Volume 1 - CH 9

In which there’s some (literal) face-slapping and a meal is had. Remember, kids, slapping someone requires arm strength! So train yourself early now!

Volume 1, Chapter 9

After the new year, Gu Yan joined a new cast.

It was that martial arts film with the large investment and expensive production, and it had a similarly sentimental title, called Black Hair[1]. At the time when he signed the contract, it had already been agreed that there would be two male leads. Gu Yan was playing an elegant and graceful young master from a prominent family, while another recently popular actor was playing an impatient youngster who had just recently entered the Jianghu[2]. The two of them both fell in love with the beautiful female lead of the villainous faction, and then it was all kinds of battles and conspiracies, comradery and entanglements… However, the script had been changed this way and that, and by the time filming began, Gu Yan’s parts had already been significantly cut, changing from a nominal male lead to a supporting role in reality.

That wasn’t even the most alarming. The most alarming was that such a famous young master like him had even destroyed his own appearance for the female lead, leaving a long scar across his face, turning wretched and destitute, in dire straits without end. In the end, he even simply decided just to gift the female lead his life. The so-called elegant young master in white robes appeared only in flashbacks, and that appearance didn’t even make up five minutes of the movie. For the rest of the runtime, he had to act while bearing that disfigured face.

To Gu Yan, this was not an easy task.

After all, he was able to reach the popularity he had now largely because of his looks. Now if he covered up his main selling point, then it’d draw even more attention to his obviously terrible acting. And since everyone had already long gotten used to his handsome appearance on screen, many people might not be able to accept this sudden scar on his face. So for an idol celebrity of his caliber, any kind of transformation would not be easily undertaken because the risks were really far too great.

But the contract had already been signed, so what other choice did he have?

He couldn’t just throw the script in the director’s face, right?

If he had still been with Qin Zhiyuan, then of course he wouldn’t have encountered such a thing, but right now, he no longer had a backer, and so the only thing he could do was endure.

The moment the photo of Gu Yan in costume was posted, it caused a great sensation online. In the photo, he was wearing an old cheongsam, holding up a worn-out metal sword, his expression cold to the extreme, that long scar slashed across his face especially piercing to the eyes. The cast had previously put out another photo, one of his white-robed young master appearance with jade flute in hand. When putting the two side-by-side, the difference was stark.

The fans then split into two factions, their arguments disrupting all the realms of the internet. Some thought the stylists had ruined his image and staunchly refused to accept it, while others thought that Gu Yan was no longer as young as before and so should change paths to better his own acting, expressing their tacit approval of this direction… In short, although the movie hadn’t even started filming, it had already attracted quite a bit of attention.

The true hardships came when filming started.

To create that disfigured face, Gu Yan had to spend several hours just putting on makeup and removing it. On some days, he had to get up before the sun even rose to get his makeup done in the morning, while his scenes were always filmed last, so he had to wait until the middle of the night to finish work. His face would sport a fake scar the entire day, and by nightfall, his skin was always about to break out, but the next day, he’d have to do it all over again. And that role he was playing was truly too prone to misfortunes, being beaten, injured, and spitting blood left and right. None of the scenes he acted in were easy to do. He no longer had that beautiful face to support him and couldn’t simply be a flower vase, so he suffered a torrent of scolding and abuse from the director daily.

After acting like this for a few days, Gu Yan could tell that something was fishy. Someone had definitely thought he was an eyesore and purposely did all this to teach him a lesson.

Even the dense Xiao-Chen had also realized something wasn’t right, and during a certain lunchtime, he quietly asked by Gu Yan’s ear, “Yan-ge, did you offend someone recently?”

Gu Yan startled.

Xiao-Chen continued with, “President Qin hasn’t been to the company for the last two months. I heard that a lot of the decisions are being arranged by his brother.”

Gu Yan wasn’t surprised in the least.

This kind of childish way of messing with someone was very much like something that little white Qin[3] would do.

Upon seeing Xiao-Chen’s anxious and worried expression, he couldn’t help but reach out a hand to pinch those round cheeks as he said, “Nothing’s happened, so there’s no need to worry. You’ve also worked hard this month, so next month I’ll give you a raise.”

