Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 58

Chapter 58

“Cough…” Ou Sheng’s sudden voice successfully interrupted Xiao Bojun’s incessant chatter.

Zuo Qiu was a little surprised to see Ou Sheng enter. Why was Brother Sheng outside? He had clearly checked that no one was around. If Brother Sheng had been standing outside the door the whole time, wouldn’t he have heard everything? Zuo Qiu felt a bit embarrassed that Ou Sheng had witnessed him kissing Xiao Bojun.

In contrast, Xiao Bojun was much calmer. He instantly erased his expression, sat back down on the chair, and seeing Zuo Qiu lower his head, asked him, “Do you want water? I’ll get it for you.”

Before Zuo Qiu could refuse, Xiao Bojun had already stood up and presumptuously poured a glass of water for both Zuo Qiu and Ou Sheng.

“Brother Sheng, have some water.”

Ou Sheng took the disposable cup and glanced at Xiao Bojun again. He understood that Xiao Bojun was being so polite and respectful by pouring water for him entirely for Zuo Qiu’s sake—to shut him up and prevent him from saying anything that would embarrass Zuo Qiu further. Ou Sheng took a sip of water and had no intention of making things difficult for Zuo Qiu.

“Since this is your first time shooting a costume drama, you must be careful when putting on the wig cap later. The glue may feel uncomfortable on your skin. Just try to adapt, but if it still feels uncomfortable after 10 minutes, be sure to tell me.” Ou Sheng had seen people who were allergic to the glue break out in a rash all over their body after putting on the wig cap, which prompted his warning.

Zuo Qiu’s train of thought was indeed successfully diverted. He had previously heard that wearing a wig cap too often could lead to hair loss and a receding hairline. Now, hearing Ou Sheng, he learned about allergies as well.

…

Fifteen minutes later, after Zuo Qiu cooperated with the stylist to put on the clothes and wig cap, he did feel a bit uncomfortable. However, his skin adapted quickly, and after a while, he felt nothing except heat.

It was late September, and the “Autumn Tiger” heat in S City was quite intense, with temperatures reaching at least $35^circtext{C}$. Wearing a thick wig cap under the scorching sun, coupled with a full set of long-sleeved clothes layered three times, the extreme heat was obvious.

Zuo Qiu expected “Second Young Master” Xiao Bojun to complain bitterly, knowing how much Xiao Er hated the heat. In their last film, during a few outdoor scenes shot in the hottest part of the day, Xiao Bojun had been on the verge of losing it. But now, Zuo Qiu was surprised to find Xiao Bojun happily playing with the prop sword and not mentioning the heat at all.

Xiao Bojun’s character was a highly skilled martial artist who was said to never let his black longsword leave his side, even when sleeping.

When Zuo Qiu emerged from the makeup room, he saw Xiao Bojun “sparring” with a tree, wielding the longsword with realistic posture. The leaves on the tree were swept down by his qi energy (sword wind). Zuo Qiu walked over and asked him, “Did you practice this before?”

Xiao Bojun retrieved his sword and turned around, seeing the man in white zhiju robes before him. His hair was completely tied up, leaving only two thin strands by his temples, fully revealing his facial features. His fair skin seemed to subtly glow, and his smiling eyes sparkled brilliantly. Xiao Bojun felt he had traveled back a thousand years and met Zuo Qiu’s past life.

“You look truly beautiful,” Xiao Bojun praised spontaneously.

Zuo Qiu touched his sleeve. The set of clothes he was wearing was the same style as Xiao Bojun’s black one, and it felt high-quality. “I also think this outfit looks great.”

“No, I mean you.”

Your features are like a painting, and your bearing is magnificent.

Xiao Bojun saw Zuo Qiu lower his head and lightly cough to conceal his embarrassment, so he swallowed the other sentence that was on the tip of his tongue:

—So beautiful that I want to recreate an ancient male-male spring palace illustration with you.

