Love Rival Is Getting Prettier Everyday - Chap 142
Chapter 142: Sweetheart’s Confession
Bai Qingquan had been in a daze all day. If it was only the video, he could still hold on. However, his alt account got exposed, and now he felt he couldn’t even face Wei Ge. The things he had posted on his alt were far more thorough than the things he had told Wei Ge and others in private. The entire network had now seen his vulgar side, and he was too ashamed to show his face to anyone again.
“Qingquan.” Wei Ge knocked on his door. “Open the door and have something to eat.”
Bai Qingquan lay on the bed with red eyes as he covered his head with a pillow. It would be even more shameful if he ate and drank like a normal person now.
Time passed, and eventually the outside darkened. He moved his chair and sat in front of the window, looking at the Yangtze River. The rooms in the hotel he was staying at all had a view of the river. When he looked around, the woods by the river were white, as if shrouded in a dark twilight.
Thinking about his situation, he couldn’t blame it on others. He was too careless and thought no one would suspect him and be able to pick out his alt, so he got bolder and started to post without hesitation.
He will never use an alt again.
The sound of knocking was heard from outside. Bai Qingquan turned his head and said in a slightly hoarse voice, “I want to sleep. Don’t disturb me. I don’t want to eat.”
“It’s me,” Shen Jintai said.
Bai Qingquan was taken aback for a moment, and his face suddenly turned red. He had exposed some of his indecent side in front of Shen Jintai, but he thought it was fine since they were sisters.
When he opened the door, a group of people, including Wei Ge, looked at him with worried expressions on their faces.
Shen Jintai felt distressed upon seeing Bai Qingquan’s state. After only a day, Bai Qingquan looked haggard; his eyes were swollen, showing obvious signs that he’d been crying all day.
“I’ll go in and talk to Xiao Bai,” Shen Jintai said. After speaking, he went in and closed the door. Wei Ge knocked on it again, bringing a plate of fruit and handing it to Shen Jintai. He took it, closed the door again, and put the plate of fruit on the table.
Bai Qingquan laid directly on the bed, pretending to be dead. Shen Jintai took off his coat, put it on a chair, and sat down by the bed, patting Bai Qingquan’s leg.
Tears welled into Bai Qingquan’s eyes as he laid on the bed and looked at him. “I’m finished.”
“Things have already happened, so don’t think too much about it. I heard from Wei Ge that you haven’t eaten for a day?”
“How can I still eat?”
“Look at me and my previous reputation. When I’m mentioned, there are always bad comments online, saying I’m cheap, overturned, and have no brains. There were even GIFs of ghost animals circulating all over. Even a random taxi driver knew me and how I chased a man until my whole family went bankrupt. But the fact of the matter is, whether it’s relatives or friends, people from the crew, people you meet when you participate in events, or people in the circle, no one will talk about this to you in person. As long as you don’t go online and search for it, you won’t see or hear it.”
Bai Qingquan said, “That’s just covering one’s ears and stealing a bell*. They’ll still laugh at me in their hearts.”
*(掩耳盗铃) Idiom referring to deceiving yourself by trying to cover up things that can’t be covered up.
“But I believe that now when they see me, none of them are laughing.”
Bai Qingquan sat up when he heard the words. “I have seen President Yan’s confession. You don’t need to do this. Besides, you can’t help me much.”
“We also hurt you, since you took the bullet for us.”
“Maybe for the video, but I can’t blame others for the alt account.” Bai Qingquan said, “Now I have hundreds of thousands fewer fans.”
Although he had tens of millions of fans, only a few million were active. Hundreds of thousands had taken off in less than a half-day, and he didn’t dare to think about what was to come later.
“I want to tell you that as actors, our work and acting skills are the most important. As long as we are strong, don’t break the law, and don’t have serious moral issues, there’s nothing to be afraid of. If we collapse this year, we might rise again next year. You’ve been in this industry for so long. Shouldn’t you understand the love and hate of fans? We can’t be traffic idols forever, and these fans will leave us sooner or later.”
