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

Chapter 46

During Zhou Chenxi’s busy days on the set, “The Journey of the Immortals” had a confirmed broadcast schedule. Surprisingly, the “Zhou Chenxi Global Support Club” account was very diligent and even proactively contacted Zhi Qi, asking how they could cooperate with the promotion.

Zhi Qi sent them a plan, and they followed it efficiently and professionally. Over time, they managed to attract the attention of many of Zhou Chenxi’s fans.

During a phone call with Zhou Chenxi, Zhi Qi mentioned this remarkable fan account, “I misjudged him. He’s actually quite talented. He’s skilled at photo editing and video editing, and everything he does is pretty good. However, quite a few fans have complained to me about him, saying he’s an overzealous ‘poison-only’ fan.”

Zhou Chenxi: “??”

Zhi Qi cleared his throat and said, “After ‘Carp’ aired, didn’t the number of fans who ship you and Chairman Lu increase significantly? Chairman Lu didn’t say much about it, and we shouldn’t interfere too much. But this support club’s account frequently searches Weibo for posts related to both you and Chairman Lu or keywords like ‘hopeful,’ and it reports and blocks them, and removes followers in three steps. Some solo fans are upset but afraid to speak up, so they’ve come to me to complain.”

Zhou Chenxi asked, “Brother… cough, is he that strict? What should we do?”

“It’s okay,” Zhi Qi said. “I’ve created a new super topic related to ‘Hopeful’ separately. I’ve asked a site moderator I know to host it and gather all the CP fans there. We’ll keep a close watch, and hopefully, there won’t be any issues.”

“As for the ‘Zhou Chenxi Global Support Club’ side,” Zhi Qi continued, “I appealed to his emotions and reason, and I gently reminded him not to interfere too much in fans’ private lives. He reluctantly agreed, so I think as long as things don’t get too extreme, he’ll turn a blind eye.”

Zhou Chenxi: “…” His brother was truly remarkable.

After finishing the call with Zhi Qi, Zhou Chenxi suddenly thought that he should just pay his brother a salary directly or give him an “Annual Best Brother Award.”

However, his brother was already so wealthy; he probably wouldn’t care about Zhou Chenxi’s meager salary. He had also given gifts when needed, but his brother’s expressions when receiving gifts were always indifferent. It was impossible to tell whether he liked them or not. He had an even more domineering demeanor than a CEO.

How else could he express his gratitude?

Zhou Chenxi was feeling a bit troubled.

What troubled him even more was how to tell his brother that he and Lu Ji were now very good friends?

Lost in thought, Zhou Chenxi suddenly remembered what Zhi Qi had mentioned earlier—the new “Hopeful” super topic he had created. During a break from filming, he eagerly opened his phone and started browsing through it.

Wow, some fans were really talented. They not only excelled in art but also wrote some spicy stories, the kind that wasn’t allowed on Jinjiang literature platforms.

Noticing this, he continued to browse with enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, after a brief lull, Luo Xinghe, who had been quiet for a while, stirred up trouble again.

He started by posting on Weibo, accusing his talent agency of being unfair and unscrupulous. He claimed that in the past, they had shown him extra warmth because he had received many benefits from his righteous brother, Luo Xingzhou. However, now that Luo Xingzhou had fallen out of favor, the company began treating him poorly. They not only allocated the resources that belonged to him to others but also ignored him. Recently, when he inquired about the company’s plans for his future, the company’s leader mockingly replied, “You’ve already fallen from grace; do you still expect us to make plans for you?”

This Weibo post garnered many comments from his fans.

Some fans had been following him for a long time and didn’t believe he was the kind of person the public portrayed him to be. They hoped the talent agency would provide an explanation and that Luo Xinghe would make a comeback with better works.

Some fans were less polite, directly berating the talent agency for their inaction, which had caused Luo Xinghe to lose several opportunities. They questioned if the agency wanted to push Luo Xinghe to his limits by not securing future schedules for him.

Although Luo Xinghe’s popularity had dwindled, many people in the entertainment industry naturally disliked talent agencies. They believed that Luo Xinghe’s agency had gone too far this time and that he deserved another chance.

As a result, after Luo Xinghe’s Weibo post had been up for half an hour, discussions started to gain momentum.

As the buzz grew, Luo Xinghe posted another Weibo, featuring a set of audition photos taken during his previous negotiations with the “Dream Destiny” team. In these photos, Luo Xinghe wore cat ear headgear and a costume with a floral design.

