Chapter 22: Twenty-Second Day as a Salted Fish
At the time, Qin Jiaojiao had been completely immersed in the joy of wearing pretty dresses. Zhou Shaoli and Yang Yutong were both pinned to the top of her message list, so without looking carefully, she had sent the photos out one after another.
This was way too embarrassing; more than two minutes had passed since sending them, so she couldn’t unsend them.
Qin Jiaojiao stared at her phone. Zhou Shaoli hadn’t replied yet—he wouldn’t think she was super narcissistic, would he? She really wanted to transmigrate into Zhou Shaoli’s phone right this instant and delete the chat history.
Now that they were already sent, trying to patch things up by saying she sent them to the wrong person would just make her seem intentional.
Having just finished a meeting, Zhou Shaoli pulled out his phone and saw the photos sent by Qin Jiaojiao.
After watching the show abroad, Qin Jiaojiao had been invited by the brand to purchase two haute couture gowns. Gowns of this level weren’t standard off-the-rack items; the brand would only sell them after verifying the client’s assets and confirming their status was sufficiently noble and wealthy. Furthermore, each haute couture gown was a unique piece, with only one made.
Zhou Shaoli hadn’t seen Qin Jiaojiao try on the haute couture gowns while abroad, so he hadn’t expected her to actually send him photos to ask if she looked pretty.
Opening the photos one by one, he downloaded and saved them to his phone. Zhou Shaoli hesitated and didn’t reply right away, deliberating over how he should praise Qin Jiaojiao.
The mirror selfies featured great poses, and the gorgeous dress on Qin Jiaojiao highlighted her elegance and beauty. Zhou Shaoli tapped open the pictures, switching back and forth to look through them again and again. In the end, he replied with just two words: “Looks good.”
Qin Jiaojiao didn’t respond after receiving the message. Zhou Shaoli lowered his eyes in thought—did the words “Looks good” sound a bit perfunctory? He had never been in love before and had never praised a member of the opposite sex, so he had no idea how to compliment her.
Seeing him lower his head with a furrowed brow, staring at his phone in deep thought, Special Assistant Han Xiao assumed there was some difficult problem at work.
Zhou Shaoli looked up and asked, “If your girlfriend bought new clothes and asked if she looked pretty, how would you respond?”
Han Xiao froze. Why was President Zhou asking him this? Remembering that President Zhou had recently taken Madam abroad to watch a fashion show, his brain clicked. To think the all-powerful President Zhou of the business world would actually consult him for advice!
Han Xiao puffed out his chest with confidence: “You definitely can’t give a perfunctory two-word reply like ‘looks good’. You have to shower her with rainbow farts, go crazy complimenting her with all kinds of words, and ensure your emotional value is delivered!”
Zhou Shaoli fell into silence.
Rainbow farts?
What an unfamiliar term.
Zhou Shaoli looked at the “Looks good” on his screen and pursed his lips slightly.
Han Xiao provided a suggestion: “If you don’t know how to praise her, make good use of search engines. The internet is full of complimentary lines; there’s bound to be one that fits.”
Unsure if Zhou Shaoli had actually taken it in, his tone remained calm and steady: “Got it.”
On the other end, receiving Zhou Shaoli’s short “Looks good,” Qin Jiaojiao felt a mix of mild happiness and a tiny bit of disappointment. The man of few words, Zhou Shaoli, was definitely just complimenting her out of politeness.
She sent the photos over to Yang Yutong instead: 【Do I look good?】
Her phone vibrated several times in succession. Worthy of being her bestie, a barrage of extravagant praise came flooding in.
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Mom, I just met a fairy!】
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Drop-dead gorgeous! How can you look so pretty? Whose family’s fairy descended to the mortal realm?】
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【If you wear this haute couture gown to walk the red carpet at the Starlight Gala, you’ll absolutely be the hottest babe there!】
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【Post them on Moments, quick! I want to drop a like!】
Qin Jiaojiao’s mood soared. It was still her primary bestie who knew best. She asked: 【Which picture is suitable for Moments?】
Universe Invincible Beautiful Girl: 【They’re all gorgeous, post them all!】
Qin Jiaojiao picked out a few of her favorite shots, edited them slightly with an app, and posted them to WeChat Moments.
