Chapter 26 May every year bring another legally married couple, do you have a problem with that? ...

My dear little aunt! Can I kneel down and kowtow to you?! Ji Cen's pupils dilated in shock, and he felt like a million grass mud horses were running through his mind.

However, he discovered that the female celebrity Zhu Qingzhi was quite loyal; almost as soon as Gu Qiao spoke, she grabbed her arm and pulled her behind her.

Wen Qi didn't seem to care much about what Gu Qiao said. He raised his left eyebrow and smirked, "You have a problem with that?"

In fact, Gu Qiao was only acting out of momentary pleasure when she first spoke. As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately wilted: "What do you care if I have any objections..." She shrank behind Zhu Qingzhi and weakly added, "Anyway, she's definitely on my side."

Wen Qi didn't speak, or even look up at her, and slowly adjusted his cufflinks.

This was the first time Gu Qiao had ever seen Wen Qi get choked up and willingly suffer in silence. She was a little scared and didn't dare to move, only daring to turn her eyes to look at Zhu Qingzhi.

Zhu Qingzhi felt she was probably going crazy. From Wen Qi's actions, she could even fill in the blanks of his words: "A legally married couple, you have a problem with that?"

That was what he really wanted to say, but he refrained from saying it out of consideration for her status. Now he appeared refined and elegant, a magnanimous act of not wanting to argue with Gu Qiao, yet there was an innate sense of loss and helplessness about him.

And she was the culprit behind all of this. On one side was Gu Qiao, on the other Wen Qi. In the past, she would have firmly stood by Gu Qiao's side, but now…

Zhu Qingzhi had never thought that speaking was such a difficult thing.

But everyone was counting on her to uphold justice, even Ji Cen, who seemed extremely carefree, was looking at her with pitiful puppy eyes.

Okay, he's the one!

She steeled herself and decisively asked Ji Cen, "What time is it?"

Determined, serious, fearless, and ready to die for their cause.

Ji Cen hadn't expected her to take such a risky approach, targeting the most innocent fourth person and asking such a pointless question.

He was both surprised and amused, yet dared not laugh. He pursed his lips, forcing a laugh that made him look like he was suffering a terrible fate, and his voice trembled as he said, "11:23."

"Yes." Zhu Qingzhi nodded even more firmly. "My fans are having a gathering downstairs, and I think I need to go and show up. What do you think?"

Ji Cen nodded as if possessed: "Yes, that's right." He even stepped aside to make way for her.

Zhu Qingzhi was about to leave with Gu Qiao when suddenly her right arm was yanked. A faint amber scent wafted into her wrist, and her cheek, brushing against the soft silk fabric, felt a burning pain. She had been burned.

Caught off guard, she was led outside by Wen Qi, and when she came to her senses, she was in a dimly lit stairwell. The motion-activated light in the corner turned on and off, and the door was only slightly ajar, a beam of light shining through Wen Qi's profile and onto the floor.

He took a cigarette out of the pack, put it in his mouth, and fiddled with the lighter. The flame flickered and went out repeatedly, but he couldn't light the cigarette.

"If I weren't here today, when would you like to see me?"

His question was direct, but Zhu Qingzhi had no answer: "I don't know."

"Okay." With a light flick of his fingertip, the flame was extinguished with a crisp sound as it flickered up. Wen Qi put the lighter in his pocket and moved closer. "But I want to see you."

They were so close, so intimately connected, his breath and heartbeat intertwined with hers, an indistinguishable flutter, an elusive emotion that was enough to make Zhu Qingzhi want to run away.

She instinctively took a step back, but Wen Qi's scent enveloped her even more forcefully, the irresistible force on her lower back, the burning breath against her ear cartilage...

Her body and will were like a sponge that had absorbed water, growing heavier and harder to control. In the collapsed world, amidst ruins, her body was adrift, her will was sinking, and she was the only one struggling desperately.

That was part of her rationality, and also her most authentic self. She liked beautiful flowers, beautiful scenery, beautiful clothes, and beautiful scripts…

She also liked Wen Qi because he was good-looking, but that was only because he was good-looking.

This affection wasn't enough for her to take things further, especially since fans calling her "wife" were right downstairs, making her feel like she was cheating on them.

She agreed to the marriage because she felt hopeless about making a comeback and planned to quietly remain an unknown figure in the entertainment industry. So, getting married and then divorced didn't seem like a big deal. But now, it's not appropriate.

Zhu Qingzhi's heart was in turmoil, but in reality, the embrace was only for a moment, or it didn't even qualify as an embrace.

"careful."

Zhu Qingzhi glanced back and saw that the door of the electrical cabinet embedded in the wall had been opened at some point, and the sharp edge was right in the middle of her back.

She was truly grateful that she had a lot of inner monologues; otherwise, if she had opened her mouth just now, she would have dug a hole and buried herself in it.

Wen Qi raised his wrist and glanced at the time: "It's 11:30 now. If you change your mind and want to spend New Year's Eve with your fans, you still have time to prepare."

*

After finishing the meal, it was nearly 10 o'clock, and the traffic was still congested. However, even sitting in the private room at Jingyuan, one could feel the strong New Year's Eve atmosphere, so many fans stayed there.

The largest private room on the west side of the second floor was also cleaned up by the restaurant's staff, and it could just accommodate all the fans. Everyone gathered in small groups to chat, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

"President, it's almost time. Shall we arrange for a cake?"

Nuomizhou had just finished tallying all the expenses and was coordinating with Zhu Qingzhi's studio when she heard this. She glanced at the time; it was 11:30, which was indeed about right.

This year's New Year's Eve event was organized by Zhu Qingzhi Studio, which took the initiative to coordinate the event. All expenses were raised and reimbursed by the studio, including the event venue, gifts, and food selection, but it was not publicized to the outside world.

