Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

The hotel corridors in the ancient city were carpeted with thick carpets, absorbing all footsteps. The rooms had already been booked; Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing naturally shared a room, while Nana and Da Mai remained a pair. Lin Bufan, Hu Youyu, and Bai Manjun each had a single room.

Lin Bufan returned to his standard double room alone, closed the door, and threw himself onto the soft mattress. The air conditioning in the room was on full blast, making it cool, but the anger in his heart did not subside at all; on the contrary, it burned even brighter.

One moment my mind is filled with the receding queues at the cinema entrance, the next with the audience's merciless criticism, and then with the box office flop... Especially the comment that his action scenes were weak, it felt like a thorn in my heart.

Lin Bufan turned over irritably and stared at the ceiling light.

No, this anger is too much to bear; I need to let it out first.

Lin Bufan originally wanted to find Chen Nanxing and Xu Hongdou, since professional matters should be handled by professionals. Chen Nanxing was experienced, and Xu Hongdou had experience from the last time, so they should be able to handle this job.

But just before leaving, Lin Bufan changed his mind!

Fire can be extinguished anytime, but if you don't regain your dignity soon, it's something you won't be able to regain quickly!

This time, "The Duel" did not perform well at the box office. He must learn from his mistakes and make up for his losses in "The Duel 2".

So we need to start preparing now and begin polishing the script.

Thinking of this, Lin Bufan took out his phone and sent a message to Da Mai: "Da Mai, are you asleep? If it's convenient, open the door. I want to discuss the script concept for 'The Battle of the Forbidden City II' with you."

……

In the next room, Da Mai had just finished washing up and was curled up on the bed with his laptop, revising his manuscript. When he heard the notification sound, he picked it up and immediately looked troubled.

Nana, who was sitting on another bed applying a face mask, noticed her expression and casually asked, "What's wrong? Who is it?"

Da Mai pursed her lips and said softly, "It's President Lin... He said he wants to come and discuss the script with me."

Nana rolled her eyes in annoyance—discussing the script? What script are you discussing in the middle of the night? A script-reading game?

Yang Mi: I feel offended!

Nana thought that Damai was in a difficult position and felt embarrassed to refuse, so she took the initiative to say, "If you don't want to discuss it, just say you're sleepy and we can discuss it tomorrow. After all, it is indeed a bit late now, and President Lin is not an unreasonable person. He will understand."

“It’s not that I think the time is inconvenient and I want to refuse,” Da Mai quickly waved his hand, his voice even lower: “I’m just… afraid of disturbing your rest. How about I talk to President Lin in his room?”

Upon hearing this, Nana sat up abruptly, her face mask almost falling off. Her mind raced: You little brat! I was worried that you'd be bullied by that guy knocking on the door in the middle of the night, and here you are, thinking of hogging the food, huh?

I don't think about it!

"It's okay, it's okay! I couldn't sleep either!" Nana pressed her face mask firmly, her tone instantly becoming unusually "considerate" and "enthusiastic": "Besides, I've had some new insights into the Battle of the Forbidden City, maybe I can offer some suggestions for you guys! Let's chat here, I promise I won't make a sound, really, not a sound!"

Da Mai hesitated for a moment, still feeling embarrassed: "How about... we go to President Lin's room to talk? I'd feel really bad if we got carried away and made a lot of noise, disturbing you..."

"No noise at all! Really, not at all!" Nana practically patted her chest to assure them: "I'm watching my show with my headphones on, you guys can chat as you please, it won't bother me at all! Really!"

As the two were arguing, the doorbell rang clearly.

Da Mai and Nana exchanged a glance, then jumped out of bed at the same time and practically ran to the door.

The door opened, and Lin Bufan stood outside, still holding his phone. Seeing that it was the two of them who opened the door, a perfectly timed "delight" appeared on his face: "Nana isn't asleep either? Perfect, let's discuss this together?"

……

The next morning, everyone drove back to the Windy Courtyard. Lin Bufan hummed a song the whole way, seemingly in a very good mood, as if he'd just picked up a few clumps of bee droppings!

Nana and Da Mai looked extremely tired and kept dozing off as soon as they got in the car!

Xu Hongdou was radiating a low-pressure aura, just like the last time she stayed at the hotel when Lin Bufan secretly carried her back to the room, and then when she returned in the morning!

Chen Nanxing, on the other hand, looked thoughtful!

Back in the courtyard, everyone dispersed. Lin Bufan had just pushed open the door to room number five, intending to change his clothes, when a figure darted in and locked the door with a "click."

