Chapter 37: Thirty-Seventh Day as a Salted Fish
Zhou Shaoli glanced at her. “No need. Just stay there and rest.”
Hearing him say that, Qin Jiaojiao sat on the sofa with a clear conscience, sipping yogurt with one hand while playing on her phone with the other. Because of her sudden mushroom poisoning, she had spent most of the past two days sleeping and resting, without chatting with anyone or playing games.
Even lazy people usually replied to messages, but she had gone completely off the grid. The little kid had messaged her for two days straight, asking her to come online and play games with him, but she hadn’t replied to a single one.
Yang Yutong had been forwarding funny videos to her every day on social media using an alt account, but she hadn’t replied to those either, merely casting a casual glance over them.
Today, First Young Miss Qin was finally discharged from the hospital and back at Yueli Courtyard—it was time to officially open for business!
She first sent the little kid a small red envelope and replied to his messages: Sorry, I got mushroom poisoning these past two days. I’ve just been discharged. Let’s play games together after I finish eating later.
Then, she sent Yang Yutong a Let the Earth Explode meme sticker and grumbled: I’m so done with Shen Xiaoshan! The wild mushrooms she picked from the mountain were toxic after cooking, and I almost got sent to see my ancestors!
Thank goodness this young miss has a tough life, otherwise I would’ve been lying flat on a board [TN: Internet slang euphemism for dying/lying in a coffin].
Yang Yutong instantly sent back a string of question marks: You got mushroom poisoning?!
Without waiting for her reply, Yang Yutong began frantically spamming her chat box.
No wonder you ignored me these past two days! How’s your body? Nothing major happened, right?
How can Shen Xiaoshan be such a death-seeker? She didn’t poison you on purpose, did she?
I suspect that after the show aired, you and Zhou Shaoli got too popular, triggering Shen Xiaoshan’s jealousy. So she deliberately used mushrooms to poison you! How can that dead woman be so malicious?! Did you call the police?
Seeing Yang Yutong’s thoughts straying further and further off course, Qin Jiaojiao quickly explained: We didn’t call the police. The production crew arranged for all the guests to go to Shen Xiaoshan’s house for a mushroom hotpot, and everyone got poisoned.
Yang Yutong replied: Even so, you can’t drop your guard! Next time the production crew makes this kind of arrangement, you’d better not go. Who knows what crazy stuff that woman will pull?
Only a true best friend would stand completely on her side like this; Yang Yutong wished she could crawl through the phone screen right now to give her a hug.
Did the production team and Shen Xiaoshan apologize to you? Yang Yutong put on her full argument-ready posture and continued, They put you through so much; shouldn’t they kowtow and apologize to you?!
Although Qin Jiaojiao chalked up the mushroom poisoning to her own bad luck, she still harbored a tiny bit of resentment toward the production team and Shen Xiaoshan. When the crew dragged Shen Xiaoshan to her hospital ward to apologize, even though cameras were filming and it felt a bit like a PR stunt, seeing Shen Xiaoshan’s reluctant yet forced apology had felt immensely satisfying.
They apologized.
Yang Yutong proceeded to diss the production team and Shen Xiaoshan without mercy.
Traveling thousands of miles to film a show in a place where birds don’t even lay eggs—is the production planner for Romantic Lovers eating shit? Other people record dating shows running all over the world, traveling together through various beautiful big cities, but this bullshit production crew just had to run to a remote mountain gully!
My precious Jiaojiao, you’ve really suffered during this period.
Yang Yutong then asked about Zhou Shaoli: What about your husband? Did he get poisoned?
No. Qin Jiaojiao briefly explained the situation to her: because Zhou Shaoli was out doing a good deed, he came back very late and didn’t eat the toxic mushrooms, luckily escaping the disaster.
Then has your husband been taking care of you these past few days?
Yang Yutong knew the production crew’s theme revolved around exploring marriage, so their main gimmick was making the couples self-reliant without hiring help for cleaning or cooking.
With Qin Jiaojiao hospitalized from poisoning, only Zhou Shaoli could take care of her. Yang Yutong severely doubted whether Zhou Shaoli, who had been waited on by servants since childhood, was actually capable of taking proper care of Qin Jiaojiao.
