CH 78

After Chen Yi grabbed his last meal1, << Minister >> was nearing its end. This drama had started filming from the middle of summer into late fall, and after being together for so long, a camaraderie would naturally be formed. The filming crew organized a large wrap-up party with everyone and at the dinner everyone lifted their glasses together, wishing each other a successful future.

Director Kong privately patted Chen Yi’s shoulders, saying some advice to him that was very meaningful in a certain way, 

“Young man, keep up the practice and improve yourself. There will be a day where you will come up on top. Keep this kind of heart and your future will be brighter than today’s. Hopefully we will have a chance to work together again.”

Cen Qing’s acting was not bad, but his few smarts were not used in the correct place. Director Kong was not a young man anymore, and so he had never seen eye to eye with newcomers coming into the entertainment industry. Acting skills? None. Actual skills? None. Even Chen Yi, at first he didn’t really like him, yet as time passed, he found that he was really the most level headed, understanding one of them all.

Chen Yi respected those seniors who were good and had virtue. Although he didn’t really plan to stay in the entertainment industry for long, he still listened and took in the advice.

After the dinner party was over, everyone went their separate ways, continuing back on the paths they decided to take. Chen Yi and Fu Xiu Nian had scheduled to take the same flight and they arrived back at about 3 in the afternoon. Because this was not publicized, fans did not know.

When they were filming, their home had been unoccupied for so long, and all the furniture was covered in a layer of dust. Chen Yi flippantly used a cloth to wipe down the sofa before immediately lying on top of it, arms and legs wide open, and let out a comfortable sigh.

Fu Xiu Nian had recently become extremely attached, liking to stick to Chen Yi whenever possible. Seeing him like that, he also dropped right beside him, snuggling into him silently. His head nudged him slowly and softly, with strands of his hair feeling ever so ticklish on Chen Yi’s skin when he moved. The moment Chen Yi lowered his head he was met with eyes glimmering like obsidian. He felt as if he was holding a cat in his arms and raised his eyebrows to say, 

“You’re not cleaning up?”

Fu Xiu Nian was too lazy to move right now and snuggled in even deeper while clinging onto him like an octopus, 

“Yi-Ge, can I count on you?”

Chen Yi said very honestly, 

“Don’t count on me for these kinds of things.”

Fu Xiu Nian slipped his hands under Chen Yi’s shirt as he heard that. His fingers were slightly cold, gently pressing on Chen Yi’s muscles. Lifting his head to look up at him, his voice brought on a tint of seductiveness, 

“Can’t you pretend it’s for exercise?”

Chen Yi didn’t even get a chance to respond before he heard a vibrating sound. Blindly reaching around the sofa for a while before finding it, he took one look at the caller id and tossed it to Fu Xiu Nian, 

“Your call.”

>> Zhao Xi went through the proper channels and graduated from a dance academy. He’s gone through training by professionals and Chen Yi learned for two months in a training class on the streets and he dares to say he’s learned to dance? Trash Trash Trash!2 What an audacity to dare steal my Xi Xi’s spot! This angers me to death!

The fans of Chen Yi had the same attitude of Chen Yi when they saw these kinds of comments. They wouldn’t tear back at them, but they wouldn’t wash themselves clean and only returned these words: Anger you to death, anger you to death.

These two were the country’s top dancers and they had only retired when their age caught up to them. Tong Lao-shi3 was wearing a pair of black glasses and she looked quite solemn and serious whereas Ying Zi Lao-shi was a bit more mellow, and his personality was the best. Each time he saw Chen Yi, he would be smiling and had that everyone is equal in his eyes feeling, everyone is his family.

The third judge was called Zhang Duo, and he had a head full of dreadlocks, with a very recognizable and iconic small mustache. He had quite the reputation within the street dancing community and he was only thirty years old or so. Only when everyone else had arrived did he slowly saunter in and everyone seemed to be used to it, evidently not the first time this has happened.

The three judges’ seats were right in front of the center stage and the special guest judge was on the right-most side, which meant that Chen Yi sat right next to Zhang Duo.

Before he came onto the show, Chen Yi had heard that Zhang Duo could be considered Zhao Xi’s mentor. He had wondered if the other would give him trouble, and the moment he thought that, Zhang Duo did exactly that.

The contestants on stage were rehearsing and the judges were already in discussion. Chen Yi knew that he did not understand these things and so the entire time, he had not offered any insights. Seeing this, Zhang Duo stopped his nonstop jibber-jabbering and shook the list of contestants in his hands. He fakely smiled at Chen Yi and said, 

“I heard that you had learned dancing for two months. What do you have to say about these contestants? You could say something and let us all talk about it.”

His words were full of mockery, eliciting a furrow of eyebrows from his nearby judge, Tong Ao Yue.

Chen Yi turned happy and said out directly, 

“I don’t understand so I have no thoughts. If I knew, then what would you judges be here for?”

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Notes:

*1 last meal: Most accurately as his meal box/box of meal (and where I had always thought went back to the olden days where a person on his deathbed/death row would be given one last meal, but in reality as I search the origin of this internet slang …) this came from apparently Stephen Chow’s King of Comedy movie where the main character there (acted by Stephen Chow) was always given “a meal box” to send him away when he was not needed by the director(s) anymore as he always acted small roles (but kept wanting to act in bigger roles). This also at the same time was accented by Japanese animations/games, if someone dies in a game or anime, the voice actor would leave the production (taking only “one meal box” before leaving). So the netizens then took on this meaning as the person/character’s going to die/dead/being killed off if you take “a meal box”. 

*2 trash: They’re actually saying spicy chicken, which takes on the tone for trash as an internet slang. It’s also sort of universal like fuck which can be used in multiple situations, (that video of usages of fuck come to mind), where it’s not only for straight on calling someone trash, stupid, so sometimes you might see it being joked around or like fuck really? kind of thing.

*3 Lao-shi: Usually means “teacher”, but can also be as like mentor, or someone really knowledgeable/high up in the area they specialize in (as in like this case) and being called this as a form of respect to their knowledge (kind of like Xian-Sheng, which can also mean teacher or Mister).