CH 68

Chapter 68: Of Course, You Have to Meet Your Father-in-Law During New Year’s

Yan Qiuchi came out of the cloakroom wearing a gray suit pants and a turtleneck black sweater. He gave off a vibe of cold and rigidness. Shen Jintai retracted his gaze and smiled at Yan Qiuchi. Yan Qiuchi pursed his lips and sat down opposite of him.

Shen Jintai handed him the script and said: “I’m here to pull an investment. President Yan, how about you take a look at this script?”

Yan Qiuchi smiled for a brief moment that looked a bit awkward, since he wasn’t used to smiling. His smile was fleeting as it quickly faded back to his usual icy and restrained look. His usual look coupled with his height and aura, always made people a bit nervous.

Yan Qiuchi took the script and skimmed through it. He raised his head and asked: “Is this the movie you want to pick up?”

Shen Jintai smiled and nodded: “So you know.”

Yan Qiuchi gazed at him briefly then looked away. With a “Nn”, he looked back down at the script and said: “I have heard of it.”

“This is Director Qiu Hong’s original version. It’s different from the version uploaded online. This version is a bit flat since it’s more of a literary and artistic film. Due to this, it had not been able to attract investments. Look at it first. If you think it’s good after reading it, lets cooperate. Business is business.” Shen Jintai stood up while maintaining his smile: “Then I’ll leave you to read it first. Let’s talk about it after you finish.”

Yan Qiuchi: “Have you decided to act in it?”

“If it can be produced, I will definitely act in it.” Shen Jintai said: “If you read the script and think it is feasible and want to invest, but prefer a different starring candidate, I can also withdraw.” He said in a jokingly manner, but it was not entirely impossible. After all, the investors and producers were the big shots. This was not something he could decide, or even Yan Qiuchi could decide alone. He liked this script immensely and hope it could be made, even if he can’t participate in it himself.

It would be a pity if it ultimately, due to market preference, became a shallow movie that’s had a gay theme that felt to be shoehorned in.

Yan Qiuchi was extremely businesslike and formal: “I’ll take a look first, and if I think it’s appropriate, I’ll hand it over to the company’s editorial and review department for evaluation. What does your company think?”

Shen Jintai: “Monsoon Entertainment only works as an artist broker. President Ji found a way to contact a few investors for me, but they all prefer the edited version.” …Including Fengxi himself.

From the perspective of an investor, their choice was not wrong. The script is a chronological drama. To make it high quality in order to win awards, fuhua dao* needed to be more refined and meticulously planned. Qiu Hong said that the 10 or 20 million still isn’t enough.

*Fuhua dao (服化道) = it’s the acronym of the first characters of and refers to costumes (服装), makeup (化妆), and props (道具). While people pay attention to the plot, they are also concerned with these things applied to the actors so the director would be extremely careful in this regard.

While his heartbeat was slightly fast, Yan Qiuchi still retained his original decision-making sanity and remained consistent with his principle of separation of public and private. He had a lot of say in the choice of scripts, but he would never be tyrannical about it.

Shen Jintai felt the atmosphere was becoming awkward, so he stretched out his arm offering a handshake. He smiled and said: “Then I’ll wait for good news from you.”

Yan Qiuchi stretched out his hand and shook hands with Shen Jintai. The moment their fingers touched; his heartbeat accelerated rapidly. Shen Jintai’s hands were cold while his were hot. As Mrs. Yan said, he had strong firepower. It’s not surprising. After all he was trying to contain a body that was full of volcanic lava. How can the firepower of this kind of onslaught not be strong?

Shen Jintai didn’t know why this thought suddenly appeared in his heart. He couldn’t help but grinned widely: “Alright then.”

Yan Qiuchi didn’t know why Shen Jintai suddenly smiled. He felt the smile was warm and bright and it made him nervous again. After Shen Jintai got up and left the room, Yan Qiuchi returned to his seat and started reading the script. Reading only less than a page, he got up again and went to the bathroom to look in the mirror. His hair was messy, but his face looked clean, and his clothes were tidy. There was nothing out of place.

He used to have no feelings towards Shen Jintai’s expressions, but now he would spend hours speculating about a casual smile.

—

The New Year’s break was too short. Shen Jintai had to return to the crew to resume work the next day.

“How long will it take for you to finish?” Yan Yaoxuan asked him.

Shen Jintai: “The schedule set by the crew is about the end of this month. If it is actually filmed, it will be take about half a month. I don’t know what will be deleted or added later.”

“I just want to know the ending for Li Xu,” Mrs. Yan said: “I heard my friend say your character goes crazy in the end.”

“The original work is like this. He did too much evil and was driven crazy by He Lanbi.” This was one of the most exciting parts of the original work and one of the best highlights for the heroine.

“Why is this He Lanbi so annoying,” Mrs. Yan said: “The staff at home, as well as my friends, all hate her.”

“She is the heroine, and her three views* are quite correct,” Shen Jintai said with a smile: “You are looking at it from Li Xu’s standpoint. In fact, from the standpoint of the heroine, there is nothing wrong with her.”

