Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

After Xiao Baijun took a shower in his own room, he went to Zuo Qiu’s room again. They had a scene together tomorrow, and Zuo Qiu wanted to rehearse it first.

In the drama, You Yi’s first appearance is when he accidentally learns that the girl he likes is favoring a certain illegitimate child. So, he confronts Qian Xuduo directly outside his university gate.

Children from wealthy families in S City generally use private cars for transport, and the Qian family was no exception. However, after Qian Xuduo was formally recognized by the family, the five sisters and Mrs. Qian all targeted him. The dedicated car that should have been assigned to him was used elsewhere. Qian Youtu felt guilty toward his wife and didn’t dare to say much, only buying Qian Xuduo a geared bicycle after he walked to school for a week.

This afternoon, Qian Xuduo was riding his bike home from school and encountered You Yi, who was also cycling—or rather, You Yi had been waiting for him at the entrance. Driven by jealousy, You Yi constantly cut off Qian Xuduo during the ride, eventually forcing him into a dead end. The two got into a fight, which ended in a tie, with one person’s face injured and the other’s arm hurt. But as Qian Xuduo rode away, he “accidentally” punctured You Yi’s tire.

After rehearsing the dialogue and trying out a few fighting moves, Xiao Baijun asked Zuo Qiu, “Why do I feel like this You Yi actually likes Qian Xuduo?”

The final part of their scene was Qian Xuduo smiling seductively at You Yi after puncturing his tire, then riding off coolly. You Yi didn’t blame him, instead staring blankly at his retreating back for a long time—it was full of bromance!

“It’s hard to say.” Zuo Qiu actually had the same feeling before, but the script never explicitly mentioned You Yi’s feelings. Without official confirmation, he couldn’t be sure.

Xiao Baijun felt he could improvise a bit. Since the director and the script weren’t explicit, it shouldn’t be a problem if he privately added a little extra subtext for You Yi. Besides, if he successfully left a subtle hint in the minds of netizens, perhaps they wouldn’t be so surprised later when they came out?

Zuo Qiu saw the gleam in Xiao Baijun’s eyes and asked him, “What bad idea are you cooking up now?”

Xiao Baijun didn’t want to say too much to Zuo Qiu in advance, so he denied it: “What bad idea could I be cooking up? Let’s stop here for today. I’m going back to sleep.”

He left without any lingering look. Zuo Qiu stared at Xiao Baijun’s retreating figure, unable to recover for a while. Was that “parting as if dying” act earlier just a performance?

Damn, I was fooled!

…

Because he had a clear plan for the future, Xiao Baijun was in a good mood. He hummed a tune back to his room and was about to fall into a sweet dream when his phone rang.

It was Xiao Bailin.

“You worked fast. You got the person so quickly?” Xiao Bailin was surprised when Zhao Zhixian told him about it today. He wondered what methods his younger brother had used.

“Talk properly. We got together because we love each other.”

What did he mean by “got the person”? Did the geography teacher teach his elementary Chinese class?

“Fine, fine, whatever you say. Just don’t show off in front of a single dog like me,” he said. Thinking about how his grandmother and mother had forced him to bring a girlfriend home a few days ago, Xiao Bailin asked, “Now, do you mind explaining to me when you supposedly saw me hugging a woman’s waist?”

“Ah, you still don’t have a girlfriend? My apologies, I must have been mistaken,” Xiao Baijun pretended to be naive.

“Heh, I’ve noticed: ever since you went gay, you’ve had a lot of flashy antics.” Did he learn them while pursuing Zuo Qiu? He was indeed dedicated.

The two brothers always spoke very directly. As for Xiao Baijun becoming gay, Xiao Bailin, as his elder brother, took it quite openly, so he spoke casually.

Xiao Baijun couldn’t be bothered with his nonsense and asked, “Did you call just to say that?”

