Chapter 273: An Objective Comment

Liu Man had her head raised as she looked at her work. There were lots of passersby behind her, but she did not get disturbed by any of them.

She didn’t know that many people were looking at her. 

This exhibit was very professional. Those who didn’t know a lot about calligraphy would probably have never heard about it. Because of this reason, all the visitors who came to the exhibit so early in the morning were all people who loved calligraphy.

These people were often very civilized and normally would not pay attention to cyber stars; therefore, when they stared at Liu Man, they didn’t recognize her identity as a cyber star but rather thought that this scene was pure and beautiful. It looked as if this scene was from a poem, and that they had traveled through time. It seemed so magical that there wasn’t a single scent of modernity found on this girl wearing a hanfu.

The sense of modernity was very vague and abstract. It was not that there were no other young girls wearing hanfu on the street, but nobody would ever mistake them for ancient people because they had a modern sense.

“Sensei Liu,” A hesitant voice sounded behind Liu Man.

Liu Man turned her head to see Zhou Budai, standing two steps away from her.

Zhou Budai didn’t dare to get closer because he was scared of ruining this beautiful scene; however, Liu Man took the initiative to walk towards him, smiling, “You’re also here for the exhibit?”

“Mhm. Since I have nothing to do, I’m here to study from others’ works,” Zhou Budai’s thoughts were similar to Liu Man’s, “My teacher’s here too. He’s talking to Professor Su over there.”

Liu Man looked towards the direction that Zhou Budai was pointing at. Two soft chairs magically appeared in the corner of the exhibit. Ou Yangcen and Su Yi were chatting while sitting down, and they each had a cup of hot tea in their hands, having a chill time.

The deputy director of the National Calligraphy Association, sure enough, had a unique treatment.

Zhou Budai noticed the inconspicuous signature in the top right corner of the paper along with the Profesor Su’s red stamp, “So the piece you have been paying so much attention to is your work. Are you really satisfied with it?”

Liu Man smiled as she shook her head, “What are some things you think I can improve on?”

“Eh…” Zhou Budai didn’t expect Liu Man to be so straightforward. Normally, don’t people enjoy being complimented on? Why was Liu Man trying to challenge herself?

“Don’t be polite. If there’s anything bad, just say it. I want to hear the opinions of others.”

Liu Man’s question was very genuine. 

“But I’ve only learned the clerical script when I was in elementary school, and later on, I switched to learning the cursive script. It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything in the clerical script, so I’m not professional at it. However, since it’s your request, I’ll help you review it,” Zhou Budai took one step back so he had a broader view. He started studying Liu Man’s characters, stroke by stroke.

“In general, it’s great and is very comfortable to look at; however, I think your trace of mimicking others is very obvious. Did you write this according to Professor Su’s works?” Zhou Budai asked her.

“Mhm,” Liu Man admired him, “You are very professional!”

“It’s just that I’ve studied Professor Su’s work before,” Zhou Budai felt a bit embarrassed to be complimented on by a beauty. He continued to say, “My teacher has told me before that there are two ways to mimic someone else’s work as you’re learning. One is to mimic the appearance, and one is to copy the feeling the words give you. For example, when an artist draws a portrait for someone, copying the appearance meant that they would draw their face and hands. Copying the feeling the person gives them would be drawing their actions and how they laugh. Your words are more of the first type, and it’s a bit unnatural,” Zhou Budai was afraid Liu Man would get angry, so he added on, “This is only my personal opinion, so don’t take me seriously.”

Liu Man, however, nodded, for she learned something. No wonder Professor Su was so satisfied with this work of hers; it looked like his work. Who would not like themselves?

“Do you have any other work to recommend for me? I’ve not been studying the clerical script for a long time, so I’ve always been using Professor Su’s words as a model. I don’t have any other examples to take into consideration.”

Zhou Budai naturally asked, “How long have you studied calligraphy?”

“Five months. At the same time, I’ve also been learning the official script, but my official script is worse and shouldn’t even be seen. If you have any models for official scripts, please also recommend them to me.”

“…”

Zhou Budai felt extremely astounded on the inside. She was a total genius for being able to produce such a great piece within five months! He had studied the clerical script for three years when he was younger, and he wasn’t as good as her. This was too embarrassing for him!

“Sorry, I’m going to take back my comment. Your work is completely fine. For beginners who have just started five months ago, it’s normal to copy the appearances. It’ll be fine if you just practice more,” Zhou Budai emphasized, “It has no issues; however, it sure cannot beat other clerical script works.”

Zhou Budai was very objective. He glanced around at the other works and pointed at one specific piece, “In the few clerical scripts works nearby, I think that piece is the best.”

Liu Man walked over to read it. The piece read: “A horse can run for thousands of miles, but it cannot go that long without a rider; A man can have the courage to fly until he touches the sky, but without fate, he cannot understand how he can do it.”

This quote came from “Po Yao Fu” by Lü Mengzheng, who was from the Northern Song dynasty. Under high pressure from Professor Su, Liu Man had memorized this poem before.

These words were written beautifully. The strokes were steady, they were large and proud, yet it didn’t lose its beauty. Liu Man looked at who the author was, and he was named Su Maolin. She casually wondered: “Why is his last name Su as well……”

“Because he is Su Xuezhen’s son.”

Liu Man was shocked and asked, “Is it ok for the judge’s son to participate?”

“No rules are forbidding this, but normal judges would take the initiative to avoid these types of situations.

Yesterday, when they went back home, Zhou Budai had asked follow-up questions to Ou Yangcen about Su Xuezhen. Ou Yangcen felt he should also remind his apprentice, so he told Zhou Budai everything. Therefore, now Zhou Budai also knew all about Su Xuezhen and felt contempt for him.

He was standing far away before and did not see the author of the piece. If he had known before, he would not have led Liu Man here. It ruined his mood. He was also wondering why, despite Su Xuezhen was so immoral, he was so skillful at calligraphy. Even his son was very talented. As a wise man once said, all talented fathers had talented sons.

Liu Man suddenly felt that this piece of work was revolting, and didn’t want to look at it again. She asked Zhou Budai, “Where’s your work?”

“I’ll show you where it is.”

Zhou Budai’s cursive work was at the other side of the hall. At this time, many people were crowding around his piece; everyone was admiring his words.

Liu Man heard the words of approval and the gasps of admiration. Some people took photos of it. The visitors were, sure enough, not amateurs. Some people took photos of Su Maolin’s work just now.

The cursive script was very hard to read and recognize. Liu Man stared at it quietly for half a minute before being able to read what he wrote: “Not taking advantage of any outside force yet still being able to independently survive; not running out of energy as my actions form a cycle.”

“Zhou Budai,” Liu Man murmured.

“I’m here!” Zhou Budai replied jokingly.

The two were already very familiar with each other and were not as awkward as before.

“So your name’s ‘dai’ is ‘殆’, I thought it was the ‘怠’ from neglect.”

“Haha, many people make the same mistake as you at the start. My mother had a hard time giving birth to me. My dad was waiting outside, feeling very anxious, so he could only read Tao Te Ching to calm himself down. Later on, I was born, so he instantly got the inspiration to give me this name.”

“So your work is about why you received your name.”

“Mhm. Now, you should be the one to comment on my words. How do you think I did? Be honest. I want to hear your opinion,” Zhou Budai told Liu Man the exact words of what she had just told him.

Liu Man thought for a moment before saying, “My comment is only one word: debonair.”

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Translated by: Sydney and Yutong/Puppxteer

Chapter 272: The Opening of the Exhibit

Su Yi told Su Xuezhen to go away, and he did, without turning back once.

Their mentor-and-apprentice relationship broke from then on, and they became strangers.

Later on, Su Xuezhen’s work naturally passed the second round. Like previously mentioned, all apprentices of famous mentors could pass the second round. Back then, there were much fewer people who signed up — not even over ten thousand people. This was why, back then, the face-to-face was the last round, and there was no free-write round.

Su Xuezhen got eliminated in the face-to-face round, and he was top 32 in the entire national exhibit.

To a youngster who was only 22 years old, this ranking was already really good. The contestants who were ranked above him were all older than him.

Su Xuezhen, indeed, had skills and abilities.

Through his outstanding performance at that calligraphy exhibit, Su Xuezhen started to become famous. He was a very aspirational but collected person, so he did not let this small accomplishment get to his head.

Without Su Yi’s mentoring, he taught himself and studied others’ work, repeating this day after day. He finally got payback for his hard work, and he got hired by the local Gudu government and became a government worker. From then on, his life became better and better, as if he had a cheating system. Now, he had long stopped working for the government. He was earning so much money being a calligraphist and the principal of his academy.

And Fang Huaiyuan gradually stopped being so interested in studying calligraphy because of this. He was more leaning towards treating calligraphy as a hobby and he wanted to focus on his actual job. It was probably why outstanding people were outstanding at everything, not just their specialty. In 30 years, he conquered all of his challenges and finally became the principal of Capital University.

