Chapter 52: Fifty-Second Day as a Salted Fish
Setting off private fireworks was strictly prohibited in Beijing, subject to heavy fines and detention. Thus, the dazzling, twinkling galaxy blooming across the night sky was brought to life by a fleet of drones hovering overhead, forming a breathtakingly beautiful spectacle.
From where Qin Jiaojiao sat, a casual glance was all it took to see the drones proclaiming love across the sky. Up on the towering skyscrapers of the concrete jungle, the neon billboards flashed in unison: Zhou Shaoli Loves Qin Jiaojiao.
At this moment, the entire city’s neon lights were backing Zhou Shaoli’s declaration of love, illuminating the entire night sky.
Qin Jiaojiao remained frozen in her seat, listening as Zhou Shaoli confessed to her: “I’ve liked you for a long time. Over this period together, every single day with you has been wonderful. As long as I’m by your side, I find it harder and harder to suppress the feelings in my heart…”
Qin Jiaojiao was completely stunned. At first, she felt caught off guard by Zhou Shaoli’s sudden confession tonight, and the overly sensational, city-wide declaration of love left her feeling a bit embarrassed.
Yet, as she continued to listen, a quiet calm settled over her.
Zhou Shaoli’s gaze remained intently focused on her as he spoke: “I can’t control how much I like you. I constantly want to get closer to you, to grow closer and more intimate…”
Qin Jiaojiao’s eyelashes fluttered subtly. A scene like this truly made it hard not to be moved.
“Jiaojiao, I want to wake up every single morning and see you by my side.” Zhou Shaoli reached out to take her hand and dropped to one knee before her, taking a solemn vow: “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Qin Jiaojiao’s heart rate completely threw its rhythm out the window.
In this moment, the gentle, soothing music playing in the sky restaurant faded away, the sound of the wind vanished, and amidst the dancing candlelight, there were only Zhou Shaoli’s deep, dark eyes gazing back at her.
For a man of such noble status and immense power to kneel on one knee before her and make such a vow—it was truly impossible for her to say no.
She almost seemed to hear her own chaotic, erratic heartbeat, thump after thump, confessing her fluttering heart for him.
Within this romantic and beautiful atmosphere, every corner seemed to be screaming: Agree to him, agree to him!
Qin Jiaojiao’s throat felt parched, rendering her momentarily speechless. She abruptly picked up the glass of red wine on the table and downed a big gulp, her eyes sparkling like brilliant stars.
Spending all these days together with such an outstanding man, how could her heart not be touched in the slightest? She had simply buried those blossoming emotions deep within her heart, ignoring the sparks that flew whenever their eyes met.
She had always used the ten billion yuan payout to hypnotize herself, convincing herself that money was the most important thing.
Money was still important now, but she could take a step forward and taste the sweetness of love. She believed Zhou Shaoli wouldn’t let her down.
He could give her a happy future.
Throughout the time he spent waiting, Zhou Shaoli was in a state of high tension. His heart beat rapidly as a wave of anxiety washed over him—much like the moment he was about to formally take control of Zhuxing Group back then.
Back then, he believed that with his ability, he could become the ruler of the company; that faint trace of nervousness had merely been a natural physical reaction.
Right now, however, Zhou Shaoli’s heart was filled with uncertainty toward the unknown. Qin Jiaojiao was the ultimate judge who controlled his emotions, her answer holding the power over his life and death.
“Okay, I agree.” Qin Jiaojiao’s soft, delicate voice was exceptionally pleasant to the ear.
Her words were like Cupid’s arrow piercing straight through his heart. In an instant, he tasted a sweetness far greater than power itself.
Seeing Zhou Shaoli frozen in place, a laughing glint danced in Qin Jiaojiao’s eyes. “Zhou Shaoli, I agreed! Aren’t you going to give me the flowers?”
Zhou Shaoli lifted his eyes to gaze fixedly at her, handing her the fragrant bouquet as a faint smile curved the corners of his lips.
Looking at Zhou Shaoli, who so rarely wore his heart on his sleeve, Qin Jiaojiao asked with a smile, “Tonight’s French-style candlelit dinner, and that public love declaration outside—were those all your ideas?”
