Chapter 33- My heart belongs to someone

【Remember to eat breakfast when you wake up, Little Moon】

【Study hard and listen carefully in class, Little Moon】

【Waiting to go on set is so boring, Little Moon】

【Little Moon Little Moon】

……

After a long lecture finally ended and break time arrived, Bai Jia stretched lazily as if she had been liberated. Xu Mi packed her things and asked them what they wanted to eat at the cafeteria later.

Only Song Shiyue remained motionless, staring at her phone that had been turned off the entire class. Her brows were tightly knitted, her expression extremely grave.

She felt somewhat helpless. The string of intimate nicknames on the screen was clearly the other person deliberately teasing her. Last night, after she had closed her eyes and asked about the old nickname, the person in front of her had smiled brightly, his voice light and soft: “You only just realized, Song Shiyue.”

“Silly girl.”

She seemed to also remember him gently knocking her forehead with his hand.

Song Shiyue’s head was knocked into a daze. She had returned to the dormitory in a complete daze, her face flushed and ears burning.

When she woke up the next day, it was as if the person on the other side had changed completely.

Zhu Xingyan started calling her “Little Moon” with every sentence, sounding incredibly sincere and affectionate. Song Shiyue could almost picture him smiling brightly on the other end.

She helplessly pressed her forehead, took a deep breath, and replied to him.

【Can you be a bit more normal, Zhu Xingyan】

Her phone vibrated lightly. He seemed to really be bored while waiting on set and replied almost instantly.

【Why aren’t you calling me by my nickname?】

【You’re being very rude, Song Shiyue】

Song Shiyue: “?”

She couldn’t help sending him a question mark as well.

【？】

The other side replied directly.

【Little Star】

【We agreed yesterday. From today onward, you have to call me that too.】

Song Shiyue finally reached her limit and resisted for once.

【You’re being really childish, Zhu Xingyan】

【Little Star】 the other side repeated.

She didn’t want to endure it anymore.

【Little Star】

【It sounds like how an elder would address a junior】

【How did you know my mom calls me that?】

Song Shiyue: “…………？”

Her brain short-circuited as she sent:

【…………？】

The other side sent back a string of exaggerated laughing emojis.

【Hahahahahahaha】

“…………”

Song Shiyue tilted her head back and took a deep breath. Calm down, calm down.

“Shiyue!” Bai Jia’s angry complaint came from the side. “I’ve asked you three times what you want to eat! Pay attention to us!”

After eating at the cafeteria and returning to the dormitory, Song Shiyue was once again criticized by her roommates.

Even though they had already questioned her thoroughly the night before, the two of them still presented a united front of indignation toward this mysterious man who had suddenly appeared.

“We haven’t even met him, and he’s already stolen our friend away. It’s simply unreasonable!”

“Exactly. Shiyue, this guy is so secretive and sneaky-looking. He doesn’t seem like an upright person at all. Don’t let yourself get tricked!”

“Yeah! He even came all the way to the dormitory building but didn’t dare show his face to us. There’s definitely something fishy going on!”

They kept talking one after another, their words inching dangerously close to the truth. Song Shiyue listened from the side, her heart pounding with alarm. She quickly explained.

“He’s just an ordinary friend. We’re not even at the stage where I need to introduce him to anyone!”

“An ordinary friend who makes you hug your phone all day and skip meals??”

“Staring at your phone from morning to night so you can’t even hear us talking?”

“Whatever, Shiyue. I don’t even want to talk about you anymore.”

Xu Mi sounded a little angry. She opened her photo album and angrily pulled up the snapshot she had taken the night before without thinking. She zoomed in and thrust the phone right in front of Song Shiyue’s face.

“Look at this yourself. What kind of state were you in last night? The moment you saw him you ran straight over like you couldn’t wait even one more second. And you still want to tell us he’s just an ordinary friend??”

Song Shiyue had no time to listen carefully to her questioning. Her gaze was completely fixed on the photo in front of her. The two figures in the dim night, bathed in soft moonlight, looked so beautiful they could have been a painting.

