UCS Chapter 23

“Lao Qi? Why do you look so down?”

 

Gao Shi was startled as soon as he entered the makeup room.

 

If Cheng Zeqi’s beard a few days ago could be described as well-trimmed, giving off a decadent yet elegant uncle vibe, now he looked completely like a homeless person.

 

Cheng Zeqi raised his head with a whimper, revealing his scruffy face with a rather resentful expression, “My darling Bai Shi hasn’t had any activities for a long time.”

 

“I’m now… Holy crap!”

 

Cheng Zeqi suddenly stood up, in the blink of an eye he was in front of Ying Bujie, making Gao Shi wonder if his ancestors knew characters like Chu Liuxiang or Bai Yutang[mfn]Both characters are popular in Chinese martial arts fiction and have been portrayed in numerous films and TV series.[/mfn].

 

Cheng Zeqi abruptly turned his head, “Old Gao! Where did you drag such a handsome guy from!”

 

His gaze briefly flickered to Gao Shi before sticking back to Ying Bujie. With shining eyes, he circled around Ying Bujie like a wolf that hadn’t eaten for days seeing a pile of meat bones, making strange sounds like “tsk tsk tsk” and “hehe”.

 

Gao Shi, unable to bear it anymore, pulled him away from Ying Bujie, “This is…” Gao Shi paused, suddenly realizing he didn’t know how to introduce Ying Bujie, and finally said, “This is my honored guest, pick out a few sets of everyday clothes for him.”

 

Cheng Zeqi let out an “Oh~”, giving Gao Shi an ambiguous look, “I see~ Leave it to me~”

 

Unfortunately, Cheng Zeqi’s hair hadn’t been styled for days, his bangs now hanging down like a door curtain, covering his eyes with a “half-hidden face behind a pipa” charm, resembling an Afghan Hound. Gao Shi didn’t pick up on the ambiguity in Cheng Zeqi’s tone at all.

 

Gao Shi jingled his car keys, “Let’s go.”

 

On the road, Cheng Zeqi examined the decorations inside Gao Shi’s car and complained, “The way you’ve decorated this, only the Monkey King pendant that Le Le picked for you has any young person’s style. Anyone else would think you’re driving your dad’s car.”

 

Gao Shi raised an eyebrow. He admitted that Cheng Zeqi’s ability was enough to lead fashion trends in clothing and makeup, but when it came to cars, he really couldn’t take Cheng Zeqi’s opinion.

 

He asked Cheng Zeqi, “Where’s that flashy pink supercar of yours? Why did I have to come pick you up?”

 

Cheng Zeqi waved his hand, “Don’t mention it, bad luck, it got hit.”

 

Gao Shi laughed, “Who dares to hit our Lao Qi’s car?”

 

This wasn’t Gao Shi being biased.

 

Cheng Zeqi treasured that sports car of his. He had been driving for so many years without a single violation, always driving at the minimum speed limit.

 

Last time he insisted on taking Gao Shi out for a ride to show off his new car, specifically driving to the suburbs. He originally wanted to feel the top-notch supercar’s acceleration, but Gao Shi witnessed an old man fishing on a tricycle, slowly passing by.

 

Gao Shi couldn’t believe that Cheng Zeqi was the one who violated traffic rules.

 

At the mention of this, Cheng Zeqi’s face showed an expression as if he had eaten shit.

 

“Old Gao, you know about the Sun family affair?”

 

“The Sun family? The cuckoo in the nest?”

 

Gao Shi knew it all too well. How many pieces of gossip had he learned during this time?

 

Cheng Zeqi viciously slapped his own thigh, making himself wince, “That’s right!”

 

“That day I was just cruising in my little pink car, hadn’t even gone 50 meters when someone ‘splat’ fell in front of my car. I hadn’t even stepped on the gas! He ran forward crying, didn’t even look up, and crashed straight into my car. If that’s not a scam, what is it?”

 

Cheng Zeqi became increasingly agitated as he spoke, “That kid was wearing some kind of accessory that scraped off a layer of my car’s paint, exposing the primer. My car’s paint was already hard to match, and he scratched it so badly. I asked the shop, and it’ll take at least two days to fix it completely, and that’s with my old man directly sending over the paint, saving time on color matching.”

