TL: Hua
Chapter 51
Qi Xiaoyu had never been so close to anyone before, so close that he could count how many eyelashes Xun Qian had.
However, such a close distance is not annoying.
Xun Qian’s voice is very pleasant, and the faint smell of cologne and Chinese medicine on his body is also very good. Even the thin smoke around him gives people an unreal and gorgeous feeling.
Qi Xiaoyu felt that his heartbeat was abnormally fast.
Xun Qian’s hair seemed to be brushing against his face, tickling him slightly.
He wanted to push the hair away, but he seemed to be stuck there and forgot how to move.
Before he could fully react, Xun Qian retreated and leaned back in his seat.
Xun Qian held the cigarette in his mouth and looked at him sideways. Then he smiled and held the cigarette between his fingers. “Have you learned?”
The cigarette in Qi Xiaoyu’s mouth had burned down a little, but he completely forgot what Xun Qian had just said, so he instinctively took a puff and choked again.
Qi Xiaoyu turned around in embarrassment and held the lit cigarette in his hand. He felt that he was burning from his cheeks to his ears. It seemed that what Xun Qian lit was not the cigarette, but his whole body.
He covered his mouth and coughed for a while, and it took him a long time to recover. “I don’t want to learn anymore. It’s not good for my throat… Anyway, the photos can be post-processed. For other things… let’s wait until I play relevant roles.”
He didn’t even know why he followed Xun Qian’s instructions and lit the cigarette earlier.
Xun Qian put his hand on his back and patted him gently a few times, with a smile on his lips, “Yeah. It’s okay if you don’t know how to smoke.”
Qi Xiaoyu covered her mouth and turned her head to look at him.
In the mixed light and dark night, Xun Qian’s good looks and gentleness made him feel a little itchy.
It was like a small insect crawling softly on his heart.
“Are you sleepy?” Xun Qian suddenly said.
“Huh?” Qi Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment before replying, “I’m fine.”
Actually, Qi Xiaoyu was fine at first, but after Xun Qian asked him, he really felt somewhat drowsy. After he came back from New Zealand, he first went to the crew and filmed. Because he had to go to a new film crew to audition for an OST and a character, he also spent his rest time reading the script and practicing singing.
Work came one after another, and he didn’t have much rest for several days. Today’s shooting was completed ahead of schedule, but it was already past one o’clock.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t rested for so long that he was mentally confused today and had some strange delusions.
“If you feel sleepy, take a nap. I’ll call you when we get home.”
“Um.”
*****
The Maybach glides smoothly and lightly through the deserted streets like an arrow on an early spring night.
When Qi Xiaoyu woke up again, there was a faint morning light on the horizon.
He rubbed his eyes and suddenly woke up.
He originally just wanted to take a nap in the car, but why did he stay asleep for so long and even lean into Xun Qian’s arms?
He slowly supported his upper body with the cushion. Xun Qian was still closing his eyes. His long eyelashes were distinct and covered his snow-white skin. In the dim morning light, there were only black and white colors in sight.
The little black dog was sleeping on the other side of Xun Qian, lying on his back with his paws in the air, his belly rising and falling with his breathing, and he was snoring a little.
“Awake?”
Hearing the sound, Xun Qian opened his eyes, which were also clean black and white.
“Yes.” Qi Xiaoyu wiped the corners of his mouth, wondering if he was drooling.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“You won’t wake up no matter what.” Xun Qian’s expression was indifferent, but he could hear the teasing implication. He pointed to the little black dog beside him and said, “You slept more soundly than him.”
Qi Xiaoyu pursed his lips and stared at the sleeping little black dog.
After a while, he wrapped half of his body around Xun Qian and extended his hand to pinch the raised paw of the White-browed Hero. “Little Chubby, wake up,” he said.
White-browed hero moved his paws, broke free from Qi Xiaoyu’s clutches, and went back to sleep.
Xun Qian smiled.
Qi Xiaoyu grabbed the white-browed hero’s other paw and squeezed it, “Little fat man, I’ll leave you alone in the car later.”
White-browed Hero continued to struggle, but this time Qi Xiaoyu had a firm grip and prevented him from breaking away.
After struggling in vain for a few times, White-browed Hero finally opened his round eyes, half-raised his head, looked at Qi Xiaoyu in confusion, and then let out an extremely aggrieved howl.
