After the competition ended, because I had promised to let Shu Shuang take photos of Fu Junyan and me, I waited in the makeup room to leave with Shu Shuang. But Shu Shuang waved her hand and said, “The more natural the photos, the better. I want to follow the paparazzi spirit and take candid shots of you two. Xiao’ai, don’t mind me, just go ahead.”
I silently waved goodbye to her and left first.
As a result, from the moment Fu Junyan took my trophy and put it in the car, to when we sat in the car and talked for a few minutes. A few minutes later, my phone finally rang. A woman hiding behind the third pillar to the right of the car sent me a text saying, “Gu Hetun, I’ve taken the photos. Your gentleman is just like you, perfect from every angle, a top-tier catch no matter how you look at him! But I didn’t realize you had such great charm. I was so blatantly taking candid photos of Fu Junyan, yet he didn’t even notice me…”
I felt embarrassed inside, he doesn’t stop anyone who takes photos of him…
Sure enough, after hearing my phone ring, Fu Junyan calmly glanced at me, then turned the key to start the car. He asked casually beside me, “Did Shu Shuang finish taking the photos?”
I was silent. Hetun, I have no charm…
I asked, perplexed, “How did you know?”
He answered, “The sequins on her dance costume were too eye-catching.” Oh… sparkly Shu Shuang…
Before going to XJ, Fu Junyan and I went to the kindergarten to pick up An’an. In the classroom covered with alphabet mats, my little Gu Xiao’an was the most beautiful child. The little dumpling sat properly alone on a small stool, with colorful building blocks stacked into a castle in front of him. Around him, the little girls and boys in his class, fat and thin, a group of little beans, all crowded around An’an. But little An’an’s expression was quite proud. The little one cutely tilted his face, playing with a building block in his hand, his chubby little fingers tentatively poking left and right on the small castle he had built, his big eyes fully focused.
I laughed and called out to An’an, saying, “An’an, this isn’t dominoes!”
The little one heard the voice and looked up, his big eyes immediately widening. Suddenly the little one perked up, staring at us with his mouth open stupidly, rubbing his eyes with his chubby little hands. Then, the corners of his mouth slowly turned up, revealing adorable little dimples on his rosy little face. He threw down the building block in his hand and jumped off the little chair, waddling towards us, shouting, “Sister! Brother-in-law! Sister! Brother-in-law! Miss An’an! Miss An’an!”
He was like a little steam train, his little body crashing into my arms, then hugging my leg and looking up, shaking his little head to look up at Fu Junyan. Then, one little hand reached out to hug Fu Junyan’s right leg. Then, the little one hugged both our legs, his little head nuzzling between us.
Fu Junyan smiled warmly, bent down to rub his little head, and said gently, “Mm, brother-in-law missed An’an too. Does An’an want brother-in-law to hold you or sister to hold you?”
The little one heard this and was conflicted. He looked up at me and then at Fu Junyan, tilting his head and slowly nodding, saying, “Can you both hold An’an?”
“How about brother-in-law holds An’an first, and then when we get to the car, sister will hold you, okay?”
An’an’s little face lit up when he heard Fu Junyan’s words. He let go of my leg and started climbing onto Fu Junyan. Fu Junyan laughed and reached out to catch him, holding him in his arms. An’an happily swung his little legs in Fu Junyan’s arms, while looking back at the little chair he had just been sitting on. He looked at me expectantly, waving his little hand and saying, “Sister, An’an’s bag boluoluo.” I nodded, pinched his little hand, and walked over to pick up the Boluoluo little schoolbag tucked in the small table.
Other children’s parents also gradually entered the classroom. To avoid causing chaos, Fu Junyan and I thanked An’an’s teacher and left carrying the little one.
Once in the car, An’an crawled into my arms. His little nose sniffed my neck again and again, and he said in a sticky voice, “An’an misses sister, sister smells the best!” I poked his little dimple and laughed, pointing at Fu Junyan who was driving seriously, and asked, “Then doesn’t An’an miss brother-in-law? Doesn’t brother-in-law smell good?”
The little one tilted his neck, showed two chubby little fingers, and said very seriously, “An’an misses brother-in-law, brother-in-law smells second best!”
