Translator: Sissy That Walk
‘Don’t blame me. You had it coming.’ With this thought, He Bai reached out his hands and held them above Di Qiuhe’s.
“Well, you should return my school card.”
With a serious look on his face, Di Qiuhe looked down at the tinny hands that were considerably smaller than his. That man was indeed the ‘pup’arazzi that people said he was. He had little dimples and tiny hands and was half a head shorter than him.
He Bai was led to believe that he had outwitted him after getting no reply. With his dimples deepened, he withdrew his hand and said with a low voice, “Film Emperor, this squabble between us will take us nowhere. Let’s call it even, shall we?”
“Call it even?” said Di Qiuhe with his eyebrows raised, not afraid of shining his true colors. He shook his head in protest, saying “No, never.”
He Bai froze a bit as their eyes met. The odd feeling that he had vaguely experienced in the alley that day was once again raging and had become clearer than ever to the extent that it could no longer be ignored.
His gentle eyes remained unchanged, but the look on his face, the tone of his reply and the relaxed way he posed himself were all too foreign to him…. With a twitch of his eyebrow, he unconsciously squeezed the tea cup, “Film Emperor, it doesn’t suit you to behave like this. You want to be careful with how you carry yourself in public, gotta stick to your image.” ‘Where have his tenderness and gentlemanly manners gone? Are those all just facades? It’s no wonder that this guy always looks odd. It turns out that all the tenderness and amiability are staged. The truth is, he is a mean bastard! Last time we saw each other, he acted like a Film Emperor. Why is he acting so frivolously this time? Has he given up on himself because he is being blacklisted?’ thought He Bai.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Di Qiuhe’s energetic eyes typical of the young people and sighed with great mercy. He chose not to hold it against this young man and lowered his head to take out 500 yuan from his wallet. He placed the money onto Di’s hand which was still there motioned to ask the autograph back and said with an honest tone, “The truth is, I have sold your autograph for 1000 yuan. Here, this is half of it. Your share. Don’t give up just yet. Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Your autograph will be worth 10000 yuan soon enough.”
‘… He is not playing by the book,’ thought Di Qiuhe.
“Keep up the good work.” said He Bai. Wearing an amiable smile of a kind elder, He Bai patted Di’s shoulder and stuck a sticker in the shape of little red flower, which he had taken out from a filming prop kit when he was going through the formalities for his first day on the job, onto his chest. He gave a few pats on Di’s chest and nodded in satisfaction, “Well, look at that. It suits you. Being blacklisted is not the end of the world. The game is not over until you give up. You must always keep up a fighting spirit. Go, go embrace your bright future!” After finishing these words, he turned Di Qiuhe around and pushed him two steps away out from the line.
After being pushed out of the line, Di Qiuhe felt a sudden tightness on the part of chest where he was patted. He looked down at his chest with his eyebrows knit as he was also experiencing a sense of joy somehow.
“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t I tell you there is a line here? Go wait at the back of the line. We all want our roasted ducks. You don’t get to cut in line. Off you go,” shouted He Bai. His public scolding was a stark contrast to his previous uplifting comments.
Suddenly, Di Qiuhe turned back and saw He Bai staring at him with a disapproving look on his face. Meanwhile, people in the line were all looking in their direction curiously. He hurriedly covered the mask on his mouth and lowered the cap peak of his cap. Looking at those elusive dimples on He Bai’s face, he couldn’t help but step forward.
“Hey, Hey, did you hear me? You’re not supposed to cut in line. Everyone is watching you.” yelled He Bai loudly. Now, even the passersby also turned their gazes towards them.
“The queue jumper looks familiar. Don’t you think so?” “Yeah…I’ve been watching him for a while. He keeps wearing the hat and the face mask. Do you think there is a possibility that he is Di…” Di Qiuhe halted his forwarding steps as he vaguely heard a discussion coming from the back of the line. He squeezed his eyes to look at He Bai whose lips were widely stretched from side to side and then grabbed his milk tea. After that, he lowered down and growled “‘Pup’arazzi, don’t play any tricks during the time when I’m filming.” After finishing those words, he turned back and strode away. Looking from behind, his straightened back looked so much like that of a gentleman.
The triumphant feeling was as fleeting as a comet as He Bai was immediately dumbfounded by what Di Qiuhe just did. That sudden robbery sent him into a rage.
“Hey! I was drinking that!”
However, Di Qiuhe was nowhere to be found.
“Excuse me…” a long-haired girl suddenly popped out and smiled at him. She asked with a flushed face, “I saw you talking to that man for a long while… He didn’t actually jump the queue, did he? You two know each other, right? Well, is he… is he…?”
“What?” said He Bai who instantly put on a baffled look on his face and scratched his hair in embarrassment, “I am sorry you have to see that. That man is my cousin. He’s had measles and was told to avoid certain foods, but he still secretly followed me for roast duck, so …. I’m really sorry. Next time, I’ll remember not to talk loudly in public.” On hearing this, the long-haired girl held back what she was preparing to say. With the blush fading, she stuttered, “Oh, he… he is your cousin. That’s… that’s alright. You didn’t speak that loud. Never mind…”
He Bai continued to let out an embarrassing laughter which helped quash whatever resentment people might have towards them, and so this unpleasant episode eventually ended with his smile.
