I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 14

Chapter 14: Qingbao’s Hug

Huo Li remained on top of Chu Qing, clearly having no intention of getting up until he achieved his goal.

“Mr. Huo…” Chu Qing’s face flushed red and pale by turns. “Someone will see…”

“So what if they see?” Huo Li deliberately teased Chu Qing. In reality, he would naturally be able to hear if anyone was approaching. He didn’t want Chu Qing to end up on some gossip headline for no reason.

“Ngh…” One of Chu Qing’s hands was still preciously clutching the Rubik’s Cube, leaving only one hand to resist. His two legs kicked feebly, looking extremely nervous.

“Where did you get this cube?” Huo Li frowned slightly. Even in this kind of “forcing himself on him” situation, he was still unwilling to toss it on the ground.

Chu Qing shook his head slightly.

“Be good, Qingbao. Tell me, where did you get it?” Huo Li lowered his head, his voice low and raspy as he spoke by Chu Qing’s ear, as if he were bewitching him.

Chu Qing shrank his neck, avoiding Huo Li’s gaze.

Huo Li frowned, a little dissatisfied.

Who on earth gave it to him? Is that person very important to Chu Qing?

Huo Li felt a sourness in his heart, even a little anger and dissatisfaction.

Chu Qing was his.

Who was this person he didn’t know who had established such a deep bond with Chu Qing?

…

Mmm.

Because I was absent for everything in the past.

Just as Yu Weixi had said at Chu Qing’s funeral in his past life, when Chu Qing was being bullied, when he went astray, when his emotions were slowly being dismantled, he wasn’t there.

Huo Li lowered his gaze slightly.

“Mr. Huo…?”

Noticing the somewhat somber aura around Huo Li, Chu Qing blinked and called out tentatively.

Huo Li spoke again. “That song of yours, ‘Wish,’ who did you write it for?”

“…”

“Qingbao.” Huo Li’s gaze was somewhat scorching. “Was it me?”

“…”

“Was it me?”

Unable to withstand Huo Li’s questioning, Chu Qing nodded again, an extremely, extremely slight nod.

Huo Li was stunned.

It really was him. I didn’t guess wrong…

His hopes were not in vain.

A softness filled Huo Li’s heart. He reached out and gently twirled a strand of hair by Chu Qing’s ear. “Why did you say you didn’t want me to turn back?” he asked gently.

“It’s just lyrics,” Chu Qing said, turning his head away. “It just came out.”

“Oh? Just lyrics?” Huo Li raised an eyebrow. “So our creative genius is saying that the lyrics to his first original song were written casually, without any real heart?”

Chu Qing didn’t answer.

Huo Li’s lips curved. “Oh my, so that’s the truth? Teacher Chu, oh Teacher Chu, you’re really breaking your fans’ hearts. What are we to do now? Teacher Chu’s debut song that took the country by storm was just a half-hearted effort.”

“…It wasn’t half-hearted!” Chu Qing finally couldn’t take it anymore and said with a red face, “I wasn’t half-hearted.”

Huo Li raised an eyebrow.

“I, I wrote that song very seriously,” Chu Qing said, then pushed at Huo Li. “Mr. Huo, please get up first.”

The way the two of them were talking in this position was far too strange.

Huo Li didn’t answer.

He was looking at the person beneath him, his face red as he said he hadn’t been half-hearted.

He had written the song very seriously, a song for him.

A song blessing him, as if he had used all the tenderness in the world.

That song, sung by everyone, that gentle melody, was a confession meant for him.

Huo Li’s breathing quickened slightly.

“Qingbao…”

Huo Li lowered his head, about to kiss Chu Qing.

“Mr. Huo!”

Just as he was about to force himself on him, the “bow” suddenly snapped, perfectly illustrating the concept of “rather break than bend.”

Perhaps Chu Qing was too nervous and didn’t control his strength. With one kick, he sent the great CEO Huo to the ground.

He had only meant to push him away, but Huo Li, caught off guard and not using any strength to support himself, was pushed off the stone bench by Chu Qing and fell, landing on his butt on the grass.

“…”

The world fell silent.

Chu Qing’s eyes widened.

A moment later.

“I-I’m sorry…!” Seeing Huo Li sitting on the grass with a blank expression, as if contemplating some philosophy of life, Chu Qing’s face instantly went pale. He jumped off the stone bench and reached out his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Mr. Huo, please get up!”

…

The world was still so quiet.

So quiet that it made Chu Qing’s heart pound.

“Mr. Huo… you, you get up first.”

“No.” After a moment, Huo Li finally squeezed out the word.

“…?”

