Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Zuo Qiu was very well-behaved when drunk; he simply slept quietly. Xiao Bojun carried him to the bed, wiped his face, hands, and feet, and he had no reaction.

Xiao Bojun poured a glass of water and placed it by Zuo Qiu’s bed, then ruffled Zuo Qiu’s curly hair before turning off the light and leaving the bedroom.

Zuo Qiu had a good night’s sleep. When his biological clock woke him up the next day, he found himself lying in his own bed. Guessing that Xiao Bojun must have moved him to the room, a smile appeared on Zuo Qiu’s lips. But the smile froze halfway—I didn’t say anything I shouldn’t have or do anything I shouldn’t have… right?

With a nervous heart, Zuo Qiu got up to make breakfast.

Half an hour later, Zuo Qiu’s breakfast was ready, and Xiao Bojun also got out of bed.

Zuo Qiu served Xiao Bojun a bowl of preserved egg and lean pork congee and two meat buns. Xiao Bojun hadn’t slept well last night, dreaming about sexual encounters all night. He was sitting at the dining table, yawning and looking a little listless.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you sleep well?” Zuo Qiu asked him.

Xiao Bojun looked up at Zuo Qiu. “I’m fine.”

Zuo Qiu hesitated and asked, “Yesterday… I didn’t cause trouble while drunk, did I?”

The last memory in his mind was him feeling a bit dizzy and slumping on the table, with Xiao Bojun asking him if he had any wishes he wanted to fulfill. But whether he answered and how he answered, he had absolutely no recollection.

Xiao Bojun took a bite of the bun and looked at Zuo Qiu’s slightly shifty eyes. He decided to tease him to wake himself up.

“You were very noisy yesterday, singing and dancing. And you held onto me and wouldn’t let go, saying you liked me very much and wanted to be with me.”

Zuo Qiu’s chopsticks dropped directly to the floor, and his face turned deathly pale. “No… no way?” He rarely drank until he was drunk and genuinely didn’t know if he would be very loud when drunk, or even… tell the truth when drunk?

Seeing Zuo Qiu’s intense reaction, Xiao Bojun found it amusing. “That’s right. You said I was the most handsome man in the world, and you had long been completely infatuated.”

Zuo Qiu heard his words and then carefully studied Xiao Bojun’s expression. He finally realized that Xiao Bojun was lying—after all, even though he liked Xiao Bojun, he wasn’t his ideal man. Once he confirmed that he hadn’t spoken nonsense while drunk, Zuo Qiu finally relaxed. He picked up the dropped chopsticks, took them to the kitchen, came back with a fresh pair, and began to enjoy his breakfast.

Xiao Bojun saw his lie was exposed and wondered which sentence gave it away. He was intent on probing Zuo Qiu’s feelings: “We’ve been classmates for three years, and I haven’t seen you date or get close to anyone. Haven’t you ever developed feelings for anyone?”

Xiao Bojun automatically ignored himself, who was stuck to Zuo Qiu every day, classifying their situation as mere roommate friendship. After all, it was perfectly normal for people in the same university dorm to go in and out together.

Zuo Qiu’s right hand paused, and he told a small lie: “No.”

Xiao Bojun felt a little discouraged, but then he thought that even though Zuo Qiu didn’t like him, he didn’t like anyone else either, so he still had hope. He slowly regained confidence. After all, proximity gives the advantage! With him clinging to Zuo Qiu every day, what other man would dare to steal him away!

…

After breakfast, the two went to Bailuo. Today, they were meeting with Xiao Bolin and their manager to discuss the specific debut procedures.

As soon as they entered Xiao Bolin’s office, Xiao Bojun frowned at Zhao Zhixian, who stood up to greet him. Although Xiao Bolin said Zhao Zhixian was the company’s best manager, Xiao Bojun still held a grudge over Zhao Zhixian’s previous deception of Zuo Qiu.

Zuo Qiu didn’t have strong feelings about Zhao Zhixian. In his view, the previous incident was a misunderstanding. Since he was now their manager, fostering a good relationship was appropriate. So, Zuo Qiu nodded and smiled at Zhao Zhixian before sitting down next to Xiao Bojun.

