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

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Honoring Lu Ji’s invitation, Zhou Chenxi attended the birthday banquet for Lu Ji’s mother over the weekend.

He deliberately chose a more formal suit – which was a challenge for him because his closet was filled with all sorts of loose casual wear and cheap market finds.

The latter was a result of his rather miserable past in the entertainment industry. The former was because he found formal wear surprisingly comfortable, so he bought several pieces at once. When they wore out, he simply threw them away without the need for careful maintenance. Unlike his brother’s closet, where each piece of clothing had to be meticulously ironed, adding to the workload and taking up a good chunk of time.

The suit he was wearing was personally arranged for Zhou Chenxi by Zhi Qi. Zhi Qi had argued that as an actor, he needed to have a few sets of formal clothing in his closet, just in case he had to attend some award ceremony.

As a result, Zhi Qi’s dream of a carefree autumn and spring was dashed, and Zhou Chenxi ended up wearing this suit to attend Lu Ji’s mother’s birthday.

As Zhi Qi drove, heading to the Lu family villa to drop off Zhou Chenxi, he sighed repeatedly, “This is considered an important occasion, right? Don’t mess up. Remember, Lu Corporation has invested in a lot of projects in the entertainment industry. You can’t afford to offend them. When you’re there, be respectful and greet people appropriately.”

Of course, the person he was referring to was Lu Ji’s mother, Madam Lu. Zhou Chenxi was still unaware of this. He replied with an absent-minded “Uh huh, okay,” and Zhi Qi seemed like a nagging old mother.

Zhi Qi’s impression of Zhou Chenxi and Lu Ji’s relationship was still stuck during the recording of the show “Carp.” He hadn’t been fully involved in the filming, so he had no idea how far their “friendship” had progressed.

Just like viewers who watched reality shows on TV and had outdated information, Zhi Qi thought that Lu Ji had treated Zhou Chenxi better on “Carp” because of the frequent accidents during the filming of “Acting Guru.” He assumed that after the show ended, they naturally went their separate ways.

Lu Ji was still a high and mighty sugar daddy, and Zhou Chenxi was still a poor exploited member of the entertainment industry.

Zhou Chenxi had just entered the industry when Zhi Qi picked him up. Zhi Qi had seen him grow within the industry and had somewhat of a parental mindset towards him.

Today, many industry insiders attended Madam Lu’s birthday party. As a prominent sugar daddy, Lu Ji naturally had people eager to “curry favor” with him.

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As a result, invitations for this birthday banquet were sent out, and those without invitations weren’t allowed to enter.

Zhi Qi considered himself a keenly perceptive manager. If Zhou Chenxi was attending an event like this, he couldn’t possibly not be there. So, he found a way to request an invitation from the Lu family.

He thought the process might be complicated, but surprisingly, Lu Corporation readily provided him with one.

The person in charge of distributing invitations was from Lu Corporation’s marketing department. As soon as they heard that Zhi Qi was Zhou Chenxi’s manager, they immediately had someone deliver the invitation to the entrance of Tian Wang Entertainment. They didn’t even expect Zhi Qi to come and pick it up himself.

Zhi Qi was pleasantly surprised by this favor. Taking a moment to ask other colleagues who were also invited to the banquet, they all mentioned that they went to the marketing department to queue up for their invitations. These were all significant figures in the entertainment industry. Yet, here they were, helping to retrieve invitations for their own artists, creating a scene as if they were queuing for discount coupons at a roasted duck shop. Some people might not even get their hands on an invitation despite the wait.

Those who successfully got their invitations strutted proudly, while those who didn’t hung their heads in disappointment.

The terrifying ecology of the entertainment industry played out to its fullest extent in the corridors of the Lu Corporation’s marketing department entrance.

In this contrast, Zhi Qi’s mood began to feel subtly complex.

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Zhou Chenxi had been personally invited by Mr. Lu, and he didn’t even know what an invitation looked like. Considering the proactive attitude of the Lu Corporation in delivering the invitation to Zhi Qi, he couldn’t believe that Zhou Chenxi would have been invited without needing an invitation. At first, he had thought Zhou Chenxi was just boasting.

Nevertheless, it was never wrong to be cautious. This was Zhi Qi’s guiding principle and experience in handling matters in the industry. As Zhou Chenxi’s manager, he naturally had to give him timely reminders to prevent any potential missteps.

As they arrived at the entrance of the Lu mansion, Zhi Qi found a parking spot in the spacious parking lot and remarked while reversing, “Whoa, this parking lot is massive. It could fit dozens of cars.”

Zhou Chenxi’s enthusiasm was lacking, and he reminisced about the rooftop helipad they used to have at his home. Unfortunately, after his dad obtained his helicopter license, his mom considered it too dangerous, so the helipad was abandoned.

Later, Zhou Chenxi vaguely recalled that the helicopter was no longer there, and his mom had the area dug up to plant flowers. Later, she decided to build a greenhouse for growing vegetables because she believed homegrown vegetables were healthier. However, Zhou Chenxi’s only sensible family member, his brother Zhou Mingxuan, put a stop to that idea.

