The man who approached to chat was speechless for a moment. Xia Xiqing didn't even look at him, straightened his suit, and walked away without looking back.
Such a self-righteous person, if his pitiful self-confidence, which was like bubbles, was not completely destroyed, he would continue to pester her endlessly. Xia Xiqing walked across a street, hailed a taxi and got in.
On the way home, Xia Xiqing continued to look at the previous Weibo posts. The video was indeed released by the official movie Weibo, and netizens were indeed discussing it spontaneously, but he always felt that in the later stages of this matter, capital would definitely get involved and take this opportunity to hype it up.
Thinking of this, he felt a little unhappy. He went back to the apartment he had temporarily rented after returning to China, took a hot bath, and fell asleep on the bed.
Sure enough, Xia Xiqing slept until the next afternoon, and when he woke up, he found that his silent phone had more than 40 missed calls. He flipped through the phone and found that even his parents, who rarely called during the holidays, had called.
At this moment he even felt that he was enjoying it. He had suddenly become famous and was forced to appear in everyone's sight, including his father who had no feelings for him and his stepmother who hated him to the core. Being able to make them angry without even meeting him seemed to be a very fulfilling thing.
After tidying up, Xia Xiqing casually tied up his hair, leaving a small tuft on top of his head, and then changed into a not-so-clean work suit. He sat in front of the drawing board, with a mottled paint palette at hand, red and blue mixed together, blending into a dirty gray-purple. He closed his eyes, and Zhou Ziheng's disdainful expression that night appeared in front of him.
Like floating clouds, those images gradually slipped from the clouds of memory into the mind and became clear. Xia Xiqing captured them with lines and confined them on the drawing paper.
The three-dimensional outline, the overly sharp eyebrows and eyes, and the lips slightly pursed in disgust were all smeared on the flat surface by the heavy colors of the oil painting, leaving them nowhere to escape.
Xia Xiqing held a pen, leaned back in his chair, and placed one leg on the edge of the tool table, carefully examining the somewhat casual sketch.
I can't tell what I'm dissatisfied with. The expressions drawn with lines are always less than one ten-thousandth of the real person's charm, and even the degree of disgust cannot be simulated.
The cell phone rang again, Xia Xiqing stretched out his arm and reached for it, taking it in his hand.
It's an unfamiliar number.
"Excuse me, who are you?" He responded in his usual falsely friendly tone.
"We've met before. Do you remember me?" The other party's voice was indeed familiar. Xia Xiqing only took a second or two to react and then recalled: "Ah... You are Miss Jiang."
"Yes, you have a good memory." Jiang Yin laughed on the other end of the phone, "Are you troubled recently? You are very popular on the Internet."
Xia Xiqing smiled and stretched, "Fortunately, I have been sleeping, and you are the first call I received."
Jiang Yin was a little surprised. This young man was so calm that he didn't even ask how she got the contact information.
It was already dusk when the two of them made the appointment. There were few people in the coffee shop. The orange sunlight shone through the transparent floor-to-ceiling glass windows, blending into the rich aroma of coffee, wrapping Xia Xiqing in it.
Jiang Yin pinched the coffee spoon between her fingers and stirred the milk foam in circles, looking at the young man in front of her.
His dark hair was dyed with a warm halo by the setting sun, his delicate face was smiling, and the small mole on the tip of his nose was gentle and charming. I didn't notice it last time, but there was a thin scar on his chin, which was almost overlapping with the jawline, and it was not easy to find. Xia Xiqing was more casual than she thought, wearing only a dirty gray work suit, which was big and old, and was stained with paint, both new and old.
However, Jiang Yin recognized the brand of the clothes at once. This trendy brand is quite expensive and is a favorite brand of many celebrities when they do the so-called airport fashion. The one he is wearing seems to be a limited edition co-branded model, which is a good investment.
"Were you drawing just now?"
"Yeah." Xia Xiqing lowered his eyes and looked at his palm. There was a large piece of dark blue paint on the outside. He rubbed it with his fingers, but it couldn't be removed. So he spoke directly without raising his head, "What do you want me to do?"
Seeing him being so direct, Jiang Yin didn't bother to be polite anymore and got straight to the point: "Have you ever thought about making your debut?"