Love my new little dress so much (heart) (heart).
Not long after posting, she received a flood of likes. Teacher Jin Mingzhu commented: “So pretty, like a little fairy.”
Qin Jiaojiao replied with a shy emoji.
Yang Yutong, her ultimate hype woman, showered her with exaggerated praise in the comments.
Qin Jiaojiao changed out of the gown, put on a casual outfit, and sat on the sofa in her bedroom. She had just laid down when she saw that Zhou Shaoli had sent her another message.
From the color to the design of the dress, he praised her using a lavish array of elegant vocabulary, telling her that wearing this dress made her exceptionally charming and radiant with beauty.
Qin Jiaojiao: “…”
Wait, who on earth taught him to praise someone like this?
“Thank you.”
In his office, Zhou Shaoli looked at Qin Jiaojiao’s reply of “Thank you,” his brows knitting slightly. He couldn’t discern her mood from these two words.
The moment Han Xiao stepped out of the office, he sent a message to his girlfriend: 【President Zhou actually asked me how to praise someone. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime sight.】
His girlfriend: 【Praise who?】
Han Xiao: 【Definitely Madam. I just saw Madam post on Moments, I’ll send a screenshot to show you.】
Han Xiao took a screenshot and sent it to his girlfriend.
His girlfriend: 【Whoa, such elegance, so beautiful, literally looks like a fairy.】
Han Xiao: 【Hahaha, it’s pretty funny just thinking about it. To think President Zhou would have a day where he consults me.】
His girlfriend: 【Why does that sound kind of sweet? When on earth is President Zhou and his wife’s variety show actually airing?】
Han Xiao glanced at the scheduled release date: 【Soon, it airs this Saturday.】
His girlfriend: 【Awesome, wait for me to come back so we can watch it together.】
Han Xiao: 【(Lying flat.jpg) Waiting for baby to come back and favor me.】
…
In the afternoon, Qin Jiaojiao met up with Yang Yutong to get a spa treatment. Wrapped in bath towels, the two sat in a private rose bath at a venue owned by the Yang family.
“You actually got mugged!” Yang Yutong complained. “Things abroad are so chaotic. I didn’t think there’d be street muggings in Paris. Why didn’t you guys bring bodyguards?”
Zhou Shaoli kept a low profile and rarely appeared in the media. Zhuxing Group conducted legitimate business, but had plenty of competitors in the commercial sphere. Domestically, everyone was a law-abiding citizen, and since his trip abroad was a private itinerary for just a few days, he hadn’t brought bodyguards.
Qin Jiaojiao had thought even less about bringing bodyguards—it wasn’t like she was acting in an action movie, so why would she need bodyguards tagging along?
“Don’t even mention it.” Qin Jiaojiao felt lingering fear just thinking about it, saying, “Luckily, Zhou Shaoli came to pick me up and bring me back to the hotel very quickly.”
Yang Yutong bumped her shoulder against hers and asked, “How did things progress between you and your husband over those few days abroad?”
The water temperature of the private bath was just right, making it immensely comfortable to soak in. Qin Jiaojiao relaxed her expression and asked, “What progress?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. Don’t tell me you two haven’t slept together after being married for so long.” Yang Yutong raised an eyebrow, “Is Zhou Shaoli incompetent or something, letting a beauty like you go to waste?”
Qin Jiaojiao’s small face turned piping hot: “What absolute nonsense are you talking about?”
She was even led astray herself, harboring a tiny shred of suspicion about Zhou Shaoli.
“It’s so hot, I’m done soaking.” Qin Jiaojiao stood up, wrapped a dry bath towel around her body, and pinned her long hair up with a towel wrap.
Yang Yutong quickly got up, swapped into a dry bath towel, and followed along while gathering her hair.
