ATLAS TRANSLATES

Later, I learned why the assistant director only sang that one line in Uyghur: “Wear fur in the morning, silk at noon, sit around the stove eating watermelon.” After that, no one in our crew ever laughed at him again.

That day, Fu Junyan treated the whole crew to a meal. The assistant director had too much to drink and got drunk. He held Fu Junyan’s hand and kept talking: “You know, Junyan… I’ve been away from KS for so many years. When I came back, I realized I only remember this one line in my mother tongue. I’ve been away for far too long… Since I was young, I always complained about this place. I didn’t know what spring looked like, I couldn’t take a proper bath, winters were so cold my hands and feet would blister, and even my snot would freeze. I just wanted to get out, to leave! The school walls said knowledge could change your fate, so I studied hard. That year, I finally got into a university in BJ. I thought I could finally leave! But my mother wouldn’t give me money. She said our family couldn’t afford it and wanted me to work in a factory like my brother. I refused. Crying and screaming, I asked, ‘Mom, don’t you have money under your pillow?’

My mother paused, wiped her tears, and said, ‘That money is for your brother to build a house and get married. Your brother’s entire life depends on that money. We can’t use it.’ I was so angry then! I thought if I didn’t leave now, I’d never get out. That night, I finally stole the pillow where my mother hid the money and ran away. Later, I went to university and worked in this industry for many years. I gained fame and money. But I wasn’t happy. I didn’t dare go back to KS. I didn’t dare come back all these years… I remembered I stole my brother’s marriage money, stole my mother’s money, and ran away…”

The assistant director started crying, wiping his tears and snot on Fu Junyan’s clothes. People around tried to pull him away, but Fu Junyan turned his body to block them, waving his hand at everyone.

The assistant director continued sobbing: “This film we’re making is good! I finally have an excuse to go home, to go home… But when I went home, my mother had already died. She died not long after I left, worrying about me every day, literally worried to death! My brother is now so old I couldn’t recognize him, and he didn’t recognize me either. He chased me away with a broom. Our house is still that old broken place, unchanged after all these years. The only change is that I ran away, my mother died, but my brother didn’t change. He really couldn’t get married because he had no money, and he’s still a bachelor that everyone looks down on. I came back too late… too late… I came back so late I even forgot my hometown dialect. I only remember that line ‘Wear fur in the morning, silk at noon, sit around the stove eating watermelon.’ Later I remembered, during those bad times, my mother would always hold me and my brother, singing this song. Decades passed just like that, just passed by…”

That night, everyone in the crew listened in silence. We all knew this wasn’t just drunk talk, but the truth revealed by alcohol. Some people left early because they couldn’t stand the smell of the assistant director’s vomit. Later, because it was too cold, everyone gradually returned to the hotel. Fu Junyan, considering me, also let me go back with several other girls from the crew.

But in the end, only he remained sitting in the restaurant with the assistant director. At that time, the dim table was full of leftovers and toppled, messy wine bottles. The assistant director lay drunk on the table, crying and talking, occasionally pulling Fu Junyan with his tear and snot-stained hands. And Fu Junyan just sat there properly. He didn’t avoid it, only occasionally passing water to the assistant director, listening attentively to every word he said, without any impatience or disgust. In his eyes, there was only warmth and compassion.

Fu Junyan came back very late. We had a scene to shoot at 5 AM the next day, and the hotel turned off the hot water at 1 AM. The bath water I had saved for him was almost cold by the time he returned. As soon as Fu Junyan entered the room, his gentle expression changed. His clothes were wrinkled and stained with traces of the assistant director’s vomit that couldn’t be completely cleaned off. He frowned, pinching his nose, just nodded at me, and rushed to the bathroom with clean clothes, looking unusually flustered.

