ATLAS TRANSLATES

I was exhausted after filming these few scenes, collapsing into a pile of flesh and bones as soon as I was done. Actually, it was mainly mental exhaustion. Bai Yan is a person who endures in silence. She doesn’t have many lines. Except when she’s hugging her doll and muttering to the banyan tree like a bereaved child, pouring out her heart, Bai Yan is almost always silently wandering through the story. So her body language and eyes became the most important outlets for this character. As the plot deepens, the burden on my shoulders grows heavier and heavier. Even I sigh that it’s truly not easy being a good actor…

When I returned to the hotel, I took advantage of no one paying attention and directly entered the password to Fu Junyan’s room. I took off my shoes and curled up on the sofa with bare feet and moist eyes, waiting for Fu Junyan to finish filming. Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door and saw me huddled in the corner, foolishly hugging my computer and spacing out, he glanced at me a few times. He turned to get a bottle of water from the fridge before coming over to ask me, “Unhappy?”

I nodded, very boldly closing the computer and setting it aside. I scooted closer to him and said, “It’s really stifling. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken on this kind of brainless idol drama. Playing the role of Bai Yan is truly tiring! It’s really upsetting if she doesn’t explode soon…”

Fu Junyan unscrewed the bottle cap and handed it to me. I took it and drank a few sips, hearing him say, “The more silent she is now, the more turbulent her explosion will be later. Bai Yan is enduring now, so when she erupts later, it will be even more impactful, right?” Then he curled his lips and asked me, “So what kind of brainless idol drama does the dumb pufferfish want to film?”

“One with a ‘twenty-four filial pieties’ super good man!” I smiled with narrowed eyes. Most importantly, I reached out and pinched him, but he didn’t seem to feel any pain at all, nonchalantly turning his head to ask me, “What else?”

I thought for a bit and said, “The key is to not have any random female supporting characters causing trouble!”

Fu Junyan listened and nodded seriously, looking pensive. Seeing how earnest he was, I unconsciously started giggling.

He tapped my nose and said, “Xiao’ai, you’re like a pufferfish who stole a treat right now…”

“That’s right!” I nodded and added, “It’s a good thing the screenwriter said Bai Yan is about to fight back!” Playing a scheming woman is the most fun! Why should she always be oppressed? Seriously…

“Shadow” is finally having its premiere. When Fu Junyan told me the premiere date, I quickly flipped through my schedule. Then, as if presenting a treasure, I sprawled on his shoulder and showed it to him, saying, “I happen to be free that day!”

Then I said, “Fu Junyan, I’m so excited!” His hand that was making me milk temporarily paused. He turned his head and directly called me silly, but the corners of his mouth were smiling with sincere happiness.

Thinking about going to his premiere, I was in high spirits for days. My mind kept thinking, I absolutely can’t lose face for Fu Junyan. In my previous life, he was a completely independent person, detached from the world. Him taking me to the premiere now is giving me such great face!

So I was even more determined to give him plenty of face, a lot of face! Thus, I had Wan Qing custom order a set of Dior evening gown for me. I also took some time to go to the Industrial and Commercial Bank and retrieved a set of sapphire jewelry from the safe deposit box. Wan Qing was quite surprised. Seeing this, she repeatedly said to me, “Xiao’ai, you don’t have any commercial events recently.”

I patted her shoulder and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine! I have a use for it! I can’t get away, so you ordering it for me is good!” Although my manager has been making herself scarce lately, always nowhere to be found, and disappearing with my company car too. It made Shu Shuang very seriously pull me aside and say, “Gu Baobei, I thought my situation was bleak. Turns out yours is bleak too. Your company actually doesn’t value you either.” I rubbed my head and indicated I was calm about it. Actually, isn’t it safer for me to sneak off and find Fu Junyan if Wan Qing isn’t managing me?

As a result, on the day of the premiere, when Fu Junyan came upstairs and knocked on my door, I was wearing an evening gown with expensive sapphires. But he was wearing a black tracksuit, with a cap pulled up and a sun visor underneath, paired with sunglasses. He was just a refreshingly dazzling and splendid youth. I was speechless. I felt that with my stately and opulent getup, I looked exactly like Fu Junyan’s stepmother!

Seeing me like this, the corner of his eye indeed twitched. He reached out to touch my hair, helpless yet amused, and said, “You silly child.” Then he took my hand and led me into the room. He sat me down at the dressing table and very carefully began undoing my styled hair, deftly removing the hidden pins from my hair one by one. He also reached over my shoulder, took a comb, and brushed my hair stroke by stroke, saying, “I just want to watch the movie quietly with you. Silly Baobei, you’re already very good. I’m a man. I only need to do things for you, and you just need to be carefree and happy. There’s no need to work so hard to gild the lily for me.”

