Yan Shu looked at the script in her hand and realized she had just written a paragraph. It was after she finished memorizing TOEFL vocabulary that day; she picked up the notebook, and when she came to her senses, she found she had already written a paragraph:
"Sister, why did you sharpen your feet?" Cindy asked her older sister with a childlike expression.
"Because I want to wear those glass slippers—I want to be happy."
However, when the glass slipper was placed in front of her, Cinderella hesitated. Should she give up the simple happiness she was currently experiencing?
I want to be with you.
"So, what is a dream?"
"I think everyone has something they want, and I think that's what dreams are. So, even knowing it's difficult, maybe even impossible, I still want to do it."
Yan Shu opened her eyes. It was still dark. Lying in bed, she couldn't see anything in the dormitory.
How many years ago did she say those words? Why does she break out in a cold sweat now when she thinks about them?
She suddenly realized that her face was wet, and the liquid was dripping into her mouth, tasting salty.
"I think everyone has something they want, and I think that's what dreams are. So even though I know it's difficult, maybe even impossible, I still want to do it."
A flamboyant and handsome face, with sculpted features, wearing only jeans, standing barefoot on the beach, looking up at the sky with a resolute expression and unusually serious eyes.
"I want that patch of blue."
Yan Shu held a glass of cola in her hand, staring blankly at the huge poster.
Yang Sen, he really did it!
"Hmm, this photo taken by Asen is really good." Mu Yang nodded after looking at it.
"Yes, yes." Yan Shu nodded as well. Almost everyone who passed by would stare at the poster, and some girls would even shout, "So handsome!"
"However, I guarantee his parents are absolutely furious." Just thinking about it made Yan Shu want to laugh. "This poster must be nationwide."
"Probably." Mu Yang smiled and pulled Yan Shu out of the crowd.
Mu Yang said, "Now that the exams are over, let's relax a bit." So Yan Shu decided to go shopping.
"How did you do on the exam?" Mu Yang asked casually, holding Yan Shu's hand. Yan Shu stopped, biting her lip, as if she had something to say but found it hard to say it.
"What's wrong?" Mu Yang asked with a smile, but a sense of unease crept into his heart.
“Mu Yang, I…” Yan Shu glanced at the poster, “I didn’t take the exam.”
He didn't go to the exam? He had something to do that day and couldn't get away, but he didn't expect Xiao Shu to do something like this. But he still smiled and looked at Yan Shu.
Yan Shu lowered her head slightly, then raised it again, looking directly into Mu Yang's eyes: "Because I don't want to."
"Are you really going to be this willful?" Mu Yang's voice was low.
"No, I'm not being willful. I don't want to, because that's not what I want." Yes, that's exactly why she understood perfectly. "Muyang, you want to be an architect, and I want to be a screenwriter. We promised to work hard together, didn't we?"
"Maybe I'll be fine if I go to America with you, Muyang. Maybe I'll achieve nothing if I stay in China. Perhaps I'll never realize this dream in my lifetime. But I won't regret it, because this is what I want."
"Is this what you wanted?"
“Yes.” Yan Shu nodded, looking at Mu Yang. “So, I’m sorry, I don’t want to go to America with you.”
She let go of Mu Yang's hand, turned around, walked away, and disappeared into the vast crowd in the commercial district.
A plane roared overhead. On the other side of the airport, Yan Shu, standing by the railing, looked up: "That must be Mu Yang's plane." Thinking about it, tears streamed down her face. "How pathetic," Yan Shu thought, burying her head in her arms. "I'm so useless."
"Come on, play it like this." A boy in a white shirt, black and white piano keys, flowing musical notes.
"I told you you could pass the exam."
--"I like you."
"This might be the biggest red envelope I've ever received."
--"long, long, long ago. It's very simple, I'll teach you next time."
Everything from the past flashed through Yan Shu's mind. Mu Yang had already gone to America! Yan Shu's tears flowed more and more, her vision gradually blurred, and she simply burst into tears: So, she had fallen in love with Mu Yang this much.
When did I get here? Yan Shu looked at the two characters "随便" (Suibian, meaning "Whatever"). After returning from the airport, she wandered around like a lost soul, and when she came to her senses, she found herself standing in front of "随便".
She pushed open the door of "Suibian" (meaning "whatever"). Everything inside the shop was the same, except that the owner was no longer behind the counter. Now, only a bearded man remained.
Had the owner already closed the shop and left? Yan Shu's heart tightened, and she walked over. The bearded man, seeing a customer, laughed heartily, "Welcome! What would you like, young lady?"
"Where's the boss?" Even though she already knew the answer, Yan Shu couldn't help but ask.
The bearded man burst into laughter: "Ha, ha, ha. I'm the boss."
“He’s the new boss.” The part-time worker walked over and pointed at the man. “You haven’t been here for so long, of course you wouldn’t know. He was replaced last week.”
As expected. She's gone after all. Yan Shu thought with a sense of loss, as if everything was saying goodbye to her in an instant. Her boss, Mu Yang, and even her own student days.
"What would you like to drink, young lady?" the bearded man asked.
"casual."
"We're not going to do 'whatever' anymore."
"Why?"
The part-time worker gave her a strange look: "Because the boss left."
"Is that so?" Yan Shu's expression suddenly became unreadable. Was the "whatever" part gone?
"Young lady, let me recommend our signature dish from now on: herbal tea." The bearded owner skillfully brewed a cup of tea, and a fragrant aroma wafted out. "It's good for the heart." He handed the tea over, "Here, young lady, you seem to be in a bit of a slump, so please drink this."
