AIWR c9: The Meeting.

9: The Meeting.

 　　Qin Qing originally thought that when Guan Yiyun and the rest debut, he would continue to be their assistant.

However, as the four boys were busy preparing for their debut, Qin Qing was directly transferred from the administrative department to the artist management department as an assistant agent.

 　　There weren’t a lot of people in this department. Only three official agents in total. Of the three, one was an assistant, and the other two manage other people. One of them was mainly responsible for the female internet celebrity and a few on the side, while the other was the male agent who was recently responsible for Guan Yiyun and the rest, and also managed a few little acts on the side.

All three of them were very busy every day and were rarely in the office.

 　　 Qin Qing was transferred over, but not to the female celebrity’s agent, or with Guan Yiyun’s male agent, so there was no work for him, and he was idle.

 　　In the previous life, nothing to do was the same as having no chance to climb up so Qin Qing was always anxious to death.

t/n: figuratively and literally. lol

 　　But It was different now. He changed jobs and transferred work, the little girl in HR told him that his salary had increased by a few hundred, and his communication and transportation expenses had also increased. He can get off work on time if he had nothing to do and when he got off work, no one in the department would care. He was relaxed and free.

So after getting off work this past few days, Qin Qing would take the bus to the Penglai vegetable market a little further away.

 　　On one hand, it was to buy groceries and cook something to eat. One couldn’t keep eating breakfast at a roadside stall.

 　　On the other, there was a junior high school and two senior high schools by the vegetable market, so there were many bookshops and second-hand bookstores around.

On Qin Qing’s first day of shopping, he only looked around since he hadn’t decided on whether he wanted to go back to school.

 　　The next day he came back a little earlier.  It coincided with the end of the school day and the students in their school uniforms rushed out of the school gate. Surrounded by the young and tender-faced youths and the energetic atmosphere for learning, the feelings in Qin Qing’s heart completely changed.

When he entered the bookstore again, he was no longer aimless. He fixated on a few bookshelves and began to flip through the books. He stood from there until nine o’clock at night.

When he went back home that day, he was carrying a bag filled with a few second-hand books he’d bought, as well as pens, rulers, and papers.

 　　His heart was also filled to the brim.

——Since his life was starting again, then let’s try a completely different path.

In the following days, Qin Qing began to take time to read. He did not make a schedule because, after all, he was still at work and although there was no one in the office every day, he wasn’t sure when he would have work one day.

 　　Anyway, he can read a little bit. If there was no one in the office, he would flip through the books and he would also get off early from work so that he could read for a few hours at night.

Xie Lei, who was far away in his hometown of C City, helped a lot after knowing that he wanted to go back and take the university entrance exam.

Xie Lei: “I secretly went to find Old Ding! “. Old Ding was Qin Qing’s former homeroom teacher: “He said that your school registration was still with the school.”

Xie Lei: “Don’t worry, I told him that you were only temporarily away and you would come back for the university entrance exam. and guess what, I almost made Old Ding cry. ”

 　　Only then did Qin Qing know that the school had been trying to get him to come back to school. They hadn’t given up on him and had been holding on to his student registration.

 　　And with his student registration, he can normally participate in the university entrance exam.

Qin Qing lightly replied that it was him who should cry.

 　　It turned out that in this very world, there were so many people who had not given up on him, and there were so many people who cared about him. In the previous life, why did he have to suffer from paranoia and be so stubborn, and effectively obstruct so much goodwill?

 　　 And in the face of these kindnesses today, Qin Qing has nothing to return, and can only say thank you first.

“Don’t just thank me, do something for me too. ” Xie Lei said on the phone: “You started work some time ago, and I was embarrassed to look for you but now that you have decided to take the university entrance exam and you have to study again so It’s finally convenient for me to ask.” ”

 　　Xie Lei: “There is this chemistry problem…”

 　　Qin Qing was finally able to openly evade him: “To tell you the truth, I haven’t been in class for a while and have returned what I learned before to the teacher”¹t/n: Sort of like: you get knowledge from your teacher, if you forget it, it’s like you’re returning it back from whence it came. He’s forgotten all that he learned before..

 　　Xie Lei: “…”

 　　This was actually true. Qin Qing had already forgotten all those schoolwork earlier on.

