Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Zuo Qiu wanted to find a hole to crawl into after being exposed by the outspoken Dai Ni. Honestly, there was nothing wrong with their relationship, but having a third person expose it was very awkward.

Xiao Baijun had just finished a phone call with Xiao Bailin. Seeing Zuo Qiu approaching quickly with an uncomfortable expression, he asked him, “What’s wrong?”

Zuo Qiu didn’t plan to tell the truth, his eyes shifting away. “Nothing.”

Xiao Baijun glanced at him. He had noticed Zuo Qiu and Dai Ni talking earlier and guessed that the uninhibited Dai Ni had probably said something scandalous again that embarrassed Zuo Qiu.

“By the way, my brother just told me a few things.”

Hearing that it was about business, Zuo Qiu immediately straightened his expression and listened carefully to Xiao Baijun.

“First, we need to take a leave of absence next week to return to B City to film the face mask advertisement.”

Zuo Qiu was mentally prepared for this and wasn’t surprised at all.

“Second, my brother said the payment for participating in Come With Me has come through and has been deposited into your account. Remember to check it.” This was the only reason Xiao Baijun could come up with for transferring money to Zuo Qiu for no reason.

Zuo Qiu didn’t doubt it at all and was even a little excited. He finally had some income? Heaven knows he’s been financially strapped lately and hadn’t dared to spend money freely.

“Third, the company thinks that being a regular guest on a popular variety show is a great way to attract fans and wants our opinion.”

Zuo Qiu agreed with the logic, but he knew Xiao Baijun didn’t like such shows, so he said, “Let’s talk about this later. Currently, our schedule is quite full, and we probably don’t have that much time.” After filming this drama, there was still a movie, and he was the main character in both, with heavy scenes, so he wouldn’t have much energy for variety shows.

Xiao Baijun nodded. “The fourth thing.”

After saying these words, Xiao Baijun paused.

Zuo Qiu looked at him in surprise, seeing that he didn’t continue.

“The fourth thing is, my brother knows about us.”

Zuo Qiu nearly choked on his own saliva. He looked around. Everyone was busy with their own tasks and no one was paying attention to them, so he asked Xiao Baijun in a low voice, “What did your brother say? How did he find out?”

“That big mouth Zhao Zhixian spilled it.”

Zuo Qiu almost fainted. Even Brother Zhao knew? It was supposed to be a secret relationship, but now Xiao Bailin knew, Zhao Zhixian knew, and Dai Ni knew. It was practically half-public.

“Does anyone else in your family know?”

Seeing Zuo Qiu getting nervous, Xiao Baijun quickly comforted him: “Don’t worry, only my brother knows for now, and he’s not against us. I will also persuade Grandma, Dad, and Mom to agree.”

Zuo Qiu felt a little calmer. Xiao Bailin, who was both Xiao Baijun’s brother and his boss, knowing but not opposing their relationship, was the best possible outcome. They could slowly work on persuading the others.

Xiao Baijun wanted to ask about Zuo Qiu’s family situation but realized it might not be appropriate at the moment, so he kept the question to himself.

…

That evening, when the same four people from last night gathered in Teacher Xiang’s room, Zuo Qiu clearly felt that the atmosphere between Dai Ni and Zhu Mao was abnormal. Zhu Mao was clearly trying to talk to Dai Ni, but Dai Ni kept avoiding him.

During the class break, when Zhu Mao went to the restroom, Zuo Qiu quietly asked Dai Ni, “What’s going on with you two?”

Dai Ni shook her head. “I just want to correct yesterday’s mistake and put our relationship back on a normal track.”

Zuo Qiu vaguely sensed a large, underlying complication, but seeing that Dai Ni was unwilling to talk, he didn’t press her.

Zhu Mao never managed to talk to Dai Ni until Teacher Xiang announced the end of the class.

Walking back to their rooms, Zuo Qiu looked at the two figures ahead—one dodging, one chasing—and asked Xiao Baijun, “Do you think they will end up together?”

Xiao Baijun was uninterested in other people’s affairs since they had nothing to do with him. However, he did know a little about Dai Ni’s situation.

When he told Xiao Bailin about Dai Ni today, Xiao Bailin had given him some background on Dai Ni’s family. Her father had long intended to find her a boyfriend from a suitable, well-matched family. Dai Ni’s previous boyfriends were all wealthy or distinguished. Given Zhu Mao’s ordinary family background, they would likely face many difficulties if they wanted to be truly together.

But Xiao Baijun wasn’t going to tell Zuo Qiu all this. He just replied with “Who knows!” indicating his mild interest in gossip.

Zuo Qiu didn’t really expect an answer from Xiao Baijun. He simply wished in his heart that all lovers would end up together.

The two spent a little time together in Zuo Qiu’s room, and then Xiao Baijun went back to his own room.

…

Before going to sleep, Zuo Qiu checked Weibo. The scandal involving the actor Ling Qu’s affair was still ongoing. Netizens had dug up a list of actresses who had improper relationships with the actor. Everyone, enjoying the drama, had suspected every actress who had ever worked with him, making everyone feel vulnerable. Several suspected actresses were forced to issue statements, claiming they had no relationship with the actor beyond professional collaboration.

Zuo Qiu scrolled through the list of actresses who were confirmed to be involved and found it amusing. They were almost all artists from Ling Qu’s own company. Since ancient times, it has been hard for artists involved in cheating or being a third party to recover their career. This widespread implication of their artists meant Ling Qu’s company suffered massive losses. Zuo Qiu guessed that Baile must have exerted a lot of effort in this matter.

