—If Liu Xu knew this, she would want to scold you.

[Too bad, she'll never know I exist unless you reveal it.]

Qiao Nansheng would never allow herself to be exposed; if she were exposed, it would be tantamount to death.

Zhou Cheng is most intolerant of being deceived, and this is true in both of his books.

If it's a joke that he knows immediately, there won't be any problem. But if it's something he doesn't know about and it's being kept from him, and it gets discovered, then he's dead meat.

Qiao Nansheng wouldn't dig a hole for herself; she had to play the role of Zhou Cheng's wife well, and refine her acting skills through exchanges with Zhou Cheng during the process.

—That's settled then, he'll play the role of Qingniang. I'll talk to him about it later. I'm going to read the script now, let me know if there are any assignments.

[Okay!]

Xiao Ai went into hibernation mode, while Qiao Nansheng lay on the sofa reading the script. He was increasingly satisfied with the character of Qing Niang and was even a little impatient to start filming right now.

But that's impossible.

Although Zhou Cheng said she was suitable for the role, he was only a lead actor, not a director or producer, and couldn't make any decisions.

She still needs to audition. Only after passing the audition and being confirmed can the role truly belong to her.

Moreover, judging from the approximate start date of this drama, it's all after the new year. Since the time has been set, it's likely that the other roles have already been cast, and they're just waiting for Zhou Cheng to agree to play the male lead.

So, could the role of Qingniang have already been chosen by someone else?

Qiao Nansheng thought about it and felt there was only a 50% chance that Zhou Cheng would not let her go if she was already pre-selected.

…

Qiao Nansheng stayed up all night watching. After having breakfast around 7 a.m., she went upstairs to wash up and go to bed. Zhou Cheng was still asleep and hadn't woken up yet.

She pushed open the door and tiptoed to the bedside like a thief. She placed her phone on his head to charge it, then went to the closet to find a nightgown and sneaked into the bathroom to wash up.

The man, who had been sleeping with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and glanced towards the bathroom after she went in, then turned over and went back to sleep.

Qiao Nansheng took a relaxing bath and came out half an hour later. She saw that Zhou Cheng was still sleeping in bed, then looked at the sofa, gritted her teeth, and climbed into bed anyway. After all, he was sleeping, and how could someone who was asleep do anything to her?

With that thought in mind, she crawled into bed, where it was warm and cozy.

Qiao Nansheng felt that Zhou Cheng was like a moving human hand warmer, the kind that radiates heat. Just being in the same bed with him made her incredibly warm.

If she sleeps with this in her arms, she won't need to turn on the heating all winter, saving a lot of money.

She sighed inwardly, and before she knew it, she had blurted out what she had said.

Immediately afterwards, a deep, husky voice came from beside her ear, "Do you need me to turn off the heat? So you can hold me?"

"..." Holy crap, he's awake?

Qiao Nansheng was startled and sat up in bed. The latter, who was lazily facing her, couldn't help but laugh when he saw her startled expression: "Just kidding."

"..." This joke is not funny at all!

She clutched the corner of the blanket, hesitating whether to go sleep on the sofa, when she heard him say again, "Go to sleep, I won't do anything to you."

Qiao Nansheng gripped the corner of the blanket tighter and said, "You said the same thing last time."

As a result, they forced her into marriage.

“This time it’s for real,” he assured.

"Have you heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?" Qiao Nansheng asked in return.

Zhou Cheng raised an eyebrow and smiled helplessly: "Then it's up to you."

He turned over again, closed his eyes, and continued to sleep.

Qiao Nansheng stared at his back, remaining motionless for a long time.

To be honest, she didn't want to sleep on the sofa at all. Although the sofa was big and soft, it was still not as comfortable as a bed. She always felt awkward and uncomfortable.

Last time, he was stabbed by human traffickers while on a mission, which is why he got angry and did those things. This time, he has no mission and wasn't injured, so he should be... safe, right?

Qiao Nansheng thought uncertainly to herself, slowly lay down, and silently moved a little further away from him.

Zhou Cheng pulled the blanket up, "Don't pull it, it's cold."

"Okay," she replied, and didn't move again.

The two of them shared a blanket, and there was another blanket on the sofa, which she had used when she slept on the sofa.

She could have easily gotten out of bed and walked a few steps to get the blanket and share it with him, but Qiao Nansheng was sleepy and her laziness kicked in. Even though it was only a few steps away, she was too lazy to walk.

She turned to her side, extremely tired from not sleeping all night. Her eyes seemed to have been closed only once every few days, her eyelids drooping constantly. She fell asleep shortly after closing her eyes.

Even breathing came from behind. Zhou Cheng stared ahead with his eyes open. He didn't know how much time had passed before he turned over and looked at the person who had his back to him.

There was a large gap between the two of them, and the blankets were empty. The room was heated, but Zhou Cheng had adjusted it so the warm air wasn't strong. The windows were also slightly open for ventilation, and coincidentally, she could feel the breeze from outside.

He must have been cold, because he curled up into a ball.

They look rather pitiful.

He thought to himself, moved his body forward slightly, pressed against her back, and reached out to pull her into his arms.

Qiao Nansheng was so sleepy that she was fast asleep, and she never expected that Zhou Cheng was not asleep, and that he would hug her again after she fell asleep.

At noon, she was sleeping soundly, dreaming that she became famous for playing the role of Qingniang and even won the Best Supporting Actress award this year.

Qiao Nansheng had just gone on stage to receive the award, and the trophy was about to be placed in her hands, when suddenly she felt a weight on her body, as if something was pressing down on her, and she couldn't breathe.

She opened her eyes and saw Zhou Cheng on top of her, his narrow eyes filled with mischievousness and amusement. "Finally awake. If you hadn't woken up, I would have used my ultimate move."

When he mentioned his ultimate move, he glanced at her lips, the meaning of which was all too clear.

Qiao Nansheng: "..."

She was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out to hit him: "Aaaaah, Zhou Cheng, you heartless bastard, you owe me my trophy, you owe me my trophy!"

She was just a few seconds away from touching the trophy!

That was her first award ever, the award she won for her very first drama. Although it was a Best Supporting Actress award, it was still an award.

Zhou Cheng grasped her restless little hand, "It's time to wake up from this dream."

"It's all your fault." Unable to move, she reached out to kick him. "If it weren't for you, we would have won the trophy. It's all your fault, all your fault, all your fault."

"Mmm, mmm, it's my fault," he replied good-naturedly, getting off her. "Get up and eat."

"I'm not eating!" she said angrily, pulling the blanket over her head. "I want to sleep, I want my trophy."

She just woke up; if she goes back to sleep, she might be able to return to the dream she just had and continue what she was doing.