Don’t Be a Kept Man

le for doing this kind of work.
Can you help me sweep the grounds?”

Chen Yi lifted his eyes and then hesitated before rising up.
Seeing this, Li Su Li smiled and was prepared to pass the broom over to him, but she did not expect that Chen Yi didn’t accept it and instead patted his pockets for a while.
In the end he felt out a nail clipper and passed it to her.

Chen Yi said, 

“You can cut them.
Never have to worry again.”

Li Su Li, stunned by his action and words, was shocked out of her mind.

The comments were going crazy with laughter: 

[ Puh HAHAHAHAHAHAHA yeah that’s right, you can cut them ]

[ Wow at that Chen Yi, carrying nail clippers on him wherever he goes ]

[ Holy shit, that dumb look of Li Su Li is sending me rofl.
What a competition to see which rat poo is more disgusting to look at ]

[ LOLOLOLOL of course you can only cure poison with poison ]

[ Can’t work because of your nails and you ask me what to do? You can cut them then puh ahahahahahaha ]

Li Su Li gritted her teeth and glared at Chen Yi.
She turned her back against Chen Yi and, still huffing, went to sweep the floor.
It was at this time that Fu Xiu Nian walked out of the kitchen and said, 

“Everyone, go wash your hands.
Lunch’s ready.”

Fu Xiu Nian was a newbie, but his starting point was high.
His first work, his debut, was a role in the world known director, He Ning’s, historical movie, << A Thousand Years >>.
Following the end of that filming, he immediately joined << I Came From Far Away >>. 

Although he was not that well known, everyone with eyes could see he was unhindered in his future.
After this program finished filming, his net worth, his “rank” as a celebrity would no doubt shoot all the way up.

But as his starting point was so high, it was hard to escape from rumors and gossip.
Some say that Fu Xiu Nian has a powerful sponsor behind him, but no matter how much the paparazzi tried to dig, they couldn’t find a hint or sniff out a trail of anything, and so it was still a mystery.

Li Su Li immediately threw away the broom after Fu Xiu Nian’s announcement and went to wash her hands.
Ah Qi and Zhao Ke Yi followed right behind as well.
Chen Yi, however, did not move as he sat there and no one cared about him from beginning to end.

The sun was slowly rising and it was shining brightly with a toasty and cozy feeling.
Chen Yi crossed his arms as he leaned back on the chair, as if he was ready to sleep.
His dark and high collared fur coat hid most of his face, and he was emitting a cold aura, as if he was his own lonesome entity, far away from the crowd of people.

Seeing him like this, Fu Xiu Nian paused in his footsteps and turned back into the kitchen to fill up a bowl of rice.
He carried the bowl with him as he walked towards Chen Yi and said, 

“Chen Yi, it’s time for lunch.”

With the sun blocked in front of him, a dark shadow was cast upon him.
Fu Xiu Nian was wearing a casual hoodie and his face was clear and youthful.
His hair was the most natural black and his aura felt clean.
When he smiled, there would be two tiny dimples that showed up, making it very easy for others to let their guard down.

The bowl was a bit hot, and so Fu Xiu Nian was switching the bowl from the left hand to the right, the right to the left.
In the end, Chen Yi finally accepted it, but he didn’t even say a word of thanks.
Fu Xiu Nian didn’t really mind it though and went to fill up a bowl of rice for himself.

The dishes were very basic, and there wasn’t a wide variety of seasonings in the kitchen.
In addition to that, there was no one in the group who knew how to cook, so naturally the flavours wouldn’t have been able to be any good.
Zhao Ke Yi was eating quite well, however, and in contrast to her, Li Su Li was poking her chopsticks at her bowl the entire time and made a face in the end. 

“This dish is so salty and this rice is so hard.”

In the past, Ah Qi was always on trend, a cool type of man, but these past couple of days, every laborious work fell onto his shoulders, and so he had been dulled and worn out quite a bit.
Fans were laughing that he was turning as black as coal, so one could see how hard it had been for him.