…

With Ou Sheng guiding them, and since their scenes were genuinely few, the three successfully wrapped up their filming by the afternoon.

Director Wang thanked the three again, then suddenly asked Ou Sheng, “When will your movie be finished filming?”

Ou Sheng looked Director Wang up and down. “What are you scheming now?”

Director Wang chuckled, subtly glanced at Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun, and said, “This collaboration was so pleasant, I imagine the next one will be even more so, wouldn’t you agree?”

Ou Sheng laughed, knowing he wanted to collaborate with the two newcomers again. Director Wang wasn’t particularly handsome, but his character and work were quite good, so Ou Sheng joked, “If you want to collaborate again, you’ll have to ask Zhao Zhixian for a number and get in line.”

Director Wang sighed in disappointment. The script for his next project was truly perfect for the two of them. If he had to wait in line, wouldn’t that delay the filming schedule? However, he supposed it was normal. After all, the two were so popular now that countless people must be seeking collaboration.

Ou Sheng saw Director Wang deep in thought and didn’t bother him further, leading the two into Cheng Ye’s car.

Seeing Ou Sheng open the door and enter, Cheng Ye put down his laptop and asked where he wanted to eat. He had finished all his work in the car while the three were filming, so he had plenty of time to spend with Ou Sheng that evening.

Ou Sheng thought for a moment and said to the two in the back, “How about we go to that bar you went to last time? Their luroufan (braised pork rice) is incredibly delicious. I’ll take you to try it.”

Zuo Qiu, eager for good food, was tempted. Just as he was about to agree, Xiao Bojun spoke first.

“No need. I’m a bit tired today. We should just go back to the hotel.”

Zuo Qiu looked at Xiao Bojun in surprise. Didn’t he just say he was hungry? Why refuse good food now?

Xiao Bojun, without looking at Zuo Qiu, knew he was staring at his face for an answer. He took Zuo Qiu’s hand—the one that was pressed against him—and squeezed his palm, implicitly signaling him to calm down.

Ou Sheng looked at Xiao Bojun’s forehead, which looked a little red. He remembered the makeup artist saying he had a slight allergy. He figured Xiao Bojun must genuinely be uncomfortable, so he didn’t pressure them. He drove them back to the Wilderness King crew’s drop-off point and then drove away.

…

Once in Guo Chen’s car, Zuo Qiu asked Xiao Bojun, “Didn’t you say you were hungry? Why didn’t you go with Brother Sheng?”

Xiao Bojun leaned against the backrest. “Didn’t you see Brother Ye’s face? I bet if we had agreed, he definitely wouldn’t have been happy.”

Zuo Qiu tried to recall the moment but realized he had been focused only on the food and hadn’t looked at Brother Ye’s face. However, considering Brother Ye’s possessive nature toward Brother Sheng, since they had eaten at their house yesterday and were invited to eat together again today, Brother Ye might indeed be unhappy.

Xiao Bojun rubbed his forehead. Actually, only a small part of the reason he refused was the slight itching on his forehead. Another small part was that he didn’t want to see Cheng Ye’s annoying face every day. As for the most important reason, Xiao Bojun glanced at Zuo Qiu beside him. Did he even need to say it?

Along the way, Zuo Qiu asked Guo Chen to stop the car and took Xiao Bojun into a roadside pharmacy to buy anti-allergy medication for him.

After buying the medicine and stepping out of the pharmacy, Zuo Qiu looked at the large farmers’ market nearby and had a sudden idea. “How about we cook dinner ourselves today?” Xiao Bojun was allergic to many things, and cooking themselves would be cleaner. Since Guo Chen had brought the pots and pans to S City, they could just buy some ingredients and seasonings and start cooking. Zuo Qiu was quite excited about the idea.

Xiao Bojun had no objection, so the two called Guo Chen, and the three walked toward the market.

“Do you two want to wear masks?” Guo Chen asked hesitantly, looking at the crowded market.

