If there was one segment Zhang Jin’an loved most in the entire show, it had to be the part where he and Jiang Siyang guessed the movie titles. No matter how many times he rewatched it, he found that moment magical.
The NPC began playing the final question. The screen went black once more, leaving only audio.
The sound was of a woman gasping for breath, her voice incredibly hoarse: "Ha... hoo... Is... is he here?"
Immediately following was the sound of footsteps growing louder, moving with great urgency, accompanied by an anxious female voice: "Almost there, almost there! Hang in there, Sis! Just a little longer!" The audio cut off there.
"Please provide your answer," the NPC said to the camera.
The lens focused on Jiang Siyang. His brow was furrowed as he softly repeated the lines: "Hang in there... just a little longer..."
Zhang Jin’an remembered that at the time, he had already given up on thinking and could only try to help by asking the NPC, "Are there any hints?"
The NPC nodded. "Since this is the final question and it's quite complex, I can give you a hint." She paused. "This is a TV drama, not a movie."
"A TV drama...?" Jiang Siyang nodded thoughtfully. The camera placed him in the center of the frame before slowly pulling back. Everything was quiet; whether on the screen or in the eyes of the viewers, there was only the image of him lost in thought.
Perhaps it was because the rapid-fire comments were so enthusiastic that they stirred his emotions, but Zhang Jin’an couldn't help but take a screenshot.
After a long silence, Jiang Siyang finally looked up. He stared straight at the NPC and gave his answer in an uncertain tone: "...*I Only Want You to Look at Me*?"
The NPC’s expression remained as cold as ever, giving nothing away. "Are you sure?"
"..." Jiang Siyang looked nervously at the "Zhang Jin’an" sitting next to him.
Zhang Jin’an watched his on-screen self look directly back at Jiang Siyang, offering encouragement: "It’s okay, I believe in you."
Upon hearing that response, Jiang Siyang’s spirits instantly lifted. He gave a firm nod. "Okay, then I’m sure."
"Really?" the NPC asked again.
"Really," Jiang Siyang replied.
NPC: "Really?"
Jiang Siyang: "Really."
NPC: "Re—"
The on-screen Zhang Jin’an interrupted: "Please, both of you, stop acting like human repeaters."
"Ahem," the NPC cleared her throat. "Very well. I shall announce the correct answer, and it is—Correct!"
Jiang Siyang stood up immediately, crying out in disbelief, "Really?!"
The NPC clapped, and the two of them shared a high-five.
Although the camera provided a wide shot of the three of them, Zhang Jin’an still noticed that when he and Jiang Siyang high-fived, their hands ended up with their fingers tightly interlaced.
*Wait, did we hold hands like that back then?*
He hadn't noticed it at the time. In the footage, he was still gripping Jiang Siyang’s hand tightly as he looked him over, praising him: "Siyang! You’re way too good! If I were doing this alone, I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years!"
Jiang Siyang hurriedly waved his right hand, replying, "No, no, it’s all thanks to you, Ge. You’ve given everyone such great works, which is why I was able to remember it."
"Alright, please take your clue card," the NPC said, placing a card on the table. Only then did the two of them let go of each other's hands.
Seeing the moment their hands parted, Zhang Jin’an actually felt a pang of regret. As for why he felt regretful—perhaps because he hadn't managed to take a screenshot in time? He wasn't sure.
The two of them whispered to each other for a moment; only they knew what was said.
Then, the scene shifted to the two of them parting ways at the entrance.
The camera followed Jiang Siyang first.
Zhang Jin’an had no idea what had happened to Jiang Siyang or what he had experienced after they separated, so he watched with extra care.
The lens followed Jiang Siyang as he passed through intersection after intersection, crossed a street, and walked over a stone bridge. The post-production team used superb filming techniques to showcase the scenery along the way—from the white gulls soaring in the sky to the small vendors hawking their wares by the roadside, and even a historic-looking newsstand. Every spot was a place Zhang Jin’an knew well.
The violin background music added by the editors was perfectly timed. The melody was lingering and melodious, immersing the viewer in the scene. It was as if one could feel how warm the sunlight was at that moment, how cool the river water felt, and how soft and long time itself had become.
Jiang Siyang, who had been walking continuously, suddenly stopped before a tree-lined boulevard. He said in a very soft voice, "So that's how it is."
The viewers were all confused, asking on the screen: *Why did he say that? Is he there? What happened?*
Zhang Jin’an looked at the question marks in the comments and smiled. That sentence was likely something only he and Jiang Siyang understood.
Jiang Siyang climbed a steep slope and arrived at the foot of Little South Mountain. During this time, he encountered several female strangers who greeted him, and Jiang Siyang met each one with a smile and a polite greeting.
"Filming a show?" another passing auntie asked him.
"Yes. Do you come here often, Sis?" Jiang Siyang asked.
The auntie chuckled. "Oh my, calling me 'Sis'? I'm already in my forties. You can just call me 'Auntie'—"
"Then I should definitely call you 'Sis.' I'm already twenty-five," Jiang Siyang said with a smile.
The woman stopped in her tracks, and Jiang Siyang stopped with her.
The auntie looked Jiang Siyang up and down, her face full of shock. "What? You're twenty-five? I thought you were a high school freshman like my daughter."
The scene cut to Jiang Siyang reaching the NPC. After a brief exchange, the NPC told him, "Alright, but I must remind you: there is one hour and twenty minutes left in total, but the deadline for this final stage is earlier. If you haven't given me the card by five o'clock, everything on the card will become invalid."
