Chapter 16: Sixteenth Day as a Salted Fish
With a monthly allowance of a million yuan, she would be more than happy even if her husband never came home—she didn’t need his company at all. Qin Jiaojiao wasn’t very good at answering the production team’s questions, so Zhou Shaoli handled most of them, while she only chimed in occasionally.
After finishing the interview about the couple’s romance, the production crew left the garden villa with all smiles, carrying desserts made by the Zhou family’s private chef.
On their way back to the company, the production staff chatted idly.
“I thought the price of Meng Zi’ang’s house in the city center was jaw-dropping enough, but I didn’t expect the Zhou family’s garden villa to broaden my horizons even more!”
“Right, right! When I first arrived at the garden villa, I thought Qin Jiaojiao and her husband were living in a luxury mansion inside a scenic resort area.”
“Meng Zi’ang and Zhou Shaoli are both the younger sons in their families, but the difference between them is massive.”
“Tell me more!”
“Meng Zi’ang is just a nominal CEO at Meng Brothers Pictures with no real power. Although Zhou Shaoli is the second son of the Zhou family’s main branch, he was groomed as the heir from a young age and excels in every aspect. The power over the Zhou family’s enterprise, Zhuxing Group, is entirely in his hands. Even his old man has to defer to his opinion when making decisions on company projects—he is the undisputed man in charge!”
“How do you know all this so clearly?”
“When it comes to wealthy family gossip, just ask around among insiders. Media reporters love following this kind of high-society news; it’s no secret.”
……
After the production team left, Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t help but say to Zhou Shaoli, “You’re really good at talking. I didn’t even know how to answer some of those sharp questions. Fortunately, I had you by my side.”
After the production team departed, Zhou Shaoli leaned against the sofa as lazily as a kitten, a faint smile in his eyes as he said, “Once you experience these kinds of occasions often enough, you naturally learn how to tactfully answer difficult questions.”
Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang urgently.
During the recording of the variety show, Zhou Shaoli could arrange his work schedule flexibly, but he still needed to handle business in his spare time. She often saw him working overtime in the study.
“I’ll take this call,” he said.
“Mm, I’ll go back to the room to pack up,” Qin Jiaojiao got up and walked upstairs.
Before leaving, the production team told them that tomorrow all the guests would head to S City by the sea to move into a beachside villa and record the first and second episodes of Season 2 of Romantic Lovers.
Sitting on the sofa in her room, Qin Jiaojiao called up the maid, Xiaoli, to help her pack.
The original owner used to go abroad for shopping and vacation trips frequently, and everything was handled by Xiaoli. Xiaoli organized and packed quickly and neatly; the items in the suitcase were structured clearly in layers so anything needed could be found at a glance.
Before packing the travel items, Xiaoli asked, “Where are you going with Sir, Madam?”
“To the seaside.” Qin Jiaojiao used her phone to search for things needed for the beach: sunscreen, beach hat, swimsuit, slippers, cool summer dresses, and the like. It was over ten degrees cooler there than in Beijing, with a huge temperature difference between day and night.
While packing, Xiaoli said, “Are you going to the seaside to record the variety show?”
Qin Jiaojiao nodded: “We’ll probably stay for about a week.”
“You and Sir haven’t traveled out together before. You must have a great time out there this time during the recording.”
These past days, Qin Jiaojiao was no longer ill-tempered like before, so the servants in the garden villa felt much closer to her and would occasionally chat for a bit when they met.
“Thank you,” Qin Jiaojiao smiled.
Looking at the packed suitcase, she couldn’t help but marvel: “Xiaoli, you’re really good at organizing. Not working as a senior organizer is truly a waste of your talent.”
“Madam, have you forgotten? I was originally hired by President Zhou as an organizer, responsible for organizing and planning your walk-in closet.”
A flash of embarrassment crossed Qin Jiaojiao’s face as she said, “My memory… I really forgot.”
“Madam, your luggage is all packed. Do you have any other orders?”
Qin Jiaojiao said, “No, go ahead with your work. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Xiaoli put the suitcase into the walk-in closet and left the bedroom.
At dinner time, Zhou Shaoli was still working in his room. Qin Jiaojiao waited in the dining room for a while, and seeing that he hadn’t come down for a long time, she went to the study to find him.
She knocked on the door, and a deep voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Qin Jiaojiao pushed open the door and entered, asking, “Are you done with your work?”
Zhou Shaoli glanced at her and said, “Not yet.”
“I came up to call you for dinner.” Qin Jiaojiao walked over and stood in front of the desk: “How much longer will you take?”
