Mr. Zhou Doesn’t Want to Work Hard Anymore!

Chapter 33

Zhou Chenxi’s heart was beating fast, the sound echoing like turbulent waves right next to his ears.

Lu Ji glanced at the script beside him. “I’ve been pursued by the Immortal Realm for a hundred years, thinking that meeting you would help me escape this calamity. Now I realize how naive I was.”

Zhou Chenxi snapped back to his senses instantly and continued, “You knew who I was all along?”

“You’re the underling of the Immortal Lord, Luli.”

Tears welled up in Zhou Chenxi’s eyes. “Don’t speak. Let me heal your wounds first.”

Lu Ji said, “It’s too late. This demon pill was left by my mother. My cultivation has been completely dispersed now, I’m afraid…”

“It’s because I couldn’t protect you, Fuzheng…” Zhou Chenxi looked at Lu Ji, a strong emotion echoing in his chest, about to break free from its restraints.

Lu Ji smiled slightly and looked at the script. “I remember when I first saw you, Brother Luli. You were in white, walking lightly, as if you came from my dreams. Later, I would always see you when I entered meditation, like Zhuangzi’s dream of the butterfly. Once the dream is over, I am content.”

Tears fell from Zhou Chenxi’s eyes.

“Take care of yourself,” Lu Ji said. “Fuzheng can’t accompany you anymore…”

The subsequent plot was Fuzheng’s departure. “Luli” placed a kiss on Fuzheng’s lips, and then Fuzheng turned into smoke in Luli’s embrace, his spirit dispersing.

Lu Ji was no longer lying in Zhou Chenxi’s embrace. He was just looking at him, a half-smile playing on his lips.

“Thank you, President Lu,” Zhou Chenxi forced himself to come back to reality and wiped his eyes with a tissue from the side.

“It’s not over yet,” Lu Ji gestured to the script in his hand.

Zhou Chenxi hesitated for a moment, understanding what he meant, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Lu Ji said, “A complete story has a beginning and an end. Do you want me to lie down so you can continue?”

After a long hesitation, while still riding on the emotions from earlier, Zhou Chenxi leaned in and gave Lu Ji a quick peck on the lips.

With reciprocity, a proper start and finish.

Zhou Chenxi wiped his tears again.

Because Lu Ji had pulled a similar move earlier, Zhou Chenxi didn’t have much resistance. His face just turned red. He grabbed an iced cola from the side and took a sip to calm himself down.

Lu Ji also eased up a bit, cleared his throat, and said, “That’s enough. I think you’ll pass tomorrow.”

“Really?” Zhou Chenxi’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Yeah,” Lu Ji confirmed. “Rest assured, I believe in you.”

Zhou Chenxi smiled.

Time passed quickly, and the clock pointed to ten o’clock. It was time for Zhou Chenxi to leave.

He stood up and looked at Lu Ji’s injured arm.

Although it seemed like he was moving fine, the bandage wrapped around his arm still bothered Zhou Chenxi’s eyes.

“Rest well, President Lu. Are you leaving tomorrow?”

Lu Ji nodded. “After the meeting, I’ll be heading back to H City. When you’re done with your work, we’ll meet in H City.”

“Sure!” Zhou Chenxi gathered his spirits, walked out of the room, and said to Lu Ji, “President Lu, you don’t need to send me off.”

Lu Ji smiled, leaning lightly against the door. “Go on, I’ll close the door after you leave.”

He had his collar slightly undone, revealing a delicate collarbone.

Zhou Chenxi took three steps, then turned around again.

Perhaps due to the great atmosphere just now, or maybe Lu Ji’s earlier words about “pretending you like me” were effective, Zhou Chenxi felt a bit reluctant to leave.

It wasn’t until he entered the hotel elevator after turning a corner that he couldn’t see Lu Ji anymore, and his racing heart finally settled down completely.

Ah, so embarrassing.

Zhou Chenxi slapped himself lightly on the face, recalling his embarrassing performance in the first half of the evening. He felt quite embarrassed.

Fortunately, on the second day of filming, Zhou Chenxi showed his true talent.

That scene was nearly perfect in one take. Zhou Chenxi channeled the emotions from last night into the scene, and even the director praised his significant improvement.

“Cut!” the director called out in satisfaction. Zhou Chenxi stood up, bowed to the surrounding crew members in gratitude.