This beauty and spa shop was an asset under the Yang family. As the eldest young miss, Yang Yutong’s exclusive private bath was located in a relatively secluded area surrounded by green bamboo, offering delightful scenery.
Coming out of the private bath, the two prepared to take a shower before heading to the VIP lounge.
Just after finishing their showers on the way to the lounge, Yang Yutong spotted two women appearing ahead, her face dampening slightly: “What is she doing here?”
Qin Jiaojiao followed her gaze. Shen Xiaoshan was standing together with a girl wearing a white dress, holding arm-in-arm looking very close. The young girl bore a thirty-percent resemblance to Yang Yutong, featuring a innocent white lotus face. Upon meeting Yang Yutong’s annoyed gaze, her expression instantly turned aggrieved.
“Sister.”
Yang Yutong snorted, her attitude far from pleasant as she questioned, “What are you doing here? Didn’t I say that wherever I am, you should stay far away?”
Displeasure crossed Shen Xiaoshan’s face as she shielded the girl beside her, “How can you speak like that? Yuyan is your younger sister, after all.”
Yang Yuyan pulled at her hand: “Shanshan, stop talking…” She looked toward Yang Yutong with a face full of grievance: “Mom said I could come here for a private bath, so I invited a friend along. Sister, please don’t be angry.”
Yang Yutong was thoroughly disgusted by her aggrieved expression. Every time she scolded her a bit at home, she would put on this abused facade, making the family bark at her to yield more to her younger sister.
So what if she was missing for over a decade and finally brought back? It wasn’t like she was the one who lost her sister, so on what grounds was she expected to endure and yield at every turn the moment her sister returned?
Seeing that Yang Yutong was about to explode, Qin Jiaojiao quickly grabbed her hand, turned to Yang Yuyan, and said, “Since your sister already stated she doesn’t want to share the same space with you, stop provoking her and leave immediately.”
Yang Yuyan displayed a conflicted and hurt expression: “I don’t want to make Sister angry either, but I already promised my friend we’d soak in the private bath together, and Mom told me to go out and play more with friends…”
Hearing her bring up their mother and remembering how her once-loving mom seemed like a completely different person, Yang Yutong’s heart burned with even greater grievance and anger. She pointed at Yang Yuyan and barked, “I don’t want to see you! This is my domain, get the hell out right now!”
Yang Yuyan lowered her head and began shedding tears.
Shen Xiaoshan couldn’t watch any longer, “Yuyan is your biological sister, you’re going too far!”
“How is this going too far? She clearly knew this was her sister’s shop, yet she insisted on bringing a friend over—wasn’t that deliberately looking to annoy her sister?” Qin Jiaojiao locked eyes with Shen Xiaoshan and said, “Yutong already told her to leave, yet she’s clinging around refusing to go while making an abused face—what is she trying to achieve? Getting everyone else to criticize her sister?”
Qin Jiaojiao sneered coldly, “Little sister, did you graduate from a drama academy? You love acting so much—if you truly didn’t want to make your sister unhappy, you should have taken your friend and left right away!”
Yang Yuyan choked back her tears, staring at Qin Jiaojiao in utter shock, “I…”
Qin Jiaojiao looked at her with cold eyes: “Standing here without leaving right now—are you trying to keep provoking your sister so you can run back home and tattle on her?”
Sensing that her intentions were completely seen through, Yang Yuyan felt a thread of fear under that piercing gaze, the tearful expression freezing on her face.
Shen Xiaoshan stared at Qin Jiaojiao in shock. She would never forget that day when Qin Jiaojiao caught her and Meng Zi’ang at the hotel, mistakenly thinking they were booking a room, acting like a madwoman who had lost all reason.
She knew high-society heiresses like Qin Jiaojiao inside out—spoiled, arrogant, bad-tempered, and incapable of taking the slightest provocation. A simple trick would make them expose their ugly sides, allowing onlookers to stand on the moral high ground to criticize and mock them.
