The Affectionate Film Emperor Only Loves Me

The soup was only a small bowl, and even if one drank it slowly, it would soon be finished.

 

Zhang Ji took a lingering look at the soup pot in front of Lin Jianghe, still unable to request for a refill. After all, he was a man who valued his dignity1original wording: “Save face”. Face is often seen as one’s dignity. Saving face means saving your dignity.. However, Liu Heng on the other side was a whole nother story.

 

“Xiao Lin, this soup of yours is quite delicious, give me another bowl.”

 

Liu Heng finished the last spoonful of soup, and spoke to Lin Jianghe with a smile.

 

“Eh,” Zhang Tao, who was at the side, wiped the non-existent cold sweat2cold sweat because he was scared these judges would throw away the soup that didn’t taste nice. from his forehead and stopped Liu Heng from asking for another bowl.

 

“Chef Liu, the rest of the dishes are for their lunch today, so you might as well do the scoring first.”

 

“Okay.” The chef’s disappointment was visible to the naked eye.

 

Chef Liu was known for his straightforwardness; there was absolutely no way he could have been bribed by the program crew to deliberately say that the soup was good for the sake of the program’s effect, which meant that the soup really was delicious.

 

The audience instantly exploded!

 

[Just how good is this soup? It actually made Chef Liu crave for it!]

 

[My mum asked me why I was kneeling down to watch the live broadcast. It was probably because my face hurt.]

 

[I want to drink it too!]

 

[+10086]

 

[Good looking, good cooking; a wonderful little brother! I’m a fan, I’m a fan!3reminder: The word used here is “powder” which means “fan”.]

 

[Are the people who claimed that the soup was bad, still there? Does your face hurt4Due to face slapping. I know most know this slang already, but face slapping means to be proved wrong in a spectacular or humiliating way.?]

 

The delightful face-slapping session commenced, and the few IDs that had been jumping around joyfully suddenly disappeared. However, they were still dragged out and whipped by the majority of netizens[mfn]”whipping a corpse”: Punishing somebody who has already been punished/regretted their decisions. Getting dragged out and whipped has the same meaning.[/mfn].

 

Liu Heng and Zhang Ji discussed among themselves for a few moments and finally settled on the ranking of each group.

 

“Group A (Du Tang) is first, Group B (Shen Zhizhi) is third, Group C (Guang Ling) is second, and Group D (Liu Jingjing) is fourth.”

 

Zhang Tao recorded the points gained by each group on the points wall.

 

“It’s getting late now. Please bring your groups’ dishes to the restaurant for lunch.”

 

“There is no limit to the amount of rice provided, and the side dishes are everyone’s results from this morning.”

 

Liu Jingjing looked at the small plate of cold tomatoes and fell into silence.

 

[Hahahahahahaha Goddess Jing Jing is so miserable!!!]

 

[I’m laughing my ass out5笑出驴叫: This literally means “I’m laughing like a donkey” but it sounds very weird so I changed it to LMAO cuz it felt more fitting. Also, ass = donkey so the reference is still there haha ~kill me~! Hahahaha!]

 

[As expected of my male god, his luck is good enough to group him together with the best chef among the participants, little brother Lin]

 

[This person upstairs6this has the same meaning as “the previous commenter”, didn’t you just ask little brother Lin not to tie up7tie up: hold back, be a burden etc your male god?]

 

[Really jealous ah! I want to drink too.]

 

“Please,” Lin Jianghe smiled as he looked at Du Tang. He had made a lot of soup, so he didn’t have to worry about not having enough at all.

 

Heh, mortal! Kneel before my culinary skills!.

 

Du Tang returned a polite smile and tasted a mouthful of the Sanxian soup, the wonderful taste spreading in his mouth like the sunshine of spring.

 

The two of them finished the entire pot of soup, one spoonful at a time.

 

“Jianghe, the soup you made is really delicious.”

 

The soup was good, the person… not so much.

 

“Thanks for the compliment, Teacher Du8老师 lǎo shī teacher Seniors in the professional field are called “laoshi” or “teacher” respectfully. Hold tight, there’s a wordplay ahead.”

 

Old gong, what did you say9if you didn’t understand it already, the MC and ML are smiling at each other while cursing each other behind their backs. the “you” here is informal and isn’t used while talking with seniors or strangers. “Old Gong” is homophone for “husband” and yes, the lao here is the same character as “laoshi” aka teacher. Mc basically knows that Ml is cursing him or is acting nice to fool others, while Ml thinks Mc has been sent by his stepmom to spy on him. So, MC: (outside) Laoshi~ ^^ MC:(in his mind) Lao gong ψ(｀∇´)ψ?

