Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Zuo Qiu, jolted awake from a nightmare where he was being chased by monsters, sat up abruptly the next morning. He scratched his messy, curly hair, squinted at his surroundings, and slowly came to.

After washing up in the bathroom, Zuo Qiu remembered that he had been too sleepy the night before and had forgotten to do his face mask on time. So, he put one on and then grabbed another for the still-sleeping Xiao Baijun.

Still in his sleep, Xiao Baijun felt something cool on his face. When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw Zuo Qiu standing over him, bent at the waist, wearing a white face mask.

“Why are you putting on a face mask so early in the morning?” Xiao Baijun asked.

Zuo Qiu replied, “I forgot last night, so I’m making up for it today.”

Xiao Baijun let Zuo Qiu apply the mask to his face, saying, “It’s fine to skip one day.”

After sticking the mask onto Xiao Baijun’s face, Zuo Qiu lay back down on his own bed. Hearing Xiao Baijun’s comment, he said, “No way! Brother Zhao said we have to do it every day, or we won’t be handsome. And if we’re not handsome, our fans won’t like us.”

The girls watching the monitor on the other side saw that Zuo Qiu was so soft and innocent even in private. Their eyes sparkled as they whispered, “So cute, so cute.”

Xiao Baijun said, “If you want to be handsome, it’s simple, just get plastic surgery.” In the entertainment industry today, nine out of ten people get plastic surgery. Oh, no, there is a new term now—”micro-adjustments.”

Zuo Qiu struggled with the thought for a moment before saying, “But I don’t have the money!”

Xiao Baijun was speechless. Why was he so blunt? He should be saying something the fans would like, such as that he loves being all-natural and showing his most authentic self.

“If you had the money, would you go?”

Zuo Qiu immediately replied, “Of course not! Plastic surgery is addictive. You’ll just have to spend more and more money later. Do you think I’m stupid?”

Zuo Qiu had been catching up on a lot of entertainment news recently. Many celebrities change their faces every once in a while because plastic surgery has a limited shelf life and requires “refurbishing” after some time.

Xiao Baijun was utterly speechless. It all came back to money with this person, didn’t it? He had originally wanted him to perform a little for the camera, but now he thought he might as well forget it. Zuo Qiu was just an idiot.

After they finished their face masks, Zuo Qiu went into the bathroom to change his clothes, worried he might offend Xiao Baijun’s eyes.

As soon as Zuo Qiu entered the bathroom, Xiao Baijun walked to the wardrobe to get his clothes, then headed to the edge of the bed, preparing to change there.

The girls watching the monitors were beyond excited. “Oh my god, he’s changing! Quick, come look, come look! Junjun’s body is really something!”

A group of girls came running over from other areas, all excited to watch Xiao Baijun change.

On screen, Xiao Baijun turned his back to them, slipped off his pajamas, and casually tossed them onto the bed. The crowd gasped at the sight of his naked torso. Xiao Baijun had a typical inverted-triangle physique. His body looked very solid, clearly the result of frequent exercise.

Amidst their gasps of admiration and silent prayers for him to take off his pants quickly, Xiao Baijun didn’t put on his shirt right away. Instead, he jumped straight onto the bed. The crowd of perverts, lost in their fantasy of seeing his abs and V-lines when he turned around, didn’t question his action.

Once on the bed, Xiao Baijun quickly turned around and leaned close to the miniature camera he had found the night before…

“Ah, a ghost!!!”

The girls behind the monitor screamed collectively, and the one sitting on a stool fell to the floor. They covered their faces, then secretly peeped at the bloody skull that had appeared on the screen, trembling. The next second, the skull was pulled away, revealing Xiao Baijun’s handsome face. He gave a slight smirk towards the camera, and the monitor screen immediately turned blue.

The girls stared at the monitor, which now displayed “No Signal.” They looked at each other with lingering fear. They had been discovered, hadn’t they? And Xiao Baijun had successfully messed with them.

