Thursday, December 22, 2022

Referring to - 67

Chapter 67


Gu Zecheng, seeing the frightened faces of the two people in front of him, seemed to be surprised and asked Su Yingqiu, "What? Didn't you talk to Old Qiao on the phone some time ago? Didn't he tell you that Zixi and I are together?"

Su Yingqiu opened his mouth several times and finally choked out a sentence, "I thought... Brother Qiao was joking with me."

"How could he joke about such a thing? Don’t you know your brother Qiao's temperament?" Gu Zecheng smiled and patted Su Yingqiu’s shoulder, saying, "If Zixi and I go to O Continent to have a wedding one day, we’ll invite you to be our best man!"

"I...that...okay, fine..." Su Yingqiu's complexion suddenly became deathly pale when he heard Gu Zecheng's best man invitation, and he was in a daze for a long time before he absent-mindedly agreed. After that he stammered, "I...I have something to confirm with Director He. I'm...I'm going to look for him..." before rushing out of the RV without looking back.

After Su Yingqiu left without even closing the car door, Gu Zecheng went to lock it. When he walked back to the bed, he found Lin Zixi supporting his forehead with a hand, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

……I just saw with my own eyes the tragedy of being issued a best man card, so I’m full of sympathy.

How miserable Big Artist Su was.

Lin Zixi replied while thinking about it, "I guess my diving scene in the afternoon will be postponed, so I’m reflecting upon myself for causing trouble for the crew."

Thus, young actor Lin, who was ‘reflecting upon himself’, asked for half a day of sick leave and was taken out of the crew by his dad.

After being brought to the hotel and sitting on the sofa in the top-floor suite, Lin Zixi read the scripts that were handed over to him to be selected while constantly casting a glance at Gu Zecheng, who was reading documents in the office area next to him. Eventually, his slightly uneasy conscience made him speak, "Daddy..."

"What's the matter?" Dad Gu raised his head from the documents and looked at him with inscrutable and deeply-concerned eyes.

Lin Zixi caressed Gu Zecheng's eyebrows, eyes, nose and lips with his gaze several times and finally, with a bit of ‘early death and early reincarnation’ mentality, said, "Su Yingqiu, he towards you..." 

To his surprise, Gu Zecheng did not wait for him to finish speaking and interrupted him, "I know."

"You know?!" Lin Zixi was upset, staring at his dad with wide eyes.

"I didn't know that before. But..." Dad Gu sighed, got up from his seat, walked over to him, and said, "He suddenly called Qiao Weidong and came back in a hurry this time. I guessed it as soon as I saw him."

"Then you... Then you still said something like inviting him to be the best man?!" Lin Zixi asked, dumbfounded.

"There’re some things that I can't let him speak since I know them, otherwise..." Gu Zecheng sat beside Lin Zixi and took him into his arms before continuing, "We mayn't even be able to keep the 'friendship' in our memories."

"Then..." Lin Zixi paused before asking softly, "Don't you regret it?"

"What do I regret?" The man hugging him asked.

"Regretting that you didn't confess to Su Yingqiu at that time. You two clearly liked each other then." When Lin Zixi spoke, his gaze seemed to look into the bottom of Gu Zecheng's eyes and heart.

Gu Zecheng looked at him calmly, "I liked him, but it’s just like. Since I chose to be with your mother in order to escape from my own feelings, my feelings then were doomed to not come to fruition…. When it comes to feelings, a thing like not being brave enough doesn't exist at all. Some people just don't like it enough."

After speaking, Gu Zecheng hugged Lin Zixi to his lap, held his hand, and stroked it lightly while asking him gently, "Baby, you should be reassured now, right?"

"Be...cough...be reassured what?" Lin Zixi was halfway through his words and realized that he was going to suffer, so he hurriedly acted stupid.

"Be reassured..." Gu Zecheng sneered. His face suddenly changed, and he pinched Lin Zixi’s chin as he said word by word, "That Daddy will fuck you forever!"

Then Lin Zixi was held down and fucked hard, in all kinds of position that would not hurt his legs, by his dad.

From the sofa to the desk; from the dining table to the bathroom…. Young actor Lin not only cried and admitted his mistake to Big Boss Gu of not trusting him enough, in the end, he even confessed the matter of asking for a breakup fee after he was supposed to be dumped.

After the two of them played crazy for an afternoon, Lin Zixi was carried back to the sofa like a ragdoll by Gu Zecheng. Dad Gu fed him seafood porridge one spoon at a time and then wiped his mouth with a handkerchief before saying, "Without a breakup fee, I can also arrange resources for you, and I’ll give free rein to you to choose the director and the script. But..."

Gu Zecheng tapped his nose and asked, "Do you know what to do?"

Lin Zixi slowly licked his lower lip and leaned into his dad's ear, saying in a low voice, "What President Gu wants to play, I'll risk my life to accompany you."

Then, President Gu sighed and slapped the butt of Big Star Lin, whom he planned to ‘keep’, "I mean you have to study hard and perform well. At that time, losing money is a small thing, but getting scolded by the audience with poisoned eyes is really shameful."

"President Gu... You're playing your cards not according to reason." Big Star Lin looked at his father speechlessly.

Gu Zecheng raised his eyebrows and smiled, "If I played my cards according to reason, could I hire my own son to be my younger brother and then fuck him into my little lover while planning to be his gold master as well as wanting to grow old with him and spend the rest our lives together?"

…… 

………… 

"Daddy’s right!" His ‘younger brother’, son, little lover, little star, and future lifelong partner thus replied.


THE END



TL's note:
I'm so happy to finish this translation because nearing the end, I lost most of my enthusiasm, so translating felt like a chore. Fortunately, the story isn't long, and I manage to finish it this year. 
In case you're looking for more stories to read, I've posted the list of danmei novels I read (via MTL) in 2020, 2021, and 2022.







Monday, December 19, 2022

Referring to - 66

Chapter 66


Su Yingqiu was a person who had struggled in the overseas music circle for many years after all. After his feelings were exposed to his face by Lin Zixi, he only felt embarrassed for a few seconds before adjusting his mentality.

It was just that when he spoke again, the arrogant, distant, and cold aura he put on before had a crack on it, "I really like him. I’ve liked him for more than 20 years."

