Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day

Chapter 57: Disliked

“Touhua was surrounded by fans when he went for dinner!”

“I also saw the news. This situation looks familiar.”

“It the same situation when he was eating with Bai Qingquan. At that time, he was the one shielding Bai Qingquan. A few people seem to know him at that time. Also, a frightened Zheng Siqi was behind them too!”

“Hahahaha. The entertainment industry is really changing. If those three ate out together now, the ones who’ll be blocked would be Shen Jintai and Zheng Siqi. I feel that the popularity of those two are higher than Bai Qingquan now.”

“I just want to know who his bodyguard is. He’s so tall and handsome and looks so temperamental in that black coat!”

“I also noticed that person. With that head-to-body ratio and appearance, I feel that it’s not inferior to Touhua’s ratio!”

“You don’t even know him? He is Prince Yan who has been entangled with Touhua for several years!”

“Shit, is it actually him? I’ve been listening to you talking about Prince Yan this and Prince Yan that, and I finally seen the real person. I know why Touhua was so fascinated by him. He is so fucking handsome, and his boyfriend aura is just bursting with power!”

“Touhua’s comeback this time, didn’t he draw a clear line with him? The tattoo has been washed off. Looking at this situation, is it going to happen again?”

“I was brainwashed by your district that said Shen Jintai was just a stalker and Prince Yan was unmoved. Looking at this situation, why does it look like a lang qing wife? ”

*Lang qing (郎情) = Original is lang qing concubine(郎情妾), the concubine was replaced with wife. It refers to two people who have good feelings for each other.

“Touhua must persevere, and he must be ambitious. I just accepted him as the head of my wall*! If he is mixed with Yan Qiuchi again, the gold powder can be completely removed this time!”

*Wall head = favorite star (out of all the stars the fan likes).

This incident did not make a lot of noise, but it caused an uproar on the gold powder’s side.

“Who is this man?! The picture I just swiped in the rabbit area said he was from the Yan family!”

“It’s really him… what’s going on, can anyone tell me?! As soon as I saw the two of them appear together, my hair stood up. Brother, you want to start this again?!”

“Don’t get too excited, everyone, it should be just a simple dinner, right?”

“Does anyone have any news?”

Immediately, a big fan contacted Xiao Tang. After Xiao Tang heard the news, he was so scared that she immediately called Li Meilan. Preventing Yan Qiuchi is like guarding against time. Li Meilan had told him that Yan Qiuchi was definitely the most terrifying hidden danger. She was afraid that Shen Jintai’s love would not be broken!

“What the hell is this?” Li Meilan looked at the screenshot sent by Xiao Tang.

Xiao Tang: “It’s not disinformation. There are videos taken by fans on the Internet.”

Li Meilan: “When I saw Yan Qiuchi, I was worried that this would happen. You wait for me to ask Jintai.”

She immediately called Shen Jintai: “You and Yan Qiuchi were photographed together?”

Shen Jintai was sitting on the sofa. He said: “Don’t worry. I’m about to post on Weibo.”

Li Meilan: “…Shen Jintai, you are not going to post a Weibo that admits you’re in a relationship, are you?”

Shen Jintai “…Admit to a messy affair, ah? I’m not in a relationship. Even if I want to admit a relationship, it would be with Bai Qingquan.”

“…Your jokes are not comforting me.” Li Meilan walked back and forth in the room: “Seriously, what are you going to post?”

Shen Jintai: “I was thinking about how to deny the relationship without being straightforward and let everyone understand that I have nothing to do with Yan Qiuchi.”

Li Meilan: “The relationship between you and Yan Qiuchi is a sensitive topic. Don’t post it yet. We will discuss the wording with you.”

Li Meilan was treating this as a first level security threat. She immediately called all the team members and went to Shen Jintai’s hotel room together.

Shen Jintai was sitting cross-legged on the sofa trying to explain to them the situation at the time: “I thought it was okay. I was recognized because I was not cautious enough. Yan Qiuchi… He is an outsider. He may be a bit unaccustomed to this kind of situation, so his reaction was relatively strong. He also wanted to protect me, fearing that something would go wrong.”

Xiao Tang sat next to him with his cheeks propped up, watching repeatedly the videos taken by fans: “Actually, there is no particularly intimate behavior…”

“It was a hug! How closer do you want it to be?” Li Meilan felt instant regret: “Honestly, after sending you over, I should have reminded you when I saw Yan Qiuchi. Do you know that the person that your fans hate the most isn’t your rival Bai Qingquan, but Yan Qiuchi?”

