After dinner ended, it was already dark when they came out of the restaurant. Yan Qiuchi glanced up and saw the stars twinkling in the night sky. The weather was very hot during the day, but at night there was a nice coolness.
Lu Ming rushed back to the set overnight. Shen Jintai and others escorted him to the car, then they went back to the hotel. The restaurant was less than a kilometer away from the hotel so Shen Jintai planned to walk back to help him digest his meal.
Mr. Zhang originally didnāt stay in the hotel, but he couldnāt bear the flood of spring* and said to Yan Qiuchi enthusiastically: āPresident Yan didnāt drive. My car will take you.ā
*Flood of spring (ę„åæę³ę»„) = love between two people is already very strong, like the waters in the rivers and is about to overflow.
Shen Jintai let out a āTskā and glanced back at Mr. Zhang. This man had no tears without seeing the coffin. His warning didnāt work.
*No tears without seeing the coffin (äøč§ę£ŗęäøęę³Ŗ) = metaphor referring to not giving up until you fail completely.
It wasnāt that Mr. Zhang was unscrupulous. He wasnāt planning on doing anything. He just wanted to do his best to please the handsome guy in front of him.
Shen Jintai was about to speak, when he heard Yan Qiuchi say: āThen Iāll be troubling Mr. Zhang.ā
Shen Jintai was shocked. He looked at Yan Qiuchi. Yan Qiuchi asked him: āTogether?ā
Shen Jintai declined saying: āThe hotel is close by.ā It wasnāt his first time coming to this restaurant. It was only a 10 minute walk from here to the hotel.
Yan Qiuchi no longer spoke and got into Mr. Zhangās car. Mr. Zhang looked flattered, gave Shen Jintai a smile, and hurried into the car.
Xiao Tang said: āWhy did President Yan get in his car? This Mr. Zhang is not very good.ā
Shen Jintai didnāt know what Yan Qiuchi was going to do. However, he didnāt worry too much about Yan Qiuchi. He was a tall, strong man, so no one dared bully him. While Mr. Zhang was lustful and greasy, he was also quite cowardly and wouldnāt dare to overstep.
Xiao Tang took out a mask from his bag: āBrother Jin, do you want to wear it?ā
āItās so late, no one will recognize me.ā Shen Jintai said.
The advantage of being in such a remote area was there were no star chasers. Except for when he goes out to buy things during the day, no one recognizes him usually at night. In fact, wearing a mask during Summer would make him look more conspicuous.
As the two of them walked along the sidewalk in the direction of the hotel, Xiao Tang suddenly stopped and pointed to the front and said: āEh? Isnāt that Mr. Zhangās car? Why did it stop there?ā
Shen Jintai looked ahead and saw Mr. Zhangās car was parked on the side not far ahead. Before they reached the car, Yan Qiuchi had gotten out. The lights of the car turned on and it drove off.
āHey.ā Shen Jintai walked up.
When Yan Qiuchi looked back and saw him, he smiled and said: āYou walk pretty fast.ā
Shen Jintai: āDidnāt you just get in? How come you got off so quickly? Ran into trouble?ā
āThatās not possible.ā Yan Qiuchi said: āI was just having a casual chat with him. He wonāt dare pester you in the future.ā
Shen Jintai said: āIt will work since itās coming from you.ā
Yan Qiuchi: āYes. Looks like he will understand it.ā
Shen Jintai laughed: āYou donāt really need to do this. Mr. Zhang is just like that. Heās lustful but a coward.ā
Yan Qiuchi said: āAll the more reason. He doesnāt know what to do so he gets upset when he looks at you. It just so happens that my words hold more strength so I can speak up.ā
Yan Qiuchiās words work because he has relatives who has connections in the area. When they were at dinner, Shen Jintai listened to them as they talked about this. He felt that it wasnāt the Yan family who had the most influence but rather the Fang.
As they talked by the side of the road, a familiar song came on. It was <Moths to a Flame>, the theme song for <The East Palace is Coming>. Shen Jintai turned around to look at where it was coming from. Nearby was a mutton restaurant that was broadcasting the song.
<The East Palace is Coming> was really popular. Now that the second and third rounds were being rebroadcasted the theme song, <Moths to a Flame> was about to rot.
āThereās so many small restaurants here are broadcasting The East Palace.ā Xiao Tang said.
āHow well do the locals recognize you?ā Yan Qiuchi asked Shen Jintai.