Xia Xiqing tapped the wall of the coffee cup with his fingers, looking at the people coming and going outside the window, "Debut?"
"You are really good and popular with the audience, as can be seen from this trending search." Jiang Yin subconsciously put on the posture of a gold medal agent. "In fact, in our opinion, artists are also divided into levels. The worst ones cannot get attention no matter how hard they try. Such people are the majority in this circle. The better ones can slowly get ahead, hone their acting skills, or wait for opportunities, and there will always be a time when they will become popular. The last type is the talented contestant, who is born with fire. Even if they don't say a word, as long as there is a camera, they can get a lot of attention." Jiang Yin leaned forward, "You are the last type."
A child walked by with a hydrogen balloon in his hand, but he didn't hold it tightly and let it fly away. The child stared blankly at the sky and suddenly burst into tears. Xia Xiqing looked at it and couldn't help laughing.
Feeling ignored, Jiang Yin coughed. Xia Xiqing then lazily turned around and looked at her, "Ms. Jiang, you are definitely an expert in this circle, but even the most powerful experts can make mistakes sometimes."
"What's the meaning?"
"You've made a mistake now." Xia Xiqing leaned back on the sofa, too lazy to cover up, "I'm not the last type. Let me tell you directly, I'm a big trouble." His eyes were full of smiles, and the warm light from the window flowed in his dark pupils. "You will regret it. If you pull me into this circle, I will cause you trouble continuously."
Jiang Yin looked at him for a long while before speaking again, "I understand that you don't want to debut. I have a plan B."
Xia Xiqing raised his eyebrows. Since he was bored, he might as well listen. "You go ahead."
"There is a reality show recently that needs amateurs to participate." Jiang Yin took out a plan from her bag and handed it to Xia Xiqing, "I am also involved in the production of this reality show, and I would like to invite you to participate."
"Invite me?" Xia Xiqing flipped through the plan and saw a few words before finally understanding, "So you are planning for Zhou Ziheng. This is actually your plan A."
"You are really the smartest person I have ever met." Jiang Yin did not hide her true motives. "I guessed that you would not agree to debut. If I said it, I would definitely be rejected. I just wanted to give it a try. You should know that I am a shareholder of Ziheng's agency. Of course, there is a deeper relationship than being a shareholder. I am not in a position to talk about it now. Ziheng is an artist that our company is currently promoting. His acting skills and conditions are very good, but you also know that there is a common problem for those who debut as child stars, that is, they lack loyal fans. His national popularity has always been very high, but now this circle is no longer an era where resources are exchanged for national popularity."
"You need traffic." Xia Xiqing used a coffee spoon to break the layer of milk foam on the surface.
"That's right." Jiang Yin tapped the table with her fingers. "With Ziheng's acting skills and appearance, if he has more traffic, he will become an absolute phenomenon. This is what I want."
Xia Xiqing understood her purpose, but he found it interesting. "Then do you think I can bring him traffic?"
"Otherwise I wouldn't come to you. You have to know that traffic comes from topics. To put it bluntly, the fastest way is to hype up CP."
"It's true that you can become popular by hyping up couples, but I find it very strange. Zhou Ziheng has had quite a few couples, many of whom are popular young actors. Why did you choose an amateur like me?"
Although Xia Xiqing asked this, he 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 had no fan base and no company to operate was more suitable to be used as a cooperator.
"You are now a hot topic. You are the most popular amateur now. Just look at the hot searches in the past few days to know how much potential your face has." Jiang Yin said flatteringly, "The original plan for this reality show was to be a real-life escape room, but I rejected it because it lacked popularity. There have been similar shows before, but they all failed. Sometimes the audience just wants to watch something really interesting."
"For example?" Xia Xiqing supported his chin with his hand, his expression didn't change much.
"For example, a star and his fans are trapped in the same secret room and try every possible way to escape." Jiang Yin propped up her chin with her hand and looked at Xia Xiqing with a smile, "If the fan is also a handsome guy, then I guess those girls will be more interested."
I see.
"So yesterday's hot search on Weibo was bought by you, right?" With a clang, the coffee spoon that was originally in his hand fell against the wall of the cup, and Xia Xiqing withdrew his fingers.
