Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 44: In the Arms of a Beautiful Man

“Why don’t I ask the crew for a sick day?” Li Meilan said. She rushed over when she heard Shen Jintai was ill.

“It’s okay. I can ride it out,” Shen Jintai said. “I originally asked for two days off and delayed the shooting progress. I’m afraid if I ask for leave again, regardless of whether they’ll let me, I won’t be able to keep up.”

The TV series was a simultaneous film and broadcast. Any delay, even for a few days, could hamper many things.

“Are you sure you can hold on?” Li Meilan asked with concern.

“It’s okay, I’ll take some medicine. After the shooting ends in the morning, I won’t have many scenes in the afternoon. I’ll go to the hospital if I have time.”

He took some antipyretics and went to the set.

The weather was cloudy and chilly. He looked at the forecast while on the road. It had been raining these past few days.

Bai Qingquan was in the dressing room and asked his assistant. “Is Shen Jintai back?”

Assistant: “Not yet. He had asked the crew for two days off.”

“I heard that he asked for leave to shoot an advertisement,” Yang Lizhi said. “I don’t know what brand it is.”

“I heard it’s an underwear brand called Aishang.” A makeup artist chimed in.

Yang Lizhi smiled when she heard this. “It’s not easy. He used to endorse top luxury brands. His current situation isn’t too bad if he can still accept small businesses.” She was annoyed with Shen Jintai for becoming so popular, but it was not to the extent of jealousy as he hadn’t risen to that high of a popularity level yet.

She had also stood on stage the day before. There were hordes of people at the scene, indicating that the heroine role she took paid a lot of dividends. Her increase in fans was not as large as Shen Jintai’s but that was only because she was already exceedingly popular and had limited room to expand.

Bai Qingquan was also in a similar situation. He was already a top traffic star. <The East Palace is Coming> becoming popular was just icing on the cake for him.

For Shen Jintai, it was charcoal in the snow*. He needed it to warm himself back up.

*(雪中送炭) Metaphor for giving people material or spiritual help in times of difficulty or crisis.

Bai Qingquan thought about Yang Lizhi’s words for a while and felt that they made sense. Shen Jintai had become popular again. It was inevitable that his nemesis made him lose a bit but if he thought about it carefully, Shen Jintai had fallen from the peak. He used to be able to endorse top luxury brands, but now could only endorse underwear. He had never heard of Aishang, so he figured it wasn’t a famous brand.

Shen Jintai managed to arrive at the set on time. When he was applying makeup, he asked the makeup artist, “Paint my makeup a little thicker today.”

“Are you too tired? I don’t think you look well today,” The makeup artist said.

Shen Jintai raised his head slightly, asked the makeup artist to give him a nose shadow, and said, “I have a fever.”

“Did you go to the hospital?”

“I’ll go after filming this scene.”

“My relatives and friends are all chasing <The East Palace>,” the makeup artist said softly. “Did you know the ratings for the second week hit a new high? It broke over 1.5!”

These words stimulated Shen Jintai. Often times, there was only one chance to become popular in a lifetime. He had to seize it!

The scene for <The East Palace is Coming> had reached the sadistic part. As Li Meilan said, it was particularly mentally consuming. Shen Jintai read the script and adjusted his emotions. He felt his whole being was bereft.

The Empress’ funeral had passed. The crown prince remained imprisoned in the East Palace where even Li Xu couldn’t reach him. On the other hand, the energetic He Lanbi relied on her protagonist halo and was able to infiltrate the network. After getting in touch with the right contacts, she entrusted them to contact Zhou Jing on her behalf, who refused to see her.

She then entrusted someone to contact Li Xu. Their situations were both pitiful, so he would certainly sympathize with her. She was the righteous daughter of the Xiao clan and was originally betrothed to the crown prince. Now that the Xiao clan had fallen, she was forced to enter the palace as a slave. She had never touched spring water yet now she had to wash clothes every day.

They felt sorry for each other and developed a bond. It was just that the friends of today may be enemies of tomorrow. The plotline where the heroine and her best friend turn against each other was a must for palace fighting dramas. <The East Palace is Coming> was unusual in that the best friend was a man.

“This is for you.” He Lanbi took a piece of jade from her arms. It was a warm-textured white jade pendant with a pair of mandarin ducks carved into it. Li Xu instantly recognized it. It belonged to the crown prince.

Li Xu took it in his hand and hurriedly asked, “How did you get this?”

He Lanbi: “Two days ago, I asked my sisters from the Garment Bureau to switch places with me. Taking the opportunity to deliver clothes to the East Palace, I went and met with elder prince brother.”

“How is he doing? Is he alright?” Li Xu asked anxiously.

He Lanbi shook her head and said, “He’s very ill that he has become so thin, but the doctors refuse to treat him.”

Li Xu’s eyes turned red, holding the jade pendant as he sat beside He Lanbi.

He Lanbi said, “Elder prince brother asked me to give this to you as a keepsake. Don’t go to the East Palace anymore. He said you must live well before you have a chance to save him in the future.”

Li Xu knew that He Lanbi spoke the truth. It was something Zhou Jing would say. He prayed that Zhou Ying would be okay by himself, wouldn’t be implicated, and be able to live a good life.

“We both have to live well,” He Lanbi said with tears in her eyes. “Those who harmed us and those who harmed elder prince brother are all still alive well.”

Yes. They were all living well, with a promising future.

Li Xu clenched the jade pendant in his hand and said, “I am just a little eunuch. With him, I am a man. Without him, I am nothing.”

“Eunuchs have highs and lows. The second prince has a ruthless heart and looks promising. If you follow him, you may become a Bingbi eunuch¹ and eventually the palm print eunuch². Look at father-in-law Gao³ who sits above 10,000 people,” He Lanbi said. “I will also be the favorite concubine and Empress in the future. Let’s join forces to repair the Xiao clan and avenge elder prince brother.”

¹(秉笔太监) Eunuch in charge of internal affairs such as court etiquette, correction of internal officials. It is the second highest position in the eunuch system, only to the palm print eunuch. It’s considered a very high position. (Ming dynasty)
²(掌印太監) Full title is the “eunuch of the secretary of ceremony and the eunuch of the palm seal” is the highest seat in the eunuch system. Main responsibility is the final decision maker on various national policies and in charge of the government treasury. (Ming dynasty)
³(高公公) Refers to Gao Gong. He was an advisor to Emperor Wu of Liang. He was a very powerful advisor. He’s usually depicted as an eunuch (for some reason). (Ming dynasty)

She was only 28 years old, with a beautiful face and a thin figure, but her eyes were firm. These words were like a crazy dream, but they gave Li Xu great hope. His eyes lit up from his gloomy expression. “Can we do it?”

“We have to try.” He Lanbi said. “A’Xu, you have to help me.”

Li Xu stared at her. He Lanbi matched his gaze and said, “The second prince always refuses to see me, but I believe that he has feelings for me. Find a way for me to meet him. As long as I can become a member of his palace, we will support him together and ascend to the throne as the 95^th Sovereign.”

Li Xu hid the pendant in his arms, got up, and said, “Alright, I will help you.”

“Cut!”

Shen Jintai let out a sigh of relief as the makeup artist ran over to reapply his makeup. His face looked sunken, but it was also in line with Li Xu’s current state. He felt that his eyelids were getting hotter. Whenever he lowered them, it felt as if it could burn tears out.

Since the start of filming, Yang Lizhi and Shen Jintai had very few duel scenes. Now that He Lanbi and Li Xu had become friends, they would have more scenes together. The next part would be focused on the interactions of the male lead, female lead, and second male lead.

Shen Jintai’s state also matched the scene shot today very well with his sick and haggard look.

Yang Lizhi hadn’t had any scenes with Shen Jintai before today. After filming today, she also became convinced of his acting skills.

So good!

Shen Jintai rushed over to a different set after his scenes were done. He would go to site B to shoot the scene of Ziwei Palace. The male and female lead’s scenes were filmed separately today. They had no scenes together. The only common factor was him. When he arrived at the second studio, they were filming the dream scene.

Zhou Jing had been entangled in nightmares all year long. This time he dreamt about Empress Xiao, who had committed suicide. Empress Xiao predicted that he would reach the peak of the tower in the second half of his life, but he would have no one by his side who was sincere or trustworthy.

This was also Teacher Song’s final part. The crew had already prepared flowers and were holding them in their arms.

“Cut!”

As soon as the director finished shouting, the crew all applauded. Director Guo stood up with a smile and said, “Congratulations, Teacher Song, you are done!”

Song Wei smiled, took the flowers handed over by the staff, and bowed to everyone very humbly.

The next step was the photo session. The crew rushed over to take a photo with Song Wei. Song Wei, Bai Qingquan and others shouted at the crowd, “Xiao Li Xu, hurry over!”

When Shen Jintai heard this, he ran over smiling. Teacher Song took his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. Shen Jintai said “Yes” with a bright smile.

Song Wei saw his strangeness in an instant and asked, “Are you sick?”

“A little fever.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“I’ll go after filming the morning scenes.”

“Your body is important. Don’t push it,” Song Wei said. “My role was too short. I haven’t played enough scenes with you as my opponent. We must cooperate again if there’s a chance in the future.”

Shen Jintai smiled and nodded. He looked dispirited and sad.

Song Wei: “As long as you act well, you will have a very bright path in the future. You can’t go wrong if you believe in Teacher Song’s vision. I will continue to watch this series at home. If you don’t perform well, I will definitely criticize you. Hahaha.”

Shen Jintai could only continue to smile and nod.

Song Wei hugged him, patted him on the back, and said, “Shen Jintai, it was nice meeting you.”

With so many young actors, only Shen Jintai had received such preferential treatment from her. Bai Qingquan stood among the crowd, envious. He admired Song Wei a lot. She was a veteran actor with strong acting skills and a refined aura. Oddly enough, though he was envious, he wasn’t deeply jealous. He felt that Song Wei had heavily valued Shen Jintai.

At only 20 years old, Shen Jintai’s acting skills were already like this. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say his future would be limitless.

“Ding Dong.”

Shen Jintai was momentarily stunned. “Xiao Ai?”

“Hello. Xiao Ai had asked for leave. I will be serving you temporarily.”

He hadn’t contacted the system for a long time and had forgotten about this.

Shen Jintai: “You are… Xiao Mei, right?”

The other party gave an “Nn” answering his question. Hearing the voice, Shen Jintai thought it sounded extremely cold. Xiao Ai and Xiao Mei were like two completely different style of painting.

He had become accustomed to Xiao Ai Taobao’s* customer service-like way of speaking. It made him feel a little uncomfortable when he encountered this kind of coldness. After all, it was more enjoyable to talk to that flatterer, Xiao Ai, who was much more relaxed and naturally shameless. Apart from Xiao Ai, who could give him weird ass shit as a reward, such as may cherries, and keep a straight face? It eventually became a natural thing that made him no longer feel ashamed.

*Chinese online shopping platform. I’m assuming it’s like eBay in the US. According to one of the comments, Chinese online support behaves in a “silly and bold but cute little brother/sister next door” way. They address customers as “dear/darling” and are openly shameless as they try to play the emotional card of “close friend” or “poor little slave in a big evil cooperation” to cease customers complaints/demands.

“Hello, Xiao Mei. What’s the matter?” Shen Jintai asked indifferently.

Xiao Mei: “It has been detected here that Bai Yueguang’s favorability for you has been increased again, accumulating ten points. The latest sexy reward, flushing, has been sent out. Please pay attention and check it out.”

Shen Jintai: “……”

Shen Jintai glanced at Bai Qingquan in the distance. Bai Qingquan was looking down at the script, and there was no special reaction.

Shen Jintai: “Flushing reward. I don’t remember hearing about this.”

“Wait a minute, let me check it for you,” Xiao Mei’s voice was still cold. After a while, he said, “Because last time you accumulated 39 points all at once, a series of rewards were given simultaneously. It was too sudden for you to choose between two options. This time there are two options for your sexy reward, the flushing reward or the sensitivity reward. If you are particularly dissatisfied, you may choose again.”

Shen Jintai: “…Sensitivity reward?”

Xiao Mei read the description with a monotonous and mechanical voice. “The sensitivity reward, as the name suggests, rewards you with a certain degree of physical sensitivity, including, but not limited to, the waist, earlobe, back, indescribable areas of the upper body, and indescribable areas of the lower body.”

What does it mean by indescribable? What was the latter half of what he was saying? Why is the lower body included?

“Since this is a world of harmony and an era of harmony, we cannot describe things below the neck. This, of course, includes the lower body,” Xiao Mei said coldly.

Oh god! He really couldn’t have this kind of conversation with a voice like this!

Shen Jintai felt like he was dying inside! He already had a fever, and now his face was getting hotter. He felt uncomfortable all over. He hurriedly said, “Flushing. I’ll take the flushing.” He was too embarrassed to ask what flushing entailed.

Xiao Ai, come back soon!

Xiao Mei: “Okay, the flushing reward has been given out.”

Xiao Mei was very direct. After issuing the reward, it disappeared with a beep.

Shen Jintai felt that he was going to faint. What kind of rewards are these?

He wasn’t going to become some kind of ridiculous enticing masterpiece, would he?!

“Are you okay?” Shen Jintai turned his head and saw Bai Qingquan looking at him suspiciously.

Shen Jintai recovered and said, “I’m okay.”

Bai Qingquan: “You don’t look too well.”

Shen Jintai simply smiled. He just received another reward. This meant that Bai Qingquan’s affection for him had increased. He didn’t know why Bai Qingquan’s favorability toward him improved, but nevertheless, it was still a good thing. Forget mentioning his strategy for survival; Bai Qingquan himself was such a heavenly dish in the gay circle.

His little 0 beauty really had no traces of any shortcomings. In the future, when the two of them were together as husband and wife, with their starlight mixed, they would be invincible. Just thinking about this made him excited. He felt that he and Bai Qingquan had a one-plus-one effect that was greater than two.

There was an abnormal flush on Shen Jintai’s face, and his eyes looked a bit dull. Bai Qingquan touched his forehead.

“You have a fever.” Bai Qingquan said.

Shen Jintai was stunned. He only felt a slight cold touch on his forehead. Bai Qingquan put his hand down and said, “Are you able to do this?”

“After filming this scene, I’ll go to the hospital and have a checkup.” Shen Jintai said.

Bai Qingquan, who was dressed in a green and white robe that was wafting with a light fragrance, said, “Then let’s fight as one.”

Maybe it was due to the fever that it was hard to concentrate, and his consciousness was a bit scattered, but Shen Jintai couldn’t help but feel that the fairy Bai Qingquan in front of him was resplendently fluttering.

The current scene they were filming was when Prince Zhou Jing discovered the double mandarin duck jade pendant hidden by Li Xu.

He walked to the couch and saw Li Xu lying face down, rubbing the jade pendant. He stretched out his hand and snatched it with one hand.

Li Xu got up from the couch and hurriedly stretched out his hand to grab it back. He wrapped his fingers around the red string attached to the jade pendant and pulled it twice. Their shadows were cast by the candlelight. Zhou Jing lost his footing. As he was about to hit the ground, Li Xu jumped up, hugged him by the neck, and tried to reach out to retrieve the jade pendant from his hand.

Although the two of them had deep feelings since childhood, there was a clear line between master and slave. Li Xu rarely ever transgressed. Zhou Jing was caught by surprise, seeing that he was suddenly jumped on by him. As Li Xu hugged his neck, heat started to spread from his ears.

Zhou Jing: “Get off!”

Li Xu: “Give it to me!”

Zhou Jing was furious, but he couldn’t push Li Xu off. He reluctantly relented and stuffed the jade pedant into Li Xu’s hand. “I wasn’t going to smash it.”

Li Xu immediately got off Zhou Jing after getting back the pendant.

“How bold you are!” Zhou Jing’s face was flushed with anger.

Li Xu hid the jade pendant in his sleeve and turned back to look at Zhou Jing. His face was abnormally red and his ears were scarlet. Bai Qingquan froze for a moment as he stared at Shen Jintai blankly. Shen Jintai’s lips moved, but his expression was off. Bai Qingquan hurriedly stepped forward as Shen Jintai slumped into his arms.

Shen Jintai was wearing a loose inner shirt. His long black hair was draped down his body. After his fall, his clothes loosen, exposing his fair shoulders. Bai Qingquan hugged him around the waist and felt it was very firm and slender. A very good waist that could endure and be attacked.

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The author has something to say:

The long-lost addition!!!!

Yan Qiuchi: Author, you can do it.

Author: It will be your play from now on. Don’t worry.

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Kinky Thoughts:

I spent way too much time figuring out what all those eunuch’s positions were…

At this point, I feel as if these rewards aren’t so much to make him look sexier and prettier but to make him into the ideal shape for Yan Qiuchi. For a system that’s supposed to be “correcting” a rotten novel, these rewards seem counter-productive…

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 43: Advertisement Shoot

Mrs. Yan, who always paid attention to Shen Jintai, saw the video of the drop-off. Seeing the chaotic scene made her heart get stuck in her throat. The underwear company was too unreliable and so ill-considered. She underestimated the popularity of her Xiao Jin.

She thought about it carefully and remembered that Shen Jintai seemed to always work alone and never signed with any brokerage company. She wasn’t involved with the entertainment industry, but she did have a son who was.

Sunshine Media was definitely the strongest when it came to domestic brokerage companies. Added to this, the film and television dramas they had produced in the past few years had achieved great success and won many awards. Now that Shen Jintai had gained popularity, she also wanted him to win an award.

She forwarded the news to Yan Qiuchi and said, “He can’t do this alone. He needs a company to help him.”

Yan Qiuchi only replied with a “Nn”, and didn’t say anything else.

When he came back from work in the evening, Mrs. Yan asked, “What do you mean, ‘Nn’. You are so perfunctory to your mother.”

“I don’t take care of everything. The signing of artists is the responsibility of the people in the agency department. If they think it’s appropriate, they will contact him.”

“They dare not listen to your orders?” Mrs. Yan said. “Or do you still think that Xiao Jin is still chasing you? If so, I can tell you that he doesn’t like you anymore.” The last sentence was spoken very subtly.

Mrs. Yan: “I know what the brokerage companies are like. I’ll worry if he signs with another company. I’m afraid he’ll be bullied. What if those big bosses use the contract to blackmail him to accompany them for drinks or something? Oh, my heart hurts to death when I have these thoughts.”

Yan Qiuchi said blankly, “Mom, you really think too much. How could this happen to him?”

Mrs. Yan: “It used to be impossible, but it’s not necessarily the case now. The Shen family is bankrupt, and the whole family depends on him for support. He used to like you so much and he never liked acting, but now he’s changed, doing the complete opposite. What else could be impossible?!”

Yan Qiuchi wasn’t sure whether he had listened to her or because he didn’t want to listen to her nagging anymore, so he said, “I’ll look into it and have someone get in touch with him.”

He did want to sign Shen Jintai, but Shen Jintai may not be willing.

Mrs. Yan took out her phone and showed it to him. “Look how dangerous it is.”

The video shown was the drop-off video that went viral. The crowd was frantically screaming as Shen Jintai was grabbed by airport security and rushed off. One of the arms of the doll he was holding had fallen off. It looked very dangerous.

Li Meilan was still too green as an agent.

Yan Qiuchi went upstairs and called Gao Qiao. “Contact Li Meilan and see if they are willing to sign with a brokerage company.”

Gao Qiao was momentarily stunned and hurriedly asked, “President Yan, you don’t want to sign Shen Jintai, do you?”

Yan Qiuchi said, “Let Zhang Yuan figure out whether to sign him or not. Tell him, the decision to sign shouldn’t involve me. Business and private matters are to be kept separate.”

Gao Qiao gave a “Nn” and said, “Okay.” When he hung up the phone, Gao Qiao couldn’t help but worry. Shen Jintai had changed a lot recently. He became popular as soon as the drama started airing. He would become even more popular next year. Signing him now would not be a loss for Sunshine Media.

Privately, though, he didn’t really want Shen Jintai to sign with their company. Putting it bluntly, President Yan and Shen Jintai’s previous relationship was too unpleasant. A short-term change couldn’t eliminate the lingering shadow. The company’s situation was enjoyable now. If Shen Jintai joined their company and interacted with President Yan every day, his love might be rekindled.

It was perplexing. He had never understood why Shen Jintai suddenly stopped liking President Yan. He thought about it and couldn’t find a convincing reason. If a reason couldn’t be found, one must suspect that everything was illusory. After all, President Yan was a leader among men with no shortcomings, and Shen Jintai had a lovesick brain.

The most important thing was that he felt Shen Jintai may be popular now and would continue to be popular in the future, but there is an upper limit. It was his sexual orientation, and this wasn’t considering that he played a gay role in a drama.

Gay people in the industry dared not reveal their sexual orientation as they were worried about whether the public could accept this matter. He knew that in the past few years, society had gradually become more enlightened and tolerant and that same-sex dramas could appear on prime-time television, so sexual orientation wasn’t such a big issue anymore. The main problem was that once the public knew you were gay, especially for someone like Shen Jintai, whose orientation was well-known, they could only play half of the roles.

For example, idol dramas about falling in love were basically insulated from him. These roles were important for an actor’s career path. However, the main emotional core of these genres was heterosexually focused*.

*Clarity: What Gao Qiao is worried about is called typecasting. Since Shen Jintai’s orientation is known, he most likely will only be cast for roles that reflect his orientation. Basically, he can’t play straight guys in romance media.

