Chapter 2 – Falling-out Scene
Novel Title: 我只喜欢你的人设 (I Only Like Your Made-up Persona)
Author：稚楚 (Zhichu)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 夏习清 (Xia Xiqing -MC), 周自珩 (Zhou Ziheng -ML)
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Jiang Yin didn’t feel embarrassed when she heard it. Instead, she showed her professional expression and smiled calmly, “My sixth sense has always been very inaccurate.”
Coincidentally, after the heroine on stage finished speaking, she handed the microphone to Zhou Ziheng. The host asked him some questions about the movie.
“Just now we saw some clips in the pre-release trailer. Ziheng, your breakthrough this time is super big. I almost didn’t recognize you when I saw the trailer for the first time. We are all very curious on how you achieved this effect. Do you have any personal opinion regarding this movie? Any deep feelings or something like that?”
Zhou Ziheng held the microphone and thought for a while. He then replied, “If there are any deep feelings at all, it should be that I don’t really want to eat fish or shrimp in the next half of a year.”
All the fans in the audience laughed. This kind of serious cold joke was unexpectedly suitable to be spoken by him.
“I was impressed, actually… In fact, I was very impressed with the whole process of filming this movie. To be honest, it was the first time I tried to get involved in movies with this kind of subject matter. Director Wang has obsessive-compulsive disorder for shooting realistically. 80% of the shots were taken on a real moving boat. At the beginning, I was very seasick. I couldn’t get in character for a long time. The whole team was very tired and depressed about it. Thinking that there really is such a thing in the world where people were caught and deprived of their human rights to become slaves, I felt very…” Zhou Ziheng carefully chose his words; “Sad. That’s right. It was probably this kind of feeling that supported me to finish filming this movie.”
Xia Xiqing tilted his head slightly to look at Zhou Ziheng as he listened carefully. To be honest, he always has an intuition that Zhou Ziheng is very unsuitable for the entertainment industry. He is like a product coming from a sterile environment. He appears to have a protective desire to save those who were caught in any dangerous or complicated environment.
To put it bluntly, he is an idealist suffering from a messiah complex.
This is the first time he has seen Zhou Ziheng at a close range. Now he understood why those girls who chased after celebrities were so obsessed in wanting to see their idol face-to-face. For such a good-looking star like Zhou Ziheng, seeing him face-to-face would not disappoint the fans’ hearts at all.
As he stared at Zhou Ziheng on the stage, Xia Xiqing felt that every angle of him was perfect. He could completely replace those sculptures which had been used as tools for others to practise sketching and become a model instead. Occupational diseases made him subconsciously scan and analyse every inch of Zhou Ziheng’s skin and muscles through the clothes covering his body. Xia Xiqing, who has analysed countless people, believed that Zhou Ziheng’s body is the most perfect body he has ever seen.
I really want to make a sculpture based on him, Xia Xiqing wished in his heart.
“Then let’s begin the questioning session from the audience,” the host handed the microphone to Zhou Ziheng, “You pick one first, Ziheng.”
The fans started to scream with all their might and the atmosphere at the scene became very lively for a while. Zhou Ziheng narrowed his eyes slightly. This small gesture was very pleasing to Xia Xiqing’s eyes.
The eyes of two people met, one was situated on stage and one was off stage. The corners of Xia Xiqing’s mouth were slightly raised and the corners of his eyes were also slightly raised together, habitually conveying hints using his eyes.
“Found one.”
Zhou Ziheng pointed in Xia Xiqing’s direction.
“The girl in a floral skirt.” He added.
It turned out to be the girl behind him. Xia Xiqing smiled at the knowledge.
Such a boring straight guy, he silently thought.
The hints were already sent, but he was blocked by the male opponent’s straight mental wall. This kind of unfavourable start did not make him feel depressed. Instead, it aroused a fire in his belly. It is probably similar to a hunter who competes with himself when hunting a deer. The more agile the target is, the better the aim of the gun in his hand will be.
