Since the end of The East Palace, gold powders have felt as if they were becoming schizophrenic. On one hand, they were immersed in Li Xu’s sadness. On the other, watching Shen Jintai sweep the nation made them very excited.
“Everyone must continue to call for your brother, and let the judges hear the voices of the masses!”
“My brother has always been a hot candidate. As soon as the official blog post came out two days ago, his popularity went up again. It was simply building momentum for my brother!”
“The emperor* must not run away this time!”
*Clarity: Referring to the winner of the golden bell award. They are usually referred to as “emperor”. || In this context, they’re saying that he will not lose the award for best actor.
“I think it’s better for everyone to keep a low profile. My brother has a good chance of winning the award. But remember He Zhuchun, who was supposedly a big hit at last year’s Guohua Award? In the end, he flopped. The taste of the judges is not easily fathomed, not the mention that this year, best actor has fierce competition.”
The nearer the award ceremony was, the more nervous the gold powders were. Shen Jintai’s impact was too big, so almost everyone was optimistic. The ratings exploded, the role exploded, and the acting skills were praised, with almost no shortcomings.
His closest competition was a veteran actor named Chen Fang, who had starred in many legendary dramas. This time he also participated in a big drama this year. It was generally believed that the competition for best actor was between the two of them.
“I should just give up,” Bai Qingquan said to Wei Ge while trying on his clothes. “Yes, I’ve already given up.”
Wei Ge smacked his forehead. “Qingquan, where is our self-confidence?”
Bai Qingquan smiled and said, “But don’t worry. I’m in a good state. As long as Jintai can win best actor, it’ll be a victory for our entire East Palace!”
Wei Ge felt that Bai Qingquan’s personality had changed a lot since he finished filming The East Palace. The feeling of growth was particularly obvious, and his mentality had obviously calmed down a lot. He believed it was all due to Shen Jintai. He couldn’t help but feel weird when thinking about him.
It was like he had changed his personality overnight. Whenever he looked at Shen Jintai now, he would think… Well, he’s alright! He was no longer a demon, had solid acting skills, and was sincere.
—
With the red carpet coming up, all eyes were on the <The East Palace is Coming> crew. Shen Jintai, Bai Qingquan, and Zheng Siqi were all single-handedly capable of detonating the flow!
“Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, help me pull the zipper up!” Mrs. Yan turned her back and said to the maid.
“What are you doing? You’re just an unrelated person.” Yan Tiefang chuckled.
Mrs. Yan: “What do you mean unrelated? Today is the day that Xiao Jin gets his first actor trophy. Can I not go? Besides, your son is still going. This drama was heavily invested by your son. How can you say it has nothing to do with me?”
Mrs. Yan picked up the small bag and poked Yan Tiefeng’s head. “Eat by yourself tonight. We are going to celebrate with a banquet!”
Yan Teifang: “You are like this now, but what if Xiao Jin doesn’t win?”
Mrs. Yan: “Fuck your crow’s mouth*!”
*(乌鸦嘴) Refers to someone’s mouth as particularly hateful.
Mrs. Yan left the room in a radiant red dress. Yan Qiuchi came by to help her. She put her arm around his as she assessed Yan Qiuchi’s outfit.
Yan Qiuchi was like a clothes rack with wide shoulders, a slender waist, and long legs. He would still look good in rags. The most suitable things for him were formal wear, which was especially in line with his icy, abstinent temperament that exuded rigorousness and manliness that was particularly outstanding and photogenic.
She took Yan Qiuchi’s arm as they walked downstairs and asked: “You said there’s a good chance that Xiao Jin will be regarded as emperor?”
Yan Qiuchi: “His reputation has already preceded him. The trophy is just the icing on the cake. Whether he wins or not, it doesn’t matter. He is the one who will be most watched tonight.”
Mrs. Yan couldn’t help but think her eldest son’s emotional intelligence was quite high, which made her feel a sense of satisfaction.
“The best gold cups and silver cups, and the word of mouth, are all great harvest*!”
*Clarity: Gold cups/silver cups are referring to awards. Word of mouth refers to one’s reputation. The great harvest refers to the awards and rise in reputation that Shen Jintai will/has reap.
She was surprised as she said this. She then pulled Yan Qiuchi’s cuffs. The black suit showed a little white lining on the cuffs, and a black and white watch was half exposed.
Mrs. Yan: “This watch seems familiar. I seem to have seen it somewhere before.”
Yan Qiuchi said lightly, “I’ve had this for several years now and wear it often.”
Mrs. Yan was a little confused. Have I seen this on Yan Qiuchi’s wrist before?
Yan Qiuchi was originally going to walk the red carpet with The East Palace crew but decided to decline and enter the venue directly. Mrs. Yan didn’t plan to walk the red carpet. She just wanted to come and witness the moment when Shen Jintai won his award. But before taking her seat, she wanted to meet Shen Jintai first.
Yan Qiuchi said lightly, “I will take you to his hotel room.”
Yan Qiuchi hadn’t seen Shen Jintai for what felt like eons. The last time was during Bai Qingquan’s exit banquet. God knows how he’s been living these days. Fortunately, Shen Jintai often participated in activities and made a lot of appearances. While he couldn’t see him in reality, he at least often saw him on the news. He had developed the habit of searching for Shen Jintai’s news before going to bed.
The hardest part was the half month after the finale premiere. He wasn’t sure if Shen Jintai was too deep into the drama, but he had remained silent entirely for half a month. He had even asked his mother to visit him. When she came back, she told him: “I’m not sure if he’s overly tired or something, but he’s been looking decadent these days. All he does is nestle in his hotel every day.”
Mrs. Yan originally wanted to take Shen Jintai back to her house, but Shen Jintai said he wanted to stay alone for a while. Yan Qiuchi was particularly worried that Shen Jintai was caught too deep in the act and couldn’t come out.
This made him very depressed during this time. He had always held Shen Jintai in his heart, and it hurt every time he thought that Shen Jintai was uncomfortable.
—
About to take a car to the red carpet, Shen Jintai sat in front of the dressing table and asked the makeup artist to help him fix his hair. He felt uncomfortable after his long hair had been suddenly cut short.
It may be because of the sudden change in hairstyle, but Li Meilan felt that he looked a little strange.
It stood to reason that with short hair, people tended to focus on it as it enhanced a person’s handsomeness, but after Shen Jintai’s cut his hair short, his hair wasn’t the focus, but all the attention went towards his face. His facial features were gorgeous. His eyes and eyebrows didn’t need any changes as everything looked perfect. His rosy and bright lip color was especially eye-catching. Paired with his tall, well-proportioned figure, Li Meilan felt that Shen Jintai had suddenly grown up and had a kind of mature heroic magnificence.
“Brother Jin, Mrs. Yan is here… and also President Yan.” Xiao Tang ran over to let them know.
There were a lot of people in his room today. Some of his team members were staff from Monsoon Entertainment. When they heard that Yan Qiuchi was coming, several girls were shocked. They’ve been in the industry for a long time and have seen all types of good-looking guys. What made them most excited was the rich and handsome type, like Yan Qiuchi.
When they looked forward, they saw a woman walking over with a tall, handsome man. He looked about 1.9 meters tall, in his mid-twenties, with a very well-rounded appearance and dazzling eyes.
“Xiao Jin!” Mrs. Yan opened her arms.
Shen Jintai smiled and hugged Mrs. Yan. “Why are you here?”
“Today is a good day for you. Of course, I will come,” Mrs. Yan said excitedly.
Shen Jintai smiled and glanced at Yan Qiuchi again. “President Yan.”
Yan Qiuchi let out an “Nn”. His phone suddenly rang, so he walked outside the balcony to take the call. He turned around and looked through the glass door of the balcony, seeing Mrs. Yan talking to Shen Jintai. With a smile on his face, Shen Jintai was dressed in a gray suit that covered his white shirt. The outfit accentuated his black hair, fair face, luscious lips, and long legs.
“President Yan. President Yan?”
Yan Qiuchi returned to his senses. “Nn. You can call back later. I’m busy right now.”
After he hung up the phone, he didn’t go in. The lights outside weren’t turned on, so it was dark. He could see clearly into the room while most people inside couldn’t see him, so his gaze was unscrupulous.
When he saw Shen Jintai, he was overcome with sadness. He was greedy and dissatisfied. He always wanted more, but he couldn’t get it, and thinking he’d never get it only made him more disappointed. If one day he got to the point where he couldn’t stop looking at Shen Jintai, what should he do?
Shen Jintai was preparing to leave. When Yan Qiuchi left the balcony, he caught a glimpse of Xiao Tang handing a watch to Shen Jintai. As Shen Jintai put on the watch, he nodded to him, then walked out with his staff.
—
The Guohua Award was the most famous award for a TV series. Many senior government officials attended. This year marked their 50th anniversary. As celebrities gathered, reporters from all over the country came to squat on the red carpet.
They were excited when the star-studded crew of other TV series passed by one by one, but their main focus was on The East Palace crew.
Even the red-carpet host understood this in his heart. When the East Palace crew was set to appear, he smiled and looked at the surrounding media and fans and quickly ended the red-carpet interview with the current star he was talking to.
“Be ready. Something amazing is coming. The one who’s about to step onto the red carpet is…”
Gold powders and moonlight powders already knew in advance the order of the red carpet. They began to cheer loudly when they heard the host’s introduction. The host smiled and waved his hand: “The East Palace crew has arrived!”
There were instant screams as flashes of light flooded the scene, almost blinding people’s eyes. Even the stars that were ahead on the red carpet turned around to look, seeing Director Guo Rui leading the team. The crew of The East Palace walked towards the red carpet full of stunning stars.
“Oh my god! My god, I didn’t expect that I would be so excited to squat live on the internet one day. As expected, the East Palace crushed everyone else.”
“Naturally, there would be more support. They have the most nominations. Ahhhhh, I saw Zheng Siqi!”
“Shen Jintai has changed so much. He cut his hair. Oh my god, why is he so good-looking?!”
“Peihua* Boy has reappeared in the world. What a truly stunning sight to behold!”
*(佩花) Term referring to wearing flowers, usually tied by fine metal wears, on one’s chest or temples as a headgear. || In this context, it’s Shen Jintai’s signature look.
Shen Jintai was dressed in a high-luxury gray suit with a white lining and shiny black leather shoes. It looked a bit low-key, with only a red flower on his chest that matched his high-spirited attitude. Among the countless shouts, the name “Shen Jintai” surpassed all traffic as his name resounded on the red carpet. For the first time, he was among the superb and handsome men like Bai Qingquan and Zheng Siqi, but he was the most eye-catching!
The author has something to say:
Jintai Chongya*!
*Clarity: The author is using the name chongya (冲呀) which means go/go ahead. It’s also a homonym for red duck (冲鸭) which is a popular buzzword meaning positive energy and encouragement.
Kinky Thoughts:
Yan Qiuchi being a creeper on that balcony corner. Didn’t you hate Shen Jintai’s stalkerish behavior in the past?
After Shen Jintai finished filming <The East Palace is Coming>, he disappeared for half a month. When he later started to participate in events, most of the questions that were asked were related to the drama.
After the broadcast of the finale* because the knife was too deep, the ratings plummeted. It dropped for about a week before it started to pick up again.
*Clarity: I’m using the finale as the episode of Li Xu’s death, but it’s not the final episode of the series.
“I can accept this ending myself,” Shen Jintai said in an interview. “His beloved is still alive, and the world is still peaceful. He died on the prince’s warm and wide back, knowing that the person he loved was still gentle and kind.”
Regarding the final clip with the prince, he said, “I have communicated with Siqi. He felt that the screenwriter was kind to Li Xu, but cruel to the prince, but after he thought about it, he was able to carry the person he loved moments before his death and was able to bury him with his own hands. This kind of fate was not comforting, but at least in the end, he and Li Xu were buried together, so their hearts must have been at rest.”
—
“Shen Jintai rarely expresses his opinions on his characters, and now he’s speaking for the screenwriters.”
“How to put it… Although this ending is sad, if Li Xu and the prince recognized each other before he died, though it would be sensational, touching, and emotional, it would be too cliché. The prince’s reaction is not easy to write. But this current ending is heavy and too dog-blooded. If Li Xu hadn’t met the prince before he died, his death would’ve been more peaceful. His life was magnificent. He was loved by the East Palace, the emperor’s best friend, and held the power of the world in his hands. The life and death of people who are ambiguous in black and white should be tragic. I can’t think of a more unconventional ending than this. Meng Xiaosheng is very powerful. She really loves Shen Jintai, right? After Li Xu died, Shen Jintai was fulfilled.”
“Shen Jintai is really good at talking. He said that the person he loves is still gentle and kind. This sentence is so poking.”
“Yes, when no one was willing to help, his royal highness the prince resolutely extended a helping hand. This was destiny, and it also shows that he has always been a kind and gentle person from the start. Li Xu loves him. Isn’t this love like the love between a red rose and a white rose.”
“I was looking forward to the blackening of the prince, but then I changed my mind and thought, maybe it would be best for Jintai Qiongying to keep its original intention. Although he has been unrecognizable from the inside out, the person he loves is still the same as before.”
“Reading what you wrote, I’m going to cry again. In short, it’s hard to make peace.”
“Will the extra part film Zhou Cong’s death? I want to see him die.”
“The extra parts must have Zheng Siqi play the three emperors and Shen Jintai as Chang’an. Then show the peerless love between the emperor and eunuch to make up for the trauma in my heart. I can give the drama a high score again.”
“Before the finale, Chang’an’s blackened eyes were really good. Seeing the death of his favorite person is so tragic. It’s normal to blacken. Hurry and abuse that bastard Zhou Cong to death!”
“Are they really shooting extras?”
“The drama is so popular, and the ending is so controversial. I think it will definitely be filmed, and the ratings aren’t bad.”
Shen Jintai was reading comments left by the netizens. He didn’t dare reveal the truth about his conversation with Meng Xiaosheng when they had dinner that day. “Director Guo and I felt that we weren’t ruthless enough afterwards. In fact, we could shoot a more succinct and vicious scene.”
The TV series was too popular, and the audience was too wide. This cast a taboo net around her pen when she started writing. Even Guo Rui also caved, and many clips weren’t filmed, causing the ending to be slightly choppy*.
*Clarity: They wanted to film a much more dog-blooded ending, but fearing it would turn the audience off too much, they had to compromise on their artistic integrity and give a much more palatable ending.
Shen Jintai was shocked when he heard that Meng Xiaosheng originally planned to let Li Xu go to the guillotine and accept the accusations of thousands of people.
Fortunately, this route wasn’t taken. He believed that it was really the screenwriter’s kindness to let Li Xu die on the back of his lover instead of the bridge section where the crown prince carried his corpse in front of thousands of curses. That would have been too uncanny and miserable.
“Fortunately, they didn’t go this route, and I didn’t have to film it,” Zheng Siqi said. “I got goosebumps all over when I heard it.”
“I’m sorry,” Bai Qingquan interrupted. “I still… I really want to see it. It feels that the character Li Xu would’ve been more sublimated in that way. He’ll truly have died for the country.”
“Teacher Meng said that if she is asked to rewrite it now, she will follow that version,” Shen Jintai said with a smile.
This is the case while filming and broadcasting. The script was hard to polish and easily influenced by the audience. This model has its advantages and disadvantages.
“Are there any extras? Are you still filming? I seem to have heard people from the company mention it recently. They’ve been asking if I have time available if it’s shot.” Zheng Siqi asked.
“I heard that preparations are already under way, but it probably has nothing to do with us,” Shen Jintai said. “The next step should be Chang’an, the three emperors, and Zhou Cong’s drama.”
“The cycle begins anew,” Bai Qingquan said. “It’s best if Zhou Cong dies and Chang’an and the three emperors have a love scene.” As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Shen Jintai glance at him.
Bai Qingquan didn’t want to pretend to be straight in front of Shen Jintai now. He felt that gay people have a sixth sense and that Shen Jintai had long noticed that he was also the same way.
Shen Jintai raised his eyebrows.
“Is your new project about to start shooting?” Zheng Siqi asked Shen Jintai.
Shen Jintai: “I will join the crew next month and go to the battlefield to suffer.”
“Is it for <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>?” Bai Qingquan asked. “I heard Sunshine Media been preparing for it.”
Shen Jintai: “It’s in progress, but that doesn’t mean that filming can start yet. It’s estimated that it will begin at the end of the year.”
Bai Qingquan: “Who is acting with you?”
Shen Jintai smiled, obviously happy, and said, “A movie emperor*.”
