Chapter 3: Third Day as a Salted Fish
After Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli’s arranged marriage, they slept in separate rooms right from the start. She spent her days out messing around with her plastic best friends in her social circle, coming home dead drunk in the middle of the night, or simply staying out to party with them.
Zhou Shaoli left early and came home late for work, occasionally going out to gather with friends. The number of times the two had run into each other since getting married could be counted on one hand, let alone Qin Jiaojiao coming to his room to look for him.
With Qin Jiaojiao suddenly appearing in his room, Zhou Shaoli was slightly taken aback. He lowered the hand wiping his hair, his light brown eyes looking at her indifferently.
He wasn’t wearing his gold-rimmed glasses. His handsome face revealed a sharp, striking kind of beauty, carrying an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Qin Jiaojiao had a hard time tearing her gaze away from his exposed, muscular chest. Her cheeks couldn’t help but heat up. Lowering her eyes, she said, “Sorry, I knocked, but when no one answered, I just came in.”
How was she supposed to know Zhou Shaoli was right in the middle of a shower and would come out wearing nothing but a bath towel? Having gotten a free show of his model-like figure, she felt a bit embarrassed. The scene before her was far too ambiguous, so she hurriedly said, “I’ll head out first.”
She turned around, swiftly opened the bedroom door, and fled.
Once outside, standing in the brightly lit corridor, Qin Jiaojiao patted her cheeks. She thought to herself, It’s not like I haven’t seen a man before, what am I getting so shy for? Besides, the man flashing his pecs is my husband in name. Staring at him openly is perfectly fine.
After standing in the hallway for a while, she calmed herself down and thought about how she should bring up the topic of divorce with Zhou Shaoli later.
“Madam, what are you doing standing out here?” Auntie Zhang appeared from around the corner holding a tray.
Qin Jiaojiao glanced at the soup bowl on the tray and asked, “Is that for Zhou Shaoli?”
“Sir drank a bit too much while he was out, so this is hangover soup for him,” Auntie Zhang said.
Qin Jiaojiao reached out her hands. “Give it to me.”
A look of surprise appeared in Auntie Zhang’s eyes. Ever since they got married, Qin Jiaojiao had never cared about her husband. This was the first time she had taken the initiative to seek out Zhou Shaoli.
As heaven’s chosen one, Zhou Shaoli treated people politely, wasn’t arrogant or irritable, and didn’t have any messy, fair-weather friends. Every day, aside from going to work, he was on business trips discussing deals. He was a very good man. Alas, Qin Jiaojiao had been dense, treating her husband like thin air. Seeing that Qin Jiaojiao finally wanted to get close to Zhou Shaoli, Auntie Zhang was more than happy to see it happen.
“The hangover soup was just cooked, so it’s a bit hot. Tell Sir to let it sit for a while before drinking.”
Seeing the auntie-like knowing smile on Auntie Zhang’s face, Qin Jiaojiao felt inexplicably awkward. She nodded, “Got it.”
Carrying the hangover soup, she once again arrived at Zhou Shaoli’s bedroom door. She raised her hand and knocked. Soon, a ‘Come in’ sounded from inside.
Qin Jiaojiao’s heart uselessly skipped a beat. Zhou Shaoli hadn’t spoken to her since he returned; this was the first time she was hearing his voice.
It sounded way too good!
How could anyone in the world have such a nice voice? The slightly deep tone carried a magnetic quality, like a broadcasting major student. Without needing to deliberately fake it, just a single casual word was enough to make one’s ears tingle.
Qin Jiaojiao considered herself someone who didn’t lust over male beauty. As someone who had been single since birth, the most out-of-line thing she did was watch eye-candy men on short-video platforms.
She actually really looked forward to a sweet romance. But whenever she thought about dating, she would think about marriage, having kids, and then falling into the terrifying abyss of worrying about a cheating husband and rebellious children.