Then the little one puffed out his cheeks and shook his little head in my arms. Suddenly he tugged at my clothes, pressed his little body closer to me and said, “Sister, the little friends at kindergarten said they want to marry me.” As he said this, he drooped his milky little face, looked at his little fingers, then looked up at me with eyes full of expectation and said, “But sister smells the best! Looks the best! Sister likes An’an the most, can An’an marry sister?”
I burst out laughing, speechless. Faced with his starry bright eyes, I didn’t know what to say.
Fu Junyan heard this and, taking advantage of a red light at an intersection, reached out to pat An’an’s little head and said seriously, “An’an can’t marry sister! Because sister is going to marry brother-in-law.”
The little one’s mouth drooped and he wasn’t having it. With a pitiful expression, he said, “Then what about An’an? An’an wants to marry too…”
I was conflicted! This child is being silly, he’s a boy, what does he mean by marrying? But I heard Fu Junyan calmly explain to An’an, “If sister marries brother-in-law, we can give An’an a little brother to play with. Isn’t that good?”
The originally deflated An’an perked up when he heard this. His little hands hugged my neck, and he poked his face out of my arms to ask, “Is it a little brother that can play with An’an and Xiao Qi?”
Fu Junyan nodded with a smile.
The little one’s mouth opened when he heard this and he became energetic. He straightened up in my arms, giggling stupidly and said, “Then sister should marry brother-in-law! Want a little brother to play with An’an!” Then, the little milk bun face blinked and looked up at me, full of expectation, and asked, “When will the little brother come to play with An’an?” I was too embarrassed to answer, I could only glare at Fu Junyan.
Fu Junyan, however, blinked and glanced at me meaningfully, answering An’an, “Alright, sister and brother-in-law will try hard to make the little brother come play with An’an soon, okay?”
An’an clapped happily in my arms, his mouth blowing bubbles as he shouted, “Little brother play with An’an! Quickly quickly!” But in my heart… you Fu Junyan… ooxx…
The ghost director’s efficiency was very fast. Before going to XJ, we received the promotional video master tape he sent by email.
Once again, as a bystander, I witnessed the love story of Shao You and Qingqing.
At the beginning of the story, Lu Shao You, the third son of the Minister of Personnel, and Mu Qingqing, the youngest daughter of the Jiangsu governor, had their marriage arranged in childhood. Gradually, as days passed by, like the plane tree in front of their family garden, Mu Qingqing grew into a stunningly beautiful and lively young woman, while Lu Shao You became one of the most handsome young gentlemen in Suzhou city.
That year, Mu Qingqing reluctantly climbed onto the roof beam, but in the end, because Lu Shao You was so slow in memorizing the text, she was irritated and forgot she was there to be a thief. She openly jumped down from the roof beam and scolded Lu Shao You, “You fool! Is it that difficult? Fool! Fool!! Is memorizing a book that difficult? Is it that hard? Fool!”
That year, Lu Shao You failed the imperial examination and angrily jumped into the lake. Mu Qingqing said in front of others that he would surely soar high one day, but behind people’s backs, she laughed and mocked him without pretense: “I just think, if you ever amount to anything, I’ll be like a servant boy and hold an umbrella for you once.”
That year, Shao You intended to break off the engagement. He said, “Miss Nine doesn’t know, Shao You once made a vow in childhood that if he couldn’t achieve high rank in this life, he would not marry or have children, preferring to grow old alone as punishment. How could Shao You implicate Miss Nine in this way.” But Mu Qingqing firmly refused, saying, “It’s fine, it’s fine, I’ll wait.”
Year after year, unlike other young ladies, Mu Qingqing secretly went back and forth between the Lu and Mu families every day, accompanying him in his studies, adding her red sleeves to his ink. But another year when it was time for the examination, Shao You fell seriously ill. Mu Qingqing didn’t say anything, just sneaked to Shao You’s bedside and sighed, “Fool.” She just stood silently by Lu Shao You’s bedside, looking at him for several hours. The next day, she refused all the good marriage proposals that were sent to her. Another year passed, and another. Mu Qingqing became a 20-year-old spinster. Facing Lu Shao You who was about to go to the capital for the exam again, she said, “This time you go, don’t force yourself. If you can’t do it, just come back. The two of us can just be like this, without names or status, it’s quite good too.”
