Chapter 55: Fifty-Fifth Day as a Salted Fish
Zhou Shaoli watched her lower her head, put on her slippers, and dash toward the bathroom, dropping the black hair tie that had snagged on her clothes onto the carpet.
He bent over to pick it up, holding the hair tie between his long, slender fingers as he followed her into the bathroom.
Qin Jiaojiao was standing in front of the mirror using an electric toothbrush to brush her teeth, her mouth filled with white toothpaste froth. Seeing Zhou Shaoli enter through the reflection, she turned slightly and gave him a puzzled look.
Zhou Shaoli placed his hands on her shoulders to turn her back toward the mirror. Then, reaching out, he gathered her long hair together and secured it tightly with the hair tie.
Qin Jiaojiao froze for a brief second, a warm smile instantly brimming in her eyes.
Zhou Shaoli always managed to bring her little moments of sweet delight in the tiniest of details. His movements as he tied her hair felt completely natural. If the employees of Zhuxing Group were to witness this scene, they would probably be beyond shocked.
The powerful corporate titan who casually signed contracts worth hundreds of millions was actually tying his wife’s hair at home—the sight really was quite astonishing.
His hair-tying technique was far smoother than last time when he used a claw clip on her. His touch was incredibly gentle; it didn’t hurt her scalp at all, yet managed to secure her hair firmly behind her head.
Once he finished tying her hair, Zhou Shaoli didn’t rush off to work. He stepped back two paces and stood by the bathroom doorway.
“Shall we have breakfast together?” he asked her.
With a mouth full of toothpaste, Qin Jiaojiao couldn’t easily speak, so she nodded instead.
Zhou Shaoli said, “I’ll wait for you on the sofa.”
Once he walked out, Qin Jiaojiao spat out the froth, picked up a cup of clean water to rinse her mouth, and began washing her face with facial cleanser. As she worked the cleanser into a rich foam, she turned her head to steal another glance at the sofa.
In the past, Zhou Shaoli left for work early every morning while she slept in until she woke up naturally, so they rarely ate breakfast together.
She washed her face unhurriedly while he waited quietly.
A wave of sweetness washed over Qin Jiaojiao’s heart. Turning on the faucet to rinse off, she washed her face squeaky clean before meticulously applying her skincare products.
“I’ll go change my clothes,” she said, running into the walk-in closet to pick out a casual dress.
Since she had an event to attend today, her stylist would come over around noon to plan her look and figure out what to eat for lunch. After lunch, she would get styled and head over for rehearsal.
Therefore, she didn’t need to put on makeup right now and could just wear whatever was comfortable at home.
Qin Jiaojiao emerged from the walk-in closet clad in a white fringed maxi dress. Her smooth, long black hair draped softly over her shoulders, but the elegant, simple color could hardly suppress her sweet, breathtaking beauty.
Zhou Shaoli walked up to her, reaching out to gently adjust a few stray strands of hair tucked behind her ear before leaning down close.
Qin Jiaojiao’s heart rate instantly went haywire. Watching him lower his head, the distance between them vanished in an instant, close enough to catch the fragrance on each other’s skin.
Zhou Shaoli lowered his head and kissed her lips, tasting the lingering, fresh lemon flavor in her mouth.
He kissed her softly, like gently touching a morning gardenia flower brushed with dew—fresh and beautiful.
Qin Jiaojiao’s lowered eyelashes fluttered slightly as her heart rate accelerated. How could he kiss her without even giving a heads-up?
And yet, this kiss was so incredibly gentle.
Zhou Shaoli stopped after a sweet taste, his voice carrying a touch of huskiness. “Let’s go.”
“Mm.” Qin Jiaojiao’s bright eyes sparkled, looking exceptionally captivating.
Zhou Shaoli took her hand and led her out of the bedroom. As they walked downstairs together, Auntie Zhang caught sight of their intertwined hands, a fond, knowing smile breaking across her face.
“Sir, Madam, breakfast is served.”
Zhou Shaoli pulled Qin Jiaojiao into the dining room, where the two sat side by side to eat. The crisp sound of clinking cutlery sounded pleasant and sweet to the ear.
