Chapter 19: Nineteenth Day as a Salted Fish
Qin Jiaojiao actually asked him to help her apply sunscreen!
Zhou Shaoli remembered when they first lived together under the same roof. Back then, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, acting like a hyper-alert little animal bristling with sharp prickles.
He had used work as an excuse to leave the bedroom, calculating the time carefully and returning only after she fell fast asleep. It was only after a week of this that she finally adjusted to having another person sleeping beside her.
Now, she already treated him as a familiar acquaintance. She chatted without reservations and would even casually ask him to help with an intimate act like applying sunscreen.
Since she had asked for help, he had no reason to refuse.
Zhou Shaoli sat up and asked, “Where to?”
His tone was calm and indifferent, though Qin Jiaojiao felt a little embarrassed instead. “My back, I can’t quite reach it.”
If it weren’t necessary, she really wouldn’t want Zhou Shaoli’s help. But she couldn’t just put sunscreen everywhere else and leave a blank patch on her back—it would leave a strange tan line later.
She handed the complimentary tube of sunscreen lotion to Zhou Shaoli. The man reached out his long, well-defined hand to take it.
Qin Jiaojiao flattened the lounge chair and lay face down. The swimsuit she was wearing was cut out at the back and sides; all she needed to do was lie down and let him rub it in.
Qin Jiaojiao had fair skin. Her supple, hydrated skin was like milk, so smooth it seemed it could burst with water at a touch. Her back was gorgeous and delicate, with her sexy butterfly shoulder blades exposed right before his eyes—a truly breathtaking sight.
To a man, this was undoubtedly an intense temptation.
Zhou Shaoli pressed his lips together. On the surface, he remained indifferent and composed, but a dark surge already rippled through his eyes. “I’m starting now.”
“Oh, okay.” Qin Jiaojiao felt his gaze almost as if it were a physical force, and her entire body involuntarily tensed up.
Zhou Shaoli squeezed the sunscreen lotion onto her fair back, pressed his slender fingers against it, and slowly rubbed it out.
Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t help but shudder slightly. The man’s fingers were slightly warm. Gentle as if treating a precious treasure, his movements were light and tender; as his fingers brushed across her skin, a strange, tingling sensation washed over her.
Qin Jiaojiao bit her lip. She felt a little itchy and sniffled, enduring the strange sensation as she buried her head into the chair.
Applying the sunscreen took less than half a minute, yet both of them felt the exact same sentiment: pure torment.
The sea breeze gently carried a wave of heat, and under the shining sunlight, it made one’s heart flutter all the more restless.
“…Is it done yet?” Qin Jiaojiao’s voice carried a hidden trace of shyness.
“Mhm.” Zhou Shaoli’s voice was as pleasant to hear as ever, carried by a hint of slight raspy huskiness. “It’s all rubbed in. You can get up now.”
Qin Jiaojiao hurriedly sat up, not quite daring to look him in the eye. “Thanks, huh.”
The camera operator hiding in the shadow not far away to shoot follow-up footage was already stuffed full of dog food. So sweet it hurt their teeth.
For a couple to make the atmosphere so ambiguous over just applying sunscreen—that pure, shy dynamic was driving fans absolutely crazy with shipping excitement!
Lying face down, Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t see Zhou Shaoli’s expression, but the camera operator could see it clearly through the lens. Tsk-tsk, once this segment aired in the future, it would guaranteed make fans scream hysterically.
After resting for a bit, Zhou Shaoli picked up the surfboard, and Qin Jiaojiao followed him into the sea to learn surfing for a while. She wasn’t a fast learner, but Zhou Shaoli was a patient teacher. After practicing for over an hour, she could finally ride the waves freely for a short distance on her own.
The sea sparkled, seagulls soared through the sky, and the wind whipped up spray. She was like a free fish, standing on the surfboard as she glided forward with the current, her face brimming with a joyful smile.
Zhou Shaoli stood by the beach, his gaze closely tracking her figure.
No matter how far she surfed, he kept his eyes on her at all times to ensure her safety and avoid missing any emotion on her face.