Ah Qi slightly frowned when he heard Li Su Li, but as she was a woman, he couldn’t really say anything.

Fu Xiu Nian paused, but he was a gentleman and so he didn’t really take it to heart, 

“Sorry about that.
I have never cooked before, and as it’s my first time, my hands weren’t quite used to the work.
Next time, I will put less salt in.”

The comments were furiously scrolling again: 

[ Where did Li Su Li get that bitchy attitude.
She does nothing and still gets this picky.
I really want to spit in her face until I can’t see it anymore ]

[ Oh my god.
Besides Ok mei mei and Ah Qi, Fu Xiu Nian is the only one that is the most acceptable.
He’s been cooking in the kitchen for the entire day! ]

[ What a rare personality type.
He’s not only so nice but also so hot.
He hasn’t even gotten angry at that nuisance of a woman Li Su Li despite her bullying him these past few days.
Wu wu wu wu wu I’m a fan, I’m a fan now ]

[ I really can’t stand it anymore.
I really really hate her AHHHHHHH! Going to set this program on fire, blow up this stupid fucking program ]

[ What the fuck did you say was easy? If you have the ability you should do it yourself ]

[ I’m going to blast through this monitor and strangle her!! ]

Chen Yi quickly finished his food and then used a napkin to wipe his mouth.
He disinterestedly said to Li Su Li, 

“Your cooking skills must be better than him, so you should cook the next meal.”

Li Su Li glared at him, feeling that Chen Yi kept back talking her, 

“What for.”

Chen Yi pushed back his bangs, revealing an overly sharp facial structure, 

“Didn’t you think this was terrible.
If it was terrible to eat, you can make it yourself.”

 

Celebrities need to take care of their image in front of the camera, so no matter how unhappy they were in their hearts, they would never show it on their face.
Just like Ah Qi and Zhao Ke Yi, their biggest movements would be giving her the cold shoulder and not really tearing her face out.

Chen Yi was not the same, however, as he didn’t care about “face”.9 

Fu Xiu Nian stared strangely at him with this exchange, but Chen Yi didn’t look at him.
The screen was scrolling fast with the comments at this scene.

[ …… Although I don’t like Chen Yi, but I must say, it’s so satisfying to see him quip back at her ]

[ Those of the same species know how to deal with their own kind.
Li Su Li’s mouth needs a beating and now comes another mouth that’s even worse than hers hahahaha ]

[ Chen Yi said the same thing I wanted to, but the most important thing is that Li Su Li can hear those words.
Wow.
I’m so satisfied. ]

[ Li Su Li is just bullying Fu Xiu Nian because he’s new, and he’s not as famous as the others.
These few days she’s been on his tail, bullying him.
She doesn’t dare do the same to Ah Qi, obviously pandering to those higher than her and stepping on those lower than her ]

Li Su Li simply saw Fu Xiu Nian as an eyesore.
Those who could join this program were either famous, or had a background of famous works.
Who didn’t roll around in this industry and claw their way up to the top for a few years? Fu Xiu Nian as a new, new newbie, having such a good starting point just as he debuted, who would believe it when you say he has no background help.

Seeing the atmosphere freeze up, Zhao Ke Yi quickly came to disperse the tension.
She smiled and changed the topic, 

“Chen Yi, when you weren’t here, the PD gave us some mission cards.
When we finish our lunch, we will need to go to the village pond to catch some fish.
We should hurry and finish our meal.”

Fish? Chen Yi remembered then.
The script that his manager Zhou Ming gave him had written about this.
It said something about him being lazy and doing nothing; just be there.

Simple.

The sun was slowly rising and the temperature was too.
Chen Yi went inside to change his clothes, coming out with a simple black tee with his coat hooked casually on his finger over his shoulder.
He had a long torso and a slender waist.
With a sharp and manly look, he was like the hated-but-also-crushed-on bad boy from every girl’s high school era.