 

“No need to call me Teacher Du, just call me Brother Du.”

 

“Okay Brother Du.”

 

Lin Jianghe smiled and gave Du Tang a look, how’s that? Impressed by my cooking skills, right?

 

“After lunch, you are free for two hours. You have to gather in the hall at 2:30 pm sharp.”

 

Zhang Tao reminded everybody.

 

The crowd responded and expressed their understanding.

 

The online topic about Lin Jianghe also began to catch fire, and viewers were informed of his identity as a food anchor. Posts that had previously taunted him for not showing his face, claiming that he must be ugly were slapped in the face with photos.

 

All of a sudden, there was a lot of wailing10wailing with regret and that “aaahhh” thingie fangirls do everytime they see something simpable idk…. I’m definitely not a fangirl or smtg…..ahahahaha….haha….ha ⊙﹏⊙∥, and Lin Jianghe’s fan base began to skyrocket.

 

The previous live streaming video was also picked up and made it to the top of the hot search.

 

After lunch, Lin Jianghe refused Du Tang’s invitation to take a walk on the grounds that he was not feeling well.

 

Looking at Lin Jianghe’s sickly appearance, even the most ardent candy11The “Tang” (棠) in Du Tang’s name means “Cherry apple”. DT’s fan group’s name is “Tang Guo” (糖果 táng guǒ) aka Candy, which is a clever play on his name: The tang in (糖果) táng guǒ means “sweet” or “sugar”, and the guo (果) means “fruit”. Together, tang guo actually means fruit candy or just simply candy. This is a reference to Du Tang’s name (fruit) and since they are his fans, they are called fruit candy. fans couldn’t say anything to accuse him of acting like a big name12acting like a big name: pretending to be high and mighty, acting arrogant.

 

[I heard that the little brother came to the rescue on short notice.]

 

[Little brother has worked hard, take care of your health!]

 

After bidding farewell to Du Tang, Lin Jianghe arrived in the room arranged by the program team. The twenty-square-meter room was furnished with two single beds, and the beige sheets and covers added a bit of warmth to the small, slightly cramped room.

 

He was still a patient after all, and while he hadn’t noticed any difference the first few days at home when he was carefully recuperating, since he had spent the morning in the studio today, his body felt a bit overwhelmed.

 

He would have to hurry up and take a nap to recover, since he had no idea what he was going to do this afternoon!

 

Additionally, it would be better to put off participating in variety shows until he got well enough.

 

The camera in the room dutifully filmed Lin Jianghe’s sleeping face, and when Du Tang returned from his walk, he was already asleep.

 

Looking at the sleeping Lin Jianghe, Du Tang looked puzzled.

 

He had thought that the man his stepmother had arranged to marry would be someone just like her, but he had never expected……

 

What kind of a person was he?

 

If not for the fact that the chief director of this variety show, Director Lee, had done him a big favor when Du Tang first started out, he would never have taken part in this variety show. It was his first time participating in a variety show.

 

And of course, it could very well be the last time.

 

It was not difficult to always maintain a sunny and optimistic persona, but at the same time, it was also very difficult, because at the end of the day, that was all it was: a persona. The actual person behind that mask was vastly different

 

All those people who claimed to love him liked the persona he had adopted, not the real him.

 

What Du Tang didn’t expect was to meet Lin Jianghe on the show and to find him to be such an interesting person.

 

He had already guessed that the person his stepmother had carefully chosen for him to marry would be someone special, but he never expected him to be this “special”.

 

The food he cooked was so delicious that he overate and had to walk around for half an hour before he was barely able to digest some of it.

 

They were not allowed to look at their mobile phones during the show, so he didn’t know yet that Lin Jianghe and Dan Dinghe were the same person. Even if he did know, he would just start questioning his life.

 

Du Tang lay awake in bed and waited until around two o’clock. Then he woke up Lin Jianghe who was still asleep.

 

“Wake up, it’s time to record the show.”

 

Lin Jianghe rolled over and went back to sleep, completely ignoring Du Tang’s voice.

 

“Wake up.” Du Tang was not discouraged and raised his voice to wake him up.

