After Gong Yue left, Ye Shanshan went to the study and continued to search for information about the laboratory where Gong Youli had once worked.
But that was over thirty years ago, and the internet wasn’t as developed as it is now. Many records were not kept, and the data he could find was incomplete.
Biting the end of his pen, Ye Shanshan scribbled and drew on the paper.
As long as Durant, Gong Youli’s mentor, had studied and worked there, there had to be some network of contacts. But Chris had already investigated this. Durant was reclusive and didn’t have deep interactions with colleagues or students. Among his many students, the only ones who had entered the research institute were Gong Youli and a Frenchman named Bernard.
The information Ye Shanshan found showed that Bernard had been in a serious car accident twenty years ago, suffered severe head injuries, and often experienced memory loss after being discharged. He now teaches in a small town in France. Gong Yue’s people had visited him but didn’t get any useful information.
Ye Shanshan circled Bernard’s name in red.
After writing down all the relevant information and his own thoughts on several sheets of paper, Ye Shanshan finally shut down the computer. He studied for a while longer and then noticed Caesar, who was lying nearby in standby mode, looking incredibly adorable.
Showing off to his family no longer satisfied him, so Ye Shanshan placed the kitten on his shoulder, took a photo with his phone, hesitated, and then switched to taking a short video. He uploaded it to Weibo with the caption, “This is my Caesar. Isn’t he cute?”
To gather enough comments, Ye Shanshan deliberately logged out of Weibo, planning to check back in ten minutes, convinced there would be many compliments for Caesar. He felt a sense of pride just thinking about it.
At this moment, the “Mahjong and Barbecue” discussion group pinged with new message notifications.
Xu Luoyang: Holy crap, Shanshan, you updated Weibo! The missing person is back!
Zheng Dong: Trending [image]
Xu Luoyang: !!
After a while, the internet-addicted Xu Luoyang appeared again: @YeShanshan, Shanshan, check your comments! Hahaha, you’ll be laughing for a month!
Ye Shanshan, who had been typing, saw what Xu Luoyang said and logged back into Weibo, eagerly looking at the comments section.
“——I thought I was hallucinating! My Lord Ye actually updated! This is great news, I can eat a few more bowls of rice for lunch now!”
“——Aaaaah! Explosive! My Shanshan with the kitten is even cuter than the kitten! How many years should we sentence Ye Shanshan? If it’s less than a hundred years, I’ll do it! Let’s form a group!”
“——Question, I want to go to the Ice Kingdom to find the prince, where should I apply for a visa? Waiting online, very urgent!”
“——I’m going to frame this update! To be honest, I almost called the police. Shanshan has been missing for so long, I suspected my idol had retired [doge].”
After reading over two hundred comments and not finding any that praised Caesar, Ye Shanshan felt his twenty million fans might be fake.
Glancing at Caesar, who was lying on his lap, Ye Shanshan, with a last glimmer of hope, clicked “sort by popularity.”
Then he discovered the top comment was quite strange, already having over a thousand replies and nearly ten thousand likes in such a short time.
“——Nine Reasons Why Shanshan Is a Vampire: 1. He looks exceptionally good-looking, something most people can’t achieve; 2. His background is a mystery, impossible to trace; 3. He has various private tutors and knows numerous skills, all of which take a long time to learn, yet he claims to be twenty—who believes that? 4. His skin is super pale! 5. He often disappears, likely going back to a castle to drink blood and replenish energy; 6. He calls his brother ‘Your Majesty,’ suggesting Shanshan might be a vampire prince, with his brother being the vampire king. An earlier Weibo post mentioned ‘His Majesty leading a personal expedition,’ which could mean a war with another vampire clan! 7. His family is mysteriously wealthy, having accumulated riches over centuries; 8. Refer to reason one; 9. Refer to the previous reason.”
“……”
Ye Shanshan read the comment several times, finding the reasons very convincing. He almost believed it himself.
——Could I really be a vampire prince accidentally stranded in the human world? Is my brother really the vampire king?
Just as Ye Shanshan was about to convince himself, his alarm went off, marked “planting vegetables.”
