Chapter 12: Twelfth Day as a Salted Fish
Qin Jiaojiao was stunned for a moment before she remembered telling Zhou Shaoli in the car that the production team would be coming over to install cameras. She needed to pretend they were living together, and he had agreed, instructing the servants to move her things to the master bedroom.
She hadn’t expected the housekeeper to act so fast. By the time they returned from dinner at the old residence, her belongings had already been moved.
During the variety show filming, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy her own personal space anymore, rolling around on her big bed and staying up as late as she wanted.
Qin Jiaojiao looked at Auntie Zhang with a complex expression, hesitating to speak.
Auntie Zhang shot her an encouraging look and asked, “Sir, Madam, do you have any other arrangements?”
Zhou Shaoli looked at Qin Jiaojiao.
Qin Jiaojiao shook her head and said, “Grandmother gave me some desserts. I’m not hungry right now, so please put them in the fridge.”
Auntie Zhang picked up the items they had brought back from the entryway cabinet, turned around, and headed to the dining room.
“I still have some work to handle,” Zhou Shaoli said in a gentle voice. “You go back to the room and rest first.”
“I’m not tired yet.” Qin Jiaojiao walked towards the living room sofa. “I’ll watch TV for a bit.”
Zhou Shaoli strode towards the stairs. Qin Jiaojiao turned her head, glanced at his tall and straight back, then grabbed a throw pillow and ungracefully flopped down onto the sofa.
Eating at the Zhou family’s old residence today, her nerves had been constantly taut without a single moment of relaxation. Now that she was back at the courtyard villa, all her energy deflated, and she just wanted to lie flat.
After lying there for a few minutes, Qin Jiaojiao took out her phone to chat with Yang Yutong.
[Are you done filming?]
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: [Just finished. I’m so mad! That person had to do several takes today and kept failing them, so I had to keep shooting with her. I’m exhausted.]
[If I didn’t genuinely love acting, this young miss wouldn’t suffer through this.]
“That person” was a highly experienced, Best Actress-tier big shot in the entertainment industry. She had high status and was extremely overbearing on set. If she wasn’t satisfied, she’d just keep reshooting. Moreover, supporting actors with practically zero screen time had to wait around with her until she finally got a good take.
Both Yang Yutong and the original owner were C-list—or lower—artists in the entertainment industry. Only the sons and daughters of top-tier wealthy families could rely on their prestigious status to refuse filming whatever they didn’t like, paying the penalty fee to terminate their contracts if it came down to it. In the circle, Yang Yutong and the original owner occasionally suffered from this kind of workplace bullying.
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: [It’s so annoying. Once I finish this drama, I’m definitely taking a half-year break.]
[How are things progressing with President Zhou lately? Patting the bed.jpg]
After reading the messages, Qin Jiaojiao’s gaze fell on that bed-patting meme. Instantly, her cheeks flushed hot. She looked around, and only after confirming no one was there did she type a reply.
[He and I are participating in a couples’ dating variety show next week.]
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: [What variety show? Romantic Lovers? You guys are participating too?!]
As a girl who loved eating melons1, Yang Yutong surfed the internet every day. A few days ago, she had seen the entertainment headlines leaked by marketing accounts that Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang would be participating in Romantic Lovers.
With Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli participating in Romantic Lovers as well, she couldn’t even imagine how thrilling the recording and broadcast of this variety show was going to be.
Qin Jiaojiao replied: [Yeah, filming starts next Monday.]
Yang Yutong was beyond excited and immediately called her via video chat. Startled, Qin Jiaojiao grabbed her phone, scurried upstairs, entered her bedroom, and closed the door.
As soon as the call connected, Yang Yutong, sporting a pitiful and sorrowful ancient costume makeup look, asked, “Why did it take you so long to pick up? What are you doing?”
Qin Jiaojiao sat on the bed, caught her breath, and said, “Zhou Shaoli is at home, so I came back to the room to video call you.”
Yang Yutong said, “Jiaojiao, Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang are also participating in Romantic Lovers, did you know?”
“I know.” Qin Jiaojiao nodded.
