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

Chapter 43

Lu Ji found it amusing and replied, “So, are you agreeing with what I said?”

Zhou Chenxi then sent an emoji of a cat sitting in a box with three words written on it: “Seeking adoption.”

Lu Ji quickly responded with, “Okay.”

Zhou Chenxi wanted to continue the conversation, but Zhi Qi’s call interrupted him. “Luo Jitian’s team contacted me. They said they can start the promotion for ‘The Tale of the Cat Demon’ before filming. I’ve arranged for someone to write the copy for you. Just post it on your Weibo!”

Zhou Chenxi replied, “Oh, okay.”

Zhi Qi gave a lot of instructions on the phone, and after finally hanging up, Zhou Chenxi sent another emoji to Lu Ji. However, there was no response from Lu Ji.

Maybe he got too busy and didn’t have time to reply.

Zhou Chenxi, feeling bored, thought, “Ah, it would be great if I could chat with Lu Ji all the time.”

After preparing at home for a few days, Luo Jitian’s new movie, “The Tale of the Cat Demon,” was about to start filming. Zhou Chenxi packed his things and took a flight to the film and television city. As soon as he got off the plane, someone came up to greet him.

“Are you Zhou Chenxi?” the person asked.

Zhou Chenxi turned to look, and it was a young man dressed plainly with a tan complexion and a slight accent.

Zhou Chenxi knew that in this city, most of the migrant workers were extras in film and television because it was called Z City. So, these extras were often referred to as “Z drifters.” Z City’s film and television city was nationally renowned, and the tourism industry was well-developed, so all the local industries were related to tourism in some way.

Typically, when you saw young people with an accent and dressed plainly in Z City, most of them were either extras or crew members working behind the scenes.

Zhou Chenxi said, “Yes, that’s me.”

He took off his hat as he said so.

He wasn’t wearing a mask today, just a simple printed T-shirt, with a duckbill cap on his head.

He asked the young man, “Are you an extra?”

The young man excitedly said, “It’s really you! I’m an extra, and I love watching ‘Carp.’ I’m your fan!”

Zhou Chenxi widened his eyes.

He was already quite tall, at least half a head taller than the dark-skinned young man, who looked up at him and said, “You’re so tall, and you’re handsome!”

Zhou Chenxi awkwardly waved his hand and said, “Not really!”

The young man, who might have been waiting to pick someone up, didn’t have much to do, so he stood there and chatted with Zhou Chenxi for a few minutes. “Don’t be modest. I really think you’re handsome, and you performed so well in the latest episode of ‘Carp.’ You ran so fast, like a rabbit, haha!”

He gave Zhou Chenxi a thumbs-up and continued, “I didn’t expect you to be this athletic when I saw you following the old man around earlier. You’re really quick, like a rabbit!”

Zhou Chenxi laughed and covered his face with his hand. He didn’t want to admit that he was really athletic, as his brother would surely make him exercise more if he found out, potentially wasting his talents.

“Keep it up!” the dark-skinned young man encouraged, “You’re definitely going to be a star. I’m rooting for you!”

“Thank you!” Zhou Chenxi nodded, thanking him. He put his hat back on and pushed his luggage as he walked away.

But as soon as he reached the airport exit, Zhou Chenxi was surrounded by a group of girls.

These girls didn’t look like extras. Each of them had a bag, and some were even holding professional cameras. They seemed more like star-chasing fans.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Zhou Chenxi heard one girl excitedly say from a distance, “Why does this guy look so familiar?”

“With this height and outfit, he must be a celebrity!”

“I just saw him take off his hat. It’s Zhou Chenxi!”

“What?! Zhou Chenxi?!”

Instantly, more people rushed over.

Zhou Chenxi was surprised, watching as he was surrounded by people, and there were even boys with cameras in the crowd.

“Ah, Zhou Chenxi, I love you!” one boy shouted loudly, “When is ‘Journey of the Immortals’ going to be released?!”

Others laughed, and a girl said, “Zhou Kitty, I love you too! Muah muah! Keep up the good work!”

Zhou Chenxi said, “Thank you.”

As soon as he spoke, everyone got even more excited. They came up one by one, asking Zhou Chenxi for autographs. Zhou Chenxi was pushed and squeezed, struggling to sign a few before thinking about how to get out of the crowd. Suddenly, Zhou Chenxi’s assistant came running from outside the airport.

“Brother!” He pushed through the crowd, grabbing Zhou Chenxi and pulling him out. “Excuse us!”

The two of them managed to break free from the crowd and got into a car. The assistant, Xiao Liang, finally breathed a sigh of relief. “I told you to call me when you arrived. Why did you come out without a word?”

Zhou Chenxi said, “I thought it was just a short distance. I didn’t expect so many people at the door!”