*(影帝) Someone who have won the best actor award from an authoritative association (such as the three major international film festivals in Europe (Cannes is one), the Academy Awards, the Five Chinese Film awards). They are lauded for their superb acting skills.
Monsoon Entertainment finally did a big thing for him and helped him secure actor Cai Jun to play against him.
Bai Qingquan plucked the straw and sighed.
Shen Jintai: “What’s the matter?”
“Jealous,” Bai Qingquan said. “I haven’t found the rival actors for my next movie yet.”
“I know about your new project,” Zheng Siqi said. “It’s a pity that my schedule is full, otherwise I will definitely fight for it.”
Shen Jintai looked at Bai Qingquan as he said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like you have time either.”
Shen Jintai: “When I talked to you a few days ago, didn’t you say you were idle for a few more months?”
Bai Qingquan: “Our company was interested in the script, but the copyright was bought by someone else, so the matter was moot. But then I heard that they were looking for actors. Although it’s not a project from our company, I thought it was a good story, so I went to audition and was cast.”
“You’re a big celebrity, yet you’re auditioning?” Shen Jintai asked.
Bai Qingquan smiled. “Just going through the motions.”
The movie that Bai Qingquan was going to pick up was <When You’re Older>. It was adapted from an online novel <When My Lover Gets Old, I Will Still Be as Beautiful as a Flower>. He was so excited to make a gay romance drama for the very first time.
Thanks to the hit of <The East Palace>, several same-sex dramas had started to emerge on the domestic screen in the past few months. Shen Jintai had set a precedent that swayed people’s views. The team who picked up <When You’re Older> saw that this kind of drama could be a potential big hit. After discussion, Bai Qingquan decided to help them pick it up. Finally, he could star in a movie and experience a gay love scene with a handsome guy. Bai Qingquan felt that his girly desire was temporarily satisfied.
The author of the original work, Song Chenchen, was the screenwriter, and the director was a newcomer who had changed his career from commercial filming. He was a first-line director and had a very strong voice, so he could choose any actor he wanted.
“What kind of drama is Siqi filming now?” Shen Jintai asked.
“Idol drama,” Zheng Siqi said. “Partnered with Yang Lizhi.” This was his benefit from The East Palace.
When it came to Yang Lizhi, Bai Qingquan couldn’t help but quip, “She’s about to die of depression recently, right?”
Despite the audience rating for <The East Palace is Coming> dropping a bit in the later stage, because everyone was abused by it, it didn’t mean that the drama was bad. As the drama of the year, it set unprecedented terms in both ratings and popularity, netting it a total of 10 nominations.
Best male lead: Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai.
Best supporting actor: Zheng Siqi.
Best supporting actress: Song Wei.
In addition, there were multiple nominations for best director, best screenwriter, best TV series, etc. As the costume palace drama masterpiece of the year, the series was also nominated for best art, best cinematography, and best soundtrack.
Only Yang Lizhi’s was not nominated for best actress.
With a big drama like <The East Palace is Coming>, which had so many nominations, with a little PR, the female lead would get at least one nomination. After all, she was the one with the most scenes, and The East Palace was a heroine’s palace fighting drama.
Unfortunately, this year’s TV series had too much competition for the female lead nomination. There were many first-tier actresses1 in the entertainment industry, and all their outstanding works were released this year. Compared to Yang Lizhi’s acting skills in <The East Palace>, it just made her look worse. Her acting skills were overturned2, as critics pointed out, all she could do was stare and pretend to be fierce.
1Tsingyi (青衣) Main role of series that are solemn young and middle-aged women. 2Reminder: (翻车了) Refers to could have been won but lost.
The three of them came out of the clubhouse, all wearing masks and heavily covered. The three heroes of The East Palace were now the three most popular figures in the entertainment industry. Zheng Siqi was originally much weaker, but the ending of the prince and Li Xu gained him a lot of sympathy.
It was only after he finished filming that he realized why Monsoon Entertainment had left his schedule vacant before the finale episode premiered. In just a single scene, he ate more bonuses than several idol dramas. His traffic suddenly exploded, and the favorability of passersby was overwhelming.
The big killer of the ending had laid the foundation for Jintai Qiongying CP fans who loved and hated it. It dominated the super talks taking the number one spot as the fans continued to burn as if they were full of chicken blood.
Such is the power of tragedies.
“There will be a chance to get together again in the future.” Bai Qingquan said as he hugged Shen Jintai. He wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but he always felt that after filming The East Palace, Shen Jintai’s body had been shrouded in Li Xu’s shadow. It was like it became much quieter all of a sudden.
“Hurry up and start your new project and change your mood! If you end a previous relationship, you just hurry up and start the next one!” Bai Qingquan smiled and looked at Shen Jintai, then hugged Zheng Siqi.
Zheng Siqi originally wanted to hug Shen Jintai, but when he moved his arm, he held himself back. Filming this kind of love drama with strong feelings and special meaning made it particularly hard for people to come out of, causing him to dare not hug Shen Jintai. When he hugged him, it made him very uncomfortable, as his heart was filled with affection.
Shen Jintai smiled and waved goodbye as he got into the car.
—
<The East Palace is Coming> had strong holding power. Just two days before the Guohua Awards were held, the extras were launched on a video website. Those episodes detonated the internet as soon as it went online.
As soon as the first episode started, it showed this scene:
Silence as no music played. Only the sound of the grass rustling in the wind. The back of a man slowly appeared on screen. His hairband flew back and forth in the wind. The one-minute closeup seemed to be the crew’s silent mourning for this relationship. He was sitting in front of the grave with a jade pendant on his waist. It was the double mandarin duck jade pendant that was inlaid with gold.
A white rose was planted in front of the grave as music slowly flowed.
The barrage burst in an instant, covering the screen. Although the man did not show his face, everyone could tell from looking at his back that he was Prince Zhou Ying.
Wild roses spread all over the mountains and fields, staining them in colors of white and red. The figure was no longer there, only a single monument.
It was completed. It was the end. This one shot was enough.
The figure of a back fulfilled all the love, and the piece of jade made up for all the drama.
The plot of the next two episodes was also very refreshing. It was like a movie. The beautiful eunuch and the prince joined forces to overthrow the brutal emperor and drove Zhou Cong crazy, finally vindicating prince Zhou Ying.
Chang’an wandered through the East Palace, which was now full of roses.
The crew had the intention of making up for all the dog blood. The scenes of Chang’an and the three emperors were warm and moving. They could be seen as the shadows of Li Xu and Zhou Jing, as well as Li Xu and Zhou Ying.
“Do you think Shen Jintai is a better match with Zheng Siqi or with Prince Yan?”
“Why bring up Prince Yan? Isn’t the CP fight always between Jintai Qiongying and Jintai Meijing?”
“I inexplicably think that Shen Jintai is Li Xu’s reincarnation in the afterlife, and Prince Yan is the reincarnation of the prince. Don’t you think Yan Qiuchi’s eyes are a bit like Zheng Siqi? He is also called Prince Yan by his nickname and is the prince of a business empire. The Prince of the East Palace and the beautiful little eunuch, the traffic idol and the iceberg prince… aren’t these too similar?!”
“Did you go crazy after watching the drama that you’re in the afterlife? If you pull Shen Jintai and Yan Qiuchi, the gold powders will tear you apart when they see this!”
“Don’t pair Shen Jintai up with anyone. Tomorrow night will be the Guohua Awards ceremony. Come, come, come and bet. Who will get the golden bell?!”
The author has something to say:
Yang Lizhi: I knew the heroine had no human rights (smiley face).
Only the judges can decide who will get the golden bell.
I won’t write such a sadistic play in the future. It will really be very sweet, su, cool and flirtatious! Trust me!
Kinky Thoughts:
Oh, so in the end the two endings they were planning were either dog blood or more dog blood.
Ahhhh~~ Called it. I knew it would be Cai Jun.
Yes please! I really want to see Bai Qingquan act in <When You’re Older>. I’m willing to bet that the new director for this movie is the same director for Shen Jintai’s underwear commercial shoot.
Can I trust you author? After you made me into an abused dog, you better give me some GOOD QUALITY DOG FOOD*!!!
*(狗粮) Internet slang meaning public display of affection. It’s a term single people use when they are forced to “eat” it.
As mentioned before, Song Chenchen has his own transmigration story. See my Kinky Thoughts in Chapter 69 for more details.
After Li Xu’s finale was broadcast, screenwriter Meng Xiaosheng was interviewed by a streaming platform.
The host said, “Recently, due to Li Xu’s ending, it can be said that audiences across the country are crying. Many people have been sending knives to the screenwriter. Did you know?”
Meng Xiaosheng nodded and said, “I also feel very guilty. In fact, when I finished writing this chapter, I had insomnia all night and cried for a long time. The next day, I asked Director Guo if we wanted to shoot it like this. After discussing it, we all felt that this ending was better than the original. Li Xu is indeed a villain. Whether it is an original novel or an adaptation, his fate is unchangeable. Just like the words in the drama, these people were at the peak of power and thought they could control it, but the reality was that power was what controlled them. In such a situation, death is inevitable for his ending. How he’ll die and when he’ll die are actually the main issues I considered when adapting. Because there have been many speculations about his fate, if he died very plainly, I felt he would lose the color and extremities of his character. His life was legendary, with highs and lows, and he should be given an ending that the audience can remember.”
“I heard that there were plans to let Li Xu survive in the beginning?”
Meng Xiaosheng nodded. “We didn’t expect the role of Li Xu to be so popular in the beginning. After it caught fire, everyone was worried that if he was written to death, the audience would not be able to accept it. At that time, the ending was that the prince would pick up Li Xu, who had gone so crazy that he no longer recognized it was Zhou Ying. This was what we originally intended to film, but now I’m not sure if I want to shoot it.”
“Li Xu’s death was so unexpected. Everyone thought that he would die, but they didn’t expect him to die like this. In the end, the prince didn’t recognize him, and the letter wasn’t delivered.”
“Honestly, there were many things that were deleted. One version was more bitter than this. We had makeup done to disfigure Li Xu’s face at that time so the prince wouldn’t be able to recognize him. After I looked at it, I said, no I couldn’t stand it. It was too much, so in the end, the actor only smeared blood, causing many netizens to remark how it wasn’t possible for the prince to not recognize him. In handling Li Xu’s death, we simplified it. We did not shoot the parts of how he died. How to put it… What we wanted was for the beginning to be concise and shocking. That is, one minute he’s getting out of the carriage, the next, there was a horse dragging a corpse running throughout the city. Everyone was extremely uncomfortable after the filming. Shen Jintai cried directly, saying that he couldn’t stand it. We actually dealt with his death tenderly, allowing him to die on the back of his beloved. He was able to recognize Zhou Ying moments before his death, and we did a close-up to focus on this. Zhou Ying will eventually find out that he accompanied Li Xu during his last moments. This was written in a later inscription. The normal inscription originally was not written to be like this…” Meng Xiaosheng gave a long pause before continuing. “I decided to go under the knife. On one hand, I couldn’t bear it. On the other hand, I felt that it would be better for this character. The tragedy of the character will be stronger, and the character will be more deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Li Xu’s ending is actually also for the theme, foreshadowing the future of Chang’an, the three emperors, Zhou Cong, He Lanbi, and others of the palace, implying the cruelty of power struggles and its repeated cycles.”
“Does The East Palace have any plans to make a sequel?”
“Not yet. There is an extra story ending. I’m not sure if it will be filmed. Now that the crew is finished, the actors are relatively busy, and the schedule is not easy to arrange.”
The episode with Li Xu’s death set a rating miracle. It was the highest rating ever, breaking 8. Because he died so unexpectedly, the ratings for the finale on the second day did not drop. Everyone was watching to see how that dog emperor, Zhou Cong, would die.
Unfortunately, <The East Place is Coming> did not tell the story that far. Its ending would only allude to the future. When he returned to the palace, Chang’an went to the side of the three emperors, while He Lanbi and Zhou Cong had a rift in their relationship. Zhou Cong’s brutality showed that the future of brotherly mutilation was inevitable.
Most likely because the crew felt sorry for the audience, in the last clip of the series, Chang’an went to the suburbs, planning to visit Li Xu’s grave. When he arrived, he saw a wild rose blooming brightly on the grave next to a monument. He was stunned as he had not set it up. There was an inscription written above it. The camera swept over, allowing the audience to read:
[…I don’t know whose name this is, but I only know that it was a beloved husband and wife, buried here together. I listened to his story and felt his affection, so I wrote this engraving. I mourn for him. Though he can’t chase in life, he will meet you in the afterlife.]
While the screenwriter carried the knife, Shen Jintai succeeded. People all over the country sympathized with him. The hot search for “Li Xu’s death” was posted on Weibo for a week. Whenever Shen Jintai participated in an event, it was always filled with people.
Li Xu’s death left a scar in everyone’s hearts and they could only seek a little comfort from Shen Jintai. As such, this launched him into a top stream that all women and children knew. Even his black powders was silent, as people couldn’t bear it. It was undeniable. The role of Li Xu was too cruel.
—
Li Meilan: “I feel that the screenwriter has true love for you. She gets cursed alone but let you sit on the rocket.”
The death of a character made an actor brilliant. Shen Jintai received countless endorsements, tons of well-made scripts poured in, and his popularity reached a new peak, all while Jintai Qiongying’s fanfiction has emerged in an endless stream.
The momentum still held, which led to the drama’s continuing to be rebroadcast for a few months, and its topicality remained a hot topic on the streets. The nominations for the Guohua Awards were announced, and Shen Jintai became the hottest candidate for the golden bell.
“This kind of explosive character that can affect people like this happens once every ten years. If he isn’t crowned emperor*… The judges wouldn’t dare, right?”
*Refer to the winner of the Golden Bell (best actor).
“Shen Jintai is worthy of this trophy. His acting skills should be self-explanatory.”
“I found that few people in your district call him Touhua now.”
“Few people really dare to hack him now. They may not be able to bear it, or they may be afraid of being besieged by gold powders. I don’t know if the screenwriter is ruthless, but I know she truly loves Shen Jintai.”
“Really, when I see Shen Jintai now, I want to cry, even though I know that Shen Jintai and Li Xu are two people. But Li Xu is so pitiful, I want to give Shen Jintai all my love.”
“I heard that they are going to make an independent side story, so I humbly ask for a HE.”
“I just want to watch Shen Jintai take the Golden Bell and his fire will always burn. The happiness, glory, and hope that Li Xu didn’t have will all be realized in him.”
Not only did netizens think so, but even people around Shen Jintai thought this.
Shen Ruhai, who had always been silent, called him after the play was broadcast. Although he didn’t say it directly, his concern was palpable. It was sometimes difficult for ordinary people to separate the characters from the actors.
Bai Qingquan made time for Shen Jintai. “Are you free? Let’s have a meal together.”
He was an actor himself and knew that Li Xu was just a character. In reality, Shen Jintai had gain massive benefits from this role. Now the black had turned red. Despite all this, Bai Qingquan couldn’t help but feel deeply distressed for Shen Jintai and thought he was in a miserable state. Wuwuwu, his tears are worthless. God knows that he cried directly into a dog at the cinema. His girly heart really couldn’t accept such a cruel ending!
It was unnecessary to say how Mrs. Yan was feeling.
Then there was Yan Qiuchi. He had insomnia for two nights after watching it. His mind kept thinking about Shen Jintai’s face. He knew it was all fake but nonetheless felt extreme distress for him. He wanted to accompany Shen Jintai at that moment. Only by watching him flourish can he be cured.
Everyone was supporting Shen Jintai, pushing him up.
The author has something to say:
The strong desire to survive has made me add more.
Kinky Thoughts:
I still can’t get over the last chapter. Bai Qingquan basically mirrors my feelings. Wuwuwu.
My god, I can’t imagine how much crueler they can make this ending!!! Sometimes I wonder if the author is a sadist.
This is what I imagine everyone’s monologues are after this episode aired:
Yang Lizhi’s: ‘Thank the lord! He Lanbi got whitewashed, and Zhou Cong is now carrying all the scolding.’
Bai Qingquan’s: ‘Wuwuwu, my poor girly heart can’t take this.’ (You and me both sis).
“Sisters, today is a day that belongs to The East Palace and to Li Xu!”
“I saw some media people say that because of the popularity of The East Palace, the movie box office this weekend won’t be strong. Hahahaha, the whole world is guarding The East Palace!”
“Come, come. Let’s bet and guess the ending of Li Xu!”
“I’ll go first! I bet that He Lanbi spares Li Xu’s life, sends him out of the palace while he’s unconscious, and he’s reunited with the prince. After that, he goes incognito and will be living a double life for the rest of his life.”
