I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 31

Chapter 31: Qingbao’s Bottleneck

After the results were announced, the contestants couldn’t relax. They immediately drew lots for the performance order of the next round.

There were no restrictions in the next round; the contestants were free to perform as they wished.

Because this round of the competition tested time management and improvisation. Although there were no creative restrictions, the contestants only had three days to prepare, which was truly pushing the limits. And during these three days, there were also dinner party recordings in the evening, so the schedule was particularly tight.

After dinner tonight, the contestants went to the practice room to write their songs, all of them nervous.

“Qingqing is fine. I’m sure he doesn’t need to worry,” An Yize said with a smile in the practice room. “I saw you finish writing in half a day before. The rest was just nitpicking.”

Chu Qing paused and nodded.

It was true that he only needed half a day to write something. After all, it was just presenting what was in his mind.

But… he had no ideas now.

Because there were no restrictions, he didn’t know what to write.

There was nothing he particularly wanted to express, no ideas appearing in his mind. It was completely empty. He didn’t even know what to do and just sat foolishly next to An Yize and Wang Shiwei, watching them prepare in full swing.

Right now, the two of them were still in the preparation stage, and there was nothing Chu Qing could do to help. Just as he was about to leave and go back to his room to rest, he heard An Yize exclaim in surprise.

“…?”

“Wow…! Look! You guys, look!”

An Yize handed his phone to Wang Shiwei and Chu Qing.

“Teacher Chu is amazing!”

It was a Weibo post.

@GebulaigeMusicAcademy: Waiting is always tedious and dull, most of the time sad, but it’s a restrained, unobtrusive sadness that doesn’t affect life, and there will always be times of happiness and anticipation. This feeling of being both dispensable and yet lingering is expressed to the fullest in this song. The abrupt end is also very evocative. Excellent! The use of the classical music bridge is also very suitable. A formidable young talent! #ChuQingWaiting

What was Gebulaige? It was one of the world’s top music academies!

And the academy’s official Weibo had reposted and praised it, which was a huge slap in the face to those who had said they couldn’t understand Chu Qing’s music.

It wasn’t that his music was incomprehensible, but rather… those people didn’t have enough experience, knowledge, and vision to understand it.

XXX: Oh my god?? Is this the real Gebulaige?!

XXX: Is there a fake one?? Teacher Chu is amazing!!! I’ll say it again, Teacher Chu is amazing!

XXX: Hahahahaha do the faces of those who were dissing Teacher Chu hurt now? In the end, it’s just that you’re low-class and can’t understand it, ok? This is an original piece worthy of a grand hall, not something some factory girl can understand

XXX: Right, right. You can’t understand it yourself and you still insist that Teacher Chu had a train wreck. The three pure piano pieces he debuted with, which one wasn’t professionally recognized music? Have you forgotten about Teacher An Zuo? Teacher An Zuo personally said that he and Chu Qing’s parents were friends. He comes from a musical family! Don’t always compare a musician to some low-class trash from the fan circle who manipulates votes, ok? Yes, I’m talking about the shameless Jiao Changxu! Teacher Chu doesn’t need your bullshit audience votes that can be manipulated by whoever has more people. He has the recognition of Gebulaige. They’re really not on the same level

XXX: Hahahahahaha I’m so happy that Jiao Changxu’s fans had a train wreck. Hahaha, they really think their saliva song is that good! It’s so greasy. I’m going to listen to Teacher Chu’s song again now. The more I listen, the better it sounds, the more flavor it has! A saliva song really can’t compare.

Jiao Changxu’s fans went silent.

There was always a hierarchy of contempt in the fan circle. With Gebulaige’s repost, they immediately lost their grounds for dissing. Anything they said would seem pale in comparison, so they could only bite the bullet and insist that they hadn’t manipulated the votes and deliberately pick on Chu Qing’s other shortcomings.

XXX: Is it not okay for Teacher Jiao’s song to move the audience? Are you so unwilling to acknowledge others’ success? He just sang well! What? Getting first place is manipulating the votes? Then did Chu Qing also have some shady dealings when he got first place so many times before

XXX: Chu Qing’s music, in the end, is just musicians getting high on their own supply. Can he write a down-to-earth song? He can’t! His music is just floating, a bunch of techniques and musical knowledge, but so what?