Xiao-Chen was at a loss. “But my salary is decided by the company.”

Gu Yan said with humor, “I can’t give you a bonus out of my own pocket?”

Only then did Xiao-Chen become cheerful.

Gu Yan smiled, feeling as if there were still quite a lot of small pieces of joy in life.

Just a few days after they discussed Qin Feng, that Young Master Qin actually made an appearance and swaggered onto the set. He had tossed aside that model girlfriend and was recently energetically pursuing the film’s female lead Bai Weiwei. Bai Weiwei was a recently popular young opera actress, her looks beautiful and voice sweet. Most importantly, she excelled at conducting herself, and her relationships with people were extremely good, with someone willing to help her at every turn. Whatever she acted in became popular.

So if this low-EQ Qin Feng wanted to pursue her, then he probably had a long, slow road ahead of him.

Having taken Gu Yan’s joke that day for real, Qin Feng felt his hair stand on end upon seeing the other, truly afraid that this person would really go seduce his father, and didn’t dare to make trouble for Gu Yan face-to-face. But he was also still furious enough to grind his teeth, so he purposefully walked back and forth right in front of Gu Yan, his face a picture of ‘this great one is going to teach you a lesson about pride and moral integrity’.

Gu Yan discovered that Qin Feng was truly a magical remedy for his mood. No matter how difficult the filming was, just glancing at Young Master Qin would make him feel happier.

Today, however, when Qin Feng came to set to hang around, he actually met with a little mishap. A certain rack of props had fallen and almost hit him. Fortunately, at the time, Gu Yan was nearby and had thereupon pushed Qin Feng out of the way. Although it caused him to stumble a few steps, almost falling down onto the floor, thankfully, his beautiful face at least wasn’t hurt.

Qin Feng froze on the spot and took a long while before he regained his senses, looking at Gu Yan with a startled and doubtful expression. But he refused to say any words of thanks. On the contrary, his face grew red, and he yelled at Gu Yan for not minding his own business. He had originally come to invite Bai Weiwei out to eat, but in the end, he didn’t even mention this matter and ran off in anger.

Gu Yan was completely baffled by this behavior.

The even funnier thing happened afterwards. For two whole days, Qin Feng didn’t appear. On the third day, his previous model girlfriend rushed onto the set, also with a face full of anger. Gu Yan remembered that she seemed to be called Lily, with long legs, a thin waist, and a very delicate appearance. But this time, her hair was in complete disarray, her eyes red and swollen, and her makeup completely wiped off.

What kind of thing could make a woman forget herself like this? Most likely it was jealousy over a love rival.

Gu Yan simply thought she had come to make trouble for Bai Weiwei, and the rest of the crew members thought the same. However, unexpectedly, in the end, the one she stood in front of was Gu Yan, and gnashing her teeth, she said, “So it was you!”

For a moment, Gu Yan didn’t know how to react.

Holding onto her arm, the other party sized him up, saying, “Qin Feng was right, that face of yours looks quite good at seducing people.”

Only then did Gu Yan realize that she had gotten the wrong person, but right as he was about to explain, Qin Feng’s ex-girlfriend once again started shouting, “Do you honestly believe that Qin Feng would really like a man? He’s only playing around with you.”

“Miss…”

“Right now, he’s thrown me away, and in the future, he’ll also throw you away in the same way! What’s so good about you? All you have is a good looking face!”

Gu Yan had coincidentally been shooting the scene before his face was disfigured, so his white-robed appearance truly was quite outstanding. Having always been quite satisfied with his own face, he nodded, agreeing with the compliment, “That’s right, the ability to be reincarnated well is also a kind of talent.”

This nonchalant attitude ignited the powder keg.

That woman immediately raised her voice, “You… you’re shameless!”

Slap.

A crisp sound echoed, and Gu Yan found that he’d been slapped in the face.

This type of experience was really too novel, and so for a moment, he was stunned. Actually, this slap wasn’t very strong, but his face was really too pale, and very quickly, a handprint appeared while his cheeks slightly swelled up.

Gu Yan didn’t say anything. He simply furrowed his brows and slowly turned around, reaching a hand into his bag to grab something. The crew members were all frightened, thinking that he was about to pull out some kind of weapon, and hurried over to stop him.

