Chapter 25: Twenty-Fifth Day as a Salted Fish
Qin Jiaojiao walked straight out of the Grand Theatre through the convenient VIP exit backstage. Stepping outside, she noticed that the audience who had come to watch the stage play hadn’t fully dispersed yet.
Pedestrians strolled along the street in small groups of twos and threes. Qin Jiaojiao kept her head down, looking at her phone as she replied to Zhou Shaoli’s message, asking where his car was parked. Just then, a voice echoed in her ear.
“Miss Qin, would you like us to give you a ride back since it’s on our way?”
The evening sky was darkening fast, overcast as a light drizzle began to fall. Now, the area outside the Grand Theatre was completely packed with people who had just finished watching the performance. Getting a taxi right now would probably take a long time in line.
Seeing Qin Jiaojiao all by herself, Shen Xiaoshan walked over while clutching Meng Zi’ang’s arm and deliberately asked this. Naturally, she had no good intentions of taking Qin Jiaojiao home; she simply wanted to mock Qin Jiaojiao’s pitiful, lonely state.
Qin Jiaojiao looked up and said indifferently, “No need for a ride, I—”
“Can you stop being so willful?” Meng Zi’ang interrupted her mid-sentence, lecturing and scolding her. “Do you want to get soaked in the rain? When that happens, you’ll blame us again for being heartless and not giving you a ride.”
Qin Jiaojiao almost laughed out of sheer annoyance. Her gaze landed on a specific spot, her voice carrying a trace of sweet delicacy: “No need to trouble you guys~ Someone is picking me up. My husband is here.”
Lying, right?
Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang both turned around.
Qin Jiaojiao took a step and ran toward Zhou Shaoli, who was walking over while holding an umbrella. Ducking under the umbrella, she wrapped her arm around his, just like a little bird returning to its nest. “Husband, you took so long.”
Zhou Shaoli lowered his eyelids to glance at her, his voice gentle: “Sorry, I’m late.”
Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang: “…”
Everyone in the elite circle knew how busy Zhou Shaoli was with work. So when Shen Xiaoshan saw Qin Jiaojiao coming to watch the stage play alone today while Meng Zi’ang accompanied her, she felt that by comparison, her husband, Meng Zi’ang, was far more attentive and thoughtful. Believing Qin Jiaojiao was being given the cold shoulder by Zhou Shaoli, she had wanted to show off her romance in front of Qin Jiaojiao to vent her frustration.
She never expected Zhou Shaoli to actually come pick up Qin Jiaojiao, leaving her and Meng Zi’ang in an extremely awkward position.
Qin Jiaojiao was exquisitely breathtaking. With a beauty like hers, no matter how artificial or melodramatic her tone was, onlookers wouldn’t feel disgusted; instead, they would find it utterly adorable, wanting to spoil her the moment she acted coquettishly.
Listening to Qin Jiaojiao calling him “husband” again and again, Zhou Shaoli looked at her with soft eyes and wrapped a hand around her slender waist to play along with her act.
“Young Master Meng, Miss Shen,” he greeted in a flat tone.
Watching the young couple’s affectionate display, Meng Zi’ang could barely maintain the smile on his face, calling out expressionlessly, “President Zhou.”
Shen Xiaoshan forced a stiff smile and said, “I saw Miss Qin was alone, so I wanted to give her a ride back on our way.”
Zhou Shaoli usually appeared calm and composed, yet he exuded a powerful, intense pressure that made her feel as though all the subtle thoughts at the bottom of her heart were being completely seen through.
“Since President Zhou is here, we’ll take our leave first.”
Once they walked away, Qin Jiaojiao released Zhou Shaoli’s arm, and he naturally let go of her waist.
“How was today’s stage play?” he asked casually.
“It was great, super good!” Qin Jiaojiao praised with an excited tone, chatting non-stop about the plot of the stage play as they walked.
Zhou Shaoli opened the car door for her, and the two sat inside the car respectively.
On the way back, Zhou Shaoli brought up, “A friend of mine is returning to Beijing tonight, and we’re having a dinner gathering at Lanting. Do you want to go?”
Qin Jiaojiao tilted her head to look at him. “You’re having dinner with your friends—would it be inappropriate if you brought me along?”
