Love Rival Is Getting Prettier Everyday - Chap 19
Chapter 19: Fan Wars
Shen Jintai raised his eyebrows and grinned. He brought his lunch box closer. “I haven’t seen you eat. Would you like some?”
Since becoming a star, Bai Qingquan had rarely eaten enough. He knew that now that the new drama was about to start filming, he was already on a diet in order to look good on camera and maintain his good figure and muscle lines.
The food provided by the crew was particularly good: braised pork balls in brown sauce, sweet and sour ribs, hot and sour soup, and his favorite fried lotus roots.
Bai Qingquan swallowed back his saliva and said with a smile, “I’m not very hungry. You can eat. Don’t worry about me.” Let him eat, eat, eat until his face gets fat! Then, in the future, when the drama starts shooting, he’ll be even more overwhelmed by him!
Ho, ho, ho!
Shen Jintai took the chopsticks and said, “I’m starving.”
Bai Qingquan watched him eat and asked tentatively, “I overheard your agent call about borrowing clothes. I can help if you want?”
Bai Qingquan’s voice was like a clear spring, calm and moving, coupled with a face that was loved by both the young and the old. How could anyone not think that he wasn’t a little fairy?
Shen Jintai was puzzled.
In the original novel of , not much was written about Bai Qingquan’s hatred for him. Despite suffering difficulties from Shen Jintai, Bai Qingquan still repaid his grievances with virtue. He never said anything bad about Shen Jintai. It was only his fans, like “Black Moonlight” who were instigating things. None of it involves Bai Yueguang since he was oblivious to it. He was just kind and pure, like the heroines of Qiong Yao’s dramas*!
*Reference to a series of books/plays by writer Qiong Yao. They are usually romance dramas, styled gracefully, and are timeless. I read the summary of a few of his works, and basically the female lead is usually portrayed as kind and pure-hearted.
But not long ago, Xiao Ai told him that Bai Qingquan’s dislike for him was extremely high. His favorability was in the negatives! Looking at the grinning face in front of him, he suspected that there must be a bug in the system.
Having said that, even if Bai Qingquan really hated him, with his good character, he still maintained polite social etiquette, which showed that he was a cultured person.
Such a genteel little fairy!
Shen Jintai smiled and said, “Thank you, I don’t need it yet. Are your clothes ready?”
When he heard what Shen Jintai asked him, Bai Qingquan couldn’t help but feel a bit haughty. He tried to not to boast too proudly as he said, “Burberry has prepared it for me.” Bai Qingquan couldn’t help but feel satisfied as he said it, since this was the endorsement that he snatched from Shen Jintai.
He took a sip of the lemonade from his thermos and said, “If you need something to wear, I can talk to them. I have a good relationship with them. If I asked them personally, they would let me borrow it.”
Before Shen Jintai had a chance to answer, he heard Wei Ge shouting from outside, “Qingquan, come here.”
Bai Qingquan looked back, and Wei Ge was motioning for him to come over.
“You continue to eat. I’ll go first.” Bai Qingquan smiled, got up and went over to Wei Ge’s side.
“What’s the matter?”
Wei Ge led him to a private spot where no one was around. “A big fan of Shen Jintai is our Black Moonlight. Shen Jintai somehow caught them.”
Bai Qingquan’s heart tightened, his expression became weak, pretended to be oblivious, and reacted wide-eyed. “Really?”
Wei Ge didn’t suspect anything. “Shen Jintai’s assistant, that Xiao Tang, blew this up in his group chat. It caught the attention of some marketing accounts and almost made it to the top of the hot search. I had to spend money to suppress it.”
Bai Qingquan’s heart thumped. “How did they find out?”
Wei Ge said, “Not sure. I’m also very puzzled. Let alone an outsider, I didn’t even know the inside story. I usually monitor Black Moonlight. She was your top black powder. She trashes you every day, yet even a disguise like that could be discovered! Could it be she rebelled? I tried contacting her but didn’t get a reply.”