Zhou Shaoli’s handsome face had a calm expression, his light brown eyes looking at her as he said in a mild tone: “You eat first, don’t wait for me.”
Qin Jiaojiao glanced at the camera the production team had installed in the study. Normally, what would a wife do upon hearing her husband tell her to eat first?
Act spoiled?
After speaking, Zhou Shaoli buried his head back into his work. In his daily life, he only had work as his companion, accustomed to finishing the task at hand before resting.
Sensing that Qin Jiaojiao was standing in front of the desk without moving, he raised his head. Seeing her pursing her pink lips with a timid, embarrassed expression, he couldn’t help but pause his work and look at her in mild surprise.
What happened to her?
Is she feeling unwell somewhere?
Qin Jiaojiao’s voice carried a hint of delicate softness: “…Hubby, I want you to eat dinner with me.”
“…”
Zhou Shaoli’s pupils trembled slightly, a rare look of astonishment appearing on his handsome face.
Qin Jiaojiao kept her eyes lowered, missing the astonished look on the man’s face, quietly waiting for his response.
A terrible silence fell over the study.
Could Zhou Shaoli have been scared by her?
Qin Jiaojiao raised her head and met Zhou Shaoli’s scrutinizing gaze as he stared deeply at her.
“What did you call me?”
“Uh, Hubby?” Seeing his complex expression, Qin Jiaojiao wondered if she had overacted.
“…Shaoli?” Her voice grew quieter and quieter along with his facial expression: “Honey? Darling?”
Zhou Shaoli let out a subtle, light laugh—it was faint, but the sound was so attractive it made one’s ears go numb and soft.
Qin Jiaojiao’s ears flushed hot, feeling as if a piece of soft candy had been dropped into a hot pot, practically about to melt.
Oh gosh, would Zhou Shaoli think she had a mental problem?
“You go back to work then, I’m going downstairs for dinner.” Almost embarrassed to the point of anger, she turned around and ran out at top speed.
Bang! The study door was slammed shut.
A new message box blinked on his computer screen. The foreign business partner who hadn’t received a reply for a long time sent a message: [Zhou?]
Zhou Shaoli extended his well-defined fingers and quickly typed a reply: [I’m going to accompany my wife for dinner. We will discuss it later.]
He shut off the computer and stepped out of the study.
When Qin Jiaojiao ran downstairs, Auntie Zhang asked, “Where is Sir?”
“He’s busy with work.”
Just as Qin Jiaojiao finished speaking, the man walked out from the elevator.
“Sir is done?” Auntie Zhang said with a smile: “Madam was waiting for you to have dinner together.”
“Work isn’t urgent.” Zhou Shaoli glanced at Qin Jiaojiao and said, “Eating is more important.”
Qin Jiaojiao recalled her dramatic freak-out upstairs calling him “hubby,” curling her toes so hard she wished she could dig out a whole garden villa to live in by herself.
“What’s for dinner tonight?” She ran over and hugged Auntie Zhang’s arm.
Auntie Zhang patted her arm and said, “I made your favorite braised fish and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Hurry and go eat.”
During dinner, Qin Jiaojiao wished she could bury her head into her bowl, doing nothing but eating.
Zhou Shaoli dined unhurriedly, his gaze falling thoughtfully on the top of Qin Jiaojiao’s dark hair.
Sometimes he couldn’t understand her thoughts—running to the study to tease him, only to leave in a frantic rush.
Her methods weren’t particularly clever, yet they were like tickling him with a feather—leaving no mark, but leaving a lingering, unusual itch.
Could her sudden mention of divorce a while ago have been a deliberate ploy to attract his attention?
And her seeking him out to participate in the variety show together was to cultivate feelings with him?
Zhou Shaoli hadn’t spent time thinking about things outside of work for a long time. He couldn’t deny that Qin Jiaojiao gave him a feeling similar to encountering a new difficult problem back in his student days or when he first took over the company.
He really wanted to solve this difficult problem quickly, yet he also wanted to slowly understand, analyze, and figure it out…
Zhou Shaoli’s almost tangible gaze gave Qin Jiaojiao the instinctual feeling of a small animal sensing danger, so she finally mustered the courage to raise her head.
“I’m full.” She put down her chopsticks. “Take your time.”
In reality, Qin Jiaojiao was only half full. She ran to the living room, asked a servant to wash a few types of fruit, and turned on the TV.
After she left, Zhou Shaoli took two bites, felt it was tasteless, and put down his chopsticks.
