Chapter 28: Twenty-Eighth Day as a Salted Fish
Qin Jiaojiao and Yang Yutong sang and danced at home, drinking until they were tipsy. Yang Yutong went to the bathroom to run the bathwater, pulling Qin Jiaojiao along to wrap themselves in bath towels, sit together in the bathtub, take a soak, and put on sheet masks.
Yang Yutong picked up a little blue bottle: “Try this bottle of serum. I just had it custom-ordered from abroad; a tiny bottle like this costs over a hundred thousand yuan.”
Qin Jiaojiao asked groggily, “Don’t you endorse a well-known domestic cosmetics brand? How come you use foreign custom skincare products yourself?”
Yang Yutong let out a drunken hiccup: “Which celebrity doesn’t go to beauty salons every day? Those with money and means get their skincare products custom-made abroad. Who uses those ordinary brands…”
“Still, the brand I endorse is considered quite a good budget-friendly skincare line domestically. Fans with lower spending power can use it as an affordable dupe for big-name products. I haven’t scammed my fans.”
The two soaked in the bath with their face masks on, chatting lazily.
Qin Jiaojiao thought about it and felt it made sense. High cost-performance ratio dupes were great for fans without much money to spend; it was nice for them to buy decent alternatives. It wasn’t like certain brands nowadays that had terrible quality yet hired trending celebrities to endorse them, driving up prices to fleece consumers—only to turn around and mock consumers for not working hard enough.
Yang Yutong asked her, “The Starlight Gala hosted by Mango TV tomorrow night—do you want to come with me?”
Qin Jiaojiao looked at her and said, “I have no popularity and no works to my name, and the organizers didn’t invite me. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to walk the red carpet, right?”
“Who says you have no popularity? Didn’t your new variety show just start airing? It’s still sitting on Weibo’s trending searches right now. Besides, this Starlight Gala is a charity banquet. Celebrities can walk the red carpet just by donating a bit of money…”
Hearing about donating money made Qin Jiaojiao hesitate even more. Out of the million-yuan balance in her bank card, she had already spent some, leaving her with estimated savings of around eight hundred thousand. Donating at a charity gala would require at least a few hundred thousand.
She didn’t want to hustle in the entertainment industry; she was only waiting to collect her divorce settlement and live out her retired salted fish life. Spending money to walk the red carpet just to gain internet traffic was completely unnecessary for her.
“I don’t really want to go…”
“Just treat it as accompanying me!” Yang Yutong pulled her hand and insisted: “The charity donations at this gala will be made public for netizens to see. The funds will be transferred to the Angel Foundation on the very same day to help girls in impoverished mountainous areas read books and buy sanitary napkins and daily necessities…”
A few hundred thousand yuan in charity funds was merely the cost of a handbag to them, but donating it could help many impoverished girls in mountainous areas—it was undeniably a good deed.
Qin Jiaojiao had heard of many charity donations before that claimed on the surface to help underprivileged girls, but in reality, the money went toward funding the dreams of boys—buying a camera for a boy who wanted to be a photographer, or buying expensive sneakers for a boy who wanted to be a basketball player. They trampled on the painful destinies of girls and the goodwill of donors, while the beneficiaries were boys who were born with abundance, privilege, and indulgence.
“Are you sure this money will actually be spent on those poor girls?”
“Of course. The Angel Foundation is a charitable organization solely dedicated to supporting girls’ dreams and helping them escape poverty,” Yang Yutong guaranteed. “That’s why I wanted to drag you along to walk the red carpet. Hasn’t that haute couture gown you bought gone unworn so far? Now there’s an opportunity right in front of your eyes; don’t tell me you don’t want to show it off to everyone?”
Qin Jiaojiao was slightly moved. “Alright, then.”
After taking their bath and getting squeaky clean, the two lay on the soft, large bed and chatted for a bit longer. Yang Yutong fell asleep first, leaving Qin Jiaojiao with her mind wandering.
