Love Rival Is Getting Prettier Everyday - Chap 115
Chapter 115: Are We Really Just Playing Chess?
The scandal between Shen Jintai and Yan Qiuchi was known to everyone that was currently present, so the atmosphere was quite subtle. To outsiders, it looked as if this party was more like a meeting of the in-laws.
Fortunately, none of the people in attendance were ones to gossip, at least not in person. They all tacitly didn’t mention this matter or joke about it. The conversation they had with Shen Jintai revolved mainly around his work, especially Li Xu and the East Palace, as this was practically known to everyone.
It wasn’t until Shen Jintai sang a birthday song that guests took out their phones to take pictures and recordings of him.
Shen Jintai had hardly ever sung in public before, so he was nervous. Luckily, it was a simple birthday song that didn’t require any skills, so he sang fairly smoothly. It was just this episode evoked everyone’s memories of his days as an idol. He was shining brightly on stage, but it was a pity that he had disappeared from this stage for several years.
Yan Yaoxuan, especially, felt the biggest regret as he was a major fan of Shen Jintai.
Shen Jintai on the stage was so dazzling, but that image was such a long time ago. Even if he picked up the microphone again and stood under that spotlight, it would be difficult to connect him with the Shen Jintai of the past. It seems like two completely different people.
As the birthday party came to an end, guests left one after another, but Shen Xiaomei refused to leave.
“Just let her stay and spend the night at our house.” Mrs. Yan laughed. “I will send her back tomorrow in person.”
Shen Jintai hugged Shen Xiaomei and looked at Liu Qi and Shen Ruhai.
Liu Qi said embarrassedly, “Alright, but Jintai, you should come home and stay for a few days. We have left your room untouched.” She felt really embarrassed. Since they had moved in, Shen Jintai had never returned home to stay with them. She knew it was obviously because of them.
“Ok,” Shen Jintai said. He himself felt that it was a bit inappropriate for him to stay at the Yan’s every time he had a break.
Liu Qi looked surprised and said with a smile, “You’ll be staying here more often in the future, so you should stay with us more often now*.”
*Clarity: She’s implying that Shen Jintai and Yan Qiuchi are going to get together (join in union) so Shen Jintai should stay with them more often now, when he still has the chance, since they’re not official yet.
As soon as she spoke, she heard Shen Ruhai admonish her, “You, stop talking so much.”
Shen Jintai simply smiled awkwardly.
After Shen Ruhai and his wife left, Shen Jintai carried Shen Xiaomei upstairs. When they walked to the top of the stairs, they ran into Yan Yaoxuan, who was coming down.
“Going out?” Shen Jintai asked.
Yan Yaoxuan nodded, still a little restrained, and said, “Meeting up with friends.”
Shen Jintai smiled and continued walking upstairs. Suddenly Shen Xiaomei twisted and said, “Brother, I want to go by myself.”
“Okay, go by yourself.” Shen Jintai put her down, and Shen Xiaomei ran upstairs. He hurriedly chased her up. Yan Yaoxuan glanced back at him, and then saw Mrs. Yan and Yan Tiefeng coming in.
“Where are you going at night?” Mrs. Yan asked.
“To play. I won’t be back tonight,” Yan Yaoxuan said.
“Laoer seems to be a little unhappy when he came back this time,” Yan Tiefeng said. “Is there anything bothering him?”
“What troubles can he have.” Suddenly, Mrs. Yan heard a man’s laughter. She said, “This Xiao Yang, doesn’t he have any manners? He hasn’t left yet.”
Yan Tiefeng laughed when he heard this.
The relationship between the Xiao family and the Yan family had always been harmonious. Xiao Yang and Yan Qiuchi had been friends since childhood, so Xiao Yang had also attended Mrs. Yan’s birthday party today.
Xiao Yang felt a lot of emotion today.
“You really like that kid.” Xiao Yang sat on the rooftop, smoking a cigarette, and said, “When I first saw the news, I couldn’t believe it.”
Yan Qiuchi said lightly, “Don’t tell me you still want to chase him.”
Xiao Yang laughed when he heard this and became a little embarrassed. “I thought you were not interested in him, so I just said that casually.”
After a while, he couldn’t help but sigh. “You are so blessed. Shen Jintai’s ass…”
Before he could finish, Yan Qiuchi kicked him, almost knocking him to the ground.
Xiao Yang grumbled. When he heard the voice of a child coming from the entrance, he hurriedly turned to look and saw Shen Xiaomei running up panting.
Shen Jintai called to her, “Don’t run up the stairs.”
