Just then, the [Where Are You?] crew arrived backstage to announce the premiere was about to begin. Meanwhile, the crew also concluded their final conversation with the Lin father and daughter. The backstage area began to fill with hustle and bustle.

The actors started getting their makeup applied and changing into their outfits for the evening, while the staff began reviewing procedures, setting up the set, and checking equipment.

… …

The busy schedule continued until 6pm when the premiere officially began.

The 1,200-seat venue was already packed, with even a number of fans and social media reporters outside watching.

Such a surge in popularity was something the filmmakers hadn’t initially anticipated.

After all, [Where Are You?] wasn’t a commercial film by definition; its primary goal was to promote public welfare and win awards so an underwhelming box office performance was understandable. Therefore, the filmmakers didn’t invest heavily in promoting the film.

However, due to the recent surge in popularity of Lin Cheng and Lin Momo, the film has also received a significant amount of attention. Pre-sale ticket sales have exceeded the filmmakers’ initial expectations by over 300%, forcing the filmmakers and theater chains to adjust the premiere schedule, increasing both the number of screenings and the venue of screenings.

This was an unexpected but significant bonus for the filmmakers and investors.

… …

On the scene, as the director, production crew, and key cast members appeared in stage one after another, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

As per protocol, the host first introduced the director, screenwriter, and other guests on stage, then introduced the premiere guests. Finally, the key cast members introduced themselves one by one.

After the producers and directors explained the background and original intentions of [Where Are You?], the interactive session began.

The interactive segment was relatively relaxed, with no restrictions on form, including interactions between actors and members of the audience.

When the host approached Lin Momo with the microphone, she instinctively became nervous for a moment, but she still smiled and greeted everyone.

“I heard Momo prepared gifts for everyone, right?” the host asked.

“Yes,” Lin Momo nodded.

Then, everyone watched as Lin Momo pulled out the large eco-bag she had prepared in advance from behind her back.

… …

[Haha, she just brought it here like that! Momo’s way of giving gifts is really down-to-earth.]

[I just want to know, what’s inside this big bag?]

… …

What’s this?” the host asked.

“Well, this is a stuffed animal I prepared for everyone,” Lin Momo said, opening the eco bag and pulling out a stuffed animal to show everyone.

It was a stuffed plushie shaped like a caterpillar, with a large head and a small tail, and a large, sausage-shaped mouth. It honestly looked a bit odd, but anyone who has watched the previous episodes of [Living with Dad] knew that it’s the same stuffed toy that Lin Momo has at home.

During a previous recording, Lin Cheng went to a promotion event at a supermarket entrance, scanned their QR code, took a promotion photo with the event’s poster as background, and received a free, rather ugly, stuffed caterpillar as reward that he then gave to Lin Momo. Later, Lin Momo made a smaller version of the same caterpillar out of scraps of fabric, embroidering the word ‘Dad’ on the bigger one and ‘Momo’ on the smaller one.

These two caterpillars, one big and one small, now sat on Lin Cheng’s and Lin Momo’s bedside tables.

… …

[I knew it! I said they looked familiar. It’s the same ugly caterpillar, hahaha.]

[I recognized this unique design the moment Momo pulled half of it out.]

… …

“Did you make these yourself?” the host asked Lin Momo.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Lin Momo nodded, adding, “We made ten of them. My grandma and I did it over the weekend. Since I’m not very good at it, she made the bodies and I decorated them.” Lin Momo also made the clothes and small bags that the caterpillars wore.

She also embroidered words into the caterpillars’ bellies.

Unlike the two at home, Lin Momo embroidered the film’s title, [Where Are You?], onto the bellies of these ten caterpillars.

… …

[No wonder I felt that the caterpillars Momo made looked much more detailed and neatly stitched than the homemade one she had on her bedside table. She got help from her grandma! Hahaha.]

[She actually made these gifts for everyone herself. What a thoughtful gift!]

[Even though this caterpillar looks ugly and weird, I really want one!]

[I want one too.]

[It’s a shame there are only 10 of them…] 

As the audience in the livestream were lamenting that they wouldn’t be able to receive this meaningful gift at the premiere, the host announced, “We’ll randomly draw 10 lucky winners of these caterpillar stuffed animals from the viewers who bought tickets to watch the film’s premiere. Do you want them?”

[Yes!]

[Oh, so I still have a chance? That’s awesome! A lottery! I also bought tickets for the premiere of [Where Are You?]! All that’s left is the drawing.]

[A lottery!]

[Praying that I’ll be chosen!]

Knowing how much this caterpillar meant to Lin Momo, everyone was even more excited for the chance to receive a matching caterpillar.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

After Lin Momo, the other main actors also brought gifts for the audience or performed live.

The program concluded with applause.

At 7:30 pm, the film officially premiered.

The lights dimmed in the venue, and the audience gradually quieted down.

The screen in front of them lit up in dim light, and through a monologue without visuals, the audience was gradually drawn into the film’s story.

This was a single-camera film, 87 minutes long, consisting of six single-camera shots, each representing six stories.

