Chapter 54: Fifty-Fourth Day as a Salted Fish
Zhou Shaoli had been busy at the company all day, having only managed to exchange a few quick words with Jiaojiao. He wasn’t particularly skilled at witty banter or lighthearted banter, usually choosing to work away in quiet silence instead.
He left work early to head home, postponing some non-urgent tasks to handle later in the evening.
Qin Jiaojiao followed him into the study. He couldn’t help wanting to get close and snuggle with her, but seeing that Jiaojiao hadn’t picked up on his subtle glances, he had no choice but to speak up and invite her over, pulling her into his arms.
Qin Jiaojiao was suddenly pulled into Zhou Shaoli’s lap, leaving her a little dazed. As she sat sideways across his thighs, a wave of timid bashfulness washed over her.
Although they were currently a married couple, he had only just confessed to her. They were essentially in the honeymoon phase of early dating. Apart from the few times Zhou Shaoli had carried her princess-style when necessary, she had never been quite this intimate with him before.
Suppressing her slightly racing heart, she raised her eyes to look at his face and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“Mhm. Just holding you,” Zhou Shaoli replied in a low, deep voice.
Qin Jiaojiao let out an “oh,” her eyes darting over to the opened laptop. The screen displayed various planning reports that flew right over her head.
Following Zhou Shaoli into the study wasn’t to cling to him; she actually had official business to discuss. Last time at Yang Yutong’s place, the two of them had discussed helping Yutong enter the Yang family’s enterprise.
Since returning home, she hadn’t found the chance to consult Zhou Shaoli about it yet.
She couldn’t just throw around dramatic claims about helping Yang Yutong make a ‘Noble Consort Xi returns to the palace’ grand comeback without taking actual action. A woman needed to stand on her own two feet while cleverly leveraging the resources around her to fulfill her ambitions and power.
For instance, her husband was the ultimate resource.
Qin Jiaojiao sat obediently in Zhou Shaoli’s embrace, occasionally looking up to steal glances at his handsome face. Zhou Shaoli exuded a steady, focused seriousness while working—a unique aura that was genuinely captivating.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Zhou Shaoli lowered his eyes to look at her. “What’s wrong?”
Qin Jiaojiao hesitated for a moment before coming straight to the point: “Well… it’s about Tongtong breaking ties with her family.”
She laid down some groundwork to garner a bit of sympathy for Yang Yutong. “You saw how her parents treated her—they’re completely biased toward her younger sister. No matter what she does now, things can never go back to how they were. Heartbroken, she decided to do something meaningful to prove herself to her parents.”
Zhou Shaoli looked at her, quietly listening to her story.
Qin Jiaojiao poured her heart out all at once: “She holds shares in the Yang family’s enterprise left to her by her grandmother, but her dad has been trying to trick her out of those shares so he can marry her off in a political alliance. She and I feel we can’t just sit around and wait to be slaughtered, so…”
She declared in a firm tone, “Yang Yutong wants to enter the Yang family’s enterprise to work and slowly take over the company. Could you lend her a hand by seconding some corporate elites from your company to assist her?”
In ancient times, this would be equivalent to negotiating with a foreign nation to aid a palace coup. However, given how disgustingly biased Father and Mother Yang were, no one could blame their daughter for fighting for power and profit—everyone ultimately had to live for themselves.
Qin Jiaojiao gazed at Zhou Shaoli with eyes full of anticipation. Zhuxing Group was a massive empire with countless elite employees under its wing; he definitely possessed the means to help Yang Yutong.
Zhou Shaoli’s light-brown eyes fixed upon her in a deep gaze.
The intensity of his look made Qin Jiaojiao a little nervous. Reaching out, she grabbed his collar and asked, “Is it too difficult?”
Zhou Shaoli shook his head gently, his tone soft: “No.”
High-society heiresses were raised in the lap of luxury from childhood, mostly groomed into elegant, dignified ladies. Wealthy households arranged political marriages with one another; even if they had graduated from top-tier universities, these high-society wives would simply retreat into comfortable domestic luxury after marriage, living a pampered life as before.
Very few high-society daughters or wives genuinely wished to build a career of their own. Their daily lives consisted of attending various parties, visiting luxury beauty salons, and occasionally throwing money into a casual investment.
The corporate battlefield was a realm of ruthless competition where profit reigned supreme—many were willing to pull anything for financial gain. The business world was a tough nut to crack, full of bitter hardships.
Qin Jiaojiao’s fair, slender hand slid down from his collar to his tie, giving it a soft tug. “Then will you help Tongtong out on my behalf?”
Zhou Shaoli spoke in a calm, steady voice: “I can. What industries does the head of the Yang family operate?”
Qin Jiaojiao replied, “Beauty services and hotel chains.” Pausing for a moment, she added, “The beauty and wellness side was an industry left behind by her grandmother, while the hotel chain was her grandfather’s enterprise.”
Both industries operated under the umbrella of the Yang family group. Yang Yutong held a total of ten percent of the group’s shares. At present, her total stake in the group couldn’t match Father Yang’s, as he served as the chairman with sole decision-making authority, holding fifty percent of the shares—three percent of which had originally belonged to Yang Yutong.
Although shaking the giant tree that was Father Yang would be immensely difficult right now, taking action was far better than wallowing in passive despair.
Shares in a company could be acquired through buyouts, and corporate tactics were endless; Yang Yutong would surely hold absolute authority and decision-making power in the company one day.
Listening to her angrily recount how disgusting and cross Father Yang had been for tricking shares away from his own daughter, Zhou Shaoli tightened his grip around her waist.
Zhou Shaoli said in a gentle voice, “Zhuxing Group has a subsidiary industry operating hotel chains. I can dispatch a vice general manager from that sector over to assist her.”
