However, the fact proves that he might have overthought it.
March 17th was the day the comet arrived, and many people enthusiastically bought telescopes and cameras specifically for observing astronomical phenomena. Zhou Mingxuan asked Zhou Chenxi if he was interested, but Zhou Chenxi said no, using the excuse that he was going to a friend’s house that day and then slipped away to Lu Ji’s house.
Zhou Mingxuan was busy with his company’s affairs during this time and didn’t have much time to spend with him.
Since the company launched the “XiXi Strawberry Jelly” product, he suddenly tasted the sweetness of exploring the snack retail industry and insisted on collaborating with some manufacturers to introduce new snacks. He also wanted Zhou Chenxi to endorse them again.
The secretary enthusiastically presented several proposals to Zhi Qi, and after reviewing them, Zhi Qi said to Zhou Chenxi with a troubled look, “Although Zhou’s boss and you are family, I still think we need to consider your personal image positioning. To be honest, the snacks he asked the secretary to send me aren’t very suitable.”
Zhou Chenxi asked, “What are they?”
Zhi Qi said, “XiXi Strawberry Milk, XiXi Strawberry Pudding, XiXi Strawberry Juice… It’s not that beverage and fruit juice products are not suitable, but the flavors are too monotonous.”
Zhou Chenxi thought, “What misunderstanding does my brother have about me?”
“I think endorsing too many similar flavor products is not a good idea. It can easily create a stereotype in the audience’s mind. After all, you are an actor, so it might be better not to label yourself,” Zhi Qi said. “Otherwise, you can talk to him yourself, and maybe we won’t accept snack endorsements in the short term.”
Zhou Chenxi thought that his brother was enthusiastic about this, so it might not be a good idea to pour cold water on him. So he said, “I’ll talk to him myself.”
After he communicated with Zhou Mingxuan’s secretary, the secretary quickly organized a new snack proposal for him, and Zhou Chenxi saw it – XiXi Spicy Potato Chips, a bold and flavorful option.
Zhou Chenxi thought, “Alright.”
Well, his brother seemed to have understood what he meant. Bold and flavorful is different from the sweet strawberry jelly he endorsed before. He could accept this endorsement.
So Zhi Qi happily helped him sign the contract.
With the contract settled, Zhou Chenxi went to Lu Ji’s house.
This was the second time Zhou Chenxi had been to Lu Ji’s house.
The last time, Lu Ji was injured, and he went to Lu Ji’s house for egg skewers. Because they weren’t very close at the time, he didn’t feel comfortable wandering around Lu Ji’s house. This time, when he came over, Zhou Chenxi took a serious tour of where Lu Ji lived.
It was also because both Lu Ji and Zhou Chenxi were too busy, and every time they met, it was always rushed. Plus, Lu Ji had been particularly busy lately, and Zhou Chenxi hadn’t received an invitation to visit Lu Ji’s place since that time.
Compared to Lu Ji’s large villa, Lu Ji’s place was much smaller. However, because it had fewer decorations and everything was neatly organized, it still looked somewhat spacious.
Knowing that Zhou Chenxi was feeling anxious, Lu Ji sent his aunt home to avoid any disruptions.
After touring Lu Ji’s home, Zhou Chenxi sat down on the sofa in Lu Ji’s living room, habitually hugging a pillow in his hands, and nervously asked Lu Ji, “Do you want to watch the comet spectacle too, or should we find something to do ourselves?”
That was the only thing on his mind.
However, Lu Ji was not as anxious as Zhou Chenxi. He was worried that Zhou Chenxi would have trouble sleeping at night if he drank too much coffee, so he even heated up a cup of milk for him.
“Don’t watch it,” Lu Ji said, trying to divert his attention, “Let’s find something else to do.”
So Zhou Chenxi scrolled through his phone and cast a video of “The Carp” on the living room TV. Lu Ji had mentioned that he had missed a few episodes due to his busy schedule, so Zhou Chenxi decided to watch them with him.
Lu Ji brewed himself a cup of coffee, black, without sugar or milk, and there was a faint bitterness of coffee in the air.
He was dressed in soft home attire, and Zhou Chenxi naturally leaned against him.
The episode they were watching was the eighth episode of “The Carp.” Since there was no Lu Ji, Zhou Chenxi hadn’t watched it very seriously on his own. Now, as they watched it carefully, he realized that he had put in a lot of effort during that episode.