Turning off the reminder, he quickly changed clothes, put Caesar into the square front pocket on his chest, and as he walked towards the greenhouse, he posted another update on Weibo, “Live on SanSan in fifteen minutes, I’ll show you Caesar!”
Recently, he had become obsessed with gardening. After returning to City B, Gong Yue had set up a small vegetable garden for him in the greenhouse, just the right size for him to enjoy.
As hundreds of thousands of fans rapidly flooded into the livestream, they saw Ye Shanshan close to the camera, adjusting its angle while chatting away,
“I don’t know how long today’s livestream will be. I’ll end it when I’ve finished sowing the seeds. The camera is set a bit far, so I’ll be talking with a Bluetooth headset on, but I won’t be able to see your comments… All set!”
Next, they saw the livestream stabilize. Ye Shanshan took a few steps back, proudly showing off Caesar, who was already in standby mode with eyes closed. Then he put on a cool-looking Bluetooth headset and picked up the hoe from the ground.
“——Am I hallucinating? What is my lord Ye doing? A hoe? Digging? Farming? I’m freaking out!”
“——Oh my gosh, his posture is so professional! Even his seed-sowing technique is professional! This fairy is watching a farming livestream for the first time, and it’s my ultimate favorite! I feel like I’m dreaming. No, with my poor imagination, I’d never dream of Shanshan farming!”
As the audience in the livestream room felt bewildered, Ye Shanshan’s voice came through,
“I’m planting bok choy now, a non-heading type of Brassicaceae, subspecies. I soaked the seeds beforehand, and now I’m spreading them on the soil surface… Then I need to cover the seeds with a layer of fine soil…”
“——I really am watching an agricultural science channel. Lord Ye, is this down-to-earth approach really okay? What about the ethereal persona?”
“——My Lord Ye, wearing a Bluetooth headset like the FBI, explaining how to plant bok choy, hahaha, I can’t take it anymore, hahaha!”
“——Why am I slacking off at work, watching a livestream about planting vegetables so intently? But Shanshan looks great even dressed like Super Mario!”
“——Shanshan, aren’t you tired of being good-looking for so long?”
The garden wasn’t large. After Ye Shanshan carefully finished sowing the seeds in perfectly straight lines, which looked very pleasing, he covered them with soil and then went to wash his hands.
After drying his hands, he took his phone and started rambling again,
“I don’t know how long it will take for the bok choy to grow, but it should be tasty stir-fried, right? Or maybe in soup? Adding an egg to the soup is also delicious, or making a cold dish…”
As he spoke, he put the hoe back in its place, tidied up, and sat down at a small round table nearby.
Fixing the phone in place, Ye Shanshan placed Caesar on his lap, poured himself a cup of Ceylon black tea, and took a satisfied sip. “I’m going to rest for a bit. It’s sort of afternoon tea time now.”
“——Did this farmer just switch to a noble afternoon tea mode in an instant? I blinked, and the world changed!”
“——I quickly poured myself a cup of tea and placed it in front of me, pretending to have afternoon tea with Shanshan. This is great!”
Ye Shanshan nibbled on some biscuits made by Butler Hawk while reading the comments section and occasionally responding,
“The Elmos Film Festival? I’m not going with the crew; Director Zhang and the others are already there. But last night, I stargazed and believe ‘The Examiner’ will definitely do well! Don’t doubt me. No stars last night? That’s because you couldn’t see them. When I went back to sleep in my vampire coffin, I glanced at the night sky.”
After speaking so convincingly, Ye Shanshan sipped his tea from a bone china cup and continued chatting with his fans,
“Previously abroad, yes, in that castle of mine built three thousand years ago. Vampires fear the sun, so you couldn’t see me… Oh, and waiting at the noodle stand wouldn’t have worked either… Yes, I’ve been into gardening lately. Don’t you think it’s very fulfilling? Also, bok choy goes well with noodle sauce, and it’s pretty good with a Bloody Mary too!”
After rambling for over half an hour, Ye Shanshan sadly realized that until he ended the livestream, no one had mentioned Caesar!
