Clemens Holt, born into a film family, shot a low-budget micro-film with a camcorder at the age of twelve. Afterward, he went straight to directing school. At nineteen, he officially entered the global film enthusiasts’ radar with a short film that grossed ten million US dollars.

With a father who was a top Hollywood director, young Holt didn’t entirely follow the family path. Instead, after making his first film, he retired for two years, traveling to China to serve as Assistant Director to Old Liu, learning and gaining experience.

During those two years, Old Liu directed two films. The first of them was a Sino-Japanese co-production called Mount Mochizuki.

Clemens joined the crew temporarily. The entire crew had already been filming for half a month when he suddenly pulled strings to join, so it was naturally difficult for him to get along with the staff. Old Liu only agreed to help his old friend bring his son along out of respect for Old Holt, which didn’t mean the old man was willing to babysit Clemens.

Thus, upon arriving at the set, this Hollywood scion faced a most severe problem: communication difficulties.

Chinese is indeed widely spoken globally, but the language is undeniably difficult to learn. Clemens knew a little Chinese, but his proficiency was truly poor, completely inadequate for daily communication, and he knew no Japanese at all.

The crew had not hired a translator because many of the staff themselves were Japanese, and they knew some Chinese, posing no problem for work.

Now, only one Hollywood scion in the entire crew needed a translator.

Logically, it should have been a simple matter, but it made the producer utterly miserable.

“This film is being shot in a remote mountain village near Hakata. Where am I supposed to find a talent proficient in Chinese, Japanese, and English for Mr. Holt? These nearby mountain villages are full of old people and children; there’s not even a shadow of the younger generation, let alone Chinese, they don’t even speak English!”

Old Liu was also frustrated: “Find him one, at worst, go to Hakata. His Chinese is so terrible, and that old man Lance still dared to tell me his son is very good at Chinese?”

The producer was on the verge of tears: “Compared to Lance Holt, I think Clemens’s Chinese is actually pretty good.”

Old Liu scoffed.

Without a translator, Clemens was practically immobile on set. Not every staff member had excellent English proficiency, and those who did couldn’t follow him around all day, neglecting their own duties.

Since arriving at the Mount Mochizuki set, Clemens had been in a state of isolation. The producer truly went through the arduous mountain roads to Hakata to find him a few translators.

“The crew still has at least four months of filming, and in such a remote, deep mountain forest. There are only these three, Clemens, you choose one.”

Among the three translators willing to be stationed in the remote mountains, the first was a long-haired woman wearing silver-rimmed glasses, serious and calm, who could communicate with Clemens fluently in Chinese, Japanese, and English. The second was an elderly middle-aged man, whose Chinese was exceptionally good, without any Japanese accent.

And the third…

Clemens looked him up and down for a long time. Every second he looked, the chubby young man lowered his face a bit more, his hands nervously clenched into fists, fingernails digging into his flesh, almost drawing blood.

The young Hollywood scion thought for a moment and asked in English, “What’s your name?”

The person replied in a mosquito-like voice: “Lin… Lin Shen.”

Clemens frowned sharply: “What did you say?”

The chubby young man suddenly looked up nervously: “Lin Shen, my name is Lin Shen.”

Clemens was stunned for a moment, not expecting such a reaction from the other party. He asked two more questions. Finally, he turned to the producer and said, “This Lin Shen will do. I’m not used to the English of the other two. This Chinese person’s English doesn’t have such a heavy accent, he’s acceptable.”

The other two translators didn’t expect him to choose an unattractive chubby person. Even Lin Shen himself stared at the producer in disbelief, as if he hadn’t understood what the other meant.

The producer was actually puzzled as well. If it were up to him, he definitely wouldn’t have picked the fat guy first. After all, he was quite big, looked like an eyesore. If he had to choose a translator to spend four months with, he would definitely pick the beautiful Japanese female translator; accent wasn’t a big deal, the key was being pleasant to look at.

Of course, this was for Clemens to choose his translator. Since he had decided, the producer let him be.

---

For the first three days after being chosen as the translator, Lin Shen was still dazed, seemingly unable to accept the reality. But Clemens wouldn’t give him a chance to adapt. With a translator, he officially joined the crew and began to aggressively work for Old Liu.

In a film crew, excluding investors and producers, the director is naturally the core of everything, but assistant directors aren’t necessarily second in command. At first, Old Liu was simply helping an old friend, letting his son intern on his set. But Clemens’s strong initiative and efficiency impressed him, and by the fifth day, he began assigning him very important tasks.

