I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 12

Chapter 12: Qingbao’s Debut Performance

It was already late at night, and there were no staff or cameras following them anymore. Huo Li, with his sharp hearing, avoided the patrolling security guards and carried Chu Qing to a pavilion in a small park.

The only sound was the chirping of cicadas, and the night air was fresh.

In any case, it was better than staying in a room with other people.

Huo Li and Chu Qing sat on the stone bench in the pavilion. Chu Qing remained submissive, letting Huo Li carry him out and place him on the bench.

He was still clutching the Rubik’s Cube.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep either.” Huo Li draped his coat over Chu Qing and held his hands, which were a little cold from the evening breeze and rough without the cover of gloves.

Chu Qing couldn’t sleep either.

“Do you want to play a game with me?” Huo Li asked.

Chu Qing shook his head slightly, not interested.

“Then how about you look over some documents with me?”

Chu Qing continued to shake his head. He didn’t have the energy and didn’t want to be a burden on Huo Li’s work.

Since Chu Qing wasn’t looking, Huo Li decided to look at them himself.

He did as he said, immediately pulling a file out of his briefcase.

Seeing Huo Li like this, Chu Qing actually felt a sense of relief. The psychological burden was gone, and he sat there, twisting the Rubik’s Cube.

Huo Li glanced over and saw Chu Qing, head bowed and curled into a ball, playing that simple and repetitive game with a stubborn and serious expression.

The scene was a bit strange. “Where did you get this cube?” Huo Li asked in a gentle voice.

Chu Qing didn’t answer.

Huo Li reached out and rubbed the back of Chu Qing’s head.

Chu Qing just sat there, looking at the vast night sky and the woods beside them, with the sound of Huo Li turning pages, not too loud, not too soft, next to him.

…

After a long time, Chu Qing finally put down the cube and spoke. “Mr. Huo…”

“Mmm.” Huo Li closed the file and looked at Chu Qing. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to withdraw from the competition.”

Huo Li’s tone was calm. “You can. But what do you want to do after you withdraw?”

“…I don’t know,” Chu Qing said. “I’m sorry.”

“Let’s try first,” Huo Li said, taking Chu Qing’s hand and forcing their fingers to interlock. “Tomorrow, you see if you can do it. If you can’t, we’ll go home.”

Chu Qing didn’t speak.

Huo Li could feel the unconscious tightening of Chu Qing’s fingers, but he didn’t say anything, just lowered his gaze. “I’ll be with you whatever you want to do. After all, you’re paying to keep me, right?”

Chu Qing lowered his head. “I want to go home and be alone.”

“Then why don’t you try hard for my sake?” Huo Li said. “If you don’t work, what will happen if we starve to death?”

Chu Qing didn’t speak.

“Qingbao?”

Chu Qing took a deep breath. “I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.”

“What’s there to be disappointed about?” Huo Li said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “The only thing I might be disappointed about is if you run off and find some other wild man, causing me to lose my job for no reason.”

Chu Qing pouted.

This Huo Li just loved to be a rogue…

“You go to sleep now, and then go to the competition the next day. It’s that simple. Don’t be afraid. If the sky falls, I’ll be here to hold it up.” Huo Li pulled him to his feet.

Chu Qing tried to regain strength in his limbs and followed Huo Li back to the room.

—Of course, they went in through the window.

Huo Li carried Chu Qing in, watched him lie down and slowly fall asleep before leaving. By the time he left, it was already past four in the morning, and the sky was about to brighten.

So, the next day, Chu Qing slept until the afternoon. The others didn’t dare to wake him, and Huo Li couldn’t bear to.

The competition was that night, and during the day, they would be filming the contestants’ preparation process.

The show was broadcast via a paid livestream. People who paid could also watch it later, so they didn’t have to watch it live. But at that moment, the livestream room was naturally packed with people. With Jiao Changxu, Li Tian, and Chu Qing, the server almost couldn’t handle the traffic when the broadcast first started.

At that moment, seeing all the other contestants practicing at the piano or doing vocal warm-ups, while only Chu Qing was still in bed, everyone immediately found a new reason to curse him.

XXX: Not to be that person, but can you be a little more serious when you’re in a competition? So many people would kill to be on this show, and Chu Qing just treats it casually because he has a daddy? Ugh, this world is so unfair.

XXX: Everyone else is practicing, and your Qing is sleeping. So classy, truly a genius musician. Just waiting to see him make a fool of himself tonight.

XXX: Sister above, even if he presents a pile of sht on stage, he’ll still make it to the end, okay? We’ll just be forced to eat sht the whole time.

XXX: Um… this is a casual fan of Chu Qing here. Maybe he’s really tired? I sometimes sleep in when I’m tired too. You’re not his mother, you don’t need to meddle in this, right?

XXX: Casual fan above, can you clear your head! This isn’t being tired, this is being a drama queen, okay? You just don’t know him. In the variety shows after Sword Saint aired, he treated almost every one of them with this kind of casual attitude, I’m telling you, as if everyone owed him something.

The production team was quite satisfied, intentionally or not using Chu Qing to create buzz.

Chu Qing slept until past two in the afternoon, which was indeed quite an exaggeration. And the contestants had to start preparing for makeup and wardrobe at four, so after washing up, Chu Qing had less than an hour to prepare.

