TRYMBPIETM 107: Revival of All Things (28)

Chi Qingzhou finished his dinner and received a call from Yi Shangxiao.

The other side said that they had already received Fu Wenan’s investment, and Fu Wenan had also guaranteed that he would not interfere with the operation of the crew.

Chi Qingzhou had no particular demands regarding this. The only thing he needed was for Fu Wenan to visit the crew at the appropriate time.

After discussing the main issue, Yi Shangxiao continued, “Teacher Chi, the preparations for Wanxiang are almost complete, and Director Fang Mingge also called me, hoping you could join the crew sooner.”

Chi Qingzhou was not too surprised. “Has something unusual happened in the crew?”

Yi Shangxiao was startled. “Teacher Chi, you really have a sharp intuition.”

He immediately recounted the incident where the crew members encountered a man in a red robe and mentioned that Director Fang had threatened that if the issue with the Absolute Yin Land was not resolved, the film would no longer be necessary to make.

He carefully added, “The producer and many of the crew members are quite worried and hope that the filming process can be safer.”

Chi Qingzhou did not respond directly to that but said, “I will join the crew as soon as possible. I’ll discuss with Brother Guan tomorrow, and at the latest, this weekend, I’ll head to Linghe Village.”

As he spoke, he noticed the system floating out of his shadow. He casually exchanged a few words with Yi Shangxiao before hanging up the call.

“What’s going on?” He put the phone down and looked at the system.

The system spun a few times in the air, its mechanical voice tinged with confusion. “Host, um, just now I saw backstage that the task to slap Fu Wenan in the face has increased by 10%.”

Chi Qingzhou: “…Huh?”

Even the system was confused, and now Chi Qingzhou himself was puzzled.

He asked the system to open the task panel, carefully examined it for a long time, but could not figure out where the 10% progress had come from.

Could it be that Fu Wenan faced many setbacks today?

Chi Qingzhou thought about it for half a minute and slowly nodded.

The system immediately looked at him expectantly, hoping for a clear answer.

If this situation could be replicated, it would be great. Then the progress for all future tasks wouldn’t be a concern!

Once there were more tasks completed, maybe it could accumulate some energy and break free from the host’s constraints, returning to the headquarters!

The system had never forgotten about 66594’s end or Chi Qingzhou’s previous question, “What would you do if the rewards couldn’t be distributed?”

It was deeply afraid of Chi Qingzhou and didn’t want to clash with him, but more than that, it didn’t want to die.

Even though the system didn’t have the concept of death in the worldly sense, 16594 still hoped it could “live” well.

At this moment, it hoped more than anyone else that Chi Qingzhou could complete the task.

Chi Qingzhou smiled, clapped his hands, and said, “Fu Wenan, he really is a good person.”

Although he didn’t know what exactly had happened, the fact that Fu Wenan was actively sending him task progress meant that Fu Wenan was a good person, right?

So Fu Wenan must be a good person.

The system: “…”

What difference does it make whether you say that or not?!

It was speechless for a moment. It didn’t dare to complain about Chi Qingzhou and could only awkwardly retreat into the shadow, curling up into a ball.

Chi Qingzhou chuckled lightly, a hint of subtle emotion flickering in his eyes.

Xing Shuangzhan walked out of the shadow and nodded gently at him. Chi Qingzhou couldn’t help but deliberately blink.

The phone rang suddenly, and Chi Qingzhou paused before slowly answering it.

As soon as the call connected, he heard Chi Qingning’s voice, which sounded like he had been crying.

“Second Brother!!” He cried out pitifully. “Do you know that Fu Wenan invested in Wanxiang?”

Chi Qingzhou responded with an “Oh” sound. “Yes.”

Chi Qingning paused before hesitantly asking, “Then, do you know he wanted to give me more screen time?”

Chi Qingzhou: “I haven’t heard of it.”

Chi Qingning’s voice faltered again. After a while, he said more aggrievedly, “He invested and wanted to give me more screen time, but Mr. Yi stopped him. Afterward, I don’t know what they said, but Mr. Yi wanted to add scenes for you, Second Brother.”

Chi Qingzhou: “Is that so?”

Chi Qingning spoke with some hesitation. “Fu Wenan, um, maybe he was worried about affecting the quality of the script, and he persuaded Mr. Yi, so in the end, Mr. Yi didn’t add scenes for you.”

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head. “Is that so?”

Chi Qingning was immediately speechless.

He was silent for a while, then said in a low voice, “Second Brother, how come you don’t care about the crew’s matters at all?”

Chi Qingzhou looked puzzled. “Is it really that important?”

Chi Qingning: “…”

He choked for a long time before finally admitting, “For you, Second Brother, it seems like it’s not important at all.”

Chi Qingzhou chuckled softly.

Chi Qingning gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and said directly, “Second Brother, Fu Wenan doesn’t really understand our industry. This time, he acted impulsively and made assumptions. I apologize to you on his behalf.”

“He doesn’t think things through when he speaks or acts. I’ve argued with him about it. Next time, I’ll make him apologize to you in person. Second Brother, please don’t hold it against us. Please give us a chance, and such things won’t happen again!”

“You argued with Fu Wenan?”

Chi Qingzhou raised his eyebrows, suddenly understanding where those task progress points had come from.