The program gave everyone rain boots and gloves and so everyone changed into the gear before heading towards the village pond by the entrance.
Ah Qi brought a bucket with him and he sighed, 

“My face’s already turning green from only eating vegetables these past couple of days.
Finally, there will be meat to eat.”

Zhao Ke Yi was jumping and skipping around, evidently very enthusiastic, 

“I have never caught a fish before.
Just thinking about it makes me so happy.”

Li Su Li discreetly rolled her eyes.
The pond was going to be all dirty and stinky, what was there to be happy about? After a while you’re just going to cry.

Chen Yi did not speak for the entire journey and was walking very slowly.
He was kind of like  a head honcho surveying his territory.
Fu Xiu Nian didn’t know why but he slowed down and walked together with him, side by side.

The pond wasn’t that deep and there were many fishes and loaches inside.
If they were lucky, they might even be able to catch some small crabs.
Everyone was getting prepared to head down to catch some fish, but Chen Yi was the only one to not move from the shore.

Fu Xiu Nian looked at him, 

“Chen Yi, are you not coming?”

Chen Yi crouched by the bank, biting on a lollipop he stole from the hospital, 

“My body’s too weak, and I get sick too easily.
Since I came out of the hospital, my head’s been spinning and I feel awful, always wanting to throw up.
I can’t go out there and bend my waist.
You guys go first.
I’ll go when I rest a bit.”

Fu Xiu Nian dropped silent for a moment before saying, 

“……Are you pregnant?”

Notes:

Just a note on Ah Qi and Xiao Meng – they are a bit different in their use of prefixes as referenced in the footnotes below/previously.
Xiao Meng is the actual first name of his sister (Chen Xiao Meng) and Ah Qi is also the name of the celebrity versus them calling like in volume 1 where Ah Qi for Lu Qi was like an affectionate name. 

—

And we are back! I hope everyone had a great end of the year, and a good start of this year so far! (^▽^) Welcome back to those who have joined us on the journey once more and hello to all new readers 

A few housekeeping things:

First of which, this volume heavily capitalizes on the mechanic of on-screen comments which is briefly explained in footnote 3, so if you usually skip footnotes, I’d advise you to read just that one if you are unfamiliar with chinese video/live streaming platorms (on scrolling comments on screen) or glance at the pictures to get a reference 

Second thing, regarding the schedule, we will most likely keep the schedule as it was for volume 2, as right now overall, it’s a bit more of an easier schedule to keep up with, with our other life commitments like my new job which requires a more regulated structured time schedule and Plum’s deep dive with their work especially after the holiday, and not feel the crunch of time (…mostly).

We have taken the schedule on a volume to volume basis as I am terrible at consistency on that I guess (´･∀･`) and really based on the circumstances/situation I (and Plum) are in which has drastically changed in a short amount of time, mostly due to the pandemic, but hopefully this will work out and something you all will be comfortable with/easy to adapt with  Thank you for all your patience! So just to recap, chapter release for volume 3 is slated (for now) Mon, Wed and Fri!

Last but not least, I’m assuming most people have continued with us on this journey from the very beginning, but as it’s been a while (which um… ??? my fledging start as a translator has almost reached the half a year mark!!!! That’s so crazy to think about.
Thank you to everyone who’s reading this and for all your support and interest in this project of mine!!!), and there might be some possibly new readers who read only the specific volumes, it might seem redundant, but hopefully it isn’t too much, if you will, please count those as like a quick reminder  I’ll try to keep those really short/only once for the volume (kind of what I did in volume 2 there)

Also, if there’s anything you want to be explained further, let me know! As sometimes I think it’s so familiar to me that I just gloss over it, but Plum sometimes tell me (only when I ask hahaha whoopsies) it’s a bit of an unfamiliar concept to them.

