Chapter 4: Fourth Day as a Salted Fish
Receiving frequent harassing messages, Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t help but get annoyed and directly replied with two words.
[Who’s this.]
Obviously, her cold and heartless reply provoked the other party, and a barrage of messages came through.
[Miss Qin is a busy and important person, so you’ve already forgotten about me.]
[I’m Xiao Yu, the one who drank with you at Meise Nightclub a few days ago. You said my eyes were pretty and that you wanted to keep me for a month.]
Qin Jiaojiao: “…”
Oh, she remembered.
The person harassing her via text was Xiao Yu, the male college student from the original plot who tried to drug her, take photos to fake a passionate affair, and use the pictures to extort money from her.
In the nightclub, Qin Jiaojiao only teased these service staff a bit. She hadn’t even gotten handsy or felt up his abs, yet she just had to run into this scheming, broke man who wanted to set her up.
If you walk by the river often enough, your shoes are bound to get wet1. As a wealthy young miss, Qin Jiaojiao wasn’t willing to be threatened, especially since the other party was demanding an exorbitant price—asking for millions for just a few photos.
The negotiations failed, so Xiao Yu sold the photos to the media. They fell into the hands of the Zhou family’s business rivals and were exposed online. This incident had a significant impact on the Zhou family’s stock market, and Qin Jiaojiao was plunged into a marital cheating scandal. In the end, Zhou Shaoli spent a massive amount of money to buy back the photos and block the news, which eventually made people forget about it.
Later, during the recording of the couples’ variety show, someone dug up this news from god knows where, bringing a huge negative impact on the two of them. The entire internet gossiped that Qin Jiaojiao and Zhou Shaoli were only a couple on the surface, and played wildly in private.
[You left in a hurry that day and left something with me. Miss Qin, let’s set a time to meet.]
Xiao Yu’s messages came one after another, as if he was desperately eager to meet her.
Left something with him?
Qin Jiaojiao thought back to that night. Although her mind was a bit muddled, she had taken her purse and phone with her. She shouldn’t have left anything at the nightclub.
It was most likely an excuse Xiao Yu made up to ask her out.
Since she left in a hurry that day, she wasn’t helped into a hotel room by Xiao Yu and photographed in a compromising situation. Therefore, she could completely ignore his harassment.
[I don’t have time. Please stop bothering me.] She replied with a single message and then blocked him.
It was better to quickly and cleanly cut ties with this kind of nightclub man who approached her with ulterior motives. Who knew what other schemes he would come up with to harm her.
After eating lunch at home and taking a beautiful afternoon nap, Qin Jiaojiao got up and was just looking for something to kill time when she picked up her phone and saw a message from her best friend, Yang Yutong.
[Jiaojiao, want to come out and play this afternoon?]
Yang Yutong was the original owner’s genuine best friend, not one of those messy plastic best friends from her social circle that she met at nightclubs. She had promised to video call her a couple of nights ago but never did, only messaging her in the middle of the night to say she had been too tired from filming and forgot.
However, this didn’t affect their friendship. Sometimes Qin Jiaojiao also forgot to reply to her best friend’s messages.
[Okay, where should we meet?] Qin Jiaojiao messaged back to ask.
Yang Yutong replied: [Let’s meet at Autumn Water Beauty first. I need to get a facial.]
Qin Jiaojiao sent an ‘OK’ meme sticker.
Many rich people would hire beauticians for home services, but some people didn’t like outsiders coming to their homes. Instead, they would go out on dates with their friends to high-end beauty salons for skincare treatments.
Qin Jiaojiao went to the walk-in closet. As the female lead Shen Xiaoshan’s foil and comparison group, Shen Xiaoshan leaned towards a pure and elegant goddess image, whereas Qin Jiaojiao was a bright and alluring beauty. Her closet was full of luxurious socialite outfits that particularly accentuated her figure.
Thus, the entire internet’s evaluation of Qin Jiaojiao was that she wasted a good face; her mind was vicious, jealousy had twisted her beyond recognition, and she was thoroughly repulsive.
There was still an hour before meeting Yang Yutong, leaving her plenty of time to dress up. Qin Jiaojiao sat at the vanity and applied a simple makeup look.