Passing by the living room, he glanced at Qin Jiaojiao sitting on the sofa. She was watching a melodramatic foreign drama, holding a plush doll and imitating a character from the TV show by slapping it.
“Who asked you to be so talkative? I can slap ten of you with one palm…”
Zhou Shaoli raised his eyebrow slightly, turned around, and went upstairs.
Qin Jiaojiao watched TV until ten o’clock before heading upstairs. Zhou Shaoli was still working in the study. After taking a rose bath, she put on comfortable casual pajamas, sat on the bed, and opened her phone to play games.
By 11:30, Zhou Shaoli still hadn’t returned to the bedroom. They had a flight to catch tomorrow, and he hadn’t packed his luggage either.
Qin Jiaojiao exited the game and decided to check on the study. Just as she walked out of the bedroom, she ran into Zhou Shaoli in the hallway.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
With a blank expression, Qin Jiaojiao imitated his usual faint tone and said, “Going downstairs to pour a glass of water.”
Without waiting for his response, she walked downstairs at a rapid pace.
By this time, the servants in the garden villa had all returned to their rooms. Unless summoned by their employers, they wouldn’t wander around the villa.
Standing in the dining room, Qin Jiaojiao took a few sips of water and began to think.
What was she actually embarrassed about? Since they were recording a couples’ variety show together, showing affection in front of the camera was only natural.
Although she and Zhou Shaoli were in a contract marriage, as long as the marriage existed, he was her husband. But calling him “hubby” was indeed a bit strange…
Goosebumps suddenly broke out on Qin Jiaojiao’s arms. Sure enough, it was still a bit weird—she had better stick to calling him by his name in the future.
Having cleared her thoughts, she returned to the bedroom.
Zhou Shaoli had finished his shower and was wearing dark, austere pajamas that gave off a rigorous, ascetic vibe. He was in the walk-in closet packing his luggage.
Qin Jiaojiao leaned against the doorframe and asked, “Do you need my help?”
Zhou Shaoli looked at her. “No need, it’s already packed.”
Qin Jiaojiao had forgotten what time the flight was tomorrow and let out a lazy yawn: “Remember to wake me up tomorrow so we don’t miss the flight.”
“Mm,” Zhou Shaoli responded.
Qin Jiaojiao fell asleep earlier than Zhou Shaoli tonight. She had no idea her sleeping posture was quite domineering. Originally, there was a person’s distance between them, but after falling asleep, she was like a swimming fish, swaying and easily sliding over to Zhou Shaoli’s side.
The next day.
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains into the room. Zhou Shaoli’s body clock woke him up. Feeling a weight on his shoulder, his body stiffened slightly as he looked down at Qin Jiaojiao, who was hugging his arm, resting her head on his shoulder, and resting her slender leg over his.
The sweet rose fragrance she carried continuously invaded his senses along with her shallow breaths, enveloping him.
Their pajamas were thin, and with her slender leg resting on his, he could clearly feel the heat radiating from her body.
Zhou Shaoli reached out and gently pushed her away, lifted the blanket, and walked into the bathroom with slightly hurried steps.
The sound of trickling water rang out as Zhou Shaoli stood under the shower, cold water washing down over his head. He reached out to sweep a hand through his hair, brushing the fringe off his forehead to reveal an aggressively handsome face without his glasses on.
Water droplets trickled down his face, dripping from his exquisite jawline. It took a full ten minutes under the cold water before he regained his usual calm and composure.
Qin Jiaojiao woke up from her sleep, her eyes half-open as she looked at Zhou Shaoli coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Zhou Shaoli only showered in the morning after returning to the bedroom from exercising. Yawning, she asked, “You’re back from working out?”
“You can sleep a bit longer,” Zhou Shaoli said in a flat tone.
“Mm,” Qin Jiaojiao responded dazed.
When she woke up after sleeping a bit longer, Zhou Shaoli was already fully dressed. Wearing a luxurious suit, he looked steady and composed, radiating an innate noble air. The man sat on the sofa, his long fingers sliding across his phone screen.
Qin Jiaojiao asked, “What time is it?”
“Nine o’clock,” Zhou Shaoli replied.
“Ah, it’s so late! Won’t we miss the flight?” Qin Jiaojiao felt a bit annoyed with herself.
“We’ll make it.” Zhou Shaoli raised his eyes to look at her. “Get up now to wash up and change.”
Qin Jiaojiao quickly got up to wash up and went downstairs for breakfast. The servants had already moved the luggage into the trunk. After breakfast, she and Zhou Shaoli got into the luxury car and headed to the airport.
