Chapter 2: How Did He Change His Appearance?

DECEMBER 9, 2021 / KINKYTRANSLATIONS

Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day

Author: 公子于歌 / Gong Zi Yu Ge

Translator: Kinky

Shen Jintai debuted for only a few years, and his only masterpiece was chasing men.

These days, in the entertainment circle, when referring to publicly chasing men there’s only one person who would come to mind: Shen Jintai. He, who was single before, generously spent money like dirt to chase after a man until he went bankrupt, yet was still remained single in aftermath.

When he returned home, Shen Jintai went to look in the mirror. The reflection showed a boy with red hair and fuchsia eyeshadow. His face shows a tinge of immaturity that made it looks grisly which was quite in line with the state of a vicious cannon fodder that was about to go offline.

His facial features were not exquisite compared to other handsome men in the industry, but still had potential. He also had the advantage that his skin was good and his face was small.

He thought about the reward he’ll get for completing his first task, and quickly looked at his ass. He felt that this figure was already fine. He was 1.8 meters* tall. His body wasn’t very wide either. His abdominal lines have blurred revealing only skin and bones. On his collarbone was a tattoo that was…

*About 5 ft 9.

Damn! It was Yan Qiuchi’s name with a red heart around it!

Nowadays, in a harmonious society and in the entertainment circle, such a big tattoo would be censored on TV, right?!

Oh no. And this red hair was also inappropriate for Television.

Without a second thought, Shen Jintai went to a tattoo shop.

“Are you sure you want to wash it off?” The handsome tattooed guy repeatedly asked.

“Yes. I’m sure.”

He washed his face. Without make up on, his face looked quite different from the gorgeous and enchanting appearance he had on stage. Still the handsome tattooed guy recognized him and asked: “Hey, are you… Shen Jintai?” His tone sounded tentative as if he wasn’t quite sure. How could Shen Jintai come to a small street shop like this? Wasn’t he a big star?

Shen Jintai once again felt the graces of his stardom!

As a veteran actor worked diligently for N-years and remained unknown, this kind of experience was both sour and refreshing!

If you’re not afraid of being blackened in the entertainment industry, then you’re not afraid of being popular.

“I am,” he said.

The tattooed guy became a little excited.

“Do you want a photo?” Shen Jintai took the initiative to ask.

The tattooed brother nodded frantically, and quickly took out his cell phone: “My girlfriend used to like you very much.”

That was before, later… Later, his girlfriend turned black*.

*I think this is referring to she became an anti-fan/hater.

After taking the photo, the tattoo brother washed his tattoo.

“Can it be removed?” he asked.

“Your tattoo* is too deep, and you have a colored tattoo. There’s no way to completely wash it off. It’s impossible remove but if you wash it a few times, it will get lighter.”

*Not sure if this is a permanent tattoo or a temporary one (wasn’t explicitly mentioned) but as far as I know you can’t wash away a permanent tattoo.

“Will it leave scars?”

“This depends on the person’s physique. Usually there is a bit of scarring.”

Shen Jintai nodded: “Wash it.”

The tattoo spread down from his collarbone and reach an indescribable place which made the position very tricky to wash. It felt very painful during the washing process. He estimated that it was even more painful than when he got it tattooed. He felt blood dripping on his chest as he laid there with his eyes closed.

It’s really felt like a flood after a long drought*.

*真是旱的旱死，涝的涝死。Not sure about this translation.

If he had this kind of luck, he would become popular on his debut, and only when his brain become pig-headed will he retire for love.

Especially for those who retired for love. They are still on the side of the enemy*!

*尤其为爱隐退的对象，还是死对头那一方的！Not sure about this translation

After Shen Jintai died, he still had a few old fans who never gave up. However, these old fans were completely stripped of their powder* after Shen Jintai tattooed Yan Qiuchi’s name on his body.

*Term use for fans/fandom in China.

Damn, he had never seen someone so cheap!

The tattooed brother stomped his feet excitedly while washing.

Usually, tattoos have a deep story behind them though there are few that are as full of love and hate as this one. When you love, you can’t tattoo them into your flesh otherwise when you hate, you’ll have to scrape off a layer of your skin to remove all traces of them.

The tattoo brother thought ‘Who is this Yan Qiuchi?’ The pattern was so deep, and it was tattooed in such a conspicuous space. He felt the name was a bit familiar and resolved to ask his girlfriend when he goes back!

Shen Jintai made an appointment to come back again next week and went out, clutching his chest. Although the treatment was done, his skin still showed some blood stains.

This is the price of love!

As soon as he sent Shen Jintai on his way, the tattoo brother immediately called his girlfriend: “Baby, guess who was here just now?!”

The girlfriend was curious: “Who?”

“Shen Jintai!”

Fans always have strong emotions regarding their fandom. They have a strong desire to love them, but this feeling can also give rise to hate. His girlfriend was silent for a few seconds before replying: “Are you trying to pick a fight?! Don’t mention that stupid bitch to me!”

The sky outside was already dim signaling the start of night, but the streetlights weren’t on yet. Passers-by were in a hurry, and no one recognized him, even though he had iconic red* hair. He went to a salon not far away to dye his hair and changed to a fresher hairstyle.