Qin Jiaojiao looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with delight: “Really?”
“Mhm.” Zhou Shaoli lowered his gaze. “Managing hotels requires immense stress tolerance, whereas the beauty service industry boasts higher profit margins. She needs to pick one of the two. If she chooses to focus primarily on beauty and wellness, I’ll contact a friend to second some elites over to help her.”
One could only focus on one core industry at a time, so a choice truly needed to be made.
Qin Jiaojiao thought for a moment and said, “I’ll ask for her opinion.”
With one major issue finally resolved, a relaxed smile curved her lips. She suddenly leaned up to press a quick kiss against his lips. “Shaoli, thank you.”
This was the very first time Qin Jiaojiao had taken the initiative to kiss Zhou Shaoli. He froze for a split second before the coolness in his eyes melted into a warm, fond smile. “A single kiss isn’t going to be enough,” he murmured softly.
Gently pinching her chin, Zhou Shaoli lifted her face slightly and leaned down to capture her red lips.
Qin Jiaojiao’s body leaned back involuntarily as his hand gripped her waist tightly, pulling their bodies flush against each other. Their breaths intertwined, and she found herself completely intoxicated by the faint, elegant scent of agarwood and cedar wafting from him.
Who knew how long the kiss lasted, but the atmosphere inside the study grew increasingly hot as she felt his breathing turn slightly erratic.
Just as she was running completely out of breath, Zhou Shaoli finally released her. Behind his thin, gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes burned with an intensely deep desire.
With a charming flush painting her face, Qin Jiaojiao didn’t dare meet his gaze. Smoothing her breath, she hurriedly wriggled down from his lap.
“I won’t disturb your work any longer!”
Like a little rabbit being chased down by a big bad wolf, she scurried out of the study in the blink of an eye. Once outside, her eyes curved into sweet crescents, a sugary smile lingering on her lips.
Returning to her bedroom, she quickly pulled out her phone to inform Yang Yutong about the seconded corporate elites.
Yang Yutong: 【Jiaojiao, thank you so much!】
Yang Yutong: 【I’ll give it some proper thought over the next few days. I’ve never really looked into our family’s business operations before, so I’ll give you a proper answer once I’ve investigated everything clearly.】
Qin Jiaojiao sent her a kissing meme sticker: 【Keep fighting, Tongtong! Things are going to get better for both of us.】
Finished with their chat, Qin Jiaojiao grabbed her pajamas from the walk-in closet and trotted into the bathroom for a soak.
Reclining in the warm water, Qin Jiaojiao fell into deep thought.
Even though she had accepted Zhou Shaoli’s confession, their contract marriage still technically existed. She had almost forgotten all about that detail—she needed to bring it up with Zhou Shaoli sometime.
Her current life seemed to have completely veered off the original novel’s plot. What was she going to do once she actually got her hands on that ten billion yuan?
If she just lazed around at home every day as a salted fish, she could never finish spending ten billion yuan anyway. But lying around for too long would turn her into a useless beauty—should she consider opening a shop or investing in something?
Using money to generate more money would make her even richer.
By the time she finished her bath, she still hadn’t figured out what kind of investment to pursue, considering she knew next to nothing about business affairs.
Drying her hair and settling into bed, Qin Jiaojiao picked up her phone to search: Businesses suitable for female investors.
Accessories, clothing, desserts and boba tea, beauty and nail salons, restaurant dining, yoga and wellness… The overwhelming variety of industries left her dizzy, making every single option seem pretty decent.
Browsing through these industries to get a better idea, Qin Jiaojiao felt that flower shops and coffee or tea houses suited her best. Both piqued her interest and enjoyed steady foot traffic.
She had always dreamed of having a garden or a glass greenhouse inside a massive villa, raising a few birds inside while watering flowers and feeding birds every day—what a wonderful life that would be.
Now that she had decided on opening a shop, the first step was location selection.
Qin Jiaojiao opened her map app with great enthusiasm. Beijing’s commercial hubs were packed with flower shops; opening a flower shop would mean intense competition, making location selection paramount.
A flower shop couldn’t turn a solid profit relying solely on daily foot traffic; many shops partnered up with various industries, supplying floral arrangements for grand openings or celebratory events, which served as major corporate clients.
Scrolling through information on opening a flower shop, she realized running a business wasn’t as simple as she had imagined. It required a heavy investment of time and money—though coincidentally, those were two things she didn’t lack, so she could take her time.
Having been busily occupied all day, Qin Jiaojiao felt physically exhausted. Letting out a yawn, she drifted off to sleep holding her lovely daydreams.
The next day, she woke up exceptionally early, right as Zhou Shaoli returned from his morning jog. Watching Zhou Shaoli step out of the bathroom, she offered a lazy greeting.
“Morning.”
Qin Jiaojiao propped herself up with her arms and sat up in bed, leaning dazed against the headboard. Her long, jet-black hair was adorably messy, tumbling over her shoulders to veil her cheeks.
Zhou Shaoli walked over to the edge of the bed, reaching out to gently smooth down her messy bedhead, asking softly, “How come you’re up so early?”
Qin Jiaojiao said dumbly, “I have an event to attend today.”
Zhou Shaoli’s hand styling her hair paused as he asked, “What event?”
Shaking off her grogginess, Qin Jiaojiao explained, “An official streaming platform invited me to be a guest player for an esports promotional event. There’s a celebrity opening concert at five in the afternoon, followed by a red carpet and award ceremony. I need to head over early to rehearse.”
She was just about to let out a yawn when she noticed Zhou Shaoli right in front of her. Forcing it back, she gave him a soft push. “I need to get up now.”
Qin Jiaojiao lowered her head to look for her slippers. She hadn’t brushed her teeth or washed her face yet—her image right now had to look completely terrible.
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