*Reminder: three views = worldview, outlook of life, values.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s understandable when I think about it, but it’s just not flattering.” Mrs. Yan said: “Anyway, we all think so. It would be great if you could defeat her.”

Mrs. Yan’s opinion represented most passersby’s. Preconceived notions had already been formed. Everyone’s empathy was on Li Xu’s side, and they sympathized that he was forced to path of evil.

“By the way,” Mrs. Yan asked Yan Qiuchi: “Have you finished reading the script that Xiao Jin gave you? What did you think?”

“The story is okay, but the commercial nature is relatively poor.” Yan Qiuchi said: “I have sent it to the editorial and review department to let them audit and evaluate it.”

“What script?” Yan Yaoxuan asked.

“Xiao Jin picked up a script recently. The story is very good, but it may not be a blockbuster type, and he haven’t been able to attract investment. I asked him to show it to your brother.” Mrs. Yan glanced at Shen Jintai with a smile.

Shen Jintai felt that Mrs. Yan was trying to hint something at him. She was also the one who suggested to him to ask Yan Qiuchi about it in the first place.

“How much do you need for an investment?” Yan Yaoxuan said: “If it’s not enough, I’ll sponsor it.”

“You have a lot of money now?” Yan Qiuchi said coldly: “Do you think your tuition and living expenses are free for next semester?”

“I have enough to cover them.” Yan Yaoxuan said. He didn’t understand his brother’s brain circuit at all. Didn’t his brother like Shen Jintai? If he had the money, power, and connection, he wouldn’t hesitate to help Shen Jintai make movies. Whatever Shen Jintai wanted to film, he would handily give. He would open his own company dedicated to making him a superstar!

“Don’t get involved,” Mrs. Yan said. She then turned to look at Yan Qiuchi: “Your company’s investment in movies does not only depend on just box office returns. It’s not enough to just make commercial films. You also ought to make a few award-winning films. It is also good for your company’s reputation.”

“My department will evaluate.” Yan Qiuchi said.

Mrs. Yan had a love-hate relationship with her son’s business-like attitude. To Yu Gong* this would be considered the ideal boss. With such a boss, the company’s development would be infinite. Privately though, she had the same feelings as Yan Yaoxuan. It’s great to support Shen Jintai to his superstardom. After all, they were all from the same family! Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but feel regret that Shen Jintai didn’t sign with Sunshine Media.

*Yu Gong = Prime Minister of the Western Han Dynasty and served as the county jailer and judge. He was very diligent in his management of prisons and famous for his ability to execute prison sentences. No matter how big or small the case is, he would investigate meticulously. It was said people who were sentenced by him bear no resentment.

Shen Jintai on the other hand thought Yan Qiuchi was very proper. He made a clear distinction between public and private. If they worked together in the future, it will be much easier to get along.

He would be returning to the crew soon. Shen Jintai planned to return home again before that. Mrs. Yan was thoughtful and prepared many New Year’s gifts for him: “Don’t let your stepmother say that you weren’t there.”

Shen Jintai said: “Last time I saw her, I felt that she was okay and very enthusiastic about me spending time here.”

Mrs. Yan: “Now that the family depends on you, how can she not be enthusiastic? If she was more reliable, the relationship between you and your father wouldn’t be this bad. Forget it, I’m too lazy to talk about her. Qiuchi send Xiao Jin back.”

Yan Yaoxuan watched from the side, silently. His heart was sour and bitter. He turned his head and looked at Yan Qiuchi next to him. He never realized that his brother was so good at pretending. From a glance no one could tell that he liked Shen Jintai. His face remained stiff like a dead and dark corpse. The black turtleneck sweater he was wearing only made him look more distant and colder.

Yan Qiuchi responded with a nod.

“There’s no driver at home and elder brother is also busy…” Yan Yaoxuan said quietly*.

*Clarity: he’s complaining about why his mother asked Yan Qiuchi, who has a busy schedule, to send Shen Jintai back instead of him. This is him mummering to himself than making an argument on his behalf.

“Also, pay your New Year’s greetings to your Uncle Shen.” Mrs. Yan said to Yan Qiuchi.

Shen Jintai gave a call home first before he headed out. When he arrived, Shen Xiaomei was already waiting for him outside. This time, she was even more energetic than last time. As soon as she saw the car stopped, she jumped up and down and yelled: “Brother! Brother!”

When Shen Jintai got out of the car, she rushed over. She looked milky and sweet. Her pink down jacket and pink butterfly hairpin made her looked like a ball of pink.

She threw herself in Shen Jintai’s arms and secretly looked at Yan Qiuchi behind him. Shen Jintai smiled and picked her up: “His name is Uncle Yan.”

He didn’t mean it intentionally. He was not used to having a much younger sister so when he meets someone that was Shen Xiaomei’s age, he would automatically classify himself as an uncle.

As soon as Yan Qiuchi’s expression changed, he heard Shen Xiaomei call out obediently: “Hello uncle.”

Yan Qiuchi thought that Shen Jintai was deliberately teasing him. He pursed his lips and responded with “Nn” in an almost inaudible voice.