Their company also already had Bai Qingquan, who was similar in age to Shen Jintai. He had a good image and temperament. His acting skills had been improving as well. His upper limit was very high and could make him first-line material in the future.

He immediately contacted Zhang Yuan from the artist agency department. Zhang Yuan said, “Doesn’t President Yan hate him? If we sign him, President Yan wouldn’t approve it, right?”

Gao Qiao: “President Yan said it should be business as usual.”

Those who worked in management, especially the middle and upper echelons like Zhang Yuan, were good at reading between the lines. He carefully pondered the words “business as usual” and felt that Yan Qiuchi meant to sign him.

They all knew about Shen Jintai’s and Yan Qiuchi’s relationship. If President Yan hadn’t said those words, they definitely wouldn’t have been convinced. Seeing that he said it like that, it made it clear what he was voicing. “You don’t need to worry about my feelings. If you want to sign him, sign him.”

Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but admire President Yan. Despite his young age, Yan Qiuchi had done an outstanding job as their CEO. Even more admirably, he was able to make a clear distinction between public and private feelings.

Zhang Yuan planned to discuss with others in the agency department about Shen Jintai.

Little stars relied on holding, big stars relied on fate¹. Shen Jintai was obviously born to be a star. When he debuted, he was like the Purple Star² from the sky. He fell off the cliff and hit rock bottom after his scandalous behavior, but as soon as he made his comeback, he instantly became popular again.

¹Clarity: This is saying, minor stars who are popular needs to maintain topicality to hold their popularity. To become a big star, it would require luck more than anything.
²(紫微帝星) Regarded as the “Emperor Star” and the ruler of the constellations. The actual star itself is Polaris. || In this context, it’s saying when Shen Jintai debuted, he was a major star (top even) as he was comparable to that of Polaris (the “Emperor Star”).

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Shen Jintai becoming popular was the happiest thing for Aishang. Aishang Underwear was a domestic brand that had gained popularity in recent years by relying on celebrity endorsements. They had been searching for a new spokesperson for a while, looking at third and fourth-tier artists, when suddenly Shen Jintai came into their vision.

As experts in the industry, they certainly knew what peerless ass was when looking at it! A man’s ass must not only be upright but also be tall and firm. Usually for men, this part was often ignored. When people think of ass, it was usually associated with women, which meant that a masculine ass didn’t attract the attention of the public visually.

This was where Shen Jintai’s ass shined. With both a masculine look and feminine attractiveness, coupled with his well-known sexual orientation, Aishang believed that this deal would be very cost-effective.

As soon as Shen Jintai signed the contract, he immediately went viral. God was surely looking out for them.

“It stands to reason that men’s underwear mainly targets the male market, especially the straight male market, right? Is it really appropriate for them to choose me as the spokesperson? The endorsement fee is so high.” Shen Jintai said.

Li Meilan said, “You think they’re stupid and make unprofitable decisions? They asked you to make an endorsement for the sake of topicality and popularity. Popularity measures up. All that’s left is a masculine man. You checked all the boxes.”

“Well, since you put it like that, I can’t argue with it,” Shen Jintai said.

He glanced at the advertisement script given to him by the company:

[I love Shang* (Part 1). How about you?]

*Clarity: This is a play on words. The character Ai (爱) in Aishang (爱尚) means love. If you’re a little familiar with some Chinese, you might have heard the phrase, “wo ai nin” (我爱您) which means “I love you”. This sentence is saying “wo ai Shang (尚)” translated is “I love (Ai)Shang”. It’s supposed to be witty by using the Ai (爱) character.

Shit, this advertising slogan. Shen Jintai wanted to laugh but held back.

“Should I use socks?” Shen Jintai asked suddenly.

Li Meilan glanced up at him. “What?”

Shen Jintai tugged at his trouser waistband. “Socks. I searched yesterday, and it seems that some advertisements for underwear will stuff socks… which can make it look very big. Hahahaha.”

Li Meilan became embarrassed. She slightly chuckled and said, “That… I don’t know.” She glanced at Shen Jintai. “Do you need to stuff socks?”

Since it was an underwear commercial, Li Meilan and Xiao Tang monitored the whole process. They looked domineering and confident. Li Meilan stood beside the director with her arms crossed looking very capable and strong.

Shen Jintai was wrapped in a bathrobe, standing still as the makeup artist applied his makeup. The light technician moved the light board closer as several staff members surrounded him, secretly watching.

Xiao Tang thought it was really bad to be a celebrity. Most people couldn’t take off their pants and still be able to perform naturally in front of the camera.

“Are you ready?” The director asked.

Shen Jintai nodded and took off his bathrobe.

Instantly, the director was stunned. Chen Ming was a small-reluctant director. He had great ambition, but he was only able to shoot commercials.

He had filmed many underwear ads as Aishang’s head director for commercial advertising. The professional knowledge he had learned and his familiarity with the human body was so good that when Shen Jintai took off his bathrobe, he was immediately floored.

This waist, this ass, those two venus dimples!

My lord!

Compared with the director’s professionalism, the first thing other staff noticed was the fairness. His skin was fair enough that it made everything else more vivid.

When compared with the previous spokesperson, Shen Jintai, didn’t match up when you looked at the pecs or abs. His figure obviously looked like the type that didn’t exercise frequently. It was just because he was young and had low body fat; even with the lack of exercise, his chest and abs still had thin contours.

Xiao Ling was the director’s assistant. She was exceedingly thrilled today because Shen Jintai was the person they were shooting for the advertisement. She wasn’t much of a star chaser and didn’t really know who Shen Jintai was until she watched the recent hit <The East Palace is Coming>. It made her interested in the actor who played Li Xu, so she started researching information on Shen Jintai. Seeing his past photos, she thought he looked young and hot.

Li Xu was so outstandingly beautiful that she couldn’t help but look at Shen Jintai through this kind of lens. Who wouldn’t be curious about that kind of body!

When Shen Jintai took off his robe, she pursed her lips, pretended to be calm, glanced at the person next to her, and said, “Pink.”

The person looked at her and they felt that the gossip would be palpable. Xiao Ling felt that her expression was quite wretched. But she couldn’t help it. The rotten woman inside her was about to explode. Ordinary people really had no way to completely separate the actors from their characters. Because of this, no matter what kind of misgiving an actor had, if he played a character with a good heart, it would be impossible to hate him. Likewise, if the role was too annoying, it would be hard to become a fan*.

*Clarity: She’s saying people tend to not separate the actor from the roles they play. Despite Shen Jintai having a bad past full of black material, it could be overlooked and forgiven because she loves Li Xu’s character so much. Likewise, if Shen Jintai plays a dislikeable character, even if he has a good past, it’s hard to become his fan.

Who was Li Xu? The most famous beauty of the year! Even when she looked at Shen Jintai out of character, she felt that he deserved this reputation. OoOoOoOoOoO.

Underwear advertising was similar. They must show the underwear at a full 360 degrees, and it had it be enticing. It was a cross between selling the product and the model.

The first step was the promotional photos. They were all prescribed actions and relatively simple to execute. The model just needed to pose in various forms, like standing, sitting, or lying down.

After the photoshoot, Shen Jintai put his clothes back on. Unfortunately, they would be shortly removed again.

The second step was to shoot the commercial.

“Take off your clothes slowly, especially when unbuttoning, as if that… that feeling is about to come out.” The director said.

Everyone knew which feeling he was referring to. As long as it was considered a performance, it wouldn’t be difficult for Shen Jintai.

He slowly unbuttoned each button one by one. The white shirt he wore was taken off and thrown aside, revealing a well-proportioned upper body. He kicked off his shoes and ripped off his socks. Finally, the pants were removed, and only Aishang’s underwear was left, clinging tightly to his body.

Shen Jintai was very dedicated and cooperative with the director’s instructions, but he felt the camera always seemed to be focused on his ass.

He hadn’t put enough exercise into his ass yet, so he felt a bit… afflicted. But he was a good actor, and a good actor needed to break through the limitations of one’s body and be able to fully express their body language within the limits of the body they had.

While his body suffered, his soul remained strong. As the two blended together, Shen Jintai’s personal characteristics gradually took shape. An alluring man without a faint of femininity. He was pure and gallant, without any traces of arrogance.

Facing the camera, he sat on a toilet with only his underwear on, holding a pack of cigarettes in his hand. His fingers were slender. His joints were defined. His eyes were clear and natural.

In the last shot, he woke up from the bed, walked to the window, and opened the curtains, allowing the sun to come through. The scene was then blurred into a ball and transitioned into his figure basking in the sunlight. From the thick black hair to his smooth shoulders, to his slender waist, then to his long legs, the camera slowly shot it all going from head to toe. The image was perfect. Sexy.

The camera moved, capturing the dorsal groove as it wound down to the venus dimples.

Chen Ming stood behind the monitor on edge. He had taken many underwear advertisements, and this was the best version to date. With Shen Jintai becoming popular again, perhaps his commercial would become a big hit. He gave it 100% this time around, and the two-minute ad was finished in two days.

—

Shen Jintai felt the commercial was more tiring than actual filming. Before coming to City A, he had filmed scenes for a day and two nights consecutively. Fortunately, he was young and was able to endure.

In later stages of the commercial shoot, his complexion started to look a bit haggard. He still remained radiant after having applied makeup. His eyes remained bright, and he looked energetic. When off-camera, he would yawn exhaustedly, but as soon as the camera turned on, he was full of energy again. He always felt naturally excited whenever he was filming.

After the shoot, Shen Jintai and Li Meilan went through all the filming materials again. After confirming that the content was good, they rushed back to Nancheng overnight. He had taken two days off, so his schedule was very tight.

“This director is quite capable*,” Shen Jintai commented.

*Two brushes (两把刷子) Idiom describing someone’s ability to do things in a capable or intelligent manner.

“Erotic but not lustful. It’s high-end sexy. After all, it’s not a pheasant brand,” Li Meilan said. “Aishang said that after the commercial is finished, they will send it to us as soon as possible. The final version will be released with our consent.”

Shen Jintai yawned and nodded.

Li Meilan distressingly said, “I thought you could take a break while filming an advertisement, but I didn’t expect this director to be so demanding. You, sleep for a bit.”

Shen Jintai was really exhausted. He slept the entire trip back. When he returned to Nancheng, it was already late at night. He felt uncomfortable after waking up and thought it was because he wasn’t used to sleeping like this.

“This time the trip was kept secret. No one was told,” Xiao Tang said.

When they came out of the airport, they didn’t see any fans. It was already late at night. It had just rained in Nancheng, and the ground was wet. The coolness signified that autumn had arrived.

The temperature was very different from City A. City A was a seaside city. It was too humid to wear a coat. Nancheng had become colder now that a coat was required to stay warm.

Shen Jintai was sitting in the car, leaning on his seat. When the car stopped at an intersection in the most prosperous commercial area in Nancheng, he suddenly saw the trailer for <The East Palace is Coming> scrolling on the big screen. It displayed a picture of him with flushed eyes, opposing Bai Qingquan.

His fatigue was swept away as he sat up abruptly, suddenly feeling as if he was acting in a movie. The big screen was the battlefield he was most familiar with. It was the dream of all actors. When their faces appeared on the big screen, every micro-expression was infinitely magnified, and every single second of their performance wouldn’t be ignored. For a charismatic actor, his abundant emotions would pour out onto the big screen like a leaking galaxy.

“What are you looking at?” Li Meilan asked.

“Our show was broadcast on the big screen just now,” Shen Jintai said.

The car had already driven past the square, and Li Meilan didn’t see anything. She only saw a tired expression on Shen Jintai’s face.

Li Meilan: “Since the filming started, you haven’t rested much. The role of Li Xu is mentally consuming. Don’t do anything after you go back. Go to bed quickly. There will be an announcement from you early tomorrow morning.”

Shen Jintai responded with a “Nn” and closed his eyes again.

After staying in the seaside city for two days, he wasn’t accustomed to the weather in Nanchang and felt chilly.

He recalled the dream he had last night where he appeared on the big screen. He had appeared in cinema pictures before, but this dream was different. He dreamt that he was a famous superstar and had made a blockbuster movie. The crowds were shouting his name and went crazy for him as he was at the airport.

The next day, Xiao Tang woke him up. Shen Jintai got up in a daze and asked, “What time is it?”

“It’s half past eight. The crew has been urging,” Xiao Tang said.

When Shen Jintai heard this, he hurriedly got out of bed. Before his feet could even touch the ground, he suddenly fell forward. Fortunately, Xiao Tang had fast reflexes and caught him by the arms. Xiao Tang put his hand on his forehead and was surprised.

Shen Jintai was sick.

---

The author has something to say:

Give you all my warmth and take off only the windbreaker.

It’s getting cold. It’s time for someone to take off his jacket.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Don’t know what world this novel is set in, but personally, women and gay men definitely pay attention to a man’s ass. Even sometimes straight men too. Just saying…

Li Meilan with the critical hit: “Do you need to stuff socks?” … Shen Jintai found dead.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 42: Look, it’s Shen Jintai!

Li Meilan had to admire Monsoon Entertainment. They really knew how to leverage their hype methods. CP fans were the best way to become popular. Now that Shen Jintai’s and Zheng Siqi’s CP had risen, it was time to push the ship along the water and promote it with marketing. It would be mutually beneficial for both parties.

Li Meilan asked Shen Jintai for his opinion. He responded with, “I will cooperate.”

“Some people may say that you’re frying* CP,” Li Meilan warned.

*Buzzword meaning promoting.

Shen Jintai sneered. “I have also seen these comments, so I don’t need to pay attention to these people. They only believe in the white lotuses that can get popular without marketing, hype, or sponsors. Compared to relying on a gold master, I at least relied on myself and did not rub against the heat of others. During the broadcast, my interactions with other actors couldn’t be more normal. I never pretended to be in love with anyone. Besides, I just want to be popular*.”

*Clarity: He’s saying people (haters) will accuse him of “frying (promoting)” CP as a way to get popular. It’s one thing to have fans/randos attach to a CP, it’s another if you actively participate in it, which can be seen as you just hyping yourself and purposefully misleading the public. Shen Jintai is countering this by saying, yes he’s going to promote himself and yes it may be a little bit ambiguous, but he’s never going to cross the line of lying to the public by saying he’s in love with someone. His goal is to be popular, and that requires marketing and promotion.

Li Meilan was glad. She felt that since Shen Jintai’s comeback, everything had gone smoothly. Even Shen Jintai’s degree of cooperation was much higher than before. In the past, Shen Jintai was very willful and would never have considered it, which made it difficult for her as an agent.

Le Meilan: “Then I’ll discuss with his agent and see what to record.”

Sister Wen’s meaning was to shoot a small video for TikTok.

Nowadays, TikTok’s user activity had surpassed Weibo and they have more active users. She had noticed that many celebrities had captured this field. If utilized well, the effect will definitely be better than other forms of media.

While the two of them were filming, Li Meilan and Sister Wen finalized the specific content of the small video together. Both of them unanimously decided that it should be natural and cheerful. They held their phones and watched TikTok for several days and chose the most cheerful song they could find.

When both actors were free, they called them over to discuss.

“Is it filmed here?” Shen Jintai asked.

“It’s best to shoot on set. It makes it feel like it’s a casual shot. If we take it outside, it’ll look too deliberate.” Li Meilan said.

Shen Jintai found that the content of the shooting was also very casual. He thought it would be something like he would look back and smile or look at the camera in slow motion while walking, being su and handsome!

The result was that Sister Wen and Li Meilan only asked them to sit on the chairs in the dressing room, turn their heads to the music, and sing along with a song.

“Laugh, laugh,” Sister Wen said. “You have to look cheerful. We’ll post this video when the sadistic plot is broadcasted.”

Shen Jintai was very laidback in private, so he could act naturally. After shooting a few clips, he became even more energetic as he shook his head in a funny manner. Zheng Siqi’s personality had always been relatively reserved compared to an idol. Due to these differences combined, it created very good chemistry between the two of them. After the filming was done, everyone was satisfied with the outcome.

The clip wasn’t immediately posted. Both Sister Wen and Li Meilan felt that the sugar in the CP in the second week broadcast was sweet enough. The third and fourth episodes showed the process of the crown prince and Li Xu falling in love, which was very heartwarming.

The popularity of this pair of CP continued to rise, causing their super talk to reach first place.

It had been too long since there had been such eye-catching same-sex couples on the screen, especially when they were wearing such aesthetically pleasing ancient costumes. Costume dramas often involve love and hate, which could easily lead to life and death, making the genre extremely topical that could easily cause it to explode. Their staying power was also much stronger than their modern drama counterparts.

Because it was an adaptation of a novel, the direction and ending of the story were set. Crown prince Zhou Ying and Li Xu would have a tragic ending as they are both separated in life and death. This would be the most difficult aspect for the CP fans.

“Although it was because we knew the tragedy that’s yet to come, we could look at their love in this drama so emotionally, it would be better if the crew could change the ending!”

“My tears are worthless. I stayed up late yesterday and finished reading the original work. I just want to say that the crown prince is so miserable. He was supposed to be the proud and handsome son of the emperor, but resulted in this kind of ending. I strongly ask the screenwriters to change the ending!”

“That’s right! Since it’s an adaptation, it’s boring to be exactly the same as the original. What’s the point of being an adaptation then?”

“This drama is still more in line with the original work so far. The book’s fans are satisfied, so the crew doesn’t dare change the plot so easily. It might piss them off. As a big IP of the original work, the book fans still have a lot of influence.”

“I’m a book fan. I want to say that I’m alright with it if they give it a good ending! When I first read this novel, I felt that this couple was the most pitiful!”

A group of people ran to the original author and screenwriter’s, Meng Xiaosheng, Weibo to swipe on the topic. Even the official blog had tons of responses, but they were more neat and organized. All “Jintai Qiongying” fans were begging for the ending to be changed.

The senior management of Sunshine Media felt that while they should adhere to artistry, they should also take into account the needs of the audience. The result could potentially make the drama more popular in later stages, and a phenomenon-level explosion for this drama could happen. <The East Palace is Coming> was so popular right now that it greatly exceeded their expectations. Their ambition now went beyond just making it simply a hit drama.

“If it’s determined that it needs to be changed, then specific amendments will be made this week. I only have one point to insist. That is, there must be tragedy.” Director Guo said.

Meng Xiaosheng nodded and said, “When I was recently writing the next script, I had a little idea in my mind, but it hasn’t taken shape yet, so I’ll think about it for the next few days. However, it’s not because I’m being swayed by the audience. Creators should have their own persistence. Authors who are easily influenced by the audience cannot write good work. I’ll definitely not write about a happy reunion. I just think it can be handled more delicately.”

Since Shen Jintai stayed with the crew. He could only rely on the internet to get an idea of his current popularity. He didn’t feel excited when he saw his Weibo fans skyrocketing every day. To him, it was just a number.

After the initial excitement of the premiere, the crew was more settled down. The environment was relatively lax, so people could easily come and go. Shen Jintai decided to pick up the underwear endorsement. Taking advantage of the fact that he had no scenes this weekend, he planned to fly to City A to shoot ads for it.

“Recently, several entertainment companies have contacted me and want to sign you,” Li Meilan said. “When I sort out their information, I will send it to you. You don’t need to worry. Seeing as how there’s no problem with the popularity of this drama that’ll last for at least a year and a half, the bargaining chips are in our hands.”

“It’s best if it’s a big company,” Shen Jintai said.

Li Meilan nodded. “I have ruled out all small companies for you. At present, the most frequent contact is with Monsoon Entertainment. Especially this time after I became acquainted with Tian Wenwen*, Ji Fengxing has been making appointments through her.”

*Zheng Siqi’s agent’s (Sister Wen) full name.

“What do you think of Monsoon Entertainment?”

“Monsoon Entertainment can be regarded as a relatively large brokerage company. It specializes in talent brokering. It has brought out many big names, though the company gives the impression that they’re only interested in hype. After all, they have their own department just for marketing. In just the past two years, Sunshine Media became involved in film and television, which basically allowed them to bake their cake and eat it too. Monsoon has no resources in that industry and will continue to suffer more. They won’t be able to keep up, and eventually they’ll lose some of their major resources.*”

*Clarity: She’s saying Monsoon Entertainment can only provide stars. They’ll eventually be unable to compete with Sunshine who’s also a talent agency and makes their own films/television shows. This basically allows Sunshine to produce their own stuff that stars their own talent instead of using others (having their cake and eating it too). Monsoon is losing out on this market because they can only provide the talent.

Li Meilan thought Monsoon Entertainment was worth considering. The main reason was that she thought their CEO had a very sincere and enthusiastic attitude. The contract conditions were very attractive, and the degree of freedom offered in it was extremely high, while the commission fees were very low… It was obvious Monsoon wanted to sign a traffic star as a signboard, so they needed a star effect.

Shen Jintai asked, “Are there any others?”

Lei Meilan: “There’s also Universal Entertainment, a veteran entertainment company. Teacher Song Wei belongs to them. However, there are many big-name artists in their company, at least five or six in their first lineup¹. Their conditions are also stringent… I will sort it out and send it to you. These companies are all very formal. When they contacted me, in addition to a general contract, they also prepared an artist proposal².”

¹Refers to top artists in the company. Usually, these are the ones the company pours the most resources into.
²Refers to a business plan for the artist. Basically, a path the company sets for them so they can achieve success.

