Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

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

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Chapter 24: Drunk

Sunshine Media had been in the limelight in recent years. The dramas produced by the company usually occupied the hot drama lists and mainstream awards for the past two years. Ratings and quality were both good. Because it was so well known, many celebrities would attend the banquet to develop a good relationship with them.

The TV station that would be hosting the broadcast for <The East Palace is Coming> was also present. Sunshine Media and the TV station had signed an agreement before filming took place. The TV station had reserved a golden autumn schedule* for the drama. As such, they were also involved in today’s press conference. Sunshine Media spared no effort for the press launch.

*Translations help: (金秋档期) No idea what this is referring to. I’m assuming it’s the prime time slot in Fall for shows at the TV station.

An incident occurred during the dinner party. Liu Hui ran to the media table to socialize and made a toast.

A person at the table asked him, “You have appeared as the male lead in my movies in the past. Why did you decide to take on male No. 4 in <The East Palace is Coming> this time? Is this role very outstanding?”

Liu Hui’s makeup was no less inferior than Shen Jintai’s. The corner of his eyes were painted with fuchsia eyeshadow and his eyebrow slightly raised. “I came here to play male No. 2, and I almost had the role, but Shen Jintai snatched it away. Hahahaha. But I was quite surprised that he was willing to play a second lead to Bai Qingquan.” He smiled solemnly.

The smile looked heartfelt, causing many at the table to feel pity for him, who had been robbed of his role. Soon, everyone at the table started posting about it.

“My, my, who would have thought that Shen Jintai would be willing to play the second male lead to Bai Qingquan.”

“So the implication of what you said is that Shen Jintai got this role due to some behind-the-scenes scheme? Or was it because he brought in capital?”

“The Shen family is bankrupt, right? I also saw a post some time ago that showed a notice from the court. Bankruptcy should be a matter of fact. How does he still have money to buy a role?”

“A dead camel is thinner than a horse. The poverty of the entertainment industry and the promotion of young people do not mean the same thing!”

Xiao Tang, who was in the hotel room, had been contacting the gold powders to control the comments. When he heard the news, he was a little surprised. Liu Hui was a resource star*, who wasn’t that popular. Bai Qingquan had more fans than he did, but if you had money, you could still have a large water army. If his water army and moonlight powder unite to blacken Jintai, it’ll be the end of him!

^*Resource coffee/drip (资源咖) Term use to describe a star who plays a leading role when they debut. They tend to not have a lot of acting experience since they don’t play small roles and thus have no experience of climbing up in the showbiz circle, whereas others in the circle work step by step to reach the top.

He was about to report to Li Meilan when he found that Liu Hui’s marketing comment had been overturned.

“The both of them are two sides of the same coin. Everyone knows that Liu Hui has a gold master behind him. Though he hasn’t been photographed many times, it’s the one with the beard.”

“That’s right. His acting skills aren’t as good as Shen Jintai’s, right? It’s just one resource star stealing from another. The wicked have finally met the wicked.”

“To be honest, I would rather look at Shen Touhua than Liu Hui. His big face is a bit too ugly for my heart. After being fed so many resources, it’s still too early for him to become popular*.”

*Clarity: What this is saying is that Liu Hui hasn’t worked up the ladder yet. He emerged overnight and started playing lead roles (generally those are reserved for veterans and experienced actors), so he hasn’t earned his respect yet in the showbiz world and, by extension, the audience.

“He’s just trying to hype himself by using Shen Touhua. Honestly, he’s been copying Shen Touhua for the past two years. It’s a pity that he doesn’t understand the difference between an idol and an actor!”

“He won’t become popular no matter how much he tries. Ugly people are just so weird.”

Liu Hui was so angry that he almost dropped his phone. He went online and personally scolded netizens on his alt. He lost the scolding match and was so angry that he turned to look at Shen Jintai.

At tonight’s dinner party, Shen Jintai was the most popular. He was like a social butterfly as he flew from table to table with a wine glass. He wanted to please the big guys in the industry as well as his media friends. Bai Qingquan sat quietly as he observed secretly. He almost rolled his eyes in public as he gulped down wine from his glass. He knew that Shen Jintai loved doing these tricks and games to win favors.

“You’re in a good mood today. You sure can drink,” Yang Lizhi said, smirking while applying makeup.

Bai Qingquan squinted and forced a smile. “I’m happy.”

Shen Jintai drank a lot of wine today and felt tipsy. His body was far from what it used to be in his previous life. He could drink over half a catty of liquor and feel nothing. As an actor, dinners were indispensable. He had to participate in lots of them, so he had plenty of practice from the thousands of glasses of wine he had to drink.

Many people’s eyes were covertly staring at him. People talked and laughed at the banquet as they adorned their Weibo postings with the word “explosive”.

Shen Jintai had just finished making a toast and headed back to his seat. When he pulled his chair out, he heard a person from behind call out to him, “Jintai, it’s been a long time since I saw you.”

He turned around and saw a rather tall and mature-looking man, who looked about 30 years old with slightly gloomy eyebrows. The original owner had probably met him before because he felt that he was familiar with him.

“I haven’t seen you for a few years. Do you still remember me?” The man smiled.

Shen Jintai stretched out his hand and smiled. “President Ji.” It was the villain, Ji Fengxing.

Ji Fengxing shook his hand and looked straight at him with wide, sharp eyes. Although there was a smile on his face, his eyes were too piercing, and his smile seemed to hold bad intentions. It was like an eagle staring at its prey.

Ji Fengxing could be regarded as a top boss. His aura exuded the essence of a domineering president. In <Everybody Loves Bai Yueguang> be it men or women, he had a line them as if they were cars. Whether they were used bicycles or luxury sedans¹, he ate them all as they all led to the kindergarten². Shen Jintai felt that Ji Fengxing character was just a walking pile of sex. He was completely uninhibited, as if he was walking around with no clothes, ready to have sex at any moment. The author purposefully crafted an unruly, unbridled, provocative villain, so much so, that Shen Jintai couldn’t help but get hot when he saw him.

¹Clarity: Author is using a metaphor here, referring to cars as men and women who he’s been with. He doesn’t discriminate against them regarding status (used bicycles vs luxury cars). He takes them all. It’s also a play on for the idiom that follows that references a car.
²Original idiom (这不是去幼儿园的车) is “This car does not lead to the kindergarten” . It’s a reference to show that you are pure and innocent. The author changed the idiom by saying it does lead to the Kindergarten, so it shows the opposite (vulgar and obscene).

This novel really needed to be transformed. It was too discordant.

Ji Fengxing and Yan Qiuchi were rivals. However, since Zheng Siqi, an artist of Monsoon Entertainment, was in the cast of the drama, Ji Fengxing was also invited to the banquet. The big boss personally showed up to support his newcomer. This signified the importance Monsoon Entertainment attached to Zheng Siqi.

“I heard that your agent is currently contacting brokerage companies,” Ji Fengxing said with a smile. “Two years have passed. Has your opinion changed?”

Two years ago, Ji Fengxing personally contacted Shen Jintai and wanted to sign him. His response back then was, “A hundred monsoons are not comparable to Yan Qiuchi’s toes!”

Shen Jintai replied courteously, “I do have the intention of signing with a new company, but I haven’t made a final decision yet. I’m still testing out the market right now.”

“The door of Monsoon Entertainment will always be open for you,” Ji Fengxing said. “The conditions that were given to you before remain unchanged.”

“Then I would like to thank you, President Ji.” Shen Jintai called the waiter who was carrying wine glasses over. He took a glass, handed one to Ji Fengxing, and then toasted his glass with him.

While drinking, Ji Fengxing’s eyes were still staring at Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai’s changes were so great that he almost couldn’t recognize them.

However, what hadn’t changed was his topicality. His comeback was so beautiful that the current Shen Jintai still remained like the Shen Jintai of the past*. Such entertainers were most suitable for his Monsoon Entertainment.  

*Clarity: He’s saying the comeback Shen Jintai and the before retirement Shen Jintai are still the same in terms of creating hype and getting on hot searches.

Nowadays, Monsoon Entertainment had been left far behind by Sunshine Media. Sunshine Media was top tier. Looking at its position, it would be extremely renown in the future. Ever since Monsoon Entertainment went solo a few months ago, they had lacked male artists. The former Shen Jintai only knew how to chase after Yan Qiuchi’s ass. Now that he was washing away the tattoo and changing his face, it seemed that his affection for Yan Qiuchi had broken off. For better or worse, he must win Shen Jintai over to his side.

“Did you know Shen Jintai’s agent has been contacting brokerages recently?” At the other table, Xiao Yang whispered to Yan Qiuchi. Yan Qiuchi followed his gaze and saw Shen Jintai was talking enthusiastically while having a drink with his rival. He didn’t know if it was just the angle, but the Shen Jintai he was looking at was wearing a well-cut pair of trousers wrapped tightly around his ass, making it very eye-catching.

Likely due to the loud sounds from the crowd and various conversations, Yan Qiuchi saw Shen Jintai lean forward, getting close to Ji Fengxing’s shoulder. From his viewpoint, it seemed as if Shen Jintai was kissing Ji Fengxing’s ear.

Xiao Yang asked, “Do you think he’ll sign with a brokerage company?”

Even when Shen Jintai was chasing Yan Qiuchi fiercely, he still didn’t agree to sign with Sunshine Media. He said he liked the freedom and wanted to be his own boss.

“People can change like that, so what’s not possible,” Xiao Yang said. “Have you considered signing him before?”

“Don’t think about it.” Yan Qiuchi said decisively.

Xiao Yang smiled, looking forlorn. “I know. After finally getting rid of that clingy ghost, you don’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. However, if you don’t sign him, there’s a high chance he’ll go to Monsoon Entertainment. They have been in a bad decline in the past two years. They need stars like him to attract lots of traffic. Although Shen Jintai has been out of the circle for over two years, his mindset still hasn’t changed. I heard that he wanted to sign Shen Jintai two years ago, but Shen Jintai was still chasing after your ass. Looking at them now, seeing the enthusiasm around them, most likely they will cooperate.”

Yan Qiuchi didn’t respond.

Xiao Yang turned his head and glanced at him and said, “Though his change… I think Shen Jintai… seems to be less annoying than before.” He also had a bad impression of Shen Jintai, mainly because he didn’t like a man who was so turbulent and had no self-esteem. Moreover, Shen Jintai’s personality was disgusting, and he treated others harshly. To Yan Qiuchi, he knelt and licked his shoes like a dog, but to others he was arrogant and cruel.

Because of this conception, when he saw Shen Jintai today, he got so scared and almost spilled the wine he was holding when he heard Shen Jintai called him “Brother Yang” earnestly. He felt Shen Touhua had truly changed. He seemed more resolute and energetic.

“Huh?!” Xiao Yang suddenly sat up straight, as if he had discovered something unusual. “Shen Jintai’s ass… It’s pretty voluptuous. I hadn’t noticed it before!”

He started pulling on Yan Qiuchi’s arm. “Look, look.”

Yan Qiuchi said, “Do you want to keep staring at him?”

Xiao Yang felt very wronged.

All night it seemed as if nine out of ten eyes were all staring at Shen Jintai.

Xiao Yang said, “But fuck… That figure…”

Yan Qiuchi drank a glass of wine and turned his head to look elsewhere. It was less annoying when he was out of sight.

For others at the banquet, however, this didn’t apply. Near the end of the banquet, Bai Qingquan had to be supported. After drinking too much wine, he became flustered. Leaning on Wei Ge he said, “I… today… Was I beautiful?”

Wei Ge and his assistant supported him. “Yes, yes.”

Bai Qingquan straightened up and looked back at the banquet hall. “Where is Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai.” Wei Ge quickly pulled him away.

When Bai Qingquan returned to his room, he cried bitterly. Wei Ge tried to persuade him. “You’re drunk. Just leave him alone.”

After Bai Qingquan cried enough, he lay on the bed and swiped his phone. He swiped Weibo, forums, Baidu, and TikTok several hundred times. His mood improved slightly after reading compliments about him.

He was no longer the Bai Qingquan who was completely suppressed by pressure. A top idol was a top idol. He needed a group of warm-hearted little angels to shower him with praise. Every little compliment helped and would slowly add up. He saw many posts where they were flattering about his beauty.

He clicked on a wonderful picture taken by a zhan sister* and saved it. From his eyes to his mouth, down to his Adam’s apple. Everything was perfect.

*(站姐) Also known as the Goddess of the Cannon (camera), they use advanced camera techniques to take quality pictures of their idols.

He then clicked on a picture of Shen Jintai and saw that he didn’t even have a dedicated zhan sister to take good pictures and do beauty retouching. Looking at Shen Jintai’s picture, the flaws in his facial features were quite obvious. However, his lip color looked very attractive. He didn’t know what kind of lipstick he applied tonight, but it looked incredibly natural. When he returned to the set tomorrow, he would thoroughly investigate.

—

After Liu Hui finished his scolding match with netizens, his stomach was boiling with anger. He wrapped himself around the bearded man to help him vent.

“Don’t mess around,” the bearded man said. “I’m also investing in this drama, and I will lose money if it collapses.”

“I’m not going to grab the role of second male lead again. I just wanted to vent a little,” Liu Hui said coquettishly.

After drinking, his face was red, and his long eyelashes trembled and looked very painful. The bearded man said, “How do you want to vent your anger?”

“I heard that Shen Jintai’s alcohol tolerance is very poor.” Liu Hui looked at Shen Jintai, who was toasting in the distance, and gritted his teeth. This wasn’t false. Shen Jintai had been drunk many times in the past, and his ugliness had been recorded on camera by the paparazzi.

Shen Jintai lost count of how many drinks he had had. After a few laps, the banquet entered into the second half of the evening. People had already started leaving one after another. He was planning to go back to his room when he ran into a few guys in the circle.

The young men were talking among themselves. The mood between them was very affectionate. They were drinking heavily and got a little rowdy, ignoring their surroundings. Some looked as if they were drunk.

Shen Jintai drank a lot of water in order to counteract the alcohol. Because he drank so much, he needed to pee badly. Fortunately, he was able to hold it in as he staggered around in public, walking towards the restroom.

Celebrities still needed to pay attention to their privacy while in the restrooms. All the restrooms at the banquet were restricted to VIP areas. Shen Jintai was staggering as he walked along the corridor. A waiter in the corridor quickly ran over to help him. Suddenly, a man came over and said, “Leave it to me.”

Only celebrities and high-profile people were invited to the banquet, and security was very strict. One didn’t have to worry about unknown people trying to get an illegitimate meal*. Seeing that the man was dressed decently, the waiter thought he was also a VIP guest from the banquet, so he handed Shen Jintai over to him. Shen Jintai turned his head and saw that the other party looked familiar.

*Illegitimate/bastard meal/rice (私生饭) Term use to refer to fans who like to spy on an artist’s private life. They use questionable methods to track down their idols and invade their privacy.

“You are…”

“Don’t you remember me?” The man was a little excited. His voice was trembling as he said, “We talked a few days ago at Mrs. Yan’s birthday banquet.”

When he mentioned this, Shen Jintai remembered. His legs felt a little weak, and he said, embarrassingly, “I drank a little too much today.”

“Let me help you.”

Shen Jintai smiled and grabbed his arm. “Thank you.”

The young man helped him walk towards the restroom. Shen Jintai was stroking his hair. His face was flushed, and his eyebrows and eyes seemed to have been tainted by the heat from the wine. It felt like looking at a sprouting spring… At least to the person who was holding him, it looked like his face was full of spring.

The young man had admired Shen Jintai for ages. From the moment Shen Jintai appeared on the draft stage for the first time, he felt that this little red-haired fresh meat had taken away his heart.

He had watched him shine brightly onstage, watched him make stupid mistakes chasing after a man, and seen his loneliness and downfall due to lovelorn and bankruptcy. He was overjoyed now that Shen Jintai had returned to a state of happiness.

He was in close contact with his idol! So close, he could smell the wine from him. The more Shen Jintai walked, the more he felt that his legs were growing softer, and the feeling of drunkenness became stronger. His mind started to become more confused. His last sober thought was that he was definitely inebriated. His alertness was still high, so he took out his phone. Before he could turn it on, he dropped it.

“I’ll help you. I’ll help you.” The other party quickly bent over to pick up his phone.

“I’ll… Give my agent a call.” Shen Jintai stopped walking and leaned against the wall. His current state wasn’t good. Shen Jintai opened his contact list and saw a bunch of names on it, recalling that he had added countless contacts to his address book tonight. He soon saw Xiao Tang’s name and was about to press it when the man grabbed his hand and said, “You’re drunk. I’ll take you to your room to rest.”

“Thank you, but no… No need.”

The man was persistent. His attitude wasn’t forceful, but he still didn’t let go. “You drank too much.”

If Shen Jintai had been sober, he wouldn’t have put up such a resistance. The other guy didn’t seem to be an illegitimate rice. After all, he was invited to Mrs. Yan’s birthday banquet and was able to get through the hotel’s security, so he must be at least a sensible high-profiled person. However, right now, Shen Jintai had drunk too much, and the alcohol had overwhelmed his intelligence. He had been a popular figure in the city for many years now, so his vigilance was particularly strong. He pushed the man away, leaned his ass against the wall, and yelled, “What are you doing?!”

The man suddenly rushed forward and grabbed his arm again, shocking Shen Jintai. The man pushed him up against the wall and hugged him tightly. “Don’t yell. Don’t yell.”

Shen Jintai was getting nervous and scared.

