Chapter 7: Seventh Day as a Salted Fish
Qin Jiaojiao looked like a primary school student who had made a mistake, exceptionally well-behaved.
Zhou Shaoli reached out and turned on the smart kettle on the tea table to boil water. Glancing at Qin Jiaojiao, who had her head bowed, a barely noticeable smile slipped past his eyes.
Usually, “I have a friend” mostly meant the person was talking about themselves. Zhou Shaoli pretended not to know she was the one who needed his help and asked, “What difficult problem does your friend need to solve?”
Qin Jiaojiao looked up and stared at his handsome face for a few seconds. Zhou Shaoli definitely guessed that she was the one with the difficult problem.
Long before Zhou Shaoli came to the study, Qin Jiaojiao had been brewing an excuse in her mind, but facing him now, she didn’t know how to describe it for a good while.
She definitely couldn’t say directly that she went to a nightclub, ordered a male model to drink with her, and ended up getting set up, photographed, and had her belongings stolen to be used as evidence of a secret rendezvous.
“That friend of mine… she got entangled with a man from a nightclub…”
Zhou Shaoli’s gaze was indifferent as he looked at her nervous, fair little face, waiting for her to continue.
Qin Jiaojiao coughed and tried her best to use the tone of an outsider: “That man had someone secretly take some photos of her with him…”
Afraid Zhou Shaoli would think they were bed photos, she spoke extremely fast: “He just secretly took some photos of them drinking and entering and exiting a hotel together. I don’t know if they’re real or fake.”
Zhou Shaoli extended his well-defined hand, lifted the teapot, and poured two cups of hot water into the transparent glass cups on the table. His movements were smooth like flowing water and floating clouds. His elegant sitting posture was very pleasing to the eye.
Qin Jiaojiao stared at his beautiful hands, a bit distracted, and her voice couldn’t help but weaken a few notches: “That man also stole a precious item from my friend, threatening that if she didn’t meet him, he would expose everything to the media.”
“Once it’s exposed to the media, my friend’s reputation, including her entire family’s, will be affected. So I wanted to ask you, is there any good way to resolve this?”
“Go meet him, delete the photos, and get the item back,” Zhou Shaoli said.
Qin Jiaojiao lifted her eyes to look at him and said, “It might not be that simple to get it back.”
Xiao Yu definitely wouldn’t easily return her wedding ring; he would demand an exorbitant amount of money like a lion opening its mouth. Where was she supposed to get that much money for him?
Zhou Shaoli looked at her face full of difficulty and anxiety, and said, “The security personnel under Zhuxing Group are all ex-military, each and every one of them agile and capable. With their help, it will be a piece of cake for your friend to get her things back.”
Qin Jiaojiao looked at him dumbfounded. Could it be that he was teaching her to bring people to snatch the things back from Xiao Yu? If Xiao Yu refused, beat him up, and after getting beaten, Xiao Yu would definitely obediently hand over the items.
Xiao Yu was the guilty party using the items to threaten and extort, so he definitely wouldn’t dare call the police. And although she couldn’t call the police either, avoiding backing him into a corner and making him jump the wall like a desperate dog, in a situation where neither side could call the police, she had the upper hand.
“Will that work…” she hesitated a bit.
Zhou Shaoli’s tone was certain: “Of course it will.” To deal with wicked people, naturally one had to use unconventional methods.
“Alright then, lend me two bodyguards tomorrow afternoon.”
Qin Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. Having someone to provide manpower and ideas really was different. The anxiety in her heart instantly dissipated, and her mood became wonderful.
“You can.”
“Thank you,” she thanked him sincerely.
Zhou Shaoli said with a gentle voice, “As long as it helps your friend.”
“I’ll go back to sleep first.” Qin Jiaojiao stood up and said, “You should go to bed early too.”
After saying that, she walked towards the door. Zhou Shaoli turned his head, watching her light-footed retreating figure until she closed the door before withdrawing his gaze.
The circle Qin Jiaojiao had lived in since childhood was simple. She had been pampered and raised by her parents, having never witnessed many sinister methods. To think she had such a headache over a simple threat and extortion.