When he was on his way to the airport, Li Meilan had already organized and printed out all the documents and given them to him. Included were also artist proposals for him created by various companies.

Comparing the various offers, Monsoon Entertainment had the most attractive conditions, and their artist proposal was well done. It made people optimistic when they read it, as if they were about to become a superstar the next day. Universal Entertainment had the strictest conditions.

Shen Jintai suddenly had a thought. He raised his head and asked, “Sunshine Media… Did they make any contact?”

Li Meilan surprised and said, “No.” She paused for a bit, then asked, “Why? Do you want to sign with them?”

Without waiting for Shen Jintai’s answer, she continued, “Sunshine Media has indeed developed very rapidly in the past two years, but their core business is still film and television production. Their artist agency isn’t their main focus, so there are relatively few artists under their banner. Bai Qingquan is the most well-known… Has your relationship with President Yan eased recently?”

Shen Jintai said, “Forget. You don’t have to reach out.” He mainly liked Sunshine Media due to their reputation. A brokerage company with its own film and television resources was the most secure for him.

His goal was to not worry about film resources. He wanted to become popular and was willing to cooperate to promote a CP just because he wouldn’t have to worry about film resources one day.

Only people who weren’t popular knew how important it was for an actor. This wasn’t only a question of whether they could play a leading role, but also the lifespan of their career. He wanted to act for a lifetime, even if he could only play small supporting roles when he got older.

However, there was Bai Qingquan and Yan Qiuchi sandwiched between him. If Sunshine Media didn’t take the initiative to contact him, it was still fine. It showed that Yan Qiuchi didn’t want to sign him. He didn’t need to push it. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing.

After arriving at the airport, Shen Jintai was about to get off the car when Xiao Tang stopped him. “Brother, bring a mask.” He said this as he handed Shen Jintai a mask.

Shen Jintai took it and chuckled. “Is it necessary?”

“You are on fire now,” Li Meilan said. “You should put it on. However, this is the first time you have appeared in public since the show was broadcast. If you want to test it, you don’t have to wear it. See if anyone will recognize you.”

Shen Jintai smiled excitedly as he grabbed the mask and got out of the car. He was only going for two days, so he didn’t bring much luggage. Li Meilan had one suitcase, while Xiao Tang only carried a bag.

When he got out of the car, Shen Jintai felt that several passersby were looking at him.

He was a celebrity. Even if he did look plain, within a crowd, he was actually eye-catching, mainly because he was tall, thin, and fair. While not considered handsome among male celebrities, he still stood out from the average crowd.

Shen Jintai thought for a bit and decided to put on his mask and follow Li Meilan and Xiao Tang into the airport. He wanted to be recognized, but he was also afraid of being recognized. When he entered the airport, he heard a familiar song. It was the theme song of <The East Palace is Coming>. The sentence “History does not leave my name. Still I remain in your memory” was really thrilling.

This drama series was really on fire.

He turned his head and glanced to the side and saw a stylishly dressed girl looking at <The East Palace> on her phone.

Xiao Tang and Shen Jintai exchanged glances at each other.

The mask concealed most of his face, revealing only his glowing eyes and radiant eyebrows. Even with this, he still looked handsome. Xiao Tang felt that only by looking at his eyes could he tell that Shen Jintai was a big star.

As soon as they arrived at the terminal, Shen Jintai saw a group of people, mainly young girls, holding signs in their hands as if they were waiting for someone. There were a lot of people crowded around him, but it had nothing to do with him. It wasn’t the first time he had seen this kind of scene. In the past, at the Capital’s airport, he often encountered fans who would pick him up and drop him off.

Shen Jintai smiled and looked at Li Meilan. “They’re not waiting for me, right? Will they even recognize me when I’m wearing a mask? Ahahahaha.”

As soon as he stopped speaking, someone shouted, “Shen Jintai!”

Then there was a scream, and a group of people all ran towards him. The instant sensation stunned passersby, and even more stunned Shen Jintai. Li Meilan and Xiao Tang hadn’t experienced this kind of situation for over two years, so they were quite shocked.

“Why are there so many people?” Xiao Tang said nervously as he hurried to Shen Jintai. He knew that there would be fans coming to drop off Shen Jintai today. The management of the “Gold Powder Family” group mentioned it to him. He just didn’t expect that there would be so many. It wasn’t just dozens of them, it was hundreds!

The crowd suddenly boiled over, and Shen Jintai’s mind went blank for a moment. He only heard deafening screams, all calling his name. In the crowd, he saw the support sign with his name on it, and someone was shouting, “Don’t be loud! Don’t be loud!”

Xiao Tang immediately recognized it. It was one of their old fans.

Everyone was so excited. They raised their phones and snapped him wildly. Some little girls were even crying with excitement. They couldn’t squeeze in. They held flowers and shouted wildly. “Brother, look here, brother, I have a gift for you!”

Shen Jintai towered over all the group of girls. His heartbeat was deafening and he was a little frightened by the scene. Blood boiled over his body as he waved his hand mechanically. This was the first time he felt that he had become popular.

He wanted to cry and didn’t know whether it was because he was too excited or too moved. He took off his mask, bowed, and waved at his fans.

As soon as the mask was taken off, everyone became even more hysterical. The crowd surrounded him, and as they came forward, Li Meilan and Xiao Tang nervously surrounded him to block them off. Some fans tried to give him gifts. Shen Jintai bowed and took them. There were so many that after a while he couldn’t hold them. When passersby heard his name, they gathered around the crowd, causing it to steadily increase. Fortunately, airport security came and helped maintain order. They grabbed Shen Jintai and led him away as the scene unfolded into chaos.

Shen Jintai’s drop-off video quickly spread all over the Internet. Due to the heat of <The East Palace>, the video went viral.

“Hahahaha, I laughed to death. Have you seen Shen Jintai’s drop-off video? Gallop mode*!”

*(飞奔) Refer’s to running quickly/speeding away.

“I have to say that Shen Jintai really became popular. He probably didn’t expect there would be so many people. He was obviously frightened.”

“Did he underestimate his popularity? He didn’t even bring a few bodyguards.”

“It looks a bit scary. I am optimistic that the shoes of a few little girls have fallen off*.”

*Reference to Cinderella. || In this context, he is basically referring to how they were so excited about seeing Shen Jintai and chasing him that they probably lost a shoe.

“He was born with a good figure and can fight. Don’t you think he’s getting better and better?!”

“Yeah, yeah, I think so too! He looks good with a smile! The scared look is also cute!”

“I remember that before he retired from the circle, he liked to pretend to be cool with a serious face every time he’s picked up and dropped off at the airport. Now he’s too friendly!”

“It’s the Li Xu’s filter. I think it’s so pleasing to the eye when I look at him now!”

“It’s like that with me. Because I feel sorry for the little cutie Li Xu, I have lost my normal standard of examining Touhua!”

“Hahaha, I think you have forgotten the picture of the head flower, ghost and beast!”

“The picture upstairs is so eye-catching, but I don’t care. I only have Xiao Li Xu in my eyes!”

Then a series of beautiful pictures of Li Xu crying, smiling, getting his clothes torn off, and running were posted. Finally, someone posted a GIF of the scene at the airport. It was the moment Shen Jintai took off his mask.

It showed fair and slender fingers picking up the mask strap. As the mask peeled away, it revealed a bright smile with rosy lips and perfect white teeth. His eyes were bright like stars.

“……”

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!”

“My god!”

“Shen Touhua!”

“Obviously not so exquisite, but why does it look so su!”

—

Before Shen Jintai got on the plane, he made a Weibo post. He was still high off of adrenaline and couldn’t calm down. He kept typing and deleting his message and finally just wrote: [Thank you.]

A few seconds after the post went online, floods of comments poured in, causing the Weibo app to crash. Shen Jintai stared blankly at his phone.

After boarding the plane, he sat on the plane, leaning against the window, and watched the plane gradually rise, showing him the unobstructed view of Nancheng. He saw the high-rise buildings, rivers, and lakes, and the higher he rose, the more scenery he saw. He wanted to go to the highest point. His dream suddenly had a glimpse of reality. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, so excited that his legs shook uncontrollably.

Li Meilan felt that Shen Jintai’s expression was a bit abnormal. It seemed that after two years of silence, after his life had fallen apart and he had hit rock bottom, he suddenly became popular again. These drastic changes must’ve made him feel uncomfortable. She felt there was a certain kind of paranoia in Shen Jintai’s fiery look, charming, determined, and dangerous.

The lovesick brain had become filled with career and ambition.

After they landed in City A, Li Meilan said, “There should be fans who came to pick you up here, right?”

Hearing this, Xiao Tang immediately rushed to the front, blocking Shen Jintai. Sure enough, as she expected, when she came out, she met a lot of fans who came to pick Shen Jintai up.

With psychological preparation this time, the three of them had calmed down a lot. City A wasn’t like the metropolis of Nancheng. There weren’t so many fans who came, but they were equally enthusiastic and crazy. Shen Jintai’s this time remained calm.

The hotel arranged for him by the brand was very good. Li Meilan said, “You have the night off. Someone from their company will pick you up early tomorrow morning for the advertising shoot.”

Shen Jintai nodded, and after sending Li Meilan and Xiao Tang out, he pursed his lips and rubbed his sore neck. Finally, there was no one around and he could let himself go! He was about to die of excitement! Forgive him for not having seen the world. It was the first time he had been surrounded and chased by so many people. The feeling of being famous was absolutely thrilling!

Shen Jintai couldn’t help but run a few laps around the living room. He then took out his phone and played a song on it. He staggered around, singing cheerfully:

[When the birds fly, and the grass grows,
the one you love is on his way.
I know that he has both highs and lows,
on his journey night and day.]

He was going to be an amazing actor and a dazzling star!

---

The author has something to say:

The song Shen Jintai is listening to is: <The Beauty of the world is Linked to You>.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Director Guo why are you so abusive?! I want a HE! HE! HE!!!

Is it me or does it feel like the author didn’t put enough dog blood, drama, and angst into the main story, so she crammed it all into this fucking sadistic TV series.

Once again, I’ve taken a little bit of liberties with the song lyrics to make them rhyme. The original lyrics are: 此时已莺飞草长，爱的人正在路上。我知他风雨兼程，途径日暮不赏.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 41: Jintai Qiongying

Shen Jintai was on fire, and the crew naturally knew it. The premiere was a hit, and the crew was overjoyed. The eyes of the entire crew were staring at him as they saw President Yan sent him to the set today.

He was so popular that President Yan himself personally came to deliver him.

“Jintai, here you are.” The executive director smiled and greeted Shen Jintai, and then smiled at Yan Qiuchi. “President Yan.”

Yan Qiuchi nodded and asked, “Where is Director Guo?”

Director: “Still sleeping. Director Guo stayed up late last night to cut the film yesterday and didn’t sleep much.”

The current model of the drama was simultaneously filming and broadcasting. Guo Rui, as a director, had strong creative desires, so he mainly did everything by himself. He was the staff member that worked the hardest in this series.

Yan Qiuchi turned to Shen Jintai and said, “I’m going to see the director.”

Shen Jintai nodded and went to the dressing room by himself.

As soon as he walked into the makeup room, his makeup artist immediately surrounded him and said beamingly, “Jintai, congratulations.”

Shen Jintai smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Today was a joyous occasion, so everyone was in good spirits, especially Shen Jintai, who looked extremely radiant.

Someone entered from behind. Shen Jintai looked back and found that it was Zheng Siqi. To cultivate feelings, he and Zheng Siqi shared the same dressing room.

Zheng Siqi smiled and said, “A’Xu, good morning.”

Shen Jintai: “You don’t have a scene this morning, so why didn’t you sleep in.”

“But you have a scene and I wanted to watch and learn from it,” Zheng Siqi said with a smile.

Bai Qingquan’s assistant saw that Shen Jintai had arrived in the dressing room, and immediately sent a message to him: [He’s here.]

After Bai Qingquan received the message, he said to Wei Ge, “Let’s go.”

Wei Ge, who was sitting in the nanny’s car with Bai Qingquan, said, “You must be stable.”

Bai Qingquan didn’t speak. He put his phone on the table. His mood had been extremely complicated. He introduced Shen Jintai to play the second male lead in order to lift the sedan chair*. He thought he would crush Shen Jintai until no scum was left. Who knew that Shen Jintai would rob him of all the limelight as soon as the broadcast was aired?

*Buzzword referring to rooting for someone to increase their popularity || Basically, in this context he wanted Shen Jintai to lift him up and make him (Bai Qingquan) more popular.

When he browsed the major forums, all he saw was Shen Jintai and not a single mention of Bai Qingquan. He should’ve never been such a generous person, especially to Shen Jintai!

How shameful, how hateful, how humiliating!

“I am most worried about you,” Wei Ge said. “If you’re affected by these things, you’ll be completely suppressed by Shen Jintai in the scene today. At that time, netizens will not only praise Shen Jintai but will also compare you with one another. Do you want to be the one who gets stepped on?”

“I know.” Bai Qingquan looked out the window coldly. The car had already entered the film and television city: “I know what I should do.”

At this point, self-abandonment would only make the situation worse. Even if his mood was extremely bad, he had to adjust it and continue to fight. He wanted to fight Shen Jintai to the end. Even if he couldn’t get up after being beaten, he wouldn’t admit defeat. This was his last stubbornness!

The staff today would feel two kinds of pressure.

—

<The East Palace is Coming> was a hit. Most of the crew were overjoyed, and the staff on the scene were full of energy. President Yan even came in person. It must be that the premiere ratings last night were high, and the company’s top executives were very satisfied!

When the official ratings came out, the two major television stations and the <The East Palace> official website both announced that the series had broken one. The first episode had a rating of 1.1 while the second had 1.4.

As the popularity of the series was still fermenting on the internet, fans of Shen Jintai and Zhang Siqi continued to refresh every few minutes, increasing the number of clicks.

How could the two major television stations not make use of such a good feast? They started to air reruns during the daytime.

Despite this, the two main leads of the drama weren’t happy. Though Bai Qingquan was smiling, he was a lot quieter today. As a big star, he had his own separate dressing room. As soon as he entered, his face sank.

When he usually got his makeup done, he would chat with the makeup artist. Though he seemed like a little fairy on the outside, only his makeup artist knew how gossipy he was behind closed doors. He was talkative and lively. However, today, Bai Qingquan was intently focused on reading the script as she was applying makeup to him. His brows never relaxed.

Yang Lizhi didn’t have it any better. As one of the bigger names, she should have been full of joy. She was excited when she got the chance to play the heroine in a palace fighting drama. It was supposed to be the most popular and attractive role. Yet the popularity was snatched away by two men.

Obviously, she carried the attention during the premiere, but the result became that she made wedding dresses for others*!

*(为他人做了嫁衣裳) Proverb that means your hard work didn’t get you any benefits but instead contributed to other people’s welfare.

Today’s scene was AB. There were two scenes going on at the same time, but they were shot separately. Yang Lizhi wanted to know which scene director Guo Rui was shooting. As He Lanbi, her scenes had been miserable for the past few days. She was assigned to the Garment Bureau, where she had to wash clothes and was bullied by many female cannon fodders.

It was a common routine for the heroines of palace fighting dramas to experience a stage of growth. He Lanbi wasn’t a gentle girl. As the heroine, she took the shuangwen* route. Her mood had to match this, and she remained cool and collected. As she walked to the filming location, her emotions remained stable.  

*(爽文) Characterized by the protagonist’s smooth flow from beginning to end of the story that involves them rapidly upgrading. There are 4 types. You can read more about it in my Kinky Thoughts.

When she arrived on the set and saw Director Guo, she felt a little better.

She acted out multiple scenes of being framed, then face slapped them back, being framed, then face slapped them back, continuously. <The East Palace is Coming> was a fast-paced fighting drama. In a single day, He Lanbi settled accounts at the Garment Bureau and won the favor of the head mistress.

After filming for a day, Yang Lizhi was exhausted. In the evening, she went to watch Song Wei, who played her aunt, Empress Xiao, film. She was completely overwhelmed by the veteran actor.

Song Wei’s acting skills were amazing. Among the young actors, only Shen Jintai was able to match her and not be swallowed.

Yang Lizhi cried internally for a long time and finally embarrassedly put some eye drops in to relieve her eyes. Song Wei had the same temper as she did and was relatively straightforward. Her eyes always seemed to show obvious impatience whenever she looked at Yang Lizhi. Guo Rui came over to talk to her about her scenes.

Yang Lizhi felt that despite Director Guo filming her scenes today, he didn’t really necessarily pay attention to her. She became worried that she might not be able to act well.

As a huadan, Yang Lizhi could sell her acting skills well among her peers. However, her shortcomings were easily exposed when she was faced with a real acting artist. Her lines were read unclearly, she easily broke character, her emotions came too slowly, and her appeal was too poor.

Fortunately, she was a relatively strong woman who didn’t cry often. She would tread on it fearlessly. She wasn’t soft and refused to admit defeat.

It was already dark after finishing filming the scenes with Song Wei. Director Guo immediately went to another site where a more important scene was being filmed.

It was the dual scene between Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai.

The candlelight was faint. Bai Qingquan was lying on the couch with his long hair scattered. A staff member took a hair dryer to blow it. The silk was fluttering in the hall as the light technician stepped back with a light board. The makeup artist was spraying water mist on his face as they helped put on his makeup.

Shen Jintai also had long hair scattered. He was standing not far away and was wearing only an inner shirt.

Guo Rui didn’t know why, but he got a little excited every time he saw these two.

Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan seemed to be natural opponents. When they appeared in the same scene, they seemed to have a natural tension between enemies and friends. Guo Rui wasn’t sure if this was brought about by the show or in real life.

Guo Rui: “Are you ready?”

Bai Qingquan made an OK gesture. The makeup artist sprayed a final spurt of water on his forehead and quickly retreated.

Shen Jintai was still the same as he nodded to the director quite seriously.

“All departments are ready. THREE, TWO, ONE, ACTION!”

Bai Qingquan frowned tightly. He was shaking lightly, as if he was entangled by the night. His gasps became louder and louder. Shen Jintai suddenly opened the tent, sat down beside him, and shouted, “Your Highness!”

Bai Qingquan opened his eyes abruptly. He sat up from the couch, panting as beads of water flowed down his cheeks.

—

Zhou Jing was dreaming again. He got up from the couch and hugged Li Xu.

Li Xu was wearing only his inner shirt. His body was warm. Li Xu pressed one hand against the back of his head and said, “Your Highness was dreaming again.”

Zhou Jing trembled and said, “I dreamt of my concubine mother. With blood and tears in my eyes, I wanted to grab her hand, but I couldn’t.” He wept bitterly as he continued. “I have avenged her. I have avenged her. Yet why is this dream still haunting me.”

After he finished speaking, he suddenly let go of Li Xu and stared at him with both eyes.

Li Xu didn’t dodge his sight. Instead, he returned his gaze and asked, “Why does Your Highness look at me like that?”

“You’ve returned, but your heart is still in the East Palace.” As he finished, he got up and shouted, “Tea.”

Immediately, an eunuch came in with a tea cup. He picked up the teacup, raised his head, and drank it all. He seemed quite thirsty. Tea spilled down the corner of his mouth. He turned around and asked Li Xu, “Why don’t you speak?”

Li Xu said, “Your Highness, what do you want this slave to say?”

Zhou Jing smashed the teacup in his hand into the ground when he heard Li Xu’s words. The teacup shattered to pieces as tea splashed onto Li Xu’s shirt. Zhou Jing’s eyes were flushed. His face turned hideous as he said, “You’ve followed me for over 10 years, but that couldn’t compare to the 10 days you spent with him!”

Li Xu’s eyes turned red, and he raised his head and said, “Do you want to know why?”

“Why?”

“Because he was the first person to treat me sincerely. He was the crown prince. A person that sits above 10,000 people. I am just a most humble slave. He knew that you sent me to him, yet he still treated me like this. I… He’s a good person, and I hurt him…”

“How does he treat you? Am I not good enough to you?” Zhou Jing’s throat bobbed as he spoke. “I don’t believe anyone in this palace. I only believe in you.”

Li Xu remained silent as he shed a tear.

Finally, he said, “Your Highness, I want to go back to the East Palace. There are countless slaves around His Royal Highness, but I am the only one by his side.”

“Back then, you saw how my mother was poisoned by Empress Xiao. When I was a child, I was locked up in an anteroom by her. You came to see me secretly and gave me half a candle. I asked you why you wanted to help me, and you said it was because we’re all pitiful people who have been bullied…” Zhou Jing’s voice was sorrowful. After a moment of silence, he continued, “You once said that you would accompany me to climb above 10,000 people so that no one would dare to bully us anymore. Now that you are only halfway through this road, you just… You are the prince’s favorite. Do you know how much risk I have taken to get you back? The whole palace suspects that I’ve harmed the crown prince yet questions why I saved you. You are just a mere slave in their eyes, and your death wouldn’t be as good as his.”

Li Xu didn’t speak but knelt down. Zhou Jing was so angry that he stretched out his leg and kicked him to the ground. “The crown prince will die!”

His tone was dark, and his face was flushed.

Shen Jintai was really shocked. He felt that Bai Qingquan was really into the scene. Although Bai Qingquan kicked him at an angle that wasn’t a direct hit, he felt the strength was strong. His eyes were particularly dramatic, and his face was a bit hideous.