Shit!

If the man hadn’t told him not to yell, he wouldn’t have remembered to. Shen Jintai was about to shout when the other man covered his mouth. The other party seemed to be just as frightened. He immediately let go of Shen Jintai’s mouth. “I… I… I just want to help you.”

“Fuck off!” Shen Jintai wiped his mouth. The man immediately ran away. Shen Jintai breathed a sigh of relief and was hit by the feeling of dizziness. A waiter nearby hurriedly ran over when he heard the commotion, seeing Shen Jintai in a complete mess.

Shen Jintai was scared and drunk, babbling incessantly. “Don’t… Don’t touch me. Get out! I… I’ll call the police… I’ll call the police…”

Clutching his phone, he suddenly remembered the first time he made his debut. He participated in a dinner with the casting director at that time but was drugged. If it weren’t for his own ferocity and ability to withstand the drugs, he would’ve almost fallen into the hands of a fat pig. In the entertainment circle, even men weren’t safe.

More and more onlookers came when they heard the commotion. They saw Shen Jintai acting like a lunatic.

They secretly sneered in their minds. ‘Tsk, tsk, tsk. The psychopath Shen Jintai has appeared again.’

Suddenly, an overwhelming sadness came over Shen Jintai. He didn’t know why. He covered his eyes with one hand as tears started to fall. His face was feverish.

In the midst of all the chaos, a strong, large palm grabbed his hand. The man pressed on his arms and shouted, “Shen Jintai!”

The voice was strict but very familiar. Even if he was drunk, he knew it was Yan Qiuchi’s. The Yan Qiuchi who hated him immeasurably. But though he did hate him, he was still trustworthy. Anyone would bully him, but Yan Qiuchi would not.

Yan Qiuchi would never love him or touch him in his lifetime*.

*Clarity: The implication here is to point out that Yan Qiuchi has no ulterior motives. Shen Jintai doesn’t need to worry about something bad happening to him if he goes with him.

Shen Jintai calmed down and let go of the hand covering his eyes. His clothes were a mess. His hair was completely disheveled. His nose was bright red. His eyes were flushed and he looked scattered. He looked at Yan Qiuchi with his moist eyes, then quickly lowered his head in a discouraged manner and stopped moving.

Yan Qiuchi’s face darkened. He was about to get up to beckon the waiter but found that he couldn’t move. He looked down and saw Shen Jintai’s two hands clutching the corner of his clothes.

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The author has something to say:

Yan Qiuchi: He just grabbed the corners of my clothes, not my heart!

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Kinky Thoughts:

Another really long chapter. *Wipes sweat off forehead*. Protect your wifey, Yan Qiuchi!!!

Ahh poor Shen Jintai. Looks like everyone has deep scars that need healing.

BTW just want to say I really appreciate all the help everyone’s been providing for my translations.

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

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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 23: Detonate the Hot Search

The media already knew the inside information earlier than the netizens regarding Shen Jintai’s return. Shen Jintai had a charismatic quality that could fascinate anyone. He had a deadly aura, a bad personality, and every one of his moves could set up a bloody storm in the entertainment circle.

“Our next guest will be Shen Jintai, who we haven’t heard from in a long time.” The host knew that he was going to be the focus tonight. He turned to Shen Jintai and smiled. “Tonight’s Jintai is a bit different from the past.”

No, not just a bit different, the change was much too drastic.

Shen Jintai always liked fancy outfits. The more important the occasion, the more ridiculous* and exaggerated his looks would become. Even when wearing formal wear like a suit, it was always adorned with ostentatious bells and whistles that most people couldn’t understand. Later, when his image hit rock bottom, despite wearing low-end clothing, he was still able to garner attention. His hyperbolic outfits, coupled with his long red hair, were consistent with his “mischievous shocking” style.

*[Lei Ran] (雷人) Internet buzzword that means unexpected and shocking things that can leave people speechless. Its original meaning is to knock someone down when the clouds discharge and can be referred to as “thunder people”.

Now, he wasn’t as thunderous, but his mischievousness still hadn’t changed.

Bai Qingquan looked at Shen Jintai with a smile on his face while cursing his name a thousand times in his heart. What the hell is the red rose doing on his chest? It’s obvious it’s there just to attract attention. Although…he couldn’t help but admit that a red rose near his chest had a certain exquisite finesse.

There were many moonlight powders at the scene, and when they saw Shen Jintai coming, they all tacitly chose not to say a word, but the netizens who squatted on the live broadcast had already exploded.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh, Shen Touhua!”

“Touhua looks so beautiful today. Is it the return of Nirvana?”

“It’s a bit of a stretch to call him beautiful. His complexion looks just average.”

“After a certain something happened to a certain someone, he retired from the circle. Now he’s making a comeback. Fuck me*. I can’t judge him based on his face value alone. Beauty can nourish people, but once the beauty goes downhill, the face goes along with it. How is it possible that Shen Jintai kept his in such good condition?”

*I rely on (我靠) Slang to express dissatisfaction or surprise. Note: This is used a lot throughout the novel, but I decided going forward to Englishize it instead of using the direct translation since it just sounds too awkward. As for the meaning, it could be a variety of things like fuck, shit, god damn, OMG ect. depending on the context.

“Because he’s still young. He’s not older than 20 years old. His peak appearance still hasn’t come yet!”

“Doesn’t he look a bit taller?”

“I really can’t recognize him anymore! Honestly, I have always been a bit blinded by him. I relied on that red hair of his to distinguish him. Now without it, he looks so strange!”

“Whoever thought of putting a rose on his chest is a genius. It’s quite a thoughtful finishing touch to the outfit!”

“Ha ha ha, how many water army* did Shen Touhua put in your area this time?! Shen Touhua has always been ridiculed by the group in your district, okay.”

*(水军) Online paid posters and social media bots commenting or posting predefined content on online platforms. In the entertainment industry, water armies are used to promote, defame or boost data of particular works or celebrities.

The group of moonlight powders was about to explode. They were admiring Bai Qingquan’s beautiful pictures and blowing rainbow farts one by one, saying things like “I rarely see Bai Qingquan’s makeup so exquisite.” or “My brother tonight is so charming!”.

However, the wind was knocked out of their sails when Shen Jintai stepped onstage.

“Attention, attention, Shen Touhua is entering the field!”

“Ha ha ha, I’d like to see what kind of thunderous outfit Shen Touhua will wear today!”

“Fortunately, I washed my eyes with a picture of my brother and reluctantly took a look at Shen Touhua.”

“Just look at it. Don’t post on Weibo to complain about him! Don’t give him even a tiny bit of heat!”

“Understood! Shen Touhua is coming up now!”

……

“Fuck!”

“Holy shit!”

“I’m a newcomer here. Is that really Shen Touhua? Why… Why is it different from what you said?!”

“Really, what kind of flower is this?”

Seeing that the atmosphere in the group had changed, the group leader hurriedly spoke, “Pay attention. Pay attention. Shen Touhua is clever. This is not his usual way of creating hype.”

“That’s right, when everyone thought he would show up in a gaudy outfit, he suddenly turned into a normal person. In fact, it’s all within his calculation to create hype!”

“At best, it’s just average, and it can’t compare with our brother’s beauty and prosperity!”

“That’s definitely incomparable. I just think the rose on his chest is very pretty.”

“Ha, ha, ha, he shouldn’t put it on his chest. He should wear it on his head!”

“Please tell the group leader, let’s go to Weibo to suppress the comments. I just watched the real-time comments and they seemed to be praising him!”

“My god, it’s so irritating. Some people say that he is suppressing our brother today. Are they looking out of their asses?!”

“Go and control the evaluation!” The group leader gave the order.

Fans quickly rushed to the major forums and Weibo. However, others were quicker. There was already a GIF of Shen Jintai’s red carpet walk. The animation had filters that made it look as if there was light glowing out of his body.

Moonlight powder: “…”

That rose really was suitable for the outfit… How nice would it be if their moonlight brother dressed up like this?!

It wasn’t only netizens who hadn’t seen Shen Jintai for a long time that were surprised. Yan Qiuchi, who just saw him yesterday, was shocked himself.

Shen Jintai walked in the dazzling flashes of light with firm eyes and a bright smile in a well-fitted high-end black suit. His posture was upright, calm, and confident.

“Look at the flower on his chest…” Bai Qingquan smiled and whispered to Yang Lizhi.

Yang Lizhi felt aggrieved with Bai Qingquan for grabbing the limelight, but her hostility when seeing Shen Jintai wasn’t as great as Bai Qingquan’s. She replied back to Bai Qingquan, “It’s pretty good looking.”

Her response dumbfounded Bai Qingquan, who thought she would call it out as just hype. He was trying to goad her.

He turned his head again and glanced at the reporters in front of him. Almost all the reporters’ cameras were turned on Shen Jintai. There was only one reporter from a magazine that was still focused on him. He made a note to himself which magazine company it was. He would give them an exclusive interview in the future.

Now that the focus of the stage was no longer on them, even the host had gone to cue Shen Jintai. Bai Qingquan took Yang Lizhi’s hand and took a seat in the first row. The host on stage had already stretched out his hand towards Shen Jintai, who bowed politely, shook the host’s hand, and took a microphone.

“This is our Li Xu’s actor in <The East Palace is Coming> Shen Jintai. Jintai, say hello to everyone.”

Shen Jintai’s spoke in a sharp, clear voice. “Hello everyone. My name is Shen Jintai. Long time no see.”

Hearing “long time no see” made the gold powders burst into tears. The “Gold Powder Family” currently had more than 200 active users.

“Oh, my brother is finally back.”

“Thank God I finally saw him! I didn’t give up!”

“My brother is so dazzling tonight. It seems like I’ve travelled back to when he first started!”

“I really cried. I was so excited! Shit.”

It was truly a long time since they had heard from Shen Jintai. Only a loyal gold fan could understand the emotions that they were feeling right now. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t as famous. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t a top idol. The only thing they needed was to be able to see him often. They had always been there and would always stay with him.

As Li Meilan had expected, Shen Jintai detonated today’s hot search, and “Shen Jintai’s comeback” was followed by the word “explosion”. Shen Jintai was unaware of the matter as his phone was with Li Meilan. He sat under the stage by himself and watched the scene intently.

According to the process, the starring actors would take the stage one by one, introduce their roles, and interact with the audience.

When Bai Qingquan came on stage, the cheers from below were the warmest. About 90% of netizens who came today were moonlight powders. The host liked him very much. Bai Qingquan spoke eloquently and was obviously well prepared.

But no matter how well he talked, he could not avoid being asked the question regarding his rivalry with Shen Jintai. After all, both the crew and the host knew that the biggest selling point of this drama lay in the joint performance of Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai, a pair of mortal enemies. What kind of fate brought these former mortal enemies together?!

The host asked, “I heard from the crew that you recommended Jintai to the director to play the role of Li Xu?”

Bai Qingquan smiled and nodded, then looked at Shen Jintai in the audience. “He has been out of the circle for a long time. I heard that he was planning to make a comeback. It just so happens that there was a role in our crew that has not yet been decided. We still kept in touch, so I called his agent, Sister Lan, and the next day, Sister Lan brought Shen Jintai to audition.”

The moonlight fans in the audience’s mood became complicated. Their brother’s kindness was a bit too much!

The host said, “After so long, working with him again, do you think there have been any changes between the two of you?”

Bai Qingquan didn’t dare answer the question. The host would rarely adlib during these events. These questions were most likely staged by the crew in order to hype his relationship with Shen Jintai. He smiled and said, “We’re not the same as we were in the past. After all, two years have passed. Everyone can see what changes have occurred, right?”

Of course, the biggest change was that he had become the male lead. He had become a top idol. Shen Jintai was now a has-been. He even needed an introduction just for an audition, but how could he say these things? It would be too shameful!

The host, who was extremely observant, faintly noticed Bai Qingquan’s strangeness. He finished asking his questions and quickly said, “okay, thank you Qingquan. Let us look forward to Qingquan’s wonderful performance in <The East Palace is Coming>.”

The host smiled and watched Bai Qingquan leave the stage. Bai Qingquan turned to the audience and gave them a smile as he exited. “Next, we invite our Li Xu to the stage.”

Prompted by the sound of music, Shen Jintai got up and walked towards the stage. As he passed by Bai Qingquan at the entrance, he smiled politely as Bai Qingquan turned to look at him.

Bai Qingquan didn’t know whether it was an illusion, but he felt like Shen Jintai was particularly radiant while he was quite flustered. He recalled the past when Shen Jintai hadn’t retired yet. The two of them participated in an event together. Shen Jintai would always be heavily focused on the media’s attention. He always had various ways of attracting their eyes, and he was usually open to answering questions. Naturally, the media liked this kind of artist. One single interview with him would give a month’s worth of material.

Bai Qingquan, on the other hand, didn’t have such capable abilities, thus he would always live in the shadow of Shen Jintai. When Shen Jintai retired, he was able to rise to become a top idol. He thought he had finally gained a foothold in the circle in the past two years. He didn’t expect that as soon as Shen Jintai returned, his moonlight would disappear.

No matter how beautiful the moonlight was, it couldn’t match the shining gold powder.

Bai Qingquan felt terror. He didn’t want to return to those days anymore. He didn’t want to live in Shen Jintai’s shadow again. After taking his seat, he glanced at his phone. As soon as he opened Weibo, news of Shen Jintai’s comeback had already exploded.

Bai Qingquan felt dizzy. He became completely rigid as he put the most standard smile on his face and looked at Shen Jintai, who was currently on stage.

“Jintai it’s definitely a surprise to everyone that you’re in this drama.” The host eloquently spoke. “As we all know, you were once a king of the stage and was called the king of a new generation of dance. I would like to ask you, after taking a break for so long, what made you choose to star in <The East Palace is Coming> as the debut for your comeback?”

Why you ask? It’s because he was an outdated star and had no better job opportunity.

There were, of course, general standard answers to this kind of question, such as, “Because of the script. Because of the director. Because of the actors. Because of the production team”, but Shen Jintai said, “Because I like acting.”

It had always been his dream to be able to say something like this on a high-profile occasion. When he was nominated for best supporting actor, he secretly rehearsed countless times in the hopes of standing on stage and saying those words if he won.

He loves acting. Love and money were negligible to him compared to acting. For the sake of his career, he could remain a virgin forever and never fall in love.

Shen Jintai’s response resonated deeply with him, but others had a different reaction.

Shen Jintai like to act? Haha what a joke. Just like the act you’re pulling right now! Bai Qingquan sneered and crossed his legs.

The moonlight powders was even more harsh.

The host also felt very surprised and was left quite speechless.

Shen Jintai had acted in a drama before. After the show became a flop, he placed all the blame on the producer. After squabbling back and forth a few times, the producer broke the news that Shen Jintai was nothing but a film diva. He was always late to the set and always left early. He would change his lines without permission and use them to attack other celebrities, like Bai Qingquan.

It was really hard to read.

Shen Jintai continued, “During the two years of rest, I have taken a lot of classes. In fact, when I retired, I mainly thought about what to do next. After deciding to pursue a career in acting, I enrolled in acting classes to improve my performance.” This was also a good excuse to explain his reborn acting skills.

“I hope that after this drama is broadcast, everyone can see my changes.”

The host smiled. “We are all looking forward to your wonderful performance in <The East Palace is Coming>. We all know that you play a very important role, the great eunuch Li Xu. Next, let’s talk about your role.”

The next step was standard procedure, but the host was still nervous, afraid that Shen Jintai, who had never played cards according to common sense, would make a surprise move. He gripped his flashcards tightly. They had different emergency strategies should things go awry. It was specially prepared for Shen Jintai.

Who knew that Shen Jintai was exceptionally cooperative? Not only that, but he was also especially poignant in his responses, which astonished the host even more.

Interview questions were usually very standard and had very typical scripted responses. Yet even in the entertainment circle, many celebrities were still unqualified when speaking. Often times, they would interject “uh” and “um” while giving responses. Some actors would stumble upon their understanding of the script and role when being interviewed. They would make a lot of grandiose statements that were completely hollow.

But what Shen Jintai said was informative, in-depth, and cultured. He described Li Xu as a “villain with a sense of vulnerability”. He described the script as, “after reading it, tears will flow out, and your heart will surge”, and when it came to the love between Li Xu and the Prince, he said, “It’s like the flower language of wild roses, romance, and repentance.”

Shen Jintai talked eloquently and calmly while he looked at the host intently. The rose on his chest felt as if it was alive. It was like he was a different person.

Bai Qingquan sat down under the stage, unable to sit still.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He was in complete disarray. He took the opportunity to go to the bathroom, got into a stall, and started crying. When he came out, he saw Wei Ge giving him a serious look.

Bai Qingquan’s eyes were still red. Wei Ge said, “Wipe them. Don’t let anyone find out.”

Bai Qingquan nodded. “I regret it.” He deeply regretted giving Shen Jintai this opportunity.

Wei Ge: “You have to be confident. Don’t let your inferiority complex get the better of you whenever you see Shen Jintai. You are better-looking than him, more popular than him, and your acting skills are no worse than his, plus you’re also the male lead. He is the green leaf that exists to set you off. Bai Qingquan, why can’t you see your own qualities?”

The shadow left on him by Shen Jintai was deep. Even thousands of affectionate words and overwhelming praises couldn’t undo the damage that he had suffered.

“I will not be beaten by him.” Bai Qingquan said, “I will act better than him even if it kills me.”