“Woo, woo, I’ll nibble at upstairs. Although it’s a bit yellow, I like it!”
“Except for the heroine, this drama was way too hard. I’m begging for candy and asking the crew to be a human being!”
“I bet Li Xu can’t escape death. His line in the latest episode obviously shows he’s going to sacrifice his life for the country. A little love has risen to become a great love. Although it’s tragic, the characters have been sublimated! Zhou Ying’s scenes are all just forms of memories or dreams, like the last memories before Li Xu experience his death.”
“I don’t think the screenwriter will abandon the classic scene of madly sitting and talking about Zhou Ying. I’m betting he goes crazy, and then he gets picked up by the prince. This is neither a reunion nor a tragedy. It is the most compromising way! This Jintai Qiongying girl doesn’t dare ask for a big reunion. She just wants a little honey on the tip of the knife!”
“I bet on unimaginable abuse. Don’t ask me why. It just feels like Meng Xiaosheng is a more assertive screenwriter and is best at making knives. She doesn’t listen to netizens’ suggestions. Moreover, everyone has filters for Li Xu. He is a villain. Although it is a political struggle, he has killed many people. His notoriety isn’t just in name. Anyway, I watched the last few episodes as flags*, just to see how he would die. Moonlight powders said that Bai Qingquan also went to make up a scene last week. I’m not sure if it’s true or not!”
*Death flag, which refers to certain bridges (in film/TV) that lead to the death of a character under normal circumstances. Basically, they are the foreshadows of what’s to come.
“Everyone is paying attention to the plot, and I just want to squat on the ratings list and see how high it’ll be!”
In the most luxurious movie theater in Nancheng, a large screening hall with a capacity of nearly a thousand people was now full. This was an event for gold powders. Shen Jintai was with them to watch the live broadcast.
Originally meant for gold powder, Bai Qingquan, Zheng Siqi, and even celebrities like Yang Lizhi and Song Wei had to join the festivities.
Yang Lizhi came to please the audience, hoping to create the illusion that she and Shen Jintai had a good relationship and gain a little favor.
Bai Qingquan specifically asked for leave from the crew he was currently with and came to join Shen Jintai.
“I really called Jintai and asked him, since he had finished filming this drama, he must know the ending. However, he refused to tell me any spoilers and asked me to come to this live broadcast, so now I’m here.” Bai Qingquan was wearing a black suit and looked exceptionally neat and beautiful. He smiled and said to the reporters, “Don’t ask me anything. It’s not that I can’t say it, it’s really because I don’t know it. I’ll be watching it with everyone later.”
“I heard that you returned to The East Palace’s crew last week to make up a scene. Is it true? Can you tell us what it is in advance?”
Bai Qingquan smiled and said, “I did make up a segment, but I really don’t know the ending of Li Xu!”
The director, Guo Rui, and screenwriter Meng Xiaosheng came together. They did not accept media interviews and walked directly into the cinema.
Some people on the Internet have even begun to tease apart this point, thinking that Li Xu’s ending “may not be complete”.
“I feel that the director and screenwriter are afraid of being scolded, so they dare not speak out.”
“If they write Li Xu’s fate is death, I really can’t help cursing!”
“Wuwuwu. I’ve never chased a drama like this before. It’s hard to sit still like this!”
Shen Jintai was with Zheng Siqi, and as soon as the two appeared, the place erupted in ravenous screams. Today was a holiday for all Jintai Qiongying girls!
Shen Jintai wore a red suit with a white rose, while Zheng Siqi wore a white suit with a red rose tucked into his chest pocket
The red and white roses had reappeared as the two of them waved to the crowd of onlookers as they walked. Despite a lot of traffic police on the crossroad in front of the square, it was still heavily congested. The entire square was full of people and dozens of security guards were used. The two of them walked forward, surrounded by guards. Zheng Siqi said something, but Shen Jintai couldn’t hear what was being said as his voice was drowned out by all the screams.
Shen Jintai looked out to the crowd with a bright smile. His posture was straight and his face gorgeous as his whole body was covered with red starlight.
Ji Fengxing, who entered with his company’s executives, was even more emotional when he saw the scene. It confirmed that he made the correct decision when he signed Shen Jintai.
“He’s wearing xxx high-luxury men’s line that he endorses. It’s the first time I have seen a male star wearing a red suit that looks so good!”
“Touhua is so beautiful. I want to cry whenever I see him!”
“He and Zheng Siqi are the perfect match. Let me hear all the Jintai Qiongying girls scream!”
“Stop being so sultry, Touhua! You’re sucking me dry!”
“Let’s not go through the gate.” Mrs. Yan glanced at the people in the square through the car window and saw that there was a massive amount people in the night.
“Let’s go directly into the underground garage of the square and take the elevator to the cinema,” Fang Yun said to Yan Qiuchi.
Yan Qiuchi nodded and glanced into the crowd. Shen Jintai was really popular now. Seeing Shen Jintai like this, he couldn’t help but get a little excited.
“So many people.” Mrs. Yan sighed with emotion.
They took the elevator directly from the underground parking lot to the fourth floor. When they arrived on the fourth floor, they found that the shopping mall was also overcrowded. They entered the cinema under the escort of security guards and walked towards the reserved location under the guidance of the staff. The location was just a row behind Shen Jintai, Bai Qingquan, and others. Shen Jintai saw them and immediately stood up. Zheng Siqi and others saw Yan Qiuchi and also stood up as the row of celebrities started to stand up one by one to greet the mother-son duo.
Yan Qiuchi had his usual icy look as he nodded faintly at their greetings, while Mrs. Yan was overly enthusiastic as she smiled and waved her hands.
“Auntie.” Shen Jintai said with a smile.
Mrs. Yan grasped his hands and sat down behind him. Shen Jintai gave Yan Qiuchi a glance again. Yan Qiuchi returned his gaze with a nod as he barely suppressed his excitement.
Before the episode aired, the main creators of <The East Place is Coming> took to the stage to interact with the audience. At the end, there was an interview with Shen Jintai.
“I still remember during the announcement press conference, I interviewed Jintai about this drama and your views on Li Xu’s character. Now that filming is over, do you have any new thoughts to share?” The host asked with a beaming smile.
Shen Jintai took the microphone and, with a calm posture, answered, “For the past six months, I have been living in the world of The East Palace and in Li Xu’s world. Whether it is for the drama or for the role of Li Xu, I have lost my objective and fair evaluation. A character who can be loved by everyone has thousands of faces. Everyone has their own understanding and imagination of him. All I can do is speak less and protect the Li Xu in everyone’s mind. Although Li Xu’s story is over, I believe that with such a good character and good drama, even after many years, everyone will still remember. Thank you all for coming to join us today. How fortunate! Thank you very much!”
As Shen Jintai said, he bowed to the audience.
As the countdown approached, the opening song of <The East Palace is Coming> began to be broadcast on the big screen. It was purely instrumental, with no singing. Usually, the two major TV stations rarely played it in its entirety in order to grab the broadcast. Today, for the first time in the world, the song wasn’t cut short by even a single second. The opening was no longer the kind of palace fight scenes that had a series of face-slapping. Instead, a new version premiered that was extraordinary and magnificent.
The opening characters came out one by one, and as soon as the picture of Prince Zhou Ying and Li Xu walking through the Lantern Festival came out, some people burst into tears.
At the end of the opening credits, the beginning turned out to be a desolate ancient road. Zhou Ying was dressed in rough clothes and was driving an ox cart.
There was an immediate cheer from the audience.
Shen Jintai smiled. The light from the big screen illuminated his eyes, which were moist and shiny.
—
He Lanbi turned around and said, “Elder Prince Brother… He is still alive.”
Li Xu leaned on the withered grass, but there was no surprise on his face.
He Lanbi looked at him in surprise, “You knew it a long time ago?”
“A’Jing told me before he died.”
The camera suddenly shifted to the scene of Zhou Jing on his deathbed. He murmured, “A’Xu… A’Xu… It’s so dark here. I’m so sacred.”
Li Xu: “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
Li Xu found that Zhou Jing’s hand had been groping the quilt tightly. His expression was fearful, as if he was looking for his most important item. Li Xu opened the corner of the quilt and found half a candle on his shoulder.
Hearing the chattering of the palace servants, he knew that the emperor was seriously ill. He was so often trapped by nightmares that he developed a quirk of holding a candle in his hand in order to sleep soundly.
He quickly stuffed the half candle into Zhou Jing’s hand. Zhou Jing tightly held it as he began to calm down. Suddenly, his lips moved.
Li Xu bent his head closer to his mouth and listened to Zhou Jing’s intermittent dying words. “Brother Prince… He’s not dead… He… is still alive… I… saved him… but did not… tell you.”
Li Xu remained expressionless, but his breathing started to become heavier. All the instantaneous emotional changes were in his eyes.
Zhou Jing’s mouth remained agape, but no words came out. His eyes were scattered. Looking at him, Li Xu understood what he wanted to say. Li Xu held his hand tightly and said in a trembling voice, “If you save him, you don’t owe me anything.”
Li Xu let out a sudden laugh. He was smiling as tears fell down his face, which made him look even uglier than regular crying. The blue veins on his neck were faintly exposed. All he could do was hold Zhou Jing’s hand tightly.
Zhou Jing’s hand went limp as the candle broke into two pieces. One piece fell to the ground and the other was firmly held in the palm of his hand.
He Lanbi: “The late emperor was benevolent. He shouldn’t have done this. His momentary kindness had created countless disasters. It would have been better to not help each other and let Elder Prince Brother die cleanly.”
Li Xu: “Everyone asks about the afterlife, but the afterlife is false. If you don’t remember your previous life, then it’s truly not an afterlife. The most important thing in this life is if you can live, of course, you must live.”
“Then why do you want to die with all your heart? Since you know that Elder Prince Brother is not dead, why… Why do you still do this?” He Lanbi asked. “Don’t you want to see him?”
Li Xu smiled, lowered his head, and said, “Of course I do.”
Li Xu suddenly looked so fragile. He Lanbi didn’t know how to face him. “It turns out that your statement just now made me feel compassion.”
Li Xu said, “Knowing that he is alive, I am satisfied. He is an unknowable living dead person. If I also become a living dead person, if I am with him, if it hurts his life… How can I possibly do that? If it shakes the country as a result, it will be more sinful for me. Everything I painstakingly planned for the rest of my life would be in vain. It’s just that… It’s just that I thought I was the only one who survived and the only one in this future. I, a heinous sinner, have brought shame to the late emperor for protecting me. Now that his decree has been torn up by me and the red book iron voucher is lost, there is only one path left. You must kill me, for the sake of the country, the state, and Xiao Cong. Just before I die, there is one thing you have to promise me.”
He Lanbi turned to him as he continued, “Now that the Helan family is gaining power, you, the Empress Dowager, also have the intention of supporting your brothers in the clan. In the future, the Helan clan will gain tremendous power, and Xiao Cong may still be too young. If one day, they want to abolish the monarchy and establish the three emperors*, what will you do?”
*Also known as the three sovereigns and five emperors. Originally, the three emperors referred to the ancient three gods (Emperor of Heaven, Emperor of Earth, Emperor of Humanity) and later the Fuxi clan. The five emperors in its original sense refers to the gods of the five parties. Later, it included the five ancient tribal leaders. || In the context here, they are referring to the person who will eventually become part of the three emperors in history. Think of the three emperors as a title, not as the literal translation.
He Lanbi: “Although Xiao Cong is not connected to me by blood, I treat him no differently than if he was my own son. With me, no one can take away his throne.”
Li Xu: “His birth mother, the late Empress Tian, blamed herself before she died. When it all comes down to it, she is still his birth mother. Xiao Cong is intelligent and has the talent of an emperor. However, because he lost his mother when he was young, he has a hostile temperament. After my execution, you must shift the blame of his mother’s death onto me so that this case may be forever closed.”
“Although A’Ying is alive, I don’t know where he is, but he must be in a very remote and isolated place, guarded by others. He will probably never hear the news of my death. If he finds out, you will give this to him.” Li Xu took out the double mandarin duck jade pendant from his arm and a letter. “He will understand when he sees this.”
He Lanbi remained silent as she continued to stare at him seriously. After a long while, her eyes moistened, her fingers turned pale, and tears slid down from the corner of her eyes. “I know you truly don’t want to die in your heart.”
She was silent for a while before saying, “You can give it to him yourself. This is not for you, but for Elder Prince Brother. I owe him.” She was now a master, vindicating the Helan and Xiao families, but she could not vindicate Zhou Ying. He was already “dead” and could only remain “dead” forever, completely nameless, living in the most remote and unknown place where he would spend the rest of his life in imprisonment.
Power struggles were always cruel. If one’s heart wasn’t cruel enough, you could never rise to the top. But if a person lived only for power, wouldn’t they only become a slave to such a source?
“You are dead. I only feel heartache for Elder Prince Brother. He had suffered too much in his life… Live well. As you said, if you can live, you must live. Follow him in incognito and go far away.” He Lanbi walked to the door of the cell and said without looking back, “Leave tonight while I still have no regrets. He is waiting for you at the Lao Lao Pavilion, nine miles from the city. I will grant him his freedom, and yours as well.”
Li Xu was startled.
Nine miles. Nine miles. Zhou Ying was waiting for him. He only needed to walk nine miles to see him.
The eunuch who was following He Lanbi suddenly ran back after she left. He knelt down and kowtowed and said anxiously, “My lord, you once saved the life of this slave. This slave is risking his life to say something. Just listen to the Empress Dowager. Go. If you don’t leave, you really won’t be able to live. The emperor has decided to kill you!”
Zhou Cong had disputed with the Empress Dowager over whether to execute Li Xu. Rumors of Li Xu bewitching the late emperor were rampant and, coupled with his notoriety, had caused Zhou Cong to hate him. The eunuch had felt that it was ridiculous. While the emperor had become murderous, Li Xu still wanted to dedicate himself to the stability of his country. He glanced around anxiously and saw a guard coming. He got up and quickly ran away.
Li Xu was left in utter disbelief. A fleeting smile appeared on his face that quickly vanished, leaving behind only an expressionless face.
A carriage slowly drove out of the palace in the middle of the night. He Lanbi stood at the tower, watching the carriage leave the palace gate.
Chang’an, who was driving the carriage, said nervously and excitedly, “My lord, we are out of the palace!”
Li Xu raised the curtain and glanced back. In the night, the high walls of the palace were particularly solemn and majestic.
Chang’an said with joy, “I was very frightened. I didn’t expect the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to let us go. Did you see the food box? Those are your favorite chestnut cakes that the emperor specially asked me to bring to you. I also prepared a lot of food for you. The food in this prison must be very bad. You haven’t eaten well these days, have you? If you feel hungry, do eat some.”
Li Xu looked at the plate of wine and food, as well as his favorite chestnut cake.
Chang’an was also very moved and said, “The emperor remembers your painstaking efforts. Don’t look at his young age. He understands everything. He also grew up under your wings.”
When the sky was slightly bright, the carriage arrived at the outskirts. Chang’an lifted the curtain and looked around. “Such a sad place in the world! We’re in front of the famous Lao Lao Pavilion*!”
*See my Kinky Thoughts.
“Stop,” Li Xu said suddenly.
Chang’an was taken aback for a moment, then stopped the carriage. Li Xu sat quietly inside. There was nearly half a minute of silence as he sat there expressionlessly. He then opened the curtain and looked in the direction of the Lao Lao Pavilion.
The pavilion was built on the bank of the river that goes west from the capital. The way was traveled by most and had become a place a farewell. Across the rivers in the woods, a tall figure was faintly seen.
The figure was Zhou Ying.
It was Zhou Ying.
Zhou Ying who he hadn’t seen for more than ten years.
This time, it wasn’t a lie. Zhou Ying was indeed alive.
It’s good to live, but if you can’t die, you have to live well.
The carriage turned back in the direction it was coming, and on a forest path, it was stopped by a group of men on tall horses.
“Don’t be afraid,” Li Xu comforted Chang’an softly, and then got out of the carriage.
—
At the gate of the city, when the first ray of sunlight came, a tall horse suddenly rushed into the street like crazy. Passersby who had left the city exclaimed and avoided it. They saw that the horse had a rope around it, and there was a person dragging behind the rope.
The man had white hair and blood stains all over his body, as he left a trail of blood on the bluestone road, like a dead man. Before the crowd recovered from the fright, they saw an extremely thin boy in his teens wailing and chasing after him.
