When the crew was getting ready to head to Venice, we started packing our luggage. I realized Gu Xiao’an had the most luggage out of all of us. Just sorting out his things left me on the verge of tears. Little An’an’s luggage filled three whole suitcases, totaling over 149 pounds, even heavier than me!
After joining the crew, I rarely went out, but whenever I did, I made sure to buy enough. With An’an around, I bought for him too and unknowingly accumulated a lot. Fu Junyan also doted on An’an and added a lot of things, as did others in the crew. So it ended up this way. Sitting on the carpet, looking at An’an’s luggage gave me a headache.
When Fu Junyan came, Gu Xiao’an was curled up in his room picking out his little backpack. Fu Junyan stood at the door, looking at all the luggage, and asked with a smile, “All packed?”
I shook my head and pointed at An’an’s room, “It’s all An’an’s.”
The corner of his mouth also twitched involuntarily. After surveying the surroundings, he waved his hand and said, “Forget it, just bring what An’an needs to wear. We’ll come back for the rest later!”
“No, John said the entire apartment’s lease ends tomorrow and everything has to be cleared out.” I said helplessly, wondering if I should throw out a suitcase of my own clothes.
“Gu Xiao Ai!”
“Ah!” Why was Fu Junyan suddenly looking at me with that ambiguous smile…
“You can leave it here forever. This place is mine.”
“You just debuted, how expensive is this place?” I was shocked! If it was the Fu Junyan from my previous life, I definitely wouldn’t bat an eye at his words. Because his pay was frighteningly high before. Forget a villa, he could buy a whole neighborhood of villas without issue. But now, I pouted, “You’re not secretly paying rent for me just so I can leave my luggage, are you?”
Faced with my suspicious gaze, Fu Junyan smiled helplessly, looking like a scholar facing a soldier. He lightly pulled me up from the floor and gently pushed me into his room, saying, “Hurry and sort out your own luggage. Bring what you need and leave what you don’t. We’ll come back for it after filming wraps.”
“It’s really yours?”
He was speechless and just looked at me without denying it. So I knew this villa was really his…
Fu Junyan, who had just debuted, already owned a villa worth tens of millions. Okay, what kind of dog poop luck did old man John step in? The actors he picked were all either second generation officials or fu er dais1..
Hearing this put me at ease. I waved my hand and said, “Then why am I even packing? I’ll just bring a few wearable outfits. If it’s not enough, I’ll buy more.” The most fun in life is messing with my dad. I have a few credit cards linked to his cell phone. Every time I make a purchase, his phone gets a notification. So if I go on a shopping spree with those cards, my dad’s phone will successfully explode and my nitpicky dad will also successfully blow his top… I haven’t felt this joy in so long since leaving home!!
I randomly picked out a few clothes and walked out of the room with a shoulder bag, only to find Gu Xiao’an still hadn’t come out.
When Fu Junyan and I found Gu Xiao’an in the playroom, the little guy was sticking his little butt out, head buried under the rug, using his little hands to fish out the candies he had hidden and putting them into his little carry-on bag one by one. Xiao Qi cooperatively kept watch for him. When he saw me, he was about to bark, but as soon as Fu Junyan came out, he immediately lowered his head and started wagging his tail, pretending to be good. Only then did I realize, Xiao Qi still knew who his real master was.
I smiled and turned my head, not expecting Fu Junyan’s expression to be so serious. He walked over, squatted at the edge of the rug, and softly called out:
“An’an.”
Gu Xiao’an was startled. His little body visibly shuddered before he carefully poked his head out, his black hair a fluffy mess. A pair of big black eyes darted around. His little hands were frightened and hid behind his back. His whole being lay on the ground, hugging that corner of the rug, staring blankly at Fu Junyan, looking silly.
But at this moment, Fu Junyan smiled extremely gently. He reached out to pat Gu Xiao’an’s head, then very patiently put An’an on his lap, letting An’an sit properly. Even though An’an’s hands were still hidden behind his back, Fu Junyan didn’t pull them out, only making An’an look into his eyes.
Then he lowered his voice and asked, “An’an, why did you hide the candies?”
An’an pitifully hung his head, shrinking his neck.
“An’an, you don’t like candies, right?” Seeing this, Fu Junyan asked, reaching out to stroke An’an’s hair. He softly asked again, “If you don’t like them, why hide them?”
Gu Xiao’an raised his face, sneaking a glance at Fu Junyan before quickly lowering his head again. His little hands were no longer behind his back. The candies in his palms were also casually thrown on the ground. He just lowered his eyes and twisted his fingers. Then he said in a muffled little voice, “An’an doesn’t like them.”