Jiang Yin didn't think anything of being exposed by him, and replied calmly: "I just fanned the flames after you became a trending search. But I want to clarify in advance that the initial release of the video was an accident. I actually guessed that you would be noticed when I met you, but I didn't expect it to be so exaggerated."
So why not just use it? It's a terrible occupational disease.
I wonder what the beneficiary feels after finding out about this.
Speaking of the beneficiaries... Zhou Ziheng's extremely disgusted expression appeared in my mind again.
Xia Xiqing suddenly sat up straight with interest, propped up his chin with his hand and smiled at her: "Your suggestion is indeed quite interesting, but you probably don't know that my idol hates me very much now."
He deliberately stretched out the word "very" and then smiled with his eyes narrowed, as if he was quite proud.
Jiang Yin didn't quite understand, "Have you met in private? How could he hate you? He is very nice to his fans."
"Well... I accidentally encountered him in private. How should I put it..." The situation was too embarrassing. Xia Xiqing couldn't think of a suitable explanation for a while, so he had to give up. "Anyway, it happened like this. I bet you that if he knew it was me, he would definitely not agree to be on this show."
Jiang Yin was silent for a while, "What if I convince him? Will you come?"
Xia Xiqing, who was originally staring at the paint on his fingertips, raised his head with a look of joy in his eyes, "Come on." His ending tone was also very brisk, which made Jiang Yin feel curious. It was really too straightforward.
"Really?" Jiang Yin showed a suspicious expression on her face, "I find it a little strange that you agreed so quickly."
Xia Xiqing nodded again, "Really? I agree."
He felt excited when he thought about the scene where Zhou Ziheng had to live with him even though he obviously hated him.
Excitement is the source of creative desire.
"By the way, are you sure you want to invite me to this kind of reality show that requires intelligence?" Xia Xiqing laughed, "What if I can't help at all and just hold Zhou Ziheng back?"
Xia Xiqing's words were not without basis. After all, he was a fan of Zhou Ziheng and knew him to some extent. Zhou Ziheng resolutely gave up art school in the college entrance examination and went to the Physics Department of P University. Xia Xiqing was shocked. She didn't expect that this child star was actually a high-IQ science boy. She thought he was going to give up his career in the entertainment industry and devote himself to the path of socialist scientific research. Who knew that he would come out to take acting jobs later.
You can still act well without going to a so-called professional school. When God opens a door for a person, he will most likely open all his windows, or leave no cracks at all, making it as dark as a solitary confinement room.
Reality is so cruel.
"That's what I originally thought. Ziheng is smart enough, and you can set him off better." Jiang Yin smiled, not hiding her original plan. "But I still did some research on you, it's my occupational disease. I was really surprised that you are from the Florence Academy of Fine Arts. Oh, by the way, I also accidentally saw your record of participating in himcm before."
careless
This woman is too scary. Although Xia Xiqing kept a straight face, he admired her detective ability from the bottom of his heart. She participated in the Mathematical Modeling Competition when she was in high school, but she was able to find out, let alone a family like his.
"I think someone like you will never be the one who holds us back." Jiang Yin looked at Xia Xiqing with a fake smile, and Xia Xiqing returned her fake smile, "I'll try my best."
After saying goodbye 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 new cakes. His actions were so fast that he was even faster than choosing a flirting partner that caught his eye.
"So you really want to be on TV?" Xu Qichen asked vaguely and with a little surprise, with a cake in his mouth.
Xia Xiqing, who was sitting on the ground, nodded, stretched out his long legs and crossed them. He couldn't help but complain, "Isn't the term 'going on TV' a bit too old-fashioned? I'm going to participate in a reality show."
"All the same." Xu Qichen ate too fast and choked a little. He got off the sofa and ran to the refrigerator to find a drink.
Xia Xiqing looked at his back and said, "You're barefoot again. Xia Zhixu hasn't talked about you enough." After saying that, he glanced at the milk carton that had no aesthetic value, but couldn't help asking, "Do you have any wine?"
"Drink less. You Xia family members smoke and drink a lot, and have a lot 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, "How dare you say that? That kid's biggest bad habit in his life is you."
"You are the one with the bad habit." Xu Qichen said casually, "Don't laugh. There is always someone better. Sooner or later, it will be your turn."