Zhao Zhixian was inwardly nervous. The boss trusting him to manage the Second Young Master was certainly a major step up for his career and network, but because of the earlier misunderstanding, the Second Young Master held a prejudice against him, which would inevitably affect the smooth progress of their future work.

Shaking off his worries, Zhao Zhixian took his seat.

Xiao Bolin took in everyone’s expressions, clasped his hands, and went straight to the point: “From now on, Lao Zhao will be in charge of you two. Everyone should put aside any personal resentments. Speak up if you have any issues. If there are any lingering tensions, it will be difficult to carry out the work smoothly.”

Hearing this, Zhao Zhixian immediately self-criticized: “Second Young Master, Zuo Qiu, the previous incident was entirely my fault. But please rest assured that I will be wholeheartedly dedicated to you both from now on and will never deceive you.”

Zuo Qiu smiled and said, “Brother Zhao, you’re overstating it. The past is past. We’ll just cooperate well from now on.”

Seeing his younger brother not express an opinion, Xiao Bolin called him out directly: “Junjun, what do you think?”

Xiao Bojun leaned back. Since Zuo Qiu didn’t mind, he had nothing more to say. “Just go with it.”

Zhao Zhixian felt a huge weight lift off his chest. Although Xiao Bojun’s words weren’t pleasant, they meant he was at least accepted.

…

After the four had cleared the air, Zhao Zhixian began to detail their plans: “Within the next week, you need to record a new song and music video. Afterward, marketing accounts will help promote you. Then, striking while the iron is hot, I’ve secured a reality show and two TV dramas. You will each take the male lead role…”

“Two?” Xiao Bojun interrupted Zhao Zhixian.

Zhao Zhixian reviewed his plan and confirmed: “Yes, two.”

Xiao Bojun: “I think one is enough. I can’t act, so just find me a supporting role in the drama Zuo Qiu is starring in.”

“This…” Zhao Zhixian looked at Xiao Bolin, waiting for him to decide.

Xiao Bolin completely understood his brother’s meaning. Firstly, he was indeed lazy. Secondly, his brother probably didn’t want to be separated from Zuo Qiu. Since Junjun agreed to the other requirements, Xiao Bolin felt it was fine to agree to this small request, as his brother wasn’t relying on acting for his livelihood anyway.

“Alright, we’ll listen to Junjun. Since they are a duo, try to keep them in the same production in the future. Find Junjun roles with few scenes that still have good fan appeal.”

My brother understands me best. Xiao Bojun shot Xiao Bolin an appreciative look as encouragement.

Zhao Zhixian was a little surprised. This decision would surely lead to an imbalance in the duo’s development, which the boss certainly knew. So, what was the reasoning?

Xiao Bolin looked at Zhao Zhixian and said, “Junjun’s strengths are in singing and dancing. You can shift his focus to those areas in the future.”

Zhao Zhixian understood the boss’s intent and nodded in agreement. Since the two were debuting as a duo, they would definitely pursue solo careers later. Having different focuses was normal.

…

After discussing their immediate work, Zhao Zhixian immediately handed the sheet music for the new song to the two of them, asking them to learn it as quickly as possible.

Zuo Qiu: ⊙０⊙

Xiao Bojun: (︶︿︶)=凸

To Zuo Qiu, the musical staves were like random code. As for Xiao Bojun—it was enough that he could sing. Why did he need to understand sheet music? What was the relevance!

Zhao Zhixian saw their expressions and realized his oversight. He quickly found a music teacher for the two, who taught them to sing the song line by line.

Fortunately, the two were not entirely inept. After three hours of learning, Xiao Bojun could sing the entire song flawlessly. Zuo Qiu was close, only needing to correct a few individual notes.

After the music teacher left, Xiao Bojun saw Zuo Qiu still practicing and walked over, directly slipping a throat lozenge into his mouth. “Take a break. You’ve practiced enough today. If you keep going, your voice won’t be able to handle it.”

