ATLAS TRANSLATES

“Wishing him a happy birthday? You’re really exaggerating,” Tang Xin laughed while sitting in the car, suddenly commenting.

A moment later, Fu Xueli stopped pouring her heart out.

“No, that’s not right,” Tang Xin corrected herself. “You’re… reckless, over-the-top.”

“By the way, did you and your friends who set off fireworks get disciplined by the school later?” Tang Xin’s curiosity was piqued, and she asked again.

After a pause, Fu Xueli snorted, “We’ve been getting disciplined since we were little. Do you think we care about that?”

Tang Xin lowered her head to play with her phone, telling Fu Xueli to look at the script and think about the character. The smile on her lips hadn’t faded as she scrolled through Weibo on her phone.

Fu Xueli pressed her temples, listlessly flipping open the script. She had just absent-mindedly read two paragraphs when she heard a sudden exclamation. Tang Xin leaned over to hand her the phone, her tone rising excitedly, “Hey, hey, look at this. We were just talking about it.”

Before she finished speaking, Fu Xueli glanced at the phone and saw a prominent headline:

[Woman Murdered, Male Suspect Arrested Within Two Days.]

She snatched the phone and clicked to read more. The official Weibo account of the Morning News was at the top of the trending topics:

Around 9 PM on April 9th, a knife murder occurred on Beining West Road in People’s Park, Jinliang District, Shen City. The suspect fled the scene quickly with the knife after committing the crime. According to police, the suspect was apprehended on the evening of the 10th.

There were several photos accompanying the article.

One looked familiar, showing the crime scene controlled by police on that rainy night. The second showed several police officers gathered around a computer, pointing and discussing.

As for the third photo…

Fu Xueli was startled when her eyes fell on it. Although it only showed half of a side profile, she recognized who it was immediately.

“Tsk, tsk, I didn’t expect it to trend. The police are so impressive nowadays. But why are there so many of these press releases lately? Is it to promote socialism…?” Tang Xin laughed.

The article first introduced the sensational case of the female corpse found in the busy district that had trended on Weibo a few days ago, then emphasized how quickly the police solved the case, efficiently protecting the safety of the people. Even the interviews and summaries were very formulaic.

Things like “the net of law is wide and unescapable,” they are carrying out the mission given by the party and the people, bearing fairness and justice behind them, spreading positive energy…

Fu Xueli had no patience and skimmed through it, jumping to the end:

“It’s worth mentioning that an outstanding criminal police officer who contributed to solving this case, having previously cracked a major case in X Nan, now serves as a forensic doctor in the technical squad of a certain city’s criminal police department, while also serving as the head of the anti-drug squad.

According to colleagues, as a forensic doctor and criminal technician, his workload is very heavy. Apart from vacations and crime scene investigations, he spends most of his time in the laboratory. He works at least ten hours a day, showing great dedication to his job.”

Fu Xueli exited the article, thought of something, and with a wry smile, opened the third photo showing the side profile to look carefully.

The man was sitting at his desk reviewing documents, his neat police uniform buttoned meticulously, shoulder badges gleaming.

When he wasn’t smiling, his aura was fully on display. With his thin cheeks, he exuded a cool and aloof charm. He looked just like a reserved male model specially hired for the shoot.

As expected, the comments below exploded, with the top few hot comments being:

[Is this a TV drama?! How can a police officer be so handsome, he’s totally a first love face, I’m really sweetened…]

[Am I shallow… so… does this police uncle in the third photo have a Weibo account? (Expectant)(Expectant)(Expectant)]

[Although it’s within his job responsibilities, I still want to give this handsome policeman a big thumbs up!]

[I’ll be straightforward, I want this guy to get involved with me right now (dog head emoji)]

[This is the 567th man I’ve fallen in love with on Weibo…]

[Isn’t he a criminal police officer? I don’t understand why Weibo didn’t blur his face. Aren’t they afraid of criminals seeking revenge? It could be very dangerous, right?!]

Upon seeing this comment, Fu Xueli felt a chill down her spine, her expression immediately turning grim. She worriedly said, “This isn’t right. How could Xu Xingchun’s photo be released? Won’t his personal safety be threatened?!”

Tang Xin’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, “Have you been in the entertainment industry all these years for nothing?”

“What do you mean?”

“What reporters can interview, what they can report, what they can publish, it’s all strictly limited by the publicity department. What you see is just the processed version that’s been approved. In short, all potential landmines will be addressed, and if the published photos aren’t blurred, it means the police didn’t require them to be blurred. The police officers’ vigilance is much higher than that of media people.”

