CH 24

“A workaholic. The longest record was three days without closing his eyes.”

“Has produced 6 top performers and 4 actors*1t/n*: 演技派 = Acting (performing) faction (group). Someone who acts very well. They rely on skills rather than face, or traffic. and countless second-string small flowers** and newcomers**.”

t/n**: 小花 (small flowers) 小生(young idols) male and female celebrities who have large throngs of fans online. Alternatively traffic stars.

“Excellent eye for selecting dramas and very good at picking people”

“Ran a company that specialized in working with TV platforms to produce high-quality small cost web drama.”

When the “drink tea” time was over, Su Zhihe and Xiang Xun returned to the car with the content written by Kou Jiang about Qin Qing.

Su Zhihe wanted to drive by himself so Xiang Xun sat in the co-driver seat and read aloud as he looked at the things written on the paper.

After reading a few lines, Xiang Xun was immediately cheerful. Towards the driving Su Zhihe, he said: “This is called a bad relationship? These few lines were objective and even complimentary. I would think that these two people were friends.”

Not a friend. This point Su Zhihe was sure of.

That day, at the door of the pergola, when the platform people came to visit the class, he saw with his own eyes how Qin Qing reacted when facing Kou Jiang.

Xiang Xun reads again: “Cold-hearted, poor temperament. Deals with things by pretending. Yo, here he started writing bad things.”

“Poor temperament?”. Xiang Xun was unconvinced: “Qin Qing has a poor temperament? I can see he’s very good ah.”

He was surprised: “Deals with things by pretending. Pretending?”

Su Zhihe drove the car: “The relationship is already not good yet you’re still expecting some good words”

“I was.”

Xiang Xun thought of something and smiled at Su Zhihe: “When it comes to Qin Qing’s bad parts, you said the relationship between the two isn’t good but just now when I read the advantages, I did not hear you say that the that the relationship was bad.”

Su Zhihe naturally said: “The good parts are the truth, it’s objective.”

Xiang Xun replied: “I understand, I understand. The bad parts are just the intern’s subjective assumptions, colored vision, and narrow-mindedness.”

A single piece of paper provoked with its few lines of words. Its content was not much or too little. It was a summarization.

Xiang Xun swept his eyes over the paper from top to bottom. Then after reading it, folded it in half and threw it into the glove box in front of him.

Then he crossed his legs. To Su Zhihe he said: “Hey, do you think Qin Qing is.” Is Reborn?

Su Zhihe’s aura was extremely stable: “Either he is or he isn’t, it’s no use for me to speculate.”

Xiang Xun stroked his chin, pondering: “I hope he is. We are peers ah.”

Xiang Xun: “But if he really was then he is really very deeply hidden. You’ve only had a few interactions with that intern and could see that something was wrong but he (QQ) has always been by your side and you didn’t even see it.”

Su Zhihe said with certainty: “He didn’t hide.”

Xiang Xun raised his eyebrow: “No? Then you (personally) weren’t able to detect it.”

t/n: XX is implying that SZH is faulty for not seeing this obvious

Su Zhihe speechlessly turned his head and swept Xiang Xun a look: “Are my eyes some kind of X-ray lens that can see if a person is from the present or ancient or future??”

It was purely because Kou Jiang himself was fishy that’s why he noticed him. This was also the case with the variety show and Shang Mohuai, he took the initiative to bump into the muzzle of his (SZH) gun.

t/n: KJ himself made trouble, that’s why he was noticed

Qin Qing simply didn’t.

Now that Su Zhihe thinks about it since they met and even before they met, Qin Qing’s life trajectory was very normal: drop out of school, go north, look for work, and work part-time.

The job he found was very low paying and Cuckoo Entertainment was also an unknown and small company.

Let him be an assistant and he was an assistant. Let him accompany the trainees and he accompanied them. They (QQ) were even passive when they were transferred, and even after coming to his side, from his dressing to his behavior, all of it was very logical. Even quietly reading books and doing problems in his free time, all were consistent with his background as a teenager who dropped out of school.

Therefore, such ordinary and low-profile behavior was reasonable and was different from Kou Jiang’s high-profile behavior and manner. It was impossible to make people suspicious.

Xiang Xun: “So is Qin Qing reborn or not?”

The car drove up to the road outside the villa neighborhood. Su Zhihe: “Get out.”

Xiang Xun: “?”