Bai Qingquan’s face flushed.
“You mobilize a few of our people and infiltrate Shen Jintai’s group and ask about it,” Bai Qingquan said. “See if they can figure out how Black Moonlight was discovered.”
“No need to say, they’re already on it.”
Black Moonlight was one of the few key members of the Moonlight Powder Group. She wasn’t the only undercover agent in Shen Jintai’s fan base. Knowing what happened to her, the moonlight powder had notified each other and already sprang into action.
Meanwhile, the “Gold Powder Family” group was in disarray. Their most solid gold powder, “Black Moonlight” turned out to be a pipi black. This not only shocked them but made them so furious they could explode from anger.
Disregarding the fact that the behavior of spies, just the thought of the years when they had fought side by side made them feel humiliated, idiotic, and angry. They had all been played.
—
“Does anyone know Black Moonlight’s personal information???? This old lady is so angry! I really want to beat her!”
“Her registration information turned out to be fake, and she disappeared without a trace a long time ago!”
“I have suspected her for a long time. We have a few old fans from the Gold Powder Family and have all met each other in person. Only Black Moonlight would always make an excuse to not join our meetups, so I have never seen her in reality!”
“But usually, she pays the most during our fundraisers. Such an outstanding gold powder, who would doubt her!”
“Yes, I remember that when Brother Jin first appeared in a magazine. She alone bought 500 copies! Because of that, she became well-known and rose to the top as an admin for our group.”
“It seems that this scheming bitch is very rich!”
“I just sneaked into Bai Qingquan’s fan base and took a look, hehehe. They actually said that we were hyping. Fuck her mom*!”
*[Chao ta ma] (炒她妈) Basically, cursing them.
“…That’s not good. If we lurk in the other side’s group, aren’t we just the same as Black Moonlight…”
“So only moonlight powder are allowed to be spies?! How will we be able to fight back!”
“That’s right!”
“Yes! We are lurking for justice! It’s not comparable at all to Black Moonlight!”
“Treat one’s own body in the way of a person*! Don’t believe me? Look up to see who the sky has spared.”
*Idiom which means using other people’s own principles and methods to cultivate oneself. (AKA an eye for an eye.)
The Gold Powder Family, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly became lively, with hundreds of speakers.
Shen Jintai kicked out Black Moonlight, mainly to rebuild his fan base. He knew that if he wanted traffic, the management of the fan group had to be stricter. Black Moonlight was a traitor who had committed crimes in the name of love and could not remain in the group.
However, Shen Jintai didn’t expect this incident to become such a big deal.
Ironically, it wasn’t his fans who were making the most ruckus. After all the gold powders were scattered, they couldn’t make any waves. It was mainly Bai Qingquan’s moonlight powder that set off the big storm.
Xiao Tang felt emotional because of Black Moonlight’s deception and was so angry that he told the remaining key members of the gold powder group. The key members, who were more closely connected to Black Moonlight, felt betrayed. In retaliation, they scolded Bai Yueguang, and eventually the matter got to the moonlight powder group.
Moonlight powders were easily provoked. They could tear the invincible hands all over the world1. They wouldn’t be afraid of an idol’s shrimp soldiers and crab generals2 especially those of Shen Jintai’s. They wanted to tear them to make them kneel and beg for mercy. Don’t blame them for protecting their little fairy.
1Refers to being so strong that they have no opponents.
2Metaphor referring to useless ineffective troops. The term originates from the shrimp and crab soldiers under the Sea Dragon King in myths and legends. They are generally portrayed as inept.
The heat that was just suppressed by Wei Ge was rising again due to the moonlight powder. Bai Qingquan was horrified when he saw it. Fuck. He had to spend money to suppress this heat, yet his moonlight powder kept making it hotter. At the rate this rhythm was going, it was going to end up on the hot search.
Sisters, are you loving me or hurting me!
He hurriedly asked his assistant to contact the president of the official support association.
