Chapter 6, "Get on Up There Yourself"
The kiss that night ended without a trace. The two were evenly matched, and ultimately they hadn't kissed much since they got married. They might have kissed in bed, but it was all driven by instinct, with no skill involved.
It was the afternoon of the next day when Qiao Shu went to find Qiao Mingjie again.
She hadn't slept well for two nights in a row. Examining her skin in the mirror, her face looked terrible, as if it had been thrown into a desiccant. She covered it with foundation, paying particular attention to her bluish eyelids, and then applied lipstick to brighten her complexion.
After marrying Ye Yuzhen, Qiao Mingjie moved out of the old house. He was just a figurehead at the company, and the money he received each month was negligible. He lived on the money from the family trust and stock dividends. He lived in a detached villa in the suburbs. He and Ye Yuzhen had no children. Only Ye's nephews and nieces would come to stay for a while. At other times, it was usually just Ye Yuzhen and an aunt who was responsible for cleaning and cooking three meals a day.
The aunt brought over some fruit and snacks, then closed the study door and left.
The study was small, with books and items sparsely arranged on the bookshelves. In the middle was a tea table with pear wood chairs and a messy pile of tea sets. Qiao Mingjie calmly brewed a pot of tea and poured it for Qiao Shu to try.
Qiao Shu leaned on the armrest of the wooden chair, remaining motionless: "I didn't come here to have tea with Dad."
Qiao Mingjie handed her a cup of tea with a good temper, his face full of smiles, looking like a loving father. He said repeatedly that he knew: "You mean my affair with Xiaoyun? I'll drink some tea and explain to you slowly. What happened that day was purely accidental. Xiaoyun is a small actress that no one recognizes when she walks on the street. Who would have thought that paparazzi would follow her?"
"Was your affair an accident, or was it an accident that you were discovered?" Qiao Shu asked.
Qiao Mingjie sighed softly, not wanting to talk about this kind of thing with his daughter: "Dad is serious this time."
“I’m not here to meddle in your private affairs, and you wouldn’t listen to me anyway.” Qiao Shu sighed, her delicate eyebrows drooping, looking agitated. “It’s just that Grandpa’s birthday is coming up soon. Can’t you be a little more well-behaved during this time?”
Qiao Mingjie tilted his head back and silently drank a cup of tea. "I know you want to say that the old man will announce his will on his birthday, but Xiao Shu, I advise you not to think about it. Your grandfather doesn't like me. It's not a new thing. He has always favored my eldest brother since he was a child. My eldest brother is also doing well and has two sons. What do I have?"
That's reality; he's always just a little unlucky.
Returning to Qiao Shu, he crossed his arms and leaned on the table, adding, "You're already married and considered part of the Yu family. The old man knows this perfectly well. Even if you're obedient and sensible, you're still just his little granddaughter. Even if the will is announced later, it won't have anything to do with us, father and daughter. You might as well focus your attention on Ze Heng. He's your husband, and you'll still have to rely on him in the future."
Qiao Shu's eyebrows gradually rose, and her brow twitched slightly. She laughed angrily, "Don't you think it's ironic that you're asking me to rely on a man?"
Qiao Mingjie frowned, stung by the remark, and said in a defiant tone, "Just because I'm like this, I'm making you face reality and keep a close eye on your husband."
Qiao Shu had no intention of discussing her marriage with him; she didn't want to hear a single word. She coldly retorted, "All I want is Shengyu. When Mom married you, Grandpa gave her Shengyu as part of her dowry. Such a large food company, almost listed, and you've ruined it. You owe so much money, and you used Shengyu to pay off Grandpa's debts. You know how much I've done for the Qiao family all these years, running around for them. Shouldn't I take back what's rightfully mine?"
Qiao Mingjie sighed upon hearing this: "You are still too ambitious. With your grandfather's fondness for you, he won't treat you badly. You have no worries about food and clothing in the Yu family, so there's no need to get involved."
The father and daughter are completely different people. Qiao Shu is ambitious, while Qiao Mingjie is lazy and doesn't know how to convince the other.
Qiao Shu pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment. Then she crossed her arms, lowered her head, and let her eyelashes droop. Her posture softened and her mood was low. "You know that my marriage to Yu Zeheng was arranged by my grandfather. He didn't like me, but he couldn't go against his father's wishes. We got married in a daze. After the marriage, we rarely saw each other. He was flying all over the world, and at any time, another woman might appear and ask me to give up my place."
Then there's my mother, who passed away young due to illness.
Qiao Shu was a little sad, her voice soft and low: "When I was six, my mother passed away. I still remember what she looked like lying in the hospital bed, her skin slowly withering and losing its luster, her hair falling out in clumps, like flowers withering away little by little. Do you remember what she looked like before she got sick? She was such a vain person, but she was tormented by illness and felt like she was dying. At that time, she was still thinking about you, afraid that you wouldn't be able to take good care of me by yourself. I was still too young, and you had no experience."
Her memories from when she was six years old were already blurry, and she pieced them together and reconstructed them again and again in her recollections.
Qiao Mingjie lowered his head, recalling the past, the day they first met, which could be described as love at first sight, and their married life as happy and fulfilling.
"The day my mother left was in the morning. The weather was beautiful, the air was fresh, the sky was an unbelievable blue, and there were big, fluffy, soft clouds. She left without any warning. She was so lovely. She didn't even have time to see it."
"That day, I no longer had a mother."
Clear tears rolled down her cheeks: "And I've lost my father too."