Zuo Qiu remembered Xiao Bojun’s embarrassing attempt to buy breakfast last time and decided it was necessary. He took the prepared mask from Guo Chen and put it on. Although Xiao Bojun was reluctant, he took the other mask and put it on as well.

The three walked into the market together. Even though they were wearing masks, they still drew attention from both the vendors and the shoppers. Luckily, most people just glanced at them a few times and didn’t recognize them. Zuo Qiu slowly relaxed and focused on picking the vegetables he wanted. Xiao Bojun couldn’t eat spicy food now, and Zuo Qiu wanted hot pot, so the three decided on a divided “Yin-Yang” hot pot. They had quite a few ingredients to select.

“Boss, how much for this?” Zuo Qiu asked the aunt in front of him, pointing at the brightly colored baby cabbage.

The aunt didn’t answer him. Instead, she looked at Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun, then looked into the distance, and after about ten seconds, she pointed into the distance and asked Zuo Qiu with some uncertainty, “Are those two in there you?”

Zuo Qiu followed the direction of the aunt’s finger. When he saw clearly, he froze. The large LED screen in the market was playing a promotional commercial for Fledgling, and Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun were featured extensively in the advertisement.

But… Auntie, do you have X-ray vision? You recognized us even with masks on?

As the advertisement played, more and more people started looking in Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun’s direction. Some young people even took out their phones and started taking pictures of them.

Before the crowd could gather, Xiao Bojun made a decisive call. “Go, let’s get out of here!”

The three quickly grabbed their groceries, rushed out of the market, and got into the car parked on the roadside. Guo Chen stomped on the gas and sped away.

Zuo Qiu looked back and saw that people were still taking photos of their car.

“Are we going to be in the news again now?”

In this era where everyone was a detective, Zuo Qiu guessed that someone would quickly post their photos on Weibo.

“I suggest you call Brother Zhao and report this,” Guo Chen said from the front seat. By letting Zhao Zhixian know immediately, he could be mentally prepared and make the next arrangements.

Zuo Qiu nodded and immediately called Zhao Zhixian.

“Brother Zhao, there’s a situation I need to tell you about.” Zuo Qiu’s voice was serious.

Zhao Zhixian’s heart sank upon hearing Zuo Qiu’s opening line. Had Zuo Qiu and Xiao Ershao’s “illicit affair” been confirmed with hard evidence? Zhao Zhixian broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.

“Tell me.”

“The three of us were just photographed while buying groceries at the market.”

Zhao Zhixian breathed a sigh of relief when he understood Zuo Qiu’s words. “Being photographed buying groceries shouldn’t be a big problem. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on it.”

As long as it’s not a scandal, anything else is fine.

Zuo Qiu felt reassured by Zhao Zhixian’s casual tone and hung up the phone.

…

The three arrived back at the hotel close to 7 PM, past the dinner hour, and they were all famished.

In the car, they had already decided to cook the hot pot in Xiao Bojun’s room. Since Xiao Bojun didn’t live in that room—his clothing and belongings had already been moved to Zuo Qiu’s room—no one cared if the room ended up smelling of food.

Zuo Qiu fished out a piece of tender beef from the hot pot, his mouth stained red from the spice.

Xiao Bojun was distracted. He looked at Zuo Qiu, whose eyes were tearing up from the spiciness, and abandoned the bland, half-eaten boiled vegetables from the clear broth. His desire to eat meat grew increasingly intense.

“What, you want some?” Zuo Qiu asked Xiao Bojun, pointing to the beef on his chopsticks.

Xiao Bojun swallowed hard, his voice slightly hoarse. “Mhm.”

Yes, he desperately wanted to eat meat.

“I’ll buy you some once your allergy is better.”

“No,” Xiao Bojun refused adamantly. “I want to eat it now.”