As the male and female leads of this world, it would be weird if Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang didn’t participate in the dating variety show.
Yang Yutong demanded, “You and President Zhou better show off your love hard on this variety show! Make that scumbag Meng Zi’ang regret cheating on you!”
Qin Jiaojiao thought this would be a bit difficult, but outwardly, to humor her best friend, she said, “Okay.”
Through the camera, Yang Yutong noticed her room looked a bit empty and asked, “Where did all the stuff in your room go?”
Speaking at lightning speed, she asked, “Did you move it into Zhou Shaoli’s room? Are you guys living together now? When did this happen?!”
“Not yet… well, kind of,” Qin Jiaojiao said. “Filming a couples’ variety show requires capturing our daily lives, and the production team is coming over to install cameras, so I’ve temporarily moved into his room.”
Yang Yutong blinked and said, “I’ll say it again: seize the opportunity and strive to take down President Zhou as soon as possible.”
Word in the circle was that Zhou Shaoli was an aloof and detached Buddhist monk. He treated people with polite distance, making it impossible to pick out any flaws. But as the wife living with him day and night, she couldn’t just stare at him every day without having a proper nightlife, right?
Zhou Shaoli was a heaven’s chosen son blessed by the gods. Yang Yutong sincerely hoped that Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli could become a happy couple.
“Mhm,” Qin Jiaojiao gave a perfunctory reply. At best, she and Zhou Shaoli were currently just partners in a contract marriage.
The two chatted for a bit longer before hanging up.
Qin Jiaojiao checked the time. It was past ten at night—time to wash up and go to sleep. Taking advantage of Zhou Shaoli working in the study, she hurried to the bathroom to take a shower.
Scanning the room, she found her walk-in closet had been ‘looted clean’ by the servants. Her clothes, jewelry, and bags were all gone, and the skincare and makeup products in the bathroom had also been moved to Zhou Shaoli’s room.
Did the housekeeper really need to have such strong execution skills?
Left with no choice, Qin Jiaojiao headed to Zhou Shaoli’s room. She pushed open the bedroom door, found the walk-in closet, and slid open the carved, hollowed-out partition door.
The spacious walk-in closet had been commandeered by her belongings. Inside the wardrobe, Zhou Shaoli’s clothes were pitifully squeezed to one side, and his expensive watches, cufflinks, and brooches had all been relegated to a corner.
Feeling inexplicably guilty, Qin Jiaojiao dug out her pajamas and went to the bathroom.
Zhou Shaoli’s bathroom featured a rectangular bathtub that was incredibly large and wide. The servants sanitized and scrubbed it daily, leaving the tiles sparkling clean. Since transmigrating, she had loved soaking in the tub with a face mask on, and tonight was no exception.
Hoping Zhou Shaoli would work overtime a bit longer, Qin Jiaojiao lay leisurely in the bathtub. The warm water enveloped her body, allowing her to completely relax.
Dealing with the Zhou family had been mentally exhausting. Her eyelids couldn’t stop drooping, and within moments, she fell asleep.
She didn’t know how long had passed…
When a crisp knock sounded on the door.
Qin Jiaojiao jolted awake. Clearing her throat, she called out, “I’m in here.”
From outside came Zhou Shaoli’s clear, pleasant voice, “There hasn’t been any movement in the bathroom for a long time.”
Half an hour ago, he had finished his work and returned to the bedroom, but didn’t see Qin Jiaojiao. The bathroom door was shut tight, with light spilling from the crack beneath it. Guessing she was taking a bath, he sat on the sofa with a magazine for a long time. The bathroom remained completely silent, so, worried she might have fainted or something else had happened, he finally knocked.
Qin Jiaojiao raised her voice, “I accidentally fell asleep.”
The bathtub had a live water circulation system that maintained a constant temperature. Soaking for too long wasn’t good for the body. Zhou Shaoli simply said, “As long as you’re alright.”
Qin Jiaojiao scrambled out of the bathtub in a flurry. After rinsing off, she slipped on a form-fitting nightgown, blow-dried her hair, and opened the door to step out.