 　　Not only did he forget his schoolwork, but he didn’t even remember how to take the exam.

Taking advantage of the time when he wasn’t working, he spent two days in the company reading. His linguistics were okay, but what of mathematics, physics, and chemistry formulas and equations——

 　　Qin Qing was almost crying in his heart: Where did you come from~ my friend~

 　　He doesn’t know any friends for either math or science but the friend who liked to sing and dance all the time was the one who liked to brush up their existence²make their presence known from time to time.

 　　Guan Yiyun had been sending messages to check up on him recently.

 　　——You’re in the company? You didn’t go anywhere?

——I heard you got transferred? Have you seen any strange people recently?

—— If you don’t like your new job, you have to tell me.

Qin Qing sighed that this young master was really energetic. He was busy preparing to debut yet he still had time to care about him.

It was evident that there wasn’t enough work.

On this day, there was finally someone in the office.

 　　The visitor was a man in his thirties. He wore a suit and tie and had a smooth and glossy big back.

t/n big back: slicked back hairstyle

 　　He swaggered into the office with his hands in his trouser pockets, walked towards Qin Qing’s desk, and looked at him with scrutiny.

Qin Qing had put away the book he was reading and stood up.

Big back: “Qin Qing? ”

Qin Qing: “That’s me. ”

 　　The big back nodded: “Well, you’ll follow me from now on.” After saying that, he turned and walked out.

 　　Qin Qing blinked and lifted his feet to follow.

 　　Big back walked quickly, but was unflustered and spoke imposingly. Without turning his head or looking back at Qin Qing, he said: “You should follow me closely for a few days, watch carefully and pay attention to everything that you see. In the future, it may be the work that you’ll have to do. ”

After speaking, he said: “My name is…”

Qin Qing said deep in his heart: Xiang Xun.

 　　This big back was called Xiang Xun.

 　　Xiang Xun was a well-known agent in the circle that had managed many big celebrities.

 　　Qin Qing knew this man in his last life and had some dealings with him, but they weren’t familiar.

 　　Because the two of them took different routes—Xiang Xun was a professional agent without a company. He solely focused on bringing up artists and each artist would sign a contract for one to two years. Even though they won’t cooperate for long, because of his excellent skills, there were many artists who took the initiative to find him, and the commission rate was also extremely high.

Although Qin Qing was also responsible for brokerage affairs, he was not bound to the artists individually and he still focused more on the company.

He had brought up artists, had promoted celebrities, and had also gotten involved in the production of several film and television dramas.

The last time the two of them met in the previous life was at a dinner party. At that time, Qin Qing had already made a name for himself but in Xiang Xun’s eyes, it was not even remotely significant.

Why did they meet so early in this life?

The company had changed owners but surprisingly there was a connection to Xiang Xun?

 　　Why would Xiang Xun suddenly take him?

 　　Qin Qing was confused.

 　　With this confusion, the two of them took the elevator downstairs together.

There was a minivan parked just outside the elevator on the ground floor, and the driver was idly waiting.

Qin Qing was originally going to seat in the co-driver side but was called to the back seat by Xiang Xun.

 　　After getting in, Xiang Xun propped up his leg in the spacious car and asked Qin Qing: “You’re single? ”

        What?

Qin Qing felt perplexed by this question and paused before replying: “Yes. ”

         Xiang Xun nodded.

Qin Qing thought to himself that today’s Xiang Xun was different from his usual demeanor.

Why did he ask whether he was single?

 How could he have known that Xiang Xun, who was sitting beside him was also silently cursing himself in his heart.

 　　This type of question? This type of question! Boss Su had the nerve to make him ask!

Heartless! Inhuman!

 　　After silently cursing, Xiang Xun quietly observed the boy beside him in the residual light.

He’s really good-looking, tall and thin, with a clean temperament.

He didn’t talk much, was very quiet, and wasn’t curiously looking around in the car.

Xiang Xun: How could this boy just happen to run into boss Su?

However, it was really just by chance³ their meeting….

 　　First, there were Guan Yiyun’s continuous messages.

Then a chance meeting at a second-hand bookstore during an early morning run after 6 o’clock.