*Original translation said it was pink but to keep it consistent with previous translations, I changed it to red. The author must have forgotten that she gave him red hair color previously.

Red hair made his natural skin look white and tender. Dyeing it black made even more fair.

The little barber: “You kind of remind me of a star.”  Though after thinking about it for a long time, he couldn’t recall the name Shen Jintai.

Shen Jintai smiled in the mirror. He was not familiar with this face yet. When he looked in the mirror, he seemed to be looking at someone else. He saw an unfamiliar fresh facial feature that was enveloped around his soul full of ambition and desire. Blended together, they formed a contradictory attraction, just like water under a frozen river in Spring ready to break the ice.

If he became more handsome, he’ll enthrall the entire entertainment industry!

When he got out of the salon, he reflexively reached into his pocket to take out a cigarette. Instead, he felt something soft and cotton. After looking, he remembered that it was the thong he had tucked into his pocket. He was about to throw it into a trash can nearby when he hesitated and looked at the suit jacket that he was wearing and felt it was extremely loose and ill-fitted.

This seems to be Yan Qiuchi’s coat. He took the wrong one when he was rushing out.

When Shen Jintai came home, he hung the thong and the suit jacket next to each other to amplify the contrast between the trashy thong and chic suit jacket. He planned to look at them every day as a warning and to give him motivation.

—

After a day’s rest at home, Li Meilan called.

Shen Jintai kicked his blanket away without opening his eyes. He was accustomed to sleeping without clothes. Stretching out his limbs he dangled his long legs on the edge of the bed: “Hello?”

“I picked up a role for you. Male number two. Are you going?”

What? Male number two! Of course he’ll go! This is the second main character!

“Will go, will go.” Shen Jintai opened his eyes immediately and sat up vigorously: “I can’t believe I can still get the role of a second male lead.” He was quite breathless.

Li Meilan laughed dryly: “But…”

She coughed again: “The male lead is Bai Yueguang.” Bai Yueguang was not only in the title of the novel, it was also the elegant name given to him by his fans.

The bright moon shines among the pine, and the clear spring stone is up. It was specially paired with Bai Yueguang*.

*明月松间照，清泉石上流。和白月光特搭。I think this has something to do with the meaning behind his name of which I’m unable to translate.

Everyone knew that Shen Jintai and Bai Yueguang were rivals.

Li Meilan thought that he was afraid and would refuse so she hurriedly said: “You also know that you have been silent for the past two years. And you know how fast the entertainment industry changes. At the moment, the only resources I can get for you are all activities in some small 18th-tier cities with no scripts.”

This wasn’t a surprise. Shen Jintai was famous for his stiff acting. He once acted in an idol drama but due to his awkward acting he became a meme.

“Bai Yueguang was really good. When he heard that you were going to make a comeback, he immediately called the producer. The producer readily agreed and asked you to audition tomorrow. Bai Yueguang is now one of the top actors in the industry. You being the second male lead in this project would be the best route for your comeback. You should consider it carefully.”

Of course the producer would agree. The fact they are both rivals outside and their roles are the same inside this play, would create a ton of hype. This would catapult Shin Jintai back into the limelight. His comeback needed to be big and explosive.

“Also…” Li Meilan paused, and finally said: “This drama is one of the key investment projects of Sunshine Media this year…”

Sunshine Media is a film and television company that was established by the Yan Group in the past two years. Yan Qiuchi, the young prince of the Yan family, was in charge of it.

“Needless to say, I’ll go.” Shen Jintai said. He was worried that he would not have a chance to come into contact with these two people.

“Dingdong! My dear, Xiao Ai is online.”

“Holy shit!” Shen Jintai suddenly toss his phone away: “You scared me to death!”

Xiao Ai chuckled: “Congratulations, dear, you will officially enter the strategy action plan tomorrow.”

Shen Jintai: “Are you going to release a plot task?”

Xiao Ai: “No, we are a very humane love system. We only ask for results, and we don’t care what kind of measures you take. However, in order to make you more motivated, I plan to give you a nice offer here.”

Shen Jintai: “What offer?”

Xiao Ai: “According to the original rules, you will have to attack the white moonlight to get the first reward. However, to better acquaint you with our reward system, and to show that we care for you, we’ll give you a reward and upgrade in advance. You only need to accumulate 10 points to get your first fart* reward.”

*This is referring to the ass never sag reward in chapter 1.

Shen Jintai: “Can you tell me about the next reward?” He didn’t want it all to be about the ass. What he wanted was face, face, face!

“Wait a minute, Xiao Ai will check it for you… Dear, your next reward is to become beautiful.”

Shen Jintai was finally relieved.

“Because the theme of your reward is to make you become more beautiful and sexier, these traits are rewarded in turns. That is to say, your first reward will be related to something sexy, the next reward will be related to beauty. This will continue to rotate back and forth like so.”

Well, to be a star, you really need both body and face.

