四十年的故事都是从去片厂这一天开始的。
FOUR DECADES THE story spans, and it all began the day she went to the film studio.
前一天，吴佩珍就说好，这天要带王琦瑶去片厂玩。
The day before, Wu Peizhen had agreed to take Wang Qiyao to have a look around the studio.
吴佩珍是那类粗心的女孩子。
Wu Peizhen was a rather careless girl.
她本应当为自己的丑自卑的，但因为家境不错，有人疼爱，养成了豁朗单纯的个性，使这自卑变成了谦虚，这谦虚里是很有一些实事求是的精神的。
Under normal circumstances, she would have suffered from low self-esteem because of her homeliness, but because Peizhen came from a well-to-do family and people always doted on her, she had developed unaffected into an outgoing young lady.
What would have been poor self-esteem was replaced by a kind of modesty—modesty ruled by a practical spirit.
由这谦虚出发，她就总无意地放大别人的优点，很忠实地崇拜，随时准备奉献她的热诚。
In her modesty, she tended to exaggerate other people's strengths, place them on a pedestal, and offer them her devotion.
王琦瑶无须提防她有妒忌之心，也无须对她有妒忌之心，相反，她还对她怀有一些同情，因为她的丑。
Wang Qiyao never had to worry about Wu Peizhen being jealous of her—and she certainly had no reason to be jealous of Wu Peizhen.
On the contrary, she even felt a bit bad for Wu Peizhen—because she was so ugly.
这同情使王琦瑶变得慷慨了，自然这慷慨是只对吴佩珍一个人的。
This compassion predisposed Wang Qiyao to be generous, but naturally this generosity did not extend any further than Wu Peizhen.
吴佩珍的粗心其实只是不在乎，王琦瑶的宽待她是心领的，于是加倍地要待她好，报恩似的。
Wu Peizhen's carelessness was the function of an uncalculating mind.
She appreciated Wang Qiyao's magnanimity and tried even harder to please her as though repaying her kindness.
一来二去的，两人便成了最贴心的朋友。
Basking in each other's company, they became the best of friends.
王琦瑶和吴佩珍做朋友，有点将做人的重头推给吴佩珍的意思。
But Wang Qiyao's decision to befriend Wu Peizhen meant, in some way, that she was pushing a heavy load onto Wu Peizhen's shoulders.
她的好看突出了吴佩珍的丑，她的精细突出了吴佩珍的粗疏，她的慷慨突出的是吴佩珍的受恩，使吴佩珍负了债。
Her beauty highlighted Wu Peizhen's unattractive appearance; her meticulousness highlighted Wu Peizhen's lack of care; her magnanimity highlighted Wu Peizhen's indebtedness.
好在吴佩珍是压得起的，她的人生任务不如王琦瑶来得重，有一点吃老本，也有一点不计较，本是一身轻，也是为王琦瑶分担的意思。
It was a good thing that Wu Peizhen could take it; after all, the weight of everyday living did not rest as heavily on her.
This was partly because she had plenty of psychic capital to draw on, but also because she simply did not mind.
Things came easy to her and she was willing to bear more than her share.
这么一分担，两头便达到平衡，友情逐日加深。
Thus an equilibrium of give-and-take was maintained between the two girls and they grew closer by the day.
吴佩珍有个表哥是在片厂做照明工，有时来玩，就穿着钉了铜扣的黄咔叽制服，有些炫耀的样子。
Wu Peizhen had a cousin who did lighting at the film studio.
Occasionally he would come over to see her.
In that khaki uniform of his, with its copper buttons, he came across as a bit flashy.
吴佩珍本来对他是不在意的，拉拢他全是为了王琦瑶。
Wu Peizhen really could not have cared less about him; the only reason she kept him around was for Wang Qiyao.
片厂这样的地方是女学生们心向往之的地方，它生产罗曼蒂克，一种是银幕上的，人所周知的电影； 一种是银幕下的，流言蜚语似的明星轶事。
The film studio was the stuff of girls' dreams—a place where romance is created, the kind that appears on the silver screen in movies that everyone knows as well as the off-screen type that one hears about in the enchanting gossip and rumors surrounding the lives of film stars.
前者是个假，却像真的； 后者是个真，倒像是假的。
The former is fake but appears real; the latter is real but seems fake.
片厂里的人生啊，一世当作两世做的。
To live in the world of the film studio is to lead a dual life.
像吴佩珍这样吃得下睡得着的女孩子，是不大有梦想的，她又只有兄弟，没有姐妹，从小做的是男孩的游戏，对女孩子的窍门反倒不在行了。
Girls like Wu Peizhen who had all of their needs taken care of seldom wallowed in dreams; moreover, as the only girl in a house full of boys, she grew up playing boys' games and never learned the social skills and canniness most girls picked up.
但和王琦瑶做朋友以后，她的心却变细了。
However, after making friends with Wang Qiyao, she became more thoughtful.
她是将片厂当作一件礼物一样献给王琦瑶的。
She came to see the film studio as a gift that she could offer to Wang Qiyao.
她很有心机的，将一切都安排妥了，日子也定下了，才去告诉王琦瑶。
She arranged everything carefully, only informing Wang Qiyao after she had already set a date, and was surprised when Wang Qiyao greeted the news with apparent indifference, claiming a prior engagement.
不料王琦瑶却还有些勉强，说她这一天正好有事，只能向她表哥抱歉了。
She arranged everything carefully, only informing Wang Qiyao after she had already set a date, and was surprised when Wang Qiyao greeted the news with apparent indifference, claiming a prior engagement.
吴佩珍于是就一个劲儿地向王琦瑶介绍片厂的有趣，将表哥平日里吹嘘的那些事迹都搬过来，再加上自己的想象。
This compelled Wu Peizhen to try to change Wang Qiyao's mind by exaggerating the glamour of the film studio, combining stories her cousin bragged about with others from her own imagination.