Golden Boy
Golden Boy Chapter 4

translation: Finsock

 Su Pei underestimated the speed in which the gossip would spread, and the crew couldn’t hide secrets at all. 

  Today, as long as one person from the table yesterday talked about He Yiming and Fang Ziling’s fiery conversation, it wouldn’t take a long time for most of the crew to know about it.

“He Yiming exaggerates, he keeps calling Fang Ziling illiterate” and “Fang Ziling was ridiculed and is said to never read books.” Were all things being whispered amongst the crew. 

  Su Pei was wide awake, and began to feel that this ‘joke’ wasn’t all too funny anymore. 

  Xiaoyan continued on, “I still find it a little funny. Didn’t Fang Ziling market herself as someone who loves to read, and as an intelligent girl? As a result of her lie she was on a reality game show some time a while ago and couldn’t even name the three Chinese writers. Three, not even three. Only she would be so daring to say that. He Yiming openly ridiculing her must have been a sigh of relief for you.” 

  Su Pei thought for a moment, he didn’t need He Yiming to fight for him. But this is not something he wants to talk about with Xiaoyan. 

  He warned her instead,  “Don’t write about this on your Weibo. Don’t cause trouble for yourself.”

(T/n: Weibo is a Chinese social media platform. It’s often compared to twitter, it’s a “microblogging” website. So take that for what you will.) 

  He knew that Xiaoyan had a personal account for hair and makeup, clothes, daily jokes, etc.  It also contained light information about the crew and the work she does. She’s diligent in posting, and her fans love her fun and whimsical writing style. 

  Xiaoyan immediately said “Mr. Su, I still have a sense of professionalism. You worry about me too much.” 

  She also wanted to ask about what happened with He Yiming and Su Pei. But Su Pei did not want to reminisce about his night out in front of a young girl. Much like in the past, he told his story, leaving the details vague.

  Some facts about the relationship between He Yiming and himself made it seem like he was bragging. Like he was chasing clout with his friends’ fame. So he chose to rarely mention their relationship.   

  But Su Pei knows these claims are fact- when he was in college, Su Pei firmly believed that He Yiming would have a great career. He would definitely become an actor, before everyone discovered He Yiming, Su Pei believed in his abilities. 

  At that time, He Yiming’s father had gone bankrupt, his mother was ill, and his relationship with his parents was strained. Wandering around at school all day, on the verge of dropping out, spending time in the drama club, Using his face to reel in girls only to kick them to the curb and quickly run off. He was a completely different person.

  At that time, both teachers and classmates, as well as members of the drama club, regarded He Yiming as a cynical freak. No one favored He Yiming at the time, but Su Pei insisted that He Yiming was the smartest and most talented person he had ever seen. 

  He remembered that He Yiming was very quiet when he first came to the drama club, always sitting in the corner silently watching them rehearse. 

  But the first time they talked, he immediately realized that every suggestion He Yiming said was spot on. 

  Sometimes Su Pei felt that he cared too much about He Yiming’s friendship and couldn’t give up. One of the reasons was that He Yiming could see what others couldn’t. He was the first person to discover that He Yiming was a diamond in the rough. 

  So, Su Pei kept silent about his past with He Yiming. Hesternly replied to Xiaoyan, a rare occurrence. “Focus on writing your script and don’t fill your head with gossip.” 

  At the same time, He Yiming was sitting in a car. The driver drove him smoothly down the highway leading to the airport. Outside the car window was the scenery of early winter, the trees and the ground had become dry and thin, as if waiting for the first snow to cover them.   

  In the rapidly moving scene, He Yiming remembered that a long time ago, in the winter when “The Other Side of Time” was published, Su Pei and him had their first self-driving tour. The two took turns driving, unfamiliar with the road, and got off the wrong highway… They ended up in a village with no shops, and then were angry at each other on the side of the road. 

  They were starving and sat on the side of the road for a temporary picnic. Opposite them was a large wheat field that had already been harvested. The outline of the distant mountains gradually blurred in the twilight. 

  They ate the packaged roast chicken, bread and apples, and finally stopped complaining to each other and were able to chat happily again. 

  Su Pei suddenly said “I’m getting married.” 

  He Yiming blurted out in reply, “What? Why?” 

  Su Pei looked at him and smiled, and said, “Do you need to ask why?” 

  He Yiming cut off his memories, he didn’t want to remember that again. He thought that as time passed, this memory would gradually fade, and eventually there would be no trace, but he was wrong. Even today, those pictures, Su Pei’s voice at that time, are still so fresh and still sting. 

  Every time he remembered, he could only pull himself out of his thoughts abruptly.   

  Thinking of this, He Yiming turned on the phone and left a message to Yao Zhicheng, “I went to the set to see Su Pei. He is a little thinner, but he is in good spirits, and everyone on the crew likes him. ” 

  Three days later, Fang Zilings ‘fever’ healed, and she came back. 

  She carried a few large boxes of coats, windbreakers, skirts, jackets, boots, high heels, all kinds of dazzling scarves, hats, sunglasses and accessories. There are many small gifts. Her assistant moved these things for a while before finishing. 

  In addition to these ordinary trophies, Fang Ziling also brought one thing-a book. 

  Obviously Fang Ziling still cares about He Yimings joke. She asked the assistant to carry a box of books with the old flower suitcase and put it in her trailer. 