Zhou Shaoli stood up and returned to sit across from her, asking, “You don’t like it?”
How should she put it? It wasn’t that she didn’t like it; it was just so grand and flashy that an inexplicable sense of embarrassment tickled her heart.
Qin Jiaojiao looked at the handsome Zhou Shaoli bathed in the candlelight and said, “I like it.”
Zhou Shaoli decided to give Han Xiao a performance bonus. Otherwise, how could Jiaojiao have accepted his declaration of love so easily? “Actually, Han Xiao planned all of this.”
Qin Jiaojiao let out a soft laugh. “I knew it. With your personality, you’d never arrange something so… well, sensational.”
Given Zhou Shaoli’s temperament, if he wanted to make his feelings clear, he would indeed choose a romantic sky restaurant and pick an opportune moment with a great atmosphere to confess to her, rather than making it a grand spectacle known to the entire city.
Qin Jiaojiao looked at him with a hint of suspicion. “Those words you just said… they weren’t ghostwritten by Han Xiao too, were they?”
“No,” Zhou Shaoli said in a steady tone. “They were all from the bottom of my heart.”
Han Xiao had advised him that women loved being praised and hearing sweet romantic talk, so he had indeed made good use of search engines to look up romantic confession lines online for pursuing a girlfriend.
Yet, when the moment to make his feelings clear actually arrived, those drafted drafts in his mind felt somewhat inadequate, and the words he truly wanted to say simply flowed out naturally.
Qin Jiaojiao’s little heart fluttered. Feeling touched by his genuine expression of emotion, her face radiated a happy smile.
Zhou Shaoli actually confessed to me! He really likes me—this isn’t a dream, is it? She felt a sudden urge to pinch herself to see if it hurt.
Once everything was laid out in the open, the emotions on both sides gradually settled down.
Qin Jiaojiao set the bouquet of flowers to the side and looked at Zhou Shaoli with a serious expression. “Even though I agreed… I’m only temporarily giving you a chance…”
Qin Jiaojiao was taking precautions for the future. She trusted Zhou Shaoli’s character and believed in his steadfastness, but she didn’t trust herself—she wasn’t sure if she would still want to be with him once the passion faded.
“We have a contract marriage…” she reminded him.
Zhou Shaoli lifted his eyes to look at her.
Not afraid to spoil the mood, Qin Jiaojiao asked directly, “If we become a real husband and wife, what happens to the contract marriage?”
Zhou Shaoli looked at her quietly, his voice gentle: “As long as both of us agree, the contract can be terminated early.”
“Then my ten billion…” Qin Jiaojiao bit her lip.
Zhou Shaoli replied, “If the contract marriage is terminated early by my choice, the ten billion will be unconditionally gifted under your name.”
Qin Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up instantly, her bright, beautiful gaze overflowing with pure joy, giving Zhou Shaoli a sudden impression that he wasn’t worth as much as ten billion yuan.
Tearing up the contract marriage agreement meant he and she would become a genuine married couple. Without a prenuptial agreement, she would hold half of his assets; ten billion was merely a tiny fraction of that total.
After finishing dinner, Zhou Shaoli had laid out his heart. Where should they go now?
A short silence ensued.
Qin Jiaojiao lifted her eyes to look at him. “Do you want to go watch a movie?”
Since they were going on a date, it naturally couldn’t just consist of a single dinner—they needed to find some other entertainment activities too.
Zhou Shaoli was slightly taken aback, then nodded: “Sure.”
He stood up and walked over to Qin Jiaojiao, extending his hand toward her. Qin Jiaojiao picked up the bouquet beside her, placed her hand into his clean palm, and allowed him to hold it. Together, they stepped onto the meticulously decorated carpet and walked out of the romantic sky restaurant filled with flowers.
Holding her soft hand, Zhou Shaoli slowly intertwined his fingers with hers. He led her down to the underground parking garage and opened the passenger side door.
As the car door opened, Qin Jiaojiao climbed inside holding her flowers. Setting the bouquet on her lap, she was just reaching out to pull the seatbelt when Zhou Shaoli leaned over.
