Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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In March, Jiang Mochen’s previously filmed movie, *Transplanting Flowers and Receiving Dreams*, was officially released in China. Because it had won awards at international film festivals, it received excellent reviews, and pre-sales soared.
As the lead actor, Jiang Mochen naturally had to do promotional tours, but he reserved a premiere ticket for Yan Qingchi, and the two watched the premiere together.
*Transplanting Flowers and Receiving Dreams* told the story of Lin Yunhui, a teacher, who woke up one morning and prepared to go to work as usual. However, his wife asked him at the dinner table how his design drawings were coming along. Lin Yunhui said that as a teacher, he wouldn’t be able to draw design drawings, but his wife insisted he was clearly a designer. Lin Yunhui thought his wife was joking and didn’t take it seriously, leaving home for school. However, there’ was no one at the school who knew him; instead, his boss called to ask why he didn’t come to work that day and why his design drafts hadn’t been submitted.
Lin Yunhui was astonished. He didn’t understand why everyone kept claiming he was a designer when he was clearly a teacher. Searching for clues amidst his confusion, he eventually discovered a shocking truth.
This film was full of climaxes and exciting plot twists. Jiang Mochen’s portrayal of Lin Yunhui was particularly vivid and convincing, perfectly capturing a pitiful yet tragic character who refused to give up. The audience was completely drawn in, their emotions mirroring the story’s twists and turns, ultimately ending in a sigh.
Yan Qingchi was deeply moved after watching it, reflecting on life as a dream, a dream as life, a blur of reality and illusion.
While he was still contemplating Jiang Mochen’s performance, good news arrived for “The Jianghu in the Mist”: it had been nominated for the Golden Goose Film Festival.
The official announcement sent fans into a frenzy, with many sharing the news on Weibo and participating in giveaways, praying for good luck for “The Jianghu in the Mist.” Yan Qingchi was also somewhat surprised. Although he had made the film with awards in mind, the fact that it had actually been nominated still left him somewhat bewildered.
He looked at Jiang Mochen, “Why does this feel so unreal?”
Jiang Mochen smiled and pulled him into his arms, “That’s normal. I felt a little unreal when I was nominated for Best Actor for the first time too. You’ll get used to it after a few more times.”
Yan Qingchi leaned against him, still finding it hard to believe.
His excitement arrived a full day later than everyone else’s. The next day, Yan Qingchi got up earlier than usual, ran on the treadmill for a long time before stopping, sitting on the ground, feeling his heart racing. He couldn’t quite tell if it was the increased heart rate after exercise or the joy of learning of the nomination, or perhaps something else entirely. But when he so clearly realized that he was only one step away from his goal, he couldn’t help but feel a kind of homesickness.
For the first time, Yan Qingchi began to seriously worry: what if he didn’t win this time? If he didn’t win, would they have to postpone making their relationship public?
Yan Qingchi sat quietly on the ground for a while, then went back to his room to take a shower. Jiang Mochen was woken up by him, looked at his watch, and realized it was time for him to get up too. He had just sat up when Yan Qingchi sat down in front of him.
“Good morning.” Yan Qingchi kissed his eyebrow.
Jiang Mochen smiled, kissed him back, and asked, “Why are you up so early today? I couldn’t even hold you.”
He knew Yan Qingchi had gotten up around five or six o’clock. He had tried to hold Yan Qingchi, wanting him to sleep a little longer, but Yan Qingchi didn’t agree as usual. He just kissed him and told him to keep sleeping.
Jiang Mochen habitually indulged him, so he obediently let go and, overcome by drowsiness, fell asleep again.
Yan Qingchi looked at him. When Jiang Mochen had just woken up, he always had that lazy, large dog-like feel to him, making him seem approachable and inviting. So, he leaned forward and hugged him, whispering in his ear, “Now you can hug me.”
“Am I arguing with you about this?” Jiang Mochen said, hugging him back and asking, “Is it because of the nomination?”
Yan Qingchi nodded, looking at Jiang Mochen and admitting, “I’m actually a little panicked.”
“Panicked?”
“Yes, I’m a little worried. I have been nominated, but what if I didn’t win anything.” He looked at Jiang Mochen, “When I played Meng Luo, I had just entered the entertainment industry. At that time, I just wanted to make money. So, did I put my heart into Meng Luo? Yes, I did, but that was all. Even his nomination was a sudden, bewildering experience for me. It felt like a pie had suddenly fallen from the sky, beautiful but unreal. So, although I wanted to win, not winning didn’t make me too sad.”
“But this film is different. From the very beginning, I aimed for it to win awards, and it did indeed make it into the main competition. But the higher you climb, the harder you fall. I am afraid this film would come away empty-handed. I am afraid I’d be sitting in that chair again, only able to applaud others. Of course, I know I’ve been very lucky all this time. Even if I fail this time, I have many more opportunities. But my desire for gain and loss, my competitive spirit, prevents me from calmly facing this potential failure. So I thought a lot this morning,” he said, looking at Jiang Mochen, “I’ve decided, regardless of whether I win an award this time, regardless of whether this film wins or not… We’ll announce our relationship this year.”
