When Zhou Zuizui came out of the bathroom, her eyes were a little red.
In the end, she was still pinned down in the bathroom and brutally bullied by Shen Nan.
Shen Nan returned to bed, her eyelids slightly lowered as she looked at the person lying on her side. Long, chestnut-brown curly hair covered half her face. She was holding a cell phone in her hand.
He glanced down, then leaned down and kissed her on either side, his voice low and husky: "What are you looking at?"
"Check Weibo." Zhou Zuizui glanced at him, seemingly engrossed in scrolling through Weibo. She whispered, "I'm in charge of interviews with entertainment reporters now, so I occasionally have to check the Weibo accounts of these big stars."
Upon hearing this, Shen Nan paused slightly, then smiled and said, "Did you figure something out?"
"Yes," Zhou Zuizui said with a smile. "There are two female celebrities who actually have a very bad relationship, but on the surface they still maintain a good relationship on Weibo and call each other 'best friends'."
She looked at them, rubbed her temples, and said, "Actually, their relationship is very bad. They often attend events wearing the same brand of clothes and secretly compete with each other."
The gossip in the entertainment industry is so abundant that it could be discussed for three days and three nights without exhausting it.
Although Zhou Zuizui knew beforehand that things were messy inside, and that some people who were rumored to be bad were actually good, while some who seemed like innocent young actresses weren't really like that at all. It was just that everyone was very good at putting on a show. If her work hadn't been somewhat related to this, she might never have known the truth about some things in her entire life.
Shen Nan listened, but didn't react much.
Every circle and every profession is pretty much the same; there are shady dealings involved.
He reached out and pulled her onto his arm as a pillow, looking down at her for a moment: "Mom asked if we have time to come home for dinner tomorrow."
“Sure,” Zhou Zuizui said, “as long as I don’t work overtime.”
"OK."
She paused, then looked at Shen Nan: "How many days of rest are you taking this time?"
"Tomorrow and the weekend," he said softly. "But you don't need to go out if there are no missions for the time being."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zuizui nodded knowingly, put her phone away, buried her head in Shen Nan's neck and rubbed against him, saying coquettishly, "That's good."
They were together for at least a few days.
Shen Nan chuckled, a slight smile curving his lips as he looked at her: "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
Zhou Zuizui paused for a moment, then looked at him: "I haven't thought of anything yet."
"Shall I arrange it for you?"
Zhou Zuizui chuckled, looked up at him, touched Chen Nan's chin, and asked with half-closed eyes, "Are you going to take me out to play?"
"No," Shen Nan said, "I want you to drive me around in your new car."
Zhou Zuizui chuckled and readily agreed, "Okay, you arrange the location, and I'll drive, how about that?"
"good."
The plan was set for the two to go out on the weekend, but in the end, they didn't go out together as a couple.
Shen Nan glanced at the weariness on her face, reached out and hugged her, pulling her into his arms and gently coaxing her, "Sleep."
"good evening."
"Goodnight," Shen Nan replied, gazing down at her sleeping face for a long time before closing his eyes and falling asleep with her.
After training away from home for so long, I always had this thought in my mind. Only when I saw her could my heart finally relax.
Thinking about it, he tightened his grip on his arm even more.
The distance between the two people was like the stars hanging on either side of the night sky, slowly moving as time went by, until they gradually drew closer and joined together.
The next morning, the sun was already shining.
It's already July, and the weather is getting hotter and hotter. Every morning when Zhou Zuizui goes out, she is startled by the heat wave that hits her.
It has to be said that the weather here is as hot as ever, especially in the summer.
She had only been out for a short while when a little sweat began to appear on her forehead. She glanced at the person who had driven her to work and almost laughed.
"Do you really have to be so high-profile?"
Shen Nan raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly, "I was already quite high-profile yesterday, so it's only right that I take you to work today."
That's true. Zhou Zuizui could probably guess how many questions she'd receive at the newspaper office today, and of course, most of them were probably related to Shen Nan. Last time, she got into Ai Zeyang's Bentley at the newspaper office entrance, and afterwards, Ai Zeyang picked her up in different luxury cars on several occasions, leading to persistent rumors about her at the newspaper office.
Various kinds.
However, she usually only hears something briefly and then forgets about it, so people don't really say anything about her openly. Zhou Zuizui simply pretends not to know.
She had said that Ai Zeyang was her friend, but it seemed like people didn't really believe her. So she was thinking about what questions people would ask her today.
Thinking about it, she chuckled softly.
"What are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing," Zhou Zuizui said with a slight smile. "I was just wondering how curious everyone is about you."
Shen Nan glanced at her but didn't say anything.
It didn't take long to get from home to the newspaper office. When she got off the bus, Zhou Zuizui said, "Oh, right, my internship will end in the middle of the month."
She looked at Shen Nan with a smile on her face: "If you pass smoothly, I'll treat you to dinner."
Shen Nan smiled and said, "Okay, text me when you're almost off work, and I'll come pick you up to go home for dinner."
"no problem."
After watching her go inside, Shen Nan drove away, heading in the opposite direction.
