I woke up to find I have a child Ch.15

Chapter 15: 42 or 24?

Replying to comments is not a strange thing. Many celebrities will do this. Some do it out of anger, others do it to increase their fame.

However, very few people will be bold about it and even less will try to use this method to increase their fame. That is because no matter what the comments say, no matter how reasonable or unreasonable they are, if the celebrity replies incorrectly then they will leave an unfavorable impression with the public. Then when they become more famous, when they have to be more conscious of their image as a public figure, their dark past would be dug up as evidence of being a bad influence on society. 

Laing Zhu smoked nervously on her cigarette as she negotiated a deal with an internet water army* company. On the other side, when Ye Mingxin saw Han Feixu’s reply, she couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. (*T/N: Internet water army or simply water army are paid posters who will post specific online comments on particular content. Usually used to spread disinformation and manipulate the media.)

Han Feixu was confused, “Why are you laughing?” 

The smile on Ye Mingxin’s lips didn’t disappear as she leaned against the wide armrest of the sofa. The dark brown sofa contrasted nicely with the milky-white pajamas she wore. Having lived with Han Fiexu for so long, she had also gotten used to the habit of sitting cross-legged*. When she sits on the sofa nowadays, she will sit cross-legged, but there was a difference in how she did it. When Han Feixu does it, she does it in a natural way while Ye Mingxin sat in more of a yoga pose manner. Her two legs were bent in a straight line and she sat upright. She was originally a very slender person, but when she sat like this, her figure looked even more slender than before. (*T/N: cross-legged as in criss-cross applesauce style not just simply crossing one leg over the other. Apparently southern Chinese don’t like to sit like that but northerners do? Idk, this is the first time I’m hearing about this, but it’s a thing according to baidu)

Ye Mingxin propped her chin in one hand and she tilted her head as she looked at Han Feixu, “I’m laughing at how cute you are.” 

Han Feixu pursed the corners of her lips and said nothing.

She was acting bashful. 

Ye Mingxin found it strange. Han Feixu only showed her this ‘young maiden’ attitude when she first met her. After they filmed 《Blossoming Dreams》and dated for a while, Han Feixu became more open about her feelings. Then these last two years she was very open about her dislike and hate for Ye Mingxin. So for Ye Mingxin, she hasn’t seen this side of Han Feixu for a long time. 

When Ye Mingxin’s beautiful eyes stared at her, Han Feixu felt like her skin was burning. 

Han Feixu quickly picked up her phone to read the latest comments to shrug off the other’s attention. 

What she saw made her even more puzzled. 

After scrolling through many comments, Han Fiexu frowned. She flipped her phone around to show the screen to Ye Mingxin, “Why are they all saying ‘hahaha’?” 

After reading all the comments, Han Feixu has seen the word ‘ha’ so many times that she almost didn’t recognize it anymore, “And what does ‘are you trying to make me laugh to death and then inherit my Ant Huabei and Jingdong IOUs?’ mean? Is this some sort of meme?” (T/N: It is indeed a meme that is basically a roundabout way of saying “lmao, I am going to die of laughter” Also Ant Huabei refers to the credit pay system of the Ant Financials group which is an affiliate of Alibaba and Jingdong is some other big financial company in China.)

That’s right, she now knows what a meme is too = =

The more comments Ye Mingxin read the more she wanted to laugh. She straightened up and then asked Han Feixu, “In 2008, did high schoolers really use the word ‘rebound’ when cursing each other? I’m older than you, but when I went to high school I don’t remember ever hearing that word being used. But I do remember that elementary school students liked to use it often…..” 

Han Feixu stayed silent for a while, “Based on what I know, the usage of this word was very high when I was young and it’s not as terrible sounding as other insults, so I used it.” 

Although Han Feixu had replied to a comment, she had only done so after taking her public image into account. After she repeatedly reminded herself not to swear, she was able to restrain herself from using some of the more colorful swear words she knew. So she picked something milder. Thus, the word ‘rebound’ was used. 

It was then that Ye Mingxin understood. She remembered that Han Feixu didn’t go to school very often due to her traveling around for orchestra performances. She had only gone to school seriously in elementary school and then afterward would rarely go to school anymore. She never really had a ‘childhood’ in the strictest sense. She had only one good friend and she studied under a bunch of old musicians who did not keep up with the times. Even if she knew how to curse someone, she wouldn’t do it due to the strict discipline she received from these old musicians. 

This is the effect that a sophisticated upbringing can have on a person. 

When she went to bed at night, Han Feixu couldn’t help scrolling through her phone again. At first, there had only been a few hundred replies under her comment but soon the number increased exponentially and so did the number of reposts. 