“Comrades,” said Bai Qingquan to the chairman of the official support club. “A certain someone is expected to make a comeback and needs the hype, so the dog skin ointment is particularly sticky*. Be wary and don’t respond. Don’t scold him! It’ll be tantamount to falling into his trap!”
*Clarity: He’s saying Shen Jintai’s plan for his comeback is to stick closely to Bai Qingquan so the heat will rub off him and give him more hype. His fans are helping in that sense because they keep talking about him (even if it’s negative opinions, there’s no such thing as bad publicity).
When the fans heard this, they came back to their senses.
God damn, Shen Jintai and his gold powders had such a convoluted plan that they almost fell for it!
“I can’t believe I actually suggested we go undercover to their group. I feel like vomiting! Gold powders are completely shameless. It would be impossible for a normal-minded moonlight powder to go to their group and blow rainbow farts. It’ll be completely obvious that they’re a mole!”
“Everyone knows that bitch, Black Moonlight, blackens our brother every day. How could she actually be a moonlight powder? It’s evident that it’s just gold powder pretending!”
“Yes, they wanted heat, so we won’t give it to them!”
“Our brother is about to enter the filming crew soon. We can’t let this affect him!”
“Okay! Ignore! Just ignore!”
Moonlight powders were organized and disciplined. When they wanted to tear something apart1, like a flood, like a beast2. However, with a single order, they would immediately withdraw, and their flames of war would die down.
1Clarity: I’ve been using tear a lot, so I just want to provide clarity on the word. In this context, Tear = ripped someone up verbally. AKA curse/badmouthed
2(如洪水猛兽) Metaphor for like a great evil/scourge.
Finally, with things resolved, Bai Qingquan was able to settle down. Fuck. His heart had been in his throat all day and he was now exhausted.
On the other side, Li Meilan and Xiao Tang witnessed the whole battle. The initiative was in their hands. They could easily provoke the moonlight powder if they wanted. It was currently the press conference would be held soon, and they suffered a serious loss in their gold powders, so they would be no match against the current moonlight powders. Li Meilan felt that it was best to be at peace with them.
Looking at today’s entertainment industry, no one would dare tear at the moonlight powders.
“Don’t tear with Bai Qingquan’s fans in the future,” she persuaded Shen Jintai bitterly. “You’ve been on break for the past two years, while Bai Qingquan only gained more fans. His fans are now killing ghosts when they meet ghosts and killing gods when they meet gods*. We can no longer afford to provoke them. Your reputation is already tarnished, and if you are chastised by them again, you may find it difficult to work in the entertainment industry in the future.”
*(遇鬼杀鬼，遇神杀神) Indiscriminately eliminate no matter who. Another way to say that they are unstoppable.
Shen Jintai also didn’t want the two fan groups to be in the same situation again. However, looking at the moonlight powder’s attitude towards him, it was unlikely they would accept him in the future.
If he wants to attack* Bai Qingquan, he must first appease his fans.
*Clarity: In this sense, it’s for his system tasks (to make Bai Qingquan like him). Remember, he’s pursuing Bai Qingquan because he likes him.
“I have a very good relationship with Qingquan now,” Shen Jintai said. “I am not who I used to be, and his fans will realize it sooner or later.”
Li Meilan nodded. “Your strategy is right.” Even she felt that Shen Jintai had been much kinder to Bai Qingquan lately. The young master had learned to become smarter.
“But I feel like you will be torn by them sooner or later,” Xiao Tang said while holding his cheeks. “How are they going to react when they find out Brother Jin is going to be in the same drama as Bai Qingquan?”
Both Li Meilan and Shen Jintai fell into contemplation. What would the reaction be? Maybe he would be scolded to death that he would end up on the hot search.
“I’ll turn off the phone when the time comes,” he said solemnly to Li Meilan.
Li Meilan patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine when you rise up again. Recalling the beginning…” The gold powders was like the heavens in the sky.
Work hard, and maybe one day, the gold powder dynasty will reemerge.
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Dad believes there will be this day.
