Chapter 46: Forty-Sixth Day as a Salted Fish
Zhou Shaoli’s palm was clean and warm, his long, slender fingers tightly clasping her small hand.
Qin Jiaojiao quietly intertwined her ten fingers with his. The atmosphere inside the car was tranquil, neither of them uttering a word as an ambiguous, tender tension subtly spread through the quiet space.
She had no idea why he was unhappy; all she could do was let him hold her hand so intimately, offering him a small sense of comfort.
The driver quickly pulled up outside the garden villa. Zhou Shaoli released her hand and stepped out of the vehicle. Unconsciously, Qin Jiaojiao rubbed her fingers together, as if the lingering warmth of his grasp still remained on her skin.
Driver Old Li got out to open the door for her, while Zhou Shaoli waited by the entrance.
Qin Jiaojiao stepped forward and walked into the villa alongside him.
It was already ten-thirty at night by the time they returned, and the villa’s servants had long off-clock and gone to sleep. Walking ahead, Zhou Shaoli opened the front door and switched on the living room’s crystal chandelier.
Usually, Qin Jiaojiao’s routine upon returning was to first take a bath and remove her makeup. As the two walked upstairs together, Zhou Shaoli turned to her and said, “I’m going to the study to handle some work.”
“Oh, okay,” Qin Jiaojiao replied.
Returning to the bedroom, Qin Jiaojiao didn’t head straight into the bathroom. Instead, she sat before the vanity mirror, taking off her hair accessories and ear studs. After unfastening them, she leaned back on the sofa to browse on her phone.
Why on earth was Zhou Shaoli unhappy—did the Old Master or his father say something to him?
She didn’t understand corporate business matters, so she had no way to comfort him on that front.
Inside the study.
Zhou Shaoli first replied to a few emails before retrieving a key to unlock the study’s locked safe.
Inside the safe were important contracts, bank cards, foreign currency needing exchange, and other private documents.
Zhou Shaoli reached inside, pulled out the prenuptial contract marriage agreement, and sat down behind the executive desk. Lighting a cigarette, he slowly and deliberately flipped through the pages.
He rarely smoked, only lighting a few to release stress whenever he felt anxious.
The contract marriage agreement didn’t contain too many clauses; after all, it was a legally binding contract drafted and notarized by lawyers, needing only clear terms.
The reason Qin Jiaojiao had agreed to this ridiculous contract marriage in the first place was precisely because he had promised that upon divorce, he would transfer to her the betrothal gifts given to the granddaughter-in-law by the Old Master and Old Madam, including assets he voluntarily gifted her—estimated to be worth roughly ten billion yuan.
Ten billion couldn’t crack the top one hundred on the wealthy Forbes list, but for an ordinary wealthy family, it was a massive fortune. Hence, Qin Jiaojiao had agreed to sign the contract marriage agreement with him.
The terms explicitly stated: Once the Old Master passed away from illness, their marriage would come to an end, and he would grant her this ten-billion-yuan asset payout upon divorce.
He knew very well that the Old Master’s health couldn’t hold out much longer; he would pass away in a year or two. At that time, he would divorce Qin Jiaojiao—and both of these outcomes were now things he could not accept.
Zhou Shaoli had rarely made mistakes or felt regret while growing up, but right now, he felt a faint trace of regret. If he hadn’t signed that contract marriage agreement with Qin Jiaojiao back then, he wouldn’t be stuck in his current predicament.
After smoking two cigarettes, Zhou Shaoli locked the contract marriage agreement back into the safe, opened the study window to air out the room, and returned to the bedroom.
Inside the bathroom, Qin Jiaojiao was currently wrestling with her qipao. Hearing someone enter the bedroom, she hastily opened the bathroom door.
“Zhou Shaoli, come help me out quickly.” Her voice was sweet, soft, and laced with a tiny hint of demand.
Zhou Shaoli walked over to the bathroom door, his voice gentle: “What’s wrong?”
Qin Jiaojiao’s face was flushed red, fine beads of sweat breaking out across her forehead. Her flushed face looked exquisitely captivating, her pair of eyes filled with pleading. “My hair got caught in the qipao’s zipper. Help me fix it.”