Lin Zixi quickly took a sip of the ginger soup in his hand to suppress his shock. Then he said a little guiltily, "But first come, first served doesn’t apply on feelings. Gu Zecheng and I are already in love with each other. Even if you like him from birth, it's also useless."

Su Yingqiu got up from the sofa and looked at him condescendingly, sneering, "In love with each other? Hehe, if Zecheng gets back together with his first love, or even chooses any woman, I’ll accept it. But a social climbing fake like you? Humph, are you worthy?!"

Damn! Big Artist Su, you actually think that ‘since the younger sister can do it, so can the older sister’?!

However... it’s hard to say now, but twenty years from now, you really can.

Lin Zixi absolutely didn’t expect that Su Yingqiu and his dad had actually had a two-way crush and misunderstood each other back then, which ultimately led to a miss.

But then again, if the two of them had not misunderstood and missed, then there would have absolutely been no him, Lin Zixi, in every sense.

Lin Zixi took another sip of ginger soup, thought for a long time, and finally made a very sincere proposal to this ‘sister’, "It's not easy for me to convey your words to Gu Zecheng. How about you go and confess to him yourself, Teacher? If you don't have his contact information, I can give it to you."

Su Yingqiu’s elimination could be said to be the cause of this intractable predetermined fate, which allowed him to be born in this world, but Lin Zixi himself really didn’t know how to deal with the current situation. After all, young actor Lin had only played some kind of domineering president, heroic renegade, and scumbag emperor…. As for ‘sisters’ who had a bitch fight over a man, he had no experience.

Since Su Yingqiu came here for his dad, he should leave it to his dad to deal with it.

If by any chance Gu Zecheng was really taken away by Su Yingqiu, then he could only treat it as the plot that had been derailed for more than 20 years was finally corrected and then pretend to withdraw gracefully and magnanimously.

However, he had to ask his dad for ten or eight top-notch TV and movie resources as the breakup fee at that time. In the future, he would concentrate on his career as an actor, striving to be an international movie emperor and stepping onto the pinnacle of his acting career.

Lin Zixi's brain was like an out of control horse running madly all the way, thinking up which big directors’ dramas he should choose after breaking up with Gu Zecheng. Su Yingqiu, however, seemed to have been greatly insulted and slapped the table hard, "I have his contact information. There’s no need for you to be hypocritical!"

After speaking, big artist Su was about to slam the door on his way out, but...

"Fuck, it's hot hot hot!" Lin Zixi, in his absent-mindedness, was startled by Su Yingqiu's action of slapping the table and accidentally spilled the remaining half of the ginger soup in the bowl on his leg. The ginger soup was not as hot as it was when it first came out of the pot, but Lin Zixi was only wearing a pair of thin sweatpants now, and the heat was enough to scald a large area of his skin red.

Su Yingqiu was also taken aback by this accident and hurriedly turned back to check on Lin Zixi's condition.

The door of the RV was slammed open at this moment, and Gu Zecheng, who had already heard Lin Zixi's screams outside the door, rushed in.

"What happened?! How are you, Baby?" Without even looking at the other person in the carriage, he brushed past Su Yingqiu's side, went straight to Lin Zixi, crouched down, and inquired rather anxiously.

"The soup... The soup spilled onto my leg QAQ." Lin Zixi shed a few drops of physiological tears because of the pain and looked at his father, whom suddenly appeared, with wet eyes.

Without saying anything further, Gu Zecheng carried Lin Zixi into the narrow bathroom, let him sit on the toilet lid, took off his pants, and rinsed the area that was scalded just now with cold water.

The skin on Lin Zixi's body was originally fair, and the area between his thighs was even as lustrous and white as snow. Although his luck was not bad this time, and there were no blisters, the bright red patch looked quite unsightly and scary.

"Rinse it with cold water again for a while. I'll go to the crew to ask for scald medicine." Gu Zecheng said and was about to leave the bathroom, but he was stopped by Lin Zixi.

"It's better not. There’re no blisters anyway, so it's not too serious a problem..." Lin Zixi looked at his dad and touched his nose embarrassedly, "Getting scalded by the soup I got because of preferential treatment. I'm afraid of losing face."

As a result, his dad reached out and twisted his nose, "So you’re going to use a stand-in for the scene in the sea later?"

Thus, between using a stand-in and losing face, young actor Lin had to obediently choose the latter.

Gu Zecheng stroked his head once and was going to look for medicine, but as soon as he walked out of the bathroom door, he was handed a tube of ointment by someone waiting outside.

"Thank you." Gu Zecheng passed on the scald medicine to Lin Zixi and carried him to the bed before finally paying attention to the third person in the RV and facing him directly, "Su Yingqiu, it's been a long time."

Su Yingqiu nodded and spoke with an unconscious smile on his face, "Brother Gu, it's really been a long time. It's been almost three years since we met in Li City, O Continent. Time flies so fast. How are you doing?" 

“Pretty good. It’s really a coincidence at that time. I was going to Li City to talk about business, and you’re actually giving a concert there." Dad Gu glanced at his little lover who was listening with both ears perked up as he spoke and pointed to an area on his thigh, "Baby, you haven't put on the ointment there yet."

Then he looked at Su Yingqiu again and asked knowingly, "Are you planning to go on tour in China when you come back this time?"

"No. I came to make the soundtrack for this Coast Rescue Team TV series." Su Yingqiu glanced at Lin Zixi, who had covered his legs with a thin blanket after applying the medicine, and said to Gu Zecheng jokingly, "Also, I'm a book fan of the original work. I don’t feel reassured if I don't come to the filming site to have a look at the protagonist's acting skills."

Gu Zecheng also smiled and pulled a corner of the blanket to cover the exposed part of Lin Zixi's leg before asking in a natural tone, "Then after you saw your sister-in-law’s filming with your own eyes, do you feel reassured?"

"Sister-in-law?!" Lin Zixi and Su Yingqiu shouted almost in unison.

If Big Artist Su really calls me that, will I have my life shortened…. Lin Zixi, seeing Su Yingqiu's face instantly lose its smiling expression, swallowed his saliva and pondered silently in his heart.




Thursday, December 15, 2022

Referring to - 65

Chapter 65


Although Lin Zixi did not know the exact reason Big Artist Su came to his door, it must have something to do with the one surnamed Gu, who was rich, powerful, good-looking, and well-built.

