Chapter 79: Unable to Change
The passengers in the back seat were also university students heading back for the spring semester, their chatter filling the relaxed atmosphere of the commute.
“Lin Seran is going to A Da to film. I heard it’s a campus drama.”
“I heard it was in March, but those are just rumors from the internet.”
“I have a friend at A Da who’s in the student union. He said it’s for real.”
The voices behind them weren’t particularly loud, but across a single row of seats, every word was crystal clear.
Wen Yan glanced at Pei Zhouye. His expression remained neutral as he shifted slightly further away toward the window.
Pei Zhouye blinked, momentarily stunned, before the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smirk.
“I didn’t know about this. It has nothing to do with me.”
Wen Yan ignored him. Pei Zhouye leaned in, keeping his voice low as he coaxed him patiently, “I have people managing his affairs. If you don’t like it, I’ll have them change the location.”
The manager Pei Zhouye had found for Lin Seran was a “Gold Medal” veteran in the industry, someone with an outstanding track record who had produced two A-list stars and three B-list ones. Pei Zhouye only handled the funding and resources—whatever was requested, he provided. As for what specific drama Lin Seran was filming, he truly had no idea.
He was being genuinely wronged here.
“There’s no need. Disrupting a schedule that’s already been set would waste too much of everyone’s time and energy.”
Wen Yan reached up to adjust the edge of his mask, his tone a bit stiff. “Besides, you don’t need to explain these things to me.”
Pei Zhouye couldn’t help but chuckle. He reached out with his left hand, intending to catch Wen Yan’s right.
Wen Yan pulled away instantly, lowering his head to focus on his phone, refusing to pay him any more attention.
The journey took over four hours.
As they neared their stop, Wen Yan looked at the man beside him. Pei Zhouye had just woken up; the dark circles under his eyes were prominent, and that lingering drowsiness made him look particularly cold and fierce.
Pei Zhouye had taken over the family business, so he should have been incredibly busy. Yet, he always seemed to have nothing better to do, frequently appearing right in front of Wen Yan.
“Time to get off.” Pei Zhouye rubbed his stiff neck, turning just in time to catch Wen Yan staring at him blankly. “Baobao?”
Wen Yan hurriedly averted his gaze. “Don’t call me that.”
“I’ve gotten used to it. I can’t change it now.”
Pei Zhouye muttered the line under his breath as he helped Wen Yan with his suitcase.
Besides, there was no reason to change it anyway.
Inside the Administrative Building of A Da
“There won’t be any issues with the audit,” the Daoyuan said with a smile as he flipped through the documents, his eyes curving into crescents behind his glasses. “With your grades and awards, you could pass this with your eyes closed. Just make sure you attend your classes properly during this final semester and don’t let any slip-ups happen.”
Wen Yan let out a long sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Laoshi.”
Since the start of this semester, it was time to submit materials for the postgraduate recommendation. His goal had always been clear, and he had been working tirelessly toward this very moment. Now that the submission window had opened, he had prepared everything with meticulous detail.
While Wen Yan was filling out a paper form at the side, there was a knock on the office door. He looked up and locked eyes with two people.
Wu Qingqing winked at him, while Duan Mingtao gave him a small, tight-lipped nod.
Wu Qingqing: “Hello, Laoshi. We’re here to consult with you about choosing a school for the postgraduate entrance exam.”
Daoyuan: “Bring those two chairs over and have a seat.”
Wen Yan had finished his form. He handed the paper to the Daoyuan, and once the teacher confirmed there were no errors, Wen Yan stepped out of the office.
Since Wen Yan had disappeared and returned before the winter break, the three of them had grown closer than ever. They often helped each other save seats so they could sit together during lectures.
Once the two joined Wen Yan, he picked up the books he had used to save their spots.
“Have you two decided which school you want to go to?”
Wu Qingqing smiled, revealing two cute little tiger teeth. “We’re planning to take the exam for a school in the South.”
Duan Mingtao added, “We haven’t decided on a specific one yet. Maybe S Da or Z Da. We’ll let you know once we’ve made a final decision.”