From then on, Clemens was busy running around the set like a top, with almost no time to rest. With him so busy, his translator certainly couldn’t rest either. The chubby young man had to throw himself into such high-intensity work, becoming the bridge for communication between Clemens and the crew members.

A week ago, he was just an ordinary student in school; a week later, he was scurrying around in the deep mountains.

Finally, after a period of intense work, one midday, Clemens took a few rice balls, intending to give them to his translator. From a distance, he saw the translator holding a thick booklet, seemingly engrossed in something.

The blond noble raised an eyebrow and handed over the rice balls: “What are you looking at?” 

He lowered his head and glanced at the booklet, seeing that the page was covered with many different characters and symbols drawn with colorful pens. “Chinese? I don’t really know Chinese, I can speak a little, but I don’t recognize many characters. What are you looking at?”

The chubby young man quickly took the rice balls, looking flattered, and said: “I’m looking at the script. The script for our Mount Mochizuki, Xiao Li gave it to me, so I… I just casually looked at it for fun.”

Clemens smiled: “Why are you looking at this script? Show me, how do you write ‘Mount Mochizuki’ in Chinese?”

The chubby young man quickly flipped the script to the first page, his trembling finger pointing to the title at the top: “Ho… Mr. Holt, these three characters are Mount Mochizuki.”

Clemens glanced casually, not really interested. But seeing the chubby young man’s terrified expression, he found it much more amusing than the entire script filled with Chinese characters. After thinking for a moment, Clemens suddenly put on a stern face and said coldly, “You’re just a translator, what are you doing looking at the script? The scenes I’m shooting are landscape scenes, not very related to the script you’re looking at. What exactly are you doing in our crew? Hmm?!”

There wasn’t much age difference between the two, but Clemens’s daily scolding deeply imprinted itself on Lin Shen’s mind. He had long heard that this young man was actually the only son of the international director Lance Holt. He had made films at twelve, won an award at fifteen, and coming to Old Liu was like gilding himself, yet his ability was also very strong. These past few days, he had scared the crew members speechless; as long as he opened his mouth to curse, no one dared to talk back.

Suddenly being confronted like this, Lin Shen’s cheeks flushed crimson with fright, and his eyes started to sting.

Although he was Clemens’s translator, they didn’t communicate much. This nobleman never spoke to him; this kind of conversation was a first. In this situation, Lin Shen was both anxious and scared—anxious that the other party misunderstood his intentions, and scared that the other party would fire him.

He stammered for a long time, Lin Shen was so anxious that tears streamed down his face, only to hear Clemens suddenly burst into laughter.

Lin Shen, still crying, looked up at the other party in a daze. He had been his translator for two weeks, and this was the first time he had seen this person laugh heartily. 

Although he was only twenty years old, Mr. Holt was very mature, always with a cold face, only showing a good face to Old Liu. Even when facing the beautiful actress, when she made an excessive demand for fresh cherries, Mr. Holt could calmly mock her without changing his expression, telling her to stop daydreaming and go home to dream.

But now, Mr. Holt was laughing.

Lin Shen was confused. After Clemens laughed for a while, he said, “I was just teasing you.”

Lin Shen: “…Teasing me?”

Clemens didn’t answer again, instead asking: “You’re studying abroad in Japan, right? Studying what, acting?” Clemens genuinely thought it was unlikely for this appearance to be an actor.

Lin Shen raised a hand to wipe his tears, lowering his head: “I’m not studying acting.”

Clemens asked, “If you’re not studying acting, how do you know so many professional terms related to film?”

The biggest challenge in finding a translator for Clemens wasn’t being fluent in Chinese, Japanese, and English, but also knowing many industry terms.

Lin Shen lowered his head even more now: “I… I’m self-taught…”

“Want to be an actor?”

The chubby young man nodded heavily, but then quickly shook his head.

Clemens finished the last bite of his rice ball, saying casually, “I don’t recommend you become an actor. I haven’t seen your acting, so I won’t comment on that for now. As for your appearance, it’ll be difficult for you to become famous. Currently, whether in the Hollywood or Chinese market, with your build, you’ll at most be a supporting actor, just barely making a living in the industry. If you want to be an actor, you need to lose weight first. As of now, you won’t make it big.”

Lin Shen suddenly grew anxious: “I don’t want to be famous. Mr. Holt, I… I don’t care about being famous or not, I just want to act!”

Upon hearing this, Clemens paused for a moment, then finally said with a half-smile, “Then show me a performance? Play this part.” With that, his slender finger casually pointed to a section of the script.

