APCF – Chapter 47 Neptune

Because the previous reporter’s question was so sharp, all the media in the room fell silent, waiting to hear Qi Xingchen’s response.

As five young, energetic men accompanied by the sounds of nine parrots emerged, their voices immediately reached the ears of everyone in the performance hall.

A chorus of voices rose:

“Boss, boss, ga-ga.”

“Boss, boss, ga-ga-ga.”

The bird trainers were so surprised that they unconsciously called out “boss.” When they saw all the eyes on them, they hurriedly panicked and tried to stop the parrots.

They whistled and scolded the birds: “Shut up, stop calling! The manager told us to pretend we don’t know the boss!”

The parrots tilted their heads, seemingly having found another amusing phrase: “Boss doesn’t know! Boss, boss, doesn’t know!”

In addition to print and new media, there were at least five live-streaming platforms covering the event. The reporters quickly turned their cameras toward the door, and the funny, surreal scene instantly appeared on screen.

The barrage of comments exploded:

[Oh my god, I’m dying laughing! I only heard the sound before but didn’t see the scene, didn’t expect it to be so magical!]

[Bird trainer: Shut up or I’ll shark you!]

[The boys just got dinner for tonight! I wonder if stewed parrot tastes good…]

[Parrot: Boss, I’m a parrot, pay me!]

The netizens joked around for a while, but then a blind user made an insightful comment:

[By the way, who is the boss?]

[The young men and the parrots made those sounds when Qi Xingchen was about to speak, so it must be him, right?]

[The bird trainers were looking in that direction, but isn’t Qi Xingchen from an ordinary family? I live next door in H City, and Baisha Port Marine World is a famous national tourist spot. The owner of Baisha Port must be extremely wealthy, no way they’re a salaryman.]

[Could it be Tao Tao? A beautiful girl opening a marine world, so cute!]

Everyone discussed the “who is the boss” question for a while, when suddenly the bodyguards noticed the bird trainers couldn’t control the birds and that the disorder was affecting the event’s order. They issued an eviction order: “Gentlemen, please step aside for now.”

The bird trainers, realizing they had made a mistake, were extremely nervous. In the entire H Province, Baisha Port offered the best working conditions and the highest salaries. If they lost this job, they had no idea where they would find another.

They instinctively looked at Qi Xingchen, hoping to gauge his thoughts before leaving.

Though it was unclear on the screen, people in the venue had already figured it out, quickly turning their cameras back to Qi Xingchen.

Facing a sea of bright eyes, Qi Xingchen knew that this time, there was no way to hide anymore.

He took a deep breath and spoke into the microphone, “Sorry, colleagues, I failed to manage my staff properly, which has affected your work. Security, could you please help me get them out?”

… It’s really! Qi! Xing! Chen!

The barrage of comments immediately exploded, the entire screen filled with the two big words:

[What!!!]

.

The parrots were being pulled out by their owner, feeling greatly wronged, their pitiful “chirp chirp” echoes continuously in the hallway.

In the chaos, reporters seized the opportunity and immediately posted the “parrot calling boss” incident on Weibo, accompanied by pictures and text of the bird trainers and Qi Xingchen.

They were in a hurry, so the processing wasn’t very polished.

But the incident itself was interesting enough.

Less than ten days since the last major fight between Qi Xingchen and Xu Sheng, the heat from that event hadn’t completely cooled down. As soon as the two were in the same frame, they naturally sparked reactions.

Some media outlets came specifically for their conflict today, asking tricky questions from different angles, just waiting for either side to slip up and make a mistake, so they could immediately write an article about it.

This time, though, they didn’t need to dig hard—their conflict was practically handed to them by Xu Sheng himself.

After posting the previous Weibo, the media quickly turned their cameras on Xu Sheng, who was still recovering from the shock.

Confusion, surprise, resentment, fear, his face pale and his expression twisted.

He was so angry that his teeth were clenched, his jaw tightly set, and the sharp, sculpted silicone chin was clearly visible on the cameras.

Xu Sheng’s agent was also down below, frantic, continuously signaling for him to keep calm and manage his expressions.

Xu Sheng, belatedly realizing, adjusted his expression with the little professional composure he had left.

Unfortunately, it was already too late. The frozen shot would not lie, and the live-stream images gave him no opportunity for regret.

The media, eager for news and exposure, didn’t waste a single second. They quickly posted Xu Sheng’s pictures online.

This time, not only the barrage, but Weibo also exploded!

[Excuse me? My eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, right? Xingxing is the owner of Baisha Port?! I thought he was from a working-class family?]