Lin Bufan turned around, looked at Chen Nanxing who was leaning against the door with his arms crossed, staring at him with a half-smile, and raised an eyebrow: "Nanxing? You want to see me?"

Chen Nanxing didn't answer, but slowly walked over and looked him up and down: "Where did you go last night?"

Lin Bufan remained calm and showed no sign of panic as he turned around and took a T-shirt from the closet: "Sleeping in the room, where else can I go? To save the world?"

"In the room?" Chen Nanxing chuckled, walked to the bedside and sat down, pointing at the sheets with his finger: "Then why... when I knocked on the door in the middle of the night, no one answered?"

Lin Bufan paused, then continued changing his clothes, his back to her, his tone still casual: "Maybe I was sleeping too soundly and didn't hear you. You know, I wasn't in a good mood last night, so I drank some sleeping pills..."

"Lin Bufan." Chen Nanxing interrupted Lin Bufan, his voice low but firm.

Lin Bufan put on a T-shirt, turned around, and met Chen Nanxing's knowing yet slightly mocking eyes. Knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, he sighed and slumped his shoulders: "Okay, okay, I admit it, I wasn't in the room last night."

Chen Nanxing wore an "I knew it" expression, waiting for what was to come.

Lin Bufan's mind raced, and his face quickly switched to a mysterious and apologetic expression. He lowered his voice and said, "I have something on Qinan Star that is especially suitable for you. I've always wanted to give it to you, but I didn't know how to explain to you that I'm an alien. Since we already talked about it last night, I secretly went to retrieve it under the cover of darkness!"

Chen Nanxing naturally didn't believe Lin Bufan's nonsense: "Keep making things up. Going to Qi Nanxing to get something? Why don't you just say you went to play chess with the Jade Emperor?"

Lin Bufan didn't argue. He reached out and made a grasping motion in the air, as if taking something from an unseen pocket—in reality, it was something he had redeemed from the system. With a flick of his palm, a necklace lay quietly in his hand.

The chain was extremely thin, made of some unknown metal with a pale silver sheen. The pendant was a teardrop-shaped gemstone, no bigger than a little fingernail. Inside the gemstone, it seemed to contain a miniature nebula; within a deep blue-purple base, countless tiny silvery-white specks of light slowly flowed and flickered, like living things. Even more amazingly, it itself emitted an extremely soft, yet undeniable, faint glow, not dazzling, but making the surrounding light seem clearer.

“This is a Nebula Tear. It’s said to be a crystal formed from the energy condensed when the two moons met in the ancient times of El Star. It’s extremely rare.” Lin Bufan said solemnly as he handed it to Chen Nanxing. “It’s said to slowly nourish the wearer’s body and spirit… Of course, most importantly, I think it looks a lot like the light in your eyes.”

Chen Nanxing was completely captivated by the necklace. She carefully took it, and the moment her fingertips touched the gemstone, a warm, cool comfort spread through her fingers. She walked to the window and examined it closely in the sunlight. The nebula within the gemstone seemed to shift with the angle of the light, breathtakingly beautiful. Any previous unease and doubts vanished instantly in the face of this unprecedented gift.

Chen Nanxing held the necklace and looked at it again and again, liking it more and more, her joy almost overflowing. She turned around, her back to Lin Bufan, and swept her hair to one side, revealing her fair neck. Her voice carried a hint of coquettishness: "What are you still standing there for? Help me put it on."

Lin Bufan smiled, stepped forward, took the necklace, and carefully looped it around her neck. His fingertips accidentally touched the skin on the back of her neck, warm and delicate. He fastened the clasp, and the "Nebula Tear" necklace hung just below her delicate collarbone. The blue-purple nebula shimmered and sparkled as her chest rose and fell slightly, complementing her own radiance perfectly, as if it had been made for her.

Chen Nanxing walked to the dressing mirror, looking herself over from left to right, her fingers gently stroking the pendant, her face beaming with undisguised joy. "Does it look good?" She turned her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Bufan.

"It looks good." Lin Bufan walked behind Chen Nanxing, naturally wrapped his arm around her waist, rested his chin on her shoulder, and looked at her in the mirror with her eyes: "No matter how beautiful this necklace is, it only complements you. You are the most beautiful."

Chen Nanxing was overjoyed by these words, but deliberately pouted, "You're just saying nice things to coax me." She turned around to face Lin Bufan and poked his chest with her finger, "Bufan, I'm a little thirsty, I want to drink some nutritional drinks!"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Nanxing slid down as if he had no bones!