…Yeah.
Qin Jiaojiao recalled the embarrassing incident where she had suffered hallucinations from the mushroom poisoning and dragged Zhou Shaoli around to dance like a lunatic, so she told Yang Yutong that she really had seen little sprites.
Yang Yutong was shocked: You could actually see them?!
Don’t even bring it up, I lost face all the way to my grandma’s house. Qin Jiaojiao shifted her gaze toward Zhou Shaoli, who was busy in the kitchen. While they were chatting, a mouthwatering aroma had drifted out from the kitchen, so she padded toward it in her slippers.
“It smells so good! What are you cooking?” She stood on tiptoes and leaned closer to look, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Zhou Shaoli was adding seasonings to the pot. He turned his head to glance at her and said, “Yam and pork rib soup.”
No wonder it smelled so good. Qin Jiaojiao felt a bit embarrassed simply standing there watching him work, asking, “What other dishes are you making? Do you need me to help wash the vegetables?”
“No need, go rest.” Zhou Shaoli spoke calmly.
“Oh…”
Qin Jiaojiao felt that his tone held a subtle hint of ‘don’t make a mess’. Her gaze shifted from the food to the man’s face—he was dressed in a dark shirt without a necktie, his sleeves rolled up to reveal strong, powerful arms, wearing disposable gloves as he seasoned the meat. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes held a focused expression.
They really weren’t lying when they said a man was at his handsomest when working seriously.
As Qin Jiaojiao stood idly in the kitchen, Zhou Shaoli paused his meat-marinating actions, looked at her, and asked, “Could I trouble you for a favor?”
Hmm?
Qin Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up with excitement. “What do you need me to do?”
Zhou Shaoli’s voice was warm and gentle. “My apron string seems to have come loose. Help me tie it.”
Qin Jiaojiao parted her lips slightly, having thought she was being assigned some monumental task. Still, as long as she could be of help, it was fine. Walking behind Zhou Shaoli, she indeed spotted the loosely hanging apron ties.
Untying the apron strings, she pulled the two straps taut and asked from behind, “Is this okay? Is it too tight?”
“It’s fine,” Zhou Shaoli replied in a calm tone.
Qin Jiaojiao tied the apron strings tightly for him, crafting an exquisite bow knot. Stepping to his side, she noticed fine beads of sweat breaking out across his handsome forehead and blurted out, “You’re sweating so much.”
The kitchen was much warmer than the living room, and after bustling about in the steamy heat, Zhou Shaoli’s forehead was covered in sweat.
Upon hearing her words, Zhou Shaoli’s hands paused. He lowered his gaze to look at her. “Could you please wipe it for me?”
“Okay, wait a moment.” Qin Jiaojiao trotted to the living room, pulled out a few tissues, and returned to the kitchen. “Lower your head.”
Zhou Shaoli leaned forward slightly, bringing his handsome face close.
Qin Jiaojiao’s heart skipped a beat. Reaching out, she slid his gold-rimmed glasses down off his high nose bridge, using the tissue to gently wipe his forehead before dabbing away the sweat along the sides of his face.
Neither of them spoke as the soup pot in the kitchen bubbled and steamed hot vapor.
With his glasses removed, Zhou Shaoli’s attractive, light brown eyes gazed deeply at her, his vision containing only her reflection.
Qin Jiaojiao’s heart uselessly accelerated. Though she had started off carefully wiping his sweat, by the end she couldn’t withstand his intense gaze, hastily wiping his face at random before helping him slide his glasses back on.
“Done,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.
“Mm,” he replied, his voice carrying a trace of raspy depth.
Qin Jiaojiao turned around, let out a deep breath, crumpled the tissue tightly, and said, “The soup seems to be boiling.”
Zhou Shaoli: “It still needs to simmer for a few more minutes.”
Qin Jiaojiao orbited around to the other side of the open kitchen counter, offering a sincere compliment: “You’re really impressive. You can learn to cook just by looking at a recipe, unlike me—no matter how many times I look, I can never learn.”
Zhou Shaoli looked at her with gentle eyes. “You don’t need to learn.”
Qin Jiaojiao: “I was just naturally born without cooking talent. In the future, whatever I want to eat, I’ll just hire an auntie or order takeout.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized she had let something slip.
