After returning from the island, Ye Shanshan was in a great mood for more than half a month. He diligently watered and fertilized the sweet potatoes in the greenhouse and even started a livestream. At the end, he hosted a quiz with prizes—out of the correct answers, 100 lucky viewers would receive a sweet potato gift package.
The question Ye Shanshan asked was:
“Who is the most good-looking person in the world?”
The screen was instantly flooded with the name “Ye Shanshan.”
Holding his phone away, Ye Shanshan squinted at the answers and said regretfully, “Sigh, so sad. Everyone got it wrong! Since this is such a special situation, let’s do another round! Come on, that sweet potato gift package is waiting for you!”
This time, the comment section paused for a few seconds before it was suddenly filled with the word “Your Majesty,” with occasional answers like “Gong Yue” and “your Ge,” scrolling even faster than before.
Ye Shanshan beamed. “You’re all so clever! My big demon king really is the most good-looking person in the world! Those selected winners will receive a system notification, and the sweet potato packages will be sent out soon.”
After ending the livestream, Ye Shanshan picked up a hoe again and started thinking, “What should I use to pack the sweet potatoes this time?”
Two days later, the first fan to receive the gift shared photos and posted a long Weibo message:
“I have reason to believe this gift was personally selected by Shan himself. As shown in the photo: a fluorescent yellow spherical object with a diameter of 20 cm, super heavy. Imagine a blown-up, lead-weighted ping pong ball! After struggling to twist it open, inside was a palm-sized sweet potato.
So… where should I even put this thing? With such a blinding color, no matter where I place it, it feels like a traffic signal. Not even a red-light-stop-green-light-go kind of vibe, but more like ‘yellow light on, get ready!’”
At that moment, Ye Shanshan, who was playing with Sparkling the kitten, stroked its head and said, “I think they’ll really love the gifts this time. Right? Right?”
Early summer nights were still a bit chilly. Gong Yue’s car turned onto a private road, driving through ornate gates toward the house where warm lights glowed from within. Closing his laptop, Gong Yue pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve some fatigue.
Opening his eyes, he casually glanced out the window—then paused. “Stop the car,” he instructed the driver.
The car halted. Through the window, Gong Yue spotted a blurry figure by the lake. After confirming he wasn’t mistaken, he told the driver to leave, got out, and walked over.
Ye Shanshan was sitting on the grassy lakeshore, wearing a thin white shirt that slipped off one shoulder, exposing part of his collarbone. His hair was messy, like he’d rushed out.
He seemed to be dozing off. When a shadow appeared in front of him, he reflexively waved a hand—smacking it against Gong Yue’s thigh.
Feeling the familiar firmness, Ye Shanshan realized who it was. He looked up at Gong Yue with a serious expression:
“Ge, you’re blocking me.”
“Huh?” Gong Yue stepped aside in confusion.
Ye Shanshan pointed to the moon.
“You were blocking my absorption of the essence of heaven and earth.”
Then, he resumed his cross-legged posture, palms up, to continue his spiritual cultivation.
Still dressed in a suit, Gong Yue sat down beside him. Connecting to Ye Shanshan’s whimsical logic, he asked, “Shanshan, are you cultivating immortality?”
“No, more accurately, I’m practicing Daoism. I need to reduce eating grains and absorb more heavenly energy,” Ye Shanshan replied seriously.
He then explained the difference between cultivating immortality and following the Dao. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t concentrate with Gong Yue nearby.
Unwilling to send Gong Yue away, Ye Shanshan gave up on his great spiritual undertaking and instead propped his chin on his hand, watching Gong Yue with a smile.
“You’re home early today?”
“Yeah, the meeting ended early.” Gong Yue kissed his eyelid, then noticed writing on his palm.
“What’s that written on your hand?”
Ye Shanshan opened his palm, revealing two neatly written characters: “Five Hearts.”
He explained, “In Daoist practice, you must face your five hearts to the sky and remain calm. So I wrote ‘five hearts’ on my hand and raised it—very proper form. It must be super effective.”
Gong Yue stared at the words with a complex expression.
Ye Shanshan didn’t notice. Suddenly, he stood up. “Wait, you’re back—that means we can eat!”
His eyes sparkled with excitement. He pulled Gong Yue up by the hand. “Come on, the kitchen must be ready!”
Gong Yue didn’t remind him that just a minute ago, he swore off grains in favor of celestial essence.
After dinner, Ye Shanshan brought a wooden box into the study. Gong Yue sat at his desk working while Ye Shanshan sat cross-legged on the carpet, happily doing a jigsaw puzzle and humming. When he got tired, he leaned against Gong Yue’s leg.
“Ge, Luoyang contacted me today. He’s releasing an album and asked if I’d be in his MV.”
Seeing Gong Yue’s gaze, he explained, “The MV is interesting—I play two characters: one quiet, one explosive. No dialogue. Just love and hate between the two.”
“If you like it, go for it,” Gong Yue said.
Ye Shanshan nodded and lay on his lap. After a while, he sighed,
“Ge, while you were gone today, I went to the office and saw Zheng Dong. In his office, I found a bunch of fan letters sent to me. Zheng Dong even picked out a few to post on his Weibo to thank the fans.”
He traced circles on Gong Yue’s thigh with his finger, a bit troubled.
“I was curious and read one. The fan wrote, ‘Don’t be fooled by Shanshan’s silly appearance—he’s actually super talented. A classic case of ‘great wisdom in foolishness.’”
He sat up and looked at Gong Yue.
“Do I really look… foolish?”
“You’re very smart,” Gong Yue said firmly without hesitation, smoothing his hair.
Satisfied, Ye Shanshan’s eyes curved with joy. He quickly opened Weibo and typed:
“His Majesty says I’m calm and clever—so this is who I really am!”
Pleased with his comeback, he waited two minutes, then checked the comments:
“—HAHAHA go look at your agent’s first pic. Also, do you or your Majesty have some misunderstanding about who you are?”
“—If you’re brave enough to not mute the mic, be brave enough to charge your phone!”
“—Some truths are better left unsaid. Our celestial boy’s pride must be protected or he might return to the heavens out of spite!”
“—WHO dared to tell the truth? Beware! The golden-maned lion Sparkle will unleash the ‘Stare of the King!’”
Ye Shanshan felt thoroughly wounded. Without a word, he wormed under Gong Yue’s arm, straddled his lap, rested his chin on Gong Yue’s shoulder, and took a selfie from a flattering angle. After confirming Gong Yue’s face wasn’t visible, he uploaded it:
“His Majesty is about to take me off this planet. Goodbye, Earth.”
[mfn]If you enjoy my translations, you can show your support by leaving a comment or donating to my Ko-fi. It will be much appreciated. Thank you! [/mfn]“—SHOCKING! A bowl of sparkling diamond dog food appeared before me. Do I eat it or eat it?”
“—SHOCKING! Actor Ye Shanshan is actually an alien prince! His spaceship crashed two years ago, and he’s been acting to survive. What a tragic tale!”
“—SHOCKING! Why is Ye posting lovey-dovey content on Weibo? Is it a moral collapse or a dog food ambush?”
“—SHOCKING! So how much does it cost to travel to your planet? I’m saving up for an interstellar day trip!”
Ye Shanshan felt it might finally be time… to uninstall Weibo.
[mfn]If you enjoy my translations, you can show your support by leaving a comment or donating to my Ko-fi. It will be much appreciated. Thank you! [/mfn]
