CH 147

Chapter 147: Dedicated Passion



Yan Qiuchi felt that he was very happy. It turns out that falling in love could be such a beautiful thing, that could make people feel warm, even when they’re standing in the cold.



Shen Jintai smiled and patted Yan Qiuchi on the back exciting him. Yan Qiuchi felt he had to maintain what little sanity he had left, otherwise the two of them would crackle like dry wood when encountering a fire.



“Alright, alright.” Shen Jintai said as he patted Yan Qiuchi like an old father.



Yan Qiuchi hugged him for a while, then let him go, and the two of them continued along the riverside road. Yan Qiuchi said: “I’m going on a business trip tomorrow. I have to go home tonight and pack my things.”



Great, it seems that there’s no need to “torture each other” tonight.



Shen Jintai said: “Nn. Can you come back on Friday?”



Yan Tiefeng and his wife made an appointment for them to have dinner together that night.



“I’ll be back on Friday afternoon.” Yan Qiuchi said: “You can also ask Uncle Shen and the others to see when they are free. Let’s have a meal with them first, and then the two families will get together.”



“There’s no need.” Shen Jintai whispered. It felt too much like meeting the in-laws.



Yan Qiuchi: “We have to ensure everyone is okay with this. Before we make it public, we should meet with Uncle Shen and have a meal together, lest he have opinions.”



“Okay.” Shen Jintai said: “Then let’s go. It’s getting late. You should go back and pack. What time is your flight?”



Yan Qiuchi: “A little past 7.”



Shen Jintai turned around and was about to walk back when Yan Qiuchi took his hand and dragged him back. He wrapped his arms around him and said wearily: “I won’t see you for two days.”



Shen Jintai noticed what he wanted to do and thinking that he would not be able to see him for several day, acquiesced and let Yan Qiuchi kiss him. After they kissed for a while, Shen Jintai staggered and said: “…Okay, don’t go on forever. It’s already enough…”



Yan Qiuchi chased his lips like a puppy chasing a bone: “Not enough…” He really wanted to kiss more.



Shen Jintai had never seen anyone who likes kissing so much. If he didn’t actively stop him, Yan Qiuchi could intermittently kiss for hours.



The two of them were at the brink of disclosing their relationship. Shen Jintai felt that what he could do was limited. The best way was to making good movies and solidify his career so that his fans are mainly career fans who won’t pay attention to his emotional matters.



Xiao Tang had also build momentum for the two of them by having someone send water army into the Gold Powder Family and subtly steer their opinions to treat Yan Qiuchi better.



—



Since his alt was exposed, Bai Qingquan had not appeared in public for several days. The news had left a dent in his fan group as many moonlight powders had abandoned ship, some even turning into black powder. How deeply they loved him at the beginning made them all the more hate him for being so blind.  Every time Shen Jintai contacted Bai Qingquan, he only said one thing: “Don’t go online.”



Unfortunately, as a person who’s inseparable from gossip, Bai Qingquan could not resist and as such only further his misery. Due to this, Bai Qingquan didn’t want to participate in the promotion of , even though it had officially entered its promotional period, that was delayed for a while due to his scandal breaking out.



Bai Qingquan felt he didn’t have the courage to stand in front of the public and knowing the theme of there’ll be inevitable interviews where he would be asked questions by reporters regarding his sexuality. After pretending for so many years, he didn’t have the strength to stand under the spotlight as a star who came out of the closet.



Thus, all the publicity for was transferred to Shen Jintai. With the movie being officially released on Valentine’s Day, the roadshow will begin in early February. The creative team had divided up into several routes. With his roadshows arrangements, Shen Jintai would have to travel to nearly 30 cities across the country in 20 days… During this period, he would also have to continue filming .



filing was originally scheduled to be completed in mid-to-late February, but because Qiu Hong’s filming was too slow, it’ll be a miracle if it could be done in early March. This has now raise an issue of the schedule of the two movies colliding.



Li Meilan was extremely worried about this. She had been discussing the roadshow schedule with Xingyun, the producer of , for the past several days.



“Except for Qingquan and Jintai, there are literally no other famous actors in this movie. Teacher Chen is a special actor, but he doesn’t have a large part and he’s too old so it’s not easy for him to go on tour. Now that something has happened to Qingquan, Jintai can’t do this roadshow alone.” Sun Sihai said.



Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan was basically 90% of this movie and the driving forces of the box office. Without one of them, a huge part of the gimmick would be ineffective. Besides, schedule had been arranged in advance. Now that filming is going over, the time that has to be squeeze out will have to come from it.



In the end, Qiu Hong was still only a newcomer director and doesn’t have much sway. Shen Jintai is also a big star, so he didn’t dare speak up regarding this matter. In addition, the producer has been urging him to speed up the shooting process, so they had to shoot overtime every day. Fortunately, Cai Jun and Shen Jintai were cooperative.



The middle parts of were easier to shoot as they dealt with trivial daily routines. Xu Dahai’s condition had worsen and his forgetfulness became more serious. After much consideration, Xu Xingchen decided to resign from his work and stay in his hometown to take care of him. This move had warmed Xu Dahai and the relationship between father and son eased.



Xu Xinghen went back to Beijing to deal with his resignation and met with Sun Mingzhi. Due to his father being seriously ill, he urgently needed support, so he chose to forgive him. However, he found out that during his absence, Sun Mingzhi had taken advantage of it and hooked up with someone.



He could have turned a blind eye, but the seeds of doubt had already sprouted in his heart. While hoping to live a good life with Sun Mingzhi, he carefully observed every corner of the household, trying to find traces of Sung Mingzhi’s infidelity. The trust had eroded, and he had been sure that Sun Mingzhi would cheat while he returned to his hometown.



Cheating once can lead to countless times. The moment when one cheats, the physical and mental stimulation felt too great, in contrast to the plain life an old couple could give. Once experienced, it was like opium, and you’ll never be able to quit.  



With his love completely broken, Xu Xingchen left behind a letter as he left with just a suitcase.



Shen Jintai wanted to cry when filming this segment. He couldn’t stand it. Even though he knew it was acting, it still made him extremely uncomfortable when he entered the act. He felt the betrayal of ten years of his feelings was too painful. Sun Mingzhi wasn’t a bad person either. He was just an ordinary man who had given Xu Xingchen a lot of warmth and still regarded him as his most important person. He never thought of leaving Xu Xingchen as he still loves him.



This is why it was so painful as things become complicated after ten years of affection. It was no longer just about love and the cheating wasn’t done with heinous intent. On the contrary, in a situation like this, it was impossible for a happy outcome. Compromises had to be made that will inevitably hurt either one of them*.



*Clarity: Just to expand on this he’s saying that after 10 years something is wrong with their relationship and in order to make the relationship “work” compromises has to be made but such compromise will make either one unhappy. Sun Mingzhi most likely wasn’t getting the physical satisfaction he wanted in the relationship, so it was either he remains unhappy sexually or he cheats to satisfy his desire. One hurts him the other hurts his lover and this is why his cheating isn’t “heinous” in the sense that he’s not doing it to purposefully hurt Xu Xingchen. Whether you agree or not, that’s a different debate.



Before leaving, Shen Jintai couldn’t hold back his tears as he separated from Sun Mingzhi at the station. Qiu Hong had disagreed with his creative concept and insisted that Xu Xingchen should not cry: “We must save the crying scene until the emotional outburst at the end.”



Xu Xingchen was relatively silent and tough, but Shen Jintai’s heart was too soft. After all, he’s still just an outsider and in addition to the love and hate of the characters, he felt lament for the demise of his love. In the end, Shen Jintai was persuaded by the director to film as how Qiu Hong wanted. After filming, he felt uncomfortable as he sat in the car alone.



He had entered too deep into the act and felt crushed by the betrayal. That night, he video called Yan Qiuchi and talked to him about it.



Shen Jintai: “I am a person who can live alone for the rest of my life. If I find out that you have betrayed me, there is no room for negotiation. I won’t eat a mouthful of rotten apples.”



Yan Qiuchi said: “Don’t say that. Even if I have such a thought, I wouldn’t dare. The gold powders would tear me to pieces. And what kind of character you are, I know in my heart that you’re not one who would divorce. I can’t live without you, and I worry about you every day. How could I have the heart to betray you.”



Shen Jintai became embarrassed. His words had a subtle meaning behind them: he didn’t love enthusiastically enough. He was still rational and still considered love as the icing on the cake. Of course, it was good to have it, but without it, with just the love for his career alone, it could still give him a fulfilling life. With money and fame, he can live a happy life without love. It was enough to make movies.



From his actions and words, Yan Qiuchi probably didn’t feel that his love was as explosive compared to his own.



“You are so full of words now, are you not afraid of being slapped in the face in the future?” Li Meilan asked him.



Shen Jintai put down his phone and listened to Li Meilan: “It’s hard to talk about feelings. Take me and my husband for example. He chased me desperately and when I married him, I didn’t love him very much. I felt he was the one with the best condition among people I could find. Choosing him as a marriage partner was the result of weighing the pros and cons, but after a few years of marriage, I started falling more and more in love with him. Now the two of us can’t see each other but we still make several calls a day. My husband has said that our relationship is better now than when we were in the stage of falling in love.”



“Are you telling us this story because of Brother Jin and President Yan?” Xiao Tang pushed his glasses up and said solemnly: “I read online that after a relationship occurs, the relationship between lovers will advance by leaps and bounds.”



Li Meilan let out a snort: “Xiao Tang has never even been in love yet. However, that theory does make sense.”



Shen Jintai didn’t expect Xiao Tang to be so powerful. He and Yan Qiuchi had just started their relationship, yet he was already able to tell! His face blushed slightly, and he said: “What a bullshit theory.”



Li Meilan: “Don’t say that. What Xiao Tang said really makes sense. Otherwise, how can you say that sex isn’t important? When water and milk blend*, and the souls are connected, you might change your thinking then. Don’t pester others when that time comes. They are busy with everything else and don’t have time to accompany you every day, hahahaha.”



*Water and milk blend (水乳交融) = metaphor for a very harmonious relationship.



Shen Jintai: “Tsk, you married women are so shameless!”



Xiao Tang blushed even more.



Shen Jintai felt that the conversation he had with Yan Qiuchi just now was indeed a bit redundant. There are many men in this world that are unreliable, but there are indeed many responsible and single-minded good men. Yan Qiuchi is one of them and he knew it.



Even when Yan Qiuchi is 60, his love for him will still remain strong, single-minded, and enthusiastic. Shen Jintai felt ashamed he thought about it, but then became embarrassed when he recalled Yan Qiuchi’s passion for kissing and hugging. It made him think of Xiao Ai.



Spekaing of Xiao Ai, it’s been a long time since he talked to him. He and Yan Qiuchi have already confirmed their relationship and he remembered that Yan Qiuchi was the kind of person that would devote his entire lifetime to a single person once he identifies him. This should mean that he had completed his task, right?!



“Hello, Xiao Ai!”



The author has something to say：



Xiao Ai smiled again: You’re just one step away, dear!



Kinky Thoughts: Wow I didn’t expect a movie in a novel to depict such realism and deep insight about relationships. Sun Mingzhi is still scum but I can see why he cheated. Relationship is all about compromises, but there are few things that you can rarely compromise on: marriage, sex, and children. If two people don’t see eye-to-eye on these things, well… usually the relationship probably won’t work out.