It had a round belly, and its eyes were filled with surprise and pity, as if it had been bullied. This appearance made both Qi Xiaoyu and Xun Qian laugh.
After laughing, Qi Xiaoyu yawned, not having slept enough.
“Go back to your room and sleep more.”
“Yes.” Qi Xiaoyu opened the car door, shivered in the cold morning wind, and quickly pushed Xun Qian back to the bedroom with the butler.
It was just five o’clock in the morning. Qi Xiaoyu yawned several times on the way back to the room. White-browed Hero was also drowsy in his arms, his ears were drooped, and his eyes were narrowed into slits.
They had slept in the car for about three hours or so, and the time when the sun was about to rise was the perfect time to sleep.
Back in the room, Qi Xiaoyu helped Xun Qian to the bed. The little black dog jumped from his arms to the bed, then chose a comfortable position and laid down immediately.
Qi Xiaoyu clapped his hands and waved at the little black dog, “Follow me back to the room.”
Unexpectedly, the little black dog not only ignored him but also burrowed under the quilt and pointed its butt at Qi Xiaoyu, obviously recognizing that this was its territory and refusing to leave.
Qi Xiaoyu reached out and poked its soft butt. “If you don’t sleep with me today, you won’t be able to see me for a long time.”
The little black dog wagged its butt and didn’t move.
Qi Xiaoyu yawned and poked the dog’s butt again. Seeing no response, he thought to himself, Forget it. Let’s just go back by myself instead of arguing with a dog.
He was about to turn around when he suddenly heard Xun Qian, who was half lying down, say, “If you are sleepy, don’t go downstairs. Just sleep here for a while.”
Qi Xiaoyu felt that his IQ was a bit off today, possibly due to lack of sleep, so he replied smoothly, “I haven’t taken a shower.”
Xun Qian smiled and said, “Let the housekeeper change the sheets tomorrow.”
Qi Xiaoyu actually didn’t object to the harsh words and instead said, “Oh,” subconsciously, “Then you cover the quilt. I’ll just lie down.”
Xun Qian’s bed was quite big anyway, and it would be breakfast time in a few hours… He was too lazy to go downstairs to his room.
It’s unknown how long he had slept, but when he woke up this time, it was bright and clear.
The sun shines on the white gauze curtains, giving them a white sheen.
Qi Xiaoyu turned over and looked to the side with squinted eyes. Xun Qian and White-browed Hero were not there. He was like a child lying in bed, hugging the whole quilt by himself, and refusing to get up.
But in the cold spring weather, staying in bed like this is too comfortable.
Relaxed, satisfied, and lazy, he was washing away the fatigue of work, like being trapped in a crystal dream.
It wasn’t until his cell phone rang and Li Kun asked him what time he would come to the set that he was brought back to reality from his lazy dream.
This time, he went to the set of a movie called “The Evil.”
Yu Xiaosheng mentioned to him before that Kang Qitao asked him to sing an ost for the movie. Now that the movie is about to be filmed, he asked him to audition.
He heard that there were still one or two roles to be decided, one of which was the little white dragon. Yu Xiaosheng said that it suited him very well and asked him to give it a try and win this role.
Variety shows can attract fans, but they cannot solidify them.
If he wants to establish a firm foothold in this circle and go a long way, he still needs to have representative works that can stand out.
After Qi Xiaoyu answered the phone, he immediately got up from the bed, then went back to the room to take a shower and change clothes.
Li Kun made an appointment with someone at one o’clock in the afternoon, and it’s already past ten o’clock. If he rushed over now, the time would be just right.
He put his gloves into the sleeves of his woolen coat and walked downstairs. In the living room, Xun Qian was using a toy ball with a bell to play with White-browed Hero.
Xun Qian threw the ball, and the little black dog ran to pick it up.
Xun Qian pretended to throw the ball out, and the little black dog ran to pick it up, and then started spinning around in confusion, looking for where the ball had gone, making the butler and servants in the living room laugh.
This time, Xun Qian really threw the ball.
The little black dog was halfway chasing the ball. When he saw Qi Xiaoyu coming down, he made a very difficult choice. He stopped rushing towards the ball, turned sharply, performed a drift on the spot, and changed his direction towards Qi Xiaoyu.
Qi Xiaoyu caught the dog and stroked its fur.