How funny. How could he hit a woman?

What’s more, hitting someone would also cause his own hand to hurt, so it wasn’t even worth it.

Gu Yan searched and searched and finally pulled out a business card from his wallet. He lightly threw it at that young model and said, “Regarding the compensation fees for slander and assault, please speak to my lawyer.”

This entire scene was photographed by certain opportunistic people and was in the entertainment section of the newspaper the very next day.

The photo was somewhat blurry, but the title was extremely eye-catching — Lover? Love Rivals? A Battle Between Insults and Fists on Set!

That last exclamation point was designed to be shocking, and if anyone accidentally glanced at it, it really would give them a fright. The article itself didn’t mention Qin Feng, simply implying that Gu Yan’s personal life was very unrestrained, having a lot of ambiguous relationships with all kinds of men and women.

If Qin Zhiyuan was still around, then no media company would’ve dared to report such news, but now… now was naturally a different story.

Gu Yan really felt that he’d been wrongly accused. He hadn’t touched even a single hair on little white Qin’s head, and he still got this false reputation for no reason.

Two days after the scandal appeared in the papers, Gu Yan received a phone call from his good friend, “Hey, famous celebrity, I didn’t give you my business card so you could use it to mess with people!”

That bright and clear female voice was clearly annoyed.

At that moment, Gu Yan was on the sofa watching TV, and he hurried to take the phone further away, saying, “Lawyer Wang, keep in mind your professional image.”

On the other end, Wang Yali scoffed. “OK, say it. How will you make it up to me?”

“Isn’t it good enough that I’m doing free advertising for you? I haven’t even asked you for any publicity fees.”

“Gu! Yan!”

Only after Gu Yan had laughed enough did he then clear his throat and seriously say, “Are you free on Wednesday night? I’ll treat you to dinner.”

“In the past, I could never get ahold of you. How have you had the time recently?”

Gu Yan quieted down and said, “I don’t have as much work as before.”

The work before the new year had mostly been arranged by Qin Zhiyuan in the past. Right now, other than this movie, he had mostly finished with all other work, and his manager hadn’t given him a call in a long time. Perhaps, in the future, he’d become more and more idle.

While thinking this, Gu Yan also stated the address of a certain high-end restaurant.

That restaurant was located in the city center’s most prosperous district, its name very elegant, its interior decorating stylish, and most importantly, its dishes refined yet modern. It was booked to capacity practically every day, and if reservations weren’t made beforehand, then it’d be very difficult to get a seat for dinner.

On Wednesday night, by the time Wang Yali had rushed over to keep her appointment, Gu Yan had already gotten there, sitting in the private room on the second floor, wearing his sunglasses, and looking out the window at the scenery below.

“Is it all right for such a famous celebrity to come to such a busy place? You won’t be recognized by your fans, right?” Wang Yali purposely teased him before opening the menu and saying, “Since it’s your treat today, then I won’t hold back.”

Gu Yan took off his sunglasses and smiled. “It’s fine, don’t hesitate to order everything you like.”

Wang Yali always had a straightforward personality, and even now that she’d become a professional, she still had the same energetic attitude as before. As such, she really didn’t hold back and ordered an entire table full of dishes.

Because of his own disposition, Gu Yan didn’t have many friends, and she was one of his few good ones. The two of them chatted without much thought about recent life events, and of course the topic of that sex scandal was also mentioned. Gu Yan simply explained it with the words ‘it’s a misunderstanding’ and moved on, and Wang Yali also didn’t push for further details.

Halfway through the meal, Gu Yan knocked on the table and suddenly asked, “What do you think about the dishes at this restaurant?”

“Not bad, they’re quite delicious. Oh, but it’s still not a match for your cooking.”

“Do you want to meet the head chef here?”

“Huh?” Wang Yali stared. “No need.”

Gu Yan continued to ask, “Then do you want to meet the boss?”

Wang Yali found this even more baffling. When she raised her head, she saw Gu Yan looking at her, with a smile that was not quite a smile, hand on his chin. She wasn’t an idiot and understanding immediately dawned on her. Pointing a finger at Gu Yan, she said, “Stinky brat, you…!”

