ATLAS TRANSLATES

Now, on my desk are various newspapers and magazines featuring interviews or reports about Fu Junyan. Overnight, they’ve piled up into a large stack. Gradually, I can learn about him through the media almost every day. I can’t explain the complex smile on my face. His fans and viewers will never know the weight these thin pieces of paper carry.

But I know…

For someone who rarely accepts interviews, never participates in his own movie premiere promotions, and even seldom attended award ceremonies in his past life, what reason could make him willing to accept such frequent media interviews? And he’s not picky at all, accepting even unknown small newspapers. This has created an odd phenomenon in the entertainment industry. Many newspapers and magazines are sending reporters to chaotic Somalia, all because Fu Junyan is there and willing to give interviews, which is extremely rare. Even when he plainly states that he just wants to convey to the outside world that he’s safe…

His fans have gone crazy, exclaiming everywhere: “Young Master Junyan is so generous, so loving towards us.” Whenever I see this, I puff out my cheeks and automatically shorten it to “Young Master Junyan is so loving towards me…”

An obscure small newspaper’s reporter took a photo of Fu Junyan sitting in a trench wearing a military uniform. In the photo, he looks like he just came out of a coal mine, his whole body so black that you can’t see his face clearly or even make out his expression. Only his exquisite eyes still shine like stars in that desolate despair, full of hope for the sky. Under the photo, in small print, it reads, “When you can no longer see his handsome features, you can deeply realize that this man’s aura is elegant and dignified, accumulated like jade, unsurpassable.” This newspaper became well-known overnight.

The feeling of crying from shame and regret is really unpleasant. After the second round of “Ice Dance Miracle,” I started to work hard preparing for the ice dance competition. For my sea treasures, and for those who love me unconditionally.

Human memory is actually quite amazing. Even if you forget things you’ve learned, although it’s not easy to recall them completely, there’s always some impression in your brain. With slow effort, you can still find it back. It’s foolish not to use your advantages, like that dance foundation I had almost completely forgotten. So I shamelessly asked Xiao Enpan for help. She gloated, “Seeing your last competition, I thought you were beyond saving!” Then she changed her tone and said, “But in my memory, every dance of Gu Baobei was soul-stirring. Baobei, I really miss how you were then.” It’s really rare for this tomboyish lady to say such gentle words in private. I was even moved to the point of my nose tingling. Then I heard her cough, choked by her own cigarette. Indeed, even she’s not used to it…

But when we got to the dance studio, Xiao Enpan was really too nice to me. When I was stuck in a painful split, gritting my teeth, she mercilessly pressed down on me and sat, using so much force that I heard my bones creak. I was almost in pain to the point of hallucinating, that leg wasn’t mine anymore… Xiao En was still complaining, “Your current flexibility is so poor, it shows how pampered you’ve become! As a dancer, it’s shameful!”

I thought to myself, how am I still a dancer? But outwardly, I nodded seriously and admitted my mistake.

I went to the ice rink once to watch Shu Shuang practice. The difficulty level of her prepared ice dance was astonishing. I couldn’t help but exclaim, “You’re simply a professional.” She raised her eyebrows, standing in the middle of the empty ice rink and shouted to me, “This time, are you prepared to seriously compete with me?”

I nodded and smiled at her. Only Shu Shuang could see that I was crying because I had never tried hard, yet was so loved. It was guilt, deep guilt for failing to meet expectations.

Seeing me nod, she flashed a bright smile and waved at me from the ice, “Gu Pufferfish! I’m looking forward to it! Big sister accepts your challenge!”

With such an obvious difference in skill, you still have the nerve to accept my challenge! I twitched my eye and sniffled. I picked up Gu Xiao’an, who had been standing by my leg playing with my skirt hem, blocked by the railing. I poked his little hand and pointed to Shu Shuang, who was full of spirit in the middle of the ice rink. Gu Xiao’an’s little mouth curved into a smile. Seeing Shu Shuang, his eyes lit up and he waved his little hand, happily shouting, “Brother! Brother! An’an is here!”

In response, Shu Shuang’s face froze. For the first time in a long time, she stumbled and fell on the ice. She lay motionless on the ice, biting her teeth and stretching out her hand, pointing at me, then trembling as she pointed at Gu Xiao’an. Finally, she pounded the ice and said, “Gu Pufferfish! You’re cruel!”

Then I heard An’an ask curiously, “Sister, why is brother digging a hole?”

…Shu Shuang, who had just gotten up, fell down again… I heard her cry out in pain, “Oh, my poor back!”

