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

Chapter 61

Here’s the translation of the text into English:

“#Zhou Mingxuan, my brother isn’t poor#, #Zhou Mingxuan is Zhou Chenxi’s brother#, #Who is Zhou Mingxuan?#…”

Three consecutive keywords were trending. Xiao Liang muttered to Zhou Chenxi, “I can’t believe it! Zhou Chenxi is actually Zhou Mingxuan’s brother!”

“Who is Zhou Mingxuan, anyway?”

Xiao Liang changed his tone and said, “You don’t even know who Zhou Mingxuan is! You’re so behind, aren’t you? Have you heard of Zhou Xin? Zhou Xin Real Estate, Zhou Xin Watches, Zhou Xin Cars – it’s all their family. If you still don’t know, let me tell you another one. Do you know the Xixi Strawberry Jelly that Zhou Chenxi endorses?”

Xiao Liang took a deep breath as if he was trying to emphasize his point, and it’s unclear whether it was due to the comments or if he just wanted to be more dramatic. “Oh my! Oh my! Could Xixi Strawberry Jelly really be named after Zhou Chenxi? I always thought this jelly went so well with Xixi!”

Xiao Liang was really playful. “Perhaps you’ve also heard of the new Xixi watch that came out this year?”

Taking another deep breath, Xiao Liang finally choked on the cool breeze. He coughed uncontrollably.

“Could you be a bit more enthusiastic…” Zhou Chenxi said with waning enthusiasm. “If you keep this up, I won’t have to act anymore, and you can take over for me…”

“No, no, no…” Xiao Liang quickly waved it off and stopped.

He turned to look at the two bodyguards standing outside their nanny car. “No wonder they always call you ‘Young Master.’ I found it strange that Brother Zhi’s hired bodyguards are so into cosplaying. It turns out they’re not, they’re your family’s bodyguards… You really are the young master of the Zhou family, huh?”

As Xiao Liang said this, he scratched his head.

Zhou Chenxi nodded.

In truth, he didn’t want to reveal his identity in such a grandiose manner.

Here’s the translation of the text into English:

“Before, he kept it a secret from the company because he had left the Zhou family on his own and felt that his parents might not want to acknowledge him, so he didn’t want to reveal it.

Later, when things weren’t going well for him, he had even more reason not to talk about it.

Now…

He probably doesn’t want anyone to refer to him as ‘you are so-and-so’ but as ‘you are so-and-so’s brother’ when people talk about him, right?

His older brother is truly exceptional, and Zhou Chenxi can’t compare to him.

The set wasn’t the right place to linger anymore, so Zhou Chenxi finally headed back to the hotel. Thankfully, he didn’t have time to dwell on his thoughts. Lu Ji was very concerned about him, and as soon as he finished his work, he called Zhou Chenxi.

With his brother’s help, Zhou Chenxi’s emotions had already settled a lot. He lay on the bed and took Lu Ji’s call in a sullen mood.

“Chenxi?” Lu Ji’s voice sounded a bit unsteady, as if he was walking.

Someone in the background greeted Lu Ji from a distance, “Mr. Lu.”

Lu Ji replied, and after a while, the surroundings became quiet, and he finally said, “Are you okay?”

Zhou Chenxi buried his head in his pillow, sighed, and didn’t say anything.

Lu Ji spoke softly, “I saw the news. Lu Corporation issued a statement and announcement as soon as possible. We’ve done everything we can. I roughly know who vouched for Luo Xinghe. You don’t need to worry; he won’t get out…”

“I’m not worried!” Zhou Chenxi said, “I just feel like I’ve caused trouble for many people.”

“Why would you say that?” Lu Ji asked.

Zhou Chenxi replied, “My brother was just an ordinary person, and now he’s stuck in the hot search. He can’t get out in the short term, and you’ve been splashed with dirt by Luo Xinghe.”

“What’s the big deal?” Lu Ji said, “I’ve dealt with plenty of rumors.”

It seems so.

Zhou Chenxi lay down on his back and, thinking about Luo Xinghe’s words, he began pondering something else. He said, “Whose world does this world truly belong to?”

Lu Ji responded, “The world is vast yet small. If you view it from a high place, everyone appears like ants, but when you descend from that height, you’ll realize that the world is still just a small part of what’s right in front of you.”

“You are at the center of your own world; you are the world,” Lu Ji continued. “Think about it, if Luo Xinghe didn’t have that kind of confidence in being at the center of the world, why would he accuse you of taking something from him?”