Shen Jintai got up from the ground and kowtowed to the ground. “I know that none of you will let him go. I know that he’s bound to die.” Shen Jintai’s tears dripped on the floor as he cried. “Let me accompany him through this last journey. I will keep this life and be loyal to Your Highness for the rest of my life!” As he said this, he knocked his head on the ground fiercely.

Bai Qingquan grabbed him by the collar. His lips were tightly pursed. His face was ablaze. His neck faintly showed blue veins as tears gushed out and he suddenly released his grip. “Do you think I’ll hate you for reneging. A’Xu, I’m afraid you will lose your life. In the deep palace, you’ll think that all you lose is feelings but, in the end, whether you live or die is not up to you to decide. I will hold your hand and keep your life.”

At this moment, the little eunuch played by Liu Hui ran in quickly. “Your Highness!”

Shou Jing: “Speak!”

The little eunuch trembled with fright and said, “The Empress… Empress… has died.”

Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan stood up straight at the same time, one standing and the other kneeling, looking at the rocker camera.

After a moment of silence, Shen Jintai immediately got up, and Bai Qingquan grabbed his clothes. “It’s not me, it’s not me.”

Shen Jintai slumped to the ground as his legs went soft.

“Cut!”

Both Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai needed time to calm down. Bai Qingquan’s performance was extraordinary in this scene. It was obvious that he had entered the scene. After filming the scene, sweat covered his back. He stretched out his hand to pull Shen Jintai up and asked, “The kick just now didn’t hurt you, did it?”

“No.” Shen Jintai smiled as he waved his hand and sat on the ground.

After the lights on the set were turned on, the hall suddenly lit up, and Director Guo said behind from the monitor, “This one has passed.”

The next part would be where the Empress committed suicide by poison, spelling out a way for her son to survive. Then it would be her funeral, which was Zheng Siqi’s most important scene. This wouldn’t be filmed until tomorrow.

When Shen Jintai was about to go back to rest, he received a flying page.

During the filming of a film or television series, if the creator suddenly got an inspiration, they could temporarily add a scene in order to adjust the plot. This process was called a flying page*. Some dramas have been using flying pages constantly since the beginning of filming. This kind of style felt as if one didn’t know what to shoot tomorrow after shooting today. Generally speaking, it did more harm than good and wasn’t conducive to the actors who needed to sort out the logic and emotional changes before and after the changes. The script for the first 20 episodes of <The East Palace is Coming> had already been released. Occasionally modification was made. It should be because the screenwriter or director felt that there was a lot of heat in a direction.

*(飞页) Means there is no specific script when making a TV series or movie. The script is made and modified in the process of shooting.

Bai Qingquan was taken aback when he saw that Shen Jintai had received a flying page. He was very curious and wanted to see what scenes were added for Shen Jintai. However, with the broadcast premiere, Shen Jintai became the focus for all the crew members. Bai Qingquan pretended not to care and went back to his dressing room.

While removing his makeup, he happened to meet Yang Lizhi. Yang Lizhi tapped on the cigarette in her hand and said, “I heard that a flying page was sent out today. Are they going to add more scenes for Shen Jintai? These businessmen… When I signed the contract, I was told that there wouldn’t be any major changes in the first 20 episodes.”

They most likely saw that Shen Jintai was getting hot and wanted to take advantage of it. If the audience liked watching him, then they would cater to his needs. Since this was the first flying page, it wasn’t easy to bring up the contract. Otherwise, it would make them look like they were being difficult. Especially Yang Lizhi. She was a foreigner, and it wasn’t easy to get this role. Since Bai Qingquan was an artist under Sunshine Media, it was more appropriate for him to speak on this matter.

“This isn’t a big change. It’s better to talk about it when pages are flying every day,” Bai Qingquan said.

“You have a good temper,” Yang Lizhi responded.

Bai Qingquan remained silent. He was focused on looking at Shen Jintai’s Weibo followers on his phone, which had surpassed four million.

This was only the first day of broadcasting. In today’s flying page, the plot was very simple and there were almost no lines. Shen Jintai’s nose became sour when he looked at it.

This scene was added well.

Zheng Siqi had received the notice much earlier as he was already in makeup and waiting beside Shen Jintai. He was also very surprised and excited when he suddenly received the flying page since Zhou Ying didn’t have many scenes. In addition, the added scene was also a dual scene with Shen Jintai.

Even a fool would know that their CP was very popular and the more interaction they had onscreen, the hotter the CP would become.

The two sat on the floor and chatted for a while before filming started.

The news of the Empress’ death had reached the East Palace. Li Xu had snuck in through the lush courtyard that was filled with vegetation and roses. It was pitch black in the hall. Not a single light was on, and there was no one there. It was empty, with only the sound of silk flapping in the wind.

Li Xu whispered, “Crown prince.” No one answered him. He only saw a dark figure lying in front of the window.

He immediately ran over, knelt on the ground, and said, “It’s me.” He accidentally touched the wine jar on the ground, spilling it. The wine wetted the corner of his robe. As he helped Zhou Ying up, he was grabbed by his robe and heard the sound of small whimpers.

Li Xu held Zhou Ying in his arms silently as he hugged him tightly.

“A’Xu, Queen Mother… is dead,” Zhou Ying said.

Li Xu’s lips quivered as warm tears fell from his face. Zhou Ying grabbed his shoulder and buried himself in his arms, crying.

The rocker camera gradually receded. The moonlight shone on the two people from outside the window.

Ever since the poisoning incident, no one had supported Zhou Ying. The Xiao clan was punished, his mother had died, and his brothers wanted him dead. His father, the emperor, could no longer save him. His sweetheart was just a most humble slave who could only watch as he moved step by step closer to his end.

“Cut!”

Director Guo said, “It’s over.”

Zheng Siqi got up from Shen Jintai’s arm and gulped as he wiped away tears.

“Aiya.” Shen Jintai who was also crying, rubbed his eyes and said, “Ah.” As he was about to speak, he glanced at Zheng Siqi, who was taken in by him. The two looked at each other and tears fell again.

Shen Jintai felt that his emotions were a little bit out of control.

He sat in front of the window, taking deep breaths to calm himself. “This scene is very good. Very good.”

At this time, Li Xu should be with him, even if it was only for a short moment. After the night passed, Li Xu decided to try his best to save him, but to no avail.

It was very realistic. Ingenuity couldn’t overcome the power at hand.

While the heroine’s palace fighting drama route was cool to watch, Li Xu’s path was more realistic. He was a little eunuch with no power or influence. He couldn’t do anything. He had a weak heart that was held down by a sense of powerlessness. This reason was far more blackening than the death of his lover.

The seeds of power and desire were planted in his heart, and one by one, he wrote down all his enemies in his small notebook.

Kill a person and burn a page.

The light of the fire illuminated his eyebrows but could no longer illuminate his heart.

—

The crew also understood the hearts of the audience well. They posted a stills on the official blog late at night with the text: [Jintai Qiongying*.]

*(琼瑛) Refers to beautiful jade. Also refers to the stamens of the Qiong tree in mythology.

The stills showed two people embracing each other, with robes spread on the ground, long hair scattered, and a double mandarin duck white jade pendant beside them.

Jintai was Shen Jintai. Ying was the name of the crown prince. The combination of reality and illusory combined to form the words that were noble and beautiful*. It immediately ignited the CP fans.

*Clarity: Breaking down the characters, Jintai (金台) represents Shen Jintai. The Ying (瑛) represents the Ying in Zhou Ying and is also the same character in qiongying (琼瑛) which refers to beautiful jade (the mandarin duck jade pendant). Combining them all together gives you Jintai Qiongying (金台琼瑛).

What kind of “Mrs. CP”, they don’t want to be Mrs. Le chicken* essence girls anymore!

*Brand of chicken bouillon. As for what it’s referencing, I’m unsure.

The super talk changed its name to “Jintai Qiongying”.

Zheng Siqi’s agent, Sister Wen, called Li Meilan in the middle of the night. “Sister, there’s a bit of abuse in the drama. Do you want to cooperate and make some sunny videos to neutralize it?”

---

The author has something to say:

Yesterday, a reader recommended me a song <All Sentient Beings are Crazy>. Reading this chapter while listening to this song, it can be eaten together and be slightly abused.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

My god… this drama is more dog blooded than this novel. My heart is simply breaking for Li Xu and Zhou Ying. I agree… This drama is fucking abusive… to my heart!!!

Since I didn’t want to make a long footnote in the main text, here’s the continuation of Shuangwen. There are 4 categories:

1. Upgrade text: The most popular of the four. The characteristic is that the MC upgrades very fast and becomes OP. While others level up by 1, the MC levels up by 5.
2. Teacher tutored text: Shows the MC growing up and gets mentored by a teacher with great powers that levels them up with all kinds of cheats.
3. Harem novels: The MC has multiple wives and concubines that are in groups that ranges from 3 to dozens or more. The text provides a cool flavor but lack connotation.
4. Counterattack: On the surface the MC is some poor boy, but he is actually the heir of a certain group/family/gang/sect.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 40: Exploded Overnight

The storm brought heavy rain and thunder all night. Like the storm, Shen Jintai exploded overnight. As expected, he became popular. When he woke up the next day, the autumn morning light shone on his body, highlighting the may cherries that were slowly ripening for the picking. Fermentation took time.

After a TV series was broadcast, public opinion would peak the next day. Shen Jintai was awakened by Li Meilan’s call. Li Meilan couldn’t control her groundhog scream. “Jintai, you are on fire!”

What could best prove that an actor was on fire?

Hot search? Could buy.

Forum swiping? A water army could be deployed.

These public platforms couldn’t provide solid evidence. The best testament was the circle of friends! Li Meilan sent a screenshot to him from her friends’ circle.

“This is not my work number. This is my personal alt account, and the people who added it are all relatives and friends!” Li Meilan specifically emphasized this.

Shen Jintai, who was still a little sleepy, rubbed his eyes. He saw that the moments on the screenshots were all stills from <The East Palace>, and he had the most stills. One of them posted a video of the scene where his clothes were torn off.

It seemed that all the heroes saw the same thing.

Shen Jintai’s voice was still a little hoarse. He was happy in his heart. “Low-key, low-key. Only two episodes have been broadcasted so far.”

Li Meilan: “You made such a big splash for just two episodes! Will there be more in the future?! Do you know how high the wild list¹ rating was yesterday? I don’t think it’s a problem at all to break 1² with two stations! Do you know what this concept is?”

¹(野榜) Basically like a polling list that shows which TV show is popular.
²It’s some kind of TV rating system in China. I’m not sure how it works, but breaking 1 means it’s really good.

He didn’t know.

Li Meilan: “Let me tell you, this year’s ratings champion is <Metamorphosis in the Workplace>, with an average of 1.5 on both stations. If <The East Palace is Coming> can break 1 on both stations when it debuts, I dare not think about the popularity in the later stages!”

Although the premiere was high, it mainly reflected the high expectations of the audience and good publicity. Nevertheless, Shen Jintai was extremely happy that his comeback debut was off to a great start.

He jumped up from the bed with a kip-up. The sun was shining outside. He opened the window, and fresh air blew on his face. After the autumn storm, the air still carried the aromas of rain and osmanthus. The sky was clear and blue, and the white clouds were light.

—

Yan Qiuchi was motionless as he woke up at 7. After waking up, he noticed something strange and went to the bathroom to wash his underwear.

The maid came in to tidy up his room. When she saw him doing laundry she hurriedly said, “Oh, just put it there. I’ll take care of it.”

“I can do it,” Yan Qiuchi said calmly. He always had one or two days in the month that made him feel impetuous. In fact, it had nothing to do with Shen Jintai. It was simply a young man’s inexhaustible energy at work.

In the eyes of outsiders, he was a very self-disciplined person, and indeed he was, but only he truly knew how much he desired. These heavy desires, coupled with his skin hunger, were stronger than ordinary people’s. He had had them since he was a child.

It was just that he was good at controlling it. But still, no matter how good he was at controlling it, there would be days in a month that he couldn’t hold back, like yesterday. The sultry weather made him sleepless, and when he couldn’t sleep, he started to think about it.

It actually had nothing to do with Shen Jintai. At least that’s what Yan Qiuchi thought to himself.

After getting dressed, he headed downstairs. As he walked to the second floor, he heard Shen Jintai’s laughter. Shen Jintai was sitting in a chair, browsing his phone while laughing uncontrollably.

Mrs. Yan smiled at him as she put breakfast in front of him. “Don’t look at your phone when you eat.”

“The comments are so interesting.” Shen Jintai looked up with a grin. When he noticed someone was entering the dining room, he turned around and saw it was Yan Qiuchi. He flashed a smile and greeted him, “Hey, good morning.”

Maybe it was the early morning after the rain, and the halos were all golden, which made people’s reflections look brighter, but Yan Qiuchi thought that Shen Jintai’s smile was dazzling.

Shen Jintai couldn’t be considered a superb beauty. In terms of facial features, he wasn’t as delicate as Bai Qingquan or Liu Hui, but wrapped around the autumn light, it made him look very pure and sunny.

While radiant in personality, in physique…

Shen Jintai wore a white T-shirt, showing only his thin and fair arms. The allure from yesterday was covered, leaving only a thin outline. He was like two different people when he wore clothes and when he had them off. What a contradictory attraction.

Yan Qiuchi nodded and sat down opposite him. A maid brought over his breakfast. Mrs. Yan, who was next to him, asked, “Will you go out later?”

Yan Qiuchi let out a “Nn” and said, “Going to work.”

“If you go to the film and television city, please take Jintai with you,” Mrs. Yan said. “He didn’t drive.”

“It’s alright. I’ll have my assistant pick me up later,” Shen Jintai said.

“It’s on the way. No need to bother your assistant,” Mrs. Yan said.

Shen Jintai looked at Yan Qiuchi, thinking that if Yan Qiuchi’s eyes showed any reluctance, he would wittily refuse. He hadn’t forgotten the embarrassment of the last time he was in the same car with Yan Qiuchi.

Unexpectedly, Yan Qiuchi didn’t look at him. He simply nodded and said, “Okay.”

Mrs. Yan looked at Shen Jintai with satisfaction. She still hadn’t given up.

Shen Jintai took a sip of porridge and said, “Thank you.” After he finished speaking, he continued to browse on his phone. His attention was still focused on the comments of netizens.

<The East Palace is Coming> had four hot searches on Weibo, of which two were related to him.

“Eunuch’s love” rose to first place, with the word “explosive” hanging on it. There was also a hot search about him, “Shen Jintai Comeback”, with the word “boiling” hanging on it. Though he had long since returned, this comeback debut was at the public level.

He clicked on the popular Weibo hot search and looked. The light, freshness, and excitement of the character covered his own black history. He didn’t even see any bad reviews; only a swarm of groundhogs.

“Hahahahahaha.” He couldn’t help laughing again. Yan Qiuchi looked up at him and saw Shen Jintai with lowered eyebrows and distinct fingers scribbling on the phone. When good things happened, it raised people’s spirits. He knew why Shen Jintai was so happy.

Was the brilliance from his body because of this? Even his mood improved.

<The East Place is Coming> was a hit. For him, the CEO of Sunshine Media, it was also a joyous occasion. When he turned on his phone early in the morning, he saw Gao Qiao and the others were blowing up the work group.

The whole company had invested a lot of effort in this drama. It took more than a year to prepare for it. Now that the premiere was a hit, everyone’s hard work wasn’t in vain. Gao Qiao also posted in his friends circle.

Of the top 9 spots, Shen Jintai took 4 of them. The people weren’t taking about the male and female leads but was focused on Zhou Ying and Li Xu. Shen Jintai’s reborn performance particularly caused an uproar in the circle.

“Shen Jintai has been out of the circle for two years. He’s returned as a completely different person.”

“Yes, at the press conference, I was a little surprised when he changed his red hair and the heavy makeup that he usually dons. But, if he wants to make a comeback, he must draw a clear line from his rock bottom image of the past. I get it. I just didn’t expect him to act so well. I was worried about your company at the beginning, thinking about how Director Guo could choose such a person to play the villain.”

Gao Qiao was a little excited and couldn’t help but say, “Are you really fragrant? Let me tell you, there are still tons of his good performances that have yet to come.” He still remembered the scene from the poisoning case where Shen Jintai burst into tears. When Shen Jintai acted, he didn’t care whether he looked good or not. The effect he displayed was very impressive when Gao Qiao watched it live.

The role of Li Xu was vicious and extremely sad. The villain of this drama wasn’t that bad. Destroying the deposed crown prince, Zhou Ying, who represented the bright side of his humanity, was the purpose of the show.

The power of same-sex CP fans was the most terrifying. Only one day after the broadcast, “Mrs. CP” had its own super talk, and the CP fans were very happy.

“I can’t wait to watch the third episode. Whether it’s sugar or a knife, don’t pity me because I’m a delicate flower. Hit me hard!”

“Why did I chase a weekly drama and now have to wait a week? I hate it!”

“I strongly recommend adding more episodes. If the number of episodes does not increase, it’s okay to increase the duration. It is only 48 minutes per episode. It’s more sincere for weekly episodes to be played for an hour!”

“Two episodes at a time is great. The crew has only been filming for a month. That’s out of their hands, even if they wanted to broadcast more. Good shows are not afraid of being delayed, and it doesn’t matter if the update is slow. Quality must be maintained.”

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Shit, what happened?!”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Sisters, don’t just ahhhhh, tell me what happened?!”

“Go and check Shen Jintai and Zheng Siqi’s Weibo! The spring of CP fans came too early!”

Shen Jintai couldn’t help but chuckle while sitting in the car. Yan Qiuchi, who was working with a tablet and was sitting next to him, turned his head and glanced at him.

Monsoon Entertainment truly was a big hype player and really deserved its reputation.

Zheng Siqi’s Weibo took advantage while the iron was hot and posted the first Weibo of the day by retweeting the official blog’s preview for next week while @ing him: [A’Xu, see you next week.]

This should have been posted by Zheng Siqi’s company. Zheng Siqi had told him that young artists in their company had run into issues before due to improper Weibo posts, so newcomers’ social media was all managed by the company.

Shen Jintai, of course, would respond. It was foolish not to do business during opening hours. Shen Jintai retweeted and commented on Zheng Siqi’s Weibo: [His Royal Highness, see you on the set.]

He laughed after posting it. He was too damn good at this. Hahahaha.

The two of them directly sent CP super talk to the hotspot on Weibo. For a while, the popularity of their topics on Weibo, forums, and TikTok soared again.

“Hahahaha, isn’t this open for business so soon?”

“So finally, Shen Touhua, who’s not a good stubble*, has met Monsoon Entertainment, which is known for hyping. This scene is just too normal. How pitiful for Bai Qingquan and Yang Lizhi!”

*(不是善茬) Refers to being difficult to deal with. A good stubble is opposite of it (easy to deal with).

“Hahaha, this pair of CP is sucking the heat dry. No one remembers the male and female protagonists, right?”

“No way, this pair is too good. I think Zheng Siqi, a newcomer, has a bright future, and Shen Jintai turning red isn’t a problem!”

“It’s different. Zheng Siqi eats a newcomer’s bonus. He doesn’t have a lot of parts. His role as the white moonlight is set. Though, as a newcomer, this kind of role is just right for him and the dividends from it are enough to eat. Shen Jintai plays the big villain. From beginning to end, he’ll definitely benefit the most. After seeing the plot, if it can HOLD, I’m optimistic that he’ll be very popular in this drama!”

“If he turns over and becomes the male lead later, it’ll be too fucking ironic!”

“Right, right. Who wants to see the heroine and the male lead fall in love? It’s all the same old routine of palace fighting dramas. I want to see the beautiful love between an eunuch and a prince! Hurry up and arrange it for me!”

“It’s strange that the direction of this building is like this. Why hasn’t moonlight powders arrived yet? Doesn’t your district claim to have 100,000 moonlight fans?”

“Moonlight powders died down last night.”

“Hahahahaha, if you can’t prevent the explosion, just give up.”

“Hahaha, the gold powders in this building has exceeded the standard, and they have begun to climax so quickly.”

“Catch a moonlight powder!”

“Moonlight powders, don’t run. I want to interview you and see how you are feeling right now!”

“Hahahaha, are you guys in good or bad condition?”

—

Xiao Hong was a moonlight powder. Like all moonlight powders, she didn’t like Shen Jintai. After entering the Moonlight Fan Group, she read about Shen Jintai’s countless crimes every day, causing her to hate him even more.

Shen Jintai, this rotten chicken! This black lotus! If you didn’t have strong acting skills, you could always rely on looks!

In contrast, their brother was simply the deity Bai Yueguang. Extremely handsome and gentle that you couldn’t put it into words.

Even after Shen Jintai made his comeback, he seemed to have changed a lot, and he was no longer the flirtatious bitch he used to be.

However, a country was easy to change, but nature was hard to change. How could he change his nature so simply? It must be driven by interests. Since he was bankrupt, he turned to the entertainment industry to make money. It was obviously like that!

She thought like this until last night when she squatted to watch <The East Palace is Coming>. At first, she was still licking her brother’s face with the fan group. How could one not be moved by the prosperous beauty of her brother in a beautiful costume? As for Shen Jintai’s role… Fortunately he didn’t have too many scenes!