He reorganized his makeup and returned to the press conference. Shen Jintai had already stepped down and was sitting next to the director, leaning slightly, and whispering to him.

Li Meilan sat in the lounge and swiped Weibo, visited forums, and instructed gold powders to control the comments. There wasn’t much gold powder left. Their combat strength was limited. It was completely crushed by the moonlight powders at the beginning. However, as the press conference went on, the tides changed. They couldn’t match the large numbers of passersby that gathered. Amidst the overwhelming insults from moonlight powders, the compliments of onlookers were interspersed, praising Shen Jintai’s shift in both appearance and personality.

“Shen Jintai seems to be a changed person.”

In any case, the comeback seemed to be successful. If Shen Jintai could seize this opportunity when the drama was broadcast, as long as his acting skills improved by half as much as before, he would be able to pick up momentum.

While Li Meilan was reveling in delight, she heard a noise outside. The door was pushed open and Shen Jintai came in with Xiao Tang. Shen Jintai took off the rose on his chest and asked Li Meilan, “How is it? Are they scolding me or praising me?”

Li Meilan said, “half and half.”

This was no longer easy.

When Shen Jintai heard this, he immediately grabbed his phone and took a look. He started reading the comments left by netizens when he heard Xiao Tang’s phone constantly pinging, as if there was a steady stream of notifications coming in.

He looked up at Xiao Tang, who shouted, “Wow! A lot of people have applied to join the fan base!”

It was more than two hours ago, and the numbers were already in the hundreds. The effect of returning fans was truly remarkable!

Shen Jintai was the focus tonight. Even the rose he wore on his chest went on the hot search.

“How did you come up with the idea of putting a rose on your chest?” Li Meilan thought it was a stroke of genius.

“I am paying serious attention to this comeback. I wasn’t afraid of being scolded, but rather that there wouldn’t be any splashes. I happened to see a young girl holding a bunch of roses. I didn’t know who it was for, but I asked her for one so I could put it in my breast pocket. I think people would think I planted it purposely for the hype, but at least it got me enough attention.”

Since men’s suits usually had little differentiation, they were usually not as memorable or stunning as female celebrities’ dresses. By putting a rose on his chest pocket, it made Shen Jintai’s outfit stood out among other male actors. He no longer had his red hair, but he could always do something to create new highlights.

“I think it was pretty smart. They’re all praising you for being innovative with your design. You can probably use this as your signature look in the future.”

Shen Jintai saw a comment that stood out: [So Shen Touhua is wearing flowers? Hahaha.]

Li Meilan smiled slightly. “Maybe you can still whitewash your black name.”

“Then I will wear flowers on my chest for important occasions in the future.”

“You have to wear a real flower with a stalk and everything. None of the fake stuff.” She thought that the flower Shen Jintai wore today was well received because of the stem. The cyan stem had two leaflets growing out of it, enhancing the overall look of the rose. Because of this, it made him look more casual rather than deliberate.

Shen Jintai went to his “Gold Powder Family” and took a look. His gold powder was extremely excited. After more than two hours, there were thousands of comments. One of his fans, who had fast hands, had even painted a portrait of him in accordance with his appearance tonight. Shen Jintai felt that although the picture looked simple, it was still very beautiful. The red rose on his chest was very conspicuous and could be identified at once. It was very fitting for his signature look.

He asked Xiao Tang to contact the fan, and after the fan agreed, he made it his own Weibo avatar.

While changing his avatar, he found the Weibo post he had prepared for publication in his draft box. The picture showed the script of <The East Palace is Coming>. The silhouette of a towering palace could be seen with gilded words <The East Palace is Coming> with the accompanying text: [Hello, Li Xu.].

—

Sunshine Media had set up a banquet at the hotel after the conference. Many celebrities were invited to the dinner party. Friends of Bai Qingquan and Yang Lizhi who were in the circle all joined. There were many fans gathered outside the hotel. Their screams never stopped. Shen Jintai opened the corner of the curtains and looked down. He saw the expansive, dark crowd and the endless, silent flashes of light.

He wondered when he’d have that many fans who would scream his name every time he appeared.

A knock came at the door. A staff member entered and said, “Mr. Shen, the banquet’s about to start.”

Shen Jintai nodded. Li Meilan tidied up his collar again and patted him on the shoulder. “Go. We’ll wait for you here.”

Shen Jintai nodded and followed the staff member out. The corridor was chaotic with a mess of people everywhere. He happened to run into Song Wei. Song Wei liked him now and beckoned to him from a distance. “Xiao Jin, this way.” Shen Jintai smiled and went over, and together they walked to the banquet hall.

Song Wei was a veteran actress. When she was younger, she used to be a huadan who could command the wind and rain. Now she occasionally acted in film and television dramas, usually as the motherly role. In <The East Palace is Coming> she played the Empress Zhao.

As they were walking through the corridor about to reach the banquet, they ran into Yan Qiuchi. He truly was a boss and a leader. There were several senior executives behind him. However, with his 1.9-meter height, even among them he stood out prominently. Surrounded by stars, he looked even more dignified and morose.

Song Wei smiled and greeted him. “President Yan.”

“Teacher Song,” Yan Qiuchi smiled and greeted back, then nodded to Shen Jintai. In public, he still gave Shen Jintai face.

Shen Jintai nodded and said nothing. He saw Yang Lizhi and Bai Qingquan through the crowd. Suddenly, Xiao Ai came online, startling him with a ding dong sound.

“I’m really sorry to disturb you at this time,” Xiao Ai said, “but I think I should inform you in time.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Bai Qingquan’s favorability towards you has plummeted, and the decline is incalculable. For the time being, it’s considered to be in the negatives!”

“What the hell?!”

“Dear, you really have to work harder, otherwise you’ll never get the next level reward!”

“What is the reward for the next level?”

“Killer waist. You chose it yourself,” Xiao Ai said. “Believe me, this waist is definitely killer! You deserve it!”

Shen Jintai pursed his lips and looked at Bai Qingquan. Bai Qingquan was smiling and looking very grand, as if there hadn’t been any changes at all. He was a very cultured little fairy, so even if he hated anyone in his heart, he would never show it.

Why does he hate me? Could it be because I robbed him of his limelight today?

But he couldn’t help it. He needed the momentum, so he couldn’t let it go. Although he liked Bai Qingquan, Bai Qingquan couldn’t compare with him becoming more beautiful and his path to stardom. His favorite thing in the world was acting. If he wanted to have a career as an actor, he needed popularity. If he wanted to be a male lead and grab good film and television resources, he would have to have both acting skills and fame.

This was really a dead end. He originally had two options, either please Bai Qingquan or fight Yan Qiuchi. Could he only go the latter way in the future?

Shen Jintai turned to look for Yan Qiuchi. From his view, he could only see Yan Qiuchi’s back, surrounded by people, as he was walking forward.

To fight against Yan Qiuchi… It seemed like he couldn’t do it. It’s too difficult!

Xiao Ai said, “Dear, what’s the point if the tasks are too easy? Don’t forget, if you don’t complete the ultimate mission, what will happen to you?”

“What are you talking about?” Shen Jintai asked. He only knew that these tasks, whether he completed them or not, would make him beautiful or not. Was there anything else?

“Of course there is. Let me repeat what I once told you. The highest-level reward you can get is that not only can you live in this new world, you will also get a man who will never change his mind, even if decades have passed, and will love you for a lifetime*.” Xiao Ai paused. “If you can’t complete the final task and are unable to reform the male protagonist, you will not be able to live in this new world. In other words, you can’t rewrite the fate of Shen Jintai, the cannon fodder. You will die.”

*Clarity: This second part was added on by the author. It was not there when Xiao Ai first told him about this (In chapter 1).

Fuck!

“Remember, you are already dead in the real world.”

Double fuck!

Triple fuck!

“So dear, face those difficulties head on! You can do it! I’m sorry to have disturbed your meal. Bye bye!” With a beep, Xiao Ai went offline.

Shen Jintai’s back was cold. Sure enough, there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world*.

*Saying that you can’t get something for nothing.

Shen Jintai looked forward with a serious expression. He glanced at Bai Qingquan and then at Yan Qiuchi.Bai Qingquan was beautiful and gentle, and Yan Qiuchi was cold and abstinent.What was he supposed to do next? Desperately clash against Yan Qiuchi? Or hysterically pursue Bai Yueguang?

Neither option was the path he wanted to take. Of course, living was important, but it was more crucial to live with dignity and without remorse.

Having gone through several confrontations with Yan Qiuchi, he wasn’t able to take advantage of them. On the contrary, it only made Yan Qiuchi’s misunderstanding of him worse. Being looked down upon by a good man was a matter of self-esteem. He felt that his interaction with Yan Qiuchi was best for treating each other well.

As for his strategy to pursue Bai Qingquan, it was acceptable. After all, he did like the little fairy. Due to the filming, he would be in the same crew as Bai Qingquan for more than a half-year. He wouldn’t be obtrusive, he wouldn’t be unfettered, and he would rely on his professional abilities to slowly change Bai Qingquan’s heart.

With his resolve intact, Shen Jintai walked towards Bai Qingquan with confidence. As he strode towards him, Yan Qiuchi turned his head and caught sight of Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai’s back was upright. Looking at his back, Yan Qiuchi couldn’t help but feel as if he was looking at a total stranger.

---

The author has something to say:

There are also roses on the cover of Shen Jintai.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Wow, this was a LONG chapter. I’m sorry to say, but I think I’m a moonlight powder. Poor Bai Qingquan. I hope he can get over his trauma and can love himself!

Side note: Here’s what Bai Qingquan looks like in the manhua. How could he think that he’s not beautiful?!

Second side note: Here’s Shen Jintai’s comeback look on the red carpet.

---

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

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

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

---

Chapter 22: Stunning Comeback!

He loved his life and hated his death. Li Xu was a person who loved and hated very strongly, but he was very good at hiding it.

Every time Shen Jintai read the script, he would fall in love with the character a little bit more.

It was hard to land the male lead. Generally, the roles after usually weren’t that great. However, if they act well, they could outshine the male lead.

The drama <The East Palace is Coming> adopted the model of filming while broadcasting. This was Shen Jintai’s first time trying such a model. Looking at the schedule, the broadcast would be one month after the start of filming, which would make the time very tight.

The disadvantage of this kind of model was that if the TV series being filmed and broadcast had a low rating, it could be cut off. The advantages were that the plot and characters could be adjusted through the audience’s feedback. If there were too many negative reviews, the characters that drag down the ratings too much could be removed. There were also situations where if the character became popular, a support role could replace the main protagonist.

The first 20 episodes were finalized. Both Yang Lizhi and Bai Qingquan had requirements in their contracts. Major changes were not allowed to affect their scenes in these 20 episodes. According to screenwriter Meng Xiaosheng, the drama was estimated to have 40 episodes.

If the ratings were strong, it wasn’t impossible to extend it later. In fact, he remembered that this TV series was indeed extended, and it ended up with 46 episodes.

The 46 episode TV series was broadcast twice a week. This not only made it popular, but gave it a lot of staying power. It would almost certainly be surrounded by heat for at least a year.

The next 26 episodes would really depend on fate. Of course, the main male and female protagonists were still the hero and heroine. The biggest change would be the fate of the supporting roles.

Shen Jintai was ambitious, and his ambitions did not just extend to TV series. He must not waste this chance. Whether he could turn over a new leaf or not was completely dependent on this drama that was about to set the world on fire.

—

The press conference was coming up, but Shen Jintai didn’t have the appropriate outfit to wear. His reputation was so bad, no brand was willing to lend him one out for fear of tarnishing their reputation. He decided he would rent an outfit from a small studio instead.

This studio specializes in serving artists. They carried a lot of high-end apparel in the store, but the possibility of renting something that would fit perfectly was basically 0%. Shen Jintai wasn’t able to find a suitable outfit. There were very few men’s clothes, and most of them were previously worn by stars from the 18th-tier. Still, he thought they were passable and felt that as long as no one was specifically out to blacken him, no one would notice.

Li Meilan didn’t think it would work.

“How do you know no one will blacken you? You’re being a bit too nonchalant about this. You have more moonlight powder than your own family. Their power alone is enough to stab you from head to toe. In any case, you used to endorse a top luxury brand. If you wear anything that’s not high-end, you’ll definitely be ridiculed. This is your comeback. We can’t make do with just anything.”

Following her intuition as an agent, Li Meilan felt that special attention should be given to his comeback. If they weren’t careful, this comeback debut could have become a mockery of the entire network. She felt that on the night of Shen Jintai’s comeback, no matter her personal status, clothes, or shoes, she had to make sure there would be no mistakes.

Shen Jintai also agreed. He couldn’t give people a feeling of exasperation, otherwise the internet public opinion would shame him to death. He decided to ask Mrs. Yan for help.

Mrs. Yan had been eagerly waiting to assist. “Next time you don’t speak up, I’ll drag you to go try on clothes.” Although she didn’t mix with the entertainment industry, she understood all the twists and turns of Vanity Fair. If Shen Jintai wanted to make a comeback, she would let him shine in all directions!

Mrs. Yan immediately ordered the driver to take them shopping. With her status as Fang Fengmei, no brand would dare neglect her! In most cases, these big-brand stores would have items for the season that haven’t been displayed yet. These items were usually reserved for high-end clientele, such as Mrs. Yan.

Mrs. Yan sat on the sofa drinking coffee and watching the staff help Shen Jintai get dressed. Horses relied on saddles, people relied on clothes, and top-notch men’s clothing was meant to be put on men’s body.

Shen Jintai felt he had become a phoenix. He didn’t really have a good frame for formal wear, but due to his height it was passable. Although he was a bit thin, he was in relatively good shape and had a straight waist and back. Besides these qualities, he really had nothing else going for him. As such, and to maintain his professionalism as a star, whenever he went out, he would pay special attention to his form and avoid hunching his back.

“This is Qiuchi’s favorite brand,” Mrs. Yan whispered. “He’s also attending your press conference. Show it off to him. As long as you’re not reckless, you will look just as good as others!”

With the clothes ordered, the next thing was to prepare for the press conference.

The investment scale of <The East Palace is Coming> was massive. Sunshine Media heavily promoted this drama, so everyone was paying close attention to it. The press conference was scheduled for Friday night at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Many gold powder already knew about it, and Li Meilan had invited a few representatives to come show support.

The news of Shen Jintai’s planned return had been overwhelming. His recent activities gave away too many hints. Public opinion had been fermenting for a while and was about to explode. It wasn’t only Shen Jintai’s side that was excited and worried, but the crew themselves felt the same way.

Finding Shen Jintai as the second male lead was a surprise that fell from the sky. The crew and Sunshine Media were waiting with high anticipation. Their drama was certainly going to take the top publicity spot. With an ex-top idol and a current top idol who were rivals, plus the huadan, Yang Lizhi, they were wondering how many hot searches they could make.

With the combination of individual celebrities and several companies’ buying hype, this drama would dominate the hot searches tonight!

—

Bai Qingquan, who was wearing a custom-made suit, was admiring himself in front of a mirror.

The staff beside him couldn’t help but praise him, “really handsome, so handsome.”

Amidst a pile of rainbow farts, Bai Qingquan smiled slightly. He was good-looking. He had been on a diet and worked out, so his figure was in peak condition. He was born to wear clothes. Whether it was casual or formal, he could hold* it.

*Original was in English, refers to having the ability to do it.

“Tell my fans to bring more light signs to the scene today. I’m afraid Shen Jintai won’t be able to see it!” He said to Wei Ge. He wanted to flaunt his current popularity in front of Shen Jintai, showing off the moonlight that shone everywhere.

Even without his instructions, as the number one fan group that no one could contend with in terms of scale or energy, Moonlight Powders had already organized and prepared for the launch of the press conference half a month in advance. From controlling public opinion, countering black fans, ect, all these things had been arranged and there were absolutely no shortcomings. They even set up a special “gold extinction action team”. There was no way in hell they were letting Shen Jintai make a comeback! It was no longer a secret that Shen Jintai was going to participate <The East Palace is Coming>.

“Do you know what clothes Shen Jintai will wear?” he asked Wei Ge.

Wei Ge said, “Don’t worry about him. How could he compare with you now?”

It’s not just about appearance. Beauty can nourish people as well. Bai Qingquan had been blessed with the spring breeze in the past two years. His body was full of a top-notch aura. His self-confidence radiated from his bones. This was the starlight cultivated from pampering and love that could only be found in popular people.

“He has always liked to show off in fancy clothes,” Bai Qingquan said. “Although he has been very low-key these days, I believe that it’s easier to move mountains and rivers than to change a person’s nature*. This time it’s his comeback. It’s impossible for him to not take it seriously.”

*Idiom that should be self-explanatory. Basically, people don’t easily change.

According to his understanding of Shen Jintai, Shen Jintai must have been repressing himself all this time and was about to explode tonight. Maybe the recent changes in his looks, from the low eyebrows to the smooth ears, were all fake so that he could put on a show for tonight. Hehe!

Bai Qingquan glanced in the mirror again. He usually didn’t wear makeup. However, for today’s event, he specifically invited a top makeup artist to paint him. His already beautiful face was decorated with meticulous makeup that made his beauty shine even brighter. His body seemed to be radiating.

Tonight, let him use this flourishing beauty to completely defeat Shen Jintai!

Ho, ho, ho!

—

“Report! Shen Touhua really is coming back. He’s in DGLL. It’s set!”

“I saw it! I saw it! Someone posted a photo of the backstage and saw Shen Touhua!”

