After the doorbell rang, the door quickly opened. The person who opened the door was the owner of the house, Mu Si.
Perhaps because she was at home, her makeup was more subdued compared to how she appeared on television, yet it still conveyed a healthy beauty.
This was Jin Zhong and Mu Li's first time meeting Mu Si.
Upon their initial meeting, both parties seemed a bit awkward. Although Mu Si was a female host, she didn't seem very adept at casual conversation in such ordinary settings.
She also appeared a bit flustered.
It was the older Jin Zhong who took the lead, greeting first, which helped ease the awkwardness between them.
As if hearing the sound, a boy stood behind Mu Si. Mu Li looked and saw that it was Ming Yu.
Upon seeing the two, Ming Yu seemed happy, saying with emotion, "You two have finally arrived."
In contrast, Ming Yu was much more familiar, even making a slight joke upon meeting.
Mu Li also liked dealing with such people: "What? With two beautiful women chatting with you, are you still complaining?"
Jin Zhong, however, laughed and said, "I have to say, there's a reason for being single."
At the mention of being single, Ming Yu couldn't help but roll his eyes, saying irritably, "Brother, we're all single."
Unexpectedly, Jin Zhong nodded seriously and said, "This once again proves that there is indeed a reason for being single."
This self-deprecating joke instantly amused everyone, and the entire atmosphere became a bit more harmonious.
However, the youngest, Ai Jing, had not been seen until Mu Li and Jin Zhong entered the room, where they found her playing on her phone.
Upon seeing them enter, she gave a distant greeting.
Mu Li and Jin Zhong exchanged glances, smiling helplessly; everything was understood without words.
In fact, just as everyone believes the entertainment industry is a society based on connections, where everything seems to require favors and relationships, Mu Li felt that the entertainment industry was not much different from other workplaces.
Take the simplest interpersonal relationships, for example: whether a person understands basic manners can actually be seen at the first meeting.
A young girl like Ai Jing, in her early twenties, facing Jin Zhong, who could almost be her father and was also a senior in the entertainment industry, appeared so casual at their first meeting. Everyone could understand it and wouldn't blame her.
But respect between people is mutual.
If you don't value me, then I naturally don't need to offer my warmth to your cold shoulder.
At most, we just won't meet again.
Upon seeing them enter, Mu Si noticed that they were carrying many bags.
"Sister Mu Si, these are the gifts Jin Zhong and I prepared for you," Mu Li said with a smile, handing the gifts to Mu Si.
Mu Si was clearly surprised: "Oh my, I didn't expect you to buy so many things!"
Mu Li felt a little embarrassed, as he and Jin Zhong hadn't seriously prepared gifts; these were just hastily arranged.
"It's our first time meeting, so we thought since we're coming to your home, we'd prepare these," Jin Zhong said with a smile.
However, Mu Si's smile clearly broadened.
Indeed, no one can refuse such occasional small surprises.
Ai Jing, however, remarked with some emotion, "You two are so thoughtful. I always forget these things."
Mu Li couldn't help but shake his head discreetly, smiling faintly.
Such basic etiquette is something almost all management companies remind their artists about.
But reminding is one thing; whether artists follow through is another matter entirely.
It's like a famous agent once said: they can prepare everything for an artist, but the one thing they cannot teach an artist is how to be a person.
It was Jin Zhong who, upon seeing Ming Yu, secretly thought to himself, 'Oh no, I only thought of preparing a gift for Mu Si, but I forgot to prepare gifts for the other two.'
Clearly, Jin Zhong now completely regarded Mu Li as one of his own; whatever happened with his own brother was fine.
Just as Jin Zhong was annoyed at his forgetfulness, he saw Mu Li pull out several bags from his shadow and hand them to Ming Yu and Mu Si respectively.
"Brother, these are handmade scented candles Jin Zhong prepared for everyone, and I also prepared some handmade candies for everyone. These candies were personally made by our Pokémon, and they taste quite good. Everyone can try some." With that, Mu Li also handed one to Jin Zhong, winking at him.
Jin Zhong couldn't help but chuckle, thinking, 'This kid is really thoughtful.'
Jin Zhong didn't stand on ceremony either; he took the handmade scented candle and handed the remaining one to An Ran.
Ming Yu, however, didn't act like a stranger; he immediately unwrapped the gifts, exclaiming as he did so, "Wow, you two are really something! You even brought us gifts! Doesn't this make me seem like I'm not doing things properly?"
Ming Yu even spoke with a slightly exaggerated dialect, which instantly amused everyone.
Ai Jing, beside him, actually nodded seriously in agreement: "Exactly! Doesn't this make us two seem like we don't know proper etiquette!"
This, however, completely stumped everyone.
The girl's tone didn't sound like she was joking.
Mu Li couldn't help but smile helplessly.
Originally, Ming Yu was just making an exaggerated joke, but he didn't expect it to become serious with Ai Jing, putting Ming Yu in an awkward position.