Accompanied by her brother’s beauty and prosperity, she continued watching without skipping any scenes, not wanting to see Shen Jintai, but was afraid she would miss out on the plot and wouldn’t be able to understand it.

Who knew that Shen Jintai’s scenes in the second episode skyrocketed, and such a move came in the last ten minutes!

Fuck!

The moonlight group, who had been discussing lively went silent for several minutes.

She knew that everyone was in the same mood as her.

Holy shit! It was so exciting. So, so exciting. Wow! Wow! The clothes were torn! Did you see that the clothes were torn?!

How could anyone understand the heart of a rotten woman like her! She actually wanted to secretly poke and nibble on the sugar of her bitter enemy!

After talking for a long time, she couldn’t scold Shen Jintai anymore. Although she only liked Li Xu, Shen Jintai was also a part of Li Xu. It was difficult, but she really wanted to jump ship.

But you couldn’t be a fan of two stars at the same time, especially if they are rivals, or you would commit a crime of a flower heart*. Wuwuwu!

*(花心) Metaphor for men or women who are not focused on love. Inconsistency in love.

Xiao Li was also a moonlight powder, but she was a very lucky moonlight powder because she was a makeup artist for the crew. Although she wasn’t Bai Qingquan’s makeup artist, she felt happy that she could see him every three to five minutes.

As a firm moonlight powder, she would not easily jump ship. No matter how dazzling Shen Jintai was, he couldn’t match the beauty and prosperity of brother Bai in her heart.

As she got out of the taxi, carrying a box, she suddenly noticed a car driving over. She hurriedly stood aside and looked at it and saw that it was a luxury car. She recognized the brand. It was a Maybach, but she didn’t know the specific series.

A driver, in a black suit, got out of the car first, then quickly ran to the back, bowed his waist, and opened the door.

A handsome young man got out of the car. With long legs in black pants, black leather shoes and socks, and three-dimensional features. He was more handsome than many celebrities she had seen. She didn’t remember there being an actor like this on the set of <The East Palace is Coming>.

The driver went around to the other side again, and before he reached the door, the person inside opened the door and came out. The sun’s light basked on him. Shen Jintai was in a white T-shirt with black pants and had a handsome and upright posture with a youthful and bright appearance.

The two men were tall, young, and attractive. One was bright, while the other was calm. As a moonlight powder, she knew about her enemy’s gossip. After seeing Shen Jintai, she suddenly remembered who the other man was. That man… Yan Qiuchi!

It turned out to be their Yan son-in-law, Yan Qiuchi. Yan Qiuchi had actually personally sent Shen Jintai to the set! What’s the situation?!

As soon as Shen Jintai got out of the car, he heard <Moths to a Flame>, the theme song of <The East Palace is Coming>.

This was one of the reasons the drama exploded. The lyrics of the song were cheesy but catchy and expressive. The melody was breathtaking, causing people who listened to it to be touched by dog blood, especially in the climatic passages. It was especially suitable for some heartbreaking scenes.

The song had reached its climax as a high-pitch female voice sang out:
“I am a moth drawn to the flame.
Love and hate burn inside of me.
History does not leave my name,
still I remain in your memory.”

While truly tacky, it could still be linked to the love and hatred of the characters in a play. It made the sad ending even more touching. As soon as Shen Jintai heard the song, he remembered the scene of Li Xu running inside the palace walls in the opening scene. He felt all those emotions at once.

[The white-haired Li Xu was sitting madly while talking about Zhou Ying.]

---

The author has something to say:

The hot theme song just needs this kind of vernacular!

---

Kinky Thoughts:

So… all those moonlight powders are just fujoshis LOL. In the end (gay) love triumphs over hate <3.

Those song lyrics were pretty good… but begging the author, please don’t make me translate an entire song. I took a little artistic liberty to make the lyrics rhyme. Here’s the original lyrics:

“我是飞蛾，扑向火，爱恨燃烧我，青史不留我姓名，只有你记得.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 39: A Pool of Autumn Water

After hanging up the phone, Shen Jintai went to look at the hot search.

Holy shit.

When did he get on the hot search?! The ranking wasn’t very high. The hot search term was also very weird: “Eunuch love”.

He kind of wanted to know what it was so he could laugh at it. After clicking on it, he knew why Li Melan said he went viral. It was full of neat and uniform GIFs of him and Prince Zhou Ying in bed, with comments full of screaming groundhogs*.

*(在土拨鼠尖叫) I think it’s a reference to this. Warning: lower your volume, it’s a loud sound. || Basically it’s means they’re so excited they’re screaming their heads off.

Fuck!

It turns out that he went viral because of this bed scene!

Shen Jintai knew that he should be able to rely on this drama to catch fire, but he didn’t expect the fire to be so rapid. It only took two episodes from the broadcast. In less than three hours, it had already spread like wildfire.

Even more excited than him was Monsoon Entertainment. The scene also included Zheng Siqi. Zheng Siqi was antsy in the middle of the night because he found that his Weibo followers were rising like a storm. From tens of thousands of fans, it rose to 300,000 in less than three hours.

For a big star, that number was trivial, but for him, a newcomer, a rise of 10,000 people was enough to delight him.

“This hot search…” He said to his agent, Sister Wen. “The company didn’t buy it for me, did it?”

“You think too much, the company bought you one before the broadcast, but the response was lukewarm. This may be… Shen Jintai must’ve bought it, right?” Sister Wen tone wasn’t certain. She thought this hot search could be the real deal. It was unexpected and reasonable. She knew this explosive point very well.

With the development of society, homosexuality was no longer a rarity. In the past two years, the public’s recognition of homosexuality had also increased a lot. The public had shown a supportive attitude towards those in the entertainment industry who had faintly same-sex scandals… With the exception of Shen Jintai, who chased after men until he went bankrupt. Had it been a woman, he still would’ve been ridiculed.

In the era when everyone was self-reliant, it was despicable to post goods* wherever you go.

*(倒贴货) Refers to abandoning your self-esteem to make someone happy.

In the past two years, there had been films and television dramas with same-sex themes on large and small screens, but the expressions were very restrained and vague*, especially in the field of TV dramas. <The East Palace is Coming> had set a precedent. Not only did it have a straightforward love scene between men, but the protagonist was also an eunuch. Such taste!

*Clarity: In the sense that it’s only hinted at. It’s not clear-cut.

The sex scene was filmed with raw emotions and shown in a non-erotic way. The moment the clothes were torn, it really stimulated people’s adrenaline. What’s more, both actors were young and handsome.

Shen Jintai eunuch’s appearance was good and complimented Zheng Siqi’s handsomeness. Their ancient costumes were equally as beautiful, elegant, and noble as Bai Qingquan’s. The two people, who could set fires with their faces, were involved in a love scene that was tragic and dog-blooded.

The scheming little eunuch used his beauty to seduce the pure-hearted prince, but he didn’t expect that he would also fall into it. This sense of fate was like moths drawn to a flame. It was too easy to swallow!

In the past few years, it wasn’t like there hadn’t been dramas that had similar themes, but they usually had many shortcomings. Some of them would have characters with such poor appearances that they weren’t easy to film, while others wouldn’t be well-made and shoddy. High-value, nicely produced same-sex media hadn’t been touched in a long time!

After the first episode was broadcast, feelings were still mixed. It wasn’t until the second episode that major forums, Baidu, and Weibo began discussing “Mrs. CP”, as well as the sex scene at the end of the episode.

“I, really, kneel, down*!”

*(跪了) Buzzword representing great admiration and worship.

“Damn, I watched it with my family at the time, and my whole family was stunned! Hahahahaha.”

“Really, really, I didn’t expect this drama to be so good. Fortunately, I watched it by myself. After watching it, I just wanted to groundhog scream!”

“I can refresh* the GIF of the two of them a thousand times. Shen Jintai was particularly beautiful!”

*Swipe/brush/refresh (刷) Buzzword referring doing something repetitively.

“As soon as the sex scene between the two of them was shown, they directly overshadowed the parts of the male and female protagonists right before.”

“Who wants to watch the love scenes between men and women, and the filming was so vague? The director must also know which would be more explosive, so he arranged the Mrs. CP sex scene at the end.”

“Hahahahaha, what the hell is your wife*! Watch the trailer. The next episode is the flogging scene. Ow, ow, the little whip was smacking hard all over his body. My poor heart!”

*Clarity: Referring to the “Mrs. CP” that is now tied to Li Xu and Zhou Ying.

“Hahahahaha, I just like this kind of dog blood. It’s so exciting.”

“I originally wanted to say, after watching the first episode, if the weekly drama doesn’t catch people at the beginning, the ratings will be very disastrous later. As a result, the second episode gave me this! Fuck me, it’s really good!”

“This drama is really on fire. As soon as the second episode came out, I watched many places and constantly swiped the screen.”

“Shen Jintai is about to turn red. I don’t know how Bai Qingquan, the male lead of the same drama, feels about this!”

Bai Qingquan was sitting cross-legged on the bed. His heart was throbbing.

Wei Ge specifically called late at night. “Stabilize your mind. This is only the first week.”

Bai Qingquan let out a “Nn”.

Wei Ge was silent for a while, and then said, “Your highlights are later on.”

Bai Qingquan responded with a “Nn” again.

When they looked at the script, they both thought that the role of the second male lead was good and would be more topical, but it was only good. It was impossible for Bai Qingquan to give up on the male lead and play a supporting villain. The role of Li Xu could be played by someone else, but it could also become popular.

It was just that it caught fire so suddenly and fast, most likely due to a combination of the character and the actor. Both the character and Shen Jintai could create countless topics. His comeback, the eunuch’s love, a high-profile large production… Factors like these were mixed together to form the current chemical reaction. With a “boom”, it exploded.

All these components added up, it seemed as if they were making a wedding outfit for Shen Jintai.

Wei Ge felt that he wasn’t getting through to Bai Qingquan, so he resignedly said, “In the end, it’s like this. The drama is a hit. The worst case would be that he becomes the most outstanding character in the show, but as long as the drama is hot, you can both drink the broth.”

“What I want is to not share the broth with Shen Jintai.” Bai Qingquan said. Shen Jintai became popular too suddenly.

Bai Qingquan remained calm for a bit. Unable to control his emotions any longer, he threw himself onto the bed bitterly. Shit. He was regretful!

But Shen Jintai’s acting skills were really good. He… deserved this role.

But…… Arghhhhhhhhhh!

Bai Qingquan had insomnia that night, so he picked up the script and went over it. After reading it, he forgot about fame and fortune. He had gone through 19 episodes in the script.

The role of Zhou Jing wasn’t an ordinary white lotus male protagonist. He had the determination to become emperor, and his heart was fierce. The 19^th episode included a plot point about his arranged marriage. By the 20^th episode, he became the crown prince.

This was his big moment, and he had to deliver. He didn’t want to drink the broth. He wanted to eat meat!

—

Shen Jintai wandered around Weibo, forums, and Baidu, and saw that his name was swiping screens in almost every entertainment section. The more he watched, the more excited he became. Li Xu’s most climatic scenes hadn’t even arrived yet.

He must swell the faces of those who had disregarded or blackened him!

Shen Jintai stayed at the Yan’s manor today. It was hot, so he was sweating a bit. When he arrived at the floor-to-ceiling window, he opened it a bit only to be hit with the burning heat. It was so late at night, but the wind was still so sultry.

It seemed like it was going to rain.

When he looked at the swimming pool in the backyard, he faintly saw the water and light shaking. He was momentarily stunned and decided to take a closer look. He saw that it was someone swimming in the pool under the basking moonlight.

The weather was abnormal today. It started to become hot during the day, and the sultry heat intensified in the latter half of the night, causing Yan Qiuchi to be unable to sleep.

As a man in his prime, especially a particularly abstinent man like him, this kind of weather gave rise to hormones. With the air conditioning set too low, the temperature was too hot and dry. Unable to fall asleep, Yan Qiuchi went out to the pool to do a few laps. When he couldn’t sleep, he liked to exercise, which helped expend his energy and relax his mind.

After swimming for a while, he became a little thirsty. He climbed out of the pool, put on a bathrobe, and went back to his room.

The water in the pool stopped quivering, and its stillness reflected the bright moon.

Shen Jintai suddenly felt itchy. He was so full of excitement that he was restless. He put on some baggy pants and went downstairs quietly to the swimming pool. He squatted by the side and touched the water. This pool of autumn water was warm.

He was afraid of the cold. He turned around and, when he saw no one, took off his T-shirt. Still keeping his pants on, he slid into the water. The dark clouds in the sky quickly drifted away, revealing faint specks of moonlight behind them. He dove into the water, and as he emerged, he saw a person standing by the pool.

Yan Qiuchi was wearing a white bathrobe and carrying two bottles of beer in his hand.

Shen Jintai quickly wiped off the water on his face and quickly swam to the pool’s edge, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Yan Qiuchi was also surprised to see him and asked, “Can’t sleep?”

Shen Jintai let out a “Nn” as he stretched out his hand to poke the water. “You can’t sleep either?”

“It’s a bit stuffy,” Yan Qiuchi said.

Shen Jintai replied with an “Nn” and remained silent. He didn’t know what to say to Yan Qiuchi. Yan Qiuchi wasn’t thinking that he was trying to hook up with him, right?

He was about to climb out of the pool when Yan Qiuchi handed over a bottle of beer in his hand. “Drink?”

Shen Jintai was stunned. He stared at him from the swimming pool. His eyes were dark and glowing from the light of the moon. It was rare for the male protagonist to take the initiative and throw him an olive branch. After his unremitting efforts, it seemed that he had reversed Yan Qiuchi’s impression of him.

This was for the best.

Yan Qiuchi was a very good man. It was normal for him to treat him like this. He didn’t bear any resentment towards Yan Qiuchi and Yan Qiuchi had helped him in the past. They didn’t need to be lovers, but they didn’t need to be mortal enemies either. It was best to be friends who were as light as water*.

*The friendship between gentlemen as light as water (君子之交淡如水) Idiom derives from the work Zhuangzi by Zhuangzi that’s a summary of Taoist theories. It means friendship comes from mutual tolerance and understanding. In this understanding, do not demand from each other, do not force, do not be jealous, do not cling to others.

Shen Jintai climbed out of the pool and sat by the edge. He took the beer from Yan Qiuchi’s hand. “Thank you.”

Yan Qiuchi sat down on the chair next to him. His bathrobe was loose, revealing a little bit of his chest, but the light was dim, so he couldn’t see clearly. Shen Jintai only saw Yan Qiuchi’s feet. Yan Qiuchi was barefooted, revealing slender and well-proportioned toes.

Shen Jintai unscrewed the bottle of beer, raised his head and took a sip. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

Yan Qiuchi: “The weather forecast says there will be thunderstorms.”

Shen Jintai smiled and didn’t say anything. Yan Qiuchi broke the silence and said, “You acted very well.”

Shen Jintai turned his head when he heard this. He gave him a grin but remained silent. Yan Qiuchi looked at him. His gaze was gentlemanly and casual until… It fell on Shen Jintai’s chest.

Shen Jintai had fair skin. Under the moonlight that was enveloped by the night, it made his skin look even fairer, and many areas that were not as fair looked very conspicuous.

Shen Jintai didn’t pay any attention. Supporting his body with one hand, he was half-leaning up gazing at the moon.

Yan Qiuchi felt a burst of heat. He quickly darted his eyes away, raised his head, and gulped down his drink, finishing all the beer in the bottle.

“You helped me secure this role,” Shen Jintai said. “Don’t worry. I will definitely play it well… Also, thank you for that time when I was drunk.” He gave a light laugh and turned to look at Yan Qiuchi. In the night, his face was milky, and his hair was glistening under the moonlight.

Yan Qiuchi suddenly felt that his heart was beating a mile a minute. He squeezed the beer bottle in his hand as his throat bobbed.

He must be suffocating. He should fall in love*. Whenever he faced Shen Jintai, his heart would rapidly pound. He stood up and said, “It’s getting late, so you should rest early.”

*Clarity: Just in general, because he feels “weird” whenever he looks at Shen Jintai.

Shen Jintai stood up, revealing his slender shoulders, thin waist, and straight and long legs. The lines on his back and hips were vivid. The drenched trousers stuck tightly against his body.

Yan Qiuchi’s eyes abruptly tightened.

Ass.

He almost forgot about it when he saw it at a single glance. He thought the heat he felt was from the alcohol. Was the night playing tricks on him, or was it the alcohol and his poor tolerance that made him muddleheaded? He couldn’t help but think, ‘Shen Jintai’s figure looked really good… Amazingly good. Sturdy and tall.’

“Good night then,” Shen Jintai said as he smiled. “Thank you for the beer.”

After he finished speaking, he walked towards his room. Yan Qiuchi followed him in, restraining himself from looking at Shen Jintai.

He wasn’t that kind of man. He only saw the wet footprints left behind by Shen Jintai on the ground.

After Yan Qiuchi returned to the room, he took a shower, changed into his pajamas, and laid in bed. He couldn’t sleep anymore.

He really didn’t think about anything shameful. He didn’t think about the ass or those hips, but his heart was impetuous. The more he lay still, the hotter and intolerable he felt. The emptiness in his arms was unbearable. He grabbed a pillow, his fingers exerting slight force as the back of his hands showed blue popping veins.

Shen Jintai was browsing on his phone before going to bed. It was late at night, so Weibo and the forums were deserted. There was silence all around with only the sound of wind.

It had been muggy for so long, it was finally going to rain.

Shen Jintai liked the rain. Even the prelude to the rain gave him a sense of happiness. Since it was still so hot, he lay in bed without any coverings. The moon outside was completely swallowed by the dark clouds. Darkness enveloped the night as a figure walked quickly to the swimming pool and fiercely plunged in.

With a rumble, Shen Jintai, who was about to fall asleep, trembled, and opened his eyes in a daze. Sweat slightly covered his forehead. A flash of lightning lit up his face, revealing a fair face with clear eyebrows and rosy lips. With a crash, the sound of thunder was heard as heavy rain poured down.

Yan Qiuchi came out of the pool. The heavy rain splashed hard on his towering and well-defined body. It was cold, but it gave him a strange sense of excitement. He gasped as the water flowed down his chin.

---

The author has something to say:

I am suffering from skin hunger, and I want to hug someone.

His eyes are moving, as if there is a pool of autumn water hidden beneath them.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Oh, poor Yan Qiuchi, already got friend zoned. Here’s what I’m picturing:

Yan Qiuchi’s thoughts: ‘I’m definitely not thinking shameful thoughts. Especially not that face or that body with those deliciously looking may cherries, or those amazing hips. And definitely not that fine ass. And I’m most certainly do not have a crush on Shen Jintai!!!’

Shen Jintai thoughts: ‘Yan Qiuchi and I can become good friends.’

Also, that last paragraph describing Yan Qiuchi drenched in the rain… Oof… I gotta fan myself a bit. I wonder if the manhua has this scene… because I need it.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 38: It’s on the Air

“After looking forward to it for a long time, the day has finally come. After dreaming for a long time, I finally realized my dream!”

“Why can you send a voice* to the first floor?!”

*(你怎么可以发语音) Internet buzzword that means that when you see text or pictures sent by others, you feel that you hear their voice, but there’s no real voice sent.

“Hahahaha, today belongs to <The East Palace is Coming>. The annual masterpiece is finally about to kick off.”

“I advise everyone not to hold too high expectations. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. The drama king* is careful to change and die. Have you forgotten the lessons from the past?”

*(剧王) List of first class actors that exceed ratings in shows they star in.

“Palace fighting dramas can’t be bad, right? You all watched the trailer yesterday. Fuck.”

“Song Wei’s sentence at the end of the final trailer was really domineering. She deserves to be the Empress!”

“Drag it out and kill it immediately!”

“That’s it!”

“There are a lot of kumquats* in the trailer, and there is Shen Jintai’s sentence, ‘What does it mean to ride on your head, I’ve even road the prince.’ Hahahaha.”

*Translation help: Not sure what (金桔) is referring to.

“He’s playing with the chief eunuch, hahahaha. I watched it and sprayed rice*. It was thunderous and cool.”

*(喷饭) Spit out rice from your mouth when you laugh suddenly while eating.

“I hope this drama will not disappoint me. I have been looking forward to it for a long time. Palace fighting dramas have always been my love, and eunuch suffering is to my taste. Sincerely, this senior rotten girl!”

“It’s really highly anticipated. This drama is so appetizing. There are several trailers, romance, palace fights, and big dramas with handsome men and beautiful women. I hope that the main series will maintain the same level of trailers and be stable!”

Not only were netizens looking forward to it, but celebrities like them were also squatting at home.

On the first day of the broadcast, the entire crew took half a day off. Shen Jintai originally planned to spend time with fans, but Mrs. Yan sent a driver from home to pick him up early in the morning.

Mrs. Yan: “I’m well-informed. I know that your crew is on break, and I haven’t seen you for a long time. Come back and let me see you. Today, Auntie will accompany you to watch the broadcast.”

Mrs. Yan’s kindness was difficult to turn down, so Shen Jintai had to oblige and returned to the Yan’s estate.

As soon as they met, Mrs. Yan was stunned. “You…” Mrs. Yan stared at him for a long time and said, “I almost didn’t recognize who this is.”

Shen Jintai had changed too much. Looking closer, one could tell he was still the same person but in higher spirits and with a brighter personality.