I found it both amusing and heartbreaking. Worried he might catch a cold, I got up squinting to boil water for him to drink, then grabbed a blanket and sat on a chair outside the bathroom door waiting for him. When Fu Junyan came out of the bathroom, he hugged and kissed me, took the blanket from my hand, but wrapped it around me instead of covering himself much. He even reached out to touch my forehead, asking if I was cold. I smiled and shook my head, pulling him to drink the hot water I had cooled down. Then I asked Fu Junyan, “What about the assistant director? Did you send him back to his room?”

He shook his head and hugged me, exhaling as he said, “I sent the assistant director home.”

I was stunned for a moment. He chuckled lightly, pressing his forehead against mine as he reminded me, “His brother’s home.”

“Didn’t they have a falling out?” I asked.

“After hearing the assistant director’s drunken confession, his brother started hitting him with a broom again, but eventually couldn’t bring himself to continue. The two brothers ended up hugging each other and crying. When I left, his brother had already taken the assistant director inside to take care of him,” Fu Junyan said word by word, with a faint warmth of joy in his eyes.

“You’re relieved too?” I smiled and poked his face with my finger.

“His brother is a straightforward person,” Fu Junyan said, holding the hot water cup and winking at me. He lowered his head and sniffed himself like a little dog, then put the cup back on the table, hugged me, and nuzzled me, sighing, “I felt so uncomfortable, finally I don’t smell anymore. My baby smells the best…” I laughed, knowing he had been very uncomfortable covered in tears and snot. Thinking of this, I gently stroked his hair, and he sniffed my hair, also curling his lips in a slight smile.

In the middle of the night, he mumbled while hugging my waist in his sleep, “Didn’t call An’an today.” I snuggled closer to him and said, “It’s okay, I called An’an.” Only then did he smile with his eyes closed, pure and clean.

Sometimes, we had to go to the Taklamakan Desert to shoot scenes. The Taklamakan Desert is known as the “Desert of Death.” Even when we were filming, with so many people there, we only shot on the edge of the desert, not daring to go in too far.

Filming in such a place is most difficult when nature calls. For example, when you need to use the bathroom, we can’t ask the crew to drive us back to the city. We can only ask staff members to hold up umbrellas and hide in a corner where no one is around to solve the problem. It feels like being a thief, very frustrating and embarrassing. And the costumes for period dramas are particularly complex, taking a long time to undo and put back on. Once, when I had only pulled up my pants halfway, a little hedgehog scurried past my feet, nearly scaring me to death… These hardships are unknown to the viewers who see the beautiful scenes. I won’t mention them either, it’s too embarrassing… Like, a bare white bottom exposed in the desert…

The drama “Returning Lost” required us to travel between Xining and KS. The journey was very difficult and long. Everyone in the crew complained that one round trip felt like riding a roller coaster – in one word, dizzy; in two words, very dizzy. At those times, Fu Junyan would hold me in the back seat without avoiding suspicion, repeatedly massaging my temples. Of course, I would massage his too…

That afternoon, I had finished my part, removed my makeup, and was curled up in a corner hugging a puffer fish doll given by a fan, waiting for Fu Junyan to finish his scene. But soon the phone rang, and the shot director told me that some scenes we shot at Kumbum Monastery in Xining last week had captured tourists and cars in the corner of some shots. They didn’t notice these details at first due to oversight, but now upon review, they found they couldn’t use them, so they had to be scrapped. And because of venue rental issues, they asked me to head to Kumbum Monastery in Xining right away to reshoot those scenes.

Just as I hung up the phone, the assistant director, with his watermelon belly, angrily walked in front of me, waving his keys and saying, “Xiao’ai, let’s go.”

I raised an eyebrow, blinked, and asked, “Assistant Director, are you going to be the driver?”

He nodded, puffing out his watermelon belly and said, “Of course.” He couldn’t help but complain to the shot director about being careless and how this wouldn’t have happened if they had paid attention earlier… I smiled. Ever since the assistant director reconciled with his brother, his mood had been particularly good every day, he sang more enthusiastically, and his temper had also become relatively bigger.

