Love Rival Is Getting Prettier Everyday - Chap 133
Chapter 133: A Beautiful Man
He couldn’t stand it! Couldn’t stand it! Yan Qiuchi’s eyes were too enthusiastic. His tone was a bit pitiful but humble, and his body language came on strong. Shen Jintai felt he couldn’t bear to refuse, or rather, he didn’t want to refuse.
“Just… just a hug?” Why did he feel as if this was as untrustworthy as when a man says he’ll only rub but won’t insert it?!
Ahhhhhh, what is he thinking about!
Yan Qiuchi had already reentered the room and shut the door. He walked up to him and reached out his arms towards Shen Jintai. Feeling infected by Yan Qiuchi’s desire, Shen Jintai barely stabilized his mind before stretching out his hand, intending to give Yan Qiuchi a symbolic hug.
Yan Qiuchi didn’t show great eagerness but gently hugged him. At the moment when they hugged, Shen Jintai seemed to hear something. Yan Qiuchi seemed to let out a slightly satisfied sigh, and he couldn’t help but think he might have heard it wrong.
Shen Jintai’s back was rigid. Although he was embarrassed, he pretended to be calm and politely patted Yan Qiuchi on the back to show some comfort, then he smiled and prepared to let go.
Huh? He couldn’t move.
He patted Yan Qiuchi on the shoulder again and motioned for him to let go. Not only did Yan Qiuchi not listen, but he hugged him even tighter as his breathing got heavier, and he buried his face into the crevice of Shen Jintai’s neck.
Yan Qiuchi’s face was hot, and his breath sprayed on his neck.
Damn it! Just like he thought! This man’s words were truly not credible!
“Good?” Shen Jintai said.
“No,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Huh?
Shen Jintai couldn’t move, but he felt emotionally moved. Yan Qiuchi seemed to be really struggling.
Yan Qiuchi asked again, “If you say hug, I will just hug, but…” He hesitated, probably thinking his request might be difficult to fulfill. After a pause, he didn’t give up and requested, “Can I stay and just… hold you?”
“What do you think?”
“I may not be able to sleep when I go back tonight.” Yan Qiuchi eased his hold and looked him in the face. “Look at my eyes.”
Shen Jintai blushed. He looked at Yan Qiuchi’s eyes and found that they were bloodshot and had dark circles under them, but it wasn’t as severe as Yan Qiuchi was implying. He had determined that men’s words in this regard were not credible, and even he was starting to buckle. After all, he was also a man and was prone to thinking with his lower body, so with great restraint he said, “Go back quickly. Don’t try to push for an inch.”
Yan Qiuchi kept his promise and finally let him go. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out as he stood there speechless, reluctant to leave. When a man suddenly has this kind of idea, he’ll really die slowly in a pitiful state.
After Yan Qiuchi left, Shen Jintai closed the door and let out a long breath. He felt sickly sweet and seeing Yan Qiuchi’s reactions made him feel turbulent and mushy. He untied his pajamas and looked at his chest, which was now completely flushed.
He didn’t resent the rewards that Xiao Ai gave him anymore. In fact, an idea came to his mind by accident. If Yan Qiuchi were to see him like this, he didn’t know if he would just explode* on the spot.
*Clarity: Figuratively and physically, as in down there.
Shen Jintai couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Yan Qiuchi had insomnia that night—really bad insomnia. Like he said, it was uncomfortable not being able to hold Shen Jintai, but now that he was alone, he felt even more uncomfortable after tasting sweet bliss. Unable to sleep, he got up and started to work, completing the work for the next day in advance.
The next morning, Li Meilan came to pick up Shen Jintai and check on his outfit. She felt that Shen Jintai was in good spirits and was looking forward to this happy event. Recently, he had been depressed due to filming .
After all, the entire story was relatively somber. In the beginning, he discovered that his boyfriend, who he had been with for over a decade, was cheating on him. As an immersive actor, Shen Jintai carried all his character’s emotions with him when he entered the act.
“Yesterday…” Li Meilan asked in a low voice, “President Yan came?”
“How did you know?” Shen Jintai asked.
Li Meilan said, “Because your face has the look of spring.”
The corner of Shen Jintai’s mouth twitch as he said, “President Ji came yesterday.”
“What was he doing here?”
“He said he came to see me and might have something serious to talk about, but Yan Qiuchi interrupted so he went back.”
“Did the two of them meet?” Li Meilan said, “I heard that they’re rivals. I’m not sure if it’s true or not. In any case they are cordial in public. Didn’t President Ji just have dinner with you yesterday and he came to see you again?”
If it weren’t for the fact that Ji Fengxing never ate side grass*, she would have suspected that he had ulterior motives about Shen Jintai.
*This is referring to the saying rabbits don’t eat grass besides their nest (兔子不吃窝边草). It refers to the fact that bad people do not commit bad acts locally. It also can mean being kind to neighbors and as a reminder to not do bad things on one’s doorsteps (though this does not apply in this context).
