Chapter 3 – Born to be Rebellious
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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The person who approached him was at a loss for words for a moment. Xia Xiqing didn’t even look at him anymore. He straightened his suit and left without looking back.
If he hadn’t succeeded in destroying the poor self-confidence of such a self-righteous person like bursting a bubble, he would allow him to pester him endlessly. Xia Xiqing walked across the street, stopped a taxi and got in.
On the way home, Xia Xiqing continued to look at the previous Weibo hot search. The video was indeed released by the official blog of ‘Seagull’. The netizens were indeed discussing it spontaneously. He couldn’t help but feel that there was someone behind the scene who was involved in spreading this matter in a later stage to take this opportunity to hype things up.
Thinking of this, he became a little unhappy. He went back to the apartment he temporarily rented shortly after returning to China. He took a hot bath and fell asleep on the bed.
It was almost predictable. Xia Xiqing, who fell asleep until the next afternoon, woke up to find that his cell phone had been bombarded with missed calls. It had been turned to silent. There were more than 40 missed calls. He flipped through it. He found that even his parents, who didn’t even call him during the holidays, were also among them.
At this moment, he even felt that this was a little funny. Now that he had gotten popular overnight, he is forced to show himself in front of everyone, including the two parents who never loved him. This seemed to be such an accomplishment.
After tidying his place up, Xia Xiqing casually tied up the hair covering his forehead. He tied a small bun on top of his head and then changed into a dirty overalls. He then sat in front of the drawing board with a mottled paint palette in his hand. The paint of red and blue were mixed together in it, blending into a dirty grey-purple-ish colour. He closed his eyes. Zhou Ziheng’s disdainful expression from that evening appeared in front of him.
Like floating clouds, those images gradually slipped into his mind from the clouds of memory and became clear. Xia Xiqing caught it with lines and immortalised it on the drawing paper.
The three-dimensional outline was of the sharp eyebrows and eyes and also the slightly pursed lip line because of disgust. They were all painted on the plain drawing paper with the heavy colour of the oil painting. There was nowhere to escape that look.
Holding the brush, Xia Xiqing leaned against the back of the chair and stepped on the edge of the tool table with one leg crossed. He carefully studied this somewhat random sketch.
He couldn’t tell which part he was dissatisfied with. The demeanour portrayed in a sketch is always less accurate than the charm of a real person. Even the degree of disgust shown on the face could not be accurately imitated.
The phone rang again. Xia Xiqing stretched his arm enough to take it in his hand.
It’s an unknown number.
“May I ask who you are?” He habitually faked his friendliness.
“We met before. I wonder if you still remember me?” The other party’s voice was indeed familiar. Xia Xiqing only reacted after a few seconds of recalling: “Ah…you are Miss Jiang.”
“Yes, I am. You have a really good memory.” Jiang Yin on the other end of the phone laughed. “Have you been troubled lately? You’ve become popular all over the Internet.”
Xia Xiqing smiled and stretched his body, “Fortunately, I’ve been sleeping all day. You are the first phone call I actually picked up.”
Jiang Yin was a little surprised. This young man appeared to be so calm that he didn’t even ask how she got his contact information in the first place.
It was dusk when the two of them met. There were very few people in the cafe. The orange sunlight penetrated through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows. The ambience melted with the strong aroma of coffee, wrapping around Xia Xiqing.
Jiang Yin pinched the coffee spoon with her fingers to stir up the shape of the milk foam. She then looked at the young man in front of her.
His dark hair was dyed with a warm halo of the setting sun. There was a smile on his delicate face. The small mole on the tip of his nose made him look gentle and charming. It turned out that there was a long and thin scar on his chin. She didn’t notice it there the last time they met. The scar was about to coincide with the mandible line so it was not easy to notice it. Xia Xiqing was more casual than she imagined. He was only wearing dirty grey overalls. There are big and old stains of paint all over it. Some were new and some were old.