Gu Yan was afraid she’d choke and hurried to pour a cup of water for her.

Wang Yali then decided to just kick him under the table. “You opened this restaurant? When did this happen?”

“I was always saving money, and when I saved enough, I opened it.” In the entertainment circle, he never knew what tomorrow would look like compared to today, so he naturally had to secure a path of retreat for himself.

Wang Yali criticized him for not being a good enough friend, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Gu Yan picked up his chopsticks and grabbed some dishes, saying with a smile, “I dared to invite you only when business became steady. Or else, if this whole place was empty, and only a few people were eating here, then I’d be so embarrassed.”

He had never been someone who cared much about embarrassment, but he had very firm ideas and knew what he himself wanted. Once he had set a resolution, he’d steadily persevere until the end, not allowing anyone to stop him.

“Forget it, forget it, you’ve always been this type of person anyway.” Wang Yali understood him too well. Waving her hand, she said, “In the past, you clearly wanted to become a chef, but then later you ran off to act without a word of protest, and you even became a famous celebrity. You’re really skilled.”

Gu Yan didn’t mention all the complicated matters involved and simply said, as if it wasn’t a big deal, “I’ve just been lucky, that’s all.”

“Oh, right, the debt that your family used to owe…”

“I paid all of it off a few years ago.”

“That’s good.” Wang Yali raised her wine glass to toast him. “In short, congratulations on becoming a boss yourself.”

Gu Yan touched glasses with her and said, “A lot of actors will use their money to make some investments. It’s nothing too praiseworthy.”

“To other people, it might not be anything big, but for you, it’s not the same. I know that this has been your dream since you were little. Ah, that’s right, that’s right, I also need to congratulate you on making your dream come true.”

After Gu Yan said his thanks, he slowly finished drinking the wine in his glass. He didn’t smile like he usually did, merely narrowing his eyes in satisfaction — this was how he actually looked when he was truly happy.

Wang Yali looked around and said, “We’re already this close, so can you give me a VIP card?”

Gu Yan naturally said OK, and then added, “I still have something I need to trouble you with.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I’m planning on opening up a branch restaurant. The location has already been chosen, and the funds are also ready. The only thing I’m missing is a legal advisor. I have many questions that I might need to consult with you. Are you willing to help?”

“My consultation fees are very high.”

“I’ll definitely be able to satisfy you in this aspect.”

Since Gu Yan had already said this much, what other reason did Wang Yali have to refuse? As she ate, she looked at Gu Yan and asked, “Should I start calling you Boss Gu in the future?”

“Mm-hm,” Gu Yan dragged out that sound of agreement. Tilting his head with a smile, he said, “It sounds pretty good.”

“Stinky brat.” Wang Yali once again kicked him under the table. “Look at how smug you are!”

Gu Yan laughed out loud.

The two of them then talked about some funny anecdotes from the past, and the meal passed by extremely cheerfully.

Right before they left, Wang Yali even asked the waiters to pack up some of her favorite dishes so that she could bring it home for a midnight snack. Gu Yan didn’t have any objections, and he went downstairs to sign the bill at the front desk while also setting up a VIP card for Wang Yali. But when he turned around, he actually ran into a familiar person — the Qin Zhiyuan who he hadn’t seen in months.

They hadn’t been apart for too long, so Qin Zhiyuan didn’t seem to have changed much, still in a well-trimmed suit, his necktie neat and tidy, his hair combed so not a strand was out of place. The only thing that was different was probably that the woman by his side had changed again. This time, it was an alluring young woman in a fiery-red, form-fitting dress, makeup thick enough on her face to scare people.

Gu Yan couldn’t help but think that his tastes were really becoming more and more like Qin Feng’s.

The two people’s gazes met, and they quietly stared for a few seconds before each of them displayed a small smile.

Qin Zhiyuan took the initiative to say, “Long time no see.”

Gu Yan replied as natural as could be, “I heard you were out of the country.”

“Yes, I just came back two days ago.”

“How’s Director Zhao’s health?”

“He’s almost fully recovered.”

