Are We There Yet

*Two years later*

The man ringing the doorbell had a tall stature, and this caused the door in front of him to seem small in comparison.

The man looked down at the flowers he was holding and brought them up to his nose to take a sniff.

It was a beautiful bouquet of light pink and white cherry blossoms he had specially ordered from the famous flower shop down the street.

The door opened and a beautiful woman with smiling eyes that turned into crescent moons stood at the doorway.

Her eyes landed on the flowers and she took them away from the man without asking.

She turned around and walked back into the room as she untied the ribbon fastened around the bouquet and took off the wrapping paper.

"Thank you for the flowers, Zhang Bing. Are you done packing?"

Yep, you guessed it right! The man is Zhang Bing.

Zhang Bing took off his shoes and leaned casually against the kitchen counter.

"I finished this morning. Are you excited to go back?"

Elena smiled and responded in Japanese, "Not really, I enjoy having fun and being famous here in Japan."

Zhang Bing chuckled and walked over to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water, "You know you're also famous in China now, right? And Korea, and Thailand, and America, and. . . basically everywhere."

Elena organized the flowers into a vase and dramatically flipped her hair, "I know. You have to work hard, Zhang Bing. I'm catching up."

Elena joked about this but she knew that this was because of her. Zhang Bing was supposed to go back to China a year ago.

However, he insisted on staying in Japan because "he liked the environment and the food here". In reality, he just wanted to stay close to Elena.

They both knew that Zhang Bing would be much more famous and successful now if he had followed his company's plan for him.

Zhang Bing sat down across from Elena and brought his face down close to her.

"When are you going to agree to be my girlfriend?"

Elena moved the flower vase forward so Elena could no longer see Zhang Bing's face, "Stop joking around."

Zhang Bing pursed his lips out and sat back down. But he wasn't joking. . .

"Why are you arranging the flowers even though we are leaving soon?

Elena shrugged, "I'll just bring the flowers onto the plane with me."

"I don't think you can do that."

The front door opened again and Mila walked in with her bags and suitcases while sucking on a lollipop.

Mila dropped her bags onto the ground and she said, "Are you people ready? We should leave soon."

---

Elena took off her sleep mask and yawned with one hand over her mouth.

"Are we there yet?"

Zhang Bing ruffled Elena's messy hair and said, "Almost, we are getting ready to land."

Elena smiled and grabbed Zhang Bing's cup of smoothie to take a sip. Besides Mila, Zhang Bing was Elena's best friend in Japan.

She treated Zhang Bing like her older brother, and she told him anything and everything.

In these two years, their relationship strengthened quickly.

"On behalf of the Jin Airline, we would like to welcome you to the Jin Province. We will be arriving at the gate momentarily. Please remain in your seats with your seat belt securely fastened until the aircraft has come to a complete stop at the terminal gate. Once again, thank you for flying with the Jin Airline".

Elena smiled as she heard the announcement. Two years ago, she heard the exact same thing.

So much has happened in these two years and so much has changed.

Elena closed her eyes again and a slight smile formed on her face. She is back again. . .

Mila peaked her head back from around her chair and tapped Elena on the knee.

"VIP passage?"

Elena nodded this time, mostly because Zhang Bing was also with them. Zhang Bing's popularity was still higher than Elena's in China, and his fanbase was incredibly strong.

If they exited from the normal passage, it would take at least half a day for them to finally leave the airport.

They waited until everyone had left the plane before they got off.

Once they stepped out of the airport and felt the sunlight, Zhang Bing left to go attend an event for a product he was sponsoring.

Elena also entered a black van with Mila to go to the press conference for her new movie. In a week, filming would start for her new project, The Legend of Shu Yao.

This time, Elena was specifically requested to act in the movie as the role of Shu Yao, the first female lead. Her company immediately accepted the request and insisted on having Elena return to the Jin Province straight away to film.

This movie was adapted from an extremely famous book, and the entire nation's attention was on this film, waiting for it to appear on the big screen.

If Elena succeeds in acting well, she might just become an A-list celebrity from this movie.

Elena changed into a dazzling, red evening gown in the van, and the stylist helped her do her makeup and her hair as the car was driving.

In an hour, the car stopped in front of a red carpet leading into a tall glass building where the press conference was going to take place.

Reporters from several companies gathered on both sides of the carpet, hoping to get a good shot of the cast members of the movie.

Elena arrived last as she was running a little late from the flight. The first female and male lead of the film were kept secret to increase the curiosity of the audience.

When Elena's car stopped, all the reporters immediately became alert. They all knew that only the first female lead was left to arrive, so the celebrity in that black van must be her.

Elena took off her seatbelt and put on a graceful smile before Mila pulled open the door.

The reporters outside were amazed at the sight of Elena.

"Isn't that Elena, Jin Yinghui?"

"Is she the first female lead?"

A male reporter immediately began snapping pictures, "Makes sense. She's really famous right now around the world and her overall visuals and temperament matches Shu Yao."

All the other reporters nodded in agreement and started taking pictures too.

Seeing that all the reporters recognized her, Elena confidently walked across the red carpet with her head held high.

She turned around before entering the door and bowed down to express her gratitude and respect towards the reporters.

After that, Elena walked straight into the cold building without looking back and entered the large room where the press conference was taking place.

With Mila behind her, Elena walked up to the stage and sat down on the middle seat right next to the director.

There were even more reporters inside the room, and all of them were from the most reputable news companies in Jin Province.

The middle-aged man standing at the side with a microphone in his hand began speaking, "Now that our first female lead is here, let the press conference begin."