“But do you truly think it’s like that? If everything is truly as it is in books, where everything belongs to him, and the world is bound by the plot, then how do we have survival of the fittest and competition?” Zhou Chenxi felt that Lu Ji’s words made a lot of sense.

“Do you know how I noticed you?” Lu Ji whispered.

“How did you notice me?” Zhou Chenxi asked.

“Because I knew your fate, but you were like a sprouting seed breaking through the soil, proactive, and diligent, starting to doubt destiny,” Lu Ji said.

Zhou Chenxi playfully replied, “Not really, I just wanted to be a ‘salted fish.’ What I said back then was that I didn’t want to make an effort anymore. Do you remember?”

Lu Ji laughed.

Zhou Chenxi also laughed, and his eyes shifted nervously. He suddenly became anxious and asked, “You won’t stop liking me because of this, right?”

“It’s not that easy to stop liking you,” Lu Ji sighed. “You’ve already captivated me.”

Zhou Chenxi felt like he was on cloud nine, laughing uncontrollably. At the same time, he couldn’t help but get goosebumps on his arms. He thought, “Is this what being in love feels like?”

Lu Ji’s words seemed clichéd, yet he loved them.

After all, who decided that the world had to belong to one person? If that were the case, Zhou Chenxi would have never made an effort in the first place. He would have just gone to work at his family’s company and let his brother support him, and he would have never had the chance to meet the best person in the world, Lu Ji.

In the soothing murmur of Lu Ji, the best in the whole world, Zhou Chenxi fell into a deep sleep. That night, he had a dream. He dreamt of winning the Best Actor award at the Rose Film Festival. Then, right there, he announced that he would be taking care of Lu Ji from then on.

“Don’t underestimate Lu Ji,” he said at the award ceremony, defending Lu Ji’s reputation. “Lu Ji works very hard, much harder than me, and he deserves to be taken care of by me!”

Then, amidst a sea of applause and who-knows-where-they-came-from rotten eggs, he raced down from the stage with Lu Ji.

The next day, when he woke up, Zhou Chenxi felt a bit silly. Clearly, it was a beautiful dream, yet he had no idea who had thrown rotten eggs at him in the dream. What bad luck.

Zhou Chenxi grumbled as he got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and heard someone knocking on the door.

He walked up to the door, peered through the peephole, and saw Zhi Qi.

He opened the door, and Zhi Qi rushed in, flustered. “I wanted to buy a plane ticket yesterday, but I couldn’t get an economy class seat. So, I had to grab the earliest flight this morning. How are you? Did the crew say anything?”

Zhou Chenxi shook his head.

Zhi Qi asked, “Then why aren’t you going to the shoot?”

Zhou Chenxi replied, “I’ve been postponed. Let me deal with my own problems first.”

“What problems do you have to solve?” Zhi Qi wasn’t too pleased. “Aren’t these other people’s problems?”

“It’s okay,” Zhi Qi pulled out his phone and sent a message to the producer. “I’ll negotiate for you. How are you holding up?”

“I’m alright,” Zhou Chenxi said. “I’ve faced even tougher challenges than this. It’s not a big deal.”

Zhi Qi thought about it and agreed; Zhou Chenxi had indeed faced a lot of misfortunes, and he should be able to adjust to this one quickly.

He let out a sigh of relief. “Uh… Are you really Zhou Mingxuan’s brother?”

“Absolutely!” Zhou Chenxi replied. “Do you want to see my household registration book?”

“No need, no need…” Zhi Qi silently shed tears in his heart.

Some people may look poor but are actually rich second-generation, and some people may look poor and truly are very poor (like Zhi Qi).

However, Zhi Qi thought that it was okay because Zhou Chenxi’s popularity was rising, and his resources would get better. The company valued him greatly, and because of Zhou Chenxi’s connections this year, the company’s financial situation had improved compared to previous years. It was estimated that there would be a substantial year-end bonus.

Thinking of this, Zhi Qi was filled with determination and went to find someone on the set.

However, Zhi Qi rushed over so nervously, as if he was worried that after finding out Zhou Chenxi’s identity, he might leave the company for another job.

In truth, Zhou Chenxi wasn’t particularly ambitious when it came to making money. He had entered the entertainment industry purely to pursue his dreams and fulfill his personal values. The amount of money he earned didn’t matter much to him.

To put Zhi Qi’s mind at ease, Zhou Chenxi took the time to buy a handbag for Zhi Qi’s girlfriend and said he would advance his year-end bonus. He wouldn’t give him a red envelope at the end of the year.