Shen Jintai: “Do you still think I like him?”

“50/50. Do you still like him?” Li Meilan asked.

Shen Jintai: “What do you think?”

Li Meilan said: “I think you should, probably, maybe dislike him.” Several other members of the team laughed.

“Unbelievable. You are so familiar with me, yet you are not sure. I can understand that netizen thinks it’s entirely possible that I am still in love.” Shen Jintai tone didn’t have any sadness to it. It was as if he was talking about a pure stranger*: “Why don’t I just post a direct message on Weibo then?”

*Clarity: the way he’s speaking about Yan Qiuchi.

Li Meilan: “You are still filming a series under Sunshine Media and you may film other dramas by them in the future. When you post on Weibo, you have to pay attention to your wording. Don’t embarrass President Yan. Best not to mention his name at all. He probably doesn’t want rumors to spread between him and you anymore.”

Shen Jintai smiled: “Yes, he has probably had enough of it in the past two years.”

The team couldn’t drag Yan Qiuchi into the water and couldn’t clearly express the situation. They discussed together for two hours and finally posted on Weibo*.

*Clarity: couldn’t drag into the water = can’t involve || It’s saying they have to somehow clarify this situation without involving Yan Qiuchi, which makes it hard to do (since he is involve).

[I heard that first snow* is the day of confession. Single dogs choose to relive the love between Li Xu and Zhou Ying on such a night.]

*First snow (初雪) = refers to the first snow after winter.

Attached was a picture of <The East Palace is Coming> being played on a phone.

—

“Sisters, have you seen Touhua’s Weibo? You consider yourself a single dog. Is this a denial of love?”

“I guessed a long time ago that he would deny it. Unless he was out of his mind, only when it turns red would he eat grass*.”

*Eat grass (吃回頭草) = refers to getting back together with an ex.

“Don’t put it so nicely. It seems that he can’t eat this grass even if he wants to eat it. Prince Yan has always refused, right?”

“This video evidence shows otherwise. There’s no way Prince Yan hates him.”

“The relationship between the two of them is really confusing, but Niu Hulu’s* Touhua is no longer the Touhua of the past. He shouldn’t fall in love at this time.”

*Reminder: Niu Hulu refers to the Niohuru clan. As for the implication, I’m not sure.

“He turned red by drawing a clear line with the past. If he and Yan Qiuchi get together, not only the gold powder, but also the CP powder will jump ship. He wouldn’t dare.”

“If there something that Touhua dares to do is to retire for love when he’s at his peak. In my opinion, he posted this Weibo to show that he really has no emotional entanglements with the eldest son of the Yan family. Touhua has always been relatively straightforward. You can turn crazy when you love but you also can be clear-headed when you’re not in love.”

“He looks really attractive. He lives the life of how many people want to live.”

“Hearing what you said makes me like him better.”

“I suspect this is just hype. His past relationship with Prince Yan is too famous. Many people already suspect he set this up as part of his comeback. This is the first time he has publicly clarified it on Weibo. After this wave pass, many of his fans will become more at ease.”

“I am also optimistic that he will gain another wave of fans this time. But having said that, this is the first time I have seen Prince Yan. He’s such a hottie.”

“The man who can make Touhua crazy, moonlight powder call him son-in-law Yan!”

As soon as this Weibo post was posted, the gold powders were relieved.

“This opportunity to become popular is so rare. My brother must be clear-headed, and I will wait for my brother to walk the flower road* with all my heart!”

*Reminder: flower road (花路) = buzzword to walk a smooth path. It means hope everything goes well for you.

“Yes, Yan Qiuchi, please go away! My brother is beautiful alone!!!”

“Yes, don’t delay our Brother Jin from taking the flower road, okay?!”

“Brother, please focus on your career. What love! He’s just in his twenties!”

“I have no objection to my son falling in love. It is normal to fall in love when you get older, but Yan Qiuchi? NO WAY!”

“Really, I can accept anyone except Yan Qiuchi.”

“Didn’t moonlight powders all call him son-in-law Yan. Why don’t they hurry up and take away their son-in-law!”

—

He had dinner with Shen Jintai tonight and hugged him. This wasn’t a trivial matter. After Yan Qiuchi returned home, his mood remained uneasy. He didn’t know what was going on.

Hot water flowed down his hair, rolling down his face to his chin then to his neck, as it pooled around his strong and tall shoulders.

Yan Qiuchi was a person who loves to play sports. His back muscles were smooth, his body was taut, his lumbus formed a nice gully showing explosive power. One hand laid on the bathroom mirror as he wiped the hot water off his face.

