Chapter 32
This year was a warm winter.
It seemed that there was a huge, invisible barrier over the city. From last fall to now, not a single snowflake had fallen in the whole city, but the other big cities and small towns nearby had long been covered by snow over and over again.
For a tropical animal like a giraffe, cold weather was his only weakness.
Fei Chang was very afraid of the cold. As soon as autumn arrived, he put on thermal underwear.
One time, when he was participating in a variety show, he bent over to pick something up, and the edge of the black thermal underwear showed from under the waist of his jeans. It was accurately captured by the camera and became a hot topic at the time.
A female cast member joked that his resistance to the cold was even worse than hers.
Fei Chang retorted very self-righteously, “Don’t you know that the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature? I am nearly forty centimeters taller than you. Of course I am more afraid of the cold.”
“…”
The female cast member was so angry that she rolled up her eyes, because her agency announced her official height as 1.62 meters. Since she debuted, she hadn’t worn high heels less than eight centimeters.
He liked winter. Other people felt winter was bleak and lonely, but he felt winter was clean and clear.
Cold wind pierced the bones, blowing away the fog-filled sky, flushing the faces of pedestrians, and also blowing away Jing Jiren’s exhaustion.
Jing Jiren got up too early, drank two cups of coffee, and was still so tired that he could fall asleep while standing.
Today, Chen Yueyang was going to some studio to shoot the latest advertising endorsement. This time, the endorsement product was a mobile game with strong momentum. It was a fantasy xianxia blockbuster, and an adaptation of an IP of long repute.
At about three in the morning, Chen Yueyang left home, arriving at the studio at five. He was expected to do four hours of styling. It was the first time he was doing this kind of ancient costume look, so he had to adjust his hairstyle and makeup. On top of that, his clothes were extremely complicated. The set of armor had seven or eight layers, and the set of immortal robes had five or six pieces. Perhaps even four hours was not enough to finish.
After Jing Jiren accompanied him, running back and forth and working the entire morning, his dark circles were about to fall to his chin.
Chen Yueyang said, “Jing-ge, you can go back to the car and take a break.”
Jing Jiren said, “If I’m not watching here, what should I do if the makeup artist makes you look effeminate later?”
As Chen Yueyang stepped into the second half of his twenties, the androgynous style of his debut was no longer suitable for him, and he began to develop toward a more mature and masculine style.
This time, he played the role of a charming evil boss in the ad. Originally, Jing Jiren didn’t want to take it, but the price offered by the other party was extremely high, and the original work was very well-known. After thinking about it, Jing Jiren still accepted the endorsement for Chen Yueyang.
After two hours, Chen Yueyang’s makeup was finished. Jing Jiren only glanced at it before twisting his brows.
This Boss was a flower demon and the game model was beautiful. The makeup artist painted a small flower on Chen Yueyang’s forehead. From pink to red, each layer was exquisite, making his tantalizing eyes appear especially passionate.
Beauty was beauty. Just that it was too beautiful.
Regarding Chen Yueyang’s makeup, Jing Jiren and the three assistants were perfectly divided into two parties. One party felt it was good, the other felt it was thunder1[Smiteworthy, terrible.].
Neither party could convince the other.
Jing Jiren simply took a photo of Chen Yueyang dozing with his eyes closed and sent it to the company group chat.
All the artists at Yueyang Studio had a common WeChat group, which was originally called “We are fámù lèi2[Written in Chinese characters that sound like “family” in English. It’s a meme from the variety show Keep Running, where one of the participants said this line in Chinese, but pronounced “family” in English very badly.]“.
Jing Jiren said, “Fá what fámù lèi, how old are you. Don’t treat the company as your family, and don’t treat me as your mother.”
Later, he forcibly changed the group name to “we are fámù gōng”, reminding everyone that no matter how much the pay was, they were lumberjacks who were only one level up from brick movers3[In Chinese internet slang, “brick mover” is a generic term for jobs that are low pay, exhausting, and not worthwhile, similar to “wageslave” or “wagecuck” in English. So he’s saying here that being a fámù gōng (wood chopping labourer) is only one step up from being a bān zhuān gōng (brick moving labourer).].