After she finished washing up, she came back to find that her comment was included in a daily blog called, “Today’s Sand Sculptures”. (T/N Sand Sculpture is a slang term used to describe something foolish or a “foolish person”. Sometimes it is used as an insult, as in “stupid-ass”. The term “sand sculpture” (沙雕) itself sounds a lot like the word “傻屌” which means ‘silly d*ck’.)

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The next day, Han Feixu got out of bed and prepared to go to the company she had never been to but apparently had signed a contract with. However, before she could go downstairs, she saw a strange man standing at the bottom. 

The man was very tall and his muscles bulged tightly under his constraining suit. If you only looked at his body then he could be considered a handsome manly man, but if you looked up at his face….wow! A very plain, very standard square face!

Han Feixu stood on the stars for a long time and did not dare to go down. She didn’t know who this man was and thought that perhaps he was an elder of Ye Mingxin’s family. 

He must be an uncle with how serious and unflinching his face looked. 

Ye Mingxin saw her standing there and waved her hand, “Come down and let’s all get acquainted. This is a senior bodyguard from my grandfather’s house. His name is Wei Xun and he will be your driver from now on.” 

So it was just a bodyguard. 

Han Feixu still had doubts in her heart and hesitantly walked down. When she stood in front of him, Wei Xun immediately bowed to her, “Good morning, Mrs. Han.” 

Auntie Li, the housekeeper, is also an old hand from Ye Mingxin’s grandfather’s house. After the couple moved into this place, Auntie Li moved in shortly after as the housekeeper. They have known each other for a long time so the housekeeper called Ye Mingxin by name and simply called Han Feixu ‘Madam’. Meanwhile, this bodyguard not only called her by a title but also added her surname to show even more respect. 

Han Feixu smiled, “Good morning.” 

She didn’t know how to properly address the man and leaned in close to Ye Mingxin to ask in a whisper, “What should I call him? Uncle Wei or Wei-ge?” 

After she said this sentence, Han Feixu fell silent. 

…..she hoped it wasn’t the latter. She really wouldn’t be able to say it. 

Ye Mingxin felt that Han Feixu’s amnesia was basically a living treasure. She covered the smile on the corners of her lips with her hand and then replied in a similarly quiet whisper, “Just call him by his name. He’s only 24 years old, younger than you.” 

Are you sure he’s not actually 42 years old?!!

Han Feixu snapped her head around in shock and looked at Wei Xun’s face again. She looked him up and down. With that face, she felt that this man should at least be 40. 

Although it’s common for some young people to look more mature than their actual age, this is a little bit too mature! 

Wei Xun escorted her out of the house and into a car. He drove while she sat in the passenger seat. The car was silent and Han Feixu was experiencing that same suffocating feeling again. 

She tried to find a subject to talk about, “Wei Xun, I’ve heard you’re only 24.”

Wei Xun’s face did not change and he drove without expression, “My traditional-age* is 24, but my real age is only roughly 23 and a half years old. Don’t worry, although I am young, I have studied in a special security forces school for three years. I graduated at the top of my class and have not, nor will I ever, fail a mission.” (T/N: traditional or nominal age is your age plus 1. Look up Korean age and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

“I’m not worried about your capability.” Han Feixu said sincerely. She really wasn’t worried. Wei Xun looked like a reliable person and she felt quite safe beside him. 

“How long have you worked with the Ye household?” 

“Two months, I signed on right after graduation.” 

Han Feixu nodded and asked, “And who did you sign the contract with?”

Hearing this question, Wei Xun finally shifted his eyes and glanced at Han Feixu, “With Eldest Miss Ye.” 

In other words, he was one of Ye Mingxin’s people

Han Feixu let out a breath of relief. 

Ye Mingxin had many relatives and her paternal grandparents are still alive and kicking. She doesn’t know where Ye Mingxin’s parents live, but presumably, they were somewhere in Shanghai. They only came back on occasion and although Ye Mingxin has a younger brother who also has a house in Beijing, he runs a renewable energy company and never stays in China for long as he often goes abroad. Furthermore, Ye Mingxin’s second uncle and his family are living with her grandparents as well. All in all, none of them should be living in Beijing right now. 

Ye Mingxin tried to explain her entire family situation but it was too complicated and she couldn’t remember everything. =  =

And Han Feixu didn’t know why but after hearing that Wei Xun was one of Ye Mingxin’s people, she subconsciously relaxed even though the person she should be most on guard with is Ye Mingxin. 

They arrived at Gan Shi company and Han Feixu made her way up the 16th floor to find Liang Zhu waiting for her in her office. 

As soon as she opened the door, she heard Liang Zhu’s voice call out, “Miss Han, you’re finally here. Do you know how much of a fright you gave me yesterday?”

Then she saw the person following Han Fiexu, and her voice slowed down, “This is….”

“Hello, my name is Wei Xun. I am Mrs. Han’s bodyguard.”

