Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day

Chapter 59: Who Attacks and Who Receives

Yang Lizhi didn't expect her worries to become a reality in the end.

One month after Jintai Qiongying went offline, Jintai Meijing* replaced it as soon as the scene of the jade pendant that Zhou Jing repaired for Li Xu was broadcasted. Having shared more screen time together, the bond shown became deeper and the momentum for the CP gradually grew.

*Clarity: Jintai (金台) represent Shen Jintai. Mei (美) represents beauty, what Bai Qingquan is known for. Jing (璟) the character Zhou Jing that Bai Qingquan plays.

The male protagonist that was originally paired with Yang Lizhi's character was snatched away by Li Xu... that little eunuch. She had so many scenes as the heroine, but her sense of existence couldn't keep up.

The East Palace had become Li Xu's home court.

Since the drama was a simultaneous film and broadcast, the plot could be adjusted according to audience's opinions and feedbacks. The role of Li Xu shone so brightly that he became a classic character on everyone's screen for the year. Screenwriter, Meng Xiaosheng, started to add more scenes with him. Although they did not overwhelm Yang Lizhi's heroine role, Meng Xiaosheng had given Li Xu all the brilliant scenes.

Yang Lizhi didn't know whether Meng Xiaosheng changed because she wanted it or to cater to the audience. The differences in the later stages between The East Palace and the original work was growing wider and the book fans began to protest. Unfortunately, they pale in numbers in comparison to the drama fans, so their voices were ignored. The most significant change that Meng Xiaosheng made was the relationship between Li Xu and Zhou Jing. Their ties became deeper and their feelings more complicated.

"Cut!" Guo Rui stood up: "Zhou Jing, your emotions aren't in place. Do it again."

Bai Qingquan wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, eased his emotions, nodded solemnly, took another step back, and then suddenly made a pause gesture and walked to the director.

"Director, how on earth should I play this part?" Bai Qingquan said: "I'm not sure what kind of feelings I should have for Li Xu. Is it love, brotherhood, or master and slave? I feel confused myself that I can't grasp this feeling."

Shen Jintai: "The feelings between Zhou Ying and Li Xu are pure and direct. On the other hand, the feelings between Zhou Jing and Li Xu are unclear and murky. This current ambiguous emotion is what you should be feeling."

Bai Qingquan glanced at Shen Jintai next to him, pursed his lips, and remained silent. They reshot the scene again, but it was still no good.

Guo Rui was a director who usually didn't direct emotions. Such a director allows actors a lot of creative space, which was particularly beneficial for someone like Shen Jintai. However, for someone like Bai Qingquan, it made it difficult for him to act. Guo Rui felt that his current acting was specious.

<The East Palace is Coming> was schedule for 40 episodes. In the last few episodes, the heroine had become Empress Dowager*. With more than 30 episodes already filmed, there was not many episodes left that starred him. His role had diminished as the ending got closer. Today's scenes were one of the few highlights he had left that was between Zhou Jing and Li Xu.

*Empress dowager = Queen regent. They held regency during the reign of an underage emperor. || This signifies that Zhou Jing (assuming he was emperor, and she was his empress) had passed away and his heir was too young to inherit the crown.

The director was still not satisfied despite multiple reshoot which frustrated Bai Qingquan. He went to RV to take a break. Shen Jintai tied the corner of his robe to his waist and followed Bai Qingquan in.