Mrs. Yan: “I thought you were having a hard time filming, and I was thinking about sending some supplements to the crew. I didn’t expect you to look so good.”

“Our crew has good food, thanks to President Yan,” Shen Jintai said with a smile.

Mrs. Yan smiled, pulled him towards the living room, and whispered, “The whole family is here today. Even your Uncle Yan is also back.”

“Yaoxuan is back too?” Shen Jintai asked.

“He’s not, but the boss is at home,” Mrs. Yan said.

Shen Jintai smiled when he heard those words but didn’t say anything else. Judging by his demeanor, Yan Qiuchi was really a thing of the past. His expression remained natural, as if he had never had a history with him.

Although it was autumn, the weather was still hot, especially in the past few days. The highest temperature had reached more than 30 degrees*. Shen Jintai was wearing black pants and a white T-shirt. When he entered the door, he took off his baseball cap and rubbed his hair.

*That’s 86 in Fahrenheit.

“Xiao Jin is here,” A thick male voice said.

Shen Jintai quickly bowed and said, “Hello, uncle.”

Yan Tiefeng had only ever heard his name but never seen the person himself. This was the first time he had met Shen Jintai. As the world’s leading elite, Yan Tiefang had surpassed the status of an ordinary businessman. He was more like a tycoon.

Yan Tiefeng said, “Your Auntie Fang woke us up early in the morning to prepare to watch your new drama.”

Mrs. Yan laughed and said, “You’re saying as if you’re only watching it for Xiao Jin. This drama was invested in by your son. Even if I hadn’t urged, you both would be staring at the first episode to gauge its success.”

There was still some time before the official start of the broadcast. Mrs. Yan said, “Let’s eat first, and watch it together after eating.”

“Where’s Qiuchi?” Yan Tiefeng asked.

“He just came back and is taking a shower,” the maid responded.

Shen Jintai went to the bathroom first and came out after using the toilet. When he passed by the stairway, he heard footsteps coming down. He turned his head and glanced upstairs and saw Yan Qiuchi.

It was rare for Yan Qiuchi to dress so casually. He wore a gray shirt with loose cuffs. Even the buttons on his neck were untied, and his hair was hanging loose. Even so, he still seemed to have an extremely strong aura of abstinence. It was probably because of that face.

With long legs, wide shoulders, a narrow waist, tall and straight, a very manly figure, coupled with the most abstemious face, all combined, created a very unique temperament.

Song Wei was right. There truly wasn’t a type like this in the entertainment industry. It was very scarce.

This was most likely due to being born into an elite, wealthy family. He was blessed by his family background, knowledge, upbringing, vision, and the like, that Yan Qiuchi had developed such a temperament. This was truly enviable.

Yan Qiuchi nodded when he saw him. Shen Jintai didn’t pretend to be indifferent and smiled at him politely, which surprised him momentarily.

“I cooked several dishes you like to eat today,” Mrs. Yan said while setting the table. “It’s specially made for you.”

“Your auntie Fang rarely cooks now,” Yan Tiefeng said.

Shen Jintai sat down. “Thank you, auntie.”

“If you eat it, then my work won’t be in vain,” Mrs. Yan said and glanced at Yan Qiuchi. “Young master, come down.”

“Was showering,” Yan Qiuchi said.

“Let’s eat,” Yan Tiefeng interrupted. He knew his son disliked Shen Jintai very much. He actually didn’t agree with his wife’s behavior of turning her elbows out* and forcing a match. However, he was afraid of his wife, so he didn’t dare say anything.

*(胳膊肘往外拐 ) Refers to selfishness that is unreasonable and can’t recognize right from wrong.

Mrs. Yan carefully observed Yan Qiuchi and Shen Jintai. The world had really changed. Yan Qiuchi’s expression of indifference and disgust of the past had disappeared, and Shen Jintai’s face no longer held prying eyes and flattery.

At the dinner table, they talked about the filming. Yan Qiuchi said, “He acted very well, exceeding expectations.”

“Beyond whose expectations?” Mrs. Yan asked with a wry smile.

“Everyone’s expectations,” Yan Qiuchi replied lightly.

Shen Jintai smiled and said, “President Yan praised me so much. I am under a lot of pressure. “

“Have you seen all of it?” Yan Tiefeng asked Yan Qiuchi.

Yan Qiuchi: “I have seen the rough cut.”

Both the TV station and the two satellite TV networks had started their broadcasts. The battle for ratings in the early stages was the most intense. Whoever broadcast it more quickly would be able to take the lead. They were watching the station’s broadcast. The picture suddenly changed as the opening song of <The East Palace is Coming> sounded.

“It’s starting!” Mrs. Yan was so excited that she put down her chopsticks and ran over.

Shen Jintai happened to have finished eating, so he also hurried over as well. Mrs. Yan called to Yan Tiefeng and the others, “Come here!”

Yan Tiefeng chuckled and got up, following his wife’s beckoning. Yan Qiuchi asked the maid to clean up the dining table, and then sat down beside them.

The opening of <The East Palace is Coming> was very well done. It was fast-paced and had a lot of explosions. When a scene where Shen Jintai was slapped came up, Mrs. Yan asked, “This woman is the villain, right? She doesn’t look like a good person.”

“She’s a good person and a good friend to the heroine,” Shen Jintai said. “I’m the villain.”

Yan Tiefeng, who didn’t know about his role, was surprised. He said, “You played a villain?” He thought Shen Jintai’s participation in the drama was due to his wife involvement, so he would’ve picked a good role.

Shen Jintai nodded, and Yan Tiefeng said, “That role is quite challenging, but if done well, the villain can be very outstanding.”

Mrs. Yan was so excited that she even told the servants to come watch. “Xiao Jin’s in it.” It was like showing off her own child when he got good grades. She also posted a moments* in several of her friends’ circles, which she rarely did.

*I believe this is like stories on Instagram, where you can post short video clips. I’m not familiar with Chinese social media.

The first episode didn’t have many scenes with Shen Jintai. It ended with the scene where he raised his eyebrow towards the prince during the banquet.

Shen Jintai’s beauty on screen, after editing and processing, soared, making him look a little off-putting when compared to reality. He was very handsome and clean. Yan Qiuchi thought so as he turned to look at him. From a glance, he was shocked.

Shen Jintai was watching the trailer for the second episode intently with a broad smile. His eyes looked very bright, and his lips were moist. Very good looking.

Shen Jintai used to have a very womanlike and flirtatious look that gave off a very femme fatale aura. That aura was now gone, as his personality had been corrected. His expression now gave off a chicer and more uninhibited look.

Unfamiliar. How very interesting.

Curious. This thought appeared in Yan Qiuchi’s heart, and after perceiving it, a very subtle emotion began to surface. It was resisted and stopped.

“I have more scenes in the second episode,” Shen Jintai said to Mrs. Yan excitedly.

Mrs. Yan: “Yan Yaoxuan also sent me a message and asked if you were at home. I asked him what time it was over there. He said he got up early in the morning.”

Hearing his name, Shen Jintai became a little embarrassed. He turned to look at Yan Qiuchi and caught him staring at him, so he quickly turned away.

Taking advantage of the commercial break, he went to the “Gold Powder Family” to take a look. There were thousands of messages in it, all screaming and shouting.

“I cried with excitement. What about you guys?!”

“Me too. One is that my brother acted well, and the other is that this drama is so beautiful. I feel it will be popular!”

“I also think this drama will be popular. I mobilized my whole family to watch it today. Everyone said it was very interesting!”

“My dad never watches TV. He came over to take a look from time to time when he was sitting there playing games today. Finally, he simply sat down and watched it with us. He said that it’s going to be big.”

“Hahahaha, so was my dad, but he’s for Song Wei and said that Song Wei was his goddess. I asked him what he thought of our brother, and he said he was handsome, hahahaha.”

“Don’t just say it in the group. Go to Weibo and post it. I have seen hot searches on <The East Palace>, and the hot reviews are all for Bai Qingquan!”

Shen Jintai glanced at the hot search immediately when he saw this, and the words “<The East Palace> has premiere” really hung on the hot search.

He clicked to take a look at the hot comments under several entertainment accounts. They were all <The East Palace Jing Sisters> posted in a uniformed manner. The comments at the bottom of each post were exactly the same. It was obviously fan-controlled.

The gold powders were so pressed that they couldn’t lift their heads. Only by going way down could you see their shouts. The lack of systematic management of the gold powders made their strength a bit scattered.

His fan system hadn’t yet matured. However, Shen Jintai was still very moved because the fans in the “Gold Family Group” still cheered for him as if they were injected with chicken blood.

Shen Jintai had always felt that the showbiz industry was a very magical place. It was easy to hate a person who you had never met in real life, but it was also easy to love someone as well. Love and hate were so strong and true. Hate was the desire to die, while love was the desire to live.

He had so many people who hated him and many who loved him. What was even more gratifying was that he felt his performance was worthy of their love, so he could enjoy this kind of feeling more confidently.

“The fans of <The East Palace is Coming> must be very happy today. The drama king is not dead. It’s stable!”

“I just watched the first episode. It’s really beautiful. The plot is compact, and the people are beautiful. It’s obviously a dog-blooded palace fight drama. Simply stunning.”

“The styling is also very reliable. The actors in it are eight degrees better than usual, especially Bai Qingquan. He will have no problem sitting on the throne as the most beautiful man in ancient costume for another ten years.”

“That’s right, even Shen Jintai looked very pleasing to the eye. The stylist must’ve really worked hard on him. He didn’t lose at all standing next to Zheng Siqi.”

“There’s no way he loses. Towards the end, a group of princes stood together, each with their own beauty. Shen Jintai, dressed as an eunuch, stood out from among them.”

“His last shot was really charming. Even with a long shot, it smells better than the trailer. It’s already so fragrant!”

“The person who stepped on Shen Jintai before the broadcast, come out and get slap in the face!”

<The East Palace is Coming> started broadcasting today, and all actors and fans attach great importance to it, especially the moonlight powders. It had strict discipline and clear division of labor and arrangements that were extremely detailed. Some fans specialized in promoting Bai Qingquan, some specialized in image control, and some focused on Weibo, while others went to the battle on the forums.

Unfortunately, forums had a different system than Weibo and it was impossible to control the comments. The moonlight powders assigned to this task were deeply frustrated.

“What should I do if the rabbit area¹ and the eight groups² can’t be control!” The moonlight powders wailed in the group.

¹Based on research, I think this is referring to forums.
²This is referring to the gossip of women (mainly aunties).

“Hahaha, within a few minutes of the first episode, did gold powders start play acting? Can’t wait to watch the second episode or what?!”

“I said a long time ago that gold powder has now resurfaced.”

“The harder you blow now, the more serious you will hit your face in the future. My brother will crush him regardless of his beauty or acting skills!”

“That right. With his shitty acting skills, as if he’ll be able to take the golden bell.”

“I think the most ridiculous thing is that he plays the beautiful eunuch of the prince’s harem in front of our brother. Beautiful? Him? Hahahaha.”

“My brother is really beautiful. Director Guo is so good at shooting.”

“I didn’t want to use beauty to describe my brother, but… It’s so fucking beautiful!”

After a while, the moonlight group was overwhelmed by rainbow farts.

After the two episodes of <The East Palace is Coming> were broadcast, passersby summed up their highlights: The acting skills of the old actors, the beauty of the male and female protagonists, and the transformation of Shen Jintai.

At the press conference, Shen Jintai’s changes caused a wave of news. Later, when the media visited the set, his acting skills shocked people even more. However, those who paid attention before the series was broadcast as well as the fan circle already knew. Now that the series had aired, the whole world could bear witness.

The broadcast started at 7:30 and finished just after 9:00. In the second episode, there were more conflicts and more fierce confrontations, especially in the last ten minutes.

Yan Tiefeng was stunned by the sex scene between the eunuch and the crown prince. At his age, this was the first time he saw a bed scene between two men on television. Though it wasn’t explicit, there was enough tension in the scene to cause many people to become heartbroken. He became slightly embarrassed and covered it up with a light cough.

Shen Jintai forgot to be embarrassed. This was the highlight of the show. It was also the first time he had seen the finished product. When watching it, his focus was different from that of the average audience. He would pick out details of his performance and look for problems. Like in the scene where his clothes were torn off. He had to film it multiple times.

Actors could easily enter the play when they are acting. When watching the finished product, it was more like seeing their test result. The audience was the opposite. When watching actors act, it looked like they were watching them work, but when seeing them on screen, they get drawn into the play.

Even the book shufen* didn’t expect it.

*(淑芬) Specific terms to fans of the original novel.

The original work was an explicit* novel, but everyone knew it could be adapted into a TV series. If the lines could be preserved, it could be a major improvement for content review of the film and television industry. Who would dare to expect so much?

*Driving/drive (开车) Slang that refers to dirty words/porn/dirty things.

For the first time, audiences across the country saw a straightforward same-sex bed scene on a television screen. There was no soundtrack for the scene when the clothes were torn off. There was only the sound of footsteps on the floor during the dispute between the two of them, and the sound of clothes rustling.

Not even a gasp was heard. Such a restrained expression was even more gripping, as if he wanted to hide the act. Then, with a cry, the robe was pulled off, revealing Shen Jintai’s long and white back.

The episode came to an abrupt end, leaving behind a terrible cliffhanger.

The producers are not human beings!!!

Yan Tiefeng commented, “Not bad.”

Mrs. Yan: “Xiao Jin acted so well.”

Yan Qiuchi: “…”

“Won’t you express your opinion after watching it?” Mrs. Yan asked.

Yan Qiuchi said, “The show is still in its beginning stages. Don’t praise it so early.”

Mrs. Yan said to Shen Jintai, “Qiuchi and the others depend on this drama to push the company to go public. If you act well and are more restrained, you will also help him.”

Shen Jintai smiled and said, “I got paid for the film. Good acting is about professional ethics. I’m not sure if I’m helping, but I’ll definitely won’t drag it down.”

Yan Qiuchi slightly grinned when he heard this. He gave Shen Jintai a glance. Shen Jintai returned his glance with a smile. His eyes were natural. They neither avoided him nor looked coquettish. Their gaze was completely normal.

This feeling was really good.

Yan Qiuchi unclenched his hands. His palms were sweaty.

—

<The East Palace is Coming> broke record numbers with its broadcasts. It wasn’t unexpected considering it had a large investment and had a lot of hype surrounding it. Everything was on track and fell in line with everyone’s expectations.

Especially for Shen Jintai. He knew that this drama would become popular.

The incident came late at night.

Shen Jintai, who was planning to go to bed, suddenly received a call from Li Meilan. In a shaky voice, Li Meilan said, “Jintai.”

Shen Jintai looked at the time; it was midnight. He was a little too excited today that he went to bed a little late.

Shen Jintai: “What’s the matter?”

He thought something bad had happened.

Li Meilan said, “I think you’ve gone viral.”

??

What happened?!

---

The author has something to say:

“That right. With his shitty acting skills, as if he’ll be able to take the golden bell.”

Gold powders: Brother, then you must have one.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Someone’s heartstrings are getting tugged…

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 37: It’s Time for Rejuvenation

Moonlight powders, “Stop your brain! Are you trying to piss me off?!”

Gold powders, “I admit that my brother has become very delicious now, but Bai Yueguang? Can’t afford to provoke.”

When someone from the artist agency department called Wei Ge, he was still sleeping. After receiving the call, his first reaction was: Fuck, shit has hit the fan. Shen Jintai took advantage of Bai Qingquan when his heart had softened and used him for hype. Or it could be Zheng Siqi. Monsoon Entertainment was also a well-known hype player.

“It’s not a good thing to be involved with gay rumors. Fortunately, there’s not much trouble now. The company doesn’t need to make a statement for the time being, but you should pay attention to it in the future,” The chief said.

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ge immediately went to Weibo to check on the hot searches.

There had been a lot of hot searches recently. To remain on the hot search as a top traffic, you had to brush your sense of existence every three to five times. Any more than that could appear overexuberant. Getting on the hot search too often could make passersby feel as if that star had misled the country, which could easily cause disgust. Especially today, when there was already another social case that was trending*.

*Clarity: It’s basically saying if you want to remain on the hot search, you have to make some splashes to stay topical. But too many splashes may make people think you’re deliberately doing things to create hype to get on the hot search and, in turn, will cause them to dislike you. Wei Ge is referring to the news of Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai’s interview, which has already made the hot search. If this current situation gets on the hot search, it can be bad because people will think everything was intentional.

He immediately called Bai Qingquan and said, “What’s the matter, didn’t I tell you to take precaution?”

Bai Qingquan’s mood was stable as he joked, “I always underestimate my popularity. The troubles of an idol.”

Wei Ge: “…I have told you several times that it’s okay to sell rot, but not really rot. If you want to taste Shen Jintai’s situation in the past two years, you can let go of yourself.”

Only then did Bai Qingquan become serious. “I think what broke out is the truth*, and we need to pay attention to it. If it is all rumors, it doesn’t matter. It will eventually be proven to be false in the end. “

*Clarity: He’s referring to them eating dinner together and Shen Jintai pulling his arm and protecting him. There’s no point in denying that since it’s all been caught on camera. What’s not true is that he and Shen Jintai are together, so that can be easily overturned.

He also read some of the comments. He and Shen Jintai? He wanted to laugh when he saw it. How could he possibly like Shen Jintai, and even less possible, to be little sisters with him!

Bumping numbers*!

*Refers to numbers that determine shou 0 or gong 1. Bumping numbers refers to the fact that they are both the same number (shous 0).

Wei Ge: “Aren’t you afraid that Shen Jintai involved you for hype? After all, you’ll be filming a series together for a long time. Even the role you play has an ambiguous relationship with Li Xu. To prevent being pulled in by someone in the future, you should make it clear that you do not have a friendly relationship with Shen Jintai.”

But in actuality, he didn’t hate Shen Jintai that much anymore. Bai Qingquan didn’t say anything. He thought Wei Ge wouldn’t believe him if he told him anyway. After all, he had scolded Shen Jintai several times in the past.

Lying on the bed, Bai Qingquan memorized the script drawing a few inspirations from the rehearsal at the dinner table today. His script now had more written words on it, as he followed Shen Jintai’s lead in doing his homework.

Shen Jintai, no one would change their temperament for no reason. He thought that the drastic change came about because his life had been hit too hard. The man who retreated from the circle and chased wildly failed to catch up, his family became bankrupt, and he was also the object of ridicule in the entertainment industry that eventually drove all his fans away.

Heaven had a funny way of teaching you things. To love without love. To want money without money.

He suddenly sympathized with Shen Jintai.

‘I am still too kind,’ Bai Qingquan thought. Beautiful and kind. He turned on the front camera of his phone and looked at it, making an ugly face. Still very good-looking. The sight was so beautiful it made him want to cry.

—

Shen Jintai hadn’t been able to rest. After sending Bai Qingquan back, he went to look at the gold powder side. Dozens of gold powders had been waiting for him. He stayed with his fans for half an hour before he left. When he returned to the hotel, it was already late at night.

Xiao Tang got him hot water and said to him before leaving the room, “Brother, you should be careful when you interact with Zheng Siqi in the future.”

Shen Jintai took off his T-shirt, revealing his lean upper body, turned around and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Xiao Tang looked at his body blankly, completely dazed. Every time he looked at Shen Jintai’s figure, he couldn’t help but be amazed. His slender waist seemed to be a shoulder wider, making it look especially hot and sexy.

“Hmm?” Shen Jintai frowned.

Xiao Tang recovered and hurriedly said, “Monsoon Entertainment loves to hype, whether it’s black or red. This time, they must’ve bought the search again. Otherwise, how could it gain this much traction.”

Xiao Tang had analyzed it. Shen Jintai couldn’t afford it, and Bai Qingquan wouldn’t buy this kind of hot search. The most likely culprit would be Zheng Siqi’s side. It wasn’t like they hadn’t been guilty before. Last time Shen Jintai had dinner with Zheng Siqi, his company hyped up a rumored relationship.

“They shouldn’t have bought it this time,” Shen Jintai said. “Weibo should have done it by itself.” He didn’t suspect Monsoon Entertainment since Zheng Siqi’s name wasn’t included in the hot search. Many media outlets simply referred to him as “the handsome fresh meat guy”.

Weibo and celebrities had a symbiotic relationship. Sometimes stars would take the initiative to buy hot searches, and sometimes Weibo would send hot searches by itself. To get more traffic to their site, Sina* needed to rub off heat, especially now that the competition for media outlets had become so fierce.

*Chinese tech company that owns Weibo.

Xiao Tang couldn’t help but glanced at Shen Jintai again. Shen Jintai’s back was truly majestic, with a lovely furrow. As soon as it straightened, it revealed a strong flexibility in his shoulder and back.

“Okay, go back to your room and rest.” Shen Jintai said. Xiao Tang closed the door and went out. Shen Jintai had noticed Xiao Tang’s somewhat surprised gaze, so he took off his clothes to examine himself.

He looked at his may cherries first.

……

Holy fuck. His brain exploded, and he only felt heat surging.

Good…good… He inhaled deeply. When the heat on his face dissipated, he glanced down at his waist.

He was only 20 years old. As a 20-year-old young man, he wasn’t fat, so his waist was never that thick. He couldn’t really tell how much it really shrank. The focus of this reward, though, wasn’t now but when he got much older. At that time, his waist would still be like it is now.