Lin Zixi scolded his dad in his heart, "Attracting bees and butterflies, not abiding by the father's way", but still maintained a business-style smile on his face, "Thank you for your encouragement. Everyone I met in this crew is very motivated and hard-working. I believe that with your soundtrack gilding the lily, the final drama will definitely not disappoint the audience."

After speaking, regardless of Su Yingqiu's reaction, he walked directly to the temporary boarding trestle and signaled to the director that he was ready to start shooting.

The martial arts instructor first explained to him and the villain boss the sequence of fighting movements. After making sure that they both remembered and even making them go through the moves on the shore, the shooting started.

However, waiting for the yacht to actually arrive at the designated area and starting to shoot for real were much more difficult than when performing on the beach. Whether it was the waves that hit from time to time or the movements of the two actors, they all would cause the 10-meter-long small boat to sway non-stop.

Both Lin Zixi and the middle-aged actor who played the villain had no military role background, so when they shot a scene under such circumstances, they would inevitably get NG because they were still not used to the swaying of the yacht and could not keep their balance.

"I'm sorry. I have to trouble everyone to do it again." After the second NG, Lin Zixi bowed apologetically to the opposing actor and the crew. When he straightened up, his line of sight swept to Su Yingqiu, who was standing on the beach not far away.

Su Yingqiu happened to be looking at him as well, so their lines of sight met. Su Yingqiu raised his eyebrows and showed an undisguised mocking smile.

Lin Zixi never felt that he had a bad temper before. Even when he was preempted by Mu Zhongran at a super low price for endorsements and TV series, he did not feel very angry. But Su Yingqiu only made this expression, and he almost couldn’t stop himself from swearing.

Don't be angry, don't be angry; it's normal to be ridiculed if your professional work ability hasn’t reached the standard. An overseas Chinese artist came to China from thousands of miles away and regards the movies and television projects of the Chinese people as his own. What kind of spirit is this? This is the spirit of internationalism and communism…. Lin Zixi took a deep breath while brainwashing himself. He finally stabilized his emotions and signaled the director team to resume shooting.

It was probably because of the tension in his heart that Lin Zixi was more focused than ever during the subsequent shooting. He stood firm in every step, and his every movement was confident, natural, and in place, as if he and the very skilled protagonist in the drama had been fused. Even if his opponent actor needed a retake, it did not affect his performance.

Although the villain boss actor was not yet named a veteran actor, he could indeed be said to be a powerful actor, and he regained his strength after gradually getting used to the shooting on board the yacht. The two of them cooperated well with each other after the shooting began, and the whole acrobatic fighting scene was completed in one go, from their first confrontation all the way to the filming of the protagonist being knocked off the yacht and falling into the sea.

"Cut! Very good, very good! You two have worked hard! This morning's filming was over, and we ended work an hour earlier than expected. Zixi and Teacher An were in really good condition today. Thanks for your trouble!" The director, standing on a raised tall platform, glanced at the picture on the monitor screen with satisfaction and said to Lin Zixi, who had been towed back to the yacht by the crew, "Zixi, hurry back to the shore to take a shower and change your clothes. I’ve asked someone to prepare ginger soup. You must drink it when you rest later. We still have to work hard during the afternoon shooting. You’ve stayed in the sea for a while; be careful not to catch a cold."

H City at the end of April was usually very hot already, but because of the continuous overcast and rainy weather the previous few days, the temperature today was still not very high even if the sun was out and the weather was fine. Lin Zixi's whole body was wet by the sea water and blown by the sea breeze. Even though he was wrapped in a large bath towel, he still felt cold.

Readily following the good advice, he went to the RV parked on the seashore. After taking a shower, he changed into dry clothes. Just as he was about to drink the ginger soup that was collected and kept warm by Assistant Xiao Zhang, he heard someone knocking rhythmically on the car door.

"Please come in." Lin Zixi was about to put the bowl in his hand on the table when he saw Su Yingqiu open the car door and walk in, so he immediately lifted up the soup bowl again.

"Are you looking for me?" He took a sip of the ginger soup and felt a warm current spread all over his body. Only after this feeling faded did he speak to the person next to him.

Su Yingqiu, without asking Lin Zixi's opinion, sat directly opposite him and examined him more closely than when he first met him in the morning. Then he opened his mouth and said blithely, "You do have  good looks. No wonder Zecheng would like you."

Lin Zixi originally thought that his dad's white moonlight hated him, an illegitimate son, but he did not expect that the other party actually knew, or to be more precise, only knew about his love relationship with Gu Zecheng. He was momentarily stupefied and did not know how to reply to the obviously sarcastic remark.

Anyway, Big Artist Su did not want to listen to him talk and continued to say, "But you shouldn’t be happy with yourself that you’re leaning on such a golden mountain. After all..."

Su Yingqiu sneered while scrutinizing Lin Zixi's appearance and said without concealing the contempt in his eyes, "A fake will always be a fake. No matter how much you look alike, you’re just a substitute. If the real one appears one day, he probably won't bother to give you another glance."

Hearing his words, Lin Zixi's expression could not help but become a little weird, "A substitute?! Who do you think I'm a substitute for?"

Gu Zeyi?!

But if Gu Zeyi could reappear, wouldn’t his dad pick up a gun and go “bang bang” or find an expert to do it?!

Su Yingqiu, seeing Lin Zixi's surprised look, pretended to pity him and sighed, "It seems that Zecheng really hasn’t mentioned it to you…. Ah, maybe you don’t know why a man like him hasn't gotten married yet."

...So it was really because of Gu Zeyi.

It would be really tragic for his dad if he was misunderstood by his first love as a twin brother incest.

Therefore, Lin Zixi, with a dying expression, listened to Big Artist Su going on, "Gu Zecheng had a first love girlfriend back then. The two of them were far apart in identity, status, and age, so they’re eventually forced to break up miserably. After her, he’s been single until you appear. But... not only do you look like Zecheng's first love, you’re also surnamed 'Lin' like her. You think it's really a coincidence..."

"Cough...cough cough. It's a coincidence, it's a coincidence!" Lin Zixi almost choked on his own saliva and quickly spoke after his sudden coughs interrupted Su Yingqiu's words.