Qin Jiaojiao suddenly leaned back, her breath catching. In the cramped space of the front seat, she caught the unique fragrance radiating from Zhou Shaoli—a cold, subtle scent that was extremely pleasant to smell.
Zhou Shaoli pulled out the seatbelt and buckled it for her. Looking at his face at such close range, Qin Jiaojiao blushed at the thought that had just flashed through her mind.
…She had thought Zhou Shaoli was going to kiss her.
She was guilty. What kind of chaotic thoughts were running through her brain that made her think Zhou Shaoli was going to kiss her?!
While a storm raged inside Qin Jiaojiao’s mind, Zhou Shaoli, having buckled her seatbelt, straightened up and stepped outside, gently shutting the car door.
Qin Jiaojiao: “…”
Sure enough, I was overthinking it.
Lowering her gaze to the fresh flowers on her lap, Qin Jiaojiao felt a sudden wave of mild disappointment.
Zhou Shaoli was cold, ascetic, highly self-disciplined, and strictly bound by propriety. Now that they had both shared their feelings, was he going to continue maintaining that aloof, emotionless demeanor, forcing her to take the initiative instead?
Had her previous instincts been wrong?
That time she got drunk and he kissed her shoulder from behind in the walk-in closet, or when he held her in the Yueli Courtyard in Nancheng and lowered his head wanting to kiss her—were those all just her own delusional misunderstandings?
Qin Jiaojiao fell into a state of self-doubt.
Zhou Shaoli got into the car and buckled his seatbelt, opening the in-car navigation to search for nearby movie theaters. As luck would have it, there was a well-known domestic cinema right upstairs.
Clearly, neither he nor she was fully in their usual element tonight.
Zhou Shaoli turned to look at Qin Jiaojiao beside him. “Which cinema would you like to go to?”
Without lifting her head, Qin Jiaojiao said, “Whichever is closest.”
Zhou Shaoli said, “There’s one right upstairs.”
Qin Jiaojiao turned her head to look at him. “Then why did we run down to the underground parking garage?”
“My mistake,” Zhou Shaoli immediately admitted.
Qin Jiaojiao let out a small laugh. “I’m not blaming you! We two are really something—both of us forgot there’s a movie theater right here.”
Zhou Shaoli asked, “Should we head back up then?”
“Wait a second, let me buy the tickets first.” Qin Jiaojiao pulled out her phone and adeptly opened the mini-program for the nearby cinema, asking him, “What kind of movie do you want to watch?”
Qin Jiaojiao leaned closer, showing Zhou Shaoli the currently showing movies—suspense, fantasy, romance, comedy… Since it wasn’t the summer holiday season yet, among the currently showing movies, only one romance film was fitting for tonight.
Zhou Shaoli replied, “Anything is fine. Pick whichever one you want to watch.”
He rarely watched movies. In the past, he had only watched a few business-related films and had little interest in cinema as a whole.
Qin Jiaojiao’s gaze hovered over the cinema mini-program on her phone. “Then I’ll just pick randomly.”
She clicked into a showtime with plenty of screenings and high viewership numbers. Regardless, going with the majority could never go wrong.
“Alright, there’s a screening in exactly half an hour. Let’s head upstairs.”
Zhou Shaoli got out of the car to open the door for her. Qin Jiaojiao stepped out holding her flowers; in a delightful mood tonight, she adored the bouquet in her arms and had no intention of leaving it in the car. Flowers were meant to be brought out and shown off—what fun was there in appreciating them alone compared to being envied by others?
Zhou Shaoli held her hand as they took the elevator upstairs together.
There were many young couples coming to watch movies after work at night, leaving the cinema lobby packed with people. Qin Jiaojiao took her phone to retrieve the tickets. Spotting other men waiting for the movie to start holding popcorn and drinks, Zhou Shaoli asked Qin Jiaojiao, “Would you like something to drink?”
Having just finished a French dinner, Qin Jiaojiao wasn’t hungry. Mildly tipsy from the red wine, a rosy flush dusted her cheeks as she shook her head: “No need.”
While waiting for the screening time, her phone suddenly vibrated with a call.