Fu Xueli remained silent for a while, zooming in and out to look at that photo again and again.

“Stop looking. It might be deleted soon. It won’t stay up for long. Give me back my phone quickly. If you want to look at photos, use your own phone!” Tang Xin frowned and said in a low voice, “You care so much about others, but does he even remember you?”

Fu Xueli instantly hid the expression on her face and put down the phone. She turned her head, her face darkening: “What do you mean? Back then—”

As she said this, she inexplicably thought of the unpleasant incident from a few days ago. She was still upset about Xu Xingchun’s cold attitude, so she didn’t feel like continuing.

Seeing her temper rising again, Tang Xin waved her hand to interrupt her, laughing coldly, “Anyway, I’ve seen through what kind of person you are these past few years. So many years have passed, you should just focus on developing your acting career wholeheartedly, and don’t go bothering others.”

“What? What kind of person am I? Go ahead, tell me.” After a while, Fu Xueli, feeling unconvinced and annoyed, lit a cigarette, smoke curling up.

“A vulgar person.” Tang Xin said irritably, casually opening the car window. “By the way, I’m telling you, Chen Jianqiu is also going to audition for Director Wu’s film this time. They’re clearly trying to annoy us. You better step up your game. This film was bid on by our company, you need to take advantage of this.”

Speaking of Chen Jianqiu, she had quite a history with Fu Xueli. She used to be Fu Xueli’s assistant. Her looks were quite good, she had plastic surgery, and later hooked up with a big shot in the industry, jumping ship to another company. She debuted with a new identity and packaging, and last year, because of a hugely popular historical drama, she suddenly became one of the popular young actresses.

But this kind of thing is common in the entertainment industry, not worth getting upset about. There are plenty of beautiful women who want to be famous, and ordinary people don’t have shortcuts. Those who want to stay clean can’t make it in this business. But the key point is, Chen Jianqiu’s hit historical drama was a resource snatched from Tang Xin’s hands, which was really not playing by the rules.

And so this grudge was formed.

—

“Life has eight sufferings:

Birth, aging, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, encountering hatred, not getting what one desires, and being unable to let go.”

This sentence was printed on the cover of the temporary script for “Breaking Dawn,” a new film by a big director in the Beijing circle. This film was based on a nationwide drug bust case that shocked the country in the 90s, a mainstream big production. The subject matter was quite sensitive, and the production team was collaborating with the Ministry of Public Security this time. More accurately, it was a film funded and produced through bidding by the Ministry of Public Security.

The investors found this director, gave him all the organized materials, prepared for a year or two, held repeated meetings before casting, went through more than ten scripts for the Ministry of Public Security to review, and the box office was expected to guarantee at least 500 million yuan. There had been rumors that this was an exceptionally good opportunity.

On the 37th floor of the Mandarin Hotel, Fu Xueli skimmed through the whole story again. In this mainstream commercial blockbuster, the female lead actually didn’t have many scenes. Bored, she looked around the room. Three to five crew members were carrying filming equipment, knocking on the door and entering successively, and there were a few familiar reporters from the industry smoking and waiting on the side.

This was the final selection for the female lead role, with a scene opposite Jiang Zhixing, who had already been cast as the male lead.

Jiang Zhixing had debuted early and had only appeared on the big screen for many years, but he didn’t have any airs at all. With a face like the man of one’s dreams, he lived up to the title of national male god. Besides his good looks, his acting skills were also exquisite. He had won the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor a few years ago and was currently at the peak of his career. It was said that his fee for the last film was already in the eight-figure range.

Fu Xueli remembered the first time she saw Jiang Zhixing in person at some awards ceremony, and she always felt something strange in her heart. His features were flawless, but somehow everything about him felt off.

It was as if, in a split second, she had forgotten something important in her mind, which was very unsettling.

She sat in the audience, watching Jiang Zhixing give his acceptance speech on the stage. Behind him was a big screen, cycling through his recent works. Jiang Zhixing was tall with long legs, wearing a proper black suit and white shirt. He slightly lowered his head, holding the microphone, his eyes beautiful, usually looking indifferent, but when he smiled slightly, his eyes seemed to contain hidden emotions.

Staring at his face again and again, Fu Xueli withdrew her gaze, finally remembering who he looked like.

