Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The next day, Zuo Qiu had breakfast downstairs with Xiao Bojun and then took a taxi to school.

Standing in front of the school gate, looking at the four characters “XX University,” Zuo Qiu felt a bit lost. “It feels like going to university was something I did in a past life.”

Although he hadn’t been away for long, he had experienced too much, so much that he almost forgot his identity as a student.

Xiao Bojun didn’t say anything. He didn’t have a particularly strong feeling about the university or the film set. In his view, there were only two places in the world: one with Zuo Qiu, and one without him. As long as he could stay where Zuo Qiu was, anywhere was the same.

They arrived at the school during class time, so there weren’t many people around, and thus no one recognized them. After walking through the teaching buildings for twenty minutes, they arrived at their destination. The instructor and the other classmates were already in the classroom.

When the two people—one in black, one in white, both wearing black masks—appeared at the classroom door, the teacher and students inside were stunned for a moment. They hadn’t seen each other for a few months, and the two standing there had changed a lot. Xiao Bojun was even more dazzling on top of his original coolness.

Zuo Qiu’s change was even greater. Dressed in better-quality clothes and with a style that suited him better, and after getting a haircut, the whole person seemed to have been reborn. Zuo Qiu used to be a warm and gentle handsome academic. Now, he was a male god whose smile would dazzle people and make their hearts race. One had to admit, the entertainment industry was truly amazing!

A classmate teased, “The big star is back.”

The other students laughed upon hearing this.

Hearing a familiar classmate call them this, and seeing the kind smiles on the faces of the others, Zuo Qiu felt a sense of relief. He had been worried that their change in status would lead to alienation, but thankfully, everyone was still the same.

The two took off their masks, and Zuo Qiu smiled and greeted everyone, his attitude exactly the same as before his debut. The classmates were curious about their situation but knew it wasn’t the right time. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they sat down to listen to the instructor discuss the thesis.

After class, a few classmates gathered around them, asking about their debut. As they were chatting happily, Zuo Qiu heard his instructor call his name. He turned his head and saw the instructor standing at the classroom door waving at him.

Zuo Qiu walked over and stood face-to-face with the instructor in the hallway outside the classroom.

“What are your plans for the future?” the instructor asked straightforwardly.

Zuo Qiu was stunned by the question. His initial motivation for entering the entertainment industry was his liking for it and a desire to try, without forcing a result. So, the teacher’s question caught him off guard. It was hard to say if he would pursue a career in entertainment until the end or quit halfway, as there were too many uncertainties.

The instructor saw through Zuo Qiu’s thoughts and added, “Actually, all of us teachers were quite surprised when you entered the entertainment industry.” He smiled, recalling how the teachers were all shocked and regretful when they gathered to discuss Zuo Qiu at the start of the semester. “After all, since your junior year, we’ve been guessing whose name you would ultimately choose for your mentorship.”

During his years at the school, Zuo Qiu had always performed exceptionally well. Whether it was his grades in various subjects or his conduct, he was well-liked by the teachers. With his grades and usual performance, being recommended for postgraduate studies at the same university was completely feasible. If he hadn’t intended to study abroad, directly advancing to graduate school at their university would have been the best possible outcome. But to the great surprise of all the teachers, the student chose to enter society early, and he chose such a surprising profession.

Zuo Qiu smiled at this. Before entering the entertainment industry, the best path he had envisioned for himself was guaranteed admission to graduate school, but this summer had changed all his plans.

“Thank you for the teachers’ high regard.”

Zuo Qiu couldn’t say anything else at this point. After all, he had taken the most crucial step, and he didn’t regret his current choice. Now, he just wanted to move forward and see where he would end up.

The instructor sighed, patted Zuo Qiu’s shoulder, and said, “The entertainment industry is not a place that can thrive forever, so it’s always good to read more books.” Flowers do not stay red for a hundred days; it’s always wise to leave a fallback option for yourself.

After speaking, the instructor turned and walked away. Zuo Qiu watched his retreating figure, lost in thought for a long time.

At this moment, Xiao Bojun came out of the classroom, walked up to Zuo Qiu, and softly asked him, “Do you regret it?”

Zuo Qiu turned to look at him. “How could I?”

“Then what are you thinking about?”

The two walked forward together. Zuo Qiu said, “I’m thinking about my future path.”

Xiao Bojun was dismissive. “What is there to think about? It’s nothing more than being with me.”

Zuo Qiu looked at him and smiled, suddenly recalling what he had said before about giving him half of his food if he only had one bite. “So, what are you worried about?”

“Who’s worried?”

Xiao Bojun replied nonchalantly, pretending not to care. He wouldn’t admit that at some point, he had started worrying that Zuo Qiu would fall in love with someone else and leave him. After all, Zuo Qiu was too outstanding and too dazzling.

Zuo Qiu looked at him with a knowing smile and said nothing.

The two first returned to the dormitory. Zuo Qiu’s clothes were still there, and since he wouldn’t be living there anymore, he wanted to move his things to Xiao Bojun’s place in advance.

The dorms at A University were two-person rooms. In the middle of the room was a large table, and on both sides were individual bunk beds. Below the bunk beds were desks, and the beds were on top.

