“Teacher Jiang, you’ve worked hard. Now that we’ve wrapped up this final stop, our nationwide promotional tour is officially over.”
It was the end of January 2012, on the third day since Liu Kai had decided to make a move against Jiang Nian. Jiang Nian and Xu Ke had just arrived at their last stop on the nationwide tour—Spring City.
Hearing Xu Ke’s words, Jiang Nian, who had just stepped out of the commercial van, stretched lazily and smacked his lips a couple of times. “That went by pretty quick. What time do we start?”
“Same as usual—eight in the evening, downtown CBD,” Xu Ke replied, then asked, “Teacher Jiang, you’re going to do the usual and go for a stroll, aren’t you?”
“Yep.”
Jiang Nian nodded.
Sure, he was in the middle of a nationwide promotional tour.
But as the old saying goes, work is work, and life is life.
Who ever said that artists had to stay glued to the director’s side and go nowhere else during promotion?
So whenever he had the time, Jiang Nian would head out, take a walk, check out the new city, and sample some local specialties.
“Alright, then I’ll see you tonight.”
Xu Ke said, then grabbed his luggage, walked into the hotel, and checked in.
To be fair—
If it had been anyone else asking to break off from the group and go off on their own, Xu Ke would never have agreed.
After all, it had only been a little over two months since the Zhang Yuxin incident.
If something similar happened again during the promotional tour…
The consequences would be disastrous.
But with Jiang Nian, Xu Ke felt completely at ease.
Not just because Jiang Nian was incredibly skilled in combat—the average person, even seven or eight of them, wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
More importantly, Jiang Nian wasn’t famous!
Though that stung a bit to say.
Aside from his role as “Yu Huatian,” the only other notable character Jiang Nian had to his name was “Du Gao” from The Chronicles of the Martial World.
And “Du Gao” was just a minor role who appeared in only three episodes, with a total screen time of barely half an hour.
Admittedly, when the show first aired, “Du Gao” did become quite popular for a while.
But as time passed and two months went by, that character had long since faded from the spotlight.
Even Jiang Nian himself had been forgotten.
If you dropped him on a busy street right now, people would at most think, “Hey, that guy’s kind of handsome,” and glance at him twice.
There was no way he’d cause a scene like Zhang Yuxin did.
Jiang Nian had no idea about Xu Ke’s devious thoughts, nor did he care.
Because right now, someone had just called out to him.
“Excuse me, are you Jiang Nian?”
Just as Jiang Nian was following his pre-planned itinerary and heading to the snack street to find some grub, a timid voice came from behind him, stopping him in his tracks.
Hearing this, Jiang Nian was a bit taken aback.
During his time traveling across the country with Xu Ke for the promotional tour, this was the first time someone had recognized him and called out his name on the street.
Curious, Jiang Nian turned around.
Behind him stood a woman with light makeup and delicate features, looking at him with evident curiosity. The moment she saw his face, she excitedly exclaimed, “Wow, it really is you! I thought I’d mistaken you for someone else!”
“You are…?”
Jiang Nian found her face somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on her name.
Then the woman said, “Hello, Teacher Jiang. My surname is Gao—Gao Yuan’er.”
“It’s you?!”
Hearing that name, Jiang Nian immediately knew who she was.
Because she was practically his childhood crush.
The Zhou Zhiruo from the 2003 version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber!
“So it’s Teacher Gao! What a pleasure to meet you!”
Jiang Nian said promptly.
Though he didn’t understand why his childhood crush Zhou Zhiruo looked so young—seemingly only in her twenties—
Playing it safe and addressing her as “Teacher” was definitely the right call.
Don’t ask why; let’s just say he had some… youthful fantasies about her back in the day.
To his surprise, Gao Yuan’er immediately waved her hands frantically. “No, no, no, Teacher Jiang! Please don’t say that! I’m just a total newbie—how could I possibly deserve to be called ‘Teacher’? You’re flattering me too much!”
“Huh?”
At those words, Jiang Nian froze.
Wait, what? You, Gao Yuan’er, a newbie?
He distinctly remembered that in 2006, Gao Yuan’er had co-starred with Chen Long and Gu Tianle in Rob-B-Hood, earning a nomination for Best Actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards.
Then in 2007, she won the Newcomer Award at the 11th Film Performing Arts Academy Awards for Love in the City.
Sure, she might have been slightly less prominent compared to other stars of the same era.
But she was definitely way more accomplished than him, Jiang Nian!
Unless…
Jiang Nian suddenly realized something and looked at Gao Yuan’er. “If you don’t mind me asking—how old are you this year?”
Without overthinking it, Gao Yuan’er replied, “I’m nineteen, just started college, and I haven’t acted in anything yet. So, Teacher Jiang, please don’t call me ‘Teacher’!”
Jiang Nian didn’t catch the second half of her sentence.
Because right now, his brain was stuck on just ten words: Nineteen, just started college, never acted!
Which meant… she hadn’t even set foot in the entertainment industry yet?!
“Holy crap!”
Jiang Nian muttered under his breath.
He realized this was yet another difference in this parallel world.
But then again, it made sense. In this world, the national football team had even made it into the World Cup top twenty.
Steam had been acquired by WeGame.