Zhou Shaoli should be asleep by this hour. She was probably experiencing a bit of bed stranger-anxiety; even though her eyelids were fighting each other with exhaustion, she still couldn’t quite fall asleep.
The next day, both of them slept until they woke up naturally. At noon, they ordered takeout at home, and in the afternoon, they put on makeup, dressed up, and went out to check out a newly opened afternoon tea shop.
The setting of the trendy influencer shop was styled beautifully, but the food was expensive and unpalatable. After just a few bites, Qin Jiaojiao put down her fork.
“All edited! Take a look at these photos and see if they’re fine,” Yang Yutong handed her phone over to show the photos she had just taken.
Qin Jiaojiao truly admired Yang Yutong; her photo-editing speed was insanely fast. Unlike herself—who, every time she got home after taking photos, would be too exhausted to move. By the time she gathered the energy to edit pictures, it would already be eleven at night. And after editing and posting them to Moments, everyone would be asleep, meaning she’d just be sharing them with the void.
“They all look gorgeous,” Qin Jiaojiao praised sincerely.
“I’ll send them to you,” Yang Yutong said with a face full of smiles. “Let’s post them on Moments right now.”
Qin Jiaojiao received the edited photos, lowered her head to draft her Moments post, and thought for a long time without coming up with any good caption, so she simply paired them with two heart emojis.
Scarcely a few seconds after posting, she received her first like—unexpectedly, it was from Zhou Shaoli.
Wasn’t he busy with work?
Qin Jiaojiao hadn’t messaged Zhou Shaoli yet today, so unexpectedly harvesting his first like made her heart feel inexplicably sweet.
“Zhou Shaoli is so fast,” Yang Yutong teased with a laugh. “Is he staring at your WeChat every single second?”
“Probably not.” Qin Jiaojiao returned to the main WeChat page and tapped open her chat interface with Zhou Shaoli. Zhou Shaoli’s profile picture was the Zhuxing Group logo—a very dull and boring avatar.
She didn’t seem to recall him ever posting on Moments. On a whim, she wanted to check out his past Moments history, but her finger accidentally tapped an extra time, resulting in a nudge notification: [You patted “Golden Nugget”].
“…”
Now things were awkward.
Zhou Shaoli’s phone vibrated. He picked it up to look, seeing that Qin Jiaojiao had patted him.
Just as Qin Jiaojiao was wondering why the nudge couldn’t be revoked, Zhou Shaoli sent her a message.
Golden Nugget: 【What’s wrong?】
Qin Jiaojiao quickly replied: 【Accidentally tapped the wrong thing.】
Seeing her reply, a faint trace of disappointment flashed through Zhou Shaoli’s heart, leaving him to simply reply with an “Mm.”
Yang Yutong leaned close to Qin Jiaojiao, teasing, “What are you chatting about with your Golden Nugget?”
“Nothing.” Qin Jiaojiao immediately put away her phone.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, won’t even let me see! What kind of unseeable things are you newlyweds chatting about?” Yang Yutong giggled.
Qin Jiaojiao held out her phone to show her. “We really weren’t chatting about anything.”
Just at that moment, Zhou Shaoli sent two more messages over.
Golden Nugget: 【I’m attending a business banquet tonight.】
Golden Nugget: 【Going alone.】
“Oho,” Yang Yutong mocked playfully. “President Zhou is reporting his itinerary to you, making a special point to say he’s going alone.”
Qin Jiaojiao’s face instantly grew warm at her words. She hurriedly pulled back her phone and sent Zhou Shaoli a casual reply.
Yang Yutong said, “You and Zhou Shaoli are progressing pretty well. Other wealthy couples put on a fake front in public while being completely insufferable in private, but you newlyweds are quite sweet.”
Qin Jiaojiao had a awkward expression. She couldn’t very well tell Yang Yutong that the harmonious dynamic between her and Zhou Shaoli was all due to their contract marriage.
He needed her to play the role of an obedient wife, while she craved the ten-billion-yuan divorce settlement.