Shen Jintai: āIf I walk around like this, they will recognize me. Our crew is making a movie here, so all the people here know about it. Luckily, there are no star chasers here. They only take pictures of me when Iām walking around in broad daylight. Usually, when I come out at night, almost no one recognizes me.ā
Yan Qiuchi nodded. He was still a little anxious. He wanted to find a topic to talk to Shen Jintai about, but talking face-to-face with him now, he couldnāt help but feel anxious as heās lost for words. Suddenly, Shen Jintaiās phone rang.
Shen Jintai smiled brightly when he looked at the phone display. When he took the call, he answered: āYou havenāt slept yet.ā The tone was very intimate.
Yan Qiuchi frowned slightly hearing Shen Jintaiās tone.
Shen Jintai: āStill here. Where are you now?ā
It was Bai Qingquan who called. The filming for <When Youāre Older> starts filming in August. Bai Qingquan had vacated his schedule for the drama. Before this, he took on a variety show and participated in promotional activities. Now that <The East Palace is Coming> was massively popular, brands from near and far came looking for him. During this period, he had traveled almost all over the country and would be coming to this city.
Shen Jintai: āThatās not too far away. Iām in Huangyuan county. It takes about 40 minutes to get here from there. Come quickly.ā
Bai Qingquan: āDo you have time?ā
āYes,ā Shen Jintai said: āI happen to be free for the next two days, and your boss happens to be here as well.ā
After Shen Jintai hung up the phone, Yan Qiuchi asked: āWhose was it?ā
āBai Qingquan.ā Shen Jintaiās face was suddenly glowing: āHe happened to be nearby for his promotional event, and he wanted to come and visit me.ā His tone was about 8 octaves higher, obviously showing he was extremely excited.
Yan Qiuchi let out a āNnā and thrust both hands into his pockets. His mood was subtle.
The relationship between the three of them was too complicated. In the beginning Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan had debuted together in the talent show <Pick Me>. Shen Jintai wanted to be free, so he refused to sign with anyone. Bai Qingquan sincerely signed with Sunshine Media. Sunshine naturally wanted to support their own artists so among the newcomers, Yan Qiuchi valued Bai Qingquan the most. He saw tremendous potential in Bai Qingquan and wanted to focus on building it. As a result, Shen Jintai became annoyed and insisted there were some shady deals behind-the-scenes.
Things got much more complicated later when Shen Jintai started madly chasing him. Yan Qiuchi remained unmoved causing Shen Jintai to mistakenly believe he had liked Bai Qingquan. The group at the time hadnāt disbanded yet so Shen Jintai took the opportunity to bully Bai Qingquan. Being the boss, he couldnāt bear to see his own artist being trampled on, so he warned Shen Jintai several times. This only made Shen Jintai more convinced that his suspicions were right and the two were having an affair. Seeing as Shen Jintai couldnāt be reason with Yan Qiuchi later gave up and didnāt bother denying his accusations any longer.
All these events eventually accumulated to reach it highest peak when Shen Jintai climbed into Yan Qiuchiās bed. He had bit and tangled with him as he shouted frantically: āDo you like that bitch Bai Qingquan? What do you like about him? He doesnāt compare to me at all!ā
Yan Qiuchi had endured many things up to this point, but the act of climbing into his bed naked and biting him made him furious. He still recalled what he said at that time:
āEven in my next life, let alone touching you, I will never love you!ā
āBecause you canāt even match his toe!ā
Shen Jintai should have forgotten these wordsā¦ right? Has heā¦ forgotten?
āEven in my next life, let alone touching you, I will never love you!āĀ This was said in the heat of the moment.
āBecause you canāt even match his toe!āĀ This was because he lost control of his anger. He simply copied Shen Jintaiās words* as that was the only thing he could recall during that moment.
*Clarity: the words Shen Jintai said to Monsoon Entertainment on why he wouldnāt sign with them pre-transmigration.
In the end, itās only been about a year, and he justā¦
Impulse is the devil*. This was truly a good saying.
*Impulse is the devil (å²åØęÆé鬼) = means impulsive people easily suffers.
*Clarity: basically, heās saying heās suffering now due to those things he said to Shen Jintai in Chapter 1 out of impulse.
An old man who was walking his dog passed by them. On his waist was a small speaker that had a voice singing:
āAt the beginning, you wanted to separate,
Now that we part, you have to use true love to coax me backā¦ā
The author has something to sayļ¼
Brewing a small shura field*.
*Reminder: shura field (äæ®ē½åŗ) = refers to interpersonal relationships are intricate, and people present have multiple connections or unequal identities. More often used to describe a romantic relationship, such as a polyamorous relationship where many people appear on the same occasion.
Kinky Thoughts: Well, Yan Qiuchi certainly ate his words.