Halfway through her meal, Qin Jiaojiao turned her head to look at him. “Do you have to work late again today?”
“Why?” Zhou Shaoli asked.
Qin Jiaojiao shook her head. “Nothing, just asking.”
Zhou Shaoli suddenly said, “I’ve been quite busy lately. If you want to know my schedule, I’ll have Han Xiao report to you daily.”
“No need, no need.” Qin Jiaojiao blinked her eyes at him and said, “I don’t like keeping tabs on people.”
Zhou Shaoli looked at her earnestly: “I’ll have Han Xiao report my itinerary to you at fixed times. You don’t like keeping tabs, but I want you to know where I am so you can find me anytime.”
“…”
Qin Jiaojiao was left utterly speechlessly stunned.
Zhou Shaoli let out a faint smile. “You are my wife, so of course you can know my itinerary at all times. This isn’t keeping tabs—it shows that you care about me very much.”
Qin Jiaojiao felt as though he was constantly bombarding her with sweet, sugar-coated shells. Her heart felt impossibly sweet inside, though she put on a reluctantly agreeable expression on her face. “Fine then, since you put it that way, have Han Xiao report to me anytime.”
Zhou Shaoli nodded. “I’ve already told him.”
Han Xiao had just woken up for work early in the morning. Holding a cup of coffee to wake his mind up, he saw the message sent by Zhou Shaoli, his pupils experiencing an absolute earthquake.
Other men would give anything to keep their wives from checking up on them, but their President Zhou was a complete romance-brain, ordering him to report every single moment of his schedule to Madam at all times.
Getting stuffed with couple dog food so early in the morning, Han Xiao felt both that it was incredibly sweet to ship, and a bit dismayed. Could he apply for a performance bonus? He had a strong feeling President Zhou would assign him a lot more odd tasks in the future.
After finishing breakfast together, Zhou Shaoli had to head off to work. For the very first time, Qin Jiaojiao saw him off, walking him all the way to the front gates of the garden villa.
Perhaps during a blossoming relationship, one always wanted to be clingy. She actually felt a tiny thread of reluctance, reaching out to wrap her arms around him.
The man carried his usual crisp, alluring fragrance—a deeply captivating scent. Wrapping her arms around him, she took a deep breath, looked up, and said to him, “I’ll be returning a bit late from my event today. Come pick me up when you get off work.”
“If you’re working overtime late, I’ll just come back on my own,” she added.
“Mm.” Zhou Shaoli reached out to hug her, whispering near her ear, “I’ll finish up my work early and wait to pick you up.”
Qin Jiaojiao thought for a moment and said, “Tonight’s event is a livestream, I’ll send you the link.” A look of confident, slightly proud triumph flashed in her eyes. “I’ll let you see how awesome I am at playing video games.”
“Alright, I’ll watch.” Zhou Shaoli cracked a rare joke, “Mrs. Zhou, if you don’t let me go soon, the employees downstairs are going to file a complaint against me for being late.”
Qin Jiaojiao hastily let go.
She knew Zhou Shaoli was joking—who would dare complain about the CEO?—yet a faint blush still crept up her cheeks, leaving her feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Bye-bye.”
Without waiting for Zhou Shaoli to respond, she hurriedly turned around and scurried back into the villa.
Around noon, the stylist arrived at her door. Since tonight’s event was the Esports Star Exhibition Match, the stylist picked out a form-fitting Qipao embroidered with intricate patterns that accentuated her figure.
Her hair was styled into cute cat ears, with a few small braided highlights falling over her shoulders, giving her an assertive, wildly unique vibe. Her mischievous, exquisite makeup was paired with wash-off paint on her arms, styled into cyber-mech tattoos.
This entire look made her look like a goddess stepped straight out of a cybernetic world—both fiercely commanding and bewitchingly cute.
The stylist looked at Qin Jiaojiao with eyes full of delighted admiration and praised, “It’s truly breathtaking! Mrs. Zhou, you look like a girl in her late teens. If you told anyone you were married, no one would ever believe it!”