When Qin Jiaojiao tumbled into the seawater, she no longer panicked as she had before. She could quickly react, pull herself back onto the surfboard, and set off once more.
At this moment, the ocean, the blue sky, and that tall, slender figure on the beach were all the most beautiful scenery in her eyes.
After playing wildly for two hours, Qin Jiaojiao was finally exhausted. Her feet felt soft as she stepped in the sand, and the two walked back to the villa together.
Upon returning to the villa, Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli went straight to their room. Qin Jiaojiao went into the bathroom first to shower, while Zhou Shaoli stayed on the balcony, leaning against the railing as he gazed into the distance.
His past life had been nothing more than work or the occasional small gathering with friends. Ever since taking real power, he had rarely spent time enjoying life, staying busy every day for the family enterprise.
When he was younger, he used to race horses on the grasslands with friends, surf in the ocean, stay out all night at French wineries, and attend concerts in Paris. After taking over the company, those wild and passionate teenage days became mere memories.
He liked watching Qin Jiaojiao love life and pursue the things she wanted, whether it was going to a street stall for snacks or staying together while doing their own things—it was deeply refreshing to the mind and body.
There was an aura about her that stirred waves in the calm pool of his heart.
Having never loved anyone before, he didn’t understand love. For now, he could only be certain of one thing: if Qin Jiaojiao was willing to extend their contract marriage, he would respect her wishes and would not forcefully terminate it.
Qin Jiaojiao took a comfortably hot shower and once again lamented that it was a pity this place didn’t have a large bathtub. If she were at home, she could be taking a petal bath, drinking expensive fruit wine, eating delicious desserts, and thoroughly enjoying her relaxation.
Stepping out of the bathroom, her cheeks were flushed red. Over the past two days, she had been lazy and skipped wearing makeup. Without needing to remove makeup, her skin was delicate, fair, and tender, tinged with a soft blush that made her exceptionally captivating.
Seeing Zhou Shaoli sitting on the balcony handling work, she couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. He truly lived up to being the tycoon in the book who made money hand over fist.
Hearing footsteps approaching, Zhou Shaoli caught the faint fragrance of body wash coming from her and turned his head to look at her. “Done showering?”
Drying the water droplets from her hair, Qin Jiaojiao said, “Do you want to go wash up?”
“I’ll go after finishing this document.” Zhou Shaoli hadn’t surfed this afternoon, but he had soaked in the seawater for a long time. His hair was dry, but his skin felt a bit sticky.
Qin Jiaojiao sat down on the lounge chair beside him, feeling the cool evening breeze and finding her whole body immensely comfortable.
Putting down her towel, she looked at Zhou Shaoli wearing his gold-rimmed glasses and asked curiously, “Are you very nearsighted?”
“Not very.” Zhou Shaoli looked at her, his tone calm. “Not wearing glasses doesn’t affect my daily life, but handling work requires seeing things clearly and meticulously, so I developed the habit of wearing glasses.”
“Oh, I see.” Qin Jiaojiao expressed her understanding. Some people didn’t have high prescription, but needed to put on glasses when driving to see clearly.
“Why ask that?” Zhou Shaoli said.
“Just asking casually.” Qin Jiaojiao looked at his side profile while he worked and praised him generously, “You look a bit different with and without glasses. When you put on glasses, you look gentle and refined; when you take them off, you look drop-dead handsome.”
Zhou Shaoli’s hand typing on the keyboard paused, and a faint smile glinted in his eyes.
Having played for a whole day, Qin Jiaojiao was both tired and hungry. She stood up and said, “I’ll go downstairs and see if there’s anything to eat.”
In the kitchen, Jin Mingzhu was cooking something. Qin Jiaojiao quickly ran over, looking at Jin Mingzhu like a puppy eagerly waiting: “Teacher Jin, are you making dinner?”
Jin Mingzhu looked at her with a smile: “I’m making beef spaghetti tonight. Will you two eat?”
Qin Jiaojiao nodded vigorously and said, “Yes!!!”