Xiao Baijun put the skull mask back in the wardrobe. When he was thinking about what to do yesterday, he remembered this mask. Since the production team was so tolerant of the ruthless exposure of the artists’ privacy, a small prank on the staff probably wouldn’t warrant any complaints.

As it turned out, the production team didn’t mind at all. The girls’ piercing screams startled the director, but after hearing the girls’ report, the director’s eyes lit up. He excitedly rubbed his hands together. A headline-worthy stunt like this shouldn’t go to waste! This episode was going to be a hit!

Zuo Qiu emerged from the bathroom to see Xiao Baijun doing sit-ups on the bed, stripped down to only his boxer briefs.

Was it necessary to take off all his clothes to exercise? Zuo Qiu thought, but his eyes couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the bulge in Xiao Baijun’s lower half.

Seeing Zuo Qiu sneaking a look, Xiao Baijun continued his workout and casually said, “Go ahead and look. I won’t charge you.”

Caught in the act, Zuo Qiu’s face flushed. He weakly retorted, “Who’s looking at you? I have everything you have. Why would I need to look at you?”

Xiao Baijun chuckled, “But there are differences in length and thickness… How about we compare?”

Zuo Qiu’s face turned completely red at Xiao Baijun’s shameless words. He quickly threw out a “I’m going to check the kitchen” and made a quick escape.

Xiao Baijun looked at the closed door, rested his hands behind his head, and thought to himself, It’s been a few days since I saw Zuo Qiu blush. I’m actually not used to it. Shy Zuo Qiu is still so cute!

Zuo Qiu left the room and headed to the kitchen. Liu Min and Lu Lan were making breakfast. “Do you need any help?” Zuo Qiu offered.

“No, no, we’ve got it,” Lu Lan said. Zuo Qiu had cooked dinner and late-night snacks the day before, so she felt too awkward to ask for his help again, even though his cooking was the best.

Seeing that the dumplings in the pot were almost done, Zuo Qiu didn’t insist and left the kitchen to set the dining table.

Lu Lan watched Zuo Qiu’s actions and commented with feeling, “If my son were half as easy to manage as Zuo Qiu, I would be overjoyed.” Zuo Qiu had a good personality, was smart, sensible, and a great cook. Her son, who was not much younger than Zuo Qiu and couldn’t even tell the difference between bok choy and lettuce, was totally incomparable.

Liu Min smiled. “Every child has their own good qualities.”

Lu Lan laughed. “That’s true. My monkey is very talented in sports. He even participated in the national ice hockey competition a while ago…”

Liu Min listened to Lu Lan talk about her child with a gentle smile, but her eyes couldn’t help but drift towards Zuo Qiu. Children who were too well-behaved and sensible always made people feel a strange pang of pity. She hoped Zuo Qiu would always be well.

After breakfast, Liu Min announced that they would be going on a sea trip. Lin Xiao cheered happily upon hearing this.

They were given 15 minutes to return to their rooms and prepare. Zuo Qiu grabbed sun-protection shirts for both of them. Fortunately, Zhao Zhixian had the foresight to have them prepare sun-protection clothing and sunscreen. Zuo Qiu applied sunscreen to his face, exposed arms, and legs, and then insisted that Xiao Baijun apply it, too.

Xiao Baijun frowned. “Can I not?”

“Of course not! If you don’t, your face mask will have been for nothing, and you’ll be dark for a long time.”

Xiao Baijun was helpless. He felt that Zuo Qiu had become increasingly concerned about his appearance since their debut, and he was being forced to keep up. The day before yesterday, he even specially asked his brother if he would turn into a sissy if this continued. His brother had joked, “A sissy top and a sissy bottom, a match made in heaven.”

Damn it! Zuo Qiu wasn’t a sissy, and he certainly wasn’t one! Got it!