Zhou Shaoli clearly caught her underlying meaning, lowering his brow and eyes so that the expression on his face couldn’t be read.
“It seems like someone sent me a message, I’ll go check.” Feeling mysteriously guilty, Qin Jiaojiao fled toward the living room.
Zhou Shaoli raised his eyes to watch her figure hurriedly running to the living room, his heart sinking slightly. However, he quickly dispersed this feeling of disappointment and resumed his tasks.
The show was less than halfway through recording, and their contract marriage still had plenty of time left; it was far too early for her to get a divorce.
Qin Jiaojiao picked up her phone to find that it was the little kid who had messaged her. He had refunded her red envelope and coolly told her to log on after eating so he could carry her to massacre the Rift.
Qin Jiaojiao replied with a cute, adorable “Okie-dokie” meme sticker.
Ten-plus minutes later, Zhou Shaoli had placed the cooked dishes onto the dining table and called her over to eat.
Smelling the mouthwatering aroma of the food, Qin Jiaojiao—whose stomach only held yogurt and a few pieces of fruit—couldn’t wait to eat, walking toward the dining room with light, breezy steps.
Qin Jiaojiao glanced at the table: stir-fried eggplant, steamed taro and sticky rice ribs, tender sliced chicken… a spread of home-cooked dishes that looked extremely appetizing.
She didn’t know how these dishes tasted, but their presentation was top-notch; they looked delicious at a single glance.
Qin Jiaojiao walked quickly toward the kitchen to grab bowls for rice, not anticipating that the kitchen floor was slick. Treading on droplets of water, she accidentally slipped and stumbled forward.
Zhou Shaoli was quick-witted and agile, extending his long arm to scoop her firmly into his embrace.
Qin Jiaojiao froze completely for several seconds, her heart pounding wildly as both her hands tightly gripped Zhou Shaoli’s collar. Once she snapped back to her senses, a lingering fear washed over her: “That scared me to death.”
Zhou Shaoli helped her stand steady and said, “Go sit in the dining room, I’ll scoop the rice.”
Qin Jiaojiao obediently went to sit in the dining room, waiting for Zhou Shaoli to bring the rice over. She stared eagerly at Zhou Shaoli serving rice in the kitchen, looking like an adorable little kitten waiting to be fed.
Holding two bowls of rice, Zhou Shaoli set one before her and pulled out a chair to sit across from her.
Qin Jiaojiao picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of chicken, and tasted it. Her eyes instantly lit up, gazing at Zhou Shaoli with an expression of full worship.
“So delicious!”
Wu wu wu, was there really anything Zhou Shaoli couldn’t do? To think he could cook this well on his very first attempt!
Where was the justice in this—why couldn’t a genius like this young miss learn how to cook?!
Meeting her worshipful gaze, Zhou Shaoli smiled faintly. “That’s good. I was worried it wouldn’t suit your appetite.”
Qin Jiaojiao nodded in praise: “It’s even better than what our private chef at home makes!”
Zhou Shaoli ate in an unhurried, graceful manner, whereas Qin Jiaojiao abandoned all dining etiquette. This was a meal cooked by President Zhou himself, after all—she had to eat an extra bowl!
After eating her fill happily, Qin Jiaojiao proactively offered to wash the dishes to share some household responsibilities. Zhou Shaoli stopped her again, stating that she hadn’t fully recovered from her illness and should rest properly.
Qin Jiaojiao had no choice but to sit on the sofa to rest, occasionally casting glances at Zhou Shaoli, who was washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Once Zhou Shaoli finished tidying up the kitchen, she went upstairs to take an afternoon nap.
Waking up from her nap around three or four in the afternoon, she headed downstairs.
Zhou Shaoli was sitting in the living room processing work. Standing at the landing of the stairs, Qin Jiaojiao watched this scene, secretly wondering if he was made of machinery; otherwise, where did he get so much energy?
She walked over to sit beside him, let out a post-nap yawn, and picked up her phone to message the little kid.
【Get online!】
The little kid replied quickly with an OK gesture.
Qin Jiaojiao hadn’t played games for two days, so she logged on and joined the little kid’s lobby to queue as a duo.
