ATLAS TRANSLATES

That night after work, I remembered how Fu Junyan had laughingly said I looked like a puffer fish, and I still couldn’t help feeling resentful. I finally puffed out my cheeks, took a selfie with my phone, opened Weibo, uploaded it, and poured out my endless emotions to the bottomless internet, saying, “Puffer fish! How do I look like a puffer fish? Which eye of yours sees me as a puffer fish? Which one?”

This Weibo account was one I had registered a long time ago. Before, I occasionally uploaded some travel photos, moods, and photos with my family. After “Regretful Love” became a hit in my previous life, this account was verified. In order to keep my identity secret, I deleted all the photos of myself and my family.

I had really forgotten about this during these busy days. There were actually still many photos of myself with Dad and my cousin left on Weibo. So I quickly grabbed my computer and started deleting them in advance. I stayed up until 3 am before finally completing the task. I looked again at the selfie I had just uploaded and inwardly roared once more, “Which eye of yours sees me as a puffer fish!” Um… I thought, is my resentment too strong? Awkward…

The indoor scenes for “Regretful Love” were almost finished. Calculating the time, the shooting progress this time was actually a full month faster than in my previous life. I was quite excited, finally knowing that I had indeed held back the crew quite a bit in my previous life. Old man John was also very satisfied, enthusiastically finding the producer, saying it would be a big hit, definitely a big hit! He started to show a wolfish glint in his eyes when looking at us. He even edited two promotional clips in advance and started online promotion. Photos promoting “Regretful Love” were also gradually released online.

This was a good thing, but not entirely good, because after this, the crew was no longer as quiet as before. Sometimes when walking outside the studio, there would occasionally be some reporters with a keen “sense of smell”.

I vaguely felt that things were getting more and more strange. Fu Junyan seemed to have discovered it even before me. From then on, we no longer walked from the villa to the set. He brought an armored black van. Even though the journey was less than ten minutes, the driver would still come to pick us up every day. Fu Junyan said, “Wolves can’t be kept away, but at least we can’t deliver ourselves to their door.” I deeply agreed and obediently complied.

Every actor in the crew also seemed to have sensed something. They no longer came and went casually like before. Now, even if they were panting with exhaustion after leaving the studio, they kept their backs ramrod straight, paying great attention to their appearance.

I, on the other hand, became a bit melancholic, thinking about Gu Xiao’an’s issue as soon as I finished a scene. It was inevitable that An’an would be photographed by the media while with me. Even if his identity as the adopted son of the Xiao family was exposed in the future, he would not be able to avoid a storm. So I was thinking about whether I should hide An’an and send him to Dad, or let him naturally face the pursuit of the limelight at a young age. I really didn’t know which choice was best for the child…

Because Gu Xinyao was a role with all the stars revolving around her, I was basically the only actress in this drama. So my scenes were always very heavy, and Old John also always attached great importance to my scenes. As a result, Fang Dingyue and I were the first to finish our indoor scenes. In the end, Fu Junyan and Jay’s progress was slower than ours. The crew also began to clean up and prepare to switch to outdoor shooting as the indoor scenes were about to end.

One day, Old John asked me very solemnly, “Xiao’ai, our online promotion has had a very good effect. I plan to gradually release some highlights and behind-the-scenes stories. Are you willing to let An’an appear on camera?” At that time, my head buzzed. After a long time, I could only say one sentence: “Let me think about it again.”

I walked out the door with my head down. As soon as I looked up, I saw Fu Junyan rehearsing in the studio. His demeanor was so good-looking, and his acting was so on point. I unconsciously stopped, just looking at this man who insisted on making milk for An’an and me every day despite leaving early and returning late. Suddenly, I felt a bit of dependence, suddenly wanting to ask him what I should do. But he had been so busy recently, and I really didn’t have the nerve to go over and disturb him.

After a careful selection of animated films, An’an had recently been watching a series of Korean animated films called “Pororo”. Pororo is a cute blue little penguin. The stories of Pororo and his friends in the animated films can also teach children many good lessons. I watched with great relief. To be honest, it was indeed quite good and cute. After watching it a lot, my after-effect was occasionally unconsciously humming a sentence: “Pororo, Pororo!”

Then everyone in the crew would look at me with a “you know, I know, we all know” expression, take a strange glance at each other and smile, collectively ignoring my existence and my intelligence…

But it was undeniable that because of Gu Xiao’an’s existence, everyone seemed to treat me very well. I remember in my previous life, opinions about me were mixed, with many saying I was willful and arrogant. But now, everyone smiled at me. Even if I did something wrong, they wouldn’t make things difficult for me, just grouping me and An’an into one category. They would look at me and then at Gu Xiao’an, and then say, “Xiao’ai, it’s not easy.” At those times, I would suddenly feel a bit choked up.