Xiao Bailin knew he was being shunned, so he got straight to the point. “The face mask ad deal is done. You need to take a leave of absence next week to come back and shoot it. Also, I think the easiest way to gain fans right now is to become a regular guest on a popular variety show. It’s up to you and Zuo Qiu. If you’re interested, I’ll have Old Zhao look into it for you.”

Although their group only appeared on Come With Me for one episode before, they gained fans at an astonishing rate. The two members had a huge personality contrast—one cold, one warm—but their opposite traits were harmonious and complementary, which was very appealing to fans. However, Xiao Bailin knew that after the incident of being spied on, Xiao Baijun didn’t have a very good impression of variety shows, so he didn’t dare to make the decision privately for them.

Just as Xiao Bailin suspected, Xiao Baijun was not keen on exposing his private life to the public. But the fact was, as his brother said, he couldn’t help but consider Zuo Qiu.

“I’ll ask Zuo Qiu for his opinion.” If Zuo Qiu was willing to go, he would go along. If Zuo Qiu wasn’t willing, he wouldn’t go either. In short, the key was to follow Zuo Qiu’s lead.

Xiao Bailin had already guessed this outcome, so he wasn’t surprised, just asking them to decide as soon as possible.

As he was about to hang up, Xiao Baijun remembered something else. “Zuo Qiu has been working for so long. Shouldn’t he be paid some salary?”

Due to Xiao Baijun’s connection, Baile signed an A-list contract with Zuo Qiu, comparable to those of long-time movie stars and actresses. The biggest advantage of this level was the revenue split: 80/20 in favor of the artist. But it also had a downside: there was no basic salary. This meant that before they received payment for film or advertisement fees, their income was still zero.

So far, since their debut as a group, the film payment for their cameo was zero—a purely friendly appearance. There was no need to mention the reality show; many people would pay money to be on it, and for them to get such a good resource right after their debut was already Z-TV giving face to Baile. As for compensation, sorry, it didn’t exist.

So, Xiao Baijun guessed that the $3,000 Zuo Qiu earned from an earlier ad was probably almost gone. Given Zuo Qiu’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t accept Xiao Baijun’s money. And since starting university, Xiao Baijun himself hadn’t asked his family for a penny. Now that he had a job as an artist, it was even less likely that he would ask his parents for money. Therefore, the only thing Zuo Qiu could accept with a clear conscience was probably a salary.

Xiao Bailin was practically amused to anger. He had never seen someone help his lover ask the family for benefits like this. “I’m not you. I won’t ruin company policy for personal reasons.” Given Xiao Baijun’s current behavior, Xiao Bailin had no doubt that he would be a disastrous ruler in the future.

Seeing that his own brother wouldn’t help, Xiao Baijun gritted his teeth. “I’ll give half of my monthly allowance to Zuo Qiu, paid in the company’s name.”

When their grandfather was still alive, he established a foundation to discipline the next generation. It provided a fixed monthly allowance to the two brothers and strictly forbade other family members from secretly giving them money. The goal was to instill a habit of not overspending. Even after the grandfather’s death, this monthly allowance continued.

As they got older, the monthly allowance increased year by year. Xiao Baijun intended to give all of this month’s money to Zuo Qiu but was afraid he would become suspicious, so he only asked Xiao Bailin to give half.

Xiao Bailin laughed when he heard Xiao Baijun’s words. “Will you have enough this month?”

Xiao Baijun was a typical spendthrift who loved collecting the latest electronic products. Thus, no matter how much money he had, he would spend it all every month. As far as he knew, Xiao Baijun had no savings in his account. Because of this, Xiao Bailin was worried that he wouldn’t make it until the next allowance payment and would have to “eat dirt” (go broke).

Xiao Baijun painfully decided to cross a recently released handheld console off his shopping cart for Zuo Qiu.

“You don’t need to worry.”

If he really cared about him, he shouldn’t have forced him to do this. Xiao Baijun felt he saw through Xiao Bailin’s hypocrisy. After speaking, he unilaterally ended the conversation and went straight to sleep.