[Hahahaha working-class Qi Xingchen, ordinary Qi Xingchen, doesn’t know big brands Qi Xingchen, frugal Qi Xingchen, turns out to be a hidden little rich man!]

[I was just calling him the merman prince a few days ago, but this isn’t a prince, this is a sea king. A real sea king, the one who owns the sea.]

[Hehe, what’s there to be happy about, some fans? This is clearly a case of a grassroots persona gone wrong. Why not just follow the rich and handsome route in the entertainment industry… oh, sorry, that’s not going to work, there’s no rich and handsome guy here playing tricks. [Dog head] [Dog head]]

[Yo, it seems like an unidentified stinky fan has sneaked in. Who is rwkk’s little bitch’s steamed chef?]

[No need to look, this is a burner account, but I traced the IP back to the main account. It’s from the other side, a foolish person they sent out.]

Currently, the only opponent of Qi Xingchen is Xu Sheng. The Star River fan club management sent a furious shout in the fan group—

The opposing fans are riding on us, can we let them succeed?

The answer is no.

Star fans immediately arrived on the battlefield!!

[Your brother’s disgusting marketing and mud-slinging hasn’t even passed, and you’re out here barking. Isn’t it gross? Get lost!]

[Hehehe, sniff this sour tone. First, they hinted that my idol was looking for a sugar daddy, then immediately got slapped in the face. Does it hurt? I just want to ask, does it hurt?]

[Replying to the sister above, probably not that painful, because Xu’s face has a lot of fillers, the facial nerves aren’t very developed (manual dog head)]

[Reminder to all Star fans, watch your language, maintain politeness, don’t affect the public’s view of Star and Xingxing]

Qi Xingchen has a friendly appearance, doesn’t act up, and has been stamped by the Communist Youth League as positive energy, so he has a good reputation among the general public.

After the other Star fans’ reminder, the battle fans quickly turned into good little babies: [Then let’s unify the format, just post ‘Xu Sheng gets slapped in the face the fastest in history, under five minutes’]

Star fans: Good!

So, under the Weibo posts from various media outlets or reposted ones, and still active live-stream platforms, a legend spread like wildfire…

[Xu Sheng gets slapped in the face the fastest in history, under five minutes!]

At 3 p.m., the group interview barely wrapped up. The media, who arrived empty-handed, left with full hands, chatting and laughing.

The atmosphere was completely different from the tense one with the main creators of the show.

The director, forcing a smile, escorted Feng Qingyuan and Tao Tao to send off the media. Unable to wait to return to his resting room, he immediately gave orders: “Xu Sheng and Qi Xingchen stay, the rest go back to the aquarium.”

Tao Tao winked at Qi Xingchen before following the rest of the group out.

The door to the Bird Paradise performance venue closed.

“Bang—”

Shang Yuliang kicked over a chair!

“Before the group interview, I told you not to argue, didn’t I? What were you thinking? Huh? What grudge, what hate, did you have to embarrass yourselves in front of so many media?”

Shang Yuliang’s face turned red with anger, and he pointed at Xu Sheng, “Come on, you first. What were you thinking?”

While Shang Yuliang was sending people off, Xu Sheng took the opportunity to glance at Weibo. The unified format from the Star fans was incredibly catchy, and many of the bystanders joined in, flooding Weibo and the bullet comments with “Xu Sheng gets slapped in the face the fastest.”

Some even black fans found their way to his profile to comment.

Seeing the neatly arranged and eye-catching lines of text, a sense of shame and humiliation overwhelmed him.

He clenched his fists, the words flashing through his mind, unable to hear a word of what Shang Yuliang was saying.

Seeing this, Shang Yuliang got even angrier. But as the director, his cursing had already reached its limit; he had no position to say anything harsher.

He pointed at Qi Xingchen again, “Where did those parrots come from? Explain it to me!”

In the end, this had nothing to do with Qi Xingchen. If during the group interview, a parrot had come looking for its owner, it could’ve had a positive promotional effect. Shang Yuliang would’ve even thanked Qi Xingchen.

But then Xu Sheng got involved, and the scandal of the second male lead from Ocean’s Heart started to ferment, turning a positive promotional opportunity into negative publicity.

Disgusting.

Shang Yuliang knew he was venting his anger on Qi Xingchen, so his tone wasn’t as harsh.

Qi Xingchen also knew he was just an outlet for his frustration, so despite the anger, he calmly explained, “White Sand Harbor Ocean World is indeed mine. I didn’t tell the staff I was here to avoid disrupting the filming. As for the trainers and the parrots, I really don’t know why they came.”

