Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 80: Official Statement

The hallway was deathly quiet as Chen Yi took out his keys.
When he pushed the door open, he was greeted by darkness.
Chen Xiao Meng would normally not be asleep at this time, but it seemed like she was too afraid of him scolding her that she had already locked her bedroom door and was pretending to be asleep.

Chen Yi thought to himself that he should really tell her about the situation before it got revealed through some other means later, and so he knocked on her door, 

“Are you asleep?”

Chen Xiao Meng rolled to the other side of the bed under her blankets and didn’t utter a sound.

The room was too quiet and Chen Yi could faintly hear a rustling sound occasionally, but he didn’t expose her lie.
He only said out loud, as if talking to himself, 

“Well if you’re asleep then, I’ll just let you know, I’m in a relationship now.”

This sentence was said so calmly, but the result was as if a grenade was thrown into the room, exploding the person inside into pieces and blowing their minds into white static.

Three seconds later, her door slammed open and Chen Xiao Meng’s shocked voice rang out right after, almost shattering her voice, 

“What did you say? Who’s in a relationship?!!”

Evidently she was shocked by that statement; her hair was in disarray and in her haste to open the door, one of her slippers had fallen off, leaving one of her feet bare.
Chen Yi didn’t say anything and only led her back to sit on her bed.
He grabbed the slipper that was thrown off into some forgotten corner in her haste and brought it back to her.

Chen Xiao Meng wanted to stand up, but she was pressed back down by Chen Yi.
Still dishevelled and blanking out, she said, 

“Brother…… you……”

“I’m not joking.
I’m serious.” 

Chen Yi dragged the swivel chair by the computer over and sat right in front of Chen Xiao Meng, staring at her at eye level.
Unlike his usual carefree and flippant attitude, his eyes showed a seriousness behind his statements.

Chen Xiao Meng was flustered, but she suddenly calmed down and unconsciously grasped the edge of her shirt as she asked, 

“…… Who is it?”

Chen Yi: “Fu Xiu Nian.”

It wasn’t anything strange in this world for a man to be in a relationship with another man, and it was not even that the entertainment industry did not see its fair share of people coming out of the closet.
But Chen Yi had never disclosed such an orientation, not even so much as hinted that he was this way.
So even though Chen Xiao Meng had tried to prepare herself as much as she could mentally, she couldn’t help but be shocked to the core.

Fu Xiu Nian……

Chen Xiao Meng knew him.
When Chen Yi was filming for << I Came From Far Away >>, Fu Xiu Nian had left an impression on her because he was the nicest to Chen Yi.
And then afterwards, the two of them were cast in the same drama, << Minister >> and there were even a few fans stanning the two as CP.

Perhaps it was because she had passed by death’s door once before with her car accident, but Chen Xiao Meng was much more mature than any other person of the same age.
There was no screaming, yelling, or crying after this news was dropped on her.
And it was only after a period of silence did she speak up and ask, 

“When did you two get together?”

“When I only had you as my one and only loyal fan in the entertainment industry,”

Chen Yi looked at Chen Xiao Meng and it was as if his eyes were transported to somewhere beyond, looking through her to see the past him.
At the very base level, Chen Yi was really a terrible person and he still was.
The first day he came to this world, he had the attitude of a glass of milk being spilled and so it could be said that he didn’t really like himself that much.

“Perhaps it was during that time that we got together hmm.”

Chen Xiao Meng’s eyes reddened and her mouth was soundlessly opening and closing.
Her voice shook as she said, 

“But you have a lot of loyal fans now……”

“That’s different,” 

Chen Yi was very calm, 

 

“Xiao-Meng, it’s different.”

Sewing a flower onto an already decorated cotton blanket and delivering charcoal in the snow; these are two extremely different things.1

Fans liked Chen Yi, and why was that? Because of his face? Because of his uncompromising personality? Because they felt that he was a good brother? Or because he seemed like a good person?

What you see and understand through a monitor screen, your perceptions and beliefs will always forever be blocked off from that layer of truth.
In the eyes of fans, whatever idols do, they are right; the best possible decision would always be made by their idol in that moment.
Yet only Chen Yi knew, he himself was still full of shortcomings.

He had originally shown off his worst to Fu Xiu Nian, putting himself on display at the worst.