Qin Jiaojiao’s facial features were incredibly exquisite. The heavy, cool-toned European-style makeup she wore at the nightclub that day looked good, but it didn’t suit her face. She only needed a simple base and some moisturizing lipstick to look stunning.
Blinking at the mirror, the outer corners of her bright eyes tilted upwards, carrying an alluring charm.
In a delightful mood, Qin Jiaojiao went downstairs.
“Madam, are you going out?” Auntie Zhang asked.
Qin Jiaojiao nodded, “Going out to play.”
“Will you be back tonight?” Auntie Zhang asked with concern.
“I’ll be back for dinner,” Qin Jiaojiao said.
When Qin Jiaojiao went out in the past, she often got blackout drunk at nightclubs and didn’t return until the middle of the night. Auntie Zhang had nagged her a few times, telling her to take care of her health and not ruin her body at such a young age. She never liked listening to it and continued to do whatever she pleased.
This was the very first time Qin Jiaojiao said she would come home for dinner, and Auntie Zhang was overjoyed.
“Okay, what would you like to eat tonight? I’ll have the kitchen prepare it.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t think of what to eat for dinner at the moment. As she changed her shoes at the entryway, she looked up and asked, “Is there a driver at home?”
Wealthy families always had chauffeurs for traveling, so it stood to reason that the Zhou family had one too.
“Driver Li drove President Zhou to the company,” Auntie Zhang said. “If Madam needs one, should I give President Zhou a call?”
Qin Jiaojiao immediately said, “Forget it. Zhou Shaoli needs the driver for work, I’ll just call a cab.”
Zhou Shaoli needed a driver to commute to work and run business errands every day. She didn’t go out for work daily and temporarily had no need for a driver. Not to mention, it was his driver; having the driver drive all the way from the company back home just to drop her off at a beauty salon was more trouble than just calling a cab.
Besides, before going to sleep last night, she had thought about Zhou Shaoli’s words. The original owner had entered into a contract marriage with him for some reason, and they would divorce when it expired.
Qin Jiaojiao thought very clearly: since he had no feelings for her, and she only wanted the ten billion divorce fee, keeping out of each other’s way was perfectly fine.
The car quickly arrived outside the villa. Qin Jiaojiao got in, thinking to herself that since they had signed a prenuptial agreement, the contract must be kept at home. When she got back today, she would find out where the agreement was kept and review the clauses. She wanted to avoid accidentally violating any terms and causing her ten billion to fly away like a cooked duck.
When Qin Jiaojiao arrived at Autumn Water Beauty, Yang Yutong was already waiting for her in a private room. She walked into the shop and, under the receptionist’s guidance, stepped into the elevator.
Just as she exited on the third floor, she saw a group of people ahead, holding professional cameras and light reflectors, surrounding a young woman.
A man wearing a crew-neck short-sleeve shirt was talking to the young woman. The woman wore exquisite makeup, her hair was intentionally styled, and she had a smile on her face, yet her eyes revealed a hint of impatience.
As someone suddenly walked out of the elevator, the filming crew subconsciously looked over, meeting Qin Jiaojiao’s appraising gaze.
Was this an advertisement shoot?
Qin Jiaojiao didn’t stop walking; she bypassed the crowd and headed inside.
“Wow, so pretty. Is that some wealthy heiress here for a facial?” The girl holding the light reflector couldn’t help but marvel, “That face and figure look even better than the stars in the industry.”
Quite a few men and women in the advertisement filming crew let their gazes follow Qin Jiaojiao.
The girl was young and beautiful, luxuriously dressed—the kind of beauty that made people unable to resist taking a few extra glances. In comparison, the female lead of the ad standing under the spotlights seemed a bit inferior.
“Can we start shooting?” a faintly impatient voice rang out.
The filming team quickly turned back and said, “Yes, we can. Teacher Shen, stand a little more towards the center, that angle is better.”
“Xiao Xu, could you hold your light reflector a little higher?” Shen Xiaoshan reminded her gently, “It’s better not to look around during work hours, so we don’t delay the shooting progress.”
The girl who had just praised Qin Jiaojiao’s face instantly turned red and white. She hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, Sister Shen, it’s my fault.”