 

Gao Shi knew Cheng Zeqi’s temperament. Just having the car paint scratched would make him upset but not angry, so he guessed, “Then what? What did he do? Did he try to blame you instead?”

 

Cheng Zeqi grunted like an angry piglet, “I wish he had blamed me! When that kid looked up, I recognized him. It was the Sun family’s young master… no, wait, the Sun family doesn’t acknowledge him anymore. Anyway, it was the one who lived with the Sun family for 19 years, Sun Qi.”

 

“Logically speaking, with my car scratched like that, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Sun Qi to pay for the repairs, right?”

 

At this point, Cheng Zeqi’s expression turned strange, “But you know what he said? He shed two tears and said, ‘Take me with you.'”

 

“I was baffled at the time. What did he mean by ‘take him’? Was he planning to pay off the debt with his body since he had nothing else?”

 

“That can’t be right, didn’t the Sun family’s eldest son elope with him? Surely they could afford a few hundred thousand?”

 

“I was stunned. Before I could decide what to do, Sun Qi reached out his hand, asking me to help him up.”

 

Gao Shi was also confused by Sun Qi’s bizarre behavior, “So did you help him up?”

 

Cheng Zeqi’s face screamed “bad luck”, “I was so confused at the time, I instinctively reached out to help him up. Who knew he’d take advantage of that and try to open my passenger door.”

 

“Only when he stood up did I realize he was wearing all sorts of metal chains, and his hands had several angular rings. The whole person was like a walking hardware store. No wonder my precious pink car was scratched like that!”

 

At a red light, Cheng Zeqi leaned forward from the back seat to show Gao Shi a photo.

 

How to describe it… The scratches on the car’s hood had a very postmodern art feel. From the number of scratches, one could deduce that Sun Qi must have had difficulty walking, given the weight of all those metal chains.

 

Gao Shi noticed that Ying Bujie was also looking over, but he seemed to be looking at the phone itself rather than the screen, appearing somewhat curious.

 

“After he stood up using my help, he immediately reached for my passenger door. Those rings left white marks with every touch. He even said the pink car didn’t look good, and this was a good chance to change the paint color.”

 

Cheng Zeqi’s face was red with anger.

 

Gao Shi felt a bit sympathetic, “Then what? How did you handle it?”

 

Cheng Zeqi said, “What else could I do? I pulled him away and called his brother to come pay for the damages.”

 

This incident was truly bizarre. Cheng Zeqi continued angrily, “Sun Qi was spoiled rotten before. When Mrs. Sun was pregnant with her younger son, she had a car accident. The child was born particularly weak, so they pampered him extra. Who could have imagined that Sun Qi’s birth mother had secretly switched babies, letting her own child enjoy the good life while the Sun family’s real child suffered in her home.”

 

“The Sun family definitely couldn’t accept that the child they had favored for 19 years was actually someone else’s. This child’s birth parents not only switched their own son but also treated their son like a servant, while their son enjoyed the good life in the Sun family.”

 

“Now, the Sun family plans to switch the two children back.”

 

“Actually, the Sun family has already done right by Sun Qi. After so many years together, there’s bound to be some affection. At least they didn’t call the police to arrest Sun Qi’s birth parents. They even gave Sun Qi a house and a large sum of money, enough for an ordinary person to live worry-free for a lifetime.”

 

“But look at what Sun Qi did! He actually hooked up with the Sun family’s eldest son! They were brothers for 19 years! To be fair, it takes two to tango, the eldest son is at fault too. Let’s not get involved, just enjoy the show.”

 

At this point, Gao Shi couldn’t help but laugh, “Who would have thought that watching the show would drag you in?”

 

Cheng Zeqi complained pitifully, “Exactly! This person is so spoiled, he scratched my car and didn’t even apologize.”

 

Seeing how miserable Cheng Zeqi was, Gao Shi changed the subject, “By the way, what about the star you’re following? How long has it been since she’s been active?”

