CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 58: WANT TO BE A CELEBRITY? ARE YOU SICK OR AM I SICK?

And so it was. Chu Tian had stayed up past one in the morning to finally use up all his Reputation Points. Besides exchanging one hundred Text Converters, he used the rest for the lottery draw. Watching his Reputation Points slowly increase, he estimated they would reach ten million by daybreak. However, he couldn’t hold out any longer, so he turned off the system and immediately fell asleep.

The next morning, sporting dark circles under his eyes, Chu Tian’s first order of business after getting out of bed was to use all his fully accumulated Reputation Points for the lottery draw. Only then did he leisurely wash up and leave the house.

During this period, Xu Qingqiu’s popularity had surged once again, leading to many more commercial performances. Apart from practicing her singing, she was rarely at the company.

However, the atmosphere in the company had improved considerably. After all, they had money now, and wages were fully paid. Who wouldn’t be happy?

Chu Tian sat at his workstation, nodding off. He hadn’t rested well the night before, and now all he wanted was to rest his head on the desk and sleep.

But he had promised the day before to send over the novel. His personality was such that he couldn’t leave things unfinished, always wanting to complete tasks first—it had been the same in his past life.

He couldn’t sleep soundly with something on his mind, so he decided to push through. He found Editor Qiu Ye’s contact information, copied the entire novel from the system to his computer, and sent it to her.

After doing all this, he finally couldn’t hold on any longer and, slumping over his desk, fell into a deep sleep.

The show had aired the previous night. Since this was their first time participating in such a popular variety show after several years, both Sister Hua and Xu Qingqiu were very concerned. Thus, after watching the second episode, they had been closely following the online buzz.

The results were very pleasing, allowing Xu Qingqiu to finally sleep peacefully. Consequently, she woke up late the next morning.

After rushing to the company, Xu Qingqiu habitually glanced at Chu Tian’s workstation. Her eyebrows furrowed when she didn’t see anyone there.

Is he absent again today, or just late?

Unsettled, she kept her gaze fixed on that spot until she saw him sleeping at his desk, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

Once back in her office, Xu Qingqiu sat in her chair. Her slender figure settled against the backrest; just sitting there, she was a picturesque sight.

Yiyi was efficiently tidying up and was just about to prepare a cup of water for her when Xu Qingqiu stopped her.

"Yiyi, could you go check on Chu Tian later? Once he wakes up, tell him to come see me."

"Ah? Okay," Yiyi agreed, pouting.

I’m so envious! Why does he get to sleep at work and then be woken only when he’s ready? Is Sister Qiu a love-struck fool? Could it be that in the eyes of someone you like, everything they do is right—even sleeping on the job? I wish someone liked me that much too. It would be great if a domineering CEO treated me that way!

Thinking this, Yiyi’s big eyes crinkled into a smile.

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Qingqiu asked, walking over with a curious expression. She took the cup from Yiyi’s hands. "Didn’t you sleep well last night? If you’re tired, go sleep on the sofa. Don’t push yourself."

"Ah? I’m sorry, Sister Qiu. I was just spacing out," Yiyi replied.

"It’s okay, take a rest. I’ll get the water myself," Xu Qingqiu said and went to fetch it, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards Chu Tian’s direction every now and then.

Yiyi stood in the office, grinning foolishly to herself.

Maybe I don’t need a domineering CEO after all. Sister Qiu is pretty nice...

「...」

After an indeterminate amount of time, Chu Tian finally woke up. He stretched his stiff neck and looked up at the bustling people around him.

Seeing everyone rushing around, he, having slept for half the day, felt somewhat embarrassed. He quickly turned on his computer and flipped through random files, pretending to be very busy.

He had no choice. Even though everyone knew he didn’t have much to do every day, he couldn’t be too blatant about it, right? He had to maintain some pretense.

"Chu Tian? Sister Qiu is asking for you," Yiyi said, approaching his desk.

"Me? What’s it about?"

"I don’t know. You’ll find out when you get there."

Following Yiyi to the office, Chu Tian saw Xu Qingqiu sitting upright in her chair as soon as he entered. Her gaze was focused on the screen, and she looked every bit the powerful businesswoman.

"Sister Qiu, Chu Tian is here."

"Oh, good. Yiyi, you can go out first. I want to talk to him."

"Okay, Sister Qiu."

Once Yiyi had closed the door, Xu Qingqiu didn’t know what to say for a moment. She stared fixedly at the computer, her hands tapping randomly on the keyboard as if she were busy.

Seeing that she didn’t greet him, Chu Tian, lacking the slightest sense of employee etiquette, casually pulled over a chair and sat down across the desk, just quietly watching.

Time ticked by. The two of them seemed frozen, neither speaking, and the atmosphere grew increasingly strange.

The more it was like this, the more panicked Xu Qingqiu became. I don’t understand why this is happening. We used to be so familiar, we even shared everything. Why, all of a sudden, do I not know what to say? Am I shy? Or am I too worried about saying the wrong thing? I don’t know. My mind is blank.

She could only stare at the computer to mask her inner turmoil.

Chu Tian, unconcerned with pretenses, couldn’t stand the boring silence. He lazily rested his arms on the desk, looking at the rigidly straight figure opposite him, and said casually, "Don’t you get tired sitting up so straight?"

"Huh?" Xu Qingqiu didn’t catch on at first and instinctively responded.

"I mean, doesn’t your back get tired from being so straight? Besides, you’ve been staring at that news pop-up for ages and still haven’t finished reading it. And since you can’t type on it, why are you hitting the keyboard?"

Finally understanding him, Xu Qingqiu realized she had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn’t paid any attention to what was on her computer screen.

Exposed, her face and neck flushed pink.

"You’re infuriating!" Flustered and embarrassed, Xu Qingqiu picked up a plush toy from nearby and threw it at Chu Tian, rolling her eyes at him for good measure.

Chu Tian caught it and propped it under his chin, grinning at her flustered expression, clearly not intending to spare her any embarrassment.

"We know each other so well, why be so formal? Isn’t it better to relax? What did you want to see me about?"

Perhaps because her pretense had been shattered, or perhaps Chu Tian’s demeanor helped her recall that familiar feeling, Xu Qingqiu finally stopped acting so unnaturally.

She mimicked Chu Tian, resting her elbows on the desk and looking at him with wide eyes. After hesitating, she carefully asked, "Chu Tian, I know you’re not comfortable working at the company, but I still think you can’t go on like this. Now that your voice has recovered, have you thought about continuing as an entertainer?"

"An entertainer? What kind? I can’t sing."

"You don’t necessarily need to sing. You could start by learning to act. I know a director who’s currently shooting a film. You could start with a featured role under him to hone your acting skills and build some fame. Once your voice is completely better, you could go back to singing."

"I’m not doing it."

"Why not?"

"No reason. What’s so good about being a star? It’s more exhausting than a production team’s donkey, and you’re constantly under scrutiny, being picked apart. What’s in it for me? Even a dog wouldn’t want that life!"

"You tell me, what’s so good about being a star apart from earning a bit more? With a salary of over twenty thousand a month, am I short on money? Why bother with daily cutthroat competition for resources, only to be constantly insulted online?"

"You... This..."

Xu Qingqiu never expected that her simple suggestion would provoke such a tirade from Chu Tian. And the worst part was... Why do his points make so much sense?

"See? Right? Who wants to be a star? Are you crazy, or am I?"