"Humph, you really don’t give up until you completely fail. Or do you think I'm lying to you?" Su Yingqiu, seeing him ‘obstinately persisting in going about things the wrong way’, sneered, "I seem to have forgotten to say that Gu Zecheng and I are best friends who grew up together. I’ve known him for 30 years more than you, so I’d understand him better than you."

And Lin Zixi, who was sitting opposite him, had obviously been re-educated well by his rogue old father. After listening to him say this, he opened his mouth and said, "Teacher, didn't you go to O continent when you were 18? Even if you grew up wearing open-crotch pants together, you’re not as informed as I am about how long his dick is now."

Lin Zixi drove a car in one speculative remark. When he saw that Su Yingqiu looked as if he had seen an alien, he realized that he had been ruined by a certain Gu who ‘doesn't abide by the father's way’.

In order to ease the awkward atmosphere that filled the car, Lin Zixi quickly made a joke to break the silence, "Your best friend found a substitute for his first love, and you’re so worried that you rushed straight from O Continent to look for me…. Teacher, do you like my President Gu?"

Who would have thought that after he said these words, Su Yingqiu's originally arrogant and self-controlled expression immediately collapsed, and he actually looked like the emperor whose new clothes had been exposed by an ignorant child, embarrassed and ridiculous.

……

…………

Fuck! What's with this white moonlight?!




Monday, December 12, 2022

Referring to - 64

Chapter 64


It was indeed Su Yingqiu, Gu Zecheng's white moonlight.

After all, there should not be a second artist surnamed Su in the world who came from the second generation of a military family, was of the same age as his dad, was born and grew up in B City, and went to O Continent at the age of 18, right?

Lin Zixi arrived at this conclusion after searching Su Yingqiu's career information all night, and he was so disturbed by this conclusion that he could not sleep.

Although Lin Zixi rationally believed that Gu Zecheng had completely let go of this episode, emotionally…. Looking at the face of Su Yingqiu, who was touted by fans as ‘the most handsome musician on earth’, in the search image, he was deceiving himself if he said he was not worried.

What's more, a composer of Su Yingqiu's level actually took the initiative to reduce his price and offer to make a soundtrack for a domestic TV series…. Lin Zixi felt that the other party had other intentions no matter how he viewed it.

Lin Zixi tossed and turned restlessly on the bed until 5:30 in the morning. Finally, he could not help but sit up on the bed, picked up his mobile phone, and called Gu Zecheng—his dad usually had already gotten out of bed by this time anyway.

The phone call was connected before the second ring. What came through the phone speaker was Gu Zecheng's breathless and even more magnetic post-exercising voice, "Is there something wrong for you to call me so early, Baby?

"Not really…. I have a scene to shoot at 8 o'clock, so I have to get up and go to the set shortly, that's..." Lin Zixi made a phone call impulsively but shrunk back as soon as he had to really ask his dad.

"What is it?" Gu Zecheng held his mobile phone between his head and shoulder, took off the boxing glove on his other hand, and sat on the bench, patiently waiting for Lin Zixi's answer.

That person you liked back then is going back to China…. Lin Zixi hesitated for a long time, and the words that finally came out of his mouth became, "I miss you…. But my role will be finished tomorrow, and I’ve booked the plane ticket back to S City for tomorrow morning. We'll be able to see each other soon."

Gu Zecheng waited for Lin Zixi to finish speaking. He was clearly frowning, but the words he said did not reflect it at all and even carried a slight smile, "Daddy misses you too. Or I’ll go to H City to pick you up. I can't wait until the day after tomorrow to see Baby."

"What? No need, no need, no need!" Lin Zixi was taken aback by his dad's proposal. After desperately rejecting it, he felt like he was too harsh, so he quickly made up for it, saying, "You've been so busy with work lately, so don't bother. Moreover, when I finish my last scene and leave the group, the producer will definitely invite the media to interview…. You’d better forget about it."

Gu Zecheng was silent for a while and finally spoke after sighing inaudibly, "Okay then. I'll see you the day after tomorrow. You still have to pay more attention to your body during your last two days in the crew. Zixi, Daddy loves you."

"Don't worry. I love you too. See you the day after tomorrow." Lin Zixi hung up the phone after he finished speaking.

Lin Zixi seemed to have drawn confidence and strength from his conversation with Gu Zecheng. After laying down on the bed for a while, he got up and started filming in high spirits. But he was totally unaware that someone thousands of miles away did not continue to shadow-box to exercise but sent a message to his special assistant instead: "Contact the person in charge of Lin Zixi's current crew. I’ll have a call with the other party before 8 o'clock."

Lin Zixi, who was about to finish filming his role and leave the group, only had a few scenes that had not been shot yet, but among them was one of the highlights of the drama.

The plot of this scene was that the protagonist played by Lin Zixi fought on a yacht with the drama’s villain boss and finally brought the other party to justice. In this fight, the protagonist was knocked off the yacht into the sea by the boss, but in the end, he successfully avenged himself thanks to his superb diving skills.

The current young traffic actors and actresses, even Lin Zixi himself in his previous dramas, would generally use stuntmen when they came across such a dangerous or back-breaking scene. After all, marketing and character design were the necessary conditions for becoming a popular star; dedication, works, and sometimes even good looks were not.

China could be said to have the world’s most tolerant audience and most loyal fan groups that did not allow anyone to ‘slander’ their idols.

However, Lin Zixi had walked through the gates of hell once, and his way of thinking was already a bit different from when he used to follow the crowd blindly.

Although the script and cast of Coast Rescue Team doomed this TV series to not become a classic masterpiece, Lin Zixi still treated every scene he appeared in seriously. He even disregarded the company's objection and stayed in the crew to shoot the drama for nearly a month more without extra pay. He also appeared in some scenes that were originally planned to be filmed by a stuntman, including this sea pursuit, attacking, and fighting as well as falling into the sea and diving.

Lin Zixi had already finished shooting the scene where the protagonist drove a speedboat to pursue and attack the villain boss several days ago. Today, he was going to shoot the fight afterwards and the water scene where the protagonist was waiting for the opportunity to strike back after falling into water.

Lin Zixi had specially received diving training for this scene, and since the actual shooting location of this plot was an area near the coast and safety measures were taken, his mental state was quite relaxed.