In the deep palace, He Lanbi ran barefoot, with her hair scattered on the corridor in the palace. Her feet clattered on the wooden floor. She ran all the way to the emperor’s bedroom. Zhou Cong got up abruptly, and He Lanbi slapped him on the face with a “pah”.
Zhou Cong was stunned for a second before he laughed and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His teenage child’s eyes show murderous intent. “I did not disobey father’s order. It was not me who killed him. I just leaked his whereabouts to others. He only has himself to blame for doing so much evil that there are too many people who want him dead!”
The rope was broken, and the wild horse was nowhere to be seen. Only a young man covered in blood was lying motionless on the road as several passersby watched. His clothes were ruined and rotten, and his face was stained with blood. Even in this current state, it could be seen that he was a good-looking man. His mouth was slightly open, which frightened the onlookers, who immediately retreated.
A young man with a hoarse voice suddenly rushed out, crying, and took off his robe to cover Li Xu. He picked Li Xu up, crying, and stretched out his hand to wipe Li Xu’s blood-stained face, but it only made it dirtier so he could hardly tell who he was.
“Who will help me…” Chang’an’s voice was weak. After trying several times, he couldn’t lift Li Xu up. He felt that Li Xu was about to die.
He looked at the onlookers, crying. “Which one of you will help me, please.”
Suddenly, a young man walked out of the crowd. The man had cyan stubble, with eyes that were handsome and clear. Chang’an grabbed him and begged, “Please help me. My lord is dying. You can save him.”
The man was benevolent, and he couldn’t help but pick up Li Xu. While Li Xu was dying, his eyes opened slightly, the sun shone on his face, and his eyelashes were stained with blood. The face of the man carrying him faintly appeared in his view.
His lips moved, like a smile, and in the silence, he took a long breath. No sound came out, only a single tear fell.
—
The young man put Li Xu into his ox cart, probed his nose, glanced at Chang’an and shook his head. He looked down with a heavy look, a little dazed. Li Xu’s face was already so indistinguishable that it looked a little scary. Chang’an quickly covered his face with his clothes and started to cry.
“Who is your lord? Don’t you need to report this to the official.”
Chang’an shook his head, not daring to say anything. It was better to not involve his benefactor. He had followed Li Xu since he was a child, and he knew Li Xu’s wishes best. There were many people who wanted to harm Li Xu. He was afraid of them finding out, so they couldn’t keep the corpse. Li Xu had too many enemies, like those who had ambushed him and stabbed him so many times.
Chang’an didn’t want people to find Li Xu’s corpse, so he wanted to bury him in a secretive place. Fortunately, the kind-hearted man helped him dig a pit and accompanied him to bury Li Xu.
The famous Wufu Chitose died without even a straw hat. Chang’an knelt on the ground, knocked his head a few times, then dug a wild rose and planted it on Li Xu’s grave.
“Thank you, my Lord.” Chang’an said.
“I can’t send you into the city anymore. I’m waiting for someone here,” the man said. The voice was easy to listen to, and although the clothes are coarse cloth material, there was an indescribable extravagance.
Chang’an gave the man a kowtow. He had to return to the capital. As a little eunuch, there was no other place to go except the palace. If he was lucky enough, he would climb up step by step, and maybe he would become a very powerful person in the future. He would then erect a monument and incense for Li Xu.
Chang’an walked away, looked back, and saw that his benefactor had taken out a set of clothes from his baggage and changed from his blood-stained clothes. He must be waiting for someone very important.
Chang’an took out a letter and a piece of jade from his arms. He was able to read a few characters. There was no name on the envelope, and he didn’t know who he was going to give it to. He opened the letter and saw that there were only a few words written: [In the afterlife and in this life, I will always find you.]
He had been with Li Xu for so many years. While all the attendants around him had been promoted, only he remained stationary. Even so, he knew that Li Xu loved him very much. He felt so sad that his lord, in the end, couldn’t meet the person he wanted to see.
The music sounded, and Li Xu’s life flashed on the screen one by one. The purity and naiveness in the beginning, the heartbreaking farewell, and his ruthlessness during his reign as Wufu Chitose. After a life of heavy ink and color, only a single rose bloomed.
The author has something to say:
He met and died for the person he loved the most.
Don’t hit me, this is already a more moderate version! What everyone asks for is also his inevitable ending. Wuwuwu. A’Xu!
Li Xu chose to go back since the emperor wanted him dead, he had no way to live, and he didn’t want to hurt Zhou Ying. After he looked at him from a distance, he calmly went to his death.
Zhou Ying had always lived a life of pleasure; he didn’t know that Li Xu was full of white hair.
It was John Doe who killed Li Xu, one of his many enemies.
The East Palace is over, and there will be some finishing introductions later.
Next, the award ceremony.
Kinky Thoughts:
I didn’t put the footnote for the Lao Lao Pavilion* because I felt it would spoil the ending.
*Is a poem by the poet Li Bai. This poem is not about the spring sunshine of Lao Lao Pavilion, but rather, it is inspired by the locality and borrows the scenery to express feelings. It uses the pavilion as the title to express the pain of parting in the world.
Lao Lao Pavilion by Li Bai What place under heaven most hurts the heart? Lao lao Pavilion, for seeing visitors off. The spring wind knows how bitter it is to part, The willow twig will never again be green.
I honestly rather have Zhou Ying be dead than THIS ending!! *sobs uncontrollably* At this point, I have to ask myself… am I an M? Why do I abuse myself with this kind of story… but it’s soooo good. I really want to read the full version of The East Palace. I can see why people like reading dog-blooded tragedies.
Zheng Siqi was coming, but Shen Jintai didn’t know about it in advance, so when he saw Zheng Siqi, he was stunned.
Shen Jintai: “Why are you here? Is it an open set visit?”
“I’m here to act,” Zheng Siqi said with a smile.
“Shit!” Shen Jintai stood straight up.
The makeup artist hurriedly got out of the way. He was also surprised. “The prince still has a part! Oh my god! Oh my God!”
“I knew it!” Shen Jintai said. “The director was acting all weird yesterday that it looked like he was planning something big.”
The entire dressing room was overjoyed. The fate of Li Xu and the prince really touched the hearts of millions of viewers. They all guessed that the prince wasn’t truly dead. Screenwriter Meng Xiaosheng was merciful in the end.
Shen Jintai had been acting as Li Xu for so long that he had entered deeply into the drama. It wasn’t possible any longer to see whether it was a HE or BE from an artistic point of view. He only felt excitement as he saw hope for Li Xu.
However, looking at the scene he filmed today, he didn’t know how the ending could be reversed. Li Xu begged for death with all his heart by pretending to be crazy as he sang loudly in the middle of the night, evoking He Lanbi’s fury that sent him to jail.
“I also came here as soon as I received the notice. As for what the scene is, I don’t know yet. I heard that it was going to be filmed on location,” Zheng Siqi said.
“Then go see the director first,” Shen Jintai said, smiling, as he sat down again.
Zheng Siqi left to meet with the director. While resuming putting makeup on for him the makeup artist said, “There have been waves of good things recently. Have you heard that The East Palace is reportedly nominated for the Guohua Awards? Both you and Bai Qingquan has been nominated for best male lead.”
Shen Jintai: “Guohua Award?”
The Guohua Awards* are the most authoritative and weighty TV drama awards in China. Any series can qualify as long as they end before the award ceremony that is held in May. The East Palace’s broadcast would end in March.
*Clarity: I believe this is a fictional award. My research didn’t turn anything up in real life regarding this award.
“It’s still very common for a TV series to nominate two male protagonists. You have so many roles. Although you are the second male lead, your character shined throughout this series, and you acted so brilliantly. If they don’t nominate you for the male lead, the audience from all over the country will feel sorry for you,” the makeup artist said with a smile.
Still, Shen Jintai remained surprised. <The East Palace is Coming> was produced by Sunshine Media, who was also Bai Qingquan’s agency. If he were to be nominated as male lead, it would inevitably affect Bai Qingquan’s chances of winning the award as they would split the vote.
Sunshine Media was ambitious, and the role of Li Xu was too popular. Shen Jintai must give it his all in this final chapter of Li Xu’s ending.
When he finished his makeup, a flying page came. It wasn’t for him, but for Yang Lizhi and Zheng Siqi. He glanced over and saw that Zheng Siqi had a scene. Sure enough, as the public had guessed, Zhou Jing had relented at the most critical moment and saved Zhou Ying’s life.
He watched as Zheng Siqi drove an ox cart. With a single thought, Shen Jintai was about to cry. He fantasized about how Li Xu could be sitting in this ox cart with the two of them drifting away on the ancient road towards the setting sun, leaving behind the palace and all its struggles as they disappeared into the long river of history.
For Li Xu, this would be the most gratifying ending. Li Xu deserved such an ending for the great love he had in his heart.
“Have you seen the flying page?” Yang Lizhi asked him before the shooting started.
Shen Jintai smiled and said, “I saw it.”
“That’s great. I don’t need any more scolding.” Yang Lizhi chuckled. Today’s script made Yang Lizhi incredibly grateful to screenwriter Meng Xiaosheng. She was really scared she’d be scolded endlessly.
She also heard about the nomination of <The East Palace is Coming> for the Guohua Awards. From what she heard, she had the lowest chance of being nominated despite being the heroine, but at this point she didn’t care anymore! As long as she could be whitewashed, nothing else mattered!
Fucking hell*! She had been struggling in the entertainment industry for so many years and this drama was almost the death of her!
Before Zhou Jing died, he left two life-saving tokens for Li Xu. The decree was for the people of the world to witness, and the Red Book Iron Voucher was for the new Emperor and He Lanbi to witness.
He Lanbi took the decree, read it from start to finish, and sneered. She threw the decree on the ground and kicked it away.
Li Xu rolled up the decree and said, “The empress doesn’t have to be angry. This edict is only to preserve the reputation of the late emperor’s benevolence and kindness. It cannot save the life of a slave.”
He Lanbi: “The decree will not save your life. Only I* can.”
*She’s referring to herself as “the palace/this seat”, which is something the Emperor’s women refer to themselves when they are talking to someone of lower position.
Li Xu laughed. His voice was haggard, but his expression was haughty. He Lanbi walked around him. The dungeon was damp, and the withered grass was covered by Li Xu’s thin robe. “When the late emperor was alive, you were so honorable that you didn’t care about me. Now look at me. You’re kneeling while I’m still standing. In the end, I still won.”
“Niang Niang1, don’t be in such a rush to be proud. There’s still an undercurrent in the dynasty. Though I have a reputation as a wicked man, I can still maintain balance for your dynasty when I’m alive. If I die, they will bully you orphans and widows2. What would you do then?”
1(娘娘) Means goddess and it’s a respectful way generally used to address queens, concubines, and princesses. 2(孤儿寡母) Refers to the child and women left behind after a man’s death. || In this context, the new emperor and He Lanbi.
He Lanbi sneered, “Will the world still be chaotic without you?”
“He Lanbi, do you know that you, as a person, are not as good as me? You may be good at most things, but you are not ruthless enough.” Li Xu rolled over and groan in pain. With a bitter voice, he continued, “You are young. The old courtiers in the dynasty respect you on the surface, but in fact, they aren’t afraid of you. At a high level, respect isn’t enough. You must also command fear. The ministers are feared and the people support them, thus allowing them to sit firmly on their high platform. Currently, the courtiers do not fear you. To the common people, you mother-son duo are just orphans and widows whom they have never heard of. The courters show no fear, and the people show no support. How can your future remain favorable?”
He Lanbi was stunned as if what Li Xu said shot straight to her heart.
“I will never be such a cruel and cold-blooded person like you,” she said. “You… You killed so many innocents. If I hadn’t watched this death row closely, you would have been killed a long time ago. Do you know how many people in this world can’t wait for your death?”
Li Xu then looked at her and smiled. “So, your opportunity has come. The late emperor is gone, and the new emperor is young. You are orphans and widows. If you want to stand firmly, you must do a major event that the people will laud you for after you ascend the throne.”
He Lanbi turned around and looked at Li Xu, whose hair was covered in dirt and grime. Li Xu said, “Kill me. Let the ministers see your wrists, and let the people remember that Wufu Chitose, the demon that everyone fears, died by your hands, Empress Dowager.”
“So, it turns out to be like this.” He Lanbi laughed and took two steps back as she stared at Li Xu. “You acted crazy because of this. You really are affectionate and righteous toward your country and the people.”
Li Xu: “You and I both know that I have countless sins, and the outcome will not end well. Rather than die at the hands of my enemies, it’s better to die in yours and the new emperor’s hands. I, Li Xu, have lived a tumultuous life. I at least want to die well. The late emperor knows my intention and will not blame you in Jiuquan*.”
*(九泉) Land of the dead.
He Lanbi turned around, remaining silent.
“You really deserve to be damned,” she said. “The late emperor has already been criticized for protecting your legacy, but now you’re begging for mercy. I’m afraid you still don’t know one thing.”
She looked straight at him; her eyes were red. She couldn’t see love or hate in his eyes and just said, “Elder Prince Brother… He is still alive.”
—
After filming this scene, Shen Jintai’s mind was heavy. Just as he was about to finish work, there was a knock on the door outside. He opened the door and saw Meng Xiaosheng standing outside the door with a smile.
“Are you calling it a day?” She asked.
Shen Jintai nodded. “I’m leaving now.”
Meng Xiaosheng: “Let’s go to a small bar together. I want to have a final chat with you about the next scene to be filmed.”
“Are you giving me spoilers?” Shen Jintai smiled, but his expression remained somber.
Meng Xiaosheng really did spill it all. The two started chatting about Li Xu’s role. She was tipsy toward the end of the conversation. She lit a cigarette and handed him the script that contained Li Xu’s final ending.
“There is still a week before we shoot this scene. It must be kept in complete confidentiality. I’m giving it to you in advance so that you can know the ending and figure out how to act the part.”
Shen Jintai read the script and was quiet for ages. In the end, he said to Meng Xiaosheng, without knowing whether he loved or hated it. “I can do it.”
The whole world was squatting on Li Xu’s final ending. Although the episode has not yet been broadcast, everyone knew about it on the day when Shen Jintai shot his exit photo. The official blog posted a video of Shen Jintai applying makeup in his dressing room in advance.
In the video, Shen Jintai had his eyes closed as the makeup artist put a hood around his head. His hair was completely white and there were no traces of love.
“Ahhhhhhhhh it’s about to be finished. Is Li Xu going to die? So, it’s true that the prince is really dead? Ahhhhhhhh!!”
“Will Li Xu go crazy like the white-haired Li Xu who was sitting on the ground rocking back and forth, calling out to Zhou Ying?”
“Please don’t abuse me anymore. My little heart really can’t stand it anymore!”
“Abuse! Abuse! Abuse hard! My tears are ready!”
“Originally, the crew was more than a month ahead of the broadcast. To prevent Li Xu’s ending from leaking, they filmed other scenes first, and the episode with Li Xu’s ending was moved to pre-broadcast filming. It’ll be filmed this week, with the broadcast next week. The crew is ruthless!”
On the day of filming the finale, the top executives of Sunshine Media came.
Yang Lizhi’s agent said, “It’s the same drama. There will still be two more episodes after this.”
But everyone knew that this episode was the most important in the series. Everyone was looking forward to it. The East Palace crew cleared the entire venue. Only a few senior leaders and necessary staff were allowed on set. Everyone else was blocked off.
Even Li Meilan, Xiao Tang, and Shen Jintai’s assistants couldn’t watch the filming of the finale. They only knew that after the finale was filmed, Shen Jintai stayed alone in his dressing room for a long time.
He had been acting as Li Xu for over a year and it was finally time to say goodbye.
There was a knock on the door. Shen Jintai glanced back and said, “Come in.”
It was Yan Qiuchi. Shen Jintai gave him a weary, reluctant smile as he was feeling wistful.
Yan Qiuchi said, “Congratulations, you are done.”
“Thank you.” Shen Jintai stretched out his hand to wipe the makeup off his face and said, “You came to say goodbye?”
Shen Jintai looked in the mirror. It showed the reflection of two people.
Yan Qiuchi said, “You did a great job. On behalf of the company, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“I would like to thank you as well,” Shen Jintai said. “Without you, there would be no Li Xu by Shen Jintai.” He turned to the mirror again and raised his hand to remove his headgear, which took off his white hair, leaving behind his black hair that had now reached shoulder length.
Before Shen Jintai left the crew, he hugged everyone and finally stood in front of Zheng Siqi. Zheng Siqi tilted his head, smiled, and stretched out his arms first, and the two hugged each other. It lasted for quite some time before they both let go.