Lu Shao You remained silent. The following year, he returned home after achieving high rank. The next day he went to the Mu family, he handed out the lucky sachet that Qingqing had thrown to him on the day he left for the capital, which was already worn out, and said, “This time, would Miss Nine sew a pair of mandarin ducks for Shao You?” He also said, “Don’t be angry, the mandarin ducks mean a lifelong pair.” Finally, he made a solemn vow to Mu Qingqing, saying calmly and composedly, “If these are empty words, may heaven strike me with five thunderbolts.”
It was also on this day, on a bright sunny day, that he let Mu Qingqing hold an umbrella for him once. He said, “It’s just as Miss Nine once said, if Shao You ever amounted to anything, she would be like a servant boy and hold an umbrella for Shao You once. Miss Nine always keeps her word and follows through with her actions. Shao You is grateful.” For the first time ever, Mu Qingqing tasted bitterness because of him.
Afterwards, as newlyweds, in their bridal chamber, they were deeply in love and planted a loquat tree together in the courtyard.
That day, Qingqing slept until noon, and Shao You called for Qingqing to get up. He said, “Qingqing, the sun is high, it’s time to get up.”
But Mu Qingqing coquettishly said, “If you call me ancestor grandma, I’ll get up.” But when she saw him hesitate, she quickly covered his mouth.
That day, she wrote him a letter. Qingqing wrote: “Holding your hand, bearing your worries. Wishing to be like a bright candle, to be your light. Forever wearing this vow, to grow old with you.”
Lu Shao You was moved and held it to his heart, saying to her: “My beloved wife is the same…”
Then, on her birthday, he gave her a step-bed, with “Love Qing for fifty years” carved on the headboard.
Mu Qingqing laughed and said, “You fool, how come you can’t even say something nice, is it so hard to carve that you love me for a lifetime? You even added a time limit…” But her fist that fell on Lu Shao You’s chest didn’t use any strength at all.
Later, Mu Qingqing gave birth to a son for Lu Shao You, but unfortunately caught a cold during her confinement and passed away. On her deathbed, she held Lu Shao You’s hand and said, “Shao You, it’s me who’s not keeping my word, now I have to leave you. The five thunderbolts should fall on me. Shao You, don’t make any more mandarin ducks, you should find a good woman, take good care of our child, take good care of yourself. You just need to, occasionally, occasionally think of me…”
The scene changes again, with only Lu Shao You standing alone. At this moment, he stands in front of the loquat tree in the courtyard, lonely yet stubborn. His beautiful profile is full of fragile yet strong emotions. He slowly closes his eyes and falls into memories…
That warm winter, a friend asked Lu family’s Shao You: “What are your aspirations in this life?”
Shao You smiled gracefully and said calmly, “My father and brothers are all officials in the court, they set their minds on their appearance, why should I be melancholic and sad alone. It’s really not pleasant.” After a moment of silence, he answered again in a gentle voice, looking up and smiling, “Shao You has no great aspirations, just in the late spring of the third month, to boat on the lake with two or three friends, with zithers playing in harmony, this life is enough.”
From then on, no one knew that Lu family’s Shao You could compose poetry at three and write essays at five, with a photographic memory. They only knew that his essays were never as good as others’.
That day, under the candlelight, her shadow fell on the window lattice. He smiled faintly, pretending to be stupid for an entire evening, teasing her for an entire evening. Mu Qingqing didn’t know that the fool in her mouth had observed her for too long, too long when she was fast asleep. And her performance was so unexpected, in this family with complicated etiquette, for the first time, he felt delighted and interesting.
The year of the imperial examination, he naturally answered, but he deliberately exceeded the boundary, left a page blank, intentionally violating the writing specifications of the imperial examination. Failing the exam was within his expectations, falling into the water was also within his calculations. He figured his mother would feel sorry for him, and from then on would go along with his wishes, letting him be a carefree person outside the world, no longer doing those things that everyone scrambles for, bowing for five pecks of rice. Unexpectedly, Mu Qingqing came forward gracefully and openly, breaking the situation he had set up. But her ever-changing demeanor in front of people and behind their backs made him truly interested. It made him feel that she wasn’t rigid and boring, she was lovable, and also lively and cute.