Zhou Shaoli led her through the VIP lane, boarding the plane early.
There was Wi-Fi on the plane, so after connecting, she began replying to her manager’s messages.
Her manager gave her the account password for her Weibo and told her to notify the company if she changed the password to facilitate management operations.
Qin Jiaojiao logged into Weibo. Her account had a few million followers—neither too many nor too few in the entertainment industry.
She reposted a Weibo from her alt account, telling her followers that Qin Jiaojiao was back, and that she would participate in a variety show with her husband, which would be airing soon.
After posting on Weibo, she ran over to her Super Topic and replied to a few statements from fans who persevered in checking in daily.
Qin Jiaojiao hadn’t played many good roles in the entertainment industry, so her fan base was tiny. Many of her followers were simply fans of her looks.
There wasn’t much reaction right after the Weibo was posted, but after more than ten minutes, comments began appearing below.
【Sister is back!!!】
【Ahhhhh so excited! Congratulations Sister on joining Romantic Lovers Season 2!】
【Isn’t Romantic Lovers a married couples’ dating show? Sister got married?!】
【Which damnable man actually married my Sister?!】
【I hope Sister married a good man.】
Qin Jiaojiao picked a few to reply to, telling her fans that by following Romantic Lovers Season 2, they would see who her other half was.
She was so busy on her end that she didn’t even notice the flight attendant approaching.
“I’ll have a cup of green tea, and bring her a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.” Noticing the air conditioning on the plane was quite low, Zhou Shaoli added, “And bring another blanket.”
“Of course, Sir.”
After finishing her tasks, Qin Jiaojiao leaned back on the comfortable sofa chair and opened a mobile game.
While she and her teammates were waiting to enter the match, a glass of orange juice was placed on the table in front of her.
Qin Jiaojiao turned her head to look at Zhou Shaoli. “For me?”
Zhou Shaoli nodded.
“Thank you.” Qin Jiaojiao curved her eyes with a smile.
The air conditioning on the plane was a bit low, and she felt a little cold while playing games. Suddenly, a blanket was laid over her legs, covering her exposed skin, making her much more comfortable.
Taking advantage of her character’s death timer, she turned her head to glance at Zhou Shaoli. The man held a magazine in his hand, reading it casually, while the light from outside the window brushed over him, coating him in a brilliant sheen.
Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t help but marvel in her heart: coming from a wealthy family, Zhou Shaoli truly was remarkably gentlemanly and elegant.
After the plane landed, a vehicle plastered with sponsor advertisements was already waiting outside the VIP lane. The production crew’s camera operators aimed their lenses at her and Zhou Shaoli as soon as they walked out together.
They filmed them all the way to the outside of the ocean-view villa, with street camera setups recording the scene of the two stepping out of the car.
Upon reaching the ocean-view villa rented by the production team, Qin Jiaojiao swept a glance around, discovering that this so-called luxury ocean-view villa wasn’t even a third of the size of her garden villa.
During the variety show recording, the three guest couples would be living in this ocean-view villa for a week. Before even settling in, Qin Jiaojiao was already starting to miss the Zhou family’s private chef and her garden villa.
The head director and other staff members of Romantic Lovers Season 2 gathered in the villa’s living room with cameras set up.
“Welcome Miss Qin and Mr. Zhou to the seaside villa! Here, your three couples will spend a wonderful vacation together for a few days, sharing and exploring the sweetness of marriage…”
“During filming, guests can only use the phones provided by the production team, and must earn family funds by completing tasks.”
Qin Jiaojiao remembered that in the original plot, the Romantic Lovers production team had the same rule. Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang worked hard to complete tasks and took first place, Jin Mingzhu and Chen Feihong took second, while Qin Jiaojiao, who was unwilling to do tasks under the scorching sun, dragged them down, ultimately ranking dead last alongside Zhou Shaoli.
For this type of variety show centered on the daily lives of married couples, the audience actually cared more about whether the guest couples could show them the sweet and wonderful aspects of marriage.
Qin Jiaojiao had already made up her mind: during the variety show recording, her main strategy would be to lie flat like a salted fish, neither competing nor snatching.
As long as she didn’t bring any negative impact to Zhuxing Group and peacefully survived until the end, she would receive her ten billion divorce fee—that was what mattered most of all.
After the production team handed out phones to the guests, all the staff members left the villa. During this week, specific camera setups inside the villa would record the guests, while camera operators would be separately arranged to follow them for outings.
The three couples were arranged to live in the guest rooms on the second floor; the third floor was an entertainment area with an open-air balcony, and the first floor consisted of a living room, open kitchen, and dining area.