Hearing the click of the door, Zhou Shaoli, who had been playing on his phone on the sofa, lifted his eyes. His gaze slightly froze.
This was his and Qin Jiaojiao’s first time sharing a room.
Fresh from her bath, the girl wore a nightgown that perfectly showcased her bodily curves, revealing delicate collarbones. Her face bore a rosy flush brought on by the mist, her eyes were dewy, and the slight upward tilt at the outer corners of her eyes carried an innate, captivating allure.
He looked for a few seconds before withdrawing his gaze, slightly lowering his eyelashes.
When he looked away, Qin Jiaojiao’s toes slightly relaxed. Stepping in her soft slippers, she hurried over to the bed, pulled back the covers, and slipped inside.
Lying under the blankets, her heart was still pounding thump, thump, thump, like beating drums and crashing thunder.
Tonight, Qin Jiaojiao had used Zhou Shaoli’s body wash, leaving a faint, fresh scent lingering in the bedroom air. Catching the residual fragrance from when she walked past, a strange feeling flickered through Zhou Shaoli’s heart.
Wrapped in the blankets, Qin Jiaojiao secretly peeked at the man sitting on the sofa.
The weather was gradually getting hotter now. After coming home, Zhou Shaoli had taken off his suit jacket. He was wearing a dark gray dress shirt paired with a navy blue tie, making him look steady and composed.
Qin Jiaojiao pursed her lips. Seeing him looking down at his phone, his slender fingers swiping across the screen as if he didn’t care in the slightest that they were sharing a bedroom and sleeping in the same bed, she felt her heart relax a bit.
She reached out to grab her phone from the nightstand and habitually opened Green River Literature City, starting to read a novel.
Forcing herself to read a few chapters, she was completely distracted, unable to focus on the plot at all. The pitter-patter of running water came from the bathroom—Zhou Shaoli had gone to take a shower.
Her heartbeat sped up again in disappointment of her own resolve.
This was her first time sharing a room and a bed with a man. Even though she knew Zhou Shaoli wouldn’t do anything to her, she just couldn’t control her nervousness.
No matter how steady and cold he was, just like in the original book and the rumors in the circle, he was still a young man in his prime. Unless he was lacking in that department, he definitely still had physiological needs, right?
The contract marriage didn’t stipulate that neither party had to fulfill their marital duties.
With a breathtaking, living beauty like her right here, if he couldn’t resist the temptation, she wouldn’t be able to fight him off!
Qin Jiaojiao’s imagination ran wild.
Click. Zhou Shaoli walked out of the bathroom. He was using a towel to dry his damp black hair. Wearing a set of black silk pajamas, he exuded a noble and dignified aura.
He finished washing up that fast!
Gripping the blanket with both hands, Qin Jiaojiao’s gaze followed him.
The last time she came in, he had only been wearing a bath towel. This time, he came out fully clothed in pajamas, bundled up tightly so she couldn’t see his beautiful muscles anymore.
What a pity…
Sensing the gaze fixed on him, Zhou Shaoli lifted his eyes. Meeting Qin Jiaojiao’s appraising stare, she instantly looked like a startled rabbit caught red-handed, her expression becoming cramped and nervous.
He turned around and returned to the bathroom, tossing the towel into the laundry basket. He calmly walked over to the bed, pulled back the covers, leaned against the headboard, and picked up his phone to browse the web.
Qin Jiaojiao lay in bed doing absolutely nothing. She was motionless, as if she had been hit by a paralyzing spell.
After reading for a while, Zhou Shaoli put down his phone. “It’s getting late. I’m turning off the lights.”
Qin Jiaojiao let out a soft “Mhm.”
Click. The bedroom lights turned off, plunging Qin Jiaojiao’s vision into darkness. Outside the open curtains, bright moonlight poured into the room, scattering a layer of silver light across the floor.
Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. Her body was almost stiff from lying still before she finally shifted a little.
“Are you asleep?” Zhou Shaoli’s voice suddenly came from beside her.
Qin Jiaojiao subconsciously replied, “Not asleep.”
Translator’s note:
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