Chapter 15 – Memory Fragments (ii)
With the help of the psychologists Mia’s inadvertent hypnosis, Klaire was able to connect all the fragments of the dreams he had had since childhood. He finally remembered the name of the man in his dreams, Yu Qianhe.
Yu Qianhe was the only son in his family. His father, Yu Shaodong, ran a large entertainment company. He graduated from college at only 23 years old, but because of his young age his father did not trust him enough to leave the company to him. He did not want to rely on his father, therefore, Yu Qianhe concealed his identity and became a manager through the company’s recruitment.
As a new recruit, naturally he couldn't take over the first-rate stars. The company arranged for someone to him to let him learn the ropes, and that person was called Ji Ran. Ji Ran was a not-so-famous third-rate actor who was said to have played only a few cannon fodder and supporting roles since his debut. When Yu Qianhe looked at his information, he couldn't help but feel very disappointed in his heart; this man had been mixed in this field for so many years but still couldn't become an A-list actor, certainly he was not promising.
As a result, Yu Qinhe was pleasantly surprised when he saw Ji Ran—he really looked better than in the photos, he was handsome with a sunny and cheerful personality. He looked so bright when he smiled, yet so serious when he talked; in this entertainment industry, it was rare to see someone as pure as Ji Ran.
The final scene in Klaire's dream was of a signing event. Ji Ran wrote his name on the contract, gave it back and said, “We are the same age, can I call you Qianhe?”
Looking at his dark eyes, Yu Qianhe could not help but smile,"You can ”
Pleased, Ji Ran then reached out and shook hands with him, "Please take care of me in the future.”
Yu Qianhe said, "I am also a newcomer, let's do our best together."
That was when Klaire was forced awake by Mia. Klaire fell into a long silence after he finished receiving these messy fragments of memory. These memories were so real that for a moment he couldn't tell whether he was Yu Qianhe or Klaire, but strangely enough he had a weird intuition that he should not tell anyone about it. So, under the pretext “psychological problems",Klaire asked the doctor to keep his problem confidential for the time being.
***
Klaire walked with Xi Wei all the way back to the dorm. Under Carlo's questioning eyes, he then laid down directly on his bed, hoping to continue the story from his previous dream.
Sure enough, after falling asleep, another memory of Yu Qianhe appeared in his dream.
That summer, Ji Ran received a job as a stand-in for a first-line star in fighting scenes. Ji Ran had loved learning martial arts since he was young so his punches were very powerful, his acting using martial arts also went very smoothly. However, the unknown Ji Ran did not get much respect in the cast—after all he was only a substitute. The film director also had very rigorous demands, so even with his martial arts foundation, he still had to re-act scenes many times.
Ji Ran often had to stand under the sun for several hours. Upon seeing him sweating, Yu Qianhe would tell him to rest immediately whenever he had the chance, and gave a towel and mineral water to him. Ji Ran looked up and poured the full bottle of mineral water on his head, before running full-power to the studio, acting as if he did not feel tired and his whole body was still full of energy.
After returning to the dormitory in the evening, Ji Ran expressionlessly rolled up his trousers and applied ointment on his knee. Yu Qianhe looked at the large bruises on his legs and could not help but frown before saying, “I'll help you."
Ji Ran said with a smile, “You don't have to, I'm used to it."
Looking at this handsome man bowing his head to seriously deal with the bruises on his legs, like a lonely beast hiding alone in the corner while licking its wounds, at that moment, Yu Qianhe's heart suddenly felt distressed - is it because as an orphan he is accustomed to treating his own wounds, so he is now so skilled at it? Who knew how many times he had suffered injuries since childhood, there were still traces of small scars on his knee which looked quite shocking.
Truthfully, Ji Ran was a serious, hard working and particularly strong person. The martial arts director made him shoot a dozen times today yet he never complained; even if he was only a substitute, Ji Ran still performed every action carefully; and though he was tired and breathless, his face was always adorned with a sunshine smile.
This person should have had a better future, rather than being buried as a third-rate actor.
At that moment Yu Qianhe suddenly had a strong desire, he wanted to make Ji Ran become the most sought-after actor. No matter what method he had to use, he must make Ji Ran the most brilliant star in the entertainment industry!
“Klaire, wake up, we are almost late.” Carlo shook his roommate hard on the shoulder, forcibly cutting off Klaire's dream.
Klaire opened his eyes and went to the bathroom to wash his face, wondering: What's the meaning behind this story?
He wanted to sleep for a year to finish the story, but it was impossible, his dream was always interrupted at a crucial moment.
***
Perhaps the psychologist’s hypnosis had made Klaire able to find a way to connect to the memory, as if he had found a key to open the door to that strange world. Numerous pieces of memory emerged in his mind like a tide of water, Klaire could not help but sleep in class during the day, and sleep particularly deep at night. In just a few days, he gradually remembered everything about Yu Qianhe and Ji Ran.
At the age of 24, Ji Ran finally found a chance to join a crew led by a well-known director and start following his dreams.