Shen Jintai and the crew had developed deeper feelings than the other actors. They continued to wave their hands and bow as he got into the car and drove off.
On the eve of the finale broadcast, the trailer of <The East Palace is Coming> was looping online. It was accompanied by a grand and solemn theme music, as the satellite TV channel said in the most sensational voice:
“Unforgettable, when he looked up, was gentle and tender. Looking back, it’s been ten years since his intersection with life and the loss of death. Now the roses are blooming again, the lovers are full of flowers. The beautiful scenery of a good day. Jintai Qiongying invites you to share tomorrow, as the East Place is here!”
The last shot was of Li Xu with completely white hair, wearing a rose on his head. He smiled brightly, but the viewers wanted to cry.
The author has something to say:
Let us squat together and watch the finale of The East Palace tomorrow! In the next three consecutive chapters, there will be scenes in the East Palace, and they are abusive. If you don’t like it, you can skip it. A friendly reminder.
Kinky Thoughts:
Well, I was hoping for a happy ending, but given the author’s comment… looks like I’m going to be an abused dog. *Prepares tissues*.
Side note: Li Xu’s hair is supposed to turn white, not gray. I was using gray in earlier chapters, but I’ll go back and fix them, so if you’ve read those chapters before my edits, just know he has white hair.
Bai Qingquan had just finished reading the script for his new drama again. After acting in a big drama like <The East Palace is Coming> and comparing it to the sweet and silly idol drama in his hand… He just couldn’t bear it.
This drama should be able to catapult him closer to the stars. Even the actress who was paired with him was a xiao huadan that had been flourishing in recent years. The ratings should also be good… but it just couldn’t compare to The East Palace.
He felt that taking this play was a step backwards in every aspect.
“Why are you dissatisfied with this drama?” Wei Ge asked.
Bai Qingquan said, “Shen Jintai’s next project is a movie.”
Wei Ge snorted and said, “We rejected <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>.”
“But he said that the current version isn’t the one we originally saw. Seeing him so concerned, the new script must be very good. Shen Jintai has good taste in scripts.”
“You have a high evaluation of Shen Jintai.”
“He really… At the very least, he’s discerning.” He felt Shen Jintai was really knowledgeable and qualified when it came to this.
“There’s also a new movie upcoming. It’s a spy movie that’ll be released in the second half of the year. The company will give you priority. This is a modern drama that has been greenlighted and will start filming in three months. Do you want it?”
“I heard Sister Yang say that our company is going to start filming a new movie in March and that it’s already in preparation.”
“You’re talking about <When You’re Older>?”
Bai Qingquan nodded.
“That’s not suitable for you,” Wei Ge said. “It’s a gay romance movie and the subject matter is yellow*.”
*Buzzword basically referring to vulgar/X-rated ect..
The unprecedented success of <The East Palace is Coming> had given Sunshine Media a lot of excitement. The audience’s madness was fixated on Li Xu that it pushed the company’s editorial and review department to focus more on same-sex films and TV series. They had set their sights on an online novel called <When My Lover Gets Old, I Will Still Be as Beautiful as a Flower>.
It told the story of a man who would never grow old and kept going back into the past and falling in love with his lover using time travel. After this novel was adapted into a script, it took a more literary name, called <When You’re Older>.
The girls on the editorial board all liked this novel deeply. They cried heavily after reading it, but after contacting the author, they found that the copyright for this drama had already been bought.
Bai Qingquan said quietly, “Honestly, it’s okay for me to act in a gay drama, as long as I don’t come out of the closet.”
“After this kind of drama, there will definitely be many people who’ll associate you with being gay. Even if you are pretending to be a straight guy now, you really do like men! If it’s exposed one day, it will have a serious impact on your career. I know you want to use Shen Jintai as an example, but he’s already affected. He can’t play the role you’re playing now in this idol drama. His follow-up resources are also very poor, and he’s been insulated from all straight love dramas. He may not know this yet, but he will have a very hard time securing the lead male role in the future.”
This was the truth. In today’s current climate, most TV series and movies have the male lead falling in love or getting married. There were too few that rarely didn’t have romance between men and women, and this world was a world of love dramas.
“Then I’ll focus on this idol drama…” Bai Qingquan said. “Hearing your words makes me sympathize with him. When there’s a good project, I will keep in touch with him. It’s not easy to become popular, and I don’t want him to stop filming.”
Wei Ge laughed: “You scolded him every day last year.”
“I don’t hate him anymore. I strangely miss him.” Bai Qingquan sighed as he held his cheeks, making a girly look. “I still want to act with him.”
“You don’t like him, doyou?” Wei Ge asked.
“Huh?” Bai Qingquan said. “We’re two sisters, God forbid.”
Wei Ge laughed. “I think he’s quite aggressive, not necessarily a 0.”
Bai Qingquan: “He likes President Yan, but he still attacks? I, Bai Qingquan, only want a pure 1. All those who resemble even slightly a 0 is a PASS. I only want pure masters!”
—
Shen Jintai sat on the sofa and looked at his phone. Bai Qingquan was no longer here, and he missed him inexplicably. His little 0 beauty wasn’t under his watch now and he feared he might like another man, or worse, get together with Yan Qiuchi.
He pulled out Bai Qingquan’s WeChat account, took a photo of the set, and posted it: [I’m really not used to it without you on set.]
After sending it, he waited for a while, but Bai Qingquan never replied.
“Brother Jin, we are ready to start shooting.”
Shen Jintai stood up from the chair. Originally, they were going to continue filming Zhou Jing’s death. It would be the scenes of his funeral that were held with grandeur and splendor. It was also a big intersection point in the drama between He Lanbi and Li Xu. He Lanbi also took this opportunity to bring down the last restless concubine.
However, the crew was superstitious and felt that it was a bit unlucky to shoot a funeral on the first day after the Spring Festival, so they decided to shoot the later scenes first. They were all original scenes that were completely different from the novel.
Shen Jintai took off his down jacket and handed it to the assistant next to him. There was only a thin robe underneath that was worn loosely on his body. His almost all-white hair was scattered. Under the lights, his makeup gave him a flirtatious look.
Yang Lizhi, who had a rival scene against him, felt his heart pounding with only a glance. She was afraid of these types of dynamic scenes these days. The last time was when she acted against Song Wei. Those dynamic scenes caused her to have a creepy feeling and made her feel terrible. The explosive power of these people was too scary.
Today, Shen Jintai’s explosive power contained in his young body was even more terrifying. Seeing him standing quietly under the light, eyes closed as he was simmering his emotions, made Yang Lizhi so nervous she had stage fright.
“All departments are ready!”
With the director’s order, all the lights on the set went out after a few pops, leaving only a headlight behind the curtain.
“Three, two, one, action!”
Li Xu hugged the pipa, his white hair scattered, as he fell onto the couch with a smile.
He Lanbi, who had become Empress Dowager, had heavy black makeup on that contrasted with her white funeral dress, making her look majestic and hostile. She walked quickly to the hall with her attendants and opened the curtain.
Li Xu continued to hold the pipa as he played on it. He reached out to grab the wine jar next to him. He Lanbi picked up the jar and splashed it on his face.
He Lanbi: “Before the late emperor’s bones are even cold, you’re already singing in the palace in the middle of the night. The entire palace must think you are tired of living!”
Li Xu stretched out his hand to wipe the alcohol stains from his face. He let out a chuckle when he saw it was her and said, “I was wondering who would dare. It turns out to be the Empress… No, I should address you as Empress Dowager now. Did the Empress Dowager came here late at night to kill me?”
The inflection of “kill me” was raised. Li Xu’s eyes were flushed red as they filled with tears, making him look even more rampant and peculiar in the dark night.
He Lanbi: “Don’t think that you can do whatever you want in this palace just because you have the emperor’s edict and the Red Book Iron Voucher. The emperor may tolerate you, but this palace won’t! Come! Tie him to the late emperor’s spirit and let Wufu Chitose show him what kind of heart he really has that he’s trying to protect.”
“I have the emperor’s decree. Whoever kills me will be punished by the nine tribes. Who dares to touch me!” Li Xu stood up, holding the decree. His attitude was arrogant and frantic.
The palace attendants stepped forward, one after another. “My lord, you have drunk too much. Come down quickly.”
Li Xu jumped onto the table and kicked the pipa to the ground. He Lanbi was furious. “It seems that he can’t be left alone. Quickly come and take him down immediately!”
Several guards rushed to the front and directly dragged Li Xu off the table. After struggling a few times, Li Xu was pressed to the ground, but he still shouted, “I have the Red Book Iron Voucher. Just try to kill me. The emperor said, whoever kills me will be punished by the nine tribes. Oh, but your family is almost eradicated. How can there still be nine tribes?”
He Lanbi slapped him with a pah, then turned around with a wave of her long sleeve. “Gag him!”
Deep in the night, in the huge dark palace, there was only a bright light shining in the corridor. The palace attendants walked hurriedly with lanterns as the guards dragged a sack behind them. The person inside wailed so loudly that it frightened a nearby little eunuch who quickly looked away. The music was rapid and heavy drumbeats sounded, heralding the end.
—
“Oh my god! Damn He Lanbi, what is she going to do!? Can’t she see that our Li Xu deliberately angered her!”
“This heroine has issues with her brain, right? She won’t really kill Li Xu, will she?”
“Ah ah, that slap was so hard. He Lanbi, I am at odds with you!”
As spring arrived in March, <The East Palace is Coming> was reaching the end of its broadcast. Zhou Jing’s death completely whitewashed the male lead, while the female lead had been severely abusing Li Xu for over a month, causing a national scolding war. Yang Lizhi was scolded so badly that she didn’t dare fight back.
Since New Year’s, the ratings for <The East Palace is Coming> hadn’t dropped but continued to rise. There was a great possibility of breaking 6 between the two stations. This kind of rating success had not been seen for many years, and the crew were in high spirits.
Everyone knew when the peak of the show’s rating would be. It would be the episode where Li Xu went offline!
Li Xu’s personal ending was in the hearts of audiences across the country, especially after it was revealed that the last ten episodes were completely original. Whether Li Xu would die or not, and whether Prince Ying was dead or not, the final ending would be soon be announced!
Everyone was very excited and heart wrenched with the exception of one person who was particularly depressed. It was Yang Lizhi, the actress who played the heroine.
Shouldn’t her role be easy as the heroine? She was doing justice and preventing Li Xu from doing evil, but because she had been abusing him, the audience had been scolding her to death!
Even her grandmother called yesterday and asked her, “Why did you play such a bad woman?!”
Wuwuwu! Although she may be a ruthless heroine, her three views were just! Li Xu was drunk with power, had gone crazy, and with the emperor dead, her hands were really tied as empress!
He Lanbi had been scolded consecutively for three hot searches, and even her brokerage company had started to pay careful attention to the script. The boss of their company called her every day and asked if she had gotten the script yet.
Yang Lizhi: “The whole crew is on high alert and has prevented the end from leaking. Except for Meng Xiaosheng, even Director Guo doesn’t know the specific plot, let alone me. It’s all flying pages now.”
“If you pick up a TV series in the future, don’t pick one without having them give you the entire script,” The assistant said.
“It’s because The East Palace is too hot right now and the audience has too much influence. Your role…” The agent continued, “We can only hope that there’s a reversal later. Meng Xiaosheng’s ability must be exceptional for this ending to be hidden and covered. It must be big.”
“It’s only been two days,” Yang Lizhi said. “Whether Li Xu is alive or dead, we must know.”
Before Li Xu’s ending arrived, Yang Lizhi received a flying page that made her breathe a sigh of relief. She saw that Zhou Ying was in the latest script.
“Hello, Sister Yang,” Zheng Siqi on the set greeted her politely.
After not seeing him for a few months, Zheng Siqi looked even more handsome and upright. The moment Yang Lizhi saw him, she burst into tears.
Thank you, brother! Wuwuwu! She wanted to cry tears of happiness for Li Xu… and also for herself!
The author has something to say:
Countdown to The East Palace
The novel is linked. The movie <When You’re Older> is another drama in <Don’t Be Coquettish>*. “A lifetime is not enough; I want to love you for a few more lifetimes.” Interested relatives can go to the novel to read it.
*Refers to the author’s other work. raws here. I’ll provide the summary in my Kinky Thoughts.
The East Palace belongs to the home court of Jintai Qiongying. It’s time to build a fiercer BaiJin cake. Feelings are advancing as the battle escalates!
Kinky Thoughts:
Well Bai Qingquan certainly knows what kind of man he wants…
Lol poor Yang Lizhi. She’s just doing her job.
I really like the tagline of <When You’re Older>: “A lifetime is not enough; I want to love you for a few more lifetimes.”
—
The author also plugged another one of her works that also seems to be related to this world. The title is <Don’t Be Coquettish>. Raws. There’s no Novels Update page for it yet.
Summary: As a young man who longs for love, Song Chenchen transmigrated to a danmei novel he wrote. He has a husband who’s tall, strong, and rich and could be considered the best in the world, earning him the title of “a man who satisfies all your fantasies about men”. This was originally a great joy, but the book he entered was called <Divorce>.
The male protagonist, Song Chen, was raised by the Zhao family with fiery flower* and notoriety. His brothers all fought for his affection. Seeing this, the Zhao parents felt that their second child, Zhao Dongdong was the most indifferent towards Song Chen and decided to marry him off, thinking since his fire wouldn’t burn and the flowers couldn’t be fascinated, he would be able to resist.
*Fire cooked with oil, flowers with brocade (烈火鲜花) is the full saying. It is a metaphor referring to better plus better. It’s also used to described someone who’s lively or more pompous.
Therefore, the alias of <Divorce> was also called <Zhao Dongdong and His Wicked Wife>.
After Song Chenchen transmigrated into the book, in order to maintain his personality, though he liked Zhao Dongdong, he was forced to pretend he didn’t.
Zhao Dongdong, the cold-hearted male god, often would harshly say, “I can accept anything, except touching you.”
Pretending to be like this was like making dumplings. Eventually, the layers would be revealed when there were too many. Zhao Dongdong discovered that Song Chen, who looked very perverted on the outside, had a delicious stuffing on the inside. But he thought about the pile of flags he had set up and felt that he had to hold back.
Warning: This novel contains many large-scale incest scenes.
—
For the connection, Song Chenchen is the author who also wrote <When You’re Older>. He himself transmigrated to another book he wrote called <Divorce> that has some kind of weird incest (I guess they’re brothers but not by blood) romance thing going on. IDK. I haven’t read the book. This is like some next level transmigration inception shit…
Shen Jintai from the real world transmigrate to -> <Everyone Loves Bai Yueguang> || Song Chenchen who lives in this world transmigrate into -> <Divorce> a book he wrote.
TBH I rather read <When You’re Older>… That tagline got me hooked.
Chapter 68: Of Course, You Have to Meet Your Father-in-Law During New Year’s
Yan Qiuchi came out of the cloakroom wearing a gray pantsuit and a turtleneck black sweater. He gave off a vibe of cold and rigidity. Shen Jintai retracted his gaze and smiled at Yan Qiuchi. Yan Qiuchi pursed his lips and sat down opposite of him.
Shen Jintai handed him the script and said, “I’m here to pull an investment. President Yan, how about you take a look at this script?”
Yan Qiuchi smiled for a brief moment. It looked a bit awkward since he wasn’t used to smiling. His smile was fleeting as it quickly faded back to his usual icy and restrained look. His usual look, coupled with his height and aura, always made people a bit nervous.
Yan Qiuchi took the script and skimmed through it. He raised his head and asked, “Is this the movie you want to pick up?”
Shen Jintai smiled and nodded. “So you know.”
Yan Qiuchi gazed at him briefly, then looked away. With an “Nn” he looked back down at the script and said, “I have heard of it.”
“This is Director Qiu Hong’s original version. It’s different from the version uploaded online. This version is a bit flat since it’s more of a literary and artistic film. Due to this, it hasn’t been able to attract investments. Look at it first. If you think it’s good after reading it, let’s cooperate. Business is business.” Shen Jintai stood up while maintaining his smile. “Then I’ll leave you to read it first. Let’s talk about it after you finish.”
Yan Qiuchi: “Have you decided to act in it?”
“If it can be produced, I’ll definitely act in it,” Shen Jintai said. “If you read the script and think it’s feasible and want to invest, but prefer a different star, I can also withdraw.” He said it in a joking manner, but it wasn’t entirely impossible. After all, the investors and producers were the big shots. This wasn’t something he could decide, or even Yan Qiuchi could decide alone. He liked this script immensely and hoped it could be made, even if he couldn’t participate in it himself.
