SB: Chapter 8

Qiu Qiu’s ability to achieve advancement was simply beyond Xiao Li’s expectations. The whole reason why she wanted Qiu Qiu to sing 《Pleasant Goat》on stage was purely to humiliate him. Who would’ve thought that not only was he not humiliated, he gained fame!

She had a premonition that in the future, Qiu Qiu would no longer belong to her, but rather be “wuli-oppa Qiu” [1]. However, in her heart, there was another voice that said——he was never hers to begin with. The fifty thousand dollars in her hands felt like it was jeering at her for her wishful thinking. She treated herself as a main character in a play, but other than the leading role, there was no one else.

Qiu Qiu was also very shocked. He held the advancement card like he was holding a sweet potato that just came out of the pan and no matter where he put it, it just didn’t feel right. The moment he stepped off stage, his fellow students came up to congratulate him, almost as if he was going to turn into a big star at any moment. From the crowd, Da Xiong finally squeezed through and patted Qiu Qiu on the shoulder, saying, “Qiu-er! Once you’re rich and famous, don’t forget me!”

But Qiu Qiu never thought to be rich and famous.

His attitude towards the future had always been vague. Until now, his life plans had always been studying, swimming freely in a sea of books, striving for a research project in college, earning a doctorate, continue studying literature……but what was he going to do after finishing his doctorate?

He still hadn’t decided.

Maybe he’ll be like Teacher Qiu, repairing and writing dictionaries in an office for a lifetime so that every language book is marked by his own name; or maybe he’ll be like Teacher Dong, educating people, spreading his home country’s culture to foreign lands and exotic places.

In regards to singing, he always saw it only as a sort of relaxing hobby. Even if he knew how to compose, write lyrics, and from time to time achieve a spot for the campus’ top ten singers’ stage,  he never once thought that he would be able to make a living off of this and become some big celebrity.

After the crowd of onlookers dispersed, Qiu Qiu walked around a couple of times to find a staff member with a yellow vest printed with《Super Generation Voice》. He stuttered that he wanted to return the advancement card and retire from the competition.

The staff member with the yellow vest looked at him like a big grey wolf, thinking this little sheep must have eaten grass to the point his brain had some sort of problem.

The advancement card was not easy to get and the requirements were extremely demanding. The audition judges for《Super Generation Voice》were selected from a pool of talented competitors from other competitions, totaling up to five people on the committee. If three or four of them gave a pass, the contestant will advance. If all five members of the committee gave a pass, then the contestant would be able to obtain a special advancement card and go straight to the provincial semifinals as a seeded player.

“Are you really not competing?” the staff member asked. “We may be a small live broadcast with little audience right now, but once the provincial semifinals begin, we’re pulling all the stops on advertisement! Do you know what a startup pop-up window is? ——All the people who have our app will see the ad when they open up the app. Think about it, what a good opportunity to be famous!”

“I’m a student…I don’t want to be famous. I only want to study well,” Qiu Qiu awkwardly said.

“You don’t have to put up a modest air. I heard people say how you achieved scholarship status every year and your grades are already extremely good, and you’re still not relaxing a bit? Little brother, let me give you some advice. When you’re young, you should be doing some daring things. When you’re old, you won’t regret it,” the staff member tried to persuade him.　

Qiu Qiu still shook his head. How can an adult rely on adrenaline to live life? They should be relying on their brain.

When the staff member saw the Qiu Qiu was unmoved, he lamented, “I’ve never seen someone as foolish as you! Just singing some songs would earn you award money. Other people fight over this opportunity, how could you do the opposite and walk backwards?”　

This sudden remark hit Qiu Qiu, who had just recently transformed from a rich man to a poor peasant. He really wanted to treat money like dirt, but it was clearly not the case when he asked, “There’s award money?”　

“That’s right. The provincial semifinals are ten candidates with six advancing. As long as you grab one of the top six spots, you can earn fifty thousand dollars!”　　

Qiu Qiu’s thoughts became excited——the guitar he left at his sugar daddy’s house was exactly fifty thousand.

He thought, he might as well participate in another competition. He’s not greedy, so just being able to redeem the guitar is good enough.

…

Because of Qiu Qiu’s immediate success on the campus stage, Da Xiong noisily wanted Qiu Qiu to host a dinner party. Qiu Qiu wasn’t a stingy person so he just straightforwardly took Da Xiong to the dining hall to eat stir-fry.　

