Thinking of

The day after the wedding, after Deng Yi joined the film crew, Zhou Ji'an kept his promise to give him a marriage without constraints, and did not call or message him. Deng Yi only contacted Zhou Ji'an because of his mother.

So he's now in acting mode.

Zhou Ji'an pulled his hand away from Zhou's grasp and reminded him, "The flowers are still in the car."

When his expression changed slightly, Zhou Ji'an said, "I'll go get it."

Deng Yi pulled out his car keys, his hand empty, and said in a nonchalant tone, "I'll go."

When Shen Ruoheng saw the flowers in Deng Yi's hand, a look of joy appeared on her face.

She could tell at a glance that Deng Yi had chosen the flowers, but she turned to Zhou Ji'an and smiled, "They're really beautiful, Xiao An, you have excellent taste."

Even someone as perceptive as Zhou Ji'an still felt there was something more to her words.

Perhaps she was trying to say: You have excellent taste in choosing to marry my son.

Zhou Ji'an glanced back at Deng Yi, who quickly entered the room, and said directly, "It was Deng Yi who chose it."

"Really?" Shen Ruoheng took the flowers from Deng Yi's hand, still pleased. "Then it seems you two have good taste."

Deng Yi helped Zhou Ji'an hang up his coat and then said, "Because I'm not like you."

The mother and son always talk like this, their words are ambiguous and cryptic.

Zhou Ji'an looked inside and, not seeing Deng Yi's father, breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it's tiring to get along with someone like Deng Yi's mother who always speaks with hidden meanings, it's better than getting along with someone like Deng Yi's father who is serious, taciturn, and pretentious.

Initially, Zhou Ji'an and Deng Yi arranged for their parents to meet at a private restaurant in Ji City. After the meal, Zhou Ji'an took his parents back to their hotel.

On the way, her father kept praising Deng Yi's father, saying, "Your father-in-law is a remarkable person. He is highly educated, well-mannered, and doesn't talk much. Now that you've entered his family, you should be well influenced by his teachings."

Zhou Ji'an thought to himself that whether Deng Yi's father was highly educated or not was another matter, but he was indeed very taciturn, and he hardly spoke to his wife at all.

On two occasions, Zhou Ji'an even discovered that Deng Yi's father directed his wife's speech and actions solely with his eyes.

Zhou Ji'an immediately felt uncomfortable and was about to rashly point it out when Deng Yi's mother suddenly asked Zhou Ji'an's parents if there was anywhere they wanted to go, and said that she could be their guide.

Zhou Ji'an glanced at Deng Yi's mother and suspected that she had guessed what she wanted to do, which was why she interrupted the conversation so abruptly and quickly.

In short, Zhou Ji'an had a very bad impression of Deng Yi's father. She retorted, "You think he's the kind of person you want to be, that's why you're praising him so highly, right?"

Her father burped and didn't respond to her. Her mother said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "I think your mother-in-law is a good person. Your father-in-law is a bit fake. I don't know who he's trying to impress."

Zhou Ji'an was surprised, glanced at her mother, but did not express her agreement.

With the past events still vivid in her mind, she could not regain her trust in her parents, nor was she willing to waste her trust on them again.

Deng Yi's relationship with his father is not good, which can be seen from various aspects.

They went inside and cooked, ate, and cleaned the kitchen with his mother. During this time, he never asked where his father was.

He never thanked his father when he received the award.

He hardly speaks when he's in the same space as his father.

"Is it pretty?" Deng Yi closed his mother's crochet book, looked up and asked, "You've been looking at it for a long time."

Zhou Ji'an was taken aback by the question; wasn't he reading a book?

A second later, she realized what he meant, and her face flushed red.

"What have you been looking at for a long time?" Shen Ruoheng asked curiously as she walked over with a plate of fruit.

Seeing that the tips of the ears of the person next to him were bright red, Deng Yi deliberately supported her legs to stand up, took the fruit plate and said, "It's nothing."

Shen Ruoheng didn't investigate further, and said to Zhou Ji'an, who stood up with Deng Yi, "Eating figs is good for the skin."

Deng Yi turned his head, his gaze falling on the face of the person next to him. The blush from before seemed to have faded, making her skin appear fair and rosy, smooth and radiant.

He couldn't help but say, "Her skin is already good enough."

Zhou Ji'an didn't understand what Deng Yi was doing for a moment.

You don't want her to eat figs? That's unlikely.

Acting? If it was acting, then the way he pressed her leg just now was probably acting too.

Upon hearing this, Shen Ruoheng immediately stared at Zhou Ji'an's face and said, "He looks just like a peeled egg."

She spoke in the tone of an elder praising a child.

Zhou Ji'an wondered if he should return the compliment, but just as he was about to choose his words, Shen Ruoheng said again, "No wonder people are eyeing you."

This is yet another statement with a rather meaningful purpose.

Whenever Shen Ruoheng said these words and her expression showed any warmth, Zhou Ji'an would immediately assume that the person who cared about her was Deng Yi.

Deng Yi coughed lightly.

Shen Ruoheng immediately changed her expression and said with a smile, "Eat quickly, and then come with me to buy groceries."

The place to buy groceries is probably very close, because Shen Ruoheng doesn't allow Deng Yi to drive.

Zhou Ji'an had barely managed to eat a piece of fig, and because it was so sweet, he was still feeling nauseous and wanted to drink some water to relieve it.

She stole a glance at the bottle of water in Deng Yi's hand, and the discomfort in her throat worsened.

The bottle of water in his hand was something he grabbed from the kitchen when Shen Ruoheng urged them to leave; now it was only a third full.

