Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Early in the morning, as soon as Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun arrived at the set, Ou Sheng called them aside to talk.

“Is there anything you need my help with?”

Ou Sheng asked directly. He had followed the news online yesterday. For two recently debuted newcomers to receive such attention was a good thing, but the clear intent of the opposition, who were guiding the narrative toward a negative angle, was too obvious. They wanted to destroy them.

Zuo Qiu was moved that Ou Sheng offered help without asking any questions, but he still shook his head. He didn’t need any help at the moment.

Ou Sheng didn’t press them on how they planned to handle it. He simply said, “Just ask if you need anything.” He and Cheng Ye had successfully come out years ago and still had a large fan base supporting them. If Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun needed it, he would mobilize his fans to support them.

Zuo Qiu watched Ou Sheng’s retreating figure, curious about the circumstances under which they had publicly come out, but now was not the time to discuss private matters. Zuo Qiu put the question aside and composed himself to focus on the day’s filming.

…

Today’s scenes involved the struggling student He Lang sleeping in class, getting caught by the teacher, and Shen Rui secretly helping him.

“He Lang, please answer.” It was only the second day of school, and the teacher was not yet familiar with the students, so she randomly called out a name from the roster.

At that moment, the named He Lang was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the teacher’s request.

Shen Rui, sitting behind He Lang, was his roommate. Although they had only met the day before yesterday, they got along quite well. Shen Rui stretched out his foot and kicked He Lang’s chair, trying to wake him up.

He Lang woke up groggily and heard the approaching teacher call his name a second time. He immediately stood up and shouted, “Present!”

The sudden high volume startled the teacher, who took a small step back, and the entire class burst into laughter.

The teacher frowned and repeated, “Please answer the question.”

He Lang was confused, not knowing what to answer. Just as he hesitated whether to ask the teacher what the question was, Shen Rui’s low voice came from behind him.

“Workbook, page 3, the answer to the second question.”

He Lang heard the prompt and quickly flipped open his book. The workbook was for in-class assignments. The second question on page 3 was a multiple-choice question. He Lang had been sleeping and hadn’t done the problem. Of course, even if he hadn’t been asleep, he wouldn’t necessarily know how to do it, and even if he did, it might not be right. He Lang looked at the problem, realized he didn’t recognize it and it didn’t recognize him, so he scratched his head and honestly said, “I don’t know.”

He Lang, a poor student, was able to get into this key high school thanks to his dad donating one hundred thousand yuan to the school. Otherwise, with He Lang’s grades, he would only have been able to attend the worst public high school.

The teacher was annoyed when the student said he didn’t know the answer. “If you don’t know, why weren’t you listening in class? And you were sleeping!”

He Lang struggled in this key class at a key high school, where his father had pulled strings to enroll him. He had stayed up too late studying the night before, and as soon as class started, his eyelids drooped. Now, hearing the teacher’s reprimand, He Lang felt terrible. He bowed slightly and said, “I’m sorry.”

The teacher saw that he had a good attitude about admitting his mistake, so she didn’t push him further, telling him to sit down and urging him to pay attention.

Although He Lang’s grades weren’t great, he was very filial. Every time he thought of his father bowing and scraping to others just to get him into this high school, he felt upset. He resolved to study hard, but because his foundation was so poor, he still couldn’t grasp the essentials after several days of effort.

“I’ll teach you.”

Just as He Lang was utterly stuck on a math problem, Shen Rui’s voice came from above his head. He Lang looked up at him as if seeing a savior.

Director Tang looked at the monitor and called, “Cut! Very good. Everyone take a ten-minute break. Get ready for the next scene.”

…

Zuo Qiu stood up from his seat and walked toward Xiao Bojun, who was holding a book but looking in Zuo Qiu’s direction.

“Tired?” Xiao Bojun put down the book and handed Zuo Qiu a cup of warm water.

Zuo Qiu sat down, took a sip of water, and smiled. “Not tired, just feel a little stifled.”

A math problem that was difficult enough to make a poor student friendless would take a top student only a second to solve. Zuo Qiu, pretending to be a poor student, knew the answer but had to say he didn’t know, which felt frustratingly restrictive.

Xiao Bojun glanced at Zuo Qiu and said, “There’s more stifling stuff coming later.”

Zuo Qiu quickly understood what Xiao Bojun meant. Later in the university phase of the drama, there was a storyline about Cheng Cheng tutoring He Lang. Xiao Bojun’s character, Cheng Cheng, was the top student. Thinking about explaining an advanced math problem to Xiao Bojun off-camera, and then having Xiao Bojun teach it to him on-camera, where he would have to display an expression of admiration, would indeed be quite frustrating.

Ou Sheng had secretly told Zuo Qiu that this entire university-era storyline was completely fabricated, strongly requested by Brother Ye. The truth was, after Brother Sheng transferred schools, Brother Ye, who was already working, had secretly hooked up with him online. And Brother Ye was no top student; the ‘top student’ persona was a fantasy he had created.

Zuo Qiu could understand why Ou Sheng had modified the script according to Cheng Ye’s request. On one hand, it might be truly out of love, and the other important reason was the national environment in China, which did not encourage puppy love.

“You should thank Brother Ye for letting you experience what it’s like to be a top student,” Zuo Qiu laughed.