The tailored qipao’s zipper sat right at the back of her neck. She had taken down her coiled hair, and her strands had gotten caught in the middle of the zipper slider; pulling it down yanked her scalp with a sharp sting.
Thank goodness Zhou Shaoli had returned to the room, or she would have had to run to the study to seek his help.
Seeing her flustered expression, Zhou Shaoli said calmly, “Don’t panic, let me take a look for you.”
Qin Jiaojiao dropped her hands from wrestling with the zipper and stood in front of the bathroom mirror. Zhou Shaoli stepped up behind her, lowering his gaze as he raised his hand to gently brush aside her soft, fragrant black hair.
A lock of hair was tangled up with the zipper pull; he extended his fingers to rescue the unruly strands for her.
Looking at the man behind her through the mirror, a memory suddenly flashed across Qin Jiaojiao’s mind.
Inside a brightly lit walk-in closet, she had been wearing an haute couture gown while Zhou Shaoli helped her with her zipper, holding her tightly and lowering his head to plant a kiss on her shoulder.
A wave of heat rushed to Qin Jiaojiao’s ears. Had her memory developed some kind of glitch—how could Zhou Shaoli possibly kiss her shoulder?
“All done,” the man’s deep voice sounded from behind.
Qin Jiaojiao’s nose caught a faint scent of tobacco. Turning around, she leaned in close to sniff him—it was a very, very light mint-flavored tobacco scent, not unpleasant at all.
Living together all this time, she had rarely smelled tobacco on Zhou Shaoli.
She knew he smoked, but he never smoked in front of her. What on earth had happened tonight for him to secretly smoke in the study?
Qin Jiaojiao raised her eyes to look at him and asked, “Is something bugging you?”
Zhou Shaoli couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, answering, “It’s nothing.”
Seeing that he was unwilling to speak, Qin Jiaojiao offered another gentle reminder, “You have to speak out about things that bother you to feel better inside, you know.”
“Mm,” Zhou Shaoli responded. “Don’t worry.”
Qin Jiaojiao shooed him out of the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”
By the time Qin Jiaojiao finished her shower, he had also taken a cold rinse. The two lay in bed, and once the lights were turned off, the room fell exceptionally quiet.
Qin Jiaojiao secretly played on her phone under the covers, while Zhou Shaoli, lying beside her, remained wide awake as well.
The two rarely chatted in the dark unless Qin Jiaojiao took the initiative. Even after Qin Jiaojiao put away her phone and drifted off to sleep, Zhou Shaoli still couldn’t fall asleep.
In the quiet of the late night, just as expected, the freshly asleep Qin Jiaojiao habitually rolled over to his side.
Zhou Shaoli pulled her into his arms, holding her soft body, and gradually drifted off to sleep.
The next day.
When Qin Jiaojiao woke up, Zhou Shaoli had already left early for work. She picked up her phone to check the time—it was nine-thirty in the morning—so she got out of bed, washed up, and went downstairs for breakfast.
She had the servants bring breakfast into the living room, crossed her legs on the sofa, and turned on the television.
Last night, Romantic Lovers had aired on Mango TV. She hadn’t watched it yet and didn’t know how the reception was. Fearing the production crew’s evil editing, she made sure to watch every single episode herself as soon as it came out.
She also wanted to see from an outsider’s perspective what she and Zhou Shaoli looked like on the dating show.
The third episode first broadcast Jin Mingzhu and Chen Feihong moving into Feizhu Cottage. The veteran couple methodically organized the house, showing a tacit understanding honed over years of marriage.
There were plenty of bullet comments scrolling across the screen.
【The Feizhu CP’s quiet, steady love is so sweet to watch!】
【From school uniforms to wedding dresses, a love that grows old together is truly enviable.】
【The production team actually assigned them a house like this? The conditions look so terrible.】
【Fast-forward, fast-forward! We want to watch the Shan-Meng CP!】
Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang, as the main C-position couple heavily promoted by the production team, were placed at the very end to maximize viewership, while her and Zhou Shaoli were featured second.
When the bullet comments saw her bringing a whole suitcase of self-heating instant meals, opinions were divided.
