"Besides, you have so many fans. If I, a newbie, start doing this and that with you right away, people will think I'm just trying to create hype for you. You know how fans are these days, right? I'd probably be drowned in their spittle."

Zhou Cheng pursed his lips and said, "If we announce our relationship, no one will dare to criticize you."

"Are you willing to do that?" Qiao Nansheng asked in return.

That one sentence was enough to shut Zhou Cheng up immediately, and he stopped talking.

He was truly reluctant to part with it because he had nothing left to say.

When the two got married, only their families sat down for a meal together. There was no wedding ceremony. One reason was that he didn't want to announce it, as it would bring her unnecessary trouble and distress. Another reason was that he didn't want to make it public.

Zhou Cheng has been in the industry for ten years.

Over the past decade, he has set countless records and earned a great reputation. His fan base has grown steadily, with the majority being girls aged fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen. A minority of his fans are irrational in their pursuit of celebrities.

Once he announces his marriage, not only will a large number of fans unfollow him, but some more extreme or depressive individuals may not be able to accept it and do something foolish.

If something really bad happens, Zhou Cheng will be the one who gets blamed. Even if he uses the Zhou family's influence, it won't help. The netizens' support is terrifying.

Zhou Cheng loves the entertainment industry and naturally loves his fans. He didn't want his fans to be sad if they found out, and he didn't want his extreme fans to do extreme things, so he used the excuse that it would bother her to not make it public.

…

Seeing that he was focused and didn't say anything more, Qiao Nansheng gave a soft hum, knowing that he would react this way.

She has already completed two tasks and unlocked ten chapters of (male god) novels. One of them describes Zhou Cheng in this novel as a drama fanatic who truly loves the industry. That's why he insisted on entering the entertainment industry despite his grandfather's objections back then.

He even relinquished his status as the heir of the Zhou family and never asked the Zhou family for any resources.

From an unknown newcomer, he has worked tirelessly for ten years to finally reach where he is today. To ask him to announce the relationship between the two would be to ruin his career and all his hard work over the years.

He doesn't have deep feelings for her yet; he just wants to live a good life since they're married, but he doesn't love her.

No wonder he couldn't bear to part with it.

…

Half an hour later, the car drove into Shuixie Yunlan. When they were almost home, Zhou Cheng suddenly spoke up: "I'm sorry about what happened this morning. I was too impulsive and reckless. Don't be angry."

He softened his tone and spoke sincerely, making it seem like he was truly apologizing.

Qiao Nansheng had already forgotten about what happened that morning and didn't intend to dwell on it any longer, but hearing him bring it up reminded her of it.

Her face darkened. "I said let's move on. Don't mention it again."

Her mouth still hurts. When she went to rest this morning, Zhong Xuelian saw her and asked what happened. She could only say that she had accidentally burned herself while eating.

Fortunately, Zhong Xuelian didn't notice anything amiss or press for answers, otherwise she really wouldn't know how to explain it.

I reached up and touched my lips; they were still slightly swollen and stinging.

Zhou Cheng saw it in the rearview mirror, but remained silent. He was still in pain; she had bitten him too hard.

The car turned into the Zhou family villa, parked, and Zhou Cheng got out, opened the back door, and went to get the box.

"Let me get it for you."

Before Qiao Nansheng could even utter a word of refusal, the man had already carried the box inside, so she had no choice but to shut her mouth and get out of the car as well.

"Is there anything else? Should I go with you to get it later?" Zhou Cheng asked as they entered the living room.

Qiao Nansheng shook her head, "There's nothing left but the computer, nothing else to take."

"Mm," he replied.

While changing her shoes, Zhou Cheng looked down at the things in the box. They were all useless trinkets; she hadn't brought back the things she valued most, and she said only the computer was left...

He blinked, a dark glint flashing in his eyes, then changed his shoes and went upstairs.

"Hey, Zhou Cheng, wait a minute." Qiao Nansheng caught up with him. "No need to take it upstairs, just throw it in the storage room. We won't need it again anyway."

He paused for a moment, noticing her use of the word "throw," and his expression became somewhat subtle. He then nodded, said "okay," and turned to go to the storage room.

He knew how much Qiao Nansheng loved the preschool teacher profession.

When they first got married, he would get upset if he accidentally knocked the holiday cards she had prepared for her classmates to the ground. He would also be very serious about preparing for the following week's lessons at home on weekends, instead of playing around.

Although the items in the box weren't anything important, she, who loved this industry, would never say the word "throw away."

If someone suffers temporary amnesia due to a head injury and their personality changes drastically, but their favorite things are ingrained in their bones, will that change too?

Zhou Cheng put his things down and came out. Qiao Nansheng sat on the sofa watching TV. Liu Xu was next to her, changing the dressing on her injured right hand with gauze. The strong smell of ointment filled the living room and was extremely unpleasant.

She stared at the LCD screen, chattering away to Liu Xu, and soon burst into laughter.

He scrutinized her closely, a hint of probing in his eyes.

Qiao Nansheng noticed his gaze, looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me?"

Zhou Cheng suppressed his emotions and smiled gently at her: "Beautiful."

"..."

She rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay him any attention, and turned back to watch TV.

Liu Xu quickly applied the medicine to her, then packed up the medicine box and put it in the storage room before going into the kitchen to cook.

Zhou Cheng walked over, sat down in the empty seat next to her, and then took out his phone to look at it.

Qiao Nansheng, who was sitting next to him, craned his neck to look, but couldn't see anything. Well, the screen was a privacy screen; all he could see was a dark blob.

She scoffed and turned back to watching TV.

The phone she had placed on the coffee table suddenly rang. Qiao Nansheng picked it up and saw that it was a voice message from Han Xiaoxing. The little girl hadn't learned much Chinese pinyin and wasn't very good at typing.

Xiaoxing: "Good evening, Teacher Qiao! My uncle and I are home!"

Her voice was soft and cute, and her speech was light and playful, which made Qiao Nansheng's heart soften as well. She recalled how Han Xiaoxing usually talked to her at school.

A sweet smile must be on her fair, delicate face, with two pigtails. Ah! So cute! I want to hug her!

Qiao Nansheng mimicked Han Xiaoxing's tone and replied in text: Good evening, remember to do your homework~

These are commonly used characters; Han Xiaoxing could understand them even when she sent them to him, though it was a bit slow.

Qiao Nansheng waited for about two minutes before seeing that she had sent another voice message.