Holding the valuable teacup, Zhou Shaoli slowly rubbed it with his fingers. After pondering for a few seconds, he picked up his phone and dialed his assistant’s number.
“President Zhou, you’re not asleep yet?” the assistant asked in surprise.
Tomorrow’s itinerary was all arranged. After attending the banquet, Zhou Shaoli should be spending tender moments with his wife. Surely he wasn’t still working overtime in the middle of the night?
“Tomorrow, instruct the security department to have the captain take someone and accompany Madam out,” Zhou Shaoli arranged.
“Understood.” The assistant quickly jotted it down and asked, “President Zhou, is there anything else?”
Zhou Shaoli instructed, “Postpone tomorrow afternoon’s meetings.”
“Ah?” the assistant asked in surprise, “Postpone for how long?”
Zhou Shaoli said, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
In the bedroom, Qin Jiaojiao lay on the bed, holding her phone and calling Yang Yutong. “He’s giving me two bodyguards tomorrow to accompany me to resolve Xiao Yu’s matter.”
Yang Yutong said, “As long as your husband is willing to step in, any Xiao Yu will be resolved in minutes. Don’t mention that unlucky piece of trash, hurry up and tell me about the banquet today. After you guys got back, did you, um…”
She raised her eyebrows and said, “Dressing so sexily and beautifully, didn’t Zhou Shaoli want to tear your dress and pin you down…”
“Stop!” Qin Jiaojiao hurriedly yelled for her to halt, saying, “What nonsense are you thinking about! Stop the yellow trash1 in your brain!”
Yang Yutong clicked her tongue twice and said, “Living under the same roof, a legally married couple actually sleeping in separate rooms. What a reckless waste of God’s good gifts…”
Qin Jiaojiao massaged her forehead and said, “That idiom is not used like that.”
“Alright, I’m not talking to you anymore, someone with no nightlife. I’m going to go find my little wolf dog.” Yang Yutong hung up the phone.
Qin Jiaojiao looked at the quickly disconnected phone and smiled helplessly.
The next morning, Qin Jiaojiao stayed at home watching dramas and drinking tea, then took a beautiful afternoon nap until Auntie Zhang came up to knock on her door before she got up to change and dress up.
“Madam, President Zhou arranged a new driver for you. From now on, whenever you go out, just have Xiao Chen pick you up and drop you off. He’s on call 24/7,” Auntie Zhang said with a smile.
“Got it.” Qin Jiaojiao put down her comb and went downstairs.
Walking out of the villa area in stiletto heels, she saw a low-key yet luxurious black luxury car parked in front of the gate. Seeing her come out, the driver immediately got out of the car.
The man looked to be in his thirties and was very tall, estimated to be over 1.9 meters. His physique was robust like Mount Tai, giving off a sharp feeling of someone who had survived a hail of bullets, carrying an intense sense of oppression.
The person who got out of the passenger seat was equally tall, slightly inferior to the driver assigned to her, also over 1.8 meters. Similarly in his thirties, his aura was restrained, possessing an ordinary, square-shaped face that would be lost in a crowd.
“Madam,” the two greeted her.
On the surface, Qin Jiaojiao nodded calmly, but internally she was screaming: Are these two foreign mercenaries? To think Zhou Shaoli actually sent them to act as her driver and bodyguard.
Driver Xiao Chen opened the rear car door, and she got in.
The two bodyguards returned to the car, and the driver asked, “Where is Madam going?”
“Peninsula Restaurant at Guomao Century.” Qin Jiaojiao gave the address.
The driver started the engine and drove onto the main road, slowly pulling out of the courtyard villa area and heading towards Guomao Century.
Arriving at Guomao Century before three o’clock, the driver pulled into the underground parking lot and parked in a VIP spot. Qin Jiaojiao took her sunglasses out of her bag and put them on. Stepping in her stiletto heels and leading two hulking bodyguards, she stepped into the VIP elevator.
Going up to the nineteenth floor unhindered, she told the bodyguards the private room number and said, “I’ll go in first. I’ll message you later, and then you come to the room.”
“Understood, Madam.”