Now… she had directly married someone. Her husband possessed hundreds of billions in assets, was a famous wealthy tycoon in the Beijing circle at a young age, and had such an outstanding appearance. Unfortunately, such an excellent person didn’t seem to care about anything, like a monk who had severed all worldly desires.
That’s right, that was exactly the vibe Zhou Shaoli gave her.
Qin Jiaojiao steadied her nerves, pushed the door open, and walked in with the hangover soup.
Zhou Shaoli was sitting on the bedroom sofa, wearing light gray pajamas and his gold-rimmed glasses. He held a document in his hands, reading it with a slightly serious expression.
“Umm…” Qin Jiaojiao hadn’t thought of what to call him, so she just said, “Auntie Zhang said the hangover soup is a bit hot, so let it sit for a while before you drink it.”
Zhou Shaoli looked up at her and said indifferently, “Just put it on the table.”
Qin Jiaojiao placed the hangover soup on the table, hesitating as she thought about how to start the conversation.
Zhou Shaoli still held the document in his hand. Seeing that she didn’t seem to intend to leave, his light brown eyes stared at her, as if waiting for her to say what she wanted to say.
He basically hadn’t seen this wife of his since they got married, and even when they met at home, they hadn’t exchanged more than a few words. For her to unprecedentedly seek him out today, there must be something important.
His assistant had reported that his mother came by the villa a couple of days ago and left behind a soup-making auntie. Qin Jiaojiao coming to find him was probably to talk about this matter.
Zhou Shaoli put down the document and said, “You are the mistress of the villa. You can arrange the servants however you want. As for my mother, I’ll speak to her.”
“Huh?” Qin Jiaojiao looked at him in surprise.
A moment later, she caught on. Zhou Shaoli was telling her that she could casually dismiss the servant her mother-in-law, Li Wanru, had arranged for the villa if she didn’t like her.
“Even firing her is fine?” Qin Jiaojiao asked.
“Mhm.”
Hearing this “mhm”, Qin Jiaojiao thought, You really treat your words like gold.
However, she wasn’t here to talk about servants, but to discuss a divorce with him. She firmly believed that as long as she divorced the male supporting character who was in the same comparison group as her, she could break free from the plot.
“Actually, I came to find you for something else.” Qin Jiaojiao tried to use a gentle, consultative tone. “I want to get a divorce.”
A solemn expression condensed in Zhou Shaoli’s indifferent eyes. He frowned slightly, his gaze locking onto her as he asked in a low voice, “Are you serious?”
Qin Jiaojiao nodded. “Mhm.”
Zhou Shaoli fell silent.
The atmosphere in the room felt somewhat oppressive.
Feigning a relaxed tone, Qin Jiaojiao said, “Our marriage is a business arrangement; we don’t have any emotional foundation. I think it would be better to get a divorce. That way, we won’t hold each other back, and our lives can be much happier.”
Zhou Shaoli looked at her steadily and asked, “Do you have someone you like?”
“No!” Qin Jiaojiao hurried to clarify, “I definitely haven’t cheated during the marriage. I just feel that since our marriage is between our two families and we don’t like each other, if one of us meets someone we do like, things will get very complicated.”
Zhou Shaoli said expressionlessly, “The time for divorce hasn’t arrived yet. If you want an early divorce, the ten billion in notarized assets written in the contract will be donated to charity.”
“How much?!” Qin Jiaojiao raised her voice.
Ten billion?!
To her, that was simply an astronomical figure!!!
Zhou Shaoli extended his long, well-defined fingers and pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. He leaned back against the sofa lazily, looking at her with an indifferent expression, like an elegant cheetah locking onto its prey.
“Not only that, once the marriage alliance between the Zhou and Qin families is dissolved, the Zhou family will withdraw its investments in the Qin enterprise. The break in the capital chain will severely affect the Qin family’s development.”
Qin Jiaojiao: “…” Fine, I just won’t get divorced then!