This post made his fans feel that something was amiss, especially when Luo Xinghe added the following text:

“During my contract extension period with the ‘Dream Destiny’ team, I fulfilled my duties diligently and did not violate any contract terms. The ‘Dream Destiny’ team unilaterally proposed the termination of the contract. Shouldn’t they owe me an explanation?”

This made many people believe that Luo Xinghe had suddenly gone insane. Some speculated that he was comparing himself to someone, possibly feeling he was just as good as that person, and that he deserved the resources that “Dream Destiny” had voluntarily given up.

This pressured the “Dream Destiny” team to clarify:

“Luo attempted to forge a contract, impersonated the investment party’s responsible person, causing significant economic losses to our company. We have now gathered evidence and submitted it to the court for trial. We hope these individuals will stop spreading rumors. [Image]”

The attached image was a document from the local court confirming the acceptance of the case against Luo Xinghe.

This indicated that they intended to sue Luo Xinghe.

Weibo was soon ablaze with discussions. After his recent flop, Luo Xinghe was back in the spotlight, and everyone was wondering if he had suffered some kind of emotional shock.

Admittedly, the “Dream Destiny” team had also made some mistakes, such as easily trusting Luo Xinghe. However, it seemed that Luo Xinghe’s behavior in this matter was quite remarkable.

Combined with Director Cui’s intriguing words from before, it indirectly suggested that recent media reports about Luo Xinghe might be partially true.

Luo Xinghe lost two million followers overnight, dropping from over ten million to just over eight million. Some fans even advised him not to act erratically anymore, as his future prospects were genuinely at risk.

Under Luo Xinghe’s lead, discussions about him dominated the night on social media. It was like a fireworks display, and it eventually led to Huang Tian (Luo Xinghe’s talent agency) issuing an announcement, stating that they had terminated their contract with Luo Xinghe. From that point on, Luo Xinghe was no longer part of their talent roster.

On the day when all of this was happening, Zhou Chenxi was too busy with filming to follow the gossip closely. It was only after the fact that someone informed him of the situation.

Upon learning of these events, Zhou Chenxi quickly called Lu Ji and asked if he knew about them.

Lu Ji replied, “I’ve already inquired about it. Emperor Tian was planning to terminate their contract with Luo Xinghe at a high-level meeting, but somehow Luo Xinghe got wind of the news and wanted to leave with his manager. However, his manager didn’t want to continue representing him, and negotiations fell apart.”

Zhou Chenxi found it strange, “Why did I feel like Luo Xinghe wasn’t the type to do something like this when I was reading the book?”

Lu Ji explained, “Maybe it’s because of a filter. You had a preconceived notion of him, thinking that he should be as clever and talented as the main characters in the books. In reality, it might have been just a stroke of luck…”

“A bit of luck was enough to propel him to fame.”

Lu Ji glanced at the notebook on his desk and continued, “Of course, there might be another possibility…”

“What possibility?” Zhou Chenxi asked.

“Nothing,” Lu Ji closed his notebook.

That was just his speculation, without any concrete evidence. It was not easy to explain to Zhou Chenxi.

During a break in filming “The Tale of the Cat Demon,” Zhou Chenxi returned home. He hadn’t been home for over a month, and with his major scenes scheduled for the past month, he could finally take a few days off. Additionally, his parents, Zhou’s father and mother, might be returning from abroad these days. Zhou Chenxi wanted to have a meal with them and discuss his brother’s birthday next month.

His brother’s birthday was similar in significance to Lu Ji’s mother’s birthday. It was a time for family gatherings and business discussions. The difference was that Zhou Chenxi used to be absent on his brother’s birthday, but this year, he was back home, and his relationship with his brother was improving. His parents seemed to have forgiven him for pursuing a career in the entertainment industry, even though Zhou Chenxi still felt a little uneasy about it. However, it was a rare occasion for the family to reunite, and they had to celebrate it properly.

A few days later, Zhou Chenxi took a late-night flight back home. Zhou Mingxuan was sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching Zhou Chenxi’s performance in “The Journey of the Immortals.” Since Zhou Chenxi didn’t appear in the early episodes, Zhou Mingxuan was somewhat uninterested in the drama. However, he didn’t want to miss Zhou Chenxi’s scenes, so he resisted the urge to fast forward through the episodes, focusing on the TV while flipping through some company documents.