　　There was also a time in front of the community iron gate when Qin Qing swiped his card to enter the door, Su Zhihe was wearing a hat and mask and because he didn’t bring his card, had to quickly catch up to the door. Seeing that the door was about to close, Qin Qing had turned and stretched out his hand to stop the door.

 　　Su Zhihe stretched out his hand and helped push the door. He lowered his head and with his voice muffled by his mask said: “Thank you. ”

 　　Qin Qing: “It’s okay. ”

Xiang Xun: It’s simply like a sheep caught in a tiger’s mouth.

Forty minutes later, the car stopped beside a recording studio.

 　　Xiang Xun got out of the car and said as he walked inside: “Don’t talk carelessly when you go inside. Keep what you see in your heart and keep your mouth shut.”

 　　Upstairs turned out to be in the middle of recording a special interview.

There were many people in the room. There were staff members interviewing over on one side as well as people surrounding the artists and among them were several well-known artists.

 　　Qin Qing was very familiar with this type of environment and after walking in, he didn’t feel out of place or nervous but simply kept following Xiang Xun.

People greeted Xiang Xun but didn’t say a word when they noticed him. When someone looked at him, he just politely glanced back and didn’t make any extra movement.

 　　After Xiang Xun greeted the people who said hello, when he glanced back at Qin Qing, he was slightly surprised to find that the young boy was not flustered and had adapted well to the environment.

At this time, the person in charge of this interview came over to say hello.

“It’s almost done. ”

 　　Xiang Xun retracted his gaze and talked to the other party.

Xiang Xun: “How’s the interview going? ”

 　　“It’s okay,” the other party laughed helplessly: “It’s just there. ”

 　　Xiang Xun slapped on sloppy eyes: “You know him, if he doesn’t want to, you can’t dig anything out of his mouth. ”

t/n: sloppy eyes: to act dumb or confused

 　　The other party sighed, raised his gaze, and saw Qin Qing: “Who is this? ”

　　Xiang Xun: “Oh, new assistant. ”

The other party looked at Qin Qing, his eyes lit up: “So handsome. ”

Xiang Xun gestured to Qin Qing: “Director Ou of Yangtze Weekly.”

Qin Qing nodded: “Hello, Director Ou. ”

 　　After the simple greeting, there was nothing else for Qin Qing to do, so Xiang Xun and Director Ou continued talking by themselves.

 　　Qin Qing used to be like Xiang Xun before. He also socialized a lot and had to know everyone.

 　　Now that he’s an ordinary assistant who stands behind a big agent, he doesn’t have to talk and feels comfortable and relieved.

He also calculated in his heart that there should be no way to get home on time today. He won’t be able to study today and had to postpone the practice questions.

At this time, a door in the room opened and someone shouted, “It’s over. ”

Qin Qing stopped musing and raised his gaze.

He was slightly startled when he saw the person at the head of the group clearly.

Su Zhihe?

The big actor he’d never met in his previous life?

 　　As soon as Su Zhihe came out, Xiang Xun greeted him and walked a few steps before turning his head to look at Qin Qing who remained motionless: “What are you standing still for? Water! ”

Qin Qing returned to his senses, grabbed the water that was recently taken from the car, and walked over.

 　　 Qin Qing was still a little stunned as he walked over to stand in front of the familiar yet, unfamiliar face. He couldn’t react but his body subconsciously moved to silently remove the circle plastic wrapper on the mineral water bottle before handing it over.

Xiang Xun: Hmmm!?  So he also knew that they were spokespeople for another brand of drinks that were slightly similar. he was attentive enough to remove the label from the drink for them?

 　　Without being taught, he can understand this very well?

This kid was really not simple.

Su Zhihe raised his hand to take the water and while his lips held a smile, his gaze fell on the face of the boy in front of him: “Not bad.”

 　　Not bad?

What’s not bad?

Qin Qing raised his gaze.

 　　The smile on Su Zhihe’s lips stretched wider. Uncapping the bottle and lifting it up, he explained unnecessarily: “I meant the water.”

“……”

Qin Qing felt that something was strange, but he couldn’t pinpoint where. A moment later, he said: “Oh.”

 　　Nearby, Xiang Xun, who knew the real story: B*llshit it was the water! This was clearly talking about a person!

 　　Boss Su! For the first time meeting him, could you be much less flirty?!