However, Jiang Yin immediately recognized the brand of the overalls. This trendy brand is quite expensive. It is a brand that many celebrities favour when it was hyped as the so-called airport fashion back then.
“Did you paint just now?”
“Yeah.” Xia Xiqing looked down at his palm. There was a large piece of dark blue paint on it. He rubbed it with his fingers, but couldn’t get it off. He couldn’t help feeling a little annoyed and spoke without raising his head, “Why did you ask to meet me?”
Seeing that he was so straightforward, Jiang Yin didn’t delay anymore. She told him what was on her mind straightforwardly: “You never thought about making a debut?”
Xia Xiqing tapped the outer wall of the coffee cup with his fingers and looked at the people coming and going outside the window, “Debut?”
“Your qualifications are really good and you are very popular with the audience. You can see it yourself from this hot search.” Jiang Yin subconsciously put on the posture of a gold medal agent, “Actually, in our opinion, celebrities are divided into two classic types. The first type is that no matter how hard you try, you can’t get any attention. People like this are the majority in this circle. The better ones can get ahead if they take their time, hone their acting skills, or wait for an opportunity. There will always be a time when they can make a breakthrough. The second type is those born with talents, who have a fire in their existence where they don’t even need to say a word but as long as there’s a camera, they can already receive a lot of attention.” Jiang Yin leaned forward, “You are the second type. “
A child walked by on the outside of the cafe, holding a hydrogen balloon in his hand. He didn’t hold it tightly and accidentally let it fly away. The child stared blankly at the sky and suddenly cried out. Xia Xiqing looked at the child and couldn’t help laughing.
Jiang Yin, who felt like she was being ignored, coughed to get his attention. Xia Xiqing lazily turned his head and looked at her, “Miss Jiang, you are definitely an expert in this circle. But no matter how great an expert is, there will be times when you are gravely mistaken.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are gravely mistaken now.” Xia Xiqing leaned back on the sofa and was too lazy to hide his real feelings, “I am not the second type. I’m not born with talents. Let me tell you directly, I was born to be rebellious.” His eyes were full of smiles. The black pupils reflected the warm light coming from the window. “You’ll regret it. If you pull me into this circle, I’ll just keep making trouble for you.”
Jiang Yin looked at him for a long time before she spoke again, “You don’t want to debut then. I got it. But I still have plan B.”
Xia Xiqing raised his eyebrows at her. Since he was bored anyway, he decided to just listen to her, “Tell me about this plan B.”
“Recently there is a reality show that requires amateurs to participate.” Jiang Yin took out a document containing the reality show plan from her bag and handed it to Xia Xiqing, “I also participated in the production of this reality show. So, I want to invite you to participate.”
“Invite me?” Xia Xiqing opened the document to see the plan. He saw a few words before finally understanding, “So you are planning this for Zhou Ziheng. That was your plan A.”
“You’re really the smartest person I’ve ever met.” Jiang Yin didn’t hide her real motivation, “I guessed that you wouldn’t agree to debut. I knew I would definitely be rejected if I talked to you about it. I just wanted to try to persuade you. You should know that I am one of the shareholders of Ziheng’s brokerage company. Of course, I also have a deeper connection compared to other shareholders. It is easier to say that Ziheng is an idol that our company is currently promoting. His acting skills and conditions are very good. You already know that. There is usually a problem with his image since he debuted as a child star. That is, he lacked loyal fans. His national fans have always been a lot but now this circle is no longer the era of relying on national fans to exchange resources.”
“You need more traffic.” Xia Xiqing poked a layer of milk foam on the surface with a coffee spoon.
“That’s right.” Jiang Yin tapped her fingers on the table, “With Ziheng’s acting skills and appearance, if there is more traffic, he will become an absolute phenomenon. This is what I want.”
Xia Xiqing understood her purpose now and he found it to be interesting, “Then you think I can bring more traffic to him?”
“Otherwise I wouldn’t come to you. You have to know that traffic comes from hot topics. To put it bluntly, the fastest way to get traffic is to sell CP.”
