Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day

Chapter 85: Taking a Photo with your Beloved

When Shen Jintai saw Lu Ming, the director suddenly asked him: “Help me ask Qingquan if he would like to make a cameo in this movie.”

Hearing this, Shen Jintai immediately recruited Bai Qingquan.

“We have a character who is good friends with Chen Zheng. He’s a weak academic. After the war, he invites Chen Zheng to his hometown in Shaoxing for a drink. There are about two scenes. We haven’t found a good actor for this role yet. Would you like to do a cameo?” Lu Ming asked with a smile.

Lu Ming was a big director who’s making <Pilot> that’s bound to be a blockbuster. Making a star cameo would be suitable for any celebrity. Thinking he might catch the attention of other great directors in the future if they see him on the big screen, Bai Qingquan immediately agreed. He just needed to coordinate the schedule with his agent.

“Is it settled? “Shen Jintai asked.

Bai Qingquan: “It shouldn’t be a problem. I actually have nothing else to do except participate in promotional activities recently.”

With things settled, everyone returned to the county town and had lunch together. Shen Jintai found that Bai Qingquan was particularly shy in front of Yan Qiuchi. This shyness might be out of awe for the boss, but Shen Jintai felt that it might also be a mask in front of someone who he has a crush on.  

People tend to be shy in front of the one they like. Bai Qingquan didn’t dare to look directly at Yan Qiuchi. Not only was Shen Jintai attentive to Bai Qingquan, even Mrs. Yan and Yan Qiuchi had noticed his odd behavior.

Shen Jintai: “Try this. It’s the local specialty.”

Shen Jintai: “This is a bit spicy so your stomach might get upset. Eat less of it.”

Shen Jintai: “Don’t you like to eat sweets? Try this.”

Yan Qiuchi found that Shen Jintai was very familiar with Bai Qingquan, and he knew all his tastes.

“I saw your English notes in your RV today,” Mrs. Yan awkwardly coughed: “Are you learning English?” ”

Shen Jintai laughed: “In my current role, I have some English lines. The director said that we must use original sounds* for the movie, so I’ve been practicing. I’m afraid that my pronunciation is not up to standard. I have been getting tutoring from a foreign language teacher.

*Clarity: he is saying that lines must be spoken by the original actor during the filming instead of just acting out the scene and having the lines be dubbed by someone else later.

“You should let Qiuchi teach you. His English is exceptional.” Mrs. Yan gave Yan Qiuchi a meaningful glance.

“President Yan speaks English really well.” Bai Qingquan’s tone held sincere admiration drawing suspicion that he was trying to flatter his boss.

Shen Jintai glanced at Bai Qingquan and smiled. He looked at Yan Qiuchi and said: “I’m a scumbag so I’m afraid of being tutored by such an elite. Hahaha. It’s better to use a foreign language teacher. At least if I’m paying for it, I won’t feel shame if I say things badly.”

Bai Qingquan’s phone suddenly vibrated. He took it out, looked at it, then showed it Shen Jintai. Shen Jintai leaned over to look and saw that it was a food video Bai Qingquan has taken and sent to Zheng Siqi. Zheng Siqi had replied: [I seem to have heard Jintai’s voice?]

Bai Qingquan use his phone to take a picture of Shen Jintai and sent it to Zheng Siqi with a voice message: “Come and eat together.”

Zhengi Siqi replied back in a cheerful tone: “You guys don’t hook me up. I’m still filming and I’m so hungry.”

Seeing this interaction, Mrs. Yan couldn’t help but feel that when Shen Jintai is with Bai Qingquan, he had a noticeably young feeling. He wasn’t like this when he’s with Yan Qiuchi, as he usually puts a bit of distance between them. But Yan Qiuchi was only a few years older than him. In fact, his face looks pretty young. It’s just that his temperament was more mature, giving him an old vibe.

“Should we do a collab and post on Weibo?” Shen Jintai suggested.

Bai Qingquan: “Ok.”

Shen Jintai looked at Yan Qiuchi and asked: “Can I trouble you for a bit President Yan?”

Yan Qiuchi respoinded with a “Nn”, took Shen Jintai’s phone, and took a picture of them.

“Did you already take the picture?” Shen Jintai asked.

Yan Qiuchi let out a “Nn”.

Bai Qingquan didn’t say anything, but Shen Jintai was blunt: “You have to count to three so we know when you’re going to shoot so we can set up a pose.”

Yan Qiuchi’s throat bobbed. He picked up the phone again. Shen Jintai stood behind Bai Qingquan and wrapped his arms around Bai Qingquan’s shoulders. Bai Qingquan smiled and reached out and held Shen Jintai’s other hand. Their actions looked very intimate and natural and Shen Jintai’s eyes were sparkling.

“One, two, three.” Yan Qiuchi said faintly.

“Wait!” Bai Qingquan suddenly shouted as he blushed slightly: “President Yan, remember to use the beauty filter…” Photos without a beauty filter are not good, especially for a star!

Yan Qiuchi doesn’t usually engage in this kind of thing. He had never taken a selfie and rarely takes pictures of others. He didn’t understand the psychology behind taking pictures and posting about them. Unaware of how to activate the beauty filter, he fiddled with the phone for a long time.

Eventually, Shen Jintai went over, leaned closely to his shoulder so that his face was almost against his and said: “Shit, you actually used the default setting for the iPhone camera. This is way too ugly. Here. Use this app.”

Shen Jintai opened the app and showed it to Yan Qiuchi. He started looking through all the filters as Yan Qiuchi remained motionless, daring not to breathe. He felt that if he moved even slightly, he would rub against Shen Jintai’s cheek. He could feel the heat radiating from Shen Jintai’s cheek and from time to time, his hair would rub against the end of his eyes, making it a little itchy, and only contributed to his accelerating heartbeat.