Qin Jiaojiao blushed from the praise, smiling broadly. “How could it be as exaggerated as you say?”
She looked down at her bare fingers. To prevent her wedding ring from getting lost, she kept it stored inside a cabinet at home. While she loved decorating her ears and neck with earrings and necklaces, she uniquely disliked wearing rings.
In the past, it was because she wasn’t used to it; now, she was afraid of accidentally losing it, plus wearing a ring made playing video games uncomfortable.
Fully dressed up to perfection, she had her driver take her to the venue.
Tonight’s esports livestream night was a massive event. Many fans from the esports community and fans of invited celebrity guests had purchased tickets to attend, and deafening sounds could already be heard echoing from the stage the moment she arrived.
There were still two or three hours before the event officially began; the opening celebrity singers were currently holding their rehearsals, making the atmosphere wildly bustling.
Qin Jiaojiao took the guest pathway to the backstage area to look for her dressing room. Her main task for tonight was going on stage to play video games alongside pro players and accepting a brief interview afterward.
The backstage area was chaotic and crowded with all kinds of staff coming and going. Among the numerous invited celebrity guests, she spotted a few familiar faces often seen on television.
While looking for her dressing room, Qin Jiaojiao bumped into those few teenage boys from last time once again. They were dressed in black-and-gold team jerseys, radiating youthful vitality with light makeup applied to their faces.
Though the backstage was packed, she still managed to catch the boys’ hushed discussions.
“The gorgeous sister we saw last time is here!”
“I saw her name on the poster—she’s called Qin Jiaojiao, a minor celebrity in the entertainment industry.”
“She looks even prettier today than when she shot the poster! She’s way too beautiful, can I go over and ask for an autograph?”
“Then why aren’t you going?”
“I don’t dare to.”
King followed his teammates’ voices and looked toward Qin Jiaojiao, who stood not far away.
The young, drop-dead gorgeous girl possessed a noble demeanor and snow-white skin, looking as if she was glowing as she stood there—she really was remarkably stunning.
Qin Jiaojiao felt a proud, playful arrogance inside. Being beautiful really meant being able to do whatever she wanted—even pro players wanted to ask her for an autograph!
Qin Jiaojiao waited for a bit, but the boys ultimately failed to pluck up the courage to come over and ask for an autograph. Thus, she turned around to continue searching for her dressing room. Pushing open the door once she found it, she immediately saw Shen Xiaoshan sitting inside, alongside two or three celebrity guests she wasn’t particularly familiar with.
Shen Xiaoshan was absorbed in watching a video on her phone, completely failing to notice her arrival.
As she passed by, Qin Jiaojiao lowered her eyes to glance at Shen Xiaoshan’s phone. The video title was glaringly obvious: a beginner’s tutorial for a specific marksman hero in the game.
“…”
Qin Jiaojiao truly hadn’t expected Shen Xiaoshan to engage in last-minute cramming right before the event started.
Before the Esports Star Exhibition Match, the organizers had recorded a promotional interview. She had watched it once—Shen Xiaoshan had faced the camera with a look of extreme shyness, claiming she was a master of a certain marksman hero and could only play that specific hero.
Sitting on the small sofa, Qin Jiaojiao thought to herself: if they banned this hero during the match later, what else could Shen Xiaoshan possibly play?
Then again, to save face for the celebrities, the organizers had definitely dropped subtle instructions in advance forbidding anyone from banning the heroes the stars knew how to play.
Since there was still plenty of time before the event started, Qin Jiaojiao pulled out her phone and launched the game, planning to warm up her hands before the match.
The moment she logged on, she saw Little Bro online. Ever since Yang Yutong’s birthday banquet, she had rarely played games, and Little Bro’s account was rarely online, so it was quite a rare sight for both of them to be online at the same time.
Qin Jiaojiao pulled him into her lobby, and Little Bro accepted the invitation almost instantly. He was a guy of few words; ever since exposing his real voice last time, he kept his mic on in-game, only speaking a few words when shot-calling.