In this episode, a mission item was placed on the top floor of a building with over twenty stories. The production team claimed that the elevator was out of order and asked the guests to run up the stairs to retrieve the item.
There were three safety exits with stairs, but six guests in total. After Lu Ji left, the production team recruited two more guests.
Under these conditions, at least two people would have to encounter each other in the narrow stairwell. Additionally, the production team added various obstacles, such as closing one of the stairwell doors, forcing the guests to take detours, placing staff members on different floors, and creating various challenges while trying to ensure the guests’ safety. There might even be a chase if they were caught, and being caught meant disqualification.
As Zhou Chenxi entered the stairwell, he encountered a new guest hired by the production team, a young handsome guy named He Haohao. Both of them fought to take the lead, sweating profusely as they competed. In the middle of their race, a staff member suddenly appeared, prompting them to quickly exit the stairwell. Half an hour later, they would engage in a chase. If caught during the chase, they would be immediately disqualified.
So Zhou Chenxi “swooshed” out of the stairwell like an eel, without a word, and began a mad dash in the corridor on that floor.
He Haohao was a bit slow to react and, after a moment, shouted, “Zhou Chenxi, don’t run!” He pushed himself to chase after him.
There was only one staff member, and he couldn’t chase both of them, so the two guests had a silent agreement to separate when they reached a junction in the corridor.
Perhaps because Zhou Chenxi had appeared lazy in the first six episodes, the staff member targeted him without thinking and followed him closely.
Zhou Chenxi had been chased around in circles by the staff member. He noticed a storeroom at the corner, picked up his pace, and hatched a plan. Just before turning the corner, he shouted, “Don’t chase me anymore…”
After rounding the corner, he ran a distance away, then suddenly slammed on the brakes, swiftly turned back, and opened the door to the storeroom at the corner, hiding inside.
To avoid arousing suspicion from the production crew, he didn’t even bother to close the storeroom door, burying himself deeply among a pile of brooms.
Because the storeroom’s lights were off, and the space was not very large, the size of the interior was evident at a glance. The production crew didn’t suspect a thing and rushed past him.
The barrage comments were filled with laughter:
【XiXi is too clever! He threw his voice outside to make the production crew think he had run away, and then he doubled back. Didn’t the production crew notice that the storeroom door was closed earlier】
【Zhou Chenxi found it hilarious as well and chuckled, “Hehehe, I thought I had definitely been exposed.】
【Lu Ji watched with a smile.】
In the video, Zhou Chenxi was wedged among a bunch of brooms, blending seamlessly into the darkness of the storeroom. Only his eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
After the cameraman and other crew members moved away, they came to the door of the storeroom to film a close-up of him. Zhou Chenxi quickly extended a finger, making a “shh” gesture, prompting them to move away.
The place wasn’t large, and the crew members would return soon.
Unfortunately, the camera carried by the cameraman outside didn’t have night vision capabilities. He was looking at the camera lens and didn’t notice Zhou Chenxi’s actions.
Zhou Chenxi waved his hand again.
In post-production, they added a comical sound effect to accompany his gestures in the dark.
Still, the cameraman didn’t see it.
In the video, apart from Zhou Chenxi’s eyes, nothing else could be seen.
After a few seconds, a line of text appeared on the screen: “Thankfully, we had the foresight to install a night vision camera in the storeroom.”
The camera switched to the angle, and the scene played back, finally revealing Zhou Chenxi, squeezed amid the brooms, frantically gesturing to the cameraman.
Barrage comments:
【Haha, this is so funny! I’m about to laugh myself to death.】
【”Does XiXi know that he’s in the dark while the cameraman is in the light, so the brightness of the scenes they can see is different?】
【The broom that watched the entire show expresses its innocence!】
【Haha, this broom is quite large, it completely covered XiXi…】
【XiXi truly lives up to his reputation as a comedian. Fans are flooding this episode with likes. If Dark XiXi from “The Cat Demon’s Strange Tale” were to participate in this show, it would be even funnier…】
Following were a string of likes from fans also riding the N-wave: “Dark XiXi is really adorable! I wonder if XiXi will continue to participate in these kinds of variety shows. I can watch another hundred episodes!”
