I Became the Koi Actor After Entering the Book

**Chapter 74.1: What were you two doing in there?**

Translator: Namizaki

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Chi Zhongqiao clutched his clothes, paused for two seconds, and maintained his composure with an actor’s poise. “Brother Du, let me explain.”

Du Yusheng, whose straight-man worldview was already crumbling, wanted to grab Chi Zhongqiao and asked, “What were you two doing in there? What were you doing?”

Chi Zhongqiao glanced down at his clothes and weakly protested, “We didn’t do anything.”

Du Yusheng wiped his face. “You and President Lu…”

Chi Zhongqiao coughed. “It’s exactly what you think.”

Du Yusheng’s head swam. The words “Heaven has forsaken me” crashed into his mind, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He briefly considered simply giving up and collapsing.

Chi Zhongqiao quickly steadied him, patting his back. “Brother Du, Brother Du, you still have Yiyun to take care of.”

Barely conscious, Du Yusheng turned to glance at Yan Yiyun, who was practicing her lines nearby. The silly girl was muttering to herself, but her eyes kept darting in their direction.

Du Yusheng’s chest tightened. Forget it, I might as well just kick the bucket.

Still, it didn’t work. Lu Yuzhou stepped out of the car, wearing a charcoal-gray knit sweater. Perhaps after their brief separation, they had enjoyed some quality time together, as his usually imposing aura had softened considerably.

Standing beside Chi Zhongqiao, Lu Yuzhou gave Du Yusheng a slight nod. “Thank you for your help this time.”

Du Yusheng, who had been on the verge of collapse, straightened up, his voice respectful. “It’s no trouble at all. It’s my duty.”

Only today had he learned that the Young Prince and the Big Boss were actually a couple. As Chi Zhongqiao’s agent, who frequently arranged work for him, Du Yusheng now felt like an old-fashioned meddler, a stick in the spokes of true love. Who knew if President Lu had been harboring a grudge against him all this time?

Lu Yuzhou’s lips curved slightly as he lowered his head to smooth out the luxurious faux fox fur collar of Chi Zhongqiao’s coat.

The fur wasn’t real; it was entirely synthetic, but a high-quality imitation that looked remarkably authentic—more than adequate for a prop, though not exactly cheap. The problem was that the collar’s fur now resembled a frizzy, exploded hairstyle, the strands standing on end. It was winter, after all, and static electricity was rampant. This synthetic fur was particularly prone to static, and after the two had been cozying up in the car, the fur had gone completely haywire.

There was no fixing the frizz, but Lu Yuzhou could at least smooth out the wrinkles.

Chi Zhongqiao murmured, “The props team will scold me if they see this.”

Lu Yuzhou bent down to smooth out the wrinkled hem of Chi Zhongqiao’s robe, chuckling, “Then I’ll apologize to them on your behalf, Qiao-ge.”

Just then, Zhong Yin came rushing over from the set, his footsteps echoing across the studio. “Brother Qiao! It’s your turn! You need to go back and touch up your makeup!” He skidded to a halt, his eyes landing on the crumpled fox fur before he even registered who was standing there. “Brother Qiao, your robe… let me fix it!”

He crouched down, his gaze locking with Lu Yuzhou’s as the latter straightened up.

“I—” Zhong Yin swallowed the rest of his sentence, nearly collapsing onto the ground.

Chi Zhongqiao stared in silence.

Lu Yuzhou raised an eyebrow, brushed a speck of dust from the fox fur, and said, “Qiao-ge, you should go back to filming. I’ll wait for you here.”

Chi Zhongqiao felt a pang of reluctance. Their intimate moments in the car had been a sweet, intense rush, but it had left him feeling parched, craving the gentle warmth of a slow, lingering connection.

He glanced back at the set, swallowed his words, and smiled at Lu Yuzhou. “I’ll go film this scene first, then come back.”

Lu Yuzhou bit his tongue, suppressing the reluctance that nearly showed on his face. He said calmly, “Alright.”

Chi Zhongqiao gazed at him for a moment, so smitten he could barely move. He pursed his lips, then extended his hand, the wide sleeve completely covering its back, leaving only the fingertips visible.

Puzzled, Lu Yuzhou gently took Chi Zhongqiao’s hand. Chi Zhongqiao loosened his grip, and a rigid card slipped into Lu Yuzhou’s palm.

