I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 24

Chapter 24: Qingbao Cries

The performance began.

Chu Qing had drawn a relatively early number and a relatively simple song. After his performance, he returned to his seat to eat.

“Not bad,” An Yize said, giving him a thumbs-up with a grin.

Nearby, Li Tian frowned, looking at Chu Qing with confusion.

Why is there no reaction…?

Could it be that he’s holding it in?

Chu Qing noticed Li Tian’s gaze and turned to look at him. Li Tian immediately looked away guiltily.

“What’s wrong?” An Yize asked.

“Nothing…”

An Yize still found it a bit strange, so he continued to keep an eye on Li Tian.

A moment later, he said to Chu Qing in a low voice, “Whoa, look at that Li Tian. Is he not feeling well? He’s squirming like a worm.”

The two of them secretly observed Li Tian and saw that his face had turned pale. He kept clutching his stomach, and his body was restlessly fidgeting.

Chu Qing was amused by An Yize’s description.

“I don’t know,” Chu Qing said with a laugh. “Maybe he’s nervous…?”

“Ah.”

Next, it was Li Tian’s turn. He went on stage in a very strange state. He seemed unable to stand up straight, and his complexion was very poor.

Amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Li Tian stood in front of the microphone and began to sing.

And then, the show welcomed its first train wreck.

“I love you, you are my… my…”

He forgot the rest of the lyrics.

“I like you, you are my destiny across time and… space~!”

The final note suddenly went off-key.

“So please… (&^%#…”

The rest of his voice was drowned out by the instruments, and no one could hear what he was singing.

The judges who had come with the group: “…”

The contestants: “…”

The children in the audience simply thought it didn’t sound very good, but the faces of the judges present had all changed. One of them, an older music director from a certain software company, even pulled a long face on the spot.

These young people nowadays… do they think they can just be perfunctory because it’s not scored?

The other contestants were so embarrassed their hands and feet curled up, and the livestream room was in a fit of laughter.

XXX: Hahahahahaha congratulations to Li Tian for debuting in the center position! Congratulations to Li Tian for becoming this season’s champion! I declare that the first place has already been decided! That’s it, Li Tian is the best, fight me if you disagree!

XXX: Hahahaha my god, is the production team deaf? Why on earth would they let someone like this join?? Are there no other celebrities in our entertainment industry who can sing?

XXX: Tian Tian has depression! He has depression! Maybe he’s having an episode and is in a bad mood? Can you guys stop cyberbullying him?! Don’t you have a conscience?

XXX: Are Li Tian’s fans sick? Depression is depression, not being an idiot or losing your voice, ok?

XXX: Hahahaha what a disaster scene! This is a classic moment! I’m going to be brainwashed—

Li Tian also knew he had sung poorly, and his mentality collapsed, so he sang worse and worse, and his whole demeanor was uncomfortable.

After finally finishing the song, Li Tian flew off the stage and rushed away in one direction.

Chu Qing and An Yize looked at each other, bewildered.

The performance went on for an afternoon. Afterward, all the contestants could go to the homestay to pack their luggage, rest, and shower. Then, there was a dinner party in the evening that everyone was required to attend. And the production team revealed that a guest star would also be coming that night to participate in the charity activities in the mountains.

It was said that there would be quite a few guest stars this time, one today and another tomorrow.

Chu Qing had already finished packing and was in his blanket, playing with his Rubik’s Cube. An Yize sat on the side, scrolling through his phone, waiting for the dinner party.

“Wow,” An Yize gossiped. “So it turns out Li Tian had diarrhea just now, tsk tsk.”

“Hmm…?”

“Hurry up and go on Weibo to get the tea!” An Yize laughed so hard he was rolling. “It’s so f*cking funny!”

Chu Qing did as he was told and saw that Li Tian was trending.

Real-time trending topics:
4. Li Tian pooped his pants

It was said that after Li Tian got off stage, he couldn’t hold it in… and pooped his pants.

Chu Qing’s body trembled.

This is a really… fragrant trending topic…

Oh my god…

Chu Qing couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for Li Tian.

Originally, the entire internet was cursing Li Tian for faking it. Now, the entire internet was just “hahahahahaha” and feeling second-hand embarrassment for him.

It was just too embarrassing!

Chu Qing couldn’t even look at it for long. The more he looked, the more goosebumps he got.

And because of this, Li Tian lost fans, but the ones who remained became even more crazed, constantly saying that Li Tian already had depression and the outside world was still mocking him like this. Some fans even threatened to commit suicide.

In any case, the situation escalated even further.

However, just at this critical moment, XX Hospital’s official Weibo account released a statement.