Almost immediately, he noticed Yan Qiuchi, who was sitting next to him, had sat straight up. Xiao Yang turned his head and glanced at Yan Qiuchi, seeing that Yan Qiuchi had even extinguished the cigarette he was smoking.
Fucking hell.
He felt that he didn’t recognize this Yan Qiuchi anymore.
Yan Qiuchi stretched out his hand, took Xiao Yang’s cigarette, and put it out.
“Don’t smoke in front of children,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Xiao Yang: “…”
“Brother Qiuchi,” Shen Xiaomei called.
Yan Qiuchi smiled and said, “Why did you two come up?”
“She heard you talking, so she insisted.” Shen Jintai squatted down and said to Shen Xiaomei, “There is nothing up here. Let’s go to brother’s room, and we’ll watch some cartoons.”
It was rare to see Shen Jintai so gentle.
There was a small bar above the rooftop, but besides that, it was very empty. Shen Shaomei probably felt shy seeing as how there was an outsider there and became timid, so she rushed into Shen Jintai’s arms.
Shen Jintai picked her up and said, “Then we will go down first.”
Xiao Yang watched him go downstairs, and the more he looked, the more he felt that Yan Qiuchi was blessed. Shen Jintai had definitely improved. His temperament was calm now, which was good. He looked sunny and pure inside and out, giving off a nice, handsome look that wasn’t feminine like previously. This kind of temperament was really the best.
It was no wonder that Yan Qiuchi would eat grass.
Xiao Yang had looked down on Shen Jintai in the past, but he couldn’t help but feel moved when he looked at him now.
“Are you going to leave?” Yan Qiuchi asked suddenly.
“What?” Xiao Yang was taken aback for a moment and then stood up. “Okay, just forget about your bros, ah? Fine, I’m leaving.”
Yan Qiuchi said, “It’s rare for me to have the opportunity to see him. He’s been filming with the crew all this time. It’s not like you don’t know this.”
Xiao Yang took the last of his drink. “I think your old house is on fire*. Be careful and don’t get burn.”
*(老房子着火) Refers to the joys and sorrows of life. Has two references. The first refers to the love of the elderly. The second refers to when two people have known each other for a long time but don’t feel it, once a spark occurs, it becomes hopeless. In this context, it’s referring to the latter.
As he said that, he suddenly turned his head and asked, “Do you want me to teach you some techniques? This brother has ample experience with both men and women, especially in that regard.”
“Hurry up and get out of ours*,” Yan Qiuchi said.
*Clarity: Ours as in house in response to Xiao Yang’s “Old house” reference.
Xiao Yang said, “My good intentions are regarded as the liver and lungs of a donkey*. Do you think that sleeping with a man is the same as sleeping with a woman, and it’ll just all work out? Without some knowledge, do you think it’ll feel good? Especially with that horse’s size…”
*成驴肝肺) Refers to being thankless. You’re trying to help someone, but the other party not only doesn’t thank you and even blames you for helping them.
As he was halfway through speaking, he suddenly noticed Mrs. Yan appear at the entrance. He was so scared that he almost bit his tongue. He quickly bowed and said, “Auntie Fang.”
“Xiao Yang,” Mrs. Yan said with a smile. “You didn’t drink too much today, did you?”
“No, not at all,” Xiao Yang said.
Mrs. Yan came over and said, “It’s so late. Are you planning to stay the night?”
“No, Auntie, I’m leaving now.” As Xiao Yang spoke, he patted Yan Qiuchi on the shoulder. “If you have any questions, please feel free to consult me. Good luck, brother.”
He was happy for Yan Qiuchi and thought he should fall in love. Shen Jintai was pretty terrible before, but that had all changed. He was now the most popular kid in the entertainment industry that everyone wanted to be with, even him.
—
Shen Jintai was lying on the sofa watching cartoons with Shen Xiaomei when he heard a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Yan Qiuchi came in carrying a box.
Shen Jintai stood up as Yan Qiuchi put down the box and said, “These are all toys from our home for you to play with, little sister.”
When Shen Xiaomei heard this, she immediately ran over, opened the box, took a look, and asked, “What’s all this?”
Shen Jintai said, “Were these all your toys that you played with when you were a kid?”
There were planes, tanks, cannons, cars, and even a chess board in it.
Shen Xiaomei had a girly heart and loved everything pink, so these toys were not to her taste. Shen Jintai gave him some face, opened the chess board, and said to Shen Xiaomei, “This is fun. Brother can play with you.”
Shen Xiaomei asked, “What is it?”
“This is chess,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Shen Xiaomei: “How to play?”