–[we are lumberjacks] WeChat group
Jing Jiren: [Shared Photos]
Jing Jiren: Everyone please give your opinion, what do you think about this makeup? Does it look too much like Dongfang Bubai4[Dongfang Bubai (lit. Invincible East, The East Undefeated) is a gay androgynous fictional character in the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong, who notoriously castrated himself in order to cultivate a martial arts manual written by a eunuch. In some films/shows, he is played by a woman.]?
The two 2.55 tiers in the company, the 3.8 tier, and the 4.19 tier enthusiastically spoke. After all, they were all artists and their perspective was different from ordinary people. They all thought this style was not very good. With too much evil charm and not enough domineering air, it could easily break the masculine persona that Chen Yueyang had worked hard to create, bending him back toward the sexy little demon of yesteryear.
After everyone finished discussing, Jing Jiren conveyed their suggested modifications to the makeup artist, who redid Chen Yueyang’s makeup.
After putting on his makeup and taking it off, and doing it once more, they delayed for an hour past the expected time. It was almost noon when the filming officially started.
At this time, the WeChat group sounded again.
Fei Chang: !!!
Fei Chang: I was shooting just now, and I just saw it!!
Fei Chang: I think senior brother’s look is very beautiful.
Fei Chang: No need to change, no need to change!
Jing Jiren: Yang Lianting5[The man who Dongfang Bubai was in love with.], you take the fan filter off before speaking.
Fei Chang: …
Cry. Wronged.
Chen Yueyang was a popular artist, and Fei Chang was a popular… comic artist. The two often conflicted in working hours, meeting rarely and parting frequently.
Fei Chang received a funny sitcom during this time period. The production company hired a horde of joke writers. The plot was witty and humorous. Each episode was 10 minutes, with one episode per day, shooting while broadcasting.
As an experimental work that produced “electricity” for the first time, it had a low threshold and a good reputation. It was very popular with the audience and became a favorite show to watch while eating, for a lot of people.
It was only that the shooting load was too heavy. For an entire week, he hadn’t seen his senior brother.
Cry. Even more wronged.
He found an empty corner on the set, wrapping himself in a thick military coat. He zoomed in and zoomed in some more on Chen Yueyang’s selfie. Then he ate two lunchboxes of food with that photo, full of feeling and flavour.
Suddenly, he noticed that in the photo, the scenery outside the window was very familiar. He quickly found his previous photos and compared them carefully, discovering that he had been to the studio where his senior brother was, only half a month ago!!
The most important thing was that the studio wasn’t far from Fei Chang’s current shooting location. He could go there and back in an hour!
His heart was itchy. He immediately ran to ask the stage manager about the afternoon arrangements.
The stage manager said that Fei Chang’s next scene was at two. Fei Chang turned and ran out, leaving a trail of dust behind him.
The stage manager said, “Fei Chang, what are you going to do!”
Fei Chang’s voice came from afar, “Going to look for my Sect Leader Dongfang~”
Stage manager: “???”
…
Fei Chang went out, found his car, and drove toward Chen Yueyang’s studio.
He had good driving skills, but he rarely used them.
His other type of driving6[Common euphemism for sex, particularly the top role.] skills were very poor, and he hadn’t improved despite practicing for so long.
Half an hour later, he arrived outside the studio on time. He didn’t tell anyone about this “raid”, wanting to give his senior brother a big surprise.
The studio occupied a large area. There were more than a dozen sound stages inside. The one that Fei Chang was heading to was the largest one.
The security guard at the gate recognized Fei Chang and let him in without asking him for a pass.
Fei Chang was about to go in when he suddenly heard a riotous noise not far away. He looked toward the sound and saw a group of little girls gathered outside the fence of the other side door.