He didn’t listen much to the questions and answers between them. He just observed the texture lines of Zhou Ziheng’s body with his eyes presumptuously and restrainedly. It was as if he was looking at a perfect sculpture in an art gallery, full of longing and imagination.
The press conference lasted for two hours. After the event ended, Xia Xiqing wanted to go to the restroom. The venue was a high-end hotel with a very complicated structure. Xia Xiqing searched around but couldn’t find the restroom at first. When he bumped into a staff member on the way, he smiled and asked, “Hi, do you know where the restroom is?”
The staff member was a young girl. Seeing Xia Xiqing, she felt a little shy, “Turn right. Eh… no. Turn left and walk to the end. There is a VIP restroom there…”
“Thank you.” Xia Xiqing tilted his head and smiled sweetly. He then put his hands in his pockets and headed towards the direction she had just told him.
As soon as he walked in, his phone rang. Xia Xiqing glanced at the caller ID and immediately frowned.
He already had fun for the whole night, shouldn’t it be over by now?.
“If I’m not mistaken, we are not even going out yet.” Xia Xiqing washed his hands with the mobile phone tucked between his ear and his shoulder, “I don’t think there is anything wrong with me having fun with others, no? Or have you fallen in love with me?”
He chuckled lightly as he shook off the drops of water on his hands. He took a few pieces of paper towels from the box beside him and wiped his fingers carefully, “I remember when we first met, I said that I don’t want to be in love. It was just because you looked good and I was bored. We went out drinking and had fun for a while. But later on, I think you’ve become…”
He dragged on the last sentence for a long time, as if he was hesitating to put it in words.
After hesitating for too long, his tone became completely cold. He slowly said what he felt word by word: “…useless to me.”
The other party kept talking on the other end of the phone and Xia Xiqing felt tired of continuing the conversation, “You’re serious about me? Give me a break. I’m most afraid of hearing someone tell me they’re serious about me. They’re all nonsense. Do you think you are the heroine of a bitter drama?”
The other person was obviously flirting with others in the bar last night but Xia Xiqing didn’t even go as far as to cause any drama at the scene. But now, he still has the audacity to ask him for sincerity and tell him that he was serious about him?
“We’re both grown-ups. If you mature enough someday, maybe we can sit down and have a drink together the next time we meet. You don’t lack anything with your looks and skills. Shouldn’t you go and hook up with some new and nice people? Why waste your energy on me?” He was shaken when the voice on the other end of the phone suddenly became louder, making his ears hurt from the noise. He frowned and took the phone with his hand without a trace of smile on his face.
The tone of his voice started to change.
“I warn you. Stay away from me.”
He rolled up the paper towels that he had wiped his hands with before and threw it into the trash can, “If you talk anymore nonsense, I’ll find someone to destroy that thing under you right now. It can only just lie on the bed and being fucked by someone so that it will become useless to keep.”
The person on the phone suddenly fell silent.
Xia Xiqing laughed. He looked at himself in the mirror, adjusted his expression and suddenly smiled softly.
“Don’t be nervous, I’m just kidding. How can I bear to do that to you?” His voice became extremely gentle again as he leaned against the wall of the bathroom. He now sounded like he was comforting his intimate little lover, “So be good and disappear from my eyes, okay?”
After he hung up the phone, Xia Xiqing was about to go into one of the stalls of the restroom and he didn’t expect to find a person coming out of one of the stalls.
That person was tall and was wearing a grey-blue shirt. He was none other than the actor Zhou Ziheng himself who looked dazzling on the stage before.
Fuck, I’m done for, Xia Xiqing cursed in his head.
Xia Xiqing, whose ‘made-up persona’ was broken, did not panic however. He even calmly and gracefully displayed an angelic smile on his face for Zhou Ziheng.
“What a coincidence.”