Jin Mingzhu said, “Then I’ll make two extra portions.”
“Thank you, Teacher Jin!” Qin Jiaojiao looked at Jin Mingzhu with sparkling eyes, feeling she was truly so gentle. Since she shouldn’t just eat and play for free, she said, “Teacher Jin, when we get back to Beijing, you must come over to my home as guests. I’ll treat you and Teacher Chen to a meal.”
“Sure, I’ll come whenever I have time.” Jin Mingzhu had learned from her husband that Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli came from wealthy families. Very few young people nowadays knew how to cook, so making a meal for them was just a convenient favor.
Qin Jiaojiao chatted with Jin Mingzhu in the kitchen, and once the pasta was ready, she went upstairs to find Zhou Shaoli.
“Teacher Jin made spaghetti. Let’s head downstairs for dinner.”
Zhou Shaoli was slightly surprised. Jin Mingzhu and Chen Feihong were the kind of artists who seemed very noble and aloof. Even though they knew his identity, they hadn’t deliberately struck up a conversation over the past few days. Yet now they were giving them tickets and cooking meals; Qin Jiaojiao was much better at socializing than he had imagined.
Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang were spending the night on a luxury yacht tonight, so only the four of them sat at the dining table in the villa for dinner. Everyone had excellent table manners; since they had just met, they didn’t speak much during the meal.
After dinner, Zhou Shaoli took the initiative to take on the responsibility of doing the dishes. Qin Jiaojiao somewhat doubted whether he knew how to wash dishes and tried to rush in to do it, but he stopped her: “Go rest, leave it to me.”
Qin Jiaojiao didn’t go play games. She stood guard in the kitchen, only letting her mind rest after watching him deftly finish washing the tableware.
Having played for a whole day, both of them were thoroughly exhausted. After returning to the bedroom to wash up, Zhou Shaoli continued catching up on work, while she sat in bed playing on her phone. She fell asleep after playing just two rounds of games.
Finished with his work, Zhou Shaoli saw Qin Jiaojiao lying in bed without a blanket covering her. He leaned down to adjust her posture, pulled up the blanket, and turned off the lights.
By the time Qin Jiaojiao woke up again, the sun was shining brightly outside. She grabbed her phone to check the time—10:30 AM, her usual natural biological clock.
Zhou Shaoli was not in the room. After washing up in the bathroom, she walked downstairs while playing on her phone.
Her phone pushed an entertainment news notification. Clicking it open, the edited teaser episode for Season 2 of Romantic Lovers had been released and was hanging on the top of trending searches, sparking heated discussions among netizens.
[I really envy Teacher Jin and Teacher Chen’s love, going from school uniforms to wedding dresses, still so deeply in love after ten years together.]
[This kind of long-lasting, steady marriage is what real life is about.]
[Wow, Sister Shan is so happy, her husband woke up early in the morning to make breakfast for her, such a good husband makes people jealous.]
[Sister Shan and her husband live in the most expensive residence in the city center together, her husband really lives up to being a wealthy young master, so rich.]
[The Shan-Meng CP is so ship-worthy, all those photos taken together at home witnessed their journey of love.]
Using montage editing, the show crew spliced together the recording content from the past two days with the home interviews of the guest couples, setting it to voiceovers and background music.
Fans looked forward to the show’s broadcast even more after watching. But when seeing Qin Jiaojiao appear on screen later, everyone’s jaw dropped.
[Wait, does Qin Jiaojiao live in a scenic tourist area?]
[A million yuan in living expenses… what a niche combination of words!]
[We poor people truly cannot imagine the world of the rich!]
[Please send me a husband who works all year round making money without coming home, and just gives me a million in monthly living expenses, thank you.]
[Jealousy has distorted my features, tears of failure are flowing from my eyes.]
[A wealthy couple falling in love at first sight at a banquet, isn’t this literally a dreamy webnovel plot?]
[The Yueli Couple’s god-tier visuals, I lick lick lick!]
As soon as the teaser episode aired, it attracted countless netizens. Shen Xiaoshan marrying into a wealthy family with her husband being a young CEO of an entertainment company was already envious enough, but Qin Jiaojiao, coming right after, was even more shocking.