He had showered for what seemed like hours. Coming out in a bathrobe, he drank a glass of water and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and opened the curtains. He saw heavy snow fluttering under the streetlights.

His phone that he had laid on the table rang. It was a message from Fang Yun.

When Fang Yun saw the news, she was shocked. She couldn’t help but worried about the outcome of what this event will lead to. She was now enthralled with The East Palace. Shen Jintai had captured her heart. If he relapses and pester her boss again or pulls him into another scandal… she didn’t know what to do.

She knew Sunshine Media’s PR methods were top in the industry. If they worked against Shen Jintai and Monsoon Entertainment, he wouldn’t be able to gain any advantage from this.

“This news…” She asked anxiously: “Do you need the public relations department to deal with it?”

Yan Qiuchi hadn’t expect that he was be severely disliked by Shen Jintai’s fans. Even passersby hoped there would no longer be any entanglements with him. He had gone and checked Shen Jintai’s newly Weibo post, and saw that there were already more than 100,000 comments. He clicked to read them and the more read the more unsettled he became.

He realized that he was the least popular person among the gold powders. As he kept reading, he suddenly received a call from Shen Jintai. Yan Qiuchi was caught in a daze as his heartbeat pumped faster. He pursed his lips and connected the call: “Hello?”

“It’s me, Shen Jintai.”

Shen Jintai’s voice sounded a little strange through the phone. Yan Qiuchi responded with his usual “Nn” as he put one hand into his pocket and walked to the window.

“I don’t know if you have seen the news. I’m sorry, I got you involved again.” Shen Jintai said. Before Yan Qiuchi had a chance to respond, Shen Jintai continued: “But you can rest assure, I have already denied it clearly.”

You can rest assure.

Yan Qiuchi suddenly recalled the message he received saying the exact same thing: [You can rest assured.]

What can he be assured about?

The north wind was blowing, sweeping up snow to the glass window. One by one they fell. Yan Qiuchi’s adam’s apple bobbed. His mouth was agape, but he was speechless. He didn’t know how to respond. It seem as if Shen Jintai was unreachable. It wasn’t Shen Jintai that wronged him, but that he had wronged Shen Jintai.

Shen Jintai softly chuckled, as if he felt embarrassed, and said: “Then I won’t disturb your rest. Sleep early.”

“Shen Jintai.” Yan Qiuchi hurriedly shouted.

Shen Jintai: “Hmm?”

Yan Qiuchi lowered his eyes and said: “Good night.” The silence was deafening.

With another chuckle on the other end of the line, Shen Jintai responded: “Good night.”

After he hanged up the phone, it made several beeping noises. Yan Qiuchi sat down in a chair, leaned his head back and closed his eyes.  Shen Jintai was in the critical period of his career. He can see how much he loves his job as an actor, loves being a star, and wanted to stay in the entertainment industry for a long time.

Yan Qiuchi knew he had to stay away from him as much as possible in order to not impeded on his chances.

Feeling downcast, Yan Qiuchi got up and went to the closet to change into his pajamas. His wardrobe was displayed transparently. There were rows of shoes, ties, watches, and clothes. As he took off his bathrobe and put on his pajamas, he caught sight of the coat that Shen Jintai had returned to him, hanging unobtrusively in the corner.

Yan Qiuchi had insomnia that night. He closed his eyes and recalled the scene. The heavy snowfall. His arms wrapped around Shen Jintai’s waist. With Shen Jintai’s in his embrace he walked forward. Snowflakes blown by the wind clashed against his face. He didn’t feel any slight of coldness, only the heat coming from his heart.

With a ding dong, Shen Jintai who was about to fall asleep was suddenly awoken.

“Dear!”

Upon hearing this familiar voice, Shen Jintai immediately sat up from the bed: “Xiao Ai!”

Xiao Ai’s familiar cheerful, warm, and enthusiastic voice said: “Kiss~ I’m back!”

The author has something to say:

Yan Qiuchi: The road to chasing one’s wife is long and difficult.

Kinky Thoughts: Lol poor Shen Jintai… still adamant about being with Bai Qingquan. Poor Li Meilan, I think she’s going to have a stroke when they really do get together… and those gold powders are going to have aneurism.

Ah? Do I hear regret now? *Hands Yan Qiuchi a ticket to the crematorium*. Welcome .

What a terrible chapter… all full of fucking Weibo comments. At least Xiao Ai is back. So cute~ here’s what he looks like in the Manhua: