Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day

Chapter 44: In Arms of a Beautiful Man

"Why don't I ask the crew for a sick day?" Li Meilan said. She had rushed over when she heard Shen Jintai was ill.

"It's okay. I can ride it out." Shen Jintai said: "I originally asked for two days off and delayed the shooting progress. If I ask for leave again, regardless of whether they'll let me, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up."

The TV series was a simultaneous film and broadcast. Any delay, even for a few days, can hamper many things.

"Are you sure you can hold on?" Li Meilan asked with concern.

Shen Jintai: "It's okay, I'll take some medicine. After the shooting ends in the morning, I won't have many scenes in the afternoon. I'll go to the hospital if I have time."

He took some antipyretics and went to the set.

The weather was cloudy and chilly. He looked at the forecast while on the road. It had been raining these past few days.

Bai Qingquan was in the dressing room and asked his assistant: "Is Shen Jintai back?"

Assistant: "Not yet. He had asked the crew for two days off."

"I heard that he asked for leave to shoot an advertisement." Yang Lizhi said: "I don't know what brand it is."

"I heard it was an underwear brand called Aishang." A makeup artist chimed in.

Yang Lizhi smiled when she heard this: "It's not easy. He used to endorse top luxury brands. His current situation isn't too bad if he can still accept small businesses*." She was annoyed with Shen Jintai for becoming so popular but it was not to the extent of jealousy as he hadn't risen to that high of a popularity level yet.

*Clarity: this is supposed to be a jab at him.

She had also stood on stage the day before. There were hordes of people at the scene, indicating that the heroine role she took paid a lot of dividends. Her increase in fans was not as large as Shen Jintai's but that's only because she was already exceedingly popular and had limited room to expand.

Bai Qingquan was also in a similar situation. He was already a top traffic star. <The East Palace is Coming> becoming popular was just icing on the cake for him.

For Shen Jintai, it was charcoal in the snow*. He needed it to warm himself back up.

*Charcoal in the snow (雪中送炭) = metaphor for giving people material or spiritual help in times of difficulty or crisis.

Bai Qingquan thought about Yang Lizhi's words for a while and felt that it made sense. She Jintai had become popular again. It was inevitable that his nemesis made him lose a bit but if he thought about it carefully, Shen Jintai had fallen from the peak. He used to be able to endorse top luxury brands but now could only endorse underwear. He had never heard of Aishang so he figured it wasn't a famous brand.

Shen Jintai managed to arrive at the set on time. When he was applying makeup, he asked the makeup artist: "Paint my makeup a little thicker today."

"Are you too tired? I don't think you look well today." The makeup artist said.

Shen Jintai raised his head slightly, asked the makeup artist to give him a nose shadow, and said: "I have a fever."

Makeup artist: "Did you go to the hospital?"

Shen Jintai: "I'll go after filming this scene."

"My relatives and friends are all chasing <The East Palace>," the makeup artist said softly: "Did you know the ratings for the second week hit a new high? It broke over 1.5!"