Later, when I turned to go to the bathroom to remove my makeup, I saw through the door crack that he very earnestly picked out a tracksuit, hat, and sunglasses for me from the wardrobe and placed them at the head of the bed before carefully closing the bedroom door. I heard him say to me, “I’ll wait for you outside.” I didn’t respond, only nodded. I splashed some cool water on my face in front of the mirror, but my heart felt warm…

When we entered the movie theater, the lights had just dimmed. The director and actor crew of “Shadow” were already seated in the front row. Fu Junyan only pulled me in from the back entrance of the auditorium after all the lights were off. His cap was pulled very low. He had popcorn and two bottles of cola in his hands. His footsteps were steady and brisk. His casual and natural outfit made him look completely like a refreshing handsome youth. Him like this, compared to the other actors sitting stiffly in suits and gowns in the front row, was simply from two different worlds.

I once again felt that he was truly indifferent to fame and fortune… So many artists, upon encountering a movie premiere in this arena of fame and fortune, would fight tooth and nail just for an extra shot. But he… I was both proud and self-conscious. I recalled how every time I saw fans praising me, I would be so happy as if I was on a stimulant high. Thinking of Fu Junyan again, he never looked at any media or even fan comments, ever so calm. I profoundly felt I was a worldly person, a very worldly one at that…

As usual, a few commercials play before the movie. But when I saw the commercial footage, I was stunned. The entire commercial was a pure world. Snow-white bedsheets, white gauze curtains blown by the wind, silk fluttering. There, the girl was sleeping lightly, her black and glossy hair spread out on the pillow like seaweed. Finally, the girl’s long and dense lashes trembled slightly. She drowsily opened her eyes. Her hazy eyes were as innocent and confused as a child’s. After a while, the girl yawned cutely, rubbed her eyes innocuously, and blinked her big eyes. Her face suddenly froze, but in the next instant, her eyes turned crafty. Then, she bit her lip and stealthily, sneakily glanced to the side. After this one glance, she finally smiled faintly. That smile was content and blissful.

Subsequently, the girl quickly walked barefoot off the floor and picked up the milk on the table. Like a child, she shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head, drinking a big gulp of milk with satisfaction. Her smiling eyes happily narrowed. There was even a ring of white milk stain around her mouth. She tilted her head charmingly and sweetly said, “Every morning, the taste of love…”

God, destroy me! When I was filming, I already felt this commercial was too… too suggestive! Sure enough, the person beside me chuckled. He turned his head to blow air by my ear. He repeated in a low voice, “Every morning, the taste of love…” His tone was lingering and tender. Then he lightly nibbled my ear and said, “Silly pufferfish, so obedient…”

I was truly dumbfounded…

In my previous life, when I watched “Shadow”, I downloaded a pirated version online. The picture quality wasn’t clear and the screen wasn’t big enough, but it still moved me to tears. In my previous life, as soon as this movie started airing, it received rave reviews. After the premiere, it garnered even more praise. The lead actors also received high acclaim. But a few days later, everyone began talking about that supporting actor named Fu Junyan instead. After that, his popularity skyrocketed like a flood and wild beast, utterly unstoppable. Fu Junyan henceforth became popular to a frightening degree, but he himself was indeed extremely low-key. In my previous life, I watched this movie for Fu Junyan. Because I was always curious how his fame could blow up like that. Although “Regretful Love” was popular back then, my popularity also slowly accumulated. And there would still be some negative reviews. But Fu Junyan didn’t have any. No one said he wasn’t good. He never participated in various promotions and hype. Even him not accepting interviews, no one said he was being arrogant. He was just overwhelmingly popular. It was as if Fu Junyan coming was your good fortune, and him not coming was only to be expected.

I still cried. When under such a dark scene on screen – death, despair – he rescued that innocent child being held hostage at the risk of exposing himself. Gunshots rang out. In order to protect the sleeping child in the container, he almost without hesitation took his gun with only one bullet left and ran into the hail of bullets. At the end of the shot, he reached out his hand, lightly caressing the void in the distance, beyond reach. Those eyes held the deepest emotion, such compassion for the world, such sorrow yet joy. There was the container sailing away, carrying his hopes. In the container was the child he saved at the cost of everything.

In this story, he was in the dark. In the dim corners, he never said a word. He never had any other expression. As an undercover agent, in order to avoid being exposed, in order to complete the organization’s mission, he watched his wife die with his own eyes, unable to save her. When he took out the pregnancy report from his dead wife’s tightly clenched hand, he couldn’t cry. Finally, at the cost of his life, he saved that innocent child.

At the very end, this silently handsome man we all knew, under that gloomy backdrop, finally smiled. His eyes were so desolate, but the smile at the corner of his mouth was so sincere and moving. In just that instant, his smile was like the blooming of myriad flowers, gently warming everyone’s hearts. Then, he said the gentlest words in the world. To that sleeping child, he said, “May the world treat you gently…”

In that moment, there were crying sounds throughout almost the entire theater. I buried my head, crying so hard I couldn’t catch my breath. I tightly grasped Fu Junyan’s hand and wouldn’t let go. Then I buried my face in his palm. Tears slid down the crevices between his fingers. I said, in the most sincere tone, “Fu Junyan, may the world treat you gently…” This was what I most wanted to do for him in my previous life.

Then, I felt his trembling, so faint, so real…

I thought, how fortunate I am…