"Thank you." Yan Shu took the tea and sat down in her usual spot. People came and went on the street, everyone with indifferent expressions. The world seemed unchanged, but what about her heart?
"You're here," Yang Sen said, sitting down in front of her. "Why didn't you go to see Mu Yang off?"
Yan Shu lowered her head: "I'm afraid I'll cry."
"But you still cried." Yang Sen frowned. "I see your eyelids are swollen."
Yan Shu lay on the table, ignoring him. Was it swollen? She must look terrible right now; thankfully, Mu Yang hadn't seen her.
"Hey, you didn't go to America with Mu Yang because of what I said, right?" Yang Sen's voice was filled with guilt. "Seeing Mu Yang like this today, I feel really bad."
"No." Yan Shu remained unchanged, her voice muffled. "This is what I want, regardless of whose fault it is."
"Really?" Yang Sen raised an eyebrow. "That's good."
"Hmm." Yan Shu took a breath, looked up, and forced a smile: "Your parents didn't seem to react much to your poster shoot?"
"Hmph, despicable." Yang Sen spat out the two words through gritted teeth, his cold gaze startling Yan Shu.
"W-what's wrong?"
“They didn’t mention it at first, so I thought they didn’t care. But a few days ago, they actually wanted to pack me up and send me to England! They even said that if I didn’t want to go to England, Canada would be fine too!” Just thinking about the looks his parents gave him made him furious. “So, I’ve made up my mind.”
"What do you want to do?" Yan Shu stared at him with wide eyes.
"I've decided to officially join the entertainment industry!"
What?! Yan Shu stared at him blankly, while Yang Sen smiled broadly, as if he were standing under a spotlight.
"I'm currently short an assistant. How about it, Yan Shu, would you like to be one?"
Assistant? Himself? Did Yang Sen know what he was saying?
"That way, being in the same entertainment industry, you'll be closer to your dream."
Yang Sen's smile at this moment was unusually kind and understanding.
7
The scenery outside the window seemed unchanged; the streets were still bustling with people. Only the trees along the roadside had grown much larger, their dense foliage a deep green unique to summer.
And what about the people inside the window?
Five years have passed, and the marks are easily reflected on people's faces, and even more deeply in their hearts. Everyone understands: there's no going back to the past.
Yan Shu took a sip of tea. She seemed to have developed a liking for herbal teas around that time, finding them to have a calming effect. She asked casually, "How have you been these past few years in America?"
"It's alright," Mu Yang said with a smile. "It's just the same as studying, getting scholarships, getting a degree, working, and gaining experience."
It can't be that simple, can it? Yan Shu thought. They both studied and got degrees, but Yan Shu received a full scholarship; they both worked and gained experience, but Yan Shu always saw Yan Shu winning awards in the media and being hailed as a "rising star in the architecture world." It's ridiculous. Yan Shu said she didn't care, but she collected news about Yan Shu like a "star chaser."
"And you?"
"Me?" Yan Shu looked up at Mu Yang, who nodded. "Yes, and you?"
"I'm doing alright. I help Ah Sen with some things, and Ah Sen takes good care of me too."
Mu Yang chuckled softly upon hearing this: "Ah Sen has become famous so quickly in the past few years." He had seen Ah Sen's posters all the way here.
"Yeah, it's really baffling." Yan Shu frowned, surprised that someone with Ah Sen's willful personality could do so well in the entertainment industry.
His debut public service advertisement caused a sensation, giving him a head start compared to other newcomers. Although Ah Sen was willful, he was very conscientious when it came to work. In short, Ah Sen became an overnight sensation. Her initial job was simply to take care of Ah Sen's life and help him find work. Two years passed like this until she met Xiao Yi. She remembered Xiao Yi pointing her finger at her and yelling, "You've ruined a superstar!"
"Huh?" It's not a pleasant feeling to be pointed at and scolded, especially for Yan Shu, who felt it was a bit inexplicable.
“Yang Sen can become even more famous, even internationally renowned.” Wu Yi, a recent college graduate who had just started working, said this with the bright, ambitious look in his eyes. He said his goal was to become a top agent, and Yang Sen was the first person he had his eye on. “You can’t, but I can.”
So, Yang Sen got a proper agent, and Yan Shu became his legitimate assistant. Xiao Yi was really good; after he became his agent, Asen became more and more popular, showing a strong trend of becoming a star throughout Southeast Asia, not far from Xiao Yi's goal. However, his capriciousness also became increasingly pronounced: he constantly complained that this was too commercial and that lacked quality. Last year, he insisted on becoming a photographer, causing trouble for the earnest Xiao Yi. Fortunately, Xiao Yi was quick-witted and arranged for Asen to have a photobook taken. It was probably the strangest photobook on the market; Asen's image was only on the back cover and a few pictures in the middle, the rest were all his own work, yet it still sold quite well.
"It's really strange. He's so willful, but fans just think he's just a bit eccentric," Yan Shu sighed after taking a sip of tea. "Maybe, as Xiao Yi said, Asen is just born with the charm to stand in the spotlight."
“Ah Sen is someone you can spot in a crowd at a glance,” Mu Yang said with a smile. He never doubted Ah Sen’s abilities; in fact, he had high hopes for him.
"You too." Yan Shu glanced at him furtively: a natural-born protagonist. But he seems completely oblivious to it!
“Xiao Shu…”
"Hmm?" Yan Shu looked up and found Mu Yang looking at her very seriously again. She panicked. She was not used to Mu Yang's gaze, especially after so many years.
"You didn't answer my question." Mu Yang smiled, but looked at her very seriously.
His problem?