Hearing this, Shu Nian lowered her head to look at the script again. Whether it was because she already knew where it was beforehand, she always felt that as soon as she looked, the first thing her eyes caught was this line.

It was in an extremely eye-catching position.

Shu Nian felt there was something strange about herself.

But it also didn’t feel like she was the one being strange.

She and Xie Ruhe had always interacted this way.

It was like this before, and perhaps because they hadn’t seen each other for so long, or maybe because they had grown up, there was now a slight unfamiliarity between them, but actually, there wasn’t much change.

However, compared to before, Shu Nian felt that Xie Ruhe seemed a little different.

She couldn’t quite pin down what it was.

Which made her feel like something was off about herself too.

Shu Nian wanted to ask him, but she didn’t know what to ask, so she gave up. Recalling what he had just said, her fingertip slid down to that line of dialogue: “This line you just read?”

Xie Ruhe’s gaze was still fixed outside the window. Hearing Shu Nian’s words, he reached up to touch the back of his ear, but didn’t lean over again, just glanced from afar and gave an almost inaudible “Mm.”

“This isn’t my line,” Shu Nian said, looking down and thinking for a moment as her professional instincts kicked in. “But this line shouldn’t be delivered that way. This play is about a boy pursuing a girl. This boy has been chasing this girl for a long time. His personality is very bright, and he’s said this line many times, so you should use a lighter, quicker tone. But you just said it too stiffly.”

“…”

Shu Nian analyzed very seriously: “The way you said it sounds more like someone confessing for the first time.”

Xie Ruhe’s expression froze as if someone had seen through his thoughts, and he turned his face away awkwardly.

Shu Nian, thinking of her past voice acting experience and what her teachers and directors had taught her, continued thoughtfully: “A young man’s voice should be bright and light. You need to open your oral cavity and lift your soft palate. Something like this—”

Xie Ruhe said: “What?”

Shu Nian adjusted herself, then suddenly exclaimed: “I like you!”

Xie Ruhe was stunned for a moment, his eyelashes flickering slightly. His peach blossom eyes curved down slightly, the arc very shallow, his emotions not visibly exposed and difficult to detect: “Mm.”

“That way the voice sounds brighter,” she said, then looked at him. “You try.”

“Hm?”

Shu Nian repeated: “Try it.”

“…” Xie Ruhe paused, not immediately reacting. “Try what?”

“Making your voice brighter. Lift your soft palate, the position behind the roof of your mouth.” Shu Nian suddenly remembered, “You should know these things, right? You even taught me how to sing high notes before.”

Xie Ruhe nodded sluggishly: “Mm.”

Shu Nian became enthusiastic and handed him the script: “Try it then, voice acting is fun.”

Noticing her expectant look, Xie Ruhe took the script, cleared his throat, and awkwardly read the line after the one she had just said: “Are you hungry?”

His voice was clearer and brighter than before.

Shu Nian was momentarily stunned, not reacting right away, and leaned over to say: “Not that line.”

Xie Ruhe kept his eyes down, defending himself quietly: “I brightened my voice, saying another line should be fine too.”

“No!” Shu Nian objected to his words, saying very seriously, “These two are not the same character. This one has a cold, aloof personality, the voice should be deep and magnetic. You need to say this line.”

Her fingertip was resting on the four characters that read “I like you.”

Xie Ruhe glanced at the line, his lips moved slightly, but no words came out. Then he looked in her direction, just meeting her gaze.

Her eyes were round and large, with downturned corners. Her irises were brown, made lighter by the light, gleaming with a clear brightness. Her expression was serious, her eyes pure and uncomplicated.

Still the same as years ago, seemingly without the slightest change.

Perhaps because she had been well-protected by her family, she had always lived like a child, her inner world as clean as if untouched by any stain.

Xie Ruhe still remembered that back then, after learning about classmates dating early, Shu Nian had very seriously told him that at their young age, dating was wrong and something they shouldn’t do.

Even if others thought she was silly, saying she spoke like she lacked common sense, she remained stubborn in her views. Once she determined something to be true, she wouldn’t change her mind because of what others said.

It was the same look as back then.

Xie Ruhe lost the sudden courage he had just felt, closed the script, and handed it back to her. Seeing Shu Nian’s confused expression, he stiffly changed the subject: “Are you free tonight?”

“Tonight?” Shu Nian was instantly drawn away by his question. “I should be busy. I have to record today, and I probably won’t get out of the studio until around midnight.”

“Okay,” Xie Ruhe didn’t ask further and handed her a box that had been set aside. “For you.”

Shu Nian blinked, reaching out to take it: “What’s this?”

Xie Ruhe answered honestly: “Birthday present.”