Gu Yan smiled and said, very sincerely, “That’s good.”

Originally, when ex-lovers met like this, this much small talk was already enough, and according to the usual script, what followed would just be each of them taking their leave; the carefree one still remaining carefree, the one with hidden pain still nursing that pain.

But Qin Zhiyuan insistently stood there and didn’t move. After he thought for a long time, he finally pulled out a sentence to say, “What a coincidence it is to meet you like this.”

What ‘coincidence’?

The city was only so big; they’d probably have ended up meeting just by walking around.

Gu Yan didn’t reply. When he saw the waiter standing nearby waiting to take Qin Zhiyuan to his table, he then sent the person a meaningful glance and instructed, “Mr. Qin’s my friend. Later, give him a discount.”

Fortunately, at this time, Wang Yali walked down the stairs carrying her midnight snack, and without any regard for who was watching, she rushed to Gu Yan’s side to complain, “Stinky brat, what are you doing walking so fast? Don’t you know that I’m wearing high-heels today?”

As she spoke, she stuffed her takeout into Gu Yan’s hands and then grabbed him by the arm, using him as a support rest.

Qin Zhiyuan’s gaze swept over, staring straight at the two of them, his pitch-black eyes shining under the light of the restaurant, appearing more and more dark and obscure.

Gu Yan thought that everything that should be said had already been said and thus nodded at him in acknowledgment, saying, “I still need to send the lady home, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Qin Zhiyuan still stood there looking at him, unmoving, as if he had no intention of saying his goodbyes.

See, those who break up were always like this, not even caring to mind their manners anymore.

Gu Yan felt helpless, but he also didn’t want to stand there and block business, so he pulled along Wang Yali and walked outside.

Wang Yali however kept turning around repeatedly and asked him in a small voice, “Was that your friend just now? Isn’t the woman next to him Mo Yu?”

Gu Yan returned with a question, “Who?”

“That super popular singer right now! How do you not even know this when you’re in the entertainment industry?”

Gu Yan really didn’t have any impression of her and had to admit his own ignorance.

Wang Yali had already walked out the door, yet she couldn’t stop thinking about it as she said, “Can you get your friend to get an autograph for me? Oh, it’s not like I’m interested in celebrities, it’s my younger brother who’s really into her.”

Gu Yan was a bit absentminded.

Wang Yali asked two more times before he slowly regained his senses and said, “I’m not very close with Mr. Qin.”

Wang Yali felt somewhat disappointed, but she also stopped bringing it up.

The parking lot was very close, and they reached it after a few minutes of walking. Gu Yan first opened the car door for Wang Yali and stuffed all those bags of takeout inside before walking over to the driver’s seat. Surprisingly, right when he sat down, a person’s hand appeared to stop him from closing the door.

Gu Yan turned to look and met Qin Zhiyuan’s eyes.

He appeared like he had run the whole way over — his hair a bit messy, his suit a bit wrinkled, and his breath a bit short, and only his tone was still as unruffled as ever, “I left an important document back at the company, and I’m in a hurry to get it. Could I trouble you to give me a ride?”

“Didn’t President Qin drive himself here?”

“My car just happened to break down.”

“You could take a taxi.”

“It’s not easy to call a taxi here.”

“Then…”

“Isn’t it just a simple carpool; it’s not like it’d waste much gas money either.” Gu Yan hadn’t even finished speaking when Wang Yali opened the rear car door, calling out a greeting, “Mr. Qin, where are you going? Let Gu Yan drive you there first.”

Qin Zhiyuan immediately got in, handily closing the door and courteously making an introduction.

Wang Yali had always been predisposed to acting familiar, and she very quickly got into a conversation with Qin Zhiyuan, even waving a hand and telling Gu Yan to start driving quickly, completely ordering him around like a chauffeur.

At this point, Gu Yan couldn’t tell Qin Zhiyuan to get out of the car and so he could only sigh and obediently start the car.

“Mr. Qin hasn’t eaten dinner yet, right?”

“Yes.”

“How about that beautiful girlfriend of yours? It couldn’t be that you’ve ditched her?”

