Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

It was already four o’clock in the afternoon when Zuo Qiu was dropped off at home by Zhao Zhixian. He took a shower and threw his and Xiao Baijun’s dirty clothes into the washing machine.

The house had been empty for a few days and had a layer of dust. Zuo Qiu did some simple cleaning, and when the sun was less intense, he went out to buy groceries.

Since Xiao Baijun wasn’t home, Zuo Qiu ate a very simple meal: cold shredded beef, stir-fried cucumber, and tomato and egg drop soup. Eating alone wasn’t satisfying, so Zuo Qiu ate a bowl of rice and finished the tomato soup. After throwing out the leftover cucumber, only half a plate of beef remained.

In two days, he and Xiao Baijun would start filming for the new project. In the meantime, Zhao Zhixian arranged a magazine interview for them, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

After showering, Zuo Qiu began to read the script.

The TV series he was about to star in was called I Think I Love You. The female lead was beautiful, had good grades, and came from a famous wealthy family in S City. By the age of 20, she had countless admirers, but she was inexplicably drawn to the illegitimate son who had just returned to the family of her father’s arch-rival. Zuo Qiu played this illegitimate son.

The illegitimate son’s background was complex. Twenty years ago, the famous S City wealthy businessman Qian Youtu went to a small county, T City, for a business deal. He casually met a beautiful woman who vanished after their brief fling. Qian Youtu considered it a minor escapade and returned directly to S City after the business was concluded. However, when the fifty-year-old Qian Youtu, who had no son to inherit his estate, accidentally learned that one of the countless seeds he had sown had borne fruit, he excitedly brought his son back to S City.

Although the plot of this TV series was melodramatic, the male lead character, Qian Xuduo, was a Jack Sue. On the surface, he was gentle and jade-like, appearing like a defenseless lamb, but secretly he was dark-bellied and extremely intelligent. His background was also not simple. In short, everything you saw was the opposite of reality.

Zhao Zimo, played by Xiao Baijun, was a campus bully at the university Zuo Qiu attended in S City. He got into a fight with the illegitimate son because he couldn’t stand his behavior, but they later became good friends through their conflict. In one plot segment, Zhao Zimo nearly had his leg broken while saving Qian Xuduo, which caused Qian Xuduo to immediately drop his pretense and engage in a head-on battle of wits and courage with their enemies.

While Zuo Qiu was studying his role in the apartment, Xiao Baijun was at home amusing his parents.

“…The scene was shot in a very dilapidated courtyard. After Cao Hanliang was shot and killed, he was lying in a pile of dust. Zuo Qiu was required to crawl toward that spot on his knees, then pretend to accidentally fall directly into the dust. Zuo Qiu fell and couldn’t get up for a while. When he finally got up, his nose and mouth were full of dust, but the director didn’t call ‘cut,’ so he kept acting for half an hour.”

Yin Qiushui listened and sighed, “Little Qiu is such a dedicated child.”

“Yes, he’s really dedicated. He reads the script until three in the morning every day to fully grasp the character’s inner world.”

Xiao Bailin, on the side, could barely listen anymore. Xiao Baijun couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning Zuo Qiu. Is he under Zuo Qiu’s love spell? He knew Xiao Baijun wanted to score points for Zuo Qiu in front of Grandma, but he needed some restraint!

He Can asked from the side, “Zuo Qiu is that handsome young man who lives with you and often washes your clothes, right?”

“Yes, yes, yes, that’s him.”

“Next time you come home, bring Zuo Qiu with you. It’s quite lonely for him over there by himself,” Yin Qiushui said.

Xiao Baijun quickly agreed, saying Zuo Qiu hadn’t been home for months and it was indeed pitiful.

At 10 o’clock, Yin Qiushui and He Can both asked Xiao Baijun to stay home for the night, but Xiao Baijun insisted on going back, claiming he had unfinished business, so Xiao Bailin became the escort driver.

As soon as he got in the car, Xiao Bailin handed Xiao Baijun a bottle of water. “It must have been hard on you, talking all evening.”

Xiao Baijun took the water and gulped down more than half the bottle. He was indeed thirsty, having been so focused on talking earlier that he barely drank any water. Xiao Baijun didn’t take Xiao Bailin’s teasing seriously. Although he usually didn’t talk much, it depended on the person. At the moment, if all it took was a few extra words to make his family like Zuo Qiu, Xiao Baijun felt it was a worthwhile transaction.

“I want Zuo Qiu to become famous as quickly as possible. Give him whatever good resources you have,” Xiao Baijun requested. He didn’t care about his own fame; the most important thing was for Zuo Qiu to succeed.

Since Z.X debuted, the company’s resources were prioritized for the two of them. Xiao Baijun’s request now suggested he was dissatisfied with the current arrangement. Xiao Bailin said, “When you sit in my position, you can allocate the resources however you like.”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Otherwise, who would want to suffer like this!” Being in that position would require clocking in at the company every day, which would inevitably separate him from Zuo Qiu. So, Xiao Baijun’s plan was to make Zuo Qiu famous quickly—famous enough that he only needed to shoot one or two quality films a year, just like Ou Sheng. The rest of the time, he would stay in B City to accompany him, and Zuo Qiu would be able to choose his own projects.

It must be said that Xiao Baijun was plotting quite well. For something that hadn’t even begun, he had already filled in the missing parts and planned all the subsequent steps. Now, he just needed the perfect opportunity to lure Zuo Qiu into his trap.

Xiao Bailin, who was constantly “suffering”: …

As soon as Xiao Baijun got home, he saw Zuo Qiu lying on the bed applying a face mask. Zuo Qiu, seeing Xiao Baijun return, enthusiastically invited him to use one too.

“Brother Zhao is picking us up tomorrow afternoon. He said he arranged an interview for us, so you need a mask too.” Interviews usually involve photoshoots, so ensuring good skin condition was essential.

Xiao Baijun agreed, took a quick, “combat” shower, and quickly climbed onto Zuo Qiu’s bed, lying down next to him.

Zuo Qiu was already accustomed to Xiao Baijun treating his bed as the designated spot for applying face masks. He got up and put a mask on Xiao Baijun.

Twenty minutes later, Xiao Baijun, having finished his mask, got up to find something to eat in the refrigerator. Seeing half a plate of beef inside, he immediately finished it off.

Zuo Qiu watched the ravenous Xiao Baijun and asked, “Didn’t you eat dinner?”

“I did.” He just didn’t eat much. He didn’t know if Zuo Qiu had spoiled his palate, but now Xiao Baijun only liked Zuo Qiu’s cooking.

“Tell me, did you put something in my food? Why do I only like your cooking now?”

Zuo Qiu was secretly happy. If Xiao Baijun only loved his cooking, didn’t that prove he was unique in that regard? Even if they couldn’t be together later, if he could make Xiao Baijun remember him for a lifetime in this way, Zuo Qiu felt everything he did was worth it.

“Are you still hungry? How about I prepare some noodles for you?”

Xiao Baijun immediately choked when he heard that. When did Zuo Qiu become so proactive? Following his impulse, Xiao Baijun quickly nodded.

Then, he saw Zuo Qiu walk straight into the kitchen and cook a bowl of noodles…

Alright. Zuo Qiu hadn’t changed at all. He was the one who was being wicked!