Xiao Bojun sat on his bed, his long legs dangling and swinging casually. He just watched Zuo Qiu quickly pack his clothes.

“I feel like I’ve ended my university life prematurely, sigh.”

Rarely hearing Xiao Bojun lament about life, Zuo Qiu took a moment to look at him. “An academic slacker misses university life?”

Xiao Bojun stretched his legs, jumped off the bed, and slowly walked toward Zuo Qiu. He pressed his chest against Zuo Qiu’s back and said intimately, “Of course, an academic slacker won’t miss university, but this slacker says he wants to do something to have a reason to miss it later.”

Having lived here for so long, it felt like a waste not to have a round!

Zuo Qiu had a bad feeling and quickly stepped forward, escaping Xiao Bojun’s clutches. “Stop having naughty thoughts. Brother Zhao will be here soon.”

Xiao Bojun suddenly realized. He took out his phone. “Oh, right, you reminded me. I’ll call Brother Zhao.”

…

Half an hour later, a satisfied Xiao Bojun sat resting on a chair, while Zuo Qiu, who had just come out of the bathroom, changed his clothes and started fiddling with the wallet Xiao Bojun had tossed on the desk. After rummaging through it for a long time, he got angry. There was nothing inside the wallet.

“My god, you are absolutely shameless!”

He had been puzzled earlier, during the act, that Xiao Bojun had brought a wallet, knowing that nowadays a mobile phone was enough to get by, and a wallet was a burden. He hadn’t even seen Xiao Bojun’s wallet before. Remembering that he had just pulled a T-shirt out of it, Zuo Qiu finally realized: the wallet was just a cover-up.

“You plotted this for a long time, didn’t you!”

Xiao Bojun rubbed his chin, a look of enjoyment on his face. He didn’t hide his “crime” at all. “That’s right. I dreamed about it countless times, and today it finally came true. One word: awesome!”

Zuo Qiu threw a pillow at Xiao Bojun’s head. “Get out of here!”

Xiao Bojun easily caught it, hugged it in his arms, and took a deep sniff. “Smells so good!”

This action made Zuo Qiu laugh and cry at the same time. He hadn’t been back for more than three months; the pillow only had dust on it, no scent. Xiao Bojun’s mind was playing tricks on him again.

Zhao Zhixian and Guo Chen waited downstairs by the dormitory building. When they saw a refreshed Xiao Bojun and a just-showered-looking Zuo Qiu, they finally understood why Xiao Bojun had called him to come half an hour later.

Tsk, tsk, Second Young Master has quite the appetite!

After putting the luggage in the trunk, the two got into the back seat.

“Second Young Master, why are you holding that? Aren’t you hot?” Zhao Zhixian pointed to the pillow in Xiao Bojun’s arms. He had watched him carry a suitcase in one hand and a pillow in the other out of the dormitory building and thought he would put the pillow in the trunk with the luggage, but he was still holding onto it.

Xiao Bojun hugged the pillow tighter, then glanced at Zhao Zhixian lightly. Although he didn’t speak, Zhao Zhixian still understood the meaning Xiao Bojun wanted to convey: four words—None of your business!

Seeing Zhao Zhixian look awkward, Zuo Qiu quickly came to his rescue. “Xiao Er caught a bit of a chill recently, so he’s hugging a pillow to keep warm.” After explaining, he immediately changed the subject, asking, “By the way, Brother Zhao, what’s the online situation now?”

They were in a hurry to leave this morning and hadn’t checked the film critics’ Weibo, so Zuo Qiu asked Zhao Zhixian directly when he saw him.

Speaking of this, Zhao Zhixian was all smiles. “I don’t know if they’re crazy, but they are consistently praising you two, especially you,” Zhao Zhixian said to Zuo Qiu. “Everyone’s evaluation of you is extremely high; the compliments are overflowing!”

Zuo Qiu smiled, finally relieved. He opened his phone, wanting to see what the Weibo posts said.

“Oh, right, Director Gong called me today.”

Zuo Qiu knew there was more to the story when Zhao Zhixian said this, so he put down his phone and looked up at Zhao Zhixian.

“After the premiere, online advance ticket sales are doing well. The director wants you two to join the crew to promote the film in the remaining cities. Of course, there will be remuneration for the publicity.”

This was practically saying that the director felt they were indispensable in boosting the advance box office and believed they had box office appeal, so he was inviting them to join the tour.

Before, they had acted in the roles as a favor and hadn’t taken a penny. Now that the director was asking them to do promotional tours, it was impossible for it to still be free. Since the director had voluntarily offered them compensation, Zhao Zhixian had no reason not to accept.

Zuo Qiu had no objection either. He had planned to use these days to write his thesis and study the script. Now, going on the promotional tour with the crew also allowed him to discuss the new play with Brother Sheng from the same cast, so there was no conflict. He readily agreed.

Zhao Zhixian then looked at Xiao Bojun, seeing that he was only focused on playing with the pillow, as if he hadn’t heard their conversation. He decided not to worry about him; after all, wherever Zuo Qiu was, the shadow Xiao Bojun was sure to follow.

Meanwhile, Xiao Bojun’s mind wasn’t on promotions or film reviews at all. He was busy thinking about the pillow. Since he had brought it back, it would be a waste not to put it to some use, right?