Da Xiong was a very honest person and not at all picky with his food. He’ll eat anything; give him a slice of watermelon and he’ll eat it all the way till the white of the skin showed on top. Usually, a meal set cost seven dollars, and Da Xiong ate enough to the point where those seven dollars added up to a large bill, so as they walked from the public square to the dining hall, Da Xiong happily planned out what he wanted to eat.

Every university has a “faculty dining hall” that’s a little more high-end. Professors educate and cultivate people everyday, even worrying about their students to the point of baldness. Of course they have to eat something good in compensation. The food in the faculty dining hall was all stir-fry compared to the student dining hall’s cauldron dishes [2]. Compared to the student dining hall, it was way more expensive, and considering the fact that it wasn’t currently a common meal time, there were absolutely no students around.

Da Xiong entered the dining hall like a polar bear entering a seal breeding area, eyes wide as he glanced left to right. As he said, “you go ahead and by whatever, I’ll find a place to sit,” he made a beeline straight towards the swing seats next to the window.

The school dining hall was currently under a contract system, and the contractors of the staff were all very business-minded. They took a whole row of window-side seats and made it into “romantic swing seats.” Each table had a swing suspended on both sides, decorated with fake flowers, fake grass, and a fake fence. It won the favor of many girls. It didn’t matter if it was a gathering between best friends or if it was a couple on a date, there would always be figures whispering on the swings.

Da Xiong’s maiden heart and his biceps were equally developed. The minute he entered through the doors, he went to snatch the swing seat. Qiu Qiu ordered three dishes according to Da Xiong’s tastes before carrying it shakily to the table, sitting across from Da Xiong.

Who knew that the moment Qiu Qiu sat down, he saw two familiar figures——

Fu Ruien was wearing a custom-tailored, steel grey suit with both hands in his pockets as he stood at the center of the dining hall, his leather shoes shinier than the floor tiles. His whole figure embodied the word “elite,” and was completely incompatible with the greasy and dirty university dining hall.

When a male lead comes onto the stage in a movie, he brings his own background and sound effects, but when Fu Ruien comes onto the stage, he brings an untouchable aura. Even the toughest canteen auntie dared not play with her life by smacking the spatula too loudly.

The secretary stood by his side, also in a suit, holding onto a stainless steel tray as he looked at the dining hall menu.

“Boss, what do you want to eat?” the secretary asked politely.

“Whatever’s quick. We have to be at the airport within an hour.”

After Fu Ruien finished watching Qiu Qiu’s performance, he originally planned to return home [3]. In the end, at the last possible moment, there was an important collaboration project that required him to personally attend a face-to-face interview. In the span of one year, half of his time was spent being a frequent flyer [4], but no matter how rich or sumptuous airplane food was, he couldn’t choke it down, so he figured he would eat something randomly to pad his stomach before boarding the plane.

Since they were in a rush, was there any other place that was faster than the university dining hall?

Who would’ve thought that there was such a coincidence; just as he was about to enter the dining hall, he saw his sugar baby not eating well and swaying on a swing.

He watched Qiu Qiu from afar, not saying anything.

Qiu Qiu watched him from afar, and also said nothing.

As a result, Da Xiong loudly started——“Hey hey hey, Qiu Qiu, isn’t that handsome brother the one that gave you three hundred likes the other day?!”

The secretary let out a “pfft” laugh.

Da Xiong stood up enthusiastically and called them over to sit together. Qiu Qiu didn’t utter a single sound as he sat on the swing ill at ease, his hand gripping the swing rope and his eyes looking at everything but Fu Ruien. 

The secretary was about to decline the invitation, but who knew Fu Ruien took one long stride towards the table, and even intentionally, shamelessly, sat next to Qiu Qiu, acting as if it really was a coincidence they happened to meet here.

The swing swayed and swayed, and Qiu Qiu’s heart also swayed and swayed. [5]

The dishes they ordered had yet to be completed, so Da Xiong pushed his own three dishes towards them.

Fu Ruien was in a rush so after expressing thanks, he took his chopsticks and bowl, and dug in. His table etiquette was impeccable to the point where eating a dish of fish-fragrant pork strips [6] seemed as if he was sampling a dish in a Michelin restaurant. Da Xiong rested his chin on both his hands, openly looking love-struck.

“How do you know Qiu Qiu?” Da Xiong asked.

The secretary was the one who replied, “President Fu appreciates Mr. Qiu’s talent and offered a private scholarship.”