Bai Qingquan burst into tears and buried his head in the pillow.
Shen Jintai said softly, “I know these words may sound harsh, but you should know how much they resonate with me. Look at how popular and hot I am now.”
“Are you trying to piss me off?”
Shen Jintai smiled and said, “I’m telling you, look at me. It used to be so difficult. I’ve lost countless fans, but now the numbers are rejuvenating. You have to hang on. You’re only in your twenties. The golden age for male actors is the thirties and forties. There are still a lot more opportunities for you to turn things around. How do you know that you won’t be more popular than me in the future?”
“But I feel so ashamed. I really let myself go. Haven’t you seen it?”
Shen Jintai said, “I haven’t had time to read it yet. What did you say on your alt?” As he said this, he took out his phone, wanting to search for it.
Bai Qingquan immediately sat up; his face embarrassed. “Don’t look, don’t look!”
Shen Jintai put away his phone and said, “Actually, think about it from a different perspective. Now that everyone knows you like men, maybe a handsome guy will chase you in the future.”
“You’re still making jokes now?!”
“Alright, alright. I won’t say anymore. Just eat something.” Shen Jintai got up and bringing the plate of fruit over. He ate a piece of cantaloupe and continued, “As soon as I entered your room, I saw Wei Ge and the others in panic. They were afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“That’s not enough,” Bai Qingquan said as he brought the plate of fruit closer to him. “I’m starving to death.”
“Weren’t you embarrassed to eat?” Shen Jintai asked with a smile.
Bai Qingquan replied with bloodshot eyes, “Making a fool of myself by eating and drinking at a time like this, Wei Ge and the others will all laugh at me.”
“They are all anxious for you to eat. Why would they want to laugh at you? When this kind of thing happens, they must be in even more distress than you. Besides, they’ve been with you all day and night. Who you really are, how could there still be any uncertainty?”
Bai Qingquan sat on the bed and started eating. Halfway through, he started crying again. The scene was so wretched as he ate pitifully while tears streamed down his face. Seeing this, Shen Jintai felt sad.
Deep down, he knew this incident had caused Bai Qingquan a lot of damage, and it had only just begun. He didn’t know how long it would take Bai Qingquan to get back on his feet after this setback. Perhaps a year or two, or maybe he would never be able to recover.
After all, this was the entertainment industry. The ridicule from thousands of people happened infinitely, sometimes even within an instant.
“What are you doing?” Bai Qingquan looked up at him. “You’re crying so ugly.”
Shen Jintai smiled, teary-eyed, and said, “Hey, it will all pass. I will always support you.”
“When you go back, tell Siqi. I think he also made a lot of calls,” Bai Qingquan said. “I just need time to take a good rest and tell him not to worry.”
Shen Jintai stood up and said, “You’d better see Wei Ge and the others. There’s probably a lot of things for you to discuss. You have to cheer up quickly. Don’t drag this out and cut through the mess quickly. I won’t bother you, so have a good chat with them. Also, you should hand over your phone and stop surfing online at least in the next month or so.”
Shen Jintai left the room. He chatted with Wei Ge and the others for a bit before leaving the hotel. When he got to his car, he laid down silently.
Li Meilan was perplexed, as she didn’t know why he was so sad. Has his relationship with Bai Qingquan reached this point? She was too scared to ask and didn’t dare speak.
Shen Jintai thought that no one could understand his current mood right now.
When he returned to the hotel, he went directly to Yan Qiuchi’s room. After knocking on the door for a long time, no one answered. He called Yan Qiuchi and learned that he was going home tonight.
“I haven’t been home for a few days, so your Auntie Fang is worried about me. Seeing such a big battle today, she kept deadly serial calling me.”
As soon as Yan Qiuchi’s voice fell, he heard Mrs. Yan shout, “Don’t worry, I’ll send him back later!”
Shen Jintai smiled and said, “Then you guys talk first, and I’ll hang up.”
“Have you eaten yet?” Yan Qiuchi asked.
“Not yet. I’ll eat it later.”