Wen Yan recalled the time they spent interning at the company last year, how they would always gather for meals and chat. Time really did fly; eventually, everyone had to head toward their own crossroads.
“That’s good,” he said sincerely. “The climate in the South is humid, which is suitable for precision experiments. Plus, the academic atmosphere there is more liberal.”
“Do you really plan on staying at A Da forever?” Wu Qingqing tilted her head curiously. “Don’t you want to go out and see the world? I heard there are a few universities abroad with incredible Artificial Intelligence programs. If you applied, you’d definitely get a full scholarship.”
Wen Yan gave a helpless smile. “I don’t have those plans for now. I really want to keep following Ming Laoshi.”
The opening season of the second semester of junior year passed quickly.
A Da became incredibly crowded. Even if Wen Yan didn’t pay attention to the entertainment industry, he knew exactly what was happening.
A campus drama starring Lin Seran as the male lead was filming at A Da, and the female lead was a popular young starlet. The campus was swarming with fans of the leads, and even outside the gates, fans were trying every method possible to sneak in. Some people were even auctioning off opportunities to use their keycards to get people through the school’s security gates.
Access control became stricter, and the number of security guards increased significantly.
[ Daoyuan: Wen Yan, I need you to come and verify these materials again. Do you have class at three this afternoon? ]
Wen Yan saw the message just as he woke up from his afternoon nap.
For a long time in the past, he had suffered from insomnia. On the nights Pei Zhouye was around, he basically couldn’t sleep well, and during the day, he couldn’t sleep for long. In the days after he escaped Pei Zhouye’s side, he spent whole nights unable to close his eyes. He would stare at a single spot for so long that his eyes would ache and sting, his mind a complete blank.
During the winter break, he had used various methods to recover. He didn’t want his parents to see anything unusual, so he simply forced himself into the habit of taking afternoon naps.
Wen Yan rubbed his eyes and replied:
[ Wen Yan: I don’t have class. Laoshi, is it okay if I go to your office at three this afternoon? ]
[ Daoyuan: Good. ]
It was already 2:20 PM, but his rental apartment was very close to the school’s back gate. Twenty minutes to get down and head to school, then ten minutes to reach the Daoyuan’s office—he would make it just in time.
The March wind still carried a lingering chill. Wen Yan washed his face after getting out of bed and threw on a black windbreaker before heading out.
The back gate was blocked by a sea of people. Many beautifully dressed girls were holding up their phones, while several men with cameras were shoving others aside to squeeze into the front row. The security guards were doing their best to maintain order.
The air was thick with noise—chatter, even arguments. Wen Yan couldn’t hear clearly, so he could only raise his voice as he tried to squeeze forward.
“Excuse me, let me through, please. Thank you, excuse me…”
His voice got louder with each step. It took a lot of effort just to get from the outer edge of the crowd to the security gate, but Wen Yan didn’t expect to be stopped by a guard again.
“Shu, I’m going to the Daoyuan’s office. Can you let me in?”
The security guard kept a stiff, stern face and refused. “We can only let students of this school in. It’s class time right now.”
Just moments ago, many people had used various excuses to push their way through, and some had actually managed to fish in troubled waters, interfering with school activities and the film crew’s shooting. The security team had received an emergency notice: no one was to be let in.
They would rather block a hundred rightful students than let one intruder slip through.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd said something, and the news spread like wildfire. The noise exploded as the crowd reacted violently.
Wen Yan instinctively looked over. Countless phones and cameras were pointed at him, accompanied by the rapid click-click-click of flashes.
His pupils dilated, and he quickly turned back. “Shu, I really am a student of A Da. I’m from…”
He whispered a string of details—his college, major, the Daoyuan’s name, and so on. The security guard’s expression finally softened, and he moved aside to let him through to the facial recognition gate.
Of course, luck wasn’t on his side.
The gate was overloaded from today’s heavy usage and froze completely.
Wen Yan looked at the security Shu. The man’s expression and eyes were filled with renewed suspicion.
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