“Then why hide them? An’an can give them up…”
I never thought Gu Xiao’an didn’t like candies. He clearly loved candies so much! I always assumed An’an hid the candies because he liked them too much. I never expected this. So I also walked over and couldn’t help asking.
“Sister…” Gu Xiao’an weakly called out to me.
I wanted to ask more, but Fu Junyan shook his head at me. I had to hold back and patiently watch An’an with him.
“Yue-yue, Jay-ge, Grandpa John like An’an, so they give An’an candies.” Gu Xiao’an raised his eyes and turned his head to look at Xiao Qi kneeling on the side as if seeking help, before bashfully saying, “If An’an doesn’t take them, Yue-yue will be sad… They’ll all be sad.”
This child…
“Good boy.” Fu Junyan looked at me deeply, then praised An’an by tapping his forehead and asked again, “An’an, why don’t you like candies?”
Gu Xiao’an turned his head to look at me, his mouth turning down with a hint of grievance. His little face flushed red before he nearly cried, “Candies make sister hurt. An’an doesn’t like! Doesn’t like! Sister hurt! An’an doesn’t like!”
At this moment, I really didn’t know what to say. I just walked over and took him into my arms, holding back my soreness and said, “Silly child, sister isn’t hurting. How do you still remember that? That was acting. An’an is so smart, don’t you know?”
“An’an doesn’t like sister hurting!” But the little guy shook his head and shouted stubbornly, his little face buried against my neck full of grievance. I patted An’an’s back and watched Fu Junyan lift the rug and help An’an put the candies into his little backpack bit by bit. I really didn’t know what else to say.
Finally, after coaxing An’an to sleep, I looked at the child in my arms and turned to ask Fu Junyan, “John said he wants to use some behind-the-scenes footage for promotion. He asked me if An’an can be shown on camera. But I really don’t know. Fu Junyan, An’an is so little, what should I do?”
But he seemed to see through it all. He simply and clearly asked me, “In order to keep An’an from being exposed, are you going to send him away? Xiao Ai.”
I tightened my arms around the child and said, “If An’an isn’t exposed, he can’t stay by my side anymore. Fu Junyan, you know, once “Regretful Love” airs, no matter what, we’ll truly have to live under the spotlight.”
Hearing this, Fu Junyan fell silent. He didn’t look at me anymore, just lowered his head to secure An’an’s backpack on Xiao Qi’s back. Xiao Qi happily stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail.
Then I heard him say with deep feeling, “Xiao Ai, Gu An is very smart. He’s only two years old, but he already knows to apologize when he’s done something wrong. He admits his mistakes and gives his most precious milk to others. He cares about you. Because he decided candies make his sister hurt, he no longer likes candies. In order to not make others sad, he accepts the candies he no longer likes. But he’s very good. He doesn’t turn around and throw them away. Even if he doesn’t like them, he carefully hides them. Now knowing he has to leave here, he takes them with him, never discarding them. Such a well-behaved child, can you bear to only see him in secret once in a very long while in the future? Xiao Ai?”
“How could I bear it? He’s so good…”
Then he smiled and looked at me incomparably gently, “Xiao Ai, compared to losing loved ones, the spotlight is not frightening at all.” Saying that, he nodded at me warmly again.
Later, I told John that if there are any shots of An’an, there’s no need to deliberately avoid them. Let it be. Fu Junyan was right. Compared to losing loved ones, nothing is frightening.
When I met up with the crew carrying only a shoulder bag and a violin, Xu Mei’s expression clearly showed disdain. She asked me with an incredibly pitying tone, “Oh Xiao Ai, you’re a girl, how come you have so few clothes?” And Jay also looked at me with heartache. I think he assumed Xu Mei was right and really thought I was living in hardship…
An’an clung to Xiao Qi and got into Fu Junyan’s car. When Fu Junyan parked the car and walked over holding An’an’s hand in one hand and carrying the violin in the other, old man John’s eyes visibly lit up. He excitedly looked at me and said, “The violin duel scene will definitely be brilliant, definitely brilliant!” Then he excitedly started musing that we’d become famous, famous! His mustache even perked up from happiness.
I rolled my eyes, thinking to myself that I hadn’t played the violin in over two months, my hands must be rusty… So I found a spot in the waiting room, sat down, opened the violin case, and started tuning the instrument. Xu Mei clearly had no taste. When I put the over 7 million violin on my shoulder, her expression was still endlessly disdainful. I secretly sneered in my heart.
