CHAPTER 295: CHAPTER 217: A LATE SHOT, THE OVERBEARING CHU TIAN_2

If Caijie sang like a lively little girl, Xu Qingqiu, on the other hand, was more like a pure and gentle lady, with an underlying eagerness in her calm demeanor.

More specifically, it was like the performance by the lead actors at the ten-year anniversary of iPartment.

At first listen, it was somewhat dazzling, but on further listening, it lingered long in the memory.

If one waited until after iPartment had finished airing to listen again, they could truly appreciate the sense of vicissitude within it.

***

As days passed, the date of the concert drew nearer.

Both Xu Qingqiu and Chu Tian were incredibly busy.

Especially Xu Qingqiu, who hadn’t properly rested during this period, spending her days either practicing singing or dancing.

She hurried to the studio at seven in the morning and continued practicing until past eleven at night.

Even though Sister Hua and Chu Tian had advised her several times, she wouldn’t listen.

As she put it:

"This is my first concert since my comeback. Though it’s not large, it’s something my fans have long awaited, and a dream I’ve cherished for countless days and nights. I don’t want to leave any regrets."

"I want to be in my best shape and give the fans a satisfying performance, to thank them for their unwavering support all this time."

After hearing this, both Sister Hua and Chu Tian knew she had made up her mind, and it was impossible to change it. All they could do was support her wholeheartedly.

But humans aren’t machines. No one can withstand such intense, ongoing work.

As the concert approached, Xu Qingqiu, practicing in the recording studio, could no longer endure and suddenly fainted right before the microphone.

"Qingqiu!"

"Qingqiu?!"

Everyone was instantly shocked. Chu Tian, especially, desperately ran over, intending to cradle her and rush her to the hospital immediately.

But before he could even pick her up, Xu Qingqiu regained consciousness.

"Chu Tian, I... I’m fine. It’s just a bit of hypoglycemia. I just need some rest."

"No! We must go to the hospital!"

Seeing Chu Tian’s determined yet panicked expression, Xu Qingqiu wanted to say something, but she merely opened her mouth and then, with a quiet smile, nodded.

Seeing this, Chu Tian, without another word, swept her into his arms and left.

Xu Qingqiu nestled in his arms like a small, trusting girl, her face flushed crimson with embarrassment, yet her heart felt so blissful she thought she might faint.

Upon reaching the hospital and after a series of checks, it turned out that aside from some overexertion and malnutrition, there were no other issues.

All the grave scenarios Chu Tian had churned over in his mind on the way—heart disease, cerebral hemorrhage, leukemia—none of them materialized. He had merely been worrying unnecessarily.

It was no wonder he reacted that way; perhaps this was what they called ’concern breeding chaos.’

As for the malnutrition...

Many might think that only the impoverished suffer from malnutrition, but nowadays, many young women face this issue.

Those so-called healthy diets and low-fat meals are mostly nutritionally insufficient.

Unless one has a nutritionist to specifically prepare customized, nutrient-rich meals along with a dedicated health plan.

But Xu Qingqiu had no time for that. In her bid to stay slim, she skipped breakfast and ate very little for lunch and dinner. It was no wonder she fainted.

"See? You’re alright now," Xu Qingqiu said. "Let’s go back; everyone is worried sick."

"Go back?" Chu Tian retorted. "You’re still thinking about work after all this? You are not to mention work today, no matter what."

With that, Chu Tian took her hand and headed straight for the parking lot.

"Come on," he said, "let’s go have a meal first. I’ve told you already, no need to diet, no need at all. Did you take the medicine I gave you?"

Xu Qingqiu hung her head, not daring to look at Chu Tian’s expression, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"That... I forgot..."

Indeed, she had forgotten. More accurately, she didn’t know where she’d put them. After all, she had never heard of such miracle diet pills. She was accustomed to her usual dieting routines, so it was inevitable that she overlooked those seemingly insignificant little pills.

"From now on," Chu Tian instructed, "you have to eat properly—three full meals a day. Also, take one of those pills daily. If you trust me, I guarantee your figure will be fine. Do you hear me?"

