HIM Chapter 15: Interview
Awkward.
Bo Qin had never felt this awkward before.
It was as awkward as the time he was caught watching a movie in high school by his teacher, who suddenly opened the door.
He Xizhou quickly turned off the comments and calmly switched the screen to the bunny video they had just watched. For the first time, Bo Qin realized that he actually looked quite good in a pink onesie.
"It's pretty good-looking," He Xizhou broke the awkwardness, "Everyone sees you differently, it's different for each fan, thousands of faces," he said with a brief smile, looking at Bo Qin, "But your fans are quite unique."
Bo Qin thought that every star had these kinds of fans, but his were especially loud.
That night, Bo Qin, as usual, couldn't sleep. He wandered around the second floor, the composition room and dance studio were surprisingly well-equipped. He could tell that a lot of thought had gone into it; the equipment was comparable to his own studio, and even better in some ways.
Bo Qin once again sighed at how money made anything possible.
He ate wontons for dinner, and ate a bit too much. After digesting, he danced for two hours in the practice room, took a shower, and opened a video call to discuss work with his manager, Chen-jie.
They talked about the upcoming Valentine's Day single promotion. Bo Qin needed to shoot a small video and could appear on a variety show next weekend to promote the song. There was no drama for him tomorrow, so he didn’t have to return to S City, but there was an interview…
While chatting, Chen Jie brought up the issue of his "stalker fans," "Not just that, your fan group has been quite turbulent recently. Didn't you collaborate with Cai Ying'er on a single recently? Plus, she was spotted at your concert. Today, you even liked her Weibo post. A lot of your fans suspect you're in a relationship."
Bo Qin looked blank for a moment, as if he didn’t quite catch on. He said, "What does that have to do with anything?"
He rubbed his forehead and said, "Make sure the interview script is checked tomorrow, don’t bring up these irrelevant questions. It’s pointless."
Bo Qin took a sip of coffee, looking somewhat weary. Seeing his expression, Chen-jie said, "You should sleep. If you can't fall asleep, just rest in bed."
Bo Qin shook his head, "Lying down makes it worse."
Chen Jie sighed, "With such a heavy workload and poor sleep, how can you keep going?"
Bo Qin didn't want to talk about this, so he changed the topic to work. At the end of the conversation, Chen Jie asked if there was some bad blood between Bo Qin and Xiang Chen.
Bo Qin tilted his head, "Let me think, he was also there when Wang Dao's film had auditions."
"Alright," Chen-jie said, "New grudges and old grudges, he’s signed to Tiancheng Entertainment, and his manager is Li Kun."
Bo Qin had an idea in his head and asked, "What did Xiang Chen do?"
Chen Jie hesitated for a moment, then said, "He liked a post that was criticizing you on Weibo."
"What about?"
"…Bo San Miao."
Bo Qin was silent for a long time.
The term Bo San Miao came from one of his interviews. The host asked him what his expectations and plans for his career were, and Bo Qin answered that he hoped his career would be as brilliant and dazzling as fireworks.
It was a normal answer.
However, it was deliberately clipped by a famous marketing account, with some negative comments underneath: Isn't that just three seconds? Bo Qin’s career is too short.
Later, a bunch of people started laughing about it.
To be honest, when Bo Qin first saw the comment, he even doubted whether he and these people were from the same world.
Seeing Bo Qin’s expression, Chen-jie sighed with sympathy, "Don’t think too much about it. He’s just trying to attract attention and ride the wave."
Bo Qin put his foot up on the coffee table and scoffed, "Same old tactics, if you can't play the game, then go for the dirty tricks. With that energy, he might as well improve himself."
After the video call ended, Bo Qin turned off the lights and sat in the living room, alone, in silence. He propped his chin and watched the moonlight slowly creep up his bare ankle. Bo Qin popped a throat lozenge and started facing the frustration and confusion rising within him.
Suddenly, the silence was broken with a click, and the living room lit up. He Xizhou stood at the door with a book in his hand, his voice gentle as he asked why Bo Qin hadn’t turned on the light.
Bo Qin replied that he was just being dramatic, trying to create an atmosphere.
He Xizhou smiled and walked over, placing the book on the coffee table. "Do you want some wine?"
Without waiting for Bo Qin to answer, He Xizhou walked to the wine cabinet, rolled up his sleeves, and asked, "If you want to protect your throat..." He looked over the neatly arranged wine bottles. "Then this one should do."
Bo Qin didn’t move or refuse, watching He Xizhou elegantly open the bottle, pour the wine, and then slightly bow to place the wine glass in front of him.
Bo Qin picked up the glass, swirled it, and said, "Drinking requires a conversation. What do we have to talk about?"
He Xizhou raised an eyebrow, "Don’t we have something to talk about?"
Bo Qin leaned back and took a slow sip of the wine. "No, we’re not from the same world," he said. He Xizhou looked at him, watching the movement in his throat as he swallowed. "We still have something to talk about. At the very least, I owe you an apology."
Bo Qin looked at him in surprise. "Why apologize?"
"Apologizing for my arrogance and rudeness when we first met. Apologizing for that contract I gave you." He Xizhou placed his glass on the table and clasped his hands in front of him, his tone serious, eyes locked on Bo Qin’s. "I don’t expect forgiveness, I’m just expressing my apology."
The air became heavy with silence. Bo Qin slowly ran his finger around the stem of his glass. Several times, he wanted to speak but paused. After a long while, he finally said, "I didn’t expect you to say that."
He took another sip of wine. "Actually, it’s fine," Bo Qin said. "It’s pretty normal. With your status and the gap between us, anyone would do that."
