ATLAS TRANSLATES

The next day, Gu Xiao’an was sent home from Dad’s place. The little guy’s three biggest loves lately were firstly Xiao Qi, secondly the violin, and only thirdly me, his sister. But as soon as An’an entered the door and saw Fu Junyan, he grinned from ear to ear, happily tossing aside his beloved violin. He and Xiao Qi rushed towards Fu Junyan one after the other in a frenzy.

Gu Xiao’an hugged Fu Junyan’s leg, his soft little voice incessantly calling out, “Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law! You’re back! You’re back!” His little head kept nuzzling against Fu Junyan’s leg. Then suddenly lifting his head, he glanced at me before widening his bright eyes and spreading his little hands with utter delight, saying, “Brother-in-law! Hug! Brother-in-law! Hug An’an! Brother-in-law make milk! An’an wants milk!” Xiao Qi also happily circled around Fu Junyan, tongue hanging out and panting, his little tail wagging non-stop. Fu Junyan patted Gu Xiao’an’s head and scooped him up with one hand. He also bent down to ruffle Xiao Qi’s head, making Xiao Qi bark joyfully without end.

Fu Junyan carried Gu Xiao’an into the kitchen. I heard him ask, “An’an, what did you eat? You’ve gotten heavier again.”

Gu Xiao’an was very excited as he exclaimed, “Meat! An’an ate meat! Qi Qi ate bones! Ate together!”

I had already told Fu Junyan, this little An’an had really been eating way too much meat lately! If you don’t give him meat, he’ll purse his lips in a pout that could hang a bottle of soy sauce, staring at you pitifully in a very troubling way. On top of that, Xiao Qi will chime in with meaningless barking, it’s like admitting total defeat to them.

Moreover, Dad really adored An’an, always saying how well-behaved An’an was. Especially since An’an was so young, for a child that age, eating is usually a difficult affair. Even if an adult patiently feeds them spoonful by spoonful, they won’t eat. But An’an was very conscientious, he ate obediently and in large quantities. He also insisted on eating by himself, sitting up straight in his chair and eating very quietly mouthful by mouthful. So Dad simply doted on him even more than he doted on me, spoiling him endlessly.

“An’an, eating too much meat will make you very fat. And you can’t eat only meat. Eating just one type of food is bad for your body. If your body isn’t healthy, you’ll get sick and have to go to the hospital. Do you understand, An’an?” Fu Junyan lowered his head and spoke to An’an earnestly. I noticed that unlike other parents, he respected the opinions of such a young child. He always made eye contact with An’an, chatting and reasoning with him very patiently, instead of ordering the child around like an accessory.

An’an blinked, still looking a bit muddled. He nodded in a silly way and exclaimed, “An’an not scared!”

“Not scared of going to the hospital, An’an is very brave.” Fu Junyan smiled and patted the child’s head, then said, “But An’an, if you grow up to be very fat, sister’s strength is so little, she won’t be able to carry An’an. What to do then?”

“Sister?” The little guy seemed to understand a bit. His big eyes blinked and blinked. Suddenly pursing his lips, he called out, “An’an wants sister to carry! Sister carry!”

“Then starting from today, An’an needs to eat more vegetables and less meat.”

“Sister will carry An’an?”

“Mm.”

“Sister can carry An’an?”

“Mm.” Fu Junyan put An’an down and pulled over a little chair for him to sit on before saying, “And sister will be very happy.”

“Okay! An’an will eat vegetables! Eat less meat!” Gu Xiao’an nodded his little head seriously.

“An’an is so good! Brother-in-law will make you some milk to drink.”

“Brother-in-law! Awesome!”

The problems I couldn’t solve, Fu Junyan seemed to easily resolve them. And the child didn’t show much resistance either. No need to look in a mirror to know that in that moment, even the corners of my eyes must have been smiling…

I don’t know when Xiao Qi had come to my feet, constantly rubbing against me with his head. I looked down and saw his expression seemed a bit resentful. I made a face at him and forcefully took a few more bites of biscuit. To think that I, someone so afraid of dogs, now unconditionally accept and love you. What do you want! Why are you looking at me like that! Just as I was thinking this, Xiao Qi let out a bark and jumped onto the table, his snow-white body blocking my hand reaching for the biscuits.