Yang Yutong said, “I originally thought that because of the Qin family’s alliance, marrying a man you had only met once would make your life miserable every day. Seeing how good your relationship with Zhou Shaoli is now, I can finally rest easy.”
Hearing this, Qin Jiaojiao suddenly remembered when she first arrived in this world and asked Zhou Shaoli for a divorce. He had mentioned that the Qin family needed the Zhou family’s investment. Back then, her mind was entirely consumed by the ten billion yuan, causing her to overlook a very critical issue.
The original owner had been spoiled like a princess since childhood, living a life of luxury, ease, and indulgence without ever earning a single cent on her own.
When the Qin and Meng families fell out because the original owner caught Meng Zi’ang cheating, the Qin family unilaterally tore up their agreements and severed cooperation between the two families, which had a significant impact on the Qin family’s business.
That was precisely why the original owner agreed to attend the Zhou family’s banquet. Fortunately, relying on her beauty and her knack for pleasing elders, she stood out in the Zhou family’s “wife selection” process and successfully married into the Zhou family to secure the investment for the Qin family.
What the original owner hadn’t expected was that before marrying into the Zhou family, Zhou Shaoli would approach her to sign a prenuptial agreement, shattering her illusions of marriage. On top of that, she couldn’t get a divorce whenever she wanted.
Once her relationship with Zhou Shaoli broke down, the Zhou family would withdraw their investment and assistance from the Qin Group. She could only sign the agreement and live a married life akin to being widowed.
The original owner and Zhou Shaoli had married in a hurry, inviting only a small portion of relatives and friends, which was essentially a secret marriage—completely different from the grand, extravagant wedding the original owner had envisioned.
Therefore, with just a slight provocation from Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang, the original owner would resort to extreme actions.
Later, when Father Qin ran into trouble and the family business had its shares maliciously seized by others, the original owner—who knew nothing about business—could only watch helplessly as the family enterprise was snatched away.
Thinking up to this point, Qin Jiaojiao suddenly felt a faint sense of crisis.
“What are you thinking about?” Seeing her heavy expression, Yang Yutong asked, “Worried about Zhou Shaoli attracting other women at the business banquet?”
Qin Jiaojiao didn’t catch it clearly: “What?”
Yang Yutong said, “I’m just joking with you! Come on, Jiaojiao baby, give me a smile. We still have to attend the Starlight Gala and walk the red carpet tonight; it’s time for us to get our styling done.”
The annually held Starlight Gala in the entertainment industry always drew immense spotlight. Celebrities would all dress up in the latest seasonal haute couture gowns borrowed from various brands to walk the red carpet, each aiming to slay the crowd.
That night, the top news on Weibo would surely be trending searches about these celebrities, with every star doing everything they could to throw money at trending searches to hit the top headlines.
Qin Jiaojiao’s haute couture gown was at home, so she called Auntie Zhang, asking her to locate the dress and have the driver deliver it over to her.
Yang Yutong dragged Qin Jiaojiao to the salon they used to frequent to get their makeup and styling done.
Meanwhile.
Zhou Shaoli was heading to the business banquet. A low-profile luxury car brought him to the entrance of a hotel, and Han Xiao stepped out of the vehicle to open the door for him.
Tonight’s business banquet was hosted by an insider in their circle. This kind of purely commercial banquet was meant to allow big bosses from various industries to network, connect, negotiate projects, and solicit investments.
Han Xiao didn’t follow him inside. After seeing Zhou Shaoli enter the hotel and take the elevator under the guidance of a waiter, he returned to sit in the car with the driver to wait for the business banquet to end.
Under normal circumstances, Han Xiao would have off work long ago and wouldn’t need to wait for Zhou Shaoli’s banquet to finish.
Today was an exception; the hotel holding the banquet was quite far from the courtyard villa. In case Zhou Shaoli got drunk or encountered any sudden emergencies that needed handling, he had to be nearby.
The hall on the third floor of the hotel used for hosting VIP banquets was resplendent and magnificent. Male guests wore suits and ties, while female guests wore various gorgeous gowns, chatting comfortably with glasses in hand.