Although the waist had not changed significantly, it seemed to look a lot better visually. He felt that as long as he worked on his abs a little, this waist would be peerless.

With a ding dong Xiao Ai suddenly came online. “Dear.”

Shen Jintai said, “Why did you come online by yourself again?”

Xiao Ai: “I want to explain our prizes to you.”

Shen Jintai: “Go ahead.”

Xiao Ai: “Our killer waist is actually not only characterized by slenderness and durability, but also by good flexibility and strength. The waist we reward is a good waist that’s versatile in all aspects. It’s not only good-looking, but also practical.”

Is it?

A man’s waist was very important, and his electric motor starts by leaning on his waist. He remembered that in <Everyone Loves Bai Yueguang> Yan Qiuchi had a peerless male dog waist. Unexpectedly, Shen Jintai was a little happy that the male protagonist’s welfare could be distributed to him one day.

“Actually…” Xiao Ai said. “The other things we reward, such as the ass and may cherries, are also not only good-looking but are very practical as well!”

“Well, you can disappear now.” Shen Jintai quickly stopped him.

Xiao Ai snickered, “hee hee” and continued, “Dear, Xiao Ai will take a leave of absence for a period of time. During Xiao Ai’s leave, my colleague Xiao Mei will come to serve you. His personality is different from that of Xiao Ai. You have to forgive him if he steps out of line a little.”

Shen Jintai: “You can ask for leave?”

“Yes. Kiss. Don’t miss me too much.” Xiao Ai went offline after speaking.

Shen Jintai took a shower and felt deeply troubled by his may cherries. He wouldn’t rub his upper body anymore whenever he showers in the future! He changed his pajamas and climbed into bed. He got his phone and wanted to swipe it.

When his phone turned on, he saw several missed calls from his stepmother, Liu Qi.

Shen Jintai thought for a while, then decided to call back. As soon as he got through, he heard a voice calling his name, “Jintai.”

Shen Jintai gave a “Nn” and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Liu Qi: “Auntie just wanted to ask you how your filming is going. Is it hard work?”

“If you have something to say, just say it.” Shen Jintai lay down on the bed.

Liu Qi coughed, as if embarrassed, and said, “You know, your little sister is taking piano lessons.” Her teacher is Wei Siming, the one with the unique name. He has very high fees. You know our situation at home now. I wanted her to change teachers, but she refused. Your father…”

“Brother, I don’t want to change teachers!” Shen Jintai heard the sound of a little girl shouting.

Shen Jintai asked directly, “How much does it cost?”

Liu Qi said, “We still have money in the family. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to ask for money. Your little sister listens to you the most so please can you talk to her.”

“No, I have money,” Shen Jintai said. “I’ll send it to you later.”

“Brother, when will you be back?” Shen Xiaomei asked.

Shen Jintai pursed his lips and said, “Brother is filming. The crew is busy, so I can’t leave. When I have time, I’ll go home to see you. You be good.”

He liked children, but he had no experience of getting along with them. Besides that, he had no feelings for Shen Xiaomei. He just had a kind of bond, related by blood, that he felt he couldn’t completely ignore.

It was surprising that Shen Jintai had a very normal relationship with his stepmother and father. The exception was that he loved his little sister, born from his stepmother, very much. The two siblings had very similar personalities, extremely temperamental, arrogant, and capricious.

Shen Jintai gave all his love to Yan Qiuchi and all his affection to Shen Xiaomei.

In a way, he considered it fortunate that the Shen family was like this. If the Shen family valued filial piety and was a harmonious family, he didn’t really know how he would get along with this strange family. This strange alienation was very good and saved him a lot of trouble. Things that could be solved with money were not considered problems.

He was now richer than most people. He had millions in his bank card and would make more in the future. Since he had the money, he could help out the Shen family a little and keep his hands clean.

Haha, how easy. In exchange for peace, it could also be considered a reward for his kindness. As long as it’s not too much, he could be satisfied.

As a big star, if it was exposed that he ignored his family, leaving them destitute, even if there were valid reasons behind it, he would leave a bad impression on passersby.  He also didn’t want to be hotly searched because of family conflicts. Some stars had been sued by their parents, which had created troublesome and embarrassing situations.

—

Fame and fortune often go hand in hand. As soon as fame picked up, profits would follow. Li Meilan said excitedly, “A brand contacted me and said it wants to cooperate with us. Would you like to pick it up?”

“An endorsement?” Shen Jintai became excited. He didn’t expect a day where he could get an endorsement.

“It’s an endorsement,” Li Meilan said. “It’s just a small brand.”

Shen Jintai: “What product?”

Li Meilan looked at his ass, smiled, and said, “Underwear.”

Shen Jintai: “…”

Li Meilan: “I don’t know if it was because of your poster, but this underwear brand noticed you. Although they’re not a big-named brand, they have started to become more well-known in the past two years. The underwear my husband wears is their brand. The quality is good, and the price isn’t expensive. I especially like the ice silk* ones…”

*The trade name of a chemical fiber, which is precisely a denatured polyviscose fiber. It has the characteristics of being smooth, cool, breathable, antistatic, anti-ultraviolet, and beautiful colors. Ice silk is also called rayon, viscose, viscose filament, nylon, and so on. Googling ice silk underwear gave me some very (hot) NSFW pictures.

“Stop,” Shen Jintai said. “You can send the brand information to my phone and let me take a look.”

When Li Meilan heard his response, she immediately pulled out the information about the underwear company from her phone. “The adulterer sees fornication, and the wise sees wisdom*. Don’t hesitate when you hear that it’s an endorsement for underwear. Even Yang Lizhi herself endorses underwear and women’s sanitary items. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone needs something.”

*Referencing the benevolent sees benevolence, the wise sees wisdom (仁者见仁，智者见智). It refers to due to individual differences, there will be different views on things. || In this context, she’s saying don’t look down on it just because it’s an endorsement for underwear.

Shen Jintai: “What about the endorsement fees?”

“It’s negotiable,” Li Meilan said. “Don’t worry. It’ll be at least this number.” Li Meilan stretched out her fingers and gestured, and Shen Jintai breathed a sigh of relief, feeling he should consider it. After all, he was a young actor who had never seen the world before, and the idea of being a spokesperson excited him.

The name Shen Jintai had too much black history that he would probably be ignored by those high-end luxury brands. Fortunately, he didn’t care about this. Endorsements were used to make money, and having money solved the problems of clothing, food, housing, and survival. With enough, he didn’t need to be picky with film remuneration in the future. If he encountered a good film, he could just act in it without charging a fee.

<The East Palace is Coming> filming would last more than half a year. He had no other acting gigs lined up while he was involved in the filming. Within these past six months, if another job came that paid well and didn’t delay his time, he would also take it.

After looking at the brand, he found that a few big stars were among their spokespeople.

It’s not a pheasant brand*.

*(野鸡牌) Referring to cheap knock off brands.

Currently, the male star with the most endorsements in the entertainment industry was Bai Qingquan. He had a bunch of high-luxury endorsements. The T-shirts and shoes he usually wore were all famous brands, making him look noble and clean. If this pile of luxury goods were adorned on his body, it would make him look more stellar.

How truly enviable. Bai Qingquan’s image was also too good. He was the only one in the entertainment industry without any black spots.

—

Bai Qingquan had received more scripts.

“They can all wait for your schedule.” Wei Ge handed over the scripts to him. “It’s fine to take a look.”

Bai Qingquan: “Are there still no movies?”

Wei Ge: “There were, but they were all small indie projects, so I passed on them. For your first movie, it’s safer to go with a reliable production team.”

Wei Ge was a very powerful agent, and Bai Qingquan’s path was very clear. He wanted to enter the big screen. However, it was particularly difficult for a traffic idol to enter the film industry. Directors in the mainstream circle tend to look down on idols and fresh meat, while the big director’s cake were snatched up by the few popular male actors in the industry.

Bai Qingquan wasn’t suitable for bearing such a heavy responsibility*. If the movie bombed, it would have a great impact on his film career. The most suitable thing was to be the second male lead in a big production. He wouldn’t need to bear the pressure of the box office. In case the box office caught fire, he could just lie down and receive the benefits.

*Carry the beam (扛大梁) Idiom referring to bearing a heavy responsibility.

For example, so-and-so, who had acted as the second or third male lead in several blockbusters. He had good luck, and those films exploded one after another. Now with their numbers released, he was considered a 10 billion star*.

*Refers to movies he stars in that break box office records (10 billion yuan).

Bai Qingquan: “If there are good talents for a small production, it’s not like it’s impossible to try it.” Actors wanted to be on the big screen and Bai Qingquan was no exception.

Wei Ge: “Then I’ll look for you. Recently, there’s been a play directed by a newcomer that’s ready to be filmed. It’s called <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>. The director had also won an award for his last film. I asked the company to help you fight for it.”

The name was quite artistic. It should be a literary film.

After a few days passed, Bai Qingquan asked him about the result of his struggle, and Wei Ge said, “This cake is not suitable for you.”

Bai Qingquan: “Why?”

Wei Ge: “It’s about two gay men. Male no. 1 is a married man who’s an adulterer. Male no. 2 is even worse. He’s his junior.”

……Fuck. It really didn’t suit him. But it did sound exciting. He really wanted to see it. The scale of literary and artistic films must be particularly large.

The car stopped in front of the TV station building, and Wei Ge glanced out: “There are so many people here again.” He put on sunglasses and got out of the car to protect Bai Qingquan. Bai Qingquan gave a pleasant smile, waved to the squatting fans, bowed humbly, and entered the hall amidst the screams of the fans.

He came to participate in the opening ceremony of <The East Palace is Coming>. It was about to start its broadcast.

As soon as he entered the hall, he heard a scream from behind. There weren’t many people around, so the voice was particularly loud. He glanced back and saw Shen Jintai.

Shen Jintai put his sunglasses in his chest pocket, smiled, and bowed and waved to the fans.

“Shen Jintai, Shen Jintai!” It was from a fat girl shouting with the gold powders.

Shen Jintai was really rejuvenated. Bai Qingquan suddenly remembered that when he and Shen Jintai were walking together two years ago, there were hordes of gold powder that were holding yellow light signs. As they converged, it looked like a golden ocean was surging with the tides.

The moonlight powders could have been golden, but when the draft was first held, the battle for supporting colors was still lost to the gold powders, so they had to choose white.

White was also pleasing to the eyes, but it wasn’t as dazzling as gold. Just like him, while beautiful and popular, he couldn’t be as dazzling as Shen Jintai.

That was the fate of gold and silver.

---

The author has something to say:

When I came up with the name, I really didn’t think about it so much. The more I wrote, the more I discovered Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan*. It was really wonderful, Hahahaha.

*Clarity: Author is referring to the Jin [gold] (金) and Bai [white] (白) in their names. Their CP becomes Platinum [BaiJin] (白金).

---

Kinky Thoughts:

*Me googling ice silk*… … … *Feels nosebleed coming*. That was quite a distraction from translating.

Bai Qingquan has a little bit of narcissism in him.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 36: The Meal was Blocked, and the Couple CP First Appeared

Before they even had a chance to sit down and eat their meal, today’s interview was already being hotly discussed on the Internet. The fact was, Shen Jintai’s own admittance was just too explosive. One of the hot topics on Weibo was Shen Jintai’s voice saying, “The two of us didn’t get along before.”

The resulting comments were all being controlled by moonlight powders.

“Shen Touhua is still Shen Touhua. It’s all hype.”

“It’s always right to say that Shen Touhua is dead.”

“Please learn to walk independently Shen Touhua. Please learn to be an individual.”

“Isn’t there too many hot searches for Touhua recently? His pay for filming this drama has all been used up.”

Wherever moonlight powders went, no grass would grow*, and following popular microblogs was their home court. Later, they felt scolding him was helping the poor, so they began to post stills of Bai Qingquan in an organized manner.

*Clarity: It means no new comments can gain traction since the moonlight powders will just drown them out with their own comments and upvotes, pushing them down.

“On September 11^th, I will share the beauty of the East Palace with you.”

Since the broadcast was going to start on September 11^th, the moonlight powders had to brainstorm and decide on a support slogan. Bai Qingquan played the male lead, Zhou Jing, and the TV series was called <The East Palace is Coming>.

It was easy to control Weibo comments by having large numbers of likes and retweets, but there was no way to do it in forums. The comments from these were completely another style of painting.

“Although there is suspicion of hype, I still eat this kind of true temperament.”

“Yes, the two of them really don’t get along. On the contrary, I think Bai Qingquan smiles hypocritically every time he mentions Shen Jintai.”

“Haha, hypocritical? That’s called politeness, okay? What kind of three views* do you have in your area? You call it true temperament when you hog the camera?”

^*Generally refers to world outlook, outlook on life, and values.

“Anyway, Shen Touhua has been very successful in a series of operations recently. I don’t know if he has changed teams. I feel that passersby’s favorability for him has soared. “

“Come on, what passerby will pay attention to him? He’s been irritated for years, blowing up and stepping on all those fan circles.”

“The entertainment industry has really lost a lot of color without Shen Jintai. Personally, I really hope that he can take the opportunity to become popular this time.”

“Same hope.”

“Hope +1.”

“He’s already popular, and his Weibo followers have risen by almost one million.”

“When I squatted on the live broadcast today, his performance really shocked me. I dare not say how good his acting skills are. It’s just a fluke!”

“Yes, yes, it was just a fluke. I didn’t expect him to be like this. It was simply a fluke that made him look good!”

“I was really taken aback. The crew was really scheming to pick this section to open up to the media and visitors. I just went to read the original novel, and I couldn’t stop reading! I want to say that if Shen Jintai can hold this role, he’ll definitely become popular!”

“The role of Li Xu is really emotional. You don’t see this kind of vicious and handsome eunuch on the screen often. After acting, he can become a representative role. Shen Jintai’s beauty didn’t keep up. Who knows if his acting skills will as well.”

“Speaking of beauty, have you found that Shen Jintai is much better-looking now than before? Did he get plastic surgery?”

“He didn’t look that bad, did he? He used to wear heavy makeup, and honestly, the public has forgotten what he looked like when he was normal.”

“Looking at the photos of him when he had black hair when he debuted in <Pick Me> back then, it’s obviously different from now.”

“It’s a long open*, he was barely an adult at the time.”

*(长开) Refers to big changes when getting older. It’s basically saying past Shen Jintai was still a kid (young) so it’s obvious his looks changed drastically now that he’s an adult (older).

“Shen Jintai is only twenty now, and he hasn’t fully grown up yet. A man only reaches the peak of his appearance at about twenty-five. He still has several years to go.”

“His foundation is actually not bad, but he was compared to Bai Qingquan. I always thought he had red hair and heavy makeup because he knew that he didn’t look as good as Bai Qingquan, so he deliberately went the other way.”

“What you said, that’s too clever for Shen Jintai, right? He wouldn’t have retired for love if he had that kind of brain.”

“Hahahaha. Speaking of retiring from the circle for love, did he really break it off with the prince of the Yan family? I don’t know how the Yan family would feel when they see him like this.”

“Why didn’t anyone dig up the relationship between the two of them? I really want to see it.”

“The relationship between the two of them is still prickly. As we all know, there’s a mountain of hard evidence. Coupled with Bai Qingquan, their love triangle is super bloody. In summary, Shen Jintai chased Yan Qiuchi madly. Yan Qiuchi was unmoved and seemed to like his rival Bai Qingquan.”

“To be honest, Bai Qingquan and Yan Qiuchi don’t have stone hammers at all, and the fans are all just joking*. It’s very funny to say that there are no pants left for anyone who has a scandal with Bai Qingquan not to be torn. Only the son of the Yan family survived. Since they knew Yan Qiuchi was untouchable, the moonlight powders continued to agitate Shen Jintai by deliberately calling Bai Qingquan the Yan’s son-in-law.”

*Clarity: This is saying there’s no evidence that there’s anything going on between Bai Qingquan and Yan Qiuchi, let alone that they’re even gay.

“It was because of this that the gold powders was removed on a large scale!”

“What kind of love triangle is this? I only saw Shen Jintai upside down*.”

*(倒贴) Refers to the person who should have receive money and material, in turn gave them to others. Not only did they not profit, they actually had to pay more for it. || It’s saying Shen Jintai put in all the effort to chase Yan Qiuchi and, in the end, still ended up with nothing, and even lost his career in the process.

“Now that the two of them are acting in a Sunshine Media drama together, it seems that these three people are going to be entangled to the end of the world.”

“Those two are so funny. They both like to rub against the Yan family. Honestly, people like the Yan family look down on those in the entertainment industry.”

“Prince Yan is really handsome, and fate is really destined. Shen Jintai didn’t catch up with the prince in reality. He can only talk with a prince in the drama, hahahaha. “

“Hahahaha, this drama has so many surprises and coincidences. Both inside and outside the play! It’s super exciting.”

—

Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai debuted together, and they were also in a group together, but this was the first time that the two had eaten together in private. It felt quite awkward. Fortunately, Shen Jintai had changed. He was quite magnanimous and decent and was very passionate about him.

Though, Shen Jintai was very passionate about everyone.

This was really evil.

Since Shen Jintai was born a rich second generation, he always had a bad temper and was capricious. He could hold very few things in his eyes. Except for flattering Yan Qiuchi, everyone else depended on his mood.

Now, not only had he beaten him in acting, but his popularity was catching up.

“You eat it,” Shen Jintai interrupted Bai Qingquan’s thoughts, smiled, and said to him. “I don’t think you’ve been eating much lately.”

“I need to lose weight,” Bai Qingquan said.

“You still have to lose weight?” Shen Jintai asked.

Bai Qingquan, still maintaining his appearance as a little fairy in front of Shen Jintai, said softly, “It’s not like you don’t know. I easily get fat in the face. It doesn’t look good on camera.”

“You are good-looking enough,” Shen Jintai said. “You have to leave some way for others to live*.”

*Means leave some leeway and not being so overbearing that others can’t get any benefits. || He’s complimenting Bai Qingquan, saying don’t look TOO good or you’ll take away all the benefits from everyone else.

Bai Qingquan was incredibly happy to hear it.

Both Zheng Siqi and Shen Jintai could eat. They were young and had a fast metabolism, so they could eat whatever they wanted. While Bai Qingquan doesn’t easily get fat, if he gained a few pounds, it would look obvious on his face, so he had to pay great attention to his diet. In fact, he wanted to eat those foods too. Wei Ge would reward him with a chicken drumstick in a week.

“Is this delicious?”

“Extremely delicious,” Shen Jintai said.

Bai Qingquan couldn’t help but have a small taste. It’s fucking delicious. To maintain his appearance, he kept his mouth shut. Bai Qingquan wiped his mouth and said, “I can’t eat anymore. “

“Just take another bite.”

“I’ll just have some salad.” Bai Qingquan restrained himself.

Shen Jintai felt that Bai Qingquan was really self-disciplined. Bai Qingquan, who only eats vegetarian food, was more in line with the essence of his little fairy. He sat there and didn’t talk much. Seeing him every day, Shen Jintai still thought he was good-looking enough, but it’s not the kind of exquisite and exceptionally good-looking that’s like 8 points in appearance and 2 points in temperament.

Three words really portrayed Bai Qingquan: gentle, bright, and shining.

He suddenly smelled a faint fragrance on Bai Qingquan’s body. He didn’t know what cologne he used, but it smelled really good. Bai Qingquan’s aptitude was also impressive. At such a young age, his acting skills had already exceeded a lot of people.

Bai Qingquan noticed his gaze and turned his head. Shen Jintai smiled at him and turned to listen to Zheng Siqi. Bai Qingquan was left in awe by his smile. He actually thought it was charming and radiant.

When did Shen Jintai smile so beautifully?

“I was actually not very satisfied with my performance of a few scenes today,” Zheng Siqi said. “Later, I reflected on it and felt that I could perform better.”

“But you didn’t tell the director to redo them.”

Zheng Siqi smiled and sat upright. “I was embarrassed to tell the director.” After all, a reshoot not only wastes the time of the crew but also requires the cooperation of the actors in the scene. As a newcomer actor like him, unless the director wasn’t satisfied and asked to start over, he dared not bring it up.

“Director Guo trusts the actors more, and he’s willing to discuss with the actors. You met a good director when you debuted,” Shen Jintai said. “You may not know this, but some directors are not very talented, but they have a very good temper. Just because they are the directors, they think they have the final say. If the newcomer isn’t good at acting, they will scold you, occasionally mention their different opinions, or they can just directly let you go.”

“What you said is as if you have experienced it yourself,” Bai Qingquan said.

Shen Jintai smiled. This was really his personal experience. Newcomers with no background and no money really had to work hard by themselves, step by step. The acting profession could make money faster than other industries, but the road at the beginning was also the most difficult to walk.

The three of them unknowingly discussed tomorrow’s scene as the dinner table was rearranged. Bai Qingquan was still holding back at the beginning, but after a few lines, they all forgot about everything else.

There would be a scene between the three of them tomorrow. The imprisoned prince, Zhou Ying, knowing that it was the end for him, asked Zhou Jing to come over and entrust Li Xu to him. Li Xu belonged to Zhou Jing, and he had always known it.

“You don’t have to play the role of Zhou Ying too complicated. He’s not a white moonlight character. The simpler it is, the more moving it is,” Shen Jintai said. “When you plan your movements, you don’t need to have a lot of emotional ups and downs. You mainly use micro-movements and your eyes, as well as your rhythm, when speaking your lines. The more forbearing, the more the audience will feel sorry for you.”

