Mr. Zhou Doesn’t Want to Work Hard Anymore!

Chapter 36

The program was recorded in a cheerful atmosphere. On that evening, fans who attended the program recording at the scene uploaded their thoughts on Weibo.

【”The guests on ‘Carp’ were really hilarious. Ren, the Emperor of Shadows, had been serious for so many years, and now it’s finally revealed that he has a hidden sense of humor. Yun jie is really good at self-deprecating. Zhuang Jingle… Zhuang Jingle could form a silly group with Zhou Chenxi, and he’s not a CP killer, he’s a divine assist haha! PS. ‘Hope CP’ gave us some sugar that day, very satisfying!”】

Many people quickly commented: 【”The blogger dares to ship ‘Hope CP,’ that’s quite bold.”】

The blogger replied: 【”It’s well known that President Lu rejects all CPs related to him, except for Hope.”】

Quickly received numerous likes.

In another gossip forum, fans shared some insider information:

【”Reliable news, authentic! In this week’s recording of ‘Entertainment Game,’ there was a segment where a guest makes a phone call to a friend (something like that). There’s news that the original plan was for Yun jie to call President Lu, but since President Lu won’t be participating in other variety shows after this, and ‘Carp’ has high popularity, the program team wanted to use this method to have him make an appearance. As a result, Yun jie said something inappropriate in the first segment, so in the following segment, Zhou Chenxi made the call to President Lu. As expected, ‘Hope’ CP delivered sugar again!”】

【”Did the guests from ‘Carp’ appear on ‘Entertainment Game’? Wow, which episode? I must watch it! Also, I want to confess my love to President Lu, he’s really handsome, I love you wuwuwu!”】

【”LS, don’t love President Lu, he belongs to someone else.”】

【”Don’t love President Lu, he belongs to someone else +1.”】

【”In the future, if President Lu doesn’t appear on stage, I will completely fall into unrequited love wuwuwu…”】

【”It’s okay, you can collect various major financial magazines. I don’t believe such an excellent man can escape the attention of magazines. Please don’t casually interview him, uncover him!”】

【”Where will you place Xi Xi (dog head emoji)?”】

【”So am I the only one curious about what Yun jie said that was inappropriate?”】

OP’s reply: 【”Yunjie said she used to have a crush on President Lu, but President Lu didn’t respond—don’t know if this segment will be broadcasted. If Yunjie’s side does PR, I might get banned. Also, Xi Xi called President Lu, and President Lu said the name ‘Hope’ for the CP is reversed.”】

【”OMG!”】

【”OMG hahaha, the CP I shipped is real indeed! Mom asked me why I’m crying and laughing at home!”】

【”Suddenly realized President Lu knows a lot hahaha!”】

【”Haha, how come President Lu is always quick to clear his name? Turns out anyone with Zhou Chenxi will become a silly pair!”】

Meanwhile, on that evening, the sixth episode of “Carp” was broadcasted.

The destination of the sixth episode was in Xicheng, and it was President Lu’s final complete participation in “Carp.” Due to the related excitement, the viewership of the sixth episode of “Carp” reached a new high that evening.

Zhou Chenxi finally had time to sit in front of his iPad and watch “Carp” with everyone.

The program started just like the previous episodes, with an opening scene, and then text subtitles slowly appeared: “In order to capture the tail end of summer, the carps come to the hot Xicheng to embark on a brand new journey this episode.”

In the scene, an airplane flew across the sky and landed slowly at Xicheng Airport.

“President Lu, wait for me!” Zhou Chenxi wore a duckbill cap on his head and hastily packed a bunch of things in his hands, then rushed out of the aircraft cabin to catch up with President Lu.

“What were you drawing all the way?” President Lu asked him on the way.

Zhou Chenxi hugged his sketchbook silently. “Nothing.”

Later, two close-ups were quickly edited—one was Zhou Chenxi drawing and doodling on the plane, occasionally looking back at President Lu, and observant viewers could tell that he was drawing President Lu. The other was after the conversation with President Lu, Zhou Chenxi stopped, discreetly put the sketchbook into his backpack, and deliberately looked up at President Lu to see if he noticed.

Text: “We really have no idea who you were drawing, oh!”

Zhou Chenxi: “…”

Danmaku (bullet screen comments) were filled with laughter:

【”Hahaha, the program team is naughty! Don’t expose our Xi Xi like that!”】

【”I thought he was drawing San Hua (Three Flowers)? Didn’t he post two manga pictures on Weibo before? Maybe it was around that time?”】

【”Maybe he drew several more, no need to say more, there’s definitely President Lu inside. Zhou Chenxi, quickly reveal your drawing!”】

【”Zhou Chenxi, quickly reveal your drawing +1!”】

【”President Lu’s profile must be amazing, I want to secretly draw President Lu from that angle too!”】

The program officially started with everyone forming teams, and for certain reasons, Zhuang Jingle was “forced” to team up with President Lu and Zhou Chenxi.