Qin Jiaojiao walked up the stairs leading to another floor, finally remembering why the female lead surrounded by the crowd had felt so familiar. She hadn’t expected to actually run into Shen Xiaoshan at the beauty salon. Sure enough, she looked a bit different from her heavily photoshopped pictures online.
Pushing open the door to the private room, she entered and saw Yang Yutong lying on the bed, receiving a meticulous skincare treatment from a beautician.
“Yutong,” Qin Jiaojiao called out.
Yang Yutong murmured, “Jiaojiao, you’re here.”
Qin Jiaojiao sat down on the sofa and said, “I just bumped into Shen Xiaoshan downstairs.”
“Ah!” Yang Yutong almost sat up, but the beautician gently pushed her back down. “Miss Yang, please don’t move.”
Qin Jiaojiao put down her bag and picked up a glass of juice. “She’s downstairs shooting an ad.”
Autumn Water Beauty had a rich and magnificent decor. It was a shop favored by wealthy young misses, madams, and celebrities. Many fake socialites would even buy group deal packages to take photos and check-in here for social media.
Yang Yutong snorted and said, “Marketing her marriage into a wealthy family, a wedding full of commercial sponsorships—Shen Xiaoshan successfully built up her hype and secured quite a few advertising contracts through this wave of popularity.”
Qin Jiaojiao lowered her eyes and didn’t speak.
Generally speaking, wealthy families didn’t like exposing their private lives to the media, afraid of causing significant trouble.
As an illegitimate son of the Meng family, Meng Zi’ang didn’t hold much real power. He was originally supposed to enter an arranged marriage with the Qin family, hoping to use their help to secure his footing within the Meng family.
Qin Jiaojiao discovered he was having a clandestine affair with Shen Xiaoshan, and even caught them rolling in the sheets at a hotel. The young miss directly kicked him to the curb and annulled the marriage arrangement.
Meng Zi’ang was arrogant and proud, disdaining to coax the delicate young miss back. Seeing that Qin Jiaojiao turned around and married Zhou Shaoli instead, he immediately announced his relationship with Shen Xiaoshan in a high-profile manner.
Shen Xiaoshan became unexpectedly pregnant, giving Meng Zi’ang better leverage to fight for the family inheritance. The two were itching to broadcast this wedding to the entire world, declaring to everyone how perfect and happy they were, bringing them even more internet traffic and popularity.
After finishing their facials, Qin Jiaojiao and Yang Yutong had afternoon tea and chatted in the beauty salon’s VIP area.
“Meng Zi’ang is such a piece of trash. That adulterous pair definitely hooked up ages ago. She clearly rose to power as a mistress, yet marketing it as ‘wealthy true love’ is just disgusting…” Yang Yutong complained.
As Qin Jiaojiao’s best friend, Yang Yutong knew that the Qin and Meng families were close during college, and it was tacitly understood that Meng Zi’ang and Qin Jiaojiao would get engaged and married.
Who knew a Shen Xiaoshan would suddenly pop out to snatch her love. Meng Zi’ang suddenly had a change of heart, ruthlessly humiliating Qin Jiaojiao. When the Qin family faced a crisis, Meng Zi’ang didn’t even lift a finger to help. Otherwise, why would Qin Jiaojiao have married Zhou Shaoli?
Jiaojiao couldn’t get over that hurdle in her heart. What’s more, her marriage to Zhou Shaoli was a contract marriage, leaving her sleeping in an empty room. It was truly too wrongful for her.
The more Yang Yutong thought about it, the angrier she got.
Qin Jiaojiao said, “Stop scolding them, let’s talk about something else. How have you been lately?”
“Don’t even mention it.” Yang Yutong’s expression turned ugly. “It’s just those same old trivial matters. That sister of mine always wears a wronged expression, making it look like I’ve been bullying her. I even gave up my bedroom to her, but it’s still not enough. I don’t want to go back and watch them look like one big happy family, and my dad even calls to scold me.”
Qin Jiaojiao sighed softly in her heart. As the best friend of a comparison group character, her life naturally wouldn’t be very easy either.
The original book described that Yang Yutong had a younger sister who went missing when she was very little. She was recently found and brought back, and the whole family held her in the palm of their hands. As the older sister, Yang Yutong was expected to yield to this sister in everything. The stubborn-tempered Yang Yutong frequently argued with her parents, and now their relationship was so strained that she moved out to live in an apartment.