Chen Yi’s attitude was too carefree, doing whatever he felt like doing rather than what he was supposed to.
His temper was also bad, with a toxic mouth that very few people could handle.
Fu Xiu Nian normally was very quiet, with a level of existence like background wallpaper, yet Fu Xiu Nian was willing to turn his personality around for Chen Yi.
When Chen Yi needed him, he would appear; when he didn’t, he wouldn’t.
And he had never said anything about it.

Moonlight was gently shining into the room, showering the floor with a layer of light.
Chen Xiao Meng’s hands tightened up then loosened, tightened then loosened, repeating for a few times until her palms had crescent moons impressed into them.
She asked with stiff voice, 

“Why do you want to be with him?”

Chen Yi said, 

“It’s really simple why two people come together.
In the future, your wedding will be like so.
When you meet someone who doesn’t ask for anything in return, and is good to you from the bottom of their heart, and you so happen to not hate them, feelings will pool and build up as you continue to interact.
Normal people have the same feelings, go through the same motions.
You are normal, and I am also normal.”

Normal people live a normal life, with normal expectations, with normal concerns.
Going with the flow of living a normal life.
The best days were those that did not make too many waves, a day of calmness and “normal”.
Fans do not agree with this however, as they put their celebrities, their idols on a pedestal, unwilling to believe that they are also normal human beings.

Chen Xiao Meng lifted her head to look at Chen Yi, 

“And is he good to you?”

Chen Yi nodded his head, 

“He’s very good to me.”

Chen Xiao Meng said, 

“If your relationship gets exposed, your career will return to the point where you started from the very next morning.
Will you not regret it?”

Chen Yi reached out to gently ruffle her hair, 

“No matter how much worse it will become, it will never be as worse as it has been before.”

Chen Xiao Meng was really just trying to scare him as Chen Yi was after all not a top idol and his fans weren’t that crazy.
Half his fame was due to his face, and the other was from his personality.
Adding in the fact that although Fu Xiu Nian was not well known, he had been very “clean” since he debuted, without a lick of bad press or unfavourable news.
If they were together, at most everyone would only vent their disagreements online for a while and it would be over after a few fans leave the group.

Chen Xiao Meng had never tried to control Chen Yi’s life and this was no different, even now she would never choose to try and manage his life.

“As long as you don’t regret it, then that’s fine.”

Chen Xiao Meng was still a bit stiff, as she was still not able to accept it, which Chen Yi could understand.

“…… It’s late.
You should go rest.”

And then he left and softly closed the door.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Chen Xiao Meng flipped left and right, over and over, unable to sleep for the entire night.
When the sun was about to rise up, she was finally able to close her eyes.
And at the exact same time, a topic was slowly rising on the charts, something related to the exposure of Chen Yi’s relationship.
And after building up for the entire morning, it went straight to the top of the charts.

# SHOCKER! Fu Xiu Nian and Chen Yi SECRET RELATIONSHIP EXPOSED #

# Chen Yi and Fu Xiu Nian on a SECRET DATE LATE AT NIGHT, kissing passionately near their car #

Netizens who chased after drama and juicy gossip were still shocked when they saw the news.
Chen Yi and Fu Xiu Nian’s relationship exposed? Wasn’t Fu Xiu Nian a guy? Did the two fan groups stan their CP into the top of the charts?

At first, everyone thought that it was just gossip rags making noise and they had the attitude of clicking in to read out of passing interest. 

 

And the opening was as normal, saying something-something about Chen Yi and Fu Xiu Nian developing a relationship because of the drama they were both in and that they had been in love for a long time.
And yesterday when Chen Yi finished recording late in the night and had returned home, the two of them were even kissing like star-crossed lovers, and there was even photographic evidence.

Wow they can really write a story huh.
The netizens nibbling on their melon seeds2 did not believe it when they saw it up until this point, right up until they saw the attached photo……

The photo background was set in the deep set of night: a dark black car silently stopped beside the community gateways with Chen Yi standing underneath a streetlamp, embracing another lean and thin man.
The faint yellow light shone on the side of their faces quite clearly; one cold and one gentle, clearly the actual Chen Yi and Fu Xiu Nian.
Those who wanted to say that they just looked like them could not even say that and those netizens almost choked on their melon seeds at this point.

What the fuck it was real!

Chen Yi and Fu Xiu Nian are dating?!!!

 

AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH!!!