Zhou Shaoli: “If you don’t want to go, I’ll send you home. If you want to meet them, I’ll have the driver change routes and head directly to Lanting.”
In the original plot, Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli had a very tense relationship; she had never met his friends, nor would Zhou Shaoli ever bring her to meet them. The young couple were completely unfamiliar with each other’s social circles.
If Zhou Shaoli hadn’t gone to the beauty salon to pick her up last time, Yang Yutong wouldn’t have met Zhou Shaoli either.
“Send me home first, and then heading over yourself might make you late. Let’s just go directly to Lanting,” Qin Jiaojiao said.
Seeing her agree to meet his friends, a faint smile glinted in Zhou Shaoli’s eyes as he replied, “Mm.”
The driver changed routes, driving straight toward Lanting, a famous state-banquet-style restaurant in Beijing.
Zhou Shaoli had preferred being a loner since childhood. His detached personality resulted in him making very few friends. By his side, he only had one childhood friend and He Juanbai, who was a few years older than him; the few of them shared a solid friendship.
Back when he got married, his childhood friend couldn’t make it back from abroad in time, and He Juanbai was away on a business trip. Neither of them had met Qin Jiaojiao, though they were quite shocked by the news of his marriage.
His friends had assumed that with a personality like his, it would be impossible for him to get married in his lifetime. How did he suddenly end up in a secret flash marriage—was there some hidden secret behind it?
Naturally, there was a secret, but Zhou Shaoli couldn’t possibly tell them, simply stating that it was arranged by his family for him to take a wife and settle down.
The private room at the Lanting State Banquet featured an elegant, traditional Chinese decor. To block the prying eyes of passersby outside, a screen embroidered with a Dunhuang Flying Apsaras mural was placed at the entrance.
The young man Qin Jiaojiao had bumped into earlier that afternoon sat lazily in his chair with his white suit jacket unbuttoned, lighting a cigarette. He pushed the cigarette pack in front of He Juanbai, who was drinking tea across from him.
He Juanbai’s handsome face carried a cold and aloof expression. Ignoring the cigarette, he spoke up, “Smoke less. Shaoli’s wife will be here in a moment—open the window to clear the smell.”
Xiao Rui had a cigarette dangling from his lips. Crimson sparks glowed as wisps of smoke rose up, tinting the air in the private room with a faint scent of tobacco.
“He’s bringing his wife, so I can’t even smoke now?” he said casually in a playboy manner. “What, is Sister-in-law allergic to tobacco smoke?”
He Juanbai glanced at him and said, “Say that line in front of Zhou Shaoli if you dare.”
Xiao Rui genuinely didn’t dare. Don’t be fooled by Zhou Shaoli’s calm and detached demeanor or his seeming indifference to everything—down to his bones, he was deep and scheming. Anyone who offended him would end up subtly manipulated into a confused mess, while still offering Zhou Shaoli tears of heartfelt gratitude.
“Brother He, have you seen Shaoli’s wife yet? What does she actually look like?” Xiao Rui sat up straight, a bit curious. “Why did he suddenly get married out of nowhere, and even flash-married a young miss from a Qin family nobody’s ever heard of?”
“What era is it to still do business marriages? Even if he wanted to find someone, why not pick a woman whose family background matches the Zhou family? I’ve never even heard of that Qin family.”
He Juanbai checked the time and warned, “Watch your mouth and say less.”
Xiao Rui stubbed out his cigarette and said, “Isn’t it because our President Zhou isn’t here that I can say a few words? Why enter an alliance with a woman from a small-time family instead of just finding a woman he actually likes? Tell me, what is Zhou Shaoli even after…”
Sitting with his back facing the screen, he grew more animated the more he spoke.
He Juanbai looked up, spotted the shadowy figures behind the screen, and kicked Xiao Rui hard under the table.
Xiao Rui let out a yelp. “Brother He, why did you kick me?!”
“You completely ruined my train of thought.” Unaware of the dangerous aura brewing in the air, Xiao Rui continued to talk grandly, “Do you still remember Xu Xueqing from our courtyard back in the day?”
He Juanbai coughed heavily: “Don’t bring up past matters.”
“What do you mean don’t bring up…” Xiao Rui keenly felt something was off. He Juanbai was kicking him and coughing—it didn’t fit his cold, aloof persona at all.