At this time, Fu Junyan had already walked out carrying An’an. Seeing me, he smiled wryly and said, “Silly pufferfish, how come you’re fighting with Xiao Qi over biscuits again!”

I got all riled up! “Gu Xiao’an, you just got back. How come you put Xiao Qi’s biscuits on the coffee table again?”

Meanwhile, An’an was being held in Fu Junyan’s arms, sucking on his pacifier and drinking milk with puffy cheeks, looking so happy. After a long while, he squinted and glanced over at me, then ignored me again and turned his head while hugging his milk bottle.

Gu Xiao’an wasn’t going to kindergarten today. I had to go to the set of “Black Cinderella” for costume fitting. In the evening, there was a live talk show called “Rendezvous Tonight”. Until I got dressed and left, one man, one child, one dog – the three of them sat on the carpet engrossed in a puzzle, collectively ignoring me. I circled them quite speechlessly several times. In the end, I could only heavily slam the door as I left. But even after that, the loud clacking of my high heels still failed to elicit any response. Gu Xiao’an, where’s my goodbye kiss! Where’s my hug! Xiao Qi, how come you’re not wagging your tail at me with your tongue out anymore. Fu Junyan! Now that you have a kid and a dog, you don’t want your silly darling anymore! I’m so pitiful…

Because “Black Cinderella” was being filmed and broadcast simultaneously and would air soon, there was no need to keep the styling secret. Therefore, even though there was a live show in the evening, the look for the new drama could still be done and directly worn on the show. Wan Qing said she regretted signing the contract for this drama so early. If she had known I could win Best Actress, she wouldn’t have signed the contract that early even if beaten to death.

I smiled and said, “Dingyue signed on too, didn’t he?”

Wan Qing found some psychological balance in thinking this way. She then said, “I think the director must be laughing himself silly. The audience already hoped for you two to rekindle your relationship on screen in the first place. Now you’ve also won Best Actor and Actress. Just based on you two alone, this drama is bound to be a hit before it even airs.”

Straightening and dyeing my hair black took time. During this period, Wan Qing brought over a pile of advertisement offers. She hinted that I could now appropriately increase my exposure.

But I didn’t agree. Exposure was needed, but not too much. If you pop up every day, the audience will experience visual fatigue. So I was only willing to take on one advertisement in the near future, just one. Naturally, Wan Qing’s expression soured a bit again.

I looked at my hair being curled into a very bizarre shape piled on my head and suddenly thought of the Three Stooges, finding it quite funny. So I took out my phone and snapped an embarrassing photo of myself. Originally, I wanted to send it to Fu Junyan. But then I remembered him ignoring me along with An’an and Xiao Qi. So after some thought, I posted it on Weibo instead, with the caption: “For all to see.”

Of course, in the end, Wan Qing still brought a pile of interested advertisers to choose from together with me. Finally, Wan Qing and I simultaneously decided on a pure milk advertisement. Wan Qing’s reason was that this ad fit my fresh and clean image. But I really wanted to tell her, my image was obviously one of a tragic heroine, okay? The two dramas I took on, including that advertisement, were quite tragic. Of course, I didn’t say that I thought of Fu Junyan and felt this advertisement was the best. I liked milk because on the first morning after I was reborn into this world, Fu Junyan handed me a cup of warm milk.

To be honest, Wan Qing was a very excellent agent. She had wide connections in the industry and could open many doors. Her insight was also very unique. It’s just that now she could probably only manage me alone. The fewer jobs I took also indirectly affected her income. So on certain issues, she was more aggressive and would disagree with me. But we were all smart people. Many things were just taken in stride. After all, we were in the same boat.

The talk show host was Taozi. Her hosting style was more delicate and gentle. Being on her show felt like chatting with a friend, making one feel very at ease. The show’s crew had also agreed in advance not to mention An’an, so I felt relieved. The studio was decorated very refreshingly with simple fabric sofas that had many throw pillows. Throw pillows were my favorite. As soon as I sat down, I unabashedly hugged one to my chest.