Just as Zhou Zuizui had imagined, she received many curious glances as soon as she arrived at the newspaper office, and the slightly bolder ones started asking her questions directly.
"Zui Zui, was the man who drove you to work yesterday this morning?"
Zhou Zuizui nodded with a smile: "Yes, what's wrong?"
Her female colleague's eyes darted around, and she stared at her curiously: "Is that your...husband?"
Everyone still remembers the nickname that man called out in front of everyone yesterday; everyone thought it was incredibly sweet. Such a manly man calling his wife in such a deep, affectionate voice—any woman would fall for him.
So when the two had been together for a week, everyone started discussing it enthusiastically.
Zhou Zuizui smiled and said, "Yes, he's my husband."
"Wow……"
The female colleagues around her gasped, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at her.
"It seems like this is the first time your husband has picked you up from get off work."
"What does your husband do? He looks so imposing."
"Yeah, yeah, that really manly feeling, so powerful!!!"
"Is he a businessman? But he doesn't seem to have that businessman's aura. Anyway, he must be quite wealthy!"
...
Everyone bombarded her with questions, and Zhou Zuizui smiled faintly, proudly telling them, "He's a soldier." Looking at the stunned young women around her, she added, "My husband is a soldier."
"ah……"
Her colleague paused, blinked, and looked at her in disbelief: "A soldier?"
You could hear the disappointment in their voices.
Zhou Zuizui hummed in agreement, her smile fading slightly as she nodded. "He's a soldier. Is there any other question?"
In an instant, everyone's curiosity vanished.
"No, no, Zui Zui, you go ahead with your work."
Zhou Zuizui looked around and knew what these people were thinking. Although she felt uncomfortable, she didn't say anything.
In many people's minds, marrying a soldier is not a good thing. After all, soldiers are poor and live in constant fear, and many people don't even respect them.
For soldiers, the most important thing might not be their wives and children, but their country and their comrades. This is why these people lost interest as soon as they heard that the person in question was a soldier.
They have no interest in soldiers.
Although Zhou Zuizui was very unhappy, there was nothing she could do to change anything.
Most people are bystanders, thinking of soldiers when protection is needed, but generally still holding a lot of contempt for them. They think that soldiers must be uneducated and poor, since who among the educated and wealthy would want to join the army?
This mindset is hard to change, and Zhou Zuizui doesn't want to change it. Anyway, she knows how good soldiers are and how good Shen Nan is, and she doesn't need to tell others.
But sometimes, she still hopes that the world can be a little kinder, whether to soldiers or people in other professions.
After the people who had been surrounding them left, Lin glanced at her again and patted her on the shoulder: "Don't bother with them."
Zhou Zuizui chuckled: "No, I understand everyone's thoughts."
After all, everyone has a bit of selfishness, and she was no exception.
Lin raised her glass at her and said, "Your husband is the pride of the nation."
Zhou Zuizui chuckled and clinked glasses with her: "That's an exaggeration. He just did what he was supposed to do."
Originally, Zhou Zuizui thought that the matter was over. After all, everyone has different thoughts. Being a soldier is too tough, so it's normal that people don't like it. No normal person would want their husband, or other relatives and friends, to suffer or risk their lives to save others.
She could genuinely understand that, but she still felt very annoyed by those who gossiped behind her back, especially when they used vulgar language to criticize a soldier.
She couldn't help but get angry.
The morning passed peacefully. Zhou Zuizui was writing the draft from a few days ago. Her writing style was quite good, sharp and concise, and she could often summarize the key points in a single sentence.
Lin and the editor-in-chief both valued her highly. As soon as her articles were published, they received a lot of positive reviews. Everyone liked her style. Although there were some who couldn't accept it, it was obvious that their newspaper's news volume had increased.
After having takeout with Lin at noon, Zhou Zuizui rested on the table for half an hour.
She got up to go to the bathroom halfway through. When her mind is in a mess, she likes to sit on the toilet and think. There was a point she couldn't get past, so Zhou Zuizui took her phone and went into the bathroom.
She also received many messages from Xia Wen on her phone. Xia Wen had just returned to work after her long holiday and was probably bored at work, so she kept complaining.
Xia Wen: Let me tell you, I've been back at work for a week now, and I can still hear what people are saying about me.
Xia Wen: This is so boring! Where's your manuscript? You promised to hand it in when I got back from my trip. Is this how you treat me?
Xia Wen: Holy crap, I just had a little argument with someone, and that person actually said I'm an unwanted woman. Do I look like an unwanted woman? I just got a divorce, how is that unwanted? The men who want me are lined up from my doorstep all the way to the square!
...
Zhou Zuizui read through the messages one by one, smiled silently, and leaned to one side to reply to Xia Wen.
Zhou Zuizui: That's true. You do have a lot of suitors. Have you taken a liking to any of them?
Xia Wen replied quickly: No, I'm as beautiful as a flower, why should I let marriage hold me back?
Zhou Zuizui: Oh? Is this implying something?
Xia Wen: Of course, you are definitely different. Your Captain Shen is so handsome and manly. If I could meet such a perfect man, I would also be willing to get married again.