“Our Qiu is so outstanding, only your President Fu appreciates him, but doesn’t President Zheng appreciate him?” Da Xiong asked gloriously. 

“President Zheng? President Zheng is permanently representing Southeast Asia and has never seen Mr. Qiu.”

These two people were like chickens speaking to ducks (without really understanding one another), and chatted up a frenzy.

Qiu Qiu wasn’t an introverted person at all, but from the moment Fu Ruien sat by his side, he couldn’t open his mouth——because daddy had unexpectedly placed his hand on Qiu Qiu’s thigh!

At the time when the two of them still had the impure support relationship, Fu Ruien would often eat dinner like this. He’ll put his hands on Qiu Qiu, sometimes around the shoulder, sometimes on the back of his hand, sometimes just like this, on his thigh.

Every time, Qiu Qiu directly shook it off and earnestly gave his opinion. “Daddy, your hand is too hot, don’t touch me all the time.”

Qiu Qiu’s body temperature was naturally cold, but Fu Ruien was always full of fire.

Qiu Qiu didn’t know why Fu Ruien always touched him before, so he was capable of taking off Fu Ruien’s hand. But Qiu Qiu understood now, yet……yet he was embarrassed to make him (Fu Ruien) let go.

Qiu Qiu thought that there must be a problem with him as he anxiously and silently nibbled on a simmer-fried ribbonfish.

Qiu Qiu was especially skilled at eating ribbonfish. Every time, he would first bite off the spines on both sides before spitting it out. Then, he would eat the meat clean off the bones. In the end, all that’s left was a fish skeleton so clean, it could be used as a comb.

Who would’ve thought that the moment he finished biting off the spines from the sides of the ribbonfish, a pair of chopsticks suddenly reached out from the side to snatch the ribbonfish out of his bowl!

Except for Fu Ruien, people capable of this sort of wicked deed could only think but not do it.

Qiu Qiu, in a burst of anxiety, blurted out, “daddy!”

Straight man Da Xiong: “……???”

“What?” Fu Ruien, minding his own business, took a bite of the ribbonfish.

Qiu Qiu: “My saliva is on the ribbonfish. And you don’t like filth.”

Fu Ruien: “What about your saliva? Have I not eaten enough of your saliva?”　

The unrivalled, super-ultra-straight guy of the entire universe Da Xiong: “…………??????”

Qiu Qiu thought about it and agreed. Before, the two of them would occasionally use the same cup, and the times they shared dishes weren’t little. In reality, it wasn’t something to be made a fuss about. But……but Fu Ruien also shouldn’t have straight up stolen his food.

Fu Ruien then said: “Also, what are you doing eating fish. You should be eating grass.”

Qiu Qiu, baffled: “Why do I have to eat grass?”

“Because ‘you’re a sheep’ ah.”

“……”

Qiu Qiu put down his chopsticks and looked at him with suspicion. “Daddy, how did you know I took part in the singing competition?”

Fu Ruien was caught by this question.

“Also, why did you suddenly want to eat at our university dining hall?”

Fu Ruien was used to putting on an act and said, “I was in the neighborhood to discuss a 20 million small business deal just now. I still have to hurry to the airport, so I came here to randomly grab something to eat.”

There were no holes in this story. Even if Qiu Qiu were to think to the point of damaging his brain, he would not have thought that daddy’s 20 million, small business deal would be something closely related to him.

---

Footnotes:

[1]: Oppa, the Korean equivalent to Chinese “Ge-ge” or the Japanese “Oni-san.” Yeah, that oppa.

[2]: Cauldron dishes, like everything tossed in together to cook. I googled it, and it’s like hot pot, I guess?

[3]: 打道回府 means to go home, but in a fancy, ceremonial way. Fun fact, haha.

[4]: In the raws, the phrase could be either “frequent flyer,” or “trapeze artist.” 

[5]: The verb “sway” in the raws is “dang-dang.” So Qiu Qiu’s heart is also going “dang-dang.”

[6]: 鱼香肉丝, fish fragrant pork strips are just pork strips cooked with sugar, soy, ginger, garlic, spice, and a few other things, but no actual fish is involved lol.

I’m back! So I discovered there was a previous translator and I wanted to clear it with them before continuing. After that, I learned how to access jjwxc so I can get the official chapters! I haven’t bought a single chapter yet, but once I get funds, I’m gonna support the heck out of the authors—! I might give weekly updates again, this is just to say I’m still alive lol.

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