Zuo Qiu swallowed the sweet liquid. His throat did feel much better. “I haven’t quite mastered some of the notes yet. I want to practice more.”

Xiao Bojun said, “I have a recording of the song I just made here. Just follow along and learn from it.” Saying this, he sent an audio recording from his phone to Zuo Qiu.

Zuo Qiu clicked on the piano-accompanied song. He hadn’t noticed it when they learned together, but listening to Xiao Bojun sing alone now, he suddenly thought he sounded really good. His voice was low, rich, and magnetic. His low notes were deep, and his high notes were handled perfectly, not sounding harsh but fully conveying the emotional depth. No wonder the music teacher said he was a promising talent.

Zuo Qiu thought learning the song was the most difficult part, but when he and Xiao Bojun went to the recording studio on the third day, he realized what was even harder.

“Stop! You’re off-key. Let’s do it again!”

“The note is inaccurate. Start over!”

“Stop, stop, stop! Start over, over, over!”

Zuo Qiu was very embarrassed. Recording a song was completely different from singing in a karaoke room. Yesterday, listening to Xiao Bojun’s recording, he had all the notes right, but today, as soon as he entered the booth, he found he was off-key for the whole song.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Zuo Qiu bowed his head in shame to the sound engineer outside the booth.

Xiao Bojun took off his headphones and made a time-out gesture to the sound engineer outside. Knowing Xiao Bojun’s identity, the engineer didn’t say anything, took off his headphones, and left the recording room, giving the space to the two for a private discussion.

Zuo Qiu hung the headphones around his neck, lowered his head, and apologized to Xiao Bojun, “I feel so stupid. I can’t seem to learn it well.”

Xiao Bojun took the lyrics sheet in front of him and quickly made a few markings on it. “It’s not that you’re stupid. It’s just that the parts they selected for you are your weak spots. I’ll adjust it now, and we’ll try again. I’ll beat the rhythm for you, and you follow my timing.”

Zuo Qiu looked at the newly revised lyric arrangement by Xiao Bojun. Xiao Bojun had almost completely removed all the difficult parts, and the sections Zuo Qiu needed to sing were all the ones he hadn’t struggled with before.

Three minutes later, the recording resumed. But after just one line, the sound engineer was stunned. The opening was originally assigned to Zuo Qiu, but now Xiao Bojun was singing it. He was about to interrupt again when Xiao Bolin, who was standing behind him, stopped him.

Xiao Bojun finished the first line, then gestured to Zuo Qiu, counting down: three, two, one. Zuo Qiu began to sing the next line, following his rhythm.

Zuo Qiu and Xiao Bojun finished the entire song together without the sound engineer interrupting them. Zuo Qiu looked at the engineer, who gave him a thumbs-up. Zuo Qiu couldn’t help but smile, and he and Xiao Bojun high-fived each other in encouragement.

Xiao Bolin looked at the scene inside the booth and said to the sound engineer, “Leave it like that.” After changing the lyric distribution, Zuo Qiu’s state was noticeably better. It seemed the person who understood Zuo Qiu best was still his younger brother.

…

Afterward, the two re-recorded the song a few more times with the current division, as requested by the sound engineer for later editing. Having adapted to the rhythm, Zuo Qiu performed better and better.

Coming out of the recording studio, Zuo Qiu’s voice was a little hoarse. He excitedly asked Xiao Bojun, “Do you think people will like our song and like us?”

Xiao Bojun peeled a candy and tossed it into Zuo Qiu’s mouth, saying, “They definitely will.”

Not to mention his brother and Zhao Zhixian’s years of experience in creating stars, just based on Zuo Qiu himself, even he liked him so much, let alone ordinary people!

Xiao Bojun considered his own taste to be very discerning. Anyone he favored was certainly top-notch, and only blind people wouldn’t like Zuo Qiu.

Zuo Qiu smiled at Xiao Bojun, having so much gratitude he wanted to express, but he held it back. “Let’s go home. I’ll cook you something delicious.”