Liang Zhu immediately froze then shook her hands frantically, “Hush! You can’t call her Mrs. Han! It was a secret marriage and now they are about to divorce, so you can’t call her that in public!” 

Wei Xun stared blankly.  Ye Mingxin didn’t tell him any of this. He immediately replied, “Alright, then from now on, when I’m outside, I will call her Young Miss.” 

“….Young Miss is not good either. She is just an actress, not a lady of some mansion. Don’t call her Young Miss, call her Boss instead. You are her private bodyguard after all, not one given by the company.” 

Wei Xun looked at Han Feixu and asked for her opinion. Once Han Feixu agreed, he finally relented. 

Liang Zhu pulled Han Feixu to sit on the black sofa next to her, “Be careful when you go in and out of the company in the future. If you don’t want to cause any riots or have your photos taken, you must cover up your face at all times when you go out.”

Han Feixu nodded obediently.

Liang Zhu still did not feel at ease seeing her like this. She thought for a few seconds, then turned around and picked up a stack of documents, “Do you remember the online variety show I talked about last time? You stood them up last time by not going and I had to make another artist from under another agent go. The other side was very upset about it. Anyhow, the director called me this morning and asked if you were better now. If you’re in good health, they said they still want you to participate in their next show.” 

Han Feixu showed a surprised expression. She had basically stood them up at the last minute. This was considered very unprofessional and it stands to reason that the program should’ve added her to their blacklist, so why would they still want her to come? 

Liang Zhu laughed, “It’s because you’ve become super famous these past two days and they want to borrow some of that fame. Not to mention, after disappearing for so many years, if your first comeback appearance is on their show, then they will have something to brag about.” 

At first, the program was still hesitant about letting her on the show but then the old lady who was beaten up had personally written a statement and asked her son to post it on the internet. The old lady was very eloquent and was a good writer. Although most of her statement was about the mistress who beat her up, the last paragraph that involved Han Fiexu raised her reputation by another three meters. 

According to the old lady’s words: “I, who encountered such misfortune when I went out of the house, can say to have met some good luck. I was able to meet such a kind and good person. A lovely young lady saw that I was bleeding and helped wipe my blood for me. She even left me the handkerchief to cover my wounds with. Later, my son told me that she was a famous celebrity and I felt a little happy in my heart. The core of a celebrity is still a human and naturally there will be good and bad ones. There are stars who will not follow ethics and morals, and there are stars who still uphold public morals. Children, do not be too disappointed in this society and think of it from another perspective. An unknown old lady like me was able to get the concern of the entire society after I was injured just once. Doesn’t this show that there is still a warm side to this society?” 

Next to the statement was a picture of a Burberry Handkerchief with a bit of blood on it. 

The old lady didn’t mean to help Han Feixu out, she just wrote her feelings down in an objective manner in order to comfort the young people who have lost faith in humanity. This statement was very positive and many major media outlets have reposted it. Thus Han Feixu and Shi Xi were pushed into the spotlight again and have almost become role models of what to do and what not to do. 

The program team saw the value in using Han Feixu’s image to improve their own reputation and had hurriedly asked the director to contact Liang Zhu and let Han Feixu onto the next show. 

“There will be more than one artist in each episode and this time there will be three artists altogether, so there should not be too much pressure on you. I asked them beforehand and they told me that they will not ask any tricky questions. They will only ask some basic questions about your journey in becoming a star and whatnot. These are some answer templates you can use. Just memorize them and you should be fine. One more thing, you should go back and watch the two films you played in. I have the full version with the blooper reels right here. Take them with you.” 

Han Feixu accepted the USB flash drive given to her and then nodded, “Ok.”

Liang Zhu didn’t ask Han Feixu whether she wanted to be on this show in the first place because there was no need to ask. In her current situation, the show and the script pick her. She didn’t have the clout to pick what she wanted to do yet. 

Han Feixu also understood these truths and then lowered her head to look at the thick stack of documents that Liang Zhu had given to her.

Liang Zhuo patted the stack of documents, “These are scripts, take a look at them and tell me which one you want to try. Then I will contact them to see if I can arrange an audition for you.”

Translator: Riptide
Editors: Amber and Nightcrypt

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T/N: 

Note to self, add a glossary later. 

Anyhow, this is a friendly reminder that if you see a –jie or –ge at the end of a name, it is an honorific title like the Japanese chan, san, or kun (Korean has something similar too with noona, unnie, oppa, sunbae, nim, etc.)

–jie = older sister, used for older females

–ge = older brother, used for older males

However, if the person is older than you and an elder, you usually call them “Uncle” and “Auntie”. Which are pronounced as “shushu” and “ahyi” in Chinese

The reason why Han Feixu at first didn’t want to call Wei Xun, “Wei-ge” at first was because calling an elder or an obviously older man that way is somewhat embarrassing. Is like an old grandma asking you to call her ‘young lady’ or something.

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