Xia Xiqing shrugged, "Then let's see which unlucky person gets infected with my bad habit."
Xu Qichen thought about the reality show, "Why did the producer choose you? There seem to be very few reality shows like this, and it's usually hard to invite guests."
"That person somehow found the records of me and Xia Zhixu participating in the competition, plus the last hot search." Xia Xiqing pinched the milk carton with a headache, "So I said I hate the Internet."
"But then again..." Xu Qichen, who loves to watch the fun, smiled and leaned back on the sofa pillow, "If you participated in that show, you could get closer to your idol."
"Not an idol, but a sexual fantasy object." Xia Xiqing became excited when he mentioned this. "Finally, you've got the point. If it was before, I probably wouldn't agree. It would be disgusting to have my every move recorded by a machine. But now Zhou Ziheng seems to dislike me very much, which is interesting."
Xu Qichen was a little confused. He didn't understand what the VIP ticket had achieved, and he couldn't figure out what was going on in Xia Xiqing's mind.
Being hated by the person you like, but still feeling excited
"Aren't you a masochist? Why do I feel like you are a masochist?"
Xia Xiqing laughed and pinched Xu Qichen's face. "Chenchen, you are too naive. Don't you think it's... interesting to see someone who hates you being forced to suppress his emotions and working together with you and even getting along with you in front of the camera?"
In fact, he hesitated when he was choosing the wording. The original candidate was "sexy". In his mind, Zhou Ziheng endured the disgust for himself and was forced to perform a sense of closeness without airs. That picture was really very sexy.
It makes people want to do everything they can to challenge the bottom line of his disguise.
It was already late when he got home, and another unfamiliar number came in on his cell phone. Xia Xiqing picked up the call, only to find that the other party was actually his stepmother.
Xia Xiqing really couldn't think of any convincing reason to call him at this time.
"Xi Qing, you didn't even tell me you were returning to China?"
The other party's voice was as hypocritical as ever. Xia Xiqing turned on the speakerphone and put it aside.
"If I had known you were coming back from Florence, I should have told you in advance so your father and I could send someone to pick you up. Now we have to see you on TV news. It's really not easy." Her voice was as smooth as a fish, and her hands were full of fishy smell. "You are the son of the Xia family after all. It's not good for you to stay out all the time and appear on TV. Give your father more..."
Xia Xiqing snorted coldly, walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of ice water, unscrewed it and took a few big gulps. The cold water flowed into his lungs, and all his internal organs were cold.
"Have you said enough? Mrs. Xia, the cuckoo in the magpie's nest."
The other party was obviously hesitant, and when he spoke again, he was less confident, "Why are you so aggressive? I just care about you..."
"Aggressive?" Xia Xiqing slammed the refrigerator door shut. "You have been pretending to be kind to me for so long, what on earth do you want to do? Let me think, is my mother's property going to be transferred? Or does Xia Yunkai want to divide the family?"
"you!"
It seems that what he said came true.
Xia Xiqing smiled and said, "If you have the time to pretend to be nice to me, you might as well go and ask your husband to stop messing around with other women and have more illegitimate children to share the family property with your son. Isn't my suggestion reasonable?"
"You..." Xia Xiqing saw through everything the other person said and did, and she couldn't help but get angry. The kindness and gentleness she had pretended to have before were all torn apart by her, "You shameless slut, you are the same kind of person as your father. You, you guys, you just mess around outside all day long!"
"If he hadn't been messing around, how could you have entered the Xia family?" Xia Xiqing's tone was very gentle, "You have to be grateful."
The other party started cursing again, and what he said was nothing more than the same few sentences: You are a shameless playboy just like your father, and neither of you will have a good ending. Xia Xiqing had heard a lot of ugly words since he was a child and had long been used to it.
After quietly waiting for her to finish showing her shrewish face, Xia Xiqing put the bottle in his hand back on the table, turned around and leaned his back against the sink, and finally spoke again.
"No."
The person on the other end of the conversation was stunned. "What did you say?"
Breathing is not smooth, feeling stuffy.
Xia Xidan unbuttoned the first button of his shirt with one hand and reiterated once again: "I said, Xia Yunkai and I are not the same kind of people."
This is a bit more comfortable.
"He does women, I do men."