He couldn’t help but laugh again, kindly and benevolently comforting, “I’m not angry with you. It’s just a small matter, and a friendly person doesn’t hold grudges. Good will be rewarded with good, evil with evil. You understand, right, little brother?”

On the other end of the line, Chi Qingning let out a surprised, joyful cry, almost sobbing as he loudly agreed, “Second Brother is right! Good will be rewarded, evil will be punished! I’ll tell Fu Wenan now and have him donate more money to the Hope Project!”

Chi Qingzhou responded with a simple “Oh,” “Doing charity, huh? That’s a good thing.”

Chi Qingning, excited, said, “I understand now. Don’t worry, Second Brother. I’ll make sure Fu Wenan does charity properly! I’ll donate too. Thank you, Second Brother, thank you!”

He repeatedly expressed his gratitude, acting as if Chi Qingzhou was his reborn parent.

Chi Qingzhou found it amusing, laughing joyfully as he reiterated his life philosophy that only good people would receive good rewards.

Chi Qingning loudly repeated, “Got it, got it,” and continued to thank Chi Qingzhou profusely, only ending the call after Chi Qingzhou mentioned he had other things to do.

Xing Shuangzhan had been listening quietly by the side and remained silent.

It wasn’t until then that he raised an eyebrow and smiled. “This cuckoo bird really knows how to judge the situation.”

Chi Qingzhou curled the corner of his lips, his tone carrying deep meaning. “My little brother has always been a good person.”

When he needed malice to stabilize his soul’s condition, it was Chi Qingning and his fans who provided the purest, most lasting, and most abundant malice.

Now that his soul’s wounds were gradually healing and he didn’t need malice as much, Chi Qingning was the first to change his attitude, building a bridge for him to “communicate” with others.

Without Chi Qingning, the Chi family wouldn’t be able to come together so easily.

Chi Qingzhou rested his chin on his hand, feeling emotional. “My little brother is really a good person.”

Xing Shuangzhan suppressed a smile, agreeing with a subtle tone, “Good people will be rewarded.”

Like his little contractot, who hadn’t held a grudge against Chi Qingning at all, right?

Perhaps, when the Chi family eventually collapses, Chi Qingning will be the only one able to escape unscathed.

That is, if Chi Qingning can repay the karma before that.

…

Having roughly figured out the origin of the task progress, Chi Qingzhou excitedly analyzed it for a while, then yawned.

He hadn’t slept much last night, and no matter how young he was, he was starting to feel sleepy now.

He grabbed a change of clothes, went to the bathroom for a shower, and while drying his half-wet hair, he complained to Xing Shuangzhan.

“I feel a bit sleepy, but it seems like I can’t fall asleep.”

Xing Shuangzhan’s gaze traced his collarbone and eventually landed on his pale neck.

“Can’t sleep?”

Xing Shuangzhan’s voice was light, with a hint of curious amusement.

“Do you need help?”

Chi Qingzhou paused, holding the towel, and then looked at him with an innocent and naive expression.

He obediently said, “No need. I’ll watch some videos in bed later, and I should be able to sleep soon.”

Xing Shuangzhan raised the corner of his lips. “That won’t do.” He said, “If I let you watch videos to find sleep, wouldn’t it make me, your contract holder, look useless?”

Chi Qingzhou put the towel down, his hands resting on his knees, obedient like an elementary school student.

“How could that be?” He said earnestly, “Brother Su is the most amazing.”

Xing Shuangzhan walked over to him, took the towel, and carefully dried his hair. “Really?”

Chi Qingzhou: “Really!”

Xing Shuangzhan laughed softly. “Then how will you prove it?”

…?

Prove it?

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head to look at Xing Shuangzhan standing before him, his innocent expression showing a slight crack.

He remained silent for a moment, then slowly and carefully averted his gaze.

“Brother Su has always been the most amazing in my heart.”

Xing Shuangzhan asked with interest, “Is this an idealistic worldview?”

Chi Qingzhou didn’t respond.

He finally realized that returning home today might not have been the wisest choice.

But he was already home, so there was no point in regretting it now.

He frowned and said, “Brother Su, you’re really annoying.”

Xing Shuangzhan tossed the towel aside, picked him up in one swift motion, buried his head in Chi Qingzhou’s shoulder, and laughed quietly.

“Now you’re finally scared?”

His voice grew softer, carrying a hint of ambiguity.

“My contractor, from the day you succeeded in the ritual and I responded to you, you’ve been destined to never escape me.”

“You know exactly what I’m seeking, don’t you?”

Chi Qingzhou hummed, hesitated for a few seconds, and still reached out to wrap his arms around Xing Shuangzhan’s back.

Xing Shuangzhan tilted his head and placed a light kiss on Chi Qingzhou’s cheek.

“Don’t worry, I know my limits. I know your wounds haven’t healed yet, so I won’t go too far.”

He sighed softly. “At this moment, I just hope you remember the things from before.”

Chi Qingzhou froze, trying to pull back to see Xing Shuangzhan’s expression, but he was held tightly, unable even to tilt his head.

The heat from their bodies seeped through the nightclothes, and the bright overhead lights grew even more intense.

The cold white light spilled down, casting a shadow across the floor, which expanded around Xing Shuangzhan’s figure.

Chi Qingzhou’s gaze shifted slightly as he muttered, “I feel like I’ve seen this scene before. Brother Su, did I ever tell you… I’m over eighteen, and I can fall in love now, and therefore… you must like me?”