I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 10

Chapter 10: The Overbearing CEO’s First Experience as a Bodyguard

In the end, the two ordered takeout. Huo Li served Chu Qing a bowl of congee and said, “This morning, Wu Yueshan told me she’s looking for a singing competition show that has explosive potential, a reliable production team, and other contestants and mentors who are either top-tier celebrities or Golden Melody singers. But after searching, she only found two.”

Because it was so difficult to contact Chu Qing—he wouldn’t give out his WeChat, had changed his number after giving it to Sheng Lingfei, and only checked his sole contactable email once every few days or even weeks—Wu Yueshan had decided to just tell Huo Li directly.

“Okay, I’m not picky,” Chu Qing said, nodding as he drank his congee.

Huo Li continued, “The shows she’s picked out so far are King of Singers and Sing Out Your Dream.”

Chu Qing froze.

King of Singers was a very serious competition, filled with national-treasure-level singers and veterans, or incredibly impressive rookie singers. Chu Qing felt that if he really went on it, he would be torn to shreds by criticism, regardless of whether his skills were up to par.

As for Sing Out Your Dream…

Chu Qing sighed. “That’s the show I debuted on…”

Chu Qing had shot to fame on that very show, even single-handedly making it popular. That was why both Sing Out Your Dream and its sister variety show, Sing It Beautiful, had been so eager to invite Chu Qing to be a mentor.

However, his spot on Sing It Beautiful had been intercepted by that Xie Yunzhou, and now his manager was considering a contestant spot on Sing Out Your Dream.

This was why Wu Yueshan hadn’t made a decision yet; neither of them was a good fit.

The former would attract too much hate, while the latter… returning as a contestant, the ultimate “twice-cooked pork,” he would truly be mocked to death.

Debuting on Dream Singer a few years ago, and still being a contestant on Dream Singer years later—it was a blatant announcement to everyone that he was either regressing or stagnating. It was truly an awkward situation.

But it was the only one among the long list of shows that Chu Qing felt satisfied with.

After all, he didn’t want to take up a prime opportunity, nor did he want to be a mentor. He just wanted a job.

“Mr. Huo… which one do you think I should choose?”

“Pick whichever one you like,” Huo Li said. “You don’t have to worry so much.”

“Oh…”

“But… I think the best way to clear your name isn’t to explain, but to prove yourself,” Huo Li said with a smirk. “You conquered others with your talent back then, so you can use your talent to make them like you again now.”

However Chu Qing got famous back then, he could do it again now. A talented person never has to be afraid of anything.

Returning to the starting point isn’t necessarily a step backward; it can also be a new beginning.

At least, that’s what Huo Li believed.

“Ah…” Chu Qing didn’t quite understand, but he still said, “Then I’ll tell Sister Yue I choose Dream Singer.”

“Alright,” Huo Li said, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. “Then you need to be mentally prepared to face public opinion.”

“It’s okay,” Chu Qing said, shaking his head.

A person with nothing to lose fears nothing.

And so, three days later, Sing Out Your Dream officially announced its new contestant.

@XXTV_SingOutYourDream: We are honored to introduce our twelfth, and final, headlining guest. He is a creative genius who took half the world by storm with three piano pieces and one love song. You may not have heard of him, but you have definitely heard his songs. Others have voices kissed by an angel, but he holds the title of “the angel himself”—@ChuQing_Teal, we look forward to you bringing us more amazing original music.

The comments below were brutal.

XXX: A little sweet talk in bed, and I get all the opportunities. Falegence isn’t enough, so a variety show has to be added to the mix.

XXX: Let’s congratulate contestant Chu Qing in advance for winning first place! Seriously, if he doesn’t make it to the end and win, I’ll lose my faith in the power of money. Don’t let me down, xoxo.

XXX: An ugly, short little sissy. I want to puke just looking at him. Always with that sour face, who is he trying to disgust with that half-dead look?

The official account pretended not to see, while Chu Qing practiced the piano at home, preparing, completely unaffected by the bloody storm online.

Three days later, the contestants officially headed to the recording.

Chu Qing sat in the show’s dedicated car, heading to the TV station for the shoot. Looking out the window, he saw a large crowd of fans already waiting at the entrance, holding banners and support signs.

“Those are probably Jiao Changxu’s fans,” Huo Li said, having diligently done his homework. He flipped through his notes and said in a flat tone, “There’s a major top-tier celebrity on the contestant list this time, the main vocalist of this year’s hottest boy band, named Jiao Changxu. His singing can’t compare to professional singers, but he’s considered good among boy bands and new idols. He has decent creative ability, and most importantly, he’s extremely popular.”

Chu Qing nodded.

“There’s also someone named Li Tian. He’s in the same group as Jiao Changxu, but he’s just popular; his skills aren’t that great.”

“Oh…”

Chu Qing really hadn’t expected Huo Li to actually take on the job of a celebrity assistant. For a moment, it felt a little strange.

