Huayu: Starting with Rejecting 00s Actresses on a Dating Show

"I think I'll probably have to rely on women for the rest of my life."

"Why not?" Liu Haochun replied.

Tan Wen gave her an appreciative look, because most girls would ask why she said that, and then he would have to come up with a new excuse to answer.

Chatting with a girl like Liu Haochun must be very comfortable.

"So you came on this show just to get exposure?"

"Also? So you're doing this for exposure?"

The two exchanged a smile and moved on from the topic.

After walking along the pedestrian street for more than ten minutes, the two found a set of steps and sat down casually.

Tan Wen rested his chin on his hand, feeling the slightly fishy sea breeze.

Liu Haochun didn't initiate any more conversations. Instead, he imitated Tan Wen, resting his chin on his hand and occasionally scratching his exposed thighs and arms.

Tan Wen noticed her movements, reached into his pocket for a moment, and took out a bottle of mosquito repellent.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Tan Wen turned his head and saw Liu Haochun looking at him in surprise. "Your arm."

"Huh? Oh." Liu Haochun opened her arms with a slightly playful expression.

Liu Haochun was initially surprised that Tan Wen carried mosquito repellent with him, but seeing how finely and evenly Tan Wen sprayed it, and how serious he looked, as if he were doing a meticulous job, her surprise turned into curiosity and scrutiny.

"Spray it on your legs yourself." Tan Wen handed her the mosquito repellent.

"Okay." Liu Haochun took the mosquito repellent and was about to spray it.

"Wait a minute." Tan Wen noticed a wound on her knee, then reached into his pocket and took out a band-aid.

Liu Haochun: "..."

"What are you laughing at?" Tan Wen tore off the bandage and carefully applied it to the wound.

Liu Haochun felt Tan Wen's slender fingers pressing on his leg through the bandage, and he felt a strange sensation, which he was not used to. Other than that, he did not have any other reaction.

"I'm curious what other treasures you're hiding in your pocket," Liu Haochun asked with a smile.

"That's not important." Tan Wen noticed that besides the wound, there were some bruises on her leg. "How can a girl like you treat yourself so roughly?"

"I'm used to bumps and bruises from dancing all the time," Liu Haochun said casually. "Want to have a drink? How about we have one while the cameras aren't rolling?"

"Okay, I'll go buy it."

"I thought you'd pull out a bottle of liquor from your pocket."

Tan Wen quickly returned carrying a case of wine.

He opened a bottle and handed it to Liu Haochun, then opened one for himself, and the two clinked glasses. There were no peanuts, so they just drank it dry.

A crescent moon broke through the clouds, witnessing plane after plane streak past.

The two quietly drank the last bottle. Tan Wen glanced at the time and said, "Let's go back."

"Xiao Lu said you sing very well and can even write songs?" Liu Haochun didn't respond to his words.

"I'd say I can write lyrics, but my singing is just so-so."

"I want to hear it."

"If you want me to sing, you have to dance. That's fair."

"Then we'll need to drink some more wine."

So Tan Wen bought another dozen bottles of wine.

Liu Haochun took a big gulp, stood up, patted her skirt, and said, "You sing, and I'll choose the dance based on the style of the song."

As she spoke, she untied her hair tie, and her two braids came undone. She shook her head, and her waterfall-like hair cascaded casually over her shoulders.

She looks less naive and more womanly.

Tan Wen looked at her, her cheeks slightly flushed, her eyes dreamy, and she seemed eager to try.

He casually hummed the chorus of "If" and Liu Haochun immediately followed along with the melody.

Bathed in moonlight, her figure was graceful, like a white egret skimming the water, or a fairy stepping out of a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Every gesture, every turn, was perfectly timed to the beat; even his eyes conveyed an understanding of the melody.

Tan Wen was captivated by her graceful dance moves and unconsciously switched from humming to singing. He also had a good voice experience card, but he wouldn't use it here.

The song ended.

Liu Haochun happily asked how the jump went.

"It's beautiful," Tan Wen replied sincerely.

"Then continue."

······

Passersby in the distance stopped to watch, and some even filmed the scene and uploaded it to a short video platform with the caption: "This is probably the most beautiful form of love."

Tan Wen sang many songs, and Liu Haochun danced several times.

Time passed by unnoticed. Tan Wen glanced at the time; it was almost 2 a.m.

"It's time to go back." Tan Wen helped Liu Haochun, who was already unsteady on his feet.

"No, I want to drink more."

"You've had too much to drink."

"Are you in such a hurry to go back because someone is waiting for you?"

······

Tan Wen hailed a taxi and carried her into the car before she could ramble on any further.

The next day.

Tan Wen woke up in the afternoon.

He opened his phone and saw many missed calls from Lao Zhou, as well as a WeChat message from Deng Ziqi.

He called Lao Zhou back first.

When the call connected, Lao Zhou launched into a long tirade before finally getting down to business.

"They actually called me first, saying they saw your performance last night and wanted to meet up and talk."

Sure enough, it seems that the trial card from last night wasn't wasted. "Give me their contact information, and I'll communicate with them."

After hanging up the phone, Tan Wen calmed himself down and dialed the number Lao Zhou had given him.

"Hello, I'm Tan Wen..."

The person on the other end of the phone was a planner from the "Actors Take Their Places Again" program. He didn't say much to Tan Wen, but arranged to meet the next afternoon in Xiangjiang City.

Tan Wen then received a message:

The internal selection arrangements for "Actors Take Their Places" are as follows:

Time: 9 PM, September 26, 2019;

Location: Conference Room 707, 6th Floor, XX Building, Kaifu District, Xiangjiang City;

Please reply upon receipt.

Today is the 25th, which is a bit rushed. He checked the flight tickets on his phone and found that he needed to transfer, which would take too long. He then checked the high-speed rail, which takes about four hours from Zhuhai to Xiangjiang, which is very convenient.

After confirming his travel arrangements, he opened Deng Ziqi's WeChat.

"Let's chat sometime."

What can she talk to me about? Please, please, don't talk about creative concepts or anything like that; I'm basically a complete novice in that area.

After a moment of mental preparation, Tan Wen replied to the message.

"Sister Qi, I just saw the message, I'm sorry."

After waiting a while, G.E.M. replied to the message.

"Actually, it's nothing. After I heard you sing last time, I searched for you online and found out that you've already sung three songs."

"Yes, that's right."

"Were all three songs written by you?"

"Yes."

"Just wondering, have you registered the copyrights for these songs?"

"Yes, I asked a friend to do it for me."

"That's good. And then, I noticed that you haven't signed with a company yet?"

"Yes, Sister Qi, she is currently still in an individual state."

"In that case, would you be interested in hanging out with me? Of course, this is something I've thought about carefully. You have a lot of creative talent, and your voice is okay too. I think you would have a lot of fun in my studio."