“I’m meeting with Miss Mo only for the sake of work.” Qin Zhiyuan’s hands were folded in his lap, his attitude very graceful, and he purposely shot Gu Yan a look as he said, “It’s fine even if she eats alone, especially since Boss Gu was generous enough to give me a discount.”

Gu Yan adjusted the rearview mirror, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.

Of course, it was for the sake of work.

Even if she ended up in Qin Zhiyuan’s bed tonight, he’d still say the next day that he had been working. Yes, after all, practicing bedroom skills was also one type of work.

In contrast, Wang Yali completely believed it and once again had to abandon her request for an autograph, but she immediately switched gears, happily striking up a conversation on other topics. Qin Zhiyuan was quite skilled at speaking and was very good at appealing to women. He knew she liked gossip and so told her a few harmless pieces of hearsay, making her laugh uncontrollably.

As they spoke and spoke, Qin Zhiyuan looked at the Gu Yan who was so focused on driving and suddenly said, seemingly carelessly, “I’ve been out of the country for only a few months, but I didn’t think that Xiao-Gu had this much skill and was able to find such a beautiful and generous girlfriend like Miss Wang in that time.”

Wang Yali didn’t know that he had set a trap and jumped in with a single move as she followed up by saying, “My relationship with Gu Yan isn’t like that at all. And I already have a fiancé.”

“Oh, so it turned out that it was just my misunderstanding. What a pity.” Even though Qin Zhiyuan said that, his face held not a trace of regret, and his smile even seemed to deepen.

Gu Yan was sick of listening to this.

Fortunately, Wang Yali lived nearby. After Gu Yan sent her home, he immediately turned the car around, following the original way back.

Qin Zhiyuan looked at the scenery flying past the window and said, “The company isn’t in this direction.”

“I know. I’m sending you back to that earlier parking lot.”

“Why?”

“President Qin’s car probably hasn’t actually broken down, right? It’s better if you drive yourself back.”

Even after being exposed, Qin Zhiyuan didn’t show a trace of awkwardness and said in a deep voice, “I have a few things I want to say to you.”

Getting scared, Gu Yan didn’t dare to talk as he drove and simply parked by the side of the road. Turning off the engine, he said, “Speak then.”

“When did you open that restaurant?” Qin Zhiyuan’s voice was somewhat cold, and without waiting for Gu Yan to reply, he continued, as if talking to himself, “Let me guess, it was definitely some time before we separated, right?”

Gu Yan didn’t deny it. “Yes, it was in that period of time. Since President Qin’s work was so busy, I didn’t go out of my way to tell you.”

“Not bad, this’ll also let you fulfill your dreams of being a chef.” He said these words without much sincerity. On the contrary, it sounded like criticism.

Gu Yan turned quiet and lightly pressed down on his right hand before saying, “I haven’t been in a kitchen for a long time.”

He thought it was a bit funny that Qin Zhiyuan was making a fuss like this. In the past, whenever this person got a new lover, when had he ever told Gu Yan?

[1] 青絲 So, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Education’s dictionary, this word has two possible meanings, both from poetry. (Well, three, but I don’t think it’s the third one — which is dried plum lmao.) The first is “turquoise rope” basically, while the second is a fancy way of saying “black hair” (even used by Li Bai, of all people, so you bet it’s been quoted to death!). Generally, the second meaning is used euphemistically as a metaphor for youth (which then fades with time). Because of what direction the film goes, I’m fairly sure it’s the hair definition, but I could not think of a fancy way of writing “black hair”, so this is what you get. I’m sorry LOL. This is probably one of those movie titles that would be completely changed for a western release lmao. 

[2] The martial arts world, basically, separate from both the secular world of commoners and the political intrigues of the palace. Kind of like the criminal underworld if it wasn’t criminal. 

[3] 秦小白 So 小白 (lit. “little white”) can actually mean like… an inexperienced person as well as a pretty boy, and I’m pretty sure Gu Yan is using it in both senses of the word. I toyed with translating this line like that, but since Gu Yan also refers to Qin Feng as “little white rabbit”, I decided to leave it. 

Qin Feng is an awful person, but I find it lowkey hilarious how he’s basically been saddled with the position of ‘unwilling tsundere’ because of Gu Yan’s antics LOL.