Chapter 6

At that moment, many people were waiting to pick someone up from the airport, but Xiong Yueyue and his companions easily spotted Wang Chuanze; after all, no one there was more conspicuous than the two of them. Meng Shengsheng immediately recognized Xiong Yueyue and the woman with black-rimmed glasses by his side.

Xiong Yueyue hung up the phone and kept stepping forward, trying to take the suitcase from Wang Chuanze’s hand. Wang Chuanze refused, saying, “It’s not heavy; I can carry it myself.” Xiong Yueyue didn’t insist and led the way, “Let’s go, the car is parked outside.”

Meng Shengsheng got into the car with them, where the air conditioning had been running for a while, making it pleasantly cool. The woman who came with Xiong Yueyue was driving. Xiong Yueyue glanced at Wang Chuanze and then asked Meng Shengsheng, “Hello, are you Chuanze’s friend?”

Wang Chuanze replied, “Her name is Meng Shengsheng; she’s my girlfriend.” He then turned to Meng Shengsheng, “This is my manager, Xiong Yueyue, and the driver is my personal assistant, Zhu Zhu.”

Upon hearing that, Zhu Zhu glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed Xiong Yueyue’s gloomy expression. She pretended not to notice and continued driving. Meng Shengsheng smiled and greeted Xiong Yueyue.

Xiong Yueyue merely nodded without speaking. The only voices in the car were those of Wang Chuanze and Meng Shengsheng.

“What’s the plan for later?” Meng Shengsheng asked.

“I’m going straight to the school,” she said, showing her phone. “I contacted the rental agent to look at apartments this afternoon.”

Wang Chuanze nodded, “Okay, call me if you need anything.”

Zhu Zhu dropped Meng Shengsheng off at the university subway station. As she left, Wang Chuanze reminded her, “Don’t rush. I’m here to take care of everything. Stop doing those part-time jobs for now. If you’re free, just go shopping, buy some clothes…”

Meng Shengsheng listened to the nagging, nodding and humoring him with “mm-hmm” sounds. “You go back and memorize your script; I’ll call you tonight.”

Xiong Yueyue couldn’t stand seeing the two so lovey-dovey. He shut the car door with a scowl, crossed his arms, and looked at Wang Chuanze as if to say, “You’ve got this to explain.”

Zhu Zhu shrank back into her seat, pretending not to notice, and restarted the car.

Wang Chuanze looked at Xiong Yueyue and, thinking they’d have to keep working together, said, “My girlfriend is a bit young, so I have to worry about her.”

Xiong Yueyue snapped, “Is that what I’m asking about? You’re not famous yet, and you already have a girlfriend? What if the fans find out… And what do you mean by ‘a bit young’? I’m warning you, don’t do anything illegal.”

“I’m an adult, not breaking any laws… If fans find out, so be it. I haven’t stolen or robbed anyone. Why can’t I have a girlfriend?”

“The company contract clearly states…”

Wang Chuanze tapped his fingers, recalling the original contract. “I remember the contract didn’t require anything specific about that. When I signed, you said if I start dating, I need to report it to the company. So now I’ve reported it—no secrets.”

Seeing it was futile to argue, Xiong Yueyue’s pent-up frustration dissipated. This guy was no ordinary fish in a small pond, and he was so young. Once he tasted fame and fortune in this circle, he wouldn’t give up everything for a woman.

Looking back at past lessons, except for those with powerful families, none of the female fans who dated male celebrities had good endings.

“...Be more careful. Even though you’re not famous now, don’t get caught in compromising photos, or the company won’t protect you... Are you really an adult?”

“...Yes, I’m really an adult.”

During the few seconds at a red light, Zhu Zhu looked at Wang Chuanze in the backseat, who looked good-looking no matter what, and thought he and the beautiful girl seemed quite compatible.

Wang Chuanze ignored Xiong Yueyue completely, sent a text to Shengsheng, and closed his eyes to rest.

Meng Shengsheng arrived at the place she had arranged with the agent. It was already noon, so she found a small street-side shop and ordered a bowl of noodles to fill her stomach.

After lunch, she wandered around casually before receiving a call from the agent.

The apartments near the school were mostly rented to exam candidates, usually small single rooms with just a single bed and nothing else.

Meng Shengsheng visited six places that afternoon before finding one that suited her slightly better.

The agent was diligent and never complained despite the scorching heat. If Meng Shengsheng wasn’t satisfied, the agent would take her to see place after place until she found the right one.

“The landlord bought the house planning to get married. It wasn’t renovated yet. The groom’s mother said they would pay for the renovations and demanded the husband’s name be added to the property deed. At that point, the bride found out the groom was cheating, kicked the family out, roughly renovated the place, and hasn’t returned since. Now, she’s traveling and renting it out to earn some rent,” the agent explained.

In other words, the house was essentially new and never lived in.

“The renovation was completed and aired out for a few months. The owner said she can’t come back often, so the lease is for a year minimum, rent paid yearly, with two months’ deposit.”