“Fuck me. I’m a little excited about what’s going on. Does anyone have the source of the pictures? I want to see!”

“I want to see how wonderful Shen Touhua will be this time! Arrange the red-haired flower skirt!”

“The picture is here!”

Someone immediately posted a picture of the backstage. The picture wasn’t very clear. It was a group of people surrounding a dressing room. There were several familiar faces from the entertainment industry. Shen Jintai was standing in the upper right corner of the picture, but there were many people in front of him, blocking the view. It didn’t show his attire, only traces of his black hair could be seen.

“Wow!”

“Wow, Shen Touhua really had a change of face!”

“Pull it down*. The hair may be normal, but the clothes must still be blinding! Just wait and see!”

*(拉倒吧) Northeastern dialect that has the same meaning as “forget it” but it’s a bit deeper. The meaning is a bit more contemptuous.

“It seems like these days the hype was true about him preparing for his comeback. I just didn’t expect that he would participate in <The East Palace is Coming>!”

“He’s actually in the same drama as Bai Qingquan? Is he crazy or is Bai Qingquan crazy? Aren’t they rivals?!”

“I don’t know which of them is crazy, but their fans certainly are already crazy.”

“I’m so excited! I’m so excited! I want to see them tear each other up. It’s been so quiet in my district lately.”

“I think that it’ll be in the hot search soon. I think eight groups have already swiped the screen.”

“Bai Qingquan’s acting only depends on whether the script is good or bad. It is not up to him to decide with which actors he cooperates. Please don’t tie him to Shen Touhua, thank you!”

“Shen Jintai’s comeback was really painstaking. He made small moves behind the scenes to replace the second male lead. All I can say is hehe! I don’t want to tie Bai Qingquan to this bloodsucker!”

“Please Shen Touhua, let my brother go!”

“Shen Touhua flower Shen Touhua.” Attached were GIFs of ghosts and animals twisting around with scarlet flowers on their heads.

“Moonlight powder arrived at the scene so quickly, hahaha!”

“Hurry up and tear it up! Tear Shen Jintai apart!”

“I’m not doing anything tonight. I want to watch the live broadcast!”

“Post the live broadcast address, and I want to watch too!”

“I have posted a live broadcast, so cuckoos are welcome to go in and chat together! “

The red carpet was already in progress. The venue was a large auditorium. Their group of actors have already arrived backstage, waiting to walk it one by one.

In addition to the actors who participated in the show, there were also representatives of the producers and investors of the show. Yan Qiuchi, as the producer, also attended the press conference and had already taken a seat on the stage.

Shen Jintai put his hand in his pocket and lowered his head slightly.

Li Meilan passed through the crowd and asked in a low voice, “Are you nervous?”

Shen Jintai raised his head and looked at Li Meilan with a smile. His eyes were a little moist. “A little bit.”

“Don’t be nervous. You were born to belong on the stage. Everything will be fine.” Li Meilan was also very emotional. She was nervous, tense, and excited inside.

Shen Jintai nodded. Yang Lizhi and Bai Qingquan took the lead, followed by Song Wei and other veteran celebrities. He lined up in the middle, and everyone was separated by a distance and obeyed the dispatching arrangements.

“Shen Jintai, follow me,” the dispatcher said.

Shen Jintai breathed a sigh of relief and followed the dispatcher to the entrance of the red carpet. Someone was already taking pictures of him with his mobile phone. He stood in the shadow and looked out and saw Yan Qiuchi sitting in the first row on the stage.

He could only hear the deafening shouts of moonlight powders all calling out “Bai Qingquan, Bai Qingquan!” Their shouts were fanatical and passionate. The sparkling lights of cameras kept flashing, but Bai Qingquan, Yang Lizhi, and others had already mastered the art of not blinking from the flashes. The men looked handsome and gentle, while the women were bright and domineering. This kind of reversal of traditional gender roles had a certain CP charm to it.

Shen Jintai’s heart was beating fast. He suddenly saw a girl next to him holding a bunch of bright red roses.

He walked over and asked in a low voice, “Can you give me one?”

The girl was taken aback and nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Shen Jintai, you’re up!” the dispatcher shouted.

Shen Jintai put the rose in his chest pocket, slowly exhaled, straightened his lower back, and walked into the light.

“Shen Jintai!” He heard someone shout.

The cameras all turned to him at once, flashing non-stop. Shen Jintai felt a little dizzy, but he calmed down, smiled, and waved as he walked along the red carpet.

These long and short guns* all seemed to be focusing on him.

*Slang referencing to the cameras in the hands of photographers.

Bai Qingquan, who was walking ahead, suddenly found all the flashing lights had moved away from him. He was flabbergasted. Fuck!

His heart started aching. History was about to repeat itself again. Where there was Shen Jintai, there was no light for him!

He looked back and saw that Shen Jintai was dressed in a formal suit with normal black and white colors. A single red rose stretched out of his breast pocket seemed to accentuate his entire figure. The flashing lights around him were dazzling like stars. He walked with firm steps. Under the night sky, he was like a flower bathed in moonlight.

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The author has something to say:

Coming up next, we have: double-beauty drama, beauty upgrades, sexy upgrades, love rivals, and lovers that are stupidly confused. The fragrance¹ is coming, and the vinegar jar² is ready! Brothers and friends are rivals in the Shura field³. The desperate pursuit of the wife in the crematorium⁴. The face-slapping will be satisfying. The whole staff is really fragrant, but they are getting more and more flowers from Gaoling⁵, and what they’re known for is distributing regret pills⁶!

¹Reminder: (真香) – Slang that means a situation where a person originally made up his mind not to do something or did something, but in the end, he took the initiative to act in the opposite direction.
²Being jealous.
³Tragic battlefield. Could also mean a person who is fighting to the death in a difficult situation.
⁴Genre in novels where one character hurts their lover, realize their mistake, and do their best to seek their forgiveness.
⁵I think this is referring to a place in ancient China known for ceramic culture and natural ecology… and a guess medicine (see clarity)
⁶Clarity: I think the reference the author is making here is that the staff (who’s looking down on Shen Jintai now) is going to have a reverse 180 (really fragrant) and will regret their decision on looking down on him (pills from Gaoling).

The follow-up novel <After Reverse Transmigration, I Became the Four Arch-Enemies’ White Moonlight>, is a novel of a reverse transmigration in the entertainment circle.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Alright, so this is the last of the free chapters the author has posted. If you’ve been enjoying the novel so far and are able to, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. I used Google Chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. The entire novel probably costs around $6 USD, but you’ll have to load $17 USD to get 10,000 points. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works.

The author also plugged in an ad for his next novel: <After Reverse Transmigration, I Became the Four Arch-Enemies’ White Moonlight>. The link will take you to the Novel Updates site where you can find more info on it. Raws here. The setting seems to be in the same universe as this novel. It seems like there’s no active translation for it as of now. I have no plans to pick it up.

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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 21: I Saw It, I Saw It

Yan Qiuchi froze for a moment until he heard Mrs. Yan giggling. He felt a little embarrassed. He walked through the door with a cold face, only to see that there was another person in the gym.

It was Shen Jintai doing squats. He didn’t think Coach Li would speak to his mother so indiscreetly.

Shen Jintai couldn’t hold on anymore. His legs kept shaking, and he was about to give out. Beads of sweat dripped down his cheeks.

Yan Qiuchi callously went in. Mrs. Yan saw him and shouted with a smile, “Qiuchi is back.”

“Nn.” Yan Qiuchi went straight to the treadmill without a second thought, put on headphones, and turned on the TV on the treadmill to the news channel. Through the sound of the news anchor’s eloquent broadcast, he could vaguely hear Shen Jintai gasping for air as he sat down on the ground.

The gasp sounded weird to him. It was very unorthodox. He maintained a blank face as he turned up the volume of his headphones and started running while watching the news.

Shen Jintai was on the ground panting. He waved his hand and said, “let me rest. Rest. I can’t continue anymore.”

Coach Li smiled, knelt down, and squeezed his sore muscles. Shen Jintai was steaming with sweat, exuding a sweaty aroma, which made his lips look even more rosy.

A star was a star. While among other celebrities, Shen Jintai wasn’t as outstanding, in reality he looked much better than an average person. He had good skin that had a nice sheen due to the sweat. His figure was thin, his legs were long and smooth, and his calves were sparsely hairy.

Mrs. Yan said, “This is your first time working out, so don’t push yourself past your limit or you won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow.”

Coach Li said, “We’ll stop with the squats for now. We’ll do some hip bridges later.”

Shen Jintai drank a few sips of water and sat on the ground to rest. While drinking, he turned his head and glanced at Yan Qiuchi nearby. Yan Qiuchi only wore a tank top and shorts. He looked tall and slender. He was running at a high speed on the treadmill, and his tank top was already soaked in sweat.

Shen Jintai couldn’t help but stare at Yan Qiuchi. His ass was firm and muscular. It was definitely trained on a motorized machine. His legs were strong and slender, with tight thighs and strong calves, and he had very manly leg hairs. The hair was thick and jet-black, and the back of his calves vaguely showed a gully with muscles. It was well proportioned and firm, typical of a lean athletic body.

This was what the perfect man in Shen Jintai’s dreams should look like. He sighed and couldn’t help but think, ‘When will he become like this?’

As Shen Jintai was drinking water and staring at Yan Qiuchi, Yan Qiuchi suddenly turned his head and looked at him sharply.

Shit!

Shen Jintai was so startled that he almost choked on his mouthful of water. After swallowing half of it, he coughed up the rest, causing it to spill all over his body. He quickly turned his head away and wiped his chin.

Regret, regret. He shouldn’t have looked at him. Did Yan Qiuchi have eyes on the back of his head? His senses are too keen.

Coach Li also faintly heard about the rumors regarding Shen Jintai and Yan Qiuchi, and he faintly smiled when he saw them. There were lots of gays in the gym, and he had a good relationship with them. He would also occasionally flirt with them to sell classes. He even slept with one before, but felt he still preferred women.

He thought on the subject and recalled that Shen Jintai liked men and wondered if he would be interested in him. Apart from other things, he must be at least a six or seven in terms of appearance. He had a nice body and strong muscles. He could be considered a leader in his fitness club; otherwise, he wouldn’t have so many rich wives as clientele.

In Shen Jintai’s eyes, he should be considered charming. Of course, he definitely couldn’t compare with Yan Qiuchi, but who could really compare to such a man? This was a man who made him ashamed of himself whenever he looked at him.

In Coach Li’s mind, Yan Qiuchi best fits the image of a famous and noble son. He’s a gentleman, is polite, but very indifferent. He didn’t talk much, so Coach Li would normally avoid him, not daring to disturb him.

In modern society, everyone was equal, but Yan Qiuchi was the kind of person who you could tell at a glance that you and he were not in the small ballpark. For ordinary people like him, it was already far out of reach. Even though Shen Jintai was a big star, compared with Yan Qiuchi, they weren’t close to being on the same level.

Yan Qiuchi ran for half an hour. The fitness intensity wasn’t great, but he maintained a steady pace. He was sweating profusely after he finished his run. He turned off the treadmill, went to the small fridge nearby, and grabbed a bottle of mineral water. While drinking, he looked in the direction of where Shen Jintai was working out. Shen Jintai was doing hip bridges as the coach was holding onto his waist.

Beads of sweat were dripping down Yan Qiuchi’s chin. Some of them went to the corner of his eyes, causing a slight sting. As he wiped his face with a towel, Shen Jintai’s ass came into view.

Shen Jintai was in bridge pose; his shoulders were flat on the ground and his feet were propped up. His body was curved and upright. He was lacking strength as his body looked very tight and he was trembling the whole time. His body was covered with sweat as it formed a right-angle shape, which made his ass come into full view.

Yan Qiuchi seldom paid any attention to Shen Jintai. He repelled him in his heart and subconsciously avoided observing him. He never realized what good shape he was in. Tall, thin, fair, and that ass…

Looking up, Shen Jintai closed his eyes and lay on the ground. His hair was wet and messy, and stuck to his forehead. His lips were extremely rosy. His whole body looked like a bun that had just been released from a cage. His face had an indescribable brightness, the kind where it wasn’t due to heavy makeup and bold lipstick, but rather just plain. With the current lighting, it looked even more gorgeous.

Yan Qiuchi suddenly felt that Shen Jintai might be able to perform as Li Xu. The small white flowers on the surface are eager to live and hate to die.

Shen Jintai suddenly opened his eyes, causing Yan Qiuchi to immediately turn his head. A drop of sweat dripped from his chin, and his hair was wet and glowing.

Shen Jintai suspected that he had read it wrong. Was Yan Qiuchi peeking at him just now? He was sweating and a little damp, as he watched Yan Qiuchi leave the fitness room.

The man whose back was soaked was quite strong and sexy. He also wanted to be like this.

“Hello, Xiao Ai.”

With a “ding dong” Xiao Ai came online. “Dear!”

“I have a press conference coming up. Tell me what the next reward will be, so that I can be more motivated!”

“Dear, our love and harmony system has been carefully reviewed. You are about to embark on a new chapter in your life. In order to congratulate you on your comeback, I plan to give you a small discount.”

Another discount!

“You don’t say.”

“Your reward has been upgraded again. For each level in the future, you will be given two choices. You can choose either option. Since you just got a beauty reward, the next will be a sexy reward. Here are your two prizes. Please choose.”

Shen Jintai was filled with anticipation.

“Reward one: a killer waist. Reward two: cherry.”

……

He knew what a killer waist was but what the hell is cherry?! Was it the cherry he was thinking of?

Xiao Ai clarified, “Yes, it’s the cherry you’re thinking of. In the harmonious period, the words of harmony¹ they are the may cherries² that everyone loves to eat³.”

¹This is in reference to the “harmonious society” the Communist Party of China implemented. While shielding pornographic and violent information, it also forcibly removes or shields information that is not conducive to the Communist Party of China on the grounds of undermining social harmony and stability, such as a special action to rectify Internet vulgarity.
²Nipples.
³Clarity: Xiao Ai is using cherry here because it’s a banned word since it’s referencing something vulgar. (It’s a word that is not “in harmony” with the current “harmonious society”).

What the hell is this choice?

“Waist, waist, waist,” Shen Jintai said without hesitation. “But I want a man’s waist. I don’t want a girly thin waist!”

“Don’t worry. It’s easy for young men to have a thin waist, but our waist is different. Similar to your reward of an ass that will never sag, this thin waist will never get fat, even when you grow older. You only need to do a little exercise to have thin abdominal muscles. It’ll remain slender and powerful. It’ll definitely not be a girly waist!”

Wouldn’t that mean that he didn’t have to worry about his figure for the rest of his life?

Wow.

This reward was quite acceptable to him.

“The thin waist reward will also give you two venus dimples for free,” Xiao Ai said with a grin.

After the workout, Shen Jintai went back to his room to shower. After washing, he stood in front of the mirror and looked at it for a while. His face did not change significantly from what it was originally, though his lip color had become a lot rosier, making his whole face look brighter. He moved his head from side to side, stroking his bangs. There was no expression on his face as the steam gathered into drops of water around his eyebrows. He raised his hand and gently wiped it off with his fingers.

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Kinky Thoughts:

After reading so many novels, I feel like these authors need a better way to describe their characters. Every time it’s always “tall, handsome, straight, lean, slender, white/pale”. It’s fine if it’s used once in a while, but I swear he already used these terms like 10 times already… in the same chapter! If I took a shot every time I read the word tall while translating… I wouldn’t make much progress.

On a serious note: I hate it when the word “white/pale/light” is used to describe beauty for skin. It contributes to colorism. It’s an ongoing problem, especially in Asia, where skin whitening is still highly popular. It also skews people’s image of skin beauty to be more biased towards light/white skin. Just an FYI for those who care. Didn’t want to get political but just raising some awareness.

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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 20: Compared with Yan Qiuchi

After a busy day, the final reading session was over. Shen Jintai was exhausted both physically and mentally, and he fell asleep while sitting in the car.

The sky had dimmed as summer was ending and the twilight revealed the first signs of fall. In the western sky were dark purple clouds, and a few golden leaves were about to fade. Shen Jintai leaned back in his chair, letting the wind blow in from the car window. The hair on his forehead brushed against his eyes, making him feel slightly itchy, yet he still felt serene.

“If you live in the Yan’s Mansion, do you run into Yan Qiuchi?” Li Meilan asked.

“Occasionally.” Shen Jintai said weakly.

Li Meilan: “Not excited?”

“Excited…” Shen Jintai said. “If your heart doesn’t move, then you won’t die*.”

*It means to stop thinking about it.

Xiao Tang laughed.

Li Meilan also smiled and said, “Honestly, your family’s financial situation is so bad now, and my family’s situation isn’t that great either. I have two children. We both need to make money so that I can buy milk powder. Let’s work hard. Don’t think about Yan Qiuchi. If he could like you, he would’ve liked you a long time ago.”

Shen Jintai felt a twinge of sadness upon hearing those words. Perhaps he was just too tired and the weariness softened his heart. He gave an “Un” and said, “Don’t worry anymore. The Shen Jintai, who was chasing after his ass, is already dead.”

Li Meilan glanced back at him with a slightly surprised and pained expression. “You’re only twenty years old, still very young. There’ll be tons of good men that’ll be vying for you in the future. At such a good age now, there is no need to struggle only to meet disappointment.”

Yes. Twenty was really the best age in life. God wanted him to be the best of all men. The brightest star.