  During filming, Fang Ziling always held a book, usually Higashino Keigo’s novels. But she just flipped through it for five minutes and asked the assistant to take a few photos of her, and then the book quickly became a mat for her phone. 

  Of course no one would say anything in front of Fang Ziling. And Fang Ziling distributed an exquisite little gift to almost every member of the crew. Even Xiaoyan paused gossip for a few days because she took a small gift, and also posted a photo on Weibo, “The small gift Ziling gave to our crew staff is really sweet (love).” 

  The way Fang Ziling spoke to Su Pei improved, her attitude improved overall. It was unknown what Bo Wenchen said to her, but she no longer directly interfered with Su Pei’s work. 

  Su Pei knows very well that this was because of He Yiming’s influence. 

  It wasn’t just Fang Ziling, but even the director became polite to him. 

  Today they were going to film a dance party, in which there was a scene where the heroine was drunk. In order to bring in the feeling of drunkenness, Fang Ziling drank a small glass of white wine before shooting. In the early winter night, a layer of natural rosy blush appeared on her face. 

  During the break, Fang Ziling and Su Pei talked. This was the first time they have talked alone since the day of the party. 

  ”How do you think I acted just now?” Fang Ziling asked with a smile. She was wrapped in a down jacket, only showing the hem of a gorgeous long skirt.

  Su Pei said truthfully “Very well. It was exactly the same as how Wenli was written in the script.” 

  Fang Ziling said with a low smile, “Humph, it’s not that I am arrogant, it’s just that I act much better than him!” She was saying the male lead had no acting skills. She’s trying to build a following, for a stronger foothold.  

  Not far away, the assistant director was waving his arms and making gestures to the male lead. 

  Su Pei said “The director should think so too.” 

  Fang Ziling opened a small metal box with a cigarette in it, and she handed it to Su Pei. They smoked together. 

  She casually asked, “You’ve known He Yiming for a long time, haven’t you ever thought of working with him?” 

  Sure enough, the topic turned to He Yiming, and Su Pei was not surprised. But he still practiced restraint. He smiled and said, “He and I wouldn’t have much to work on together.” 

  Although he had been a screenwriter for three years, he still couldn’t brag and sell himself. 

  Fang Ziling thought he was pretending to be low-key. She smiled and said, “Maybe he’ll invest in film and television? I heard that someone wanted to make a biography based on his life recently.”

 It was the first time Su Pei heard about this, but he did not expect that someone wanted to film a bio on He Yiming who is still younger than 30 years old.

  He remembered that He Yiming had said that Bo Wenchen wanted to make him invest in film and television. 

  He made a joke “If they make a bio about He Yiming, what role do you want to play?” 

  This question turned Fang Zilings mood upside down. Because there was no heroine in He Yiming’s story. Although he has many scandals, he has never told of the person whom he really loves. 

  Fang Ziling asked “Didn’t He Yiming have a first love that broke his heart when he was in college?” 

  Su Pei said, “No. He was the one who broke the girl’s hearts.” He said and took another cigarette. What Fang Ziling gave him was a slender female cigarette, but it wasn’t something he cared about. His face in the smoke under the light looked softer and less haggard.

  Fang Ziling suddenly realized that it was the first time that he had been so close. Looking at the screenwriter’s face carefully, his face was pale, so he looked very clean. Unlike her previous impression of frailty, his eyebrows were very moving. 

  Maybe he is also a person with a story. Fang Ziling was lost in thought for a moment. 

  Su Pei looked at her. “I see, you can play an original role then.” He was still joking with a light and casual tone.

  Fang Ziling’s gaze faltered a bit, and she smiled “Really? But He Yiming would  definitely disagree with me acting as his goddess, right?” 

  Su Pei also smiled. Fang Ziling suddenly asked again “I really didn’t expect that “The Other Side of Time” was written by you Mr. Su.”

  Su Pei did not expect Fang Ziling to mention this, and there seemed to be something in his tone of voice.

  ”Why, have you heard of it before?” 

  Fang Ziling said, “I did know about it. At that time, I shared a rent with a good friend, and one day she gave me a novel. She said that the heroine was very similar to me, beautiful and proud. And very willful… I finished reading this novel in a week, and I wondered if the author knew me…” she said with a smile. 

  Su Pei just smoked slowly. Fang Ziling looked at him calmly, but he didn’t seem to feel flattered. Although he was smiling, the corners of his eyes were still indifferent and tired. 

  She laughed, and asked “When you were in college, was it just He Yiming that often made girls sad?” 

  Su Pei bitterly said “…He Yiming and I weren’t similar in that way.” 

  ”I, I don’t believe it. You guys were definitely the same. I have seen a lot.” 

  ”What did you see?” 

  ”You’re handsome and talented. Many people liked you in college, right?” 

  Su Pei said, “I only had one girlfriend in college. We got married after graduation.” 

  Fang Ziling was really surprised, but Su Pei immediately added “We are already divorced.”

  ”Why?” Fang Ziling blurted out.

  ”Because we were too young when we got married, we didn’t expect many things at the time.” 

  He thought a lot about his problems, and Shen Lan’s problems. 

  In the end, it can only be summarized in one sentence. 

  After smoking the cigarette, Fang Ziling patched up her makeup and was ready to continue shooting. She took off the down jacket, revealing the thin, but slender dress. 

  ”Mr. Su, it would be nice if we had chatted like this earlier.” She turned her head and smiled at Su Pei.

  

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