“Dear viewers, welcome to ‘Rendezvous Tonight’. I’m your host, Taozi. The guest I’ve invited for everyone today is someone I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. She’s not professionally trained, but with her outstanding acting skills, she took the entertainment industry by storm right from her debut, winning the Golden Dragon Awards for Best New Artist and Best Actress, two major awards. Her future is limitless. Now let’s welcome our goddess in our hearts, Gu Baobei.”

I nodded with a faint smile, feeling a bit embarrassed. I politely said, “Hello Sister Taozi, I’m very happy to have the opportunity to be on this show.”

“Xiao’ai, you changed your look? Although you only dyed your hair black, it really gives a very different feeling. I almost didn’t recognize you just now. The media just named you the most beautiful actress on the red carpet at the Golden Dragon Awards yesterday. I was also there as a presenter! Both your gowns were amazing. I didn’t expect to see you again today with a different hair color. It’s another kind of charm!”

“Really? Then I have to thank the media friends for honoring me like this.” I touched my hair and said, “To be honest, this is also my first time trying to dye my hair black. Frankly, when I first saw it, I wasn’t very used to it either.” In my previous life, I paid great attention to hair care. No matter what, I just wouldn’t dye or perm my hair, and also wouldn’t accept wearing contact lenses. So although I was popular all along, my acting range was still very narrow. The industry openly said Gu Baobei was very difficult to work with. When praising professionalism, I was never mentioned at all. It’s just that now, I’ve become much more open-minded. I just want to learn from Fu Junyan and do my best in everything.

Taozi tilted her head to look at me and shook her head, saying, “How can you not be used to it? Aren’t women naturally accustomed to beauty? Hmm, let me comment a bit. How should I put it? Your blonde look was your styling in ‘Regretful Love’ and when you played the mermaid. It gave people a very bright, dazzling, enchanting feeling.” She smiled and handed me a fruit juice, then said, “Xiao’ai, your black hair gives off a sense of mystery, elegance and spirit, like an elf.”

I took it with both hands. Regarding her compliment, I couldn’t disagree. I just responded, “Taozi-jie you’re right. Women unconditionally accept beauty. As females, we should choose to be beautiful, because isn’t that a gift from the Creator?”

“Well said.” Taozi nodded.

I took a small sip of the fruit juice and said, “Thank you, it’s very tasty.”

“What does Xiao’ai usually like to drink?”

“Hmm, milk.”

“Only pure children drink milk!” She asked again, “I’ve always been very curious. Why does everyone call you Xiao’ai?”

“Because my name takes too much advantage of everyone. Everyone calls me ‘darling, darling’! It’s really a bit too much. When I first joined the crew, everyone started calling me by this nickname. Gradually it caught on and became a habit. This way everyone feels more at ease too. I also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.”

Taozi suddenly gave a teasing smile, “You’re so sneaky! Then who gets to call you ‘darling, darling’ like that? Saving it for your future lover?”

I was taken aback for a moment before saying, “Umm… probably.”

“Xiao’ai, it was just yesterday that you won two major awards at the Golden Dragon Awards. Although it’s a bit late, Taozi-jie still wants to say congratulations! Many artists struggle for years without reaching the heights you achieved right from your debut. I was there last night too, right? You don’t know how my mother-in-law, who is your die-hard ‘seababy’, was heartbroken seeing you cry. Last night during the live broadcast, my mother-in-law kept calling me, but I had my phone on silent at the venue and didn’t answer at all. Only after I got home did I find out my mother-in-law wanted me to go comfort you. Later, I begged and pleaded before my mother-in-law let me off the hook. Today, she even told my husband, ‘Don’t let your wife give Xiao’ai a hard time.’ You don’t know, this is the first time I’m doing a show with my tail between my legs. But I still have to ask, winning two such big awards, how do you feel?”

“Ah, first of all, thank you Auntie for your love. Yesterday, I cried like that and many ‘seababies’ were worried about me. To be honest, I’m very sorry and feel bad for making you all worry so much. But because of your concern and care, I also feel really blessed.” I thought for a bit before continuing, “To tell the truth, I never thought I would win Best Actress. Such a thought really never crossed my mind even once. At that time, seeing Dingyue win, I was very happy and felt my mission of attending the Golden Dragon Awards ceremony was already accomplished. You all also saw, the other nominees were all very talented actresses and my seniors. I always felt I had no chance at the Best Actress award. Junyan and I also hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so at that moment, I was chatting with him about some trivial matters. As a result, when he reminded me that I won, I really couldn’t react at all.”