After Su Yi finished the story, he straightforwardly ate a hypotensive drug to calm himself down,

“I told you these things because I want you to pay attention to Su Xuezhen tomorrow, in case he tries to obstruct you.”

Liu Man nodded, her appreciation filled her heart.

She felt pity for Principal Fang. During summer, she would often visit Professor Su’s house to practice her calligraphy, and she would often meet Principal Fang. She had already discovered that Principal Fang rarely writes. Before, she felt curious. Wasn’t Principal Fang one of Professor Su’s apprentices? However, he did seem quite uninterested in calligraphy; besides, she didn’t hear about any famous work coming from Principal Fang. As the principal, he could at least write words on plaques for academic buildings and gyms. Nonetheless, Principal Fang never did that.

The younger disciple he cared so much about back then returned his care with backstabbing. It completely broke Principal Fang down.

If Su Xuezhen didn’t replace his work that year, perhaps Principal Fang would already have become a calligraphist.

His selfish actions completely changed the two people’s lives.

After returning to her room, Liu Man searched up Su Xuezhen on Baidu and examined the description of his past life. She also looked at his work. To be honest, his clerical script was great, and Liu Man’s work was bad when compared to his. She admitted that she couldn’t be compared to him.

And when the description was elaborating on his relationship with Su Yi, the phrasing was: “Mr. Su temporarily received some education from the calligraphist, Mr. Su Yi,” The sentence completely avoided his embarrassing history and did not mention a single word of how he was disowned. He even took advantage of Su Yi’s reputation to make himself look better.

On the second day, the Nation Calligraphy exhibit, both opened at the Gudu Exhibition and the Capital Art Center. Three hundred outstanding works that passed the second round were exhibited, and the exhibit was open to the public for free.

The 200 exhibit contestants that had their works on paper were sorted into 20 groups according to their different fonts. The people who wrote with the same font were put into the same group. The judges were going to choose forty outstanding authors within twenty days, and these forty people were going to fight against the twenty carving contestants from the Capital Art Center for the top ten ranks.

Liu Man had already known beforehand that she would be sorted into the eighth group, and she knew that her round would be during the afternoon.

But she and Professor Su had promised each other to go visit the exhibit during the morning, for this was really why Professor Su made her join the exhibit — to learn from the works of other authors. Learning from examples was also an important part of learning calligraphy.

Liu Man changed into her hanfu, “Xiama”, in her room. Xiama was a dress made fully from ramie, and the pattern of the ramie was very clear. The color of the dress was the original ramie color, a kind of yellowish-white. In Liu Man’s past life, this kind of material was named the “summer fabric”, since the fabric felt light and cool.

Compared to the first five sets of hanfu that Liu Man had worn before, “Xiama” was more on the low-profile side. It was more natural and casual for her to wear “Xiama”, the style it gave off felt like an “Ancient Forest”.

She tied up her hair with a single hairpin, and she did not wear any makeup. Like what Zhong Jiangnan wanted to see, she was austere and simple all over, not wearing any flaunty accessories.

Liu Man packed up and waited for Su Yi in the hotel lobby.

Everyone in the hotel had their eyes glued onto her.

Just by standing there, she was already a ray of sunshine.

Su Yi walked out of the elevator and saw Liu Man’s elegant and calm silhouette. He called her name.

Liu Man turned her head and smiled at him.

Su Yi had almost lived past one century, and it wasn’t until today when he finally understood what “The smile that charms all make the concubines lose their glow.” meant.

TL’s Note: This was a Chinese saying used to describe how attractive Royal Concubine Yang, one of the prettiest royal concubines histories has ever seen, was. In this context, it is used for describing Liu Man’s beauty.

“What’s going on today? You look extra nice today.”

The eighty-year-old elder did not care about anyone’s appearance; as long as one wasn’t naked, appearances did not matter to him. However, Liu Man, today, really made his eyes glow.

TL Note: As Puppxteer, I have noticed that this sentence structure makes the old dude seem like a pervert. But I swear on Sydney’s life that he isn’t.

Liu Man lowered her head to pull on her dress, “It must be because of this hanfu.”

“Oh? Is there anything special about it?” Su Yi understood the Han dynasty’s history, but he didn’t know a lot about their clothing.

So on their way to the exhibit, Liu Man gave a detailed lesson to Professor Su about Zhong Jiangna’s hanfu.

When they got to the exhibit center, they followed the people who treated calligraphy as a hobby into the exhibit. Two hundred pieces, with different content and different fonts, that were either horizontal or vertical, were framed and hung up on the white wall. They looked very astonishing and stylish. A place like the exhibition had walls that were ten meters high. The place looked very empty and large, making even the crowd inside look tiny.

Su Yi randomly looked at a few pieces that were nearest to the entrance, as he commented, “All of the contestants this time are pretty skillful.”

Liu Man also thought everyone did a great job. After all, if they could be chosen from more than eighty thousand pieces, these contestants must all be outstanding; none of them would be just mediocre.

“Are you feeling a bit nervous?” Su Yi smiled and asked.

“No,” Not only did she not feel nervous, but she also felt excited. She already felt very honored that her work could get hung up and presented here. This was a recognition of her work, and it was also a reward for her teachers, Madam Xu and Professor Su.

The association was probably afraid that the visitors would get tired of these pieces, so every work was hung according to their fonts and there were different fonts in between. For example, if the previous one was a cursive script, then the next piece would either be the official script or the clerical script. There were exactly 200 works, filling all the walls. It took Liu Man a long while before she was able to find her piece.

“As one keeps a pure mind like a mirror, one would feel free and flexible.” The large words hung high on the wall. Liu Man’s regular script was like her character, refreshing and elegant; therefore, it was not, at all, suppressed by those large works with hundreds of words nearby but rather prominent.

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Translated by: Sydney

Edited by: Yutong/Puppxteer

Chapter 267: Yu Zhan’s Background

The treatment process for the Parvovirus was very frustrating, and Pear was in his most dangerous state. He had to be watched, and Yu Zhan had to stay in the clinic overnight again.

He told the Tao siblings to go back. It was no use even if they stayed here all night.

After the nurse was done with her disinfection work, she went home. Ye Ziliang was temporarily staying here since his filming was incomplete. He was going to record the entire process of Yu Zhan curing Pear with his phone.

On their way home, Tao Zhiyao asked Tao Zhiwei exactly who Yu Zhan was.

She guessed that she must’ve met Yu Zhan when she was a kid; however, as a kid, she loved staying at home and did not fit in with the other kids. She hated participating in social activities and did not make any male friends. She didn’t know her brother’s friend circle either. Besides, who would remember this kid they met one to two times in their childhood?

Tao Zhiwei reminded her, “Do you still remember the funeral for the Yu family?”

After hearing these words, Tao Zhiyao could finally remember! Now she knew where she had met Yu Zhan.

There was a family in the old neighborhood that her family used to live in — the Yu family.

At that time, she was too young and didn’t know anything but that the Yu family was richer than hers.

Suddenly, one day, her parents brought her and her brother to the Yu’s funeral. It left a deep impression on her because that was the first time when someone she knew died because of an unnatural reason. It was Uncle Yu, at a similar age to her father, and his wife who died. They had an accident on a plane and both died in midair above the Atlantic Ocean. Their bodies were never found.

The atmosphere at the funeral was grave and sad. All there could be seen was black and white. There were some strangers who knew how to speak foreign languages, and they were all from the Yu family who rushed over from different places in the world.

When it was time for the memorial speech, her mother cried. Her mother was good friends with Mrs. Yu.

The solemn environment, the black and white portrait of the deceased, the tears from her mother, and the expressionless strangers all made her feel afraid and helpless.

She sneaked out from the crowd while her parents and her brother were not paying attention, and she walked outside. She realized that a boy, just like her, was walking out too.

The boy was wearing a small-sized black suit and black dress shoes. The blackness made it look like his face was pale. He was the only child in the Yu family, and at the start of the funeral, he was the one holding his parents’ portrait.

She caught up to him and said in a low voice, “My condolences.”

He stopped walking and turned to look at her. They were about the same height, and she could see that his eyes were amber.

He told her, “Thanks.”

That year, Tao Zhiyao was eight years old, and Yu Zhan was ten years old.

Tao Zhiyao could remember that, after the funeral, everything in the Yu mansion got moved out, and she had never seen Yu Zhan since.

“What about after the funeral?” Tao Zhiyao asked her brother. She guessed that her brother was still in contact with Yu Zhan.

Tao Zhiwei said, “Later on, Ah Zhan moved to his grandparents’ house, and they took care of him. He still lived in the capital, but he wasn’t as close to us as before. After four years, he went to school in the US. Later on, I never got to see him again. Until today, I finally know that he has been back already and even opened up a small pet clinic.”

Tao Zhiwei had a mixture of emotions inside. Since Yu Zhan’s parents passed away, they all seemed to have grown up overnight. Everyone talked to Yu Zhan so carefully and tried their best to make Yu Zhan feel happier; they were scared that he was going to do something harmful to himself. Even the naughtiest of them all, He Lushen, stopped bullying Yu Zhan. He was nice to Yu Zhan from then on, like a little brother, and did whatever Yu Zhan wanted him to do even until today.