Although it was a warm winter this year, it was winter after all. The temperature was only three or four degrees below zero. When the cold wind blew, the group of little girls were like little sparrows that just emerged from the nest. They huddled together pitifully, using wings that were still not full to warm each other.
Outside this type of famous studio, you could always see celebrity fans coming here to try their luck. If they were lucky, a down-to-earth artist would come over to say hello to them, and to sign autographs and take photos. If they were not lucky, it was possible that the artist would leave directly from another door, and they wouldn’t even be able to meet their shadow.
Today was the weekend, so people who had to go to work or school were free. So there were an especially high number of fans who came to block celebrities today. Fei Chang glanced around. At least thirty or forty.
Another gust of cold wind blew over, and the dead branches and fallen leaves on the ground swirled up, swooshing toward the group of girls.
They cried out in a low voice, and hurriedly squeezed into another clump. The wind was too strong, and a girl picked up the cardboard poster in her hand, holding it in front of herself to block the wind.
On the poster, Chen Yueyang cast his eyes downward and smiled, showing a sexy profile.
Fei Chang’s heart jumped and he hurriedly asked the security guard, “How long have they been here?”
The security said, “It’s been two or three hours, but Yang-ge didn’t come in through this door in the first place. No matter how long they wait, he’s not going to come here.”
As an artist, Fei Chang had seen this kind of situation too many times. Outside the studio, at movie cities, at TV stations, and even in front of agencies, you could see many heartfelt fans waiting for their idols to arrive.
It was so cold today, and they persisted in waiting for so long. It really wasn’t easy…
Fei Chang decided that later, when he met Chen Yueyang, he would definitely tell him there were fans waiting outside this door. Chen Yueyang was not that kind of lofty artist. If he knew his fan club was here, he would definitely come to visit everyone when he finished his work.
Suddenly, a crystal white shard fell on the car window, followed by the second, third, and fourth…
“It’s snowing!” A girl cried out in surprise.
It was really snowing.
The winter wind blew up the fine snow, slowly floating in the air.
The glass barrier which had shrouded the sky above was finally broken. This winter day, the city, which had been “isolated” for several months, ushered in the first snow since the beginning of the season.
The snowflakes were dense and beautiful.
Fei Chang stretched out his hand from the car window, allowed snowflakes to cover his palm, and accepted the cold winter kiss.
The security guard said, “Just now the news said that because drought conditions have lasted for too long, they did an emergency artificial snowfall by the mountain side. It is expected that there will be moderate snow tonight.”
“So big?”
“Yes, I think it will get colder and colder in the afternoon.”
“…”
Fei Chang glanced at the fans who were still waiting outside the fence.
When little girls came out to see their idols, they naturally had to dress up beautifully, curl their hair, clip their bangs, and put on makeup. Most of them wanted style points and not temperature points. He saw several people wearing wool coats and long skirts, not winter clothing at all.
If they had to wait so long amidst snow and wind… they would definitely get sick.
Fei Chang looked at the studio which was right beside him, and then at the group of fans waiting outside. He hardened his heart, turned his car around, and drove out.
…
Half an hour later, Fei Chang, laden with 40 cups of signature milk tea from the Ling Ling Xi7[A reference to another one of this author’s works.] milk tea chain, stopped again, outside the gate.
Chen Yueyang’s fans were still persevering with their teeth clenched. They gathered together, stomping their feet and rubbing their hands. Their noses were red with cold, and white snow covered their heads. From a distance, they looked like a bunch of small white mushrooms, very pitiful.
Someone sniffed and said, depressed, “…This is too unfair. It’s not a delivery area. There aren’t any convenience stores that deliver here. It’s so hard to get something warm to drink.”
As they were talking, an off-road vehicle suddenly stopped beside them.
When the car door opened, a pair of long, long legs came into view, and then the owner of the long legs offered a smile with eight teeth8[According to the analysis of Chinese netizens, the “best” celebrity smile shows eight of your top teeth.].
“You guys have worked hard.” The long-legged man opened the rear door, and a backseat full of milk tea dazzled their eyes. “Senior brother knows that it isn’t easy for you to wait for him here, so he asked me to invite you to drink milk tea.”