Ye Shanshan placed the kitten on the table, feeling a bit troubled,
“Caesar, I’m too embarrassed to ask them directly to compliment you. Do you think I should change your name to something like Sparkle? That might get you more attention. Although Caesar is such a mighty and powerful name, I’m a bit reluctant to change it…”
His desire to show off was instantly dampened. Ye Shanshan finished the small cookies on the intricately designed plate, took a photo of Caesar’s face with his phone, and sent it to Gong Yue, “Ge, isn’t he cute?”
Gong Yue always replied quickly, “Cute.”
Ye Shanshan’s mood instantly lifted, and he thought for a moment before asking, “Ge, do you think Caesar sounds better or Sparkle?”
Without waiting for Gong Yue’s reply, Ye Shanshan sent another message, “You can’t have both, so let’s call him Caesar for his formal name and Sparkle for his nickname! What do you think?”
Ye Shanshan and Sparkle, a perfect match! He felt that Caesar’s path to being a cool cat had begun!
After almost two minutes, Gong Yue replied, “Good.”
The next day at noon, the internet and mobile news were flooded with photos of Director Zhang holding a trophy. At the Elmos Film Festival, “The Examiner” won three major awards: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay, along with two nominations. It was a resounding success.
Like being injected with adrenaline, the domestic media were excited, reporting the news everywhere. During an interview, Director Zhang also confirmed that the film would be released at the end of February.
Soon, “The Examiner” became “the most anticipated work of the first half of the year,” and the supporting actors riding this wave also gained significant popularity, with press releases from various teams coming out rapidly.
In the office of the Entertainment.
Zheng Dong handed a tablet to Ye Shanshan, displaying the email interface, “These are all recent invitations. Ever since ‘The Examiner’ won the awards, it’s been crazy. I’ve cleared the inbox several times. They’re likely worried that once the movie is released, your value will skyrocket again, so they want to sign you before that happens.”
Ye Shanshan nodded, looking through them one by one, finding nothing particularly interesting. Just as he was about to return the tablet to Zheng Dong, he suddenly noticed something, “Wait,” he took it back and scrolled to the bottom, “Juno?”
“Yes, after you attended the charity gala last time, Juno expressed interest in inviting you to be the new face of their ‘Poppy’ series perfume. At first, we declined directly. I thought they would find someone else, but they called again yesterday, wanting you to reconsider the collaboration.”
Juno is a high-end luxury brand with over a hundred years of history, originating from France. It is marked by a cursive “J” and named after Juno, the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology. The brand’s Poppy perfume has always been a classic in the fashion world.
Ye Shanshan hadn’t noticed Juno’s invitation before. He tapped the screen to open the email and found that the endorsement fee was very high.
Without hesitation, Ye Shanshan decided, “Let’s take it!”
“Why do you want to accept this one?” Zheng Dong was a bit surprised.
Ye Shanshan rubbed his nose, “I have a reason! Because we shouldn’t let a good thing go to outsiders. ‘Juno’ is a luxury brand under Gong Yue’s management. It’s not cost-effective to give such a high endorsement fee to an outsider. Besides, the only perfume Gong Yue ever used was this one, even if it was just once.”
Due to his sense of smell, Ye Shanshan didn’t use perfume himself and didn’t particularly like the smell of it. However, he still remembered the scent he had smelled on Gong Yue. It was really like the alluring poppy blooming at midnight, addictive.
Thus, when Gong Yue was listening to Qin Xuan’s summary of the day’s work, Qin Xuan specifically mentioned the change of Juno perfume’s new spokesperson.
“Is there something special about it?” Typically, he didn’t need to be involved in these matters.
Qin Xuan closed the file, “Sir, this time the spokesperson for the Poppy series is Young Master Ye.”
Gong Yue paused while signing, thinking along Ye Shanshan’s line of reasoning—this was probably Shanshan trying to save him money?
Sure enough, not long after, Ye Shanshan sent a message, detailing the contract with Juno and implicitly seeking praise.
Gong Yue read through the lines, as if he could hear Ye Shanshan’s chattering voice. He opened the keyboard and replied seriously,
“You did save a lot of money. Good job. I’ll come pick you up tonight.”
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