Qin Jiaojiao wasn’t very famous in the entertainment industry, and few people knew her. Zhou Shaoli maintained a low profile, so information related to him could only be found in financial magazines or the banking sector.
It was only after some netizens dug deep that they learned from the scattered words revealed by a few users that he was the actual head in charge of a certain massive corporate group, leading them to sigh that some people were simply born at the top of the pyramid.
No wonder Qin Jiaojiao didn’t care about acting. Living in such a wealthy family, why would the eldest miss act—to spend money just to suffer hardships?
[Setting aside their rich identity for a second, this pair’s visuals are off the charts, I can ship them just by looking at their faces.]
[Hurry up and air the show, let me witness a real wealthy marriage.]
[Wealthy marriages are 100% unhappy, everyone plays around separately in private, I advise you all not to invest too much into shipping them so you don’t face a reality crash.]
[So what if I want to ship a sweet romance, stop making up wild rumors here.]
[How many trending searches has this couple bought, is it really not for traffic? Their identities might even be fake, nowadays many video bloggers rent girlfriends, rent kids… the circle is a total mess.]
[Everyone should just ship the Shan-Meng couple, Shen Xiaoshan is a proper actress, and their wedding was witnessed by everyone, they are the real deal whose love bore fruit.]
[The Yueli CP might be an actor hired by Qin Jiaojiao for her comeback, let me remain skeptical first.]
…
Seeing these comments, Qin Jiaojiao suddenly found it a bit hilarious. Netizens nowadays sure had rich imaginations.
With the release of the teaser episode for Season 2 of Romantic Lovers, its popularity surged, and the production team seized the momentum to announce that the first episode would air this Saturday, allowing viewers and fans to pre-register on the platform in advance.
Qin Jiaojiao checked the pre-registration count. In just two hours, millions of people had already reserved it. The popularity of Season 2 far exceeded Season 1—the wealthy gimmick truly worked wonders.
She clicked into the Super Topic established by CP fans. After the teaser episode aired, it had attracted quite a few netizens, and the Super Topic was skyrocketing, growing from just a few thousand fans initially to over twenty thousand.
Her and Zhou Shaoli’s personal Weibo accounts had both gained a few thousand followers. Before the show even aired, they had gained quite a bit of traffic. No wonder the original female lead was able to explode in popularity using a marriage variety show, receiving endless brand endorsements and script offers.
Qin Jiaojiao had no intention of competing with the female lead. She only wanted to peacefully record the variety show like a salted fish, collect her ten-billion-yuan divorce fee, and live a sweet life thinking about having tens of billions in her pocket.
The next day, Shen Xiaoshan—who had spent the night on the luxury yacht with Meng Zi’ang—returned from outside the villa, her face rosy as she held Meng Zi’ang’s arm. Passing by the living room, she made a point to greet everyone.
“The variety show recording is ending today, I really can’t bear to leave everyone.”
Meng Zi’ang’s gaze landed on Qin Jiaojiao sitting on the sofa. He paused for a few seconds; seeing her expression calm, devoid of a single trace of jealousy or hatred, he felt a slightly odd sensation in his chest.
Back when he and Shen Xiaoshan had been “caught in the act” by Qin Jiaojiao at the hotel, Qin Jiaojiao had been like an unreasonable lunatic, screaming in rage and even trying to hit Shen Xiaoshan before he stopped her.
Qin Jiaojiao had humiliated him in public, screaming that she would break ties with the Meng family and make him regret it.
Before meeting Shen Xiaoshan, he had indeed considered an arranged marriage with the Qin family to stabilize his position in the Meng family. But after meeting Shen Xiaoshan, he understood that true love was more important.
He had fallen for Shen Xiaoshan and accidentally slept with her. To take responsibility for Shen Xiaoshan, he could only abandon Qin Jiaojiao.