Xiao Yu had already arrived at the private room, having sent a few text messages urging her to meet quickly.
Qin Jiaojiao entered the Peninsula Restaurant and, under the waiter’s guidance, arrived at private room number 88. Pushing the door open, she saw the nightclub college student male model, Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu was wearing a white dress shirt with a black vest over it today. His hair was styled, giving him the appearance of a youthful, energetic boy.
Who would have thought… such a good-looking young man was rotten to the core inside.
He couldn’t even compare to half a finger of Zhou Shaoli’s.
Xiao Yu looked up and saw Qin Jiaojiao entering the private room. He was instantly stunned, his eyes full of awe. Staring at her fixedly, he said, “…Miss Qin, I can finally see you.”
A sarcastic smile appeared on Qin Jiaojiao’s face as she said, “You sent text messages threatening me with photos, just to meet me once?”
Xiao Yu stood up and pulled out a chair, his gaze constantly roaming over Qin Jiaojiao’s body. He said, “Let’s sit down and chat slowly.”
When he and Qin Jiaojiao first met at the nightclub, he was being harassed by a wealthy older woman with a face full of fierce flesh. Qin Jiaojiao had bailed him out and ordered a lot of alcohol. That night, he was the top seller in the club.
Later, Qin Jiaojiao didn’t show up for a long time, and he was mocked and ridiculed by the club’s staff. He begged his good bro to whisper in the ear of a sister who had a good relationship with Qin Jiaojiao, dragging Qin Jiaojiao back to Meise to eat, drink, and play.
After that time, the number of times he met with Qin Jiaojiao increased.
Qin Jiaojiao had an arrogant and willful temper; she wasn’t an easy-to-serve eldest miss. But having worked in the service industry for a few years, he had seen customers much harder to serve than her, so he gently and considerately took care of Qin Jiaojiao.
He knew Qin Jiaojiao was married. Since she often stayed out all night, it must be because her husband wasn’t considerate. Marriages among young masters and misses in her wealthy circle were mostly unhappy.
The couples played very wildly in private. For example, the sisters she ate and drank with had slept with male models.
After spending some time together, Qin Jiaojiao didn’t reject his approach, but she also didn’t allow him to cross the line and touch her. Aside from spending money on alcohol, she had never gifted him any valuable items.
His gambling addict father owed a lot of money. Being in a nightclub, his own food, drinks, and clothes were also high-consumption, so he was in urgent need of money recently.
Therefore, he took a desperate risk and drugged Qin Jiaojiao’s drink, wanting to sleep with her for a night and take some bed photos. Who knew that Qin Jiaojiao would run away that night? He could only tail her, secretly snap a few photos, and edit them into photos of them pulling and tangling at the hotel entrance to use as leverage.
“I have nothing to chat with you about,” Qin Jiaojiao said in a cold tone. “Bring out the photos for me to see, and return my wedding ring.”
Xiao Yu’s face turned a bit ugly as he said, “Miss Qin, you’re too heartless. Have you forgotten how relaxed and happy our time together has been recently?”
He sat down beside her, wanting to hold her fair, tender hand. “You clearly said you wanted to keep me. I can forgo a title and just be your underground lover.”
As long as Qin Jiaojiao was willing to spend money to keep him and solve his urgent crisis, he wouldn’t send those photos to the media reporters.
Qin Jiaojiao cast a sidelong glance at him, a look of arrogant disgust on her face. She sneered, “A venomous snake like you, I wouldn’t dare keep by my side.”
In the past, Qin Jiaojiao always had an impatient, frowning, bad-tempered look on her face, making people feel fearful and wanting to stay far away just by looking at her. Now that she showed this disgusted expression, it was actually even more attractive.
He couldn’t help but want to be stepped on beneath her feet, recklessly trampled on.
“Miss Qin, I was forced by circumstances…” Xiao Yu’s handsome face revealed a deliberately fragile expression. This trick of his never failed on those wealthy women. He said pitifully, “I can delete the photos, just don’t be mad at me, okay?”
Qin Jiaojiao felt the hairs all over her body stand up. She almost couldn’t maintain her aloof expression; she kind of wanted to hit someone.