【The Yueli CP is finally here!】
【Bringing self-heating meals and hotpots to a variety show—Jiaojiao is truly a comedic genius!】
【Lazy beyond belief! A person like this would starve to death in the countryside.】
【Hahahahaha am I the only one who finds this hilarious? I also bring self-heating meals when I go traveling.】
The production team edited the tragic state of her getting bitten by mosquitoes. With a sudden cut, the camera showed Zhou Shaoli running over to Jin Mingzhu’s place to borrow anti-mosquito cream to apply to her bites.
Qin Jiaojiao stared closely at the footage playing on TV. Zhou Shaoli was truly so good to her—patient and gentle. When she was annoyed by mosquito bites, he stayed by her side to kill the mosquitoes for her and even scratched the itchy spots while she was asleep.
What to do? The more she watched, the more she felt Zhou Shaoli was an absolute top-tier husband.
The bullet comments were also spamming the screen crazily.
【Ahhhhhhh I’m falling madly for President Zhou!】
【This wealthy couple is genuinely so sweet! I’m dying of sweetness!】
【President Zhou’s daily routine of feeding us sugar is so sweet!】
【Heaven, please grant me a husband this attentive!】
【President Zhou got up early to go for a run AND made breakfast for his wife—he’s truly so incredible!】
【Hahahahaha President Zhou got disliked by Jiaojiao for not knowing how to take pretty photos for his wife! Minus points!】
【The scene of President Zhou carrying Jiaojiao on his back while strolling through the fields is so gorgeous! The scenery in Nancheng Ancient Town is beautiful; watching it makes me want to find a travel buddy and go on a trip!】
Watching the visuals on TV, Qin Jiaojiao recalled her few days in Nancheng. Aside from the accidental mushroom poisoning, she had actually spent a pretty happy time there.
After her segment with Zhou Shaoli finished broadcasting, it transitioned to the footage of Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang picking wild mushrooms.
Normally, broadcasting sweet moments of Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang getting along would have earned them plenty of fan affection, but because someone had exposed the scandal online before the show even aired…
While these clips played, many bullet comments were berating Shen Xiaoshan, drowning out the comments from fans trying to defend her.
【Even locals don’t dare pick wild mountain mushrooms recklessly—where did she get the nerve?】
【Shen Xiaoshan is such a jinx! Why is she always causing so much trouble?】
【The more I watch, the more fake this couple’s dynamic feels.】
【Don’t want to watch Shen Xiaoshan and Meng Zi’ang! ! !】
Qin Jiaojiao opened Weibo on her phone. Every time an episode of Romantic Lovers aired, the show would hit the trending searches; last night’s broadcast must have made it onto the hot search list already, with news about Romantic Lovers hanging in the middle ranks.
Clicking into it, most people were blasting Shen Xiaoshan for harming both others and herself.
Qin Jiaojiao raised her eyebrows. Seeing these trending searches, Shen Xiaoshan was probably going to be furious.
Just as she thought, Shen Xiaoshan was nearly dying of anger. She had communicated with the production team, asking them not to broadcast the segment of her and Meng Zi’ang picking mushrooms, and instead air the sweet details of their daily life in the Shan-Meng Cottage.
However, the show’s producer felt that since the negative publicity was already out, it was better to use it to farm internet traffic and boost the show’s heat. Later on, the production team would broadcast her making a sincere apology to the guests, which would definitely trigger fans’ sympathy and earn the public’s forgiveness.
The entire internet was cursing Shen Xiaoshan, angering her so much that she smashed several glasses at home.
Upon returning to Beijing, Meng Zi’ang had gone out to party with his friends. Meanwhile, she had accepted several ad promotions and couldn’t tag along to keep an eye on him. Having to face online condemnation right after working hard had driven her nearly insane.
Looking at the mess across the floor, Shen Xiaoshan angrily kicked aside the things scattered on the ground and sat down on the sofa. Just as she was about to call an hourly worker to come clean up…
Her manager called: “I have something to tell you—stay calm first.”
“What happened now?” Shen Xiaoshan asked in an impatient tone.
In the past, Shen Xiaoshan would never have dared to speak to her manager like this. Back then, her former manager had forced her to drink with corporate big shots and beg everywhere for resources, trampling her self-esteem into the dust.