Zhou Shaoli exchanged a few words with the host of the banquet, dealing with the rising stars of the business world who periodically came over to converse with him—people from all walks of life were eager to secure the backing of the Zhuxing Group.
Several large tables were set up in the hall. President Shen, who hosted the banquet, invited him to sit at the main table. After sitting down, he saw the woman arranged to sit beside him, his eyes darkening slightly.
“Brother Shaoli, long time no see.” Xu Xueqing was dressed in a sleeveless, silver-white high-end luxury dress tonight, her long, chestnut-colored curly hair draped behind her shoulders. She wore dazzling diamond studs on her ears, her face painted with exquisite makeup.
Under the lights, the woman’s attractive appearance drew the attention of countless business elites.
Zhou Shaoli’s expression remained indifferent: “You’ve returned to the country.”
Seeing that Zhou Shaoli wasn’t surprised at all by her sudden appearance, without a single ripple of emotion on his face, Xu Xueqing felt a tinge of bitterness in her heart. He was still the same as before, caring about nothing; no one could walk into his heart.
“Haven’t seen you in so long, yet you’re still the same as before, not changing one bit.” Xu Xueqing wore a soft smile, her gaze looking gently at Zhou Shaoli.
Zhou Shaoli said: “Same for you.”
The smile on Xu Xueqing’s face stiffened slightly. She had clearly changed a lot, yet he hadn’t noticed—or perhaps, he simply didn’t care.
“Actually, I came back from abroad a while ago…”
“Excuse me.” Zhou Shaoli stood up and took his leave.
Xu Xueqing watched his departing figure and bit her lip tightly. She had begged President Shen for help to invite Zhou Shaoli to this business banquet, wanting to find an opportunity to speak more words with him.
She was the only daughter of the Xu family. When her father fell ill a while ago, she returned from abroad to take over the Xu Group. She had mainly majored in finance abroad, but after actually taking over the family business, she realized it wasn’t as simple as she had imagined.
Among the friends she grew up with since childhood, the only one capable of helping her was Zhou Shaoli.
If she hadn’t gone abroad to study back then, would the person who married Zhou Shaoli have been her…
After leaving the table, Zhou Shaoli didn’t return to his seat. He was surrounded by other people at the banquet who wanted to talk business and pull investments, leaving Xu Xueqing to only watch from afar, drinking two glasses of wine in frustration.
Zhou Shaoli only sipped a single glass at the banquet, his mind completely clear. After the banquet dispersed, he strode out to the hotel entrance and got into his car.
Almost immediately after he sat in the car, a figure came chasing up from behind.
“Brother Shaoli.” Xu Xueqing stood outside the car.
As friends who grew up in the same compound, Zhou Shaoli wouldn’t go so far as to treat her like a complete stranger, so he rolled down the car window.
The night grew deep. Xu Xueqing stood outside the car with a flush from the alcohol on her face, her eyes pitifully tender, her voice soft and lovely: “I drank too much, can you give me a ride back?”
Zhou Shaoli asked in a cool voice: “Where is your driver?”
“The driver had an emergency and took leave to care for a family member. I came alone tonight.” Xu Xueqing’s tone carried a bit of annoyance. “I drank too much wine, so I can’t drive.”
She leaned down close to the car window, her voice carrying a hint of pleading: “It’s late at night, it’s not safe for a girl like me to take a taxi back alone.”
By all rights and reason, Zhou Shaoli wouldn’t refuse this request.
Xu Xueqing harbored a trace of expectation; she and Zhou Shaoli had known each other since childhood. No matter how cold-hearted he was, he would still send her back out of respect for the Xu family.
Zhou Shaoli spoke in a flat voice: “Han Xiao, send Miss Xu back.”
Han Xiao stepped down from the passenger seat and said, “Miss Xu, I haven’t been drinking. I can drive you home.”