Qin Jiaojiao typed a message: 【Why are you online? Don’t you have scrims today?】
She used to invite Little Bro to play games frequently, and he would often say he had scrims. So she had asked about his scrim schedule: pro players usually held scrims every afternoon from around two to five, and then scheduled matches against other teams from seven or eight until ten at night.
Occasionally, if they couldn’t book a scrim, team members would play rank games on their own to grind points and practice their mechanics.
When she first met Little Bro, it happened to be the off-season for competitive play, which was why he had so much free time to carry her in rank.
A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces: 【There’s an event today.】
Today, the livestreaming platform had invited two top-tier domestic professional teams. Could Little Bro be here as well?
Qin Jiaojiao immediately asked: 【What event?】
A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces: 【An official show match.】
Qin Jiaojiao: 【The Esports Star Exhibition Match?】
A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces: 【Mm.】
Qin Jiaojiao and Little Bro never pried into each other’s private lives, addressing each other in-game purely by their gaming IDs. Her gaming ID was “Bright Moon Enters My Arms.”
Bright Moon Enters My Arms: 【What a coincidence, I’m here too.】
A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces: 【?】
A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces: 【The cleaning auntie?】
Qin Jiaojiao almost laughed out of pure frustration—this dead brat sure had a sharp, poisonous tongue!
When she first added Little Bro to carry her, his profile listed his age as eight. She had thought he was a primary schooler, or a middle schooler at most, never expecting him to be an eighteen-year-old high school student.
Nowadays, kids in their teens were already playing professionally, gaining fame at a young age and playing amazingly well, though his personality was still a bit childish.
Bright Moon Enters My Arms: 【It’s an Esports Star Exhibition Match—of course I’m a star!】
A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces: 【You’re really a celebrity?】
Bright Moon Enters My Arms: 【Why would I lie to you? You’ll see when we meet in a bit.】
Qin Jiaojiao suddenly recalled that people usually called professional esports players by their gaming IDs: 【You still haven’t told me, what is your pro player ID?】
A Single Sword Frosts Fourteen Provinces: 【Not telling.】
Bright Moon Enters My Arms: 【…】 Acting so mysterious!
Fine, don’t tell then. Qin Jiaojiao launched a match, intending to play two rounds first.
Over on the other side in the professional players’ dressing room, a teammate caught sight of King’s lips curling up into a faint smile. In complete shock, he pounced over. “Bro, you actually smiled! What’s so funny? Tell me!”
King muted his mic and shoved him away. “Get lost.”
The teammate leaned in closer to peek at his phone screen again, shouting at the top of his lungs, “Everyone come look, King is carrying a girl again!”
The team’s jungler, who had the best relationship with King and shared a room with him, spoke up: “That ‘Bright Moon Enters My Arms’?”
The support player looked toward the jungler. “Is there something going on?”
The jungler hooked an arm around the support’s neck to drag him away. “Don’t talk nonsense, they’re just in-game friends. You come over here with me and stop bothering King—unless you want him to solo you until you cry.”
Qin Jiaojiao quietly played two rounds of games with Little Bro until a staff member from the organizers came to remind her, leading her to the stage to conduct an entry rehearsal.
After finishing the rehearsal, she returned to the dressing room to wait for the event to start.
The event kicked off with performances by famous celebrity singers on stage. After enjoying two or three songs, it moved onto the award ceremony, where high-level executives from the streaming platform presented awards to popular creators, followed by a friendly exhibition match between two top domestic teams. The grand finale was the Esports Star Exhibition Match.
The finale consisted of four celebrities paired with six pro players, temporarily forming two teams for a celebrity esports exhibition show.
As the exhibition match approached, Qin Jiaojiao stood backstage with the other participating stars. Hearing the host’s impassioned voice announcing her name, she stepped out from the wings.
Under the bright magnesium lights, she wore a classical Qipao infused with traditional Chinese elements. Her cat-ear hairstyle added a touch of alluring liveliness; as she strolled to the center of the stage to make her entrance, thunderous applause erupted from the audience below.
The Qipao she wore today was crafted by a master designer, its intricate embroidery displaying supreme elegance. The hand-sewn dress hugged her slender, graceful curves, breathtakingly dazzling the entire crowd the moment she appeared.
