Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Then, you should give him a chicken and a box of milk.”
‘That should work,’ thought Zhou Xufang.
The brand of milk which Jiang Zhi had been drinking earlier this afternoon was imported from a foreign country. Zhou Xufang found its official website and immediately ordered two cases worth of canned milk. The site stated that it should take around one week delivery time before the milk was received. She also took the opportunity to look up her favorite marshmallow brand which, unfortunately, had run out of stock.
Pulling on the black trench coat with an oversized hood, Zhou Xufang made her way toward the grocery store of which she was a frequent customer. This time, the only person remaining in the store was Wen Baiyang.
She asked Wen Baiyang, “I’m looking for the marshmallows with the bright pink packaging. Is it still unavailable?”
‘Still out of stock. It seems to have been discontinued.’ Wen Baiyang wrote on a piece of notepaper, her handwriting surprisingly neat and pleasant to look at.
‘No wonder I couldn’t buy any online,’ Zhou Xufang thought, her brows furrowed.
With a slightly saddened mood, she picked up marshmallows of another brand. Just as she was paying for them at the counter, she said to the lone storekeeper, “I will also start working here soon. I’ll be here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 11 pm till 1 am.”
Being a professional runner in the black market was an extremely lucrative business, however, missions were few and far between. This meant that Zhou Xufang had a lot of time to spare, allowing her to work many jobs in different places.
Wen Baiyang smiled upon knowing what Xufang meant, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. Her face always had a flushed complexion, combined with her carefree smile, she seemed like a very genuine person. After returning the change, she reached into a canvas bag and fumbled inside for quite a while before retrieving a chicken egg from within. She then passed her humble gift over to Zhou Xufang.
Zhou Xufang revealed her child-like face from underneath the cover of her hood and asked, “Is this for me?”
Wen Baiyang nodded and quickly scribbled down on another piece of paper.
“It’s a farm-fresh egg.”
What a good person she was.
To be frank, Zhou Xufang had a fear of people she had never met. Due to the fact that she severely lacked social skills, she would always be wary of the people in her surroundings. Wen Baiyang, however, was an exception to that. Whenever she was around the girl, the tension built-up within her would always melt away. She liked this girl, especially the two bright pink patches on her puffy, round cheeks.
“Thank you.” She accepted the chicken egg gratefully but did her best to avoid touching the other’s hand in the process.
“Do you know where I can get a free-range chicken?”
Wen Baiyang nodded.
Zhou Xufang added her new-found friend on WeChat. While Wen Baiyang wasn’t the group leader of a film crew, she was the very first good friend Xufang had ever made in her lifetime.
It had been almost a week that Zhou Xufang has not received any acting roles. After October, the cold winter would come invading from the North.
On Monday, however, a new message popped up, sent from the group leader. This time, twenty actors were needed, and so, Zhou Xufang registered without any second thoughts. She placed the free-range chicken as well as the milk into a black luggage bag and set off early in the morning to join the filming session.
The group leader had sent a notice stating that the gathering time was at 9 am in the morning but Zhou Xufang had arrived at Film and Television City a whole two hours before the specified time, at 7 am. As she was clueless as to when Jiang Zhi would arrive, she waited patiently at the entrance.
An hour later at around 8 am, a flashy sports car finally arrived, rolling into the entrance to Film & Television City.
Ah Wan drove at a snail’s pace despite the car being capable of reaching speeds unmatched by your regular city crawler. Through the rearview mirror, he could see that the young master was dozing off in the backseat. Perhaps he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep last night, so it was best not to piss him off at the moment.
Apart from Jiang Zhi, placed on the backseat was an intricately blown glass box containing an assortment of marshmallows.
Jiang Zhi picked a single one from the box and popped it into his mouth. He didn’t even chew on the confectionery before spitting it out onto his handkerchief. While he typically would have a pretty bad mood after waking up, his expression right now was worse than usual. His mood was so bad that a frown made itself present on his face.