And after CS 1.6, instead of CSGO, they got CrossFire.
So deviations in the world weren’t all that surprising.
In that moment, Jiang Nian’s gaze toward Gao Yuan’er completely changed.
This was—fresh out of the box, brand-new childhood crush material!
Sensing the shift in his expression, Gao Yuan’er looked a bit confused. She scratched her head. “Um… Teacher Jiang? Is something wrong?”
“No, you’re perfect!”
Jiang Nian said.
Actually, too perfect!
What was the entertainment industry? A giant dye vat!
Even someone like Jiang Nian, who was naturally pure-hearted and strong-willed, hadn’t been able to resist its temptations and had ended up sinking into it.
Let alone others.
If Gao Yuan’er had entered the entertainment world at a young age, just like in his memories—
Even if she had been perfect in his mind before, Jiang Nian would subconsciously lump her into the same category as Yang Mi and Zhang Yuxin.
But she hadn’t. And that changed everything.
With that thought, Jiang Nian steadied himself, organized his words, and looked at Gao Yuan’er with a smile. “Teacher Gao, you just said I shouldn’t address you as ‘Teacher,’ right?”
“Right—those two words carry too much weight. I can’t bear them,” Gao Yuan’er nodded.
Then Jiang Nian put on a troubled expression. “But we’ve only just met, haven’t we? If I don’t call you ‘Teacher,’ what should I call you? Ms. Gao? Yuan’er? Yuanyuan? Or…”
Seeing that Jiang Nian was about to blurt out her childhood nickname, Gao Yuan’er quickly cut in:
“Teacher Jiang, you can call me Yuan’er, or just my full name—either works.”
“Alright, Yuan’er. So, you called out to me—was there something you needed?” Jiang Nian asked.
At his reminder, Gao Yuan’er finally remembered why she’d stopped him in the first place. She quickly pulled out a camera and a notebook from her bag, looking at him expectantly. “Teacher Jiang, I’m your fan! Could I trouble you for a photo and an autograph?”
“Of course—no problem at all.”
Hearing that her request was so simple, Jiang Nian readily agreed.
Overjoyed, Gao Yuan’er stepped forward, raised her camera, struck a pose, and clicked the shutter.
Then Jiang Nian took the notebook from her, signed his name, and handed it back, pretending not to know the answer to his next question. “By the way, Yuanyuan—are you a local here?”
“No, I’m from the capital. I’m just here on vacation,” Gao Yuan’er said, then looked at Jiang Nian. “Speaking of which, Teacher Jiang, aren’t you supposed to be filming? What are you doing here?”
At that, Jiang Nian gave her a skeptical look. “You sure you’re my fan? I finished filming ages ago—I’m here for a movie promo!”
“Oh… that.” Gao Yuan’er faltered, scratching her head sheepishly. “Sorry, I’ve been busy playing around lately and haven’t really checked my phone much. My bad.”
But that only made Jiang Nian more suspicious. “So you’re telling me that I’ve been doing promos for half a month now, traveling all over the country, with TV and news coverage everywhere—and you didn’t notice a single thing?”
“Uh…”
Gao Yuan’er was speechless.
She let out an awkward chuckle.
“What if I said I really haven’t touched my phone or watched TV for half a month—would you believe me?”
“What do you think?”
Jiang Nian stared at her with deadpan eyes, his expression utterly unimpressed.
Gao Yuan’er swallowed nervously, looking left and right, until a stroke of genius hit her. “Oh! Teacher Jiang, since you’re here for a movie promo, you must be busy right now, right?”
“Sorry, the promo doesn’t start until tonight. I’m not busy at all right now.”
“Then surely you’ve got something else to do, right?”
“Funny you say that—nope, nothing at all.”
Jiang Nian said, then watched as Gao Yuan’er racked her brain for an excuse. Finally, he spoke up: “Alright, stop trying to come up with all these excuses. I’m not going to make things hard for you. You said you’ve been playing around here for half a month without looking at your phone, right? Then you must know which places are fun and which aren’t. I don’t ask for much—just take me around for the afternoon and make sure I have a good time, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. Deal?”
“Really?”
Gao Yuan’er’s eyes lit up.
Meeting her idol was already a thrilling experience, but now her idol was actively asking her to show him around?
What kind of wonderful twist was this?
“Deal! No problem!”
Afraid that Jiang Nian might change his mind, Gao Yuan’er quickly agreed.
Then she took the lead and started showing Jiang Nian around Spring City.
And just like that, they strolled from morning all the way to evening.
Watching the sunset and the sky gradually darken, Jiang Nian figured it was about time. He turned to Gao Yuan’er and said, “Thanks for today. If it weren’t for you, I’d never have known Spring City was this fun. How about I treat you to some bubble tea as a thank you?”
Gao Yuan’er eagerly nodded. “Yes please! I actually know a great bubble tea place—let me take you there!”
“Then let’s go.”
Jiang Nian said, and followed her lead to a milk tea shop.
While they were waiting for their drinks, Jiang Nian was about to strike up a conversation—maybe exchange contact info and such.
But before he could get the words out—
Suddenly.
“Shh!”
Jiang Nian shuddered, and every hair on his body stood on end.
Instantly, his brows furrowed.
“Something’s not right—we’ve got a situation!”
