Chapter 165: The Paparazzi

Just as they sat down with their purchased breakfast, Yu Qian walked into the cafeteria, and the two people who spotted her at a glance couldn't help but smile.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too idyllic; for a brief moment, Yu Qian even entertained the thought that having a teenage romance wouldn't be so bad. But coming back to her senses, she realized that if they were to date right now, leaving Wen Xiu aside, just her own parents could chew Zhou Jingchen up alive. Forget it, forget it. There weren't many years left anyway; she should just endure it a little longer.

Zhou Jingchen would take a couple of bites of his meal and then look up at Yu Qian, take another couple of bites and look up again. That expression was simply unbearable to watch.

This was precisely the scene Han Su and the other two encountered when they arrived at the cafeteria.

The group felt a slight ache in their teeth. Should they perhaps seriously go find girlfriends to date themselves as well?

"Long time no see, Xiao Qian." Han Su walked over with his tray of food and sat down.

"Long time no see." Yu Qian looked up and smiled. "Brother Han Su, Brother Yiting, Brother Yuyang."

Having studied in the provincial capital together for several years—though Zhou Jingchen was frequently away from campus due to filming—the three of them had grown quite close to Yu Qian. They accepted her addressing them as "brother" with complete ease.

"How many days are you staying here?"

"I have to leave this afternoon to rush back for a competition." She smiled a bit sheepishly.

"You're leaving today?!" Yuyang exclaimed in surprise.

As soon as he said it, he felt something was off, and turning to look at Zhou Jingchen, he found that the latter's expression had indeed turned somewhat gloomy.

Stuffing the egg yolk from her plate into Zhou Jingchen's mouth and dusting off her hands, Yu Qian spoke: "Mhm, there's a competition. If it weren't for our schedules not aligning, Xiuxiu wouldn't have let me come see him in the first place."

Several girls eavesdropping nearby looked at each other in dismay. A competition? What competition? How come they had no idea about any competition happening recently?

Those who had racked their brains running through every academic contest imaginable completely failed to realize that this competition referred not to the academic circle, but to the entertainment industry.

It wasn't until several years later, when Zhou Jingchen officially made his relationship public and fans dug up everything about Yu Qian, that they finally realized what competition the young girl had been talking about back then.

After finishing the meal, Zhou Jingchen's expression was still somewhat sullen. Yu Qian sighed and tugged at his hand: "Come on, stop wearing such a gloomy face. It was so hard for me to get time off just to come see you."

Staring glumly at the pouting girl with her curved, smiling eyes, Zhou Jingchen could easily imagine how adorable her smile was even through her mask: "The time is so short."

"Pfft—" Amused by him, she took the initiative to slip her arm through his: "Special circumstances, you know. After my debut, apart from fashion weeks and endorsement events, I won't be staying anywhere else for long periods. By then, I can come accompany you whenever I'm not in class."

Though he was still a bit sullen, thinking about the good days ahead, he endured it.

After a moment of thought, she added: "My contract expires in two years anyway. Once I quit the circle, it won't be you accompanying me, but me accompanying you."

"You're quitting the circle?" He asked with some confusion. Why?

Strolling leisurely toward the sports field, Zhou Jingchen gathered his thoughts and explained: "Mhm. Having talent doesn't mean you love it. I agreed to enter the industry because Wen Xiu said the studio lacked resources and needed someone to step up and take the lead. Under the circumstances back then, the most suitable person was me."

Though Zhou Jingchen put it simply, Yu Qian understood completely.

When Zhou Jingchen agreed to enter the entertainment industry, supposedly for the studio, it was actually for her. After all, back then, aside from a few freshly signed amateurs still undergoing training, the only one genuinely preparing to enter the industry was her.

He had paved the way for her.

Pulling her under the shade of a tree, he spread the jacket he had prepared on the ground and handed her his water bottle. "Besides, I don't like a life where every single move I make is under the lens."

Following his gaze, she spotted a few people sneaking around taking photos. Yu Qian frowned and pulled the cap she had just taken off back down over her head.

...

"Damn it!" The group over there were getting fired up. For two days straight, they hadn't managed to capture a single clear photo of the girl's face.

News about the popular young actor having a girlfriend had blown up yesterday. It wasn't just the few of them; plenty of others had come to keep watch as well, yet not a single person had managed to photograph the girl's face, leaving them with no way of knowing who she was.

They had assumed she would surely have to take off her mask during lunch, but who would have thought that Zhou Jingchen's wealthy young friends would surround her so tightly that even if she took it off, it couldn't be photographed.

Seething with frustration, they saw the girl leave the school gates and hail a taxi shortly after lunch, and hastily followed.

They managed to keep up all the way to the airport, only for the girl to step into the restroom and completely vanish.

Running laps around the airport terminal several times, they utterly failed to find her.