“Okay.” Xiao Bojun ruffled Zuo Qiu’s curly hair, and the two walked side-by-side toward home.

…

After the song was recorded, the subsequent steps were much easier. Zhao Zhixian temporarily assembled a small crew and took Xiao Bojun and Zuo Qiu to a scenic location to shoot the music video.

There was no female lead in the MV, only beautiful scenery and two young men.

Zhao Zhixian looked at the footage in the camera. One protagonist frowned slightly without expression, and the other’s smile could melt winter snow. One cold, one warm—these two types of male stars covered almost all of the most popular types in the country right now. A surge of ambition ignited in Zhao Zhixian’s heart. He could practically see the two most brilliant new stars in the entertainment industry in the near future.

The crew stayed in City K for two days, and the entire filming and preliminary editing were completed. Zuo Qiu watched the MV footage until the final frozen frame—he was sitting by the river, tilting his head and smiling at the camera, while Xiao Bojun stood beside him, hands in his pockets, looking expressionlessly at the camera, his chiseled face strikingly handsome.

Zuo Qiu stared at Xiao Bojun on the screen for a few seconds, his face slowly turning red. I can’t look anymore! If I do, I won’t be able to sleep tonight!

Xiao Bojun, who had been paying attention to Zuo Qiu, naturally noticed his red face. He didn’t say anything while people were around, but once they left Zhao Zhixian’s room, Xiao Bojun put his right hand on Zuo Qiu’s shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and asked him, “Am I handsome?”

Zuo Qiu lowered his head, subtly widening the distance between his ear and Xiao Bojun, and mumbled, “Yes.”

Xiao Bojun asked again, “Then did you feel…” a little stirred?

“Second Young Master, your brother said your phone was off and asked you to call him back as soon as possible.” Zhao Zhixian’s voice suddenly came from behind them.

Xiao Bojun, whose intimate moment was suddenly interrupted, was extremely annoyed. Just a little more! I was so close to finding out Zuo Qiu’s true feelings for me… Xiao Bojun turned and glared at Zhao Zhixian, saying, “Got it.”

Zhao Zhixian was confused about being disliked for no reason. Things were fine just now. How did I manage to offend the Second Young Master again so quickly? Zhao Zhixian didn’t dare to linger and quickly retreated to his room.

Seeing that Xiao Bojun had something to take care of, Zuo Qiu said, “You go take care of your business first. I’m heading back to my room.”

Xiao Bojun watched Zuo Qiu enter his room, then took out his phone and called Xiao Bolin.

…

That evening, after everyone had eaten, Xiao Bojun went out for a walk with Zuo Qiu.

“I find myself liking this job more and more,” Zuo Qiu said, looking at the picturesque scenery around them.

“Why?”

Zuo Qiu spread his arms, a mischievous smile on his face, and said, “Because I can travel for free.” And most importantly, I can travel with you.

Xiao Bojun thought about their future work schedule and said, “I hope you don’t get tired of it after a year.” When their careers took off, they might become frequent flyers and wouldn’t be able to stop even if they wanted to.

“I won’t.”

“Are you that sure?”

“Don’t I have you… guys with me? How could I get tired!” Zuo Qiu got carried away and almost spoke his truest thoughts. He quickly pinched the flesh in his palm with his fingernails to remind himself: Xiao Bojun is straight. I can’t let him misunderstand, or I won’t even be friends with him anymore!

Xiao Bojun was a little disappointed by Zuo Qiu’s answer. “In the future, we’ll definitely develop separately, and Zhao Zhixian will focus on bringing in new talent. He won’t be taking you out often anymore. You might have to fly around by yourself soon.”

Zuo Qiu had considered this long ago. Not only would Xiao Bojun develop a solo career, but he would also find someone he loved and get married. Zuo Qiu knew he was destined to be alone in the future, which made him especially cherish the rare time they had now.

“I know. That’s why I cherish this hard-won opportunity.”

Xiao Bojun grew even more disappointed after hearing this. Zuo Qiu probably didn’t harbor any special feelings for him at all. How should I hint to him?