Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It was almost dinner time. The yacht docked, and the afternoon filming came to an end. The production team took the group directly to a famous restaurant in H-City, ordering a table full of specialty dishes to treat everyone.

Xiao Baijun took a few bites and put down his chopsticks. The food here was too salty and heavily seasoned. Xiao Baijun privately felt it wasn’t as good as what Zuo Qiu cooked.

Seeing Xiao Baijun stop eating, Zuo Qiu asked him curiously, “Are you full?”

“It’s awful.”

Although the food wasn’t great, it wasn’t exactly “awful.” Zuo Qiu, remembering that Xiao Baijun ate quite a bit at noon, figured he probably wasn’t hungry and didn’t press him.

“If you get hungry tonight, I’ll cook you some seafood wontons.”

“Okay, put in extra dried shrimp.”

“Sure. This sweet soup is pretty good. Have some of that to tide you over.”

Hearing Zuo Qiu say it was good, Xiao Baijun scooped a small bowl and slowly drank it.

Deng Zhong, sitting next to them, was filled with envy and jealousy when he heard their conversation. Why hadn’t he encountered such a good roommate? Even his wife, whom he had been married to for less than a year, wasn’t this thoughtful.

“How about turning your duo into a trio? Take me in,” Deng Zhong joked.

“No!” Before Zuo Qiu could say anything, Xiao Baijun flatly refused.

“Why not?” Deng Zhong was confused. The refusal was too direct. After all, his acting skills and popularity were quite good.

“Because you’re too ugly.” Even though he knew the other person was joking, Xiao Baijun couldn’t help but speak the truth. Having grown up dominant until the age of 21, Xiao Baijun rarely considered others’ feelings; he either didn’t speak or what he said was extremely arbitrary.

Deng Zhong: … It’s fine if you don’t want to team up, but why the personal attack!

Zuo Qiu wanted to laugh but felt a bit awkward, so he quickly smoothed things over for Xiao Baijun. “Brother Deng, don’t mind him. Little Xiao just likes to joke. You’re about to become a Best Actor. You don’t need us to mentor you. We’ll be relying on you in the future!”

Deng Zhong was not a petty person and didn’t really mind Xiao Baijun’s comment, but people still like to hear pleasant words. After Zuo Qiu’s flattery, Deng Zhong smiled and promised, “If you ever need anything, just ask!”

Zuo Qiu smiled too and clinked glasses with Deng Zhong.

Xiao Baijun turned to look at Zuo Qiu. He felt that Zuo Qiu had become much smoother since his debut, even learning how to flatter!

When Zuo Qiu finished talking with Deng Zhong, Xiao Baijun leaned over to him and said, “You adapt quite quickly.”

Zuo Qiu smiled. “No matter what circle you’re in, maintaining good relationships is always beneficial. It’s better to have one more friend than one more enemy.” Moreover, in the entertainment industry, which is a more complex circle, even with their strong background, maintaining good relationships is certainly the right move.

Xiao Baijun took another careful look at Zuo Qiu. No one had ever said such a thing to him from childhood, or if they did, he didn’t take it seriously. Sitting at the lively dinner table now, Xiao Baijun actually began to seriously consider Zuo Qiu’s words.

After dinner, the group went downstairs to leave the hotel. Upon reaching the lobby, two young girls stopped Zuo Qiu.

“Excuse me, is that you? Are you Zuo Qiu?” one of the girls asked, pointing to an LCD screen in the lobby.

Zuo Qiu looked in the direction the girl was pointing. A large monitor was playing an ice cream commercial. In the scene, a girl was eating ice cream with gusto, while a boy watched, slightly craving it. He tried to look away to distract himself. The next second, a large spoonful of ice cream appeared at his mouth. The boy looked at the girl next to him, who smiled beautifully. The boy took a bite of the ice cream, looking delighted. Then the two shared the small ice cream, feeding each other.

This commercial was indeed the catalyst that led Zuo Qiu down the path of becoming an artist—it was the first advertisement he ever filmed. Previously, the two had been busy preparing for their debut and hadn’t paid much attention to when the commercial would air. Seeing his exaggerated expression on screen now, Zuo Qiu blushed a little.

“I am Zuo Qiu,” Zuo Qiu answered the girl in front of him.

The girl’s eyes lit up. “That’s great! Could you sign an autograph for us? I really like the song your group sings.”

Zuo Qiu smiled and agreed to sign. After he signed, the two girls still didn’t leave. The first girl pointed at the silent and expressionless Xiao Baijun, who was standing to the side, and asked Zuo Qiu, “Is this Junjun?”

Zuo Qiu smiled. “Yes, we are Z.X.”

The girl quickly ran to Xiao Baijun and asked for an autograph. Xiao Baijun didn’t refuse. He took the pen and notebook from the girl and quickly scribbled his name next to Zuo Qiu’s.

Just as he was about to hand the notebook back, the girl suddenly pointed to a blank space above the signatures and said, “Could you write ‘To my dearest Xiao Xi’ here?”

Xiao Baijun frowned upon hearing this.

“No… can’t you?” The girl asked fearfully due to Xiao Baijun’s cold expression.

Xiao Baijun didn’t say anything. He picked up the pen and wrote a string of characters in the blank space. After writing, Xiao Baijun returned the notebook and pen to the young fan, saying, “I think this is more appropriate.”

After Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun walked away, the girl opened the notebook and read the characters Xiao Baijun had written: “TO the cutest Xiao Xi.” Although it was only a one-character difference from what she suggested, the level of intimacy was vastly different. The girl smiled, thinking that the serious Junjun was truly adorable!

When Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun got into the program team’s car, everyone else was already waiting inside for them.

The others were all industry veterans and were accustomed to seeing newcomers being stopped by fans for autographs, so they didn’t comment on the delay.

Zuo Qiu felt that the seniors in the car were quite kind. He had crammed so many major dramas about “plastic” friendships, “sisterhoods,” and even “marriages” in the entertainment industry, where many artists acted closer than family in front of the audience but were privately scheming, mocking each other, and trying to trip one another up.

But the artists they were partnered with this time were all very nice. They didn’t object to Liu Min constantly giving him and Xiao Baijun extra attention, and often actively pulled them into conversations. Zuo Qiu felt that they were all worthy of continued association due to their willingness to help juniors.

Back at the hotel, Liu Min announced that there were no further filming requirements for the moment, and everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

Xiao Baijun came out of the bathroom and saw Zuo Qiu sitting on the bed scrolling through his phone. He dried his hair and sat down on his own bed.

“Don’t you think this photo looks familiar?” Zuo Qiu handed his phone to Xiao Baijun. The screen showed the picture of Zuo Qiu dressed in women’s clothing earlier that day.

Xiao Baijun’s eyes flashed. “I don’t think so.”

Zuo Qiu looked at the photo for a few more minutes and said definitively, “I really think it looks familiar, like…”

Xiao Baijun gripped the towel tightly.