“You switched brands?”
Ah Wan nodded. “The brand from before has been sold out.”
“Change it back.”
His demand was unreasonable and his tone, indifferent.
“…”
Ah Wan pouted. Because he had a large head, he had no choice but to shrink into the driver’s seat of the low-top sports car. It was an awful combination and appeared almost comical.
“I searched through lotsa places and they’ve all run out-of-stock.”
“Mmph.” Jiang Zhi was still half-asleep, and he lay there lifelessly with no energy whatsoever.
“It’s that screen-protector girl,” Ah Wan said, as he didn’t know the name of that girl nor had he had the chance to ask for it.
Jiang Zhi rubbed at his sleep-logged eyes. Looking out the window, a lone person could be seen crouched underneath a street lamp. The person donned an all-black outfit and had an out-of-proportion luggage bag slung over his back. She wore a cap over her head which blocked off her face; only the dark outline of a human’s head could be seen.
That person was dressed exactly how a burglar would!
Jiang Zhi straightened his back to sit upright as he issued an order. “Stop near the curb.”
Ah Wan brought the car to a slow halt.
Jiang Zhi rolled down the window as his driver sounded the horn.
It was only then that Zhou Xufang raised her head. Instinctively, her hand pulled down on her cap in an attempt to hide her face. Not much emotion, if any, was shown on her face. Her gaze was more of a blank stare than anything else.
She stood up and spied around her surroundings. After making sure that no one was around, she started approaching the car, stopping shy of a meter from its rolled-down window.
“Is your hand okay?”
Her voice was cold and monotonous.
What a weird person.
Jiang Zhi mumbled a reply.
She looked around her once more before removing the luggage bag from her back.
“Please accept this.” She stepped forward, presenting the bag to Jiang Zhi. “As compensation.”
Jiang Zhi looked up at her with an equally cold stare. Finally, a worthy opponent in terms of the indifference in their eyes.
It was as if the bitter cold winter had arrived early and was creeping out from those eyes. While her gaze was cold, it was also crystal clear. No wonder they seemed so familiar… Her eyes were similar to that young boy from his memory, the one who had spent his life tormented in a sea of fire.
He remained in a dazed state before abruptly snapping out of his reverie. He eyed that black bag of hers before shifting his gaze toward the back of her hands. The sleeves of her sweater were long enough that it covered half of her hand. The exposed part of her hand, however, was so pale that it glowed bright white under the sun.
Although, it was no wonder she was so pale considering that she would always wrap herself up in so many layers. Her pale-white complexion was not too different from that of a female spirit’s pallor.
The driver, Ah Wan, coughed to remind the young master that he was staring too long at the young lady’s hands. He waited for the young master to look away before giving hints with his own eyes through the mirror.
As if linked by telepathy, the young master nodded.
Receiving his signal, Ah Wan clambered out from the car and accepted the luggage bag from Zhou Xufang. The bag, to his surprise, was fairly heavy.
After seeing her gift being accepted, Zhou Xufang left without saying anything.
Ah Wan placed the bag on the seat beside his before asking, “Master Jiang, would you like me to open it up and have a look?”
Apart from two coughs from the young master, the car remained silent. Ah Wan glanced toward the backseat through the rear-view mirror only to see the young master yawn and then lazily curl up into a ball before snoozing away. A tuft of his unkempt short hair could even be seen sticking out like a sore thumb from his head.
It was only after the car had crawled into the parking spot that Ah Wan heard the young master’s reply.
“Open it up.”
“Oh.”
Ah Wan made sure that the car had come to a safe stop before turning over to grab the heavy bag. Placing it on his lap, he pulled open the zipper of the bag.
“Wha-!”
His eyes almost popped out of its sockets and his jaws dropped open. In the bag on his lap, a pair of beady eyes stared right back at Ah Wan’s widened eyes. That thing stretched out its long, feathery neck before greeting him.
“Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck…”
The unbearable stench of chicken droppings came washing over him, and with teary eyes, Ah Wan announced, “It’s…a chicken.”
“…”
Qiao Nanchu had once asked Jiang Zhi why he had been so merciful toward someone who had wronged him when he had never shown kindness toward anyone else in his life. The only answer he could come up with was that this person was so weird that she could make things that wouldn’t typically happen, happen.
For example, the existence of this chicken as well as the incidents that would soon come to follow the appearance of this chicken.
At 9 am, the actors had all changed into their respective costumes. Those who needed makeup had already done so and the only thing remaining was for the director to signal the start of today’s session. Fang Lixiang, as the new weaver girl of the story, was wearing an exceptionally pretty costume. Hers was made specifically tailored to her body. While she may look like your typical cutesy character, her ability to adapt to different roles was first-rate. Once she put on a cheongsam and held a feather fan used exclusively by female dancers, combined with her feminine walk, she projected a completely different image than before.
The director, however, had a picky pair of eyes. He would look at every individual actor and their respective costumes before deciding if they passed for the scene or not.
Fang Lixiang, in her newly-made costume, spun circles in front of Zhou Xufang. Her cute smile revealed the two dimples on both sides of her cheeks.
“Does it look good?”
“Yeah,” replied Zhou Xufang who was wearing plain, linen clothes.
“Xufang, are you a Weibo user?”
She shook her head.
“Did you bring your phone?”
Her hands reached into the pocket of her pants. “Yeah, I brought it with me today.”
Fang Lixiang took out her own phone and waved it in front of Xufang. “Add me!” Her attitude toward Xufang was still as warm as before despite the rise in her status at their workplace. Still, it was hard to deny that she was also proud that she had gotten the near-unattainable role in the film relatively effortlessly. “Next time, if they forget to pay you again, just let me know! I, “Ula Nara1″ Lixiang, will have your back no matter what!”
She was now on track to become the famous weaver girl of the film. Zhou Xufang, the friendless loner who sucked at social skills, the poor little girl abandoned by the world must be protected by the great weaver girl!
Zhou Xufang nodded, lowering her head without uttering another word.
After adding her as a friend on WeChat, “Ula Nara” Lixiang performed the stereotypical “Asian squat1” flawlessly as she browsed Weibo. Out of the blue, she exclaimed in surprise, “Oh my God!” Ula Nara slapped her thigh loudly before continuing, “The company’s pretty rad! They’ve amassed an army of zombie fans for me so quickly.”
After Fang Lixiang had unexpectedly landed the role of being the second female lead in Jiang Zhi’s film, “Wuye”, a number of other companies were actively seeking to sign a contract with her. As Fang Lixiang was a woman with ideals, she did not hesitate before choosing to sign a contract with the best company known throughout the entertainment industry—Bao Guang.
Speaking of Bao Guang, the hottest topic about the company revolved around its CEO, Xue Baoyi.
“Did you know, the relationship between my new boss and Jiang Zhi goes waaay back.” Fang Lixiang was the queen of all gossip. Having soaked herself in the entertainment industry for the past four years, every little news related to her job passed through her keen ears before anyone else’s.
Amidst Zhou Xuang’s aloof eyes, a spark lit up.
Knowing that the other party rarely was interested in anything, Fang Lixiang continued her gossip.
“Have you heard of the second child of the Xue family, young master Xue of the imperial capital?”
Zhou Xufang shook her head cluelessly.
Fang Lixiang then explained, “If you browse through Weibo, you’ll bump into him every three to five swipes.”
Zhou Xufang, who was not an experienced surfer of the web, asked, “Is he some kind of an artist?”
“Nope.”
Just then, the makeup lady asked if Fang Lixiang wanted to snack on some chicken feet, and Fang Lixiang grabbed one without showing too much courtesy and began nibbling on it while explaining the story to Xufang. “The women who slept in his bed are all artists.”