Yu Zhan inherited everything his parents had, and he was most likely the youngest billionaire at that time; however, he was still so low-profile and modest, always silent. He didn’t want to trouble anyone. Maybe every person from the Yu family had this personality.

Before he went to the US, he treated Tao Zhiwei to dinner. This was also the last time that Tao Zhiwei saw him in the last ten years.

Tao Zhiwei knew nothing about Yu Zhan’s life after that. He didn’t expect Yu Zhan to be willing to become a mediocre vet. Before, Yu Zhan’s family kept a dog as a pet. Tao Zhiwei wasn’t interested in pets and couldn’t remember what breed it was, but he did remember that Yu Zhan really loved the dog. When Yu Zhan moved away, he brought the dog with him.

Tao Zhiwei felt that Yu Zhan was willing to be mediocre only because of what happened to his family. Regardless, as long as he felt happy and free, no matter what job he had — or even if he didn’t work at all — it was all fine.

Tao Zhiyao started reflecting after listening to her brother’s words. If her parents died when she was ten years old, she must’ve completely broken down. She admired Yu Zhan from her heart. After experiencing such a detrimental incident, his personality did not twist, and he did not give up on life. He was still such a positive and kind person. Being so rich when he was so young, he was not extravagant and did not take the wrong path. He still put all his heart into chasing after his dreams; such a man was too rare and precious.

No wonder he and Liu Man attracted each other. Tao Zhiyao felt as if they were the same type of people. No matter what kind of hardship they experienced and no matter how hard they fell onto the ground, they could still smile and stand back up.

In their minds, the world must be so wonderful.

Tao Zhiyao was just thinking of Liu Man, and her phone started ringing. She took her phone out, and it was a call from Liu Man!

The two girls chatted with each other over the call for half an hour.

The space inside the car wasn’t at all big. Tao Zhiwei heard the entire call as he was beside his sister. Because the conversation involved Yu Zhan, he asked out of curiosity, “Whom did you call just now?”

“Yu Zhan’s girlfriend,” Tao Zhiyao said naturally.

Tao Zhiwei was very shocked.

“Yu Zhan has a girlfriend?! Don’t you like him?”

Tao Zhiyao: “…”

“Which eye of yours saw that I like him? Don’t say this kind of nonsense outside,” Tao Zhiyao looked very serious, “Yu Zhan’s girlfriend is a good friend of mine, and her name is Liu Man. Last time, you saw her back at home. She was that girl wearing the peach-colored hanfu.”

Tao Zhiwei was deeply impressed by this girl, “She also returned from the US?” Liu Man looked unfamiliar but had a great temperament. Tao Zhiwei thought she only became Yu Zhan’s girlfriend because she was from a rich family and had returned from college in the US.

“No…” Tao Zhiyao briefly introduced Liu Man to her brother, “Although her background is very mediocre, none of her accomplishments are mediocre. Just now, she told me in the call that she’s soon going to be at a calligraphy exhibit in Gudu. Oh, she even became Zhong Jiangnan’s model.”

Liu Man called her for two reasons. First, Liu Man wanted to set a time to return the “Coral” hanfu to her. Secondly, Liu Man wanted to thank her because she only got chosen by Zhong Jiangnan. After all, she was wearing the “Fenghua” hanfus.

“Who’s Zhong Jiangnan?” Tao Zhiwei felt confused.

“A very famous costume designer. Forget it, even if I say more, you won’t understand it either,” Tao Zhiyao was too lazy to explain. Her brother didn’t even care about her clothes, not to mention hanfu’s.

Tao Zhiwei wasn’t angry, “Tell me more about Liu Man.”

“What do you want to do?” Tao Zhiyao was very alert. Her brother was so interested in Liu Man; was he going to steal her from Yu Zhan?!

Tao Zhiwei couldn’t help but start laughing, “I just want to see if this girl is worthy of being Ah Zhan’s girlfriend.”

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Translated and edited by: Sydney

VSROWDC Chapter 1 Part 1

Hewwo, everyone~ This is the new novel we’ve just started working on. All of our other novels have been BG, so we thought we’d try something new and see if we like translating BL novels more. We hope everyone can enjoy VSROWDC! This novel was not written by us. All rights belong to jjwxc and the author, 凉白开开. If you want to support us, make sure to join our Discord server, drop a like on this post, and visit the original raws site! It would be a great help.

Now, enjoy. ❤

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Ji Zeyu had a long and dark dream. He was drowning in the waves of the ocean, suffocating.

The moment Ji Zeyu woke up, he subconsciously moved his limbs and found nothing wrong. He finally exhaled out of relief—He was still alive, at least, and he was not paralyzed.

His head felt heavy, and the shock of the car crash still lingered in his heart.

At that time, Ji Zeyu was sitting in the car his company arranged for him and was heading to the final round of a talent show called “Music Idol” with his agent, Xiao Nan.

During the entire trip, Xiao Nan was very hyper. After all, it was the first time that Ji Zeyu had entered the finals after his participation in so many shows. In the past, he had always stopped below the top ten marks.

“See, that’s what I’ve always said. You always get rewarded for your hard work.” Xiao Nan smiled genuinely and told Ji Zeyu, “You have such skills, so you definitely won’t be a ‘background’ anymore.”

Ji Zeyi smiled and said thanks, but in his mind, he knew everything clearly. No matter how good he was, he could never get in the top three—The three other candidates were all younger and more handsome than him. They also had larger fan bases than he did. Even if he managed to enter the finals, he would still only be an accompaniment.

It was quite funny. Ji Zeyu had been in the entertainment circle for seven to eight years, and he had participated in talent shows every year. He even got tagged as the “twice-cooked pork”. He was 28 years old this year, but he still had only accumulated so few fans. All the judges only gave him comments such as: “You have lots of skills, but you are just not unique enough.”

He once believed in the saying, “As long as you work hard, you will get what you deserve”, too. However, with no background and a not-so-good-looking appearance, no matter how good one’s talents were, they still wouldn’t be prominent in a talent show. It was how cruel the entertainment circle was.

Xiao Nan saw his gloomy face and guessed what he was thinking. Xiao Nan didn’t talk more and silently turned on her phone to read some novels about the entertainment circle. She loved reading them, both BL and BG stories.

It was a hobby that Ji Zeyu could not understand—If you are literally in the entertainment circle, why would you bother reading this fiction?

“What the fu-, this male side role is disgusting!” Xiao Nan shouted angrily, “He reeks of green tea the moment he steps in, and the spoilers in the comment section say that he does even more disgusting things later on….”

Ji Zeyu glanced at her and said calmly: “These characters are necessary for the plot.”

“Wait…” Xiao Nan held her phone as her eyes widened, “The frick? Why did they name the character this?!”

She said as she held her phone up to Ji Zeyu, “Look!”

Ji Zeyu glanced at it out of boredom before saying with a hint of surprise: “Ji Zeyu…. the same name I have?”

“That’s right!” Xiao Nan’s eyebrows furrowed, for she felt ambivalent at that moment, “Ji bro, I really love this book, but if the vicious male side role has the same name as yours, I will quit reading…”

She didn’t even finish speaking when the sound of a sudden harsh brake sound and the sound of the broken windshield came.

Xiao Nan screamed. She didn’t hold on tightly to her phone, so the phone fell out of her hands in the moment of impact. Her phone flew straight towards Ji Zeyu’s forehead.

Ji Zeyu felt immense pain, and he didn’t even see what car their van crashed into before he fainted.

Ji Zeyu stopped dazing off and remembered that he needed to go. Although he was destined to be a stepping stone even if he attended the finals, it was a precious opportunity for exposure after all, and he had to go to the contest immediately.

And so, Ji Zeyu struggled to get up before he suddenly froze.

He just realized that he was currently lying inside a bathtub, and the water temperature was just right. The aroma of the shampoo and the mist surrounded him.

Ji Zeyu looked around; he knew this wasn’t his house, nor would it be the hospital. Did Xiao Nan send him to a hotel after the incident? But Xiao Nan was a girl, so she could not have possibly carried him into the bathroom… 

He walked out of the bathtub with much confusion. He grabbed a towel and dried himself, then wrapped the towel around his waist, trying to figure out what happened as he decided to step out of the bathroom.

When he passed the sink, he took a glance into the misty mirror and couldn’t help but reach out to wipe it — He wanted to see if his face got damaged during the crash. He didn’t look good even before the incident, and it would be even more terrible if it got further damaged.

After wiping off the mist from the mirror, Ji Zeyu withdrew his hand and looked in the mirror. The unfamiliar boy in the reflection looked back at him.

The young boy only had a towel around his waist. He had a nice stature and had abs. His hair was dampened, his face was mince, his skin white, his eyes were hazel-colored, and his nose bridge was upright.

Those eyes also seemed like they were covered with mist. If one only looked straight at him calmly, they would be amazed by his charm.