From two children who followed a tricycle carrying sugar to the market in order to exchange for candy; to the principal and students writing over two thousand letters to a volunteer teacher after she left the mountains, none of which were delivered; to a blind elderly woman feigning dementia, carrying a letter on the street every day, hoping someone would deliver her letter to the address on the envelope…

Xu Duo’s story was the film’s final story.

The scene shifts, and the camera moves to the hilltop behind Xu Duo’s house.

Xu Duo is speaking to a tombstone.

“Grandma, I’m leaving. I’m going to the city to find Mom, Dad, and Xiaobao… I might have to stay with them there for a while. The house is locked, but don’t worry, we’ll come back during the Spring Festival…”

On the quiet hilltop, apart from Xu Duo’s voice, not a single sound can be heard.

Then, Xu Duo leaves behind half a dry bread and turns to leave.

Only after Xu Duo leaves the village does the film finally pick up sounds in the background.

It’s the sound of the wind, the whirring of cars on the roadside, the chirping of insects at night, the sound of rain falling on the iron shed of a truck, and the rumbling of her stomach…

Xu Duo journeys from her village to the county town, then across the suburbs…

She never utters a single word. The film progresses only through the constantly changing scenes and the ever-increasing cacophony of sounds.

Finally, after a long journey, Xu Duo arrives in the bustling city.

Surrounding her are the clamor of train whistles, the hawking of street vendors, the chatter and arguments of customers in roadside shops, the distant sound of a school broadcast… and the occasional concerned inquiries from kind-hearted people.

At this moment, Xu Duo feels lost.

She doesn’t know if this is the address written on her parent’s used-up train ticket, but her parents’ words about entering the city make this, in her eyes, that city.

Xu Duo’s eyes were filled with determination. She believed that, just as she could reach every household in her village by simply walking, in this place, if she simply kept walking, searching everywhere, she would eventually find her parents and brother.

So, Xu Duo found herself at the crowded train station, the bustling market, and the food stalls brightly lit at night.

At the food stall, her large bag bumped into a table of diners, and several drunks stood up and grabbed her.

They falsely accused Xu Duo of stealing from their table and began beating and kicking her.

The scene was chaotic, the frame shaky. In this blurry scene, no one could see the surroundings, only the flickering lights and shadows.

But the curses of the drunks, the chaotic noises, and the pleas of the owner and passersby, mingled to convey a clear picture of what was happening.

… …

Such a scene was incredibly familiar to Lin Momo.

However, within Lin Momo’s memory, the familiar parts were now beginning to fade, like the blurred and less vivid images in the film before her.

The film continued.

Having been kicked out of the food stall, Xu Duo picks up her bag, ties a knot around her torn sleeve, raises her arm to wipe the stain off her face, and, enduring the pain, continues on her way.

Xu Duo has no idea that the ‘city’ her parents went to isn’t the ‘city’ she was in, nor does she know that the parents and brother she was looking for are no longer around.

Whether Xu Duo actually found her parents and brother remains unanswered in the film, but everyone already knows the answer.

At the end of the clip, a police officer arrives, finds Xu Duo, and takes her away.

Only their receding silhouettes remain.

The screen fades to black, and a black-and-white text briefly describes the real ‘Xu Duo’s’ final fate.

The scene flickers again, and it was ten years later.

Still in the same place, the once bleak, silent village seems to have regained its vitality—illegal factories had been shut down, poverty alleviation ecological projects were launched, towering exhaust pipes were replaced by wind turbines, polluted rivers became clear again, and the barren land was once again covered in greenery. 

Blue skies and white clouds have returned to the place.

… …

The film ended.

The audience in the theater remained silent, lingering for a long time from the emotional impact of the film.

By the time everyone came to their senses and remembered to ask Lin Cheng and Lin Momo for autographs and photos, Lin Cheng had already left the venue with Lin Momo.

As they walked, Lin Momo held Lin Cheng’s hand, skipping and jumping.

“Dad.”

“Hmm?”

“Can I have a small cake? One of those a little sweet, a little salty ones from the restaurant.”

“Sure, but you can only have one piece.”

“Okay.”

“Dad, I want to get a cat like Greatgrandpa Qian’s cat, can I?”

“Sure, but you have to clean up the poop yourself.”

“They say the aquarium here is fun. Can we go?”

“Sure.”

“Can we go to the amusement park next door?”

“Sure.”

THE END.

Serve as Contrast Team in a ‘Dad with Baby’ Show translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: This is the first translation I finished. It’s been quite a journey with Lin Momo and her Dad. THANK YOU SO MUCH for being with me all this time.

Come check out the new work I picked up to replace this posting schedule: Mythical Beast Cafeteria. It’s about a very different ‘little girl’ whose dream is also to be the boss of a small restaurant 🙂

And all my other translation works:
I Livestream Divination to the World
From the Day the Engagement was Broken
Seventh Year of My Secret Love For You
Marriage First, Love Later
Pearls and Jade Beside Me in the ’80s
If It’s Wrong, Then It’s Wrong

If you’re enjoying my translations, do consider buying me ko-fi. Thank you for your support! ☺️