“Xueli, take a look at the third paragraph of the script. I’ll give you a few minutes to get into character, then you and Ah Xing try to find the feeling together. If it goes well, we can have a meeting today and pretty much finalize it.” The director, wearing a white baseball cap, stood up from the sofa, holding a rolled-up notebook in his hand. Only a few crew members were left in the room.

Fu Xueli didn’t know why she had been chosen by this famous director. This film was a big resource, and during the second round of auditions, she had barely said a few lines before the director called cut and confidently said, “Fu Xueli, right? We’ve looked at your profile and think you’re very suitable for this role.”

Fu Xueli was genuinely flattered. Except for roles she had bought her way into, this was the first time she had passed an audition so smoothly. Since her debut, she had basically never taken on any very positive roles, her acting range was narrow, which had led to poor audience reception. This time, being able to get a film of this caliber had delighted Tang Xin, but at the same time, she wasn’t very confident.

The female lead in this film, Cheng Chen, was like a replica of Fu Xueli in her youth. The two were very similar, with identical “bad element” genes.

Cheng Chen had a very devoted childhood sweetheart, who was also the male lead of this film, Li Qiyan.

One was a rebellious female forensic doctor, the other a righteous anti-drug squad leader in the criminal police department.

“In this emotional scene, Cheng Chen hasn’t fallen for Li Qiyan yet. Think back to your life, is there a man who pursued you very intensely, but you actually found this pressure annoying, while also having some feelings for him?”

The set was being prepared, and the director was patiently explaining the scene to the two of them. “And Ah Xing, your emotional scene is just the opposite, it’s more complex. You need to remember that Li’s character is very lonely and arrogant, seemingly excellent on the surface, but actually lonely and sensitive. He’s introverted, so his feelings for Cheng Chen are intense and passionate, but deeply hidden. The key is to be subtle, not too obvious. Although we’re shooting an action film, the love story is an indispensable part. You need to grasp what the audience likes.”

Someone brought in props and placed them in the center of the room. The assistant director sat cross-legged on the sofa and called “Action!”, while crew members held up light reflectors on the other side.

All eyes in the room were focused on the two of them.

“I’m asking you, why do you always follow me home? Isn’t it annoying?” Fu Xueli thought for a moment, not bothering to hide anymore, and turned around to get into character directly. She knew what tone to use with him, what expression, even the slight furrowing of her brow was exquisite.

The red light on the camera was on, and everyone in the room held their breath silently.

Jiang Zhixing had one hand bent on the desk, holding a pen, his eyes lowered as he flipped through an imaginary case file. He didn’t respond for a long time.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Li Qiyan! Are you mute?! If you keep this up, I’m going to apply for a transfer!”

“Your file has already been handed over. Work hard from now on.” The man’s magnetic voice sounded faintly as he dropped the pen in his hand, creating an invisible aura.

Fu Xueli had no patience and, getting anxious, slammed her palm on the imaginary case file, not very happy. “I’m warning you, I have a boyfriend, you shouldn’t—”

Her hand was suddenly grabbed by the man. Fu Xueli tried to pull her hand away, but found that Jiang Zhixing was holding it very tightly.

Both of them got into character quickly, naturally immersing themselves in their roles. When their eyes met, she finally saw what seemed to be moisture in his eyes, seemingly hiding genuine pain. He finally spoke, calling her character’s name one word at a time, “Cheng Chen, you’re so cruel.”

The camera was on them, and Fu Xueli stared blankly, goosebumps rising, suddenly losing her rhythm.

Jiang Zhixing looked too much like Xu Xingchun…

Their silent eyes could both speak.

At some point, she had completely forgotten she was acting, unable to distinguish reality. Although she knew it wasn’t the right time, irrelevant memories of the past inexplicably came to mind.

She couldn’t remember which day of which month of which year it was, but it was just an ordinary afternoon. The bell rang, waking her from her sleep. She tilted her head on her elbow, not quite alert yet.

Xu Xingchun was propping his head up with one hand, his clean forehead above thick eyelashes, his nose straight.

He ran his fingers through his bangs, his lips pressed together, lowering his head to concentrate on a problem. From the side, his lips looked thin, but the curve was beautiful and delicate.

Fu Xueli stared at him drowsily. One second, two seconds, three seconds…

On the fourth second, she thought to herself, this Xu Xingchun usually looks so plain, but when you look closely, he’s not bad at all.

Being his girlfriend wouldn’t be a loss.