"Ok?"

……

Three hours later.

Chen Nanxing lay lazily on the bed, a thin blanket casually draped over her, her cheeks still flushed. She turned her head to look at Lin Bufan, who was getting dressed, her voice languid and hoarse afterward: "Hey, next time... could you be a little more careful?"

Lin Bufan paused in buttoning his shirt, turned to look at Chen Nanxing, and said with some confusion, "I'm very careful! I've never caused anyone to die!"

"Who said that?" Chen Nanxing glared at Lin Bufan, embarrassed and annoyed. "Last night was such a good opportunity. Given your usual behavior, how could you not come to find me and Hongdou? But you didn't show up all night. Hongdou is so smart. If she thought about it for a moment, how could she not be suspicious?"

Lin Bufan's heart skipped a beat. He had been so busy last night... that he had completely forgotten about it. A hint of lingering fear appeared on his face: "Then... Hongdou, what about her?"

"Don't worry," Chen Nanxing rolled over, propped his chin up, and showed a little smugness on his face: "I didn't take your Nebula Tears for nothing. I've taken care of things with Hongdou for you."

"How did you manage to do that?" Lin Bufan asked curiously as he sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"Simple," Chen Nanxing smiled slyly. "Before Hongdou became suspicious, I took the initiative to talk to her. I told her, 'You suffered such a big blow yesterday, the box office was bad, and you were criticized by the audience. You must be feeling really down. As good... friends, shouldn't we go and give you some psychological counseling and comfort you?'"

Hongdou is shy and hasn't fully accepted the idea yet, so she'll definitely be too embarrassed to go with me. In that case, I'll have to go by myself!

After confirming that you weren't in the room, I booked another room at the hotel and slept there for the night. Hongdou assumed I was with you all night, so she naturally wouldn't suspect you sneaking out to do something naughty.

Lin Bufan felt relieved after hearing this and couldn't help but lean over and kiss Chen Nanxing on the cheek: "Nanxing, you are truly my wonderful wife! Thank you so much!"

"Go away, don't give me that." Chen Nanxing smiled and pushed Lin Bufan's face away, but her eyes showed that she was pleased: "Okay, thanks. What you should do now is go and comfort Hongdou."

Lin Bufan was taken aback: "Didn't you already cover it up for me?"

“I did manage to cover for you,” Chen Nanxing said, sitting up as she looked for her clothes. “But Hongdou… she thought you would come over last night. After washing up, she even put on some light makeup and waited. But she waited all night and didn’t see a single person. Would you be happy in her shoes?”

Lin Bufan's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up: "Oh—so, Hongdou actually...was looking forward to my coming?"

Chen Nanxing put on her T-shirt and glared at him irritably: "Alright, stop acting innocent after getting the benefit. Hurry up and go! Coax him properly, be sincere, maybe... well, you know what I mean."

Lin Bufan perked up and immediately stood up: "Understood! I'll go right away!"

Watching his hurried departure, Chen Nanxing touched the "Nebula Tear" on her neck. The cool, smooth touch made her smile and she muttered under her breath, "What a jerk."

Lin Bufan looked around and finally found Xu Hongdou in the communal kitchen in the courtyard!

Xu Hongdou was chopping vegetables at the counter with her back to the kitchen door. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a soft silhouette on her, but there was a tense atmosphere in the air that seemed out of place with this warm scene.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The sound of the knife blade striking the wooden cutting board was unusually dull and forceful, each strike carrying a ruthless edge, completely unlike Xu Hongdou's usual gentle and nimble rhythm. With each rise and fall of the cleaver, several poor slices of cucumber were chopped to pieces.

Lin Bufan touched his nose, put on a smile, and moved closer.

"Dou'er, are you preparing lunch? Cutting cucumbers? Let me help you!" he said, reaching out to take the knife from Xu Hongdou's hand.

Xu Hongdou flicked her wrist, the back of her knife lightly tapping Lin Bufan's outstretched hand. The force was light, but the meaning was clear. She didn't turn around or say anything, but continued slicing, finishing off the remaining slices of cucumber.

Lin Bufan awkwardly withdrew his hand, touching the spot where he had bumped it. He didn't feel any pain, just a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat, softening his voice even more, with a clear hint of ingratiation: "Um... Hongdou, last night..."

"Last night was calm and the sun was shining brightly." Xu Hongdou interrupted Lin Bufan, her tone indifferent, giving off a feeling of keeping people at arm's length!