 

Lin Jianghe slipped under the covers, leaving behind the furry top of his head, completely shutting out Du Tang’s voice.

 

Du Tang was speechless and almost laughed in exasperation.

 

The viewers in front of the screen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

 

[lol lol lol13恍恍惚惚: this is short for 红红火火 恍恍惚惚 which is slang for “haha” or “Lol”]

 

[Hahahaha, the husband is being disliked, a day like this came too.]

 

[Good job little brother Lin.]

 

[The brother who doesn’t want to get up is so cute.]

 

[awsl14slang for “that’s so cute”]

 

Looking at the top of Lin Jianghe’s fuzzy head, Du Tang’s anger rose from his heart and wickedness surged from his guts. He ripped off the quilt on his15Lin Jianghe’s body, but in an unguarded moment, Lin Jianghe, who was disturbed due to the chaos, firmly hugged his left hand.

 

“Don’t make trouble16can also mean “stop it” or “don’t make a scene”.”

 

A terrible silence fell over the room.

 

The pop-up screen was lined with multiple ‘hahaha’s.

 

The veins on Du Tang’s forehead burst out, and Lin Jianghe finally came to his senses. After seeing the current situation, he hurriedly let go of his tight grip on Du Tang’s hand and jumped up as if he had been pricked.

 

Because of his haste, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Du Tang reached out to pull him, but because he had misjudged Lin Jianghe’s weight, he exerted too much force and the two of them fell onto Du Tang’s bed due to the force.

 

Du Tang’s arm was wrapped around Lin Jianghe’s waist, and Lin Jianghe’s face was buried in Du Tang’s chest. It was a position that could be described as awkward.

 

The entire audience was so shocked that the barrage stopped for a split second, then the audience burst into chaos and revelry.

 

[Ahhhhhhhhh]

 

[My son has finally learnt to arch his cabbage17拱白菜了 gǒng bái cài liǎo: This is an alllusion to that famous idiom of “pig running away with the tender cabbage”. The pig is the husband/gong and the tinder cabbage is the wife/shou. “I grew this tender cabbage by caring for it for a long time, and the wild pig came and stole it away from me”. Here, the fans mean that Du Tang has gained enlightenment and has started digging a “tender cabbage” for himself, aka, started giving attention to the matter of romance., I’m shedding tears of relief.]

 

[Let go of this little brother and let me do it!]

 

[Aaaahhhh no! Honey how can you lie in the same bed with someone else!]

 

[Sick beauty attacked18as in sick beauty is the shou and domineering president is the gong by the domineering president, I can19this is slang that means “I accept this” or “I can get behind this idea”!]

 

[I’m a fan, I’m a fan.]

 

[So cute! I support this CP20slang for couple pairing. can mean OTP (one true pairing, not one time password wheeze)!]

 

[I’ll help you move the civil affairs office here21they are saying, “I’ll bring the civil affairs bureau here so get married already”!]

 

[I’m so happy to see this]

 

No one knew how embarrassed Lin Jianghe and Du Tang were feeling right now as they lay on the bed.

 

Lin Jianghe struggled a little to stand up, but was held back by Du Tang’s rigid arm curled up stiffly around his waist. Then he noticed the presence of a certain something and glanced at Du Tang in astonishment, not daring to move at all.

 

Although Du Tang’s face was as normal, the tips of his ears subtly flushed and his body stiffened a little. He hurriedly let go of his hold on Lin Jianghe.

 

Lin Jianghe got up quickly, just in time to block the camera that was focused on Du Tang’s “special part”.

 

Du Tang gave him a grateful look and hurriedly got up and walked to the washroom, followed by Lin Jianghe. Luckily, there were no cameras inside the washroom.

 

By the time the two men had washed up, Du Tang had also calmed down.

 

The two chatted casually and walked to the mission hall side by side.

 

“Jianghe, you’re too skinny, how much do you weigh?” Du Tang took the lead in starting the conversation with a warm and sunny look.

 

“Around one hundred and twenty pounds,” Lin Jianghe replied with a smile as he pursed his lips.

 

“That’s too light, you have to take care of your body.” Du Tang recalled the somewhat painful feeling of hugging Lin Jianghe’s body that was all skin and bones, and a trace of heartache suddenly welled up in his heart. He gave Lin Jianghe a disapproving glance.

 

Lin Jianghe nodded obediently, “I know Brother Du.”

 

[So well behaved!]

