Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 69

Chapter 69

After the “battle” between the two ended, Zuo Qiu lay on Xiao Baijun’s chest, playing with two identical Jade Guanyin pendants.

“Grandma definitely didn’t think we were already secretly together when she gave us the jade pendants,” Zuo Qiu said with a smile. Being able to gain the support of the entire Xiao family made Zuo Qiu feel very content.

Xiao Baijun ruffled Zuo Qiu’s hair. “Nonsense, how can this be called ‘secretly together’ (暗度陳倉 àn dù chén cāng)!”

“Then what do you call it? A perfect match (珠聯璧合 zhū lián bì hé)? A handsome couple (郎才郎貌 láng cái láng mào)? Or a match made in heaven (天生一對 tiān shēng yī duì)?”

Xiao Baijun pinched his face. “Your Chinese language skills were probably taught by a gym teacher. This is clearly ‘hooking up for an affair’ (勾搭成奸 gōu dā chéng jiān).”

Zuo Qiu laughed heartily, admitting defeat, “Greetings, Chinese Language Class Representative.”

Xiao Baijun couldn’t maintain his serious expression either and started laughing. The two of them stared at each other, laughing happily. As they laughed more, they leaned closer and kissed.

…

The next morning, the two woke up to catch their flight. When they went downstairs, they saw Guo Chen and Zhao Zhixian waiting for them.

“Brother Zhao, long time no see.” Zuo Qiu greeted Zhao Zhixian, who was in the passenger seat, as soon as he got into the car.

The day before, when the two went with the crew to Y Network for the program, Zhao Zhixian was away on a business trip. After the incident where Y Network boycotted them, Zhao Zhixian rushed back immediately.

After greeting the two, Zhao Zhixian immediately explained the reason for his visit, “I came to ask about your plans. Currently, I’ve turned down most of the invitations. Movies, TV shows, advertisements, and magazines are basically all rejected. This drama is half-finished, so after you finish filming this one, will you rest or shoot a drama invested by the company?”

Zhao Zhixian felt pained talking about this, but he had no choice. If an artist’s image collapsed, they could face lawsuits and huge compensation from advertisers and film/TV investors. Not to mention a certain male artist recently caught in a lawsuit; the movies and TV shows he filmed cannot be released normally, which has already caused dissatisfaction among investors, and a lawsuit is only a matter of time.

Xiao Baijun looked at Zuo Qiu, waiting for him to make a decision.

Zuo Qiu thought about it. Wild Jun would probably finish filming by the end of November. According to Brother Sheng, it would likely premiere after New Year’s Day, and he didn’t know what would happen after the premiere. So, there was a one-month gap in between.

“Not necessary for now. I want to go home and spend time with my parents during that month. Also, I need to start revising my thesis.”

Since he didn’t go home during the summer vacation, Zuo Qiu hadn’t seen his parents for nearly a year. It was a good time to spend time with them.

Zhao Zhixian could only sigh upon hearing Zuo Qiu wanted to rest. At this stage, there was no work other than acting in films and TV shows solely invested in by Bai Le.

“It’s good to rest a bit, finish up your school matters, and then focus on work later.” Zhao Zhixian comforted Zuo Qiu. He actually intended to recommend a few dramas to Zuo Qiu before coming, but since Zuo Qiu didn’t want to work, Zhao Zhixian didn’t bring it up.

Zhao Zhixian drove the three to the airport and watched them enter the security channel before returning to the company. With the drama premiere approaching, Y Network was bound to make a move, so he had to keep a close watch.

…

On the third day after Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun returned to the set, I Think I Love You premiered. After filming wrapped, Ou Sheng invited the two over to his house for dinner and to watch the premiere.

The TV series was scheduled to air from Monday to Thursday at 9:15 PM, two episodes per day.

After dinner, while waiting for the premiere, the four people sat on the sofa posing for photos. After Ou Sheng posted a few pictures online, he asked Zuo Qiu, “What are you going to do about the Y Network situation?”

If Y Network didn’t rebroadcast as scheduled after 12 AM tonight, it would definitely raise questions from netizens. At that point, Y Network would very likely pin the blame on Z.X and potentially dump some dirt on them too.

Zuo Qiu was not surprised that Ou Sheng, who had been in the entertainment industry for nearly 10 years, knew what happened to them at Y Network. He glanced at Xiao Baijun and told Ou Sheng, “Xiao Er is handling everything.”

Seeing everyone looking at him, Xiao Baijun calmly took a sip of water. “Just watch.” He looked like he had no intention of giving away any spoilers.

Cheng Ye, annoyed by his pretentious look, snorted disdainfully, “Stop acting like a bird!”

Xiao Baijun shot Cheng Ye a glance. “If a certain person fulfills his gambling promise, I might consider telling him in advance.”

This was a deliberate dig at Cheng Ye for not keeping his word and not delivering the promised car.

In reality, the wealthy Cheng Ye genuinely didn’t care about a Rolls-Royce Phantom. It was just that when he ordered one a few days ago, he was told it was temporarily out of stock. Of course, Cheng Ye didn’t intend to explain this much to Xiao Baijun.

Ou Sheng quickly intervened, seeing the two about to argue again, “Hey, hey, hey, the show is starting. Everyone quiet down and watch the TV.”

Zuo Qiu secretly tugged at Xiao Baijun, asking him not to go too far.

After the two boyfriends were placated, everyone quietly watched the drama. I Think I Love You opened with the initial complicated relationship between Qian Xuduo’s parents. Qian Youtu was on a business trip in another city. As someone who liked to flirt around, he was helped into a hotel room after being drunk by a work partner. Subsequently, Qian Xuduo’s still-young mother mistakenly walked into the room.