I laughed quietly, lowering my head to sniff Gu Xiao’an. Gu An’an, you’re my lucky star and Shu Shuang’s nemesis…

For the third round of “Ice Dance Miracle,” my partner Meng Dongyu and I chose the OST from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The melody was intense and grand, but most of the difficult moves were left to the professional Meng Dongyu. My costume was a knee-length bright red dance dress with a black waistband, and my curly long hair was loosely spread out. The makeup artist kept saying that if I still had my former blonde hair, it would be even more perfect with this look. I smiled without saying anything. I still have to play an ancient young lady later! How could I promote Suzhou with blonde hair? Am I supposed to play a foreign woman?

The most memorable thing about Pirates of the Caribbean is the pirate’s heavy smokey eye makeup. Meng Dongyu naturally had that look too. He wore a wine-red bandana on his forehead, had two fake mustaches stuck on his face, and even had heavy smokey eye makeup. But because his skin is naturally very fair, with this getup, I couldn’t help but laugh when I looked at him.

Before going on stage, I told him, “If I fall, you need to help me up, then continue. Don’t freeze up like last time.”

He nodded and took a deep breath, walking in front of me.

As the music started, a pair of men and women who came here to seek treasure slowly entered the stage. They seemed to be dancing and fighting at the same time. This was a battle between a pirate and a woman, chasing and fleeing, with fixed-position step skating and the man’s self-spin. Then, as the music softened, the two who had fallen in love performed fixed-position gliding. The woman’s movements became gentle and ethereal. Gradually, the woman lightly held the man’s hand, raised her lips in a smile, lifted one leg off the ice, and raised her slender hand like a fire phoenix. Then she leaned forward, performing a standard and beautiful backward spin glide. Slowly, the music faded.

As the dance ended, the audience erupted in thunderous applause. I lowered my head, looking at the ice, and let out a soft breath.

As the host and judge, Jin Yunxi smiled and asked me, “Xiao’ai, are you not afraid of ice skating anymore?”

Looking at her encouraging eyes, I answered quite timidly, “I’m afraid.” Hearing this, Xiao En had a choked expression, but quickly regained her ladylike smile.

Then I heard Jin Yunxi continue with a smile, “Xiao’ai, you’ve given us all a surprise! Compared to the last round, you’re like a completely different person today! In a short time, you’ve made great progress, and your performance was very dynamic. I must also compliment your look today, it’s very beautiful. As a woman, I’m still captivated by you. But I still have to say, compared to other contestants, you and Dongyu haven’t used any lift moves yet. Your coordination can’t be said to be bad, it’s evident that you’re both trying hard to complement each other, but it seems like something is still missing. So you need to think about and consider these things in private. Xiao’ai, I’m looking forward to your next performance.”

Shu Shuang once again dazzled everyone, taking the highest score of the round. My partner and I barely made it through this round, ranking fourth and successfully entering the next round of six to four competition. However, this also means I’ll have to frequent the dance studio and ice rink again.

I had told Wan Qing long ago to pay attention to the casting of international renowned director Huai An’s first new film after his comeback. Finally, Wan Qing gave me the news, excitedly telling me that Director Huai An had indeed made a comeback! And the company had even received an invitation from Huai An’s crew for me to participate in the audition for the female lead role. I was naturally happy and gladly accepted. A movie that I didn’t know the true face of in my past life was slowly opening its doors to me. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t happy, because I had been curious for too long.

However, Fang Qing was a bit hesitant. She asked me, “Although Huai An is a renowned director, we don’t know what kind of script it is. Is it good to blindly agree?”

I looked at the invitation letter from left to right, smiling as I patted the back of her hand, “Are you so sure I can be chosen as the female lead?”

Fang Qing nodded very seriously and said objectively, “From all aspects, you are outstanding. Moreover, you’re a female actor. As long as you work hard, I think the chances are very high.”

“What do you mean by ‘I’m a female actor’?” I tilted my head in confusion. Wan Qing also looked at her puzzledly with the same curiosity.

“There are many people in the industry, but not many can truly be considered top-tier. If we’re talking about those who are currently in the limelight, starting from the Golden Dragon Awards, those who can be considered both professional and popular can be counted on less than ten fingers. You, Xiao’ai, are among them, and you’re currently at the top. Moreover, Huai An is a famous director. He usually has actors begging to be in his films, let alone this being his comeback masterpiece, which is sure to be extraordinary. The fact that he sent you an invitation letter means he might have also sent invitation letters to other top stars, but you’re considered a top star among female actors. As long as the role suits you, others are naturally not a threat. But if I were managing a male actor, I would worry about whether Fu Junyan or Fang Dingyue were among the invited actors. If the competitor is Fang Dingyue, because his image is colder, there might still be a chance to compete depending on the role. But if Fu Junyan is among the competitors, it would be one man guarding the pass, impregnable. The male lead would undoubtedly be his. I would tell my artist that although they can go to the audition, it’s best to prepare according to the requirements for a supporting role.”

