CH 29

Chapter 29

Leaving Qu Xueyu’s embrace, Lu Bai couldn’t sleep comfortably in the strange bed. He woke up with a frown and then rubbed his eyes.

The bed no longer had Qu Xueyu’s shadow. Rubbing his eyes, Lu Bai began to fasten his unbuttoned shirt. Ruan Jiangjiu always said he never dressed properly when he slept, and he was, in fact, not wrong.

Lu Bai looked at his hands, somewhat baffled. Last night, he did not follow the plot, but the world still did not initiate the disciplinary system. He was not exactly sure why, but if he can further prove that the disciplinary system was completely gone, his life in this world would be free. Even if he still hasn’t figured out the ins and outs of this world.

Freedom, at least, was a blessing. Lu Bai curled his lips.

He got out of bed barefoot, had a lazy stretch, and went to freshen up. It was already sunny outside when Lu Bai came out of the bathroom. Holding a mug in his hand and a toothbrush in his mouth, he pulled back the curtains. Abruptly, he heard a loud noise outside the bedroom door—the door was closed, so the sound was faint and he couldn’t tell what it was.

The memory of last night sluggishly replayed in Lu Bai’s mind. Lu Bai remembered Qu Xueyu’s uncomfortable appearance last night.  Remembering that again, he was frightened and worried about Qu Xueyu. He hurriedly ran out of the bedroom to look for the other man.

“…Qin Gu, I told you. You are not qualified to define him.” Not knowing what words provoked him, Qu Xueyu fiercely grabbed the collar of the other person, his face blank.

As soon as Qu Xueyu’s words fell, Lu Bai appeared at the door of the bedroom. Two people were fighting with each other, and Lu Bai’s angle saw the appearance of two people kissing.

Splat

His mug fell on the floor;  the water spilled all over the floor.

When Qu Xueyu heard the noise, he released his hand and turned around to see the teenager standing barefoot in the doorway of the bedroom, looking at them with a dazed face. His white shirt was wrinkled, and his black suit pants rolled up one leg. The toothbrush was hanging from his mouth with white toothpaste foam in the corner of his mouth. As his toes were curling because of the cold water on the floor, he had an unkempt appearance and an extremely shocked look.

Qu Xueyu frowned slightly: “Xiao Bai, put on some slippers.”

Lu Bai snapped back to his senses, and his eyes were wide open. He jerked back two steps, swallowing nervously and waving. “Ah! I’m sorry, you guys take your time kissing.” After a pause, he added: “Do not care about me, really.”

Then, he closed the door to the bedroom with a snap.

Qu Xueyu and Qin Gu whose faces were completely black: “…”

The secretary, who was standing off to the side doing his best to reduce his presence, couldn’t help but open his mouth into an “O” shape.

Lu Bai leaned against the door to calm his breathing. Previously, he had to be the vicious male support that must undermine people’s relationships, but now he finally no longer had to follow the plot! There was no reason to disturb people who were getting along—after all, destroying the happy couple was to be struck by lightning!

Tsk, Qin Gu and Qu Xueyu were really the real deal, Qu Xueyu was drugged only last night, and the domineering president came to the door early the next morning to send warmth. So, Qu Xueyu especially emphasized last night that he and Qin Gu had no relationship. Was Qu Xueyu the so-called tsundere1OG it was ‘傲娇’/’ào jiāo’, there are a few different translations for it, but it means the same thing as the Japanese “Tsundere”. Generally means the character is ‘cold on the outside-hot on the inside’. Or they act cold but have a warm heart.? Well, a high mountain, snow-like, cold beauty character was strangely adorable. Lu Bai once again secretly sighed; indeed, the main character gong, Qin Gu, was really lucky.

The two people couldn’t help themselves, and he understood. Unfortunately, a good kiss was still destroyed by him—the vicious male support.

Lu Bai secretly made up his mind that since he was no longer bound by the plot, he must stay away from Qin Gu in the future.

There was a knock on the door, and Qu Xueyu’s voice rang out across the door. “Xiao Bai, open the door.”