Qin Jiaojiao really had changed; she was completely different from before. With just a few words, she had turned the situation around for Yang Yutong, causing the surrounding staff to start whispering and shooting strange looks at the fake-pitiable Yang Yuyan.
Shen Xiaoshan was left speechless. In this situation, it was impossible for her and Yang Yuyan to stay, leaving them no choice but to swallow their bitter frustration.
Yang Yuyan kept her head down and pulled at Shen Xiaoshan: “Sister Shan, let’s go.”
Once they left, the anger on Yang Yutong’s face dissolved into admiration as she looked at Qin Jiaojiao, “Jiaojiao, you’re so awesome! If you weren’t here, I definitely would have been angered by her again.”
In the original plot, her best friend Yang Yutong hadn’t ended up well either. The white lotus sister won all the love from their parents, and Father Yang found ways to trick the company shares out of Yang Yutong’s hands. Penniless, she was forced by her family into an alliance marriage with a playboy she despised. In the end, after being driven into a corner and suffering domestic violence from her husband, her parents told her to endure it for the sake of the two families’ business alliance.
After enduring years of domestic abuse, Yang Yutong finally snapped, killed the man, and committed suicide.
Qin Jiaojiao hugged Yang Yutong, sighing softly, “Your younger sister is quite something—no wonder you always suffer losses.”
Yang Yutong pursed her lips and said, “My family acts like they’re blind, completely unable to see that she’s intentionally playing victim. There’s nothing I can do; I can’t exactly fight my own parents, so I just moved out to live on my own—out of sight, out of mind.”
Recalling the plot developments later on, Qin Jiaojiao said, “If anything comes up, just tell me and I’ll help brainstorm ideas for you.”
“Alright, alright, I got it.” Yang Yutong held deep feelings for her parents and believed they were merely ignoring her feelings temporarily out of guilt toward their younger daughter.
Qin Jiaojiao smiled: “The haute couture gown I bought for you abroad has already been sent to your apartment. Isn’t your birthday coming up soon? Consider that dress my birthday gift to you.”
Yang Yutong let out a squeal: “Jiaojiao, I love you to death!”
The Yang and Qin family assets were roughly equivalent. Items worth tens or hundreds of thousands were casual purchases for them, but haute couture gowns cost hundreds of thousands at minimum, with top luxury brand pieces running into millions—which brands would only sell if the client possessed high enough status.
Yang Yutong was thrilled: “Jiaojiao, you really are a beautiful and kind-hearted fairy.”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Qin Jiaojiao pushed her away lightly, “Let’s head to the lounge.”
The two sat in the lounge while a staff member came over to serve tea.
“Are you attending the entertainment industry’s Starlight Gala red carpet, Jiaojiao?” Yang Yutong asked.
Qin Jiaojiao lacked acting skills just like the original owner; her ultimate dream was to eat, drink, and lie flat as a salted fish. The entertainment circle was a vanity fair, so she had zero interest: “Not going.”
Yang Yutong said: “That’s such a pity. If you walked the red carpet, the two of us could visually dominate the entire venue together.”
Her phone vibrated. Qin Jiaojiao picked it up to find a message from Zhou Shaoli asking where she was, as he wanted to come pick her up so they could go to the old residence for dinner together.
Catching a glimpse of the message, Yang Yutong teased, “Ooh ooh, President Zhou really can’t bear to be apart from his wife for a single second.”
Qin Jiaojiao replied to Zhou Shaoli’s message, then scrolled up the chat history to show Yang Yutong the compliment message Zhou Shaoli had sent her earlier.
“Do you really think this sounds like something Zhou Shaoli would write?”
Yang Yutong took one look and burst out laughing, “Hahahahaha I can’t!” She laughed so hard tears came out, “It really must have been tough on President Zhou to go through all the trouble of searching how to praise his wife online.” “My ex was terrible with words. Every time I asked if my new clothes looked nice, he’d search up a bunch of praise templates and send them over. Do all men use the exact same formula? The wording is literally identical.”