It was a room key.

Lu Yuzhou chuckled softly and closed his hand around the key.

Chi Zhongqiao’s lips curved into a smile as he turned and walked toward the filming set.

Du Yusheng hurried after him.

Chi Zhongqiao murmured, “How did Yuzhou end up coming with Brother Du?”

Du Yusheng replied, “I don’t know. I was planning to come today anyway, but President Lu suddenly told me he’d join me. Even Assistant Qi couldn’t dissuade him… Wait, what?”

Chi Zhongqiao abruptly stopped, his clear eyes fixed intently on Du Yusheng. What do you mean even Qi Chuyang couldn’t dissuade him?

Whenever Lu Yuzhou was involved, Chi Zhongqiao’s composure and magnanimity would crumble for a few seconds. The intensity of his gaze toward Du Yusheng was almost intimidating.

Under that intense gaze, Du Yusheng nearly choked on the unspoken half of his sentence. He sighed helplessly, “Don’t look at me like that. I honestly don’t know what’s going on. President Lu rarely comes to Zhaohui when you’re not here, except for major projects or conferences. But I got close to Assistant Qi, and he said President Lu has been particularly busy lately, probably because…”

He trailed off awkwardly, mumbling, “…he’s just eager to see you, so he’s cramming all his work together… You should ask President Lu himself.”

Chi Zhongqiao stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds, his expression darkening. He glanced back and saw Lu Yuzhou watching him quietly from a short distance away. Chi Zhongqiao instinctively smiled, but his face tightened slightly as he turned away.

Behind him, Du Yusheng sighed. He had wanted to offer Chi Zhongqiao some advice, warning him not to get too deeply involved and risk being unable to extricate himself later. No matter how well-intentioned their families’ long-standing friendship might be, the power imbalance between them remained undeniable. If they ever parted ways, Chi Zhongqiao would inevitably be the one to suffer. Chi Zhongqiao was an artist at Zhaohui, while Lu Yuzhou was its owner. If their relationship ever became public, Chi Zhongqiao would be the target of public ridicule.

What could President Lu possibly lose?

Yet he kept these words to himself, not out of fear of offending anyone, but because he knew Chi Zhongqiao, a man of such meticulous nature, would have considered these issues long before committing to the relationship. He had witnessed Chi Zhongqiao’s final decision—the two were now undeniably together.

He must really be deeply in love.

Du Yusheng smiled bitterly. How deeply must one love to feel so anxious and restless over even the slightest abnormality in their partner?

There was no point in trying to dissuade him. It would be futile, and he’d only risk making himself unwelcome.

Left standing alone, Zhong Yin faced Lu Yuzhou, his stomach churning with unease. He stole a glance at Lu Yuzhou, only to meet his gaze directly. A shiver ran down his spine. “P-President Lu, I… I…” He glanced back and realized Chi Zhongqiao and Du Yusheng had already walked quite a distance!

Brother Qiao and Brother Du are so disloyal!

Lu Yuzhou said, “Go take care of Brother Qiao first.”

Zhong Yin swallowed hard. “Okay.”

By the time Chi Zhongqiao finished filming, it was already past eight in the evening. He changed into his regular clothes in the small dressing room and couldn’t resist texting Lu Yuzhou all the way back.

The film set was quite a distance from the hotel. During the drive, Chi Zhongqiao texted: [ Why did you suddenly come today? ]

In the hotel, Lu Yuzhou’s fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before he replied: [ I might have to go to the US branch next year. ]

Chi Zhongqiao frowned briefly and typed: [ Did the Old Master arrange this? Is someone trying to push you out? ]

The words flowed from his fingertips to the screen without him thinking. After reading them over, he chuckled—his Lu Yuzhou was a man of exceptional skill and vision, now firmly established in his position at the company. How could anyone easily push him abroad? Besides, given Yuzhou’s tendency to share good news but hide bad, he wouldn’t tell him anything negative. This was likely some other plan of the Old Master’s.

He deleted the message and retyped: [ When? How long will you be gone? ]

Lu Yuzhou: [ After June next year. The exact dates aren’t set yet, but I’ll probably be gone for about a month or more than a month. ]

Too long.