“This shows that your acting has gained everyone’s recognition. It’s just that no one expected the first thing you said was thanking fate. But thinking about it afterwards, everyone felt there really couldn’t have been better words. Because allegedly, you taking on this role was really a choice of fate. I heard the director of this film, John, also found you by chance. At that time, you were playing the violin on the streets of Italy. It was really a destined encounter, right?”

“Yes. Although there are really many, many people to thank, at that moment, the first thing that came to my mind was to thank the generous treatment of the heavens. Because it was its tolerance and mercy that allowed me to meet all of you.” I thought for a moment and blinked before saying, “Perhaps it could also be said like this. In ‘Regretful Love’, almost all the male actors revolved around me alone. It could be said that in my future acting career, such roles will be very rare. Taozi-jie, wouldn’t you say I’m very lucky?”

“Luck is one part of it, but your own hard work is also indispensable. Don’t belittle yourself. Xiao’ai, John’s eye is always fast, ruthless and accurate. Every actor’s popularity in this film is undeniable. You all became overnight sensations. The audience very easily accepted and fell in love with you all. I’m not giving you a hard time. In the drama, the ones who had the most scenes with you were Fang Dingyue, Fu Junyan and Jay. You’re also very close with them. Because you were all newcomers who made your way up together, the bond between you must be special. So how would you describe them?”

“Taozi-Jie is very right. When we first met, except for Jay, in terms of the entertainment industry, we were all unknown rookies. We collaborated and went through thick and thin together. Then we unexpectedly had such a great harvest. We indeed share a deep revolutionary friendship. Dingyue is actually the kind of aloof city ice mountain man that you can tell at a glance. You’d be afraid of him, worried that he’s difficult to get along with.”

“And in reality?” Taozi asked with great interest.

“But in fact, you’ll find that Dingyue is a very fair and easy to get along with person. It’s just that his aura is very cold!”

“What about Jay?”

“He’s really the kind of artist with great character, very approachable and easy to talk to.”

“And Fu Junyan? You don’t know how obsessed my mother-in-law is with him. As long as he’s on, my mother-in-law can sit on the sofa without moving. And she can’t stop talking about him even after she’s done watching.”

“Really? For Fu Junyan, mentioning his name is enough.” I paused for a moment, seeing the curious looks of Taozi and the live audience, and slowly uttered two words: “Fallen immortal.” Catching Taozi’s surprised gaze, I slowly explained word by word, “Taozi-jie, you should think of it this way. A man with delicate and beautiful features yet without a trace of femininity, but who can only be admired from afar and not trifled with. So after looking at him once and again, only this phrase is left in your mind.”

Taozi thought for a bit and actually nodded in agreement. She also said in a low voice like a thief, “No wonder when he smiled at the awards ceremony, the whole venue froze. Indeed, indeed.” The audience below also burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“I heard that when filming the last scene of ‘Regretful Love’, Xiao’ai, you cried your heart out for real?”

“Yes, I was too immersed in the role at that time. I couldn’t snap out of it at all. I just felt very sad, very sad. It felt like if I didn’t cry it out, I would suffocate. Actually, I’m really a crybaby. I should be considered someone who is easily moved. So although there were many crying scenes in ‘Regretful Love’, none of them ever stumped me. As long as I thought of those scenes, I would uncontrollably feel heartache. Tears would naturally fall little by little.”

Taozi nodded in agreement and turned my head to look at the television in the live broadcast room. It was playing clips of me crying in the drama, from the front, from the side, restrained, tearing up…

“Xiao’ai, do you know, they say you’re the most beautiful crier.”

“Really? Thank you.”

“Our program team specially selected some information, wanting to let you take a look yourself. First is this one, Xiao’ai. This is the one you posted on Weibo not long ago, right? You even posted such a dorky photo?”

The photo was indeed my Three Stooges shot. Hearing Taozi’s carefully chosen words, I couldn’t help but laugh, “The hair styling took too long and I was bored. Seeing myself in the mirror, I really felt I looked a lot like the Three Stooges. It was so funny, it would’ve been a pity not to capture it.”