Qin Jiaojiao: “…”
Whatever, even if it was copied and edited text, the fact that he was willing to put in the effort for her was good enough.
The driver arrived to pick up Qin Jiaojiao. Upon getting into the car and seeing Zhou Shaoli, she recalled sending all those photos over earlier and boastfully asking if she looked pretty, which brought on a subtle wave of awkwardness.
Thus, she kept her head down playing on her phone without saying a word.
While handling work that afternoon, Zhou Shaoli had felt slightly restless. After receiving his elaborate praise, Qin Jiaojiao had only replied with two words—”Thank you”—and sent no further messages.
Zhou Shaoli put down his phone and glanced toward Qin Jiaojiao. The girl was dressed in a blush-pink long dress with her hair draped over her back, her exquisite face expressionless as she looked down at her phone.
Zhou Shaoli took the initiative to speak: “The dress suits you very well.”
Hearing this, Qin Jiaojiao raised her head to look at him and said, “The dress is very pretty, I like it a lot.”
These two haute couture dresses, worth millions combined, were paid for by the golden nugget sitting beside her. They were gorgeous and noble to wear, and she loved them to bits.
Zhou Shaoli lowered his eyelashes, a subtle smile flashing in his eyes. As long as she liked them, that was what mattered.
Visiting the Zhou family’s old residence for the second time, Qin Jiaojiao navigated her way into the living room with familiar ease. Today, only the Old Master, Old Madam, her parents-in-law, and her little niece were at home.
The family was seated in the living room. Qin Jiaojiao walked ahead while Zhou Shaoli followed behind, carrying numerous gift bags and placing them on the table.
“You two are coming over, why bring so many things?” Old Madam Zhou chuckled warmly.
With a sweet smile on her face, Qin Jiaojiao said, “Shaoli and I bought some items abroad to bring back for Grandfather, Grandmother, Dad, and Mom.”
Her little niece Ningning quickly asked: “Little Auntie, do I have a present?”
Qin Jiaojiao pinched her cheek and said, “Of course our Little Princess Ningning gets one too.”
Qin Jiaojiao first pushed the health and nutritional supplements in front of Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou, saying, “These are nutritional supplements for Grandfather and Grandmother to nourish your bodies.”
“Mom, this is a designer bag I bought abroad,” Qin Jiaojiao presented the box to Li Wanru, saying, “I hope you like it.”
Li Wanru raised an eyebrow and opened the box. Seeing that it was a brand-new release from a luxury brand—with a color and style that were exceptionally beautiful, elegant, and perfectly fitting her status—a smile spread across her face: “You’ve put thought into this.”
Qin Jiaojiao also presented her father-in-law with a gift tailored to his tastes, and finally pulled out a small pink plush bear, “Princess Ningning, this is your present.”
“Ahhh!” Ningning squealed in excitement, “Such a cute bear!”
Qin Jiaojiao handed it into her arms and asked, “Do you like it?”
“I love it!” Holding the pink bear, Ningning said in a crisp voice, “Thank you, Little Auntie.”
Qin Jiaojiao patted her head and asked, “Do you want to give the little bear a name?”
Ningning used standard American-accented pronunciation: “Candy! Little Auntie, it’s called Candy.”
Qin Jiaojiao was slightly surprised that Ningning spoke foreign languages so fluently at such a young age—she really was smart, proving that kids born into high society were truly born at the finish line.
All the gifts bought for the Zhou family had been charged to Zhou Shaoli’s black card, so she didn’t feel a hint of heartache, successfully winning over the entire family’s goodwill. Sitting around the dinner table, the atmosphere was vastly better than last time.
After dinner, Zhou Shaoli and his father went back upstairs. The Old Master and Old Madam went to their bedroom to rest after chatting in the living room for a bit, leaving Qin Jiaojiao to play with small toys alongside Ningning.
Suddenly, her mother-in-law Li Wanru’s voice rang out, “Qin Jiaojiao.”