The mention of Cheng Ye made Xiao Bojun think of something else. This morning, he had called a driving school near the set to ask about getting a driver’s license. The result was that it would take one month. Cheng Ye happened to pass by and, knowing Xiao Bojun was in a hurry, told him he could get it in half a month by pulling some strings. Xiao Bojun was tempted and immediately asked him to arrange it, but Cheng Ye became arrogant and took the opportunity to mess with him.

“Oh, right, I need to tell you something. For the next half month, I’ll be learning to drive every morning, and then going to Brother Ye’s company to work as an intern in the afternoons.”

Even though Xiao Bojun had no problems driving and knew the functions of every part of a car, he hadn’t touched a car for three years. Besides, he had to be responsible for Zuo Qiu, who would be riding with him. He could get hurt, but he absolutely would not allow Zuo Qiu to get hurt in his car.

Zuo Qiu actually agreed with Xiao Bojun wanting to learn to drive. After all, he shouldn’t give up driving just because of a past car accident. As long as he drove carefully, being able to drive was a good thing. Of course, he also had to get past his family’s concerns. Zuo Qiu knew Xiao Bojun had reported this to his father, but…

“Working as an intern at Brother Ye’s company?”

Given that Xiao Bojun currently couldn’t even make an Excel spreadsheet, how could he help there? Would he be the receptionist?

Xiao Bojun didn’t want to say this was a deal with Cheng Ye, so he said lightly, “To learn.”

Zuo Qiu knew Xiao Bojun would take over Bailu in the near future. It made sense to gain some experience at Brother Ye’s company beforehand, so he nodded and encouraged him to succeed in his studies.

Xiao Bojun agreed insincerely, having already planned to spend half a month acting like a spoiled heir at Cheng Ye’s company.

…

After wrapping up, Zuo Qiu scrolled through his phone on the way to the bar. Sure enough, after Dai Ni’s Weibo post, there was virtually no discussion online about his and Xiao Bojun’s relationship. Zuo Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t know what would happen in the future, but they were temporarily safe for now.

Closing his phone, Zuo Qiu asked Xiao Bojun, “What are you planning to do?”

He had asked Xiao Bojun about coming out last night, and Xiao Bojun still hadn’t given him an answer.

“Don’t worry, leave this matter to me.”

Xiao Bojun had a plan for coming out. He wanted to follow his own steps and absolutely not let this issue affect Zuo Qiu’s image and position in the entertainment industry.

Zuo Qiu saw his confidence and said no more.

When they reached the bar entrance, Zuo Qiu looked at the bar’s name again: Zero (零). He heard Ou Sheng named it. The name implied that a person’s life is actually a circle, coming naked and leaving naked, ending up with nothing, returning to zero. It was quite Zen.

After Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun got out of the car, Guo Chen drove away. Guo Chen had asked the two for time off on the way, saying she had a private matter to attend to and would return to pick them up when she was done. Zuo Qiu could guess this was just an excuse to avoid being a third wheel and disturbing them. He understood Guo Chen’s occasional awkwardness, so he didn’t refuse and let her go.

The two entered the bar wearing masks and hats. It was not yet 7 PM, so the bar was not crowded, and most people were like them, coming in for dinner. Xiao Bojun ordered two luroufan and two drinks at the bar and then skillfully led Zuo Qiu upstairs.

The luroufan Ou Sheng recommended truly lived up to its reputation. The pork belly was fatty but not greasy, perfectly sweet and savory. The dark red sauce poured over the distinct grains of white rice was appetizing.

The serving size of the luroufan was generous. Zuo Qiu ate every last grain of rice and piece of meat on his plate. After finishing, he leaned back on the sofa, patted his stomach, and lazily burped.

Xiao Bojun tidied up the plates and set them aside, then looked at the satisfied Zuo Qiu. He hadn’t seen Zuo Qiu enjoy a meal so much in a long time. Xiao Bojun thought to himself that once he got his driver’s license, he had to take Zuo Qiu out more often to explore and find good food.

After sitting for a while, the downstairs area gradually became livelier. Zuo Qiu stood up and walked to the window to look down. A young man was playing a guitar and singing an unknown love song.

Xiao Bojun walked behind Zuo Qiu and embraced him. “What song do you want to hear? I’ll request it for you.”

Zuo Qiu leaned on his arm and chuckled. “I want to hear you sing.”

Xiao Bojun had a beautiful singing voice, but he didn’t sing often.

“Alright, I’ll sing for you when we get back.” Xiao Bojun was very happy that Zuo Qiu liked his singing. Although he was often reluctant to sing, he wouldn’t mind singing for the person he loved for a lifetime.

After discussing other things, Xiao Bojun took Zuo Qiu’s hand and walked toward a corner of the private room with a small cabinet displaying various supplies. “After dinner, we should do some exercise to help with digestion.”

Zuo Qiu suddenly recalled Xiao Bojun mentioning using some of the room’s supplies this morning and immediately stopped, refusing to walk any further. However, Xiao Bojun was stronger than Zuo Qiu and literally dragged the “sculpture” of Zuo Qiu directly to the small cabinet filled with various items.

That “beauty” was eventually conceived and obtained by Xiao Bojun.