During the commercial break, Ou Sheng asked Zuo Qiu, “So, your mother is actually a rich young lady who wanted to find someone to conceive a child through sperm donation to shut her family up, and she was forced to choose your father?”

Zuo Qiu didn’t correct him, clarifying it was his character Qian Xuduo. “Yes, and the kind with a lot of influence.”

“So, you being taken home was a deliberate trick on your part?”

“Yes, and later, because You Yi was seriously injured, he tore off his disguise and started seeking revenge.”

You Yi was the second male lead played by Xiao Baijun. After hearing the plot, Ou Sheng’s eyes were full of teasing, “So, who helped you choose this drama?” The reason for the plot twist wasn’t the female lead but the second male lead, and he heard the ending was also confusing. Could this be BL disguised in a BG drama?

Zuo Qiu rubbed his nose, “We chose it together.”

When they chose this drama, they didn’t realize that some of the plot was quite ambiguous. Coupled with Xiao Baijun’s self-added scenes later on, Zuo Qiu could already imagine how the audience would complain after watching the drama.

This made Ou Sheng suddenly think of something. Since the filming of Wild Jun began, although he hadn’t officially announced the specific information about Wild Jun, he would post some photos of the four of them together on Weibo, like today. As the frequency increased, he occasionally saw fans leaving comments below, saying Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun looked very compatible, and some even joked about the two couples showing public affection (撒狗糧 sā gǒu liáng), even anticipating that I Think I Love You was actually about the two of them dating.

“When the drama is released, you can arrange for people to do some editing, trying to guide the fans toward shipping the two of you.” Ou Sheng knew the two would come out publicly in the near future, so now was a good time to do some preliminary groundwork.

Zuo Qiu nodded, and Xiao Baijun said, “It’s already been arranged.”

This clearly meant he had already prepared for this.

Ou Sheng looked at Xiao Baijun, who was leaning casually on the sofa watching TV. He felt he was different from the one who dug a trap for him a few months ago.

After the two episodes finished, Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun took a car back to the hotel.

…

In the car, Zuo Qiu was scrolling through Weibo. He specifically checked the original author’s Weibo. He didn’t know if she was disappointed with the drama or hadn’t watched it, but there hadn’t been a single Weibo post about the TV series recently. Zuo Qiu then searched for netizens’ reviews of the drama. Currently, some of the more reputable domestic rating websites hadn’t started rating the drama, but Weibo netizens’ first impressions of the first two episodes were relatively good. Some of the original book fans were slowly starting to accept Zuo Qiu, and Zuo Qiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you going to stay up late tonight?” Zuo Qiu asked Xiao Baijun. If he was going to stay up, he would keep him company.

“Huh?” Zuo Qiu’s abrupt question confused Xiao Baijun.

“Y Network is definitely going to cause trouble at 12 AM tonight. As the commander-in-chief, aren’t you going to personally command the battle?” If Y Network just broadcasted it, it would be fine, but if they caused trouble, they would definitely stir up a fuss, and then take the opportunity to blacken the two of them. So, the decision-maker, Xiao Er, should be waiting up tonight.

“If I have to do everything myself, then why do I pay them?” Xiao Baijun didn’t feel the need for his personal supervision. After all, Bai Le had many employees!

Zuo Qiu stared at Xiao Baijun for a few seconds. “I feel like you’ve become the big boss behind the scenes. You’re simply too stylish!”

Xiao Baijun gave an arrogant snort. He didn’t tell Zuo Qiu that his brother, Xiao Bailin, was already urging him to take over quickly. It was just that he wanted to spend more time with Zuo Qiu. Besides, once that responsibility was on his shoulders, it couldn’t be easily put down. So, he was dragging it out as long as he could, making sure his brother didn’t get too comfortable!

However, he thought that his ability to quickly familiarize himself with a company’s operations was largely thanks to Cheng Ye’s “cultivation” over the past month. First, he made him stay in the marketing department for almost two weeks, and then dragged him to the secretary’s office. Thinking of the “inhumane” treatment he had endured for so many days, Xiao Baijun felt a mixture of love and hate for Cheng Ye, but after the hate subsided, he still decided to go over to “suffer” whenever he had time in S City.

At this moment, the two people, who were in a relaxed state, had no idea that in the near future, the Weibo server would need emergency repairs three times because of them.

Earlier, Zuo Qiu searched online for audience feedback and found that many original book fans had changed their minds about the drama. Coupled with the already strong fan base of the Z.X duo, fans spontaneously promoted the drama. Therefore, many netizens who missed the TV station’s premiere decided to wait for the Y Network premiere. However, after 12 AM, Y Network did not upload the first two episodes to the video website on time, as scheduled in the previous trailer. It was only then that many netizens realized the previously filmed promotional video had been quietly taken down sometime earlier.

Netizens who couldn’t find the resources demanded an explanation from Y Network. They had clearly announced the broadcast, and now they weren’t broadcasting it, so there should be a reason. Z.X fans were especially angry. Now was the time to demonstrate their idol’s traffic and appeal, and what Y Network was doing was simply unethical! Some well-meaning fans even went to the Z.X Weibo account to inform them, asking them to see how they should handle it.

Y Network’s official Weibo remained silent as a stone after the incident, which made netizens quite angry. Everyone continuously flooded Y Network’s most recent Weibo post. When comments were not answered, they directly flooded the private messages. The Weibo system finally crashed successfully due to the netizens’ unremitting efforts. At the same time, unconfirmed rumors began to spread—the Z.X duo acted like divas during the Y Network program recording and successfully offended the country’s number one video website!

Meanwhile, Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun, who were sleeping soundly, didn’t even have a dream, sleeping until dawn.