“Where are the photos? Let me see.” She definitely wouldn’t be bewitched.
Xiao Yu took out his phone. “They’re all in the photo gallery. I like you too much, so I just took a few to look at when I miss you.”
Qin Jiaojiao snatched the phone and lowered her eyes to stare at the photos. Then she checked the timestamps of when the photos were taken and breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. They weren’t freshly taken photos; it was highly likely Xiao Yu had used photo editing software to synthesize fake photos.
“Delete them.”
Xiao Yu took the phone back and tapped delete. He wasn’t that stupid; he had backed up the photos in a cloud drive and email.
“Alright, I’ve deleted them all.”
Qin Jiaojiao asked again, “Where is the ring?”
“I brought it.” Xiao Yu took it out and placed it on the table.
Qin Jiaojiao picked up the ring and put it on her hand. It fit perfectly, sparkling brightly. It was her diamond wedding ring.
“Miss Qin.” Xiao Yu leaned in. The strong men’s cologne he sprayed on himself was very pungent. He said, “Look how obedient I am, deleting the photos just like that. Something happened in my family, and I’m really short on money lately. Could you help me out…”
Qin Jiaojiao pushed back her chair and stood up. “No.”
Xiao Yu’s face changed drastically. “Miss Qin, what do you mean? Turning hostile the moment you get your stuff back?”
Qin Jiaojiao didn’t want to waste her breath on him. The private room door opened, and the bodyguards she brought walked in after receiving her message.
“Madam, please step outside first. You can leave the rest to us to handle.”
Qin Jiaojiao nodded and turned to leave.
“Qin Jiaojiao, don’t go!” Xiao Yu frantically tried to grab her, but a bodyguard reached out and blocked him.
The private room door closed, cutting off the commotion inside.
Not long after, Qin Jiaojiao was invited back in. Xiao Yu’s clothes were disheveled, and he was lying on the ground groaning with a bruised face and swollen nose. Seeing Qin Jiaojiao enter, a hateful glare appeared in his eyes.
“Madam, all his photo archives have been cleared out. We can leave now,” Driver Xiao Chen said.
Qin Jiaojiao’s eyes revealed worry: “If he calls the police…”
The square-faced bodyguard said, “Madam, don’t worry. We will handle it.”
Feeling relieved, Qin Jiaojiao left the Peninsula Restaurant and happily decided to stroll around the shopping mall.
In the private room, Xiao Yu climbed up, gripping his phone hatefully. Once he got back, he would send the photos to the media and completely ruin Qin Jiaojiao’s reputation.
The private room door suddenly opened, and two men walked in one after another.
Seeing the people who suddenly appeared, Xiao Yu clutched his stomach and asked, “Who are you?”
The assistant pulled out a chair, and Zhou Shaoli sat down expressionlessly. He stated, “Qin Jiaojiao’s husband, Zhou Shaoli.”
Xiao Yu’s expression filled with terror as he retreated two steps, frantically demanding, “What do you want to do?”
Zhou Shaoli’s gaze was gloomy, his tone as cold and cruel as ice: “You blackmailed and extorted my wife. You should pay the price you deserve.”
“I didn’t.” Xiao Yu denied. “You have no proof. You can’t do anything to me.”
Zhou Shaoli smiled faintly, “Is that so?”
Suddenly, several people in police uniforms swarmed into the private room, swiftly apprehending him.
“Save whatever you have to say for my lawyer.” Zhou Shaoli left indifferently, as if he had never been to the private room.
At night, Qin Jiaojiao had strolled around the mall in the afternoon. She hadn’t bought any clothes or shoes, but she did buy a lot of snacks to take home and eat while watching dramas.
Zhou Shaoli was very busy with work and didn’t come home for dinner. After Qin Jiaojiao finished dinner, she curled up on the sofa to play games.
She was waiting for Zhou Shaoli to come back. He only arrived home around past eleven.
Passing by the sofa, he saw Qin Jiaojiao curled up and sleeping on the sofa with a blanket covering her body, and his footsteps paused.
Translator’s note:
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