I also heard that the assistant director bought a car and a house for his brother, and also bought him a shop, planning to open a restaurant, which was currently being renovated. The assistant director would proudly tell everyone in the crew every day about how good his brother was and how delicious his cooking was. Because of this, even Fu Junyan would sometimes avoid him. When he heard the assistant director start with “my brother,” his eye would twitch, and he would quickly pick up the script and start reading.

At that time, several special effects guys in the crew said with crooked mouths, “Assistant Director! It’s just cooking, how good can it be?” After hearing this, the assistant director’s cheeks turned red with anger, and he left puffing out his belly. The next day, without saying a word, he brought big plate chicken made by his brother to the crew. What was really funny was that the assistant director gave everyone else a small bowl, but he gave Fu Junyan a big box and me a medium-sized box. This favoritism was so obvious that even Director Huai’an, after finishing his small bowl of big plate chicken, stood in front of us with his mouth watering, holding an empty bowl and complaining to the assistant director, “Brother! You can’t make your looks-based favoritism so obvious…”

Fu Junyan and I just laughed, sharing one box and giving one to him.

The journey from KS to Xining requires traveling on National Highway 315. I had been on this road a few times for filming this drama and thought it was okay. But it’s said to be very dangerous because water resources are extremely scarce, and about two-thirds of the road passes through the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert. Locals say that travelers walking this road on foot is equivalent to suicide. But sometimes we had to go up to the Taklamakan Desert for filming locations, so we got used to it coming and going, and didn’t have any so-called reverence or fear in our hearts.

When the assistant director brought the car over, his phone rang. I heard him answer with a “brother” and his expression was very happy. I shrugged and went over to quietly tell the assistant director that I would wait for Fu Junyan and tell him before we leave. He smiled mischievously, looked at the dove egg-sized ring on my finger after I had removed my makeup, and waved his hand at me.

Fu Junyan had been having very heavy scenes these past few days because the veteran actress Aunt Lin, who was playing his mother, had been very unwell since joining the crew, not adapting to the weather here. Her physical discomfort reactions were getting worse day by day, and she had a heart condition, which made everyone in the crew very nervous. But Aunt Lin’s personality was very cautious, and she usually spoke in a soft and gentle voice, like a delicate little flower. Moreover, the actors’ contracts stipulated that daily working hours could not exceed 10 hours, so Huai’an didn’t dare to touch on the subject of adjusting schedules or rushing scenes. Although other actors would show concern on the surface, there was no substantial statement.

In the end, Fu Junyan was the first to speak up. One day, seeing Aunt Lin collapse into a chair with a pale face after finishing a scene, he suddenly put down the script in his hand, walked over, handed Aunt Lin a cup of warm water, and then asked gently, “Auntie, can you hang in there? Let’s not drag this out. If possible, let’s finish your scenes in the next few days, then you can go home to see a doctor and rest well, okay?” Because even such a big star had taken this step, other colleagues had no more excuses to brush it off.

But this arrangement was hard on Fu Junyan. He was the one who had the most scenes with Aunt Lin, and because of this high intensity, he could only sleep for two or three hours every day. I was so worried about him. You’d say he’s aloof, and truly he is aloof. When others try to curry favor with him, he gracefully deflects it, not accepting or receiving. But you’d say he’s aloof, yet he’s not aloof. He always manages to gently soothe people’s wounds, providing pain relief and warmth.

After waiting for a while, as soon as the director yelled cut, Fu Junyan walked quickly towards me while yawning. His eyes were a bit wet, full of fatigue, but he still gently stroked the top of my head and asked, “What do you want to eat today?”

I shook my head helplessly, reaching out to touch his eyes and said, “Baby needs to rush to Xining to reshoot some scenes today. You should go back to the hotel and rest well after you finish filming, okay?”

Hearing this, he tilted his head slightly, looked up at the assistant director still sitting in the driver’s seat making a phone call not far away, paused for a moment, then lowered his head and patted my shoulder saying, “Baby, let the assistant director wait a bit. I’ll go ask for leave and go with you guys.”