【”Hahaha, he’s here! The CP killer title must have come from here, right?”】

【”I suddenly feel a bit sympathetic for Zhuang Jingle, what should we do?”】

【”Last week, watching the preview for this episode, I felt that Lele (Zhuang Jingle) was a bit out of place between President Lu and Xi Xi, and now that I’ve seen the full version, it’s even funnier. He’s practically sticking a sign on his face saying ‘I’m a light bulb’ haha!”】

Zhou Chenxi looked at Zhuang Jingle’s expression, and the later part cooperated well by giving a close-up. Zhuang Jingle’s expression was both pitiful and cute, leaving Zhou Chenxi in tears of laughter.

The following scenes showed the teams receiving pouches individually. President Lu and Zhou Chenxi were at the riverside, and President Lu injured his hand while saving a child from drowning, which garnered a lot of sympathy from the bullet screen.

Zhou Chenxi wasn’t in the mood to watch anymore.

With about ten minutes left on the progress bar, it seemed that they were going to play a game to compete for the priority to start the last round. The suspense of who would win in the end would carry over to the next episode.

In the next episode, Lu Ji only appeared for half of it, and there were no more scenes with him afterward.

Zhou Chenxi’s uplifted lips turned downward after half an hour, and he lost interest in continuing to watch. He closed the iPad, thought for a moment, opened Lu Ji’s chat box, and sent him a message:

【”Is your hand better now?”】

Lu Ji seemed to be busy or something, as he didn’t reply.

Closing his phone, Zhou Chenxi picked up his drawing board and started doodling out of boredom.

He took out the drawing of Lu Ji from before, set it up on an easel, adjusted the paints, and started coloring.

After a while, his phone lit up.

Zhou Chenxi quickly picked it up and saw a message from his older brother: 【Busy?”】

Zhou Chenxi: “…”

Just as he was about to reply, another message came in, this time from Lu Ji: 【”It’s fine now. Is the program recording going smoothly today?”】

Zhou Chenxi happily held his phone and began chatting with Lu Ji.

Unconsciously, more than half an hour passed, and only then did Zhou Chenxi remember his forgotten brother. He opened the chat with Zhou Mingxuan and saw another message from him:

【”It’s trending now. What does ‘Hope’ mean?”】

Zhou Chenxi’s neck tensed, and he quickly opened the trending topics. Indeed, the popularity of “Carp” was soaring today, with several terms related to Zhou Chenxi and Lu Ji on the list.

“#Hope# #Lu Ji ReverseCP# #Did Zhou Chenxi actually draw Lu Ji or not?# and also #Zhou Chenxi’s Three Flowers#.”

The first three trends were strongly associated with Lu Ji. Zhou Chenxi didn’t know how to respond to Zhou Mingxuan. As he was nervously composing his words, another message from Zhi Qi popped up on WeChat:

【”The ‘Dream Destiny’ team just contacted me. They’ve changed the actor for Sanhua in the movie version of ‘Dream Destiny’ to Luo Xinghe.”】

Zhou Chenxi: “??”

Before he had the chance to look at each trend, he hastily called Zhi Qi, “What’s going on?”

Zhi Qi explained, “Just got this news. Luo Xinghe’s team has already bought the script. Did you see the trend for #Zhou Chenxi’s Three Flowers#? It’s been boosted by Huang Tian, and all the associated terms are criticizing your marketing. They probably plan to ride on your popularity tonight. The trend for #Luo Xinghe’s Three Flowers# is also climbing.”

Zhou Chenxi quickly checked the trends and confirmed that #Luo Xinghe’s Three Flowers# had climbed from being ranked outside fifty to fifteenth in just one minute, with a tendency to rise further.

Having not had a chance to look at each trend in detail, Zhou Chenxi said in a hurry, “Let’s first try to suppress the trend for #Zhou Chenxi’s Three Flowers#, and deal with the rest later.”

After hanging up with Zhi Qi, Zhou Chenxi called Zhou Mingxuan.

In his past life, he had always thought that he dragged his brother into trouble because of his feud with Luo Xinghe, resulting in their ultimate defeat against Luo Xinghe, leading to their family’s downfall.

It was only in this life, after getting to know Lu Ji, that he realized Luo Xinghe’s oppression was unfounded, and it wasn’t solely because of him. Luo Xinghe oppressed others without reason. He was simply indulging his desire as the “Son of the World”.

Lu Ji said that in the vast universe, both of them were insignificant stars. They couldn’t shine as brilliantly as the sun, but they could strive to be like stars, emitting light and heat as much as they could.

That was enough.

At first, Zhou Chenxi thought that he could avoid trouble by not trying too hard. He believed he could evade Luo Xinghe and prevent all the tragedies from happening.