I couldn’t help but curl my lips, but still teased, “Is Fu Junyan that good?”

“Speaking of his acting, his performances are so real that you forget it’s a story. Speaking of him as a person, in the industry, there are no artists without anti-fans, except for Fu Junyan,” Fang Qing sincerely exclaimed.

Is Fu Junyan a flower? Even An’an has confirmed it. I shrugged, nodded in agreement, thought for a moment, and then changed the subject, pouting as I asked, “Do I have anti-fans?” I don’t have any either!

Wan Qing lowered her head and coughed lightly a few times, but Fang Qing answered very seriously, “You almost have no anti-fans, but Fu Junyan has absolutely no anti-fans.” Okay… I give up…

I straightened up and returned to the main topic, asking, “So?”

Fang Qing smiled, “But now I’m your manager, Gu Baobei. Among top female actors, your current appeal is equivalent to Fu Junyan in the male actor category. As long as you’re willing to do it yourself, there’s basically no suspense. It’s just that I’m worried about the script.” Saying this, she turned her head inquiringly towards Wan Qing, who was always well-informed.

Wan Qing understood, pursed her lips and said, “Director Huai An’s scripts are always kept quite confidential. I only know that the male lead seems to have already been decided internally, and their company didn’t conduct auditions. I also found out through various channels that Huai An’s crew started building film studios in XJKS and Xining, Qinghai several months ago, and it’s said that part of the film will be shot in the desert. But as for what the specific script is like and what it involves, I really couldn’t get any information.” Wan Qing shook her head regretfully.

I couldn’t help but give her a thumbs up. Even in my past life, when Huai An’s new film was halfway through shooting amid great fanfare, I didn’t know where it was being filmed. Given Director Huai An’s personality, the internal news was always strictly controlled. For Wan Qing to have learned so much information in such a short time was already quite impressive.

“So, when do we go to Huai An’s company for the audition?” I asked.

“The sixth of next month. Should we make any preparations?” Fang Qing said, looking at Wan Qing, then at me.

What preparations? How can we prepare when we don’t know anything? Seeing them both lost in thought, I smiled, patted my thigh, stood up and said with a laugh, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, what’s there to fear?” Saying this, I waved my hand, took the car keys, and left in style.

Extra Scene: The Secret of ‘Brother-in-law’

The earliest event was when Gu Baobei failed to correct Gu An’an’s way of addressing Fu Junyan. She had to compromise and make a deal with An’an, saying, “An’an! Can sister make a deal with you? Don’t call Fu Junyan brother-in-law in front of others, okay?”

After Gu Xiao’an was persuaded to nod his little head, Gu Baobei sneakily held out her pinky finger and even pulled in Fu Junyan. So the three of them very childishly shouted together: “Pinky swear, up and down, a hundred years, no changes allowed!” The smooth male voice, the soft female voice, and the child’s milky voice blended together.

One day after this, Fu Junyan was teaching Gu Xiao’an to recognize words.

He pulled out a card with Chinese characters and pointed, teaching Gu Xiao’an: “This is the character for ‘outside’.”

An’an followed and read: “Outside!”

Then Fu Junyan pointed to another Chinese character card and said: “This is the character for ‘inside’.”

An’an obediently followed and read: “Inside!”

Then our Young Master Junyan went on to explain further: “‘Outside’ means outsider, outsider means other people, people who aren’t related to you. For example, sister, brother-in-law, An’an’s daddy, they’re not outsiders. Last time we also agreed with sister that we can’t call me brother-in-law in front of outsiders, right?”

The little dumpling nodded, his bright eyes blinked, and he repeated: “An’an can’t call brother-in-law in front of people after sister, brother-in-law, and daddy.”

Hearing this, Young Master Junyan smiled charmingly. He patted Gu Xiao’an’s head and praised: “An’an is so smart.”

Brother-in-law praised me! Gu Xiao’an happily showed his little dimples. Then, our little Gu An’an firmly remembered that brother-in-law, sister, daddy, are not outsiders…

So one day, when little dumpling Gu was walking around the house dragging Xiao Qi’s front paws, he pointed at Fu Junyan on the TV screen where daddy was watching the “Regretful Love” DVD on the sofa, and shouted: “Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!”

Daddy Xiao was thunderstruck. To verify, the next day, Daddy Xiao bought a Time magazine for Gu An’an to look at. And our Gu An’an, puffing out his dumpling cheeks, stroked the cover featuring Fu Junyan with half his face blackened, happily calling out over and over: “Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law is black!”