“Selling CP is the fastest way. But I think it’s very strange that you come to me since Zhou Ziheng already has a lot of other CPs. And most of them are popular young fresh meat. Why did you find an amateur like me?”
Although Xia Xiqing asked this question, he also knew very well in his heart that the uneven distribution of benefits brought about by the hype among celebrities would often lead to bigger problems. An amateur like him who has no fan base and was not under any company operations is more suitable to cooperate with.
“Now you bring your own traffic. You are the amateur with the most attention right now. Just by looking at the trending searches in the past few days, I can already tell the potential of your face.” Jiang Yin said flatteringly, “This person is a commoner, not a celebrity. The original planning of the show was to escape from the real-life secret room, but I rejected it because it lacked topicality. There have been similar shows before but they were all confusing. Sometimes, the audience just wants to watch the really interesting ones.”
“Such as?” Xia Xiqing propped his chin with his hand and smiled lazily.
“Such as a celebrity and his fan are trapped in the same secret room, trying to escape.” Jiang Yin propped her chin with her hands and looked at Xia Xiqing with a smile, “If this fan is also a very handsome guy then I guess those little girls will be more interested.”
I see, Xia Xiqing got it now.
“So yesterday’s trending topic on Weibo was manipulated by you, right?” With a bang, the coffee spoon he was holding hit against the wall of the cup. Xia Xiqing withdrew his fingers.
Jiang Yin, who was exposed by him, didn’t think there was anything wrong with what she had done. She replied calmly: “I just added fuel to the flames after you were on the hot search. But I want to clarify in advance that the video was released first before I started anything. It was an accident. In fact, when I met you, I guessed that you would be the type to be noticed, but I didn’t expect it to be this exaggerated.”
So she just decided to use it to her advantage? It’s a terrible occupational disease, Xia Xiqing thought.
He didn’t know how the other guy would feel if he knew about it.
Speaking of the other guy… Zhou Ziheng’s extremely disgusted expression could not help but appear in his mind again.
Xia Xiqing suddenly sat up straight with great interest. He put his hand on his chin and smiled at her: “Your proposal is really interesting. But you probably don’t know that my idol hates me very very very much right now.”
The word ‘very much’ was deliberately exaggerated by him. He squinted his eyes and smiled as if he was feeling very proud.
Jiang Yin didn’t quite understand the meaning behind the smile, “Have you two met in private? How could he hate you? He treats fans very well.”
“Hmm… I met him accidentally in private. How should I put it…” The situation was too embarrassing. Xia Xiqing couldn’t think of any suitable explanation for a while so, he had to give up, “In short, it just happened like that. I can bet that if he knew it was me who was invited, he would definitely not agree to be on this show.”
Jiang Yin was silent for a while, “What if I can convince him? Will you join?”
Xia Xiqing, who was staring at the paint on his fingertips, raised his head. His eyes glowed with joy, “I’ll join.” The ending sound of his words was very light and straightforward. It made Jiang Yin really curious.
“Really?” Jiang Yin showed a suspicious expression on her face, “It’s a bit strange that you agree so quickly.”
Xia Xiqing fiddled with the delicate sugar cube box at hand, took out a piece from it and put it in his mouth. He crunched it with his teeth before it melted.
“It’s true. I really agree.”
When he thought of Zhou Ziheng’s situation, who obviously hated him but had to live with him, he felt excited.
Excitement is the source of creative desire.
“By the way, are you sure you want to invite me to a reality show that requires IQ?” Xia Xiqing raised his eyebrows, “What if I can’t help at all and just drag Zhou Ziheng down?”
Xia Xiqing’s statement was not groundless. He was indeed a fan of Zhou Ziheng and knew him somewhat. Zhou Ziheng resolutely gave up the art school for the college entrance examination and went to the physics department of P University, which shocked Xia Xiqing. He didn’t expect that this little child star turned out to be a man with a high IQ in science. He thought he would give up his career in the entertainment industry to join the society towards the road of socialist scientific research. But who knows, he would still come out to take on the show later.