XXX: Are Jiao Changxu’s fans crazy?? You’re even stepping on Gebulaige? Hahahaha—did you forget about “Wish”? That was Teacher Chu’s saliva song that was popular all over the country back then!

XXX: How is “Wish” a saliva song? Didn’t you Chu Qing fans always praise it for being ethereal and otherworldly?

Indeed, the songs Chu Qing wrote were always like him, as if they were floating in this world, not belonging to it. That’s why his voice was called the voice of an angel, a voice from the heavens.

That song “Wish” had moved the hearts of countless people because it was too sincere, so sincere that it had no worldly distractions, untainted by a single speck of worldly fire, so clean and translucent that it was enchanting.

To say he should write a down-to-earth song was indeed asking a lot of him, but that was not his style.

But leaving aside these nitpicks from Jiao Changxu’s fans, Chu Qing’s song was indeed impeccable.

“Now everyone is saying that Jiao Changxu’s fans manipulated the votes,” An Yize said, scrolling through the comments. “Qingqing is really so amazing!!! To get Gebulaige to write such a long paragraph of praise, it seems they really like it!”

Wang Shiwei also agreed, “Yes, I told you. How could he only be in fifth place.”

“But even if Jiao Changxu’s fans manipulated the votes, they could only get him to first place. They can’t push me down,” Chu Qing said, scratching his cheek with a smile. “There are still many people who don’t understand it…”

But it didn’t matter if they didn’t understand. As long as he got recognition, that was enough.

As long as there were still people who understood, that was enough. He wasn’t in last place, so that meant there were still people who understood.

He just hoped to make good music. Rankings and music were completely unrelated.

“Hey, who cares what they say. Teacher Chu has Gebulaige’s repost, that’s enough! I’m so envious,” Wang Shiwei said, and also logged into his own account to like the post. “Let’s see if those people still dare to say anything!”

An Yize also went to like it and asked curiously, “Then what song are you planning to write next?”

Chu Qing was stunned.

Ah…

He said falteringly, “I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know…” he lowered his head.

He was very happy that this song had been recognized, but now he didn’t know what to write next.

He had no particular desires, nothing he particularly wanted to express.

Until the next day, when he woke up, he was still in a daze.

“Good morning… ah no, good afternoon,” Huo Li said with a smile. “Did you have fun last night?”

Chu Qing no longer deliberately avoided the crowd and stayed in the practice room with An Yize and Wang Shiwei.

“I wasn’t playing,” he said, shaking his head.

“You weren’t playing and you still got up so late? The other contestants are already in the practice room, live-streaming their recording,” Huo Li said, pinching his ear with a smile. “The sun is on your butt, Teacher Chu.”

He was still slowly pulled up by Huo Li, slowly going to wash up.

After washing his face, he didn’t move but sat on the bed in a daze.

“What’s wrong?”

He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t want to go to the practice room…”

“Why?” Huo Li squatted down in front of him and asked gently, “An Yize and the others are still waiting for you in the practice room. You don’t want to go?”

“I don’t want to…” he said dejectedly, his head bowed. “I don’t know what to write. I don’t want to go and be in a daze… I don’t want to look at the instruments.”

“Writer’s block?”

“I don’t know…” his eyes were red, and he sniffled. “I don’t know what to do either.”

“Come on, Qingbao, get up,” Huo Li said, pulling him up again. “Come out for a walk with me. You’ll get some inspiration after a walk.”

“I don’t want to…” he kept shaking his head.

“Be good, Qingbao. Come on,” Huo Li said, avoiding the camera and half-pulling, half-carrying him through the window to the nearby park.

Each contestant had a livestream room, but the twelve livestream rooms couldn’t all be on at the same time every day. Often, a contestant would not go to the recording area, not wanting to create in front of the camera. The production team would understand these situations. In the end, it was the contestant themselves who would lose screen time and exposure.