Ji Zeyu’s eyes widened. He stepped back, and the boy in the mirror did the same. Even if the boy’s face looked surprised, he still had a lively temperament that belonged to a youngster.

Ji Zeyu opened his mouth and squeezed out a few words from his throat arduously: “Who… the fuck… is this?!”

The boy in the reflection lip-synced his voice.

Everything was telling him that—The person in the mirror was himself.

At the same time, dozens of pieces of memory flooded his brain like ocean water. Ji Zeyu had to prop himself up on the sink with both of his hands to stand up straight.

After about ten minutes, Ji Zeyu slowly recovered from the shock, but his heart was still beating fast.

The information in his brain told him that he transmigrated into a book called “His Celebrity Future” and turned into a side character that had the same name as him.

If Ji Zeyu remembered correctly, this was the book Xiao Nan read before the car crash.

And Ji Zeyu was the character Xiao Nan hated so much.

In this book, Ji Zeyu was the classical evil cannon fodder. He had good looks, stature, and a powerful background, but he just didn’t have the brains. In the talent show, “Shining Future”, he falls in love with the main top* character Lu Nanyun, and thinks of every way possible to sleep with him. He even pushed the main bottom* down the stage during rehearsal.

TL’s Note:

Top: The ‘dominant’ one in a relationship

Bottom: The ‘submissive’ one in a relationship

All of his evil deeds got exposed on the night of his debut, and Ji Zeyu was kicked out of the show, turning into a stepping stone for the main characters in the novel. In the end, fans who hated him poured sulfuric acid on his face, not only disfiguring his features but also turning him crazy.

“Why is there a character this fucking dumb…” Ji Zeyu accepted the fact that he transmigrated into a book, but he couldn’t accept the fact that this character was so idiotic, “And he has the same name as me… Is the author one of my haters?”

Ji Zeyu didn’t read much of it, but Xiao Nan had often informed him of these kinds of books. Therefore, he guessed that if he followed the original storyline, he could escape this world.

So, Ji Zeyu took a deep breath and comforted himself: “I’m already a ‘professional’ talent show participant, so I’ll just complete the show, and I can go.”

He felt determined to be a good boy and finish the original plotline, then he would go back to the real world and enter the finals.

At the same time, a voice came from outside the door:

“How much longer are you planning to shower?”

The voice was clear yet cold, he sounded a bit annoyed, but it could not cover up the sexiness of the voice.

Ji Zeyu was taken by surprise — Although he knew who he was and knew how the plot went, he did not know which part of the book he was in, nor did he know that there was someone else in this room.

“What? you want to stay in my room forever?”

The voice from the door came again, contemptuous and sarcastic.

Ji Zeyu lingered a bit, his mind humming to life as he realized what was happening.

If he was right, then “Ji Zeyu” would be in the hotel at the moment, preparing to sleep with the original male lead. The voice outside the door came from the lead himself, Lu Nanyun.

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Translated by: Puppxteer/Yutong & Teresa

Edited by: Sydney

Chapter 243: Five-star Rating

“This scene gives us a closeup of Vet Yu’s eyes. I saw them clearly; his eyes are amber-colored. They look so pretty.”

“I just don’t know how his face looks like. I really want to take off his mask.”

“He looks very tall, and he’s at least 180 centimeters in height..”

“Vet Yu is now the new male god in my heart.” 

“Who was your old male god?”

“Tang Tu. Hehehe, I’m a fan of Tu Tu. I love them both so much.”

“I am a male, but I f*ing think Vet Yu is very attractive, too. It feels so comfortable to see him working. I’m guessing he must be a very sophisticated and educated gentleman. This kind of man does have some charm.”

“Yeah, yeah. He has a really good temperament and has a style.”

“I also got charmed by Vet Yu.”

Ye Ziliang initially thought having Liu Man show up would bring his documentary some popularity, but he never expected Yu Zhan to get more welcomed than Liu Man. Everyone ignored the Hanfu Goddess’s scene just now and was all drooling at “Vet Yu” in front of the screen.

At last, Ye Ziliang himself finally showed up in front of the camera. He had Melon in one hand, and his other hand was petting Bitter Gourd on the head. He described the entire reason and process of him filming this “Vet’s Cuties” in person, and at last, he said modestly: “This is the first documentary I’ve ever filmed in my life. If there are any flaws or mistakes, please tell me in the comments.”

“The documentary’s producer looks pretty handsome.”

“Boys who love animals all seem gentle.”

“And he seems young. He’s probably around 25 years old.”

“As this producer’s first documentary ever, I think this is already a very good film.”

“I just feel like the video is too short. It would’ve been better if they filmed two more stories.”

At the ending part of the finale, there were three bloopers:

Blooper 1: Miss Yu was looking at Fairy’s seven babies and was smiling like a child. She counted them one by one, and she wanted to touch them, but she didn’t dare to. She turned around and asked the Nurse sis, “Can I pick them up? Will they get easily pinched to death?” 

The Nurse sis found it funny, “They are not that weak.”

Blooper 2: After Mr. Hong learned Da Huang survived, he immediately started crying out of extreme happiness. Men shouldn’t be crying easily, but he couldn’t control himself for a dog. He incessantly expressed his gratitude for Vet Yu, “Thank you, thank you.”

Vet Yu patted his shoulder, quietly comforting him.

Blooper 3 did not have any scenes. On the dark screen, everyone could hear a young girl say, “All the filming at my end is done.”

“Call it a day. Let’s go have some dinner snacks to celebrate the completion of our work,” This was the voice from that producer just now.

“Call everyone. Let’s gather together!” This was from another unfamiliar girl.

Next came the noises of tidying things up.

After this, the lively and joyful piano playing from the beginning sounded again. Within this playing, a line of huge words first came up:

“Naming and Co-Organizer: Documentary Division from the National TV Department”.

Then, each of the production staff’s names appeared one by one:

Script & Director: Ye Ziliang

On-the-Spot Guide: Sun Weiwei

Videographer: Tao Zhiyao

Paul’s Narrative & Postproduction: Jiang Chengfeng

Music: Li Xiaoru

Makeup: Miao Xiaomei

Guest Starring: Liu Man

“I see the Hanfu Goddess’s name!”

“I feel like the names on this credit list all look familiar.”

“Why is the name, ‘Ye Ziliang’, so similar to the famous director’s name, ‘Ye Zian’?”

“This is probably just an accident on similar naming.”

“Li Xiaoru is the Hanfu Goddess’s roommate whom I have followed on Wei Bo. No wonder all the music in this documentary is piano playing. Looks like she played them all.”

“Is this Sun Weiwei the original scriptwriter of ‘Happy Guo Guo’?”

“Hey, it does seem so. Let me go flip through ‘Happy Guo Guo’s’ original videos.”

“You are still following ‘Happy Guo Guo’? Ever since ‘Happy Guo Guo’ changed their scriptwriter, their videos became so boring.”

“I’ve also unfollowed a long time ago. I don’t know why, but after the Hanfu Goddess left, Shi-Senpai became so portly-looking to me.”

“Yay, yay, yay. I got to the video. Sun Weiwei is surely that scriptwriter who suddenly quitted from the ‘Happy Guo Guo’ team before. Not only that, but Tao Zhiyao and Jiang Chengfeng used to be members of ‘Happy Guo Guo’ too. Although they’ve only participated in the production of episode 11 in the ‘Shi-Senpai’ series, I think that episode is the best. After this analysis, I suddenly realize the production team of this documentary is so powerful.”

“Yeah. As a cyber documentary with a low fund, they’ve already done great. I’m giving it a five-star.”

“Besides, they are only students. They filmed this video as an amateur, but its production is very delicate and feels professional. This is very awesome; I’m giving it a five-star.”

“I love Paul so much! He has such beautiful hair and is so obedient. He’s so cute! I’m giving it a five-star for Paul.”

“I originally thought this is only a documentary based on animals. I never thought the content would be this interesting. Vet Yu also gave very detailed descriptions of medical protection facts about animals. Now that everyone’s lives are getting better, there are more and more people keeping pets. Medical expectations for pets will also become higher and higher. This documentary came out right on time. I’m also giving it a five-star.”

“This documentary has deeply attracted moi’s heart. Such cute cats and dogs all hit me right on the spot, and it’s very meaningful, making us put more attention into injured animals. I hope everyone can treasure pets and treat them well. I’m giving it a five-star.”

“Thank you to the production team for giving us such gentle impressions. I even want to give it a six-star if I can!”

“I’m also in the vet industry. Vets and nurses working in small pet clinics are tired and hardworking, but sometimes, being accompanied by fluffy babies is also something very comforting. I hope the pets pharmaceutical and medical industry in our nation can get more perfected and ameliorated in the future. I’m giving this a five-star.”

“This documentary has made my eyes glow. There has never been a documentary based on pets. This is awesome, splendid, and creative. I really, really want there to be a second episode so Vet Yu can give us, the poop carers, some suggestions on conveniently and reasonably feeding our pets. I’m also giving it a five-star!”

