Ye’s determined and persistent gaze stirred ripples in Jiayi’s heart.

"You belong to acting..."

This phrase incessantly pounded in her heart.

Finally, she nodded, "I’m willing to major in acting, Director Ye."

Ye Yongning was very surprised and smiled, "You don’t have to call me Director Ye in private, it’s too impersonal. If you don’t mind, just call me Uncle Ye."

How could Jiayi mind when this was a world-renowned director, "Okay, Uncle Ye."

She hesitated before asking, "Uncle Ye, I want to ask, the stage name you gave me, Xia Tingxuan, is it the name of the actress you knew before?"

Ye Yongning knew Wei Lun had told her and nodded, "Yes."

Jiayi hesitated for a moment, finally unable to restrain herself, "Why did you want to give me the name Xia Tingxuan, Uncle Ye?"

Ye Yongning fell silent for a moment, not speaking.

Jiayi ventured, "There’s something I don’t know if I should ask."

Ye Yongning smiled magnanimously, "Go ahead and ask."

Jiayi softly said, "I think, Uncle Ye, you must have felt something more than just appreciation for an actress toward that Xia Tingxuan, right?"

Ye Yongning’s steps faltered, he had never imagined that a girl who looked barely in her teens could see through his deeply buried feelings.

Feelings he had concealed for nearly twenty years.

Just by looking at his expression, Jiayi knew, she had probably guessed right.

This internationally revered director, Ye Yongning, must have had romantic feelings for the actress named Xia Tingxuan.

Even now, he hadn’t forgotten her.

Ye Yongning let her take the stage name Xia Tingxuan hoping her fame through "Demon-slaying Chronicle" would make the name shine, so perhaps he could find the real Xia Tingxuan...

At that moment, Ye Yongning started speaking slowly, unwinding his long-sealed memories:

"Twenty years ago, I was still in China and wasn’t as famous as I am now. I was shooting ’Bright Moon Shines Over the Harbor Bay,’ and when we were selecting the lead actress, Xia Tingxuan came to audition. It was the first time I saw her; she was in dire straits, dressed simply, not even wearing makeup, but her innate charisma made me decide she was my lead actress at first glance."

That day, the young woman came to the set like a blossoming, brilliant rose, capturing the attention of everyone present.

And she took root in Ye Yongning’s heart, unforgettable for twenty years.

At that time, Ye Yongning heard Xia Tingxuan say that her boyfriend had been in a car accident, urgently needing surgery, and she came to audition for the lead role in "Bright Moon Shines Over the Harbor Bay" to raise surgery funds.

"So, Xia Tingxuan had a boyfriend back then?" Jiayi glanced at Ye Yongning.

Ye Yongning’s tone was filled with emotion, "She said she was an orphan, and her boyfriend, also an orphan raised in the same orphanage, were childhood sweethearts with a deep relationship. After growing up and leaving the orphanage, they worked and planned to marry, but her boyfriend met with an accident. She worked odd jobs everywhere to gather the surgery fees, and only came to audition on a whim after seeing our casting call. I had her try a few scenes, immediately confirmed her as the lead, but a few days later, she didn’t show up for the screen tests and costume fitting, and I never found her again..."

"Perhaps Xia Tingxuan already had the surgery funds and didn’t need to act anymore, or maybe her boyfriend..." Jiayi murmured.

Ye Yongning nodded, "That’s what I thought at the time."

"Did you look for her?"

"I searched, but I asked everywhere in China and still couldn’t find her. I think ’Xia Tingxuan’ might have been a stage name she used when auditioning for the actress role, after all, artists seldom use their real names."

Jiayi saw a hint of melancholy in his look and couldn’t help saying, "Director Ye, since Xia Tingxuan already had a boyfriend, and their relationship was so good, if her boyfriend was fine, they might already be married with children by now. You should let go, there’s no need to dwell on it."

But how difficult it is to let go of the obsession that one can easily advocate.

A wistful smile seeped through Ye Yongning’s weathered but handsome face.

It was hard to imagine that such a renowned international director could fall in love with a woman he had only met once and never forgot, his feelings for her so deep and enduring.

He had her act in a role because she bore a resemblance to that woman and even wrapped Xia Tingxuan’s name around her, all this—just to encounter that woman again.

All these years, he had never married, perhaps also because of that woman.

Real life is even more melodramatic than movies.

Jiayi sighed softly.

But it was fine, Ye Yongning was searching for his goddess.

And she was searching for her origin; they both had their needs, which was quite good.

The golden glow of the sun shone down on Ye Yongning’s desolate and handsome face, coating it with a layer of radiance as if stained by time, his deep-set phoenix eyes shimmering with a faint crystal glow.

Jiayi felt some sympathy for his many years of unrequited love.

This woman called Xia Tingxuan, what did she look like, to make a famous director known both in China and abroad so unwilling to let go?

His unrequited love seemed to stretch on indefinitely, with no end in sight.

Thinking this, she subconsciously took out a tissue and wiped away the tear at the corner of the man beside her.

Ye Yongning suddenly turned his head, Jiayi realized she had been too rash, and quickly placed the tissue in his hand.

It was getting late, and there was still registration to do.

Jiayi exchanged a few words with Ye Yongning and went to the registration office first.

The moment she turned around, within her field of vision, it seemed as if two black figures flitted by, as though—

they had been watching her from behind for a long time.

She rubbed her eyes; had she seen wrong?

Time was short, and there wasn’t time to think more about it, she headed straight for the registration office.

Without much hesitation, she changed her major on the spot and enrolled in the acting department.

After registering, Jiayi walked out of G University; George’s car was parked under the shade of trees not far away.

The cold, gleaming steel paint of the car was dazzling, complemented by the figure in the back seat, matching perfectly.

Her steps faltered; Huo Zhenyang was also there.

In front of the car door, men in suits standing on both sides were clearly bodyguards.

She had a bad feeling, nervously settling into the back seat of the car.

As expected, beside her, Huo Zhenyang’s tone was as cold as ice from a thousand-year-old cave, "You changed your major?"

The speed of this informant was indeed fast enough, almost at the speed of light.

Jiayi could only nod honestly, "Yes, I switched to the acting major."

He let out a slight icy huff from the corner of his lips, "Why did you suddenly decide to switch to an acting major?"

Would this man become even more angered if she said that Ye Yongning persuaded her to change her major?

Jiayi decided not to be so honest, "I feel that I am more interested in acting."

"Is it the acting you are interested in, or is it Ye Yongning you are interested in?" Huo Zhenyang’s voice was even colder!

This little girl even knew how to lie now; it was clearly Ye Yongning who had taught her to change her major!