Qin Jiaojiao pulled it out to check—it was a call from Yang Yutong. Handing the flowers to Zhou Shaoli, she said, “Hold these for me, I need to answer a call.”
Taking the bouquet, Zhou Shaoli nodded: “Go ahead.”
Qin Jiaojiao found a slightly quieter spot and answered the call, only to be greeted by Yang Yutong’s excited voice.
“Jiaojiao, where are you?”
Qin Jiaojiao asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Yutong said excitedly, “I was standing on my balcony and saw the billboard on the opposite skyscraper—it’s actually showing a love declaration for you and Zhou Shaoli! Was that done by your fans?”
“Your fans are seriously rich! Spending that much money to hire drones and placing a love declaration on a billboard that draws the whole city’s attention in Beijing… they’re practically burning money…”
“I feel like you and Zhou Shaoli are going to hit the headlines again, haha! A total sensation across the whole city…”
Qin Jiaojiao gave a soft cough and said, “It wasn’t the fans.”
“Then it was…” Yang Yutong realized instantly. “Are you saying Zhou Shaoli did all this?”
Qin Jiaojiao let out an mm.
“Holy crap!” Yang Yutong gasped in shock. “President Zhou spent this much money just to show off his love to the entire city?”
Qin Jiaojiao’s face flushed red as she said, “He confessed to me tonight.”
“You guys are already married and you’re still playing like this? Zhou Shaoli orchestrated a city-wide sensation just to confess to you?!” Yang Yutong marvelled repeatedly. “Having money really means you can do whatever you want.”
The corners of Qin Jiaojiao’s lips curved into a smile as she said, “I won’t talk to you anymore, the movie is about to start.”
“Going on a movie date—you two really are sweet! Go on, go on!” Yang Yutong hung up the phone.
Holding her phone, Qin Jiaojiao searched through the crowd for Zhou Shaoli’s figure. The man’s tall, slender build and noble, elegant demeanor stood out exceptionally in the crowd. Holding the bouquet of flowers, his eyes remained fixed on her through the sea of people.
Around him, a few girls accompanied by partners were pulling out their phones to secretly snap photos of him.
An remarkably distinguished man holding a bouquet of fresh flowers standing in a movie theater lobby—this scene truly looked like a shoot for an idol drama, prompting quite a few people to take photos.
Qin Jiaojiao stepped forward to walk over to him.
Zhou Shaoli leaned down slightly to hand her the flowers, reaching out to gently tuck a stray strand of hair falling beside her cheek behind her ear.
His fingertips touched her earlobe, bringing a strange, tingling sensation.
Suppressing the odd flutter in her heart, Qin Jiaojiao lifted her eyes to look at him. “The movie is starting soon.”
Zhou Shaoli reached out to hold her hand. “Let’s go.”
The spectating girls looked at the well-matched wealthy young master and delicate girl, screaming internally with delight. They truly are so well-matched, hurry up and take pictures to admire!
Inside the movie theater, the lighting was dim. Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli sat in the middle section. The romantic film was deeply emotional, portraying the male and female leads falling for each other in innocent ignorance—a pure, beautiful first love veiled in mystery.
Meeting again in adulthood, both leads knew the other liked them, pulling back and forth in an ambiguous period that made viewers utterly hooked.
Qin Jiaojiao watched the movie attentively. When she saw the female lead break up with the male lead after mistakenly believing she had a terminal illness, she couldn’t help but criticize out loud: “Why do domestic movies still use the same tropes from ten years ago? Car crashes, cancer… they just insist on adding obstacles between the leads…”
Zhou Shaoli’s gaze had remained on her the entire time, and he said calmly, “No matter how many obstacles there are, they cannot stop two people who love each other from being together.”
Qin Jiaojiao agreed: “You’re right.”
As the movie neared its conclusion, the male lead learned of the female lead’s terminal illness and stubbornly told her that if she died, he would follow her in death—regardless of life or death, he would stay by her side forever.
Qin Jiaojiao was an emotionally sensitive person. Even though she had criticized the plot earlier, she still shed tears over the rocky romance of the leads.