“Alright.” Finished setting up the filter, Shen Jintai went back to his original position.

Yan Qiuchi pursed his lips. Several shots were taken consecutively.

“He’s a bit outdated. He’s so busy at work that he rarely has time for other things letting alone knowing about camera filters and such.” Mrs. Yan said.

“Relying on his beauty to commit murder, eh? President Yan must be very handsome that he doesn’t need to use a filter.” Shen Jintai teased.

Yan Qiuchi had an angular and tough appearance. The more authentic he is, the more handsome he looks.

After the photo had been taken, Shen Jintai took a picture with Mrs. Yan. He hugged her neck and stood behind the back of her chair. He interlocked his hands as Mrs. Yan put her hand on his elbows and smiled brightly.

Yan Qiuchi felt that Shen Jintai, who used to be so coquettish, was now extraordinarily cute. He felt warm in his heart seeing this scene and a smile appeared subconsciously at the corner of his mouth. Shen Jintai made an exaggerated expression, pretending to kiss Mrs. Yan on the cheek, purposefully acting cute. Seeing this action, Yan Qiuchi’s mouth completely widened.

“Are you going to take a picture with President Yan?” Bai Qingquan asked Shen Jintai. He felt that Shen Jintai had taken a picture with everyone except Yan Qiuchi, making things a bit awkward. Although Yan Qiuchi was a big boss, Bai Qingquan felt he was completely different than those other big bosses that loves to take pictures.

Since Bai Qingquan had mentioned it, Shen Jintai now couldn’t refuse given the situation. He smiled as he looked at Yan Qiuchi and asked: “Do you want to take a picture together too?”

Yan Qiuchi handed the phone to Bai Qingquan signaling his desire.

Mrs. Yan’s heart felt stabbed by her own son’s sullenness. She felt Yan Qiuchi was slowly improving. She knew the root of the problem. Her son was a good, clean, and self-disciplined man that never messes around. Even so, she knew she was indeed a bit selfish. Her son didn’t like Shen Jintai before and she could empathize with why he said the things he did to him. However, she was standing on Shen Jintai’s side and not her son’s so she couldn’t help but scold him. Recalling their earlier conversation, she realized that she paid the least maternal love to Yan Qiuchi.

If she could match him with Shen Jintai, it would be considered compensation for her previous neglect, right?

She watched Shen Jintai walked towards Yan Qiuchi with a smile. Shen Jintai wasn’t as open as before. He could put his arms around Bai Qingquan’s shoulders and hug Mrs. Yan’s neck but he didn’t touch Yan Qicuhi. He was willing but was afraid it would make Yan Qiuchi uncomfortable.

Instead, Shen Jintai stood behind Yan Qiuchi, put his hands into his pockets, and stood upright. Yan Qiuchi was also standing upright, looking at the phone camera.

While others didn’t notice, Mrs. Yan saw through it all. She knew her son’s own careful thinking and could see the hints of shyness in his majestic posture.

Just like a child.

Her maternal instinct had activated, and she couldn’t help but felt this scene was pleasing to the eye.

The photos Shen Jintai had taken with Bai Qingquan and Mrs. Yan were like a photo between good friends and family, while the one taken with Yan Qiuchi was like a picture between distant acquaintances.

“I was so intimate when I took a photo with Xiao Jin just now. Why are you so rigid Qiuchi? Stop looking too stiff.” Mrs. Yan said.

Yan Qiuchi was obviously wooden. He was about to take a picture with Shen Jintai. How could he not feel excited? The depression he had in the past few days had been immediately swept away. Is it because he was too uptight?

Yan Qiuchi pursed his lips and leaned back on the chair. As soon as his body relaxed, he noticed Shen Jintai had leaned over and put his arms on the back of the chair. While it wasn’t particularly intimate, this was enough for Yan Qiuchi.

Bai Qingquan: “I’m taking the picture. One, two, three.”

Yan Qiuchi remained expressionless, giving off a quiet and cold aura while Shen Jintai smiled brightly emanating warmness. Only Mrs. Yan knew that these feelings were completely reversed. While warm looking on the outside, Shen Jintai was actually the cold one on the inside and vice versa for Yan Qiuchi.

Shen Jintai sent the photos to each of their phones respectively, except for Mrs. Yan who wanted all the photos. When she got them, she zoomed in on Shen Jintai’s and Yan Qiuchi’s photo. She could see the smile that was coming from Yan Qichi’s eyes.

People’s personalities were cultivated since they were young. It’s the so-called country and mountains are easy to move but their nature difficult to change*. Yan Qiuchi will probably never be the kind of man who can take pictures better than YES*.

*Reminder: human nature is more difficult to change than a country.
*Was originally written this way in English. I have no idea what YES is referring to.

Even so, this kind of serious and restrained man has his own charm. Love was hidden in his heart, and not easily revealed. If there comes a day where he couldn’t hide it any longer, what will that look like?

The author has something to say：

There will be great progress tomorrow!

Yan Qiuchi is the type that accumulates and gradually erupts, so don’t rush it.

Some comments I read are all black question mark faces. It can only be said that I have my own outline. Chasing serialization is to believe in the author, but I also know that serialization is more torturous and amplifies certain emotions, so everyone has worked hard.

Thank you for the nutrient solution irrigation, thank you for your comments, thank you for your follow-up, and hope you all have a good time chasing the novel!

Kinky Thoughts: Hmm I can dig this. I’m finding Yan Qiuchi to be getting cuter and cuter.

The more I read about the interactions between Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan, the more I feel they lean towards friendship more than romance… but I guess it has something to do with Bai Qingquan totally disregarding Shen Jintai as a potential romantic partner given he thinks he’s a 0.