The night wind rustled the leaves, a whooshing sound overhead.

Yan Man looked at him, waiting for an answer.

Ye Lin maintained his previous posture, didn’t think too much, and said plainly, “No.”

He turned around, stepped onto the RV, paused for a moment after two steps, and repeated again.

“Don’t like.”

Yan Man said, “You don’t like me, not even a little bit, is that right?”

In the shadows leading into the vehicle, she couldn’t see his expression clearly.

“Mm.”

The RV door closed quickly, and the sound of Bi Tan hurriedly checking the schedule came from inside. The vehicle drove away from the roadside, stirring up a few fallen leaves.

Yan Man blinked. Before she could react, she saw Zhou Xuan rush over. “Holy crap!”

“What’s wrong?”

Zhou Xuan: “Someone leaked that you’re chasing Ye Lin!”

She lowered her head and looked at the phone Zhou Xuan handed her.

It was a gossip entertainment blogger with over a million followers.

Gossip King: 【Inside source reveals, there’s juicy gossip from the “Fleeting Years” crew! Does everyone remember the female lead Yan Man? Debuting as the female lead in a big production, she’s really brave! She’s actually really chasing Ye Lin. Your King specifically verified this, saying it’s no secret on set. Yan Man follows Ye Lin around all day, and this drama even features Ye Lin’s most daring scenes since his debut—

And exclusively learned that she has signed with Xiwen Entertainment.】

Top comments followed:

【Who? Don’t know her, next.】

【Heh, leech, keep leeching, leech hard. Isn’t this just a newbie trying to suck blood for fame? Seen it all before.】

【Doesn’t matter, hahaha, all you Ling Dang sisters don’t need to be nervous, there’s no way she’ll succeed anyway.】

【Yeah, all these years, Ye Lin’s been a rock, the small-time actresses a flowing stream. Leech all you want, has the top star ever fallen from his pedestal?】

【I have a feeling this wave isn’t over yet. The movie’s not even in the promotion period. In a while, it’ll definitely be the female side’s overwhelming hype. Xiwen, that’s their usual routine.】

【See if Ye Lin pays her any attention after filming wraps. He’ll avoid her like the plague, okay?】

【The last female artist who did this has already become a nobody six feet under. She’s next. Became irrelevant before even getting famous. I bet two hundred bucks.】

【But being able to sign with Xiwen, she must be really beautiful, right?】

Yan Man took out her own phone and refreshed the page.

“How long ago was this Weibo post made?”

“About two hours, why?”

Yan Man: “It got me fifty thousand new followers.”

“...”

Zhou Xuan said hesitantly, “Followers... or black fans waiting to骂 you?”

“I don’t know about others,” Yan Man said, “but a few who are骂ing me are using my photos as their profile pictures.”

“...”

She had a pretty rich life back in college. The photography department next door was also the school’s top program, and friends often asked her to model for shoots. She had quite a few photos that were somewhat popular online.

There was one set with particularly wide circulation, because rumor had it that it attracted a lot of romantic attention.

These people dissing her probably didn’t even know what she looked like—

When they were exposed later, their expressions should be quite interesting.

Thinking this way, she was a little bit looking forward to it.

Yan Man returned to that Weibo post and refreshed it.

Zhou Xuan saw her absentmindedness: “What are you thinking about?”

“Thinking...” Yan Man paused, “whether or not to redefine my relationship with Ye Lin.”

Zhou Xuan was a little surprised: “Why? You’re giving up just because they’re not optimistic? That’s not your style.”

“Of course not,” Yan Man said. “No matter what I do, I always come first.”

“Back then, chasing Ye Lin was originally just to make myself happy—”

Of course, during the days she chased him, she did indeed gain a lot of happiness.

She often felt very romantic, good at talking, and very skilled at flirting with a woman.

She also experienced many emotions in the process of chasing him. These feedbacks in her acting career were all experiences that helped her handle characters better.

Yan Man: “But now my scenes with Ye Lin are all finished. Tomorrow is my last scene alone. If there’s no new happiness to be gained, then shouldn’t it end?”

Zhou Xuan stood there, looking thoughtful.

“But I really want to slap their faces.”

Yan Man tilted her head and joked, “Who says I can’t slap their faces just because I give up? What if Ye Lin turns around and chases me again?”

“...”

“Okay, that’s really impossible.” Yan Man couldn’t help but laugh, patting her back. “Let’s go, go back and rest.”

The next day was Xiwen’s artist evaluation meeting.

Yan Man originally thought she would be the only one, but when she pushed open the door to the dance studio, she found about a dozen girls standing inside.

They were all young, with uniformly beautiful faces, good proportions, and great figures.

Once you entered the industry, you realized that beauty was the least scarce thing.

Perhaps because she had acted with a top star, Yan Man felt that everyone recognized her. As soon as she entered, everyone’s eyes looked over, and after a few seconds, the sound of rustling discussions arose.

She sat on a soft chair, surrounded by mirrors, with a clear view from all angles.

Soon, a short-haired woman walked in and nodded to everyone.

Her face was naturally stern, and she didn’t smile.

“First of all, welcome everyone to Xiwen Entertainment. Today is the evaluation meeting. I will evaluate you based on your external conditions and various abilities.”

“Different ratings will have different resource allocations and managers. Please do your best.”

“Of course, there will definitely be situations where you don’t perform well,” the woman said. “But that’s the market. Sometimes there’s only one chance, and it depends on whether you can seize it.”

“First, I will give an initial rating based on my first impression of you.”

Everyone stood up, like merchandise in a display window, waiting to be scored and selected by the market.

Yan Man initially found it a bit exaggerated, but now she thought, as expected of a big company, very realistic. Seemingly an evaluation, it was also their first lesson.

The woman held a tablet and typed letters as she walked, and there was a projection on the screen, clearly showing all the results.

A bit like a talent show, Yan Man thought, which could both stimulate the contestants and make them understand at the first moment what entering the industry really meant.

The woman walked from left to right, typing in order: BBBBBBBABB.

The situation was not optimistic. There was only one A.

The last one was Yan Man.

At this time, she actually still had time to think that the producer’s comment about the company having a shortage of young talent was true.

She met the woman’s gaze. For some reason, she suddenly couldn’t hold back and almost burst out laughing, and then she did laugh.

The woman stared at her for a while, frowned, thought for a long time, and made her first mark.

Yan Man thought it was going to be bad, but the letter that appeared in front of her eyes was an S.

She was also a little surprised, but before she was completely surprised, the woman added two more strokes.

One horizontal, one vertical.

S+.

Soon, a murmur of discussion arose in the crowd.

A girl with medium-long hair said, “Why? Just because she acted with Ye Lin? Sister May, this isn’t fair.”

Every company had a Sister May, Yan Man found it quite strange.

Voices of dissatisfaction also came from the side, speaking up for the girl: “Yeah, our Qiao Ke is also very talented. She played the second female lead in a popular drama this year and only got an A.”

“In terms of acting experience, Yan Man isn’t as rich as Qiao Ke, right?”

“Qiao Jie’s acting is really good, I’ve watched it too.”

But Sister May didn’t respond to this.

“Alright, choose your scripts in order according to your ratings. S+ has priority.”

Yan Man thought for a while and said, “It’s okay, I’ll choose last.”

So as not to let them say it was unfair.

Entering the selection phase, there was a script that everyone found difficult, and they all tacitly didn’t choose it.

Yan Man looked at it for a while, felt it was quite challenging, so she took it.

Voices of contention came from the side, thinking she wanted to show off: “Such confidence to dare to take this? Did ‘Fleeting Years’ give her a wrong perception of her abilities? Even several popular actresses don’t dare to touch this script.”

Half an hour later, everyone first entered the singing and dancing tests. After they were done, Yan Man returned to her seat and continued reading the script.

The most important acting test was up next, and Qiao Ke went first.

Qiao Ke had been a background actor for several years and had a lot of acting experience. She handled the turning points well, and her lines were fluent.

Sister May nodded, thinking that such acting skills were enough to make up for some flaws in appearance. She also felt a faint worry for Yan Man’s upcoming performance.

Too beautiful always made people worry if she was just a pretty face.

Yan Man stood up.

Sister May turned her head to look at her and asked, “Difficult?”

Yan Man: “Making money, nothing is easy.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted from below the stage.

But Sister May knew that the two scripts she chose were the most difficult.

The requirement was to cry while smiling, one for a lover and one for a family member.

As close-up shots, it was difficult to smile beautifully and even more difficult to cry beautifully. To look good and have the emotions in place was doubly difficult.

Therefore, acting out a scene of crying while smiling was almost a death-level difficulty for newcomers.

Even not being disastrous was hard.

But she completed it too well, so well that Sister May thought it was a customized script for her.

The tears for the lover were of parting, but not wanting him to worry, Yan Man’s tears welled up in her eyes but didn’t fall for a long time. She just looked around with tearful eyes, again and again, as if trying to remember every part of her lover.

The tears for the family member were of telling her heart. She cried non-stop, large tears rolling down her cheeks, but her face carried a smile, just looking at a certain point, constantly, constantly repeating the action of her lips opening and closing into a smile.

It was more like letting go.

Her acting still had some minor flaws, but this didn’t affect the stunning visual impact at all. The flaws didn’t obscure the jade’s brilliance. This was an absolute gem in the rough.

Sister May stood up.

She hadn’t felt this excited and flushed for a long time.

For a scene.

For an artist.

Suppressing the feeling in her chest, she nodded and sat back down.

When Yan Man stepped down from the stage, there was a wave of applause. Qiao Ke, who had just asked why she was S+, also raised her hand in admiration.

……

An hour later, all the assessment content was over.

Sister May re-scored, but it proved that her judgment was accurate. The second rating was still the same as the initial rating.

Finally, she leaned against the projector.

“Regarding why Yan Man is S+, I didn’t answer just now, but after these three hours, everyone should have the answer.”

“Current artists have only two paths, one is to act/sing well, and the other is to be a variety show personality. You all applauded her performance just now, and being able to act with Ye Lin, her abilities far exceed your imagination.”

“She also sang just now, and you all found it funny even when she just said a few casual words. What do you think that represents?”

“Not only can she act, but she also has variety show sense, can attract fans on variety shows, and is enough to carry a program on New Year’s Eve galas. I don’t even need to talk about her face, right? The industry doesn’t lack beauties, but it lacks top-tier beauties.”

……

The murmuring below gradually stopped.

Yan Man felt a little restless and said, “Actually, I was a bit off-key in one part just now.”

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

A burst of laughter erupted beside her. Even Sister May rarely showed a smile, looking at her helplessly.

When Yan Man left, Qiao Ke also walked over to her with a smile.

“I’m sorry, I was actually questioning you just now. But after this competition, I realized that my horizons were really narrow. Your crying scene was so good. I hope we have the opportunity to work together in the future.”

“I apologize again for my abruptness.”

“It’s okay,” Yan Man said with a smile, “Your words are nothing compared to the black fans.”

“...”

You’re so powerful.

On the way back, Yan Man suddenly felt like she had leveled up in a game.

She had passed the first stage and was eager to try the second.

Just as she entered the film and television city, she happened to see a popular actress filming. The name sounded familiar, it was Ji Ning whom they were always talking about.

In the past, Yan Man wouldn’t have thought much about it when passing by, but at this moment, she felt that she might one day become a better actress too.

She watched Ji Ning’s performance under the camera, her heart full of passion and shining brightly, inexplicably moving.

Having a career that she could also strive for was indeed very fortunate.

Yan Man entered the crew and heard people say that Ye Lin had gone back at noon and hadn’t come back yet.

The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and in a good mood, Yan Man felt confident again.

She opened her phone and sent him a message: 【Baby, remember to bring our love token little bear today!】

As a result, Ye Lin didn’t come in the afternoon either. She heard he had some urgent matter to deal with. Yan Man didn’t deliberately wait, scrolled through Weibo, watched videos, and occasionally harassed him a bit, reminding him to bring the little bear.

Finally, before Yan Man’s last scene began, she saw Ye Lin.

The man got out of the RV, wearing the blue outfit she liked very much. Yan Man sped up and ran towards him, then heard him say, “Excuse me.”

She stood there and looked back.

The man quickened his pace forward and soon entered the restroom.

He seemed to be wearing the same coat as yesterday, but the little bear wasn’t hanging on it.

……

The crew assistant shouted to her from afar, “Teacher Man Man, last scene, hurry up!”

This was a very fitting farewell scene for the female lead.

She leaned against the train window, planning to leave this city. Before leaving, she waved towards the direction of the stage where she and the male lead first met.

There was a relieved smile on her face.

At that moment, Yan Man felt relieved along with the female lead.

The previous bit of disappointment, a bit of confusion, a bit of unwillingness, along with the female lead’s wave, were all metabolized out of her body.

She was someone who very much believed in fate. Because she didn’t like to choose, she liked to leave the answers to destiny’s judgment.

And now, fate was telling her that it seemed it should end.

Yan Man finished taking her wrap-up photos, didn’t take the bouquet of flowers, and then returned to the hotel.

The first thing she did upon entering the room was to turn on the computer.

Zhou Xuan: “What are you doing? Not going to post on Weibo first?”

“Do you believe in fate?” Yan Man suddenly said, “My scenes with Ye Lin are finished. He only rejects others once, but he rejected me twice. I originally thought he was just being stubborn, but after thinking about it, he might really not like me.”

“And I suddenly felt the joy of acting, at that moment when I empathized with the female lead, on this day when I returned from Xiwen Entertainment.”

“And this day just happens to be my wrap-up day.”

Yan Man had an epiphany: “It means heaven is telling me to focus on my career and not be held back by men. I understand.”

Zhou Xuan: “...Huh?”

Yan Man: “I just searched my name and found that the first three pages are all about me and Ye Lin’s CP. How can I be an actress like this? People will all say I’m a marketing gimmick.”

“I don’t want that,” Yan Man said. “I have to uncouple myself from him.”

“So you’re going to...?”

Yan Man acted on impulse: “I’m going to cut a BE (Bad Ending) video to announce to the world that we’re completely over.”

“From today on, Yan Man is beautiful alone.”

……

The hour hand circled five times, pointing directly at three in the morning.

As if guided by some force, Zhou Xuan, who was asleep, suddenly woke up from her dream. She looked up and saw Yan Man clicking the “Confirm” button.

Three seconds later, a pop-up window appeared on the screen—

【Video “Yan Man x Ye Lin | Truth is False, BE is True” has been successfully uploaded.】

Yan Man let out a long breath, unplugged the power cord, and with a clear voice, drew a period to this journey of pursuing him in reverse—

“Whoever wants to chase can chase. I’m done.”