“It’s fine, I have ten percent of the Yang family’s shares under my name.” Yang Yutong said to the worried-looking Qin Jiaojiao, “No one can bully me. You, on the other hand…”
Yang Yutong looked her up and down and said, “I heard you’ve been playing wildly at the nightclubs. If this reaches the Zhou family’s ears… Has that mother-in-law of yours given you any trouble?”
“I was just about to talk to you about this.” Qin Jiaojiao took out her phone, clicked on a photo, and said, “Help me take a look and see if this photo is photoshopped.”
Qin Jiaojiao had blocked Xiao Yu, so he used a different number to message her, attaching a photo and threatening that if she wouldn’t meet him, he would go crazy and leak the photo online.
The photo showed Qin Jiaojiao and Xiao Yu chatting at the entrance of a hotel. She didn’t have the original owner’s memories, so she couldn’t remember if she had ever had any entanglements with Xiao Yu back then.
If this photo was real, she would have to find a way to get the photos from Xiao Yu and destroy them.
Yang Yutong took her phone and stared closely at the photo. She couldn’t immediately tell if it was edited. AI synthesis technology was so overpowered nowadays that it was easy to confuse fake with real.
“I can’t tell.” Yang Yutong shook her head and said, “But I can help you come up with an idea.”
Qin Jiaojiao asked, “What should I do?”
“Just ask him back how he can prove this photo is real and not a fake photoshopped image. Tell him if he can’t prove it’s real, you’ll sue him for spreading rumors.” Yang Yutong had a knack for dealing with this sort of thing.
Qin Jiaojiao nodded. “I know what to do.”
The phone rang. Yang Yutong looked at the caller ID saved as ‘Golden Nugget’ and asked, “Who’s this?”
Qin Jiaojiao’s face flushed. She snatched the phone back and said, “Zhou Shaoli.”
Strange, it wasn’t even five o’clock in the afternoon yet. Why would Zhou Shaoli call her?
“Hello.” The man’s pleasant voice came through.
Qin Jiaojiao asked softly, “Is something the matter?”
“I need you to do me a favor,” Zhou Shaoli’s voice was gentle.
“Oh, okay.” Qin Jiaojiao asked, “What favor?”
“A friend of mine is celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary and throwing a banquet tonight, so…” Zhou Shaoli’s voice paused before he said, “I need a female companion.”
It wasn’t that Zhou Shaoli had never attended banquets before. Unlike others who would have their secretary, assistant, girlfriend, or lover as their plus-one, he always went alone.
This time, the invitation specifically noted that all guests were requested to bring their significant others to the banquet.
The assistant had mentioned, “President Zhou, you could ask your wife if she has time to accompany you to the banquet.”
Thus, Zhou Shaoli called Qin Jiaojiao. His long fingers, holding a fountain pen resting on the desk, rubbed against it slightly as he waited for Qin Jiaojiao’s reply on the other end of the line.
Qin Jiaojiao was stunned for a moment before saying, “I can help you, but… I’m still out.”
As Zhou Shaoli’s date to a banquet, she definitely had to dress nicely. She needed to get her hair and makeup done and pick out a gown.
“I’ll come pick you up.” Zhou Shaoli set down the fountain pen.
Qin Jiaojiao agreed, “Okay, I’ll send you the address.”
Hanging up, Qin Jiaojiao gripped her phone and slowly let out a breath.
Yang Yutong draped an arm around her and asked, “What favor did Zhou Shaoli ask for? When did you and Zhou Shaoli get so close? To think you hid it from me, spill it, quick…”
Qin Jiaojiao: “He wants me to be his plus-one tonight and accompany him to a banquet.”
“Whoa!” Yang Yutong let out an exaggerated gasp and giggled, “Jiaojiao, you’re pretty good. When did you conquer Zhou Shaoli?”
Qin Jiaojiao felt very embarrassed by her teasing gaze and said, “I didn’t, stop talking nonsense.”