Chen Yueyang’s fans were dumbfounded for a full minute. They rubbed their eyes without much strength, and almost rubbed the cosmetic contact lenses out of their eye sockets, only to finally confirm that the person standing in front of them was really Fei Chang!
The person in the entertainment circle who was best at drawing comics, the person in the comics circle with the greatest sense of variety, and the person in variety shows who was most handsome and tall–
Fei Chang!
“..Wow!!!”
Everyone leaned over happily, like little friends queuing up to pick up a meal at noon in kindergarten, gathering around Fei Chang. And the tall and big Fei Chang was like a kindergarten aunt, comforting these short and thin little peas on one side, and handing out milk tea on the other.
The milk tea was freshly made, and the heat was on in the car, so it hadn’t cooled down at all. It felt especially warm to hold.
The milk tea was sweet and hot, and the little hearts that had originally been chilled by the wind warmed up again.
Fei Chang not only gave every fan a cup, but he also specially bought a throat-soothing Sydney pear tea for the security guard. The security guard was very happy and thanked him again and again.
The security hurriedly opened the door for Fei Chang and signaled him to enter quickly.
Unexpectedly, at this juncture, Fei Chang’s cell phone rang, and the two words “production assistant” flashed on the screen.
Fei Chang: …Definitely not a good thing.
As he expected, it really wasn’t a good thing.
The production assistant said that the director urged him to go back immediately ASAP in the shortest duration possible. He said that they would start shooting snow scenes, to save on the cost of artificial snowmaking.
Heaven is great, the earth is great, and work is the greatest. Fei Chang glanced at the studio which was only a short distance away. He drove here in a rush for half an hour today, just to see his lover, but after several twists and turns, he couldn’t meet the person he wanted to see in the end.
Cry, feeling wronged, feeling wronged, feeling wronged.
Just in one day, he had already experienced enough grievances for the whole next month.
But there was nothing he could do. Fei Chang still had to make money. He could only invite more fans to drink milk tea in the future if he had money.
Like this, Fei Chang’s “One-Minute Studio Tour” came to an end.
…
What Fei Chang didn’t know was that ten minutes after he left, the person he was thinking about appeared in front of the fans wrapped in wind and snow.
Chen Yueyang was wrapped from the neck to the ankles in a long down jacket, and his long fluttering hairstyle was completely covered with a scarf for secrecy. He only showed his face, yet it was enough to evoke a spring breeze.
He, Jing Jiren, and the three assistants each carried several servings of oden in their hands. This was the takeout that Chen Yueyang asked his assistant to buy after learning that it was snowing.
Seeing their idol arrive, the fans were completely boiled.
Chen Yueyang personally handed out the oden to everyone, took a group photo, signed autographs, and then advised everyone to go home quickly. If they waited until it started snowing heavily, the road would become dangerous. And now, it was freezing cold. If they waited for too long, they would definitely get sick.
The fans were moved and said, “Yueyang, you are so nice! Not only did you give us milk tea, but you also invited us to eat.”
Just then, Chen Yueyang noticed the drinks in everyone’s hands.
He gave Jing Jiren a look, asking if he bought it. Jing Jiren shook his head.
In the end, it was the fans who solved the puzzle. “Feifei shocked us when he got out of the car! Originally we thought he came to look for you, but he turned back at the gate and returned.”
It turned out to be so.
It turned out to be that stupid guy.
…
After work that day, Chen Yueyang sent the group photo of himself with his fans to Fei Chang.
The depressed giraffe baby told a tragic story about walking a thousand miles looking for his husband, but getting obstructed in the end by work.
The Tibetan antelope big brother, through the phone, gave him a few hugs and kisses and raised him into the air, promising to visit him next time.
Fei Chang finally smiled happily again.
Chen Yueyang asked him, “Why did you think of inviting everyone to drink milk tea in my name? In fact, in this case, if you invited them in your name, you could increase your fans.”