“Why are you asking for leave?” I frowned, pulling his arm and shaking my head. “You only have one more scene today, then you can go back and rest! You haven’t slept well for several days! Fu Junyan!”

“Be good, I sleep best by your side…” He reached out to touch my face, patted my hand that was grabbing his arm reassuringly, then turned and walked quickly towards the temporary dressing room set up by the crew. I watched his back, letting out a light sigh, muttering in my heart, how can you sleep well in a bumpy car, silly Fu Junyan…

We got in the car together. The assistant director wasn’t surprised to see Fu Junyan come. He said a few more words to his brother and then hung up the phone. Turning his head to Fu Junyan, he complained, “Junyan, what a mess this is. My brother just took out some good wine from the cellar today waiting to drink with me! Now I can’t drink it! It’s really disappointing! You don’t know, my brother may look honest, but he’s really good at drinking!”

Fu Junyan tiredly pressed his temples, smiling amiably at the assistant director and said, “It’s alright, we can drink when we get back.”

The assistant director nodded, still praising, “You’re still the smart one, kid.”

I lowered my head and laughed, teasing, “Assistant Director, everyone knows the principle of drinking next time if you can’t drink today! How is this smart? You’re playing favorites!”

“Xiao’ai, you’re wrong here. As someone who’s going to be Junyan’s wife, how can you turn things around like this?” When I heard this, I was embarrassed. There was no way to refute this, the question had suddenly risen to a whole new level…

Fu Junyan listened to our conversation with a faint smile, lowering his head and playing with my fingers. His eyes were a bit unfocused due to fatigue. He turned his head to look out the car window, then lowered his head to check the time on his phone before finally turning back and saying softly to the assistant director, “Assistant Director, I’ll sleep for a while. Call me if you get tired later, we can take turns driving.” The assistant director shouted a ‘good’ and laughed a few times.

Fu Junyan smiled silently, squeezed my palm, and then turned to lean his head against the seat back. Seeing his action, I wasn’t having it. I pulled his sleeve and pointed at my shoulder. He shook his head, squinting his eyes and saying softly, “Silly pufferfish, it will go numb…”

I pouted, shrugged, then pointed at my thigh, silently staring at him without moving.

After a standoff for a while, he was really helpless. He reached out to poke my puffed cheek, then bent down to lie on my lap, shifting his body and pulling my sleeve again saying, “Wake me up if your leg goes numb.”

I just looked down at him, not responding. But when I didn’t answer, he wouldn’t close his eyes to rest. I had no choice but to nod obediently and kiss his forehead. The corners of his lips turned up slightly as he said, “Good girl.” Only then did he close his eyes to rest.

Fu Junyan fell asleep quickly. He was so tired that he even started snoring softly. But the sound was quite cute, like some kind of baby animal, intermittent and innocent. I gently stroked his hair, thinking that after this drama wraps up, we should both take a good rest.

Gradually, the sky turned dark, and the car had already driven into the Taklamakan Desert. The wind and sand were very strong today, whistling as they blew sand against the car windows. The assistant director drove slower and slower. There were no streetlights in the desert, and the road ahead could only be illuminated by the car’s own lights. The GPS voice occasionally sounded in the car, sounding quite vast and distant. Sitting in the car made me feel stuffy and drowsy, so I yawned several times. The assistant director glanced back at me, and considering the deeply sleeping Fu Junyan, said quietly, “Let’s stop here. The sandstorm is too strong, we can’t see the road clearly. We’ll continue when the wind dies down a bit. Xiao’ai, close the back windows tightly.” I nodded while yawning, making sure the doors and windows were all locked before slightly shifting my leg. Fu Junyan, usually very alert, didn’t stir at all this time, still sleeping soundly. My heart ached even more – he must be exhausted…

I couldn’t help but yawn several more times. The assistant director smiled and said to me, “Xiao’ai, if you’re tired, you should sleep too. I’ll call you if anything happens.” I nodded, looked out the window, put one hand on Fu Junyan’s waist, and closed my eyes, leaning against the seat back to sleep.