Even if he didn’t go to art school, he could still perform well. When God opens a door to this person, there is a high probability that all his windows are opened wide. There will be no cracks in them at all. It would also not be as dark as a closed room.
The reality is so cruel.
“That’s what I thought at first. It’s enough for Ziheng to be smart and it’s better for you to set him off on the side.” Jiang Yin smiled, not hiding her original calculations, “But I still investigated your background. Well, occupational disease. I was really surprised. You are from the Florence Academy of Fine Arts. Ah yes, I accidentally saw the record of your previous participation in HiMCM as well.”
Accidentally?, Xia Xiqing doubted it.
This woman is terrible. Although Xia Xiqing’s face was calm, he sincerely admired her investigative ability in his heart. Participating in the mathematical modelling competition was only a matter of high school but she was still able to find out about it.
“I think someone like you will definitely not be the one who is holding him back.” Jiang Yin looked at Xia Xiqing with a half-smile. Xia Xiqing also returned a half-smile, “I will try my best.”
After bidding farewell to Jiang Yin, Xia Xiqing decided to go find Xu Qichen. On the way, he passed by a newly opened cake shop and bought a few cakes for him.
“So you really are going to be on TV?” Xu Qichen asked vaguely with a bit of surprise. There’s a cake in his mouth.
Xia Xiqing, who was sitting on the ground, nodded as he stretched out his long legs and crossed them together. He couldn’t help complaining, “Is it too old-fashioned to say that I’m going on TV? I’m going to participate in a reality show.”
“Isn’t it the same thing?” Xu Qichen ate too fast and choked a little. He got off the sofa and ran to the refrigerator to find something to drink.
Xia Xiqing looked at his back and clicked his tongue, “You are barefooted again. You haven’t been scolded by Xia Zhixu enough.” After finishing speaking, he glanced at the milk box with no aesthetics and couldn’t help asking, “Is there any wine to drink?”
“Drink less wine. Your Xia family either smokes or drinks. What a bunch of bad habits.” Xu Qichen stuffed the milk into his hand.
Xia Xiqing reluctantly took the milk and looked at Xu Qichen with a smirk on his face, “I’m ashamed to say that the kid with the biggest bad habit in his life is the one with you.”
“You’re the one with the bad habit!” Xu Qichen said casually, “Don’t laugh, it’s going to be your turn to suffer sooner or later.”
Xia Xiqing shrugged, “Then let’s see which unlucky ghost will have to deal with my bad habits.”
Xu Qichen thought about the reality show, “Why did the producer look for you? There seem to be very few such escape-room reality shows. Amateurs are generally not easy to be invited in.”
“I don’t know where that person found the record of me participating in competitions with Xia Zhixu and the others. Plus, there’s also that Weibo hot search last time…” Xia Xiqing pinched the milk carton, feeling a little headache, “That’s why I said I hate the Internet.”
“But having said that…” Xu Qichen, who didn’t think it was a big deal to watch the excitement, smiled as he leaned on the sofa pillow, “If you participated in that show, you would be able to get in close contact with your idol.”
“He’s not my idol, He is just the object of my sexual fantasies.” Xia Xiqing got excited when he mentioned this, “That’s the main point. If I put it aside beforehand, I don’t think I would agree. Every move will be recorded by the camera. It’s going to feel pretty good. He is disgusted by me. Zhou Ziheng seems to dislike me very much. It is going to be so interesting.”
Xu Qichen was a little baffled. He didn’t understand what his VIP ticket had done to the both of them. And he was even more baffled as to what was going on in Xia Xiqing’s mind.
Being disliked by the person you like but you still feel excited?, Xu Qichen thought to himself.
“Aren’t you an S but why do I think you are more of an M now?”