Where did this woman come from, actually trying to hitch a ride in President Zhou’s car? Fortunately, he hadn’t gotten off work early tonight; he had originally stayed behind to handle some work matters for Zhou Shaoli, but wasn’t this a stroke of luck? He could help block rotten peach blossoms along the way.
Xu Xueqing had never imagined that Zhou Shaoli would actually bring a personal assistant to a business banquet. She bit her lip, feeling somewhat unwilling, but she could only leave it at that.
“Thank you, Brother Shaoli. Then I’ll text you when I reach home,” she said tenderly.
Zhou Shaoli said indifferently: “No need, Han Xiao will report to me.”
Han Xiao immediately said in a loud voice: “Miss Xu, I will definitely deliver you home safely.”
Zhou Shaoli closed the car window with a cold face. He was a person who disliked being plotted against; from the moment he met Xu Xueqing at the banquet, he understood that she was using past favors to set a trap for him.
If Xu Xueqing had approached him openly and honestly to seek commercial assistance, he would have granted her some help out of their past acquaintance.
If she wanted to rely on other means to gain benefits, even if they had known each other since childhood, he would show no sentimentality.
The driver started the engine and drove toward the courtyard villa. Inside the car, Zhou Shaoli lowered his eyes, staring at his phone.
Two hours ago, Qin Jiaojiao had sent him a photo telling him that she was going to attend the entertainment industry’s Starlight Gala with Yang Yutong tonight.
Around this time, her gala should be nearing its end. Zhou Shaoli instructed the driver to change course.
At the venue where the Starlight Gala was held, aluminum-magnesium lights illuminated the surroundings. Stars gathered together—a gathering of handsome men and beautiful women from the entertainment industry for the annual fashion charity gala.
The celebrities would first walk a long red carpet, standing before the display board to sign their names and pose for photos.
Shen Xiaoshan had arrived at the Starlight Gala early in the evening. Last time, she had spent money to buy an invitation to watch the fashion show, intending to score a big-name haute couture gown to boost her reputation in the fashion circle. But the other party looked down on her current status as a third-tier celebrity, refusing to lend it no matter how eloquently she spoke.
She had no choice but to have her management team spend a large sum of money to obtain a high-fashion gown from another brand with a slightly lesser reputation. Tonight, as a hundred flowers bloomed in competition, she was determined to outshine the entire venue with her look at the Starlight Gala.
“Who is that?”
“Shen Xiaoshan, who married into wealth a while ago.”
“So it’s her. She really is pretty; no wonder she managed to marry into a wealthy family.”
“Tonight’s gown and styling look the best on her, right?”
Hearing the praise from around her, Shen Xiaoshan wore a smile practiced hundreds of times in front of the mirror, her gaze sweeping past the female stars gathered below chatting, a flash of disdain quickly darting through her eyes.
One day, she would become an immensely popular top-tier Movie Queen and stand at the highest position.
After Shen Xiaoshan stepped down, several celebrities in the circle who weren’t familiar with her gathered around. “Isn’t your dress the latest autumn/winter haute couture from Brand XX?”
“It’s so pretty! My manager tried to borrow from Brand XX, but they refused no matter what.”
Just as they were discussing, a wave of exclamations erupted.
“Isn’t that the haute couture gown from Brand VM?!”
“Didn’t VM’s latest autumn/winter haute couture runway show just release recently? They’re already wearing them?”
“These two dresses are honestly so beautiful I could cry.”
“I heard Brand VM’s haute couture dresses start at a minimum of five million yuan. Did they buy them with their own money?”
Female stars in the circle all borrowed high-fashion gowns for red carpets—the cheap ones cost hundreds of thousands, while the expensive ones cost millions. High-fashion gowns were only worn once for red carpets, so whoever looked ugly would be embarrassed.
With so many red carpet events every year, who could bear to spend so much money buying a high-fashion gown just to wear it once? Big brands only lent gowns to top-tier stars for fashion magazine shoots; if a low-tier star borrowed a gown through improper channels and got exposed, they would definitely have to apologize, suffering reputational damage that wasn’t worth the loss.
