and he bent down to ask her, "What do you want to play?"

He was a little close, his breath pressed down on her from above.

Jiang Ye held her breath for a second.

The setting sun cast a shadow on her, covering her entire body, as if wrapping her inside.

She looked up against the light, and she couldn't help but stare at him for a moment.

When He Zhou asked a second time, Jiang Ye came back to her senses and heard his question.

"... Anything."

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and tried to play a few notes.

Her fingering was indeed a bit rusty, and she pressed the strings a bit clumsily.

But He Zhou recognized it.

It was a song he wrote last year, the company executive said it was pretty mediocre, so they didn't release it.

He was a bit discouraged at the time, and he played the song for Jiang Ye, and her encouragement helped him get back on his feet.

He Zhou didn't expect her to remember.

Jiang Ye played while recalling, occasionally glancing at He Zhou.

Suddenly, there was a "zheng" sound.

Jiang Ye was startled by the sound of the string, and her fingers twitched slightly.

She sighed helplessly, "I think I played the wrong note."

He Zhou looked over.

Then he reached out and gently pinched one of Jiang Ye's fingers.

He Zhou's body temperature spread through her skin.

Jiang Ye's heart skipped a beat.

He Zhou naturally moved her finger down a fret, "You put it in the wrong place, that's why you played the wrong note."

His tone was very gentle, as if he was teaching a child, "Try again?"

The autumn wind blew past Jiang Ye's slightly red ears.

The finger that He Zhou had pinched felt a little hot.

It was not the string that was wrong.

Jiang Ye thought.

It was her heart that was wrong.