"But... Sister Hua..."

As an artist, one often felt like a puppet controlled by their manager; it was a common state of affairs in the industry.

Even though Li Chunhua had a good relationship with her, many work-related decisions still had to go through Sister Hua.

After all, Sister Hua’s job involved not only finding resources for her artists but, more importantly, supervising them to prevent recklessness and to help them enhance their abilities. These abilities included, but were not limited to, skills, physique, and appearance.

It wasn’t that Li Chunhua was incompetent; it was rather because that’s how everyone in the circle operated. The body management methods were practically passed down; everyone followed them, and they were no exception.

"You don’t need to worry about Sister Hua," Chu Tian said firmly. "I’ll talk to her. Just listen to me for now."

"Mmm, okay, then I’ll listen to you," Xu Qingqiu replied.

He looked at Xu Qingqiu, who stood beside him, tilting her head up with a smile. Even though he had so much he wanted to say, he suddenly found himself speechless.

"Sigh, let’s go, you little handful," Chu Tian relented. "Today, we’ll put work aside and rest properly. First things first, a big meal!"

He got Xu Qingqiu into the car and called Li Chunhua on the way to explain. She only breathed a sigh of relief after hearing everything was alright. When Chu Tian said he was taking Xu Qingqiu out for the day, Li Chunhua agreed without much hesitation. After all, the day’s events had frightened her too.

"Alright, let’s go!" Chu Tian declared.

"Mm-hmm, let’s go!" Xu Qingqiu echoed.

Perhaps because she had temporarily set aside work, or perhaps because she was looking forward to the upcoming feast, Xu Qingqiu felt considerably more relaxed. She sat somewhat giddily in the passenger seat, waving her arm as if commanding a vast army, mimicking Chu Tian’s tone, and pointing forward with playful fierceness.

"Hahaha, let’s go!" Chu Tian laughed, stepping on the gas.

They drove to a highly-rated restaurant, ordered a mountain of food, and dug in with gusto.

After stuffing themselves, they stood at the restaurant entrance, looked at each other, and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, you’re so silly," Xu Qingqiu joked, patting Chu Tian’s belly. "How many months pregnant are you with that belly~"

"Hmph, is yours any smaller?" Chu Tian retorted, not to be outdone, pointing at her belly. "Go on, tell me, who’s the father?!"

"What did you say? You’re asking whose it is? Chu Tian, are you tired of living?!" Xu Qingqiu exclaimed, her eyes widening playfully.

"Ah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!" Chu Tian yelped, feeling a pinch on his side. He instantly regretted his words and wished he could slap his own mouth.

After their bout of teasing, they both felt a bit lost for a moment.

"What’s next... where do we go?" Xu Qingqiu asked.

Looking at the endearingly clueless Xu Qingqiu, Chu Tian was momentarily at a loss for words too. Indeed, where to next?

"Do you have any places you want to go?" he asked.

"Me? I don’t know," she said. "Ever since I left home, I’ve been working every day. I really don’t know any fun places."

Hearing Xu Qingqiu’s flat tone, Chu Tian couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. She started working to earn money at sixteen and has hardly rested since. She’s been juggling work and looking out for me for ten years; I genuinely don’t know how she’s persevered.

In a trance, he suddenly remembered a saying: ’If she knows little of the world, show her its splendor; if her heart has been through hardships, take her on a carousel.’

Xu Qingqiu had experienced so much. She was hardly naive, but ’jaded’ didn’t quite fit either.

However, Chu Tian suddenly recalled something: it seemed Xu Qingqiu had never really had a chance to just have fun, had she?

"Come on," he said, a smile playing on his lips. "I know where we’re going."

"Eh? Where to?"

"Don’t ask! You’ll see when we get there!"

With Xu Qingqiu looking puzzled, Chu Tian got her into the car, set a destination, and drove straight there. As the car headed towards the suburbs, Xu Qingqiu’s anticipation grew.