Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

After that kiss, both men had their own thoughts swirling, but on the surface, they maintained their normal interactions.

After breakfast, Zuo Qiu went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and Xiao Baijun returned to his room to play games. When Xiao Baijun came out to get some water, Zuo Qiu was no longer home.

Xiao Baijun waited in the living room for half an hour until he heard the door open—it was Zuo Qiu returning.

“Where did you go?” Xiao Baijun asked.

Zuo Qiu put down the various groceries he was holding and replied, “To the vegetable market. Didn’t I tell you before I left?”

Told me? Xiao Baijun was probably too engrossed in his game and had no memory of it. “Why did you go out without a mask? What if someone recognized you?” Evidently, being recognized and blocked by fans at the airport a few days ago had successfully created a shadow in Xiao Baijun’s mind.

“You’re overthinking it. The market is full of uncles and aunties. It would be weirder if I wore a mask.”

Alright, that makes sense. Xiao Baijun said nothing more.

In the evening, the two stayed in front of the TV to watch Come Along With Me. Zhao Zhixian had said there would be a preview of their episode today.

At the end of the show, the preview for the next episode played. A scene in it puzzled Zuo Qiu: a group of female staff members were watching something on a computer, but the next second, everyone stepped back simultaneously, and the girl sitting on a stool even fell to the floor. The subtitle created suspense: “What did a group of female staff members see that horrified them so much?”

“Is there a horror segment in the show?” Zuo Qiu had never heard of it. He also heard the other guests say that most of them had found and shielded several cameras upon entering the house, just like they did. Was there a camera that escaped detection? And did it film something scary?

Zuo Qiu turned to Xiao Baijun, who wore a meaningful expression. Zuo Qiu then had an extremely terrifying guess: “There wasn’t an undiscovered camera in our room, was there?”

Xiao Baijun looked at Zuo Qiu. “Isn’t it too late to worry about that now?”

Zuo Qiu paced frantically, blaming Xiao Baijun: “If you knew, why didn’t you give me a hint? I don’t know if I did anything I shouldn’t have or said anything inappropriate.”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t. When you almost did, I successfully stopped you.”

Zuo Qiu then remembered the time he wanted to change clothes in the room, and Xiao Baijun told him his figure was an eyesore and made him change in the bathroom. He slowly calmed down. “Then what did you do that scared the girls into falling down?”

Xiao Baijun glanced at him. “When you worry about others, didn’t you think about why I would do that?”

Zuo Qiu shuddered. “You… what do you mean? You slept naked in the room?” Given the production team’s boundary-pushing nature, such a scene would likely be aired with mosaics, as one male celebrity had been exposed like that in a previous season.

“It wasn’t that extreme.”

Zuo Qiu suddenly recalled Xiao Baijun exercising in just his underwear the next morning. “Did you shield the camera?”

Xiao Baijun replied, “Of course. I destroyed it right after I woke up the next morning.”

Zuo Qiu was completely relieved. Having some controversial moments was necessary for a show. For example, the preview showing Xiao Baijun half-naked was normal in Zuo Qiu’s view, but full nudity would be crossing the line.

Zhao Zhixian, on his end, had been monitoring the trending list ever since the show finished. Sure enough, an hour later, “#Z.X Half-Naked Good Physique” had climbed to the 20th spot.

Lingqu clearly hasn’t abandoned their plan, Zhao Zhixian sneered. Sitting at his computer, he executed the previous plan by directly releasing the video of a certain Lingqu Best Actor cheating on his wife during marriage and responding individually to the trolls he had contacted earlier to whip up the topic.

The public always had a habit of joining in the excitement, especially with topics like infidelity. The media and the public loved to watch. After this, they wouldn’t need to do anything; the media and netizens would spontaneously help find all sorts of corroborating evidence to prove the truth of the matter.

With this major scoop, Lingqu would likely be busy for the next week.

Zhao Zhixian didn’t keep this matter hidden from Xiao Baijun and Zuo Qiu. Zuo Qiu felt a little uneasy that they were receiving this kind of treatment only a few days after their debut. But this industry was so cruel. He couldn’t do anything right now but try to remain low-key.

On Monday, the two met Zhao Zhixian at the airport and were again led through the special security channel.

“Brother Zhao, since this channel exists, why are so many celebrities still photographed?” Zuo Qiu often saw news reports of celebrities being photographed by reporters or blocked by fans at the airport. He didn’t understand why, if everyone could use this channel to exit safely and unnoticed, so much candid photography still happened.

Zhao Zhixian smiled. “It depends on whether you want to be photographed.” Many celebrities treat the airport as a fashion show just to get exposure, and the staged nature of the photos is obvious. He didn’t deny that this channel wasn’t available to everyone, but if one truly intended to avoid candid shots and unnecessary crowds, there was a lot that could be done.

Zuo Qiu understood immediately. In many cases, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, a case of one side willing to be hit and the other willing to oblige.

After a three-hour journey, Zhao Zhixian took Xiao Baijun and Zuo Qiu in the film crew’s car to the set of Fledgling Eagle.

The director of Fledgling Eagle had some connection with Zhao Zhixian; otherwise, he wouldn’t have extended an olive branch right after their debut.

Zhao Zhixian took the two to watch the set for half an hour. After the director called out, “Cut, break for 10 minutes,” Zhao Zhixian led them toward the director.

“Old Gong, long time no see.”

As soon as Zhao Zhixian spoke, Zuo Qiu couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Zuo Qiu apologized for his rudeness.

Director Gong waved his hand at Zuo Qiu, indicating he didn’t mind, but then bitterly complained to Zhao Zhixian: “I told you to call me Director Gong, Director Gong!”

Zhao Zhixian and Director Gong had known each other for years and usually called him that, but Director Gong cared about his reputation. Calling him that in private was fine, but with so many people on set, if some female star picked it up, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself even with ten mouths and would have to kneel on instant noodles at home again.

“Alright, alright, Director Gong,” Zhao Zhixian quickly complied. “I brought them over. Take a look.”

Director Gong looked at Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun, who stepped forward. One was smiling and genial, the other was cold and aloof. Okay, they fit the characters in his movie very well.

“Fine, you take them to get familiar with the set. Once they’re done, send them to the hotel. Little Chen will show you the way.” Director Gong was busy right now and quickly sent the trio away.

Zhao Zhixian understood Director Gong’s personality and didn’t mind his slight neglect. Fearing that Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun might take it to heart, he explained, “Director Gong is just like that. Don’t mind him.”

Zuo Qiu nodded, saying he didn’t mind. Xiao Baijun, as always, was expressionless toward people he didn’t care about.

After walking around the set, Zhao Zhixian saw a man lying under a tree to cool off and told the two, “Come, let me introduce you to the main lead of this movie.”

Zuo Qiu had glanced at the man under the tree from afar and was already suspicious. Now that Zhao Zhixian confirmed he was the lead actor, Zuo Qiu’s heart started pounding rapidly as his suspicion was confirmed.

“Best Actor Ou, how have you been!” Zhao Zhixian greeted the man.

The man lying under the tree lazily opened his eyes. His overly handsome face, combined with the camouflage uniform he wore, made him look both heroic and rebellious.

This person was Ou Sheng.