Whenever her character died and her screen went black during games, she would occasionally steal a glance at Zhou Shaoli.
A strange thought inexplicably popped into her head: Zhou Shaoli was massacring in his corporate business empire, while she was massacring in the game’s Rift.
She couldn’t help giggling out loud.
“Dying makes you that happy?” A pleasant, youthful male voice sounded from the phone.
Qin Jiaojiao froze. Beside her, Zhou Shaoli’s hands tapping against the keyboard paused, turning his head to look at her.
This was the first time Qin Jiaojiao had heard the little kid’s voice. She had assumed he was a middle schooler, but judging by his voice, was he a high schooler?
No, no, no, that wasn’t the important part.
The important part was the gaze Zhou Shaoli was shooting her way—why did it hold a faint trace of scrutiny?
Qin Jiaojiao voiced hesitantly: “A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces?”
“Mm. It’s me.” The youth’s voice carried a touch of restraint.
Qin Jiaojiao asked: “I thought you were a middle schooler. How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” the youth answered.
Qin Jiaojiao looked at Zhou Shaoli and introduced: “This guy is my teammate.”
“Who are you talking to?” the youth asked.
Qin Jiaojiao said: “My husband.”
The air fell into a moment of silence.
The little kid said aloofly: “Oh. Auntie, so you’re married.”
Qin Jiaojiao: “…” She had a thousand curse words she wanted to spit out!
She was only seven years older than him! Was seven years that big of a gap?! Calling her ‘Auntie’—this dead brat!
Zhou Shaoli hadn’t made a sound the entire time, but for some reason, Qin Jiaojiao felt pressure weighing down on her like a mountain. Just then, the enemy team blew up their crystal in the game, so she said, “I’m not playing anymore, I have to eat in a bit.”
“Mm, goodbye.” The little kid logged off.
Qin Jiaojiao put away her phone and said to Zhou Shaoli: “He’s a netizen I met a while ago, just a brat who carries me in games to rank up every day.”
“He never turned his mic on before, so I really thought he was a primary schooler.”
Zhou Shaoli’s handsome face held no expression, making it impossible to tell if he was angry or not. Qin Jiaojiao felt anxious inside—she had zero intention of cheating during their contract marriage; no man could ever compare to her ten billion!
Not even Zhou Shaoli could compare—wait, why was she using Zhou Shaoli as a comparison? Her absolute, most favorite thing was money!
Zhou Shaoli hadn’t actually overthought it; the other party was just a teenager and a netizen met through a game, posing no threat whatsoever. Still, he spoke up to remind her: “Keep your guard up with people you meet online, don’t get scammed out of money.”
Qin Jiaojiao blurted out: “Scamming my feelings is fine, but scamming my money is out of the question!”
Zhou Shaoli’s eyes instantly darkened, gazing deeply at her.
Qin Jiaojiao offered a timid, sheepish smile. “Slips of the tongue—that’s just trending internet slang.”
“Mm,” Zhou Shaoli replied softly.
After dinner, Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t wait to run into the bathroom to wash up. Stepping out, she snuggled under the duvet and pulled out her phone to watch dramas.
A drama she liked had premiered today; the male lead had a great youthful vibe, was extraordinarily handsome, possessed excellent acting skills, and watching the first two episodes had been super satisfying.
After binge-watching two episodes back-to-back, Qin Jiaojiao was just planning on reading some webnovels before sleep when she received a call from Mother Qin.
“Hello, Mom.”
Mother Qin’s worried voice carried through: “Jiaojiao, are you okay? I saw on the trending searches that you got mushroom poisoning?”
Trending searches?
Qin Jiaojiao quickly comforted Mother Qin: “Mom, I’m fine. It was just mild poisoning, and I’ve already been discharged from the hospital.”
Mother Qin’s tone was anxious: “Jiaojiao, you and Shaoli hurry up and fly back! Have your dad pay the contract termination fee—stop recording that variety show!”
Qin Jiaojiao said: “Mom, don’t worry too much. I really am totally fine. I’ll be back in a couple of days after finishing the variety show recording.”
“You child, such a huge thing happened while recording a variety show and you didn’t even tell the family—you’re trying to scare your parents to death!” Mother Qin complained.
