Chapter 59: Contrast

Chu Qin blinked after finis.h.i.+ng his call with Mu Chen. How was it so coincidental, the other party just happened to have something on when he fell sick? His entire body was so sore and painful that he didn't want to move. But at the same time, he didn't dare to sleep out of fear that someone would call on him due to an urgent matter at the television station. His wide eyes gazed at the ceiling for a while. After a moment of thought, he still could not rest at ease and gave the producer another call.

The producer told him that Director Zhong had already took leave for him and it had also been confirmed that Mu Chen would not be coming. They had already apologized to the other guest, Qiao Su.

Chu Qin now felt completely at ease. A hand reached over and placed a cup of warm water, as well as a plate of fruits at the head of the bed. Zhong Yibin was now extremely skilled at doing these things. His skill at peeling an apple had also reached new heights; he could peel it from start to end without the peel breaking. He was afraid that the apple would turn yellow when it was left for too long so from that moment onwards, the peel in its entirety was left on top of the apple. A slight tug would then reveal the fresh fruit within.

Nibbling at the crispy, sweet apple, Chu Qin happily picked up the remote control and leisurely watched television.

Ratings in the afternoon were low so

would not be re-broadcasted then. Shengs.h.i.+ TV was airing a recommended Korean drama. Struggles between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, war over riches between genuine and fake aristocrats, compet.i.tion for the ideal career - Korean dramas were all along this line.

"I'll give this money to you, leave my son," An appropriately-dressed wealthy grandma threw a check towards the female lead.

The female lead looked at her in a humiliated yet obstinate manner. She picked up that check and slowly ripped it into shreds. "I will not leave Cheng Jun-ge."

The corner of Chu Qin's mouth twitched. This scene was very familiar to the eye… He looked up at the golden holy sword placed on a shelf and felt his head ache slightly.

He couldn't bear to continue watching this soap opera and switched to another channel, which was playing a Wuxia drama. The female lead was a currently popular flower called Dan Wenqing. Wenqing, who was attired in a pink immortal outfit, scuttled around in a lively manner around her martial brothers. Her martial brothers were dressed in the sect's standard blue attire, making the scene appear to be that of a pink b.u.t.terfly having flown into a blue sakura thicket.

"Martial brother, let's go down the mountain to have some fun!" Wenqing looked charming and pleasant. Her facial features made her appear kind and very fitting for a leading role. At the moment, she was the one whom directors looked favorably upon for the female lead role.

As Chu Qin looked at Wenqing on the screen, he was reminded that they had not met face-to-face for quite a while. They were friends and had known each other for two years. A few months ago, Wenqing suddenly made known her romantic relations.h.i.+p with Li Ting. The lady who was in the throes of pa.s.sionate love naturally threw this male friend of hers to the back of her mind.

"Ding-" Just as he thought this, his phone suddenly rang. Chu Qin reached out to pick it up; speaking of the devil, she really appeared – it was Wenqing who had contacted him.

"Qin-ge, are you busy now?" Wenqing's voice was slightly nasal and she didn't sound too good.

"Not busy, what's wrong?" Chu Qin frowned slightly and asked in a concerned tone, "Are you filming?"

"En…" Wenqing made a sound of agreement. Her surroundings weren't very noisy, it was probably this brat who had hidden in some corner to call him. "Qin-ge, I want to break up, wu…"

"Don't cry, don't cry," Chu Qin hurriedly consoled her. "Is there anyone nearby?"

"No, I'm squatting at the foot of the wall behind the palace set," Wenqing said listlessly. How could she say such words at an area with lots of people, so many pairs of eyes would be on her.

Chu Qin looked at that bright, lively girl on television, listened to the complaints over the voice that were uttered in a sobbing tone and couldn't resist letting out a sigh.

Wenqing was currently popular and she was still young, her future prospects were glorious. Her boyfriend was a young hunk, but his fame wasn't equal to hers. He was that guy who acted with Mu Chen in

.

"He doesn't treat me well either, but he's too childish…" Wenqing sobbed as she denounced him.

Childish… Chu Qin silently glanced at the gold holy sword on the shelf.

"Cough. He's a boy, he will become a small child in front of the one he loves. This shows that he likes you," Chu Qin stroked his nose and mediated.

"No. It's cute if it's an occasional childishness, but he can't always be childish when it's regarding huge affairs right!" Wenqing was somewhat emotional. They had just gotten into an argument yesterday night and Wenqing didn't have any scenes in the afternoon so she couldn't help calling Chu Qin to voice her grievances.