“This note is too high, it should be F.” I had just started playing the strings when Fu Junyan’s warm voice sounded beside my ear. I slightly raised my head. He had already sat down next to me, tilting his head to play with An’an in his arms.
“You have a great ear. You must practice a lot.” I tried the note again. It was indeed tuned too high.
He smiled without denying it, pulling away An’an’s little hand that was about to stuff into his mouth, letting An’an play with his collar.
“Don’t just smile. It’s not easy to achieve this. When I was little, my dad would drag me out of bed before dawn and make me do ear training in front of the piano. Singing ah ah ah oh oh oh nonstop, really like a rooster crowing.”
“A rooster can’t be that melodious.”
“Hehe.” I laughed, noticing Gu Xiao’an staring at my violin in a daze. I waved at the little guy and asked, “Does An’an want to learn?”
An’an blinked and asked, “What is this?” His little finger reached out and carefully touched the violin.
Originally, I wanted to play a segment to pique the little guy’s interest, but seeing the waiting room was a bit noisy and chaotic, I had to give up. I whispered to An’an, “Sister will tell you when we get to Venice, okay?”
Gu Xiao’an nodded and started spacing out while looking at the violin.
I smiled and let him be, lowering my head to continue tuning.
Since it was a domestic flight, we arrived in Venice in fifty minutes. When we reached the port, I just wanted to embrace this water city. My mood also turned very happy.
In the story, Xiao Moxiao brought Gu Xinyao to Venice. They snuck away from the lively carnival and sat on a bench in the opera house, drinking expensive wine as ungracefully as guzzling beer. Then they made a bet. Xiao Moxiao said, “Perhaps the two of us pitiful people can come together. Let’s try and see if we can meet again after parting ways.”
So, Xiao Moxiao stood on one end of the bridge and wildly shouted at Gu Xinyao in the gondola, “Look, I’m here!” So, they competed by the wishing fountain to see whose music could make more people stop in their tracks. Then they dueled with their violins, mesmerizing everyone passing by. So, on the Bridge of Sighs, looking at heaven and hell separated by a fine line, Xiao Moxiao finally kissed Gu Xinyao. He said, “Xinyao, look at me.”
Finally, in the Colosseum in Rome, this proud man finally admitted his love. He played a piece called “Devil’s Trill”. He said, “I’m willing to exchange my soul with the devil, just to beg for your love. Xinyao, please marry me!”
When old man John first read this part of the script, he said if this was the ending, it would be a beautiful love story. I smiled but shook my head.
In the drama, Gu Xinyao’s hairstyle was always flowing and wavy like a mermaid’s. Occasionally there were some small changes, but it was always long and fluttering. Finally, for the violin duel scene, the stylist put my long hair up. As soon as I walked out, the assistant director exclaimed, “Oh my god, Xiao Ai, you’re stunning! Even without long hair, you look so good. Your face shape is really nice!” I felt a bit awkward, not knowing how to respond to his words. I could only smile and nod.
Fu Junyan and I were filming the violin duel scene at St. Mark’s Square. Because Fu Junyan himself played the violin and his skills were very high, John didn’t hold back. He directly had us actually play instead of using stand-ins.
There were many white doves in St. Mark’s Square. When they took flight together, it was like a white curtain that seemed to be able to cover the sky. Even us adults couldn’t help marveling at the sight, let alone Gu Xiao’an in my arms and Xiao Qi by my feet. The two little ones spaced out staring at the flock of doves as soon as we arrived at the square, looking exceptionally focused in a silly, dazed way that was especially cute.
The row of cafes next to St. Mark’s Basilica were all very famous, both poetic and romantic. Everyone smacked their lips in praise when we arrived, their eyes shining bright with yearning. And it was at this moment that Fu Junyan suddenly said he wanted to treat everyone and buy coffee for the whole crew. Then he led everyone walking along the street, going straight into the most famous Florian Cafe on this street. Legend has it that Hemingway and Byron used to frequent this place back in the day, so many tourists would specifically seek it out. It’s just that the coffee here, because of its fame and authenticity, is also the most expensive in all of Italy. With a hundred and eighty people in the crew, just one cup of coffee per person would be quite a sum. Fu Junyan, he really is… rich!!
Just as I was worrying if he would go bankrupt, I suddenly thought of his impressive villa. So I inexplicably felt that eating a little of his treat was no big deal. So I looked at the few desserts the store offered and nudged Fu Junyan, saying, “Tiramisu.”