“I watched this all in one go. I own a dog, so I relate deeply. Pets are not just pets; they also have lives. If an owner decides to take a pet in, they should treat their pet carefully. They will thank their owners in another way. When we, the owners, feel upset or disappointed, they would accompany us. When we have nothing left, they would jump out and tell us that we still have them. Therefore, I would like to tell pet owners to treat their pets carefully and love them. The time they have to accompany you isn’t long. In their eyes, you are the sole thing they can depend on. For those who don’t own pets, please, for sure, treat the animals around you well. Every life is beautiful. I’m definitely giving this documentary a five-star. It speaks out loud my feelings and thoughts!”

Almost all the commenters rated five stars.

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Translated by: Sydney

Chapter 242: A Warmhearted Man

After some silence, the male rubbed his eyes, trying to hide away his tears. He said in a low voice, “I know he won’t survive this. He’s a stray dog from a compound I rented an apartment in. I usually call him Da Huang. Every single time I call ‘Da Huang’, he would run over to me, wagging his tail. I bought some dog food, and I feed him every day. I even made him a home in the hallway with a paper box and old pieces of clothing.”

“Every morning, he would be wagging his tail as he saw me go off to work. Every evening, he would be kneeling at the entrance, picking me up from work. Today, when I went off to work, I didn’t see him, and I knew something was wrong. I looked for him everywhere, and I only found him at the entrance of the compound. He was thrown away in the green belt. At that time, his hind legs were already like this.”

“Bro, you’ve already done everything in your ability to help Da Huang. Stop blaming yourself,” Paul’s voice comforted him.

Lots of netizens felt a soreness spreading in their nose, for they felt touched.

“I don’t want Da Huang to die. He’s this bro’s buddy. What would bro do without him?”

“Is the situation this critical? Can he survive?”

“Even if he survives, he will be a disabled dog. What will happen to his future with him being stray and disabled?”

“If a dog doesn’t have hind-legs, he won’t even have the freedom to move freely. Compared with painfully being alive, dying would be better.”

“Can you stop being so negative? Haven’t you heard that doing whatever you can to stay alive is better than having an easy death? People can have artificial limbs if they don’t have legs, and dogs can, too.”

“Hehe, do you even know how much artificial limbs for pets cost?”

Everyone was still discussing when the screen turned black again, and a line of words appeared: “After more than an hour of surgery, Da Huang’s life was finally saved.”

“That’s great, that’s great.”

“As long as he’s still alive.”

“Now, bro can finally sigh in relief.”

“I really disagree with their choice of saving him…”

On the screen, Da Huang was laying in an incubator with his eyes closed. His two hind-legs were already gone, and pieces of gauze covered up the parts of his body which he had lost.

At the same time, a conversation sounded in the background: “Call Manager Wu to customize a set of wheeling chairs for a disabled dog and measure the basic stature and limbs’ length for Da Huang.”

“Okay.”

“How much does the wheeling chair cost?”

“It’s around 4,000.”

“Who’s paying this money?”

“The boss, of course.”

“My boss is very kind, and he’s very passionate about animals. Haven’t you guys noticed? The stray dogs and cats on our street all have a fitting stature. Ever since the Moonlight incident, my boss used his own money to buy cat food and dog food. Every day, he feeds the cats and dogs around us right on time, which makes them grow fat.”

“Besides, without a wheeling chair, even if we cure this Chinese Garden, he still won’t be able to live his life. We’ve already spent so much energy into saving him, and we won’t lose on this last 4,000 RMB.”

This conversation had no start or end, and not a single character appeared. The different voices crossed over each other, but they answered the confusion from the few audiences just now — The issues of the dog’s future. This vet wearing a mask had already thought of solutions.

“Those people who just asked why the vet isn’t doing it for free, step out and accept your face-slaps!”

“People who had just now said saving the dog would be meaningless, come out and accept your face-slaps too!”

“All doctors should have a great love for everyone that’s beyond boundaries and should rescue all patients from torments. This vet has all of my respect.”

“I watched all of the four recent documentaries, and this one gives me the deepest impression. Sis and bro are all doing fine, and I hope these cute babies can all have good treatments.”

“Yes. I used to dislike animals, but even I’m touched right now.”

“I only want to know what is the ‘Moonlight incident’.”

Audiences who watched the documentaries and the fans of Princess Man were two different groups of people. Until now, they had not overlayed.

The screen turned black again, and a line of words appeared: “Da Huang is still resting in the clinic today, and he’s doing great recovering. The wheelchair customized for him is being worked on right now.”

To prove this sentence, the next scene was Da Huang laying on a specially made pet bed. A cone was put on his head to prevent him from licking his wounds, and his hind-legs were still covered. His pair of eyes were round and watery, and they looked very lively. A beautiful piano playing rose at this moment as if it was wishing for the day Da Huang could completely recover.

The scenery changed, and four pets appeared. Paul got into the scene once again as he introduced everyone to his buddies, “Now, I will introduce everyone to my friends. The blonde with green eyes is Daylight, the whitish-gray fur with green eyes is Moonlight. The white fur with different colored eyes is Melon, and as for this dog who has always been disliking me, you can call him any name. Sure, call him ‘fried dog’.”

The narrator, Paul, had just finished his sentence before the small Pomeranian with messy hair bared his teeth at him.

“The Pomeranian looks so tiny and playful.”

“The three cats are even cuter, okay? My heart is melting from the overload of cuteness.”

“These are all purebreds. According to Paul’s introduction, they should be British Shorthair (Gold-shaded), British Shorthair (Silver-shaded), and Persian cat in this order.”

“The three cats cost more than these two dogs.”

“Hey, hey, hey, you guys are focusing on the wrong thing. To me, no matter the price and the breed, every fluffy baby is cute.”

Paul’s narrative revealed the mystery of “‘Moonlight’s’ incident” for everyone: “My buddy, Moonlight, was in a similar situation as Da Huang. He was a stray animal on the streets. One day, a sis sent him here and requested for Yu Yu to save him. At that time, he was almost dying. Luckily, Yu Yu has very good medical skills and rescued him from the god of death. Later on, sis adopted him and gave him a cool name, ‘Moonlight’, which coincidentally matches Daylight.”

“So that’s what happened. I didn’t know that the silver shaded used to be a stray cat. Look at his fluffy, thick hair and his fat appearance. He doesn’t seem like he has a pitiful past at all.”

“I still feel like the names, ’Moonlight’ and ‘Daylight’, are all a bit familiar-sounding to me. I think I’ve heard them somewhere.”

“Same, I also feel they sound familiar.”

Just when the few audiences were feeling very confused, the side face of a sis appeared in the video. She put Moonlight on her laps, lowered her head, and petted the cat on his chin. Her long, straight hair spread onto her shoulders, and her eyes were very gentle.

This scene only lasted ten seconds. The sis only showed her side face, and everyone didn’t have the time to react before the scene flashed through.

“Were my eyes tricking me? Was that sis, just now, the Hanfu Goddess??”

“I rewound and went back to watch it again. It’s gotta be the Hanfu Goddess herself.”

“Mhm, I took a screenshot of it. She’s the Hanfu Goddess.”

“No wonder I said these cats look familiar, and their names sound familiar. They are the Hanfu Goddess’s pets. She often shows pictures of these two kittens on her Wei Bo.”

“This is magical. Who made this documentary? They actually invited the Hanfu Goddess and her cats to participate as special guests.”

“Compared with the Hanfu Goddess, I feel like Vet Yu is more attractive.”

At this moment, the video was placing the scene of Yu Zhan holding Moonlight high up into the air. He was still wearing a mask, and his pair of good-looking hands were holding onto the cat’s butt and jaw. His eyes locked into the cat’s green eyes as if he was trying to coax the kitten. Even the audiences outside the screen could feel his passion towards small animals.”

“This is so warm. Vet Yu is a super, super warmhearted person.”

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Translated by: Sydney

Chapter 241: Vet Yu

This chapter is longer than usual. 😢 Enjoy! ❤

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“This vet looks so handsome.”

“He’s only showing a pair of eyes, and you can tell he’s handsome??”

“His eyes are so good-looking, so the other parts on his face must not be bad either.”

“Hehe, what if he has buck teeth?”

“It’s very possible, or why does he always wear a mask whenever he gets filmed? He’s probably sorry for the lower half of his face.”

“Mhm. Wearing a mask is similar to why some men like wearing sunglasses. They usually wear sunglasses because their eyes look too ugly, and only the lower half of their face is barely enough to be seen.”

“But this vet’s eyes definitely look perfect, and his posture is very upright. My guts tell me he’s a handsome guy.”

…

Ever since Vet Yu appeared, the audiences had never stopped sending comments, which kept on flying over the screen.

“Hey, my poop carer is dealing with a patient right now. She’s a young German Shepherd, and her name is Fairy. Hi, Fairy sis.”