Lu Bai was just about to say ‘How are you and Qin Gu?’, and as if he knew what he was going to say, Qu Xueyu’s chilled voice spoke: “Xiao Bai, what did you promise me last night?”

Lu Bai: “…”

Lu Bai opened the door but saw that only Qu Xueyu was left standing outside, and Qin Gu seemed to have left.

Qu Xueyu folded his arms and stared at him for a long time, lifting an eyebrow. He said, “We didn’t kiss.”

Lu Bai: “Oh.” If the other side had said so, how can he tear down the show?

Qu Xueyu quietly looked at the teenager; his eyes were clear, and he seriously began: “I have someone I want to kiss. But he’s a little fool, so I don’t dare to kiss him for fear of scaring him away.”

Lu Bai: “???” Qin Gu and the little fool description, the difference was too big! Lu Bai placed the two together and so on, and then got goosebumps.

Qu Xueyu helplessly chuckled as he watched the teenager’s bewildered appearance. He naturally reached out and wiped away a bit of white foam from the corner of the other’s mouth before saying, “Go wash up. I’ll use the other bathroom. Later, you can go home first. I have some things to do, so I can’t accompany you.”

Many things could not be more normal for Qu Xueyu as he was an actor. But this statement was a little strange. Lu Bai was slightly puzzled, but didn’t think any deeper; he just nodded and went back to the bathroom. As he reached the door, he turned to look at the youth, leaning against the door with his arms folded, and said, “If you still do not feel better, you need to go to the hospital.”

Qu Xueyu smiled and nodded his head.

Waiting for Lu Bai to enter the bathroom, Qu Xueyu then quietly whispered in his direction: “Little fool.” After saying this, he rubbed his forehead and smiled, before turning around and leaving the room.

~~~~~~

Lu Zhi sat in his office and sent a message to his nephew, while his handsome young secretary was stationed to one side.

“Have you gotten an answer?” Lu Zhi finished sending the message, casually discarded his phone onto the desk, and looked at his secretary.

Mr. Secretary pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, the lenses streaked with a touch of soft shadow as he spoke, “I have found him. The person who had directed him was a man named Chen Ming. He had committed a crime and was caught by Chen Ming, who then forced him to secretly photograph the young master.”

Lu Zhi’s eyes chilled: “Chen. Ming. What’s the relation?”

The secretary then explained, “The young master previously had a group of mixed friends, and Chen Ming was one of them.”

Lu Zhi’s brows twitched as he said, “What kind of crooked bastards2Orig “Any crooked melon and cracked jujube” was a saying that originated similarly to “Don’t judge a book by its cover” but became insulting and took on a different meaning over time. Like “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” which devolved into “Blood is thicker than water” and took on the opposite meaning. So now, crooked melon and cracked jujube”歪瓜裂枣”= Ugly or repulsive inside or out, human or object. think they are deserving of being Xiao Bai’s friends.” After a pause, he said plainly: “Our Xiao Bai is just too kind-hearted and generous, treating all sorts of rotten things as friends.” He emitted a sneering coldness across his face: “This one dares to do such things to my nephew, it’s not too much for me to ‘talk‘ to him, eh?”

His secretary promptly understood and agreed, “Yes.”

Lu Zhi’s expression then revealed some puzzlement as he muttered, “Chen Ming…” This name sounded familiar to him for some reason, but he couldn’t remember where he had heard it before.

Abruptly, his brain struck upon a light. He regarded his secretary thoughtfully and asked, “When Xiao Bai was twelve years old, he pestered my sister-in-law to anonymously sponsor a poor student. What was that student’s name again?”

Stunned, the secretary gave a bow before saying, “I’ll go check.”

Lu Zhi waved his hand and replied, “No need. I’ll just ask my sister-in-law.” His ex-sister-in-law happened to be holding a painting exhibition in Jinghai, which was very convenient.

The secretary called up the next matter and asked, “Boss, the paparazzi?”

Lu Zhi “Tsk” and said, “Hasn’t he committed a crime? It is only natural to squat in a cell if you’re a criminal.” He leaned back in his chair and casually said, “After entering his cell as to what will be done to him… it’s not our business, is it?”

His secretary promptly understood and said, “I will get it done.” He appeared to pay no intention of looking at the small hickey on the exposed skin of Lu Zhi’s neck, as he turned around and left.