Xun Qian looked up at him and said, “You’re going out?”
Qi Xiaoyu was holding White-browed Hero with one hand and putting on his clothes with difficulty with the other hand. “Yes. I have work in the afternoon.”
Xun Qian stopped talking.
Mama Li interrupted in a low voice, “Are you leaving now? The meal will be ready soon.”
Qi Xiaoyu stretched his neck and glanced at the kitchen. “Are there any steamed buns? I can just bring something to eat on the way.”
Mama Li and Butler Cheng both looked at Xun Qian, and the joyful atmosphere in the living room suddenly solidified.
Xun Qian suppressed the smile he had shown when he was playing with the little black dog, but did not show an unhappy expression. He first said to Mamai, “Go and prepare a lunchbox.”
Then he said to Butler Cheng, “Let the driver standby.”
Butler Cheng and Ma Li acted independently.
Qi Xiaoyu walked to Xun Qian with the little black dog in his arms and squatted down. “I’m going to audition for a movie theme song this time, and I’ll also audition for a movie role. If I can get it, I’ll probably have to stay on the set for over a month.”
Xun Qian said nothing and showed no expression.
Qi Xiaoyu rubbed the furry chin of the little black dog a few times and then put the dog in Xun Qian’s arms. “Don’t make it fat again. No brand will look for it next time for a photoshoot. It can make money now.”
“Yes.” Xun Qian took the dog and suddenly hooked his fingers on Qi Xiaoyu’s little finger.
Qi Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment. Xun Qian’s fingers were icy and slippery.
But it only hooked for a second before letting go. “Be careful.”
This time, it was Qi Xiaoyu who responded.
Then, Mama Li took two large boxes of packed lunches and followed Qi Xiaoyu to send him to the car.
Butler Cheng stood behind the wheelchair, showing an expression of regret and confusion. “You specially asked people to buy so many dishes, and they are all Mr. Qi’s favorites. Why don’t you ask him to leave later? A movie is not that important.”
Xun Qian clenched his hand into a fist and pressed it to his lips, coughing intermittently for a while before stopping. “But it’s important to him.”
After a while, he said, “Let Zhang Han invest more.”
*****
Qi Xiaoyu held the lunch box and watched the car drive out of the broad and deserted main road of Xun’s house.
The Xun house behind him has been like a sanctuary since the Chinese New Year—like the theater troupe when his master and senior sister were still there, allowing him to relax and immerse himself.
But it also made him uneasy.
He was afraid that he would not be able to get out if he stayed in it.
After all, there is never a true sanctuary in this world.
The toughest thing is emotion, and the most fragile thing is emotion.
It reminds him of that broad young man who chased his elder sister for four or five years and how deeply in love and sworn in the beginning, but in the end, he caused his elder sister to die in miscarriage, and he didn’t even give her a proper status.
His career has just started, he has no property or house of his own, and he still owes Xun Qian 20 million… Although Xun Qian didn’t mention it… all this makes him feel anxious.
What’s more, he has traveled into a book. This book has its own story and main line. The protagonist of the story has not even appeared yet…
Although he seemed to have changed the fate of Qi Xiaoyu in the few months after he came over, who knows whether the fate of other characters will change accordingly?
The photographer from yesterday flashed through his mind again, and that person always made him feel a little strange.
Qi Xiaoyu brought his distant thoughts to the present. His situation wasn’t too bad at the moment.
He is making more and more money now. Yu Xiaosheng told him a few days ago that the fee offered to him for the third season of “Eat Light on the Road” is 1 million per episode. If he can obtain the role of the little dragon in “The Evil,” the fee will be several million.
There are also several endorsement deals being discussed…
If everything goes well, it shouldn’t take long before he can earn the number he wants. Only then will he be able to think about other things with peace of mind and be more capable of changing his destiny.
*****
The crew of “The Evil” had several filming locations. The screen test and singing auditions were held in an office building in a creative park in the city center.
Li Kun followed him carrying his things and said to him, “I just heard from Brother Yu that, halfway through the process, someone came out to compete with you for the OST of this movie. And guess who that person is?”
“who?”
This creative park is very creatively built. After getting out of the car, there is no main road to enter. There are only a few stone paths that lead to the building.
Qi Xiaoyu was just wondering who was going to compete with him for the top spot when he saw Jiang Sicheng… walking happily from the stone road next to him.