Shang Yuliang: “…” He took a few deep breaths, the anger subsiding a little, then lit a cigarette. “I can’t keep getting angry at you. I’ll die of anger at this rate. Now I’m giving you a final ultimatum—starting today, no more scandals. Otherwise, I’ll talk to the investors and we’ll pay to replace the actors, but I won’t have you anymore. Got it?!”

Qi Xingchen didn’t respond; those words weren’t meant for him. Shang Yuliang was just saving face for Xu Sheng while getting a jab in at him too.

Sure enough, Shang Yuliang repeated, “Got it, Xu Sheng?!”

Xu Sheng’s temples were throbbing, and after a long time, he squeezed out a single syllable, “Mm.”

“I’m asking if you got it!”

“…Got it.” Xu Sheng’s eyes were bloodshot.

“But Xu, your image has really taken a hit…” After a long pause, Shang Yuliang said, “Tonight, I’ll ask the screenwriters to revise your scenes. You’d better keep yourself in check.”

.

What Shang Yuliang meant by “revising the scenes” was clear to anyone.

It meant Xu Sheng’s role was going to be reduced.

Xu Sheng’s teeth clenched tightly, making a grinding sound.

But Shang Yuliang had already started calling the head screenwriter to discuss things, not giving him a chance to explain or plead his case. Seeing the situation was beyond saving, Xu Sheng left on his own, sweeping his sleeves as he walked away.

There were still two more scenes for Qi Xingchen in the afternoon. Xu Sheng waited for Shang Yuliang to finish his phone call before heading to the White Whale Pavilion together.

As they walked, Shang Yuliang spoke, “I’ll add some extra scenes to your role, and the remaining ones will go to the lead roles. You’ll need to catch up with the shooting; it won’t be as easy as we originally planned. Keep your condition up, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, come to me or Qingyuan.”

“Okay, thank you, Director Shang,” Qi Xingchen thought for a moment, “This is partly my fault too, sorry for causing you trouble.”

“No problem.”

“Don’t you blame me for hiding it on purpose?”

“Why should I blame you?” Director Shang laughed casually, “You’re the actor, I’m the director. As long as you act well, finish your tasks on time, and don’t stir up trouble, everything else is none of my business.”

“Besides, Bo Ye has told me you’re a good person. He’s a good kid, so I trust you’re a good kid too.”

Bo Ye had told Director Shang that he was a good person…

So Bo Ye had been backing him up all this time. Hearing this, Qi Xingchen couldn’t help but smile.

Then he realized, Bo Ye must have really, really trusted him to say such things to others.

Yet he hadn’t even dared to tell Bo Ye the truth about himself.

…Why did the author of Night’s Peach set the male lead so perfectly? Qi Xingchen wondered.

Perfect enough that he wanted to freeze time and maintain a good relationship with Bo Ye forever.

Perfect enough that… he didn’t want to think about what would come next.

Qi Xingchen sniffed.

Unfortunately, the world has never been under anyone’s control, and even more so when he lived in a world written by someone else, constrained by fate, constantly at risk of death.

If it was destined that he would one day have to become an enemy of Bo Ye, then while their relationship was still good, he wanted to cherish this friendship as much as possible.

Qi Xingchen suppressed the sour feeling in his nose, took out his phone, and stepped aside to call Bo Ye. “Hello.”

“Hmm,” Bo Ye’s voice was slightly drowned out by wind, likely at the beach, “What made you think of calling me?”

“I’m here to turn myself in.”

Bo Ye signaled for the photographer to stop, “What’s this about?”

“White Sand Harbor Ocean World is mine.”

This confession was deeply embarrassing. Qi Xingchen paused before continuing, “I’ve never told you, sorry.”

Bo Ye didn’t immediately respond, not sure why he was saying this.

At that moment, the photographer who had been on break opened Weibo. Bo Ye, with his sharp eyes, saw the trending topics: #Qi Xingchen, the man who owns the sea# and #Xu Sheng gets slapped in the face the fastest#.

They seemed to have just been created, and the discussion was rapidly rising. Bo Ye leaned over to take a quick glance and soon understood the fan’s intention.

“Yeah, I saw it,” Bo Ye said. “It’s okay, I respect your decision not to tell me; I’m sure you have your reasons.”

“…Really?” Qi Xingchen wasn’t sure.

“Really. When have I ever lied to you?”

Hearing this, the other side of the phone fell silent. Bo Ye didn’t want him to keep dwelling on it, so he changed the subject, “Is your Ocean World fun? I’ve never been.”