【XiXi seems happiest when recording shows with President Lu, right? In the recent episodes, he has been working hard, but you can tell he doesn’t want to disappoint his fans. Do you prefer the laid-back XiXi who slacks off even during morning practice?】
Lu Ji’s eyes skimmed over the comment that mentioned “XiXi seems happiest when recording shows with President Lu.” His mind automatically extracted the keywords. After a while, he suddenly felt his shoulder sink; Zhou Chenxi had fallen asleep, leaning on his shoulder.
Perhaps it was due to just having finished the milk, or maybe it was because they had already watched “The Carp” once. Zhou Chenxi wasn’t very interested, and he unconsciously drifted off to sleep.
Even in his sleep, he was still quite nervous, tightly gripping Lu Ji’s arm. He mumbled in his sleep, “Lu Ji, don’t leave!”
Lu Ji whispered, “Alright, I won’t leave.”
It was a little chilly outside, so he carried Zhou Chenxi to his own bedroom.
The bedroom’s air conditioning was set to the perfect temperature.
Zhou Chenxi didn’t mention whether he would stay at Lu Ji’s place for the night or return home later. Lu Ji didn’t want to wake him up, so he gently brushed his forehead, pulled the blanket over him, and tucked him in.
The TV in the living room was still on, and Lu Ji thought about turning it off. However, as he stood up, he felt a grip on his wrist.
“Don’t leave,” Zhou Chenxi mumbled.
Lu Ji had no choice but to sit down by the bed and said, “I won’t leave. I’ll stay with you here.”
Zhou Chenxi remembered a period in his childhood when he was afraid of the dark. Back then, his brother used to tell him bedtime stories, and Zhou Chenxi was very clingy. The other kids at kindergarten didn’t pay attention to him, so he could only cling to his brother.
His brother had always been the overprotective type, sticking to him from childhood to adulthood. At that time, his brother was only in elementary school, and he knew that boys should sleep alone, so they each had their own room. Zhou Chenxi wanted to sleep with his brother but couldn’t express it, so he learned to try to fall asleep a bit later.
His brother told him stories, and after listening to one, Zhou Chenxi would say, “Is it finished? But I’m not sleepy!” So his brother continued with another story.
After each story, Zhou Chenxi would still have his eyes wide open, and his brother would continue. Fairy tales were not as interesting as math problems for Zhou Mingxuan. His storytelling tone was even and his voice was gentle, more hypnotic than any other sound. He could usually manage to stay awake for three stories at most before falling asleep with all four limbs in the air.
Later, he also learned to tug at his brother’s sleeve and hold on tight before falling asleep. If his brother walked away, he would be startled awake, allowing him to hear one more story.
But, his brother would eventually leave.
Perhaps for this reason, Zhou Chenxi held onto Lu Ji’s wrist particularly tightly this time.
When he woke up again, it was already morning, and Zhou Chenxi sat up abruptly. He had initially planned to take a short nap and wake up when it was time, but Lu Ji hadn’t awakened him, so he slept until it was bright outside.
Zhou Chenxi anxiously turned to find Lu Ji. Lu Ji was lying on the edge of the bed, one hand still in his palm. Due to his taller stature, his posture was a bit awkward.
Fortunately, the warm air from the air conditioning made it cozy. Zhou Chenxi had a sudden idea and reached out to feel Lu Ji’s breath.
Lu Ji’s breathing was calm, and the warm breath passed over his fingertips, radiating a gentle warmth.
Lu Ji hadn’t left!
Zhou Chenxi was overjoyed. It must have been because he had watched too much and had too many superstitious thoughts in his mind, which had made him overly suspicious. It was great that Lu Ji hadn’t left. He was willing to give up watching shows like “The Naughty CEO Falls for Me” forever in exchange for Lu Ji staying with him forever.
Moreover, Lu Ji wasn’t a naughty CEO; he was a good CEO.
Zhou Chenxi was overjoyed. He lowered his head to find the fluffy slippers that Lu Ji had prepared for him, put them on, and thought, “Oh no, or maybe it’s because he held onto Lu Ji so tightly yesterday that Lu Ji wasn’t taken away to another world.”
He was thankful for the childhood moments when he used to engage in mental battles with his brother. It was during those times that he had learned how to hold onto someone before sleeping and keep them with him until dawn.
As for Lu Ji, perhaps he was willingly willing to stay with him until dawn.
The author has something to say: His brother couldn’t accompany him to sleep, but President Lu can.
Thanks to “6769,” “Fairy Lin Qiao,” and “Whale Falls” for their support!
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 ❤️”