He had thought Qin Jiaojiao held some true feelings for him, who knew she would turn around and marry into the Zhou family instead? At this thought, Meng Zi’ang felt a mixture of annoyance and frustration. Wrapping his hand around Shen Xiaoshan’s waist to put on a loving display for the cameras, he put on a smile.
“If everyone has time, come over to my home to play, Shan-shan and I will host you properly.”
Qin Jiaojiao sneered internally. The original owner hadn’t loved Meng Zi’ang; it was just that the Qin and Meng families had agreed on a marriage alliance, yet Meng Zi’ang had cheated on her. The proud eldest miss couldn’t swallow that humiliation and had to compete with Shen Xiaoshan at every turn.
If she were the original owner seeing this scene, she would definitely curse the dog couple fiercely in her heart and pull a terrible face in front of the cameras.
Qin Jiaojiao was not a passive, forgiving person. If no one provokes me, I won’t provoke them; if someone provokes me, I will repay them tenfold!
Flaunting their affection in front of her again and again was getting a bit over the top. Who doesn’t know how to show off love? Let’s do it then.
“I’m afraid we won’t have time.” Qin Jiaojiao leaned against Zhou Shaoli, holding his arm as she said, “An overseas fashion show invited me as a guest recently, and my hubby is going to accompany me shopping.”
She turned her head, looking at Zhou Shaoli affectionately: “Right, hubby?”
Even knowing that Qin Jiaojiao was deliberately putting on a show to rival Shen Xiaoshan, this soft, delicate “hubby” almost made Zhou Shaoli lose his calm composure.
Zhou Shaoli recovered his calmness half a second later. Entering the role of her husband, his gaze looked at her gently: “Mhm, I’m going to accompany Jiaojiao to watch the show.”
“Sorry about that.” Qin Jiaojiao’s tone was soft and sweet, a happy smile gracing her face. “Next time you guys can come play at my house and host a party. Whichever chef’s food you want to eat, I’ll have someone invite them over.”
Qin Jiaojiao had the confidence to say she could hire whichever chef’s food they wanted to eat, after all, being rich meant being outrageously wealthy.
Shen Xiaoshan stood frozen like a wooden statue. Over the past few days, she had been observing the interaction between Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli.
Zhou Shaoli did nothing but work, showing that his relationship with Qin Jiaojiao wasn’t deep; he hadn’t even accompanied Qin Jiaojiao to complete the show’s tasks, leaving them to rank dead last in the end.
After shooting the promotional photos last time, she had specifically hired a private detective to investigate. Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli were on bad terms, and Qin Jiaojiao used to frequently stay out all night.
They had to be faking their affection!
However, that wasn’t important. What was important was that Zhou Shaoli was actually accompanying Qin Jiaojiao in “showing off love”!
Seeing Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli looking like an affectionate couple, Meng Zi’ang’s face turned slightly pale, his eyes glaring fixedly at her.
Qin Jiaojiao dumping him had damaged his dignity; the more affectionate she and Zhou Shaoli were, the more it meant she looked down on him. Any man would feel deeply displeased in his heart.
The atmosphere momentarily stiffened.
Jin Mingzhu broke the silence: “I have a performance coming up in a while. I’ll save a few tickets for you all, come watch if you have time.”
Qin Jiaojiao smiled: “Hubby and I will make time to come watch.”
The glowing radiance Shen Xiaoshan carried when returning to the villa vanished, her lips barely forcing a smile: “I will definitely come support Teacher Jin’s performance.”
With the production team’s recording concluded, the guest couples left the seaside villa separately to take flights back to Beijing.
Having been away for a week, Qin Jiaojiao returned to the courtyard villa, feeling a bit unfamiliar with the luxurious estate. As soon as she and Zhou Shaoli returned, Auntie Zhang came up to greet them.
“Sir, Madam, you’re finally back. Are you tired? What would you like to eat for dinner?”
Qin Jiaojiao let out a yawn and said, “I want to take a bath.”
“The air-freighted milk and rose bath?” Auntie Zhang understood her preferences.
Qin Jiaojiao nodded happily: “Mhm, mhm, and make me something to eat as well.”
