After Jiang Tingyuan finished showering, he came out to see Ye Zhou sitting by the window staring blankly outside.
Jiang Tingyuan put down the towel in his hand, sat beside him, and reached out to rub Ye Zhou’s wet hair, asking, “What are you thinking about?”
Ye Zhou snapped out of his thoughts, shook his head, and said, “The premiere is tomorrow, and I’m thinking about what to say to the reporters then.”
“Even though you’ve attended so many times, are you still nervous?” Jiang Tingyuan chuckled lightly, taking a clean towel from the rack to help Ye Zhou dry his damp hair.
Ye Zhou sighed softly and said helplessly, “Yes, after all, it’s still the first time trying this kind of genre. Even before the movie is released, the media has already started to criticize harshly. Although I’ve gotten used to it, there is still some pressure inevitably.”
Jiang Tingyuan’s movements were very gentle, making Ye Zhou, who had been on edge for over a month, feel an unprecedented relaxation. Unconsciously, his body leaned back slightly, half resting in Jiang Tingyuan’s arms.
“Did you enjoy filming this movie?” Jiang Tingyuan asked softly while drying Ye Zhou’s hair.
Ye Zhou tilted his head and thought for a moment before giving an affirmative answer, “Yes, I felt a long-lost sense of ease during the filming process. I’ve filmed too many commercial movies in the past two years, and although the filming process was very enjoyable, I always felt like something was missing.”
“When filming this movie, it felt like I suddenly went back to the time when we filmed ‘Chasing the Light’ long ago, and my whole being calmed down.”
Upon hearing Ye Zhou’s words, Jiang Tingyuan put down the towel, lowered his head, kissed his ear, and said, “Then it must be very interesting.”
Mentioning his new movie, Ye Zhou couldn’t help but smile, cupped Jiang Tingyuan’s face with his hands, and exchanged a long kiss.
After the kiss ended, Ye Zhou’s breathing was a bit unsteady, but his eyes shone remarkably. When he looked at Jiang Tingyuan, there was a hint of anticipation in his eyes, “Will you like it?”
“Of course,” Jiang Tingyuan replied.
Ye Zhou smiled, and his small tiger teeth looked particularly cute under the sunlight.
He climbed out of bed, rummaged through the cabinet next to the clothes rack, and took out an envelope to hand to Jiang Tingyuan, saying, “Please attend the premiere.”
Jiang Tingyuan accepted the envelope that still carried Ye Zhou’s warmth. When he saw the date printed on it, his eyes paused for a moment, but quickly regained composure.
“Sure, I’ll definitely be there on time.”
—
In the past few years, Ye Zhou had been as comfortable as a fish in water in the director’s circle. Whether it was about box office success or awards, he was no longer the unknown and easily bullied aspiring director of the past.
Despite the mixed reviews and controversies surrounding him, it didn’t affect his success nor shake his position in the industry. Just a year after the huge success of his previous disaster movie, “Tsunami,” Ye Zhou’s new movie, “Encounter,” had already caused a stir online before its official release.
The voices of anticipation and criticism were intertwined, creating a buzz online even before the movie premiered. If it were a novice director seeing this kind of response, they would likely be amazed. However, since Ye Zhou rose to fame, every new movie of his had faced a similar situation, and he had grown accustomed to it.
“Director Ye, the journalists and film critics have all entered the venue.” The assistant rushed in, panting for breath. After a moment to catch his breath, he continued, “It’s almost time. Should you enter now?”
Ye Zhou glanced at the time on the clock and noticed that there were less than fifteen minutes left before the premiere started. He replied, “Let the other staff members enter first; I’ll come in a bit.”
The assistant nodded, “Okay, Director Ye, I’ll go call the others first. Please keep an eye on the time and make sure not to be late.”
Though the assistant maintained a calm exterior, internally he was quite anxious. Despite being mentally prepared for his boss’s nonchalant attitude, the assistant couldn’t help but feel nervous. This was the premiere, and the theater was filled with influential figures who dominated the industry. Just about anyone there was a well-known personality, and he couldn’t bear to think about the serious consequences if his boss didn’t arrive on time for such an important event. While well aware of his boss’s laid-back nature, he never imagined it could go to this extent.
In case he really couldn’t make it on time, as Ye Zhou’s assistant, he had already thought of the headline for tomorrow’s front page, titled ‘Genius Director Ye Zhou Publicly Late for Premiere: Is it a Loss of Morality or a Distortion of Humanity?’
After informing the other staff members, the assistant stood at the entrance of the premiere theater, occasionally looking outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of his boss.
At this moment, as Ye Zhou anxiously waited for the person he had been waiting for, Jiang Tingyuan, looking a bit disheveled, walked in. Ye Zhou waved to him, saying, “Over here.”
Perhaps due to the heavy dew at night, as Jiang Tingyuan got close, Ye Zhou could faintly smell the moisture coming from him. Getting closer, he even noticed water droplets clinging to his collar.
Ye Zhou reached out, his warm fingers touching Jiang Tingyuan’s face. Startled by the cold touch, Ye Zhou withdrew his hand, but quickly covered it again, even bringing his other hand up, playfully cupping Jiang Tingyuan’s face and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“If you’re busy, you don’t have to rush over. I’m so productive anyway, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to attend my premieres. No need to rush today,” Ye Zhou said, teasingly.