Guo Chen, sitting opposite the two, had been keeping her head down, trying to minimize her presence. Now, hearing Xiao Bojun’s words, she just wanted to quickly retreat to her room. But before she could politely excuse herself, someone, clearly impatient, hoisted the bewildered Zuo Qiu onto his shoulder and crossed through the mysterious door on the balcony into Zuo Qiu’s room.

Guo Chen glanced at the door that had been slammed shut, then at the various uneaten ingredients in front of her. She decided not to continue eating. After cleaning up the mess, she quickly retreated to her own room.

If she stayed there too long, she was afraid she might hear something she shouldn’t. That would be too awkward!

…

Two hours later, Xiao Bojun, who had only been concerned with his own “satisfaction,” was chased out by Zuo Qiu to cook noodles. Zuo Qiu, who had only managed to eat half a meal before being forced to stop for a long, arduous “battle,” was now ravenously hungry.

The physically and mentally satisfied Xiao Bojun, wearing a black silk robe over his naked body, returned to their “small kitchen” through the balcony door, ready to make a bowl of loving noodles to reward Zuo Qiu.

While Zuo Qiu was finishing a phone call, Xiao Bojun already carried the fragrant, steaming bowl of noodles into the room.

“Who were you talking to?” Xiao Bojun asked Zuo Qiu, placing the large bowl of noodles on the coffee table.

Zuo Qiu dropped his phone and walked toward the coffee table. “Brother Zhao. He said we’re in the news again, but thankfully, there are no major issues.”

The three had spontaneously decided to buy groceries and cook at home, so their clothing and expressions in the photos were very down-to-earth—at least in the eyes of netizens, they looked authentic, with no element of staging. Brother Zhao said that the photos of their expressions and their hurried escape were quite comical, and netizens were calling them “startled little white rabbits.”

“Startled little white rabbits?” Xiao Bojun looked at Zuo Qiu sitting beside him. Zuo Qiu was wearing the same style of silk robe, just a smaller size and in white. He leaned close to Zuo Qiu’s ear and blew a light breath. “You should be a little white rabbit who has received ‘semen’ (jīng), little white rabbit.” (The character for ‘startled’ jīng 惊 is a homophone for ‘semen’ jīng 精).

Zuo Qiu, who was about to start eating, heard Xiao Bojun’s words, especially the emphasized word, and immediately wanted to flip the large bowl of noodles onto his head.

“A friendly reminder: Don’t look at me like that again. If you look at me one more time, do you believe I’ll make you receive ‘semen’ again tonight?”

Xiao Bojun crossed one long leg over the other. The silk robe, fastened only by a single tie, instantly split open along his thigh, revealing a certain very alert “beast.”

Zuo Qiu glanced down. “Fine, your shamelessness wins.” He then turned his head and focused on eating his noodles, no longer looking at the perpetually “horny” animal.

Xiao Bojun sighed when he realized he couldn’t attract Zuo Qiu’s attention anymore. He pulled one side of the robe over the “thing” to keep it from getting cold. (Author: Cough, I wonder if it would get cold…)

“Sometimes, I dislike you a little.”

“Hmm?” Zuo Qiu chewed the noodles in his mouth and looked back at Xiao Bojun in confusion, not understanding what nonsense he was on about now.

Xiao Bojun explained casually, “You should be a little tougher. I especially love it when you go against me!”

A little tougher? Go against him? So, he should have continued to stare at him, firmly refused to back down, and then Xiao Bojun would have gotten his way again?

Zuo Qiu instantly understood Xiao Bojun’s “scheme.” “Friendly reminder: If you say one more word, do you believe I’ll make you sleep in the ‘kitchen’ that smells so good tonight?”

Xiao Bojun thought about the smoky, messy room next door. Compared to sleeping alone, sleeping while hugging Zuo Qiu was, of course, better. He complained, “You cruel little Qiu Qiu,” and finally quietly ate his noodles.

Zuo Qiu looked at the instantly “submissive” big cat, thinking, I finally found a way to “tame” you!