Zhou’s mom struggled to take care of even her troublesome younger son, let alone tending to a vegetable garden.

Now, that area was managed by the estate steward. Because it was quite far from the main house of Zhou’s residence, and Zhou Chenxi was a certified couch potato, he hadn’t set foot there in years. He wasn’t sure whether the place was overgrown with weeds now.

However, Zhou Chenxi was quite interested in the places where Lu Ji had lived.

He had heard that Lu Ji had grown up in the Lu mansion and only moved out on his own after becoming an adult. Nevertheless, since Madam Lu was still in the mansion, Lu Ji would occasionally return, like today for the birthday banquet.

The two crossed the garden and arrived at the front of the Lu mansion. Someone came forward and asked them to show their invitations.

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Just as Zhi Qi was about to retrieve the invitation from his pocket, Lu Ji’s secretary appeared from inside and said, “Mr. Zhou was personally invited by Mr. Lu. Let them in.”

The security guard at the entrance allowed them to enter as instructed.

Zhi Qi, in the midst of retrieving the invitation, felt awkward and stuffed it back into his pocket.

After entering, Zhou Chenxi noticed that the Lu mansion was different from their home.

The area was roughly the same size as their home, but it lacked a certain warmth. Many corners were empty and devoid of decorations. It wasn’t like Zhou Chenxi’s home, where even now, the living room walls still bore the somewhat awkward family portrait he had drawn as a child.

Lu Ji wasn’t around, so Zhou Chenxi and Zhi Qi waited in a corner. Lu Ji’s secretary approached and said, “Mr. Zhou, Mr. Lu is still at the company. Please come up and wait.”

Zhou Chenxi stood up.

Zhi Qi was anxious and wanted to go upstairs with Zhou Chenxi, but the secretary raised her hand to stop him. “Mr. Zhi, there’s a self-service refreshment area in the backyard. You can rest there for now.”

It was clear that they didn’t want him to go upstairs with them. Zhi Qi’s expression wasn’t quite right, and Zhou Chenxi quickly reassured him with a pat on his shoulder, “Stay here, I’ll come down once Lu Ji returns!”

Zhi Qi glanced at the secretary, then back at Zhou Chenxi. Something felt off.

Was this how a high-ranking entertainment industry figure treated a small star like Zhou Chenxi?

Zhou Chenxi gave him a look that said “Don’t worry,” and then he followed the secretary upstairs.

Zhi Qi stood there for a moment, spotted the manager of the popular actress Xie Xueyu not far away, and quickly dismissed his doubts, busy going over to greet them.

Zhou Chenxi sat on the balcony upstairs for a while and refrained from wandering around. Soon, Lu Ji came up from downstairs.

It seemed he had just finished work, as he loosened his tie while approaching. “You’ve been waiting for a while, haven’t you?”

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“Not really?” Zhou Chenxi hurriedly stood up. “The sunlight is so good today, it’s like a painting.”

Zhou Chenxi pointed towards the setting sun. “I couldn’t help but admire it a bit.”

Lu Ji glanced outside and smiled.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lu Ji suddenly remembered Zhou Chenxi’s drawing on a show, “Speaking of drawings, didn’t you secretly draw me once? When can you show me the drawing?”

Given that the show had publicly aired the drawings, there was no point hiding it from Lu Ji. Zhou Chenxi quickly said, “I brought you a gift, and one for your mom too. They’re both in Zhi Qi’s car. Let me go get them!”

“Let my secretary get them for you,” Lu Ji replied.

The secretary went downstairs quickly after Lu Ji’s order, and she asked Zhi Qi for the car keys. She retrieved several bags of gifts from the car’s trunk.

Two bags were from Zhi Qi, containing women’s perfume and skincare products. The other two were from Zhou Chenxi. They looked similar from the outside, and it was hard to tell what was inside.

“This is for your mom,” Zhou Chenxi pulled out one of the bags and took out the box from inside, gesturing towards the brand logo on it. “A handbag.”

“Although I know you don’t like me spending money,” Zhou Chenxi carefully put the box back in the bag, “I really didn’t know what to get for your mom. Mainly because my own mom is quite picky… And I’m not talking about Auntie here. Whenever I buy gifts for my mom, I struggle a lot. She always dislikes what I buy, saying she doesn’t like this or that. She even called the lipstick I picked for her ‘death color.’ So, I gave up and started buying her bags and perfumes. These are the safest choices. The perfume is already from Zhi Qi!”

Though Zhou Chenxi had also helped Zhi Qi pick the perfume and chipped in some money. “So, I bought a bag,” Zhou Chenxi continued, “My mom likes this model the most. People of the same generation tend to have similar tastes.”

Lu Ji casually glanced at the brand, a luxury one.

Had he opened the box, he would have noticed that thebag Zhou Chenxi gave was a limited edition for this autumn.But never mind, there was no need to remind him to save money today. It was all about the thought.

Lu Ji thought for a moment and then asked, “What about mine?”

Zhou Chenxi became even more careful, taking out the other bag and pulling out a picture frame from inside.