While the agent spoke, Meng Shengsheng inspected the kitchen and bathroom, took photos, and sent them to Wang Chuanze.

At the company, Wang Chuanze glanced at his phone during a break from acting class and typed back: “Looks good. Sign the contract. Buy some stuff, and you can move in.”

Meng Shengsheng sent back an “OK” emoji, pocketed her phone, and turned to discuss the contract with the agent.

After signing the lease and receiving the keys, the agent left. Meng Shengsheng rested for a while in the apartment and planned to go out that evening to buy necessities. In the next couple of days, she’d return to Yucheng, terminate her old lease, ship her belongings over, and then settle in.

After four or five busy days, she was leaving Yucheng for good. She invited Guo Lihua and her boyfriend out for a farewell meal before flying directly to the capital city the next day.

The capital was vast, and for convenience, Meng Shengsheng wanted to buy a car. But she had no driver’s license, and in the crowded city, even if she bought a car, registering it with a license plate would be nearly impossible. A capital city plate cost hundreds of thousands—she couldn’t just throw money away like that, even if she had some spare cash now.

She had hoped to enjoy a proper summer vacation, but the little money in her hand wasn’t worth much in the expensive capital. She needed to find ways to earn extra income.

Though she hadn’t studied the stock market in depth, having lived to her mid-twenties in a previous life, she knew which industries and companies were likely to thrive in the coming years.

After a few days of research at home and setting aside 100,000 yuan for herself, Meng Shengsheng opened a brokerage account and invested the rest in stocks.

While Wang Chuanze was attending his acting classes at the company, with some time before school started, Meng Shengsheng signed up for driving school.

In the 1980s, she could bribe the driving instructor to get ahead and pass the test early, but not this time. The exams were much more regulated now, and she had to attend driving school punctually and clock in practice sessions.

In early August, overhearing young people at driving school discussing their college entrance scores and accepted schools, Meng Shengsheng suddenly remembered she hadn’t checked her own school and major yet.

At home, she opened her computer, entered her name and exam number, and found the result.

She had been admitted to the Capital University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, majoring in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The admission notice was sent to the school in Yucheng. Since Meng Shengsheng needed to prepare for the second part of the driving test, she called Guo Lihua and asked her to forward the admission notice to the capital city.

When the notice arrived, Meng Shengsheng went to the library and bought several books on Chinese medicine.

She spent several hours studying the pharmacopeia that afternoon and fell asleep on the bed that night. The next day, after practicing driving all morning, she returned home to continue reading the pharmacopeia. Suddenly, she realized she seemed to remember everything she had read the day before.

She tried closing the book and silently reciting the content in her mind, then opened it again to compare. While not word-for-word, the general content was correct.

Meng Shengsheng exhaled quietly, wondering if she had gained another special ability through her transmigration.

She then picked up a random book on finance and read several pages before closing it and trying to recall the content. She remembered some but forgot more.

It seemed her unique skill in this life truly lay in traditional Chinese medicine.

Originally, she planned that if she couldn’t grasp the subject, she would transfer majors in her second year. Many famous Chinese medicine practitioners came from families with traditions in the field, having learned about herbs, memorized pharmacopeias, and practiced medicine from childhood. As a latecomer, she wasn’t sure she could master the discipline. After five years of university, she’d still have to accumulate experience in a hospital.

Now, she had no intention of transferring. Since she had better innate conditions than others, it would be a waste not to use them.

Thus, over the summer, Meng Shengsheng not only obtained her driver’s license but also finished reading all the books she bought, committing them to memory.

Two days before school started, Wang Chuanze’s film crew finally gave him a three-day break so he could come home and rest.

The crew had begun filming a spy drama adapted from a novel in mid-July. The company had secured him the role of the third male lead, a party member undercover in the enemy’s ranks who obtained many secret documents and ultimately sacrificed himself for the party, the motherland, and the people.

The role was complex: cold and ruthless as an executioner in the early episodes, with his true identity revealed later. If performed well, combined with his current looks, it would surely attract many fans.

Meng Shengsheng lay in bed as her phone vibrated and rang. Wang Chuanze was calling for a video chat.

As soon as she answered, she saw a man freshly out of the bath, his wet hair dripping water down his cheek to his collarbone and chest.

Meng Shengsheng sighed regretfully; these days of watching but not having were hard to endure.

Wang Chuanze wiped his hair with a towel. “What are you doing tomorrow? Are you still going to the supermarket to buy things?”

Meng Shengsheng had already been preparing for dorm necessities over the past few days and planned to visit the supermarket tomorrow to buy bedding, hangers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and so on.

She had just nodded when Wang Chuanze continued, “The director gave me three days off. Tomorrow I’ll go with you.”

They chatted a while longer until Meng Shengsheng yawned several times. Wang Chuanze said, “I’ll hang up now. Go to sleep.”

After ending the call, Meng Shengsheng put down her phone and rested.