The chubby young man clutched the script, stood up, and began to perform. Five minutes later, a string of even louder laughter erupted.

“Hahahahahaha no, no, you shouldn’t play this male lead, your image is too different from his. Little fatty, you’re interesting, just be my translator, your English is very good, I think… I think… hahahahahaha…”

The laughter attracted the attention of the rest of the crew, making the chubby young man feel mortified. He could only lower his head, clutching the script tightly behind him.

Clemens laughed for a while, then raised a hand to pat the chubby young man’s shoulder before getting up to work. But the surrounding voices gradually drifted over—

“That was really funny just now, I laughed until I convulsed, hahahaha.”

“This fatty shouldn’t play that scene. Sugita Ryu just played that scene yesterday, and comparing them… oh no, I’m going to die laughing, the difference is too big. When this fatty acts, the flesh on his arms even jiggles…”

“Actually, Little Lin is quite nice, but he really can’t act.”

The chubby translator lowered his head even further, clenching his fingers tightly, not uttering a single word.

However, the matter did not pass so easily.

---

Ever since learning that his chubby translator wanted to act, Clemens had been enthusiastically bringing up the topic and asking him to perform some scenes. Each time, he promised to give guidance, but each time, he would end up laughing uncontrollably, unable to offer any real advice.

The script was filled with the chubby young man’s notes. Clemens didn’t notice that every time he left, the chubby young man’s eyes would be red as he seriously analyzed his own poor acting.

Until one time, when the chubby young man accidentally slipped and almost fell during a performance, a male staff member passed by and happened to steady Lin Shen, preventing him from falling.

After being helped up, Lin Shen quickly thanked him, but the staff member grumbled: “You’re so fat, don’t try to play any male leads. If you want to act, practice in private. Why perform in such a public place? You don’t care about your image, but we still care about ours. Sugita’s assistant was even mocking you at dinner yesterday, saying that we Chinese don’t know our place, saying…”

“What is he saying?”

Listening to the staff member’s words, Lin Shen’s eyes gradually welled up with tears, his throat dry and aching, when suddenly a voice came from in front of him. He looked up to see Clemens, who had gotten up and walked over to him at some point, frowning as he asked, “What did he just say? Translate it for me.”

Lin Shen, his voice hoarse and face beet red with embarrassment, had to translate: “He said… he said Sugita Ryu’s assistant thinks I shouldn’t act in this kind of scene, that my physique isn’t suitable, that this… this role, isn’t suitable for me.”

Clemens lowered his gaze, his voice cold: “I hired you to be my translator, not to lie to me. My Chinese isn’t so bad that I can’t understand the words ‘mock’ or ‘ridicule.’ Lin Shen, right, translate his words word for word for me.”

Ten minutes later, Sugita Ryu angrily confronted Old Liu: “Mr. Liu, how can Mr. Holt just kick my assistant out of the crew! Even if my assistant said bad things about his translator, he’s still my private assistant, what does it have to do with him? We can apologize to Mr. Lin, but Mr. Holt has no right to kick my assistant out! He has no right to fire my assistant for me!”

Old Liu’s mouth twitched: “What on earth? What happened?”

Sugita Ryu angrily recounted the incident.

When Old Liu heard that little Holt had taken people to find Sugita Ryu, he was relatively calm. After all, that assistant shouldn’t have mocked others, although Clemens’s translator indeed… well… had some image issues, and he shouldn’t constantly badmouth people behind their backs. It was understandable to be angry. Old Liu even thought: Clemens is not bad, he even protects his own.

But when Old Liu heard that Clemens actually punched the assistant the moment they met, and arrogantly told the assistant to offer the other side of his face for another punch, Old Liu choked on his saliva.

Sugita Ryu angrily said: “He’s so arrogant, it’s just too much! Mr. Liu, if this isn’t handled properly, I won’t shoot my scenes. My assistant just said a few words casually, why did he hit him!”

“Just a few casual words?” A low voice sounded from behind Sugita Ryu. The blond-haired director was seen holding his translator’s arm with one hand, while sarcastically glaring at Sugita Ryu, saying: “I thought only some boring white people liked to engage in racial discrimination. Turns out you Japanese also discriminate against others in private. If that group of Japanese assistants has the guts, then say it to my translator’s face. If you don’t have the guts and only dare to speak behind his back, you’d better not let me catch you.”

Sugita Ryu glared back: “You… you, you, you!”

