Author: 反舌鸟 / Mockingbird
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Editor: Eli
Chapter 41
[Seven Years Ago]
The premiere ended, and the lights came on. People were clapping, and Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
He, along with the other actors and the director, went on stage from the side to thank everyone. He heard a lot of comments, mostly positive, praising his surprising performance as a first-time movie lead.
Jiang Yu maintained a humble demeanor, listening even to the few harsh words with a smile. Idle gossip meant nothing—what mattered far more were the film’s reputation and box office success.
An audience member asked, “Jiang Yu, do you have a Weibo account? Everyone is using Weibo now.”
Jiang Yu had been urged to get one multiple times over the past few months. He thought it was about time. “I don’t have one yet, but maybe I’ll register one in a few days.”
The atmosphere became lively, and others started urging Jiang Yu, saying everyone else had one, so he shouldn’t be an outsider. Jiang Yu agreed, and afterward, he really started looking into it.
“Have all these been invited? Sina, Tencent, Sohu, NetEase… which one to choose?” Jiang Yu asked the people around him.
“Of course, Sina. Most people use Sina now. After you register, you need to get other celebrities to follow you back.”
Jiang Yu quickly registered, followed some industry friends, and then thought of someone.
He searched for Yu Ruoyun’s name. It seemed Yu Ruoyun had just opened a Weibo account a few days ago and hadn’t posted much, but there were plenty of comments. One post included a photo of a hand scratching a golden retriever’s chin. Yu Ruoyun replied to someone in the comments: [His name is Tiger.]
Jiang Yu remembered that day when he and Yu Ruoyun were sitting on the sofa, and the golden retriever came over for attention, indicating it was time for a walk.
But they hadn’t finished watching the movie, with only ten minutes left. Yu Ruoyun extended his hand to the golden retriever, comforting it. “Just a little longer.”
At that time, Yu Ruoyun seemed to be taking pictures with his phone and said to him, “His name is Tiger. When I’m not around, he stays with the cleaning lady.”
“So you came back yesterday, and today he was brought over,” Jiang Yu said lazily, not too fond of the dog. He had been woken up by this golden retriever licking him.
“He really likes you,” Yu Ruoyun said. “See if you can shake hands with him.”
“I don’t want to shake hands with a dog,” Jiang Yu refused. “Just take him out already. The dog is getting impatient.”
Yu Ruoyun stood up, took the leash, and walked to the door. For some reason, he stopped and stood there, looking at Jiang Yu.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yu asked, puzzled, when he saw Yu Ruoyun still hadn’t left after a while.
“I’ll be back soon,” Yu Ruoyun said, petting the golden retriever’s head. “We can’t let him run wild for too long.”
Maybe someday they could also walk among the crowd in broad daylight without any worries. Yu Ruoyun thought this as Tiger ran ahead, and he held onto the leash. He remembered the night before, when they were in bed, Jiang Yu leaned over to kiss him, his beautiful eyes reflecting only Yu Ruoyun.
Yu Ruoyun began to understand why the actresses he had tried dating before had eventually given up on him. They said he was great as a friend, but not as a lover. He indeed met the right person a little later—not necessarily the most suitable person, but the less suitable they were, the more he knew it was this person.
Today wasn’t suitable for going out after all, as it started drizzling soon after. Tiger, who hadn’t run far, was called back by his owner. “It’s time to go home. Someone is waiting.”
The dog didn’t understand and was reluctantly led back. Yu Ruoyun petted him, saying, “I’ll give you some canned food when we get back.”
Jiang Yu had fallen asleep again. Before coming to see Yu Ruoyun, he had only slept two or three hours over the past couple of days, trying to wrap up his work. It was strange that if he just wanted to sleep, he could do it anywhere, but he insisted on coming over.
But here and now, Jiang Yu found a peaceful sleep.
“What should I post on Weibo?” Jiang Yu was puzzled by a strange dilemma.
“Anything,” someone replied. “Look at others’ posts—share your life, selfies, anything.”
Jiang Yu checked some popular Weibo posts. Some were funny, others seemed a bit fake, but he couldn’t seem to mimic any of them.
Share life—what life to share? He could post about the upcoming movie and urge everyone to watch it. What else could he share? I slept with Yu Ruoyun. Though I feel sore all over, it was worth it. No, he couldn’t post that, but he could at least imagine it.
Jiang Yu sighed. As someone in the entertainment industry, tasked with entertaining others, he found it ironic how little entertainment he received. He wasn’t skilled in eating, drinking, whoring, or gambling, and wasn’t very smart. Some people skyrocketed to movie stardom; he had to start from TV dramas, playing secondary roles in a few movies before getting a lead role. After all these years, he still hadn’t forgotten Yu Ruoyun, and he had Yu Ruoyun’s poster right where he could see it when he opened his eyes.
Being the lead in a reliable movie was less worth sharing than having slept with Yu Ruoyun. It was too easy—so easy that Jiang Yu wondered if Yu Ruoyun was playing him, secretly filming it all to expose him. But analyzing the pros and cons, unless Yu Ruoyun was out of his mind, there was no benefit in doing something that would backfire.
They hadn’t seen much of each other that year, with Jiang Yu filming in the film and television city and Yu Ruoyun’s crew in the Northwest, separated by a great distance. Each stay in the crew lasted at least a few months. Jiang Yu felt immense pressure being the lead in his first movie. Even when the director was satisfied, he would ask for another take. Unable to sleep at night, he would get up, pace around the room, reciting lines loudly like a madman. Thankfully, the hotel had good soundproofing.
Having done everything, he still couldn’t sleep, so Jiang Yu took out his phone and stared at the number before finally dialing.
“When does your shoot wrap up?” Jiang Yu asked.
Yu Ruoyun gave a time, and Jiang Yu estimated. “I’ll probably finish around the same time. Will you return to Beijing?”
“I’ll be back a bit later. I have to go to Hong Kong first,” Yu Ruoyun said. “But I’ll hurry.”
“No need to rush. I was just asking,” Jiang Yu said. The night wasn’t quiet. Birds flew, wild cats called, and streetlights cast long tree shadows. Jiang Yu looked at the shadows, thinking they resembled Yu Ruoyun. “When you come back, if you have time, let’s meet up.”
He hadn’t planned what to do when they met; he just wanted to see Yu Ruoyun. Meeting more often would prove that Yu Ruoyun wasn’t a figment of his imagination. He wanted to discuss his struggles with the movie and ask if Yu Ruoyun would watch it. But he couldn’t say any of that, only saying he wanted to see Yu Ruoyun.
“Okay,” Yu Ruoyun said.
As for meeting up and ending up in bed, that was a matter for later.
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