His senior sister, whose mood had improved today, performed smoothly alongside him. There were no stumbling blocks during their acting.

The director praised them and continued with the next scene.

Zhou Chenxi went to the side to take a break, and his senior sister came over with a smile. “You did great, Chenxi. Just one night passed, did you manage to unlock your hidden talents?”

Zhou Chenxi smiled shyly, unable to say that it was due to some effective guidance from his wealthy dad.

Zhou Chenxi went to a corner and sneakily took out his phone, intending to check Weibo. Suddenly, Lu Ji’s call came in. He answered, hearing Lu Ji’s voice asking, “Are you free? How did it go today? Everything went smoothly?”

Zhou Chenxi shared the good news of his successful take, “The director praised my talent. Hehe.”

Hearing his silly laughter, Lu Ji laughed too. “I told you that you could do it. By the way, I’m done with my work. I’ll head back now.”

Zhou Chenxi sighed with regret, “President Lu is so busy. I don’t know when we’ll meet again.”

Lu Ji lowered his voice, “Are you planning to keep calling me ‘President Lu’ forever?”

“Huh?” Zhou Chenxi was momentarily stunned. “Then what should I call you?”

“What do you think our relationship is?” Lu Ji asked.

“Uh… friends?” Zhou Chenxi replied uncertainly.

This guy, hesitating even when saying “friends.”

Lu Ji clicked his tongue. “Then, how should you address me?”

“Lu… Lu Ji…” Zhou Chenxi stuttered. As he said it, his face turned red again.

What’s wrong with him?

He felt that calling him like this was quite intimate.

Fortunately, Lu Ji couldn’t see his expression over the phone. He responded, “Good, don’t say anything more. I have to catch my flight.”

“Take care on the way!” Zhou Chenxi hurriedly said.

The two hung up the phone, and Zhou Chenxi covered his burning face, thinking, “President Lu is really too flirtatious. The aftermath of pretending to like him yesterday hasn’t dissipated yet, and today I’ve been hit hard again!”

In a rush, he had his assistant buy him an iced milk tea to cool down. Zhou Chenxi finally calmed down and continued studying the script.

Since Lu Ji was both an investor and a “sugar daddy,” many people speculated about their relationship when they saw him at the set yesterday. Some gossipmongers even directly asked Zhou Chenxi what Lu Ji had come for, but he kept his lips sealed, revealing not a word to anyone. He simply mentioned that their relationship was good during the show recording.

After all, he was just a supporting actor. The main scenes weren’t so numerous. After finishing shooting some important scenes, Zhou Chenxi wasn’t as busy.

The filming schedule became fragmented as they had to wait for the crew’s arrangements. During this break, Zhou Chenxi had nothing much to do. Zhi Qi, his manager, took the initiative to come and see him, saying that he wanted to arrange some new work for him.

Initially, Zhou Chenxi had wanted to stay on the set. However, the gap in the schedule was quite long, and Zhi Qi scolded him, saying that even if he didn’t want to earn money, he should consider his manager, who depended on him for meals. With no other choice, Zhou Chenxi packed his things and temporarily returned to H City with Zhi Qi.

On the way to the airport, Zhi Qi said to him, “I’ve lined up a product endorsement and an indoor variety show for you. The endorsement is for ‘Xixi Strawberry Jelly,’ and the indoor variety show is mainly to promote ‘Carp.’ The show ‘Carp’ has been gaining a lot of attention lately, and Xigua TV wants to take advantage of the momentum to promote it further. This will also pave the way for other variety shows and the second season of ‘Carp.”

“Xixi Strawberry Jelly?” Zhou Chenxi found the name a bit peculiar.

“Isn’t it interesting?” Zhi Qi laughed, “When I saw this name, I thought it suited you very well. I didn’t even think twice before accepting. It’s a jelly product that Zhou Xin is co-releasing with ‘Floral Language.’ You know Zhou Xin, right? I heard that Zhou Xin’s CEO, Zhou Mingxuan, is quite young, about the same age as President Lu. Ah, young people these days are remarkable. I heard Zhou Xin has plans to venture into the snack food industry, probably to tap into the young market. While others are busy with finance, he’s heading into retail. Big companies are truly different. Looking at these rising stars, I feel like I’m getting old.”

Zhi Qi was in his thirties, and it was said he had a girlfriend back in his hometown. He might be preparing to get married by the end of the year.