Xia Xiqing laughed and pinched Xu Qichen’s face, “Chenchen, you are too naive. Don’t you think it’s very exciting to watch someone who hates you but was forced to suppress his emotions? He even has to work together and even try to get along with you under the camera? Isn’t it … interesting?”
In fact, he hesitated for a while when he worded it. The original word he wanted to convey was “sexy”. In his mind, the scene of Zhou Ziheng enduring his loathing for him and forcing himself to show an unassuming intimacy with him was really sexy.
It makes him want to do everything possible to provoke the bottom line of that pretence.
It was already late when he got home and he received another phone call from an unknown number.
Xia Xiqing picked up the call and found that the other party was his stepmother.
Xia Xiqing couldn’t think of any convincing reason for her to call him at this time.
“Xiqing, you didn’t say anything about returning to China.”
The other party’s voice was as hypocritical as ever. Xia Xiqing turned the phone on speaker mode and put it aside.
“If I knew you were coming back from Florence, I should have told your father in advance and he would send someone to pick you up. Now, we all only knew when we saw you on the hot search. It was really surprising.” Her voice was as slippery as a fish. But there was the fishy smell sticking to his hands, “You are also the son of the Xia family. It’s not good to stay away from home all the time. What’s more, being on the hot search, it made your father…”
Xia Xiqing snorted coldly. He went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He took out a bottle of cold water for himself. He unscrewed it and took a few big gulps. The cold water flowed into his lungs and all of his internal organs were cold.
“Have you said enough? Mrs. Xia, the dove occupying the magpie’s nest.”
The other party obviously hesitated for a while before he spoke again. She had lost a lot of confidence, “Why are you so aggressive? I really care about you…”
“Aggressive?” Xia Xiqing slammed the door of the refrigerator, “You have been merciful to me for so long, what exactly do you want to do? Let me think about it, is my birth mother’s property going to be transferred? Or is Xia Yunkai going to divorce you??”
“You!”
It seems to be true.
Xia Xiqing smiled, “If you have the time to pretend to be nice to me, you might as well beg your husband to stop messing around outside and make more illegitimate children to share the family inheritance with your son. My suggestion is appropriate enough, is it not?”
“You…” Xia Xiqing saw through the other party’s every word and deed that couldn’t help turning into feeling angry from embarrassment. She tore up all the kindness and tenderness she had pretended before, “You shameless bastard. You’re the same bastard as your father. You. You and him. You both only know how to mess around outside!”
“If he didn’t mess around, how could you enter Xia’s house?” Xia Xiqing’s tone was extremely gentle, “You have to be grateful for that.”
The other party cursed again. It was nothing more than just a few words of saying that he and his father are shameless playboys and that they will not have a good ending. Xia Xiqing has not heard these types of bad words in a long time. But he has long been used to it.
Waiting quietly for her to show off her real face, Xia Xiqing put the bottle in his hand back on the table. He then turned his back to the counter and finally spoke again.
“You’re wrong”
The person at the other end of the conversation was stunned, “What did you just say?”
His breathing was smooth. He was bored.
Xia Xiqing unbuttoned the first button of his shirt with his hands and repeated again: “I said, you’re wrong. I am not the same as Xia Yunkai.”
This is making him feel a little more comfortable.
“He fucks women. I fuck men.”
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*Translator’s Note: The ‘traffic’ that Jiang Yin and Xia Xiqing are talking about is the search engine traffic. A high volume of search engine traffic is generally a positive thing for a website. It means that the content is good enough to build up a strong search engine rank that results in a lot of views. -K
*GLOSSARY:
- CP or ‘xī pí’ [西皮] = CP is an abbreviation for ‘couple’ or ‘couple pairing’. Rather than pursuing a single star, CP fans or also called ‘shippers’ in the West are infatuated with pairs of celebrities or fictional characters whom they imagine to be in relationships, either heterosexual or homosexual.
- HiMCM is The High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling. Only very smart people with high IQs joined this competition, okay?
- S = sadist (likes to inflict pain). M = masochist (likes to feel pain)
Next update: 2023.03.16
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