Jiang Siyang didn't hand it over immediately. After saying "I understand," he sat down on a long stone bench nearby, took out his phone, and dialed a number. As the "ring—ring—" sound played, the editors added a caption: 【Who is he calling at a time like this?】
The answer came four seconds later.
*So this is the expression Jiang Siyang makes when he's on the phone,* Zhang Jin’an thought.
Jiang Siyang looked at the distant sky and asked with a hint of urgency, "Ge, where are you?"
The screen switched to Zhang Jin’an’s side. Compared to Jiang Siyang, he was quite calm, even smiling when he picked up: "Is the scenery beautiful there?"
"Beautiful. It’s been beautiful the whole way," Jiang Siyang said.
"You calling me... does that mean that place was the right one?" the on-screen Zhang Jin’an replied.
Jiang Siyang turned to glance at the staff. "Yeah, it's the right place. I'm standing in front of the staff right now. Ge, when are you coming over?"
"Did you hand it to them?"
"No," Jiang Siyang flipped through the card in his hand. "I haven't given it to them."
Zhang Jin’an asked again, "Why haven't you handed it in? If you do, this ending will be yours, right?"
Jiang Siyang was momentarily stunned. He answered softly, "Yeah..."
"You're not thinking of giving this to me, are you?" Zhang Jin’an said.
Jiang Siyang stuffed the card into his pocket and replied, "I feel like the credit for getting this ending belongs more to you than to me, Ge."
"It's fine, don't worry about me. I just went to verify my theory, and I was right. I'm about to get an ending soon. Hurry up and give the card to them. Isn't time almost up?"
Jiang Siyang lifted his head. "I know. But even so, I want to wait for you to come over."
Zhang Jin’an clutched the pajamas against his chest.
At the time, it was because he hadn't expected Jiang Siyang to say those words that his heart had skipped a beat, and he had chosen silence out of flustered confusion. But what about now? He had already heard those words once; why was his heart still beating so fast?
Zhang Jin’an felt his throat go dry. He took a sip of water and continued watching.
They say the wind loves to play tricks; it arrives soundlessly, yet it stirs the emotions of all things. In the footage, the young man let the breeze brush through his hair and the corners of his clothes. He remained unmoved, simply holding his phone as he spoke his next words: "They said there's only one ending here, but we can go up together."
"I want to go up with you, Ge. Although we can't go back to that time, I still really want to see the scenery from your memories," Jiang Siyang said.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line before a reply finally came: "Alright. Then I'm coming over."
"Really?!" Jiang Siyang stood up abruptly. The camera even wobbled twice, likely startled by the sudden movement.
Jiang Siyang watched as the camera cut back to Zhang Jin’an’s side.
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jin’an smiled at the camera and said, "Let's continue."
The frame froze there, with text appearing in the bottom left: 【Let's continue? What's going on?】
【Let's rewind time to 20 minutes ago...】
The next second, the scene returned to the moment Zhang Jin’an and Jiang Siyang parted ways at the cinema entrance.
Zhang Jin’an walked to the left, but stopped halfway. He said to the camera, "I'm just making a guess. This is a 'do or die' situation."
【...Just what is he planning?】
What indeed? Jiang Siyang shared the same question as the post-production team.
Zhang Jin’an was seen walking into a shop and buying a bunch of snacks. As soon as he stepped out, he gave a snack to every person he met. Some passersby were clearly fans; upon receiving a snack, they said in surprise, "Thank you, Big Brother! Big Brother, can I take a photo with you?"
Zhang Jin’an shook his head and said politely, "Sorry, I can't."
the female fan nodded. "Okay," she said, then made a peace sign at the camera. "I should be able to see myself on the variety show anyway, right? Can I use the camera to confess my love?"
"Sure," Zhang Jin’an said to the camera. "Come on, give this young lady the lens."
The camera immediately focused on the fan. She looked into the lens with great sincerity.
"The first time I saw you, I wondered how someone could be so handsome! Later, I found out you really love life, your acting is great, and you're such an upright person—a real breath of fresh air! I will always support you!" The fan took a deep breath. "Jiang Siyang!"
Zhang Jin’an, standing to the side: "Huh?"
Zhang Jin’an handed out snacks to a few more people. When only one was left, that phone call arrived. However, from the moment the call ended, the editors split the screen in half, placing the two men—who were in different locations at the same time—side by side.
On one side was Jiang Siyang, waiting for Zhang Jin’an and chatting with passersby out of boredom. On the other side was Zhang Jin’an, handing out snacks to passersby. Between them was a round clock ticking away.
The last pair of passersby Zhang Jin’an encountered were two blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. This pair was lost and asked Zhang Jin’an a string of questions: how to get somewhere, what they were filming, "I think I've seen you before"... and so on.
Zhang Jin’an answered fluently, pointing them in the right direction and answering their other questions. The two were very happy and told Zhang Jin’an before leaving that they would watch the show and hoped to see him again.
Zhang Jin’an expressed that he looked forward to it.
After they left, Zhang Jin’an was out of snacks; the bag was empty. He said to the following director, "I've spent all three hundred yuan. It's all gone."
"Is it all spent?" the PD's voice came through.
"Yes," Zhang Jin’an said.
"Alright," the PD paused. "Congratulations to Zhang Jin’an for triggering the hidden plot—Whale Player. Here is your clue card."
***
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Unable to be Arrogant [Entertainment Circle] | Chapter 70 | Waiting at the Summit | Novela.app | Novela.app