The German Shepherd, who was being held in Miss Yu’s arms at the moment, was as if responding to Paul when her black eyes coincidentally looked upward. The camera, at this moment, aimed at the German Shepherd’s stomach, giving it a close-up.

“Fairy sis, your stomach is so big. How long has it been since you got pregnant?”

The German Shepherd looked very uninterested and showed no intention in answering Paul’s question.

Paul continued to say, “Sis is very shy. Let’s ask her poop carer about how she’s doing.”

Miss Yu said, “She has been pregnant for sixty days, and the expected date is almost arriving, so we are visiting Vet Yu to confirm one more time whether she needs a cesarean operation.”

Tao Zhiyao did a great job on editing. Miss Yu was answering Sun Weiwei’s question in this part, but now, it seemed as if she was replying to Paul.

Miss Yu then started smiling. Her smile was sweet and was full of happiness, “I’m about to become a grandma!”

“Fairy’s owner seems so cute when she smiles.”

“She also seems a bit pretty even without smiling.”

“The dog looks so happy. She’s like a family member to her owner.”

Next, Paul stopped talking, and it was mainly a conversation between the vet and the German Shepherd’s owner about the cesarean operation.

“I just learned that even dogs can go through a caesarean operation!”

“You have such limited knowledge. Even rats can go through caesarean operations…”

“Dogs are just like humans. Sometimes, they would encounter dystocia. If their dystocia is critical, then they can possibly die.”

“It’s so magical. I don’t keep pets, and this is my first time getting to know a pet clinic. I feel like it’s no different than hospitals for humans.”

…

Then, the scene switched back to the pet clinic’s main hall. A young girl in a blue nurse uniform appeared, and Paul continued to introduce, “She’s Yu Yu’s assistant, sis nurse. Let’s get to know her daily job.”

“Sis nurse, what do you usually do for your job?”

The nurse thought seriously for a moment before saying: “I do a lot. I make up prescriptions, I do injections, and I help patients set up intravenous drips. During surgeries, I have to give my boss his scalpels, help him clean the wounds, and help him take out stitches. Oh, and every day before we operate, I have to tidy up the place. Sometimes I even have to walk my boss’s dog!”

“Hey, looks like sis nurse is very unwilling to walk me!” Paul said somberly.

The audience all laughed.

“Hahaha, so she has to walk this narrator dog.”

“There’s no way. She has to walk her boss’s dog.”

“Sis nurse looks as if she’s been mistreated, having to walk the dog.”

“But it does seem like she has a busy job.”

Among everyone’s laughter, the screen turned black, and a line of words described: “The German Shepherd’s owner, Miss Yu, agreed with Vet Yu to a cesarean operation for ‘Fairy’ after three days.”

The next scene was a closeup of a surgery lamp. There was no one to be seen, and the scene didn’t show any blood at all. However, the incoherent voice from that vet with really good-looking eyes just now could be heard:

“Urinal pad, toilet paper, gauze… hemostat, I just opened the stomach… Give me the strings…” A pair of hands wearing medical gloves appeared in the camera, not waiting for the audience to react. 

The camera turned, and seven cuties as big as mice could be seen, lying on the cotton cloth in neat rows. Sis nurse was cleaning the dirty spots on their bodies one by one. 

“Ahhh, so cute!”

“How can these pups be so small and so cute! Their mommy looks so domineering.”

“Seven at once. I feel like the German Shepherd mommy’s body got emptied all at once…”

“I can only see sis nurse. Sis is so careful and attentive.”

“I want to say this vet has such good-looking hands. It’s unfortunate that they were only on the screen for one to two seconds and flashed through quickly.”

“Initially, I came in because I was so bored. I didn’t think this documentary would get more interesting the more I watch it.”

“No matter the species, every life that got born can touch a person’s soul.”

Paul’s voice appeared again, “Fairy sis is now going to feed her babies. These scenes are inappropriate for children, so we won’t show them to everyone.”

The video screen turned black again, and another line of words appeared: “One day later”.

A young man with a Chinese Garden in his arms rushed in, “He got hit by a car.”

The narrator, Paul, screamed, “His legs seemed to have been crushed. Yu Yu, Yu Yu, come over here.”

Vet Yu, once again, appeared on the screen. The videographer only filmed half of his body, and nothing above his neck was shown. They could only hear his voice, “The situation’s bad. Prepare a surgery now.”

“I’ve visited multiple pet clinics. All of them are either still closed or are unwilling to take him in.”

“Wait, I want to ask. How much will I need to pay? I’ve just started working recently, and I only have 4,500 RMB on my salary card. Just now, the front desk of another pet clinic said they will need 15,000 RMB with such a situation.”

“Here, we only need 1,500 RMB.”

The flying comments in the video instantly increased like mountains of cow hair.

“I’m dropping a like on Vet Yu!”

“Whether he’s handsome or ugly, his style seems very handsome to me.”

“Whoever said they need 15,000 RMB is morally corrupted.”

“The pets medical industry is very violent and morally corrupted indeed. People who have the money to keep pets naturally have the money to send their pets to vets.”

“Godly logic. You don’t need much money to keep a pet. If you manage to save some feast money every month, you will be able to get a cat or a dog.”

“Yeah, yeah. Are the poor not allowed to keep pets now?”

“Since Vet Yu knew this boy was short of money, why didn’t he do all he can to help the pet? Why didn’t he treat the dog for free? 1,500 RMB is still a little expensive.”

“Do you know that this counts as a moral kidnapping? They are opening up a pet clinic; don’t they need to earn money? They are working so hard; are they donating kindness to the society?”

“It’s obvious that this rural dog’s hind-legs have been crushed, and the surgery is at a high level of difficulty. I think 15,000 RMB as the surgery fee is very logical, and this Vet Yu really is being a benefactor.”

…

All the netizens were arguing against each other on the medical fee problem.

The story in the video still continued. The young man had very red eyes, and he awkwardly covered his face with his hands, “Don’t film this part.”

Paul, the narrator, sighed, “Aiya, this bro is almost crying, too.”

The netizens heard him and stopped debating. They continued to watch the video in silence.

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Translated by: Sydney

Chapter 240: Releasing the Documentaries

“How horrible are the summertime TV shows? I’m actually watching a documentary in front of my computer right now.”

“But this documentary surely is better than those low IQ shows. I’ve just learned there are so many gossip stories in the Ming and Qing dynasties, especially the concubines’ lives in reality. They are much more pitiful than the concubines in the TV shows acted by actors.”

“No need to say more. Just for these six precious artifacts, I will give it a five-stars review.”

“I think this documentary is very meaningful. The artifacts recorded the changes of the dynasties, and they witnessed wars and the separations of families. I will also give this documentary a five-star.”

“I’ve been to the forbidden city twice, and every time, except for the photos I took, I always felt like I learned nothing. I didn’t understand the stories behind these artifacts at all. I’m prepared to go there again.”

“I love documentaries about history. I love artifacts, I love the history, and I love China!”

…

Guo Nan had some skills. His documentary had a high-tiered starting point that traveled back six hundred years so the audience could experience the history these old items carried. The summary of the documentary read: “Spreading Chinese traditional culture”.

On the evening of August 2nd, before the second documentary was released, “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” already had more than 50k views. However, some people still only gave it a one-star review.

“The six stories are not at all logical and are incoherent. I feel like the author randomly picked some stories on the internet before they went to the forbidden city to look for corresponding artifacts. Therefore, some details cannot be expressed at all, and they look very stiff.”

“The actors being the background in stories look very awkward. In some scenes, I felt they were almost going to start laughing. Can they please put in more effort? This is a documentary produced by the national TV department, after all. Why isn’t the production carefully done?”

“I think the producer of this documentary must be a neophyte. Many transitions of some scenes were edited weirdly. The previous story wasn’t even done, and it just suddenly stops before quickly rushing into the next story. This affects my sensory organ. Sorry, I will only give it a one-star.”

“Same. The script probably wasn’t done, and they didn’t know how to continue filming, so they probably directly started the second story.”

…

You are currently reading on vandeztranslations.com

Because “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” was unexpectedly welcomed by many youngsters. “Daily Life in the Live News Room” had just got released on the official national TV website before someone transferred it to other more popular websites.

“Daily Life in the Live News Room” was just like it sounded, and it told the story of how live news anchors worked behind-the-scenes. This producer, within ten days, followed two tier-three anchors in the national department and live-recorded their daily routines before editing them into a documentary.

“I love this idea! Just by looking at the title, I will give it a five-star.”

“My mom likes the news from these two anchors! She’s watching the documentary with me right now.”

“The female live-streamer is so pretty. Hehehe, I’m giving it a five-star.”

“News anchors always look super serious on the TV, but I didn’t expect them to be no different from us normal people in private.”

“This is okay. I don’t think it’s better than yesterday’s ‘Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City’, though.”

“I feel like this is similar to one of those reality shows with media show celebrities in them. There’s nothing unique about this. I’ll give it a three-star.”

“And these people talk in very formal styles as if they are reading from a script. This is not a live record at all. I’m only giving it a one-star.”

