TLN: It’s not yet the end lol. We still have 6 chapters to go. [告一段落 (gào yī duàn luò) – to come to the end of a phase (idiom)]
With the dust settling after the Golden Jade Awards, the tone shifted drastically when it came to mentioning Ye Zhou. Especially after the top hater of Ye Zhou, Flying Melon, posted a lengthy Weibo, it seemed like all the haters scattered like birds and beasts, no longer displaying their ferocious demeanor.
Everything was unfolding in a positive direction. However, whether the external evaluations were high or low, they were no longer important to Ye Zhou. More than these superficial praises and criticisms, he cared more about the people around him.
After “The Most Beautiful” won at the Golden Jade Awards, it continued to gain considerable success at several other prestigious film festivals that followed, even receiving invitations to numerous international awards.
Ye Zhou attended every event, accompanied by Mr. Jiang. While Ye Zhou stood on the stage shining brightly, Jiang Tingyuan sat in the audience, applauding for him.
They say that relationships have an expiration date. Once time passes, feelings that have expired will slowly fade away. But this saying seemed not to apply to Ye Zhou and Jiang Tingyuan. Their affection not only did not diminish with time but grew more intense every day.
Their love was like aged wine, becoming richer and deeper as time passed.
Due to the consecutive awards, the box office of “The Most Beautiful” continued to grow with the film’s prestige. It was extended for screenings twice. Although it did not break the domestic record for the highest box office of a documentary, the achievements were admirable.
On the last day before its finale, Ye Zhou booked the final screening of the night. Due to the continuous release of new films during the extension of screenings, there were very few people who came to watch the last screening of “The Most Beautiful”.
In the vast cinema hall, less than ten scattered individuals sat around. Ye Zhou arrived early and uncharacteristically chose the best prime location in the theater. This time, he came to watch as a regular viewer, not as the director of the film.
As the lights dimmed in the theater and the familiar opening theme played, the movie Ye Zhou had watched dozens of times began.
Admittedly, even though he had seen it many times before, Ye Zhou still found himself captivated by the film. Due to his repeated viewings, his emotional reactions were not as intense as those of the other viewers. He had thought that he could keep his emotions in check while watching this film again.
But even as the theater lights came on, Ye Zhou remained rooted to his seat, unable to tear himself away until the sudden appearance of an extra tissue in front of him slowly brought him back to reality.
“Hey, wipe your tears,” a somewhat familiar voice called back Ye Zhou’s senses. He turned his head and was surprised to see the person next to him offering the tissue, but the surprise only lasted a moment. Ye Zhou took the tissue and thanked him, saying, “Thank you.”
Flying Melon shrugged his shoulders without saying a word.
As the end credits started rolling on the screen, the few remaining audience members had left the theater, leaving only Ye Zhou and Flying Melon.
After some time passed, Flying Melon let out a sigh and softly said, “This is a good movie.”
Ye Zhou responded, “Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me?” Flying Melon lowered his head and continued in a subdued tone, “I should be the one thanking you.”
“You should… have seen my Weibo post, right.”
If Ye Zhou had turned around at that moment, he would have surely noticed the unmistakable embarrassment on Flying Melon’s face. Like a child in trouble, Flying Melon avoided eye contact, feeling ashamed. When he spoke, he couldn’t even bring himself to look at Ye Zhou.
Without turning around, Ye Zhou nodded and thanked him again, “I saw it. I also read the message you sent me on the morning before the film festival started.”
“Thank you.”
Looking at Ye Zhou, Flying Melon chuckled, “Hey, why are you always thanking me? Are you a broken record?”
Before Ye Zhou could respond, Flying Melon continued, “The movie is ending today, and I plan to deactivate that account tonight. I take back what I said before and apologize to you.”
“You are a very talented director. You deserve flowers and applause. Your movie is fantastic, and I really like it, you…”
At this point, Flying Melon paused, seeming hesitant, as if trying to sum up his words. Just when Ye Zhou thought he wouldn’t say anything else, as he was getting up to bid farewell, he heard Flying Melon’s voice slow down, but with a mysterious sense of gravity, he spoke up.
“In the future, you will make more great movies, right?”
Ye Zhou didn’t respond to this question. As he hurried down the stairs, just as his figure was about to disappear, Flying Melon suddenly stood up, raising his voice, “I’m sorry!”
Ye Zhou hesitated for a moment. When Flying Melon thought he would ignore him, Ye Zhou looked up at his location, flashed a relaxed smile, imitating his earlier shrugging gesture, and said, “Perhaps, you’ll just have to wait and see.”
A glint of light shone in Flying Melon’s eyes. Suppressing his excitement, he tried to appear composed, “I may not have the time, but if I do, perhaps, I will go and take a look.”
Ye Zhou waved goodbye to him, “I’m off.”
Flying Melon watched Ye Zhou gradually disappear from the cinema, finally revealing a smile. Without hesitation, he picked up his phone and deactivated the Weibo account he had painstakingly maintained for decades.
Something that had weighed heavily on his chest for a long time finally disappeared along with that account. He didn’t feel regretful, only a sense of relief.