The only thing that made him a little anxious was Su Yingqiu, who arrived on the set before filming started.

Although there was a lot of difference between big artist Su's face without PS and the hard photo of himself, it was still in tune with his reserved, elegant, and somewhat arrogant and cold temperament. He was really an outstanding, lofty, and unyielding character entirely different from Lin Zixi.

My dad's tastes are a bit wide... Lin Zixi pondered inwardly while listening to the producer introduce him and Su Yingqiu to each other.

After the producer's introduction, he leaned forward slightly and extended his right hand, "Hello, Teacher Su, I'm very happy to have the opportunity to work together with you. I'll leave the soundtrack to this drama to you."

Su Yingqiu stretched out a hand and touched his fingertips lightly before taking it back, "Please don't mention it. After all, I’m a fan of the original Coast Rescue Team, and I’m very honored to be able to participate in the movies and TV adaptation of Teacher Ji's work. I hope you…” 

Su Yingqiu paused and looked Lin Zixi up and down with his rather scrutinizing eyes one time before continuing, "Won’t fail to live up to such a good original work."

……

…………     

Screw you original work overseas fan!

Only a few people knew about Coast Rescue Team and the original work before this drama began shooting, okay?!

Lin Zixi instantly understood that big artist Su was indeed a bad visitor.



TL’s note:
白月光 (bái yuè guāng) = lit. white moonlight, refers to an unattainable person or thing, which is always in one’s heart but not by one’s side




Thursday, December 8, 2022

Referring to - 63

Chapter 63


At first, it was just a big fan of Lin Zixi sighing ruefully on Weibo.

@XXX: I suddenly remembered that at the Boshen Star Charity Night last year, the person who won the stud earring donated by Zixi was Big Brother Gu. Later, Zixi was injured, and we didn’t care about the charity night anymore. Now it seems that in the future, we may no longer be qualified to say 'we’re Brother’s strongest backing', right? [kneeling]

This Weibo post quickly made waves in Lin Zixi's fan circle. From "The price of Brother's custom-made stud earring shouldn’t exceed 500,000, yet Big Brother Gu won it for 2 million... I’m sorry, I’m sorry [kneeling]" to "In the future, can our fan support be reimbursed by Big Brother Gu? [dog head]" to "Zixi and Big Brother Gu are family; we and Zixi are family. Rounding up, we’re all from the Gu family [only in your dreams.jpg]".... In just half a day, this Weibo post had been reposted tens of thousands of times.
 
With the addition of a wave of marketing accounts rubbing heat joining in, it made the whole world seem to know that Gu and Lin were not only (suspected to be) family, but Gu Zecheng also cared deeply for Lin Zixi in private.

And in a certain niche forum, someone posted—"A solid evidence worth two million. I think this time I got it for real".

Just like this vague title, the main content of the post was only one sentence: "This is a lemon candy".

But this post seemed to contain a secret code that prompted a secret gathering and was quickly replied by nearly a hundred people who rushed over from all directions to make an appointment.

1L: "Me too…. The first time I ate candy, and it’s so sour _(:з"∠)_"

3L: "Me too. I've shipped them since the New Year’s Day’s Weibo, and I didn't expect that there’d actually be a follow-up, and such a big candy to boot.

10L: "The romance of this goddamn Big Brother turned out to be lemon-flavored."

25L: "Business tycoon X big star, with godlike faces, too. I thought it only existed in novels. I declare that GuXi is locked!" 

58L: "I've licked the surveillance pictures of the two of them in the same frame at the airport no less than ten times in the past few days. I’m begging for high-definition pictures of them in the same frame QAQ"
 
59L: "LS+1"

60L: "+2"

90L: "+ID number"

92L: "I, who was at the site of Boshen Charity Night Last year, might be the first person in the world to buy this share."

This 92L, who bought ‘GuXi share’ earlier than buying GuLin one, not only said those words but also posted a photo. It was the photo of Gu Zecheng posing with Lin Zixi after winning the stud earring at Boshen Charity Night. In the photo, Lin Zixi was obviously leaning over and whispering in Gu Zecheng's ear.

As a result, this post exploded, and in less than an hour, there were more than a thousand replies, which were either "Ahhhh", "I'm dried up", and "Looking for more", or Madam Writers one by another writing stories and driving a car on the spot, doing their bits to contribute to the great cause that was ‘GuXi’ CP.

Of course, among these cries of approval and cheerful talks, there were still mixed in some discordant tones such as "Gu Zecheng should’ve done it for charity. Winning an auction was just that. Don't think too much.", "It’s said that they’re distant relatives. Big Brother Gu has no children yet, so he’s nice to the younger generation. There's nothing strange about it.", and so on.

There was even someone who commented: "I heard my brother-in-law say that a friend of his asked Mr. Gu's close childhood friend. Lin Zixi is Gu Zecheng's biological nephew, so between the two of them is purely family affection. It’s over, okay. Let it go."

Then, this 1347L was bombarder miserably by the people behind.

1352L: "'Lin’ Zixi is ‘Gu’ Zecheng's 'biological nephew'? 1347L, are you sure you can clearly distinguish the relationship between relatives and generations?!"

1365L: "Your brother-in-law said that his friend asked President Gu's close childhood friend? My neighbor also said that his buddy asked Lin Zixi's assistant and was positive that the two of them are lovers! The 'uncle party' can give it a break."

1393L: "1347L and the previous several people are fans of a certain ‘officially approved national CP’, aren’t you? I, Ballbal, ask you official fans to be generous and let us non-official fans have a way to  live.[manual dog head]"

1398L: "Please exercise restraint, everyone. When you encounter KY, please ignore it automatically. Don't identify attributes, and don't fight. We entertain ourselves, and we ship in our circle.”

For this 1347L who really heard Qiao Weidong's version of the ‘truth’, the most difficult thing to accept was not that these fans fought her and tore apart her CP, but...

1359L: "Uncle and nephew?! [suddenly excited.jpg]"

1371L: "Uncle and nephew?! [isn't that even better.jpg]"

1387L: "Uncle and nephew?! [the smile gradually becomes abnormal.jpg]"

1403L: "Uncle and nephew?! [my heart isn’t fluctuating at all, and I even want to laugh.jpg ]"

Thus, 1347L angrily posted her last sentence, "Your thoughts are really so dirty!", leaving a group of ‘dirty’ GuXi fans excitedly driving a new car.