After that, she accompanied him in his studies every day, occasionally scolding him like a teacher for being a fool. When she was angry, her eyes were bright and shiny, clever and lively. He watched with joy, always liking to pretend to be stupid to tease her, repeatedly failing to memorize the text, making her jump with anxiety. But even so, he was unwilling to take the imperial examination, unwilling to become an official. Another time before the exam, he soaked in the lake for a whole night and finally became seriously ill. He remembered that night, Qingqing came to his bedroom for the first time. She just stared at him blankly for a long time, that ‘fool’ in her voice had too much helplessness and sadness. It made his heart unconsciously ache along with hers…
Later, his friend told him that several young gentlemen from noble families in Suzhou city, seeing that Qingqing had not married for a long time, came to propose but were all rejected. In her patient waiting, Lu Shao You’s heart, which had been firm since childhood, finally softened. He said, “If she can bear to spend a lifetime with a fool, I will marry her.”
Year after year, she never despised him. Finally, when everyone was hoping for him to achieve high rank, giving earnest advice, she instead said to him, ‘If you can’t do it, just come back.’ She even said that it would be good to spend a lifetime with him without names or status.
At that moment, he knew that all his persistence was no longer important, his aversion to the imperial examinations was no longer important, his disgust with the intrigues of officialdom was no longer important, not being able to leisurely boat on the lake was no longer important. He didn’t want her to suffer any more humiliation, didn’t want her to be laughed at by others for waiting in vain and becoming an old maid, laughed at because her fiancé was just a good-looking but useless man.
So, he passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar. He married her. He treasured her like a precious jewel.
After marriage, he gave her a step-bed. Someone asked, “Brother Shao You, how has your wife troubled you this time?”
He smiled, pointing at the bed and said, “Please help me carve a few words on the headboard of this step-bed, use gold inlay.”
The person asked again, “What should I carve?”
He recalled her coquettish and lively appearance when she asked him for a unique gift, and said with a gentle laugh, after thinking for a moment, “Shao You will live in this world for at most fifty years, so carve ‘Love Qing for fifty years’…”
Later, she fell seriously ill after giving birth and passed away. On her deathbed, she was still thinking of him, telling him not to wait for her, to find someone to live well with, just to think of her occasionally, that would be enough. He was in tears, unwilling to agree. She weakly pulled his hand, still holding on to her last breath. Finally, he lied to her again, he said, “Alright, I promise you.” Only then did she close her eyes, calling him one last time: “Fool…”
Then, after she left, he lived alone for the rest of his life. He resigned from his official post and returned home, living in seclusion in the bustling city. He raised their child well, and thought of her well.
At the end of the story, Lu Shao You slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were full of sorrow, his eye sockets red, but there were no tears on his beautiful face. He was seen leaning against the now tall and sturdy loquat tree, saying softly, “The sun and moon follow each other, she’s always here…” The voice was so faint that it made people unable to hold back their tears.
Following a gentle breeze, the camera wandered through the gardens of Suzhou. The scene turned to the paths they had walked together, the scenery they had seen, the pavilions they had leaned against. What could be heard was Mu Qingqing’s silvery, coquettish laughter.
In the blink of an eye, crowds of people appeared on the screen, the garden was no longer quiet, tourists from all over the world were walking through the garden. A beautiful girl wearing a white spaghetti strap dress, holding a Suzhou map, with a single-lens reflex camera hanging around her neck, was now looking through an exquisitely carved window at the antique furnishings in the study room of the Lingering Garden. Then she happily took out her sketchbook and quietly stood by the wall to start drawing.
At this time, the sunlight slanted down on her beautiful face, bringing the golden glow of the setting sun. And beside her, an elegant and handsome young man had been watching her for a long time, just silently standing behind her, his clear and handsome eyes always looking at her. Finally, the young man picked up the camera and emotionally captured her focused and beautiful appearance.
Then, he strode towards her, and she somehow suddenly came back to her senses. Finally, the scene stopped, leaving only their beautiful faces looking at each other…
And they were none other than Lu Shao You and Mu Qingqing from that lifetime…
Slowly, along with the melodious light music, several large characters appeared on the screen: “Love is fulfillment, dream return to Suzhou.”