Liu Qi came out with her apron still tied to her body: “I thought it would be a while longer before you arrive…” Seeing Yan Qiuchi while speaking, she was taken aback for a moment: “Qiuchi is here too… Lao* Shen, Jintai and Qiuchi are here!”

*Lao (老) = means old. When used in front of a name, it refers to the head or elder members of the family.

When Shen Ruhai came out of the house, he saw Liu Qi helping Yan Qiuchi carry things. Shen Jintai was still holding Shen Xiaomei. When he saw him, he immediately bent over and nodded.

Yan Qiuchi also greeted Shen Ruhai respectfully: “Uncle Shen.”

Shen Ruhai nodded and listened to Liu Qi say, “You are too polite to bring so many things.”

When Mrs. Yan makes her move, it was always big*. This time, Yan Qiuchi alone couldn’t carry everything in at once. Shen Jintai had to put Shen Xiaomei down and helped him bring in the gifts. When he reached the door, he ran into Shen Ruhai who took some off his hand and said: “Next time just come back empty handed.”

*Reminder: metaphor referring to in normal times, your performance is not really outstanding but when you actually put in effort (make your move) the results are incredible.

Shen Jintai was surprised and said: “Auntie Fang prepared it all. It has nothing to do with me.” He had only prepared a red envelope for Shen Xiaomei. When he originally prepared it, he didn’t expect Yan Qiuchi to go with him. Thinking that it didn’t seem appropriate to say the red envelope was a gift from only himself, he said to Shen Xiaomei: “This gift is from both me and your uncle Yan.”

Shen Xiaomei looked at Yan Qiuchi and said in a milky voice: “Thank you, Uncle.”

Yan Qiuchi’s face was slightly embarrassed. He heard Liu Qi laugh and said: “What uncle? He’s still young. This is your brother.”

Shen Ruhai laughed, and Shen Jintai reacted instantly giving Yan Qiuchi an embarrassingly look.

On the way to the crew, he said to Yan Qiuchi: “I’m sorry.”

Yan Qiuchi remained indifferent as he asked: “For what?”

Shen Jintai: “You are young and promising but, in my mind, you’re still a big boss. I automatically classified you as an uncle, but I don’t treat you like an uncle, hahaha.”

Yan Qiuchi laughed. He put his slender hand on the steering wheel and said: “Then what do you take me as?”

“Brother*.” Shen Jintai said: “It must be gege* since you are so young.” The word “gege” came out so naturally.

*Gege = use to address an older brother (related by blood) but can also be used to address a male in an intimate way, like someone who is very dear to you or you show a lot of respect towards.

*Clarity: I left it in its pinyin form because brother doesn’t hold the same deeper meaning in English as it does in Chinese especially in this context. For Shen Jintai to say gege to Yan Qiuchi, especially given how Yan Qiuchi now feels about him can be said to be… very intimate (from Yan Qiuchi’s POV). The first “brother” was just a reference to brother in a general sense.

Yan Qiuchi felt that his hair was about to stand up.

The author has something to say:

Koike, you only have hair when you get up.

68* is an auspicious number. It’s on the top page of the gold list. Everyone is here to join in, every one of them.

*68 = In Chinese, six is considered a lucky number while 8 in mandarin is “ba” which sounds similar to the word signifying the arrival of good fortune. Combine makes 68 an auspicious number, which is also the number of this chapter.

At the moment Liu Qi shouted out she couldn’t help but feel Jintai and Qiuchi’s name* is a good match.

*Clarity: this is describing the scene where Liu Qi shouted to Shen Rui that Jintai and Qiuchi was here. The reference is to JinQiu, which combine makes Golden Autumn making it a very good match.

Kinky Thoughts: I’m surprise that Yan Qiuchi didn’t immediately flash his black card and go all domineering president and say, “I’ll pay for it.” I must admit that I like this response much better. I also liked how the author contrasted the two different feelings between Yan Qiuchi vs Yan Yaoxuan and their approach given the same issue. Let see if this still holds water when Yan Qiuchi actually does get together with Shen Jintai.

Ahhhhh Shen Jintai called him Gege~~~ While I do like this, I still prefer baobei better.

On a serious note: I’ve been seeing my translations being posted to other sites. While I prefer this doesn’t happen, it’s not like I have any way to stop it either. However, the least I ask is that you give me credit for my work… It’s quite disheartening to know your hard work isn’t even given any credit. I don’t want to start watermarking all my chapters everywhere with Translated by Kinky https://kinkytranslations.com/ as it takes away from the reading experience.

While it may look like MTLing is easy, especially given that I post daily updates and multiple chapters at once, please know it takes me an average of 3-4 hours (sometimes longer depending on the chapter’s length and difficulty) to do a single chapter, and this is going at 100% full speed. It’s also extremely mind numbing as I have to fix what’s essentially broken English and make it into proper English. You can compare my translation with other MTLs available online and see the difference.

At the end of the day I enjoy reading this novel and I wanted to have a good experience reading it and share it with others. If you also enjoy reading my translations, I only ask you kindly respect my wishes. Thanks.