Among the roar of the motor, ‘Gu Xi share’ soared all the way, and the troop of fans also kept growing. Although they were not enough to shake the dominance of Lianxi CP, their figures gradually appeared on various websites, so much so that the manager of the public relations department of Gu group discreetly asked their chairman whether they should control it.

"Forget about it. It’s just a group of little girls with special hobbies making a fuss and entertaining themselves. It's harmless anyway. There's no need to waste company resources to deal with it. Let's wait and see." Big Boss Gu said very generously. .

……

………… 

Why didn’t you have this attitude towards LianXi fans who ‘made a fuss’?! If Lin Zixi knew about the conversation between his dad and the PR manager, he would probably complain like that.

However, young actor Lin did not know about Gu Zecheng's proper double-standard treatment and was really in no mood to complain about anyone now.

The reason was simple.

When Lin Zixi's role in Coast Rescue Team was about to be completed, the producer suddenly made an announcement to everyone excitedly——

"Su Yingqiu is going to make the soundtrack for our drama! He’s now an internationally renowned composer, and his previous movie soundtracks have won awards. Originally, we planned to find domestic musicians to produce half of the soundtrack and then select some songs on the market to buy the copyright. I didn't expect that Su Yingqiu not only took the initiative to contact us but also offered a price... that can be called a 'best friend price'. In addition, Su Yingqiu said that he wanted to watch our filming on the spot to look for inspiration. He’s already set off from O Continent and should arrive at the crew tomorrow." 

When the producer said ‘best friend price’ with emphasis, he said it to Lin Zixi with a special smile.

However, young actor Lin, who did not even have a little bit of friendship and were completely unfamiliar with big artist Su, simply didn't notice the producer’s hints.

Lin Zixi now had only one thought in his whole mind: from O continent, surnamed Su, Chinese composer...

This special person would not be his dad's first love, would he?!



TL’s note:
手动狗头 (shǒu dòng gǒu tóu) = lit. manual dog head, an Internet term that usually means "I’m a friendly army/loyalist, don't hit me" or "all the above content is irony".
KY is derived from the Japanese "空気が読めない (pronounced kuuki ga yomenai, and literally translated as 'can't read the atmosphere')". K is the first letter of 空気, and Y is the first letter of 読め. It means that you have no eyesight, and you can’t make an appropriate response according to the atmosphere at the time and the face of the other party.




Monday, December 5, 2022

Referring to - 62

Chapter 62


It was the call from his ‘Brother Qiao’, Qiao Weidong, that saved Lin Zixi's butt.

"Old Gu, are you and Lin Zixi really together?! Haven’t I told you that he's Lin Zhenzhen's son?! Don't you understand what I mean..."

As soon as Gu Zecheng answered the call, the other party’s shouting voice blasted out, and it was so loud that Lin Zixi could hear it without the speaker on.

"I understand." Gu Zecheng sighed and interrupted his old friend’s words, "But what can I do if I'm in love?"

"You’re, you’re... Fuck! Fuck!!" Qiao Weidong's steadiness and calmness that he had trained in the public security system vanished in a flash. After saying a lot of "fuck”, he finally accepted that ‘his best friend since childhood was in a relationship with his own son’, a magical reality where both the sexual orientation and the choice of person were not right.

Qiao Weidong fumbled for the lighter in his pocket, lit a cigarette, and took a deep puff to suppress his shock before tentatively asking with some struggle, "Didn't you have a good relationship with Lin Zhenzhen before? Why do you like a man now? Even if you like men, why on earth must you choose... him?! Old Gu, even if you like me... no, no, even if you like Yingqiu, it's still better than liking your own son!"

Gu Zecheng smiled and let go of Lin Zixi. He walked to the super large balcony connected to the bedroom, lit a cigarette, and spoke slowly while smoking, "If I could choose the person I like, I’d definitely not harm him. Old Qiao, don't waste your time thinking about it…. I’m destined to have this calamity and ill-fated relationship and just had to fall for him. Anyway, I originally didn't think of having an heir. Now that I’m in an incestuous relationship with my own child, so be it.”

"You, you... sigh..." Qiao Weidong took another deep puff of his cigarette and sighed. Then he heard Gu Zecheng ask him, "I didn't tell you because I was afraid that you’d be worried. I thought I’d find an opportunity later to slowly tell you about it. How did you know? You're not someone who cares about gossip and tidbits."

"I didn't want to care about it, humph..." Qiao Weidong snorted coldly, "But I couldn't stand several people calling me, trying to find out from me what exactly the relationship between Lin Zixi and you is. Especially that troublemaker from the Ning family. He told me the gossip of the two of you in great detail and even wanted me to be the mediator to set up a meeting, so that he could find a chance to apologize to you…. When I heard Third Old Ning’s words, if I still couldn't guess that the two of you got it on as soon as I left that day, then all my years of doing criminal investigation have truly been in vain!"

"Yo, our Deputy Director Qiao is really scrupulous and has discerning eyes!" Gu Zecheng took a puff of his cigarette and said with a smile.

However, Qiao Weidong was like a cat whose tail was stepped on and became excited again, "Bah! Listening to your words, why do I think you’re mocking me! If I really had discerning eyes, I wouldn't have helped you detain him at the immigration office even at gunpoint! I should’ve let Lin Zixi escape to faraway places, so you two would get separated and save me from getting upset!"

"Don't be upset, don't be upset…. Now that he and I are together, just think of it as me having a companion. It's better than me being single forever, right?" Gu Zecheng advised his old friend, "Your Xiaoxiao is already in the second year of junior high school, while I don't even have a wife. Don't you think I'm lonely?"

"Humph, the law in our country doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. Even if you two are together, you’re still a bachelor legally." Qiao Weidong complained bitterly after he took his last puff of his cigarette and twisted the cigarette butt hard into the ashtray.

"Times are always changing. Who can say what will happen in the future." After Gu Zecheng finished speaking and before his old friend could retort that "homosexuals can marry but not to their next of kin", he immediately asked him, "When those people were looking for you to ask about my relationship with Zixi, what did you say to them?"