Qin Jiaojiao: “I’m sorry, Mom, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. Wasn’t I just afraid you’d worry?”
After soothing Mother Qin’s emotions, Qin Jiaojiao hurriedly opened Weibo.
#RomanticLoversSeason2GuestsMushroomPoisonedFilmingHalted# was hanging high on the trending search list. Below it were a few blurry photos showing the three guest couples entering and exiting the hospital respectively.
In the comment section of the topic square, fans were worried out of their minds.
【How did they get mushroom poisoning?】
【Oh god, are all the guests okay?】
【How’s the Yueli CP doing? Is anyone at the scene?】
【Even local Nancheng locals don’t dare eat wild mountain mushrooms recklessly—how could the guests be so careless?】
【Mushroom poisoning can easily kill people. Can the production crew please take the guests seriously and stop making light of their health? Treat the guests like human beings!】
【How terrifying! They nearly lost their lives recording a variety show! Boycott this inhumane show!】
【Word from an insider staff member says it was because Shen Xiaoshan picked mushrooms to cook hotpot for everyone that the accident happened.】
【Where did this staff member come from to slander Sister Shan? Stop spreading wild rumors!】
The internet was locked in a chaotic brawl, and public opinion was extremely unfavorable toward the Romantic Lovers production crew. The alt account that leaked that Shen Xiaoshan picked wild mushrooms to cook hotpot and caused the guests’ mushroom poisoning was quickly deleted; its IP address was Nancheng.
Multiple fan groups captured screenshots in time, using the leak to denounce Shen Xiaoshan and demand an explanation.
Qin Jiaojiao saw the trending search, and naturally, Shen Xiaoshan on the other side saw it too. Sitting in her room, her face was deathly pale from anxiety. With no good way to resolve this issue, she was going to be flamed online for a long time, suffering massive negative repercussions.
Shen Xiaoshan’s team sent her messages, wanting to negotiate with the production crew on how to tackle the problem.
The Romantic Lovers production crew had previously signed an agreement with Shen Xiaoshan’s side, guaranteeing that Shen Xiaoshan would receive the most screen time on the show to build an image of the sweetest wealthy couple with Meng Zi’ang—but that didn’t mean the production crew was willing to take the fall for her.
The production team demanded that responsibility be split 50-50.
Rather than being continuously denounced and cursed at by fans, it was better for the official account to issue a response and soothe the fans first.
Shen Xiaoshan’s team had no choice but to agree to the production crew’s approach.
With the online uproar reaching a fever pitch, the Romantic Lovers Season 2 production crew posted a Weibo statement:
Due to an oversight by the production crew in failing to promptly remind the guests that wild mountain mushrooms must be thoroughly cooked before consumption, several guest couples suffered mild poisoning. We express our deepest apologies.
All guest couples have now been discharged from the hospital and are gradually recovering. In two days, Romantic Lovers will hold an agricultural assistance livestream.
All fans are welcome to follow the Mango TV official account for the guests to reserve a spot for the livestream day.
The fans’ fury wasn’t placated. Fans of the Yueli CP and Feizhu CP continued to blast and curse Shen Xiaoshan and her husband.
Holding her phone, Shen Xiaoshan’s face was grim and deeply unhappy.
Meng Zi’ang never cared about showbiz matters, leaving everything for her to worry about. The production crew’s clarification was practically worse than saying nothing—now even more people were cursing her!
Shen Xiaoshan stepped into a spot out of camera range, picked up her phone, and called her manager.
“This kind of trending search isn’t easy to pull down,” her manager said in a deep voice. “There’s still one method left—using a trending search to suppress a trending search.”
This tactic was very common in the entertainment industry. When certain stars had damaging dirt exposed, they would find ways to throw out someone else’s black material to crush their own trending topic.
Shen Xiaoshan: “Do you have any dirt on hand lately?”
The manager said: “A while back, a marketing account under our company received a piece of dirt, but I’ve been holding onto it without releasing it.”
“Whose?” Shen Xiaoshan asked.
The manager said: “Qin Jiaojiao, who’s filming the variety show with you. Her husband was caught meeting a woman late at night—I screenshot that leak and kept it suppressed just to wait for an opportunity to use it.”