Zhi Qi was overjoyed and took Zhou Chenxi’s matters more seriously.

Speaking of making money, Zhou Chenxi hadn’t saved much in his bank account even now. Forget about financial planning, and despite Lu Ji’s advice to save money, he hadn’t made any progress in that area.

Would Lu Ji break up with him because of this?

As he contemplated, the end of the year came in the blink of an eye.

After negotiations with Zhi Qi and the production team, the producer came out to explain that they didn’t intend to halt the filming of Zhou Chenxi’s scenes. They were concerned that the incident might affect his emotions, so they wanted him to take some time to adjust before returning.

Zhou Chenxi’s emotions were, of course, fine. After Zhi Qi’s communication, he returned to the set.

With this delay, the trip to country A was postponed once again.

Additionally, James Brown had a bit of trouble adjusting to the capital city after arriving. While Zhou Chenxi’s scenes were done, he still had some left. Zhou Chenxi used this time to pack his bags and returned to H City.

“Cat Demon Chronicles” had already started limited screenings in some cities. Director Luo asked Zhou Chenxi if he had time to travel for promotion. Zhou Chenxi accompanied the promotions for a few rounds, flying to six cities in three days. It was more tiring than filming, and when he got home, he could barely straighten his back.

Approaching the Lunar New Year, the “Peak” crew issued a notice, allowing everyone to celebrate the holiday at home. They would inform them of the departure time to country A later.

Zhou Chenxi had a few rare days to spare during this time.

During this period, his parents returned from their overseas trip and brought many gifts for Zhou Chenxi. They heard that his movie was released and wanted him and Zhou Mingxuan to watch it together.

Zhou Mingxuan was extremely busy at the end of the year and didn’t have time. Zhou Chenxi felt it would be strange to watch the movie with his parents and declined their invitation.

Furthermore, he had plans to watch it with Lu Ji when they both had time.

His parents understood that Zhou Chenxi was closer to his brother from childhood, and it might feel awkward to watch the movie with them alone. So they didn’t insist and went to watch it together.

On the 28th day of the lunar year, Zhou Mingxuan returned from the company and suddenly asked Zhou Chenxi at the dinner table, “Is there something you haven’t told me?”

Zhou Chenxi felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. “What should I tell you?”

Originally, Zhou Mingxuan wanted to ask Zhou Chenxi about what had happened with Luo Xinghe and what grudge he had with him, so they could handle the situation accordingly. However, judging from Zhou Chenxi’s demeanor, it seemed like he was hiding more than one thing.

Zhou Mingxuan squinted his eyes and said, “What have you done now?”

“I haven’t done anything!” Zhou Chenxi tried to evade the question, looking around, and then said, “Big brother, you’re overthinking it!”

“Aren’t you too nervous?” Zhou Mingxuan tapped the table with his fingers. “Just talk.”

Like an educational director, Zhou Mingxuan urged, “I hope you won’t get angry when I tell you…”

Zhou Mingxuan made a nonchalant “hmm” sound.

Zhou Chenxi said, “I want… I want to propose to Lu Ji. Big brother, do you think there’s a different process for a man proposing to a man compared to a man proposing to a woman?”

Then he added, “Lu Ji’s family is so wealthy. How much should I prepare for a suitable betrothal gift?”

Zhou Mingxuan: “??”

Zhou Chenxi fiddled with the tablecloth on the dining table and continued, “Do you remember that before Grandpa passed away, he asked Mom and Dad to allocate some of Zhou Xin’s shares to me? Over the years, it should have accumulated a significant dividend, right?”

He nervously explained, “I’m not asking for money; I just want to borrow some for now. Actually, the remuneration for ‘Peak Battle’ is quite substantial, and after ‘Cat Demon Chronicles’ is released, Zhi Qi should negotiate a higher salary for me. If I take on a few more projects each year, I should be able to repay it within a few years.”

“Lu Ji’s family has similar conditions to ours. If I propose to him, I can’t let him lose face. Otherwise, what will his mother think… Big brother? Big brother, what’s wrong with you?”

A buzzing sound filled Zhou Mingxuan’s ears, and he couldn’t make out what Zhou Chenxi was saying anymore. His mind was consumed with thoughts of Zhou Chenxi wanting to give money to Lu Ji. What has that man with the surname Lu done to him??

The author has a message to share: Big Brother: Lost his mind.

Thanks to “Fairy Lin Qiao” for the landmine!

Thanks to “Reader” and “Blooming Flowers on the Mysterious Road 9797” 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 ️”