See you all Galactic Judges on Wednesday for chapter 63! I hope you are all having a great new year so far, and a cozy start of a week! Thank you once again, for making this journey of mine (and Plum) onto almost half a year now (thank you to everyone who stuck with me as I stumbled through)!!! ʚ♡⃛ɞ(ू•ᴗ•ू❁)

P.S.
Wouldn’t start out with a new volume without a wall of footnotes, now would I… ꉂ (′ ॢꇴ ॢ‵๑))

>> Added the volume title to match volume 1 

 

 

Footnotes

 

*1  -jie: (referring back to the volume 2) it’s a suffix that usually refers an “elder” lady but not quite that old, or if they are, whoever is saying this is trying to make the other seem younger/being more pleasant on the ears for the female being referenced

 

*2  Xiao/Ge: as said in a previous footnote, in a name xiao is usually used as a prefix to denote someone less in rank or as someone more familiar with you but a bit younger/looks younger or even to denote as someone to be young even if they are older (to be more youthful like -jie), and -Ge, as also stated before is as in someone more higher in rank/respectable, or like a leader of yours, or as a brother (blood-related or even more than just blood relations).
But note as like above/at the very top, they can also be used as being part of actual names besides as familiar nicknames

*3 quick (but long whoops) note on the comment(s) structure of broadcasting and all that:

If you have read a lot of novels for the “entertainment circle”, and there’s a portion of it where it’s live streaming or mentioning videos of a cp (couple pairing – a couple being “stanned”, which if you have read any fanfics, it’s sort of like otp (and also stan, simp, using them interchangeably of sorts, but I’ve been formally told by my friend who is more well versed in this that simp iswas (or an alternative now… like shrimp haha) apparently only for twitch, so… well, it’s live streaming! It works!), or just any video at all, the comments being commented are usually meant as comments scrolling on screen of the video (even livestreams).

You might have known nico nico jp (it had been mostly known within my friends’ groups for vocaloid), or if you visit chinese video websites like bilibili/youku/iqiyi, it’s kind of like taking the youtube comments and instead of the comment section (which is actually there as well, but anyway!), all the comments are timestamped to scroll across the screen, so that instead of you scrolling down the page to read the comments as you listen/watch the video, you can see it right on screen the reactions of others and what they want to say (hence why there is usually no punctuation at the end). 

It’s actually pretty addicting after a while, which makes it very understandable why it was adopted right away.
But here are some example images below (the comments can also be customized like the subtitles on youtube, like opacity, but depending on the video platform, there can be a bit more control like how fast and how much you want the video to be covered by the comments).

I think actually, if you have seen the livestreams on youtube, which I have not seen a lot of so don’t quote me on this, instead of it being in the corner and moving up (if fullscreen), the comments are without a background and overlayed over the entire screen.

This long blurb is really for me to hopefully be able to explain a bit of context on what the novel is doing as it’s a bit instrumental in the setting and kind of the mood the author sets for the particular scene that is happening (especially so as particular actions or things usually not easily spotted by the vast majority can be now seen/notified/discussed as that scene pops up when comments are not turned off)  Side note: it is pretty much (usually) regulated, with sometimes “sweeps” done, where the comments get cleaned off as due to cursing, harrassment, abuse etc.
or on sensitive materials/topics which can include CPs, but it’s not usually touched upon in these settings or very briefly mentioned like reporting comments etc., so just a note

Not a shameless plug for my favourite duo ever, but here are some examples:

First Image (top left): original/comments turned off
Second image (top right): Example of comments turned on/scrolling on-screen comments
Third and fourth image (bottom): examples of customizable on-screen comments that can get pretty wild (some options are only for members of different levels)

 

These are taken from 我们的歌/Our Song + on bilibili (or I think season 2 they called it Singing with legends?) (which if you’re interested >:) please join me in my obsession here but only for season 1, season 2 not endorsed though!  (some have eng subs, some don’t, so here’s an official compilation of my favourite duo and their duets from that show <3) If you happen to know some chinese, I’d point you to here which is the compilation of the cuts of my favourite duo within the whole show (with some other songs that the uploader cut in as well, based on their likes).
The last link is to bilibili and the rest before are youtube  You can check out the last link for more examples of the on-screen comments too, if you are interested~

 

*4 Ok mei mei: Ke Yi sounds like the verb, “possible/can do” but saying that particular verb in response to someone, by itself, would be like alright, that’s possible, or ok, hence the “ok” association.
If you use it in a sentence like 我可以 means I can do that, that’s fine by me, kind of like good? if you think about it in that way that I’m good versus good as by itself.
And mei mei means baby sister.
I originally translated it as OK baby, which sort of works, but there’s a line somewhere in the later chapters where this doesn’t work out so switched it to the pinyin  (Edit: Fixed the one I left in!)