"Me? What could I say?! Haha..." Qiao Weidong laughed insincerely, "I said: 'Old Gu didn't tell me clearly, so I’m not too sure either. But in my opinion, it's not impossible that his family’s second child, Gu Zeyi, who was so reckless and wild back then, had left one for the Gu family before he sent himself to death.'"

….

……..

The biological son who had been employed to act as his own younger brother suddenly became a ‘nephew’. Qiao Weidong's answer was so fantastic that even Gu Zecheng did not know how to react for a while.

And the man on the other end of the phone was quite proud of himself, "As far as our relationship is concerned, you don't need to thank me, just let our eldest nephew sign his name for Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao told me that she likes your Zixi very much. What do I want him to sign for her... Oh, it’s 'LianXi is real'.... Children nowadays are interesting. What the heck is this vague sentence?"

"...Okay, no problem. I'll ask your sister-in-law to write a few more words for your Xiaoxiao and sign 'LianXi are best friends'." The captain of GuXi CP thus said.

On the fourth day of the new year, Lin Zixi and Gu Zecheng parted early in the morning. One went down south to H City, and the other went back east to S City.

How many New Year's functions were waiting for Big Boss Gu in S City was not to be discussed for now. Anyway, young actor Lin was surrounded by reporters as soon as he arrived on the set, and he almost couldn't enter the shooting location.

In this internet age, the biggest secret for all kinds of media to survive was to run faster than their peers.

Many of them had been stationed in H City since yesterday just to get a first-hand answer the earliest, "Lin Zixi, you must’ve known about the turmoil on the Internet a few days ago. Everyone is very curious about what the relationship between you and Gu Zecheng is. Is he that kind of elder brother as rumored on the Internet..."

"No." Lin Zixi interrupted a web portal reporter who was blocking his way to question him loudly, smiling and winking mischievously, "Didn't someone break the news on the Internet before that our relationship is that of 'a star and his gold master'?"

After speaking, big star Lin ignored the reactions of these people, turned around, and told Assistant Zhang behind him to send red envelopes to the media present today. After that, he waved his hand apologetically to them, "Today’s the 20th filming day of our Coast Rescue Team drama. The crew and I welcome and thank you all for visiting the set. My assistant will take you to find the public relations staff of the crew. Sorry, I can’t accompany you all. I have a very important scene later, and I have to go to the makeup now."

Lin Zixi left after saying that, leaving large and small media correspondents looking at each other in dismay before scrambling to send out rough drafts in less than an hour.

‘Lin Zixi denies the rumors about having a gold master’, ‘Lin Zixi ridicules the rumors and claims to be a star and his gold master’, ‘Starting from Lin Zixi, the list of stars in the entertainment circle with outstanding family background’.... These reports had all kinds of headlines, but there was only one core—although we are not sure what exactly is going on with these two, it can not be a relationship of providing sex for power anyway.

Young actor Lin read these articles between the gap of his filming. Besides feeling deeply moved that some media could actually speak human words, he could only send a message to his dad, praising Big Brother Gu for being awesome.

However, netizens' reactions to these bombarding push notifications were certainly not so flat. The gossip forums and social networking sites were almost slaughtered by various LinGu-related posts.

For example, this kind of fan recommendation posted by a ‘passer-by’, "Having such a good family background yet always being so low-profile. I’m going to become Lin Zixi’s fan!".

Or this kind of gossip investigation posted by a true passerby, "Is GuLin a relationship between foster parent-foster child, brothers, father-son, uncle-nephew, or some other secret ones?".

Another example was this kind of wailing asking for stickers posted by a face dog, "I absolutely don't care about their relationship. I just want to ask for high-definition pictures of these two godlike faces in the same frame".

Of course, these were all discussions for the general public. In the corner of the Internet where some special fans gathered, there were comments of another kind spreading.



TL’s note:
The original words for foster parent and foster child are 战友托孤 (zhàn yǒu tuō gū). 战友 (zhàn yǒu) means comrade-in-arms or battle companion, and 托孤 (tuō gū) means entrusting others to take care of the children left behind before death. Gu Zecheng is an ex-soldier, so a netizen asks whether Lin Zixi is the child entrusted to him by his dead comrade, aka Gu Zecheng's foster child.
颜狗 (yán gǒu) = lit. face dog, means a type of person who has no resistance to all things with good looks



Thursday, December 1, 2022

Referring to - 61

Chapter 61


Lin Zixi originally just wanted to show his dad the house he grew up in, but who knew that the house had not been viewed much, and it was messed up by the two of them first. Even the plan to visit his high school alma mater later fell through—young actor Lin was directly brought back to the hotel by Big Boss Gu to rest.

Lin Zixi leaned against the bedhead after taking a bath, watching Gu Zecheng call Xu Chengfeng and ask him to find someone to eliminate certain ‘criminal evidence’ in the house before the regular cleaning company he hired came to clean.

After his dad hung up the phone, Lin Zixi touched his own nose a little embarrassedly, "Still troubling Special Assistant Xu to work overtime to deal with this kind of thing on Chinese New Year holiday... If I were him, maybe I’d resign and contribute to Weibo Bots like ‘My Wonderful Boss'."

Gu Zecheng walked over to him and spoke while gently stroking his smooth hair, "The salary of staff at his level is double that of his peers, and there’s also RSU. I, who don't visit prostitutes, gamble, or participate in special parties, can already be considered a good boss."

"RS...what?" Lin Zixi looked up at his dad and asked after hearing a word he had never heard of before.

As a result, Big Boss Gu, who graduated from EMBA (Executive MBA), naturally taught and enlightened him, an art student, "RSU refers to Restricted Stock Units...blabla…. Listed companies usually will use RSU as an equity shares program to motivate employees... blabla…. Generally speaking, this kind of measure is still quite effective, but..."

"Daddy, I brought my photo album from home. Do you want to see it?" Although Teacher Gu took pains to explain, Lin-Weak Student-Zixi, who had not kept pace with his tempo from the very beginning, finally couldn’t help interrupting him when he said "but".

The father and son looked at each other silently for three seconds, and the dad sighed, "It was very good that you didn't follow me when you were studying, otherwise… I'm afraid the two of us are already enemies now."