Zhou Ziheng frowned slightly, looking at Xia Xiqing’s expression with his own unconcealed disgust. It’s not that he couldn’t conceal his emotions. Actors are best at concealing emotions.
But he just didn’t even bother to hide his disgust.
Zhou Ziheng glanced down and saw the silver badge on Xia Xiqing’s chest that symbolises his fan status. Xia Xiqing noticed this look and he took a look at it himself. He reached out to touch the badge and said with a smile: “Well…that’s right. I’m your fan.”
Zhou Ziheng walked around him indifferently. He went to the sink and turned on the faucet.
Xia Xiqing shrugged as he entered one of the stalls. He closed the door using his feet.
He is now disliked by his own idol. What the fuck, what the fuck, he cursed to himself.
If it was under any normal circumstance, he will never show his real self when they first met. It is more useful for him to pretend to be an angel with a friendly image. After all, the so-called little angels attracted more people. This type will make people trust them easily. But this time, it was really bad luck for him. Xia Xiqing disgustedly dragged the contact number of the guy whom he was talking to on the phone just now into the contact blacklist.
Forget it, I wasn’t a die-hard fan in the first place. I just regarded him as an object of sexual fantasy, Xia Xiqing thought to himself.
Being hated by one’s idol is not something worth being concerned about, Xia Xiqing thought so to himself mockingly. He got out of the stall and closed the door with a bang. He then walked to the huge mirror to take a look at the gentle and kind person in the mirror who was not the real him at all. After he left the restroom, he exited the venue directly.
Who knew that Xia Xiqing, who was at the bar at 3:30 in the morning the next day, received another call from Xu Qichen .
“Xiqing, you’re on the Weibo hot search.”
The music in the bar was loud. Xia Xiqing came out while frowning. He squatted on the side of the road in a daze. His tongue was numb from drinking, “What did you just say?”
“You are on the Weibo hot search. It seems that someone uploaded the video of the press conference and you appeared on the scene.”
Xu Qichen spoke quite calmly. Xia Xiqing already knew that he was such a calm person. After he briefly talked a few words with Xu Qichen, he sat down on the side of the curb with the cold wind blowing on his face in the early morning. He then got a little sober. Xia Xiqing frowned and opened Weibo. He turned to the hot search page.
The first item on the hot search list has a few large characters written on it.
[‘Seagull’ press conference white shirt brother]
White shirt? Xia Xiqing tried his best to recall how he was dressed the other day.
It seems that yes, he was wearing a white shirt… He clicked on the entry and looked at it. The most forwarded video was the Q&A session between Zhou Ziheng and fans at the press conference. The camera switched from Zhou Ziheng on stage to the lucky fan off stage, namely the girl behind Xia Xiqing. But during this process, the camera stayed on Xia Xiqing’s face for a few seconds. In just that few seconds, Xia Xiqing was directly sent on the trending list.
He suddenly remembered that he was too careless not to put on his mask back on after taking it off.
This video alone has almost tens of thousands of comments.
[It’s watermelon, not winter melon]: I want to get all the information about this little brother within ten minutes.
[VikiViki]: Mom, I saw an angel *Tears filled my eyes.jpg*
[Yangou has no human rights]: Fuck, this kind of guy with such good looks didn’t go and make a debut??? This guy is too good-looking. The long hair is also good-looking. What a fairy. Such a fairy.
[SanSan is my wife]: This guy is a pure passer-by. But this scene is simply shocking. He smiles like an angel and looks better than a lot of fresh meat celebrities…
[Heng is my main attack]: The little brother is really handsome. But if I’m not mistaken, isn’t he wearing our Heng family’s support badge on his chest? *shows screenshots*
[Zhou Ziheng’s First Mistress]: He is a supporter of our Heng family! Fuck, this little brother is our Heng fan. I’m sorry I think I have lowered the average appearance of Heng’s fans *kneeling*
[Zhou Ziheng is the universe’s no.1 Alpha]: Fuck me, he really loves the idol of our Heng family. This kind of face is killing many idols now. I’m really embarrassed to be a part of the Heng family *crying loudly*
[Xiaoming is Eating Melon]: These days, those who are not good-looking are ashamed to chase after celebrities.