An old-fashioned plot didn’t stop the story from being moving. Seeing the leads break through all obstacles to finally stand by each other in life and death, tears welled up in her eyes.
The tears on her cheek were suddenly wiped away by a hand. She turned her head to look at him in a daze.
The theater lighting was dim, with the movie screen serving as the only light source. Darkness fell over her vision as she felt a sudden warmth on her lips, her mind going completely blank.
The movie had just reached its ending, and the theater lights hadn’t turned on yet. A moving ending theme song flowed gently and melodiously through the space.
Zhou Shaoli was kissing her.
In an instant, Qin Jiaojiao’s heart beat like thunder, pounding wildly. His thin lips were warm and soft, kissing her lips.
When Zhou Shaoli leaned down to kiss her, he tasted her tears. For some reason, seeing her slightly reddened eyes made him uncontrollably want to kiss her.
And so, he did.
In the dim light, they kissed as if no one else existed.
Kissing her delicate, red lips, Zhou Shaoli grew increasingly impassioned. Turning and lingering over her lips, he naturally deepened the kiss, parting her delicate teeth to entwine with her soft tongue.
Qin Jiaojiao didn’t know why she allowed Zhou Shaoli to kiss her so deeply. As they kissed, she felt breathless, her watery eyes sparkling as her hands unconsciously pressed against his chest.
Their chaotic breaths intertwined in the dim light, each able to smell the other’s scent.
The ending theme was about to finish playing.
Zhou Shaoli brought the kiss to an end. By the time the theater lights brightened up, Qin Jiaojiao closed her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed with a crimson blush, her eyes darting a coy, glaring look at Zhou Shaoli.
“There are surveillance cameras in the theater!”
Besides, there were so many people around them in the auditorium!
Zhou Shaoli lowered his brows, his voice raspy: “Apologies, I…”
Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t help but reach out and pinch him. “Don’t say another word, let’s leave quickly.”
Holding her flowers, she stood up and ran out of the auditorium with clicking high heels as if a wild beast were chasing her from behind.
Moving his long legs, Zhou Shaoli pursued his wife from behind, quickly catching up to her.
Stepping out of the cinema, Qin Jiaojiao calmed the flutter in her heart from the kiss. She couldn’t help but lower her head to smell the flowers, her face red with embarrassment. She and Zhou Shaoli had actually kissed in a movie theater!
It was both thrilling and embarrassing.
Before leaving the cinema, Qin Jiaojiao took a few photos, paired them with a photo of her and Zhou Shaoli together at the theater, and posted a Moments update on WeChat.
[Heart] The flowers are very fragrant, and the movie was very touching.
It was around eleven o’clock when they finished watching the movie and came out. The moment the WeChat post went out, it instantly received numerous likes.
Han Xiao was the first to like it. Seeing Qin Jiaojiao’s latest post, he hugged his girlfriend in wild ecstasy.
“Baby, President Zhou has won the beauty’s heart! I’m getting a performance bonus!!!”
His girlfriend was equally overjoyed: “Quick, let me see!”
The two hugged each other in pure bliss. The CP I ship has come true! This is huge news—we can add an extra dish to celebrate tonight!
After liking the post, Yang Yutong commented: The young couple is so sweet.
Her friends poked fun at Qin Jiaojiao for showing off her love life in various ways.
Xiao Rui was drinking wine alone on his balcony when he suddenly saw Zhou Shaoli and Qin Jiaojiao’s names appear on the skyscraper opposite him. He quickly sent a message to Zhou Shaoli.
Xiao Rui: 【Even a veteran player like me can’t compare to you! Brother Shaoli, you actually know how to put on such a grand display, declaring your love to your wife across the entire city!】
Zhou Shaoli didn’t reply.
Xiao Rui: 【You guys all have wives, while I’m a lone wolf with no one to even drink with.】
Xiao Rui: 【Now that you have a wife, you’ve forgotten your brother! Have you forgotten the days when the two of us shared a pair of pants growing up?】
Zhou Shaoli still ignored him. Lately, Xiao Rui had frequently asked Zhou Shaoli out to hang out, only to be repeatedly turned down. He Juanbai didn’t pay attention to him either, leaving him bored out of his mind at home.