Shen Xiaoshan raised an eyebrow, the gloom on her face evaporating. “Send it over for me to see.”
The manager sent several photos to Shen Xiaoshan. They were likely GIF clips captured by a paparazzi hiding far behind a flowerbed: a low-profile luxury car was parked outside the entrance of a high-end hotel.
A man with a noble aura sat in the back seat with the window rolled down. Standing outside the car was a young woman wearing a haute couture evening gown; she possessed a refined demeanor and good looks, leaning down slightly to gaze tenderly at the man inside the car.
In reality, the two had merely exchanged a few words, but when posted online by marketing accounts with sensationalized topics adding fuel to the fire, it was guaranteed to trigger massive public discussion.
This would definitely be way more explosive than her causing the guests to get mushroom poisoned!
Shen Xiaoshan quickly dug out photos she had secretly taken in the residential compound showing Qin Jiaojiao rolling a suitcase as she ran away, sending them straight to her manager.
Qin Jiaojiao was surfing the web and eating melons—which idol dropped a new song, which star starred in a new drama, which celebrity went public with a relationship… As she browsed, she never expected to end up eating melons on herself!
#QinJiaojiaoHusbandZhouShaoliCheating#
Qin Jiaojiao: “?”
The probability of Zhou Shaoli cheating was even lower than Mars colliding with Earth!
She let out a sneer and clicked into it, wanting to see which marketing account was smearing Zhou Shaoli.
The marketing account stated with righteous conviction that after lurking outside a certain hotel for days, they had finally captured the helm of Zhuxing Group meeting an enchanting woman late at night—for a married man to meet a woman late at night, if that wasn’t cheating, what was it?
Qin Jiaojiao clicked open the GIF, her brows furrowing slightly. She knew Zhou Shaoli’s personality—he always kept a polite distance from women.
Yet the woman in these photos, from top to bottom, exuded an air of being very familiar with Zhou Shaoli; her demeanor and looks made it clear she wasn’t some escort or high-end model from a cocktail party.
Who was she?
The marketing account’s post had even attached photos of her dragging a suitcase to Yang Yutong’s place. Who on earth had secretly photographed her—paparazzi?
Qin Jiaojiao examined Zhou Shaoli’s suit, confirming the time of the event. That night, he had been attending a banquet, leaving early to pick her up from the Starlight Gala. He had likely just exchanged a few words with that woman, rather than the late-night hotel meeting or cheating affair described by the marketing account.
The trending search hung at number one, seen by countless people.
Han Xiao’s girlfriend saw the trending search and immediately held it out for him to see: “President Zhou cheated?”
“No!” Han Xiao denied it instantly.
Han Xiao said in a panic: “Which paparazzi company took these photos to spread rumors? No way, to stop the situation from escalating, I have to contact the group’s PR department right away!”
Han Xiao prayed silently in his heart: Madam, please don’t see this trending search and misunderstand! After calling the PR department, he quickly dialed Zhou Shaoli.
“President Zhou, I sent you a link, please take a look quickly.”
Zhou Shaoli opened the link. When he saw the trending search claiming he cheated, complete with photos of Xu Xueqing standing outside his car talking to him, he immediately looked toward the second floor.
Had Qin Jiaojiao seen it?
Han Xiao said: “I’ve already instructed PR to handle it. President Zhou, please explain to Madam—I can testify on your behalf.”
“Have the PR department remove the trending search as quickly as possible,” Zhou Shaoli ordered.
Han Xiao replied: “I’ll get right on it.”
Zhou Shaoli hung up the phone, closed his laptop, left his pending work behind, and stepped upstairs.
Qin Jiaojiao hadn’t expected that a few random photos posted by a marketing account could bring such a massive impact. Yang Yutong was frantically messaging her: Who is that woman? Did Zhou Shaoli really cheat?!!
With a click, the door opened, and Zhou Shaoli’s tall, slender figure appeared.
Qin Jiaojiao had accidentally gotten essence into her eye while taking off her face mask, making it sting with burning pain. After rubbing it, both her eyes were bright red.
Zhou Shaoli’s heart sank. Was she crying?
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