I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 20

Chapter 20: Qingbao’s Charm

One by one, the contestants went on stage to perform.

This time, Chu Qing had once again drawn a later spot. He sat in the waiting area, watching the other performances with great concentration.

When it was finally the second half of the show, Chu Qing went backstage with the other contestants in the later lineup for a makeup touch-up. Some contestants also needed to use the restroom, check their instruments, review their lyrics, and so on, to calm their nerves.

Chu Qing didn’t need any of that, but he went with them anyway.

He sat down at the vanity, and a makeup artist came over to touch up his eye makeup.

Today, Chu Qing’s makeup was relatively heavier than usual, with light red eyeshadow and winged eyeliner.

Huo Li followed him and handed him a bottle of water.

“Thank you…” Chu Qing took it, drinking carefully so as not to smudge his lipstick.

…

“What are you doing!!”

Chu Qing was startled. He heard a bang, and a commotion erupted from a nearby vanity.

He turned his head and saw that Li Tian and another contestant seemed to be in a dispute.

Chu Qing paused, not wanting to get involved, and turned back to continue drinking his water.

At that moment, the other contestant was shouting at Li Tian, “Are you crazy?!”

The other contestant was named Wang Shiwei, known for being a straight man and a straight shooter.

Right now, Wang Shiwei’s white shirt was wet with some kind of liquid. A pink liquid was spreading, staining the fabric from his left shoulder to his left chest.

An Yize sat down next to Chu Qing and gave him the inside scoop. “Just now, Li Tian was at the makeup table asking the makeup artist to touch up his makeup again. The makeup artist refused, saying that time was tight and she needed to touch up the other contestants, and that Li Tian’s makeup was already fine.”

“Hmm?” Chu Qing looked at Li Tian. It was indeed quite good.

“Later, Li Tian wouldn’t compromise and insisted on getting it done, saying he was worried he wasn’t good-looking enough. Teacher Wang said a few words, that a man shouldn’t be so concerned with his appearance like a sissy.”

Chu Qing nodded, thinking that Wang Shiwei was indeed as blunt as he was known to be.

“Then Li Tian got angry and threw the perfume on the table at Wang Shiwei,” An Yize said, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. “Li Tian has probably been called a sissy online for a long time and is extremely sensitive about it.”

After that, Li Tian and Wang Shiwei argued back and forth. The staff and other contestants all came forward to mediate.

Everyone was demanding that Li Tian, who had started it, apologize to end the dispute. But in the end, Li Tian’s assistant came forward and explained that Li Tian had depression and couldn’t control his emotions, so it ended with Wang Shiwei apologizing instead.

An Yize returned to report the news. After learning about it, Chu Qing’s expression was very complicated.

Right now, the cameras were all focused on Li Tian’s side. An Yize complained without any restraint, “Fine, depression is so amazing.”

“Just like that, he shifted the blame,” An Yize said, spreading his hands.

Chu Qing frowned slightly and said in a low voice, “Depression… isn’t like that.”

An Yize shook his head. “Oh, is that so? I don’t know. Anyway, Li Tian is really annoying.”

Yu Weixi knew about Chu Qing’s condition, but he certainly wouldn’t go around telling everyone. Chu Qing was very grateful for this, which was why An Yize, at this moment, didn’t know that the person in front of him had already been diagnosed. He had no reservations when talking about this topic.

“Mmm…” Chu Qing turned his head away.

Chu Qing had been suspicious when Li Tian approached him two days ago, and after spending time with him, he felt that Li Tian was faking it. Now, after this incident, Chu Qing was almost certain that Li Tian was not.

What kind of depression patient goes around framing people, starting fights with others, and then publicly uses their depression as a shield, treating their illness as a bargaining chip to bully others?

Even taking a thousand steps back, Chu Qing felt that even if Li Tian was a depression patient, what was wrong was wrong, and he should be treated the same as an ordinary person.

Chu Qing immediately felt a little angry.

“Qingbao, let’s go.”

Huo Li patted Chu Qing’s shoulder, interrupting his thoughts.

“…Mmm.”

The contestants returned to the front stage. Wang Shiwei had changed into a different outfit, which wasn’t as effective as the special one that had matched the mood of his song, but he had to make do.

The backstage turmoil also caused a stir in the livestream room.

XXX: I feel bad for Big Brother Wang. Li Tian really is sick!

XXX: erm, looking at him bouncing around, isn’t he full of energy? Is he depressed?

XXX: Person above, there are many types of depression, ok?!

XXX: Is the person who said Tian Tian is faking it a lackey of Jiao Changxu? Cover your tracks, thank you. Tian Tian is already so pitiful, can’t you have some sympathy?

XXX: Tian Tian 😭😭😭 Mommy loves you! Mommy will protect you! Tian Tian is so pitiful, his heart has been tormented all this time, and he’s still being bullied by everyone

XXX: 😭😭😭 If the assistant hadn’t accidentally revealed it because of this turmoil, I wouldn’t have known my Tian Tian had suffered so much!

The livestream room was in an uproar. Wang Shiwei didn’t have many fans, so the main battlefield was mostly between Jiao Changxu’s and Li Tian’s fans.