An’an’s Italian and English were very good, and his Chinese was not bad either. But he really didn’t understand Korean. How could he understand Korean animated films? But Fu Junyan was very calm and collected. He said, “It’s good for children to be exposed to more language environments.” Then I remembered how Dad took me all over the world when I was little. When I was young, I often woke up to find that the world had changed again, and the people around me started speaking gibberish that I couldn’t understand at all, leaving me frustrated and panicked. But it was undeniable that this laid the foundation for my determination to learn languages well even if it killed me, because I had had enough of the pain of being mute despite not being mute. Finally, when I saw An’an happily immersed in the world of Pororo, I felt very happy.

It’s just that everything has two sides…

When I saw Gu Xiao’an riding on Xiao Qi’s back, chatting with Fang Dingyue with his neck raised, I felt very powerless. I even felt that the ice on Dingyue-ge’s body was cracking at an incomparable speed…

“An’an likes Pororo. An’an likes it! Yue-yue!” Gu Xiao’an shook his little head, as if he couldn’t feel the cold aura from Fang Dingyue’s body, and his little hand kept shaking happily.

“Oh! Your sister also likes it.” Fang Dingyue nodded and answered thoughtfully. It’s just that when he heard Yue-yue, his face was in a state of rigor mortis…!!

Okay… When An’an and I were huddled in the corner together watching “Pororo” on the iPad and couldn’t help giggling, everyone in the crew thought I liked Pororo. I wanted to deny it… Although, I really did like it… Awkward!

“Yue-yue! Pororo is a penguin. It walks on two feet, just like this, just like An’an.” Then Gu Xiao’an, still not satisfied, patted Xiao Qi’s neck. Xiao Qi obediently lay down to let An’an climb off its back.

Then our Gu Xiao’an puffed out his little chest, making sure Fang Dingyue was watching him. He smiled shyly with slightly red cheeks and then, sticking out his neck and tucking in his little arms, began to walk around Fang Dingyue in circles like a penguin, asking excitedly, “Yue-yue, do you like it?”

Yue-yue… Yue-yue… My Gu Xiao’an was really incredibly powerful!

“I like it! An’an is awesome!” Fang Dingyue watched the little bean penguin walk a few circles, then picked An’an up and tossed him in his arms for a while with both hands. Gu Xiao’an giggled in his arms. Fang Dingyue had already seen me. He nodded at me, tapped the table with his fingers, raised his brows, and even picked up his coat. He carried Gu Xiao’an and walked over to me, saying, “Nothing today. Let’s go, Xiao’ai. Let’s take An’an to see penguins!”

As soon as the little guy heard this, his eyes lit up. He clapped his little hands and began to shout, “Penguin! Penguin! Pororo! An’an likes Pororo…”

Then, I inexplicably found myself sitting in the passenger seat of Fang Dingyue’s car. The ice block was taking us to see penguins too! I turned my head to look at Gu Xiao’an and Xiao Qi playing happily in the back seat, and then at Fang Dingyue, who was seriously driving beside me. I really felt that it could rain red in the sky.

“Dingyue-ge, how did you think of taking An’an to see penguins?” I was too puzzled, so I still couldn’t help asking.

“Don’t you two like it? You’ve been holding An’an and watching it non-stop as soon as you finish a scene recently.”

I touched my nose, feeling awkward.

“By the way, Xiao’ai. The crew is going to Venice to shoot on location next week. In the beginning, most of the two weeks will be your and Junyan’s scenes. I talked to you about it the other day. After that, I called my mother. I always felt that something was wrong. I want to ask for leave from the crew these few days and buy a plane ticket to go back and take a look.”

“Oh, what does this have to do with seeing penguins?”

“Xiao’ai, did you run away from home after getting angry with your father?”

I nodded, looking at him in confusion.

“Me too. I didn’t want to follow the path my dad arranged for me, so I ran away from home. When I ran away from home, my passport only had a tourist visa to Italy, and all my money was only enough to buy a plane ticket to Italy.”

“Ah!” A man as cold as him, running away from home… I thought, then looked down at his silver-gray sports car, and suddenly felt several notches shorter than him. I still swiped Dad’s card when I ran away from home, and never held back. Not to mention creating wealth…

“I was only 16 years old at the time, but I found a job within a few days of arriving in Italy, working part-time in a Chinese restaurant. With the help of the boss, I also applied to university. Xiao’ai, do you think I’m luckier than you?”