~~~~~~

When Ruan Jiangjiu returned to Riverview Villa from Elder Qu’s place, Lu Bai was hugging a pillow on the sofa and sleeping quietly. Ruan Jiangjiu lightened his steps as he walked to the teenager’s side and gently draped the blanket over his sleeping form.

There was no one better than the Qu family at finding people for this kind of thing. He had to find the waiter who drugged Lu Bai to feel at ease.

Ruan Jiangjiu sat next to the teenager, looking at him, and then at the painting in his hands. This was the painting that Ms. Ming gave him; it was left at the exhibition hall, and he went back later to get it. When he went to see his grandfather, he intended to put it in his room at home, but in the end, he couldn’t resist bringing it here.

Last night, “Qu Xueyu”, told the teenager that he had his painting.

He knew he had to confess to him sooner or later that “Qu Xueyu” and “Ruan Jiangjiu” were the same person, so he felt there was no need to deliberately conceal these details. He even hoped that the teenager would figure it out sooner.

The world outside said that Lu Bai grew up loving Qin Gu and was deeply obsessed with him. But Ruan Jiangjiu leaned down, reaching out and tapping the tip of the younger man’s cute nose, murmuring, “But you only care about Ruan Jiangjiu.”

“Little fool, I am Ruan Jiangjiu.”

“The person you care about is me. It can only be me.“

He spoke his best words of love to a sleeping person, and when that person was awake, he was too treasured for him to even say “like”.

“Xiao Ruan!” Lu Bai opened his eyes a bit later and smiled unconsciously when he saw him sitting by his side: “I want to eat rabbit apples.”

Ruan Jiangjiu grinned and fed the already prepared apple slices into the young man’s mouth. Lu Bai munched on the apple and suddenly remembered that he hadn’t returned all night last night. He swallowed the piece and looked at Ruan Jiangjiu: “Xiao Ruan, I was taking care of another man outside last night. Are you angry?” After asking this question, even Lu Bai himself was surprised.

Ruan Jiangjiu cocked an eyebrow: “Why do you ask that?”

Lu Bai then exclaimed, “Because if Xiao Ruan left me at home to take care of another man or woman, I would definitely be angry.”

Ruan Jiangjiu’s eyes dilated and then smiled stupidly. He looked at the young man and languidly asked, “Xiao Bai, have you ever thought about why you would be angry?”

“I…” Lu Bai was stunned by this question and couldn’t put his thoughts into words anymore. He felt that something was taking root in the depth of his heart, and he thought that when it sprouted, he would be able to tell Xiao Ruan an answer.

“It’s okay,” Ruan Jiangjiu reached out and tousled the teenager’s hair as he explained, “It’s okay, Xiao Bai. You can take your time to think.”

He would wait forever with this teenager until he figured out his answer.

The sound of a message arriving echoed in the room. And when Lu Bai grabbed his phone, he saw that his second uncle had texted him.

He grinned after reading it and exclaimed, “Xiao Ruan, the drama starts tomorrow!” After a brief pause, he added, “I still have a few days before school starts, so I’ll go to the set to accompany you for the next few days.”