“I skipped through most parts. There are no climax spots, and it’s not funny. It really is a “daily” documentary, and to be honest, it’s a bit boring. I’m giving it a two-star.”

“Daily Life in the Live News Room” obviously did not get welcomed as much as “Six Hundred Years in the Forbidden City” did. After one day, it only received a bit more than 10k views.

On August 3rd, “Lights of the City” got released. That same person, just like the last two times, swiftly transferred it to the other websites.

“Lights of the City” was more closer to reality. It described five jobs in the city that silently contributed to society, including the cleaning crew, traffic officers, nurses, kindergarten teachers, and construction site employees. It meant that normal people were the lights of the city.

“To be honest, the plot is a bit too cliché. I’m giving it a one-star at most.”

“Mhm, and the entire documentary is forcing people to be sentimental, but I haven’t found a single place that makes me want to cry. I’m giving it a one-star too.”

“I admit that these people are very tired and are very hardworking, but normal people, like us, don’t have easy and relaxing jobs either. Didn’t the money we earn come from our hard work? Three stars.”

“I want to say that my cousin is a kindergarten teacher. She’s not that admirable like kindergarten teachers described in the video. Every time I see her, she would complain to us about how annoying the kids are. ‘Annoying’ comes from her original complaint. She says that sometimes, she wishes she can throttle them.”

“Your cousin is so horrifying. Which kindergarten does she work at? We’ll make sure we don’t choose that one.”

“They’re just complaining orally. If her cousin is unscrupulous, the commenter wouldn’t have said it.”

“In every job, there are admirable people but also scumbags. I don’t like the feeling of being represented and being stereotyped. One-star.”

…

“Lights of the City” had an even worse effect than “Daily Life in the Live News Room”; there were only a bit more than 7,000 views, and the popularity soon sank.

Until now, “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” had a rating of 4.6, “Daily Life in the Live News Room” had a rating of 3.9, and “Lights of the City” had a rating of 3.2.

On August 4th, Ye Ziliang’s ‘Vet’s Cuties’ finally got released online.

Because the previous three documentaries were getting worse and worse effects, the fourth documentary would probably be even worse according to the pattern. Therefore, that person who transferred the documentaries did not upload that video so quickly like before. He first watched it on the national TV website himself.

After he finished watching it, he couldn’t resist but watch it a second time!

After his second time watching it, he finally pulled himself back to reality and uploaded this documentary to the other websites.

For his three previous uploads, he had never written any extra comments for the documentaries due to his laziness. This time, he couldn’t hold back the excitement inside, and he wrote in the “remarks” column: “This documentary is a treasure! It’s worthy for you to spend thirty minutes in your life to watch it.”

His remark was so exaggerated that people who initially had no interest became intrigued.

The audience first looked at the title — “Vet’s Cuties”. Was it about pet hospitals? The idea was quite unprecedented.

When the video was first clicked open, a lively and joyful piano playing first came to one’s hearing, and as the music went, a dog’s head suddenly appeared on the screen. The audience who knew about dogs all recognized that this was an Alaska. The Alaska’s mouth was open, and the corners of his lips were pointing upward. He was showing a dumb smile.

“Such a cute doggo! Definitely a cute pet!”

“I love the three dumb sled dogs! Each one is dumber than the previous.”

TL’s Note: The “three dumb sled dogs” are how people refer to the three dogs: Husky, Alaska, and the Samoyed.

The piano gets softer and softer, and with the piano as accompaniment, the dog suddenly starts talking: “Hello, everyone. My name is Paul. I’m an Alaska Alamute that was born in America. This is where my poop carer works.” As the dog explained, the scene switched to the entrance of the pet clinic. The signboard got blurred out, and the audience could only see: “Medical Services for Pets: Mondays to Sundays: 9 a.m — 10 p.m. The clinic will be closed on Tuesdays” in blue font.

“I often hang out to play around here, too. Here, let me introduce you all to my most admired poop carer…”

A man in asepsis clothing, who was wearing a mask, appeared in the scene. In his hands was a medical report as he talked to a client. His eyes, just as how the doggo introduced, were attentive and serious.

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Translated by: Sydney

Chapter 239: Penalty

On the second day, Zhang Pei when to the old storage place to send out products with the employees. Liu Man was at the new warehouse, so she wasn’t worried at all.

At noon, when it was lunchtime, Owner Wang took the lunchboxes up for them. Zhang Pei was very familiar with Owner Wang now; she knew that whenever he came upstairs, he must have something to talk to her about.

Sure enough, Owner Wang said, “Owner Zhang, I need to negotiate with you about something.”

He said in an obsequious tone. It was obvious he had a request for Zhang Pei.

Zhang Pei was exhausted from dealing with Liu Chengyu, so she was in no mood to entangle with Owner Wang, “What is it? You can directly say it.”

“I would like to take back the second floor,” Even Owner Wang himself felt too awkward. His voice was very tiny, “I’m not renting it out anymore.”

Ever since the last time Liu Man visited his restaurant, she had brought him lots of popularity. His restaurant instantly became a very well-known cyber star shop.

Owner Wang’s business could not be even better. Spots were reserved every day, especially at dinner. The line with customers waiting and holding numbers usually could reach the entrance of the pet clinic.

As for during the time Ye Ziliang and the others were filming the documentary, they had never even thought about eating at Owner Wang’s, for they could never squeeze in.

The first floor could no longer hold so many customers, Owner Wang naturally wanted to take back the second floor, which initially belonged to him, so he could earn more money.

The problem was, the contract Owner Wang and Liu Man had signed lasted for one year. Now, only half a year had passed since they signed the contract. Owner Wang was obviously violating the contract.

He knew he was the unreasonable one regarding this matter, so he took the initiative to say, “The deposit and the rest of the rent will be refunded to you at that time. I will give you every single penny I promised.”

Zhang Pei did not reply. She was thinking about her and Liu Man’s plan.

After renting the warehouse, they were already planning on leaving the old storage space. This place was too small to be a warehouse, and it was inconvenient to both unload and load products. If they stop renting this place, they would be able to save 14k RMB every month.

They had already thought about it. At the end of August, the warehouse makeover should be almost done. After they were sure they would be able to use it regularly, they would leave Owner Wang’s house. The penalty for violating the contract was the deposit, and they wouldn’t want the deposit back anyway.”

They didn’t expect Owner Wang to ask them first. This was such a lucky coincidence, but unlucky at the same time; there was still an entire month before they reach the end of August.

Zhang Pei asked, “When do you want us to leave?”

As soon as possible, of course!

Owner Wang only dared to think about it, and he said,

“We can negotiate about that.”

Zhang Pei started manipulating the penalty. She had read the contract before. No matter which side violated the contract, they would have to pay the other side the penalty. Owner Wang was obviously violating the contract first.

She was already very familiar with Owner Wang. Should she ask for this money? Besides, she knew Owner Wang’s restaurant got popular and his business became very good all because of Liu Man.

Owner Wang, seeing how Zhang Pei had not been replying at all, assumed she was upset and was reluctant to leave. After all, their business was very popular, too. Every single day, huge delivery vans came over to get their products. Where could they find another fitting storage space now that he was suddenly kicking them out?

He thought about it for a moment. He was very clear that Liu Man was the sole reason why his restaurant got popular. If he offends Liu Man, she could make a protesting video online, and he would be a complete goner, “How about this? I will let you continue renting this place until the end of August. You have one month to find a new place.”

“Let’s do this according to the rules on the contract. Excluding that, you must give us one month’s worth of rent as the penalty. On the 31st of August, we will leave right on time. You must give us 42k.”

Zhang Pei’s official attitude made Owner Wang feel very uncomfortable, “Owner Zhang, we are already friends. Why are you so merciless?”

“Weren’t you merciless when you told me you want us to leave?”

Owner Wang laughed awkwardly and could only accept this deal. He would treat this money as the fee for Liu Man’s advertising, and it would be worth it.

Before he left, he told Zhang Pei, “But people like us, who do business, cannot be too softhearted anyways, or else we won’t be able to earn money.”

Zhang Pei let these words melt into her heart. Mhm, her heart was getting harder and harder right now, especially towards her husband.

After the filming stage of “Vet’s Cuties” ended, it immediately entered the editing stage. The entire team got together and cooperated, and they finally finished all the work at the end of July.

On July 28th, Ye Ziliang handed in everyone’s hard work to the documentary department. The leader opened the documentary files from the other three and glanced through them briefly, and only Ye Ziliang’s work did not get looked at at all. The leader told Ye Ziliang, “Copy it over and it’ll be fine. Later, the website’s video team will upload your video. Just wait for the results.”

The leader didn’t put any hopes into his work. His words were basically implying that after the results come out, Ye Ziliang would naturally be out, and he wouldn’t be a subordinate to him anymore.

Ye Ziliang could hear the chuckling from his three competitors. 

Guo Nan’s chuckling was especially loud.

Ye Ziliang felt very upset. His yearning for a reward wasn’t as strong as back when he first received his task.