Zhou Xufang didn’t understand what Lixiang had just said.
Fang Lixiang took a bite out of the chicken foot before exclaiming, “Argh, I wonder how many young ladies were robbed of their precious treasure by that scoundrel!” The young woman who was furiously nibbling on a chicken foot was an unwavering ally of justice. “Someday, God is gonna send him down to hell!”
Zhou Xufang remained silent, her eyes fixated on something far away.
Noticing her stare, Fang Lixiang peered at the direction in which Xufang was looking at. Oh, the director was finally here, huh.
“So, you’re looking at Director Jiang again?”
She crouched down in an inconspicuous corner, blending into the environment like a sniper in a ghillie suit1. Her expression was serene as she uttered, “He’s really good-looking.”
She loved staring at beautiful things, just like that box in which she stored her marshmallows.
Fang Lixiang agreed with Xufang’s statement. That face of his, even when pitted against the entire entertainment industry, no one could top his beauty. It was just that…
“Prince Charming Jiang is like a star in the sky. You can gaze at it all you want, but it’s impossible for you to reach it.” After finishing off what was left of the chicken foot, Fang Lixiang threw the bones aside and rubbed her hands clean. “His presence alone has turned God knows how many otherwise straight and handsome men gay. Even so, no one has been able to pick that flower that is situated oh-so-high up in the tree. Also, he’s quite the delicate one. He’s in pretty bad shape right now. The reason why the Jiang family owns so many pharmaceutical research centers was precisely in order to treat his condition. Burned up a lot of cash, I presume. Us poorfags1 will never be able to afford his lifestyle even after working a bazillion years.”
Zhou Xufang thought about the matter for a moment. She had accumulated a fair amount of dough in her bank account, but to buy the moon was an impossible task.
“I forgot to add that Director Jiang is a homosexual.” Fang Lixiang whispered to Zhou Xufang with a hand over her mouth. “There are rumors going around the circle that he and Xue Baoyi are partners-in-crime if ya’ know what I mean.”
Zhou Xufang was once again unable to comprehend what she had just heard.
Ten minutes later, the loudspeaker of Assistant Director Zhao sounded.
“We’ll be starting soon, you have ten minutes left to finish up.”
The group of actors who were chatting away dispersed immediately.
Assistant Director Zhao went around the set for a final round of checking. All machines were functioning and ready to use. Suddenly, a chicken entered the corner of his eye. He then turned toward the supervisor, Xiao Li.
“Why is there a chicken here? Who brought it here?”
“I don’t know, sir, it must have been placed here by one of the prop guys,” Xiao Li replied.
The assistant director looked around for a moment. “Have you seen the actor who carries a bamboo pole?” He then issued an order to Xiao Li. “Put that chicken into the carrying basket.”
Xiao Li grabbed the chicken and placed it into the basket which was attached to a bamboo pole. As he did so, he failed to notice that the string which tied up the chicken’s feet had come loose, which would soon blow up in his face as the chicken went on a rampage of fury around the place.
“Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck…”
It was a huge rooster, weighing in at approximately 2-3 kilos. With explosive energy, it ran and jumped around the set.
Beads of sweat came pouring out of Assistant Director Zhao’s forehead.
“Director Jiang, this-”
Jiang Zhi threw the script in his hands onto the ground and leaned back into his chair that was lined with a thick layer of wool. “Has the prop team forgotten their brains today?”
A coughing fit started, causing his eyes to redden. Despite his sickly condition, his glare was colder than ever. The assistant director dared not to even make a squeak. With the surmounting pressure, he found the air almost difficult to breathe in.
Jiang Zhi licked his lips. “Where’d that chicken come from?”
Ah Wan replied instantaneously, “It’s yours, sir.”
“…”
His coughs echoed in the air. Trying his best to stifle his coughs, he asked grumpily, “Why are you still standing there?”
Ah Wan rolled up his sleeves and proceeded to join in the chicken rodeo.