“That’s Zhou Shaoli of the Zhuxing Group!” Yang Yutong said with a yearning face, “Do you know how the Beijing circle describes him? Indifferent to fame and fortune, aloof and noble, like a cold and detached Buddhist monk…”
“…Stop!” Qin Jiaojiao said, “What kind of adjectives are those? Did you pull them straight out of a novel?”
Yang Yutong chuckled twice and said, “Jiaojiao, from the moment you married Zhou Shaoli, I knew that a little goblin like you would conquer Zhou Shaoli one day. Don’t forget to take me along when you live the high life! I have all your chat histories backed up, I’ll leech off you for the rest of my life!”
That scumbag Meng Zi’ang was just the Meng family’s illegitimate son. How could he possibly compare to Zhou Shaoli, who had a prominent background and a glorious ancestral history?
Qin Jiaojiao: “…”
The two went downstairs together. Just as they stepped out of the elevator, they happened to run into Shen Xiaoshan’s filming team.
“Wow, a luxury car! I wonder who it’s here to pick up!”
“It’s probably a luxury car from some wealthy madam’s family here to pick them up.”
Yang Yutong slightly raised her voice: “Jiaojiao, your husband is here to pick you up.”
Everyone in Shen Xiaoshan’s filming team looked over. So it was her husband’s car. Some people revealed looks of envy in their eyes, while others showed a somewhat strange, knowing look.
The girl looked to be in her early twenties, and the luxury car parked outside was worth tens of millions. A wealthy man who could drive a car like that was definitely not young. A young girl and a luxury car owner… the relationship between them was very thought-provoking.
The assistant beside Shen Xiaoshan said, “No wonder she’s dripping in designer brands from head to toe. Turns out she’s a sugar baby.”
Shen Xiaoshan stared at Qin Jiaojiao with an unreadable expression.
Ever since being slapped by Qin Jiaojiao at the hotel last time, Shen Xiaoshan hadn’t crossed paths with her again.
Everyone in the circle rumored that Zhou Shaoli and Qin Jiaojiao’s arranged marriage was loveless, and that Qin Jiaojiao spent her days getting drunk and never coming home at night. How could Zhou Shaoli possibly come to pick up Qin Jiaojiao? It was absolutely Qin Jiaojiao getting the Zhou family’s driver to pick her up just to put on a show in front of her.
“Holy crap, he’s so handsome!” someone blurted out.
Qin Jiaojiao lifted her eyes towards the door, and a man walked in from outside.
The man was dressed in a dark ink-colored suit. With a tall and straight posture, his long legs took unhurried steps towards them. The evening light scattered down, coating him in a faint layer of glow.
He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his high-bridged nose. His handsome face bore an indifferent expression, noble and elegant, as if he didn’t care about anything, completely nonchalant.
Such a handsome and charismatic man was rare even in the entertainment industry. The onlookers’ gazes followed him as he walked right up to the fair-skinned, beautiful girl.
He was that girl’s husband?!
Oh my god, they’re such a perfect match!
A handsome man and a beautiful woman, they were absolutely a match made in heaven!
In the blink of an eye, the tides had turned. All the onlookers were now looking over with envious and yearning eyes.
Shen Xiaoshan’s expression was a bit ugly. Listening to the words of envy and praise around her, she was sick to her stomach. She forced a smile and urged, “Is the car here yet? We’ve been shooting all day and I’m a bit tired. I want to go back and rest immediately.”
“It’s here, it’s here.” The assistant who had just spoken ill of Qin Jiaojiao felt her face stinging from the figurative slap. She embarrassedly wanted to leave right away, “Sister Shen, let’s get off work quickly.”
The group of people left in twos and threes.
Zhou Shaoli lowered his eyes to look at Qin Jiaojiao. “Have you paid for this afternoon’s expenses yet?”
“No.” Qin Jiaojiao hadn’t had time to pay before Zhou Shaoli arrived. She had just been about to pay.
Zhou Shaoli took out his wallet, pulled out a card, and handed it to her, “Use this card.”
“Okay.” Qin Jiaojiao calmly took the black card and turned around to pay.
Yang Yutong, who was following beside Qin Jiaojiao, tightly grabbed her arm and squealed softly, “Jiaojiao, your husband is so handsome.”
Qin Jiaojiao nodded. “Indeed.”
The way he pulled out that card was truly handsome.
Translator’s note:
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