When they left the hotel room, they happened to run into Fang Yun and the others who were accompanying Yan Qiuchi out. Li Meilan’s eyes lit up when she saw Yan Qiuchi and greeted him, “President Yan, what a coincidence.”
Shen Jintai pursed his lips when he saw Yan Qiuchi. His image looked haggard, especially in the daytime when there was plenty of light. The fatigue was obvious, and the dark circles under his eyes seemed even heavier.
Yan Qiuchi nodded towards them and bypassed them, heading into the elevator with Shen Jintai. After Yan Qiuchi went in, Xiao Tang was about to follow him when Li Meilan grabbed him and said, “There are so many people that it won’t fit everyone. We’ll just wait for the next one.”
Fang Yun and the others smiled indifferently, and no one entered as they watched the elevator slowly close.
“You didn’t sleep well?” Shen Jintai said.
“Insomnia.”
Shen Jintai felt a bit distressed for him but also found it a little funny. The ambiguity and restlessness were palpable, so he said, “I can’t sleep if I’m held, so it seems like it’s better not to hold me at all.”
“But I can’t sleep without holding you,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Then how can we both not lose sleep? Can he sleep while being held in his arms?
Shen Jintai turned to look at him and smiled.
Yan Qiuchi said, “Let’s have dinner together tonight?”
“I’ll see if I can get off in time from filming.”
“Then I will wait for your call.”
The elevator opened with a “ding”, and they had reached the underground parking lot. Xiao Tang and the others hadn’t arrived yet, so they were waiting for them by the elevator. Shen Jintai now has a certain degree of acuity and felt as if someone was filming him in the parking lot, so he glanced around.
When Xiao Tang and the others came down, Shen Jintai got in the car with them. Li Meilan sat down and asked, “President Yan doesn’t look well. Is he sick?”
“He didn’t sleep well.”
“He’s been trying his best, but it’s okay. He’s still young. I haven’t been able to sleep properly since I gave birth and am exhausted from staying up all night.”
“If you have time to bring your kids over, I will meet them.”
Li Meilan smiled and said, “Wait for the Chinese New Year, just in time to hand out red envelopes.”
When Xiao Tang heard this, he immediately excitedly said, “Brother Jin, Sister Lan said you are going to pay a year-end bonus this year?”
“We are not fighting alone now, but as a team, so we should look like a team,” Shen Jintai said.
Li Meilan: “In my opinion, when the two-year contract expires, we should do it alone. Now that the team has been formed, we can open a studio of our own. Or we can still remain attached to Monsoon Entertainment and maintain a cooperative relationship. In fact, it’s almost the same as what we’re doing now.”
“Let’s talk about it then,” Shen Jintai said.
If he continued to develop according to his current momentum, it didn’t seem to be a problem to start his own studio in the future. He didn’t need resources from a brokerage company. As the boss, he could have final say on everything.
His life was almost complete, so he let out a satisfied laugh in his heart and forgot the agony of being forced to be a 0.
—
Xu Xingchen was 28 years old. Since he was a few years older than his actual age, the makeup had to be done a little rougher and the costume had to be more mature, matching more closely to a business-oriented look. He had a lot of looks in this movie, but they were mainly coats. Xu Xingchen was a migrant worker living in a big city. Due to the nature of his job, the clothes he wore every day were not the same. According to the lines in the movie: “The money you make is either to eat or to wear. Buying a house feels like a matter of the next life.” No matter what kind of dilapidated housing condition he lived in, he always had to look glamorous when he went out.
With Shen Jintai’s well-proportioned frame, he was a natural clothes hanger. With a height of 180 cm, he can wear at least 188 different styles. The well-known designer and art director Zhang Kehan was responsible for the costume design of . Zhang Kehan was particularly fond of Shen Jintai and had several outfits made for him. As an old veteran in the entertainment industry, it was rare for him to meet an actor who could stimulate his enthusiasm for creation.
He was also gay, so he had a natural sense of intimacy with Shen Jintai and felt that his temperament was very unique. It was clear and had a bit of a literary and artistic atmosphere. When he wore a coat, he was good-looking but not refined, rambunctious but not vulgar, neutral but not girlish, and upright but not rigid.
The footage of him waiting for the train at the station was shot back and forth at least five times. Shen Jintai was pulling a suitcase, wearing a dark khaki coat and an ink-blue scarf. The cold wind blew through his hair slightly, and the tip of his nose was red from the chill. When the train was about to enter the station, a whistling sound came from the distance. He turned his head and looked away, showing off his side profile to the camera.
Qiu Hong felt that the only drawback to this scene was that Shen Jintai was too beautiful. His side profile was unique, and his nose was truly one of the best ones he had ever seen. The bridge was smooth and tall, and he stood out in the vast crowd, shining brightly.
In the end, the director asked him to change his clothes, switching into a down jacket, removing his scarf, and asking him to use the hood from the jacket instead of a hat. Even with this casual wear, Shen Jintai was still good-looking. As long as he didn’t deliberately pretend to be old and ugly, he would look great in anything. The producers suggested that since Xu Xingchen and his father had cut ties for many years, for his return to his hometown for the first time in a decade, he needed to dress up like a successful person. What was more, Xu Xingchen’s personality was originally that of a beautiful man.