It would be a pity if it ultimately, due to market preference, became a shallow movie that had a gay theme that felt shoehorned in.
Yan Qiuchi was extremely businesslike and formal. “I’ll take a look first, and if I think it’s appropriate, I’ll hand it over to the company’s editorial and review department for evaluation. What does your company think?”
Shen Jintai: “Monsoon Entertainment only works as an artist broker. President Ji found a way to contact a few investors for me, but they all preferred the edited version.” …Including Fengxi himself.
From the perspective of an investor, their choice wasn’t wrong. The script was a chronological drama. To make it high quality in order to win awards, fuhuadao* needed to be more refined and meticulously planned. Qiu Hong said that the 10 or 20 million still wasn’t enough.
*(服化道) It’s the acronym of the first three characters of and refers to costumes (服装), makeup (化妆), and props (道具). While people pay attention to the plot, they are also concerned with these things when applied to the actors, so the director would be extremely careful in this regard.
While his heartbeat was slightly faster, Yan Qiuchi still retained his original decision-making sanity and remained consistent with his principle of separation of public and private. He had a lot of say in the choice of scripts, but he would never be tyrannical about it.
Shen Jintai felt the atmosphere was becoming awkward, so he stretched out his arm and offered a handshake. He smiled and said, “Then I’ll wait for good news from you.”
Yan Qiuchi stretched out his hand and shook hands with Shen Jintai. The moment their fingers touched, his heartbeat accelerated rapidly. Shen Jintai’s hands were cold while his were hot. As Mrs. Yan said, he had strong firepower. It’s not surprising. After all, he was trying to contain a body that was full of volcanic lava. How could the firepower of this kind of onslaught not be strong?
Shen Jintai didn’t know why this thought suddenly appeared in his heart. He couldn’t help but grinned widely. “Alright then.”
Yan Qiuchi didn’t know why Shen Jintai suddenly smiled. He felt the smile was warm and bright, and it made him nervous again. After Shen Jintai got up and left the room, Yan Qiuchi returned to his seat and started reading the script. After reading only a little less than a page, he got up again and went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. His hair was messy, but his face looked clean, and his clothes were tidy. There was nothing out of place.
He used to have no feelings towards Shen Jintai’s expressions, but now he would spend hours speculating about a casual smile.
—
The New Year’s break was too short. Shen Jintai had to return to the crew to resume work the next day.
“How long will it take for you to finish?” Yan Yaoxuan asked him.
Shen Jintai: “The schedule set by the crew is about the end of this month. If it’s actually filmed, it’ll take about half a month. I don’t know what will be deleted or added later.”
“I just want to know the ending for Li Xu,” Mrs. Yan said. “I heard my friend say your character goes crazy in the end.”
“The original work is like this. He did too much evil and was driven crazy by He Lanbi.” This was one of the most exciting parts of the original work and one of the best highlights for the heroine.
“Why is this He Lanbi so annoying,” Mrs. Yan said. “The staff at home, as well as my friends, all hate her.”
“She is the heroine, and her three views are quite correct,” Shen Jintai said with a smile. “You’re looking at it from Li Xu’s standpoint. In fact, from the standpoint of the heroine, there’s nothing wrong with her.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s understandable when I think about it, but it’s just not flattering,” Mrs. Yan said. “Anyway, we all think so. It would be great if you could defeat her.”
Mrs. Yan’s opinion represented most of the passersby’s. Preconceived notions had already been formed. Everyone’s empathy was on Li Xu’s side, and they sympathized that he was forced to take the path of evil.
“By the way,” Mrs. Yan asked Yan Qiuchi, “have you finished reading the script that Xiao Jin gave you? What did you think?”
“The story is okay, but the commercial nature is relatively poor,” Yan Qiuchi said. “I have sent it to the editorial and review department to let them audit and evaluate it.”
“What script?” Yan Yaoxuan asked.
“Xiao Jin picked up a script recently. The story is very good, but it may not be a blockbuster type, and he hasn’t been able to attract investors. I asked him to show it to your brother.” Mrs. Yan glanced at Shen Jintai with a smile.
Shen Jintai felt that Mrs. Yan was trying to hint something at him. She was also the one who suggested he ask Yan Qiuchi about it in the first place.
“How much do you need for an investment?” Yan Yaoxuan said. “If it’s not enough, I’ll sponsor it.”
“You have a lot of money now?” Yan Qiuchi said coldly. “Do you think your tuition and living expenses are free for next semester?”
“I have enough to cover them.” Yan Yaoxuan said. He didn’t understand his brother’s brain circuit at all. Didn’t his brother like Shen Jintai? If he had the money, power, and connections, he wouldn’t hesitate to help Shen Jintai make movies. Whatever Shen Jintai wanted to film, he would handily give it. He would open his own company dedicated to making him a superstar!
“Don’t get involved,” Mrs. Yan said. She then turned to look at Yan Qiuchi. “Your company’s investment in movies doesn’t only depend on just box office returns. It’s not enough to just make commercial films. You also ought to make a few award-winning ones too. It’s also good for your company’s reputation.”
“My department will evaluate,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Mrs. Yan had a love-hate relationship with her son’s business-like attitude. To Yu Gong* this would be considered the ideal boss. With such a boss, the company’s development would be infinite. Privately, though, she had the same feelings as Yan Yaoxuan. It was great to support Shen Jintai on his way to superstardom. After all, they were all from the same family! Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but feel regret that Shen Jintai hadn’t signed with Sunshine Media.
*Prime Minister of the Western Han Dynasty and served as the county jailer and judge. He was very diligent in his management of prisons and was famous for his ability to execute prison sentences. No matter how big or small the case was, he would investigate meticulously. It is said that people who were sentenced by him bear no resentment. || Basically, the reference is that Yan Qiuchi is too upright in terms of business and private.
Shen Jintai, on the other hand, thought Yan Qiuchi was very proper. He made a clear distinction between public and private. If they worked together in the future, it would be much easier to get along.
He would be returning to the crew soon. Shen Jintai planned to return home again before that. Mrs. Yan was thoughtful and prepared many New Year’s gifts for him. “Don’t let your stepmother say that you weren’t there.”
Shen Jintai said, “Last time I saw her, I felt that she was okay and very enthusiastic about me spending time here.”
Mrs. Yan: “Now that the family depends on you, how can she not be enthusiastic? If she was more reliable, the relationship between you and your father wouldn’t be this bad. Forget it, I’m too lazy to talk about her. Qiuchi send Xiao Jin back.”
Yan Yaoxuan watched from the side, silently. His heart was sour and bitter. He turned his head and looked at Yan Qiuchi next to him. He never realized that his brother was so good at pretending. From a glance, no one could tell that he liked Shen Jintai. His face remained stiff like a dead and dark corpse. The black turtleneck sweater he was wearing only made him look more distant and colder.
Yan Qiuchi responded with a nod.
“There’s no driver at home and elder brother is also busy…” Yan Yaoxuan said quietly.
“Also, pay your New Year’s greetings to your Uncle Shen,” Mrs. Yan said to Yan Qiuchi.
Shen Jintai gave a call home first before he headed out. When he arrived, Shen Xiaomei was already waiting for him outside. This time, she was even more energetic than last time. As soon as she saw the car stopped, she jumped up and down and yelled, “Brother! Brother!”
When Shen Jintai got out of the car, she rushed over. She looked milky and sweet. Her pink down jacket and pink butterfly hairpin made her look like a ball of pink.
She threw herself into Shen Jintai’s arms and secretly looked at Yan Qiuchi behind him. Shen Jintai smiled and picked her up. “His name is Uncle Yan.”
He didn’t mean it intentionally. He wasn’t used to having a much younger sister, so when he met someone that was Shen Xiaomei’s age, he would automatically classify himself as an uncle.
As soon as Yan Qiuchi’s expression changed, he heard Shen Xiaomei call out obediently, “Hello uncle.”
Yan Qiuchi thought that Shen Jintai was deliberately teasing him. He pursed his lips and responded with “Nn” in an almost inaudible voice.
Liu Qi came out with her apron still tied to her body. “I thought it would be a while longer before you arrive…” Seeing Yan Qiuchi while speaking, she was taken aback for a moment. “Qiuchi is here too… Lao* Shen, Jintai and Qiuchi are here!”
*Old (老) When used in front of a name, it refers to the head or elder members of the family.Also used among people of the same age group to address familiarity and fondness.
When Shen Ruhai came out of the house, he saw Liu Qi helping Yan Qiuchi carry things. Shen Jintai was still holding onto Shen Xiaomei. When he saw him, he immediately bent over and nodded.
Yan Qiuchi also greeted Shen Ruhai respectfully, “Uncle Shen.”
Shen Ruhai nodded and listened to Liu Qi say, “You are too polite to bring so many things.”
When Mrs. Yan made her move, it was always big. This time, Yan Qiuchi alone couldn’t carry everything in at once. Shen Jintai had to put Shen Xiaomei down and help him bring in the gifts. When he reached the door, he ran into Shen Ruhai, who took some off his hand and said, “Next time, just come back empty handed.”
Shen Jintai was surprised and said, “Auntie Fang prepared it all. It has nothing to do with me.” He had only prepared a red envelope for Shen Xiaomei. When he originally prepared it, he didn’t expect Yan Qiuchi to go with him. Thinking that it didn’t seem appropriate to say that the red envelope was a gift from only himself, he said to Shen Xiaomei, “This gift is from both me and your uncle Yan.”
Shen Xiaomei looked at Yan Qiuchi and said, in a milky voice, “Thank you, Uncle.”
Yan Qiuchi’s face was slightly embarrassed. He heard Liu Qi laugh and said, “What uncle? He’s still young. This is your brother.”
Shen Ruhai laughed, and Shen Jintai reacted instantly, giving Yan Qiuchi an embarrassing look.
On the way to the crew, he said to Yan Qiuchi, “I’m sorry.”
Yan Qiuchi remained indifferent as he asked, “For what?”
Shen Jintai: “You are young and promising, but, in my mind, you’re still a big boss. I automatically classified you as an uncle, but I don’t treat you like an uncle, hahaha.”
Yan Qiuchi laughed. He put his slender hand on the steering wheel and said, “Then what do you take me as?”
“Gege1.” Shen Jintai said. “It must be gege since you’re so young.” The word “gege” came out so naturally2.
1(哥哥) Used to address an older brother (related by blood) but can also be used to address a male in an intimate way, like someone who is very dear to you or you show a lot of respect towards. 2Clarity: I left it in its pinyin because brother doesn’t hold the same deeper meaning in English as it does in Chinese, especially in this context. For Shen Jintai to say gege to Yan Qiuchi, especially given how Yan Qiuchi now feels about him, can be said to be… very intimate (from Yan Qiuchi’s POV).
Yan Qiuchi felt that his hair was about to stand up.
The author has something to say:
Xiao Chi, you only have hair when you get up.
68* is an auspicious number.
*In Chinese, six is considered a lucky number, while 8 in Mandarin is “ba” which sounds similar to the word signifying the arrival of good fortune. Combine makes 68 an auspicious number, which is also the number of this chapter.
At the moment Liu Qi shouted out, she couldn’t help but feel Jintai and Qiuchi’s name* is a good match.
*Clarity: This is describing the scene where Liu Qi shouted to Shen Rui that Jintai and Qiuchi are here. The reference is to JinQiu, which combine makes Golden Autumn making it a very good match.
Kinky Thoughts:
I’m surprised that Yan Qiuchi didn’t immediately flash his black card and go all domineering president and say, “I’ll pay for it.” I must admit that I like this response much better. I also liked how the author contrasted the two different feelings between Yan Qiuchi vs Yan Yaoxuan and their approach given the same issue. Let’s see if this still holds water when Yan Qiuchi actually does get together with Shen Jintai.
Ahhhhh Shen Jintai called him Gege~~~ While I do like this, I still prefer baobei better.
On a serious note: I’ve been seeing my translations being posted on other sites. While I’d prefer this didn’t happen, it’s not like I have any way to stop it either. However, the least I ask is that you give me credit for my work… It’s quite disheartening to know that your hard work isn’t even given any credit. I don’t want to start watermarking all my chapters everywhere as it takes away from the reading experience.
On the second day after New Year’s, Bai Qingquan, Shen Jintai, Zheng Siqi, and screenwriter Meng Xiaosheng had a meal together. Before the meal started, candid photos of passersby circulated on the internet. The three of them were very generous this time. When they noticed that they were being photographed, Bai Qingquan smiled at the camera and shouted, “Make us handsome.”
Shen Jintai smiled and patted Zheng Siqi next to him. Zheng Siqi waved his hand towards the camera.
“Touhua and Bai Yueguang, are these two now friends? From my impression, this isn’t the first time they have been photographed eating together, right?”
“Not sure if the two of them have become friends. Gold powders and moonlight powders are harmonious now.”
“It’s obvious this was used to provoke people. The dinner party was with the crew. A bunch of other people were also there, but no one seemed to mention them.”
“Yes, it seems Prince Ying was there too.”
“The three of them are the best looking in the East Palace. I didn’t expect modern clothes to be more eye-catching.”
“Is Touhua the one wearing a sweater and jeans? He’s also in great shape.”
“Touhua’s figure is a must-have in the circle. Haven’t you realized this after watching his underwear advertisement?”
“The three of them are really good-looking, and they each have their own distinct characteristics. The prince is heroic and refreshing, Bai Yueguang is beautiful and gentle, and Touhua is handsome and smooth. It would be great if the three of them made a modern drama together.”
“Before filming a modern drama, how about giving Jintai Qiongying a HE first?”
“I really love and hate this crew. Whether it’s a BE or HE for Jintai Qiongying, can they at least just give us an answer?”
“I think, looking at the recent interviews with the creators, it should be HE.”
“I also think it’s HE. Bai Qingquan’s exit photos have all come out, but Zheng Siqi’s haven’t been released yet. It’s obvious he still has scenes.”
“There’s not enough sugar to eat. I have searched for Jintai Qiongying doujin articles everywhere on xx websites and read all of them. I have to share it with my sisters. The meat of the prince and Li Xu is really delicious!”
“If you want to see the meat of the two of them rather than doujin, look at the original work!”
“Honestly, when I was reading the novel, I visualized the scenes as Touhua and Zheng Siqi. Oh my god! I had a nosebleed and felt I was ascending to heaven!”
“Isn’t Touhua going to make <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>? The scale of this movie should be very large. When Touhua comes on screen, prepare to rub your hands.”
Funnily enough, the issues the netizens were discussing also happened to be the topic the group was discussing at their get together. Since they were all in the same circle, their conversation would naturally revolve around their work. What Shen Jintai and the others were most curious about was Li Xu’s ending.
“What about me?” Zheng Siqi asked. “Teacher Meng, do I have any more scenes?”
“Even you don’t know?” Bai Qingquan asked in surprise.
Zheng Siqi smiled and said, “I don’t know. Sister Wen said she was still waiting for the crew to decide.”
Bai Qingquan: “I thought you knew.”
“I also thought you knew.” Shen Jintai smiled and looked at Meng Xiaosheng. “Siqi should still have a part, right?”
Meng Xiaosheng lit a cigarette, smiled and said, “Everyone’s ending has been decided except Li Xu’s. It hasn’t been finalized yet. It’s possible. What I mean is it’s possible there may be two versions.”
Shen Jintai: “One sad and one happy?”
Meng Xiaosheng neither confirmed nor denied. “The crew said that the ending should be kept strictly confidential. I have been deleting and changing the last part. I’m not completely sure of my intentions yet. I can only tell you that, for now, the prince still has a part.” Other than this, she didn’t reveal anything more.
It was certain that even if Zheng Siqi still had scenes, it wouldn’t be too many because he had already picked up a variety show. He wouldn’t have much time to shoot for The East Palace. Bai Qingquan also said he would be joining a new crew for his new drama after the end of the Spring Festival.
The East Palace was so popular that it brought tons of benefits to every actor who participated in it. Everyone had good resources for their follow-up work. Only Shen Jintai’s hadn’t been decided.
“Do you really want to participate in <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>?” Bai Qingquan asked. “I was particularly surprised when I heard that you might pick it up. I have read the plot. It seems a bit too controversial.”
“It’s not the same one that was posted on the internet anymore,” Shen Jintai said. “That one was not only too controversial, but there were also no thematic ideas behind it. However, Director Qiu showed me the first version. I thought it was pretty good, but this version was too calm. It’s meant to be a literary and artistic film, so it won’t make a lot of money and thus can’t attract investments.”
—
The movie <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night> had reached an impasse. The main investment company that originally supported Qiu Hong still insisted on making the edited version and contacted Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai made it clear that he wouldn’t accept it.