A few days ago, Wenqing came down with a fever after filming a rain scene. Li Ting came to visit her and without saying anything, took her to a hotel to let her sleep and recuperate. Originally, Wenqing had been pretty moved by that. She went to sleep at ease but in the end, when she woke up, she realized that her handphone had almost blown up. The director was infuriated by her leaving without permission. Her manager was also unaware of the situation and had an important contract for her to sign. In the end, she was nowhere to be found and her manager grew extremely worried. Moreover, she wouldn't comment if Li Ting didn't help her to pick up her calls, but he even put her phone on silent mode and sat on his own in the living room to play games.

He said that it was to let her rest, but he didn't even help her take leave. When she climbed out of bed, she still needed to apologize to everyone one by one. On top of that, she was ill, yet Li Ting called for a takeout of fried chicken. He said that eating well and drinking some water would help her regain her energy. However, her fever continued to rage on, and her weak digestive system was completely incapable of stomaching that greasy and tough fried chicken. She couldn't eat any more after consuming a few bites. Seeing this scene, Li Ting polished off the rest of the fried chicken…

Chu Qin gazed at the apple in his hand and thought back to the entire afternoon of peace and quiet from his phone. He suddenly felt that his life was much better than others.

"He's too young, he doesn't know how to take care of people…" Contrasting the two people, Chu Qin really wanted to persuade Wenqing to quickly break it off with him. From the start, he had disliked Li Ting. Previously when Li Qing wanted to announce their relations.h.i.+p, Chu Qin even stopped her. He wanted her to calm down and only do so after having stabilized her emotions for a period of time. However, Li Ting kept pus.h.i.+ng her to make the news public. The news was trending for a while and Li Ting thus became popular – only then did he manage to get a role in

.

"Is your family's Director Zhong also like this?" Wenqing attempted to find a source of comfort.

"Nope, I also fell sick today. In the morning, he bought plain congee and steamed buns. Before he left, he peeled an apple for me," As Chu Qin said these words, he couldn't stop himself from showing off.

Wen Qing, "… Let's break off our relations."

"Ai, no!" Chu Qin had to reason with her in every way possible before he could hold on to this friends.h.i.+p. "Break up if you want to but discuss it with your company and write out a public relations script. Tell me at once if there's any trouble. When I'm free the next two days, I'll go over to the drama crew to visit you."

Wenqing was currently acting in that turbid palace drama Shengs.h.i.+ had invested in.

The fever had originally only cropped up because of exhaustion from riding the rollercoaster and being blown by the wind, so Chu Qin was once again as lively as a tiger after resting for two days. The Lollipop session that had been pushed back that week could also finally be filmed.

Lollipop's full name was

and was a small scene-based entertainment program. Its main purpose was to delve into several differences between ancient and modern culture. It sounded very lofty but in essence, it was still an entertainment program and celebrities would be invited every week to chat with Chu Qin about the past and present.

This program's raw information on culture was more profound and many celebrities' cultural standard wasn't high enough, easily making them look bad. Thus, the program crew would pa.s.s them the script beforehand and help them to research for information as well. Those who were on a higher level could say a bit more but those who didn't have the capability would say less to avoid being exposed.

This week, they had invited Mu Chen and Qiao Su. The main topic for discussion was the popular drama being broadcasted,

.

Mu Chen and Qiao Su seated themselves on the wide guest sofa one by one. Chu Qin held onto cue cards as he sat on a high chair. Countless props had been placed on stage - there was the Guqin, jade pipes, candle holder and clothes.

"Recently, our station has been broadcasting a popular drama during prime time called

. Today, we invited the emperor and empress to discuss with us the social customs of the Great Yu." After the opening music had been played, Chu Qin started to calmly say his opening words. "Welcome our Emperor Jingyuan Mu Chen and Empress Duanhui Qiao Su."

This sort of new introduction caused Qiao Su to feel somewhat embarra.s.sed. It was Mu Chen who openly stood up to wave, even seizing the opportunity to drag Qiao Su up as well. The two people carried out a greeting from the Great Yu dynasty towards the camera.

The author has something to say:

Small theater:

Wenqing: My boyfriend is so childish

Qin Qin: Yes, my boyfriend too

Wenqing: When I fell sick, he only knew how to tell me to drink more hot water

Qin Qin: When I fell sick, he knew how to buy medicine and order hot congee

Wenqing: When I cry, he only knows how to say that my crying is annoying

Qin Qin: When I cry, he'll be even happier, he even said that he'll spare me if I say 'husband'

Wenqing: … [Hands in prayer]

Translator's corner: There will be a double release on Friday so look out for it ?