Three Combs: Chapter 20.1

Emerald Mayblossom7-9 minutes 06.07.2023

Fu Ting Chuan’s last scene is set during New Year’s Eve in Chang’an.

Kids are jumping up and down on the streets, their faces filled with happiness.

And Taiping has passed the age of forty, her power is waning.

She stood on the corridor as she stood before the railing, looking up at the sky.

The night sky is filled with stars and the ground is covered in snow.

The year has gone and a new year is beginning.

Fireworks shot up to the sky one by one brightening the scene.

This is Princess Taiping’s last New Year. Next year in the summer of 713 AD, her own nephew, Xuanzong Li Longji, will find her guilty of rebellion, forcing her to commit suicide.

Her life is like fireworks, dazzling for a moment before fleeting away.

Taiping suddenly remembered Xue Shao, the man she loved when she was young. He has been dead for a long time.

When he was alive, she was still a bright young girl blossoming in her youth.

In tears, Taiping seemed to see her husband, fuma Xue.

His face is still the same as she remembers it, his gown flowing freely in the wind.

Xue Shao is standing on the other side of the long corridor with a faint light surrounding his entire body making him look like a celestial being.

He is also looking at her, his eyes filled with deep affection.

She wants to run over to him but her steps were heavy.

Today’s Taiping is not the same as yesterday’s Taiping. In the eyes of the world, she is now a loose slut.

She is probably not worthy of touching him again.

……

This scene with no lines and few actions was vividly interpreted by the two skilled veterans.

“Cut––” Director Tong shouted and stood up from his chair, “That’s good.”

He hurriedly approaches Fu Ting Chuan and patted him twice on the shoulder, “Very good, really good. Your eye expressions are right. It’s no wonder someone wanted you to take the role of a respected scholar. Standing there you have a temperament of a deity.” He turned to Zhang Qiu Feng, “Teacher Zhang’s acting is also amazing. It’s a pleasure to see you two acting together.”

“The lighting is not bad.” He then turned to the man behind him holding the board and gave him a thumbs up.

Director Tong looks at Fu Ting Chuan once again. He must hug him.

For more than a month of filming, he didn’t have to explain or say too much. Fu Ting Chuan understand everything and was even able to give him some surprises.

Sigh, with such a satisfied actor, who knows when they will cross paths again.

The director just patted him like so, as if reluctant to part with him.

Fu Ting Chuan has to bend down so the short forty-year-old man with a pot belly can conveniently perform his movement.

“Teacher Fu is so handsome, don’t make him gay.” The crowd shouted.

“What are you talking about!” Director Tong immediately let go and rolled up the script in his hand into a tube to knock that person.

Everyone on set laughed.

After the director let go of him, Fu Ting Chuan started going around to shake hands with the other staff members and actors.

Fu Ting Chuan had a polite smile on his face the entire time.

His teeth are straight and neat. His eyes are curved into a smile, his crow's feet showing at the ends of his eye.

Jiang Tiao didn’t join the group in saying farewell. Being part of a production for many years now, she is already used to this kind of scene. She couldn’t bear to tear away from Fu Ting Chuan.

She doesn’t want to shake his hands and say thank you, you’ve worked hard.

Not at all.

She hid behind a railing, far away from everyone else.

After watching the scene earlier, she seems to understand how Taiping is feeling.

Her defiance, her passion, her righteousness. Those who know how she is feeling think she is depressed, and those who don’t think she is demanding.

……

The studio is filled with liveliness. Because they had bought too many fireworks, the director decided to light them all up, as a goodbye to Fu Ting Chuan.

Therefore, the heat did not disappear and a new round of lights lit up the sky.

Without worrying about filming, Jiang Tiao was able to freely watch the silver flowers blossom in the sky.

She took out her phone and pointed it to the sky, planning on taking a picture.

She plans on uploading the picture for her group of friends to see with the caption, the twelfth time passing the “New Year” in a production.

“What do you think the ancient folks are thinking when they watch the fireworks?” A large group of golden fireworks exploded in the sky, as a person appeared beside her.

The finger pressed against the screen trembled.

He was happily bidding everyone farewell earlier. When did he manage to get here?

Jiang Tiao looked down at the phone. Sure enough, the picture is blurry.

She felt like a jar of bees are buzzing in her heart, filled with puzzled sweetness.

Jiang Tiao put the phone back in her pocket and replied, “They probably also want to fly up to the sky to look down on the world.”

She looks up and saw the light hit his straight nose. Fu Ting Chuan hasn’t changed out of his costume so there is a feeling of crossing through time.

Jiang Tiao asked him, “How about now? What do modern people think when they see fireworks?"

“Environmental pollution.” Fu Ting Chuan answered.

“Killjoy.”

“Environmental pollution is damaging beautiful scenery.”

T/N: 煞風景 (Killjoy)-Means spoiling the fun and damaging beautiful scenery.

“.....” Jiang Tiao tried to suppress the emotions in her eyes.

Hehehe, the man laughed at his own cold and corny joke.

Jiang Tiao also followed to smile. She took out a small glass bottle and showed it in front of his face.

This thing had been with her for many days but she never got the chance to give it to him privately.

This is the perfect time to give it to him.

“For you.”

“What is this?” Fu Ting Chuan noticed that there is something that looks like a black stone in the bottle.

Jiang Tiao’s eyes twinkled, “This is you.”

“Me?” Fu Ting Chuan took the bottle and raised it up high, “This is a stone.”

“It’s no ordinary stone, it is a meteorite.”

“Meteor?”

“Yes, a meteor. I got it in my hometown when I was a child. Everyone treats it as a treasure but don’t keep it near your bed when you go to sleep, in case of radioactive material.”

Fu Ting Chuan pushed the bottle back to her, and the little stone inside the bottle knock around the glass, “Wouldn’t it curse me?”

Jiang Tiao obediently took it back, “Wait.”

She covered the vial with both her hands, leaving only a narrow opening, “Look inside.”

He paused for a moment before bending down. This distance can be seen as relatively close but neither of them cares.

When Jiang Tiao covered out all the lights, he was able to see another scene at the bottom of the bottle.

The originally plain stone is now brimming with radiance.

It seems that she really did pick up a star from the sky and quietly raised it.

“I put on two coats of fluorescent paint, the kind that won’t fade.” Jiang Tiao stated, “Naturally it would shine when put in a dark place.”

“Interesting.” Fu Ting Chuan thought back to what she said, “Why did you say it was me?”

"I gave this gift a name."

“En.”

“Eternal starlight.” From when she is fifteen years old, she still admires him to this day.

“.....”

“Good name right?”

“It’s ok.”

His dull reaction caused her to gnash her teeth, “Are you willing to accept it? Or, big star, is it still unsatisfactory?”

“I’ll accept it.” Fu Ting Chuan's tone deepened, “Definitely must accept.”

Jiang Tiao placed the bottle back in Fu Ting Chuan’s hand. Her eyes are curved in a crescent smile, glowing brightly.