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

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In the photo, Zhou Chenxi was lying on the edge of the bed, wearing cotton pajamas. Due to the angle of the camera, a little round shoulder was slightly exposed as he smiled slightly towards the camera.

It had been some time since he returned from the desert, and Zhou Chenxi’s skin had become noticeably fairer again. He was back to his original fair complexion.

His bedroom faced south, with excellent lighting. The warm color scheme of the entire room’s decor, combined with the bright light, made him look incredibly soft despite not revealing much of the background. Many areas were already blurred, but it didn’t stop him from looking very attractive.

The comments below were unsurprisingly filled with admiration.

“Wow! Chenxi looks so good! ”
“I’ve never seen Chenxi post this type of photo before. Oh my, he calls it a treat, but this is too good for us fans! ”
“Ah, Chenxi, you can’t do this! Mom won’t allow you to be this tempting. Hurry up and put your clothes back on! (｀_) (Original image saved with a right-click)”
“Hurry up and put your clothes back on! (｀_) (Original image saved with a right-click)”
“Hurry up and put your clothes back on! (｀_)+1”

The fans’ reactions quickly led to a long queue of comments.

Before long, the @Zhou Chenxi Global Fan Club also joined in, and their comment quickly rose to the top: “Put your clothes back on.”

Zhou Chenxi wondered what was going on with all the commotion. He looked again and noticed another reposted comment: “@Lu Ji: Put your clothes back on. //@Zhou Chenxi: Sharing a treat! [Image]”

That was an automatic reposted comment. Zhou Chenxi clicked on Lu Ji’s profile picture and found that he had actually shared the post.

Blushing, Zhou Chenxi wondered if it was really that revealing.

After clicking the “Follow” button and mutual following with Lu Ji, Zhou Chenxi received a message from him: “Is this a recent photo?”

Zhou Chenxi had to reply: “Yes!”

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After sending this message, Lu Ji didn’t respond for a while, making Zhou Chenxi anxious. So he sent another message: “Is it really revealing? QAQ I thought it was okay. I spent a long time finding the right angle…”

There was no response at all.

Zhou Chenxi retrieved the photo and looked at it again.

Apart from showing a bit of his shoulder, everything else seemed fine.

Yuan Yike had told him to pull the neckline down a bit more, to make it look like he was unintentionally revealing, just a hint. She even said that models could take photos without wearing any clothes on their upper body, so he shouldn’t worry about wearing a thick shirt.

It was all a lie; he had been tricked by Yuan Yike!

“A little bit,” Lu Ji finally replied. Then he sent another message: “Delete it or take a new one with all the buttons done up. Consider it as sharing a treat with the fans twice; they should be even happier.”

Zhou Chenxi thought Lu Ji made sense. After hesitating for a while, he decided to delete that photo.

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Lu Ji asked him again, “You only took this one?”

Zhou Chenxi replied, “Yeah.”

Lu Ji didn’t respond this time, probably too busy.

Zhou Chenxi had no choice but to sit up and take a frontal picture at his desk, with all the buttons fastened up this time.

After taking the photo, Zhou Chenxi didn’t do much post-processing. He thought it looked good as it was, so he decided to post it without any further editing.

This time, the fans’ reactions were much calmer than before. Many regretted not saving the previous photo, and some commented:

“This is how it should be. Youngsters should dress properly, not imitate those delinquent youths. This is much better.”

This comment received numerous likes.

Yuan Yike was sadly labeled as a delinquent youth.

Zhou Chenxi sighed. Although he still didn’t know what was so revealing about that previous photo, he decided to keep it hidden away in his phone.

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During this time, “The Tale of the Cat Demon” had finished post-production and was reportedly under review. It was expected to be released around the time of the Chinese New Year.

To prepare for the shooting of “The Peak Battle,” Zhou Chenxi had to go through a significant physical transformation. The character’s age spanned from youth to young adulthood, and there would be a noticeable change in physique. Zhou Chenxi needed to rapidly lose weight in the early stages, the thinner, the better. Ideally, he should look like a youth from a poverty-stricken area.

While television shows often used beauty filters, the big screen was like a microscope. There was a huge difference between the two. Small screens aimed for visual aesthetics, but the high-resolution images on the big screen could reveal every pore on an actor’s face, not to mention something as unalterable as physique.

Zhou Chenxi had never been overly concerned about his body before. People with standard body sizes often appeared overweight on screen, and his relatively thin physique had always worked well. But this time, he really needed to lose weight.

The director, Cabot, had even arranged a consultant for him and demanded that he lose an additional ten pounds before the movie started filming.

