Chapter 10: Pretending Not to Know Him
Chi Shaochen stood and turned to face Xiahou Qian directly. He extended his right hand. “Chi Shaochen.”
Though his face remained expressionless, those who knew him could tell his voice was much gentler than usual.
“Xiahou Qian.” Xiahou Qian also extended his right hand.
The two shook hands and let go. Even so, Lu Ke was incredibly surprised. Even knowing these two had already “rolled the sheets” together, seeing Chi Shaochen take the initiative to have skin contact with someone was still a marvel.
Xiahou Qian only knew that Chi Shaochen didn’t like being close to others, but he didn’t realize how severe his mysophobia was. Thus, he didn’t feel much about the handshake. Actually, even if he had known, after they had already done this and that, a handshake was nothing, right?
Observing Chi Shaochenâs expression, Xiahou Qian saw him looking at him with the eyes one uses for a stranger. He realized the man truly didn’t remember himâor perhaps he had never remembered such a person from the start? He didn’t know how to precisely describe the feeling. It felt as if a stone were pressing on his heart, making it difficult to breatheâboth stifling and painful.
“Everyone, sit.” Lu Ke laughed to break the ice. Wang Wei had already slipped away the moment he sensed the atmosphere was off.
Despite Xiahou Qianâs outward appearance of calm, only he understood his internal conflict. He was intentionally pretending not to know Chi Shaochen, but it wasn’t because he wanted to sever ties. Quite the opposite; he was just afraid of drawing Chi Shaochenâs loathing. Or, perhaps, there was a bit of pride (tsundere) involved?
Even given the chance to get close to Chi Shaochen, he couldn’t truly refuse. Even if Chi Shaochen had forgotten that night, Xiahou Qian wasn’t willing to “cling” to him. It was a contradiction… he didn’t know what he was doing. Having been reborn with so many advantages over his last life, he found himself being unwilling to settle.
Well, he was just being “pretentious.”
From his initial nervous conflict to his later stray thoughts, Xiahou Qianâs face miraculously maintained its high-cold, indifferent mask. This wasn’t intentional; it was a habit from his last life. Even though he had been smiling more in this life, he didn’t know that when his mind wandered and he stopped controlling his expression, he would subconsciously revert to his “Cold Male God” persona.
“You sing very well,” Chi Shaochen said.
“Thank you,” Xiahou Qian replied with a smile.
“Lu Ke said you won’t sign with a company because you’re afraid of too many restrictions?” Chi Shaochen asked again.
“Mm. After signing, everything has to follow the companyâs arrangements. I just want to sing well.” Why is it Lu Ke again? He didn’t want to hear that name from Chi Shaochenâs mouth at all.
“I have an entertainment company under me. Do you want to join? The contract can be drafted according to your terms. I believe that even if you only sing, you will go higher and further than anyone else,” Chi Shaochen invited directly.
“Alright.” Xiahou Qian agreed very decisively. For no other reason than because the person saying this was Chi Shaochen, and the boss of the company he would sign with was him.
“Iâll make the arrangements. Weâll sign in a month. During this time, stay with Lu Ke. Iâll contact you then.” Chi Shaochen was spouting nonsense with a straight face. He did have countless companies under his name, but none of them were entertainment companies that met his requirements! That was the real reason he needed a month.
“Alright.” Xiahou Qian agreed again. Though he actually regretted staying at Night Color because he didn’t want to see Chi Shaochen and Lu Ke together, even if they seemed like just friends for now. But then again, if he hadn’t stayed at Night Color, he probably wouldn’t have met Chi Shaochen again.
“Then let’s exchange contact information. Give me your phone.” Chi Shaochenâs tone was several degrees gentler than at the beginning.
Xiahou Qian said nothing. He unlocked his phone and handed it to Chi Shaochen.
Chi Shaochen took it, dialed his own number to save it, added his name to the contacts, and then handed it back. He then saved Xiahou Qianâs number in his own phone.
By this time, the 8:00 PM band had taken the stage. With the music playing, it was no longer suitable for conversation. Xiahou Qian didn’t know what else to say. After listening to Lu Ke and Chi Shaochen talk for a while, he excused himself and left. He couldn’t ask, and had no right to ask about their relationship.
Xiahou Qian had no idea that the moment he left, Chi Shaochenâwho had been half-heartedly chatting with Lu Keâsuddenly turned several degrees colder.
Lu Ke was speechless, only able to curse Chi Shaochen for choosing “beauty over friends.”
“Register an entertainment company for me. Sole proprietorship. No connection to AE or anything else. You have one month,” Chi Shaochen said without a hint of politeness. He said he was asking for a favor, but his tone was anything but. Only because they were truly close friends did Lu Ke not just turn and walk away.
