Love Rival Is Getting Prettier Everyday - Chap 9
Chapter 9: The Ass Reward Has Arrived
Shen Jintai got out of the car bleakly. As soon as he got out, the heat from outside rushed towards him. He fastened his buttons and watched as Yan Qiuchi’s car drove off.
The air conditioner in the car was too cold. It was a normal physiological response to the excitement! It wasn’t what Yan Qiuchi thought!
This misunderstanding was really embarrassing. He wasn’t some prodigal kid who reacted to lust. He was a 1! His “head” wouldn’t rise for another 1!
Mrs. Yan was in the middle of sending off her sisters when she saw Yan Qiuchi’s car coming from the distance. After sending off her sisters, she immediately followed Yan Qiuchi upstairs. “So fast. Did you send him home properly?”
Yan Qiuchi said “Nn” and continued to walk to his room.
Mrs. Yan said, “Wait a minute. I have something to tell you.”
They both went to the study.
Mrs. Yan: “I heard that you invested in the TV series that Xiao Jin is participating in?”
“This is one of our company’s main film and television projects this year,” Yan Qiuchi said. “I know what you are going to say. I have always kept public and private issues separate. The casting is the responsibility of the producer and the director. I will not interfere. Don’t worry.”
“That’s good,” Mrs. Yan said solemnly. “Xiao Jin has a lot of issues at home right now, so he can’t help it. It’s also pitiful that he’s trying to make a comeback. He hates acting the most, yet now in order to make a living, he has to do what he doesn’t like. Even if you don’t like him, don’t embarrass him. In any case, you both grew up together. Now that he’s experiencing difficulties, we must try to help him.”
Yan Qiuchi only responded with an, “Nn”.
The mother-son pair have always been relatively distant. Usually, they had nothing to talk about when they were together. It was strange that they were biologically related as their relationship was even worse than that of strangers.
Since it was her birthday today, it was rare for her son to be so filial to her. She went on to ask, “You are not young anymore. Why haven’t you fallen in love? I heard that you like an artist in your company named Bai Qingquan. Is this true?”
Unexpectedly, Yan Qiuchi said directly, “You shouldn’t listen to Shen Jintai’s words. Don’t take them seriously.”
Mrs. Yan was a little unhappy in her heart. For Shen Jintai’s sake, she barely squeezed out a smile and said, “Look at me. In the blink of an eye, I’m already fifty. Time flies by so fast. It only seems like yesterday that I was a young woman and you were still a little baby who had just started preschool… Speaking of this, I remember when your Aunt Lin was pregnant with Jintai. The two of us discussed that if she gave birth to a girl, she would become my daughter-in-law in the future. In ancient times, this would have been an arranged marriage.”
Yan Qiuchi said, “Mom, if you have nothing else to say, I’m going to change my clothes. Dad and the others are still waiting for me.”
Mrs. narrowed her smile and gave Yan Qiuchi a hard pat on the shoulder, which caused her to hurt her hand. “Have you grown taller recently?” She frowned.
Yan Qiuchi: “Mom, I’m twenty-five.”
“Oh…” Mrs. Yan smiled wryly. “Time really flies.”
—
Shen Jintai felt indescribably embarrassed and returned home with a blushing face.
Just as he was about to enter the house, Lin Xu, who was next door sitting on the balcony, called out, “Sister!”
What god damn* sister.
*Big-headed ghost (姐你个大头鬼啊) It’s basically cursing/swearing and, depending on which dialect, could refer to an unlucky person or thing or a rich person.
“Call me brother,” he shouted to Lin Xu.
After entering his villa, Shen Jintai went to take a shower. After finishing, he suddenly remembered about his reward. He quickly wiped the mist from the mirror and turned around to look.
Fucking hell.
He was startled when he first saw his ass. He didn’t know what he was looking at.
So white. So voluptuous. He wanted to grab it as soon as he saw it.
Hold up!
This ass was superb! It looked very… satisfying!
Shen Jintai: “Hello, Xiao Ai!”
With a ding dong, Xiao Ai came online. “Dear, are you satisfied with our first level reward?”
Shen Jintai: “Why does this ass look so good?! I’m a 1. Let me emphasize that again. I’m a 1!”
Xiao Ai “Perhaps you’re too pure. Our rewards are based on the understanding of the population. This is their preference.”
Shen Jintai was silent for half a second. It was fine. It didn’t matter. He could always strengthen his gluts by doing gluteal exercises and become a sexy, handsome guy with strong hips.
Shen Jintai: “My next reward level is to become more beautiful, right?”
Xiao Ai: “Yes.”
“Can I know what it is in advance?” Shen Jintai explained, “It’ll make me more motivated to start the task.”
Xiao Ai: “Where do you think your current face needs the most change?”
Shen Jintai carefully examined his face in the mirror. Because he was not familiar enough with his current face, he evaluated it objectively. “Lips.”
His lip color looked very bleak, giving his lips a bad look.
Xiao Ai: “It seems that we have a spiritual connection. A nice rosy lip color will brighten your whole complexion. If you successfully accumulate ten points, you will be rewarded with glowing red lips. The color will be fresh and clean, as if you were born with a beauty filter. People would want to kiss those lips when they look at them.”