“Okay!” She gave me a ‘I give up on you’ look and said, “It’s my first time seeing a goddess-level female celebrity ruin her own image like this.”

Then, Taozi pulled out two more photos. One was a candid photo taken by fans at the awards ceremony of me pouting at Fu Junyan’s empty seat before he arrived. The other was a pouty selfie I posted on Weibo early in my career. Then, Sister Peach tapped the screen to enlarge the text below. It clearly read: “Pufferfish! Where does it look like a pufferfish? Which eye of yours sees the resemblance to a pufferfish? Which one?” I posted that myself! I suddenly felt a headache coming on. Then I heard her turn to me and say, “Xiao’ai, you’re really cute. You look a lot like a pufferfish.”

“Taozi-jie, which eye of yours sees that I resemble a pufferfish!” I insisted stubbornly.

“But it really looks very similar! Xiao’ai, I discovered that when you have no recourse, you become very babyish. You can’t even curse and just say in a huff, ‘Which eye of yours sees the resemblance?’ Hmm, for example, ‘Which eye of yours sees that I look like a pufferfish?’ Like this, right?”

For the first time, I became shy. I stared at her blankly for a long time before decisively burying my face in the throw pillow in my hands.

Then I heard Taozi laugh. She reached out a finger and poked my arm, saying, “Embarrassed?” I nodded with my head buried and said in a muffled voice, “Taozi-jie, your show always has such high ratings. I’m doomed! The ‘seababies’ all call me Baobei, Goddess, Little Mermaid, Daughter of the Sea. But tomorrow, I’ll definitely turn into a pufferfish.”

Taozi chuckled before saying, “Xiao’ai, don’t worry. They won’t call you that tomorrow. Look, they’re already calling you Pufferfish Princess now.”

I lifted my head with pursed lips. The screen had already switched to my official website. The speed of the ‘seababies’ was really fast. They had already reposted the photos that were just shown. Many comments were read aloud by Taozi in the most eye-catching one left by the ‘Seababy’ group leader Yinse, “Baobei ah, Goddess ah, Little Mermaid ah, Daughter of the Sea ah, none of them are fitting, none of them! The ever-changing Xiao’ai of unknown true form! Oh Xiao’ai, so you were just an adorably deadly pufferfish all along! Oh! The Pufferfish Princess in my heart, let sister pinch you!”

“Awoo…” Fu Junyan would laugh himself to death.

“Xiao’ai, that’s a wolf howl.”

“Awoo…” I withered…

“Alright, alright, stop teasing you. Speaking of the mermaid princess, the advertisement you and Fu Junyan collaborated on was really beautiful and dreamy. I lined up for a long time to order the Sea Tears and Sun of Love. When you and Gentleman Junyan collaborated again, did it feel like you had even better chemistry?”

Taozi let me off the hook. Of course I had to immediately change the subject. So I quickly replied, “I just want to say, the director is really an eccentric genius. For example, the earliest print ad you saw, doesn’t it look like the prince is kissing the mermaid? I’ve never revealed this before! Actually, that was a candid shot captured by the director.”

“Xiao’ai, are you going public with your relationship?”

“Of course not. That devastatingly aesthetic print ad was actually just Fu Junyan helping me blow sand out of my eye.”

“No way!” Taozi sighed, then said, “Deadly! You’ve broken everyone’s hearts! You don’t know the forums have been discussing whether that was a real kiss or a fake one, Xiao’ai.”

I fell silent.

“Xiao’ai, just now you also talked about your co-stars. So do you want to know how they view you?”

I nodded, “Of course.”

“We interviewed the three of them. The answers are now on the cards in my hand. Tear off the name on the board to reveal their first impressions of you! Which one do you want to look at first?”

“Actually, any of them is fine.”

“Then let’s first look at Fang Dingyue’s first impression of you, shall we?”

I had just nodded when I heard Taozi read out, “Little baby doll.” She smiled and continued reading, “His reason is, the first time he saw Xiao’ai, she was holding Gu Xiao’an and looked very small. Both of them had confusion in their eyes, like seeing two baby dolls, very fragile.”