Yan Qiuchi taught her. While teaching, he thought it was both good and bad that Shen Xiaomei was here. The good thing was that he finally got the opportunity to get along with Shen Jintai. The bad was he couldn’t talk with him.
However, Shen Jintai and Shen Xiaomei have such a good relationship that it was beneficial for him to please her. She was still too young, so she wasn’t really interested in learning chess, but it aroused the interest of Shen Jintai, who was next to her.
Shen Jintai likes to play chess, but he only knows Chinese chess. Being in a new environment, Shen Xiaomei was a bit timid. She wanted to continue watching cartoons, but she was too shy to speak up, so she leaned on Shen Jintai’s arm and watched the two of them play chess.
Yan Qiuchi was a master of chess, but he deliberately released water* to lengthen the match. From time to time, he would even blow some rainbow farts, saying things like, “Is this really your first time playing?”
*(放水) Has multiple meanings, but in this context, it refers to having the ability to win the game but, for some reason, deliberately not showing all your strength and letting the opponent win.
Shen Jintai was aroused by his desire to win and was bent on playing chess. Hearing Yan Qiuchi’s comment made him very happy. “It’s really my first time.”
He was smart and had quickly figured out the rules, and he knew that Yan Qiuchi was being humble and letting him win the first game.
Yan Qiuchi said, “Ah. Another round. I have to pay you back.”
Shen Jintai rolled up his sleeves and sat cross-legged. “Come on, come on, come on.”
When Mrs. Yan knocked on the door and came in, the two of them were sitting on the carpet and playing chess. Shen Xiaomei was holding a toy airplane and sitting besides Shen Jintai, dozing off.
“Playing chess?” Mrs. Yan took Shen Xiaomei into her arms, gave her a glass of hot milk, and asked, “Who won just now?”
“My brother won!” Shen Xiaomei shouted as she drank the milk.
“Really?” Mrs. Yan said this with surprise, as she knew Yan Qiuchi was good at chess. She gave Yan Qiuchi a glance, and Yan Qiuchi looked back at her. His face was still the same monotone, but his eyes were bright, as if they were filled with laughter.
Mrs. Yan really liked it when she saw him like this. This was what a young man his age should look like. His face had a slight flush, making him appear more grounded and cautious.
After Shen Xiaomei finished drinking her milk, Mrs. Yan took her to take a bath.
Shen Jintai turned his head and looked at Mrs. Yan, who said, “Just stay.”
The moment the door closed, Shen Jintai felt embarrassed. He realized that it was just him and Yan Qiuchi left in the room. He glanced at Yan Qiuchi and saw that Yan Qiuchi was looking at him.
The current match was very difficult. He couldn’t lose, but he couldn’t win either. Feeling a bit uncomfortable due to sitting cross-legged for a long time, Yan Qiuchi leaned back slightly and stretched out his legs. He was facing Shen Jintai directly, while Shen Jintai did his best to stare at the chessboard, becoming stiff.
Yan Qiuchi’s cellphone beeped twice. He took it out and looked at it, then put it on the ground. It was a message sent by Xiao Yang that said: [Between two Men Thirty-Six Positions].
Yan Qiuchi felt a shadow covering his heart. He was so stimulated by the pictures sent by Xiao Yang that he crossed his legs and didn’t dare open them again.
Suddenly another deep sound came through, lighting up the screen of Yan Qiuchi’s phone. Shen Jintai was unable to see the content of the message, but he could see Yan Qiuchi’s background lock screen. It was the photo of him and Yan Qiuchi when he had visited him on the set of .
Shen Jintai’s throat bobbed, and he lowered his eyes slightly, pretending that he hadn’t seen anything. He raised his head slightly, looked at Yan Qiuchi, and saw…
Fuck. Wasn’t Yan Qiuchi just playing chess with him? How could there be a reaction?
Shen Jintai suddenly realized that Yan Qiuchi wanted to sleep with him. He was a man who had been holding back for 25 years. He wondered if Yan Qiuchi was full of vulgar thoughts when they were alone together.
Oh, god!
Xiao Yang’s message: [Brother, there’s still a lot of information in this area. Tell me if you need it.]
Yan Qiuchi put down the phone. Feeling a little guilty, he glanced at Shen Jintai, finding that he had lowered his head and that his face and ears were slightly red. This stunned him and made him instantly embarrassed. He pretended to inadvertently pick up the airplane model that Shen Xiaomei had placed nearby and put it on his lap to cover it up.
He wasn’t just only embarrassed though. He loved Shen Jintai’s flushed appearance, and it made his heart itchy when he thought that this flush was because of him. In turn, this made his heart beat mercilessly, and he also turned red.
The author has something to say:
Oh, man!