And Chu Qing’s was the one that was most often black-screened.

Right now, his was still black-screened, since he had already been abducted by Huo Li.

“Where are we going…?”

He arrived at the park and looked at Huo Li, puzzled.

“Right here.”

Huo Li took his hand, helped him roll up his long sleeves to his wrists, and then squatted down to roll up his pant legs.

He looked down at Huo Li, puzzled.

“I’m taking you for a run,” Huo Li said with a smile. “Run a lap with me, break a sweat, and maybe the inspiration will come?”

“No…” Chu Qing shook his head. This park was not small, and the running track was winding.

“Be good, just try it. Your mood will also improve after exercising. I’m not lying to you.”

“No…” he shrank his neck and said in a low voice, “I can’t…”

“It’s just ordinary running. What’s there to not be able to do?” Huo Li pinched his nose. “You little lazy bug. It’s not good for your health to be inactive all the time. Look at you, you get tired in a while, your stamina can’t keep up. That’s not good.”

Chu Qing lowered his head, not speaking.

Although he had just woken up, he was very tired now, and also very scared, afraid that he would lose control. He wanted to go back to his bed.

“Little lazy bug, don’t be afraid,” Huo Li said, taking his wrist. “I’m not an outsider. Come on.”

He pulled him along, leading him into a light jog. When he saw that he could move on his own, he let go.

Chu Qing ran very, very slowly, his steps small. It was more like race walking than running.

Huo Li kept pace with him, running by his side.

After half a lap, he couldn’t go on. He bent over, his hands on his knees, panting.

Huo Li looked at his flushed face and his breathless state, but he wasn’t sweating much, and it had only been half a lap. He thought, This person really doesn’t exercise. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he said, “You did very well, Qingbao. Come on.”

Chu Qing panted, “I don’t want to run anymore.”

“Let’s finish a full lap, okay? Let’s start exercising from today,” Huo Li said, stroking his back to help him catch his breath. “Be good, Qingbao.”

He whimpered in dissatisfaction.

“Let’s do some stretches first,” Huo Li said, leading him in stretching his muscles and limbs, and then pulled him along to finish a full lap with difficulty.

Several times, he was so tired he wanted to sit down, but he was subconsciously obedient, so he could only grab Huo Li’s arm and try to control his breathing to persevere.

When he finally got back to the starting point, he was so tired he sat down on the ground, his shoulders heaving as he panted.

“Qingbao did so well, so well on the first time. But get up first, we’re not done yet.”

“Ah…?” he looked up, his face full of despair.

There’s more??

Didn’t you say one lap?

“Look how scared you are,” Huo Li said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, as he pulled him up. “We’re going to do some more stretches, otherwise you’ll be very sore when you go back.”

“Ngh…”

After finally finishing, he could finally sit down on a bench, and said aggrievedly, “I want to drink water.”

“You’re still panting. Don’t drink yet.”

Ngh…

Being dragged out like this in the morning, forced to exercise, and not even allowed to drink water, Chu Qing was truly aggrieved to the core. He even hit the bench with his hand, showing that he was really dissatisfied.

“…Pfft… look how aggrieved you are. Oh my, let me see,” Huo Li said, pinching his cheek with a smile. “This little face is all wrinkled up, it’s turned into a cabbage flower.”

“Did you feel very comfortable after running?”

He paused, then said honestly, “No…”

He was a little dizzy, and had even wanted to throw up when he was running before.

But Huo Li could see that he was not as listless as before, his emotions no longer on the verge of collapse. The task of running was too difficult for him, and his attention had been diverted.

“If you run a few more times, you might feel comfortable tomorrow. It’s always like this at the beginning.”

He was stunned. “There’s more tomorrow…?”

“Yes.”

He slapped the chair hard with his hand again.

His hand had already recovered now and was no longer bandaged, but he still used gloves to cover the scars and small wounds he had picked.

The two rested for a moment, and Huo Li handed him a water bottle.

He took it and drank it in big gulps. The water was cool and refreshing, very comfortable as it flowed down his throat, which felt like it was on fire.