Li Meilan felt that Shen Jintai was very strange today. However, looking closely, Shen Jintai was still Shen Jintai. People say that experiencing emotional pain allows people to mature quickly. This seemed to be the case. Shen Jintai had become more serious. He went into bankruptcy and experienced heartache, falling from heaven into the depths of hell.

“What do you think is the difference between me and Yan Qiuchi?” Shen Jintai suddenly asked.

“Why are you comparing yourself with him?”

“Only when you find a gap can you make progress.” Shen Jintai leaned over. “I know that he is an excellent person. It’d be more exciting and motivating if I made him my goal*! From a woman’s point of view, where am I worse than him?”

*Clarity: Goal is referring to becoming more like Yan Qiuchi, not to achieve in getting him.

“Do you really want to compare?” Li Meilan said half-jokingly and half-embossed. “There’s a big difference between the two of you.”

“Don’t be afraid of hurting my feelings. Just say it.”

Li Meilan unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, took a few sips, and then said, “The relationship between you and Yan Qiuchi is rocky. As your agent, I should be on your side. But, in all honesty, a man like Yan Qiuchi is first-rate. I can understand why you like him.”

She glanced back at Shen Jintai, and Shen Jintai encouraged her, “Go on.”

“Just look at his family background. It’s one of the country’s wealthiest families. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t know who his father, Yan Tiefeng, is. His mother, Fang Fengmei’s, family background is something that ordinary people like us can’t even talk about. Not only that, Yan Qiuchi graduated from the top school in the country. In just a few years, he was able to establish Sunshine Media and make it into a powerhouse in the entertainment industry. I heard that if <The East Palace is Coming>’s earnings are good, Sunshine Media will go public*. And then there’s his looks. Don’t you just love his face? He’s tall, strong, and handsome. Truly worthy of a top-notch master in both hardware and software.”

*Initial Public Offering (IPO). It’s when a company sells part of its stock (ownership) so they can raise more capital.

Li Meilan then compared it to him, “What about you? Before, you had money, but it was incomparable to that of the Yan’s. Now you have even less, so it’s even more moot. From this point, you’ve already lost. In terms of looks, you’re just not as handsome as he is. Eyes, nose, face, they’re all perfect. Also…”

“There’s more?!” Shen Jintai asked in frustration.

“Your height’s good. I think he’s a bit too tall. You’re 1.8 meters, right? If you get any taller, it won’t look too good on screen. Hmm… and…” Li Meilan looked seriously at his face. Suddenly, she said, “Did you put on lipstick?”

Shen Jintai froze for a moment, then wiped his lower lips. “No.”

Li Meilan looked closer. “Your lip color looks much better now. I remember your lip color was a bit darker.”

“Maybe my body has been well adjusted recently,” Shen Jintai muttered. “It looks much better, right?”

Li Meilan nodded. “It looks healthier. I thought you put on lipstick.”

Li Meilan finally praised him and finished, “Speaking of which, your skin is quite pale. Men are different from women. The world is stricter on women. If men look just a little handsome, they will be eaten. Do you know Ni Shuai, who was in the danmei drama last year? He looks ugly to me, but little girls love him to death. If a female star looked like that, she would be scolded to death! Male stars that are ugly can still get away with being called handsome.”

“The male star’s su* attracts fans more than good looks. “Shen Jintai said.

*(苏感) Specifically refers to the actor’s natural charm in the interpretation of the role, which makes the audience feel “heartbeat”. There is no set standard as it’s completely arbitrary (based off of people’s own personal opinion).
Clarity:  He’s saying that what attracts fans more is not physical beauty but rather how they can capture fans through the roles they play. An example would be like how people who go see Pirates of the Caribbean and fall in love with the character Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp. Because they like the character so much, by extension, they come to like Johnny Depp, who was able to portray such a likable character (this is regardless of how he looks).

“Yes, I think this is the direction you should go in the future. While you are good-looking, it’s not comparable to most stars in the industry. It’s better to go on the su path.”

Maybe one day he could have both su and beauty. Shen Jintai smiled. If people had a fire in their hearts, they weren’t afraid of being fatigued.

Shen Jintai planned to get fit during the night. He didn’t practice any upper body exercises but rather trained his ass. His ass was much paler and softer, looking very tempting, than before, when he was unaccustomed to it. He wanted to train it on a motorized machine.

Since he wasn’t required to attack Yan Qiuchi, he’d rather focus all his efforts on Bai Qingquan. After all, Yan Qiuchi was the male god protagonist, and the author spent a lot of effort handcrafting. Who could beat such a person?

It was strange. Although Bai Qingquan’s had soft facial features and a beautiful appearance, he didn’t look at all feminine. Shen Jintai had a hard time envisioning him as a 0. He felt more like a 0.5 or a weak 1.

In danmei novels, the readers don’t typically eat feminine men*. Even a beautiful man like Bai Qingquan was very masculine.

*(太娘) This is a term to describe men that are more girly/feminine looking. Think stereotypical shou that could pass as a 10/10 woman.

Shen Jintai didn’t need to go outside if he wanted to exercise. There was a fitness room on the first floor of Yan’s manor near the swimming pool. Mrs. Yan told him that they also have a dedicated fitness instructor. “My personal trainer is not bad,” she said to Shen Jintai. “The young man is handsome and has good instructing abilities.”

It was better to have a fitness trainer to rely on for guidance.

“Then I’ll call him.” Mrs. Yan immediately went to call the fitness instructor. There was just her and Shen Jintai at the table today. Yan Yaoxuan and Yan Qiuchi weren’t home.

“Yaoxuan is out celebrating one of his friends’ birthday, so he won’t be back tonight. Qiuchi, like your Uncle Yan, socializes a lot and needs to attend various business dinners.”

“I heard that Sunshine Media is about to go public?” Shen Jintai said. “And our drama is about to start filming. He must be swamped.”

“Yes, he’s very busy. So busy that he doesn’t have time for love.”

Auntie, you’re dead wrong. Once your son falls in love, he can easily squeeze out time between his fingers. Though his work is hectic, it won’t delay him from “every day and night”.

The personal trainer contacted by Mrs. Yan arrived soon. The coach’s surname was Li. He was a little excited when he saw Shen Jintai.

Mrs. Yan was very polite and excused herself, leaving them to chat in the living room. After a while they headed to the fitness room.

“What do you want to work on?” Coach Li asked.

Shen Jintai said, “ass.”

Coach Li asked Shen Jintai to practice hanging squats¹ and hip bridges² first.

¹Basically squats but you hold the position for a bit. You can follow the link to learn how.
²You lay on your back with bent knees and feet flat on the floors, then lift your hips. You can click the link to learn more.

Hanging squat, as the name suggests, was to bend your knees, pretend to sit on a chair, hold on for a few seconds, then slowly straighten your body. This was then cycled back and forth.

Coach Li usually served elite rich ladies. It was the first time he had worked with a big star. It wasn’t, however, the first time he saw Shen Jintai. He first saw him more than a year ago. At that time, Shen Jintai was still at the height of his popularity, and he wasn’t as crazy. His red hair made him look particularly conspicuous in the crowd. He had just finished instructing Mrs. Yan. Mrs. Yan had asked the driver to send him off, and as he was getting into the car, he saw another car parked in front of him. Several people got out, including a young man with flamboyant red hair.

Who would have thought that one day he would be able to instruct such a big star? He considered taking a selfie with Shen Jintai when they got better acquainted.

“Honestly, your ass looks perfect,” Coach Li said sincerely. “You don’t really need to work on it. Rather, you should work on your abs.”

Shen Jintai also wanted to work on his abs, but his new role was a weak eunuch. Having abs was not a suitable figure for the role. In fact, he shouldn’t be working on his ass either. However, every time he showered, he couldn’t help but look at his ass. Seeing such a fleshy ass, he couldn’t help but think… he needed to work on it. Otherwise, he would feel awkward, as if he was just a walking temptation. He was scared that others would notice his ass.

What kind of reward was this? It was clearly a punishment!

Coachi Li on the other hand felt that Shen Jintai didn’t need practice to improve his ass. This was the most perfect ass he had ever seen.

Human beings’ love for big butts seemed be derived from their most primitive animal instincts. Whether it was straight men to women, or gong vs shou, a big butt highly aroused their excitement… Even if the person wasn’t all that good-looking, when the ass was big, they would have had an indescribable allure. But men’s asses are different than a woman’s. If it was too big, it would look unsightly. If it was too flat, it would lose its beauty.

Shen Jintai’s shape and size were just right. It was a bit fleshy, especially when he was doing squats. Coach Li couldn’t help but stare. He was straight but… Coach Li coughed, got a bottle of mineral water, and took a few sips.

After a while, Mrs. Yan also arrived, so he instructed the two at the same time.

Mrs. Yan had an open personality and was very informal. There were lots of fitness coaches who had affairs with these types of rich wives, and he occasionally would also flirt with these female trainees, relying on their affection to eat, but Mrs. Yan was different. There was no ambiguity between them. She was kind to him but strictly treated him like a coach. Over time, he grew to like working with Mrs. Yan the most.

Being ambiguous was also very tiring. In the case of other rich wives, he had to master the scale of the game while not being discovered by their husband. It was exhausting*!

*Clarity: He’s pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has to flirt with the rich wives to appease them so they won’t be unhappy (after all they are his clients) so they will continue business with him while also trying to avoid getting caught by their husbands.

Shen Jintai’s body had not exercised for a long time. He was already sweating profusely within a few minutes of training.

Coach Li encouraged him from the side, “Hold on for a while. Hold on for a while.”

Yan Qiuchi had just arrived home. He usually works out when he had free time. At his age, he was like a young and strong wolfdog, full of abundant energy. He needed to be tired half to death before he could fall asleep peacefully.

After changing into his gym clothes, he headed downstairs to the fitness room. As soon as he walked into the gym, he heard Coach Li say, “Lower your ass.”

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The author has something to say:

I’m finally going to be seen by Xiao Chi*.

*Referring to Yan Qiuchi. This is the author’s nickname for him.

So what beauty and sexy rewards do we all want? Leave comments in this chapter! A killer waist, Adam’s apple, eyebrows, the smell, sensitivity, and flushing skin! These have all been ordered.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Shen Jintai is right to work on his ass. It’s going to be put to the test in the near future…

Side note: Shen Jintai have some more confidence in yourself, before or after you still look fine~~ This is what he looks like in the manhua:

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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 19: Fan Wars

Shen Jintai raised his eyebrows and grinned. He brought his lunch box closer. “I haven’t seen you eat. Would you like some?”

Since becoming a star, Bai Qingquan had rarely eaten enough. He knew that now that the new drama was about to start filming, he was already on a diet in order to look good on camera and maintain his good figure and muscle lines.

The food provided by the crew was particularly good: braised pork balls in brown sauce, sweet and sour ribs, hot and sour soup, and his favorite fried lotus roots.

Bai Qingquan swallowed back his saliva and said with a smile, “I’m not very hungry. You can eat. Don’t worry about me.” Let him eat, eat, eat until his face gets fat! Then, in the future, when the drama starts shooting, he’ll be even more overwhelmed by him!

Ho, ho, ho!

Shen Jintai took the chopsticks and said, “I’m starving.”

Bai Qingquan watched him eat and asked tentatively, “I overheard your agent call about borrowing clothes. I can help if you want?”

Bai Qingquan’s voice was like a clear spring, calm and moving, coupled with a face that was loved by both the young and the old. How could anyone not think that he wasn’t a little fairy?

Shen Jintai was puzzled.

In the original novel of <Everyone Loves Bai Yueguang>, not much was written about Bai Qingquan’s hatred for him. Despite suffering difficulties from Shen Jintai, Bai Qingquan still repaid his grievances with virtue. He never said anything bad about Shen Jintai. It was only his fans, like “Black Moonlight” who were instigating things. None of it involves Bai Yueguang since he was oblivious to it. He was just kind and pure, like the heroines of Qiong Yao’s dramas*!

*Reference to a series of books/plays by writer Qiong Yao. They are usually romance dramas, styled gracefully, and are timeless. I read the summary of a few of his works, and basically the female lead is usually portrayed as kind and pure-hearted.

But not long ago, Xiao Ai told him that Bai Qingquan’s dislike for him was extremely high. His favorability was in the negatives! Looking at the grinning face in front of him, he suspected that there must be a bug in the system.

Having said that, even if Bai Qingquan really hated him, with his good character, he still maintained polite social etiquette, which showed that he was a cultured person.

Such a genteel little fairy!

Shen Jintai smiled and said, “Thank you, I don’t need it yet. Are your clothes ready?”

When he heard what Shen Jintai asked him, Bai Qingquan couldn’t help but feel a bit haughty. He tried to not to boast too proudly as he said, “Burberry has prepared it for me.” Bai Qingquan couldn’t help but feel satisfied as he said it, since this was the endorsement that he snatched from Shen Jintai.

He took a sip of the lemonade from his thermos and said, “If you need something to wear, I can talk to them. I have a good relationship with them. If I asked them personally, they would let me borrow it.”

Before Shen Jintai had a chance to answer, he heard Wei Ge shouting from outside, “Qingquan, come here.”

Bai Qingquan looked back, and Wei Ge was motioning for him to come over.

“You continue to eat. I’ll go first.” Bai Qingquan smiled, got up and went over to Wei Ge’s side.

“What’s the matter?”

Wei Ge led him to a private spot where no one was around. “A big fan of Shen Jintai is our Black Moonlight. Shen Jintai somehow caught them.”

Bai Qingquan’s heart tightened, his expression became weak, pretended to be oblivious, and reacted wide-eyed. “Really?”

Wei Ge didn’t suspect anything. “Shen Jintai’s assistant, that Xiao Tang, blew this up in his group chat. It caught the attention of some marketing accounts and almost made it to the top of the hot search. I had to spend money to suppress it.”

Bai Qingquan’s heart thumped. “How did they find out?”

Wei Ge said, “Not sure. I’m also very puzzled. Let alone an outsider, I didn’t even know the inside story. I usually monitor Black Moonlight. She was your top black powder. She trashes you every day, yet even a disguise like that could be discovered! Could it be she rebelled? I tried contacting her but didn’t get a reply.”

Bai Qingquan’s face flushed.

“You mobilize a few of our people and infiltrate Shen Jintai’s group and ask about it,” Bai Qingquan said. “See if they can figure out how Black Moonlight was discovered.”

“No need to say, they’re already on it.”

Black Moonlight was one of the few key members of the Moonlight Powder Group. She wasn’t the only undercover agent in Shen Jintai’s fan base. Knowing what happened to her, the moonlight powder had notified each other and already sprang into action.

Meanwhile, the “Gold Powder Family” group was in disarray. Their most solid gold powder, “Black Moonlight” turned out to be a pipi black. This not only shocked them but made them so furious they could explode from anger.

Disregarding the fact that the behavior of spies, just the thought of the years when they had fought side by side made them feel humiliated, idiotic, and angry. They had all been played.

—

“Does anyone know Black Moonlight’s personal information???? This old lady is so angry! I really want to beat her!”

“Her registration information turned out to be fake, and she disappeared without a trace a long time ago!”

“I have suspected her for a long time. We have a few old fans from the Gold Powder Family and have all met each other in person. Only Black Moonlight would always make an excuse to not join our meetups, so I have never seen her in reality!”

“But usually, she pays the most during our fundraisers. Such an outstanding gold powder, who would doubt her!”

“Yes, I remember that when Brother Jin first appeared in a magazine. She alone bought 500 copies! Because of that, she became well-known and rose to the top as an admin for our group.”

“It seems that this scheming bitch is very rich!”

“I just sneaked into Bai Qingquan’s fan base and took a look, hehehe. They actually said that we were hyping. Fuck her mom*!”

*[Chao ta ma] (炒她妈) Basically, cursing them.

“…That’s not good. If we lurk in the other side’s group, aren’t we just the same as Black Moonlight…”

“So only moonlight powder are allowed to be spies?! How will we be able to fight back!”

“That’s right!”

“Yes! We are lurking for justice! It’s not comparable at all to Black Moonlight!”

“Treat one’s own body in the way of a person*! Don’t believe me? Look up to see who the sky has spared.”

*Idiom which means using other people’s own principles and methods to cultivate oneself. (AKA an eye for an eye.)

The Gold Powder Family, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly became lively, with hundreds of speakers.

Shen Jintai kicked out Black Moonlight, mainly to rebuild his fan base. He knew that if he wanted traffic, the management of the fan group had to be stricter. Black Moonlight was a traitor who had committed crimes in the name of love and could not remain in the group.

However, Shen Jintai didn’t expect this incident to become such a big deal.

Ironically, it wasn’t his fans who were making the most ruckus. After all the gold powders were scattered, they couldn’t make any waves. It was mainly Bai Qingquan’s moonlight powder that set off the big storm.

Xiao Tang felt emotional because of Black Moonlight’s deception and was so angry that he told the remaining key members of the gold powder group. The key members, who were more closely connected to Black Moonlight, felt betrayed. In retaliation, they scolded Bai Yueguang, and eventually the matter got to the moonlight powder group.

Moonlight powders were easily provoked. They could tear the invincible hands all over the world¹. They wouldn’t be afraid of an idol’s shrimp soldiers and crab generals² especially those of Shen Jintai’s. They wanted to tear them to make them kneel and beg for mercy. Don’t blame them for protecting their little fairy.

¹Refers to being so strong that they have no opponents.
²Metaphor referring to useless ineffective troops. The term originates from the shrimp and crab soldiers under the Sea Dragon King in myths and legends. They are generally portrayed as inept.