Zuo Qiu then checked their own Weibo. The last post was a grid of nine photos posted two days ago—candid shots of him and Xiao Baijun on the set. He scrolled down through the comments. Many people expressed that both of them looked handsome and that they were looking forward to the drama’s broadcast.

There were also discordant voices. Some original fans said that his and Xiao Baijun’s image did not match the original novel, claiming they ruined the author’s work and so on. Fortunately, there weren’t many such comments. Compared to the affair scandal that most people were focused on, these were minor issues.

But what bothered Zuo Qiu was that the original author seemed to have genuinely expressed dissatisfaction with the two of them on her Weibo. Furthermore, netizens had even dug up a Weibo post the author made while writing the novel, claiming that the original inspiration for Qian Xuduo was an actor named Cheng Bo.

Cheng Bo was a child star, and Zuo Qiu knew a little about him. After searching for his recent photos, Zuo Qiu compared his look and demeanor to his own. Privately, he didn’t think he had a significant disadvantage compared to him. Unable to settle the issue, Zuo Qiu put his and Cheng Bo’s photos together and sent them to Xiao Baijun.

“The book fans say I can’t compare to him. What do you think?”

Xiao Baijun looked at the two photos and replied earnestly: “First, I declare that setting aside the fact that you are my boyfriend, I have fairly compared the difference in your looks. This person’s glabella is too narrow, his face shape is too long, his cheekbones are high and lack flesh, his nose is too high, and his philtrum is too short… You, with your golden ratio, are much better than him. The two of you are incomparable.”

“Most importantly, his chin is too sharp; it’s bad for his husband’s luck.” (A joking way of saying it has a negative/bad fate).

Sweet talk spoken with apparent seriousness is the most lethal. Zuo Qiu looked at him mentioning a boyfriend and hinting that he brings good fortune, and he was so delighted he rolled around in bed twice. Xiao Baijun claimed to be fair, but he wasn’t fair at all. However, the deceitful Zuo Qiu felt that Xiao Baijun’s unfair words sounded especially wonderful—so wonderful that he wouldn’t tire of hearing them a hundred times.

Ultimately, he cared most about Xiao Baijun’s opinion. Now that Xiao Baijun was on his side, Zuo Qiu felt that other people’s opinions didn’t matter at all.

“Good night, love you.”

Zuo Qiu sent those four words and fell asleep peacefully.

Xiao Baijun looked at Zuo Qiu’s final message, a huge grin on his face.

After grinning foolishly for five minutes, Xiao Baijun flipped to a page in the document Xiao Bailin had given him. This page contained information about Cheng Bo.

Cheng Bo was a new artist signed by Ling Qu this year and a key focus for development recently. Zuo Qiu and Cheng Bo actually had some history.

First, Ling Qu had initially tried to secure the role of Qian Xuduo for Cheng Bo. Cheng Bo’s appearance was decent (Xiao Baijun scoffed at this point), and the original author was very supportive. Just as the director was about to confirm him as the lead, Baile stepped in, invested a large sum of money to become the biggest funder of the drama, and directly gave the male lead position to Zuo Qiu. Cheng Bo was struck out.

Furthermore, the director of the ice cream commercial Zuo Qiu first filmed strongly supported Cheng Bo, the backup male lead, for the role. However, the grudge-holding Zhao Zhixian vetoed it, and the opportunity landed directly on the “flyer little brother,” Zuo Qiu. Cheng Bo’s feelings about this were imaginable.

With new enmity added to old hatred, why wouldn’t Ling Qu target Zuo Qiu? Moreover, Xiao Baijun knew that Ling Qu had long planned to step on both of them to launch their own company’s new group.

Thinking about Ling Qu attacking Zuo Qiu on one side, and Baile dragging down all the big and small stars involved in the affair scandal to draw attention on the other, Xiao Baijun let out a cold snort: this battle would come down to who could endure the longest.

Since Xiao Baijun confirmed he would take over Baile, Xiao Bailin had not hidden many company secrets from him, such as the detailed information on various rival companies that Xiao Baijun held, or the new talent show the company was currently planning. The show would debut the winning 12 to 20 contestants as a group.

Xiao Baijun didn’t know what motivated his brother to create such a show and appoint him as the general manager, but Xiao Baijun was happy about it. He had already internally designated one of the fixed guests for this soon-to-be nationwide hit show.

Therefore, before he retired from the entertainment industry, his brother wouldn’t allow Ling Qu’s new group to compete with Z.X for resources. After he left the entertainment industry, it would be even less likely; he would ensure Ling Qu’s group was disbanded before they even debuted.

…

Despite Xiao Baijun reading the documents until midnight, it didn’t affect him waking up early to get Zuo Qiu breakfast. When Xiao Baijun opened Zuo Qiu’s room with his key card, Zuo Qiu was just waking up, still a little dazed.

Xiao Baijun put down the breakfast, walked to the bed, and pressed down on Zuo Qiu. Cupping his face, he said, “Say the words you said to me last night again.”

“Which words?” Zuo Qiu asked lazily.

“The one after ‘good night,'” Xiao Baijun reminded him.

Zuo Qiu frowned, indicating that he had just woken up and couldn’t quite remember yesterday’s events.

Zuo Qiu was always fuzzy in the morning. Xiao Baijun reminded him word for word: “The four words you said last, ‘Good night, love you.'”

“Thank you,” Zuo Qiu smiled like a fox.

Xiao Baijun realized he had been tricked. He reached his hand under the blanket, then under Zuo Qiu’s pajamas, and tickled him.

Finally, Zuo Qiu, who was laughing uncontrollably and running out of breath, had to promise to say “I love you” to Xiao Baijun 50 times in different contexts to earn Xiao Baijun’s forgiveness.