“What about Sir?” Auntie Zhang asked again.
Zhou Shaoli had gone out to record the show, and although he squeezed out time to handle work, there were too many decisions in the entire group requiring his input. Having accumulated days of work, he said, “I’ll go to the study to handle some work.”
Servants helped carry the luggage upstairs, and Xiaoli came over to organize Qin Jiaojiao’s suitcase—sending what needed to be washed to the laundry and tossing what needed to be thrown away. The luggage looked a bit worn and unusable, so she needed to quickly instruct the luxury brand to send two new ones over.
Before returning from the beach, Qin Jiaojiao had bought some local souvenirs to bring back to the servants at home, as well as some local specialties she planned to send over to the main residence tomorrow.
Now that she was nominally Zhou Shaoli’s wife, as a daughter-in-law and junior, she had to maintain some face for him. If her mother-in-law and father-in-law picked faults with her, she would just leave it to Zhou Shaoli to handle.
Romantic Lovers Season 2 would feature a theme centered on mother-in-law and daughter-in-law dynamics. Otherwise, how could the original book describe her being disliked by her mother-in-law and becoming Shen Xiaoshan’s comparison group?
Some wealthy daughters-in-law were doted on like royalty by their mothers-in-law, while others were despised to a miserable degree.
She was the cannon fodder used to highlight how happily Shen Xiaoshan had married.
Aside from pressing her and Zhou Shaoli to have children, her mother-in-law Li Wanru didn’t ask much about her affairs. If there was a chance to clear the air with her mother-in-law and ease their relationship, she was quite willing.
After taking her bath, Qin Jiaojiao washed the conch shells and seashells she had brought back from the beach until they were spotlessly clean, making a small wind chime intended as a gift for her little niece.
After all, recording a show at a remote beach meant there weren’t many good things to buy locally. Being able to bring back gifts was already decent; whether the main residence liked them or not was their business.
Since the production team recorded two episodes at once, she could rest for over a week, staying home as a happy salted fish.
That evening, after she and Zhou Shaoli had dinner, he went to the study to handle work, while she lay on the living room sofa watching dramas for a bit before going upstairs to take a simple shower and lie in bed.
Just as she was about to read a novel, Zhou Shaoli pushed open the bedroom door, walked in, and sat on the sofa.
Having worked for a long time, his face carried a trace of exhaustion. A few buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned, his gold-rimmed glasses were removed, and he leaned against the sofa with a lazy demeanor, his eyes quietly looking at her.
Qin Jiaojiao was reading a novel when she sensed his gaze. She raised her eyes to meet his gaze for a few seconds.
Why was he looking at her?
Was there something on her face?
Zhou Shaoli said calmly, “I’m going on a business trip abroad the day after tomorrow.”
Without lifting her head, Qin Jiaojiao asked, “For how many days?”
“Around three days.” Zhou Shaoli stared at her and said, “I need to spend two days signing a partnership first, then I’ll accompany you to watch the fashion show.”
Qin Jiaojiao raised her head with a look of confusion: “Watch a fashion show?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to go abroad to watch a show?” Zhou Shaoli’s tone was calm and steady. “Your favorite brand is hosting an internal haute couture show, I can accompany you to watch it.”
Qin Jiaojiao: “!!!” Shocked to the point of losing speech.
She had only made up a random excuse specifically to show off affection, yet he actually went ahead and arranged it!
Were they really going to watch a fashion show?!
Seeing her reveal a slightly shocked expression, the corners of Zhou Shaoli’s lips curved into a faint arc as he said, “Since the words are out, we can’t very well not go.”
Qin Jiaojiao was so excited she wanted to jump up and down a few times. She hadn’t bought new clothes since coming here. With Zhou Shaoli accompanying her to watch the show, he would definitely be paying, meaning she could shop to her heart’s content—just thinking about it made her thrilled.
This was the life of a wealthy wife; mentioning a show on a whim, and her husband immediately arranged it.
Her watery eyes sparkled brightly as she looked at Zhou Shaoli with delight, as if gazing at a glowing mountain of gold.
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