Chapter 18 The 18th Bastard was idle for a while this morning...

After slacking off for a while in the morning, Xu Qingye started to get busy. Being a marketing account is actually not as easy as it seems. The work group chat has been ringing for most of the day. Xu Qingye opened a blank document and started to daydream.

When Shen Que came back from running, he saw Xu Qingye staring at the computer with a painful look on his face, typing quickly on the keyboard.

"Want to go out for lunch?"

Shen Que asked casually, Xu Qingye looked up at him, then shook his head.

"Please bring me a copy. I am working miserably and have no time to go out."

"Don't you just need to take pictures and post on Weibo?" Shen Que leaned over to take a look. Xu Qingye's screen was filled with words.

"You have the biggest misunderstanding about marketing accounts, that the work is easy. Weekly and monthly reports, account analysis and review, there are so many things to do every day, and I also have to write various editing scripts. Every time I feel like I should quit my job."

Xu Qingye shook his head. All decent companies have a set of rules and regulations. The only thing he was satisfied with about his current job was that he didn't have to work in the office.

Xu Qingye’s plan is definitely to open his own studio, and working is only temporary.

"come on."

Shen Que patted Xu Qingye on the shoulder, turned around and went out to buy him food.

After Xu Qingye finished writing a report, the cell phone on the table rang. He took a look and saw it was an unfamiliar number with no remarks. Xu Qingye thought it was a client and answered the call.

As soon as the phone was connected, a somewhat frivolous voice came from the other end.

"My old classmate, it's been a long time since we last met. What good things have you done recently? People have asked about you and have come to me."

The tone of the person speaking opposite him made him feel uncomfortable, and Xu Qingye frowned.

"Who are you?"

Xu Qingye asked impatiently, and the person on the other end seemed to be a little upset by his words, and spoke a little louder.

"Can't you recognize my voice? I'm Ge Fuyang, and we were in the same dormitory at university."

"I don't quite remember. Is there anything you want to talk to me about? If not, I'll hang up."

Xu Qingye had no impression of this name at all, but he instinctively disliked it.

"Someone from an agency asked for your contact information, saying they wanted to sign you as an artist. You don't have a social media account, so you found us classmates and came here. I really envy you. It's good to have a pretty face. If you become famous, don't forget us old classmates."

Ge Fuyang said a few weird words, and Xu Qingye could hear the sour taste in his words even through the phone.

"I'm not interested in relying on my looks to make a living. Don't pay attention to them. If you have nothing else, hang up first. I'm a bit busy."

After Xu Qingye finished speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for the person on the other end to speak. Ge Fuyang angrily threw the phone down when he heard the busy tone.

"Damn Xu Qingye, he's still so rotten. He's just an illegitimate child, what is he bragging about!"

Ge Fuyang was still a little angry after thinking about it. He opened the class group and started complaining. The class group was full of college classmates. There were not many people, and those who stayed were those who still kept in touch. Xu Qingye was naturally not in the group.

During his college years, Xu Qingye didn't have many friends who were on good terms with him. When Ge Fuyang complained about him in the group, many people followed suit.

Ge Fuyang: By the way, does anyone know what kind of job Xu Qingye does? He acts like he is very rich, but he should not pretend to be so.

Ge Fuyang asked about Xu Qingye's recent situation, but unfortunately no one in the group knew about it. After chatting for a while, there was nothing more to say, so the group started talking about other things.

After Xu Qingye finished writing all the reports, he sent them to his work mailbox. After finishing everything, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was just about to get up and take a walk when a message popped up on his phone with a note to a classmate's account.

Jiang Yao: [Screenshot] Ge Fuyang talked about you in the group today. After thinking about it, I feel like I still have to tell you, so be careful with him.

Xu Qingye clicked on the screenshot and took a look. Most of the comments were sour, but he still caught some key words.

【illegitimate child】.

Xu Qingye: Thank you. I will pay attention to it.

Xu Qingye replied politely and stared at the chat screenshot for a while.

The other party sent a message, withdrew it, and then sent another one.

Jiang Yao: You’re welcome. Let’s have dinner together when we have the chance.

After sending the message, there was no reply. Xu Qingye returned to the room and started rummaging through the drawers. This was where the original owner lived, so there must be some traces left behind. He didn't expect that there was a mystery about his own life.

Xu Qingye made a lot of noise, and Shen Que in the next room only heard the "ding ding dong dong" sound. He put down the book and walked over.

Xu Qingye's door was open. He was standing on a chair, grabbing a box from the cabinet and pulling it out. Due to the large amplitude of his movements, the chair seemed to be shaking. Seeing this, Shen Que hurried forward.

As the feeling of weightlessness came over him, Xu Qingye thought that he was probably doomed. What he had said before, that he had fallen on his head, was going to come true this time.

