Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day

Chapter 51: Movie Pie is Coming

"Are you sure you want to take this movie?" Li Meilan asked.

"Let's finish reading the script first." Shen Jintai said: "I quite like the name."

Li Meilan: "I don't suggest you pick it up. It's not a matter of personality. A good actor should look at the script, not at the characters. I know Li Xu is a villain, but this character isn't very good. The most important thing though is that you're going to play a role where you like men, again. I'm afraid you'll be typecast if you star in a similar role like this back-to-back."

Li Meilan was hesitant to advise him on the matter, mainly because Shen Jintai was different from ordinary actors. He had already came out of the closet and the whole world knew he liked men. The typecasting is more serious than just simple character stereotypes.

Even if he doesn't accept this kind of work, it's unlikely he'll be casted to perform heterosexual love dramas in the future.

After Shen Jintai returned home, he finished reading the script of <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night> overnight and called Li Meilan the next day: "Forget about this movie."

"What's the matter?" Li Meilan was very curious. After all, it was the first movie script they received.

"I think the format of this movie is too small." Shen Jintai said: "There are two male protagonists, one is a junior, and the other is married and an adulterer. I can't agree with their views of love and can't act."

A bai fumei*, who wanted to surprise her husband, quietly went home without notifying first, opened the door to the living room, but heard an indescribable sound from the bedroom. She walked over with roses in her arms, opened the bedroom, and saw that her husband and her best friend were in bed together. Her best friend was a man.

*Bai fumei (白富美) = buzzword referring to a white (fair-skinned), rich, and beautiful girl.

The plot was exciting but vulgar.

Whether it was the male junior, the bai fumei, or the wavering male lead who cheated in his marriage, they were all very facile. While the general status quo of gays were discussed the main focus was serving love. It was mainly a sao sao* literary and artistic film. Shen Jintai knew what the director was looking for.

*Sao sao (骚骚) = referring to an urgent appearance. If translated, I would replace the word with riotous given the context.

Compared to Li Xu, this was like a modern version of him. The difference though is Li Xu was placed in an ancient period context so Shen Jintai was able to empathize and understand him. He was confused by the relationship and emotional direction of the characters in <Welcome Rain on a Spring Night>.

In the end, it was forcibly flipped into a revenge suspense movie, which he felt was a bit ridiculous. It became a "if you hurt my brother, I will destroy your marriage" kind of plot. This kind of drama was more suitable for dog-blooded eight o'clock file* than in movies. The scope was too small, and the direction was too low*.

*Reminder: eight o'clock file = refers to television series broadcasted form 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM on weekdays. Usually, this slot is taken up by soap operas or bitter dramas (full of dog blood).
*Translation help: original is lo in English. I'm not sure if the author meant low or if lo actually refers to something.

It made him inexplicably think of the restricted films made in Hong Kong that he watched when he was young. Many of them had this similar feeling: salty, wet, cold, exposed, emotional and erotic from beginning to end and finally a forcibly tragic conclusion to improve the style.

He felt that this kind of thing was inferior to just pure emotions and eroticism without a forcible tragic ending.

Li Meilan said: "Alright. You don't have to worry about it. I'll call the director and reject it."