Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day

Chapter 38: It’s on the Air

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

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

*Send a voice (你怎么可以发语音) = internet buzzword that means that when you see text or pictures sent by others, you feel that you hear the relevant voice, but there is no real voice sent.

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

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

*Drama king (剧王) = list of first class actors that exceed ratings in shows they star in.

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

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

“Drag it out and kill it immediately!”

“That’s it!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yaoxuan is back too?” Shen Jintai asked.

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

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

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

*That’s 86 in fahrenheit.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Where’s Qiuchi?” Yan Tiefeng asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

This was not enviable.

Yan Qiuchi nodded when he saw him.

Shen Jintai didn’t pretend to be indifferent and smiled at him politely.

Yan Qiuchi was taken aback by this smile.

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

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

Shen Jintai sat down: “Thank you auntie.”

“If you eat it, then my work was not in vain.” Mrs. Yan said and glanced at Yan Qiuchi: “Young master, come down.”

“Was showering.” Yan Qiuchi said.

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

*Elbow turned outwards (胳膊肘往外拐 ) = use to refer to the arms of a person are facing inwards and moving towards the back, which mean selfishness. The commendatory meaning is selfishness while the derogatory meaning is the kind of selfishness that is unreasonable and can’t recognize right from wrong.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shen Jintai use to have a very womanlike and flirtatious look that gave off a very femme fatale aura. That aura’s now gone as his personality has been corrected. His expression now gave off a chicer and more uninhibited look.

Unfamiliar. How very interesting.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Translation help: (东宫美璟) I’m not sure what the Mei Jing means or if it’s referring to something.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What should I do if the rabbit area and the eight groups* can’t be control!” The moonlight fans wailed in the group.

*Translation help: rabbit area and eight groups (兔区和八组) = it’s a referencing something that I’m not 100% sure of. Based on my research rabbit area might be referring to forums and eight groups is referring to gossiping girls/aunties.

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

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

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

“That right. When will he have to be an emperor to blow his acting skills again.*”

*Translation help: (就是，他什么时候也得个视帝再来吹演技吧。) Not really sure what they are saying here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Actors can easily enter the play when they are acting. When watching the finish product, it was more like seeing their test result. The audience was the opposite. When watching actors act, it looks like they are watching them work. But when seeing them on screen, they get drawn into the play.

Even the book shufen* didn’t expect it.

*shufen (淑芬) = specific terms to fans of the original novel.

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

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

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

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

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

The producer was not a human being!!!

Yan Tiefeng commented: “Not bad.”

Mrs. Yan: “Xiao Jin acted so well.”

Yan Qiuchi: “…”

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

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

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

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

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

This feeling was really good.

Yan Qiuchi unclenched his hands. His palms were sweaty.

—

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

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

The incident came late at night.

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

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

Shen Jintai: “What’s the matter?”

He thought something bad had happened.

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

??

What happened?!

The author has something to say：

“That right. When will he have to be an emperor to blow his acting skills again.*”

*Translation help: (就是，他什么时候也得个视帝再来吹演技吧.) it was the same quote as in the chapter.

Gold powder: Brother, then you must have one.

Kinky Thoughts: Someone’s heartstrings are getting tugged…