For someone as naturally thin as Zhou Chenxi, this was a challenging task. He couldn’t exercise to lose weight; he needed to create the appearance of being thin to the bone, and the only way was through dieting. A nutritionist provided him with a menu that consisted of minimal food, mostly vegetables and boiled eggs, with no oily or salty items allowed.

Not having to exercise to lose weight suited Zhou Chenxi’s preferences, but not being able to indulge in delicious food was very difficult for him.

At first, his older brother was furious when he found out that Zhou Chenxi was trying to lose weight despite being so thin. However, seeing how determined Zhou Chenxi was, he eventually relented.

Zhou Chenxi was incredibly determined, and if his brother was angry, he would be even angrier, especially when it came to his career.

Initially, Zhou Mingxuan felt sorry for him and asked Aunt Zhang if she could find a way for Zhou Chenxi to both lose weight and eat more. Aunt Zhang had a knack for fattening people up but had no idea how to help with weight loss. So, in the middle of the night, she secretly made sweets for Zhou Chenxi and brought them to him. However, Zhou Chenxi was too busy studying the script and couldn’t eat them, so they ended up in Zhou Mingxuan’s hands.

As a result, after a few days, Zhou Chenxi made some progress and lost a pound, while Zhou Mingxuan gained two pounds due to consuming too many sweets.

The days of working hard for his career were quite fulfilling for Zhou Chenxi. Although he had lost weight, his complexion remained good, and just before filming started, he had achieved nearly ten pounds of weight loss.

There was just a little more to go, and a few more days of eating sparingly would do the trick.

This time, the filming location was in the city of Hong Kong, and they would be relocating to Kasen City in Country A in about a month. They had to visit several places, and it was going to be a hectic schedule. Zhou Chenxi might not see Lu Ji for several months.

Zhou Chenxi felt reluctant to leave, so he arranged to meet Lu Ji before departure.

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Recently, Lu Ji had been busy with various tasks, and even his response time to messages had slowed down considerably.

Based on occasional chats with Lu Ji, it seemed like he was constantly occupied with work-related matters. While Lu Ji had always been busy before, similar to Zhou’s older brother, and frequently had conference calls, Zhou Chenxi had never seen his brother as busy as Lu Ji appeared to be now.

They agreed to meet at a coffee shop they had been to before.

As usual, Lu Ji ordered a strawberry cake.

Zhou Chenxi couldn’t eat, so he watched him eat with longing eyes.

Lu Ji looked very elegant as he sipped his coffee, delicately picking up a piece of cake with a small fork and savored it, as if tasting some gourmet delicacy.

Zhou Chenxi swallowed his saliva.

Lu Ji looked at him and smiled, “How many days in Hong Kong?”

“At least a month. Hong Kong has the most scenes to shoot. After that, we’ll go to the capital and then to Kasen City.”

Lu Ji calculated the time, “About the same. I’ll come see you when I’m done with my work.”

Zhou Chenxi nervously asked, “Won’t I be bothering you?”

“Why would you? When I come to visit your set, I’m the one interrupting you. I’m not the main sponsor this time. I hope the big star Zhou can spare some time to meet with me.”

“What are you talking about…” Zhou Chenxi said uncomfortably, “If you come, I’ll definitely meet you. I’ll adjust my schedule even if I have to.”

Lu Ji softly said, “Aren’t you afraid the crew will say you’re not dedicated?”

“That’s just a minor matter!”

In ancient times, there was King Zhou You who played with fire and disrespected the nobles, and now there was Zhou Chenxi, full of lofty aspirations, willing to sacrifice his career for Lu Ji.

Lu Ji smiled and said, “Alright, your words are enough.”

Zhou Chenxi raised his coffee cup and happily took a sip of water.

In his coffee cup was clear water; recently, he didn’t even dare to drink coffee.

Zhou Chenxi asked, “Once this movie is done, it’ll be around Chinese New Year. Will you come with me to see ‘The Tale of the Cat Demon’?”

“Of course,” Lu Ji replied.

Zhou Chenxi smiled slightly, revealing two dimples.

Lu Ji got a new fork, scooped up a bit of cream from the cake, and brought it to Zhou Chenxi’s lips.

Zhou Chenxi was momentarily taken aback, looking at him.

Lu Ji said, “Try it, just taste it; it won’t affect you.”

Zhou Chenxi’s eyelashes fluttered, he lowered his head, and with lowered eyes, he tasted a bit of the cream from the fork.

The clear fragrance of strawberries and the slight sweetness of the cream instantly burst in his mouth.

“So sweet!” Zhou Chenxi’s round eyes curved as he smiled.

“Yeah,” Lu Ji used the same fork to scoop another piece of cake and fed it to Zhou Chenxi, saying, “It’s quite sweet.”