Yan Qiuchi didn’t hang up the phone, but instead walked outside the courtyard. Shen Jintai vaguely heard the sound of wind and the slushing sound of his feet stepping on snow, so he asked, “Why did you go outside?”
“Wanted to ask you something.”
Shen Jintai laughed. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re looking for me. What’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing,” Shen Jintai said. “I thought I should see you when I came back.”
“Miss me?” Yan Qiuchi smiled after speaking.
Shen Jintai gave a “Nn”.
Yan Qiuchi was startled, almost thinking that he had heard it wrong.
“What time will you be back?”
“I will go back now.” Yan Qiuchi was excited. “Don’t eat. Wait for me to come back and let’s eat together.”
“Shouldn’t you eat at home?”
Yan Qiuchi said, “If I tell your Auntie Fang, she will offer to drive me back herself.”
Shen Jintai laughed as he lay down on the sofa. “Be careful on the road.”
Yan Qiuchi was shocked by his sudden gentle tone. This sense of flattery felt unreal. He nodded and said, “I know. What do you want to eat? I’ll bring it on my way back.”
Shen Jintai thought for a while and said, “Let’s have three portions of chicken and one portion of abalone porridge. It’s sold at the Sunshine Restaurant next to the hotel.”
“Ok.” After Yan Qiuchi hung up the phone, he went back inside. Mrs. Yan smiled and said, “Has it now reached the point where you can’t take your calls in front of others?”
“It’s early. I’m not eating at home anymore. Going back to eat,” Yan Qiuchi said as he picked up his coat and left.
Mrs. Yan said to the maid, “Look at how proud he’s acting.” Still, she was incredibly happy. The confession he made today was quite romantic. She saw that the gold powders’ acceptance of him had reached an all-time high, which meant the biggest obstacle had basically been eliminated.
Xiao Tang had bought food and came back. As soon as he entered the door, he heard Shen Jintai say, “You can eat by yourself. I’m not eating yet.”
Li Meilan asked, “What’s wrong? No appetite?”
Shen Jintai licked his lips and said, “That… Yan Qiuchi said to wait for him so we can eat together.”
Li Meilan: “Tsk, you could have told us earlier, so we would’ve ordered less.”
“It’s okay. I can eat two bowls,” Xiao Tang said.
“Let’s go. We’re going to stop eating here since someone doesn’t need us to accompany them anymore.” Li Meilan joked as she picked up her scarf and jacket.
After they left, Shen Jintai took a shower before Yan Qiuchi came back with the food.
“The snow stopped, but it got colder outside,” Yan Qiuchi said as he took off his coat and set the food down.
“You bought so much.”
Yan Qiuchi bought all the signature dishes at the restaurant. “I haven’t eaten the dishes of this restaurant yet, so I wanted to try everything.”
This was the first time the two of them had eaten together alone. Seeing that it was just the two of them, Yan Qiuchi’s mood instantly increased. He was happy to have a meal with the person that he likes. It was also because Shen Jintai was treating him so well today that he was full of joy.
As he ate, he kept peeking at Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai’s freshly blown hair gave him a particularly soft and fluffy appearance after he had taken a shower. His white plaid pajamas were loose on him, giving him a very thin look.
“You’re going to sleep in your own room today,” Shen Jintai said.
Yan Qiuchi replied with an “Nn”. Shen Jintai was close to his reach now. At this critical time, whatever Shen Jintai said, he would naturally obey. There was already enough joy in his heart. What need was there for the desire of his body?! He could bear it!
“Then I’ll go.” After they finished eating, he packed up the leftovers and started to head out. “You rest early.”
Shen Jintai nodded. When Yan Qiuchi had almost left, Shen Jintai called out, “Yan Qiuchi.”
Yan Qiuchi turned around and saw Shen Jintai holding the door with his hand. His face was so abnormally flushed that he wasn’t sure if he was seeing things. “Hmm?”
Shen Jintai pretended to be calm as he asked, “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”
The author has something to say:
No, I want to be your husband.
