Love Rival Is Getting Prettier Everyday - Chap 114
Chapter 114: Who Doesn’t Love Shen Jintai
Shen Jintai remembered that he had asked Xiao Tang to order a bouquet of flowers.
Was it this?
He was about to ask Xiao Tang when he saw him holding a bunch of flowers from the car next to him. “Brother Jin, the flowers you want.”
Shen Jintai took it in his arms and said to Xiao Tang, “You should also take a good rest.”
“Got it,” Xiao Tang said and bowed to Yan Qiuchi.
Many people in the crew were secretly looking, and some couldn’t help but secretly take out their phones to take pictures.
It was irresistible to see the hottest person in the entertainment industry involved in the most eye-catching scandal. The relationship between these two people was too intense. Even if Shen Jintai were a woman, this kind of situation was like watching a bloody drama on the 8 o’clock file. The fact that it was a scandal between two men just added more fuel. With the two of them appearing in one shot, enthusiasm for gossip detonated.
Shen Jintai sat in the car, wondering if the bouquet of roses was for him. It was a huge bouquet filled with roses that were red with hints of pink. They were gorgeous. Xiao Tang had bought him a bunch of pink carnations, which he had put together with the roses.
“I didn’t know that you also bought flowers,” Yan Qiuchi said. “I bought those roses for you.”
Shen Jintai said, “You didn’t have to go through the trouble, but they look great.”
“I didn’t realize you had bought flowers as well and didn’t need me to buy them for you,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Shen Jintai felt that Yan Qiuchi would take this opportunity to gift those roses to him. He wasn’t sure if Yan Qiuchi was telling the truth or if this was a trick to find an excuse to gift him flowers. He decided to halt it before it got any further and immediately said, “Since it’s like this, let’s give both to Auntie Fang. Good things come in pairs.”
Yan Qiuchi smiled and said nothing. After a while, he asked, “How is filming lately? Is it going well?”
Shen Jintai said, “Nn. Everything is going well.”
He noticed that Yan Qiuchi was looking at him through the rearview mirror, so he turned his head slightly and opened the car window a little. The wind was so strong that it messed up his hair. He turned around and asked, “Is Yaoxuan back?”
Yan Qiuchi: “He came back yesterday.”
Shen Jintai: “Oh.”
The small talk stopped. Yan Qiuchi took the chance to look at him through the rearview window again. Shen Jintai was sitting in the back with two bouquets of red and pink flowers besides him, which really verified the saying, people were more delicate than flowers*. He felt that Shen Jintai looked better than the flowers, and it put him in a good mood.
*The full saying is people are more delicate than flowers, and the flowers are colorless. It’s a compliment to that person that means when a flower is next to that person, you can only see the beauty of that person, making the flower look dull (colorless).
Shen Jintai arrived relatively late. There were already many guests inside the Yan’s manor. With the weather just right, the dinner party was held outside in front of the courtyard. The lights were all on, despite it haven’t reach complete nightfall yet.
The car stopped in front of the courtyard, and Yan Qiuchi got out, attracting the attention of the many guests.
“Qiuchi is back,” Mrs. Yan said to Fan Hong, Yan Qiuchi’s aunt. “You wanted to see him in person, and he’s now here.”
As soon as her voice fell, Fan Hong saw a young man get out of the car. He was wearing black pants and a white shirt, with thick black hair. His complexion was fair, and his tall figure was holding two bouquets of bright flowers in his arms.
It was Li Xu, Shen Jintai. Looking at him in real life, he looked more handsome and younger than he appeared on TV.
All the guests’ attention was fully focused on them. They all knew about the scandal between the two, and now, seeing that they were walking together, they wanted to gossip their hearts out. It was a pity that they were currently at the Yan’s villa.
“Xiao Jin’s here,” Mrs. Yan greeted him with a smile.
“Auntie, happy birthday.” Shen Jintai smiled and delivered the flowers.
Mrs. Yan took it with a beaming smile and then started introducing him to some of the guests who were their relatives. Some had already met Shen Jintai before, while it was the first time for others, but regardless of whether it was the first time or not, they were all curious about him.
“Qiuchi,” Fan Hong beckoned. “Come.”
Yan Qiuchi walked over. Fan Hong asked him, “What’s the matter with you? Have you caught him?”
“No,” Yan Qiuchi said. “I’m still working hard.”
Fan Hong laughed. “Your uncle was very angry when he heard about the news. Before I came, he specifically told me to tell you, either keep a low profile or be high-profile. If you take the high-profile route, make sure you show off your skills so no one dares to joke about it.”
As she said that, she glanced at Shen Jintai again. Shen Jintai stood beside Mrs. Yan very warmly, with a humble attitude and without the air of a big star.
The Fang family didn’t want Yan Qiuchi to be with a celebrity, especially one in the entertainment industry, but they were open-minded and didn’t interfere with his private life. Before Fan Hong came, she had many prejudices against Shen Jintai. She wanted Yan Qiuchi to find a person who was right for their family. However, seeing Shen Jintai in person for the first time, she felt that she liked him.
His role as Li Xu was that of a villain who had a very flirtatious appearance. She didn’t expect him to look so innocent. When he smiled, it was so sweet and pure. His eyes were clear and bright, and his eyebrows were dazzling, creating an unforgettable image.
It’s not that he was particularly physically outstanding, but he had a very pure and sunny look.
“This is Qiuchi’s aunt,” Mrs. Yan led Shen Jintai over. “She is also your fan.”
“I like your role as Li Xu very much,” Fan Hong said with a smile.
“Brother!”