Both fan groups: ppppp……p3 right?!!! Quick! Quick! Quick! Get a professional to examine it!!!!

Billion Year CP Fans: Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Call the ambulance now!!!!!

There were few Fu Xiu Nian fans, and so there wasn’t much of an issue there.
On the other hand, when they heard the news, Chen Yi’s fans immediately blew up from the inside.

>> FUCK! Chen Yi actually likes men??? Fu Xiu Nian who? What kind of status is he? Who is he? I have never even heard of him before.

>> A professional just confirmed it on weibo.
The photo’s not p.
AHH AHH AHH AHH AHH AHH AHH I’m rolling in tears! I stanned Yi-Ge not that long ago and he’s already in a relationship.
What kind of tragedy is this!

>> emmm I feel like if Yi-Ge continues like this his status would definitely be higher than today.
He could totally find someone better.
Fu Xiu Nian’s too low.

>> I think it’s ok.
Fu Xiu Nian’s private life is quite clean.
Doesn’t even have any bad press around him.
The both of them make quite a match when they’re together.
If it is real, I congratulate and hope for the best for them.

The situation was snowballing into something bigger, startling even Fu Xiu Nian’s manager, Yan Jin.
She immediately called Fu Xiu Nian asking for the truth so she could quickly formulate a notice to clarify the situation, but instead, she just got an affirmative.

“It’s real.”

In front of Fu Xiu Nian was a computer and every window on his screen was of all the gossip on the exposé of his and Chen Yi’s relationship.
He skimmed through each and every one of them and said to Yan Jin, 

“I will take care of this myself.
Don’t worry about it for now.”

Yan Jin was Happy Star Entertainment’s top celebrity manager, and of the celebrities she managed, each one of them had always risen up from the unknown, becoming well known and popular.
Besides the artists having their personal skills, her detailed and sharp mind, along with her PR skills could not be dismissed.
When she saw the headlines, she had already immediately analyzed the good and the bad.
She gave some heartfelt advice, 

“Xiao-Fu Xian-Sheng, this is not a good time to expose your relationship.
Right now, Chen Yi is still a celebrity, half idol.
Your popularity right now is not enough to be at the same level as him and when his fans start to reject this and protest online, you will be at a huge disadvantage.”

Yan Jin has always thought that Chen Yi was born to be the one to bring bad luck to Fu Xiu Nian.

From the very beginning, the program << I Came From Far Away >> should have been the starting point to amass fans with Fu Xiu Nian’s warm and gentlemanly personality.
Yet Chen Yi had suddenly risen up amidst the crowd at the end, overshadowing Fu Xiu Nian’s burgeoning fame.

Then in << Minister >>, Meng Yu’s character was supposed to be Fu Xiu Nian’s role, yet he was willing to take the role of a smaller character instead, letting Chen Yi pick up this immense freebie.
When the drama starts to broadcast, it wouldn’t even take an idiot to know that his popularity would rise up in huge leaps again.

“No worries.
I have already mentally prepared for this.”

And then he hung up after a few more words.
Fu Xiu Nian grabbed his car keys, ready to head out to find Chen Yi when his door suddenly opened.
He turned his head back in shock and discovered Chen Yi standing right outside his door.

“What, are you overcome with happiness at seeing me.”

At the entryway, Chen Yi took off his shoes and put on his house slippers.
He was speaking with a lazy tone, as if what happened this morning did not affect him one bit.
His eyes were still not really fully open, looking as if he seemed to have just woken up at home and then headed straight here.

Fu Xiu Nian was not an idiot.
He thought about Chen Yi purposefully calling him out of the car yesterday, and he could immediately connect the dots.
Chen Yi must have found out that there was paparazzi secretly stationed nearby yesterday, and he took this and ran with it, using this chance to expose their relationship.

“No, I just never thought you would reveal……”

“If it was fake, what? You’re still going to cry?”

Chen Yi came forward to pinch Fu Xiu Nian’s cheeks, thinking that this man was such an idiot.
Thankfully he was not a scumbag, as otherwise Fu Xiu Nian would have been lied to in body and heart by him, and even if he tried to say otherwise, he would not be able to find reason anywhere.

“Do you want to see? If you want to, I will cry for you.”

And then Fu Xiu Nian immediately lurched forward into his embrace, smiling so widely and openly, as if he just received the whole world.
Chen Yi’s fingers twitched and immediately slipped into his pants.