Su Zhihe parked the car on the curb next to a bus stand and inclined his head: “Get out.”

Xiang Xun unbuckled his seat belt with a confused face: “What did I say?”  That got me chased out of the car?

Su Zhihe: “Take a cab back by yourself. Lend me your car, I’m going somewhere.”

Xiang Xun pushed open the car door, his face was suspicious. He still asked: “Isn’t it because I said something wrong?”

When he got out of the car, he looked up and at a glance saw Kou Jiang dully*2t/n: alternatively woodenly, stupidly (derogatory), blankly standing by the stand, waiting for the bus. When he saw him, he blinked dumbly.

Xiang Xun exclaimed: “you are here ah.”

Kou Jiang took half a step to the side, looking vigilant.

Xiang Xun glared at him: “Why are hiding? I specifically came here to see you.” He fiercely said: “You know so much, can we still allow you outside to endanger society?”

Kou Jiang turned around and ran away.

Xiang Xun: “You Stand Still!”

——

Qin Qing was already on a bus when he replied to what coffee he wanted to drink.

Half an hour later, he got off near the Penglai Market and walked for a bit before entering a bookstore.

The bookstore sold all kinds of second-hand books, and also sold student tutorial books, exercise books, and stationery.

The bookshelves were low and the second-hand books were stacked on the floor, with air conditioning and a fan overhead.

On weekday afternoons, close to the end of school time, the bookstore was completely empty with no one there.

The boss was sitting behind the cashier counter at the door playing games and didn’t even raise his head when he noticed someone enter through the door.

At the rear of a row of bookshelves, Qin Qing easily pulled out a book. From this angle, it was possible to see the street outside through the doorway’s glass door.

Diagonally across the street was a high school.

Qin Qing still remembered the first time he came here. He stood from 6 or 7 p.m until evening.

After 9:30, the bookstore suddenly became busy outside with students who had finished their evening studies.

When the students were out of school, the bookstore suddenly became lively.

The glass door was pushed open again and again, and wave upon wave of students came in. Their youthful faces were brimming with vitality.

Qin Qing kept waiting through it until finally, a pretty girl with a ponytail pushed open the glass door, and following after her was another girl a few steps behind. The moment that girl entered she yelled: “Ru Han! You wait for me.”

Ru Han.

She was Ru Han.

On that day, Qin Qing met Ru Han, who was a year younger than him and was in her final year of high school.

That beautiful and innocent face was something (of her) that Qin Qing had never seen in his previous life.

Because they had originally met at a wine table at a Trade conference, Qin Qing’s face was numb from covering wine* for the boss and Ru Han who was on the other side of the round table was tired of socializing.

t/n: 顶酒 drinking on behalf of someone, to drink the alcohol that another person is socially compelled to drink

And afterward, the two people mutually saw each other’s most wretched appearance.

There was a year that Qin Qing accompanied Ru Han abroad to get a facial procedure. After the procedure was done, her whole face was wrapped in layers upon layers of white gauze and was all swollen.

She still wanted to joke about it and told him that his agent aesthetics were too poor. Obviously, she was originally very beautiful and didn’t need to go under the knife at all.

And Qin Qing at that time, in order to comfort her could only say that she is more beautiful now and will look even more beautiful after recovery.

Ru Han said: Unlikely.

“My most beautiful time was when I was 17, when I was in my third year of high school.”

That’s exactly now.

And no matter which generation, girls who are young and pretty and ignorant of the world all seem to harbor a dream of stardom.

In the bookstore, apart from selling books and stationery, they also sold a lot of uncopyrighted celebrity merch: posters and stickers.

Girls are fond of pretty things and are also fond of handsome male stars, so they arrange to come to the bookstore, and look at the stickers and flip through the posters.

Ru Han stood among several girls, looking at the celebrity merch. there was light envy and yearning in the corner of her eyes.

Someone among the girls said: “Ru Han, you are so beautiful. You can be a star in future.”

Ru Han naturally said: “I also want to ah, but how do other people successfully become celebrities? Do you test for a film academy?

“Whether or not you go take the film test you can still be one ah”

“Forget it. If Old Chen knew, he would definitely want to call me over to talk again.”

“Do you want to buy a poster?”

“Buy whose?”

“Su Zhihe’s’.”

“I Do, I Do, I Do, buy, buy, buy!”

Several girls clustered together and grabbed the pirated posters and went to the cashier to pay.

