Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Xiao Bojun suppressed his anger and walked out, kicking a nearby trash can hard in frustration. After venting, he returned to the living room and sat down amidst the ruins.

Zuo Qiu was puzzled as to why Xiao Bojun was throwing a tantrum again. Did he say something wrong?

Xiao Bojun was truly furious. Because of Zuo Qiu, he was scratched on the face by that hateful woman. Zuo Qiu hadn’t said a single word of concern, fantasized about him sleeping with his ex-girlfriend, and now, when he made an implicit confession, Zuo Qiu suggested he wanted to be his dad!

I’m so mad, I’m so mad! Who was he doing all of this for? This dense blockhead!

“Shall I help you disinfect it?” Zuo Qiu approached Xiao Bojun, who was radiating cold air, holding disinfectant and cotton swabs, and asked cautiously.

In fact, he had intended to do this as soon as he saw the scratches on his face, but after feeling jealous for an hour outside, he was already unhappy. When he came back, he couldn’t resist making that comment about “handling things.” Now, having thought the whole situation over, it was a relief that they hadn’t slept together—at least not today.

Xiao Bojun looked at the obviously cheerful Zuo Qiu and became even angrier. “What, are you happy to see me scratched by my ex-girlfriend?”

Zuo Qiu was stunned by the remark: “Ex… ex-girlfriend? You guys broke up? Why?”

Isn’t it because of you!

Seeing Zuo Qiu’s surprised expression, Xiao Bojun’s mood instantly improved significantly. He leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs on the coffee table, and said, “What’s so strange? We weren’t compatible.”

“Incompatibility” is the go-to excuse for all couples who break up for discreet, unmentionable reasons. Xiao Bojun thought, Who knows if it was a personality incompatibility or a gender incompatibility? Thankfully, Zeng Xinyi only suspected him and hadn’t discovered Zuo Qiu’s secret. He had given her a large sum of money, so she would hopefully keep her mouth shut.

Zuo Qiu figured that was true; their personalities didn’t seem to match. They rarely saw each other, and when they did, they often argued, unlike other couples.

“Yeah, don’t be sad. You’ll definitely meet someone more suitable for you in the future.” Couples who break up are probably all in a bad mood, Zuo Qiu said, comforting Xiao Bojun.

Xiao Bojun looked at Zuo Qiu and said, “Which eye saw that I was sad? I will definitely find someone I like in the future, don’t you worry.”

Seeing Zuo Qiu standing still, he added, “Why are you just standing there like an idiot? Come here and help me disinfect.” That woman’s fingernails were so long; who knows if she had any strange germs.

Distracted by Xiao Bojun, Zuo Qiu temporarily suppressed his feeling of sadness at hearing him talk about finding a suitable girlfriend and concentrated on applying the disinfectant.

The scratch marks Zeng Xinyi inflicted were on Xiao Bojun’s forehead. They weren’t deep and weren’t bleeding, but they were a bit long.

Zuo Qiu finished applying the medicine and said, “The wound isn’t deep. Eat light foods recently, and it shouldn’t leave a scar.”

Xiao Bojun was nonchalant: “It doesn’t matter, as long as my wife doesn’t mind in the future.” He then looked at Zuo Qiu, who was tidying up the medical supplies, and asked, “Will you mind?”

Zuo Qiu said dismissively, “It’s nothing, really.” It’s perfectly normal for a man to have a few marks on his face.

Xiao Bojun nodded upon hearing this: “That’s good.”

Zuo Qiu didn’t deeply probe what Xiao Bojun meant by “that’s good.” After putting away the medicine, he asked Xiao Bojun, “Are you hungry? Shall I go make lunch?”

Xiao Bojun looked at the clock. It was 11:30 AM. He rubbed his stomach. Zuo Qiu’s mention of food made him realize he was hungry. “Mmm, just make it simple.”

Zuo Qiu agreed and went into the kitchen. In less than half an hour, he brought out two vegetable dishes and a soup.

Xiao Bojun looked at the food and immediately wanted to throw his chopsticks. He shouted at Zuo Qiu: “Are you raising me as a sheep? I don’t eat grass, I want meat!”

Stir-fried cabbage with black fungus, stir-fried water spinach, and a vegetable egg drop soup. What is all this!

Zuo Qiu placed the rice opposite Xiao Bojun and said, “You have a wound on your face, so you can only eat light food right now.”

I said simple, just a few plates of meat would have been simple, not light food, okay!

Xiao Bojun glanced at Zuo Qiu. This person said he didn’t mind the scar, but in reality, he secretly cared about it. How hypocritical!

Zuo Qiu knew Xiao Bojun had severe picky eating habits and only ate meat, avoiding vegetables. Seeing his reluctance, he coaxed him, “Just bear with this for lunch. I’ll make you braised lion’s head [large meatballs] tonight.”

Xiao Bojun’s expression softened a little. He sat down and started eating, taking a bite of rice while looking at Zuo Qiu, mentally pretending he was eating meat.

…

After lunch, Zuo Qiu started cleaning up the “battlefield.” Xiao Bojun sprawled on the sofa watching TV, initially not planning to move, but seeing Zuo Qiu sweating profusely from the heat, he felt a little heartache and joined in the cleanup.

…

The next day was Sunday. After making breakfast for Xiao Bojun, Zuo Qiu left a note and went out. A classmate had introduced him to a weekend job handing out flyers, paying 100 RMB per day. He was supposed to go yesterday, but it was delayed because Zeng Xinyi said she was coming for lunch.

Today, Zhao Zhixian was very angry. He was supposed to take a small celebrity under his management to film a commercial. They had arrived early, and the director and temporary crew were all there, but the male lead for the commercial was missing. After waiting two hours, the male lead finally arrived, but then started being picky and uncooperative. Enraged, Zhao Zhixian was about to leave with his people. The commercial director didn’t dare offend Zhao Zhixian. After much persuasion, he managed to keep Zhao Zhixian, but the condition was to replace the male lead.

“I have a newcomer who is not bad. Just say the word, and I’ll have him come immediately,” Zhao Zhixian said.

The director smiled on the outside but was cursing inwardly. He knew the newcomer Zhao Zhixian mentioned; Zhao Zhixian had introduced him before the commercial started filming, but that person’s temperament really didn’t suit the ad.

“Brother Zhao, look, it’s already 3 PM. It will be too late by the time he gets here. How about we use the backup male lead?”

Zhao Zhixian was unwilling. He knew the backup boy; he had just graduated from the film academy. Zhao Zhixian had tried to sign him recently, but the guy looked down on him and went into the arms of Lingqu instead. Zhao Zhixian had held a grudge about this, so how could he let him benefit now!

As the two were in a stalemate, they suddenly overheard a conversation between two passersby.

“Wow, that young man just now was so handsome! I thought he was a celebrity!”

“Yeah, yeah, much better looking than that XXX, though still slightly less handsome than my husband.”

The two girls giggled and walked past them. Zhao Zhixian and the director exchanged glances, then simultaneously looked in the direction the girls had come from.

Not far away, a tall, slender young man was standing on the street handing out flyers. He was only wearing a simple black T-shirt and gray trousers, but he still immediately drew attention. Several girls were surrounding him, taking photos. The boy seemed a bit shy, smiling bashfully and beautifully.

The two men turned back and exchanged another glance, sharing the same thought.

He’s the one.