He had tried very hard with everyone on his team for almost a month, and he really enjoyed the process of their fighting. He no longer focused on the final result and didn’t care about winning. He only wanted the video he and the others worked so hard on to receive the most basic respect, but his boss could not even do that.

Ye Ziliang asked himself:

He did all he could just to stay in such a work environment and to get an official job here. Were his actions worth it?

On July 29th, 30th, and 31st, the recommendation homepage of the national TV department’s official website changed into an image. The image read: “The documentary team will post a new documentary every day starting from next Monday, and this will continue for four days. We hope you look forward to them.” Besides these words listed the four documentaries’ titles: “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City”, “Daily Life in the Live News Room”, “Lights of the City”, and “Vet’s Cuties”.

“Vet’s Cuties” was listed last. Obviously, they didn’t pay any attention to Ye Ziliang’s work.

On August 1st, “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” was the first to get played on the national TV department’s official video website.

Compared to the other video websites, the official national TV department’s website had very less visitors. This website featured more traditional work, and the audience was mostly people above forty-years-old. Most of them chose to watch the programs on TV, and they rarely go online. Even if there were lots of advertising in the past three days, “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” still received very less views. There were only 1,000 views and only nine comments.

However, in the early morning next day, some youngsters who had nothing to do and stayed up overnight discovered the new documentary the national TV department came up with, realized it was pretty good, and immediately transferred this video to video websites that younger age groups liked. On these websites, “Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City”s’ views immediately grew on an exponential scale.

“Six Hundred Years of the Forbidden City” was centered around introducing the past of six artifacts. It introduced the stories of historical figures behind these artifacts and their complex relationships. The times varied went from the start of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, which crossed six hundred years. The film introduced one artifact from each decade.

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Translated by: Sydney

Chapter 238: Selling

Sun Yiyi didn’t care how ambivalent Liu Chengyu was feeling. He officially told Liu Chengyu to hurry up on paying Li Shuhua. They’ve already spent three million. If they offend Li Shuhua for just 150k, they would lose something bigger. Li Shuhua could get him out, and he also could throw him back in jail!

Liu Chengyu had just gotten his salary for this month. Because he was on trial, he only had 3,500 RMB. It wasn’t even enough for his meals, so where could he get the 150k?

Was he really going to have to beg Zhang Pei?

When did he start asking women for money?

This was illogical and wasn’t going to happen!

In fact, Liu Chengyu had already thought of a way to accumulate money.

He turned his house inside out and found the car keys, which got hidden by Zhang Pei.

He resolutely sold the car he used in that incident.

When he bought the car, he spent more than 200k, and it had only been used to drive a bit more than 50k miles. Initially, he thought he would be able to sell it for 100k, but since there were still traces of the car accident left on the car, which could be seen no matter how he fixed it, the buyers all shook their heads and left when they saw the car and heard that it had been in the traffic bureau before.

He had no choice but to push the price down to 70k before a buyer was willing to take it.

After taking the 70k, Liu Chengyu still had no idea how he would solve this problem. He pondered for a long time, sitting in the living room when his eyes suddenly noticed the set of the piano in the main bedroom.

And so, an idea came to his mind.

These days, Zhang Pei had not taken a single break from her busy work with Liu Man. That year, when their house was getting modeled, she was the one who was fully in charge. At that time, Liu Chengyu had to go to work and only gave her money, letting her do whatever she wants. Her daughter also had no opinions and didn’t care about anything. Zhang Pei had deeply experienced the pain, and she even got sick out of exhaustion.

Compared to the warehouse makeover this time, that house modeling was nothing.

Luckily, she had Liu Man to help her do half of the job. Every week, excluding the three days in which she had to take lessons from Professor Su, Liu Man was there all the time. Liu Man arranged everything neatly, so Zhang Pei only had to be a supervisor to ensure the employees’ attitudes and progress.

The makeover employees worked in all kinds of places in the factory, and now, this place was no different from construction sites. The temperature was sweltering, and the work was exhausting and dirty. Zhang Pei and Liu Man were not coquettish at all. They worked all day and only rested at night, eating and working with the employees. Every day, when it was time to go back home, both of them were completely covered in sweat and dust, and they both stank.

On this day, Zhang Pei, once again, returned home, smelling stinky. The living room was dark, and only the rooms were lit up. Sure enough, Liu Chengyu had already laid on his bed early in the evening.

Zhang Pei was going to first take a shower. All her belongings were now in Liu Man’s original bedroom.

She entered the room, turned on the lights, and at first glance, she realized that the piano that originally leaned against the wall was gone. A rectangle black mark was left on the light-beige-colored wallpaper, which was the outline of the piano. She immediately opened her drawer chest, which she stored all her important credentials and papers in. Sure enough, everything seemed to have been touched. She took a closer look and realized the car keys were gone.

Zhang Pei instantly felt surprised and angry. She turned around to go find Liu Chengyu. Entering the room, she immediately interrogated in a sharp voice,

“Where is Man Man’s piano?”

Liu Chengyu was watching a video with his phone and was giggling. He lifted his head to see Zhang Pei, with a dark expression, standing in front of him. He didn’t take her seriously,

“I sold it.”

Such light words.

Zhang Pei was infuriated, and she almost couldn’t take her breaths. Her face was extremely red, and her eyes widened like they never did before as she glared at him. Her appearance was a bit horrifying, and she scared Liu Chengyu. He then, finally, sat up on the bed and said as if his actions were reasonable, “It’s the end of the month. That Lawyer Li had already called us, asking for his payment. To get him his money, I sold both the car and the piano and barely got the 150k. I gave him his money right in time.”

“Who gave you the right to do whatever you want to Man Man’s things? Who allowed you to flip through my things without my permission?” Zhang Pei hollered at Liu Chengyu, “You wanted to sell the piano and the car, but why didn’t you tell me beforehand?”

Liu Chengyu was getting upset from being yelled at, and his expression straightened, too, “The money spent on buying my daughter’s piano came from me. Is that ‘Man Man’ you are talking about my daughter? What right does she have, using my daughter’s things? We are husband and wife to each other. Why can’t I even touch your things? There’s no secret.”

Luckily, when Liu Man left the house, she only brought with her her belongings, or Liu Chengyu might’ve said she was a thief.

“Are you blind? You haven’t seen and are reluctant to see how much Man Man has done for our family. How many times have I said it? Without her, we would be broke and the family would’ve collapsed. Why can’t you get over her past? Why can’t you see her good side?”

“You are determined on letting me accept a person I’ve only seen once as my daughter. Don’t you think it’s too hard for me?” Liu Chengyu felt he had been extremely wronged. His daughter was gone, and his wife was forcing him to accept another daughter, “You’ve just been brainwashed by that Princess and are always saying good things about her. You haven’t been this good to our daughter before!”

“Why is your mind so fixed? Why are you so selfish and stubborn? You should feel the most shame about our daughter. You are the one who caused such huge trouble by drinking and killing someone in a car accident. You aren’t reflecting on your actions, but now you are blaming others?”

Liu Chengyu said firmly, “Back in the detention center, I’ve already reflected many times in front of the officers. I’ve already had enough reflections! Drinking and driving are completely different from my daughter’s soul getting changed.”

Zhang Pei was so angry to the point that she started calming down.

For everyone else, they would see true love in the hard times. For them, they would see true morality in the hard times. She had been married to Liu Chengyu for more than twenty years, but she had never seen him so clearly. She was probably blind from the “true love” and the “happiness” in the past. More and more flaws of Liu Chengyu were now showing up, and Zhang Pei could no longer tolerate them.

Liu Chengyu, seeing how Zhang Pei’s appearance was not as scary as it was just now, thought she was no longer angry. His tone showed he wanted peace, “All I’ve done was selling the piano. There’s no need to be so angry with me. Even if the piano stayed here, nobody plays it anyway, so it would’ve just been a useless decoration. I haven’t touched your things either; I’ve just taken away the car keys.”

“Even until now, you still don’t know why I got angry. I’m also this house’s owner. From start to end, you haven’t respected any of my opinions,” Zhang Pei stopped yelling at Liu Chengyu; it was just that her indifferent tone seemed as if she was talking to a stranger.

“I don’t even know what you are so busy about every day. I never even catch a glimpse of your shadow. How could I have told you?”

Liu Chengyu had a huge “mountain” of reasons. Even if he couldn’t see her, at least he could’ve called her.

Zhang Pei didn’t want to argue against him anymore. Her heart was getting tired and was feeling pain. For such a type of person, it was not worth it to get sick because of her anger. She stopped talking, turned around, left Liu Chengyu’s room, and even “thoughtfully” closed the door for him.

Liu Chengyu thought she was admitting to losing this argument. He felt very proud. No matter what they were arguing about, she would never win against him. In the end, he would still be the one taking advantage.

TL’s Note: The original chapter title here is actually “Chapter 238: Selling the Car and the Piano”, but I was afraid it would be too much of a spoiler. Sorry! XD

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Translated by: Sydney