The thought flashed through Chi Zhongqiao’s mind instantly.

Clutching his phone tightly, he stared at the screen, unsure how to reply.

He silently slipped his phone into his pocket, the night’s chill causing his breath to condense into a white mist.

He must have rushed over to see me after unexpectedly learning he’s going to the United States, Chi Zhongqiao thought. His initial elation at Lu Yuzhou’s arrival had cooled by two degrees. He reflected that this year had been relentlessly busy. Apart from the time they spent together in July and August, they had lived under the same roof but always parted after breakfast. During the day, they squeezed in phone calls, and on the rarest occasions, they managed to share lunch. Otherwise, they only saw each other at night.

Either he was busy, Lu Yuzhou was busy, or both of them were busy. He had originally planned to take a few extra days off after filming next year, but now…

Chi Zhongqiao stopped abruptly, and Zhong Yin, who was following closely behind, nearly bumped into him.

“Brother Qiao, what’s wrong?” Zhong Yin asked, narrowly avoiding a collision.

Chi Zhongqiao turned and smiled. “Nothing. Just had a sudden thought.”

Having made up his mind, Chi Zhongqiao entered the room and was startled to see Du Yusheng still there. The words caught in his throat, and he almost blurted out, “Why are you still here?”

Though Chi Zhongqiao said nothing, Du Yusheng could already read the words “deeply disappointed” in his expression.

Du Yusheng: “……” How blind had he been not to realize these two were involved?

Exhausted, Du Yusheng waved his hand. “Zhong Yin just called to say you barely touched your dinner. President Lu went to the nearby farmhouse restaurant, saying he’d make you something to eat. Sit down, I need to talk to you about something.”

Chi Zhongqiao sat down in the living room.

Du Yusheng said, “<Campus Prince and Campus Belle> will be released at the end of December. We can’t promote it overseas right now, but you’ll need to record some short promotional videos.”

Chi Zhongqiao was surprised. “I thought it wasn’t coming out until mid-January?”

Du Yusheng shrugged. “Probably thanks to your good fortune. The film which was originally scheduled for release was suddenly withdrawn, and we got bumped up.”

“Suddenly withdrawn?” Chi Zhongqiao was astonished. “Can they even do that?”

Du Yusheng shrugged again. “Yeah, who would have thought? We pulled some strings and got an earlier release. This USB drive contains both the dubbed and subtitled versions. Take a look—I think they’re pretty good.” He handed Chi Zhongqiao the drive.

After taking a sip of tea, Du Yusheng continued, “A morning premiere is good. We need to focus on promotion. If the film does well overseas, it’ll open up even more opportunities for you back home.”

Chi Zhongqiao knew Du Yusheng was still dwelling on that trending topic from before, taking the “no notable works” criticism even more to heart than he did. Chi Zhongqiao leaned back on the sofa, took a sip of tea, and said gently, “Breaking into the international market is a good thing, but there’s no need to obsess over it. I’ve only just started out, after all. The priority now is to establish a solid foundation here at home.”

Du Yusheng’s feverish mind immediately cooled. He nodded. “You’re right. I had an idea…”

Chi Zhongqiao said, “After filming <The Patriot>, I want to pursue further studies for a while.” His domestic fans were indeed very supportive, but while it hadn’t made him lose sight of himself, prolonged comfort could lead to complacency. In every field, progress is constant. Like the relentless waves of the Yangtze River, those who remain stagnant will inevitably be overtaken.

Du Yusheng paused for two seconds before cautiously asking, “What about President Lu…?” Further studies would likely mean going abroad. After all, Chi Zhongqiao’s acting skills were already considered top-tier in China; he needed to explore vastly different performance styles in other countries. But could Zhongqiao bear to leave President Lu?

Or rather, could President Lu really bear to part with Zhongqiao? After just ten days of filming on location, during which they had chats, phone calls and video calls, he couldn’t resist piling up several days’ worth of work to handle in one go, crossing half of China just for a day and a half together.

This clingy? How could he bear to be without Chi Zhongqiao for a whole month?

Chi Zhongqiao calmly picked up his teacup, his mind drifting for a few seconds. Then, behind the wisps of steam, his eyes curved into a smile. He didn’t answer directly, saying only, “The further studies will be in the United States. The timing hasn’t been decided yet.”