While flipping through the comments, a man came and stood in front of him. His shadow fell on Xia Xiqing. He lazily raised his head to find a good-looking man looking down on him.
The other party smiled and lit a cigarette, “Are you alone?”
Xia Xiqing blinked slowly. For some reason, he was not interested at all. He raised his eyebrows and said coldly, “Do you think I look like someone who would be alone?” After speaking, he stood up and prepared to leave. The man was a little surprised. He didn’t expect this beautiful man to stand up so tall. Yet, he still stretched out his hand and tugged at him. He said with a smile on his face, “Don’t rush to go away. If you don’t mind at this time, I’ll buy you a drink.”
The other person appeared to be a veteran at flirting. Xia Xiqing swept him up and down with his eyes. He then raised the corners of his mouth and immediately changed his expression. He showed a provocative attitude as he put his finger on the man’s shoulder, “Buying me a drink is so boring… Hey, handsome guy, how about you pay 20,000 yuan an hour for me? But since you are a new customer, how about I discount it to 16,000 yuan?”
The man immediately frowned, “You must be sick.”
“I’m not sick.” Xia Xiqing smiled slightly, “I’m clean. Do you want to see my medical report?”
“Twenty thousand? How dare you name such a price.” The man looked at him up and down, “Is your ass covered in gold?”
Seeing him like this, Xia Xiqing’s eyes immediately turned cold. He then spit out a few words that did not match his appearance and even his tone sounded evil, “My dick is covered in diamonds.” Lighting a cigarette for himself, his expression changed from playful to a ruffian in an instant. He looked up at the other party through the grey-white smoke he puffed out of his mouth, “If you have no money, why bother flirting? For a guy like you, even if you take off your clothes and put money on the bed, I’ll still have to think about fucking you.”
“You…” There was a trace of displeasure on the other party’s face but it seemed that he still didn’t intend to give the matter up.
Xia Xiqing felt annoyed. He took out his wallet and took a few banknotes out of it. He then stuffed them into the man’s left breast pocket, “Here.”
The man frowned, “What are you doing?”
Xia Xiqing took another drag of the cigarette and puffed out the smoke on the man’s face, “I’m buying you to be quiet. If you are really not satisfied with your lust, use this money to have some fun.”
“You!” The other party was stunned.
Xia Xiqing stretched his neck. And when he lowered his head again, his face was full of impatience.
“Still not fucking leaving?”
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*Translator’s Note: Regarding the phone conversation, I think the other guy tried to make Xia Xiqing jealous by flirting with someone else the previous night but Xia Xiqing doesn’t seem to be affected. He was annoyed and cut off the relationship instead. Because to him, if the other guy acted like that, it means that he had fallen in love with him and wanted to test him. Xia Xiqing is suffering from Fear of Intimacy so he backs out as soon as the other person falls in love with him. Spoiler alert: in much later chapters, Zhou Ziheng will also try the same trick on him but let’s see, how will Xia Xiqing act by then… Hehe. -K
*GLOSSARY:
- Messiah complex – also known as saviour complex or white knight syndrome. If you have a messiah complex, you may feel like you are destined or called to save others. You may feel responsible for helping others. You may have good intentions if you try to come to the rescue (at your expense). Or you may try to play saviour for more self-serving reasons such as a desire for praise, power, or a sense of self-worth. (Source: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/savior-messiah-complex)
- JB – ‘jībā’ [鸡巴] = dick. In raw, Xia Xiqing used ‘JB’ instead of ‘dick’. I changed it to ‘dick’ in my translation so that the meaning will come across to you faster. In a way, Xia Xiqing is telling the other guy here that he is ‘gong’ (top), not a ‘shou’ (bottom).
Next update: 2023.03.15
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