As the argument continued, “Li Tian has depression” also started trending, which brought a lot of traffic to the show.

More and more viewers poured in, all rushing to act as judges, arguing about the incident, determining who was right and who was wrong, what was moral blackmail, tolerance for patients, and so on.

Until the host called out Chu Qing’s name.

“Let’s welcome Chu Qing with—Red Gauze Shadow!”

When it was finally Chu Qing’s turn, the number of viewers in the livestream room soared to its peak.

XXX: Waiting for him to be torn to shreds by An Zuo himself. Grabbing my popcorn

XXX: ffs, what’s coming is coming. My idol, my opera enlightenment, is this classic finally going to be ruined tonight??

XXX: erm, let’s wait and see. Let’s have a little faith in the genius musician. Although his character is bad, his musical talent is undeniable

XXX: Person above, be a little more rational… I’ve been watching the livestream all along, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him… Those negative rumors can be written by anyone, but for character and stuff, you have to see it with your own eyes

Amidst the controversy, Chu Qing gracefully walked onto the stage.

A piano was placed in the center of the stage, which surprised everyone.

Piano as the main instrument…?

Chu Qing sat down at the piano. The red gauze fell from the bench and trailed on the floor like a blood-red waterfall, very beautiful.

Then, all the lights on the stage went dark, leaving only a single spotlight on the piano.

The first note fell.

Chu Qing closed his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking, but every cell in his body was immersed in this piece of music.

You hide behind that red gauze…
Seeing flowers in the fog…
Seeing a beauty behind the red gauze…

When Chu Qing sang, it was a little rushed, with a slight, breathless quality. The music went from slow to fast, from gentle to urgent. It was as if some emotion couldn’t be controlled, overflowing.

But the music itself was exceptionally clean, and the singer’s voice was even cleaner.

So clearly flawless, yet so evocative.

This one performance made the viewers instantly understand what it meant to be both seductive and pure.

Under the lights, Chu Qing’s features were as exquisite as if they were virtual.

My love…
The red gauze I lift, is it your poison…

…

The bullet comments suddenly fell silent. There were almost no superfluous words. Occasionally, a few people would jump out and say it was not as good as An Zuo’s, or that the singing was strange, but they were just clowns performing a one-man show.

When it came to the climax of the song, Chu Qing stopped playing altogether.

The viewers held their breath.

The music stopped completely. Chu Qing took a deep breath and began to hum softly.

A wordless hum, his naturally clean voice melodious and graceful.

Finally, a cascade of rapid notes fell, bringing the performance to a complete end.

…

Silence.

Then, the applause almost blew the roof off the venue.

“That… that was incredible! So, so, so amazing!” The host was still in a daze when he came on stage, his face flushed with excitement. “This is a completely different ‘Red Gauze Shadow’!”

The original “Red Gauze Shadow” was seductive. Chu Qing’s “Red Gauze Shadow” was both gentle and seductive, a living embodiment of disguise and temptation.

It had a unique flavor.

“Thank you,” Chu Qing nodded.

The bullet comments exploded.

XXX: F*CK AHHHHHH!!!! WHAT KIND OF GOD IS THIS!!! A musical genius, as expected of you!!

XXX: So good, a completely different feeling, very innovative. Definitely adding it to my playlist for single-song repeat

XXX: He’s so handsome when he plays the piano!! Such a clean and amazing person, feels like he was raised on flower dew and Vatican flowers, right?? How could he have negative rumors!

XXX: The arrangement is good, that’s one thing, but Chu Qing’s aura when he sings… really, no words!

A wave of praise.

Naturally, there were some sour words, but the good far outweighed the bad.

XXX: It can’t compare to Teacher An Zuo’s at all, okay? I feel bad for Teacher An Zuo, being leeched off of by such a bed-climber

XXX: This is a f*cking demonic change, right! So disgusting, turning a good song into this mess. It’s lost its original character!

XXX: I don’t get why everyone likes it so much? I don’t understand it at all. Am I the only one?

Then, these voices were drowned out by a flood of praise and rebuttals.

Perhaps art has no high or low, but Chu Qing’s song had won the approval of the majority.

At this moment, the host kept Chu Qing on stage for an interview. “May I ask Teacher Chu, where did your inspiration come from? Why did you want to adapt it like this?”

Chu Qing thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I just wanted to change it like this… a flash of inspiration.”

“I see. Is there anyone you’d particularly like to thank for writing this song?” the host said with a smile. “Did anything special happen?”

This was a question asked of every contestant. Some would answer their parents, some would cue other contestants, mentors, or people around them to increase the buzz.

But Chu Qing was unwilling to mention Huo Li’s name on camera, so he just shook his head.

The host teased, “Aren’t Tian Tian and Teacher Chu particularly close recently? Did Tian Tian help Teacher Chu?”

Chu Qing’s tone had no fluctuation, and his face was expressionless as he said flatly, “No.”

…

The worst part was the sudden silence in the air.

The livestream room also fell silent, stunned by Chu Qing’s unexpected honesty.