As a hot traffic star now, he understood he needed to be cautious about taking that kind of movie. In addition, many TV dramas had contacted him, but they were all costume dramas that couldn’t compare to The East Palace in terms of scale or team.
Seeing as The East Palace was about to end, a traffic star like him couldn’t dawdle his feet for too long. It was time for him to make a decision.
The problem was, Shen Jintai really liked the story of <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>. It moved him deeply when he first read it. He had been repeatedly reading the script for the past two days, and Qiu Hong had been in contact with him frequently.
Qiu Hong loved him so enigmatically that the movie couldn’t start if he wasn’t cast. “As soon as I saw you, I was inspired,” Qiu Hong said. “I think you have the kind of feeling that I want.”
Shen Jintai felt what he said seemed to be a rainbow fart, so he was too embarrassed to ask him what he meant by it.
“Your new project?” Mrs. Yan asked him after he hung up the phone.
Shen Jintai said, “It hasn’t been finalized yet, it may not be possible to shoot.”
“Why?”
“The director couldn’t pull off the investment.”
“How’s the story?”
Shen Jintai looked at Mrs. Yan and knew instantly what she meant. She had the kind of lavishness of “the story is most important, and money isn’t an issue” undertone. He gave the script to Mrs. Yan.
Mrs. Yan used to be a strong woman. After two years of poor health, she became a full-time stay-at-home wife. She had both cultural and aesthetic taste. After reading the script, she said emotionally, “Such a good story yet it still can’t get investments?”
“It’s not profitable at first glance. The target audience of this movie and my fans aren’t the same kind of people. The box office I can bring will be pretty limited.”
“Sometimes the box office depends on promotion and luck. I think this film could be well made and net many awards.” Mrs. Yan glanced at Shen Jintai and said, “If you want to be a big star, you need to have the same number of trophies as starlight.”
She frowned and thought for a bit, then asked, “Have you shown it to Qiuchi?”
Shen Jintai froze for a moment and said, “No.”
“You should show it to him,” Mrs. Yan said. “It’s okay. He has always had a clear separation between his public and private life. Just show it to him. Whether he’ll invest or not, that’ll be his decision as the boss of Sunshine Media. What have you got to lose?”
Shen Jintai was convinced. Business was business. Showing it to Yan Qiuchi wouldn’t be an issue. The relationship between them was lukewarm now, so Yan Qiuchi wouldn’t think that he was using him for personal gains. Shen Jintai also wasn’t afraid to be indebted to him either.
“He’s upstairs,” Mrs. Yan said. “Why don’t I take it to him on your behalf?”
“I’d better go by myself,” Shen Jintai said with a smile.
He took the script and went upstairs. He knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes, but no one answered. He was about to go back downstairs when the door suddenly opened.
Yan Qiuchi was wiping his hair with a towel as he walked out. Seeing that it was Shen Jintai, he immediately covered himself more diligently with the bathrobe. “Are you looking for me?”
Shen Jintai hurriedly walked back again. “Am I bothering you?”
“Was just taking a shower.” Yan Qiuchi gulped as he glanced at Shen Jintai and said, “Come in and talk.”
Shen Jintai wore a bright orangey-red sweater today that was very loose-fitting. His whole body looked sunny and warm. Since he had been growing out his hair for The East Palace, it was long enough now that he had to use a rubber band to tie it back. His face looked fairer and daintier, but his facial features were more vivid, matching the industry standard for an actor’s face.
From a glance, he looked as if he was a well-dressed woman, but he was distinctly male. He was taller than the average woman, his eyes were bright and valiant, and his Adam’s apple was prominent and good-looking.
Shen Jintai smelled the faint fragrance coming from Yan Qiuchi’s body, which was covered with warm moisture from his shower. He glanced into the room and found it to be extremely large. Even with all the various furniture, it still looked very spacious. It had a clean and simple look.
“Wait a moment. I’ll get dressed.” Yan Qiuchi said as he opened the door to the cloakroom and entered. Shen Jintai vaguely saw Yan Qiuchi taking off his bathrobe through the translucent door and caught a glimpse of his fair and broad back that was faintly exposed. He hurriedly stopped staring and turned his head away.
“Sit anywhere you like.” Yan Qiuchi said from the cloakroom.
Shen Jintai sat down at the coffee table in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. There was an indigo-colored clay vase on the table with a white plum branch in it. He surveyed the room again. Not far from the window was a large bed. The sheets and duvet covers were dark gray. There was a magazine in the corner of the bed.
If it was any ordinary magazine, Shen Jintai wouldn’t have paid much attention to it, but the cover of this magazine looked too familiar. It was the Harper’s Bazaar magazine that he was featured in as the cover. This was the biggest-name magazine he had ever shot for. The photographer was a big celebrity in the industry and took very good photos. Not only was the cover impressive, the inside pages were equally remarkable as well.
Shen Jintai felt that this magazine by Yan Qiuchi’s bedside looked a bit out of place. Everything in the room was exceptionally neat and tidy, fitting Yan Qiuchi’s rigorous, abstinent, and organized persona. The room felt as if it was like walking into a hotel room for the first time. There wasn’t a trace of anyone living there long-term.
Only that magazine stood out conspicuously. The cover was spread out and half of it was covered by the pillow. It was crooked and exposed, causing the rigorous and orderly look of the room to be completely messed up by it.
Needless to say, he looked damn good on that cover.
Kinky Thoughts:
Don’t give me false hope <The East Palace is Coming> crew!!!
What is Yan Qiuchi doing with that magazine by his bedside? The detective in me wants to inspect his garbage bins and under his bed to find… clues. 🕵️🕵️🕵️
The official blog of <The East Palace is Coming> posted Bai Qingquan’s exit photo at 9:00 PM last night. A group of moonlight powders ran over to blow rainbow farts.
“Brother’s beauty is prosperous!”
“Congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor!”
“Goodbye Zhou Jing, waiting for Qiao Yan!”
Qiao Yan was the name of the male lead of Bai Qingquan’s next sweet pet idol drama. Soon, a passerby noticed that a familiar face appeared in Bai Qingquan’s exit photos. Zheng Siqi’s fans confirmed it was the actor of Prince Zhou Ying, Zheng Siqi, by stripping the silk and cocooning*.
*(剥丝抽茧) Refers to making a painstakingly thorough investigation.
“Oh my God, is it really Zheng Siqi?”
“It’s rumored from the outside world that Prince Zhou Ying is not dead, and the ending has been changed. It seems to be true!”
“Today is also the day when Jintai Qiongying girls shed tears! Humbly ask for a HE*!”
*Buzzword short for happy ending.
“I think Li Xu is really miserable. Isn’t the screenwriter’s conscience hurting?!”
“I haven’t watched it for a month. I caught up recently with the last few episodes and it angered me to death. What the hell does He Lanbi, that bitch, want to do? Why does she want to abuse us? Li Xu is so pitiful!”
Yang Lizhi felt that this was her most unwise decision to take on this drama. Her role as the heroine should have been straightforward. Near the end, she should have had her moment to shine, featuring her counterattacks, but instead the audience was scolding her.
Ahhhhhhhhh! She felt wronged!
When Yang Lizhi debuted, she was an instant hit. For many years, she was ranked first as a Xiao Huadan. Her fans weren’t vegetarians. They had long disliked Shen Jintai.
Shen Jintai’s acting was… Okay. His fans were so hateful, though. They scolded He Lanbi on the internet daily… Although it hadn’t risen to the point of targeting her actual self, it was still a bit irrational. She couldn’t stand the constant scolding of her role every day!
Eventually, one of her big fans from her fan group contacted the moonlight powders. Both fandom couldn’t help but sigh. They both thought Shen Jintai was insignificant when the filming first started, so plum powders and moonlight powders fought against each other, afraid that the other would hype their own cooking.
Plum powders felt that whoever moonlight powders target, to them was viewed like a mad dog. Moonlight powders on the other hand, felt that plum powders were all brainless xxj*, but their combat effectiveness was bursting.
*[xiǎoxué jī ] (小学鸡) Childish, immature people who speak or behave stupidly (literally means “pupil chicken”).
As a result, Cheng Yaojin unexpectedly appeared halfway*. The explosiveness of The East Palace was hogged by Shen Jintai.
*(半路杀出个程咬金) Idiom referring to caught off guard/something unexpected happened. It’s in reference to Cheng Yaojin who’s often depicted in Chinese folklore as a somewhat inept and bumbling warrior who sometimes shows up at the right time and place to save the day. || In this context, it means that rather than Yang Lizhi or Bai Qingquan, Shen Jintai hogged all the popularity (unexpectedly).
The two fandoms had interacted frequently in the past few months and decided to join forces to fight against the gold powders not long ago. Unfortunately, Shen Jintai had not only his fans but passersby who defended him.
Surprisingly, when plum powders contacted moonlight powders this time around, moonlight powders remained collectively silent. They said they only wanted to praise their beauty and didn’t want to tear anymore.
Excuse me?! Is this still the invincible moonlight powders that’s known for their tearing?!
The moonlight powders had been in a delicate mood recently. The official blog of <The East Palace is Coming> posted a behind-the-scenes footage during Chinese New Year’s of Bai Qingquan exit after his character was killed off. There was a shot of him and Shen Jintai hugging each other.
Even the president of the official support association of moonlight powders had recently spoken subtly, faintly pointing out that the relationship between the two was different from the past. Shen Jintai was truly reborn with his recent comeback. The moonlight powders all saw it with their very own eyes. Still, there was no way to eliminate the hostility they had had for so many years. Though they didn’t speak words of praise for him, many had already secretly poked him.
Moreover, moonlight powders found that the popularity of <The East Palace is Coming> was not completely absorbed by Shen Jintai. On the 30th, Bai Qingquan announced his promotion for a well-known skin care brand that attracted many passersby. It firmly occupied the number one spot in the hot search that day. Though there was more news about Shen Jintai, he didn’t reach the top.
Plum powders felt that if the two of them joined forces, it would be beneficial to both parties. They wanted to use moonlight powders as a knife and thought the idea was ingenious! Shockingly, moonlight powders had refused to cooperate now.
—
The car came to a stop. Shen Jintai sat in it as he glanced at the villa. It’s been a long time since he returned to his home.
As soon as he got out of the car, he saw a little girl running over. “Brother!”
Shen Jintai squatted down, and a little girl in a pink down jacket rushed into his arms. He became a little shy as he said, “You came to greet me?”
“She got up early to wait for you. She’s been waiting behind the door all morning.” Liu Qi walked out with a smile.
Xiao Tang helped him unload all the things he had brought from the trunk. Liu Qi enthusiastically accepted some and said, “Why did you buy so many things when you’re coming back to your own home?”
Shen Jintai picked up Shen Xiaomei and saw a middle-aged man in his forties standing at the door with a fair face and jet-black hair. He had a shallow furrow between his eyebrows, making him look stern.
Shen Jintai held himself back and didn’t call him “dad”. Instead, he only nodded at Shen Ruhai.
Shen Ruhai said, “You’re back.”
Shen Jintai: “Nn.”
After Xiao Tang carried the things in, he left. Shen Jintai carried Shen Xiaomei into the house. Shen Xiaomei had missed him a lot. She hugged his neck and pressed her face against it as she remained silent. Such a well-behaved little girl made Shen Jintai’s heart soften instantly.
Perhaps it was due to their relationship by blood, but he felt closer to her than with other children.
“You are so old now. Don’t cling to your brother all day. Come down quickly,” Liu Qi lightly chided.
“It’s okay.” Shen Jintai chuckled as he continued to carry Shen Xiaomei into the house.
The house was wholly different from when he left it. There were many more items now, and there was a trivial atmosphere of life everywhere. As Liu Qi closed the door, she said, “I didn’t invite a maid to clean up. I did it myself, so it’s still a bit messy.”
The Shen family used to be wealthy. The skinny camels were still bigger than horses. They still had a lot of assets, so it wouldn’t have been a problem to hire a maid. There must have been an underlying reason why they didn’t hire someone. Shen Jintai wasn’t sure if it was related to him. When he looked at Shen Ruhai, he had a sense that he was a very traditional, old-fashioned, proud man.
Shen Jintai and the couple were unfamiliar with each other. They didn’t know what to talk about. Liu Qi tried to find something in common and started to talk about <The East Palace is Coming>. “Recently, relatives and friends are all watching it. They praise you for your good performance.”
At the end, she added, “Your dad is watching too.”
Shen Jintai smiled and thought to himself thankfully there was a child here. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing listening to her praises.
He was playing with Shen Xiaomei as they watched cartoons together. Liu Qi was busy cooking and Shen Ruhai was holed up in the study. He only came down during dinner. Shen Jintai felt as if Shen Ruhai wanted to talk to him but didn’t know what to say. He often had an eager look on his face, signaling as if he wanted to chat, but he ate silently. When his phone rang, he went out to take the call.
Liu Qi said to Shen Jintai, “If you are free in the future, come back and visit. Your dad actually misses you. He originally thought that you entered the entertainment industry to… To play. Recently, he’s been chasing The East Palace. Hearing relatives and friends praise you, he couldn’t help but feel proud. Don’t mind him. He’s just like this and doesn’t speak much. He’s been under a lot of pressure recently that his hair had turned gray. When he heard you were coming to visit, he went out and dyed it.”
Shen Jintai was speechless, so he simply nodded. Hearing this poked his feelings and made him a bit sad.
Liu Qi smiled and said to Shen Xiaomei, “Alright, get down. Your brother is leaving.”
“Why don’t you stay for Chinese New Year?” Liu Qi said with a smile.
“Auntie Fang has sent a car to pick me up.” Shen Jintai said softly.
Not spending New Year’s with one’s own family but instead at someone else’s home was a bit inappropriate to talk about. Mrs. Yan was thoughtful and made a few phone calls to urge him without directly stating her intention, and thus a car was sent over to pick him up.
Shen Xiaomei wailed sadly. Her sincere affection moved Shen Jintai.
When Shen Jintai had just left, Shen Ruhai came back carrying some fruit. Liu Qi said, “When you heard Jintai was visiting, didn’t you buy lots of fruit? Now you bought more again.”
Shen Ruhai glanced into the living room and asked, “Gone?”
Liu Qi let out a “Nn” and said, “The Yan family came to pick him up.”
Shen Ruhai didn’t respond. He took off his shoes silently.
“He’s never celebrated Chinese New Year with us before,” Liu Qi said as Shen Ruhai went downstairs to coax Shen Xiaomei, who had been crying in the room.
*Clarity: Just want to point out that my suspicion, and it was also hinted, why they didn’t hire household staff for help is mainly due to it affecting Shen Jintai’s reputation. He’s now a big and rising star, and if rumors get out about his current family’s condition, it may affect his reputation. Seeing the way Shen Ruhai acts, it seems like he really does love his son, just has a hard time showing it and this was one of the ways he could do it. (You know, the stereotypical old-fashion dad who’s more about actions speaking louder than words type.)
—
Shen Jintai thought that during New Year’s, the Yan family would all be relaxing at home. When he got there, he learned that most of the members were still busy.
Mrs. Yan: “This is the busiest time of the year. There are social dinners everywhere. Your uncle Yan couldn’t stay home even on the 30th.”
All of the household staff had gone back to their homes to celebrate the Chinese New Year’s. On the evening of Chinese New Year’s Eve, it was just the two of them. Mrs. Yan and Shen Jintai wrapped dumplings together. After eating, they watched TV for a while, then went to bed.
Shen Jintai had been extremely tired these days. It was rare for him to have a vacation, so he wanted to catch up on his sleep. After taking a shower, he laid down on the bed intending to sleep, but messages and calls kept coming in. It was warm New Year’s wishes from various acquaintances. Some he was familiar with, others he wasn’t.
Being popular had its own problems. Shen Jintai realized that he couldn’t just receive New Year’s greetings. He also had to send them himself . For those he wasn’t familiar with, he would use a mass distribution. For those with whom he was better acquainted, he would personally write his own greetings. For Bai Qingquan’s, he was especially attentive.
Shen Jintai pondered what his little 0 beauty was doing. With so many things going on since yesterday, he was so preoccupied that the sadness of their parting had been diluted. Lying on the bed now, he realized that yesterday was Bia Qingquan’s exit.
With their busy schedules, there wouldn’t be many opportunities for them to meet again. Bai Qingquan’s favorability of him had risen a lot but hasn’t reach the stage of love yet. He got a headache contemplating how he could further develop these feelings in the future.
As he was lost in his thoughts, he received a text from Bai Qingquan replying back to his message: [This isn’t a mass message from you, is it?]