He paused for two seconds. Aside from him and He Juanbai, two other presences seemed to have entered the private room—especially that familiar scent of agarwood that made the hair on his arms stand on end.
“Look at me, bringing up Xu Xueqing for no reason! It was all her one-sided unrequited crush anyway…” Xiao Rui immediately switched his tone, raising his voice enthusiastically. “Sister-in-law must be as gorgeous as a flower for Brother Shaoli to step into the hall of marriage! How wonderful! Unlike me, who still hasn’t met a girl that makes my heart flutter…”
Inside the private room, He Juanbai stared at Xiao Rui with an expression ready to enjoy the drama.
Xiao Rui acted as if he had just realized Zhou Shaoli had brought his wife into the room. He turned around and stood up. “If it isn’t President Zhou! I’ve finally waited for you. Where’s Sister-in-law? Let me see what kind of beauty she is…”
Zhou Shaoli walked in front, and Qin Jiaojiao followed behind him, stepping under the lights of the private room.
The teasing smile on Xiao Rui’s face froze solid as he stared blankly at Qin Jiaojiao. T-This… isn’t this… the young girl I was eagerly chasing for contact info at the Grand Theatre this afternoon?! Xiao Rui instantly felt green with regret.
Thinking back to the words he had just spewed in the room, even if he jumped into the Yellow River to drown ten times over, it wouldn’t be enough. Cold sweat poured down Xiao Rui’s back, feeling as though he were being roasted over an oil cauldron.
Qin Jiaojiao froze for a second when she saw Xiao Rui. She truly hadn’t expected that the man who had chased her for her contact info would turn out to be Zhou Shaoli’s buddy. Pretending it was their first meeting, she offered a polite smile: “Hello, I’m Qin Jiaojiao.”
“Hello…” Xiao Rui’s heart was a chaotic mess of mixed feelings right now. On one hand, he was terrified of not knowing how horribly he’d die once Zhou Shaoli found out; on the other hand, a girl he finally found pleasing to the eye turned out to be Zhou Shaoli’s wife! He didn’t even get the chance to swing a hoe to poach her, feeling entirely like a eggplant nipped by frost.
Qin Jiaojiao walked to Zhou Shaoli’s side. He pulled out a chair, and she sat down.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Rui and He Juanbai both had a flash of slight surprise in their eyes. They hadn’t met Qin Jiaojiao before, but they had heard a few rumors that Zhou Shaoli and his alliance wife were on bad terms.
It seemed the rumors were mistaken.
Xiao Rui sat like he was on a bed of nails, his eyes occasionally darting toward Qin Jiaojiao. She probably hadn’t shown Zhou Shaoli the business card he gave her this afternoon, right?
If she had shown it to Zhou Shaoli, he would definitely be in deep trouble.
At this moment, Xiao Rui showed none of his usual suave confidence around women. Seeing Zhou Shaoli about to pour tea, he quickly stood up: “Let me do it…”
He poured a cup of tea for everyone, bowing his head to Qin Jiaojiao: “Sister-in-law, I was in the wrong just now. I’m apologizing to you right here—please have some tea.”
Zhou Shaoli glanced at him. Xiao Rui had been reckless and irresponsible since childhood, rarely holding anyone in high regard, so today’s behavior was a bit unusual.
Qin Jiaojiao took a sip of the tea, completely ignoring the fidgeting Xiao Rui.
He Juanbai and Zhou Shaoli had business dealings together, speaking with the imposing tone of high-level executives. Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t understand the financial terms coming out of their mouths, so she focused wholeheartedly on enjoying her dinner.
While chatting with He Juanbai, Zhou Shaoli occasionally took time to pour a cup of tea for Qin Jiaojiao. Seeing the dishes she enjoyed eating, he reached out with serving chopsticks to put a bit more on her plate.
As an idle playboy with nothing to do, Xiao Rui couldn’t chime into their conversation, so his attention was entirely focused on Zhou Shaoli and Qin Jiaojiao. The more he saw Zhou Shaoli showing care to Qin Jiaojiao, the more panicked he felt.
Having drunk quite a bit of tea, Qin Jiaojiao stood up to go to the restroom. Seeing He Juanbai and Zhou Shaoli engrossed in conversation, Xiao Rui waited two minutes before standing up and slipping out as well.