The studio also prepared a cake, but because of its large size, it needed to be refrigerated for a while before it could be transported. The cake-cutting ceremony was originally planned for after dinner, but due to traffic, the fan club decided to cut it at midnight.

After making the request to the restaurant staff, Glutinous Rice Porridge began organizing everyone to prepare.

The custom-made cake was so large that it was brought in slowly by three waiters from several delivery carts. As soon as the cake entered the room, it caused a stir.

"Wow, this cake design is so unique! The fan club put so much thought into it."

"So beautiful!!! I want to take a picture!!"

"Shall we take another group photo? This feels so wonderful!"

No one expected that the cake would not be in the usual shape, but rather a special rose, with each petal arranged in a lively and dynamic way.

The cream coloring was also very thoughtful, a gradient of girly pink, and a sentence was carefully written on the cake with strawberry jam: "May we be together year after year."

Pink roses are Zhu Qingzhi's favorite flower and are also a synonym for fans.

Nuomizhou was taken aback by the unusual cake the studio had arranged. Just then, a waitress tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she needed help taking a group photo.

The waitress had a faint, sweet scent of lychee on her, wore a mask, and had smiling eyes. She looked somewhat familiar, but since people kept urging us to hurry, Nuomizhou didn't think much of it and just handed her her phone, not forgetting to tell her to take a few more pictures!

After the waiters finished taking the photos, they all closed the door and left.

The cake was so exquisite that no one had the heart to cut it, and they even filmed it from every angle.

The moment Nuomizhou got her phone, she immediately sent all the photos to the studio: "So thoughtful! Today is another day I love my wife even more than yesterday!"

Assistant Xiaozhou keenly spotted a familiar figure in the chaotic crowd.

No, sis, this morning you were so sure that going would disrupt the order and you wouldn't participate, so why did you still sneak over?

She immediately reported the situation to Dani.

Unexpectedly, the usually hot-tempered Dani calmly accepted this reality and instructed her to pretend she didn't know if Zhu Qingzhi didn't say anything.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Zhu Qingzhi sent a report in the work group.

“See, even a late report is still a report.” Sister Dani’s smile was still very kind, but Xiaozhou grabbed her phone and ran away quickly. Sure enough, the next moment, Sister Dani’s 60-second voice message popped up in the group.

Zhu Qingzhi stood in the third-floor corridor, too afraid to open the message, but also too afraid to not reply. In the end, she only dared to send a cute "Received" emoji.

Gu Qiao, oblivious to everything else, was taking selfies of herself in her waitress uniform: "Wow, we're cosplaying on New Year's Eve! And that cake is so pretty! The rose and lychee smell so good! I wanted to try it as soon as you sent it to me this afternoon."

"Hey?" Suddenly, Gu Qiao's phone camera was pointed at her, and the expected coquettish reproach came as promised, "Didn't you think of bringing me a piece? Even a scrap would be fine."

This cake was the result of Zhu Qingzhi's hard work throughout the day. To keep it a secret, she specially hired a cake chef to teach her how to make it in the company cafeteria's kitchen.

The arrangement of the cake bases and the coloring of the cream were all things she figured out step by step on her own.

She originally wanted to finish it on her own, but there wasn't enough time, so she asked everyone for help. By the time she finished, it was almost 4 p.m. She was in a hurry to go home for dinner and didn't have time to pack it up and take it with her.

“You can still go up and join us later.” Zhu Qingzhi gave a thumbs-up to her phone camera.

Gu Qiao rolled her eyes in silent protest, then realized someone was missing: "By the way, where's Wen Qi?"

"I don't know." Zhu Qingzhi didn't react much, got up and left. "You go back to the private room first, I'm going to the restroom."

A gentle evening breeze stirred the riverbank, rippling the water and making it shimmer under the lights. The occasional honking of horns from the road echoed the sound of the wind along the riverbank, creating an eerie harmony between noise and tranquility, which also felt rather cold.

Wen Qi messaged her, saying he would wait for her there. Zhu Qingzhi stood on the porch, hesitating to go out. Suddenly, a warm cashmere shawl was draped over her shoulders, dispelling the chill emanating from her thin shirt.

Wen Qi grabbed her wrist from behind and pulled her outside.

This is the back entrance of Jingyuan, right by the river. If you go a little further ahead, you can look up and see the entire second-floor private rooms.

Suddenly, Wen Qi released her hand and stood in the shadows: "It's almost midnight, you still have time to wish them a Happy New Year."

He was still wearing his restaurant waiter's uniform, but he had taken off his coat and untied his black bow tie. Two buttons on his white cotton shirt were undone, and a cold wind blew in. I wondered if he was cold.

He flicked his finger and offered a small microphone, saying, "I'll wait for you here, let's go home together."

As the New Year's bells rang, fireworks burst across the river, their delicate, multicolored shimmering against the sky, swirling with a hazy mist of smoke and dust, resembling a vast, boundless galaxy reflected on the river's surface, connecting it to another dazzling universe.

Nothing compares to the crowd cheering in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the brightly lit private room.

Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best! Looking forward to seeing you again!

The biting wind carried Zhu Qingzhi's gentle voice, echoing throughout the private room. In an instant, all eyes that had been looking up at the sky turned down, framing Zhu Qingzhi's slender, petite figure.

Midnight.

Zhu Qingzhi shook her lit-up phone screen, which displayed a Weibo post she had edited and just successfully sent: 【Our Years and Years】

-----------------------

Author's Note: Kiyoshi [bursting into tears]: My life has been full of ups and downs~

Wen Qi [starry-eyed]: My wife.

Author's note: Enjoy reading! [doge emoji]