Chi Shaochen asked Lu Ke for help because Lu Ke had connections in that area. Of course, Chi had them too, but Lu Ke was idle, wasn’t he?
“I was just wondering where you had an entertainment company…” He didn’t expect heâd be the one running the errands!
Well, he would just make a few calls and let his subordinates handle it.
“Recommend some suitable people to me,” Chi Shaochen said. Although the registration was Lu Keâs job, he needed the office, staff, and everything else ready within a month. He needed to take time to learn the processes and rules of an entertainment company. Otherwise, how could he handle it if he was too much of a layman? And what if Xiahou Qian suffered a loss because he didn’t know the ropes?
Unlike Xiahou Qian, Chi Shaochen was certain the boy remembered him. After all, Xiahou Qian had been sober that night. If he didn’t remember, or if he truly saw Chi as a stranger, he wouldn’t have agreed to join his company so easily, right? Regardless of his connection to Lu Keâafter all, Xiahou Qian had only started working here today.
“Fine. Whatâs the registered capital? And whatâs the company name?” Lu Ke asked.
“More than any other domestic competitor. As for the name… Qianchen Media.” Chi Shaochen thought of Xiahou Qianâs stage name and realized it contained the last characters of both their names. He made the decision immediately.
Lu Ke easily spotted his “brotherâs” sinister intentions, but what could he say? When your combat power is lower than someone else’s, you have no human rights!
…
Xiahou Qian hated this version of himselfâthe one with zero resistance against Chi Shaochen. He had once thought about running far away. But thinking back to his last life, even though he never had the chance to get close, his emotions were still dictated by this man. This made him realize that running away would be useless. After all, in his last life, he never even had a face-to-face contact; how much further could he get?
He was delighted by Chi Shaochenâs approach. This was something he had sought but never obtained even until death in his previous life. He wasn’t sure if Chi Shaochenâs attitude today was because he saw value in him or because he worked for Lu Ke.
He was conflicted. Now that he had Chi Shaochenâs contact info and would join his company, he would have chances to interact with him. But what then? Hope that Chi Shaochen would fall for him? Or just tell him about that night? But even if he told him, so what? He had done it willingly; Chi Shaochen hadn’t forced him. He couldn’t exactly make Chi Shaochen “take responsibility,” could he?
After much thought, Xiahou Qian decided to just let it be. Anything regarding Chi Shaochen would be dealt with as it came. Even if he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer. He thought he was fine, but when he arrived at Night Color the next afternoon and saw the man there even earlier than him, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted again. And because his conflict was internal, no one else could see it.
Chi Shaochen sat at the bar, holding a glass of some kind of alcohol. Though his posture was casual, his straight back and elegant demeanor marked him as a man of great upbringing. The nobility radiating from his bones made it clear he was no ordinary person.
Xiahou Qian was very careful with his own posture. Since his last life, triggered by his professorâs words, it had become a habit. After rebirth, he subconsciously integrated this good posture into his daily life. However, his own awareness was limited; he knew “faking it” was just faking it, unlike the natural grace of Chi Shaochen and Lu Ke.
“You’re here.” Chi Shaochen spoke first. Although he was expressionless, he felt very gentle. Xiahou Qian wasn’t narcissistic enough to think it was because of him; he just thought Chi Shaochen was in a good mood today. Because of Lu Ke?
“You’re here early, CEO Chi. Is CEO Lu inside?” Xiahou Qian sat next to him.
“Lu Ke? He’s not here.” Seeing Xiahou Qian ask about Lu Ke immediately, Chi Shaochen was not happy. The air around him turned cold.
“Oh.” So Chi Shaochen is here waiting for Lu Ke?
“Do you like Lu Ke?” Chi Shaochen asked coldly.
Xiahou Qian dazed, completely unable to understand why the topic had jumped so fast. He felt both bewildered and a bit hurt. Is Chi Shaochen jealous because he thinks I like Lu Ke? Thinking of this, Xiahou Qianâs face also turned cold.
“Rest assured, CEO Chi. I have no interest in CEO Lu.” As expected. Even if they aren’t together yet, Chi Shaochen already has feelings for Lu Ke.
Hearing Xiahou Qianâs cold reply, Chi Shaochen felt something was odd. He was relieved that Xiahou Qian didn’t like Lu Ke, but something about those words felt wrong. He looked at Xiahou Qian, trying to find a clue on his face, but after a long time, he found nothing except the fact that the youth was in a bad mood.
Xiahou Qian, meanwhile, thought Chi Shaochen was staring because he didn’t believe him. He spoke bluntly: “I know how you feel about CEO Lu, and I won’t be so overconfident as to compete! So you can rest easy. Or should I just resign from Night Color?” His voice dropped another degree.
Chi Shaochen was completely stunned for a moment. The gaze he turned on Xiahou Qian was full of shock and disbelief!
Recommended Reads