“This one is for you,” Zhou Chenxi said shyly, “You can’t dislike it if I’m not good at drawing, or else I’ll be heartbroken!”

Lu Ji was immediately drawn to the frame in Zhou Chenxi’s hands.

It was a colored painting, framed in a glass border that appeared simple and understated. However, when bathed in sunlight, it radiated a dazzling brilliance, just like the person in the painting. In the painting, Lu Ji was casually seated, showing half of his profile, with one hand gently propping up his chin and a slight, gentle look in his eyes.

Lu Ji had never seen himself like this in a painting before.

The most common images of himself he saw were in the mirror during his morning routine. He would hurriedly get up, wash up, all just to start another busy and oppressive day.

Sometimes Lu Ji would look at himself in the mirror and wonder, who was he really? He had lived far longer than the average person, and the meaning of life, which was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, no longer existed for him.

Next were the images of himself in magazines.

Some magazines would often invite him for interviews, and they’d ask him to pose for photos.

Being the head of Lu Corporation, these were just part of his daily life.

Occasionally, photographers who took pictures of him would praise him for being handsome, but Lu Ji didn’t pay much attention. He was more concerned about the image of himself he saw in the mirror every day.

He was pushed relentlessly by time, as if he always knew what was going to happen in the future and yet couldn’t avoid similar events from happening again.

He had experienced despair time and time again.

For a while, Lu Ji couldn’t even look at himself in the mirror.

Until he saw this painting.

The painting was far from perfect; Zhou Chenxi hadn’t practiced seriously in a long time, and his skills had rusted. Fortunately, Lu Ji wasn’t well-versed in art, so he couldn’t notice the finer details.

He only noticed that, for the first time, someone else had taken a completely different perspective to view him. The person in the painting shone brilliantly—it was only then that he realized how Zhou Chenxi saw him.

“Do you like it?” Zhou Chenxi asked nervously, hiding his two clenched hands behind his back. “This is the painting I did on the show! Actually, there are two more, but they’re just drafts. The first one wasn’t that great because I haven’t been practicing for so long, and the second one was better. But I went ahead and drew this one and added color. The composition is similar, and with some more time, I could make it even better.”

Zhou Chenxi felt a little regretful, sighing, “I wanted to give you a gift, and I thought of surprising you during this time. This is all I could come up with…”

“It’s very nice,” Lu Ji said seriously. “I really like it.”

He said it with great sincerity.

“Really?” Zhou Chenxi’s eyes lit up, and he continued, “Oh, there’s another gift I want to give you. I chose it separately because I thought it might be too shabby to just give you a painting, but I was also afraid you’d think I’m wasting money. It’s not expensive, just a gesture. I’ll give it to you now; I hope you won’t dislike it.”

Zhou Chenxi took out a small box and handed it to Lu Ji.

Lu Ji opened it right in front of him, and inside were a pair of cufflinks.

The brand wasn’t very high-end, certainly not on par with the bag Zhou Chenxi gave him. But the cufflinks were delicate, a testament to careful selection.

“Do you want to try them on?” Zhou Chenxi reached forward, “The salesgirl said they’re perfect for businesspeople. I think they suit you.”

Lu Ji casually took off one of his expensive cufflinks and placed it aside.

Zhou Chenxi helped him put on the new ones.

He often gave these sorts of gifts to his older brother, so he was quite experienced in putting them on. After they were on, Zhou Chenxi took a step back to look.

Indeed, there was a difference in quality compared to his older brother’s cufflinks, which had a significant price difference. Zhou Chenxi became more critical the longer he looked, “Let’s put the old ones back on.”

But Lu Ji adjusted his sleeves and said, “No need, they look good. Really.”

He glanced at his watch; it was about time to head downstairs.

“Shall we go downstairs?” Lu Ji asked.

“Sure.” Zhou Chenxi adjusted his own clothes and followed Lu Ji downstairs.

Lu Ji glanced at the suit Zhou Chenxi was wearing and had a sudden idea. Mischievously, he extended his arm.

“What’s this?” Zhou Chenxi asked.

“Let’s go down together; you’re an honored guest,” Lu Ji said.

Although Zhou Chenxi didn’t understand how linking arms had anything to do with being an honored guest, he reached out and hooked his arm with Lu Ji’s.

Lu Ji seemed to place a lot of importance on him, and Zhou Chenxi found it delightful.

Consider it a formal courtesy, Zhou Chenxi thought, after all, when he attended family banquets, he often linked arms with his older brother.

Good friends could also have their own way of showing camaraderie.

“You look very handsome today,” Lu Ji said softly. Even more handsome than the remaining rays of the setting sun.

Zhou Chenxi, flattered by the compliment, suddenly became humble. “Just average, nothing special. Third place in the world!”

Lu Ji’s expression: “…”

—–

Author’s Note: Mr. Lu: Impenetrable.

Thank you to “梦生是萝莉!” “虞疆” “神秘路人” “钱钱” “撒叽横宁” “百晓生” ”

帽子” “默默” for the nutrient support!

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 ” 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 ”