He had mixed feelings towards these rewards that were shaping him in the direction of beauty.
“Dear, you shouldn’t think that way,” Xiao Ai said. “As a veteran actor in the entertainment industry, you must admit that exquisite and handsome male actors have a wider range of roles compared to rough and burly male actors. Moreso, they’ll look much more pleasant in close-up shots.”
That’s true. The most impactful performance on the screen comes from the acting skills of a beauty. He wanted to be beautiful!
Xiao Ai: “You have to trust our system. We will mold you into an extraordinarily beautiful man, suitable for all ages. You’ll be able to entice men and women everywhere. This is not only about successfully completing your but also about but your path to your dreams of stardom! So, brother, charge forward!”
This “brother” was triumphantly placated.
Lin Xu: “Sister!”
There was a crisp shout from outside, causing him to return to reality.
As Xiao Ai went offline, Shen Jintai wrapped a bathrobe around himself and came out, seeing Lin Xu standing in his living room.
Shen Jintai: “How did you get in!”
“I know the password to your house.” Lin Xu walked towards him while eating a plate of fruit. “How was the Yan family banquet? Was it very grand? Who was there? I heard that the mayor was present.”
“I don’t know.” Shen Jintai took a bottle of water out of the fridge, leaned against the refrigerator door with one leg propped up, raised his head and gulped down almost the entire bottle.
Lin Xu sat on the sofa and tilted her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to reach the upper echelon circle like the Yan family.”
While she was considered a rich second-generation who had no shortage of brand-name bags, villas, and sports cars, she was nowhere close to the Yan’s inner circle of high society.
One mountain was higher than another mountain*, and her family was only halfway up the mountain.
*Idiom meaning there’s always somebody who’s better than you.
Shen Jintai picked up a thin blanket from the sofa and threw it over. “Wrap yourself up.”
Lin Xu said, “You are crazy to ask me to cover myself with a blanket on a hot day.”
“I’m asking you to cover your chest. Did you not look at yourself when you went out?” Shen Jintai was speechless.
Lin Xu glanced down, and smiled as she raised her chest. “How about it? Is it a little bigger than before? I met a trainer abroad and followed her for more than half a month doing breast enhancement exercises. Guess what size cup I’m now.”
They were girlfriends, so they would always chat like this!
Shen Jintai was a little embarrassed and pretended to be impatient and said, “I’m not interested in women’s cup sizes.”
“I’m not covering up. It’s too hot. Give me a T-shirt or something.” She followed Shen Jintai towards the bedroom. As soon as she entered, she saw the suit jacket and thong hanging on the wall.
The style and color of the suit jacket did not match Shen Jintai’s taste.
Shen Jintai rarely wore suits, and if he did, they would be ostentatious with all kinds of bells and whistles. Alternatively, the thong by the suit jacket was very much Shen Jintai.
Lin Xu: “Whose clothes are these?”
Shen Jintai: “Yan Qiuchi’s.”
Lin Xu showed a look of disbelief. “Fuck…”
Shen Jintai took out a shirt from the closet. “Why are you cursing?”
“Why do you have Yan Qiuchi’s clothes?” Lin Xu asked with a pause. “You said you’ve given up on him yet you’re hanging these clothing on the wall as if they were treasures. His suit jacket wrapped around your underwear. Sister, do you know how profound the implication is?”
Was it too late for him to say the suit jacket belonged to someone else? He’d only have himself to blame for being too honest.
“Did you steal it?” Lin Xu asked again.
Shen Jintai: “This brother got it fair and square. These were the clothes he and I wore when I climbed into his bed and was kicked out. I hung it on the wall as a reminder to never forget the shame of my past disgrace.”
“I hope you can really remember it for a long time. Yan Qiuchi is not someone who will belong to you. You will die early and be born early*.” Lin Xu opened his closet and put on a shirt. “Why are you staring at me? Aren’t you changing?”
*你早死心，早超生) In Buddhism refers to the rebirth of the soul after death. This term is generally used as a superstition or generous treatment of death (a positive view on death). In this case, the death of Shen Jintai’s love for Yan Qiuchi.
Shen Jintai: “How could I change when you’re still here?”
Lin Xu: “We’re all sisters here. You weren’t embarrassed like this during Quan Luo’s party last time.”
Shen Jintai: …
“I find that you have changed a lot in the past few days.” Lin Xu leaned over to look at his face. “Is it because of your lovelornness? Sometimes when I talk to you, it feels like I’m facing a stranger.”
Shen Jintai: …
He untied his bathrobe and started to change clothes, but he was still a little embarrassed, so he turned his back to Lin Xu. It seems he needed to familiarize himself with having girlfriends.
When he was about to put on his pants, he heard Lin Xu screaming behind him. “Fuck!”
Shen Jintai was taken aback, quickly put on his pants, turned to look over, and saw Lin Xu staring at his lower half.
“Damn.” Lin Xu was surprised. “Your ass…”
Shen Jintai was embarrassed, and quickly put on a T-shirt. “What?”