The three of them recited their lines. With each line spoken, it created a stoic scene between the three of them. It was very somber. After leaving the East Palace in the night, Li Xu and Zhou Jing also had a scene. The lines had flickered and the rift between the two had started to appear.

Bai Qingquan felt it was really comfortable to rehearse with Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai wasn’t so serious during the rehearsals. He was casual and relaxed, and his mood was lofty. Although he was also a rookie in acting, his aura was like a play bone*, confident and gentle.

^*(戏骨) Refers to old film and TV drama actors who are skilled in performing arts. They are dedicated to acting and have developed superb acting skills (AKA veteran actors).

Bai Qingquan felt that when Shen Jintai was acting, he really had light on his body that would dispel all his animosity. All the things he hated about Shen Jintai disappeared, and what remained were his favorite parts. It would make him occasionally feel as if this was the person he wanted to be. A talented individual with both beauty and acting skills!

Go your own way and leave others nowhere to go*!

*(走自己的路,让他们无路可走) Follow your own path and don’t care what others think. The original is “Go your own way and let people talk” by Lu Xun.

The three of them had rehearsed and eaten for a long time without realizing it. After they were full, they decided to leave the restaurant. Bai Qingquan was walking to the door when he suddenly turned around.

Shen Jintai was about to ask him what was going on, when he suddenly heard someone shout, “Bai Qingquan!” Only then did he notice that there were several people in the restaurant taking pictures with their phones.

Bai Qingquan quickly took out a mask from his pocket and put it on. Shen Jintai and Zheng Siqi were stunned. Neither of them had ever tasted being popular before, so they weren’t prepared in this regard. As several people raised their phones and surrounded them, Shen Jintai hurriedly reached out to block them. He started to feel a little excited.

He was also a star, so were some of them shooting him as well? He obviously thought too much since they were all just focused on Bai Qingquan. He wasn’t sure how these people found out.

When they exited the restaurant, they found that there were dozens of people squatting outside. As soon as they caught sight of them, all those people rushed over. Shen Jintai hurriedly shielded Bai Qingquan behind him, took Bai Qingquan’s arm with one hand while blocking the phones of the fans, and quickly walked in the direction of the car.

Bai Qingquan was startled. His eyebrows drooped slightly as he saw Shen Jintai’s well-knotted fingers clutching his arm tightly.

These words came into Bai Qingquan’s mind, ‘See you for a long time!*.’

*(活久见) Means you can see everything if you live long enough. Now it’s mostly used to describe the surprise of the person concerned in the face of strange things.

Not only did Bai Qingquan see it for a long time, but passersby did as well.

“Is that Shen Jintai?”

“It seems to be.”

“It’s not ‘it seems to be’. It really is Shen Jintai!”

The attitude of passersby towards celebrities is that whether they like them or not, recognize them or not, as long as it was a star, they must watch and raise their phones!

More and more people crowded around as someone in the crowd shouted, “Shen Jintai!”

Shen Jintai froze for a minute, then continued walking faster. Zheng Siqi followed them closely and was a little frightened by this battle. Fortunately, many of the passersby were just onlookers so the excitement of chasing stars was limited. They didn’t pose any immediate danger.

Looking at Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan in front of him, Zheng Siqi couldn’t help but feel like… like Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan were trapped in a relationship and Shen Jintai had switched into full-powered boyfriend mode. He was a star himself, yet Shen Jintai didn’t bother taking care of himself. All he knew was he needed to protect Bai Qingquan with all his heart!

—

“Ah, ah, ah! Don’t allow me to scream alone! Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan were photographed having dinner together. Did you see it?”

“I’m in shock! I can’t believe my eyes!”

“Why did the two of them eat together? Are the two of them hyping jointly?! “

“It’s normal to eat together when filming together. Obviously, there are other members of the crew there and it’s not just them!”

“Someone take a look* in the picture above, what happened?”

*They’re using [kang kang] as a malapropism for [kan kan] (看看) as a (kinda?) cute way of misspelling.

“The picture is here!”

Someone immediately uploaded several pictures, one of which was a GIF.

Bai Qingquan in the picture was wearing a black mask and was dressed very low-key. In front of him, a young man about the same height as him grabbed his wrist and walked forward with great strides. It was none other than Shen Jintai!

“Touhua used to be a flirtatious bitch. I just like the way he looks. Since he dyed his hair back, he’s becoming more and more attractive.”

“If you hadn’t told me, I thought it was a bodyguard. It looked pretty cool.”

“Touhua’s picture is for me. Isn’t it so handsome?”

“This one is really handsome. With dark hair and fair skin, red lips and bright eyes, and a heroic walking posture. Bai Qingquan is simply a little wife behind him.”

“I have a terrible idea in my head!”

“Me too, don’t stop me, I want to become a fan of the crab feet* CP!”

*Also a malapropism. Crab feet [xie jiao] (蟹脚) is referencing [xie jiao] (邪教) literally meaning cult but in fandom means it’s a CP/ship that’s not the official one and shouldn’t be shipped but is. For example, in this case, the original CP is Bai Yueguang/Yan Qiuchi, while in the current timeline it would be Shen Jintai/Yan Qiuchi. Bai Yueguang/Shen Jintai would thus be considered a 邪教 ship, as would Yan Yaoxuan/Shen Jintai and all other ships.

Gold powders and moonlight powders were dumbfounded at the same time.

---

The author has something to say:

Ding dong, BaiJin CP is online.

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Kinky Thoughts:

I ship it.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 35: Please Call Me a Natural Acting Talent

Standing in the corner of the elevator, Gao Qiao was watching the official trailer. The melodious sounds of a flute could be heard. After he finished, he raised his head and said to Yan Qiuchi, “The data and responses are very good…”

Yan Qiuchi responded, “Ah.”

Their company had people who specialized in collecting data. They did public opinion research and had already given estimates long before the trailer was released. The estimated results were very ideal, so today’s feedback wasn’t unexpected.

The interviews with the visiting class and the media were conducted at the same time. After Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan finished filming, the interviews with others were over, and the media were waiting for them excitedly.

This was the highlight of today’s interview! Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai could attract everyone’s attention by standing together. What was more, the rivalry scene that they just played today was brilliant!

Shen Jintai had practiced vocals before, so he paid careful attention to the maintenance of his voice. His throat felt a bit weak, and his voice sounded fragile. He had so many scenes today that it exhausted him and he was starting to sound a little hoarse. He took a sip of water and went to the interview area under the guidance of the staff and happened to bump into Bai Qingquan getting out of his nanny car.

He smiled at Bai Qingquan, who handed him a cup of tea.

“Moisten your throat.”

Shen Jintai saw that there were malva nuts* inside.

*Also known as scaphium affine. In Chinese medicine, it’s used to remove heat from the lungs, cure sore throats, counteract toxicity, and moisten the bowels. 

“Thank you.” Shen Jintai took it, unscrewed the lid and took a sip. The two of them walked to the interview site together.

This scene was already photographed by a Chinese media group, and both moonlight powders and gold powders saw it. The two sides looked at each other with complicated expressions.

That just happened!

It seemed like it did!

Moonlight powders, especially, thought so.

Wow, wow, wow. The elder brother of their family was a beautiful and kind-hearted person. After being bullied by Shen Jintai for so many years, he’s still kind to him. All those negative things in the world about him aren’t true!

The gold powders laughed.

Bai Qingquan’s white lotus-like style hadn’t changed at all in the past few years. It’s no wonder that before their brother retired a few years ago, he complained about Bai Qingquan’s hypocrisy in public.

There were many kinds of disagreement in the entertainment industry. While the stars may have a good relationship between them, with their fans tearing each other apart every day, it could create the illusion of discord. On the other hand, some fans were at peace while their idols privately stepped on each other.

Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan fans were like water and fire; natural enemies.

“The scene you guys played just now was astounding. Did the two of you exchange ideas in private?” The reporter asked with a smirk.

Shen Jintai glanced at Bai Qingquan and with a smile said, “There must be communication. We all did rehearsals before the filming.”

He moved the microphone to Bai Qingquan’s side, and Bai Qingquan also smiled and said, “A good performance may hinge on your opponent’s strength.”

Shen Jintai turned his head and asked him, “Are you praising me or yourself?”

Bai Qingquan responded through the laughter of the reporters, “All praises.”

The reporters were dumbfounded. When Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai debuted together as a group, the interviews back then were wonderful, mainly because Shen Jintai liked to mock, ridicule, and suppress Bai Qingquan every step of the way. It made Bai Qingquan seem weak and soft.

They were expecting that since the two were acting together again, they would tear each other apart. Unexpectedly, they witness a sight of brotherhood instead… No, wait. It may be a deeper sisterhood.

But this wasn’t the scene they wanted to see! They wanted to see stars pulling flowers! Shen Jintai, the master of flower pulling, hurry and come out!

“I don’t know if you two have heard of the rumors between the two of you before. In fact, everyone was quite surprised to see that the two of you were cooperating in this drama. Now that you guys are working together so happily, can you clarify the misunderstanding to everyone?” The female reporter with glasses was very clever. Her questions seemed to be for them, but it was obvious she was stirring the pot.

This was a loaded question. Bai Qingquan smiled at Shen Jintai. He felt it was safer if Shen Jintai answered it first.

Shen Jintai had never liked these kinds of feuds. It often embarrassed him.

Shen Jintai smiled and said, “It’s not a misunderstanding. The two of us really didn’t get along before.”

His words shocked the audience. The moonlight powders was cursing up a storm. As soon as he was given some good face, this hateful Shen Jintai revealed his old tricks again. The hot drama was about to start again!

The faces of Li Meilan and Xiao Tang, who were standing in front of the gold powders, paled.

Li Meilan kept frowning at Shen Jintai. God damn it! Shen Jintai can you not always tell the truth? Don’t you know how the entertainment industry works?! Even if you have MMP* in your heart, please have a smile on your face!

* [mā mài pī] (媽賣批) Acronym of a curse word due to censorship. It can mean various things based off of context (son of a bitch/wtf/your mother a whore ect.).

The audience turned to look at Bai Qingquan. Bai Qingquan’s smile froze, and he became slightly embarrassed. The reporters’ hearts were boiling.

Shen Touhua had finally reemerged!

Shen Jintai remained smiling as he continued, “I must tell the truth about this. Although we debuted together, I used to be very irritable and temperamental. I wasn’t friendly with Qingquan, while Qingquan was always nice to everyone.”

Li Meilan let out a long sigh. Although it was a bit dangerous to blacken yourself in this way, it was much better to do it yourself than to put it all on Bai Qingquan.

Young man, you are finally on the right track.

The makeup on Bai Qingquan’s face slightly solidified. He looked at Shen Jintai very seriously. Hearing what Shen Jintai just said made him surprised, as did the entire audience.

“Because I was only 18 years old when I first debuted, I wasn’t very sensible. I was still a child. Since retiring, a lot of things have happened to me, and I’ve grown and matured. I think now, I can be good friends with Qingquan.”

After speaking, Shen Jintai paused, turned his head and looked at Bai Qingquan. There was no hint of awkwardness at all. On the contrary, his face looked very sincere.

Bai Qingquan felt that what Shen Jintai said was true. He had witnessed the change with his own eyes.

Although they didn’t see a fight-to-the-death situation between the two, Shen Jintai’s words were enough. The reporters were satisfied.

The phrase “we did not get along before” could be cut into a trailer, creating a big enough explosion.

Shen Jintai said this not only to throw an olive branch to Bai Qingquan but also to give the reporters something. Being in the industry for so long, he understood the importance of mutual benefit. This was the job of an entertainment reporter, and they liked stars who met their expectations.

Today’s filming was very difficult. It consumed a lot of physical and mental energy. At the end of the day, everyone felt exhausted. Especially Song Wei, who was a lot older than the younger cast members. She was too tired and so the scheduled dinner was cancelled.

Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan were young and, after a little bit of rest, were fully recovered. The excitement from acting today was so enjoyable that it was hard to dissipate. Though Shen Jintai was very serious when filming, once he left the set, he became lively and joyful as he invited a group of people to dinner.

“Qingquan, do you want to go together?” He asked with a smile.

Bai Qingquan took off his makeup and came out. He was thin and tall, wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. His eyes looked better after covering the lower half of his face. He said, with a smile, “Okay.”

Shen Jintai was stunned for a moment. This was a huge improvement. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his acting today or the interview just now that showed his sincerity that seemed to have made some change in Bai Qingquan. Thinking about this, he suddenly remembered his reward.

When Xiao Ai jumped out, he was still immersed in the play, so he didn’t pay any attention to it. Now that he remembered, he seemed to have received a lot of rewards.

Shen Jintai greeted everyone as they got into the car. Zheng Siqi said, “Let’s go together in my car.” Zheng Siqi came here in a luxury car. Despite being a newcomer, he was quite rich. His extravagance did not just stay with his looks.

Shen Jintai got into his car and called Xiao Ai as soon as he sat down.

“Dear!” Xiao Ai was very enthusiastic.

“What rewards did you say I got?”

“The killer waist, may cherries, sharp eyebrows, and gorgeous eyes. By the way, the killer waist also comes with a bonus of two venus dimples.”

Shen Jintai was a little embarrassed. “May cherries?”

Xiao Ai smirked. “Yes, because the favorability value had risen so quickly, it was too late to let you choose between two options. The system could only choose one for you, so I made it on your behalf. But dear, that’s not the point. You’ve also been rewarded with sharp eyebrows and gorgeous eyes!”

Shen Jintai’s attention was successfully distracted. The words “sharp eyebrows and gorgeous eyes” sounded so delightful that they instantly neutralized his anger for the may cherry.

“Yes, the eyebrows are well defined, and the eyes are exquisite. As the name suggests, you’re getting the sharpest and well-defined eyebrows and an attractive pair of eyes. You must know that, as an actor, the most important thing is your eyes. Your acting skills are good, and paired with these eyebrows and eyes, I believe that in the future, you’ll be able to withstand those close-up shots. It’ll make you look particularly expressive and moving!”

“When did you become so talkative?” He was very satisfied. He took out his phone, turned on the front camera, and looked into his eyes. It seems to have brightened up quite a bit. Paired with his rosy lips, his complexion looked very healthy and sunny.

He smiled for a long time, obviously in a good mood. He felt that his appearance had improved by miles, and with just a smile he could brighten the hearts of those who gazed upon him.

As for the other rewards, he couldn’t look at them now, nor did he care that much.

Shen Jintai shifted slightly to a more comfortable position when his loose T-shirt rubbed against his body. He suddenly felt……

This may cherry should only refer to the color, not the shape, right?

He didn’t have the courage to look down. He quickly turned on his phone to divert his attention. He hadn’t seen the trailer yet. He only heard Xiao Tang saying that the comments about him were good and the gold powders were pleased.

Li Meilan was overly excited, thinking that his comeback would definitely be successful.

Shen Jintai first read some popular Weibo comments. The top few hot comments were all fan-controlled comments, and the top three were all related to Bai Qingquan. This showed the combat effectiveness of the moonlight powders. Following this were comments about Yang Lizhi. Plum powders strength should not be underestimated.

After that, it was him. He retweeted the Weibo post and saw that his Weibo fans had risen by tens of thousands. He didn’t write any text but only used a few emoticons, which made him seem a bit restrained.

Then he opened the trailer and watched it again. Zheng Siqi, who was in front of him, heard the music and looked back. “Trailer?”

Shen Jintai said, “Nn”. He was very excited seeing the edited trailer with the soundtrack. The music was well matched, which made it suitable to be played in public streets and alleys. The colors in the trailer were a little thick but there weren’t any flaws. It remained elegant.

Guo Rui’s capture was like a painting.

The ending showed him raising his head as the music ended then lowering it slightly gave people an enchanting feeling.

“That’s not the only trailer from the official blog,” Zheng Siqi reminded him. “Both satellite TV stations have released their own version.”

“Really?” Shen Jintai immediately went to search for them.

The previews of the two satellite TV stations’ versions were basically the same as the official blog. The extra shots were some big scenes with no specific plot. Among them, there was a group of concubines stepping on the stage of the music festival. The scenes were melodious and grand, and contrasted with the aura of palace fights that were about to come, making people excited.

Weibo was the world of fans, so marketing was more focused on the young idols. TV stations were in the world of aunties, so the focus was more on the palace women’s dramas. His name was ranked very low. Even Bai Qingquan, as the male lead, came in second.

Shen Jintai became eager. He already wanted to watch the series. There was still more than half a month to go, assuming no accidents. More and more materials will surface within this half month.

The real-time comments still had a lot of his black powders. The most common response was, “A trailer can’t reveal what the problem is. He didn’t have any lines, so no acting skills were shown at all!”

Shen Jintai was excited when he saw this kind of black powder’s comment. He wanted to see what their reaction would be once the series airs.

—

“Shen Jintai’s career may really turn around with this drama,” Wei Ge said to Bai Qingquan in the nanny car.

Bai Qingquan was a little tired. He was lying on the seat with his eyes closed as he said lightly, “He’s really good at acting.”

Wei Ge paused, looked at him, and said, “Do you still hate him now?”

“Honestly?” Bai Qingquan opened his eyes. “When I look at him now, it’s not a feeling of disgust but of fear.”

“Fear? What are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid that I’ll be suppressed by him all the time. I can’t match him. Sometimes his eyes are scary, and I get goosebumps all over my body.” Bai Qingquan leaned back on the seat. Feeling a little confused, he remembered Shen Jintai’s eyes when he was filming. Those eyes seemed to be full of adoration. “He used to act so wooden, but now he seems to be enlightened. There’s a mysterious aura coming from his body.”

Acting aura was something the ancestors would appreciate eating*. Many subjects had studied acting for years, but they could never reach that level.

*(祖师爷赏饭吃) Refers to doing something that takes a lot of hard work to succeed.

The aura was important.

Bai Qingquan thought he didn’t have this kind of aura. Although he was more suitable for acting than ordinary people, his empathetic ability wasn’t as good as Shen Jintai. He still needed to find that point, think about it, and figure out how to interpret the character. It was rare for him to be able to enter a character and forget about himself during filming.

For a young actor like him who was still making progress, the experience of entering into a character was particularly shocking. The weirdness, wonder, pleasure, and fear could not be described in words. It caused his scalp to go numb. When the scene was over, he would feel immense love for acting.

When filming <The East Palace> he had experienced this feeling twice. Once with Express Xiao when he had his rivalry scene with Song Wei, and once with Shen Jintai. This was what he wanted to pursue. If Shen Jintai had it, he could briefly forget the humiliation he had suffered and respect him in his heart.

Acting may look like a seemingly easy task, but in fact, it was quite difficult for ordinary people to be able to express themselves freely in front of a camera without any scruples. It required talent and training.

But training was never as good as talent. Shen Jintai had talent.

—

“He was born to eat this bowl of rice*, especially in front of a camera.” Guo Rui laid down on the chair and said to Yan Qiuchi.

*(这碗饭) Refers to a profession. Being able to “eat this bowl of rice” means he’s very good at his job.

Yan Qiuchi looked at the filming material on the computer and was at the climax of the show. The praying mantis hunts the cicada, unaware of the oriole is behind him. The crown prince had been framed, but just like the clever Li Xu, he did not know who was behind the murder. Shen Jintai on the screen had blood stains on his forehead. His hairpin was askew, loosening his hair. A few strands fell as he stared into the camera. His eyes were red, looking exhausted, yet the look had a kind of strength that could strike directly at people’s hearts.

The guards grabbed Prince Zhou Ying with one hand, and Zhou Ying whispered to him anxiously, “Go back to second brother.”

As soon as his voice fell, he was pulled away. His clothes rustled, and Li Xu wanted to grab the crown prince’s hand, but they only caught air. He knelt down to the ground, turned his head around to look at Zhou Jing, who was behind him, then glanced at the seats where the emperor’s relatives were sitting. Their expressions were flustered and hostile. He suddenly realized that everyone present was a murderer.

Too many people wanted to live in the East Palace and sit in the Phoenix Seat.

The empress crawled on the ground kowtowing and cried, “Your Majesty!”

Li Xu’s expression changed abruptly, and he suddenly looked in the direction of the prince. His lips trembled, and he clenched his fists.

Yan Qiuchi had read the script. The screenwriter, Meng Xiaosheng, once told him that crown prince Zhou Ying, as well as the little eunuch Li Xu, were “the kindest people to die and the most black-hearted demons.”

Before the start of filming, he couldn’t imagine what Shen Jintai’s Li Xu would look like.

Now he had it in his mind. He thought about Shen Jintai’s tearful appearance when he plotted to poison the prince. He was now looking forward to seeing Shen Jintai holding a rose and saying Li Xu’s most classic line.

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The author has something to say:

Ah, ah, ah, what classic lines?!

I want to smile and watch each of you cry! (Yi Ping face*)

*I’m assuming it’s referring to an actress or character. I found this image on Google that I think is her.

One day, I will let everyone who has despised me kneel in front of me and beg me for forgiveness. I will step on the whole world under my feet! (Lan Zhen’s face*)

*I’m assuming it’s referring to an actress or character. I found this image on Google that I think is her.

Shen Jintai: I want to make each of you really fragrant!

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Kinky Thoughts:

Aww I’m glad Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai worked things out. I’m a’okay if the author decides to head in this direction with this pairing haha.

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