The ocean-view villa had no elevator, so they could only climb the stairs. Zhou Shaoli took the initiative to grab the luggage from her hands, effortlessly lifting two suitcases upstairs by himself.
Qin Jiaojiao followed behind him with brisk steps.
Seeing this, Shen Xiaoshan pulled back the hand that was originally going to lift her suitcase, grabbed Meng Zi’ang’s arm, and acted spoiled: “Hubby, the suitcase is so heavy.”
With cameras in the living room, Meng Zi’ang put on a doting smile: “I’ll come down and help you carry it in a bit.”
“Hubby, you’re so good to me,” Shen Xiaoshan praised. “With you by my side, I feel like I’ve been pampered into a little princess.”
Meng Zi’ang thoroughly enjoyed Shen Xiaoshan treating him like a pillar of support; the unpleasant mood brought on by seeing Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli vanished. He went upstairs to put his suitcase in the room, then came back down to carry Shen Xiaoshan’s.
This scene was captured on camera.
The balcony of the ocean-view villa faced the sea. The floor-to-ceiling windows were open, allowing the wind to blow into the room, bringing a faint, salty ocean breeze.
Qin Jiaojiao opened her suitcase, took out her daily necessities to place in the bathroom, and set her makeup bag on the vanity table in the room.
Sympathizing with the guests who had just arrived at the ocean-view villa exhausted from travel and in need of rest, the production team didn’t release any tasks today. Food was stocked in the fridge for the guests to cook, but everyone had to make their own meals.
Qin Jiaojiao asked Zhou Shaoli: “Do you know how to cook?”
“Only basic sandwiches and egg fried rice,” Zhou Shaoli answered truthfully.
Qin Jiaojiao gave a forced smile: “What a coincidence, I only know how to make egg fried rice too.”
Zhou Shaoli paused for a moment, then asked: “Are you hungry?”
“Not hungry,” Qin Jiaojiao said stubbornly. “I ate a lot at home this morning.”
Zhou Shaoli said, “Let’s go downstairs and see what food is in the fridge.”
“Okay.”
The two left the room and went downstairs. In the living room, Chen Feihong was sitting on the sofa playing on his phone, while his wife, Jin Mingzhu, was washing and chopping vegetables in the kitchen.
The camera setups were constantly filming.
“Teacher Jin,” Qin Jiaojiao went over to greet her.
“Hello,” Jin Mingzhu smiled politely.
Qin Jiaojiao opened the fridge. Inside were green vegetables, eggs, and raw meats—all ingredients that required actual cooking. Disappointed, she closed the fridge door.
Zhou Shaoli stood by her side: “I can make two portions of egg fried rice.”
“Forget it.” Qin Jiaojiao felt that a refined person like Zhou Shaoli was not suited for cooking—she definitely wasn’t suspecting he would create an unpalatable dish.
Besides, they couldn’t just eat dry egg fried rice for both lunch and dinner. She would rather starve for one meal; it wouldn’t kill her anyway. Tomorrow, after receiving the production team’s funds, they could go out to eat delicious food.
“Let’s go for a walk outside.” Looking at beautiful scenery would make her forget her hunger.
Zhou Shaoli nodded, “Okay.”
The two left the villa, and the production team’s camera operators immediately followed behind them.
The ocean-view villa was near a fishing village, separated only by a single street.
On the street, many locals were selling local snacks, every single one looking delicious. Qin Jiaojiao was so tempted she could barely walk.
“Handsome guy, buy a cup for your girlfriend!” a street vendor uncle shouted.
Zhou Shaoli looked at Qin Jiaojiao, who hurriedly shook her head. “I don’t want to drink.”
If only the expression on her face looked a bit more convincing.
The vendor uncle hawked loudly: “Delicious refreshing drink, a unique secret recipe you won’t find anywhere else outside town! Only ten yuan a cup, delicious and cheap…”
“Let’s go,” Qin Jiaojiao lowered her head.
“Wait a moment,” Zhou Shaoli walked over and negotiated with the vendor uncle: “I don’t have any money on me. Boss, if you give me a cup of refreshing drink, I’ll do something for you in return.”
The vendor uncle sized him up from head to toe. “Dressed so nicely, how could you have no money?”
Zhou Shaoli asked, “Can I buy on credit?”
“No way,” the vendor uncle scolded. “Having to buy on credit for just ten yuan—how on earth did your girlfriend take a liking to you?”
Zhou Shaoli gave a faint smile: “She’s my wife.”
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