She could not help recalling the scene from the night before. The fluttering heartbeat from that moment came rushing back. Song Shiyue’s face turned slightly red as she looked at Xu Mi and asked hesitantly,

“Can you send me a copy of this photo?”

Xu Mi: “………………”

She nearly fell over from sheer exasperation.

After Zhu Xingyan finished attending the awards ceremony, he hurried back to the film crew the same day.

The red carpet that night unsurprisingly made it onto trending searches.

This event was a well-known industry gala. Stars filled the venue. As soon as the red carpet photos and interview clips were released, fans from every side forwarded them, flooded the comments, and fought for attention.

Wherever Zhu Xingyan appeared, he naturally became the center of everything. In the official photos, the comments under his Weibo post always had the highest engagement, creating an almost insurmountable gap in popularity compared to the other celebrities.

Bai Jia and the others had already forgotten their earlier argument with Song Shiyue. As soon as the evening event materials came out, they clutched their phones and began praising their idol’s peerless beauty.

“Zhu Xingyan is still so handsome. This suit fits him perfectly. I’m a total appearance dog and I’ve fallen hard!!”

“Wuwuwu, how has he gotten even better-looking after just a few months? Look at this red carpet interview video — the way he smiles when he takes the microphone. It’s killing me.” Xu Mi couldn’t help pressing a hand to her chest.

The two of them spent a long time fangirling over their phones before they finally noticed that Song Shiyue, who usually chimed in at least a little, was unusually quiet today. She sat in front of her computer looking as if she were concentrating hard on an assignment, completely ignoring everything around her.

Bai Jia started teasing her. “Aiyo, some people really are different once they start dating. They’ve even become immune to their old idols.”

“Exactly. How could any star in the sky compare to the moon right beside you?” Xu Mi added in a sarcastic tone.

“An idol is ultimately just an idol. You can’t touch them or get close to them. How can they compare to someone who appears downstairs at the dormitory in the middle of the night, someone you can even run over and hug?”

“Where was there any hugging?” Song Shiyue could no longer pretend she didn’t hear them. She stopped what she was doing and defended herself.

“Who knows if you hugged after we went upstairs.”

“There wasn’t!” She repeated for what felt like the umpteenth time. “We are not together yet.”

“Not— yet—” Bai Jia deliberately drew out the words.

“Got it. Relationship status: pending.”

“The Chinese language is truly profound and extensive.”

“…………”

She was left speechless when her phone, which had been set aside, vibrated with a new message. Zhu Xingyan’s plane had landed.

【I’ve arrived.】

She had no time to spare. She lowered her head and replied quickly.

【Okay. Get some early rest.】

【？】

【Why are you being perfunctory with me again?】

【I’m not.】 She felt wronged.

【Then what are you doing?】 The other side pressed relentlessly.

Song Shiyue felt a headache coming on.

【Listening to my two roommates gushing over your peerless beauty in the red carpet photos from tonight.】

The other side was silent for a few seconds.

Then:

【Don’t misunderstand.】

【You should know where my heart belongs.】

“………………”

Song Shiyue quickly turned off her phone, looked away, and her heart pounded wildly. She did not reply.

The teasing from her two roommates finally died down. Her gaze fell back onto the computer screen in front of her, but unfortunately, she could not concentrate. In the end, she was affected, her mind restless and distracted.

The full filming period for Zhu Xingyan’s current movie was six months. The director was Zhang Xunli, the same acclaimed director he had worked with previously on The Cliff.

The box office and critical success of The Cliff had been remarkable. The male lead role in this new film, which Director Zhang had spent two years preparing, matched Zhu Xingyan’s image perfectly. Landing the lead role again was also a very rare opportunity for Zhu Xingyan himself.

Since his debut work won awards, Zhang Xunli had always been known for his talent. He loved casting newcomers in his films and rarely used established traffic-driven celebrities from the industry.

When Zhu Xingyan was cast as the male lead in the previous project, many suspected capital manipulation behind it, and The Cliff was labeled as a purely commercial film.

In the end, the finished product amazed everyone.

Not only did Zhang Xunli’s reputation and talent receive even greater recognition, it also firmly established Zhu Xingyan’s achievements in the film and television industry.