The heat that was just suppressed by Wei Ge was rising again due to the moonlight powder. Bai Qingquan was horrified when he saw it. Fuck. He had to spend money to suppress this heat, yet his moonlight powder kept making it hotter. At the rate this rhythm was going, it was going to end up on the hot search.

Sisters, are you loving me or hurting me!

He hurriedly asked his assistant to contact the president of the official support association.

“Comrades,” said Bai Qingquan to the chairman of the official support club. “A certain someone is expected to make a comeback and needs the hype, so the dog skin ointment is particularly sticky*. Be wary and don’t respond. Don’t scold him! It’ll be tantamount to falling into his trap!”

*Clarity: He’s saying Shen Jintai’s plan for his comeback is to stick closely to Bai Qingquan so the heat will rub off him and give him more hype. His fans are helping in that sense because they keep talking about him (even if it’s negative opinions, there’s no such thing as bad publicity).

When the fans heard this, they came back to their senses.

God damn, Shen Jintai and his gold powders had such a convoluted plan that they almost fell for it!

“I can’t believe I actually suggested we go undercover to their group. I feel like vomiting! Gold powders are completely shameless. It would be impossible for a normal-minded moonlight powder to go to their group and blow rainbow farts. It’ll be completely obvious that they’re a mole!”

“Everyone knows that bitch, Black Moonlight, blackens our brother every day. How could she actually be a moonlight powder? It’s evident that it’s just gold powder pretending!”

“Yes, they wanted heat, so we won’t give it to them!”

“Our brother is about to enter the filming crew soon. We can’t let this affect him!”

“Okay! Ignore! Just ignore!”

Moonlight powders were organized and disciplined. When they wanted to tear something apart¹, like a flood, like a beast². However, with a single order, they would immediately withdraw, and their flames of war would die down.

¹Clarity: I’ve been using tear a lot, so I just want to provide clarity on the word. In this context, Tear = ripped someone up verbally. AKA curse/badmouthed
²(如洪水猛兽) Metaphor for like a great evil/scourge.

Finally, with things resolved, Bai Qingquan was able to settle down. Fuck. His heart had been in his throat all day and he was now exhausted.

On the other side, Li Meilan and Xiao Tang witnessed the whole battle. The initiative was in their hands. They could easily provoke the moonlight powder if they wanted. It was currently the press conference would be held soon, and they suffered a serious loss in their gold powders, so they would be no match against the current moonlight powders. Li Meilan felt that it was best to be at peace with them.

Looking at today’s entertainment industry, no one would dare tear at the moonlight powders.

“Don’t tear with Bai Qingquan’s fans in the future,” she persuaded Shen Jintai bitterly. “You’ve been on break for the past two years, while Bai Qingquan only gained more fans. His fans are now killing ghosts when they meet ghosts and killing gods when they meet gods*. We can no longer afford to provoke them. Your reputation is already tarnished, and if you are chastised by them again, you may find it difficult to work in the entertainment industry in the future.”

*(遇鬼杀鬼，遇神杀神) Indiscriminately eliminate no matter who. Another way to say that they are unstoppable.

Shen Jintai also didn’t want the two fan groups to be in the same situation again. However, looking at the moonlight powder’s attitude towards him, it was unlikely they would accept him in the future.

If he wants to attack* Bai Qingquan, he must first appease his fans.

*Clarity: In this sense, it’s for his system tasks (to make Bai Qingquan like him). Remember, he’s pursuing Bai Qingquan because he likes him.

“I have a very good relationship with Qingquan now,” Shen Jintai said. “I am not who I used to be, and his fans will realize it sooner or later.”

Li Meilan nodded. “Your strategy is right.” Even she felt that Shen Jintai had been much kinder to Bai Qingquan lately. The young master had learned to become smarter.

“But I feel like you will be torn by them sooner or later,” Xiao Tang said while holding his cheeks. “How are they going to react when they find out Brother Jin is going to be in the same drama as Bai Qingquan?”

Both Li Meilan and Shen Jintai fell into contemplation. What would the reaction be? Maybe he would be scolded to death that he would end up on the hot search.

“I’ll turn off the phone when the time comes,” he said solemnly to Li Meilan.

Li Meilan patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine when you rise up again. Recalling the beginning…” The gold powders was like the heavens in the sky.

Work hard, and maybe one day, the gold powder dynasty will reemerge.

---

The author has something to say:

Dad believes there will be this day.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Not a fan of this chapter. It took forever to translate because my motivation was basically 0. My biggest pet peeve when reading showbiz novels is all the fans/Weibo/bystander’s comments. Personally, I think they rarely add anything to the novel except word count. If I weren’t translating this novel, I would have skimmed over all the useless banter.

My thoughts when reading about the fandom quarrels: ‘Y’all need to find more hobbies…’ No shade to fandoms. I just don’t see the appeal of liking someone/thing so much that you go infiltrate your rival’s fandom and get involved in flame wars against each other. Just chill child~~ Like what you like and leave other people’s likes alone.

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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 18: Jintai’s New Clothes

Bai Qingquan squeezed out a smile. The weather wasn’t cold, but he still shivered. Today’s Shen Jintai had really transformed. He was very abnormal!

Qingquan? He was going to cry with fright!

When he was with Shen Jintai in the limited group for a few months, Shen Jintai had never called him so affectionately before. Now just these past few days, he would call him directly by either “Hey, hey, hey” or “Qingquan”.

Why was he acting so strangely? He was so devious. Did he really know that he used an alt account and lurked in his fan club, and now he was deliberately teasing him? Otherwise, this didn’t explain Shen Jintai’s current peculiar behavior!

Bai Qingquan was caught in a huge sense of crisis but covered it up smoothly with his acting skills. He nodded with a smile and said, “You look very handsome today dressed in that business style.”

Shen Jintai was dressed very mild-mannered today, which did not match his age.

Shen Jintai was still immersed in the shock from receiving his lips reward when he forgot how to act in front of Bai Qingquan. He casually said a few words and then rushed to the bathroom.

“Xaoi Ai!” he roared in his heart.

“Xaoi Ai is here.”

“What do you mean it can no longer be judged by numerical values?! Does this mean it improved exponentially?!”

“Dear, you have to know that as Bai Yueguang’s former enemy, he has no love for you. On the contrary, he hates you to the bone. It’s just because of his temperament that he’s polite to you on the surface. I just found that his aversion towards you had plummeted. Based on our experience, this cliff-like change is only temporary. It will eventually rebound, so it’s not easy to estimate. Thus, we’ll count this as a favorable value.”

“Isn’t it really up to you to decide how many points to give?”

“My dear, Xiao Ai is just an ordinary worker without such great power. If Xiao Ai can make my own decision, Xaoi Ai will definitely turn you into a peerless face right now!”

When Shen Jintai arrived in the bathroom, he went directly to the mirror. His lip color really changed. Originally, it was dull and affected his complexion. Now it was much ruddier, but it wasn’t to the point, as Xiao Ai said, “Having your own beauty filter”.

“My dear, don’t worry. The change in lip color is gradual. Otherwise, if it suddenly becomes too red, others will think that you’d put on lipstick.”

This prompted Shen Jintai. “Then in the future, if my body proportions change or I become even more attractive, won’t it rouse suspicion from other people?”

“Dear, be at ease. If you become more beautiful and they can’t find evidence of plastic surgery, their suspicions will only remain suspicions. Besides, as more people begin to like you, they’ll see you through a different filter. It’s normal for stars to become more beautiful after they become popular.”

This was true. The more popular a celebrity was, the more beautiful they seemed to look. Whether it was improved hair and makeup, increased confidence in them, or simply the sight of them bringing joy to many hearts, as a star grew in popularity, the perception of their image would change to look more appealing*.

*Clarity: Everyone has some filter when looking at a person. A star might not look beautiful to you now, but when they get more popular, they will have access to better things that can make them more beautiful (better makeup artists, clothes ect). Besides that, people’s perceptions of them improve as well. If everyone’s talking about how beautiful a celebrity looks constantly, eventually you might get swayed. Also, you yourself might start to like the celebrity. Then your view of them can change from they are just “average” to “hot” . Hope that makes sense.

When there were so many treasures in a sea of stars, it was difficult to tell whether something was beautiful or not. Shen Jintai was very open. He only cared about his own beauty so whatever netizen say, as long as it was beautiful, it could be really fragrant*.

*(真香) Slang that means a situation where a person originally made up his mind not to do something or did something, but in the end, he took the initiative to act in the opposite direction.
*Clarity: Shen Jintai cares about his own beauty, so whatever the masses decide is the standard of beauty, he will conform to it (turning fragrant). This makes him “open” in the sense that he’s open to new ideas of change to fit whatever the current beauty standards are.

Shen Jintai turned on the faucet, wetted his fingers, and then wiped his lips. The lips were soft and tender, and his complexion looked healthier. Shen Jintai felt as if he was a spring breeze.

During this last day of reading, Bai Qingquan botched many of his lines.

“Are you too tired?” Guo Rui said with some dissatisfaction: “Do you want me to ask President Yan to have the company arrange less work for you?”

“The current work is done, and the rest of the work is only to enter the crew.” Bai Qingquan’s face flushed as he became slightly embarrassed.

Yang Lizhi said, “Your complexion looks a little bad and your eye circles are dark.”

His beauty had deteriorated. Bai Qingquan glanced at Shen Jintai again. He felt that Shen Jintai today was particularly radiant.

Shen Jintai seemed to have a sense of self-confidence in his bones. Bai Qingquan didn’t know where it came from. Usually, when people who had been out of the circle for a long time tried to make a comeback, no matter how exquisite their makeup was there should still be a sense of twilight*. However, this didn’t apply to Shen Jintai. He wasn’t as flamboyant as before and looked calmer and more relaxed. When sitting there, he looked sharp, giving off a very good… temperament.

*(暮气) Idiom that refers to being dull and depressed.

He really didn’t expect that one day he would see the words “good temperament” and pair them with Shen Jintai.

—

The press conference was about to be held. As a large production, the press conference needed to be grand. During the lunch break, Shen Jintai saw many actors contacting various brands to prepare their outfits.

Usually, celebrities would only wear an outfit once when participating in events. These outfits could range from the low thousands upwards to over millions. No matter how wealthy a star was, it was impossible to keep buying outfits for different events, so borrowing clothes was the norm.

Depending on the star level, different perks would apply. Below highlighted the levels:

A-list celebrities could wear whatever they wanted. Stars like Yang Lizhi, who’s a top-line actress¹, would have brands vying to cooperate with her. Valentino’s² staff personally sent her their latest season’s haute couture directly by air. Because she was a brand ambassador for Tiffany’s³, her jewelry came from them.

¹Hua Dan (花旦) a term that is rooted in Chinese opera, describing a vivacious and unmarried young woman, now referring to Chinese film actresses. Hua Dans tend to attract good attention either from fans or the general public. Besides that, they should at least have good appearances, certain acting skills, commercial values, and qualifications to contribute to the success of their works.
²Italian luxury fashion house.
³American luxury jewelry and specialty retailer.

For second-tier stars, when they didn’t have access to the latest fashion from big name brands, they could still wear off-season clothes. For instance, the second female lead ordered a dress from Dior* from the previous year.

*French luxury fashion house.

However, not everyone could wear big-name clothes. If the star is too unknown, the brand would not cooperate for fear of tarnishing their reputation. Usually, these small stars would rent their outfits from a small studio.

Where there was a need, there was a market. Since only big-name celebrities could cooperate with high-end brands, it became like a pyramid where most people were in the lower and middle class. As such, smaller studios would open and buy big-name high-end clothing, then rent these clothes out to third and fourth-tier celebrities. This came at a high risk of hitting the shirt*, but even if a little star hit the shirt, few people would notice.

*(撞衫) Means two celebrities wearing the same clothes (or clothes that look very similar) when they attend the same occasion.

This was the struggle of small, unknown stars.

When men attended events, they usually wore suits similar in style. Male celebrities who were a little more particular would pay attention to the fact that they would never wear the same piece of clothing twice.

The best treatment for their crew was Bai Qingquan. As a top-notch star, Bai Qingquan had no shortage of clothing. He could have his pick of any brand. However, because he was the spokesperson for Burberry*, he would always wear their brand when attending events.

*British luxury fashion house.

Shen Jintai listened to the side as he overheard Wei Ge contacting Burberry to have a suit tailored for Bai Qingquan, envious of how he didn’t receive this kind of treatment.

Shen Jintai, “Were you able to find an outfit for me?”

“I’m still trying,” Li Meilan said.

Shen Jintai made an embarrassed expression. As a top idol, he had always been at the height of the trend. When he first entered the circle, he had three top clothing endorsements. Bai Qingquan’s Burberry endorsement used to belong to him.

However, Shen Jintai had made his own bed and now had to lie in it. Because of his countless controversial comments and the hair-pulling scandal, it caused his image to fall to rock bottom. In less than three months, all his contracts were terminated.

Shen Jintai had too many black spots. He was also publicly gay. He lost all his endorsements and even small studios wouldn’t work with him. The entertainment industry had long forgotten about him now that he was silent for two years. No big brand was willing to cooperate with such an unknown star.

Shen Jintai noticed Li Meilan’s embarrassment and said, “If it’s really impossible, let’s just rent a set.”

Li Meilan said, “I’ll keep trying.”

Rumors spread easily within the circle. If people found out your outfit was rented and was an unknown brand, you’d become a laughingstock. It’d be too humiliating, especially for an ex-top idol.

Bai Qingquan was sitting on a chair while pursing his lips lightly. He was hesitating on whether he should probe Shen Jintai.

As soon as he got up, he saw Liu Hui nearby. Though Liu Hui didn’t get the second male lead role, he could not be reconciled and insisted on acting. After final review, they relented and gave him the role of the fourth male lead.

The fourth male lead was also a little eunuch and was Li Xu’s attendant. This was a more likeable character. He belonged to the heroine’s camp. Despite being timid and weak, because he didn’t like the actions of Li Xu, he would secretly pass on news to the heroine. When he was finally discovered by Li Xu, he met a tragic end.

The more miserable and pitiful the cannon fodder, the more endearing they were to the audience. However, this image didn’t match with Liu Hui at all. When compared with Shen Jintai, it was self-evident who was more suitable to play the beautiful little eunuch*.

*Clarity: The self-evident is that Liu Hui is prettier than Shen Jintai, so physically, he matches the role of Li Xu better. Remember, Shen Jintai is only average-looking right now (compared to most celebs).

“I haven’t congratulated you yet,” Liu Hui said. “You manage to keep your role.”

Seeing that his visitor was malicious, Shen Jintai simply smiled.

Liu Hui looked at him coldly and said, “I just went to fix my makeup and talked with the assistant director. They wanted to make me look uglier. Otherwise, it would be quite unreasonable for the Crown Prince to prefer you over me.”

Shen Jintai smiled and said, “I was there when you were taking your makeup photos. Fortunately, you still look beautiful in person, so it should look fine on camera.”

Liu Hui’s expression changed. How could he not be photogenic?! This was a dig that really hit his sore spot. Liu Hui was, in all consideration, a beauty. The only problem was that his face was a bit big. This problem was exacerbated during close-up shots that would emphasize his face, making it look even bigger.

The bearded man gifted him several plays in the past. From the age of 20 he had been acting for five years, starring as the lead in many movies and shows. Unfortunately, all of them hit the streets*, and nowadays he could only play supporting roles in big dramas.

*(扑街) It can refer to multiple things depending on how it’s used: 1. Bad | 2. Bastard | 3. Cursing another person (“Go die”) | 4. A way to express dissatisfaction with the other party’s opinions.  In this case, it’s referring to 1. Also note that the hit in the translation refers to “hitting the ground”, as the expression means falling flat on the streets.

Liu Hui’s eyebrows twitched. He suddenly heard someone call to him from the door, “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Are you still planning to eat?” A figure came in.

It was the bearded man. He still had common courtesy and politely greeted everyone in the room and was about to leave when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Shen Jintai leaning over to grab a water cup. As a gay man and an ass lover, he was more sensitive to this kind of thing. He couldn’t help but throw several more glances at Shen Jintai’s ass.

While it didn’t look conspicuous with clothing on, from his personal experience, he knew that this ass was the best ass he ever saw. The stiffness, the tightness, the shape! They were all top quality!

Liu Hui followed his gaze and squeezed the bearded man’s arm.

The bearded man smiled, put his arms around Liu Hui and left. He said in a low voice, “That little butt.”

“Fuck off!” Liu Hui pinched him. He turned around and glared at Shen Jintai fiercely.

It wouldn’t be easy to get along with Lui Hui. However, Shen Jintai wasn’t afraid of such a person. It was much easier to deal with those types of villains than with those who only acted in the shadows.

It took talent to maintain such a superficial smile. MMP*.

*It’s an acronym for [mamaipi] (媽賣批) Your mother’s a prostitute/mom sells batches. It’s basically used as a curse that could mean a variety of things depending on the context. Overall, it’s just a way to show a person’s unhappy mood. English equivalent would your mother’s a whore/son of a bitch ect. (But of course, it all depends on context).

Suddenly, Shen Jintai noticed that someone sat down next to him. He turned his head to look and saw Bai Qingquan’s eyes curve, smiling, calling him, “Jintai.”

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The author has something to say:

Say Cao Cao Cao Cao will arrived.

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Kinky Thoughts:

The whole section when they were talking about clothes reminded me of this song.