I felt a slight twinge in my heart but bit my lip and didn’t say anything. Taozi glanced at me, then tore open Jay’s board. There were only two words on Jay’s board: “Xiao’ai.” Taozi read it out in puzzlement, “Jay’s reason is, she is Xiao’ai.” She raised her eyebrows, then shrugged her shoulders in understanding and said, “Jay is really an honest person. You are indeed Xiao’ai.”

I froze for a moment before forcing out a smile. No one understood, but I knew he meant I was his love. It’s just a pity that now, now I no longer wanted to understand.

Taozi finally took out Fu Junyan’s board. She glanced at it and turned the card over, covering her mouth and laughing. Then she said, “Pufferfish.” Perhaps afraid that I would reach out and snatch the board from her hand, she backed away a bit before continuing to read, “When Xiao’ai puffs up her cheeks and looks at you with her big sapphire eyes, no matter which eye you look with, she looks like an innocent silly pufferfish, genuine and unaffected, letting people see through her at a glance.”

I sniffled. Fu Junyan, you wait! Calling me silly and calling me dumb! I silently whipped him a hundred and eighty times in my heart. But in the end, there was still a tiny bit of sweetness.

The program recording was very successful. At the end of the show, I sang the theme song from “Regretful Love”. When I exited the studio, Taozi beckoned me over and said, “Xiao’ai, give me your phone number. Let’s keep in touch often.” I nodded and hurriedly took out my phone from my bag.

Then, as she saved the phone number, she said, “Fu Junyan doesn’t easily accept interviews, you know. But when our program team went to him, he didn’t refuse!” She raised her eyes to look at me, then narrowed them and said probingly, “Listening to the way you address them, you seem closest with Fang Dingyue. But on careful feeling, it seems your relationship with Fu Junyan is the deepest. Come, secretly tell Sister, who exactly is your prince?”

My heart jolted and I felt upset.

I heard her say again, “Just kidding, Xiao’ai. I really quite like you. You’re very pure. It’s my first time interviewing a female guest who buries her head in a throw pillow. The director just said the ratings broke records. I hope you can come be a guest on Taozi-jie’s show again next time with good news, okay?”

I nodded. She actually patted my hair and said, “Really a baby doll.”

I raised my hand to sniff my sleeve and replied very seriously, “Taozi-jie, the perfume I sprayed is obviously ocean-scented.”

Upon hearing this, she burst into hearty laughter.

I went home with puffed up cheeks, glancing at the rearview mirror from time to time, still unwilling to accept this cruel reality. Pufferfish Princess…

Opening the door, I thought Fu Junyan would be sitting on the sofa waiting for me, but he wasn’t. The room was quiet. An’an’s door was tightly closed. Tired and exhausted, I turned off the lights and could only dejectedly drag my purse to my own room. I don’t know why I felt so down, so down. There was a sense of bleakness, as if abandoned by the world. I’m doomed, I can’t get used to a world without them! With this thought, I threw myself onto the bed in one go, unable to resist covering my head and shouting wildly, “Annoying! Annoying! Annoying! Fu Junyan and the like are the most annoying! You’re the pufferfish, your whole family are pufferfish! You’re the silly one! You’re the dumb one! Hmph!”

Then I sensed a faint light. Pouting, I lifted my face and saw Fu Junyan standing at the door, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile as he looked at me. In his hands, he held a beam of light – a small, exquisite birthday cake.

Gu Xiao’an, who knows where he got the little tuxedo from, straightened his small frame and walked in. Then he placed the violin on his shoulder and began playing a simple, happy “Happy Birthday” song.

Then Xiao Qi crawled out from under my bed, his neck surprisingly adorned with a little bow tie. On his back were three wrapped gift boxes. He lay at my feet, sticking out his tongue and wagging his tail at me.

Fu Junyan said, “Silly pufferfish, it’s 12:01 now. Happy birthday to you.”

“My birthday?” I pointed at myself, dumbfounded.

“Silly child, even forgetting your own birthday.” He sighed and nodded at me dotingly.