“Allow me to remind you, Qin Jiaojiao, you were the one who personally agreed and signed the agreement with your own hands.” Zhou Shaoli’s tone carried a hint of warning.
Sensing her nervousness, he used a slightly gentler voice. “Our marriage concerns the interests of both our family enterprises. As long as you don’t cause any scandals outside and wait dutifully until the agreement period ends, you won’t be shorted a single penny of what you’re owed.”
“Okay, okay, okay, I won’t get a divorce.” Qin Jiaojiao nodded furiously.
Ten billion! That was ten billion!
She would wake up laughing in her dreams. Once the contract marriage ended, she could take all that money and live freely—she could have whatever she wanted.
What divorce? No divorce!
Besides, her husband Zhou Shaoli was so excellent. Apart from being someone to admire from afar rather than play with, this kind of married life was practically a dream come true. As for the couples’ variety show, if she didn’t participate, she wouldn’t become the female lead’s comparison group.
“Remember to drink the hangover soup.” Qin Jiaojiao’s gaze as she looked at Zhou Shaoli was like looking at a sparkling golden nugget.
Humming a tune as she left Zhou Shaoli’s bedroom, the smile on Qin Jiaojiao’s lips refused to come down. She happily took a milk and rose petal bath with ingredients air-freighted in, applied a face mask in the tub, ate fruits, and watched dramas. She was overflowing with a sense of happiness.
The next day, Qin Jiaojiao woke up early for a change and sat face-to-face with Zhou Shaoli in the dining room for breakfast.
After breakfast, Zhou Shaoli went back to his room to change for work. Qin Jiaojiao had just wiped her mouth when a woman in a dark servant’s uniform walked over.
“Madam, can you come with me to the supermarket to pick out ingredients now?”
Qin Jiaojiao asked in confusion, “Pick out ingredients?”
“You need to personally pick out the ingredients for making soup.” The middle-aged woman lectured her, “Including washing, chopping vegetables, and controlling the heat—there are techniques for all of it. Only then can you learn how to make a proper nourishing soup.”
So it was the soup-making auntie her mother-in-law had arranged.
Qin Jiaojiao smiled and said, “I don’t like drinking soup, and I have no interest in stealing the chef’s job. Please go back to wherever you came from and find employment there.”
The woman’s face instantly turned ugly. She said in a shrill voice, “I was arranged by Madam Li to come here and teach you how to make soup! How dare you speak to me like this.”
Just as Qin Jiaojiao was about to speak, a man’s voice came from the other side. “Nanny Yang, this is my intention. Go back and tell my mother that we have a chef at home. If we want to eat something, the chef will make it. She doesn’t need to worry about it.”
Seeing Zhou Shaoli, Nanny Yang’s attitude changed immediately. With a bit of respect, she said, “Second Young Master, Madam Li was just thinking of your health.”
In reality, it was a ploy to beat down her own daughter-in-law and train her into an obedient, docile wealthy wife.
Zhou Shaoli’s eyes behind his glasses were indifferent, yet they inexplicably exuded a trace of authority. His voice deepened slightly, “Just go back and tell her exactly what I said.”
“Understood,” Nanny Yang said reluctantly.
“Are you heading to work?” Qin Jiaojiao stood up.
“Mhm.” Meeting her bright eyes, Zhou Shaoli found himself saying, as if possessed, “I have to meet a client tonight, so I won’t be back for dinner.”
These words felt a bit like a husband reporting his whereabouts to his wife.
Qin Jiaojiao let out an “Oh,” watching him leave the living room.
Zhou Shaoli had gone to work, so what should she do? Before she could figure it out, her phone rang. It was an unknown number.
She never answered unknown calls, so she hit decline.
Who would have thought the other party would relentlessly keep calling her? After she declined a few times, they seemed to get annoyed and sent over a few messages.
[Miss Qin, why aren’t you answering the phone? I have something important to tell you. Let’s meet up.]
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