His son, who had had this idea for a long time, silently "+1" inside, but outside, he just took the photo album on the bedside table, held it up in his hand, and tilted his head with a twinkle in his eyes while saying, "There’re pictures of me from little to big in it. Do you want to see them, Daddy?"

As a father facing his son, Dad Gu would probably be in the same line of high-handed policy and violent methods. However, as a lover facing his little siren… he could only spoil him and let him have his way.

Big Boss Gu sighed again, sat on the bed next to Lin Zixi, and took him into his arms, "Show them to Daddy then."

After that….

"Is this the photo from when you first went to kindergarten, Baby? You’re so cute, just like a little angel!"

"Baby, you won the city championship in the 100-meter race in elementary school?! Why didn't you continue to train? You looked like a good seed then. The X City youth sports team was too blind!"

"X City junior high school basketball league? Baby, you must’ve been the main player of the school team at that time…. Substitute? Then you must’ve been the most popular of your school team back then. You’ve already been a mature little handsome guy in your second year of junior high school.”


……

Lin Zixi listened to his dad blowing rainbow farts comparable to his fans as he introduced the photos in the album. He was so embarrassed that he regretted why he had not listened seriously to Teacher Gu's lecture just now and insisted on being a big mouth and mentioning things like looking at the album.

Fortunately, as a boy who disliked taking photos, his photo album was not too thick, and it didn't take him long to turn to the last page.

"Is the last photo from Baby's senior high school graduation? He is…?" Gu Zecheng looked at the last photo and asked.

Different from the single person photos or group photos that filled the album before, this was the one and only two-person photo in the photo album.

In the photo, a young man who seemed to be in his early twenties put his arm around the fifteen or sixteen year old Lin Zixi’s shoulder. The two of them were standing in front of a wall and smiling at the camera.

Lin Zixi was wearing an oversized, miserable green school uniform, but it did not decrease his immature and irascible adolescent handsomeness. The young man beside him was dressed in a white shirt and black pants, but whether it was the hostility in his brows and eyes or the tattoo exposed when he rolled up his cuff, it all showed his identity as a marginal man in society.

It was a photo that did not fit into the entire album. Not only was Gu Zecheng surprised, even Lin Zixi himself was a little taken aback to see it, "Huh? Didn't I throw this one away?"

"What?" Dad Gu drew out this discordant note from the photo album, held it in his hand, and stared at Lin Zixi, waiting for him to explain.

"Uh..." Lin Zixi scratched his head and, after organizing his language a little, said rather hesitantly, "Uncle Zhou, my mother's husband, is actually the logistics and counseling teacher in my junior high school. Not long after I started senior high school, my mom married him. At that time, I was a freshman, not sensible and in a rebellious period. I fell out with her for a long time and didn't live with them. My grandparents had passed away by then. I lived alone in my original home and had no one to restrain me, so... I got to know a group of friends in society."

"His name’s Luo Xingqi, the boss of their little gang, and I had the best relationship with him back then..." Lin Zixi saw his dad's visibly sinking expression and immediately added, "But don't worry, I just followed them outside the school to play billiards, eat, smoke, and occasionally... occasionally help them fight and so on. But, but! I'd never participated when they flouted the law. I was and am a good citizen who obeys the rules and abides by the law."

Gu Zecheng, seeing Lin Zixi raise a hand to swear, almost laughed in anger, "You followed them to fight, disturbing law and order, and you still said that you obeyed the rules and abided by the law?"

Lin Zixi threw himself into his dad's arms again, acting like a spoiled child, "I really just followed them to fight and didn't participate in anything else.... I even tipped off the Public Security Bureau about their drug trafficking!"

Gu Zecheng was really pissed off this time. He pushed the young man out of his arms, stared at him seriously, and asked, "What's the matter with drug trafficking? You tell me the truth!"

"Uh..." Only then did Lin Zixi realize that he had divulged everything through his momentary slip of the tongue. So, he could only surrender and confess under his dad's ‘I may be lenient if you confess’ watchful eye, "I initially thought that Luo Xingqi and his hang were just ordinary hooligans. But one day, I accidentally discovered that they actually sold drugs. I’ve lived under the red flag all my life, grew up in the sun, and bathed..."

"That's our generation. It's already good if you don't bathe in poisonous capitalism." Gu Zecheng slapped him on the butt, "Don't be flippant; speak well."

"Oh... Anyway, I’ve also received the motherland’s anti-drug education for so many years, so of course I wasn’t willing to wallow in the mire with them again." Lin Zixi continued to surrender and explain carefully, "Although I always regarded Luo Xingqi as my big brother, I still called the Public Security Bureau anonymously to report them."

After speaking, he raised his head and waited for his dad's praise with bright eyes.

Gu Zecheng, however, frowned, "The drug enforcement team arrested them all?"

"No..." Lin Zixi shook his head and said with a guilty conscience, "Luo Xingqi was on the run, and it seems that he hasn't been caught yet.

"Heh, there’s still future trouble of slipping through the net!" Dad Gu frowned deeper and asked him, "When did this happen? I’ll ask my friend from the Ministry of Public Security to put him on the Most Wanted List.”

"I think future trouble is unlikely. It's been almost six years..." Before Lin Zixi could finish speaking, he was put face down on his dad’s lap.     

Immediately afterwards, Gu Zecheng gave his butt a slap, "You didn't follow good examples at a young age and hang out with people in society, eh?"

After speaking, he spanked him again, “Fighting and smoking, huh?"

Then another slap, "You discovered that the other party was selling drugs and immediately tried to be a hero and reported it, heh? Fortunately, they were caught. If they got away with it by a fluke, the first thing they’d do was to investigate the traitor. At that time, how many lives do you think you have enough to live until now and to meet me?!" 

When this incident happened back then, a certain someone even concealed it from Mrs. Lin, but after many years, he was finally found by his parent to account for it.

While being spanked by his dad, he thought with tears in his eyes: Why on earth did I insist on being a big mouth and mentioning this cursed photo album?!



TL’s note:
彩虹屁 (cǎi hóng pì) = rainbow fart, refers to irrationally high praise of one's idol 



Referring to - 67

Chapter 67 Gu Zecheng, seeing the frightened faces of the two people in front of him, seemed to be surprised and asked Su Yingqiu, "Wha...