Shu Nian’s movements paused, seemingly surprised that he remembered her birthday and had even prepared a gift. She was a bit touched and sincerely said: “Thank you.”

The box wasn’t large, just a bit bigger than Shu Nian’s hand. She couldn’t guess what was inside, but out of curiosity, she hesitantly asked: “Can I look at it now?”

Xie Ruhe said: “You can.”

She opened it with anticipation.

Inside was a white MP3 player with a small display screen. It looked compact and cute. It came with a data cable and earphones.

Shu Nian picked it up to look at it, the corners of her mouth curving upward, and she thanked him again: “Thank you.”

Xie Ruhe gave a small “mm” sound, thought for a moment, then reminded her: “Remember to use it.”

This was probably the only birthday gift she had received this year apart from one from Deng Qingyu. Shu Nian carefully put the MP3 player back in the box and agreed: “Of course I will.”

At this moment, Xie Ruhe was also putting away the earphones she had given him.

Noticing his actions from the corner of her eye, Shu Nian was in a good mood and unconsciously brought up what Fang Wencheng had told her before: “I bought these earphones a long time ago, but I was afraid you wouldn’t like them, so I never dared to give them to you.”

Xie Ruhe was taken aback and looked up: “Why?”

“Assistant Fang said you don’t like it when people give you gifts,” Shu Nian scratched her head. “I was a bit worried about making you unhappy, but I also felt that not giving anything wasn’t good either, so I was conflicted.”

“…”

“I asked Assistant Fang for advice, and he suggested I shouldn’t give you anything.”

Xie Ruhe said lightly: “Fang Wencheng said things like that?”

Fang Wencheng, driving the car, heard this and smiled, completely unaware of the low air pressure coming from behind, responding like a clueless big brother: “Yes, Young Master, you don’t like it when others give you things. But between friends, it’s different.”

Shu Nian nodded and said to Xie Ruhe: “I’m glad you like it.”

Xie Ruhe turned to look at Shu Nian: “Did Fang Wencheng tell you not to give me gifts because it would make me unhappy?”

Shu Nian thought back but couldn’t remember the exact words. But seeing Xie Ruhe’s expression seemed a bit off, she hesitantly rephrased: “Just that you don’t have much interest in gifts.”

“Mm.” Xie Ruhe lazily tugged at his lips, “Not true, don’t listen to him.”

Fang Wencheng drove the car to the recording studio where Shu Nian needed to go.

Before she got out, Xie Ruhe suddenly called to her: “Shu Nian.”

Shu Nian, who had already opened the car door halfway, turned her head: “What is it?”

“After you get off work, I’ll come find you,” Xie Ruhe looked at her steadily. “I’ll take you somewhere.”

Thinking about her usual time getting out of the studio, Shu Nian didn’t immediately agree: “But I might finish very late…”

“If it’s too late, we won’t go,” Xie Ruhe said. “Then I’ll just take you straight home.”

Not knowing what he wanted to do, but this time Shu Nian didn’t hesitate either, directly agreeing: “Okay, I’ll see if I can finish earlier.”

She said goodbye to both of them and then got out of the car.

Fang Wencheng started the car and asked: “Young Master, where to now?”

Xie Ruhe looked out the window, his slender fingers tapping on the window sill, and abruptly called out: “Fang Wencheng.”

“Yes.”

Xie Ruhe’s expression was casual: “The weather is quite nice today.”

Fang Wencheng let out a confused “Ah,” and quickly followed his lead, obsequiously: “Yes, it is nice.”

He stared at the light falling on the back of his hand: “The sun is out too.”

Because of Xie Ruhe’s strange comments, Fang Wencheng finally sensed something was off, swallowed nervously, and cautiously asked: “Is something wrong?”

Xie Ruhe suddenly smiled: “You don’t understand?”

“I understand, I understand…” Fang Wencheng occasionally glanced at him through the rearview mirror, sweating inwardly, and said expressively, “When Young Master meets with Shu Nian, it’s the most beautiful day in the world! Everything brightens up! Even the heavens can’t help but smile!”

“Finished?”

“There’s, there’s more…” Fang Wencheng had no idea what he’d done to offend him, desperate to the point of tears, “The heavens also say that Young Master and Miss Shu Nian are truly a match made in heaven…”

Hearing this, Xie Ruhe’s mood seemed to improve a bit.

His eyebrows raised slightly, his eyelashes as black as crow feathers making his eyes appear dark and bright, his eye sockets deeply set, his voice carrying a cool tone: “Did he also remind me?”

Fang Wencheng wasn’t quite clear, asking nervously: “Remind you of what?”

“That it’s time to change assistants,” he said.