 

[awsl]

 

[How light! Little brother should take care of his body!”]

 

[This pair is so cute! I announce that they are now locked up together and the key was thrown away by me22it can mean “handcuffing them for life” or it can mean “locking them inside a room together”..]

 

[CP dog get out!]

 

[Who knows where this 18th tier came out from, don’t tie up my brother, okay?]

 

[Yeah, my brother was just kind enough to pull him up and they fell on the bed together because he was too light and the force behind the pull became too strong.]

 

[Yeah, yeah.]

 

The Candies23Name of Du Tong’s fan group were quick to clear up the relationship between the two, and the defenseless group of newly emerged Dan Dinghe fans and CP fans was quickly beaten to submission.

 

However, although on the surface, this CP wind seemed to be suppressed, there were several CP fans hiding underneath. Moreover, although many Candy fans were filled with indignation on the surface, they secretly sneaked into the CP fan groups, claiming that they were there to spy on the enemy. 

 

None of them came clear of the truth hidden in their minds. It was true that the fans followed their idol,  and Du Tang’s fans were just as elitist as he was. There was no match for them!

Am I the only one who feels like the characterization of the MC, ML etc is a bit….wrong? Like, everything seems too cliche and even their dialogues are generic…….. I miss Xiao Jiejie already…. I honestly wouldn’t mind if MC ran away with Xiao Jiejie………

1original wording: “Save face”. Face is often seen as one’s dignity. Saving face means saving your dignity.2cold sweat because he was scared these judges would throw away the soup that didn’t taste nice.3reminder: The word used here is “powder” which means “fan”4Due to face slapping. I know most know this slang already, but face slapping means to be proved wrong in a spectacular or humiliating way.5笑出驴叫: This literally means “I’m laughing like a donkey” but it sounds very weird so I changed it to LMAO cuz it felt more fitting. Also, ass = donkey so the reference is still there haha ~kill me~6this has the same meaning as “the previous commenter”7tie up: hold back, be a burden etc8老师 lǎo shī teacher Seniors in the professional field are called “laoshi” or “teacher” respectfully. Hold tight, there’s a wordplay ahead9if you didn’t understand it already, the MC and ML are smiling at each other while cursing each other behind their backs. the “you” here is informal and isn’t used while talking with seniors or strangers. “Old Gong” is homophone for “husband” and yes, the lao here is the same character as “laoshi” aka teacher. Mc basically knows that Ml is cursing him or is acting nice to fool others, while Ml thinks Mc has been sent by his stepmom to spy on him. So, MC: (outside) Laoshi~ ^^ MC:(in his mind) Lao gong ψ(｀∇´)ψ10wailing with regret and that “aaahhh” thingie fangirls do everytime they see something simpable idk…. I’m definitely not a fangirl or smtg…..ahahahaha….haha….ha ⊙﹏⊙∥11The “Tang” (棠) in Du Tang’s name means “Cherry apple”. DT’s fan group’s name is “Tang Guo” (糖果 táng guǒ) aka Candy, which is a clever play on his name: The tang in (糖果) táng guǒ means “sweet” or “sugar”, and the guo (果) means “fruit”. Together, tang guo actually means fruit candy or just simply candy. This is a reference to Du Tang’s name (fruit) and since they are his fans, they are called fruit candy.12acting like a big name: pretending to be high and mighty, acting arrogant13恍恍惚惚: this is short for 红红火火 恍恍惚惚 which is slang for “haha” or “Lol”14slang for “that’s so cute”15Lin Jianghe’s16can also mean “stop it” or “don’t make a scene”17拱白菜了 gǒng bái cài liǎo: This is an alllusion to that famous idiom of “pig running away with the tender cabbage”. The pig is the husband/gong and the tinder cabbage is the wife/shou. “I grew this tender cabbage by caring for it for a long time, and the wild pig came and stole it away from me”. Here, the fans mean that Du Tang has gained enlightenment and has started digging a “tender cabbage” for himself, aka, started giving attention to the matter of romance.18as in sick beauty is the shou and domineering president is the gong19this is slang that means “I accept this” or “I can get behind this idea”20slang for couple pairing. can mean OTP (one true pairing, not one time password wheeze)21they are saying, “I’ll bring the civil affairs bureau here so get married already”22it can mean “handcuffing them for life” or it can mean “locking them inside a room together”.23Name of Du Tong’s fan group