The young director was a friend of Yu’s father, he let Ji Ran play a role there because of Yu Qianhe. The crews gathered were some of the biggest names in the industry, an unknown with no-fame actor like Ji Ran could only play a small role. However, Ji Ran acted very seriously even though there was nothing complicated in his script and the action was also very standard. His part was basically completed in one try with him rarely ever reading the wrong lines.
Ji Ran serious attitude and acting talent quickly won the director’s appreciation, and he also became friends with many people in the crew.
In the evening celebration of the crew’s accomplishments, Ji Ran was in a good mood. The drunk him then smiled, held onto Yu Qianhe’s arm and said, “Qianhe, I know that the reason I could get this role is definitely because you were helping me, so thank you. Really, the person I want to thank the most is you."
Looking at the reddened face of the man in front of him, Yu Qian resisted his urge to bow and kiss his head, instead he hugged his waist gently and said, "How are you going to thank me? Treat me to a meal?”
Ji Ran thought about it then answered, "Treating a meal is boring. Better yet… I can teach you to swim? I heard you are a dry duck[1].”
Yu Qianhe's mouth raised up in a smile, he touched Ji Ran's soft hair gently and said, “Okay, whatever you want.”
The drowsy Ji Ran then fell asleep. Looking at this sleeping man in his bosom, Yu Qianhe suddenly felt a strange impulse—he wanted to guard this man’s life, to protect his sunny smile, to always stay by his side.
Yu Qianhe's feelings for Ji Ran had changed direction, but Ji Ran only liked girls. Yu Qianhe did not hurry with his confession, but quietly drove away all actresses and female reporters who had impure ideas towards Ji Ran. A few years passed and Ji Ran was never once involved in some romance gossips, in addition to Ji Ran's own reluctance to be in relationship with female stars, the most important reason this happened was because of Yu Qianhe's presence.
No one can get to Ji Ran beyond through that ironclad manager of his.
Yu Qianhe's strong desire to monopolize Ji Ran became more and more obvious. Ji Ran's daily schedules were all arranged personally by him, and he never left Ji Ran with any time to date women. Many people were aware of this, except for Ji Ran himself who remained oblivious; as a big actor, he only put all his thoughts on acting.
Their next path went very smoothly, in Yu Qianhe’s full support, Ji Ran continued to take several large movie projects. With his slender stature, handsome appearance, and smile as bright as sunshine, he soon attracted a large number of fans. Ji Ran also successfully squeezed into the ranks of first-rate celebrities, and gained an income more than 10 times what it was originally.
At the 60th film festival, Ji Ran once again won the best actor title—at that moment, all the spotlights were cast on him. While holding his hard-won golden trophy in his hands, he smiled so brilliantly and dazzlingly.
I really want to put him into my bosom, and possess him completely—thought Yu Qian who was sitting backstage.
However, Yu Qianhe did not do anything. Ji Ran had a very tough character, and for Qianhe forcing a straight man to bend was not a desirable act. He preferred the “boiling frog in warm water” way to make Ji Ran like him slowly, it was not like he had a shortage of time.
He would also like to take advantage of the vacation opportunity, with Ji Ran more relaxed it would be easier to cultivate his feelings. But who would have guessed that while they were driving to their vacation destination they would actually end up in a car accident, completely putting a stop to all of his plans.
***
When he woke up once again from the dream, Klaire had finally sorted through all the memories.
He is Yu Qianhe.
Otherwise, those memories would not be so clear to him, and his feelings towards Ji Ran would not be so strong.
Perhaps because he experienced a serious injury during the car accident, Yu Qianhe's memory became messy fragments in his mind. In that tragic car accident, Yu Qianhe witnessed with his own eyes the bloody sight of his beloved which stimulated him too much, so after rebirth he would often dream of blood and became dizzy everytime he saw blood.
His last memory was of the car's explosion. No one could possibly survive in such an explosion, that means Yu Qianhe should have died in that car accident, and then reincarnated into the world hundreds of years later.
If this was the case, then everything can be explained.
June 21st happened to be the day of the car accident. Yu Qianhe, who died in a car accident, was reincarnated and became Klaire in this world. However, the memory of his past life was divided into fragments, hidden deep in Klaire’s mind.
Today, the psychologyst's hypnosis had inadvertantly opened the shackles in the depths of his brain, and all the dusty memories were finally awakened.
Klaire stared at the world around him, and his eyes could not help but turn a bit red.
So…what about Ji Ran?
[1] Dry Duck (旱鸭子) refers to the ducks which are raised on land and never swim. Almost all the ducks can live in water and can swim, so “旱鸭子” is a metaphor for people who can't swim.
[2] Boiling frog in warm water (温水煮青蛙) means to slowly increase a stimulus that would otherwise be rejected if performed all at once. This idiom comes from the old legend that said if you put a frog in boiling water it will immediately jump out, but if you put the frog in cold water and then slowly turn up the heat, the frog will eventually get boiled alive.
T/N:
So, Ji Ran’s manager is called Yu Qianhe and not Yu Qian, sorry for the mistake! I’ve changed the name in ch 1 as well >.<
Proof-read by: Kleepart
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