After stepping out of the restroom and retouching her lipstick, Qin Jiaojiao ran into Xiao Rui on her way back to the private room.
With a smile on his handsome face, Xiao Rui tentatively asked, “Miss Qin, about the business card I gave you this afternoon… could I ask for it back?”
Qin Jiaojiao shook her head. “No.”
Wearing a look that pleaded for mercy, Xiao Rui said, “I really had no idea you were Brother Shaoli’s wife. I’m genuinely regretful right now—I’m usually not that kind of person.”
Qin Jiaojiao looked at him with amusement, asking, “What kind of person?”
“Miss Qin, please be magnanimous and forgive me,” Xiao Rui pleaded, his brain working frantically as he added hastily, “I’ll make it up to you. Whatever you want—designer bags, jewelry?”
Qin Jiaojiao eyed him sideways. “Do I look like I’m lacking those things?”
As Zhou Shaoli’s wife, the thing she lacked least was money. Xiao Rui felt a massive headache coming on, asking, “Then what do you want?”
Given his decade-plus friendship with Zhou Shaoli, the absolute worst-case scenario was just getting a layer of skin peeled off by him.
Qin Jiaojiao had overheard most of what Xiao Rui said in the private room earlier, and there was one detail she cared about slightly—the name of the woman he had mentioned.
The original plot hadn’t detailed all of Zhou Shaoli’s background. She was truly curious that he might actually have been involved with some woman.
“Tell me about Xu Xueqing.”
Xiao Rui hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Brother Shaoli and Xu Xueqing don’t have anything going on.”
“If there’s nothing going on, why did you bring her up?” Qin Jiaojiao shot him a side-eye.
In truth, there really was nothing between Zhou Shaoli and Xu Xueqing. She was a girl from their residential compound who grew up playing with them. During high school, she confessed to Zhou Shaoli and got rejected by him, crying quite bitterly at the time.
Afterward, Xu Xueqing went abroad for university and there was barely any news of her for years; she stayed overseas for recent years and only returned once a year during Lunar New Year.
However, he had heard a tiny rumor that Xu Xueqing still harbored unrequited feelings for Zhou Shaoli and had gotten dead drunk upon learning he got married. Then again, those were all rumors—who knew if they were true or false?
Xiao Rui carefully explained those old, rotten past events to Qin Jiaojiao, finishing the story in just a few quick sentences.
Qin Jiaojiao maintained an expressionless face after listening, revealing no hint of joy or anger.
Xiao Rui’s tongue was very slick: “Sister-in-law, you and Brother Shaoli are a perfect match—handsome man and beautiful woman, practically a match made in heaven!”
Qin Jiaojiao let out a small smile. “I’m heading back to the private room.”
Xiao Rui looked on eagerly: “The business card…”
“Tossed in the trash can,” Qin Jiaojiao said casually.
Xiao Rui breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, yet felt a bit miffed. He walked up to the restroom mirror, checking his reflection left and right—his charm hadn’t declined at all! For his very first time hitting on a girl, his card actually got thrown into the trash!
By the time Qin Jiaojiao returned to the private room, Zhou Shaoli and He Juanbai had finished discussing business and were sipping wine.
“What took you so long?”
Qin Jiaojiao calmly replied, “I went outside to get some fresh air.”
On the drive home after the gathering ended, Qin Jiaojiao didn’t say a word, remaining extremely quiet. Zhou Shaoli glanced at the car window, catching a reflection of her fair, delicate face showing no expression.
“Are you angry?”
Qin Jiaojiao snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. “Ah?”
Zhou Shaoli explained, “Xiao Rui talks without thinking. Don’t take it to heart—between me and Xu Xueqing…”
“I know,” Qin Jiaojiao smiled faintly. “There’s nothing between you two.”
Seeing her smiling face and completely unbothered attitude, Zhou Shaoli pursed his lips slightly, unable to describe the feeling rising within him.
She didn’t care at all.
Upon arriving home, Qin Jiaojiao was the first to get out of the car, hurrying back to the bedroom to take a shower. Having spent the whole day outside where the Grand Theatre was crowded and filled with mixed odors, she wanted to quickly wash up and comfortably play on her phone.
Seeing that she hadn’t waited for him and had retreated straight to the bedroom, Zhou Shaoli sat silently on the sofa after showering. Having drunk a bit too much wine, he furrowed his brows slightly.