Now with this new film, almost everyone in the industry was watching to see just how far this young man could go in the movie world.

After all, it had only taken him a short three years to transition from idol to actor and achieve both box office success and critical acclaim.

Director Zhang was still extremely strict about filming. Except for special circumstances, he basically did not allow the cast to take leave.

Sometimes if he was not satisfied with a single shot, he would film it over and over again from morning until night, all for one particular look in an actor’s eyes.

When Zhu Xingyan finished filming The Cliff, he looked as if he had aged ten years. His facial features had become even more defined and sharp from the weight loss, and his eyes carried a deep, dark intensity. When those pitch-black pupils looked at someone, they held a heart-trembling sense of intimidation.

Later, he rested for a full two months before slowly returning to normal. Otherwise, in the state he had been in before, Liu Yan wouldn’t have dared to say more than a few words to him.

This time, after returning from his trip to Jing City, he had clearly recovered to normal. During breaks on set, he would always be holding his phone and chatting, the smile on his lips impossible to disperse.

Coincidentally, Cloud Edge was also a film with a relatively dark and heavy tone. As a result, before every shoot, Zhu Xingyan needed to spend a long time getting into character. On several occasions, he was even scolded by Director Zhang.

“Zhu Xingyan, the character Xu Yunjiang lost both his parents when he was young and has lived relying only on his grandfather ever since. He is solitary, cold, and has no friends. If he saw a small dog fall into a pit on the roadside, he would walk away indifferently instead of with the look you just had — as if you couldn’t wait to rush over and bandage it. Have you even seriously studied the script?!”

Director Zhang slapped the table with the rolled-up script, making loud smacking sounds. Zhu Xingyan lowered his head and apologized. During the mid-shoot break, he sat in his chair in frustration, his face somber as he reflected.

Liu Yan walked over, hesitated, but still couldn’t help offering loyal advice. “Otherwise… why don’t you temporarily cut contact with little classmate for two months…? Wait until the movie filming is finished…”

Before he could finish, Zhu Xingyan lifted his face and interrupted him, his tone heavy. “I didn’t do my own job well. Why should I shift the blame onto someone else? Director Zhang is right. My interpretation of Xu Yunjiang is inaccurate. This is my problem. Don’t drag other people into it.”

“If I hear you say something like that again, I’ll let you experience what it feels like to be cut off from me for two months.” At this moment, the boy threatening him fiercely looked like a fierce little wolf, completely without the softness he had shown in front of the camera earlier.

“…………” Liu Yan made a gesture of zipping his mouth shut, squatted quietly beside him, and said nothing.

Spring arrived late in Jing City. It was only in March and April that the willow trees became full of green.

Song Shiyue participated in an important English speech competition. After going through multiple rounds of selection, she would represent Jing City in the national competition.

The final ranking this time was extremely important. The college teachers had told the students early on that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs always paid close attention to this competition and would select outstanding students from the contestants in advance every year.

It was a very rare opportunity to shine.

For this competition, Song Shiyue practically lived in the classroom and the library every day. Every early morning she practiced her spoken English in a quiet corner of the campus, and when she returned to the dormitory she would hold her computer and listen to video materials.

Zhu Xingyan was also busy. Sometimes filming would last for hours once it started, and the shooting schedule would occasionally reverse day and night.

Sometimes the two of them could only exchange a few words in the gaps of their busy days.

This busy daily routine continued like this.

Unknowingly, the calendar turned to June.

Early summer arrived, and Zhu Xingyan’s movie finally wrapped up filming.

The day he flew from that remote and backward small town back to the bustling metropolis, Zhu Xingyan appeared in front of Song Shiyue. What was coincidental was that she happened to be at the school gate. What was unfortunate was that a familiar person was standing opposite her.

At the school gate shrouded in the night, the two stood facing each other, talking. The boy, tall as ever, kept his eyes lowered as he looked at her—his familiar profile carrying the same gentle warmth as in the past.

No one knew what was said, but Song Shiyue tilted her face up and gave him a soft smile.