“Chen Yi……” 

Fu Xiu Nian shivered, blushing from his neck to his ears.
He shifted awkwardly, but he did not reject the touch.

Chen Yi hooked up Fu Xiu Nian’s phone from the other’s pocket, 

“What’s your cellphone password?”

Fu Xiu Nian: “……”

Three minutes later, Chen Yi officially published a status post, adding, “My partner.” these two words and @Fu Xiu Nian.
Fu Xiu Nian liked it and shared it as well, also mentioning @Chen Yi in his weibo post.

Since their relationship had been exposed and had been trending at #1 today, quite a few people were checking both of their weibo accounts frequently, hoping that the two would come out and explain.
And this was perfect, directly slamming down the judge’s gavel on the situation.

Fans: “I ***!”

Billion Year CP: This happiness came all too suddenly! Don’t know what to do WU WU WU!!! The heavens have finally blessed us!!!

A part of Chen Yi’s fans just quit the group, a part remained impartial, and some even crazier fans went to war with Fu Xiu Nian’s fans.
Some anti-fans were also in it to create more drama, creating a battlefield of chaos.

>> Chen Yi can be considered as a popular idol right.
Being in a relationship so early is not only not being responsible to himself, it is also not being responsible to his fans.
Before revealing their relationship, other celebrities would switch their image to one of a skilled artist.
Chen Yi’s currently still depending on his popularity to earn his meals, and he dares to reveal his relationship.
What a way to open my eyes.
I am so impressed!

>> I’m more worried about Fu Xiu Nian.
To be honest, I feel like he can’t control Chen Yi.
At home, he probably gets bullied.
If he cries because he’s being treated as a punching bag, there’s no place for him to cry.

>> I’m floored.
When you guys were flaming Chen Yi before, you said he wasn’t a popular idol.
Yet now that his relationship has been revealed, you say that he’s a popular idol.
How is it any of your business if he’s in a relationship? Is he going to spend the rest of his life guarding his body for his fans?

>> Doesn’t Chen Yi depend on his face for his popularity? Some fans dare to say without shame that he is of the skilled party, what a joke.

At this time, Chen Yi was not considered a top tier idol and so even with the two groups of fans going at each other, there was still a limit.
When the second episode of << Life Changes With a Dance >> was about to be filmed again, the war online had pretty much died off.

The night before the filming session, Chen Yi was staying over at Fu Xiu Nian’s house.
Sitting on the sofa, he was peeling an apple after his shower when Fu Xiu Nian suddenly squished himself right beside him, 

“Chen Yi, I want to tell you something.
Don’t be angry, ok?”

Chen Yi did not stop his movements and nonchalantly blinked, 

“Normal people would not choose to say something that could make me angry when I am holding a knife.”

Fu Xiu Nian quietly said, 

“Then can you not first put down your knife?”

Chen Yi said, 

“Just say whatever you want to.
I won’t chop you up.”

Fu Xiu Nian: “……”

Fu Xiu Nian formulated the words in his mind, but he didn’t know how he should explain it out loud, 

“That is…… my family isn’t that poor.
We own a company.”

Chen Yi was not that intrigued and disinterestedly said as he bit into his apple, 

“Oh, that’s quite wealthy.
And then?”

Fu Xiu Nian was surprised and then shook his head and laughed, 

“…… Nothing.
I just wanted to say it.
When you have time, let’s have dinner with my family.”

The name of the Fu Corporation was very widespread, with its hands in many baskets from housing and real estate to the entertainment industry.
Their businesses encompassed many areas all over the country, and when you mention their name, no one would not know who they are referring to.
But this, this creates an invisible pressure.
Yet Fu Xiu Nian forgot, Chen Yi has never cared about these things.

In his eyes, there was no difference between a few dollars and a few billion dollars.

In the afternoon of the next day, << Life Changes With a Dance >> started its official filming.
Each mentor judge had their four partnered pairs, adding up to a total of twelve groups.
This filming session was to have two randomly picked pairs compete with each other and out of the twelve groups, six would continue onwards, and so the competition could be said to be quite intense.

Yet no one could have predicted that a sudden accident would occur in the middle of this competition.
Deng Zhan Ting’s partner, Wu Ge, had obtained an injury in the middle of their rehearsal, causing them to fail their performance on stage.
And because of this, they missed their chance to get into the top six.