After resting enough and drinking water, he was satisfied, sitting lazily and comfortably on the chair, lost in thought about something.

“Teacher Chu, you still don’t want to go back?”

He shook his head.

“Sigh, so Teacher Chu was missing his canary,” Huo Li said, raising an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Can’t bear to part?”

He was stunned, then shook his head in denial.

“Oh… but I missed you, Sponsor Daddy,” Huo Li said, leaning in close to him, his voice low. “You didn’t come to find me last night. I couldn’t sleep all night.”

“…”

“When can you favor me?” Huo Li sighed. “The novel was right. As soon as the sponsor gets busy, they’ll neglect the canary. How can a canary be as important as work?”

“I…”

“Shh…” Huo Li shook his head. “It’s not your fault. I’m not attractive enough.”

“You…”

“Shh…” Huo Li interrupted him again.

He pinched his wrist and handed him a small, long box.

“What’s this?”

“A gift for you.”

He touched the necklace on his chest, puzzled.

“A gift doesn’t have to be just one, right? And Qingbao did so well today,” Huo Li said, placing the box in his hand.

Another gift. He was a little happy in his heart and carefully opened it.

It was a silver-gray fountain pen.

Huo Li smiled. “I see you’re always writing, and the ink in your pen is almost out.”

This was something he used daily and was often exposed in front of the camera, so Huo Li didn’t choose an expensive one. He just asked an artist friend of his to choose a brand that was stylish and had substance but was not too expensive. It was said that there was a very romantic love story behind this pen.

“Ah… it’s a Roland brand,” Chu Qing was stunned. He took out the pen and examined it carefully. “This… although this is not expensive, it’s hard to come by.”

“Hmm…?” Huo Li blinked. Did his friend do that well?

“It’s a limited edition… Mr. Huo, you’re so amazing…” his eyes were full of joy. “It’s said that this pen, ‘Silver Gray Trace,’ was designed by Mr. Roland for his wife. He said that this pen represents the love letters he couldn’t write, the love he couldn’t express with words.”

“As long as you like it,” Huo Li said, letting out a sigh of relief. As expected, only an artist can understand an artist.

To him, it wasn’t a big deal. A pen was a pen, as long as it could be used.

“Mr. Huo’s gifts are all so unique… I like them very much,” Chu Qing paused, then said with a smile, “But this gift must not have been chosen by you yourself.”

Huo Li rubbed his nose. “Do I seem that unromantic?”

He just smiled.

“But I still like it very much. Thank you, Mr. Huo.”

He thought, Huo Li has given me two such thoughtful gifts. I have to give him a gift in return.

He sat quietly in the shade of the trees in the park, spending the day with Huo Li.

He was habitually in a daze, and Huo Li didn’t find it boring, just quietly accompanied him, counting the falling leaves.

…

The next day, the contestants continued to sprint in full swing.

And Chu Qing, after waking up at noon, thought he was dreaming.

…No, wait, dreams don’t hurt. Could it be that he had traveled through time?

Right now, he only had one feeling, and that was—leg pain.

He felt that his legs were not his own, especially his thighs.

…Is this the side effect of not exercising for a long time?

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This feeling was quite new to him.

“Qingbao…” Huo Li, perhaps hearing the sound, came to open the door.

He was startled.

Don’t tell me he’s here to drag me out to exercise again…?

He quickly pulled up the blanket and hid himself in it.

So when Huo Li pushed the door open, what he saw was a white ball on the bed.

He raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Is Qingbao home?”

“…Not home.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and poked the bulging white ball. “Get up. Don’t avoid it.”

He said in a muffled voice, “Do we still have to run today?”

“No. You’re going on stage the day after tomorrow. Today we’ll just do some simple stretching and aerobic exercise. It’s not difficult, just to get you moving.”

He was stuck now. If he didn’t move before he had a direction, Huo Li was very worried about his state.

Besides, his stamina was really not good.

“So we still have to exercise…?”

“Yes.”

A faint wail came from under the blanket.

Huo Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, his heart full of softness.

“Alright, come out.”

“…”