@XUniversityHospital: We solemnly declare that this medical record is not from our hospital. Our hospital does not have this doctor. We will pursue legal action against the person who used our hospital’s stamp.
[Image]

And so, another trending topic climbed up.

Alright, a top-tier celebrity turning into a rat crossing the street, all in a day’s work.

XXX: Hahahahahaha X University is awesome! Awesome! Now he’s been hammered to death. Li Tian, fare thee well!

XXX: Oh my god, what a specimen of the year. Faking depression is so disgusting! My best friend has depression, and I feel really helpless and heartbroken. These people in society who use depression as a trendy accessory and a shield for their wrongdoings are really disgusting!!

XXX: Wow… the big V’s have all reposted it, and XX Daily has reposted it too! Is Li Tian going to be blacklisted? I love to see it!! Go to hell, you who fabricated a medical record to deceive your fans! He doesn’t deserve to be an idol!

While everyone was discussing Li Tian, the fire couldn’t help but spread to Chu Qing’s side.

XXX: My doctor friend told me before that she watched the show out of curiosity and felt that Teacher Chu was actually more like someone with depression

XXX: Right… I have a friend with depression, and I think so too! And wasn’t Chu Qing so disliked before because he lost his temper backstage at a show a long time ago? He explodes at the slightest thing.

XXX: Not necessarily, right? Maybe artists are just weird

XXX: Anyway, it’s been confirmed that Li Tian was faking it : ) Let’s focus on dissing him!

That night, Li Tian was on TV. His picture appeared in the news, reported as “Popular idol fabricates medical record and fakes depression to gain sympathy, and behaves indecently in public.”

Ever since he got off stage and went to the toilet, Li Tian had been hiding in his company’s car and refused to come out. Later, his assistant negotiated with the production team, and Li Tian directly withdrew from the competition.

So at the dinner party, when everyone saw that Li Tian was not there, they all understood.

“Welcome, contestants, to our Angel’s Home.”

The host stood in the middle, greeting the contestants with a smile.

There was a restaurant near the homestay, made of bamboo and wood. The second floor of the restaurant was open-air, and everyone was currently gathered on the balcony, enjoying the breeze and a barbecue. The view from the balcony was also beautiful; the restaurant was built against a cliff, and outside the balcony were the cliff face and the forest. And this restaurant was called Angel’s Home by the production team, the place for centralized filming, group meals, and barbecues.

“As you all know, we will have two mysterious guests arriving in the next two days. The one coming today is a goddess,” the host said, keeping them in suspense. “Who do you think it is? Has anyone guessed?”

A few contestants cued their friends.

“Come on, let’s unveil the mystery!”

Following the host’s words, they saw a staff member leading a girl upstairs. Her high heels made a crisp sound on the wooden floor.

“Hello, everyone!”

Then, the girl lifted the door curtain, revealing her true face.

“My name is Yuan Xiaoge. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

The newcomer was a youthful and cute girl, lively in her manner, wearing a hoodie and shorts, and a small hat. She had a beautiful smile.

“Ah…! It’s Yuan Xiaoge!” Someone among the contestants recognized her. Yuan Xiaoge had debuted and become popular on a talent show last year. She was the main vocalist of a girl group and was also a good singer.

“Hello, everyone. I’ve been watching the show, and I really like you all!” Yuan Xiaoge greeted everyone one by one, and even went up to Chu Qing to shake his hand enthusiastically. “Teacher Chu, I really like you! Your singing is so beautiful!”

She was quite an outgoing and friendly person.

Chu Qing was startled and awkwardly pulled his hand back.

“Thank you…”

Yuan Xiaoge’s fans in the bullet comments were immediately dissatisfied.

XXX: It’s an honor for Chu Qing that my sister shook his hand. What’s wrong with that Chu Qing??

XXX: Yeah, his resistant attitude is too obvious. Does he have to be so ungentlemanly?

XXX: Ugh, small scene, normal state. Chu Qing is like this with everyone, not sincere at all. You guys just haven’t seen it

Chu Qing’s anti-fans also went online with Yuan Xiaoge’s fans to passionately attack him from behind the screen.

No one knew about the situation in the bullet comments and just continued to eat and chat together.

After eating, there was naturally a game segment.

The host handed the floor to Yuan Xiaoge, who said with a grin, “Today’s game is… checking luggage! That’s right, the audience is very curious about what’s in our big brothers’ suitcases!”

This was not a surprise to anyone. The staff had already reminded them before they came, telling the contestants to prepare in advance and hand over anything that was not convenient to show on camera for safekeeping.