“No,” Huo Li huffed, crossing his legs and sitting down directly on the grass.

“…???”

Chu Qing stared at Huo Li.

What’s wrong with him?

Like an old man faking an injury, Huo Li sat on the ground and stubbornly said, “I’m not getting up.”

“…I’m sorry.” Chu Qing was dying of guilt.

“No need to apologize. I understand. You’re tired of me,” Huo Li said, crossing his arms. “You got first place, became famous, you have better options now.”

Alright, back to the original topic.

Chu Qing stood before Huo Li, at a loss, looking at him nervously.

…How could he not be nervous?

A tall, big wolf-dog was sitting on the ground with a dark face. How could he not be nervous!

Huo Li had originally wanted to fish for some benefits, but seeing Chu Qing standing before him now, looking so lost and bewildered, and about to start picking his fingers again, Huo Li quickly surrendered.

“Alright, alright, I was wrong.”

“…?”

Huo Li sighed. “I just wanted to get some benefits from you.”

“…”

Chu Qing hadn’t expected Huo Li to be serious, and that he was still hung up on it.

Chu Qing paused, then squatted down, took a deep breath, and reached out to hug Huo Li.

Huo Li froze, his pupils constricting slightly.

Chu Qing rested his head on Huo Li’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around Huo Li’s waist, his hands gently resting on his back.

Huo Li’s nose was filled with the scent of Chu Qing’s shampoo, and the warmth in his arms.

It was originally Chu Qing hugging Huo Li, but because of the difference in their body sizes, it now looked more like Huo Li was hugging Chu Qing.

“This is… the reward Mr. Huo wanted before,” Chu Qing’s ears were slightly red.

Huo Li’s heart pounded wildly. He hugged Chu Qing back, his voice hoarse. “Mmm.”

Huo Li’s lips curved. “Recharging complete. I can last a few more days now.”

“I, I’m going back to sleep…” Chu Qing released the hug.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Huo Li took Chu Qing’s hand and placed a pill and a piece of candy in his palm.

“Remember to take your medicine. The thermos is in your room.”

Chu Qing stared blankly at the milk candy in his palm.

“I’m not a child…”

“Mmm, I am.” Huo Li opened his pocket to show Chu Qing, revealing a few more pieces of candy inside.

Chu Qing smiled. The heaviness of the night was not so apparent today. Perhaps everything was moving in a better direction.

“Good night.”

…

“Back from your tryst?”

After Chu Qing returned to his room, he saw An Yize playing on his phone in bed.

Chu Qing jumped, stammering, “Um…”

To say it wasn’t… Chu Qing himself felt it was a stretch.

“I recognized him. That person is your bodyguard, right?” An Yize frowned. “And he even sent me a photo before, saying he was looking for a daddy.”

Chu Qing: “…”

Chu Qing said weakly, “Don’t tell Xixi…”

An Yize paused, then said apologetically, “Ahem, it’s too late.”

As he spoke, An Yize waved his phone. “I was just chatting with Xixi, and I happened to mention you, so I told him…”

“…”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Just then, Chu Qing’s phone rang. It was Yu Weixi.

“Hello…?”

“Chu Qing! I heard from A-Ze that you got screwed by a wild boar?!”

“I…”

“F*ck, and he’s having a booty call with you in the middle of the night?! He’s got some nerve!”

“…”

It wasn’t me, I didn’t.

Yu Weixi had always looked after Chu Qing like a younger brother. Hearing what An Yize said, he naturally assumed Chu Qing had been deceived.

“F*ck him! Chu Qing, listen to me, don’t be fooled by him! The industry is full of scammers who are after your money and your body! He’s just after your body and your money!”

Enduring the shame, Chu Qing said with difficulty, “I, I was willing…”

“…?!” On the other end, Yu Weixi was even angrier. “Give me his number, I’ll go talk to him!”

Chu Qing was on the verge of tears. “Really, you don’t have to… I was really willing!”

“You…!”

Yu Weixi looked as if his good friend had gone astray.

“You really… ah! I’ll come find you when I have a chance. I’m in the US right now. How can you be so stupid? Listen to me, don’t keep him! He’s just using you! Don’t you have a sponsor named… the CEO of the Huo Corporation? It won’t be good if he finds out you’re keeping people like this!”

Chu Qing: “…”

His feelings were complicated.

“Well, the situation is a bit complicated,” Chu Qing said, swallowing. “I’ll… tell you later. I really wasn’t deceived.”

After finally ending the call, Chu Qing turned to An Yize with a worried face. “Help me keep this from him in the future…”

He was really afraid that Yu Weixi would suddenly show up on the show and tear Huo Li to shreds.