Goodbye, and a new beginning.
——
After “The Most Beautiful” was taken off the screens, many industry insiders believed that Ye Zhou would seize the opportunity, ride the wave of success, and solidify his position as a top director by winning more awards.
As a result, many investors reached out to him, and countless actors came knocking on his door to offer their services. Among them, there were few unknown actors; most were well-known celebrities that audiences were familiar with.
After digging around for information, insiders learned that before “The Most Beautiful” started filming, Ye Zhou had another movie in the works called “Rewind.”
What’s even more intriguing was that the male lead for this movie seems to have never been settled.
This news spread rapidly within the industry like wildfire, with many actors, their agents, and companies all eager to secure this coveted role for themselves. However, what they didn’t expect was that after completing “The Most Beautiful,” Ye Zhou had no intention of striking while the iron was hot; instead, he chose to live a leisurely life like a newly cooked salted fish.
In the makeup room of a popular young idol.
“What did you say? Is he out of his mind? This is the perfect time to solidify his position, and you’re telling me he’s gone abroad?”
The agent could hardly believe his ears. After the call ended, he was left dumbfounded.
The young idol playing on his phone beside him looked up at his agent and asked, “Zhao-ge, any news from Director Ye Zhou?”
The agent wore an expression of utter disbelief as he reluctantly shared the news he had just received with his artist.
“Well, there is some news, it’s just…”
The agent hesitated for a moment before finally mustering the courage to say, “It seems like Director Ye went to Antarctica to film a documentary about penguins. He took a flight the day before yesterday, and he’s already left.”
The young idol pondered countless possibilities but never imagined Ye Zhou would be so daring. At that moment, he was also at a loss for words.
The two looked at each other in silence. After a moment, the young idol, holding onto a sliver of hope, said, “Is the news reliable? Could it be fake news spread by competitors?”
“I’m at a crucial transitional period now, and the opportunity to collaborate with Director Ye is incredibly important. He is a highly sought-after director currently. If we can work with him, even just getting a few nominations, it would be a tremendous boost for us.”
With his reminder, the agent also considered this possibility. He immediately slapped his thigh, his expression becoming serious, and said, “It’s possible. Let me make a call to confirm.”
However, before he could make the call, he noticed the artist who had been playing with his phone suddenly weakly gesturing for him to stop.
“Zhao-ge, don’t make the call.”
The agent looked puzzled, “What’s wrong now?”
The young idol tossed his phone over, saying, “Take a look for yourself.”
As the agent examined the contents on the phone, he finally understood why his artist appeared so disheartened, like a wilted eggplant. Displayed on the screen was a Weibo post from Ye Zhou just two minutes ago.
Director Ye Zhou V: Currently filming with penguins, do not disturb [Image]
Upon opening the image, a group of adorable penguins stared back at him, and the agent felt utterly speechless.
“Give it up. I heard a couple of days ago that the male supporting actor in Sun Qun’s new film got into a car accident and injured his leg…”
Although it was publicized that Ye Zhou went to Antarctica to film penguins, it was more accurate to say he was on a leisure trip to Antarctica. After all, when he arrived, the filming had almost concluded and most of the necessary footage had been captured. Only a few shots affected by weather conditions remained undone, so the workload was not substantial.
Of course, the idea of filming a documentary was merely a joke; Ye Zhou’s real intention was to divert the attention centered around him and allow the hype to gradually fade away.
Ye Zhou stayed in Antarctica for more than a month. His timing was unfortunate, as he experienced the polar night. Occasionally, he would film with the crew, but most of his time was spent holed up in the hotel. During this month-long stay, Ye Zhou felt he had almost caught up on the sleep he had missed during the filming of “The Most Beautiful.”
Upon his return from Antarctica, “Rewind” quietly began production. Due to scheduling conflicts, there were significant changes in the team from the original plan, but one thing remained constant – Ye Zhou’s initial impulsive decision to cast Cheng Ran.
When Cheng Ran received Ye Zhou’s call, he was shooting a film in a remote village in the southern part of Country N. After receiving Ye Zhou’s affirmation, Cheng Ran reignited his passion for acting. During the day, he immersed himself in various sets, playing all sorts of minor roles, and at night, he followed video tutorials to self-study acting. Although exhausting, his life was fulfilling.
After a long time, the two finally met again. Ye Zhou noticed how much Cheng Ran had changed; although his appearance remained the same, his overall demeanor had undergone a drastic transformation since their last meeting.
They arranged to meet at the same abandoned warehouse as before, but this time Ye Zhou brought along his professional team to evaluate Cheng Ran’s audition.
As the audition progressed, Ye Zhou realized that Cheng Ran’s most significant change was not just in demeanor but in his acting skills. The audition lasted only fifteen minutes, but within that short time, Cheng Ran’s outstanding performance convinced Ye Zhou’s team, and he secured the role.
Ye Zhou looked forward to the surprises Cheng Ran would bring him in the upcoming days, unaware that while he anticipated Cheng Ran’s performance, numerous industry professionals were also eagerly awaiting the surprises he would bring to the film industry.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.
You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.