“So you’re the one who’s really lucky!” I touched my nose. After hearing this, I couldn’t help but sigh. This was almost impossible. He first worked illegally, then successfully entered university to study without a guarantor or proof of deposit. I admired him…

“I also thought I was very lucky!” He turned his head to look at me, his eyes deep. “Until one time, I accidentally overheard the owner making a phone call at night. The person on the other end of the phone was my mother. It was my mother who had been secretly helping me. Otherwise, I would have starved to death in a foreign land long ago because of my willfulness. So Xiao’ai, I’m lucky because I have a mother who loves me.” I never thought he would say such emotional words to me. His tone was still as cold as ever, but it seemed to have something more.

“Have you never gone back to see your mother?” I wrinkled my nose and asked tentatively.

He shook his head and parked the car steadily.

“I’ve been feeling uneasy recently. After talking with you that time, I called the owner. He also told me that my mother hadn’t contacted him for a long time. I contacted home, and the servants all said that the lady was not there. Xiao’ai, to be honest, I’m very worried.” As he said this, his eyes darkened a few shades. “So Xiao’ai, I want to go home and take a look. I never thought about going back for so many years, but when I look at you and An’an, I remember when I was little, my mother also kept me by her side all the time like you. I think she should have missed me for a long time. I’ve thought a lot. Now, I should also go back and take a look.”

There must really be a connection between family members in the dark… I looked at him, feeling a little distressed that his mother would pass away soon. But as an outsider, I really couldn’t say much. I could only blink and say with a smile, “Dingyue ge, don’t worry. I’ll be the first to nod when you tell John.”

He smiled and patted my shoulder. “I’m not trying to please you to help me talk. I just wanted to take you to see penguins, silly girl.”

“I don’t have that much influence. I’m just stating my stance!”

He laughed, opened the car door, and lifted out the excited Gu Xiao’an. An’an happily kicked his short legs in his arms and shouted, “Pororo! Pororo!”

Gu Xiao’an was very brave. He didn’t even flinch when he saw sharks after entering the aquarium. On the other hand, Xiao Qi entered a state of alert. When it saw the sharks, its fur stood up. It stood in front of Gu Xiao’an with its tail tucked, barking wildly at the sharks on the other side of the glass.

Fang Dingyue raised his brows and scooped up Xiao Qi to smooth its fur. He said to me, “I didn’t expect Junyan’s dog to have quite a temper.” But no matter how Fang Dingyue smoothed Xiao Qi’s fur, the little guy still stared at the sharks on the other side of the glass, barking and puffing up as if it had touched static electricity.

“It’s also loyal and protective of its owner.” I replied offhandedly, then thought it wasn’t right and said, “I feel like Xiao Qi completely treats An’an as its little master, don’t you think?”

Then I bent down to pick up Gu Xiao’an, who was thinking about the sharks, and fled with Fang Dingyue, who was holding Xiao Qi. If we couldn’t smooth down its fur, forget it, but if Xiao Qi kept barking, we would really be kicked out of the aquarium.

When we finally saw the penguins, Gu Xiao’an cried. I felt very confused, and then heard him cry, “Pororo is blue, a blue penguin! They’re not Pororo… not penguins… lied to An’an… not penguins… not big gray wolves in black penguin skins…” Okay… what was this and what? I turned my head to look at Fang Dingyue for help. He also had a face full of confusion and didn’t know where to start.

So, I was at my wit’s end, and Fang Dingyue was also very helpless.

In the end, I coaxed the sobbing Gu Xiao’an all the way back to the crew, with a puffed-up Xiao Qi that was always on alert by my side. An’an’s eyes were filled with hurt, as if Fang Dingyue and I were liars who had hidden his blue Pororo. The little guy just kept curling up in the back seat, hugging Xiao Qi, muttering, “Lied to An’an! Lied to kids! Big gray wolves in black penguin skins! Lied to An’an! Humph!”

I was also very hurt. No matter how I coaxed him or reasoned with An’an, he wouldn’t listen. I could only sit in the passenger seat and watch Gu Xiao’an cry and cry, feeling that this little brat was really hard to deal with when he was stubborn. Finally, when An’an got out of the car, as soon as the little guy saw Fu Junyan, he threw himself into Fu Junyan’s arms. With a questioning look, he pointed at Fang Dingyue and me and started crying in a childish voice, saying we were liars…

Fang Dingyue and I both had gloomy faces. We simply left this puffed-up little brat and the puffed-up polar bear to Fu Junyan and went straight to Old John.

When I got home, I updated my Weibo with just one sentence: “Oh my, puffed-up kids are really hard to raise…”