*5 Like paper… : the phrase they use is a bit more complicated than what I have condensed there… This particular phrasing came from Dream of the Red Chamber (which you may have recalled from another footnote(s), as this is one of the classics with many sayings and references, but in the context of that, it’s kind of to say that life and death is not in your own control, especially when you are born into a poor family and you have nothing, in a terrible situation to start, and unable to solve all your regrets, and so from birth to death you are very pitiful, live by being stingy, lowly, thinking you are better than everyone when in reality you are not but that is based on because you grew up in a very unsafe and no security environment, where you don’t have validation, and so you give yourself confidence, and think you have the skill (or making up lies to believe that you do).
But you really don’t and your foundation/basis is very shaky because it’s empty, yet you don’t think it is. 

 

It’s based on a character in the classic novel, where if you take the phrase literally, it means the heart’s higher than the sky (thinking you are better than everyone else, not knowing what the situation you are in really is, as the character was a servant, but never took on the attitude that she was servant), life is thinner than paper (easily dictated by others/life is on a thin line).
There’s actually quite a few topics surrounding this and deep discussion like all literary arts do, especially since this is classic literature, but a kind of meaning of what it means, with a bit of my own interpretations I guess, relevant to the situation at hand.

 

*6 petition with my blood: The phrasing of this actually means to write a book with their blood, which apparently came from a buddhist text, to use your blood to write teachings and understanding, but in this case, this is a phrase created from the interwebs, meaning a very strong rejection of something and wanting to do something from that/venting out that rejection, like here where they want Chen Yi to be kicked out of the program or for him to drop out, and a very strongly worded phrase to do so

*7 +10086: You might have already seen this, if you read a lot of CN novels, but it’s basically saying I’m agreeing with the previous comment(s) and as like a bazillion other people, I very much agree.
I believe it started like the +1 kind of thing on like forums like add one more person to agree with the previous comment. 

 

For example: I like cake.
next commenter: +1 (would mean I agree with your point too, I like cake too), but as something a bit meme-y, +10086 because it’s the service number for mobiles (for that basically main carrier of the country) for like knowing your bills, customer service, complaints, questions, etc.
so it’s very well used/known and it became like a +1 meme, if you call it that.
There are other numbers/phrases that have been used, but this is the more popular and known version, which now expands over just forum use obviously as seen here.

*8 snake monster: a face in the filters of photo apps where they apply the make up for you and it turns your face white, lips red and a pink blush and slims down your face drastically (the version that makes you overly not human, which if you try it with apps that allow you to have a slider on the makeup, it might be easier to see).
Basically an overly corrected version/edited photo of someone like facetune? Apparently this came from “Calabash Brothers” or Hulu brothers of this villain (picture below).
You can probably google just “蛇精” for more info/RL images.

 

*9 face: as you may have seen in a lot of novels and in volume 1 which I didn’t really explain about, is very briefly, like dignity, one’s self being? but a bit more than that… It’s kind of as “you” and what you represent (your family, status, what groups you belong to, etc.).
Like your pride, and the “face” of the identity you have (in regards to you, and/or what you represent).
In the sense of “face-slapping” then, it’s like having done to you what you have done onto others (negatively), and taking revenge on what others have done or belittled you as.
In reference to yourself however, like what some of the comments said, it’s like the saying of you eating your own words, kind of slapping yourself in the face for how wrong you were (usually after being overly confident/arrogant/conceited about what you said/did)