But Lu Ji had told him that was not the case.

Avoidance wasn’t the solution to all problems. Those who truly sought to harm him wouldn’t spare him just because he was weak. Instead, he needed to grow stronger to face such challenges.

“If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.”

Zhou Mingxuan didn’t pick up.

He was probably in a meeting at this time.

Zhou Chenxi wasn’t discouraged and continued to call. After more than ten minutes, Zhou Mingxuan finally answered, “Chenxi? Why are you calling me?”

His voice was soft, and there was background noise from the meeting room, indicating that he was indeed in a meeting.

“Brother,” Zhou Chenxi said, “I have something serious to discuss with you. Don’t pay attention to the trending topics tonight. I’ll handle this matter myself…”

“You mean the trend for #Zhou Chenxi’s Three Flowers#?”

Zhou Mingxuan’s voice returned to normal, showing that he had left the meeting room and was now earnestly talking to Zhou Chenxi on the phone. “I was just about to ask you. Did you sign the contract for ‘Dream Destiny’?”

“I haven’t signed it,” Zhou Chenxi replied. “I’m in negotiations, but someone else has taken it over. Please don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ll have better opportunities in the future…”

“Alright,” Zhou Mingxuan said, “I think so too. By the way, I was discussing business with someone today, and they mentioned a movie called ‘Cat Demon Chronicles.’ Have you heard of it?”

“‘Cat Demon Chronicles’?” Zhou Chenxi was taken aback.

“It’s a historical myth adaptation. The director is Luo Jitian. Do you know him?”

Zhou Chenxi was excited. “Luo Jitian! The top-tier director!! Ah, ah, ah! Brother, keep going. What happened to him?”

Zhou Mingxuan was nearly deafened by his high-pitched exclamation, “His production team is in the preparation stage, and they’re casting actors. If you’re interested, I can help you get in touch…”

“No need!” Zhou Chenxi exclaimed in excitement. “I have connections through my manager. I can ask him to inquire for me! I love you so much, brother! I’ll hang up! Oh, right! Please don’t pay attention to Luo Xinghe! I’ll handle this situation myself! Got it?”

Zhou Mingxuan’s head was spinning from the barrage of exclamation marks.

He had already assigned his subordinates to deal with the anti-fans’ attacks. The recently established “Zhou Chenxi Support Department” in the company was performing well. However, he decided not to tell Zhou Chenxi about this for now.

Facing his troubled younger brother, he just wanted to know one thing: “Hope” means what exactly? Also, what are ‘Top’ and ‘Bottom’?”

Zhou Chenxi: “…”

Don’t ask! If you ask, it means you know too much, big brother!

—–

The author has something to say: Thanks to the “Happy Little Bear” grenade!

I recommend a cute article to everyone, you can directly search the ID “4449279”:

“After Rebirth, I Was Licked Bald by a Big Cat” by Taoli Shengge

In the interstellar era after being reborn, the stranded Bo Ge spent eighteen years on a deserted planet. Without his adoptive father knowing, he secretly obtained a holographic helmet.

On the first day of the game, Bo Ge rescued an orange cat that could transform into a human from an extreme environment. Faced with the incredulous gaze of the orange cat, Bo Ge couldn’t help but ask,

“Didn’t your father make you try various poisons every day?”

“No…”

“Have you undergone kidnapping and servitude training?”

“No…”

“Have you tried to communicate with animals and have basic conversations?”

“You… round-faced orange cat,” twisted his face, “Are you a princess?”

Upon learning that in the interstellar era, humans were pampered and protected, and not even cosmic radiation could harm them, Bo Ge, who had lived a hard life, fell into contemplation.

(Old man, I don’t believe a word you say!)

Lie Beishuang, who had been waiting for his match since adulthood and failed for seven consecutive years, got so angry that he participated in interstellar battles. After rising to a top position, he was determined to change the Alliance law and abolish the foolish spouse matching mechanism.

In his eighth year as chief, just as the amendment was about to pass, the matching system notified him that he had been successfully matched, and a human with 99.9% compatibility was requesting a call.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Lie Beishuang pressed the connect button with a cold face, ready to express his strong opposition to the Alliance’s spouse matching system.

In the 3D projection, a human youth with black hair and black eyes, fair and translucent, sat by a desk, one hand propping up his chin, innocently tilting his head with curiosity, “Uncle, they say you were originally a leopard, can you purr?”

Staring at the boy’s beautiful collarbone, Lie Beishuang couldn’t control himself and revealed his tail, fluffy and quite long.

Thinking that he could cuddle the big cat every day after marriage, Bo Ge touched the large cat paws the size of a sand pot. The big cat pressed him down and crazily licked, and Bo Ge, who was almost licked bald, shed tears of regret for his past decisions.

1 TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”