Ruan Jiangjiu curled up the corners of his mouth, “Okay.”

~~~~~~

The media didn’t have much to report on the web drama called “The Immortal” that quietly started in Jinghai. After all, there were far too many mediocre web dramas that were released every year.

The director of this web drama was a newcomer, and the actors were either new or obsolete. Despite hearing that there was Lu Zhi behind it, people in the circle only figured that Lu Zhi just wanted to promote a few newcomers for fun. This drama was so ordinary as to be insignificant, the media coverage was minimal, and even the scalpers and paparazzi who sell news to various fans and capture all the gossip were quite discouraged about it.

“I heard that we’re parachuting in3If someone is being “Parachuted In”, In showbiz or Actual business, that means they are using connections to enter wherever they are going. They usually get their new positions without any interviews or tests. In showbiz, rich patrons put people into shows/movies/music groups using money. On the business side, its generally parents or grandparents giving younger family members higher status jobs to start with. male number three.” The small group of actresses playing the maids exclaimed.

“Ugh, what’s so surprising about this kind of web drama parachuting in a few people with connections,” remarked another person. “That gold master really has no vision though. He’s chosen such a lousy drama to promote his own darling.”

“The director said that the third male’s archetype was the film emperor Qu!”

“Tch,” the young performer let out a long sigh. “That’s it. That actor will be torn apart by fans as well as passers-by for trying to impersonate Emperor Qu.” Then, they sighed again. “This gold owner truly has no foresight.”

When Lu Bai arrived at the set location, his eyes were sparkling. Although he played as a dandy for nineteen years, he had never come into contact with this world, unlike the other guys who always play in the entertainment industry.

When director Xu Wen saw Lu Bai’s car coming, he rushed out to meet him. After he greeted Lu Bai, he turned to Ruan Jiangjiu and exclaimed, “Qu- Oh, no. Mr. Ruan! Can you give me an autograph later?” The last time they met, there was no chance. As for the moniker, although he did not understand why. He knew that this big star could come down to shoot his web drama as a third male. It was all because of this young master. As long as he could make this young master happy, it was nothing for him to cooperate with a few off-screen scenes.

Ruan Jiangjiu nodded with a faint smile, and Lu Bai quickly whispered. “Xiao Ruan, you have a second fan! Are you happy?”

Ruan Jiangjiu: “Who is the first one?”

Lu Bai pointed to himself: “Me!”

Ruan Jiangjiu chuckled and gazed at the teenager—his arched eyes seemed to contain stars as he stated, “Well, I am honored.”

They were too far away from the other cast members, so they could not see Ruan Jiangjiu’s appearance. They were all gossiping, and some had disdain in their eyes.

The assistant director, who has always preferred following the darker paths, looked at the young man with a jade body in the distance. Then he looked at the men and women in the crew, who were as fresh as the flowering branches in the morning dew, and his eyes flickered with an idea.

The author has something to say: oooh, I tried my best, really! QAQ

This web drama plot should be very short. It is in this that Xiao Ruan drops his vest4Vest is slang for disguise or persona..

Question for the readers! Should I leave the name of the web drama as its pinyin “JingXian” ( 惊仙) or leave it as “The Immortal”? Because it means:

惊 jīng –to start; to be frightened; to be scared; alarm

仙 xiān –immortal

Deeple says “Amazing Immortal” …. and other similar variants. I will see what the story is like if they talk about the scenes while filming and use that to adjust if needed. But I did leave the OG name ( Gu Xue)  in its pinyin as it was filled with multiple meanings, so I wanted to ask what you guys think.

`~~~

Happy Early 4th of July/Independence Day to my American readers! Be safe!

Edit: Krone

Proofreader: Nitta

1OG it was ‘傲娇’/’ào jiāo’, there are a few different translations for it, but it means the same thing as the Japanese “Tsundere”. Generally means the character is ‘cold on the outside-hot on the inside’. Or they act cold but have a warm heart.2Orig “Any crooked melon and cracked jujube” was a saying that originated similarly to “Don’t judge a book by its cover” but became insulting and took on a different meaning over time. Like “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” which devolved into “Blood is thicker than water” and took on the opposite meaning. So now, crooked melon and cracked jujube”歪瓜裂枣”= Ugly or repulsive inside or out, human or object.3If someone is being “Parachuted In”, In showbiz or Actual business, that means they are using connections to enter wherever they are going. They usually get their new positions without any interviews or tests. In showbiz, rich patrons put people into shows/movies/music groups using money. On the business side, its generally parents or grandparents giving younger family members higher status jobs to start with.4Vest is slang for disguise or persona.