Director Huai’an’s new film is tentatively titled “Returning”, and after arriving in XJKS, we began the intense filming work. KS is the westernmost border city in China, and coincidentally, it’s also an old city with over two thousand years of history. There are many Uyghur people here, and the assistant director of the crew is from XJ. He told me that Uyghurs make up eighty percent of the total population in KS. Uyghurs also have more Western-looking features. Once, an old lady selling Hami melons even asked me if I was a pretty girl from which family in the city? This made me laugh so hard I couldn’t close my mouth, hugging the Hami melon and leaning against Fu Junyan, giggling.
After arriving in KS, I finally understood why Fu Junyan packed all my cotton jackets when organizing the luggage. Because it’s not only dry here, but the sunshine duration is long. The temperature difference between day and night is also particularly large. In the morning, I still applied a whole bottle of sunscreen on my body, watching the highland blush on the cheeks of KS girls every day, making my little heart tremble with caution. At night, the weather suddenly felt like winter, feeling cold even wrapped in a cotton jacket. The assistant director said, “The absolute annual temperature difference here can reach over 60°C, and the daily temperature difference is often around 30°C. In summer, the temperature at night can drop below 0°C.” I listened with trepidation, feeling so unaccomplished that I wanted to go home.
When my hands were cold, I kept stuffing them into Fu Junyan’s armpits. He indulged me, but said in his mouth, “Don’t tickle.”
I smiled mischievously, my hands still warming in his armpits, raising my eyebrows and saying, “What if I do tickle you?”
He narrowed his eyes, leaned close to my ear and breathed hot air, saying, “I’ll deal with you when we get back.” Hearing this, I immediately became obedient…
Later, I heard the assistant director singing a song. He was using the Uyghur language, which I absolutely couldn’t understand. I also knew that Fu Junyan didn’t know Uyghur, but filming was really boring and tiring. Huai’an was also a workaholic, he liked to work overtime unconditionally, making us all spin like tops. If it wasn’t for Fu Junyan gently taking out the contract last time and calmly asking him, “Didn’t we sign that daily work hours cannot exceed ten hours?” making Huai’an give in, who knows how much more suffering everyone would have to endure…
I teased Fu Junyan, asking, “Do you know what the assistant director is singing?”
He wasn’t stumped by my question, looking at me knowingly and saying, “He’s singing about the weather here, ‘Wear fur coat in the morning, wear gauze at noon, sit around the stove eating watermelon.’”
I was shocked, hugging my blanket and running over to ask the kindest and most lovable chubby assistant director in the crew if what Fu Junyan said was correct? The assistant director nodded, and even praised me saying, “Xiao’ai is so clever…”
When I came back, I embarrassedly pulled Fu Junyan’s arm and asked, “Fu Junyan, why didn’t you tell me you know Uyghur?”
He shook his head, smiling at me and saying, “I don’t.”
I was even more puzzled, “Then how did you know what the assistant director was singing?”
“Because the silly pufferfish already asked the assistant director yesterday…” He patted my head, reaching out to tidy up the loose hair on my forehead.
“He wasn’t singing this tune yesterday… I’m absolutely sure I didn’t mishear that!” I puffed out my chest, looking at Fu Junyan with righteousness.
Fu Junyan heard this and chuckled, “The lyrics are the same, silly baby, listen more carefully next time.” As he said this, he pulled the blanket tighter around me, soothingly stroked my face, and then lowered his head to circle and draw on the script.
So, after listening carefully to the assistant director sing a few more times, I stopped listening. Because the assistant director really only ever sang that one line of Uyghur lyrics: ‘Wear fur coat in the morning, wear gauze at noon, sit around the stove eating watermelon.’ He complained about the weather like Xianglin’s wife, repeating it over and over with various tunes.
Once, the assistant director even performed this line to the tune of “I Love Beijing Tiananmen”. When I heard it, I was drinking water and sprayed it directly onto Director Huai’an’s face as he was explaining the scene to me. Fu Junyan looked at me helplessly, said “sorry” to Huai’an, and quickly handed him a napkin. Then he pulled me over to wipe my mouth, suppressing a laugh as he tilted his head at me and tapped my forehead with his finger.
Huai’an had seen Fu Junyan protect me in every way many times. While wiping his face with the napkin, he laughed and scolded, “Junyan, even apologizing needs you to help her? You’re spoiling her too much!”
Fu Junyan shook his head, smiling and asking back, “If I don’t spoil her, who should I spoil?” As he said this, he childishly pouted at me and very lightly patted my head.
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