“Brother,” Zhou Chenxi entered the room with a weary expression, pulling his suitcase. “Why aren’t you resting? It’s quite late.”

Only then did Zhou Mingxuan turn off the TV and walk over to help Zhou Chenxi with his luggage. “Are you hungry?”

Zhou Chenxi shook his head and reached out to put his arms around his brother’s neck.

Zhou Mingxuan patted him on the back, smiling subtly where Zhou Chenxi couldn’t see. “You’re such a spoiled brat. Aren’t you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?”

His words were serious, but Zhou Chenxi thought, why not act spoiled when everything in his life had been hard-earned? So he didn’t care what his brother said and hung onto him tightly.

His brother carried him, and they walked towards the dining room. Zhou Mingxuan pulled out a chair for him, saying, “Let Auntie prepare some late-night snacks.”

Auntie hurried over upon hearing this, and she prepared some sweet rice balls. Zhou Mingxuan commented, “We’re having a birthday banquet at home next month. Do you have any friends you want to invite?”

Zhou Chenxi didn’t catch on immediately. “Why would I invite friends? It’s your birthday, not mine. Why would my friends come?”

Zhou Mingxuan realized his mistake. “You’re right. There probably aren’t many friends of yours willing to endure your bad temper.”

Zhou Chenxi got angry, puffing out a big breath without saying anything. He ate his food and ignored his brother.

Zhou Mingxuan also felt that he had been a bit harsh in his words and tried to make amends, saying, “Invite a few close friends over, it can show your appreciation for your friends, which is a good thing. But let’s not flaunt our wealth; don’t invite just anyone. Brother believes in your judgment, as long as they are your friends, we will treat them well and won’t neglect them.”

Zhou Chenxi rolled his eyes and suddenly thought of Lu Ji.

Yes, inviting Lu Ji would be appropriate.

Lu Ji was a good person. Zhou Chenxi had subtly asked him before, and Lu Ji had claimed not to have done anything to harm the Zhou family. Zhou Chenxi had heard that in his previous life, after learning about the Zhou family’s fate, Lu Ji had even attempted to save them. However, at that time, Lu Ji had been overwhelmed and powerless, only able to watch the Zhou family’s downfall.

Although his brother didn’t have memories from their previous life, Zhou Chenxi felt that this was a good opportunity to clear up his brother’s misunderstandings about Lu Ji. For some reason, whenever Lu Ji’s name came up, his brother always seemed to harbor some hostility.

Zhou Chenxi scooped a mouthful of sweet rice balls into his mouth and asked Zhou Mingxuan, “Can I invite Lu Ji?”

Because he had food in his mouth, Zhou Mingxuan seemed to have trouble hearing him and asked, “What did you say?”

Zhou Chenxi swallowed the rice ball and asked again, “Can I invite Lu Ji?”

Zhou Mingxuan looked at him with an inscrutable expression.

Zhou Chenxi raised two fingers as a sign of sincerity and vowed, “Lu Ji is not a bad person. We had a little misunderstanding before, but it’s resolved now. He’s my good friend, no, he’s my best friend now, so I think it’s appropriate to invite him.”

“And, brother…” Zhou Chenxi cautiously continued, “I think you and he are about the same age and have similar jobs. You should have a lot to talk about.”

Zhou Mingxuan maintained his enigmatic expression and asked, “Are you just friends?”

Zhou Chenxi was bewildered. “What else could we be?”

After a moment of silence, Zhou Mingxuan calmly said, “Okay, you can invite him.”

Zhou Chenxi breathed a sigh of relief, grinned, finished his food, and then rushed upstairs with a light-hearted, “I’m going to bed, brother. You should rest early too!”

He wanted to share this good news with Lu Ji!

Zhou Mingxuan watched Zhou Chenxi’s figure as he headed upstairs, then made a clicking sound, sensing that he might have trouble sleeping tonight. He unconsciously loosened his collar, allowed the maid to clear the table, and resumed watching the TV drama he hadn’t finished.

Author’s Note:

Brother: Watching TV dramas, can’t get into it. =_=

Thanks to “雨时正值天将明,” “木帛,” “唐江雪,” “sunny89,” “半夜没事看看文,” “神秘路人,” “虞胖胖” for the nutrients!

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 ”