Chapter 106: Falling Cherry Blossoms (Part 1)

  Four days later, Gu Tianxi appeared in front of Gu Huanli as promised.

  Just... Gu Huanli calculated the number of attendants following him and thought to himself, should this situation be called a business trip?

  The eastern night sky, the moon is like a bow. Even the stars that are slightly dim due to the moonlight are not weak and show their existence, dotting the vastness. The early spring breeze is cool and gentle, with the scent of cherry blossoms still mixed in the air, exceptionally beautiful under the cover of night, touching people's hearts and making them drunk.

  "Hangzhou is an ancient city, and with the development of the times, like all ancient capitals, Hangzhou also presents a landscape where tradition and modernity shine together. However, for the newly developed resort village by Fengyun International, 'how to combine the comfort and convenience of modern times with the ancient town and profound human culture' is the most important reason why the planning department went to Japan for observation."

  Gu Tianxi sat in his study, leaning back in his chair with a relaxed expression, holding a delicate crystal glass and sipping red wine. "You should also submit a plan, as a test of what you've learned."

  "Yes." Gu Huanli nodded obediently.

  In the following days, Gu Huanli was busy and fulfilling, even Luo Yun was busy accompanying her to visit various places, make secret visits, and collect data.

  "Gu Huanli, is this place and Beijing under the same starry sky?" The white moonlight illuminated the corridor, Sang Luoyun gazed up at the crescent moon. And also, the group of stars hidden in the moon's shadow.

  Let's imagine her mood, Gu Huanli put down his pen due to sympathy, got up and walked to Sang Luoyun's side, sat down slowly, and said softly, "The starry sky scene is different at different geographical latitudes. There are about 23 constellations near the South Celestial Pole that can never be seen or only partially seen here, while other constellations rise and fall like in Beijing."

  "It's really not romantic." Sanluo muttered, leaning on her shoulder. "But it's also good this way, no worries and no troubles. Thinking about it, I even envy your simplicity."

  "Why suffer so much, why not give up?" Gu Huan Lian looked at Luo Yun with a glance, her obsidian-like transparent eyes filled with worried expression. "I don't understand, it's clearly between the two of you, what does it have to do with his backing team and fans? Are they going to be single for life because of them? If they really love and adore someone, wish him happiness, pray for his joy, isn't that the simplest and most basic thing?"

  "We can't force everyone in the world to be as simple as you." Luo Yun sighed dejectedly, "And I also can't help but feel inferior when facing Qiao Yin's family background. I used to think that as long as I entered the entertainment industry and became a star, maybe I could stand beside him with confidence. But now, I'm still stuck in place, while he has soared to great heights."

  "Why should he get to play out those melodramatic love stories, full of twists and turns, when he's causing the girl he loves so much pain?!" Gu Huanli looked at her friend's pained expression, getting even angrier. "If he couldn't bear to give up his wealth and status, then he shouldn't have led you on in the first place! If he can't bear to part with you, then he should declare war on the whole world! Isn't he a man? Isn't he some rich kid from the entertainment industry? Shouldn't responsibility be something that's been drilled into him since childhood and never forgotten?! Is it really just about being responsible to his family and business?! If he can't even take responsibility for the people closest to him, I don't think he'll make a good successor to the company, or even a decent man!"

  San Luo Yun stared at her with wide eyes and muttered, "I had no idea you could say so many words at once."

  Gu Huanli cried and laughed, poking her, "Hey, hey, I'm comforting you, why do you care how many words the other person says at once?"

  "Because... there are really many words!" San Luo Yun counted on her fingers, then nodded firmly, "One hundred and eighty-eight words. Gu Huan Li, do you want to participate in the next debate competition?"

  "Oh no" Gu Huanli couldn't help but cover her head and complain, "If you have such a good memory, why don't you become a host? That's the job that requires the most memory."

  "Host?" San Luo pouted, thinking for a moment. "I've never thought about it, but now that you mention it, it seems to be true. Even the teachers in my training class said I have good quick memory and speaking skills. But what I really don't understand is, if my quick memory is good, why can't I memorize scripts?"

  "Huh?" Gu Huanli stared at her with wide eyes, "That's because you're focusing all your attention on facial expressions and body movements. In acting, it's also a skill to know how to utilize all the advantageous conditions of oneself to enrich the character. So acting can be divided into innate and acquired, and actors can be divided into true-to-form and non-true-to-form. The acting skills of true-to-form actors come from their most authentic feelings and experiences, while those of non-true-to-form actors are more reflected in their understanding and interpretation of the role."

  "Is it because I'm too focused on my own actions that I can't naturally say the lines?" San Luo Yun couldn't help but smile wryly, "No one has ever said these things to me before."

  "Perhaps... everyone hopes that you can understand this truth by yourself." Gu Huanli smiled slightly, perhaps she shouldn't have said so much either, but seeing her friend's distress, she couldn't help but want to comfort and encourage. "Didn't Kierkegaard also say, 'The only truths I can understand are those that I have lived through'?"