Now that she was married to Meng Zi’ang, her status was completely different. Relying on her status as the wife of the Meng Brothers Pictures president, she acted arrogant toward the company’s staff.
“It’s about that agricultural assistance livestream in Nancheng a few days ago,” her manager said, remaining calmer than her. “At the time, didn’t we hire a water army to pad orders and inflate the livestream’s sales volume? In reality, we only sold three thousand-plus jin.”
“And?” Shen Xiaoshan didn’t care.
To boost their rankings, online shop merchants frequently paid people to pad orders and fake sales numbers; this kind of malicious competition was extremely common, so long as one didn’t get caught.
Even if caught, the penalty was at most a lower weight ranking or a fine. She wasn’t running an online store; it was just a one-off agricultural assistance livestream, so she had nothing to lose.
Her manager said, “Most of the orders from that charity stream were refunded, causing severe financial losses to the merchants, so they exposed the matter online.”
“What?!” Shen Xiaoshan let out a screech, shouting in rage, “Those hillbillies from that backwater place! I helped them stream for free without charging advertising fees, and they bite the hand that fed them!”
Her manager quietly covered the phone mic, waiting until Shen Xiaoshan finished venting before continuing, “The hot search has already reached the top headlines. The company will figure out a way to handle PR—do NOT respond.”
Shen Xiaoshan’s chest ached with fury. “Respond to what? I can’t even be bothered to deal with them.”
“Good, as long as you don’t respond, it’s fine. The company will find a way to handle it,” her manager repeatedly instructed. “If PR fails, we’ll give it the cold treatment. In a few days when things cool down, netizens will forget about it.”
There were endless real-time trending news stories on the web; netizens were merely eating melons and charging forward on impulse over injustices. Too many things happened every day for netizens to have the energy to voice out for others continuously.
Shen Xiaoshan snapped in annoyance, “Are you annoying or what? I’m not an idiot to jump out and respond at a time like this.”
Suppressing the displeasure in her heart, her manager said, “I’ve taken on a few event promotions for you; tell me which ones you want to attend.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll tell you later,” Shen Xiaoshan replied irritably.
Hanging up the phone, she opened Weibo, and sure enough, she spotted a trending search that destroyed her reputation.
#ShenXiaoshanAgriculturalAssistanceLivestreamFakedOrders# was hanging high in the top three of the trending list.
Shen Xiaoshan clutched her phone tightly, her heart filled with resentment. If she hadn’t been afraid of being outshone by Qin Jiaojiao, she wouldn’t have hastily instructed people to hire a water army to pad sales and inflate popularity.
Whenever she crossed paths with Qin Jiaojiao, not a single thing went smoothly!
Qin Jiaojiao was currently lying flat at home like a salted fish. If Yang Yutong hadn’t sent her a link, she wouldn’t even have known that Shen Xiaoshan’s fifty-thousand-jin sales volume during the agricultural stream was padded with fake orders.
Shen Xiaoshan’s actual fruit sales were only a little over three thousand jin—just a tiny bit more than Jin Mingzhu and Chen Feihong’s couple—and many buyers had requested refunds after receiving the fruit, causing massive losses to the merchants.
Qin Jiaojiao clicked on the trending search to surf online and watch how Shen Xiaoshan got violently slapped in the face.
【I didn’t believe Shen Xiaoshan could sell fifty thousand jin in a single day back then, and sure enough, the sales were all padded with fake orders.】
【Celebrities bringing goods nowadays can’t compare to professional e-commerce influencers. Unless they’re top-tier stars, live streams simply can’t move products.】
【To compete for first place, Shen Xiaoshan really abandoned all sense of shame.】
【Shen Xiaoshan is so disgusting. Make her compensate the villagers to make up for their losses!】
【The show’s agricultural assistance livestream was originally a great charitable deed, yet Shen Xiaoshan not only failed to help sell the unsold fruit, but also caused the villagers to lose shipping costs. Hurry up and force Shen Xiaoshan to pay compensation! ! !】
【Sigh, completely disappointed in Sister. Thinking of unfollowing her.】
【Since the fifty-thousand-jin sales volume was fake, shouldn’t the production crew’s promised reward go to the sales champion, the Yueli CP?】
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