“What?” Huo Li raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing… I just didn’t expect you to have researched all this.”

“Oh, my driving and bodyguarding skills are also very good,” Huo Li said, raising an eyebrow. “I guarantee I’ll be diligent.”

One by one, the guests got out of their cars. Huo Li was right; as soon as Jiao Changxu stepped out, the crowd of fans erupted, screaming non-stop.

Li Tian got out of the same car as Jiao Changxu. The two handsome boys smiled and waved at the enthusiastic fans.

Chu Qing watched them from behind, thinking, Now that’s a grand entrance… A-listers are always surrounded by a huge crowd wherever they go.

“Let’s go.”

When Chu Qing got out of the car, the crowd of fans immediately fell silent.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Chu Qing could clearly feel the fans’ unwelcoming and resistant attitude, but he didn’t care. He just kept his head down and walked along the red carpet leading to the TV station entrance, with Huo Li by his side.

“Tsk…”

He didn’t know who started it, but soon Chu Qing heard a few people cursing and booing.

Just then, the next car arrived. Unexpectedly, it was An Yize, whom Chu Qing knew. Thinking they were acquaintances, Chu Qing stopped to wait.

An Yize also saw Chu Qing, walked over with a smile, and greeted him. The two walked side by side.

An Yize walking with Chu Qing instantly angered the waiting fans. An Yize was in the same group as the biggest top-tier celebrity in the industry, Yu Weixi, so he had a considerable fan base of his own, as well as fans who liked him by association. At this moment, they were immediately dissatisfied, and the fans even started shouting.

An Yize frowned slightly.

Feeling embarrassed, Chu Qing stopped and said in a low voice, “You go ahead.”

Seeing Chu Qing like this, An Yize turned directly to the fans and shouted, “Quiet!”

…

??

The world really did fall silent.

Chu Qing knew that Yu Weixi was confrontational, but he never expected his group-mate An Yize to be so confrontational too…? Huh??

An Yize’s intention was to prevent Chu Qing from being embarrassed and to stop the onlookers from continuing to point fingers at him, so he had made his stance clear. But he hadn’t expected it to backfire. The crowd immediately exploded, cursing and shouting.

“Chu Qing, get out of the entertainment industry!”

“Chu Qing, get off the show!”

And many more, much nastier things.

The crowd began to surge. Thankfully, there were red ropes holding them back. The commotion immediately attracted the security guards.

“Get lost, Chu Qing!!”

“Chu Qing is shameless! He doesn’t deserve to be on this show!”

And then… one fan got overly excited and threw something directly at Chu Qing.

Huo Li reacted quickly, immediately moving to block Chu Qing, raising his briefcase to deflect the object.

“Bwaaawk~!” As the object hit the briefcase, it let out a strange… chicken squawk.

“Bwaaaaaawk—!!” Then, as it hit the ground, it squawked again.

…

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to the yellow object on the ground.

Mmm.

It was a rubber chicken.

Huo Li: “…”

Chu Qing: “???”

The surroundings fell silent once more.

“Calm down! Calm down!” The fans further away couldn’t see what was happening and were still making a fuss. A security guard, while trying to push the crowd back, didn’t notice what was at his feet or what was happening near Chu Qing. As he stepped back, he landed squarely on the rubber chicken that had been sent flying to his feet by Huo Li’s impressive strength.

And so…

“Bwaaawk-awk-awk-awwwwwwk——————”

…

Alright, now the world was truly silent.

Chu Qing and An Yize stared blankly at the rubber chicken, not quite understanding why someone would throw a rubber chicken at Chu Qing.

Was it to imply that Chu Qing’s singing sounded like a rubber chicken…??

Although it was insulting, as Chu Qing looked at the plastic chicken lying on the ground, its mouth wide open and eyes bulging, he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“…Pfft.”

Chu Qing lowered his head and let out a light laugh, his hand gently covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking as if he were trying hard to suppress his laughter.

An Yize: “…”

He can still laugh.

And so, that night’s trending topics:

The comments below were all laughing hysterically.

XXX: OMG, is our butt-boy’s entrance always this hilarious??? Hahahahaha, even though I’m an anti-fan, please allow me to laugh for five minutes! Seriously, you guys have to watch the slow-motion video, the expressions on everyone’s faces are so f*cking funny!

XXX: Am I the only one who thinks… the way Chu Qing laughed was kind of good-looking and cute? It’s completely different from his usual zombie-like expression.

XXX: Wake up, person above! The MVP is the rubber chicken!

XXX: This is an insult to rubber chickens! Their reputation has been truly damaged.

But… it was undeniable that with the popularity of that rubber chicken, Chu Qing’s one laugh nearly went viral.

—Actually, he’s very good-looking.

Furthermore, Chu Qing had debuted before and still had some fan base, as well as people who were purely attracted by his talent. At this moment, they couldn’t help but forward the clip with a few words of praise.

Thanks to that one rubber chicken, he had unexpectedly gotten off to a pretty good start.