Qin Jiaojiao walked the red carpet together with Yang Yutong. Standing in front of the display board, their striking styling paired with luxurious high-fashion gowns made them the center of attention at the Starlight Gala in an instant.
Photographers picked up their cameras and took photos frantically.
It was Qin Jiaojiao’s first time walking a red carpet. Facing the constantly flashing camera lights, she barely adapted, keeping her expression in a faint, composed smile with proper etiquette.
Her face was almost frozen from smiling when she finally finished signing her name and stepped off the stage.
After coming off the stage, the two bumped into Shen Xiaoshan, whose expression had turned stiff, glaring at them intently as if she wanted to burn a hole through the dresses they were wearing.
Qin Jiaojiao ignored Shen Xiaoshan’s jealous and unwilling gaze, pulling Yang Yutong to find their seats. After getting her styling done in the afternoon, she had rushed straight over to attend the Starlight Gala; her stomach was starving, and she only wanted to hurry back, eat something, and lie flat.
Wherever they walked, the camera lenses followed.
Who could help it when the haute couture gowns they wore tonight were far too brilliant, stealing the spotlight even from top-tier stars?
Yang Yutong tightly gripped Qin Jiaojiao’s hand, leaning down to whisper in her ear: “Did you see that? Shen Xiaoshan’s face looked so hideous, hahaha!”
Qin Jiaojiao picked up a glass of red wine and took a sip, saying: “I saw.”
She couldn’t remember the original plot clearly anyway; she couldn’t care less. In any case, both she and Yang Yutong had stolen the female lead’s spotlight—she couldn’t possibly calculate every single highlight moment meant for Shen Xiaoshan and step aside for her every time.
The two sat together looking at the stage, where the host was announcing that tonight’s Starlight Gala was mainly for celebrities to do charity work, and those who had made donations would be invited onstage for a group photo shortly.
Qin Jiaojiao’s mind was entirely consumed with thoughts of what to eat after the gala ended, so she didn’t listen closely.
When taking the group photo on stage, she and Yang Yutong were arranged to stand in the corner for the picture. Yang Yutong had a look of displeasure, whispering to her: “We donated more than those top-tier stars, yet we got squeezed to the side for the photo. They’re clearly picking on us for lack of fame.”
Qin Jiaojiao whispered: “Watch your expression, they’re taking the photo now.”
A boring entertainment industry banquet. Qin Jiaojiao waited until the banquet concluded, picking up her skirt to leave with Yang Yutong.
“Jiaojiao!” Yang Yutong excitedly pulled her arm. “Look who that is!”
Qin Jiaojiao raised her eyes to look. Not far away by the roadside sat a low-profile luxury car; a man dressed in formal attire stood there, noble and elegant, his gaze piercing through the crowd to look toward her.
Wasn’t he supposed to attend a business banquet tonight?
Qin Jiaojiao lifted her hem and slowly walked down the steps. Zhou Shaoli took a stride with his long legs and walked toward her, his eyes carrying only her.
Under the bright moonlight, his pace was unhurried as he walked up to her: “I came to take you home.”
The photographers happened to be getting off work and were about to head back to upload photos when they witnessed this scene, picking up their cameras to snap photos of them wildly.
Perhaps because Qin Jiaojiao hadn’t eaten anything, her steps were unstable, and her high heel twisted slightly. Zhou Shaoli reached out his hand to support her. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Qin Jiaojiao shook her head.
After taking half a step, she said: “My things are still at Yutong’s place…”
Yang Yutong beside them quickly said: “I’ll pack them up and ship them back to you tomorrow!”
Qin Jiaojiao looked over, and Yang Yutong winked at her.
Zhou Shaoli’s voice was gentle: “If you still want to stay outside for a couple more days, I can drive you two back.”
He had personally come to pick her up; how could she possibly continue staying at Yang Yutong’s place? Besides, they were going to record the variety show in two days, so she couldn’t keep running away forever.
“Let’s go home.”
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