Deng Zhan Ting was this season’s hottest contestant, and Chen Yi followed the PD’s meanings, directly passing them his revival ticket.
The only problem was that Wu Ge’s injury worsened when they got off stage and before the filming session was completed, she was admitted to the hospital right away.
This meant that Deng Zhan Ting would very likely not have a partner for the next round of the competition.

The dancers’ camaraderie and adaptability in working together in such a short amount of time was something the judges weighed very heavily in their judgement.
That was why the contestants were partnered up and why the finals would have a rule that both partners must appear on the show together.
As strong as Deng Zhang Ting was, the program could not break the rules for her.
There were no such situations in the previous seasons and so this was a hard problem to solve.

When the filming session was completed, the judges and the PD stayed behind.
On one hand, they would wait for the news about Wu Ge’s injury and on the other, they were discussing possible strategies.
Deng Zhang Ting seemed to be very down, with reddened eyes.

Zhang Duo said, 

“If it really isn’t possible, we could pick someone from the eliminated pool to save the situation.”

Tong Lao-Shi immediately rejected the possibility, 

“Eliminated means eliminated.
There is no reason to have them come back.
To do this means you are not only being unfair to the other contestants, you are also being unfair to the contestants of previous seasons.”

Or in layman terms, for a dancer like Deng Zhang Ting who had no connections, no background, there was no reason to break the rules for her.

 

Notes:

 

*1 Flower on cotton means basically you’re adding another detail to the blanket, which means that you’re just making something that already looks nice even better (making it more perfect than it already was) versus giving charcoal when it’s snowing which means you’re giving someone the warmth to survive the snow (the freezing cold) and most likely saving their life (giving them something they needed at their most desperate time whether that be materialistic or mentally).
So here Chen Yi is saying it’s different to be nice to him when he was already doing well versus being nice to him when he was considered the scum of the internet/earth.

 

*2 melon seeds, as referenced in volume 1, is like the equivalent of like when people say getting their popcorn/let me get a bag of popcorn, meaning to watch it for the drama/interested to be watching from the sidelines, at the unfolding event (or stealing what I said before, more figuratively, wanting to watch this delicious sense of drama that is unfolding before my eyes)

*3 “p” is slang for photoshop, kind of like how some people say “ps”

TL Tidbit:

Sorry everyone! A bit late on this one than usual due to me being severely behind on the chapter translations and really giving about a day and less for Plum and me to review.
(｡•́︿•̀｡) But in any case (and hopefully not as much as in the future), if you didn’t know, I did post a small notice at the TL corner section here which is also linked on the home page that this chapter will be released a bit later than usual.
If in the future there’s any special updates/announcements like this kind of thing, I’d probably update that section there and just give everyone a bit of a notice if you were wondering (which hopefully less so of these kinds of news!).

It also feels like a while since I “properly” talked here, but I really do want to thank you all for your patience and all for your kind comments and feedbacks  I recently checked out the novelupdates page too and thank you for all the nice comments about the translations there too.
Never really expected that (or any of this) and I’m just really happy that others enjoy the novel as I did when I first read this.
Thank you for giving this kind of positive reinforcement for me starting this kind of project, which I would have never thought about, but now I very much am glad I did so.
It’s also given me a perspective on the translating side of things and it’s interesting to see the balance as a reader as well as a translator.
But really, all in all, although I am a bit swamped currently (and very behind…), all your comments and your likes and your follows and all the readers really, for reading this at all, these are all things (and people :p) that make it worth it to continue despite the lack of sleep I get hahaha (I can’t say that I don’t procastinate and read my other novels though… (´°ω°`) ).

Still, we are really near the end of Volume 3 now, which seems like such a blur that has passed by so quickly.
Just kind of a small announcement here which you may have expected, but we will very/most likely be taking a break, as I have a wedding to attend and help organize as well as to finish up my current work projects, kind of giving me a bit of a break and some time to hopefully set a better schedule for the translations and the rest of what I also have to kind of do.
But it’ll be the same as before, just a small short break, kind of like spring break (but probably a little bit longer).

Once again, thank you for all your support and the motivation to continue to keep translating ₍՞◌′ᵕ‵ू◌₎♡ I hope you enjoy the rest of Chen Yi and Fu Xiu Nian’s story and see you Wednesday, Galactic Judges!