Upon hearing this, I lowered my head and rummaged through my bag in a flurry. Looking at the date on my phone, I let out a crying “wah” sound and after a long while managed to squeeze out, “You can’t do this…” Today was indeed my birthday. I… my birthday is not long before my mother’s death anniversary. My mother’s health was always poor after giving birth to me. She passed away not long after. So I never celebrated my birthday since I was young, because that meant the day of Mommy leaving was approaching…

It was just that today, seeing An’an’s chubby little face seriously playing the violin for me, Xiao Qi obediently carrying presents and lying at my feet, and Fu Junyan holding a cake and gazing at me intently, my eyes instantly turned red.

“Alright, blow out the candles.” Fu Junyan walked a step closer with the cake. When I saw that the pattern on the cake was a pufferfish, I twisted my head away, wanting to cry and laugh at the same time.

“I won’t!” This man who forcibly saddled me with this creature!

“I made this together with An’an. An’an stood on a stool and kneaded dough for a whole afternoon. He worked very hard. If you don’t blow them out, I’ll have him keep playing the violin.” Fu Junyan was actually throwing a tantrum! I secretly peeked at Gu Xiao’an from the corner of my eye. He was staring at me with wide eyes, his little hands moving without a moment’s pause, his grip on the violin natural and standard. My heart instantly softened. Blow it, blow it… Pufferfish are quite cute too. With this thought, I sneaked another glance at the pufferfish on the cake.

As soon as I blew out the candles, Gu Xiao’an finally put down the violin. His short little legs pattered over. Tilting his head, he said to me, “Sister! An’an ate a lot of vegetables in the evening, only ate a tiny bit of meat. An’an was very good!” Then he stretched out his little hand, grinning as he looked at me expectantly. I reached out and pulled him into my arms. He nestled against my neck, rubbing it a few times. Softly, he said, “An’an is tired to death. Yesterday sister didn’t hug An’an at all! An’an is so sad! Brother-in-law is not as soft as sister, not comfortable.”

In An’an’s world, I beat Fu Junyan for the first time. Because I was softer than him… What is this, little rascal… I strongly felt I won an undeserved victory!

I took the presents that Xiao Qi was carrying on his back. He obediently rubbed against me with his head. I smiled and bent down to also give him a hug.

I carried An’an back to his room and coaxed him to sleep before returning to my room. At that time, Fu Junyan was still leaning against the edge of my bed with his eyes lightly closed, resting. Hearing the sound, he opened his eyes and looked towards me.

There weren’t any sentimental words between us. Instead, I very inappropriately asked Fu Junyan, “Now that I’ve become Pufferfish Princess, you must be overjoyed in your heart?”

He nodded, then said, “But you’re only my silly pufferfish.”

“I swear I will never eat pufferfish again when I go to Japan. If this continues, I’ll have the misconception that I’m committing cannibalism against my own kind.”

“No problem, we’ll eat something else…”

“Pufferfish are actually quite good-looking, right?”

“Mm.”

“Fu Junyan, you’re sleepy!”

“Hey! How can you fall asleep sitting up!”

“Fu Junyan!” I pushed him. He tilted his head slightly and closed his eyes, his breathing shallow. After some thought, I withdrew my hand and helped him lie down, tucking him in with the blanket.

Then, just like that, I rested my chin in my hands and watched his sleeping face, clean and transparent like an exquisite jade. Even now, with him sleeping peacefully in front of me, I still didn’t know how to describe this man. He was too good, so it seemed no description was fitting enough…

“Fu Junyan, did you rush back for me? That little rascal An’an wanted to help you pack your luggage and ended up shaking out your plane ticket stub. Have you not had a good rest for several days? This time, there really are dark circles under your eyes, you know? Today, I was thinking, if you suddenly ignored me, I really wouldn’t know what to do, you know? You do everything so well, you think of and handle everything before I do. I don’t know what I can do for you. The things I painstakingly learned for over a decade, in the end, you seem to know how to do everything. Do you know how conflicted I feel? Then I’ll just obediently be your silly darling, okay? I’ll only be your silly pufferfish, not looking at anyone else. How about that?”

I carefully caressed his eyebrows and eyes. That faint shadow made me feel a bit sad.

“Fu Junyan, I think I will never tell you, I’m thankful to the heavens, for letting me wake up and meet you, meet such a wonderful you…”

That night, for the first time, I carefully, secretly kissed his forehead.