Qin Jiaojiao turned around while holding Ningning: “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Follow me,” Li Wanru said.
Ningning chimed in: “I want to go too.”
Li Wanru glanced at her granddaughter and said, “Come along then.”
Her mother-in-law led the way while Qin Jiaojiao held Ningning’s hand, following her into a bedroom.
Putting on her glasses, Li Wanru said to her, “These are my design sketches. Take a look and pick out the patterns you like.”
Her mother-in-law Li Wanru was a famous jewelry designer, and some of the fine jewelry under Zhuxing Group came from her hands. Qin Jiaojiao was somewhat surprised that her mother-in-law would actually ask her to choose from her design drafts.
Qin Jiaojiao picked up the dozen or so design drafts on the desk, looking through them attentively for a moment before saying, “Mom, I’m not a professional designer, but based on my personal aesthetics, I prefer these few.”
She picked out around six or seven jewelry design sketches and spread them out in front of Li Wanru.
“Grandmother’s drawings are so pretty,” Ningning praised sweetly.
Li Wanru patted her small head, looking at the design drafts Qin Jiaojiao had selected, and said, “This season’s theme is ‘Eternity’—these drafts you picked happen to be my most satisfied final versions.”
“Is that so?” Qin Jiaojiao curved her eyes into smiling crescents and said, “To think Mom and I share the exact same taste.”
Li Wanru waved her hand: “Alright, you may go.”
Qin Jiaojiao led Ningning out of the bedroom, bumping into Zhou Shaoli as he came downstairs. The two left the old residence together to return to the courtyard villa.
As the car drove toward the courtyard villa, Qin Jiaojiao closed her eyes to rest. Beside her came Zhou Shaoli’s calm voice: “What did Mom say to you when she called you over?”
Qin Jiaojiao opened her eyes and said, “She had me look at her jewelry design drafts.”
“Look at design drafts?” Zhou Shaoli’s brow twitched slightly.
Qin Jiaojiao said, “Yes, the jewelry design drafts Mom drew are really beautiful.”
Zhou Shaoli had assumed Madam Li was looking for Qin Jiaojiao for a private chat to make things difficult for her daughter-in-law, yet she had actually invited Qin Jiaojiao to review her design drafts.
“Do you like them a lot?”
Qin Jiaojiao subtly hinted: “I like anything shiny.”
Zhou Shaoli caught her drift: “When the new jewelry line launches, the brand will deliver a set to you first.”
“Really?” Qin Jiaojiao’s eyes sparkled brightly.
Zhou Shaoli gave a faint nod.
Overwhelmed by his generosity, Qin Jiaojiao cheered: “Thank you, Boss!!!”
Zhou Shaoli: “…”
Returning to the courtyard villa, Qin Jiaojiao went upstairs to take a wonderful bath and comfortably snuggled under the covers. When Zhou Shaoli finished his shower and got into bed, Qin Jiaojiao saw him leaning against the headboard looking down at a fashion magazine, her eyes landing on his wrist.
Sleeping after a shower, he wasn’t wearing any accessories. His slender, handsome wrist was perfectly suited for luxury watches or Buddhist prayer beads; just looking at his hand gave off a cool, ascetic vibe.
Zhou Shaoli had constantly been gifting her things, yet it seemed she hadn’t given him a single gift yet.
“Zhou Shaoli,” she called out.
Zhou Shaoli set down his magazine and looked down at Qin Jiaojiao lying in the covers.
Qin Jiaojiao said dryly: “It’s nothing, I just wanted to call your name.”
Zhou Shaoli: “…”
He stared at her intently for a few seconds before picking up the magazine once again.
After a while, once the lights were turned off for sleep, Qin Jiaojiao had something on her mind and couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning.
Zhou Shaoli turned around to face her. The large bed held two people, positioned neither too close nor too far apart. Qin Jiaojiao met his gaze in the dim light, his pleasant, attractive voice sounding right beside her ear in the dark: “Can’t sleep?”
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