“By the way, Xiao Ai kindly reminds you that though your task is to attack Bai Yueguang, your real goal is to suppress the male protagonist in order to sharpen and make him stronger and more ambitious. So in addition to your task of attacking Bai Yueguant, you can get additional points if your actions affects the male protagonist positively. After all, the conflict between the male protagonist and the villain will make readers blood boil increasing their enthusiasm for the novel.”

So it’s like this.

“The more intense the conflict, the more reward points.”

Why did he think that this was weird? This shameful reward system can’t help but make people think crookedly.

As soon as he made up his mind, Xiao Ai laughed “hehehe”. It was relying on this.

“Can you stop laughing so wretchedly.”

“Okay, Xiao Ai won’t bother you anymore. I’m going offline! Come on! Come on! Come on! Beep!”

Shen Jintai flopped on his bed. What the hell was this. He pinched his thigh to assure that this was all real.

—

Shen Jintai went to audition early the next morning. Li Meilan and his assistant Xiao Tang were already waiting for him at the door. Shen Jintai waved his hand from a distance: “Hi, good morning!”

Li Meilan held her arms and glanced at him, then looked at Xiaotang: “Who is that?”

Xiao Tang: “I have no idea.”

These days, these little-known actors would act like they are close to each other publicly but in reality wasn’t really cordial.

Seeing their response was so cold Shen Jintai took off his sunglasses and greeted again: “Sister, good morning.”

Li Meilan and Xiao Tang both froze staring at him for a while.

“Fuck.“ Li Meilan stretched out her hand and pinched his chin while moving it around to inspect his face properly.

“Brother Jin?” Xiao Tang said, “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

He hadn’t seen Shen Jintai for a long time since Shen Jintai didn’t have much work. He knew that he was chasing Yan Qiuchi’s ass like an illegitimate meal, so he didn’t need him.

Shen Jintai had lost weight. After dyeing his hair back, it seems his entire temperament has changed. The biggest was how he was dressed. When Shen Jintai debuted, his clothing were usually ostentatious that always garnered a lot of attention. Coupled this with his glamorous and flirtatious makeup and his high-profile personality, it had consistently set off a bloody storm in the entertainment industry.

But now he looked clean from head to toe, as if his youth had returned to him glowing under the sun.

Three people entered the elevator. Li Meilan said: “You are really Niu Hulu’s reincarnation. Have you changed sex?”

“Sister, don’t worry! I’m not like the past!”

The audition room they were going to was on the third floor. As the elevator went up one by one, Li Meilan said, “Are you still chasing Yan Qiuchi?”

The elevator made a ding dong noise signifying they arrived on the third floor.

With a ding dong, they arrived on the third floor. The elevator door slowly opened, and Shen Jintai’s voice was full of fighting spirit as if he was a brand-new person said: “Who is Yan Qiuchi? My father has never heard of him!”

As soon as he said it, he was startled to see four or five people standing outside the elevator. They were all dressed in a black suit with wide shoulders and narrow waists. They had tall lines, and two hands in their trouser pockets. There was an aura of abstinence around them signifying that strangers should not approach them. Hearing what he said, his brows furrowed as his gaze passed through Li Meilan looking straight ahead at the man before him.

He knew this person. It was the “regardless of whether you’re a man or woman, if you like men, then you wanted to be fucked by” Yan Qiuchi.

It was only yesterday when Yan Qiuchi had pulled him off the bed.

Though he looked cold now as if he was surrounded by icebergs, later on he’ll become boiling hot. The line on his chin was tough and cold. The bridge of the nose high. His thin lips looked clean. His facial features exuded heroism and nobility giving off a feeling of extreme abstinence.

Such a strong abstinence feeling gave rise to provocative taste. All at once Shen Jintai understood why the original owner was so fascinated by him.

Yan Qiuchi shouted: “If you have the ability, try and see if you can actually seduce me!”

Such a man made people really want to conquer him. How exhilarating it would be to turn that upstanding face into a look of perversion.

Such ascetic desire was like a vagabond begging for mercy. It was like climbing Mount Everest. It’s a pity that the original owner was frozen to death before he even climbed halfway up and couldn’t see the grand scene he wanted.

At first glance, Shen Jintai was slightly embarrassed when he remembered the cheap words he had used a few days ago as he was chasing after Yan Qiuchi’s ass. All the staff could recognize his distinct voice forever haunting him by reminding him of his past.

“Father hasn’t heard of him?” Ha ha ha! Has he forgotten the hungry look he had when he shamelessly followed this big boss every day calling him husband?!

Everyone looked at the elevator contemptuously to see a young man in a white shirt and black pants standing behind Li Meilan.

A faintly handsome black-haired guy with a youthful look and a smile on his lips.

This is…Shen Jintai?

They haven’t seen him for a few days yet how… how did he become like this?!

The author has something to say:

Shen Jintai: Yan Qiuchi is the Everest that everyone wants to climb, but no one can climb it.

Author: It doesn’t matter, if others can’t climb up, you will climb up.

Kinky thoughts: A few terms I couldn’t really make sense of. Hopefully someone can help me out. Also there’s a lot of commonly use terms within the entertainment industry novels that I’ll try my best to explain, though I’m not too familiar with some them myself.