Lin Xu: “I wasn’t paying attention before, but your ass is so fine. Shit! My phantom limb is rising*.”
*Clarity: Yes, it’s what you’re thinking. She’s inferring that her dick (if she had one) is getting hard.
Shen Jintai: “…”
“Don’t move, I want to look at it again.” As Lin Xu said this, she hugged his waist and reached out to touch it.
Shen Jintai quickly avoided her. “It’s always been like this! I was born with this ass!”
Lin Xu’s heart was still beating wildly. “You’re very thin, so did all the meat go straight to your ass? I just want to pinch it when I look at it. Is Yan Qiuchi impotent? How could he be so indifferent. Even I can’t hold myself back when I look at it. Me, a woman, am struggling with self-restraint!”
“You still remember you’re a woman, ah? In the future can you behave more ladylike.”
Lin Xu cackled. Her eyes fixated on his ass the entire time. Shen Jintai picked up the script and sat down on the bed.
Lin Xu leaned over and asked, “Is this the script for your new drama?”
Shen Jintai nodded. “You can go back if you have nothing to do. I’m going to start reading the script. Next Monday, there’s going to be a script read-through, so I need to read it a few times before that.”
Lin Xu: “I have nothing to do, so give me one to read.”
Shin Jintai: “Okay, you can look but don’t leak anything.”
“Of course. I know all the rules. Otherwise, how can I be friends with big stars.” Lin Xu took one as she sat down next to him and started reading it.
Lin Xu was reading the second volume that had the palace fight scene. This scene was considered one of the climaxes. The female lead was smart and bright, so it felt refreshing to read such a story. “This show is going to be hot. The fight scenes are so fierce. Who do you play?”
Shin Jintai: “Li Xu.”
“For real?” Lin Xu looked up. “The eunuch?”
“How is my scene?” Shen Jintai asked.
“He’s very lousy and despicable,” Lin Xu said. “He’s hiding behind the heroine. Does he like the crown prince?”
Shen Jintai: “He likes the exiled prince.”
Lin Xu: “The exile prince? I didn’t see it.”
Shen Jintai: “It’s in my script.”
Lin Xu sat up, turned on the bedside lamp, and then looked out the window. “Looks like it’s about to rain. My clothes are still drying outside.”
The sky outside darkened, and black clouds rolled over the city.
Lin Xu hurriedly went back to collect her clothes. As she left, the rain started to fall.
Shen Jintai continued to read his script, and the more he read it, the more he felt that the drama was not unreasonable.
The script was solid, and the second male lead was also very impressive.
The beautiful little eunuch he was going to play, named Li Xu, was sent to the palace at the age of five. Within a few years, he became the companion of the second prince, Zhou Jing. He had a deep relationship with Zhou Jing. In order to help Zhou Jing ascend the throne, he used his beauty to seduce the crown prince, Zhou Ying, who was a cut-sleeve, though his allegiance always remained true to Zhou Jing.
The scheming and beautiful little eunuch, the innocent and pure-hearted crown prince; this CP wouldn’t be inferior to the male and female leads.
Shen Jintai was sitting by the bay window. Outside was a small garden. Roses in the garden covered the wall. Their various petals were wetted by the rain, and their branches drooped dripping with water. He was so immersed in the atmosphere of the script that he stretched out his hand to push the window open, causing rain to splash in. He leaned against the wall and raised his head.
He envisioned in his mind Li Xu, the little eunuch, secretly going to see the exiled crown prince, who was claustrophobic on a rainy autumn evening.
The prince was imprisoned in solitary confinement and had long lost his former glory. The door of the palace was deserted and covered with lush flowers and plants. The palace wall was enclosed with roses. Li Xu lowered his head through the paper window, wiped away tears with his thin white fingers, got up and left, leaving behind only a snow-white double mandarin duck* jade pendant.
*In Chinese culture, mandarin ducks are believed to be lifelong couples, unlike other species of ducks. Hence, they are regarded as a symbol of conjugal affection and fidelity and are frequently featured in Chinese art.
The script had a flashback showing a scene where Li Xu, an eunuch in charge of the lights, was holding onto a lamp when he met the crowned prince for the first time. His delicate and handsome face emerged from the darkness, and when he raised his head, the yellow light shone on his eyebrows, making Prince Zhou Ying fall in love at first sight.
Shen Jintai sighed. His eyes were a little moist. Good actors were sentimental and empathetic. His friends used to say that he was born to be an actor. He was full of emotions. He could cry when he watched videos on TikTok. He had a compassionate and soft heart.
A good script is the same as a good novel. When you read it, it was difficult to get out of the immersion.
When he encountered a good character, it always made his heart feel a little itchy. He wanted to share it with the entire world. After some thought, Shen Jintai leaned his body outside to pick the roses hanging by the window. The roses were covered with water and their branches were thorny. He was about to break one off when he had an idea. He pressed the branch with his palm, took out his phone, and took a selfie.
Shen Jintai’s hair and shoulders were wet, his smile was brilliant, and dripping on his head was the rainwater from a rose. He had superb photography skills, so the picture turned out dazzling. His artistic ability was truly compelling.
Then he posted it on Weibo. He was now open for business.
