Why must one be happy when life is smooth?

I'm sorry for posting these scans so late, because I've been busy with other things! Do you need me to translate? If so, just leave down a comment! If not, I shall just leave it as it is. ;) Yup, I've finally translated this article! Oh, and please remember to vote for Sheren/Wayne and No Regrets here.

Scans from I-Weekly #693

He doesn't smile a lot, but will occasionally move the corners of his mouth.

If one thinks like the media, they will attribute this to No Regrets not being able to become the highest-rated television drama in history.

"To me, there's nothing to be disappointed about. I believe in fate, and love to ponder over things. When I was in secondary school, I was thinking about the meaning of life, and have thought of what would happen should I jump down from a building. In the end, I did not jump, but still, I have not thought of the answer...

Thank goodness I'm only popular now
One must have heard from many stars that their goal in life is to buy apartments and cars, but Wayne Lai chooses to talk about life and philosophy instead. What is there so happy about living? What is there so painful about dying?

"My wife told me that one must have the talent, if not you'll disappoint the God up there. To be able to film a good drama that people finish watching and still feel for it; the artiste really play a big part in this. So, acting is my life.

He, who is 46 years old, sits by the window-side and drinks coffee. Mrs Lai, who is his manager, takes care of her husband whole-heartedly.

Rosy Business' success made the sequel No Regrets become a hot topic in the country even before it was aired. However, like what Wayne says, all these are heaven's doing. The drama was being aired at a time where all the office workers were not able to rush back in time to catch the drama, so it is no wonder that the ratings suffered. Luckily for them, they were still able to catch up on what they missed on the internet. "The drama achieved an average of 1 million over hits for every episode, so it's actually very good!"

"On the whole, most people had praises for this drama. However, we 'old people' always say that even Guan Yu has his enemies and Cao Cao has his confidants! Some people just enjoy watching comedies more while others enjoy watching dramas that are more informative. Each one has his own choices."

"Of course, when I was young, I cared about the ratings very much! I always wonder why young people need to take it easy. Don't be silly! One cannot take it easy, one must have the fire in them. However, I am already past that stage, so I won't be so stubborn in pursuing the unachievable. Life is not about you able to do what you want to. Manyatimes, your environment actually plays a big part in influencing what you do."

Even today, Wayne does not really have any wants in mind. Although he knows that he is now a male lead, he does not think that it's that great an achievement. "However, I'm happy that I'm only popular now. If I was so popular earlier, I'm afraid that I would have lost myself Honestly speaking, for all my years in the entertainment sector, I have been taking one step at a time, so I have really endured a lot of setbacks. After which, the role of Pigsy made more people take notice of me. Chai Gau did the same for me... All these chances are culminated, and are not just random opportunities that float by. My life still goes on." This is what he, who managed to beat Moses Chan's Prince Consort to become TVB King for the second time in a row, says.

He won't clamour upwards
There must always be a reason for success.

He acknowledges that his life is ordinary, but his thoughts are not that simple. He doesn't have friends, and is used to being alone. "When I was around 10 years old, I have already thought of death, and thought of why people need to live? I am a philosophical person, and enjoy thinking a lot. When I was studying, I don't have classmates or friends who can talk to be about life. I have always been thinking about things by myself."

"Up till now, I have only 2 best friends. One of them is my secondary school friend, while the other one is Lau Ching Wan. That's enough for me. One doesn't need to have a lot of friends. It's more important to be able to trust and talk to each other. Ching Wan's thoughts and mine are similar in many areas, so we discuss about acting quite seriously and don't really care about what monetary gains we can reap from this. Although everybody sees us as people they can talk about, but what we hope for is for a further improvement in our acting skills."

"Acting is my life. I really give my all when I act. I like reflecting on life through the roles that I get, so it's really very tiring for me. I did not have a hobby, and did not have a goal in life since young, but acting has changed me into another person, and allows me to free myself. So, I'm really happy with my present arrangement. I have not thought of fighting for any awards, and have not thought of earning a lot of money."

"Sometimes my wife would say that I am already so old, so I may not be able to take on so much burden. So right now, I content myself by just filming 1, 2 dramas and a few advertisements. Why is there a need to earn so much money? It's not as if we are able to use that much as well. In the past, we lived in a 1600 square foot apartment, but now, we are living in a 1200 square foot apartment. I have never thought of clamouring upwards. In fact, the more I live in my flat, the happier I become. I decided to live in Broadcast Drive because I was just a clerk in TVB at that time, and it was near my workplace. My mum used to live nearby as well, so I wanted to be near her.

"After that, my mum passed away, so I had to consider where to relocate to. In fact, my whole family just wishes to lead a normal and quiet life. I am an artiste, and I do not need to live like a star. Hong Kong people only know how to immerse themselves in work for the sake of earning more for the family, but they never set aside time to spend with their family. This is not right at all! Family must come first no matter what!"

Forever a rookie in love
He knows how to treasure everything around him, because he has committed a mistake before.

Wayne Lai is the youngest child in his family, and he went to a boys' school for secondary education. He is an introvert by nature, and does not have many chances to interact with the opposite sex. He dated his first girlfriend for 10 years and married her soon after. However, he met his current wife, Julia, and realised that love is not what he thought it was at first.

In 1994, when he was filming The Last Conquest with Loretta Lee, Julia was Loretta's assistant. Wayne interacted with Julia for 2, 3 months before he realised that his marriage was built solely on responsibility and not feelings. He decided to divorce his wife, and in 1997, he married Julia in the States. Their son, Lai Ching Kiu, is currently in secondary 1 now.

"I feel that the feelings between a man an a woman is the work of fate. I have been through that phase, so I understand that there is no such thing as a perfect way to live together. Everybody knows that both husband and wife need to reach a compromise together, but why are there still people divorcing each other? There are many things to consider. You may get married 10 times, but you will still not understand."

"Every person is a newbie in his life. I am not particularly smart. If I was that smart, I would not have a broken marriage. In this aspect, my son is much smarter than me. He has already found his first love, and has taken photographs of his girlfriend. I don't see any problem with that. Parents are really funny because they don't remember what they did in the past. They do not remember that they were once young, and so they have done that kind of thing before as well."

"When you are young, it is the time to do whatever you want. When I was young, I used to drink together with Lau Ching Wan and Dayo Wong. Everybody was happily drinking, and we were drinking for about 7 hours, so how could we not get drunk? We must do different things in every phase of our life, and the crux lies in the fact that you must learn how to control yourself."

Postscript: The place of happiness
Besides acting, Wayne Lai has a talent for drawing as well!

He picked up a pen, and drew a family of 3 in a mini-van. I am not a psychologist, but from the way I see him draw his son in front while both husband and wife are behind looking after him, I know that Wayne loves his son very much.

"I love seeing my husband draw. I'd better take a photo of this first!", says Mrs Lai, who was by her husband's side. She picked up the camera, and her face looks on lovingly as she takes a photo of her husband's "handsome posture".

"Haha! Do you know something? My husband always says that I should be really grateful, because I married my idol. He is sad, because he has one less fan." At this moment of time, Wayne, who was focusing his attention on drawing, let out a smile that was the brightest one that we had seen since the start of this interview.

Comments: Wayne seemed like a very moody person in the past. He even harboured thoughts of committing suicide when he was still a student. However, he seems very content with his life now. Let's hope that he will forever remain this way! ^^

*PLEASE CREDIT DREAMLUCKY IF REPOSTED! THANKS! ^^