Waves of applause and cheers echoed continuously.
The live stream chat exploded into a frantic, wall-to-wall barrage of comments. Initially, esports fans hadn’t welcomed female celebrities participating in the exhibition show, believing stars couldn’t play games and were merely leeching off the esports community’s hype.
Yet the moment Qin Jiaojiao made her entrance, the atmosphere on site became wildly passionate.
【HOLY CRAP, WHAT A DROPDOWN GORGEOUS BEAUTY!】
【She looks even prettier in real life under the harsh camera than on the poster!】
【With looks this good, even if she sucks at gaming, I wouldn’t have the heart to flame her.】
【Too beautiful! Wu wu wu, celebrities really are in a completely different dimension from ordinary people.】
【I hereby declare, she is my new goddess!】
Qin Jiaojiao flashed a radiant smile, raising her hand to wave at the audience beneath the stage, triggering another explosive wave of cheers from the crowd.
Shen Xiaoshan was arranged to enter right after Qin Jiaojiao. She was supposed to serve as the finale entrance, but because Qin Jiaojiao shone as brightly as radiant moonlight, her entrance felt far too plain, and the atmosphere wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic.
The official host wore a professional smile. “All our celebrity guests have assembled! Now, our two female stars will act as captains to pick their teammates and form their squads.”
Hearing this, Qin Jiaojiao let out a sigh of relief in her heart. Aside from her and Shen Xiaoshan, the other two celebrity guests tonight were male stars she wasn’t familiar with—as long as she wasn’t on the same team as Shen Xiaoshan, anything was fine.
Host: “To ensure fairness, we will use the simplest method: rock-paper-scissors to decide who picks teammates first.”
Qin Jiaojiao and Shen Xiaoshan walked to the center of the stage, every eye in the venue locked onto them.
King’s jungler teammate leaned into his ear and whispered, “Do you want to be on her team?”
The pro players had entered the stage first. Ever since Qin Jiaojiao stepped onto the stage, he had noticed King’s gaze hadn’t left her for a single second.
King ignored his jungler teammate, looking exceptionally cool and detached.
The jungler rubbed his nose, his eyes falling back onto Qin Jiaojiao. Could it be that just because this female celebrity was gorgeous, King couldn’t stop staring at her?
Qin Jiaojiao and Shen Xiaoshan exchanged a glance. Listening to the host’s countdown, both extended their hands simultaneously.
Shen Xiaoshan threw scissors; Qin Jiaojiao threw rock.
Host: “Congratulations to Teacher Qin for winning! You may select a professional player on stage to join your team first.”
Qin Jiaojiao’s gaze swept across the professional esports players on stage. She had forgotten to check in advance who was stronger, but it didn’t matter—it was just a celebrity exhibition show anyway.
Qin Jiaojiao’s eyes accidentally locked with the youth who had been staring fixedly at her.
He was that aloof, handsome youth surrounded by his teammates—seemed like he was called King?
Qin Jiaojiao pointed at King. “I’ll pick him then.”
The host laughed and said, “Teacher Qin sure knows how to pick! Our player King is the world’s number one marksman.”
Meanwhile, King—having been chosen by Qin Jiaojiao—maintained a completely expressionless face, making it impossible to tell if he was happy or not. Only his familiar jungler teammate knew he was extraordinarily excited right now; whenever this kid got emotional, his hands would tremble ever so slightly.
Shen Xiaoshan had done her homework on tonight’s pro players in advance, inwardly seething with hatred that Qin Jiaojiao had snatched away the exact person she wanted to pick.
The drafting process proceeded with guests taking turns picking one by one. When it came to Shen Xiaoshan’s turn, she raised her finger and pointed at the jungler teammate standing right beside King.
“Holy crap, no way, she picked me!” The jungler teammate whispered to King, “We’re done for, the two of us are opponents now. Take it easy on me later.”
King threw him a feather-light glance, his eyes revealing a stark, unadulterated message: he wouldn’t hold back, and he was going to ruthlessly slaughter his own teammate.
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