Xiao Liang chuckled and said, “You didn’t know? Z City Airport has a lot of star-chasers. With so many celebrities coming and going, they all camp there. I heard some of them are extras, stationed there every day, pretending to be fans and making more money than the extras in the film and television city.”

Zhou Chenxi was surprised.

“You don’t believe it?” Xiao Liang glanced at Zhou Chenxi. “I have the contact information for several extras here. They send messages to various entertainment companies.”

Even a small entertainment company like Tianwang had people promoting them?

Zhou Chenxi looked at him suspiciously. “You’re not the one who hired these people for me, are you?”

“You’re thinking too much,” Xiao Liang laughed. “Zhi Qi said it before, hiring those extras wouldn’t be cost-effective for you. You haven’t even had a proper drama aired yet, and you might end up losing money.”

“Is it really that bad?” Zhou Chenxi thought silently. After all, he was the male lead now!

Xiao Liang added, “I’ll take you to the hotel first. The crew will start shooting in the afternoon, and I’ll bring the rest area vehicle to you later so you have a place to rest on set.”

“Is it a small car?” Zhou Chenxi asked. “Don’t make it bigger than Director Ren and Sister Xie’s car; that wouldn’t look good.”

“Don’t worry,” Xiao Liang said, “I know what to do.”

Zhou Chenxi was satisfied.

Xiao Liang was an assistant specially hired by Zhi Qi for Zhou Chenxi. He was efficient and diligent, a good young man.

As the car drove on the roads of Z City, Zhou Chenxi looked out the window with mixed feelings. In his previous life, he had been an extra here, and now he had returned.

After checking in at the hotel and attending the opening ceremony, Zhou Chenxi stayed with the crew, starting a routine where he reported to the set every day as soon as he woke up.

The makeup and styling for the character had already been tried before the shoot began, but Director Luo had a habit of adjusting the appearance based on inspiration during filming. Therefore, the character’s makeup and appearance were not revealed to the public until after filming started.

This time, Zhou Chenxi had three sets of costumes. One was the appearance of the cat demon before it ascended and still resembled a small cat demon in human form. It consisted mainly of black clothing, with long hair tied up with a hairband. A small jade fish pendant hung from his waist, and he held a folding fan.

The second set was the cat demon after its ascension, wearing a white robe with golden trim on the edges, resembling a dashing young man from Chang’an.

The final set was the appearance of the cat demon after turning dark when the Emperor issued the order to kill all cats. It changed back to black clothing, but it was no longer the innocent little cat. The makeup artist used an upward eyeliner to show Zhou Chenxi’s transformation into a darker character.

His eyes were naturally large, with a slight downward tilt, giving him a smiling appearance. With the eyeliner, they now had a seductive quality.

The early scenes were focused on the cat demon before its ascension, so Zhou Chenxi wore the black outfit.

However, Director Luo had high standards for costumes and makeup. He had spent money painstakingly, and Zhou Chenxi had several outfits for the character. He had to change costumes almost every few shots, making Zhou Chenxi feel like he had a fresh look every day.

Today’s costume had subtle golden patterns on it. The costume designer cleverly embroidered small fish and fish bones onto the fabric to match the cat demon’s nature.

After changing into his costume, Zhou Chenxi came out of the makeup tent and hurried to the filming location. There were many tourists around, as well as dedicated star-chasing girls.

One girl said, “Zhou Chenxi, is this your new look? It looks great, hahaha!”

Zhou Chenxi turned and smiled shyly at her.

When he smiled, a pair of dimples appeared, completely different from his playful and mischievous character. He looked like an innocent youth, and the girls couldn’t help but scream.

“Go, Zhou Chenxi, keep it up!” Some of them shouted. “Looking forward to your new movie!”

For a while, the road on both sides was crowded. The crew had set up barriers and tents to keep the crowd under control and ensure that the actors were not disturbed.

Some tourists who had come with travel groups stopped to watch, asking the girls, “Who is this?”

“Zhou Chenxi!” one of the girls explained. “He’s the male lead in Director Luo Jitian’s new movie.”

Some people might not know Zhou Chenxi, but they all recognized Director Luo, who was a top-level director. They instinctively took out their phones and snapped several photos of Zhou Chenxi.

As Zhou Chenxi arrived at the shooting location, the noisy crowd was left behind, separated by barriers and tents. The set was not open to the public, and security measures were strict to maintain confidentiality.

Inside the set area, Zhou Chenxi saw Ren Qian sitting on a resting chair, waiting for her turn to shoot. She spotted Zhou Chenxi and patted the seat next to her. “Come, sit.”

Zhou Chenxi sat down and picked up a bottle of mineral water nearby, taking a sip.

While playing with her phone, Ren Qian asked, “What was all that commotion outside just now? What happened?”

“There were a lot of girls,” Zhou Chenxi said, scratching his cheek with his index finger, “I’ve never seen so many enthusiastic girls. It was a bit overwhelming, hahaha…”

Ren Qian turned to her assistant and asked, “Are there any other crews currently filming here besides us?”

Assistant understood Ren Qian’s meaning: “It should be the crew from Yao Bei. But Yao Bei wrapped up yesterday. When I came in just now, I heard a few girls saying since they’re already here, they might as well come and catch a glimpse of Zhou Chenxi on the ‘Cat Demon’ set. After all, Zhou Chenxi is their little sweetheart.”

Ren Qian looked at Zhou Chenxi with a sour expression.

Zhou Chenxi: “Ahahaha!”

Yao Bei was a new rising star from a talent show, and he was incredibly popular. Zhou Chenxi was benefiting from his fame.

Ren Qian sighed, “Forget it, it seems the old guys like me are truly unwanted. The mortal world isn’t worth it!”

Zhou Chenxi hurriedly said, “You can’t say that. You’re a veteran actor, and you have a strong following. It’s different from us.”

Ren Qian accepted this perspective and was called away by the director shortly after.

Seeing that there was still time, Zhou Chenxi sneakily checked Weibo and found that someone had uploaded candid photos of him taken earlier. He quietly gave it a like. Hearing the producer next to him say, “What? The Lu family wants to invest too? Sure thing, welcome any new sugar daddies to join midway. What? You say Mr. Lu wants to visit the set? Roll out the red carpet!”

“??”

Zhou Chenxi turned to look at the producer, who was holding a phone and saying, “No trouble at all, how could anything involving a sugar daddy be considered trouble?”

Zhou Chenxi: “…”

After some discussion, the producer finalized the timing for Lu Ji’s set visit and hung up the phone, only to notice Zhou Chenxi staring at him.

The producer laughed, “Another sugar daddy, what can we do? Director Luo’s charm is just too strong.”

Zhou Chenxi nodded in agreement.

In the evening, Lu Ji arrived. The set producer sent someone to pick him up. Zhou Chenxi’s scenes for the day had just ended, so he changed out of his costume and sat in the set area for a while.

“Zhou Chenxi?” Xie Xueyu came over and asked him, “Your scenes for today are done. Wouldn’t it be better to go back and rest early? If I remember correctly, you have an early call time for your scenes tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Sister Xie,” Zhou Chenxi said, “I’ll wait a bit longer.”

Xie Xueyu glanced at the script in Zhou Chenxi’s hands and admired, “The young ones nowadays are really diligent.”

Before long, she was called away by someone.

Zhou Chenxi looked at the script in his hands, realized it was upside down, quickly corrected it, and then checked his surroundings. When no one was paying attention, he adjusted the script back to its original orientation.

From the airport to the film and television city, Zhou Chenxi had waited for half an hour. Finally, Lu Ji arrived. The set producer led him inside and said politely, “Director Luo is still busy. He’ll come over to greet you after he’s done.”

Lu Ji also politely replied, “No need to disturb him. Filming is more important. I just came to take a look. I’ll leave in a bit.”

Zhou Chenxi hurriedly put down the script and stood up.

Lu Ji spotted Zhou Chenxi in the corner, curved his eyes and said, “Why did you come?”

Zhou Chenxi, a bit nervous, clasped his hands behind his back and his voice slightly rose at the end, carrying some excitement and happiness he wasn’t even aware of, “You didn’t even give me a heads-up before coming? You’re here for an inspection of the investment in your crew, doing official business, right?”

Lu Ji responded seriously, “I can’t just let things slide. I have to see if the small actors in my investment are slacking off or not. But it’s not necessary to inform you, right?”

“Oh,” Zhou Chenxi responded just as seriously, “So how’s the inspection going?”

“I saw a lazy little kitten, or rather, it’s one that ran out from my home. I wonder if this little kitten is willing to come back with me now and accept my feeding?”

“Where to?” Zhou Chenxi’s eyes gleamed.

“For supper?” Lu Ji suggested.

“Sounds great!” Zhou Chenxi cheered, following Lu Ji eagerly. He almost forgot to pick up the script he had left on the chair.

Author’s Note: Chenxi: The empress has misguided the country; my kingdom is doomed!

Thanks to “47416566” for the grenade!

Thanks to “Da Da Da Da Da Da” “Qu Mingfei” “Minghe” for the landmines!

Thanks to “Mysterious Passerby” “Nito1128” “Sha You” “Fairy Lin Qiao” “Shu Xiu” “” “By the Pond” “Simple Sui Ying Object” “Sha You” “Visit the Kitchen” for the nutrients!

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 ”