Du Yusheng admired, “Ruthless. Those who achieve great things don’t let personal attachments hold them back.”

Chi Zhongqiao merely smiled—he didn’t mention that Lu Yuzhou would be going to the U.S. branch for several months next year, ultimately using business as an excuse for personal reasons. But why share such clingy little thoughts with outsiders?

After a few more exchanges, Lu Yuzhou returned with a bowl of porridge.

Chi Zhongqiao stood up, taking the coat from Lu Yuzhou’s hand while whispering, “Going out to buy this so late?”

Lu Yuzhou gave him a gentle hug, whispering back, “I was worried Qiao-ge might get hungry in the middle of the night.”

He placed the thermos on the coffee table and unscrewed the lid, releasing the sweet aroma of red bean soup. He ladled a bowl for Chi Zhongqiao, then, as if suddenly noticing Du Yusheng, asked, “Would you like some?”

“No, no! Thank you, but I’m fine!” Du Yusheng replied hastily.

President Lu, please just keep ignoring me!

Lu Yuzhou was merely being polite. He had only bought enough soup for Chi Zhongqiao, barely enough to fill even a small bowl. It was meant to tide Chi Zhongqiao over since he hadn’t eaten much for dinner, and Lu Yuzhou hadn’t even considered Du Yusheng’s presence.

Chi Zhongqiao wasn’t particularly hungry, but after a few bites, he started feeding Lu Yuzhou.

Great, Du Yusheng thought bitterly. If President Lu still remembers I exist, that little brat Chi Zhongqiao is completely ignoring me! He glared at Chi Zhongqiao, his eyes filled with reproach. That bastard is even older than President Lu! How could he bring himself to take advantage of him like this?

After feeding Lu Yuzhou a few mouthfuls, Chi Zhongqiao suddenly turned to Du Yusheng. “Brother Du, why are you still here?”

Du Yusheng sighed. “I’ll take my leave then. Just remember to watch the dubbed version.”

Chi Zhongqiao nodded absently and dutifully escorted Du Yusheng to the door, even carrying his briefcase. “Take care, Brother Du.”

Du Yusheng, clutching the briefcase Chi Zhongqiao had thrust at him, stalked out with a dark expression. Chi Zhongqiao personally escorted him to the door, but they barely discussed any business before Du Yusheng left, his stomach full of romantic tension.

As soon as Du Yusheng was gone, Lu Yuzhou wrapped his arms around Chi Zhongqiao from behind.

“Is Qiao-ge angry?” Lu Yuzhou asked.

“No, why would I be?” Chi Zhongqiao replied.

Lu Yuzhou’s breath warmed Chi Zhongqiao’s neck as he slowly lowered his head. Though the embrace was forceful, it gave Chi Zhongqiao the illusion of being cradled.

“I came here without telling you, Qiao-ge. I was afraid you’d be mad.”

“I always feel like it’s not enough…”

Every moment together felt too short. A raging fire burned within Lu Yuzhou’s heart, scorching and relentless. Even late-night kisses and embraces couldn’t extinguish it.

As he nuzzled Chi Zhongqiao, Lu Yuzhou whined softly, “You’re always so busy, and I can’t find time to see you. I always feel like you don’t want me…”

Chi Zhongqiao, always helpless against this mischievous brat, chuckled in his arms. “Fine, I don’t want you. Then I won’t go to the United States for further studies next year.”

Lu Yuzhou’s head snapped up.

After a moment of silence, Chi Zhongqiao murmured, “How do you want me to want you?”

He turned in Lu Yuzhou’s embrace, cupped his face, and kissed him from forehead to lips. “Would wanting you like this be enough?”

Lu Yuzhou’s eyes fluttered shut. Half-carrying Chi Zhongqiao, he led him to the sofa and pushed him down, his voice muffled and soft against Chi Zhongqiao’s lips. “Of course not. Let me teach you, Qiao-ge…”

After a night of restrained tenderness, the remaining time together seemed less unbearable.

Zaki~ English is not my first language, but I’ll try to get the translations as close as possible to the Author’s work. If you see any grammatical errors or mistakes in the translation, please feel free to drop them in the comments section so I can correct them immediately. Thank you and Happy Reading 🙂