Bai Qingquan: “Jintai.”
Shen Jintai: (☉_☉) ‘Oh my god~~ We’ve moved on to a first name calling basis!’

Sorry for lots of translation notes (I know some people find them annoying). However, I feel that some translation does need clarity, so you won’t get confused reading the contents. I will always try to stick as close to the original material as possible, but sometimes it could be written confusingly or there’s not enough explanation. Thus, I will supplement it with clarity, so you’ll get a full understanding of the author’s intention.

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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 17: Beauty is Coming!

One night two years ago, Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai debuted in a limited group. A group of seven people went to participate in a charity event for Harper’s Bazaar. When they were about to take a photo, Shen Jintai suddenly pushed him and crowded him out of the steps.

He staggered to the ground in front of a bunch of top celebrities. His scalp became numb with embarrassment. When he raised his head, he saw Shen Jintai with heavy makeup smirking at him.

He held on to the end with a smile, and when he returned to his room, he turned on the faucet and cried in the bathroom. Just after crying, the president of his official support group told him she had found a pipi black* in the group who was a fan of Shen Jintai.

*Term used referring to black fans who pretend to be fans. I’m keeping it in pinyin form since I have no idea what’s an equivalent translation.

This fan was very hateful. She was obviously a black powder. She pretended to be a fan and every day would instigate his fans in the group until she was finally caught by the president.

This gave Bai Qingquan inspiration. He registered an account that night and posted Shen Jintai’s rainbow farts for over a month. Whenever Shen Jintai would shoot for magazines, his fans would rush to buy them. Bai Qingquan bought 500 copies alone and was finally accepted into the “Gold Powder Family”.

He named his alt account “Black Moonlight”.

He worked hard with his rainbow farts. Due to his familiarity with the entertainment industry, he finally became an administrator for the group. This group was full of hateful gold powder that had similar virtues to Shen Jintai. Everyday they would flatter Shen Jintai or went to scold Bai Qingquan.

Bai Qingquan didn’t know what he did that offended Shen Jintai and his fans. He was a newly signed artist with Sunshine Media. He signed a ten-year contract with them as soon as he debuted. It was natural that Yan Qiuchi would support him! Yet somehow this offended Shen Jintai!

However, he blew rainbow farts every day, ignoring his conscience, all in the name of future rewards. He devised several large-scale blackouts for the gold powders and then contacted the key members of his own fan club to successfully counter* against them.

*Anti-kill (反杀) In Chinese means to kill a person for revenge. The word does not have the same meaning as it does in English.  (In English, it would mean opposing killing, which is not the case here). I decided to use counter as anti-kill doesn’t make sense translated.

The feeling of counterattacking was euphoric. He finally ate bone marrow and knew the taste*!

*Metaphor that means people become greedy after getting a benefit.

Even after Shen Jintai left the circle, Bai Qingquan didn’t leave the group. He would still log into his alt account every other day and wander around the “Gold Powder Family”.

But now, he had been kicked out! Why was he kicked? Bai Qingquan’s heart was beating wildly, feeling that his secret was suddenly revealed!

Where were the horse’s feet exposed? Did he not use “Brother Jintai” sweetly enough? Was his rainbow fart not real enough? Or maybe because he didn’t scold himself enough. 

Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh.

Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh.

He couldn’t accept it!

This was a secret that even his agent didn’t know about. The dark and private life that he had enjoyed alone all these years was gone, and he had no one to confide in!

Bai Qingquan couldn’t sleep all night. Unable to resist, he sent a message to Xiao Tang. He was very familiar with Shen Jintai’s assistant.

Bai Qingquan: [Oh my god! Kiss kiss, Xiao Tang! What happened?!! Why did I get kicked out???]

After a while, he received Xiao Tang’s reply: [Black Moonlight, I was wrong to believe in you. You turned out to be a moonlight powder!]

Bai Qingquan: [Ah??!! What the hell! Wrong! I am a loyal gold powder!!! Who is wronging me! I will confront him!]

Xiao Tang: [Brother Jin stamped it himself. He can’t wrong you.]

Brother Jin… Shen Jintai?

Bai Qingquan threw away the phone, grabbed a pillow, and covered his head. He didn’t want to live anymore. He felt like he had been stripped naked by Shen Jintai and wanted to find a seam and go in*.

*Idiom referring to feeling so embarrassed that you just want to disappear (AKA crawl under a rock and hide.)

Shen Jintai doesn’t know that he’s “Black Moonlight”, right? Does he know?!

Ahhhhhhh, he’s dead!!

—

Shen Jintai had to go to the crew today. He was waiting for Xiao Tang to pick him up early in the morning.

As soon as he got in the car, Xiao Tang said to him, “That black moonlight is really a pipi black!”

“What happened?”

“She contacted me around midnight last night and asked me why I kicked her out. I told her why, but she never responded. Later, I sent another message and found that she had blocked me. It was obvious from this that she’s a thief with a guilty conscience*! Brother Jin, why do you think people’s hearts are so terrible!”

*Idiom meaning people who have done bad things are always afraid of being found out and feel uneasy.

Shen Jintai said, “I told you she was originally a moonlight powder lurking in the group, but you didn’t believe me. I estimate there are still more moonlight powders mixed in my fan groups. You must strictly review the fan base in the future, especially key members. Do not let the enemy come from the inside.”

Xiao Tang became wiser overnight and solemnly nodded. “I see. I will check all the key members of the fan base today.”

Today was the last day of the script reading. Like the first reading, all members were required to be present. He could see Bai Qingquan again today. It was only a few days of separation, but he still missed him. Bai Qingquan’s beautiful and gentle face appeared in his mind, and it made Shen Jintai felt relaxed.

Today he would officially start to attack the white moonlight. Thinking about this, he felt like he hadn’t chatted with Xiao Ai in a long time.

“Hello, Xiao Ai.”

With a ding dong, Xiao Ai came online. “Dear, it’s been a long time since I saw you.”

“I’m going to start attacking Bai Qingquan. What rewards do I get? Is it also based on points?”

He couldn’t just try to take Bai Qingquan and make him his boyfriend without getting some kind of reward in the process.

“It was originally like this.” Xiao Ai heard his inner thoughts. “Our love system has too many rewards. Therefore, we’ll apply the same discount here as the discount you have for Yan Qiuchi. However, the point system here is the opposite of that of Yan Qiuchi. To get points for attacking Bai Yueguang, you must increase his favorability towards you. If his favorability goes up by ten, you’ll get your lips reward.”

Shen Jintai: “OK!”

“Friendly reminder, if you want to get as many rewards and as quickly as possible, you can do both sides at the same time. The points can be stacked!”

“Wow.”

Shen Jintai was in such a good mood that he couldn’t help but open the car window a little bit and hummed a song. The sun was shining on his face, and Xiao Tang saw his smile through the rearview mirror, causing him to smile as well.

Shen Jintai arrived with the crew, feeling happy and looking more energetic. He smiled and bowed to Song Wei. “Teacher Song.”

Song Wei smiled and said, “You’re always here so early.”

“I’m afraid of traffic jams, so I leave early, but it’s still not as early as you.”

“I’ve been accustomed it for many years. I like to stay with the crew. Since I’m getting old, I don’t get many parts anymore, so I cherish these moments.”

“I want to learn from you and strive to be a dedicated actor like you.”

As the sun was getting higher, actors started to file in. Beauties and hotties could be seen getting out of different luxury cars one after another, showing a colorful scene of the entertainment industry. Whenever Shen Jintai saw such a scene, it made him even more motivated. He liked the feeling the showbiz industry gave him. Its world was infinitely vast. As long as he worked hard to climb up, he could reach greater heights.

This was the beginning of his career as an actor. He would continue along this path and prove to Yan Qiuchi that he could do a good job at acting!

“Are you all here?” Guo Rui came in and looked around.

“Our Zhou Jing hasn’t arrived yet,” the staff member said.

They had started calling the actors by the names of the characters in the drama. Zhou Jing was the male lead played by Bai Qingquan.

“Then wait a little longer,” Guo Rui said.

Shen Jintai remembered that he wanted to modify some scenes, so he got up and chased Director Guo to his room.

“Director Guo, do you have time? I wanted to talk to you about the script.”

Guo Rui pulled a chair out and sat down. “Let’s talk about it.”

Shen Jintai proposed his idea.

The screenwriter had written Li Xu’s role to be extremely solid. The lines and plot were fine, but there was one issue that was common in domestic dramas. It was the kind of villain similar to “sisters turn against each other¹“. In the beginning, he had to be a kind little white rabbit². Only after being mistreated badly did he learn how to fight back.

¹This saying arises from parents treating their children unequally. When parents favor one child over the other, resentment will brew, which could eventually make them turn on each other.
²This is in reference to the story of The Kind Little White Rabbit (you’ll have to use Google translate to read the story). The TLDR: Day after day, the little white rabbit goes out to pick mushrooms, and every day he is asked by different animals if they can have it. He innocently obliges without any scruples, so he never has enough mushrooms to make his soup. But whatever, he can still happily eat carrots. Eventually, all the animals came to his house to thank him for the mushrooms. THE END.  Moral of the story: Our lives are gradually bewildered by interests, and the vanity of external beauty is inflated. Therefore, the more we must be sincere in such a world, the more it will make people become optimistic, make people smile, and make people’s hearts more beautiful.

“I have two points. First, the heroine’s personality transforms from a white lotus¹ to a black lotus². Li Xu’s and her transformation are virtually identical. It’ll make the character’s persona look repetitive. Second is Li Xu’s descent to becoming dark and twisted. I think it’s already in his nature to lean towards the dark side. Such a person should not start off as a white rabbit. I think the scenes showing him as a white lotus should be deleted. This will make his character deliberate from the beginning and will create a mutual contrast effect with the male protagonist, Zhou Jing.”

¹Use to describe a person who looks innocent
²Opposite of a white lotus. Someone who’s scheming and conniving.

Guo Rui scratched his nose and asked the screenwriter, Meng Xiaosheng, who came in when he was talking just now. “What do you think?”

Meng Xiaosheng looked at Shen Jintai and asked, “You don’t have many scenes in the first few episodes. Are you sure you want it deleted?”

Shen Jintai nodded. “Even if some scenes are deleted, the effect will make the characters more vivid and concise.”

All actors wanted to add scenes, but it was rare for one to ask to have their scenes deleted.

Guo Rui discussed it with Meng Xiaosheng and agreed to his request.

“I saw your script,” Guo Rui said with a smile. “You did your homework very thoroughly.”

“The book is so good. I dare not ruin Teacher Meng’s hard work, and I dare not disappoint your trust.”

Who said that Shen Jintai had a bad temper and was difficult to get along with? This did not ring true at all!

Guo Rui and the two of them returned to the study room and found that Bai Qingquan still hadn’t come.

“Call his agent and ask what’s going on,” Guo Rui said.

Brother Wei answered the phone and looked at Bai Qingquan in the car. “I’m waiting for you to get out of the car. Do you want everyone to say that you’re a diva?”

Bai Qingquan’s face was hot. He didn’t have the courage to see Shen Jintai!

Did Shen Jintai know that he was “Black Moonlight”?!

It stood to reason that the chance of knowing should be very low. Even if it was revealed that he was a moonlight powder, he shouldn’t be able to identify that “Black Moonlight” was Bai Qingquan himself. Knowing Shen Jintai’s personality, this matter would have been exposed a long time ago.

“What’s wrong with you?” Wei Ge’s expression became severe.

Bai Qingquan pursed his lips, took a breath, and was about to get out of the car when he heard a familiar voice shouting, “Qingquan!”

When he looked up and saw Shen Jintai looking at him with a smile, standing in the sun with a white shirt and black pants. His eyes were hot.

Bai Qingquan became embarrassed, and his face blushed slightly.

Because of his embarrassment, the feelings of disgust and hatred had faded, and the favorability had risen from a negative number.

“Ding dong,” Xiao Ai suddenly went online. “Congratulations, dear! I noticed that Bai Yueguang’s favorability for you has greatly improved, and it can no longer be judged by numerical values. The reward for your lips will be given out immediately!”

Shen Jintai: …!!!

---

The author has something to say:

The first step to becoming beautiful!

---

Kinky Thoughts:

My heart aches for Bai Qingquan, especially at the beginning of the chapter. I’m liking his character more and more. So cute! Truly worthy of being a White Lotus (and maybe a little bit of the bitch part)!

Side note: If you read my notes on The Kind Little White Rabbit or read the actual story… all I got to say is, what a terrible story to apply to the moral. My inner thoughts when reading the story were: ‘What a dumbass rabbit. This story is about a naïve rabbit being taken advantage of by all the animals in the forest. And STILL he doesn’t learn. They got mushrooms, he got a thank you. At least bring him a fucking cabbage or something!’… Thus I suppose begins the blackening of the little white rabbit…

---

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

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

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

---

Chapter 16: Guess Who I am!

Yan Yaoxuan stood in front of Shen Jintai’s room, hesitating whether to knock on the door. Shen Jintai still had feelings for his older brother, despite him washing his tattoo. He speculated that right now, Shen Jintai was most likely in a period of vacillation. At this critical moment, should he wait and see the change, or should he contribute to it?

No matter what feelings Shen Jintai had for his older brother, one thing was certain, Shen Jintai did not have him in his eyes.

The light above his head was shining, and the person he had a crush on lived on the other side of this door, but he didn’t dare go in.

Yan Qiuchi: “Having trouble falling asleep? Why are you standing there?”

Yan Yaoxuan turned his head in panic and saw Yan Qiuchi, neatly dressed, looking at him.

Yan Yaoxuan: “It’s nothing… Are you going to go out?”

Yan Qiuchi nodded and looked at him sternly. “Laoer*, what are you planning?”

*Refer to the second oldest in the family. Funnily enough, it’s also slang referring to one’s dick (but he’s not using it in that sense here).

The relationship between the two brothers was often muddled. Yan Qiuchi said, “Stop thinking about it. If you are bored, you can come work for the company. I’ll arrange an internship for you.”

Yan Yaoxuan’s was about to speak, but he swallowed his words.

His older brother was like a father, especially since their actual father was busy all day long and hardly had time to see them. Yan Qiuchi acted in his place, playing the role of half of a father. While they were only a few years apart, he was born to fear his older brother. Yan Qiuchi was strict on him, and if he got fiercer, Yan Yaoxuan wouldn’t dare fight back.

Seeing that Yan Yaoxuan remained silent, Yan Qiuchi looked even harsher. “Did you hear what I said?”

“I heard it.” Yan Yaoxuan’s voice was cat-like.

Yan Qiuchi suddenly received a call from Father Yan. He didn’t have time to deal with this any longer, so he simply said, “You know everything I want to say. Don’t make me discipline you.”

Yan Yaoxuan saw his brother head downstairs. He curled his lip unconvincingly, but still honestly returned to his own room.

Autumn was approaching, and the nights were much cooler in the evening. The trees outside were shaded, and there were faint insects buzzing around at night. The driver had driven the car up to the courtyard. Yan Qiuchi opened the car door. Just as he was about to get in, he looked upstairs.

The lights in Shen Jintai’s room were on; the curtains were not drawn. Half of his figure could be vaguely seen, shaking slightly. Yan Qiuchi was unsure of what he was doing*.

*Clarity: In case you missed it, the implication here is that Yan Qiuchi saw half of Shen Jintai’s figure moving in a way that could be a bit suggestive (perhaps he’s masturbating). This is basically trying to highlight the deeper misunderstanding that Yan Qiuchi has for him (poor Shen Jintai, can’t catch a break).

—

Shen Jintai was doing some exercises while swiping Weibo.

In his previous life, he was never a high trafficked celebrity. He had to run his own Weibo, which didn’t have many fans. There certainly weren’t any hot-blooded¹ girls. It was calm and everyone got along. Occasionally, he would send out chicken soup² and post literary photos. His followers were less than half a million. Now he had more than three million fans.

¹Passionate.
²Motivational posts. Its main purpose is to give positive energy. More meaningful posts can be enlightening, thought-provoking, or heart-warming. After reading, you will feel warm, as if you had chicken soup.

In recent days, the phenomenon of his fans returning had been particularly obvious. Every time he logged into Weibo, it always caught him by surprise.

Now that he was a traffic star, he needed to start learning about the business. He looked at his followers’ list and found that he had an official fan club, but he wasn’t running it. He called and asked Xiao Tang.

“I’m in charge of the group,” Xiao Tang said. “Are you going to start distributing materials? Sister Lan said not to make a move now. After you join the crew, we can cooperate with your Weibo account and promote it together.”

Shen Jintai: “I haven’t paid attention to these things for a few years, so I’m not familiar with them anymore. Let me ask you, do I still have official support groups?”

Xiao Tang: “Yes, but there aren’t many people in the groups now. Let me send you the largest group. There are more active users there.”

Shen Jintai: “Okay.”

“Brother Jin, if you want to join the group, remember to open an alt account,” Xiao Tang reminded.

Shen Jintai replied, “Of course, I still have common sense. I’ll only lurk and won’t post.”

Shen Jintai himself was not mixed in the fan circle, so his knowledge of fan circles was limited. However, when he read the novel <Everyone Loves Bai Yueguang>, he gained a little insight.

The vicious cannon fodder Shen Jintai, at the beginning of the novel, relied on being rich and powerful to suppress Bai Qingquan and had used various tricks. One of them was to make his remnant powder* pretend to be moonlight powder and act as undercover agents among Bai Qingquan’s fans.