One contestant had handed over a tobacco pouch, and another had handed over a jacket. Everyone guessed that the jacket was probably the same style as his rumored girlfriend’s.

Chu Qing had originally wanted to hand over his Rubik’s Cube, a bag of cookies that Huo Li had given him, and a stack of spoiled music sheets, but the staff had refused, saying that these things were harmless and would even make Chu Qing seem quite cute.

At this moment, the staff cooperatively brought everyone’s suitcases up.

“Come, come, come! Let’s look at them one by one and explore the secrets of our male gods!” Yuan Xiaoge said with a laugh. “What if we dig up some explosive material?”

The first one they looked at was naturally the top-tier celebrity Jiao Changxu’s suitcase. It was clean and tidy, with everything organized in separate bags, very much in line with his image. The bullet comments were full of praise. Yuan Xiaoge and a few other contestants also found vitamin bottles, tea leaves, and a few books inside, and were all laughing that Jiao Changxu was an old man.

Next, they looked at Chu Qing’s, who had been at the center of the storm and public opinion.

Chu Qing’s suitcase was more casual. Although it was still clean and tidy, it was clear that it hadn’t been specially organized.

Inside the suitcase were some simple and cheap clothes and a pile of music sheets.

After looking for a moment, Yuan Xiaoge suddenly noticed a colorful object tucked into a hidden compartment.

“Huh? What’s this?” Yuan Xiaoge took it out curiously.

“Wow… a Rubik’s Cube? Does Teacher Chu play with a Rubik’s Cube?”

Chu Qing’s face turned pale. He hadn’t expected anyone to be curious about the cube, let alone take it out.

Yuan Xiaoge looked at the cube. “Oh my… it looks very old. Is this a cube with a story?”

The next moment, they saw Chu Qing stand up and shout, “Give it back to me!”

…

The atmosphere immediately became stiff and awkward.

Yuan Xiaoge, who had been shouted at, stared blankly at the fierce-looking Chu Qing, holding the cube and saying with a dry laugh, “This… Teacher Chu…”

“I said give it back to me!” Chu Qing stepped forward to snatch it back.

Yuan Xiaoge was getting angry. As soon as she entered the industry, she was sent by her company to participate in a talent show, and then successfully debuted and gained countless fans. She was a little princess, and had never been wronged like this before.

Yuan Xiaoge didn’t show it on her face and still smiled, pretending to tease Chu Qing. “I won’t give it to you! Why is Teacher Chu so agitated? Don’t tell me it was a gift from your girlfriend—”

As she spoke, Yuan Xiaoge dodged away, running off with the cube.

“Yeah, yeah, Teacher Chu, don’t be angry. Xiaoge, stop playing!” Jiao Changxu also tried to smooth things over with a smile, giving Chu Qing a way out.

Chu Qing panicked and chased after her, trying to snatch it back.

However, the next moment, an accident happened—

Yuan Xiaoge tripped on the leg of a chair that had been placed to the side. Her body uncontrollably pitched forward, and she fell face-first onto the ground.

And the cube in her hand flew out, falling off the balcony.

…

Now, everyone was completely silent.

It seemed Chu Qing cared a lot about that cube, but… it had fallen down the cliff face. There was no getting it back…

“Ah… Xiaoge, are you, are you okay…” One of the contestants went over to help Yuan Xiaoge up. Yuan Xiaoge also looked at Chu Qing nervously. “I-I’m sorry…”

Chu Qing looked at Yuan Xiaoge with a blank expression, his gaze a little terrifying, dark and gloomy.

Chu Qing, who was almost never angry, was frighteningly quiet at this moment.

Yuan Xiaoge composed herself and ran over to Chu Qing, her voice trembling. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry.”

Chu Qing just stared at her, his two dark eyes deep, showing no emotion.

Yuan Xiaoge was a little dissatisfied. “It’s, it’s just a Rubik’s Cube. I’ll buy you a new one to replace it!”

Splash—

Chu Qing directly grabbed a glass from the table and threw the juice inside at Yuan Xiaoge.

Yuan Xiaoge’s face was splashed with water. The sweet juice streamed down her delicate face, dripping from her chin.

“You…! Are you sick in the head!” Yuan Xiaoge completely exploded and raised her hand to lunge at Chu Qing, but was stopped by the other contestants.

“Xiaoge, are you okay!”
“Xiaoge, calm down…!”
“Teacher Chu…!”

Jiao Changxu and An Yize also held Chu Qing back, preventing him from doing anything else.

The next moment, Yuan Xiaoge froze.

She saw that Chu Qing, in front of her, had suddenly started crying on his own.

Now, the atmosphere was even more awkward.