Holding the lukewarm milk tea, Di Qiuhe smiled as he was recalling the surprised look on ‘Pup’arazzi’s face when he took the milk tea from him.
“Where to?” asked the taxi driver as he started the car while pressing down the meter.
The smile on Di Qiuhe’s mouth quickly disappeared. He turned his head to look at the receding street view and pulled down his face mask a bit to answer the driver’s question, “The Heng Jing Villa. Drive slowly, please. I am not in a hurry.” Now that he had secured his role in the play, it was time to address the issues regarding the contract.
Upon hearing that, the driver mistakenly stepped heavily on the gas pedal and the car raced forward a few meters. Luckily, there were no cars ahead and so no harms were done. He hurriedly stabilized the speed and replied in a more careful manner, “Sure, sure. Relax, I’ve got steady hands. I won’t go above the speed limit.”
The Heng Jing Villa was a renowned luxurious villa compound in B City. Its residents were either rich or powerful. Who would have thought that he would be serving one of its residents? This experience was fairly exciting.
Surprisingly, He Bai got a WeChat message from a buyer after buying the roast duck back to school.
A Bird Born in Autumn: The giveaway is great. May I ask if you have more photos like this? I’m keen to buy it.
‘Buy photos?’
Thinking of this, he put the roasted duck on the table, and sat down to reply the message.
White and Whiter: The photo was randomly downloaded from the Internet, but I edited it a bit. If you like it, I will send you a few more for free. ^-^
A Bird Born in Autumn: That’s so generous of you.
White and Whiter: Don’t mention it. As it happens, I am on a few editing works recently. It’s really no trouble.
A Bird Born in Autumn: Well, thank you very much.
White and Whiter: You are welcome.
Five minutes later.
A Bird Born in Autumn: It’s Building F dormitory, North District, Q university, correct?
He Bai felt confused, but then gave a positive reply.
A Bird Born in Autumn: Noted.
White and Whiter: ???
A Bird Born in Autumn: Your bowknot is very ugly.
He Bai: “…”
A Bird Born in Autumn: But I like it very much. Thank you. ^-^
He Bai was speechless, but he had to admit that he found this buyer to be very interesting.
White and Whiter: Thank you for your kind words.
“Bai.”
Niu Junjie’s big head suddenly emerged from behind, which sent He Bai spring to his feet.
“Why do you walk like a ninja? You scared the hell out of me.”
Rubbing his chin, Niu Junjie looked at He Bai with a crooked smile, “In my experience, there are about three circumstances where a man would look at his cellphone with an enigmatic smile: First, he is watching something erotic. Second, he’s making a bucket of money. Third, he is in love. With the way you smiled, I’ll bet my money on the third scenario.”
He Bai grabbed the roasted duck and hit him with it, “Really, getting all detective on me? Aren’t you supposed to be reviewing your class notes? Come on, let’s go buy some disposable tableware. We are running low.”
“…Fine”
Di Qiuhe put down the cellphone. He was now in a better mood to present himself to confront Di Qiuhua’s downcast face.
“Why the silence? Is that supposed to make a point?!” said Di Chunhua who had had enough with the way he ignored her by playing with the cellphone with his head down. She raised her voice and said, “For a man who claimed to have renounced his right to the inheritance, you sure are quick to crawl back in disgrace. What? Are you scared of being blacklisted? Tell you what, there is no use in begging. There is no place for you in this family anymore!”
Di Qiuhe curved up his lips and showed her a scornful smile.
Di Chunhua was struck dumb by his smile, and then she exploded. She stood up to fetch a cup of tea from the table and directed her aim towards him, “What’s so funny?! What? Are you finally done playing an innocent puppy? Humph! You are in no position to smile in front of me! You are just an ill-bred bastard!”
“Shut your mouth!”
The door was thrown open by Di Bian, who was supposed to be in a company meeting. He strode in and glared at Di Chunhua, looking both pissed and surprised at the same time, “So that’s how you treat your brother when I am not around! Who taught you to say those things? Speak up! Who?!”
“Dad… why have you returned?” Di Chunhua stood up in embarrassment, instantly looking a lot less aggressive. She stole a threatening look at Di Qiuhe, signing him to help with the situation. Instead, Di Qiuhe raised his eyebrows, looking more contemptuous than ever.
“You!” Being turned back by someone who had never dared confront her before was way too much of a change for Di Chunhua and she immediately flew into a rage, “What’s that look on your face?! Go explain this to dad. I was only joking!”
Unlike her mother who was an expert at disguising herself, she was after all just a teenage girl who would show her true colors at the first provocation.
At this moment, Di Qiuhe had finally understood his folly of pretending to be nice to everyone around him. After all, disguise only comes in handy when it is in need . For those who harbor ill will towards you, it’s only fitting that you show them the same malice that they’ve shown you.