“You can’t say it like that,” Zhou Chenxi said seriously. “Those people have naturally good luck. Comparing yourself to them, you’ll realize you’ve already lost at the starting line.”

Zhi Qi was silenced by Zhou Chenxi’s words.

Back home, it was already dark.

Zhou Chenxi estimated that his brother was probably still working at the company at this hour. He fumbled to turn on the living room light and heard a soft voice say, “Why didn’t you tell me you were back? I could have sent someone to pick you up.”

Startled, Zhou Chenxi found his brother sitting on the living room couch, wearing a pair of headphones and intently focused on the computer, his expression serious. He had no idea what he was looking at.

“My manager is coming to pick me up,” Zhou Chenxi said, “and since you can’t discuss work with me, why are you here to pick me up?”

As he spoke, he pushed his suitcase inside.

Zhou Mingxuan came over to help him take the suitcase upstairs and then came down, raising an eyebrow. “Why can’t I discuss work with you? I want to talk to you about the endorsement deal.”

Zhou Chenxi: “…”

“Oh, Young Master Zhou is back,” Housekeeper Chang came out, pushing up his reading glasses. “Feeling hungry? I’ll have the housekeeper prepare a late-night snack for you.”

“No need, Housekeeper Chang. You can go rest,” Zhou Chenxi didn’t want to trouble them. “I ate something on the plane.”

“Did that little airplane meal really fill you up?” Housekeeper Chang let the housekeeper busy herself.

Zhou Chenxi had no choice but to sit down with Zhou Mingxuan in the dining room.

Coincidentally, Zhou Mingxuan had returned from work past dinner time as well, so the two brothers sat at the table waiting to eat.

In a little while, the housekeeper brought steaming hot osmanthus glutinous rice balls and sprinkled sesame seeds on top for them. Afterward, she returned to her room, and Housekeeper Chang left, leaving the two brothers to eat their late-night snack and chat.

[hot osmanthus glutinous rice ball]

“Your manager should have received my offer, right?” Zhou Mingxuan spoke with a seasoned professional tone.

Zhou Chenxi blew on a rice ball and said, “Yes, yes, I got it. Just a reminder, big brother, I’m not applying for a job with you. We’re in a working relationship now. If you want me to endorse a product, you need to pay me, get my approval, and if I don’t want to take the job, you’ll have to find someone else.”

“…” Zhou Mingxuan coolly remarked, “If we sign a contract and I pay you, does that make me your ‘sugar daddy’?”

Zhou Chenxi: “Pfft—”

His big brother had picked up internet slang too quickly, and Zhou Chenxi almost choked.

Zhou Mingxuan handed him a tissue to wipe his mouth. “Don’t choke while eating. You should maintain proper eating etiquette even outside. If you’re not careful, you’ll call anyone ‘daddy’ next. What a strange habit.”

Zhou Chenxi perked up his ears, sensing an underlying meaning in Zhou Mingxuan’s words. “Are you watching my show?”

It was only in the show that Zhou Chenxi had called Lu Ji “sugar daddy.” He hadn’t used that term with anyone else. Besides, he had called Lu Ji that along with the other guests. If Zhou Mingxuan wasn’t watching the show, how would he know that he was casually using that term?

Zhou Mingxuan didn’t answer directly but said, “The world is full of deception, and your entertainment industry is quite complex. It’s best not to get too close to anyone who tries to get on your good side. Otherwise, you might end up on the losing side.”

His big brother was giving him advice like he was educating a child not to make friends with just anyone at school. Zhou Chenxi was a bit displeased, but when he remembered that he had asked Zhou Mingxuan to keep his distance from Lu Ji before, he dared not voice his discontent. He said, “Got it.”

He rolled his eyes and asked Zhou Mingxuan, “Big brother, have you learned about anti-fans and fan clubs now? When are you planning to return the ‘Zhou Chenxi Global Fan Club’ account to my company?”

Zhou Mingxuan: “Pfft—Ahem, ahem…”

This time, Zhou Mingxuan was the one who got choked.

Zhou Chenxi handed him a tissue, patting his back calmly, and said, “Eat slowly. Don’t choke. Eating also requires proper technique. Otherwise, we’ll have an open and honest discussion later about what guidelines fans need to follow. After all, I need to educate my fans.”

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”