A mess of thoughts flashed through his mind, and he did not fall to the cold floor as expected. Instead, a pair of strong arms hugged him and put him steadily on the ground. However, the feeling of fear had not yet dissipated, and his legs were a little weak. Xu Qingye continued to lean on Shen Que.

"He looks gentle, but has the strength of a normal man. Not bad."

Xu Qingye reached out and pinched Shen Que's arm. His muscles were solid but not obtrusive. He must have been exercising secretly recently. She felt safe leaning on his chest.

"What a weird compliment you're giving me."

Shen Que picked him up again and put him on the chair. He lowered his head to pick up the things on the ground. When Xu Qingye fell, the box in his hand slipped and now there were photos all over the ground.

Shen Que picked up one and took a look. It was a photo of Xu Qingye when he was a child. Xu Qingye was chubby and very cute when he was a child, but the woman next to him had her face painted over with a black pen and her appearance could not be seen clearly.

The same was true for the other photos, either they were torn up or the faces were painted over, only Xu Qingye's face was clear.

"This is it."

The scribbled photo looked a little scary. Shen Que looked up at Xu Qingye and subconsciously felt a little worried.

During the time they were together, Shen knew that Xu Qingye had forgotten a lot of things. Although he never mentioned it, he must have been very panicked in his heart.

The signals brought by these photos are not good, as they seem to indicate that Xu Qingye did not have a happy childhood.

Xu Qingye noticed the photos. He bent down and picked up one. The child in the photo was about five years old, with no smile on his face. The woman next to him was wearing a red coat and looked extraordinary, but the part where her face was was cut off, leaving only a hole that looked very creepy.

Most of the photos are of Xu Qingye alone. There are some women in the photos when he was a child, but when he grows up, he is the only one left. The boy in the photo is becoming more and more handsome, but his expression hides an unrelieved melancholy, and he is completely different from the Xu Qingye today.

Xu Qingye looked through all the photos, then packed them up one by one and put them back into the box.

"An agency wanted to contact me through my classmates. They called me, but I refused because I had no interest. Maybe the tone of his words was too offensive. He scolded me in the classmate group. Someone took a screenshot and sent it to me. They all called me a bastard who was not allowed to see the light of day."

Xu Qingye closed the box. This box was hidden very deep and he had never seen it before. Today, he suddenly had the urge to look for it and finally found it.

His childhood was accompanied only by that woman, and the role of his father never appeared, which seemed to indirectly confirm the saying that he was an "illegitimate child".

As Xu Qingye spoke, he couldn't help but be brought into the emotions. The term illegitimate child was a bit too harsh, but it was obvious that his relationship with his mother was at least very bad.

"The agent mentioned your mother. Have you checked?"

Shen Que wanted to comfort Xu Qingye, but he was not good at it, so he just patted his back awkwardly.

Shen Que remembered the woman who gave him the business card. She seemed to be very familiar with Xu Qingye's mother.

"I checked. I checked when I got home that night. She has managed too many artists. I can't be sure."

Xu Qingye nodded. There wasn't much information available about Xiao Yang, but she had worked with many artists and had produced many movie kings and queens. Xu Qingye selected female artists of the right age, but he felt they all looked unfamiliar.

Finally, he couldn't help but laugh at himself. There was a contact named "Mom" saved in his phone, but they hadn't even exchanged greetings. Xu Qingye didn't dare to call her. He didn't know how to start the conversation. Maybe keeping things as they were was the best situation.

"It doesn't matter. You can choose your own relatives. From now on, Shen Mu and I will be your relatives."

Shen Que thought about the words of comfort, but felt a little regretful after he finished speaking. He felt that what he said was a little strange, and he wanted to say it again but didn't know how to organize the words.

Shen Que looked so serious that Xu Qingye was amused by him and couldn't help but touch his face frivolously.

"It's a pity for such a handsome guy to be a relative, but he'd be nice to be a lover."

Xu Qingye's hands were a little cold, but Shen Que's face began to heat up, with a slight redness that was visibly visible to the naked eye.

"I'm just kidding. Why is your face red? You won't be able to get into the entertainment industry if you're like this."

Xu Qingye looked at Shen Que's expression and laughed. Children are shy and cannot stand being teased.

"Xu Qingye, I'm not a child anymore." Shen Que called out Xu Qingye's name and looked at him seriously. Xu Qingye restrained his smile when he was stared at, and then took advantage of Shen Que's inattention to reach out and tickle his itch.

"You're not a kid, I am. Watch out!"

Shen Que probably didn't expect this kind of development. He was caught off guard and was tickled by Xu Qingye, and the two of them wrestled into a ball.

The sad mood disappeared after a while, and the two of them lay on the bed, panting and looking up at the ceiling. After this incident, their relationship seemed to have become closer.

"Can you tell me what your parents are like?"

Xu Qingye turned around and looked at Shen Que. He and Shen Mu looked like happy children. They were good-looking, good at studying, and seemed to be born without worries. He really wanted to know what kind of family could raise children like them.