Zhou Ji'an hesitated for a long time, but managed not to ask for it.

Fortunately, the place to buy groceries was indeed very close. Shen Ruoheng had made a list in advance, so her shopping goals were clear. She didn't waste any time, and soon the three of them started walking back.

"I'll make something for you at noon today..." Shen Ruoheng was speaking when she was interrupted by a loud "Sister Heng" coming from not far ahead.

Zhou Ji'an, who was still wondering why Deng Yi's family, who was so rich, didn't hire a housekeeper, looked up and saw a man and a woman.

She didn't recognize the woman, but she knew the man well.

Zhou Ji'an tilted his head and asked Deng Yi in a low voice, "Does Wei Jinglin also live in this neighborhood?"

Zhou Ji'an knew that Deng Yi and Wei Jinglin were close, but she didn't know that the two lived so close to each other.

"He didn't tell you?" Deng Yi looked down at her.

“You never told me either,” Zhou Ji’an said quietly, pouting.

Wei Jinglin zipped up on his skateboard and flew to Zhou Ji'an and Deng Yijin's side. Shen Ruoheng and the person who looked like Wei Jinglin's mother started chatting at a distance.

"Give it to me." Wei Jinglin stepped on the tail of the board with his toes, neatly put away the skateboard, and stretched out his free hand to Zhou Ji'an, "I'll carry it for you."

Most of the ingredients were in Deng Yi's hands, while Zhou Ji'an only had a few boxes of yogurt in his bag.

This person is as pretentious as ever.

Zhou Ji'an scoffed, slapped his hand away, and said disdainfully, "Stop pretending."

She patted Wei Jinglin's hand, but Deng Yi suddenly grabbed it in mid-air.

His grip was strong, and Zhou Ji'an felt that his hand was probably going to be ruined. He tried to break free by squeezing his fingers together, but the grip only tightened.

He gets too absorbed in his acting.

Zhou Ji'an had no choice but to let him hold her hand and walk past Wei Jinglin.

Wei Jinglin jumped back onto his skateboard and slowly glided around them, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "What? Scared?"

There must be toxic gas in this neighborhood, the kind that makes people's speech unclear.

Deng Yi just kept leading Zhou Ji'an away and ignored him.

Zhou Ji'an couldn't help but yell, "Are you sick in the head?"

"Your husband is the one who's sick," Wei Jinglin said sarcastically. "Ask him why he didn't invite me to his wedding."

After he finished speaking, he forced a smile and said fiercely to Zhou Ji'an, "You didn't invite me either."

This was the first time since Zhou Ji'an and Deng Yi got married that someone had referred to Deng Yi as her husband in front of her.

She felt very uncomfortable and glanced at Deng Yi's jawline, which was taut like a taut string.

He seemed to be angry only with Wei Jinglin and didn't react to the word "husband".

Wei Jinglin suddenly stomped his foot on the ground, his face snapping close to Zhou Ji'an's, and teased, "You didn't invite me, are you afraid that if you see me at the wedding, you won't be able to resist eloping with me?"

Zhou Ji'an was so startled by the sudden enlargement of his face that he took several steps back. Deng Yi quickly led Zhou Ji'an to the other side and bypassed Wei Jinglin again.

He took a few steps, then stopped and said indifferently, "If you're sick, go find your dad to cure you before you come out."

At this moment, the three of them were very close to Shen Ruoheng and the woman who appeared to be Wei Jinglin's mother.

"Why is your Deng Yi still so sharp-tongued?"

Wei Jinglin shouted back, "Mom, don't say that. I provoked him first."

Zhou Ji'an was basically certain that there was something wrong with this neighborhood; everyone in it was a drama queen.

Deng Yi seemed to have no intention of suing Wei Jinglin, nor did he intend to greet Wei Jinglin's mother. He kept walking and walking. Zhou Ji'an was trying his best to keep up with him, but suddenly he couldn't stand it anymore and turned around to yell at Wei Jinglin's mother: "It was your Wei Jinglin who was mean to us first."

"Oh my, you've only been married a short time, and you're already completely devoted to your husband?" Wei Jinglin's mother teased in a high-pitched voice.

Shen Ruoheng's eyes lit up, and she said with relief, "That child was on Deng Yi's side even before the wedding."

When they arrived at the door, Deng Yi still held tightly to Zhou Ji'an's hand.

Zhou Ji'an's hands felt like they were on fire from being gripped so tightly. Seeing that he was even trying to open the door with the hand that was holding the groceries, he quickly said, "They didn't follow, you don't need to hold them anymore."

Deng Yi stared at her blankly, the jealousy at the corners of his mouth deepening little by little, but the words he spoke were still spoken in his usual calm tone.

Why don't you want to hold hands?

"What's wrong?" Shen Ruoheng asked as she walked over.

"Uh, he was talking to me about a movie." Zhou Ji'an looked at Deng Yi in a panic, hoping he could say something more to cover up their lie.

But he didn't. He opened the door with his hand, which was red from carrying too much weight, put down the bag full of ingredients, and took off Zhou Ji'an's coat.

Before becoming a director, Deng Yi acted in an art film.

After the art film was released, it did surprisingly well at the box office, so much so that many people suspected that the box office figures were manipulated.

Deng Yi became an overnight sensation, receiving numerous offers for advertisements and variety shows, and his popularity remained high.

The director, screenwriter, and other actors in the film also gained considerable fame, and they often referred to Deng Yi as a "drama fanatic" in interviews.

Zhou Ji'an doesn't like watching movies, and she doesn't understand them very well either.

Even though she had watched that art film countless times, she still didn't understand why people called Deng Yi a "drama fanatic."

Today, she finally knows.