Fei Chang answered, “Senior brother, you don’t understand.”
“Oh?”
“They are your fans, and I am also your fan, so I can understand their love better than you.”
“…”
Fei Chang said with deep affection, “In such a cold winter day, if you could drink milk tea from your idol, for fans, this is definitely the happiest thing in the world!”
“Really?” Chen Yueyang asked in confusion, “I thought that being able to marry an idol was the happiest thing in the hearts of fans.”
“…”
Fei “the number one fanboy” Chang, couldn’t refute it.
…
Starting from the second day, at 2:30 on the dot every afternoon, Ling Ling Xi milk tea shop delivered a hundred cups of milk tea to Fei Chang’s crew, inviting all the staff to drink.
In the twelfth lunar month of winter, a cup of sweet milk tea dispelled the cold and warmed the heart.
After a month passed, from directors to actors, everyone was at least three catties9[1.8 kg.] fatter.
…
This year, it was really a warm winter.
T/N: Hey everyone, this was the last chapter! Kind of sad that I finished translating because there’s no more cute giraffe baby and sweet Tibetan antelope big brother ;(
Anyway, I had a great time and reading everyone’s comments made me very happy. I’m glad I could share this story with you.
Now that it is over, I will start translating The Film Emperor in earnest. It’s also a great story with an entertainment industry setting. The male lead’s personality is kind of similar to Lu Zhou from Feitian’s Golden Assistant, and the plot has some similarities to one of my favourite light novels, The Star Around The Sun. It is a longer project than Thinking of Deer Fei Fei, so I hope you will join me there in the upcoming months.
Happy reading!
- 1[Smiteworthy, terrible.]
- 2[Written in Chinese characters that sound like “family” in English. It’s a meme from the variety show Keep Running, where one of the participants said this line in Chinese, but pronounced “family” in English very badly.]
- 3[In Chinese internet slang, “brick mover” is a generic term for jobs that are low pay, exhausting, and not worthwhile, similar to “wageslave” or “wagecuck” in English. So he’s saying here that being a fámù gōng (wood chopping labourer) is only one step up from being a bān zhuān gōng (brick moving labourer).]
- 4[Dongfang Bubai (lit. Invincible East, The East Undefeated) is a gay androgynous fictional character in the wuxia novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jin Yong, who notoriously castrated himself in order to cultivate a martial arts manual written by a eunuch. In some films/shows, he is played by a woman.]
- 5[The man who Dongfang Bubai was in love with.]
- 6[Common euphemism for sex, particularly the top role.]
- 7[A reference to another one of this author’s works.]
- 8[According to the analysis of Chinese netizens, the “best” celebrity smile shows eight of your top teeth.]
- 9[1.8 kg.]
Thankyouuuu for youre hard work..
I know this cute story because of youu🥰
Trust me. I finished this story in 2 hours 😭 it’s really short 😭 The silly character of our cute giraffe, and the caring character of our handsome Tibetan antelope really perfect this short story.. Oh a story full of sweet sugar 🫶 There is nothing to worry about at all when reading this story. Really!!
Wow, thanks for completing this translation! Your Chinese skills, editing, etc are really good and the notes are nicely detailed, really appreciate it 👍. I have read other works by this author and I think that this cutesy, hilarious type of romance novel is by far my favorite type. Compared to overly dramatic and heartbreaking novels by authors like Priest, my preference is for sweetness and comedy. Real life for me has already filled with countless heartbreaks, like deaths in the family or young relatives with chronic painful genetic illnesses (Ehlers-Danlos Symdrome). My own life has been filled with tons of dog blood romantic drama, and I have cried enough for real life reasons… reading novels helps me to keep my attitude positive. I also think that an artist who can create comedic works that transcend language is a truely talented person! Ofc, a translator with good skills and attention to detail is also much appreciated 👌
Awww it’s bittersweet because it’s the end😭😭 I don’t want it to end but anyway, from now one, this is gonna be one of my favorites of all bl that I read even if it’s short. Thank you for translating!!