“Me?” Clemens calmly looked at the furious Sugita Ryu, “I haven’t hit many celebrities in Hollywood, after all, not many people provoke me. But I’ve definitely hit two A-list celebrities, and one super A-list. There are celebrities in the entertainment industry I wouldn’t dare hit, but you’re not among them. So, do you want me to hit you?”

Sugita Ryu: “Mr. Liu, you see, how can he be so absurd!”

Clemens turned to look at his translator: “I’d rather not dirty my hands hitting him. If he really wants me to hit him, you can just slap him twice for me.”

The chubby young man quickly shook his head: “No… it’s not that serious. Mr. Holt, they just said a few things about me behind my back, you don’t need to…”

“Saying anything about others is fine, but anyone who speaks ill of Clemens Holt, even a single word, can get lost.”

Sugita Ryu said: “Mr. Liu, I can’t shoot this scene, he’s too much of a bully!”

With that, Sugita Ryu walked away quickly, looking utterly enraged. However, as he walked past Clemens, the blond noble scoffed: “Big words, aren’t they? Do you dare to punch me?”

Sugita Ryu clenched his fist and actually aimed it at Clemens’s face, but he stopped ten centimeters away, gritting his teeth and turning to leave.

Clemens let out a disdainful snort from his nose: “Doesn’t even have that much courage.”

Old Liu’s ominous voice sounded from behind: “Clemens Holt, you’re truly impressive. So tell me, do you think I dare hit you?”

---

The matter was finally resolved like this: Sugita Ryu’s assistant left the crew, but wasn’t actually fired; he just got a different assistant to take care of him on set. Clemens still refused to apologize, claiming, “Sugita Ryu? He’s not worthy of my apology.”

The arrogance of a film family scion, a Hollywood nobleman, was thoroughly experienced by the entire Mount Mochizuki crew overnight. Countless staff members suddenly realized that this young director who pulled strings was indeed not to be offended. However, they also developed a disdain for this noble: “He only dares to be so arrogant because of his family name, right? If his name wasn’t Holt, I’d definitely beat that arrogant face of his into a different shape.”

“But he was also speaking up for us. Sugita Ryu’s assistant always acted high and mighty, and that group of Japanese assistants always secretly badmouthed us Chinese.”

“But he still shouldn’t hit people, wouldn’t it be better to just make them apologize?”

“…Is that what you think? I actually thought it felt pretty good. If only I could just kick people out of the crew so casually.”

For Sugita Ryu, he was just a newly emerging Japanese actor, he dared not get angry with Old Liu, nor dare to go against the Holt family. At most, he would throw a tantrum, but the matter ended there. However, for Clemens, he didn’t care about Sugita Ryu’s emotions. He just wanted to know: “Since you knew they were cursing you so much in private, why did you still pretend in public?”

After being chewed out by his father on a transatlantic phone call, Clemens was in a terrible mood. He irritably ran his hands through his golden hair, messing it up. Between the disheveled blond locks, a pair of clear blue eyes peeked out—in terms of looks, he certainly had the right to disdain Sugita Ryu.

Lin Shen lowered his head again.

Clemens grew even more agitated: “I told you to speak, answer my question.”

The chubby young man’s body trembled: “You said… you said you wanted to see me act, and could give me advice. I… I didn’t want to miss such an opportunity. Mr. Holt, Old Liu also praised you, saying you were a born director. So… so I wanted your guidance, even just a word… even just one word…”

Clemens suddenly stopped.

After a long time, he murmured, “Did I say such a thing?”

Lin Shen nodded.

He then asked: “…Did I ever give you any guidance?”

Lin Shen remained motionless. Clemens, however, irritably pushed the table aside: “Forget it, this is my fault too. From now on, come to my room every night. Don’t you want to act? I can’t help you lose weight, that’s your business, but I can still offer you some corrections on your acting.”

Upon hearing this, the chubby young man immediately looked up, staring blankly at the person in front of him.

For some, love is at first sight; for others, it requires a catalyst.

At that time, Clemens probably never knew that even though his face was filled with irritation, and he had even rubbed his smooth golden hair into a haystack, in the eyes of that chubby young man, he suddenly felt as if a light was radiating from him.

Some people are evil deep down, with human faces and beastly hearts.

Others are evil on the surface, wrapping a soft heart in an unlikable exterior.

“From then on, I couldn’t hate him, I could never hate him again. In fact, many times he didn’t understand what he was doing, or if his actions would hurt others. But Brother Chu, I can’t hate him. Even if he called me a pig, even if he said he was disgusted to have slept with a pig like me, Brother Chu… I truly can’t hate him. I don’t even know how to dislike him…”