“Fun!” Qi Xingchen quickly tried to make up for it, “When you have some free time, I’ll take a day off and specifically show you around!”

“Okay… Then what about the others? Who else knows?”

Bo Ye was referring to Feng Qingyuan and the others. They could choose a day after filming to go together, and he would invite the main crew members out for a meal, keeping track of small favors from the fans.

“No one,” Qi Xingchen said, “I told them on my own. Besides Director Shang, you’re the only one who knows.”

Bo Ye: “…”

So, it wasn’t that the other person didn’t want to tell him, but rather that they hadn’t told anyone. After the identity was exposed, the first thing the other person thought of was to urgently come find him and apologize.

…How much did he fear him getting angry?

It felt as though his heart had been lightly pricked by a needle—slightly painful, but also a bit itchy. Bo Ye’s tone softened, “Alright, I finish filming in two days. When you’re off work early one night, I’ll come find you and we can properly tour.”

Qi Xingchen: “Mm, yes!”

.

Xu Sheng and the others’ scenes had been changed, but the production team was rushing for the winter break release, so they couldn’t delay the submission time. Director Shang and the head screenwriter stayed up all night and managed to come up with the new plot changes.

Qi Xingchen’s scenes were extended by three days, and he needed to complete them within the original wrap-up time, making the schedule tight and the tasks heavy.

He looked at the still-unfinished script, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp.

He wasn’t a genius, and he didn’t have much experience. The scenes he had filmed before were all things he practiced late into the night, but now, there clearly wasn’t that much time left.

He could only do what Bo Ye suggested, using every spare moment to read the script.

In the morning, he walked into the White Whale Pavilion, carrying his lines with him—

“Yo yo yo!” The entire crew stopped what they were doing, “Boss Xingxing is here!”

“…What ‘Boss Xingxing’?” Qi Xingchen’s face flushed, “That sounds like I’m selling gorillas. Just call me Xingxing.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t sound good. How about ‘Boss Qi’ instead? It’s more impressive, what do you think?!” The crew laughed.

“Go away, stop making fun of me. I’ll treat you all to tea this afternoon, is that okay?”

The crew had gotten familiar with him, and pretended to reluctantly accept, “Well, I guess we have no choice but to accept, hahahaha!”

The crew’s work was complex and heavy, so finding a new and interesting thing like this kept them entertained for quite a while.

The crew was delighted, but the cameraman, screenwriters, and lighting team didn’t share the same enthusiasm.

Just one scene being completely rewritten required redesigning the shot composition and lighting, not to mention all the other scenes that had to be changed.

These people had barely slept last night, and they probably wouldn’t be able to sleep properly for the next few days. Each of them had a grim expression, full of resentment. Soon, the actors for today’s scenes arrived. The first scene was a confrontation between Xu Sheng and Tao Tao, with parts of the emotional storyline being cut, as part of the new plot.

The head of the camera crew was a rough, straightforward man who couldn’t hide his thoughts. Looking at the new shot composition Director Shang had given him, his eyes moved according to the storyboard, and he shouted to the nearby cameraman, “Qiangzi, do you remember when Xingxing’s first scene feeding the seals was NG’d several times, and then someone said, ‘Xingxing, stop wasting so much fish’?”

The head of the camera crew imitated the voice, “This ocean park isn’t run by your family!”

He mimicked it so well that Qiangzi struggled to hold back his laughter. “I remember.”

“And then—” the camera crew chief emphasized, “Turns out the ocean park really is Xingxing’s. How funny is that?”

“Hahahahahaha, so funny, so funny!”

Xu Sheng’s face tightened, and he almost tore up the new script in his hands.

Qi Xingchen kept his head down—he had heard it, but he had to pretend not to have heard it, giving Xu Sheng his last shred of dignity.

An Ran, like him, was also looking down at her phone with her back to Xu Sheng, but she was actually listening to the joke.

After a while, she covered her mouth and turned her attention back to her phone.

“Don’t laugh out loud,” Qi Xingchen quietly warned.

“I know…” An Ran replied, then suddenly said, “Huh?”

“Huh? Huh? Huh?”

Seeing her ask several questions in a row, Qi Xingchen was curious, “What happened? Did some media twist my interview from yesterday?”

“No…”

An Ran shook her head, her brows furrowed tightly.

“Then what is it?”

“Xingxing…” An Ran turned to him, hesitating for a few seconds. “Bo Ye’s scandal was exposed, and it’s trending on the top.”