With Zhou Shaoli ignoring him, Xiao Rui felt utterly bored. Opening his contact list to scan through it, he couldn’t be bothered to entertain the other young masters in the Beijing circle, and he looked down on the women flattering him outside, feeling deeply lonely like cold snow tonight.
A sudden thought crossed Xiao Rui’s mind—maybe a business marriage wasn’t a bad thing after all. Should he consider getting a marriage alliance to find a fiancée so he wouldn’t constantly be stuffed with dog food by Zhou Shaoli?
That strange thought lasted for only a split second before he rejected it—he didn’t want to be restrained! In the next second, Xiao Rui saw that Zhou Shaoli, who didn’t post on WeChat Moments once a year, had actually posted a new update.
A young, gorgeous girl holding flowers with a sweet, charming smile—captioned: My wife.
Xiao Rui: “…” Fine, fine, fine, you’re the one with a wife!
Blacklisted and blocked! He wasn’t going to be forced to eat dog food!
After catching up to Qin Jiaojiao, Zhou Shaoli reached out to hold her hand as they took the elevator downstairs together. Zhou Shaoli opened the car door, and she climbed inside.
Zhou Shaoli leaned into the passenger seat, buckling Qin Jiaojiao’s seatbelt just like before.
Looking at his handsomely flawless face, Qin Jiaojiao thought to herself that tonight was truly a dreamlike night—Zhou Shaoli had confessed to her, and they had even kissed.
Having buckled her seatbelt, Zhou Shaoli lifted his head to look at her.
Their eyes met, and in the next second, he leaned over and kissed her lips.
Qin Jiaojiao felt as though an electric shock had zapped her spine. She gripped her skirt tightly, lowering her long, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes.
Zhou Shaoli’s eyes darkened. This was a parking lot, so he barely controlled his desire to kiss her further, gently closing the car door.
Qin Jiaojiao let out a sigh of relief in her heart.
Returning to the driver’s seat, Zhou Shaoli started the engine. “It’ll take half an hour to get home. If you feel sleepy, you can rest for a bit.”
Qin Jiaojiao gave an mm, leaning against the car seat and turning toward the window. Her heart felt as sweet as honey, thoroughly satisfied.
On the way back to the garden villa, light, sweet music played inside the car. Through the window, she watched Zhou Shaoli driving attentively.
The car was quiet, neither of them speaking.
Thinking of Zhou Shaoli mentioning terminating the contract marriage early, Qin Jiaojiao realized she could get her ten billion yuan in advance. Various thoughts swirled through her head, leaving her completely un-sleepy.
They drove all the way back to the garden villa. In the dead of night, the two walked into the villa side by side.
Taking off her high heels, Qin Jiaojiao carried her flowers to the dining room and retrieved a vase, deciding to trim the bouquet and keep it in water.
Zhou Shaoli went upstairs first, as he had a bit of work to handle.
Placing the flowers into the vase, Qin Jiaojiao hummed a tune as she went upstairs, showered, and bathed. Perhaps because she was too exhausted, she drifted off to sleep shortly after lying down on the bed.
When Zhou Shaoli returned to the bedroom, she was curled up like a little kitten asleep. Stepping out after showering in the bathroom, he didn’t wait for Jiaojiao to automatically roll into his arms like usual; instead, he took the initiative to wrap his arm around her, pulling her soft, fragrant body into his embrace to sleep.
By the time Qin Jiaojiao woke up, Zhou Shaoli had already left for work. She let out a lazy yawn, washed up, and went downstairs to eat breakfast.
“Madam, did you bring these flowers back last night?” Auntie Zhang asked.
Qin Jiaojiao nodded. “Mm, Zhou Shaoli gave them to me.”
Wearing a fond, knowing smile, Auntie Zhang said, “I saw Madam’s WeChat Moments post.”
Qin Jiaojiao silently lowered her head to eat, occasionally checking the new messages on her phone. She picked a few important ones to reply to, then saw her manager send over her work itinerary.
The manager mentioned that the esports star exhibition match live promotion event from last time was scheduled for this Friday night, asking her to go to the studio this afternoon to shoot promotional photos.
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