“Don’t forget that there is still a love story in this movie.”
Xu Xingchen had returned to his hometown and met his first love, whom he hadn’t seen in over a decade. He was the only warm color in this movie.
The sunlight penetrated through Shen Jintai’s hair, and the camera created a very dreamy feeling. Before getting in the car, he finally looked back at the city, then resolutely got in.
The filming went later than expected. It was already dark when he returned to the nanny’s car and sent a message to Yan Qiuchi, telling him not to wait. After he sent the message, he continued filming. It lasted until midnight, and he was so tired he almost fell asleep on the way back.
It was starting to get cold, and the weather forecast said there would be snow for the next two days. This was the first snow of the year. When talk of snow arose, the car became lively. Li Meilan said to Xiao Tang, “The first snow is the season for confession. Does Xiao Tang have any girls he likes?”
Xiao Tang blushed and said, “No, my mother is setting me up on a blind date.”
“There is no need to look down on blind dates. My husband and I met on a blind date,” Li Meilan said. “As long as you get along, you’re more likely to get married from blind dates than falling in love and you’ll still be very happy*.”
*Clarity: She means that the success of blind dates is better than just “falling in love” with someone seemingly randomly and hoping that it will work out.
“Sister Lan must be happy.” Shen Jintai tilted in his seat wearily and said, “I will keep you for two years.”
Li Meilan said, “I have been separated from the eldest and the second for more than a year. They happened to both be born within the two years that you retired from the circle. Thankfully, the timing worked out; Otherwise, with so much work like this, there would be no time to have children.”
Xiao Tang picked up a blanket and covered Shen Jintai with it. “I have been so busy, but I’m living a very fulfilling life now. I’m very happy to see Brother Jin become so popular. After two years of idleness, I almost planned to quit and do something else. My mother found me a job at that time as a manager in a supermarket.”
A person’s fire could lead a group of people to fortune. This was one of Shen Jintai’s motivations. Stars like him spent 360 days with his team. Xiao Tang, Li Meilan, and the others weren’t much different from his actual relatives. He hoped that one day he would be a superstar who could afford to gift his staff cars and houses!
When he got out of the car, Shen Jintai put on his mask and said, “I think someone has been taking pictures of me recently.”
Due to the complexity of the hotel parking lot, it was hard to say if this was the case. Li Meilan and the others surrounded him as they returned to his room. The first thing they did was close all the curtains.
Shen Jintai removed his mask, took off his jacket, and looked at the time. It was in the early morning. Yan Qiuchi had probably gone to bed a long time ago.
“You have no scenes tomorrow, so get a good night’s rest. We’ll pick you up in the afternoon,” Li Meilan said.
“The dresses, shoes, and watches provided by the brand company for the dinner party are all ready, and I have put them in the cloakroom,” Xiao Tang said.
Shen Jintai nodded. He hasn’t participated in a public event for a long time, so he was looking forward to it. It’s been too long since he heard the cheers from his fans. Often, he would forget that he was a traffic idol. After being so used to his popularity online, he would feel that it was unreal. He needed some real popularity to recharge himself.
It’s enough to be a good actor most of the time, but occasionally you have to experience the feeling of being a star. Fame and fortune are always good motivators.
After Li Meilan and the others had left, Shen Jintai took a hot bath. Before going to bed, he opened the curtains and glanced out. It was dark outside, but there was no snow in sight. He climbed into bed and picked up his phone, only to find that there were two missed calls, both made by Yan Qiuchi.
He called him back, and they quickly connected. “I’m outside your door.”
Shen Jintai immediately sat up, his heart pounding. “It’s the middle of the night. If you’re not sleeping, what are you doing outside my door?”
“Open the door first and let me in,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Shen Jintai felt that if he opened the door tonight, it wouldn’t be as simple as just hugging. He was being eaten away slowly, step by step. He was hesitating when he heard Yan Qiuchi’s low, sultry voice that had a hint of pitifulness. “Let me in, okay1?”
Using ‘okay1’ and ‘un1’, did he consider himself some kind of domineering president?!
Well, he was indeed a domineering president. And indeed, he was the ‘okay1’ in Shen Jintai’s heart.
Clarity: In Chinese, they often have interjections. A common one is like ba (吧) which many of you might be familiar with. This interjection that Yan Qiuchi is using is okay (嗯) which can be translated as okay, un, or mm. In this case, Yan Qiuchi is acting sort of like a domineering president by saying, “Let me in, okay?” but in a tone that’s not necessarily a request but more of a statement of affirmation, as in he will let him in.
Shen Jintai got out of bed, went over, and opened the door. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Yan Qiuchi wearing just his pajamas with only a coat on and said, “It’s freezing.”
The author has something to say:
He’s here again, this cunning son of a bitch.