  "Ji Yun-gang also told me that the top actors are absolutely not those who overact or over-invest, but truly good actors must have an objective self watching their own performance, very clearly. So they have a very delicate and self-controlled thing inside, they can talk while acting, interact with people, but there is an objective thing there, making subtle adjustments."

  "So the ability to fine-tune is a kind of objective consciousness, and objective consciousness is wisdom. If someone is overly subjective, they absolutely have no wisdom; only by being able to view themselves objectively can they have wisdom. A large part of viewing oneself objectively is having the courage to admit mistakes, but having the courage to admit mistakes isn't about using self-criticism to beat yourself up or excessively criticizing yourself. Rather, it's that you're able to clearly see your own errors and then be able to mercifully accept those errors and even transform them - this kind of ability is objective consciousness."

  Gu Huanlin's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery as he said disapprovingly, "He didn't say these words. They come from Uta Hagen's 'Respect for Acting', which is known as the 'American actor's Bible'. My family has a Chinese translation by Hu Yinmeng; when I get back, I'll find it and send it to you."

  "Oh no, don't dislike Jo Yun-ho because of me!" Sang Luo Yun lifted her head and smiled with an innocent face, "Actually, he's a very good actor."

  Gu Huanli wanted to say that before learning acting, the most important thing to learn is how to be a good person, but she felt that saying this would be too harsh, so she swallowed her words and went back.

  The night wind brushed against her face, Gu Huanli turned around and gazed at Sang Luoyun, the black silk on her head was not tied up, gently swaying in the wind. She raised an eyebrow and teased, "Since you're so protective of him, why are you always avoiding him?" She didn't dislike that person, she was just angry, angry that he had hurt her only friend.

  San Luo Yun's face immediately flushed with a hint of embarrassment, and she giggled, "You're not always hiding from Senpai either."

  "I'm not hiding from Senpai." Although he said so, Gu Huan's gaze immediately turned cold, creating an atmosphere as chilly as the winter wind.

  San Luo Yun, who was desperately trying to hold back her laughter, intentionally coughed and shook her shoulders. Then, she put on a nonchalant expression and said, "If there isn't one, then there just isn't one, sigh... Senpai is really too pitiful."

  "Why is it said that students are pitiful?" Gu Huanli lifted one side of her haori and draped it over Sang Luo Yun's shoulders. On this early spring evening in Kyoto, wearing only a single layer of clothing, the skin indeed felt somewhat chilly.

  "Gu Huanli."

  "Huh?"

  "Do you know that many people in school regard you as a legendary figure?"

  "The legendary bookworm?"

  San Luo Yun's mouth corners lightly rose into a smile, "Actually they all don't know your gentleness and cuteness."

  "I don't need them to know." Gu Huan Lian raised her head calmly and gazed at the sky, her outer cloak fluttering gently on her shoulders. "The more you worry about in your heart, the more burdensome it is." She only wanted her brother, only her brother, and that other person who had been on her mind was already gone. So, she hated Yi Luo Chen even more, for living a life of mere existence, wasting Lian Ge's life, pretending to be something he wasn't, hiding behind a fake smile. He was indeed different from the past, different from before his rebirth, but looking at his warm smile, looking at his passionate and considerate nature, Gu Huan Lian's heart only grew colder with mockery.

  Because all of that originally belonged to Brother Lan.

  Luo Yi Chen is just a swindler who managed to survive, a thief

  "Gu Huanli, I've never hidden anything about what happened between me and Qiao Yinnan from you, have I?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "So you're telling me the truth too." San Luo Yun's expression suddenly turned serious, "Is it because of Gu Da Ge that you won't accept Xue Zhang?"

  "Why are you asking me this?" Gu Huanli tilted her head in contemplation, the crisp air piercing through her heart. "Those two are clearly completely different people. One is my brother and one is my senior, there's no connection between them at all."

  If this person wasn't hopeless, then he was too well-protected. San Luo Yun deeply exhaled a few breaths and finally softened like a deflated balloon. "Outstanding abilities, intelligent mind, and yet you can't help but admire him, and on top of that, he's so handsome... with such a perfect brother standing in front of you, what kind of boy would make your gaze linger?"

  "It's not like that." Gu Huanli suddenly rubbed her chest with her hand, feeling as if there was a solid, cold lump stuck there, weighing heavily on her. "Since I was young, my mother's body hasn't been very good, and my father devoted all his energy to taking care of her. Although they both loved me dearly, they couldn't help but neglect my upbringing. You could say that I was raised by my brother with great care and guidance. If it weren't for my brother's meticulous care and teaching, I don't know what kind of person I would have become. So, I will never go against my brother's wishes; as long as it's something he hopes for, I will definitely strive to do it perfectly."

  "If one day, Gu Da Ge arranges a marriage for you, a marriage that he thinks will make you happy, but to you is completely strange. Will you silently accept it?" San Luo Yun suddenly asked.

  Indeed, the probability of brother doing so is almost 100%. Then, does she have the courage to resist? How many more days and nights can she spend with her brother before everything becomes settled? Gu Huan Lian suddenly felt an unnatural chill in her heart, a dry sound echoing in the darkness, "...as long as