Mu Si was clearly embarrassed as well, since this was her home. She quickly tried to smooth things over: "It's already very thoughtful of everyone to prepare these gifts for us. Please eat a lot later."
Whether it was an illusion or not, after Mu Si finished speaking, Mu Li happened to look at Ming Yu, and their eyes met. Ming Yu's gaze clearly held some helplessness, as if saying, "Now you know why I'm embarrassed, don't you?"
Mu Li could only sympathize with Ming Yu.
However, everyone clearly had no intention of dwelling on it. Ming Yu continued to unwrap the packaging and took out the scented candle from the box.
Ming Yu examined the candle carefully, then exclaimed, "Brother, you even made handmade scented candles! You're really too thoughtful."
Mu Si also chimed in, "It's true! Handmade scented candles, that's too much trouble, too thoughtful. Brother."
Then Ming Yu took out the candy Mu Li had given him, which was a simple nougat.
However, it was also handmade by Mu Li's family's Pokémon, and it was one of the few relatively delicious things his family made.
"No way, A Li, you also prepared this kind of handmade candy." Mu Li said, a little embarrassed, "These were made by our family's Pokémon. I think they're pretty good, so I brought them out to share with everyone."
Seeing everyone's exclamations, Jin Zhong put an arm around Mu Li and secretly asked, "When did you prepare these, kid?"
Mu Li shrugged and said, "We arrived in a hurry and forgot for a moment. Then I thought, it wouldn't be good if I just brought them out myself, so I brought a portion for you too."
Jin Zhong smiled and said, "Alright, I'll treat you to a meal later, brother."
Actually, there's a reason why Mu Li is so fond of giving gifts.
Perhaps because he lived with Ling Fei's family since he was young, Mu Li is actually a person who lacks a sense of security.
He hopes that in the process of interacting with friends, the other party will remember him, leaving some impression of him, so that they won't forget him after a long time.
So, his chosen method is different from others: it's giving gifts.
The better the relationship, the more he gives. For example, Fu Peiyao's home is now almost half-occupied by Mu Li's gifts.
Besides flowers, there are also various foods and small handicrafts, and even some beautiful shells and conchs he brought back from the seaside.
Although these small items are not expensive, they represent Mu Li's thoughtfulness.
Mu Li usually collects small items as souvenirs to give to people.
This is not only a token of Mu Li's friendship, but for the recipient of the gift, it is also a very happy thing.
According to Mu Li, when what you eat, use, and wear at home all bear my mark, I don't believe you can still forget me.
Moreover, the things he gives are not very expensive, so the other party has no reason to refuse.
But once the gift is accepted, this friendship usually has a good beginning.
Today, Mu Si prepared hot pot for everyone.
According to her, since she doesn't usually cook at home, she simply ordered hot pot for everyone to share.
Mu Li and Jin Zhong began their meal shortly after arriving.
Ming Yu asked curiously, "How did you two come together?"
"We just ran into each other at the community entrance; it was a coincidence," Jin Zhong replied.
Mu Li, however, said with a bit of embarrassment, "I should have arrived earlier to help you prepare the ingredients. But it was quite a coincidence; I was at Mango TV and got held up by the Happy Saturday production team, where I recorded for two hours."
Upon hearing this, Ming Yu burst into laughter: "You remind me of a friend of mine. He was waiting for a flight at the airport and was also met by a production team, and ended up being forcibly taken to the Frontier."
Mu Li couldn't help but laugh and said, "I saw that too! That was a CCTV program, right? I happened to watch that episode; it was truly hilarious."
After a simple meal, the five people prepared to visit some of Star City's more famous tourist attractions.
Among them, Orange Isle was naturally the first choice.
The significance of Orange Isle in Star City goes without saying.
The five of them drove there together.
As soon as they got out of the car, the differences in their popularity immediately became apparent.
No one called out Ai Jing and Mu Si's names, while Ming Yu and Mu Li were about the same, but the most popular was Jin Zhong.
Even though Mu Li has been frequently trending recently and has 1 million fans, very few people actually recognize him.
In contrast, Jin Zhong, through years of accumulated works, many people, while not necessarily knowing his name, have seen him act, recognize his face, and can even call out his character's name.
To avoid attracting a crowd of fans, the group had to put on masks after getting out of the car.
Fortunately, with the program team's obstruction, everyone only took photos from the periphery and did not have too much direct contact.
As the five walked, they split into two groups: the boys in one group and the girls in another.
When the two groups separated, Mu Li saw that Mu Si seemed to want to join them, but it wouldn't be appropriate for her, as a girl, to just walk over. Although they were filming a variety show, they still needed to maintain a certain distance.
However, Mu Li saw that Ming Yu and Jin Zhong seemed completely unconcerned, and he couldn't help but lament: Jin Zhong's words are still gaining value; being single truly has a reason.