CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER 87: STRAIGHT MAN OF STEEL!

"Hello? I asked you a question. Why are you smiling like an idiot?" Chu Tian walked in, looking speechless. He waved his hand in front of Xu Qingqiu, but she just kept smiling stupidly.

"Huh? What?" Xu Qingqiu asked.

"Nothing. You’re drooling. Wipe it off quickly." As he spoke, he spotted a pack of tissues nearby, casually pulled one out, and handed it to her.

Xu Qingqiu stared at the white tissue fluttering in front of her, then at the misshapen, squeezed pack it had come from. Her face slowly turned red.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Fuming, Xu Qingqiu stood up, marched around the desk, grabbed Chu Tian, and landed a couple of punches on him.

"Hey! Are you crazy? I just gave you a tissue to wipe your mouth. Why are you hitting me?" Chu Tian stared at her, baffled. He was completely unaware of how he had offended her. He’d come in to remind her to practice her song, then he’d pointed out she was drooling and even thoughtfully handed her a tissue. Nothing wrong with any of that, right? So, what was the problem?

Xu Qingqiu’s face flushed crimson. She glared at him with wide eyes, gritting her silver teeth, itching to throw a few more punches. What kind of person *was* he? Saying she was drooling—she wasn’t! And besides, he tried to give her a tissue that Sister Hua had just used in the bathroom—to wipe her *mouth*! How could he do that?

Li Chunhua, who had been watching from the side, could no longer hold it in. Covering her mouth, she burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHA! This is killing me! HA HA HA HA HA~"

"Hey, what’s so funny? Why are *you* laughing?" Chu Tian felt like a clown, but he still couldn’t figure out what was so funny.

"Chu Tian, that tissue you grabbed... Sister Hua just used it in the bathroom... for, you know... HAHA!" Yiyi kindly reminded him from the side, but by the end, she couldn’t help joining in the laughter too. It was hard not to laugh; Sister Hua’s laughter was too infectious. She really couldn’t help it.

Chu Tian’s expression darkened as he stared at the tissue in his hand, then at the fuming Xu Qingqiu. He was utterly speechless. What in the world was going on? He had no idea that tissue was what Sister Hua had used in the bathroom. Who takes a whole pack of tissues to the bathroom anyway? And she should have put it away after using it! Why leave it on the table where anyone could grab it?

"Well, I didn’t know..."

"Just stop talking! You’re so annoying..." Xu Qingqiu shot him a glare, grabbed the lyric sheets they’d used yesterday, and turned to leave. When she reached the door, she saw Chu Tian still standing there. Irritated, she quickly ran back, grabbed his arm, and pulled him along. "Let’s go! What are you standing there for? Isn’t this embarrassing enough?"

"What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s just a misunderstanding."

Unfortunately, Xu Qingqiu completely ignored him.

Pulling and dragging each other, they arrived at the recording studio to continue yesterday’s work.

But the studio was in turmoil. Several people happened to see Xu Qingqiu dragging Chu Tian by the hand as they passed, and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What’s going on here?"

"I have no idea."

"Damn! Those two..."

"Shh! Don’t spread rumors. Do you want to lose your job?"

"It can’t be that serious, can it?"

"Let’s wait and see. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding. I refuse to believe President Xu is dating! Absolutely refuse!"

"This is some juicy gossip..."

"..."

"AHEM! Does everyone have nothing to do? Yuan, is that proposal I asked for ready? I want it on my desk before you leave tonight, understand?" Li Chunhua glanced around the office, shooting sharp looks at those who had been gossiping moments before. The office finally quieted down.

But when she thought about Xu Qingqiu’s relationship with Chu Tian, all she could do was shake her head helplessly. She felt a sense of helplessness, like a mother whose daughter is determined to marry someone. What could she do? Her own precious ’little cabbage’ was clearly smitten. The problem was, the guy was a block of wood, completely unresponsive. All those charming glances were wasted, like casting pearls before swine—or in this case, winking at a blind man.

"Alright, let’s call it a day here," Chu Tian said. "This song is pretty much done. I’ve finished recording my parts, so you just need to find someone to produce the master track."

"PHEW! Finally done! I’m exhausted. Yiyi! Yiyi, quick, get me some water! My throat’s about to catch fire!~" Xu Qingqiu stood by the recording studio door, gulping down water.

Chu Tian watched her, an unconscious smile playing on his lips.

"What are you smiling at? Are you addicted to teasing me or something?" Xu Qingqiu demanded.

"Who’s teasing you? This is work, isn’t it? If you have issues, of course I have to point them out. How else will you improve?"

"Hmph! You blockhead! You really don’t know how to talk to people..." Xu Qingqiu shot him another glare, then turned away, picked up the headphones, and pressed play.

DUN DUN DUN DUN~DUN DUN~DUN DUN~...

"How is it? Are you satisfied?" Chu Tian asked after a moment.

"Satisfied! It’s fantastic! This is exactly the result I wanted! Is that really me singing? And all in one take?"

"Of course. And who do you think ’trained’ you?"

"What did you say?" Upon hearing the word ’trained,’ Xu Qingqiu turned around and grabbed Chu Tian’s collar tightly. She tried to put on a fierce expression, like the villains in TV dramas. Unfortunately, with her face, she just looked like a mildly fierce kitten.

Their faces moved closer and closer. They could each feel the other’s hot breath on their skin. It made the fine hairs on their skin tingle, as if being tickled.

"EEK~ I can’t take it anymore!~" Yiyi had been excitedly lapping up the drama, but as she watched, she suddenly felt as if the air had become thick with a cloying, sour-sweet stench of romance. A shiver ran down her spine, and she grimaced, beating a hasty retreat.

"PFFT~ HAHAHA, I’m dying of laughter!"

"What are you laughing at?" Xu Qingqiu, her face red, stamped her foot. She looked at Chu Tian, who was laughing so hard he was bending over and then snapping back upright. She felt utterly frustrated, enough to want to vomit blood! She had truly, deeply immersed herself in the emotion of the moment, even letting her ’fierce kitten’ expression soften into gentleness. Her mind raced, imagining countless possibilities for what might happen next. A kiss? An embrace? Being pinned against the wall? Or perhaps... But just as her heart swelled with anticipation, that idiot opposite her burst out laughing. He laughed? What is there to laugh about? For the first time ever, Xu Qingqiu had the overwhelming urge to curse. It was absolutely maddening!

Chu Tian himself didn’t quite know why he was laughing. At first, his mind had been focused on what Xu Qingqiu would do next. Would she take this chance to hit him a few times in retaliation? But then he saw her ’fierce kitten’ look soften, becoming gentle, almost pitiable. Was she trying to play the victim now? Then, as he continued to watch, he suddenly noticed her eyes were almost closed. A thought instantly flashed through his mind: Was she so tired from singing that she’d fallen asleep? And with that thought, he burst out laughing.

It was only now, seeing Xu Qingqiu’s face flushed a deep crimson with shyness, that he belatedly realized... he might have completely, utterly misunderstood?

"Um... you didn’t want to kiss me, did you?"

"You... You’re horrible, Chu Tian! There’s no one as infuriating as you!" Watching Xu Qingqiu snatch up her things and run out, tears welling in her eyes and looking utterly wronged, Chu Tian touched his nose, speechless. He felt both awkward and completely at a loss.

He had zero experience in these matters. He’d never even been in a relationship in his previous life, so how was he supposed to know any of this? This was Xu Qingqiu. If it had been Sister Hua in her place, she wouldn’t have been satisfied without calling him an ’old bastard’ a few times. Even Yiyi would have probably called him a ’hopeless straight guy’!