Jiang Tingyuan held his hand in his, walking towards the entrance, and replied, “Not in a hurry.”
“I want to see your premiere,” Jiang Tingyuan added.
Allowing himself to be led forward by Jiang Tingyuan, as they passed by the entrance, Ye Zhou called out to the staff, “Do we still have hot water? Can you bring me two bottles?”
The staff recognized Ye Zhou immediately and quickly fetched two bottles of hot water from the thermos, along with two disinfected hot towels, handing them over, saying, “Director Ye, here you go.”
Though it wasn’t much, Ye Zhou had only one hand available. Seeing him struggling to hold everything, Jiang Tingyuan weighed his options between ‘letting go of Ye Zhou’s hand’ and ‘using his own hand,’ and decisively reached out to take the two bottles of water.
“I’ll take care of this,” Jiang Tingyuan said.
Seeing through his intentions, Ye Zhou suppressed a smile and said, “Okay, then you do it.”
As they conversed, inside the theater, the assistant caught sight of his boss and excitedly waved to him, “Director Ye, here! It’s about to start!”
At the assistant’s call, Ye Zhou and Jiang Tingyuan finally entered the movie theater. Coincidentally, as soon as Ye Zhou and Jiang Tingyuan stepped into the theater, the lights dimmed. Ye Zhou, who had been thinking of elaborate excuses, was relieved that he didn’t have to use them, avoiding a lot of embarrassment.
As they settled into their seats in the front row, a familiar voice beside them teased, “Director Ye, did you bring your boyfriend along?”
Ye Zhou openly admitted, “Yes, this is Jiang-ge.”
The other person, not one to be outdone, lowered their voice and addressed Jiang Tingyuan, “Jiang-ge.”
Jiang Tingyuan nodded at him, paying no mind to whether the pitch-black figure could see him, and pulled Ye Zhou to sit down.
Contrary to Ye Zhou’s usual fast-paced style, this film took a more relaxed approach, predominantly using warm colors throughout. The overall tone was light and soothing, eliciting genuine smiles from many film critics at certain plot points.
The movie featured an intriguing concept where two young men from different timelines would briefly intersect for an hour each day at noon for some unknown reason. During this time, if they had intimate physical contact, their souls would swap into each other’s bodies, only returning to their own bodies through another intimate contact until the next day’s noon intersection.
In his timeline, one young man, Ye Zi, was a struggling director at the bottom of the industry ladder, constantly wrangling money from investors and engaging in mind games with them to make ends meet. Meanwhile, in the other timeline, a young man named Ting held the fame of a notorious commercial genius, owning billions and effortlessly closing million—to billion-dollar business deals, reveling in a lavish lifestyle of the wealthy.
Their starkly different identities were mirrored in their personalities; while Ye Zi was smooth-talking and skilled at coaxing money from investors, Ting remained silent and imposing, with a mere glance at a meeting room causing a tense atmosphere.
The movie unfolded from this premise, depicting the hilarious and absurd series of events between the financially distressed director Ye Zi and the arrogant CEO Ting after swapping bodies due to their daily temporal exchanges.
As the plot advanced to Ting performing as Ye Zi, coldly negotiating with investors, only to be forcefully expelled due to his overpowering aura, the audience in the theater burst into laughter.
With the intermittent eruptions of laughter from the audience, the main crew members at the front felt a wave of relief, realizing that the audience was thoroughly enjoying the film.
As the film neared its conclusion, with the growing affection between Ye Zi and Ting, the frequency of their temporal exchanges began to decrease. From once a day to once a week, and further down to once a month, Ye Zi and Ting both realized that perhaps one day soon, they might never meet again.
In a desperate attempt to change this reality, they tried various methods, but their efforts were in vain. On the last day of their temporal convergence, the time for body swapping lasted unusually long, allowing Ting and Ye Zi to fully live out each other’s day in their respective bodies.
Ting attended Ye Zi’s movie premiere in Ye Zi’s body, witnessing the film that had taken a year to create. Meanwhile, Ye Zi navigated Ting’s lifestyle in Ting’s body, attending meetings, negotiating, and socializing, experiencing the life of a CEO firsthand.
The next morning, they returned to their own bodies, and day after day, life seemed to return to normal. Unspoken, both of them tacitly agreed never to mention that magical experience.
Two months later, amidst their busy schedules, they discovered the final traces left by each other in their lives. Ting found a yellowed paper in a book on his shelf containing a letter. While Ye Zi, editing footage, stumbled upon a video clip left by Ting on his computer.
“I’m glad to have met you.”
“I’m glad to have met you.”
As these two lines vanished from the screen, Ye Zhou reached out and tugged at Jiang Tingyuan’s sleeve, smiling and calling out, “Jiang-ge.” Jiang Tingyuan approached, lowering his gaze to meet Ye Zhou’s.
Ye Zhou leaned in and placed a kiss at the corner of his eye, his voice sincere as he said, “I’m glad to have met you.”
“Xiao Zhou, thank you.”
Thank you for having met me.
Raine: OMG, it’s the end!!! Thank you for accompanying me, Ye Zhou and Mr. Jiang in this journey. I’m going to feel empty again in the next few weeks.
Anyways, the next project I will pick up would be The Useless Mr. Zhuang. I will start posting the first few chapters after I return from Japan. See you again!
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.