Ru Han was so pretty that the other students, especially the boys, who were standing next to the cashier, were all looking at her.

Not long after, the girls left altogether, one by one.

Qin Qing was still standing at the rear of the bookshelf, a little lost in thought.

When the people left, he returned to his senses. He pretended to put the book in his hand back, only to discover a thin layer of sweat on his palm.

———He was still nervous.

Even though he knew that Kou Jiang deliberately hedged his words and Ru Han did not enter the industry and was at school all along.

Yet, Qin Qing couldn’t help being nervous.

The image of Ru Han’s suicide and collapse in a pool of blood in his previous life was still very much in his mind, as well as the many times she shouted herself hoarse as she sought death; completely numb and defeated without the desire to live.

And the fact that Ru Han had something to do with him made Qin Qing instinctively nervous.

Therefore, even though he knew that Kou Jiang deliberately set him up with Ru Han’s news, he constantly felt uneasy and still had to come and look.

And now that he’s seen her, he felt relieved.

Qin Qing exhaled and prepared to go to the side to find some auxiliary study materials. Since he’s already here, he’ll buy some books and then leave.

He barely turned around when a figure of a person flashed in front of him. With a clasp of his wrist and with a few steps, he was taken to the corner with his back pressing against the bookshelf.

Qin Qing looked up to see who it was and his eyes showed amazement. This look was clearly on his face. There was nowhere to hide it, and there was no time to conceal it.

Su Zhihe, who was wearing a mask and hat, was rather calm: “Don’t be nervous.”

Qin Qing: “…”

Su Zhihe stuffed something into his arms: “Want to buy a book? Just in time. Pay the bill for me.”

Qin Qing lowered his head and discovered that stuffed in his arm, were a few old books.

He stabilized his mind and asked: “You came to buy a book?”

A few students walked by the side of the bookshelf.

Su Zhihe lowered the brim of his hat and his voice was muffled in the mask: “Almost”

Almost?

Su Zhihe: “mainly to find you. Purchase books in passing.”

Qin Qing: “…”

“Classmate, excuse me.” The bookshelves were placed compactly and there was someone passing through. Su Zhihe leaned forward and propped his hand on the bookshelf next to Qin Qing’s face. It was so close that Qin Qing pressed his head against the bookshelf.

It was already like this, yet boss Su still wanted to cherish every moment and make every second to talk count.

As he spoke, underneath the brim of his hat, they were standing very close with gazes locked on each other.

Su Zhihe: “I’ll wait for you.”

Qin Qing stuck close to the bookshelf, the sweat hair all over his body started flaring up.

t/n: alternatively baby hair/fine hair

The distance is too close!

It’s too close!

Su Zhihe, however, uncharacteristically maintained the posture of propping up his arms to shackle the person in front of him and reached out to pinch Qin Qing on the chin, and with a mysterious tone: “Didn’t I already say it, don’t be nervous.”

Qin Qing: “!”

The sweat hair exploded out.

Not only him, but also a boy who just squeezed through behind Su Zhihe, turned his head and when he saw the two of them, let out a meaningful “Holy Shit!”

Qin Qing: “…”

What’s more, after the boys’ exclamation of  “Holy Shit ” was over, Su Zhihe slowly turned his head and calmly said: “What are you looking at?” never seen it before?”

“…” The boy pulled out two books from the bookshelf and quickly walked away: “I’ve seen it. Continue, you guys should continue.”

Qin Qing: “…”

When the boy left, Su Zhihe still maintained his posture and asked Qin Qing: “Do you want to continue here or in the car?”

t/n:

Then when two girls approached, their eyes widened. they furtively covered their mouths and turned around to run away.

Qin Qing: “……”

Afterward, when Qin Qing took the book to pay, he quickly calmed down.

Su Zhihe being here shouldn’t be a coincidence.

If it’s not a coincidence, then things were not so simple.

“61 bucks,” the boss pressing the calculator said: “it’s 61 bucks.”

Qin Qing took out the amount and paid the bill.

The boss packed the book into a plastic bag, then lifted his eyes again and looked at him. Out of goodwill, he reminded: “If your school teacher catches you. You’re done for.”

Qin Qing took the bag and looked back at the boss.

The boss glanced at the bookshelf where they were standing just now and coughed twice: “Study carefully ah. Don’t fall in love early.”

Qin Qing: “……?”

t/n: poor Qin Qing, to be so misunderstood because of SZH, sigh