Jiang Mochen hadn’t expected him to make such a big decision. “Have you thought it through?”
Yan Qingchi nodded. “Human effort can determine part of the outcome, which is what’s called turning the tide with one’s own strength. But there’s another part, determined by fate, beyond human control, like luck. Winning an award also depends on luck. If I never win an award in my life, does that mean we’ll never announce it? Since it’s going to be announced eventually, and we’ve already laid the groundwork last year, and the situation is so good this year, why not choose this year, while there are enough CP fans and it’s easier for others to accept, and just announce it directly.”
“Open.”
Jiang Mochen smiled, hugged him, and patted his shoulder. “You’re just too nervous, putting too much pressure on yourself. Actually, you don’t need to be so nervous. Although I want to go public, I’m not in a rush. It’s not like we can’t do it in a year or two more.”
He looked down at Yan Qingchi and coaxed him softly, “You’re a very talented person, and you’re very gifted in acting. Even if you didn’t win an award at this Golden Goose Film Festival, there are other film festivals, and there’s the Golden Osmanthus Award in China. Even if you don’t win an award this time, the next one, and the one after that, will win an award. The groundwork already laid won’t be taken back or changed.”
“Our relationship is very good, everyone knows that, so there’s no need to wait until this year or next year.”
Yan Qingchi looked up at him, and Jiang Mochen’s eyes were full of tenderness. He said, “If I wanted to go public, everyone would already know. If you don’t have the ability to win awards, and popularity is your ceiling, then I would have gone public long ago. But once you have the ability and ambition, going public becomes a constraint. People won’t see your efforts and progress; they’ll only put my mark on you. And after that, if you win an award, they’ll only attribute the credit to me, which isn’t fair to you.”
“Let’s do this,” Jiang Mochen held out a hand, “Let’s make a deal. If you don’t win an award this time, then I’ll wait for you for five years. Within five years, whether it’s a TV drama award or a movie award, if you win any one of them, then we’ll go public. I don’t believe that someone I have high hopes for can’t win any awards within five years.”
“What if I really don’t win?” Yan Qingchi asked him.
“No, that won’t happen,” Jiang Mochen said gently. “You are Yan Qingchi, there’s nothing in this world you can’t do.”
Yan Qingchi looked at him, his heart filled with emotion. His anxiety and trepidation stemmed not only from his own desire for success or failure, but also from the fact that whether or not he won the award directly affected whether their relationship could be made public. He had watched Jiang Mochen pave the way for their relationship, feeling his desire to openly declare their connection to everyone. He wanted to fulfil his wish, yet he feared he couldn’t.
If winning an award could be achieved through perseverance and hard work, then even if it meant climbing countless stairs alone, he would keep going, because he knew that as long as he kept going, he would get what he wanted. But winning an award was something that couldn’t be solved by human will, which was why Yan Qingchi felt anxious.
He had never been afraid of any challenge, but he had always known he couldn’t win against fate. Under this self-imposed pressure, he unusually showed weakness.
Yan Qingchi didn’t high-five Jiang Mochen, but instead hugged him. Jiang Mochen patted his back and asked, “Did I put too much pressure on you?”
Yan Qingchi shook his head. “It wasn’t you, it was myself.”
“You’re already amazing. As a lover, you’re a wonderful lover; as a father, Qi Qi and Yan Yan both adore you; as a son, you’re filial to your parents and my parents; as an idol, your achievements are the greatest pride of your fans. You’re already amazing, and what’s more, you’re an artist loved by both children and adults. You’re the most talented person I’ve ever met. What will we do if you put more pressure on yourself?”
Yan Qingchi chuckled softly at his words, looking at Jiang Mochen. “How can you be so good with words?”
“Of course, it’s because I like you.”
Yan Qingchi smiled at him, then leaned in to kiss him.
Jiang Mochen was somewhat surprised; this was the first time Yan Qingchi had taken the initiative to kiss him after waking up early. He wisely refrained from pointing it out and returned the kiss.
After kissing him, Yan Qingchi reverted to his confident self. He said, “I won’t make that promise with you, because I’m sure I’ll win the award this time. Even if I don’t win it myself, my movie will. I believe it.”
“Okay,” Jiang Mochen looked at him, “I believe it too.”
Yan Qingchi couldn’t help but kiss him again. “How can you believe everything?”
Jiang Mochen hugged him and coaxed, “It’s not that I believe everything, but that I believe you. I believe you, so I believe whatever you say.”
Yan Qingchi smiled, “The way you are, I’m afraid I’ll like you more and more.”
“That’s exactly what I want.” Jiang Mochen lowered his head and pressed his forehead against his. “That’s exactly what I want— for you to like me more and more, to never leave me for the rest of your life.”
“A lifetime is a long time. I’m only in my twenties.”
“So we have a long time ahead of us.”
Yan Qingchi looked at him and nodded. “Then you’d better perform well.”
“Yes, Madam Jiang,” Jiang Mochen smiled.
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