Watching his actions, Zhou Chenxi froze for a moment. His face turned red, and he wasn’t sure why he was feeling so nervous. His heart was pounding as if it wanted to leap out of his mouth.

Perhaps Lu Ji thought it was too troublesome to switch back to the original fork, so he continued to use the same fork that Zhou Chenxi had tasted from.

Zhou Chenxi thought to himself, it must be for that reason.

After bidding farewell to Lu Ji, Zhou Chenxi packed up the next day and flew to Hong Kong, starting the filming of “The Peak Battle.”

Director Cabot also had high demands for the camera, and when he said ten pounds, he meant ten pounds. Before the official shooting began, Zhou Chenxi stepped on the scale and had successfully lost eleven pounds. Director Cabot was very satisfied and commenced the official filming.

The movie would begin with scenes in Kasen City, but because the first shooting location was in Hong Kong, the shooting sequence and plot development would be slightly different. Zhou Chenxi’s scenes were placed ahead.

The first scene depicted Zhou Chenxi emerging from a dark alley and being discovered by Li Yunzhou.

Li Yunzhou’s character was portrayed by a seasoned actor who had won awards for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Flowers Awards. He had a strong and rugged physique, exuding a military-like aura. From Zhou Chenxi’s perspective, he was a much better fit for the role than Luoxinghe.

It was a rainy day, and Zhou Chenxi looked extremely emaciated as he struggled with a group of street toughs over a steamed bun in a dark alley.

Zhou Chenxi was pinned down and beaten by the group of toughs, but he remained fixated on the steamed bun soaked in rainwater on the ground, his eyes resembling those of a famished wolf.

“Hit him! Hit him!” The three or four toughs shouted, “This damn beggar keeps stealing our food. Today, we’ll break his legs and see if he dares to do it again.”

Zhou Chenxi’s fists rained down on him, completely oblivious to the pain. His tattered clothes clung tightly to him as the men pulled and tugged at him. Just as it seemed his hand would reach the steamed bun, someone suddenly stepped on it.

“Do you want to eat?” one of the small-time thugs, with messy yellow hair and looking roughly the same age as Zhou Chenxi, laughed and said, “Call me ‘dad,’ and I’ll give it to you.”

“Hahaha!” Everyone around burst into laughter.

Suddenly, Zhou Chenxi erupted, breaking free from the group’s hold, and quickly knocked down the thugs on the ground. He clenched his teeth tightly, and each punch seemed like a life-or-death struggle.

Only when those guys were writhing in pain on the ground did Zhou Chenxi finally turn around and pick up the flattened dirty steamed bun from the ground, shoving it into his mouth with determination.

Then came Li Yunzhou’s entrance.

“Cut!” Director Cabot said, “That’s good. Get ready for the next shot.”

The artificial rain on the set stopped, and an assistant came over, placing a large towel over Zhou Chenxi’s head.

Zhou Chenxi spat out the dirty steamed bun from his mouth and heard one of Li Yunzhou’s fellow actors say to him, “You did great; there’s emotion in your eyes, and you have a promising future.”

Zhou Chenxi smiled shyly, completely devoid of his previous fierceness. The little dimples at the corners of his mouth made him look exceptionally innocent.

Next was his scene with Li Yunzhou. These few shots took the whole day, and by the time they wrapped up, it was almost dawn. Zhou Chenxi changed into clean clothes in the car, preparing to rest at the hotel for a while. Little Liang hurriedly approached him, holding his phone and whispered, “Bro, your phone has been ringing constantly. It’s marked as a call from your brother. There might be something urgent. Should I answer it for you?”

Zhou Chenxi took the phone and checked. The last call was fifteen minutes ago, and it was already past three in the morning. What could be so important for his brother to call at this hour?

Puzzled, Zhou Chenxi dialed back, and his brother answered quickly. It seemed his brother had been up all night.

“Chenxi,” his brother’s voice sounded very awake as he said, “I didn’t want to disturb you initially, but there are some news online, and I was worried you might start overthinking. I thought it would be better if I told you personally. Don’t panic; it’s not a serious matter, and even if there’s an issue, your brother will do everything possible to help…”

Zhou Chenxi felt a foreboding sense of unease. “What happened? Is it something with our family?”

His brother’s tone grew heavier, “It’s not about our family; it’s about Lu Ji. The Lu family is facing some problems.”

The phone slipped from Zhou Chenxi’s hand and fell to the ground.

The author has something to say: Thank you for the nourishment from “阿玖” “小小如夢令啊” “墨小墨” “天小饅” “鯨落”!

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 ️”