When Qin Jiaojiao stepped out of the bathroom, she didn’t notice anything unusual about him, going straight back to bed to rest.
She opened her phone to browse Weibo’s real-time trending topics as usual to check out new drama, only to discover that Season 2 of Romantic Lovers was sitting on the trending list. Only then did she remember that tonight was the show’s premiere.
#ShanMengCPSoSoSweet# was hanging in second place on the trending list.
[Ahhhhhh I’m so jealous of Sister’s wealthy lifestyle!]
[The Shan-Meng couple is truly the sweetest—Brother-in-law is both handsome and attentive, and he even cooks! He’s such a good husband!]
[Shen Xiaoshan is so happy, being pampered like a little princess after marrying into wealth! Screaming with envy!]
[I swear this is the sweetest CP I’ve ever shipped!]
The comment section was filled with fans complimenting them in every way possible—clearly the result of paid water army intervention. Qin Jiaojiao took a few glances, closed it, and watched some melodramatic short drama videos for a while, feeling completely refreshed.
Suddenly, Yang Yutong sent a link over.
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Is a CEO selling his body for ten bucks a moral degradation or a distortion of human nature?】
Qin Jiaojiao: 【?】
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【I’m dying, this is hilarious! Why are you and Zhou Shaoli so funny on this variety show? I suggest you two film more of this in the future!】
Qin Jiaojiao clicked on the link to check it out. The link was a Weibo post from a major Yueli CP fan account with over a hundred thousand followers.
The Yueli CP fans tagged the official trending topic, frantically retweeting and posting to boost engagement. Viewers who had finished watching the first episode couldn’t help but join the discussion.
[The CEO and the CEO’s wife don’t know how to cook—this is too real!]
[LMAO, when President Zhou said he wanted to buy on credit, I saw the absolute shock in the stall owner uncle’s eyes.]
[Why does President Zhou’s phrase ‘She’s my wife’ sound kinda proud? So charming, I’m shipping it hard, it’s so sweet!]
[Selling his body just to buy a drink for his wife—no way, why is this so funny?]
[The uncle is truly a business genius: three sentences to make a hundred-billion CEO work for him.]
[Dog head emoji, if I don’t know how to cook, can’t I just mooch off others?]
[Ahhhhh real married couples are truly the absolute best to ship!]
[President Zhou is constantly keeping in mind whether his wife has eaten or not.]
The end of the first episode featured the production team issuing a couple task: the guest couples had to use their family funds to earn money. Viewers were extremely curious about how the three couples would make money to compete for rankings.
Topics related to Season 2 of Romantic Lovers had been trending on Weibo for several days. Originally, Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang’s Shan-Meng CP had been sitting at the top of the trending list.
Gradually, the Yueli CP surpassed them because the discussion topic regarding “President Zhou selling his body for ten bucks” was way too active, impossible to suppress.
Qin Jiaojiao felt a bit delighted. Just as Zhou Shaoli stepped out of the bathroom after showering, she leaned against the headboard and smiled at him. “We made it onto the hot search—do you want to take a look?”
Her smile was bright and radiant, her moist eyes sparkling—she was clearly in high spirits.
Zhou Shaoli lifted the blanket and got onto the bed, leaning slightly toward her side as he looked down at her phone screen. The internet was heatedly discussing his “miserable” attempt at selling his body to buy food for his wife.
Zhou Shaoli didn’t feel like his pride had been wounded. Seeing her so happy, a surge of pleasant joy welled up deep inside him.
Qin Jiaojiao tapped open some hilarious comments for him to read, completely unaware of how close they were leaning. It wasn’t until she felt the heat radiating off his body and the man’s unique, lingering fragrance wafted around the tip of her nose.
Qin Jiaojiao looked at his handsome face, her eyes meeting his just as he happened to look down, her heart pounding thump, thump, thump.
The atmosphere in this moment was exceptionally good. His light brown eyes carried an emotion she couldn’t quite read. Feeling her mouth go a bit dry, she couldn’t help but lick her lips.
She had no idea how massive of a temptation this action was to him.
Zhou Shaoli exerted immense self-control to pull his gaze away from her soft, petal-like pink lips. His slightly heavy and erratic breathing betrayed the hidden desires he was suppressing.
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