Shen Jintai suddenly heard Shen Xiaomei’s cry and immediately turned around, seeing Shen Xiaomei running towards him in a floral dress.
“Don’t run,” Liu Qi shouted from behind.
Shen Jintai picked up Shen Xiaomei, greeted Liu Qi first, and then looked at Shen Ruhai, who was behind her. Shen Ruhai handed some things over to staff and then walked towards them.
“Dad,” Shen Jintai called out embarrassingly, feeling a little strange.
Shen Ruhai didn’t show much surprise. He gave a faint “Nn” then said to Shen Xiaomei, “Come down.”
Shen Xiaomei refused to let go. “Brother hasn’t hugged me for a long time.”
Shen Jintai felt very guilty when he heard this. He didn’t really have a deep affection for this family, especially when compared to the Yan’s. Apart from giving money to them regularly, he would only occasionally video chat with Shen Xiaomei. Recently, because he’s been so busy, there have been fewer video calls. But due to his relationship with Shen Xiaomei, he and Shen Ruhai had grown closer than before.
Liu Qi chattered on, saying how he had lost so much weight. Mrs. Yan became irritated as she listened to her from the side. She didn’t like Liu Qi and thought that she didn’t have culture and that her family background wasn’t good. Her only redeeming factor was her beautiful face, but they were from completely different worlds. Between her and Shen Jintai’s biological mother, it was incomparable.
However, considering that she was Shen Jintai’s stepmother and the two families may become in-laws in the future, Mrs. Yan kept a polite demeanor toward Liu Qi, who spoke very flatteringly to her.
On the other hand, Shen Ruhai remained the same. Mrs. Yan didn’t like him that much either. She had never been satisfied with the man her best friend had picked. His personality was dull and aloof. Shen Jintai had lost his mother at such a young age, and with only a father like this, he adopted his former slightly paranoid and arrogant personality.
She hadn’t seen Shen Ruhai for a long time, and her biggest impression was that he was aging. The white in his hair was obvious. It seemed that bankruptcy had hit him very hard.
“Come with me,” Shen Ruhai said to Shen Jintai.
Shen Jintai put Shen Xiaomei down and followed Shen Ruhai to the woods. Shen Ruhai smoked a cigarette and asked him as they walked, “How have you been? Is filming going well?”
Shen Jintai nodded. “It’s all good.”
Shen Ruhai said nothing.
They had walked far away from the streetlights, and the area was a bit dim, with the main source of light coming from the cigarette in Shen Ruhai’s hand. It flickered in the dark, causing the light to bounce between light and darkness. Shen Jintai’s awkwardness disappeared as he said to Shen Ruhai, “Auntie Liu said the doctor advised you not to smoke anymore.”
“It’s fine,” Shen Ruhai said.
Shen Jintai was silent for a while, then suddenly stretched out his hand and took the cigarette from his hand. Shen Ruhai was taken aback for a moment, probably not expecting his son to do such a thing.
“Stop smoking,” Shen Jintai said, his tone slightly harsh.
The identities of father and son were flipped in that moment. In fact, it had flipped long ago, from the moment Shen Ruhai went bankrupt and Shen Jintai had to financially support the family.
When a father grew old, he no longer had authority as head of the family. That role would be replaced by his son. This was something that every father and son in the world would experience. For Shen Ruhai, this moment was sad but somewhat gratifying. He didn’t respond but only said, “Take care of your body when you’re working.”
Shen Jintai replied with a “Nn.”
Their father-son relationship had reached a certain degree of reconciliation at this moment. Shen Jintai didn’t know if the original Shen Jintai had looked forward to this day. When he thought about it, his heart slightly ached, and he thought about .
As the night got later, Yan Tiefang and others had arrived. The father and son returned to the courtyard as dinner was about to be served. The lights in the courtyard were brightly lit under the flower shed. Shen Jintai caught sight of Yan Yaoxuan. Yan Yaoxuan seemed changed, as he didn’t even come over to greet him.
‘Shen Jintai seemed to look better,’ Yan Yaoxuan thought. He knew he was completely out of the game now, though it didn’t seem right to say that, considering from beginning to end, he never entered the game in the first place.
During dinner, Yan Yaoxuan noticed Yan Qiuchi adjusting Shen Jintai’s seat. Mrs. Yan originally arranged Shen Jintai’s position next to Yan Qiuchi, but Yan Qiuchi transferred him to Shen Ruhai, saying he should sit with his family.
Shen Jintai also saw this change, and his affection for Yan Qiuchi steadily rose. As expected of a gentleman raised under elite education. Yan Qiuchi was really thoughtful. During the entire birthday party, Yan Qiuchi didn’t pay much attention to him.
This restraint was particularly moving as it saved him a ton of awkwardness. Occasionally, their eyes would meet with the mingling of cheers, wine, and food. Yan Qiuchi would give him a faint smile as his eyes looked very deep.
Shen Jintai lowered his head slightly.
Yan Yaoxuan watched coldly from the side, recalling that this time last year was when started filming. He and his mother had gone to visit the set and watch Shen Jintai record a scene very similar to this.
It was the royal banquet, where Li Xu glanced across the dancers towards Prince Zhou Ying. Behind the camera was an entirely different world of light and shadow. Shen Jintai was jade-colored and romantic when he was in that world. He glanced at the prince, then lowered his head slightly. For the first time, Yan Yaoxuan felt the shock of this world of light and shadow.
Now, this scene had reemerged once again, but the shock was no longer from the alternative world behind the camera. Yan Yaoxuan came to the realization; his brother’s unrequited love was no longer unrequited.