"It's Dad's fault." Qiao Mingjie covered his eyes, wiping them away with guilt and distress. He made a promise, saying that he would stay at home obediently during this time and behave well, hoping that the old man would forgive him and allow him to go back on his birthday.
A tear clung to Qiao Shu's face: "Really?"
“I swear,” Qiao Mingjie said, raising his hand with a firm tone.
Qiao Shu nodded, picked up her bag, and left. When she turned around, she wiped away her tears expressionlessly. After going downstairs, she greeted Ye Yuzhen with a bright smile, her eyelashes curved, bright and dazzling.
When I went out, the sky was dark and overcast, a sign that it was about to rain.
The rain started after she got home. Through the French windows, she could see the raindrops pattering on the grass, sparkling like countless diamonds under the light of the ground lamp.
The doors and windows of the house were closed, and she couldn't hear anything. She quietly held a cup of hot, calming tea and watched for a while.
During dinner time, Qiao Shu and Yu Zeheng had a rare opportunity to eat face-to-face.
Qiao Shu's meals consisted of boiled vegetables that hadn't changed in years; they were healthy and green, but looked bland and tasteless. Yu Zeheng, on the other hand, had a steak and spaghetti bolognese, and the two of them ate separately.
After dealing with Qiao Mingjie's matter, she was in a good mood. She dipped a small piece of broccoli in vinaigrette and chewed it slowly. Then, her gaze fell on Yu Zeheng across from her, and she asked curiously, "Is your team's number one driver named Ke Ming? He's been making quite a splash lately; even I've seen him on social media."
Yu Zeheng rested his hands on the table, cutting his steak, and said in a flat voice, "Didn't you say you weren't interested in racing?"
Qiao Shu put down her chopsticks and drank half a glass of water: "Yes, I'm more interested in people. The media is all talking about his affair with foreign actress Bianca, their intimate relationship on a yacht vacation, is their relationship true?"
"have no idea."
"Aren't you his boss? Don't you even know?" Qiao Shu's tone was slightly disdainful. She picked up another piece of shrimp, the meat was tender and fresh, much tastier than vegetables.
Yu Zeheng frowned and replied matter-of-factly, "The boss wouldn't interfere in the driver's private affairs."
It sounded pointless. She asked about the people in his racing team, which was essentially a way of showing concern for him, but he didn't appreciate it. She wasn't going to waste her time trying to win him over. She picked up her phone, but Qiao Mingjie's gossip had been suppressed and disappeared without a trace. In its place, another celebrity had come up with a story. There's nothing new under the sun.
When things got boring, Yu Zeheng suddenly asked, "Why are you suddenly curious about this kind of thing?"
The reason a princess is called a princess is because she considers herself the center of the world. She is always number one, and she is not interested in or wastes her energy on things that are not related to her. She always scoffs at gossip and rumors.
Qiao Shu raised her eyelashes, reacted for a second, and replied matter-of-factly, "He looks very young."
Yu Zeheng paused at the tip of his finger.
Qiao Shu discussed with him with great interest: "How old is he? Twenty or twenty-one? He really is a young brother. He looks so young and innocent, but he drives very aggressively and has a cool and arrogant expression. It's quite a contrast. This kind of guy is usually very popular with girls, especially older women."
"You've watched his matches?" Yu Zeheng listened to her rattling off a bunch of praises, as if she had seen him in person. He lowered the corners of his lips, took a sip of his wine, the wine wetting his thin lips, and sat there coldly.
"Interested in watching a couple of races? What, do you think it's strange for a girl to watch racing?" Qiao Shu hadn't watched Ke Ming's races, but she had read reports saying that Ke Ming's racing style was very similar to Yu Zeheng's.
Yu Zeheng didn't respond. He went upstairs after dinner.
After finishing her meal, Qiao Shu chatted with Aunt Chu downstairs for a while, drank a small bowl of nourishing soup, and then called the ladies who had business dealings with the Qiao family, addressing them affectionately as sisters. After maintaining these relationships as usual, she tumbled upstairs.
When she came out after taking a shower, Yu Zeheng was lying in bed, scrolling through race information on his tablet. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that it was news about other teams. She lifted the covers, lay down, put on her eye mask, and adjusted her sleeping position, as if she was preparing to go to sleep half an hour early.
Yu Zeheng looked at her. Her sleeping posture was strange. She was lying on her side with one leg straight and the other leg bent at almost a 90-degree angle. One arm was placed under the pillow, as if she was showing off her body's flexibility.
After half an hour of effort, Qiao Shu was wide awake and wide awake, showing no signs of sleepiness.
She could hardly ignore the breathing of the other person beside her. In despair, she took off her blindfold, turned around and sat up, looking at Yu Zeheng, who had opened his eyes when she got up. Her right shoulder strap slipped down to her shoulder, revealing a glimpse of her alluring figure. Her tone was natural and casual: "I can't sleep. Let's do it."
After a few seconds of silence, Yu Zeheng heard himself ask, "Qiao Shu, are you using me to help you sleep?"
Qiao Shu lowered her gaze and said frankly, "It wasn't you."
Yu Zeheng was wearing blue cotton plaid pajamas. Because of his supine position, the neckline was pulled up to his collarbone. He frowned, his eyes were deep-set, and his skin was so white that you could see the veins. He didn't move, his eyes were indifferent.
"If you want to do it, come up here yourself."
A note from the author:
----------------------
After taking the medicine, the princess felt that the young master was no longer capable.
Young Master: Do you really think I'm immune to emotions and can help you fall asleep anytime? [Clown]
Cherish this rare opportunity, young master.
——
Continue sending 50 random red envelopes, kiss kiss kiss!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