When Fu Junyan shook me awake, the car was pitch black, and I couldn’t see anything. The assistant director’s snoring was loud, while Fu Junyan was taking out his phone to light up the car. I heard him abruptly say, “Baby, take off your cotton coat and tie your scarf tightly.” There was a solemn tone in his voice. I said “oh” and didn’t dare ask more, just obediently took off my heavy cotton coat.

Seeing my action, he nodded at me with a warm, faint smile, then quickly leaned forward to wake the assistant director sitting in the driver’s seat. The assistant director turned his head groggily and called out, “Junyan.”

Fu Junyan didn’t respond, but asked with pursed lips, “Assistant Director, where are the car keys? Quickly start the car and open the automatic windows.”

“We can’t open them, the sandstorm outside is too strong…” Before the assistant director could finish speaking, Fu Junyan had already reached out and raised his phone. As the weak light from his phone shone on the windshield, I happened to look up, and with just one glance, I screamed in fright. Half of our car’s entire front had already been buried in sand. My heart sank, and I cried out in shock, “Quicksand!”

Instinctively, I reached out to frantically push the car door, but no matter how hard I pushed, it wouldn’t budge. The car had been locked from the inside out. Seeing my action, Fu Junyan quickly turned back to grab my hand, calmly shaking his head at me. I saw his lip movement; he said, “Stay calm.”

The assistant director panicked too. He first stared blankly out the window, then suddenly lowered his head, his hands trembling as he fumbled in his bosom, but couldn’t find the car keys for a long time. Then, he hunched over, arching his back to search left and right in the seat. I saw his body start to shake instinctively, his whole person gasping for breath. Fu Junyan tried to help him search, but the assistant director blocked him with one hand. He shouted at Fu Junyan, “Make a phone call! Call for help!”

“There’s no signal here,” Fu Junyan said calmly, looking at the panicked and confused assistant director. His gaze was steady, the fatigue not yet gone from his face, just coldly lowering his eyes.

Perhaps because it was too quiet, I could gradually feel the sound of the car slowly sinking. The wind howled outside, blowing fiercely from all directions with a tremendous roar. A strange fear and oppression enveloped me. It was pitch black all around, with only the faint light from Fu Junyan’s phone. Everything felt eerie and uncanny. By now, the quicksand had already submerged half of the car body. Due to the enormous resistance, the car doors could no longer be pushed open. Fine sand gradually seeped in through the gaps in the car, instilling only fear and dread.

Even if I was foolish, I knew that now, if we couldn’t find the car keys and start the car to open the automatic windows and climb out, we only had two outcomes: suffocate to death in the car, or be buried in the sand and suffocate.

I curled up, helplessly looking up at Fu Junyan. At this moment, he was silently resting both hands on the back of the front seat, his face deep in thought, but the aura around him was calm and composed. Usually, I would call out to him, go to hug him. But now, I didn’t dare. I was afraid my emotions would affect his ability to think of a solution. After a while, Fu Junyan finally slowly raised his eyes. His expression was still calm and composed. He seemed to understand my fear, turned his face towards me, and habitually reached out to soothingly pat my head. With just this simple action, my breathing became smoother. I felt that with Fu Junyan here, I wouldn’t be afraid even if the sky fell.

Fu Junyan silently looked around the car, then turned his face to look at me again. His calm gaze fell on me. I saw him smile lightly and shake his head, reaching out to pat his own forehead, as if mocking himself. Then, he said to me with certainty, “Baby, take off your high heels.”

I was a bit stunned, but followed his words and quickly took off my shoes. Fu Junyan silently took them. Then, he motioned for me to quickly switch places with him. After that, he turned his whole body away from me, gripping the high heel and started smashing it against the corners of the car window.