 

At the mention of Bai Shi, Cheng Zeqi perked up, “She posted on Weibo saying she was going to a training camp, but didn’t say when it would end. Now all her Weibo posts are just for traffic and reposts, nothing about herself.”

 

As he spoke, his voice lowered again, “It’s been a month, and there’s no new information.”

 

Gao Shi frowned, “Could she be shelved?”

 

Cheng Zeqi shook his head repeatedly, “No, no, Shishi is the most popular in the entire girl group. She’s great at singing and dancing. Wanxing would be crazy to shelve her.”

 

Gao Shi wasn’t familiar with the entertainment industry, so hearing Cheng Zeqi say this, he comforted him, “Maybe she’s just training? They might not be allowed to have phones during training, so her manager is handling her Weibo, that’s why there’s no activity.”

 

Cheng Zeqi sighed, “I don’t know when Shishi will be let out.”

 

Gao Shi stepped on the brake, “You make it sound like she’s in prison.”

 

Cheng Zeqi quickly said “Tsk tsk tsk”, “Shishi is not a legal celebrity.”

 

Gao Shi responded perfunctorily, opening the car door, “Alright, alright, your Shishi is the best — We’re here, get out.”

 

Gao Shi led them to B City’s commercial district, where everything from budget stalls to light luxury custom shops could be found.

 

Cheng Zeqi flipped his hair, switching to battle mode, instantly transforming from a pitiful fan waiting for his idol’s activity to a commanding general.

 

In his work state, his aura was fully open, even Gao Shi had to temporarily avoid his sharp edge — otherwise, he’d be dragged to try on eighty sets of clothes that seemed to have no difference.

 

Seeing Cheng Zeqi energized, Gao Shi also felt relieved.

 

Even without mentioning Cheng Zeqi’s family background, just with his own identity, meeting those celebrities would be easy. Countless stars wanted Cheng Zeqi to design makeup and hairstyles for them. If Cheng Zeqi removed the daily client limit, his small makeup room’s threshold would be worn out by visitors.

 

Yet he followed stars just like any other fan, never using any of his privileges, even when buying tickets he at most asked his apprentices to help.

 

Perhaps this was his way of being a fan.

 

Gao Shi waited at the entrance, watching the bustling street outside.

 

Everyone’s face wore a different expression, each with their own life story.

 

At this moment, Gao Shi suddenly heard a cat meow.

 

“Meow~”

 

He turned his head to look. In the corner, in the shadow along the wall, there was a small cat.

 

The kitten looked very thin and small, probably only a few months old, and was rubbing against an old lady’s leg.

 

“Meow~ Meow~”

 

The old lady’s mouth corners were turned down, making her look very serious and unapproachable.

 

She grumbled, “I’ve said I hate cats, why is this dead cat still rubbing against me.”

 

She extended her leg to push the cat away. Gao Shi was about to stand up, but he noticed that the old lady’s actions didn’t match her harsh words. Her leg movement was gentle, and the kitten thought she was playing, continuing to rub against her leg affectionately.

 

“Meow~ Meow~”

 

The old lady looked impatient, “Alright, alright, stop meowing, you’re like a debt collector.”

 

She bent down and took out a piece of ham from her bosom, “Eat, little debt collector.”

 

The kitten meowed as it bit into the ham, eating while purring contentedly.

 

The old lady continued to grumble, “So skinny, who knows where all the food you eat goes. Don’t starve to death out here someday.”

 

“I don’t like cats, I won’t take you home. You’d better find a family to mooch off of.”

 

“Such a picky little cat, can’t eat this, can’t eat that. Cat food is almost more expensive than human food now.”

 

The kitten, having eaten its fill, contentedly washed its face, then rubbed against the old lady’s hand.

 

The old lady dodged as if avoiding the plague, “Full now? If you’re full, I’m leaving.”

 

“Meow! Meow!”

 

Seeing the old lady about to leave, the kitten’s voice became more urgent. It followed in the old lady’s direction, but she walked away with big steps without looking back.

 

“I’ve said I hate cats the most, I’ll never raise a scrawny little skinny cat.”

 

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