He turned his head to look at me, his eyes smiling as he said, “Okay.”
My food was ordered first, so I took my coffee and tiramisu and was the first to sit on the rocking chair outside, swinging my legs and eating with incomparable cheer. But when Xu Mei walked past me, she had an expression that seemed to say ‘I knew you rarely get to eat this’, making me nearly spit out my food.
Gu Xiao’an kept looking at us with a resentful gaze as we each had a cup of coffee. When there was finally none for him, grievance gradually appeared in the little guy’s eyes. With his little butt facing me, he hugged Xiao Qi’s head and started whimpering. It wasn’t until Fu Junyan came out from the dessert shop around the corner and handed him a cream popsicle and a big donut that the little guy immediately started acting cute, smiling like a pug, almost wagging his tail.
Seeing this, Xiao Qi also barked a few times and bounced over to Fu Junyan’s leg. Fu Junyan patted its head and also stuffed a donut into its mouth with a smile.
But in the end, when Fu Junyan distributed bags of donuts, I looked at Xiao Qi, then at myself. I finally wrinkled my nose and asked Fu Junyan, “Why does everyone have a donut except me?” Even the dog had one! But I didn’t…
As a result, he said, “You have tiramisu.”
I was conflicted and couldn’t retort…
When everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and started setting up props, a lighting technician said, “It would be great to film here for a lifetime!” Old man John, licking his whiskey ice cream, solemnly nodded. Then he slapped that lighting technician’s head and angrily said, “Focus!”
The overall atmosphere of the crew was very good, with the faint aroma of coffee wafting in the air. My mood was also great. So I happily sat on a filming rack on the side, letting the makeup artist touch up my makeup while looking at the few restaurants across the street, swallowing and saying, “The restaurant at the end of the street has a hundred years of history! Their spaghetti Bolognese is so delicious it’s unbearable! And their freshly brewed coffee with fennel, it really challenges the taste buds. Oh right! And their stewed fruit with white sauce, it’s really, really delicious enough to enchant you. Let’s work hard and wrap up quickly! My treat!”
As soon as I finished speaking, the whole set was in an uproar again. Everyone’s eyes lit up with a wolfish glint once more.
But at this moment, Xu Mei suddenly interjected, “Xiao Ai, we know you have a lively personality, but everyone knows you have hardships. Don’t push yourself.”
Because of her interruption, the atmosphere instantly froze. I pouted, turned my head, and really found it funny, “Mei-jie, which eye of yours saw that I have hardships?”
“Look, all your belongings are in one little bag. We all know. You’re a girl. You finally earn some money but have to take care of Gu An. You should get more things for yourself. You’re a celebrity after all, aren’t you? Xiao Ai, don’t force yourself!”
I was furious…
“Which eye of yours saw me forcing myself!”
“Xiao Ai.” Just as I was on the verge of exploding, Fu Junyan suddenly walked over and grabbed me. He handed me a tissue and nodded at me, “Xiao Ai, wipe the corner of your mouth.”
I instantly lost my will to fight and suddenly hoped everyone hadn’t seen me just now. I quickly buried my face and touched my mouth. I peeked at the makeup artist touching up my makeup. She was smiling with raised brows. I thought, you only do makeup and don’t wipe mouths…
I heard Fu Junyan say, “Xiao Ai is young and takes things to heart. We all know last time, Xiao Ai had some disagreements with you over the matter of Dingyue requesting leave. It’s just, Mei-jie, you’ve been in the entertainment industry for so many years, but haven’t developed discerning eyes. Just the violin Xiao Ai is holding today is enough to buy a few stores on this street. She really doesn’t need your pity.”
Saying that, he turned to me with a gentle face and asked, “Wiped clean?”
I nodded and wrinkled my nose. He smiled and ruffled my hair, saying, “Then do your best to finish in one take and treat everyone to something delicious.”
I smiled and nodded solemnly. I tugged on Fu Junyan’s sleeve and pulled him to the side, secretly peeking out from behind him to steal a glance at Xu Mei’s deathly pale face. Before I could ask, he said to me first, “For petty people, the best method is to overpower them with authority.”
I understood his meaning. Petty people, if you have more power and influence than them, they’ll choke to death on their own without daring to easily provoke you.
Then, I just looked at Fu Junyan’s brows and eyes full of concern, tilting my head up to smile foolishly at him.
- “Fuerdai” (???) is a Chinese term that literally translates to “second-generation rich.” It refers to young people who have inherited substantial wealth from their families, often through successful business ventures or inheritance. ↩︎
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