*(脑残粉) Specific term for this type of fan. Its slang refers to those who are extremely obsessed with celebrities and different brands and pursue them so crazily that they lose their personal sanity. Such a person will violently attack any remarks that are not conducive to the celebrity or brand they are pursuing, and even hurt the innocent.

Black is powder, powder is black*. Before this, he didn’t know the fan circle could become so dangerous as to have a spy war!

*This term refers to the action mentioned above. Black fans pretend to be fans of something else.

However, these were common occurrences in the fan circle. Every star would eventually encounter it. He would have his remnant powder listen for news from the moonlight powder. Likewise, the moonlight powder most likely had their own remnant powder lurking in his fan base. This was the natural ecological chain of the fan circle, and no star could avoid it.

Xiao Tang quickly sent him the support group. The group name was “Gold Powder Family”.

He applied for an alt account, and since Xiao Tang was one of the administrators, he was quickly approved.

Shen Jintai waited in the room for a long time, but no one spoke. Can this be called fucking active?!

He looked at the group owner and the administrator, and he was surprised to find it was a remnant powder! One of the administrators, “Black Moonlight”, was Bai Qingquan’s remnant powder! They had infiltrated the management team!

He knew that this fan was a remnant powder because this fan had appeared many times in the novel.

Bai Qingquan was the protagonist who was the epitome of beauty and kindness. Although <Everyone Loves Bai Yueguang> was an entertainment industry novel, it still provided details of all the intrigues of the showbiz world. The fairy Bai Qingquan couldn’t compete for fame and fortune against vicious cannon folder like Shen Jintai. There were too many cannon fodder who opposed him. If Bai Qingquan was constantly bullied, it would be too suffocating for the readers. It would not conform to <Everyone Loves Bai Yueguang> style. This was a heart throbbing sweet fluffy novel!

To make readers enjoy reading the novel, the author created cute supporting characters to help. “Black Moonlight” was one of these cute supporting roles. In the original novel, she was the messenger of justice and Bai Qingquan’s true love fan. Because she didn’t like Shen Jintai’s treatment of her cooking*, she pretended to a gold powder and lurk in Shen Jintai’s support group. Several of gold powders’ “machinations” were leaked by her several times.

*Slang to reference the object/thing one’s a fan of (in this case it’s Bai Qingquan).

Because of this, in the early stages of the novel, Shen Jintai was repeatedly slapped in the face. His gold powders tricks failed, and it was all thanks to this “Black Moonlight”.

Readers left comments praising her as the “Lone Hero Black Moonlight”. Among the warriors who broke into the golden powder, she was the one with the highest rank.

It was impossible to influence this type of fan. The fact was she hated Shen Jintai with a passion yet still infiltrated his fan group and stayed there watching his fans blow rainbow farts* every day. One could only imagine her feelings of depression and irritability. Yet she remained dedicated, and her meritorious performance made her feel full of accomplishment as a spy. This kind of fan will keep moving forward and never look back.

*(彩虹屁) Slang means that fans will constantly tout their idols, even if their idol farted, to them it’ll be all rainbows that come out.

Well, it didn’t matter. Since he knew now, he could simply kick her out.

“Huh?” Xiao Tang was surprised. “Black Moonlight is our key member. She has never given up in the past few years. Do you really want to kick her out?”

“Kick,” Shen Jintai said. “She’s a black powder.”

“Ah?!” Xiao Tang was shocked.

Xiao Tang felt really hurt. He had a very good relationship with this “Black Moonlight”. They even talked a few days ago. At that time, she told him that she would wait for Brother Jintai to make a comeback! He couldn’t see how she was black at all!

“Did you also arrange remnant fans to infiltrate Bai Qingquan’s fan group? Do you know who they are? Can you send me their information?” Shen Jintai asked Xiao Tang.

Xiao Tang, whose emotions were still in turmoil, answered, “Originally, there was, but…”

Shen Jintai had a bad premonition about what he was going to say.

Xiao Tang: “But the past two years, they’re almost all gone. Most have been countered by the Moonlight powders.”

Make no mistake, fandom was war.

—

Bai Qingquan had been busy lately. After participating in a platform event for a luxury brand, he was so tired his eyes were fighting to keep awake. After returning to the hotel, he took a petal bath, swiped his phone while drinking red wine, and went to his super talk* to watch the rainbow fart from his fans. Most of his rainbow farts were either praising his beauty and accomplishments, or “I feel sorry for my brother, it’s so hard”. He was very pleased when reading them.

*(看了) Referring to super topics. People with common interests gather together to form a circle, similar to interests tribes on QQ (instant messaging software), for their idol. Only in this environment of Weibo can fans communicate with celebrities and idols. This feature is designed to strengthen communication between celebrities and fans.

He admired a photo that was taken by a sister today. He was very good-looking in it. Satisfied, Bai Qingquan went to check the Weibo hot search again.

As a result, he saw the statement issued by Zheng Siqi’s company at a glance. After mixing in the entertainment industry for so long, he could see the doorway all at once*. It turned out that the hot search wasn’t bought by Shen Jintai but by Zheng Siqi.

*Refers to the saying that laymen watch the excitement and experts watch the doorway. It means netizens are here for the drama/scoop while he, who’s an insider, knows the real truth behind the hot search.

Looking at such a clean and cold little handsome boy, who would’ve expected he’d also be so good at hyping? He shouldn’t underestimate newcomers these days. On the contrary, he wronged Shen Jintai. The rumors broke out for a day, but Zheng Siqi had clarified it, yet Shen Jintai remained silent. Bai Qingquan logged into his alt account and planned to go to Shen Jintai’s fan group to take a look.

That’s right, he himself registered an alt account, specifically to spy on the movement of the gold powder.

As a result, he just logged in, and a message popped up: [You have been removed from the group chat by the group administrator.]

…

……

!!

!!!!

What the fuck!

---

The author has something to say:

Spy Bai: Where was the horse’s feet exposed*? Did I not kiss Brother Jin’s ass enough? Is my rainbow farts not real enough?!

*(露出马脚 ) Bare the horse’s feet. It’s metaphorically revealing the hidden truth or inadvertently leaking out inside information.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

LMAO that ending!! I did not see that coming hahahaha. I cackled way too long for it.

---

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

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

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

---

Chapter 15: Mystery Man

Yan Yaoxuan suppressed his excitement and deliberately asked, “What tattoo did you wash?”

Everyone knew what tattoo Shen Jintai had on his body. Mrs. Yan was a little unhappy when he saw him fanning the flames, so she interrupted him and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“It’s okay,” Shen Jintai said. After speaking, he glanced at Yan Qiuchi, but Yan Qiuchi didn’t say a word. He simply ate his meal in silence. He didn’t seem to appreciate this gesture.

Mrs. Yan felt that the atmosphere was becoming awkward, so she changed the subject and asked about Shen Jintai’s job. “When you start filming, I’ll visit you on set. After watching TV for so many years, I’ve been wanting to visit a television set.”

“I want to go too,” Yan Yaoxuan said.

“When the filming of his movie starts, you’ll already be back to school abroad,” Yan Qiuchi said coldly.

“I can ask for leave to come back,” Yan Yaoxuan said.

“No. The drama is very long, so it’ll take more than half a year to shoot. We won’t be finished by the time winter vacation comes. You can come visit then.” Shen Jintai said.

“Is there a press conference for the launch?” Mrs. Yan asked.

Shen Jintai nodded.

“Then you have to get a good outfit,” Mrs. Yan said. “Whenever you are free, I will take you to pick one out.”

“My agent is already in contact with some relevant brands,” Shen Jintai said. “I’ll just borrow a set when the time comes.”

At any rate, he was still somewhat of a top idol, so it shouldn’t be difficult to borrow a suit.

“You have been out of the circle for so long. The brands you can borrow from are limited. If you’re not satisfied with what they loan you, let Auntie treat you. Think of it as a gift for your comeback. We have access to all the VIP brands. I’ll take you there directly.” Mrs. Yan was very proud.

Fashion was also an important factor. It was normal for celebrities to borrow clothes for events. Whether or not they get to borrow their preferred clothes will ultimately depend on the brand’s intention. When a brand lent out an outfit, it was to capture the public’s interest. If a small star wanted to borrow an outfit from a big-name brand, they would have little say in what was loaned to them. On the red carpet, celebrities were frequently seen wearing hideous outfits… It wasn’t because they had terrible fashion taste, but because it was the only clothes the brand was willing to loan.

Shen Jintai’s wardrobe had all kinds of famous brands. Unfortunately, he had no formal clothing. All of his clothes were too flashy and flamboyant. The closest thing he had to formal wear was the black suit jacket, which was Yan Qiuchi’s.

“Let see what my agent can get me first. If I can’t borrow anything, then I’ll take you up on your offer,” Shen Jintai said with a smile.

Yan Qiuchi listened by the side silently. Shen Jintai had deliberately pushed his younger brother to sit next to him. Sima Zhao’s heart* was clearly revealed when he sat down and mentioned the tattoo washing. This whole thing was all just an act and he deeply sneered in his heart.

*Reference to Sima Zhao. A Chinese idiom involving and inspired by Sima Zhao states that “Everyone on the street knows what’s in Sima Zhao’s mind” meaning that a person’s supposed hidden intention is so well known that it is not really hidden. || In this context, he’s saying Shen Jintai’s hidden intention is really obvious.

While sneering, Yan Qiuchi also felt relieved. He liked the feeling that he was able to see through Shen Jintai. Knowing what he was planning, would make it easier to deal with him. While irritable, he also felt solace.

Yan Qiuchi, who hadn’t spoken the entire time, quickly finished his dinner. He stood up and started heading upstairs. Seeing he was leaving, Shen Jintai wiped his mouth and stood up as well. “I’ve finished eating too. I’ll go upstairs first.”

Mrs. Yan knew that he was going to find Yan Qiuchi, so she nodded. “Go ahead.”

Yan Yaoxuan also planned to go after Shen Jintai, but Mrs. Yan stopped him. “I have something to tell you.”

Yan Yaoxuan glanced at Shen Jintai, who had rushed upstairs and sat back in his chair. “What…”

Shen Jintai caught up with Yan Qiuchi, only to realize that he hadn’t called out his name. He was lost as to how to address him.

Yan Qiuchi turned around, stopped on the stairs, and looked down.

“Something wrong?” Yan Qiuchi asked.

Shen Jintai nodded and said, “Director Guo told me that you helped me settle the role changes.” He decided to thank him. In his eyes, there wasn’t anything more important than acting. “Thank you,” he said with emphasis. His eyes were sincere.

Yan Qiuchi: “I have always distinguished between my public and private life. My prejudices against you will not be brought into work. Director Guo chose you, so I believe in his vision as a director, but this does not mean that I am optimistic about you.”

Shen Jintai froze for a moment and said, “Then, for that, I also want to thank you.”

“I don’t know how you got the director to insist on choosing you, but since it’s been decided, I hope you can perform well. This drama is our company’s main investment project this year. Several hundred million dollars have been spent on it. If your performance is still as bad as before, even if it’s finished filming, you will be replaced,” Yan Qiuchi said lightly. “At that time, I also hope you understand that whether it is to support you now or to replace you in the future, I have no selfish intention. You don’t have to thank me now, and don’t hate me in the future*.”

*Clarity: He’s basically saying, “It’s not personal, it’s business.” All his actions are for the good of the business, so don’t thank him now because he interceded, and if he does get replaced in the future, don’t hate him either. Neither decision will be influenced by personal feelings.

Yan Qiuchi’s voice was nice but cold. While his face looked stoic and handsome, it always appeared stern when looking at others.

Shen Jintai said, “Got it. Like you, work is work, and feelings are feelings. I will not confuse the two. If I don’t perform well, you can replace me.”

Yan Qiuchi originally thought that Shen Jintai was still the same. However, at this moment, he felt that he was completely different from before. Shen Jintai’s body seemed to be shrouded in mystery. How did he do it? In such a short period of time, his trick became so profound that it was even able to confuse him.

Yan Qiuchi returned to his room. He was very surprised by Bai Qingquan’s recommendation to Guo Rui. He knew about the grudge between Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan. In the beginning, when he had just founded an entertainment company, he invested in a talent show called <Pick Me>. In order to chase him, Shen Jintai signed up to participate. There were many operations behind the scenes of a talent show. Whether a person was suitable for showbiz could be seen at a glance in front of the camera. Shen Jintai was undoubtedly talented, but Bai Qingquan was equally as talented.

Bai Qingquan had a grassroots background. The program team signed him early, so naturally they favored him. Though Shen Jintai was talented, he had the temperament of a rich young master who couldn’t be disciplined. His true intention for entering the competition wasn’t pure, as it was to chase after men. All these factors combined made the program team very reluctant to support him.

Shen Jintai thought that he had been sleeping with Bai Qingquan, and that their relationship wasn’t simple, thus the grudge between the two was born.

To suppress Bai Qingquan, Shen Jintai did many things that he couldn’t stand. Having seen enough, as a big boss, he’d, of course, intervene. However, by doing so, he made the misunderstanding worse, and thus their grudge grew deeper.

If the shock level of Bai Qingquan recommending Shen Jintai was one star, then Guo Rui choosing Shen Jintai to play the second male lead was three stars.

Shen Jintai’s acting… would make one’s eyes bleed.

He was born unsuitable to be an actor. He was not dedicated to work. He was a rich young master who spent money on entering the entertainment industry to mess around. Thus, the roles he performed were naturally terrible.

However, Guo Rui was not an easy director to compromise. He had always had his artistic persistence as the leading director of Sunshine Media. Yan Qiuchi still believed in Guo Rui’s choice. Perhaps Shen Jintai really was suitable for this role.

The glass door of the bathroom was covered with a layer of mist. Yan Qiuchi propped one hand on the wall and stood under the shower with his head slightly lowered. The hot water sprinkled on his broad back and flowed down the gully on his back. His tall and sturdy body was stained with hot water. He became a bit flushed as the water droplets flowed down his chiseled chin. Yan Qiuchi suddenly recalled Shen Jintai’s tattoo.

It was easy to get a tattoo, but it was difficult to wash it off. His name was on it, which was piercing to his eyes, but now Shen Jintai had washed it multiple times to erase it. Moreover, because of its position, it would have been tricky to wash. The image of that afternoon when Shen Jintai was in his car, unbuttoned his shirt, and asked him to touch it appeared in his mind. Considering the position, it would’ve been painful whether it was getting or washing that tattoo.

The shower water suddenly heated up, becoming hotter as if it was going to burn his flesh. He had always suppressed his desires and had firm willpower in that regard. He must remain resolute and not be disturbed by Shen Jintai.

Shen Jintai didn’t take a bath that night. After cleaning up, he lay in bed and read his script. The script had a little problem with the character setting. He originally planned to talk to the screenwriter and the director today, but because Liu Hui was threatening his role, he forgot about it.

The round of readings they were doing now was to further improve the script. This was the ideal time to propose changes and revisions. However, these opinions couldn’t be mentioned casually. Because everyone had a part in the drama, if someone’s scenes or lines were changed, there would be complaints.

Shen Jintai sat on the bed, contemplating how to change his character without disrupting other people’s scenes. While lost in thought, Li Meilan called.

It was a bit noisy on the other end, as he could hear Li Meilan’s two kids yelling for milk. Li Meilan took advantage of his retirement to give birth to two children, a son and a daughter. The eldest was close to two, while the youngest was only eight months old.

“Zheng Siqi and his company issued a statement,” Li Meilan said while hugging one of the kids. “They have denied the romance rumors. Since the crew hasn’t released any official news yet, they haven’t said too much on the matter.”

Shen Jintai: “Well, I’ll take a look.”

Li Meilan: “I thought about it for a while. We’ll also not make it clear. Before the press conference, we’d better try to keep a low profile so as not to distract the heat.”

Shen Jintai hung up the phone and went to Weibo to check it out.

Monsoon Entertainment’s statement was so official that you could easily guess what the next sentence would be if you were reading it.

It was the comments that made Shen Jintai a little weary.

The first hot comment: “The Touhua hype failed.”

“Monsoon Entertainment is so stupid. What marketing account is it? If you want to sue it, you can sue Shen Touhua. It’s so obvious he’s the one hyping it.”

“Poor newcomer. Hasn’t even entered the circle yet but is already being used as a steppingstone.”

“Don’t Touhua like to step on others to get to the top? Have you forgotten Bai Qingquan, who was stepped on by him and almost couldn’t get up?”

“Shen Jintai hasn’t even clarified after the news broke out. At first glance, it’s just hype.”

“Am I the only one who believes this is true? Don’t you think that this handsome guy named Zheng Siqi has a temperament and appearance similar to Prince Yan?!”

Shen Jintai was taken aback when he saw this comment.

He clicked on Zheng Siqi’s Weibo to get a closer look. It was true! They do definitely look alike!

The only difference was the cold temperament between the two. In terms of physical features, the two were almost inseparable. Zheng Siqi was a little more handsome, while Yan Qiuchi was more opulent.

Few people like this comment, though. They didn’t really care. They were more focused on the hype of his current love life. But Shen Jintai had a dreadful premonition. He felt that this similar coincidence would cause huge waves when the drama is broadcast in the future.

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The author has something to say:

Yan Qiuchi: Author, did you arrange a lot of rivals for me? *pulls nose*

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Kinky Thoughts:

Thus, the misunderstanding gets deeper…

Side note: This is what Yan Qiuchi looks like in the manhua:

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