But after a good sleep, Chu Qing’s condition was much better now.

He replied to Huo Li’s WeChat, then practiced his piece a little, getting a feel for it.

“Are you… going to be okay?” An Yize, who was passing by, saw Chu Qing still looking relaxed, more like he was amusing himself than practicing. He frowned. “Do you want me to go talk to the staff? You’re the last one to perform anyway, so you can stay in the dorm and practice while the other contestants are performing.”

“…Why?” Chu Qing was a little confused. Couldn’t he go with everyone else?

“No reason… I was just worried you needed to practice.”

“I don’t need to,” Chu Qing thought. Didn’t we already decide what to perform at home before we came?

“…Oh.” An Yize once again questioned his life, feeling like he had been overthinking things.

It must be nice to have talent.

It was a good thing An Yize was big-hearted and had been entrusted to take care of him. Otherwise, an ordinary person would have gotten angry long ago dealing with Chu Qing like this.

Afterward, the contestants went to the TV station for the recording together. Some contestants were even listening to their headphones and humming softly in the car, doing some last-minute preparation. The bullet comments couldn’t help but be filled with praise again.

Everything went according to plan. The recording went smoothly, with contestants performing one by one, and the winner determined by a combination of the judges’ and audience’s votes.

Chu Qing watched from the backstage with the other contestants. He didn’t make comments, get excited, or do anything to attract the camera’s attention like the others, almost making himself invisible. The audience nearly forgot he was even in the competition.

But Chu Qing was always very respectful of the other contestants, watching with intense concentration the entire time.

The night passed just like that.

Buzz.

Just as it was almost Chu Qing’s turn, he felt his phone vibrate gently.

It was a WeChat message from Huo Li.

Huo Li: Did you forget something?

Chu Qing: ?

Chu Qing was confused. Had he forgotten something?

Huo Li: WeChat.

It took Chu Qing a long moment to understand what Huo Li was talking about.

Chu Qing’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Chu Qing: Mr. Huo, I’m participating in a competition. It’s a creative singing competition. I drew the last spot, and I’m about to go on stage.

Just as he had done in the past, Chu Qing told Huo Li everything, a ritual like checking in.

Huo Li also replied as he had in the past.

Huo Li: Okay. Good luck.

He didn’t know why, but after saying that, Chu Qing felt his heart settle. Although he hadn’t been very nervous to begin with, his state of mind now was subtly different.

He couldn’t put his finger on what was different, but it seemed as if the ritual had given him a blessing.

“The competition is coming to a close. Let’s welcome our final contestant—Chu Qing!”

The host began to introduce Chu Qing’s past achievements and his musical talent.

The style of the bullet comments suddenly changed.

XXX: Here he comes, here he comes. Heh, let’s see what tricks he can pull.

XXX: So annoying, why hasn’t he disappeared yet.

XXX: Wait… did the host just say he’s singing “Wish”?

“Wish,” a song that held the memories of countless people.

At that moment, Chu Qing was already on stage.

Today, Chu Qing was wearing a white suit, with a soft, watery-blue shirt underneath. The white jacket was well-tailored, and his every move was light and effortless. Some might say this was a lack of care, but it could also be interpreted as being completely confident on stage, without a trace of nervousness.

He looked like an angel who had accidentally fallen to earth, without a single trace of coarse, worldly fire.

Then, Chu Qing sat down and gently placed his fingers on the piano keys.

When other contestants put their fingers on an instrument, people would think, “Oh, he’s about to start playing,” or they could see that the person had practiced for a long time, their technique was skilled, or perhaps their skills weren’t quite perfect yet.

But Chu Qing was different from other contestants. When he touched an instrument, his movements were as natural as breathing. When he played, there was no technique, no high or low, only music.

Very, very pure music.

It was as if he were a person who had grown up immersed in music, as if he had become one with the music, with nothing else at all.

XXX: Tsk tsk, although his character is trash, I have to admit his musical talent is really high

XXX: …It’s really full of memories. When he first debuted, this song was popular all over the country. I listened to it every day in high school

XXX: You guys?? No matter how good the work is, don’t forget his character!

XXX: But aren’t artists and their art supposed to be separate… and not many of the famous artists in history had perfect character either.

The bullet comments were already in an argument.

Indeed, “Wish” had been too popular back then. It held the romantic memories of so many people and had a certain nostalgic feel. Now that Chu Qing was singing it again, it naturally diluted some of the malice that had been directed at him.

Then, Chu Qing finally began to sing.

May you be safe and well, without disaster or hardship.
May you be brighter than the sun, and higher than the moon…
May time bring you gifts of joy
May time also wash away all your wounds…

The lyrics were simple and plain, but when paired with the melody, they seemed very sincere. The person singing this song was using a very gentle tone to give blessings to the one he loved. Perhaps it was a blessing after a farewell, or during a romance. Perhaps it was for a family member, or a lover. But undoubtedly, the voice, melody, and lyrics, when put together, conveyed only a sincere hope for the other person’s well-being.

Chu Qing had once said that he wanted to give this song to someone, but not a lover, although it was defined as a love song.

Huo Li stood backstage, watching Chu Qing. He saw how he could find the keys with his eyes closed, and listened to his clear, soaring voice.

Huo Li’s fingers slowly curled into a fist.