“I’m not putting it on. Being a little darker is more handsome,” Xiao Baijun firmly refused. He had tolerated a face mask where no one could see him, but he definitely wasn’t going to put on that messy stuff now. He wasn’t going to be a sissy top!

Seeing Xiao Baijun’s firm attitude, Zuo Qiu didn’t press him further. After all, the stuff felt greasy on the skin, and he himself didn’t like it much.

The sun was strong outside. The group, along with their cameramen, boarded the production team’s vehicle and drove directly to the beach, where a luxurious yacht was waiting.

Once everyone was on board, the yacht took off like an arrow. Zuo Qiu sat at the bow, enjoying the sea breeze and looking at the blue sky and blue sea. He felt an exceptional sense of ease and happiness.

Two hours later, the yacht stopped in a quiet stretch of water. Liu Min announced that it was time to prepare for lunch.

Zuo Qiu looked around the yacht. There were no cooking tools, only a barbecue grill.

“Lunch is BBQ?” Zuo Qiu asked.

“Wow, Qiuqiu is so smart,” Liu Min praised Zuo Qiu and continued, “The production team prepared some meat and vegetables, but not a lot, so everyone has to work for their own food.”

For them, floating in the middle of the sea, the only way to “work for their own food” was to fish.

Fishing rods were already prepared on the yacht. Seven people grabbed their rods, found a suitable spot, and cast their lines.

“To motivate everyone, how about we make a bet?” Liu Min suggested.

Zheng Yang immediately seconded the motion: “I think that’s a great idea. How about this: the last-place person has to do one thing for the first-place person. What do you all think?”

Lin Xiao shouted, “Great! Let the first-place person kiss the last-place person!”

Deng Zhong’s face soured. “If I get first place and Brother Yang gets last place, and I have to kiss him, is that a reward or a punishment?”

Everyone burst into laughter. Zheng Yang feigned anger and said, “What, am I too ugly for you to kiss? Let me tell you, I’m a fishing master. Don’t you dare come in last, or I’ll spit on you!”

Amidst the joking, the reward and punishment for the fishing competition were set: a one-hour limit, with the winner determined by the weight of the catch.

Zuo Qiu wiped the sweat off his face under his hat. He had an ominous feeling. When he was a child, he often went fishing with his friends during summer vacations at his grandmother’s house, but he always caught the fewest fish, sometimes nothing at all for an entire day. Now that he was in a different place, he hoped his luck wouldn’t be that bad… right?

Xiao Baijun stood beside Zuo Qiu and saw him constantly wiping sweat. He looked up at the sky. It was sunny today, but the temperature wasn’t particularly high, and with the occasional cool breeze, it wasn’t hot at all.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Baijun whispered to Zuo Qiu.

Zuo Qiu managed a strained smile. “Nothing.”

Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes passed, and Xiao Baijun finally understood why Zuo Qiu was sweating. While everyone else had caught five or six fish, and even the last-place Lin Xiao had two, Zuo Qiu hadn’t caught a single one. Zuo Qiu was sweating even more profusely, feeling utterly embarrassed.

Xiao Baijun calmly checked the catches of the others. The rest were doing well. Zheng Yang, as he claimed, was indeed a fishing master, catching almost as much as Xiao Baijun himself. Xiao Baijun started to take it seriously. Since it was clear Zuo Qiu would be last, he absolutely had to win first place.

Just as the hour was about to end, Xiao Baijun reeled in a five-pound grouper and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The seven contestants carried their buckets to the weighing area. Liu Min looked at the three tiny Vietnam fish in Zuo Qiu’s bucket and teased, “Qiuqiu, are you deliberately trying to get a kiss from me?”

Zuo Qiu scratched his head awkwardly. “I don’t have any talent for fishing.”

Lin Xiao also came over to look and was immediately overjoyed. “Oh, I thought I was the one with the least! I didn’t expect Zuo Qiu to have even less! Haha, with you here, I’m relieved.”