He Xizhou looked at him, surprised. Bo Qin suddenly found it a little funny. Their conversation tonight seemed to be breaking down all the preconceived notions they had about each other.
"I’m really surprised. I still can’t get over it," Bo Qin said after a moment of thought, trying to figure out how to express himself. "I actually find your apology hard to believe."
He Xizhou said, "Strictly speaking, this is also a form of bias."
Bo Qin nodded, his curiosity piqued. "I’m really curious, what changed your view of me?"
"My mom’s attitude towards you played a big part in it," He Xizhou stared at Bo Qin’s eyes. Bo Qin noticed how bright and beautiful He Xizhou’s eyes were, and heard him ask, "Do you know why my mom likes you so much?"
Bo Qin didn’t answer.
"Because she must have investigated you beforehand, probably more thoroughly than I did," He Xizhou took a sip of his wine and added, "Are you uncomfortable with that?"
"Just a little, but you saying it directly like this helps ease the discomfort."
"I’m glad," Bo Qin said. "I haven’t been this open with anyone in a long time. The last time I did something like this…" He suddenly laughed. "Was when I confessed to the girl I liked in high school."
That made He Xizhou laugh as well. He said, "I always thought I understood what respect was, thanks to all the education I’ve had. But I only realized after getting involved with you that I was arrogant and condescending, always thinking I understood respect and understanding."
He Xizhou rarely spoke this much, and his voice was low and calm, which made Bo Qin feel a little unreal. It felt magical. At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to He Xizhou’s disdain and prejudice because he had seen it many times before, with Xiao Chen, Bo Youzhao, and many others. He was used to it, and given He Xizhou’s identity, he didn’t think much of it because he knew it was just the way things were. There couldn’t be fairness or respect.
But now, He Xizhou was explaining his former arrogance and rudeness like a middle schooler trying to make friends, apologizing, and seeking forgiveness. With his identity, it seemed trivial, but it made Bo Qin feel genuinely touched.
Bo Qin relaxed a little. He propped his legs up on the sofa and looked at He Xizhou’s quiet, handsome face. "So, can I assume that your apology means we can be friends now?"
He Xizhou smiled at him, "Of course."
Bo Qin raised an eyebrow, almost excited. He looked up at the ceiling and said, "It’s amazing. He Xizhou, you’re really something."
He Xizhou smiled and clinked glasses with him.
The next day, when Bo Qin walked into the studio, Chen-jie laughed at him, "You seem to be in a good mood today."
Bo Qin took off his jacket, grabbed the schedule sheet Chen-jie handed him, and said, "Obvious, huh?"
Chen-jie: "Yeah, don’t tell me you’re really in love."
Tony, who was playing on his phone on the sofa, laughed at the remark. "No way, if you fall in love, you’re out of a job. There are too many people to feed, so take it easy."
Bo Qin sat on a barstool at the counter, asking, "Is Sanya fun?"
"Don’t even get me started. Met a handsome guy, hooked up with him, and then realized I’d hit the wrong model," Tony rolled his eyes. "They’re all zeroes."
Bo Qin burst into laughter.
Chen-jie came over, holding a folder, and tapped his head. "Stop laughing, the interview’s about to start. Hurry up and let Tony do your makeup. Did you not use a face mask again last night?"
Before the interview started, Bo Qin went to his fan forum to check out a few stage shots taken by fans.
In the past, after a performance, he would review the official recording first and then watch the fan-shot videos. Aside from obvious mistakes, he would look for places in his performance that made him uncomfortable.
Were the timing points missed? Was the breath control steady? Was he jumping when he should have been singing and vice versa?
Then, he would keep refining.
But as he gained more stage experience, he developed a distinctive performance style. Usually, after one performance, he could tell where he hadn’t done well and made sure not to repeat the mistakes next time.
He thought his performances would get closer to perfection, that he was always chasing perfection. Yet someone told him, perfection wasn’t possible, and even if it was, not everyone liked it.
How could anyone not like perfection?
Bo Qin couldn’t understand.
He leaned back on the sofa, one leg bent, his hand casually resting on his knee. His face was calm as he watched the video of himself getting up from the piano and walking toward the microphone on stage.
Bo Qin turned off his phone.
It was too tight.
Indeed. He leaned back and exhaled. After playing the piano, his first thought was to stand by the mic before the chorus.
Now he understood. He no longer enjoyed the stage; he was simply completing a task.
Chen-jie knocked on his door, signaling that the interview could begin.
The person sitting across from him was a woman in a professional suit, with short hair, big eyes, and fair skin. Bo Qin estimated she was probably younger than him.
Before starting, Bo Qin asked for her name. She seemed a bit flustered, saying, "Mr. Bo, I’m not privileged to have a surname, but you can call me Miss Wu."
Bo Qin nodded, "Hello, Miss Wu."
The interview questions were the same as always—about the new album, movie plans, ideal type, career future plans—routine and without anything special. By the end, Bo Qin was uninterested, feeling like he was talking to a Q&A machine, with no depth or substance.
Then Miss Wu gave him a huge surprise.
With a perfect smile, she asked, "Mr. Bo, there have been many controversies online about you. Many comments and discussions about your personality. What’s your opinion on the nickname Bo San Miao?"
Bo Qin’s first reaction was to think, who is this idiot?
That thought was quickly followed by immense anger. He almost asked himself, what is there to discuss about this? What’s funny or controversial about this?
Then he saw the camera.
It was like a needle popping a balloon, a bucket of ice-cold water pouring down. His anger turned into helpless pain. He was already familiar with this feeling. Bo Qin forced a sharp smile and said, "What, has the person who said that tried it themselves?"
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