“Oh…” An Yize shook his head with a smile. “I didn’t expect our Teacher Chu to be quite the bon vivant…?”

Keeping such a top-quality 1. Those abs, tsk tsk, that face, tsk tsk, and that… performance… hmm, he hadn’t seen it, but it must be very good.

[T.N: Top-quality 1: In BL (Boys’ Love) terminology, “1” refers to the “top” or seme (the dominant partner)]

Chu Qing thought An Yize was mocking him, and his face immediately turned pale.

“No, no, don’t misunderstand.” Chu Qing’s emotions were written all over his face, and An Yize quickly explained, “I’m envious, envious.”

An Yize patted his chest regretfully. “I once kept someone whose body wasn’t as good as yours, and another one whose body was finally up to par, but his personality was terrible, always asking me for money.”

“…”

Chu Qing’s eyes widened.

Did I just learn something I shouldn’t have??

An Yize smiled, put his index finger to his lips, and winked. “You can’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Okay…!” Chu Qing raised his hand solemnly. “I will definitely keep it a secret.”

“Hehe.” An Yize pulled up his blanket. “Good night.”

…

The next day, the contestants who had completed the first round went to the main hall again to draw lots to determine the performance order and song selection for the next round.

This was an original music competition show, where singing skills and creative ability were equally important. But since the competition had just started, the contestants were not yet required to be completely original, but rather to adapt a song, creating their own style.

And to ensure it was interesting, the original songs provided by the production team naturally included some that were more difficult or special.

“Welcome, contestants,” the host said with a smile. “In this round, we’ve included five songs that are particularly difficult to adapt, and one heavyweight song. To give you a little hint, the heavyweight song is related to opera.”

The contestants were in an uproar.

If it was an opera song, it would be very difficult to adapt.

“Let’s begin!”

The contestants started drawing. To Chu Qing’s left was the end of the sofa, and to his right sat Li Tian, who was being particularly friendly to him today, likely wanting to be friends.

“Teacher Chu, let me draw for you!” Li Tian said, and on his own accord, took two lots and handed one to Chu Qing.

“Thank you,” Chu Qing said, quickly taking it.

Ah.

Chu Qing unfolded the small piece of paper and froze.

It was the so-called heavyweight song—”Red Gauze Shadow.”

Everyone was shocked when they saw the words on the lot. They had originally thought it would just be a difficult opera classic to adapt and work with, but they hadn’t expected it to be “Red Gauze Shadow.”

This song wasn’t just difficult to adapt and sing; it was something that everyone… didn’t dare to adapt.

First, “Red Gauze Shadow” had a strange and unconventional style, and was even jokingly called “from the underworld,” so it was very difficult to work with. Second, this was Teacher An Zuo’s famous song, and the opera had also been a huge hit, making it a classic. A bad adaptation would be destroying everyone’s classic. Not to mention, Teacher An Zuo had high standards, an eccentric personality, and a fiery temper, and was constantly dissing this arrangement or that melody on Weibo. Who would dare to challenge him with their own insignificant talent?

In short, it was a very, very tough nut to crack.

The other contestants thought, Alright, the production team will use any song for the sake of buzz.

For a moment, the other contestants were either silent, looked at Chu Qing with concern, or exclaimed in amazement.

“Oh my god…” Li Tian’s eyes widened, and he covered his mouth. “Teacher Chu, I’m so sorry…!”

Li Tian said with a mournful face, “Am I just too lucky?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Chu Qing shook his head, thinking that he could at least try.

An Yize, who was on the side, narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Li Tian.

“It’s a good thing Teacher Chu got it!” a few contestants said. “Wouldn’t it be worse if it were us!”

Chu Qing thought about it. It was true, he had the highest musical accomplishment here, and this song was indeed suitable for him to adapt…

After all, only he could directly ask his Uncle An Zuo for advice.

So Chu Qing nodded honestly.

…

The room immediately fell silent.

The bullet comments were also shocked.

XXX: ??? He nodded?? He agreed?? No polite refusal? No self-deprecation? My god, how proud and arrogant is that?

XXX: I’m so angry!! As a die-hard fan of Teacher An Zuo, I’m going to die of anger!! What is “Red Gauze Shadow”? It’s a classic——— what right does he have to adapt it! Why defile a classic!!

XXX: …Am I the only one who’s become a fan?

XXX: Let’s see how he does. I’m actually a little… excited? As someone who was also converted to a fan by this show, go for it, Chu Qing!

In any case, the song for the second round of the competition was set amidst Chu Qing’s soaring trending topics.