Zuo Qiu felt even more mortified.

The others were also chatting. Zheng Yang was bragging to Deng Zhong, “Look at your Brother Yang. Not bad, huh? I totally crushed you.”

Deng Zhong, who had been standing close to Xiao Baijun, knew his results. “You’re still a little short of Xiao Baijun.”

Zheng Yang’s eyes widened. “How is that possible!”

When the final weigh-in was done, Xiao Baijun won first place by a mere one-pound difference over Zheng Yang, and Zuo Qiu, living up to everyone’s expectations, took seventh place.

After the awards ceremony, Liu Min started cheering: “Come on, you two handsome boys, kiss! Kiss!”

Lin Xiao and Zheng Yang joined in, chanting, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Zuo Qiu lowered his head, feeling both nervous and a little secretly happy. Ever since he knew Xiao Baijun was first, his heart had settled down. This outcome was naturally the best.

Xiao Baijun’s expression didn’t change as the crowd teased him. He slowly approached Zuo Qiu. When they were about ten centimeters apart, everyone started to anticipate the moment.

“What’s that over there?” Xiao Baijun asked, pointing behind Zuo Qiu.

The five onlookers, including Zuo Qiu, were led off-topic and looked towards where Xiao Baijun pointed. Just as Zuo Qiu had half-turned his head, he heard a “pop” sound, and a warm touch pressed onto his forehead. He looked up, and Xiao Baijun was already backing away. Seeing Zuo Qiu look at him, he awkwardly turned his head.

That kiss didn’t actually have to be a real kiss, but out of some kind of “naughty” inner motive, Xiao Baijun didn’t let this rare opportunity slip by.

“Junjun, you cheated! We didn’t see that kiss just now, so it doesn’t count,” Liu Min said to Xiao Baijun, realizing she had been tricked.

Xiao Baijun shrugged. “Before the competition, there was no rule saying you all had to see it to count. You heard the sound of me kissing, right? I kissed him.”

One of the two cameramen, due to the angle, and the other for being led astray by Xiao Baijun, had turned with the others and filmed the sky. Thus, not a single person, besides the two people involved, saw the kiss between the two handsome boys.

Fortunately, the group understood how awkward a kiss between two straight men would be. It might be fine for some industry veterans, but for newcomers, it was likely very embarrassing. They let the pair off the hook and instead sent them to prepare food for everyone, to comfort their wounded hearts from missing the live scene.

Xiao Baijun and Zuo Qiu had no objections and went together to the grill to prepare the food.

Now alone, Zuo Qiu was a little shy because of the kiss and didn’t dare to look up at Xiao Baijun much.

Seeing that the cameras weren’t focused on them and the people around weren’t paying attention, Xiao Baijun quietly teased Zuo Qiu: “My first kiss! You got it for cheap!”

Zuo Qiu looked up at Xiao Baijun when he heard that. First kiss? This person has been in two relationships, and he still has his first kiss?

“What, you don’t believe me?” Xiao Baijun thought, It’s good that you don’t believe me, because my first kiss was lost a few days ago, and by the way, yours was lost too.

“A little…” Is Platonic dating a thing now? They didn’t even kiss?

“If I told you I couldn’t bring myself to kiss either of my two ex-girlfriends, would you believe me?” Xiao Baijun asked, staring into Zuo Qiu’s eyes.

Zuo Qiu’s heart fluttered wildly under Xiao Baijun’s gaze. He quickly turned his head away. “Maybe, maybe they weren’t your type.”

“That’s right. They really weren’t my type. The type I like is…” …is someone like you.

Before he could finish, Xiao Baijun was interrupted by Liu Min. “I brought you drinks. It’s hot, so drink more.”

Xiao Baijun looked at the coke forced into his hand, feeling deflated. Why did someone always interrupt whenever he tried to say something important?

Do you need a perfect, lucky day to confess your feelings in this day and age?