Shen Jintai replied: [From the conscience of heaven and earth*, it was written word by word.]
* (天地良心) Idiom referring to having a clean conscience and uprightness. || Basically, he’s saying something like, “I swear to God”.
Bai Qingquan suddenly called him.
Shen Jintai let out a light cough and connected the call. “Aren’t you watching the Spring Festival Gala* at this time?”
*TV show on the evening of Chinese New Year’s Eve featuring a variety of acts and performances.
“I just returned from out of town and haven’t even eaten dinner yet for New Year’s Eve. I’m accompanying my mother to a Guandi Temple* to burn incense early tomorrow morning. Now I don’t want to do anything except sleep.” Bai Qingquan’s voice sounded tired, but he spoke quickly. “How about you? It sounds peaceful over there.”
*(关帝庙) Also known as Guan Yu temple that honors the general Guan Yu of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. Guan Yu encompasses loyalty, righteousness, faith, wisdom, benevolence, and courage that reflects the ethics, morals, and ideals of traditional Chinese culture.
“Me too. I’m laying down now and all I want to do is just sleep.”
“The crew is resuming work the day after tomorrow. Do you have any scenes? If you have time, while you still haven’t rejoined the crew, let’s meet for dinner.”
“Ok.” Shen Jintai became excited.
Bai Qingquan added, “Then I will also call Zheng Siqi.”
A knocking noise sounded outside. Shen Jintai sat up in bed and glanced at the door. Bai Qingquan said, “Then I’ll hang up now. I wish you a Happy New Year in advance.”
“Happy New Year.”
After hanging up, Shen Jintai shouted out, “Come in.”
The door of the room was pushed open, and Yan Yaoxuan was standing outside. He asked, “You’re not staying up to wait for New Year’s?”
“Not waiting. I want to sleep,” Shen Jintai answered with a smile.
Yan Yaoxuan let out a “Nn” and said, “Then have a good rest.” After speaking, he closed the door.
Shen Jintai let out a sigh of relief and laid down. Only the bedside lamp was on. He couldn’t fall asleep, so he started looking at The East Palace. While drowsy, he was suddenly awakened by the vague sound of firecrackers outside. He opened his eyes and saw that his phone was still playing a drama. The time in the upper right corner showed that New Year’s had arrived.
A beam of light hit the window. He sat up with a blanket in his arms, leaned over, and looked down from the window. He saw a black Bentley slowly parking in the yard. Yan Qiuchi got out of the car, and, wondering if Shen Jintai was aware of his return, he glanced up.
When Shen Jintai saw that Yan Qiuchi had caught sight of him, he opened the window magnanimously, hung his body on the windowsill, smiled, and said, “Happy New Year.”
Shen Jintai was dressed in pajamas that looked smooth and soft. This gave his body a look of warmth that accentuated his bright smile. His voice was slightly coarse and lazy.
Yan Qiuchi kept his gaze as he responded, “Happy New Year.”
The tree branches were depressed in winter. As soon as the wind blew, the last withered leaf fell from its force. Yan Yaoxuan followed the voices from outside. He didn’t see Shen Jintai but only heard his voice. Casting his gaze towards the stairs, he saw his older brother standing at the bottom of the steps. His expression looked dull, but his eyes were full of stars.
Everyone slept quietly in the winter, but both the Yan brothers had insomnia. When Yan Qiuchi woke up the next day, he had a pillow in his arms.
—
The latest episode of <The East Palace is Coming> was broadcast on the second day of the new year. The drama had been building a tremendous amount of momentum in the past few months and, right after the Spring Festival, its rating broke past 5.
It was the hottest drama of the new year, so much so that if you didn’t watch it, you had nothing to talk about with your friends and family.
The topic [The East Palace rescues single men and women] quickly reached the hot search. Usually during New Year’s, the hot search would be [Do you have someone to spend New Years with?]. Now it had changed to [Have you seen The East Palace yet?].
Throughout the New Year’s break, the two satellite stations broadcast <The East Palace is Coming> in cycles all day. The preview for next week’s trailer had more cuts than usual. Some of the cuts included scenes from the week after the next. The most exciting scene was with Li Xu, who was at the peak of his power, wearing a red mink robe, sitting on a chariot as he braved the heavy snow.
All the eunuchs and palace attendants he passed by on the road knelt and bowed to him. However, his face retained a look of indifference and grandiosity, as he rubbed the jade pendant around his waist.
Kinky Thoughts:
This is starting to become some kind of dog (Yan Qiuchi), cat (Shen Jintai), and mouse (Bai Qingquan) chasing game.
All I gotta say to the last scene with Li Xu sitting in the chariot… Yassss~~ Work bitch! *snaps fingers*
After the excitement, Shen Jintai was sitting in the car looking at his phone. He had calmed down and felt a little tired. Since today was his birthday, Li Meilan told him he needed to post on Weibo to interact with his fans. It was also the day when new episodes of <The East Place is Coming> premiered, so there were many hot searches related to the drama.
The hottest search, though, was “Shen Jintai’s Birthday.”
When you’re popular, birthdays are a big deal, at least to the fans. They were quite generous. His birthday celebration was themed “The 29th of the twelfth lunar month. Gold powders will accompany you forever” and the party was still ongoing in a lively state late into the night. There were drone confessions in small cases.
From Time Square in New York, to the bustling streets of Shibuya in Tokyo, to the most lively and prosperous commercial centers of the 34 top cities in China, along with commercial boxes on major subway stations, were all looping greeting videos and warm wishes for Shen Jintai.
Gold powders’ prosperity had finally reappeared in the world, and today they would accompany Shen Jintai with their golden light!
Shen Jintai had been watching these videos on his way back to the hotel. Tears filled his eyes. Even someone as worldly as Mrs. Yan was dumbstruck to see such a grand birthday celebration for him.
This was the pure love of millions of people. Shen Jintai posted a thank you on Weibo, accompanied by a photo of him making a wish and blowing out the candle, with the text: [I wish to be with you, and for you to be with me, forever.]
As soon as it was posted, Weibo exploded.
“Brother, don’t worry, gold powders will always follow!”
“Always be with you! Always be with you and call you brother every day!”
“Long-term! Long-term! I’ll accompany you forever!”
“Have you received all our blessings? Be sure to pay attention to your body.”
Though he knew his fans loved him, he was able to climb to the top of the hot search on his birthday due to the blessing of other celebrities like Song Wei, Yang Lizhi, Bai Qingquan, Zheng Siqi, and many others. Even artists from Monsoon Entertainment, whether he was familiar with them or not, sent him birthday wishes.
The rich have distant relatives in the mountains*!
*Full saying is no one asks the poor and downtrodden, and the rich have distant relatives in the mountains (贫居闹市无人问，富在深山有远亲) It’s an idiom referring to nobody talks to the poor even if you live in a bustling city, but someone will always come visit you in person if you’re rich despite living in seclusion (in the mountains). Excerpt from Zeng Guan Xian Wen. || In this context, it basically means that, with Shen Jintai’s high popularity, everyone is giving him well-wishes whether they know him or not (since they might be able to rub some heat off him).
Shen Jintai, perhaps due to drinking a bit too much, was a bit tired and his heart was softened. He replied to all the warm wishes from his friends and acquaintances.
When he reached the hotel, he found they had prepared him a birthday gift. The manager personally came to congratulate him and gave him a bouquet of flowers when he entered the lobby.
“Thank you.” Shen Jintai hugged the flowers and took pictures with the people in the hotel. When he returned to his room, he found that there was also a bouquet of flowers on the table in the room. Between the red roses, there was a bottle of red wine.
“It has finally calmed down,” Mrs. Yan picked up the wine, took a look, and said. “This wine is okay.”
Shen Jintai put away the card and put down the flowers in his arms.
Mrs. Yan: “There is still cake that hasn’t been eaten yet. Do you still want to eat them?”
Shen Jintai said, “Yes!”
Mrs. Yan was very happy. She kept thinking about the cake she had baked herself. When they got out of the car, she asked the driver to bring it up to the room. She opened the cake box. The cake looked cold and still fresh.
“I’ll see if the brothers want to come over.” As Mrs. Yan said, she called the Yan brothers. Both had declined the invitation, saying they didn’t want to eat cake.
Mrs. Yan was so angry. “Is this really about eating cake?”
Shen Jintai smiled and said, “Why don’t I call my agent and the others. Just as well, I need to have a small meeting with them later anyway.” Shen Jintai called his team and invited them over.
Seeing that he was still busy, Mrs. Yan went back to her room after eating a few bites. Shen Jintai went to see her off. She waved her hand hurriedly. “No, just stay.”
Shen Jintai still sent her out to the elevator. When they arrived at the elevator entrance, Mrs. Yan said, “Okay, go back. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Auntie, hug.” Shen Jintai said with a smile, and he stretched out his arms. Mrs. Yan grinned and hugged him tightly. Shen Jintai returned her hug and said, “Thank you.” He really appreciated Mrs. Yan for allowing him to feel the only affection he had in this world.
Mrs. Yan patted him and then entered the elevator. When she arrived in her room, she remembered the birthday gift she had prepared for Shen Jintai. She had forgotten to take it out of the car. She only remembered his birthday cake that she made.
She called Yan Qiuchi, “What’s your driver’s name again, and how can I contact him? The birthday gift I prepared for Xiao Jin is still in your car. Ask the driver to bring it up for me.”
“I’ll get it,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Mrs. Yan asked, “What going on with you? I asked you to come for cake, but you rejected my invitation. Same with your brother.”
“I’m going to shower now.” Yan Qiuchi hung up the phone after speaking. After getting dressed, he went down to the underground garage to where the car was parked, opened the trunk, and took out the birthday gift prepared by Mrs. Yan. He didn’t know what the gift was, but it was quite heavy.
In the innermost part of the trunk was also the gift he bought. It was a Patek Philippe* watch.
*Luxury brand company that specializes in watches. Their watches range from $12,500 USD to 2 million+ USD.
When he arrived at Shen Jintai’s room, Shen Jintai was live broadcasting. He was overwhelmed with emotions from seeing his fans celebrate his birthday in such a big way. He had been too busy with his schedule and the fan meeting was cancelled, so he wanted to repay them back while he was still grateful and enthusiastic. When you had been a star for a long time, you would get used to the fan’s admiration and devotion so that it eventually became a bit numbing.
The impromptu live broadcast made all his gold powders feel as if they were injected with chicken blood.
There was a knock that came from the door. When Xiao Tang went to open it, he saw Yan Qiuchi. He immediately became nervous. Seeing so many people in the room, Yan Qiuchi asked, “Working?”
“Brother Jin is live broadcasting.” Xiao Tang anxiously rubbed his hands together.
Yan Qiuchi handed Xiao Tang the gift in his hands. “This is a birthday gift from my mother. Can you give it to him?”
Xiao Tang hurriedly picked it up and asked Yan Qiuchi to come in, but Yan Qiuchi simply waved his hand and closed the door.
Li Meilan had walked over quietly when she saw Xiao Tang come in with the gifts. He leaned into her ear and whispered. Li Meilan raised her eyebrows and saw there was a card on it, so she picked it up and looked at it. It turned out to be a birthday gift from Mrs. Yan.
Rich people were really different. The gifts they gave were all luxurious.
It was already late at night after Shen Jintai finished the live broadcast. The rainbow farts from the fans were so powerful they made him feel as if he had been injected with chicken blood. He was so energetic he didn’t feel tired at all.
“What’s this?” He asked Li Meilan.
“Mrs. Yan’s birthday gift for you,” Li Meilan said. “Quickly, unwrap it and let us see what kind of gift an elite wealthy lady would give.”
Shen Jintai opened the big gift box first. Though it looked big on the outside, it was mainly due to the layers of wrapping paper. The box itself was also very heavy. In the end, after stripping it of all its boxes and wrapping paper, there was only a small box the size of a palm left. After opening it, everyone was amazed.
It turned out to be a gemstone. It shone brilliantly under the light.
Li Meilan finally understood what Mrs. Yan’s birthday card meant: [May you always shine as bright as a gemstone because you are the brightest gemstone in my heart.]
Even Shen Jintai was astonished. This gift was probably much more valuable than the RV Yan Yaoxuan tried to give him. When he read the original novel, he’d only seen descriptions of how wealthy the Yan family was. Now, witnessing it with his very own eyes, this gem was worth a thousand words. He felt the reality of how wealthy they truly were.
In addition to this gemstone, the second gift was a Patek Philippe watch. Compared to the flashy gemstone, the watch looked much more low-key, despite still being a luxury item. When everyone saw the brand, they knew the weight.
The watch was very simple, with a white dial and a black hand strap. Shen Jintai liked the gift a lot. When he looked at it, his heart kept beating faster.
“Wow…” An assistant from their team took out his phone and said, “Let a friend of mine appraise it. He said that the retail price of this watch is… one… ten… one hundred… one thousand… ten… one hundred… no one million! Oh my god! He said it was more than three million*!”
*About $414k USD at the time of this translation exchange rate.
Shen Jintai was in complete shock. He immediately put the watch down. As a star, he had much better knowledge about these kinds of things than ordinary people, but even he felt that it was too expensive. He felt that watches that were worth tens of thousands of dollars were more than enough to match him.
He immediately called Mrs. Yan and said, “Auntie, the gift you gave is too valuable.”
Mrs. Yan: “Your 20th birthday is definitely different from other birthdays.”
Shen Jintai: “It’s too expensive, I can’t accept it.”
“If you say that again, I’ll be angry. You are like a son to me. A mother can give her son whatever she wants as gifts.” Mrs. Yan’s tone was like chiding a small child.
When he got off the phone, Li Meilan and the others were already gossiping about how rich the Yan family was. The scene was ironic. They were a group of poor people who were gossiping about how rich the rich were, but their gossip was so boiling that it made it seem as if they were rich themselves.
Shen Jintai really felt it after listening to their gossip. The wealth of a big celebrity in the entertainment world was nothing compared to the real giants. The Yan family was beyond the realm of just “rich”.
Yan Qiuchi hadn’t actually planned to buy such an expensive watch. Not all rich people were local tyrants. He had thought carefully regarding his relationship with Shen Jintai when he went to pick out a watch. He originally planned to buy one that ranged between ten and a few hundred thousand. He knew if it was too expensive, it would be inappropriate.
The problem was, whatever he ate, used, and wore since he was a child, was all top-notch. He didn’t have any semblance of what a normal standard and price range was. To him, it was only whether he liked or disliked it. When he was at the store, the clerks, who were only mere humans, immediately knew how expensive he was and recommended only the top-tier watches to him. They were all over a million. Yan Qiuchi deliberated for hours trying to find the right one that he thought looked good and was suitable for Shen Jintai.
He finally settled on one as soon as he saw it. It was the same watch that he had. He immediately thought that Shen Jintai should wear this watch in his heart. The price wasn’t important. All men loved watches, and Shen Jintai would have been no exception.
—
Mrs. Yan had asked Shen Jintai to go to their house for Chinese New Year. Shen Jintai said he would visit, but before going to the Yan’s manor, he planned to visit Father Shen’s family first. It wasn’t good if he didn’t see them for a prolonged period of time.
“Then have a meal at home,” Mrs. Yan said.
The weather was good today. The winter sun was warm and golden. Before Shen Jintai got into his car, he waved his hand goodbye to Mrs. Yan and the others.
Yan Qiuchi’s gaze was on Shen Jintai’s wrist. He saw that he was wearing the watch he had given. Its dial was shining brightly under the sunlight. He thought to himself that he had such good vision. Indeed, that watch really matched Shen Jintai. Such a watch deserves such a person.
He felt uncontrollable joy coming out of the bottom of his heart. It turned out that giving gifts to people you like could also make you happy. It didn’t matter if Shen Jintai didn’t know if it was him who gave him the watch.
Facing the sun, a small smile appeared at the corner of Yan Qiuchi’s mouth. It was brisk and fleeting as Yan Qiuchi returned to his normal abstinence and coldness.
Internally, Yan Qiuchi thought he was right to buy such an expensive gift for Shen Jintai. In this way, Shen Jintai would be more reluctant to throw away such an expensive item. In fact, he may wear it for a long time, perhaps even for the rest of his life.
The author has something to say:
Xiao Chi: The candy that I ate secretly is also very sweet.
Kinky Thoughts:
Yan Qiuchi’s inner monologue: ‘Yes, this watch is most suitable for Shen Jintai. I have the exact same one, so of course it feels right that he should wear it too, and for a long time… like forever! There’s no other hidden meaning behind this.’
Kinky Translations 