…

The next day, Xiao Baijun and Zuo Qiu’s scene went smoothly. Whether it was the mutual pushing and shoving during the bike ride or the fight scene in the dead end, they usually did one rehearsal, one take, and one special shot, completing it in three takes. Typically, action scenes like this would take longer, but the two cooperated well, minimizing unnecessary NG (No Good) shots.

This speed even surprised the director. Although the fight choreographer spent a little extra time instructing their movements, passing the scene in three takes was worthy of praise.

Director Zhao watched the playback all the way through. When he saw the look in Xiao Baijun’s eyes at the end towards Zuo Qiu, he hesitated. He asked the assistant director next to him, “Is this what the original author meant?”

The assistant director watched it once and felt conflicted inside. “The author never explicitly stated this meaning, but selling a bit of danmei (bromance) isn’t a problem, as long as we don’t confirm it. Anything goes.”

Director Zhao thought that made sense. Fudanshi (girls who like danmei) are everywhere now. Many big-name male stars openly engage in fan service without any objections from netizens. Why not go with it? This might even become a major highlight of the drama later on. It must be said, Director Zhao was right!

At this moment, Xiao Baijun and Zuo Qiu, who had finished filming and were on a break, were hiding in a deserted area, whispering.

“See? I privately added an emotional subtext for You Yi just now, and Director Zhao didn’t call ‘Cut’ or ask for a reshoot,” Xiao Baijun said proudly.

Zuo Qiu didn’t say anything. Now that they were together, they would inevitably incorporate their private feelings into their acting. It was fine if the audience misunderstood the relationship between the two characters in the drama; it could be considered a kind of inoculation for everyone.

Xiao Baijun thought about You Yi falling for Qian Xuduo the first time he saw him, which made him curious about Zuo Qiu. “When did you start liking me?”

Zuo Qiu blushed and didn’t want Xiao Baijun to know about his three years of secret crush, trying to gloss over it: “I don’t remember.”

Xiao Baijun squinted. “You don’t remember? I have a great trick to make you remember instantly. Want to try it?”

He finished speaking and pursed his lips, leaning towards Zuo Qiu.

Zuo Qiu immediately understood. This person was probably getting addicted to forcing him with his rogue tactics. He quickly backed away, preparing to escape.

But how could Xiao Baijun let go of such a good opportunity? He caught Zuo Qiu in two or three seconds and threatened, “If you don’t tell the truth, be careful, I might come at you with real bullets tonight!”

Zuo Qiu flinched. Although he was prepared to complete the “great harmony of life” at any time since they got together, now was really too inappropriate. He knew from Ousheng’s Weibo that after his and Cheng Ye’s first time, he was stuck in bed for a whole day and couldn’t sit on a bench for three days. If they did that now, wouldn’t it affect the crew’s progress?

“Do you keep your word? If I tell the truth, nothing will happen?”

“Mmm.” Listening to Zuo Qiu’s tone, Xiao Baijun knew he was about to tell the truth. Xiao Baijun felt a slight disappointment internally. Zuo Qiu was too irresolute! Couldn’t he hold out a little longer? Compared to whether he told the truth now, he was more looking forward to that “real shot” tonight!

“You might not believe it, but I liked you soon after we started freshman year,” Zuo Qiu said earnestly.

Xiao Baijun was very surprised by this answer. He had been liked by Zuo Qiu for three years and hadn’t noticed at all. Was Zuo Qiu too good at hiding it, or was he too stupid?

“I was easily satisfied back then. I felt that it was perfect that I wasn’t dating, and you didn’t have a girlfriend, and we were inseparable all day. But who knew you got a girlfriend later.”

Bringing up the past made Xiao Baijun only feel apologetic. He looked at the resentful Zuo Qiu in front of him and wanted to kiss him. Of course, he did so. The two passionately kissed, forgetting the time, forgetting everything around them.

“You… you guys…”

The sudden voice startled the two, who were wrapped up in a fiery kiss, and they quickly separated. Xiao Baijun stepped forward to directly shield Zuo Qiu, looking at the unwelcome visitor.