Just as Zhou Zuizui was about to reply, she heard a quiet conversation outside; it was a familiar voice.
"Hey, did you hear what Zhou Zuizui said this morning? Her husband is actually a soldier." They've long disliked Zhou Zuizui. She's good at what she does and has good looks, attracting all the men at the newspaper. Whenever Zhou Zuizui has any trouble at the newspaper, those men are always the first to help her.
Even after they learned she was married, they remained the same. Therefore, everyone harbored deep resentment.
Of course, this only applies to a small portion of the population.
"I heard that." Another person said smugly, "I thought he was something special, but it turns out he's just an uneducated soldier, tsk tsk."
"Hey, how could she marry a soldier? Didn't Sasha say before that she was very rich, or that she was the young mistress of a shopping mall?"
"Is she kidding? Maybe she's just here to make a show of things. But I do have some doubts. Her husband is a soldier. How can a soldier afford such an expensive car? Could she be lying to us?"
"Maybe not, she doesn't look like a decent person at all." A slightly shrill female voice said, "Look at all those luxury cars that used to pick her up from get off work, who knows... what her private life is really like."
She chuckled and said, "Maybe she'll marry a soldier. Soldiers don't have time to care about her. You know how busy soldiers are, and they might die in the line of duty at any time. Then Zhou Zuizui can do whatever she wants. She's really good at planning. I just don't know when her husband will die... Let me tell you, soldiers are really too dangerous. They can be gone in the blink of an eye."
"That's true, what a brilliant idea! Her husband sacrificed his life, who knows, she might even get a martyr's family status..."
"I wonder if she'll... ah..."
...
As the two were talking, a bucket of dirty water fell from the sky and was splashed down.
"Who is it?!"
"Holy shit!!!"
The two men were furious, but the water had already been poured out.
This action drew a crowd of colleagues who asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Everyone crowded around, and when they saw the water on the two people, they were all speechless and somewhat incredulous.
"This..." Everyone turned their gaze to Zhou Zuizui.
Zhou Zuizui tossed the bucket aside, clapped her hands, looked at the two filthy people, and said with a smirk, "I'm warning you, watch your mouths."
"You..." one of them pointed at Zhou Zuizui and glared at her, "What are you doing?"
Zhou Zuizui smiled slightly, her eyes filled with malice: "You should be glad I've reformed, otherwise what I'd poured on you today wouldn't just be a bucket of broom water." Using her height advantage to suppress their arrogance, she said, word by word, "If I ever hear you show the slightest disrespect for the military profession again, I'll kill you!"
After saying that, Zhou Zuizui ignored the shouts of the two people behind her and went straight out of the restroom.
The rest of the onlookers were completely bewildered.
Ten minutes later, Zhou Zuizui and two others were called to the editor-in-chief's office.
She sat lazily in the chair, twirling her phone in her hand.
The other two were complaining to the editor-in-chief, each saying their own thing, and directly convicted Zhou Zuizui.
The editor-in-chief listened with a bit of a headache: "Zui Zui, tell me properly, what's going on?"
Zhou Zuizui smiled faintly: "There's nothing to say, I just poured them a bucket of water." She looked at the editor-in-chief in front of her and laughed: "Editor-in-chief, if you have any difficulties, just punish me, I'll accept it."
The editor-in-chief looked troubled: "This..." He felt there was something hidden.
Even if the editor-in-chief wanted to punish Zhou Zuizui, he couldn't. She's been given special instructions from above; no one can touch her. As long as she doesn't commit murder or arson at the newspaper office, everyone else is free to do as they please.
He looked at Zhou Zuizui: "There are no security cameras in the restroom. Tell me honestly what happened."
Zhou Zuizui lifted her eyelids slightly, her expression indifferent: "Ask them."
The two men exchanged a glance and began to say, "We were just whispering a few words in the bathroom, nothing more, when she suddenly poured a bucket of water down for us."
"Yeah, yeah. None of us mentioned her!"
The editor-in-chief knew that the staff liked to gossip in the restrooms. Well, where there are many women, there is a lot of gossip, especially in their newspaper office, so it's quite normal.
He exclaimed, "Just because of gossip? Drunkard attacked you?"
“Otherwise!” the man said. “If you don’t believe me, ask Sasha. She happened to be passing by the door when we were talking.”
In an instant, Chen Shasha was also summoned to the office.
When asked, Chen Shasha said casually, "Editor-in-chief, they didn't really say anything, they just discussed some gossip. I didn't hear Zui Zui's name when I passed by."
Editor-in-Chief: "…………"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zuizui raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on her lips as she glanced at Chen Shasha: "Is that so?"
"Yes...yes." Chen Shasha felt a little guilty under her gaze.
In the end, the editor-in-chief had no choice but to say to Zhou Zuizui, "Let me think about how to punish you." He looked at Zhou Zuizui and said, "Zuizui, why don't you go back and rest this afternoon?"
“No problem.” Zhou Zuizui raised her eyebrows and said, “Thank you, editor-in-chief. I’ll go home now.”
After going outside, she ran into Lin You: "What happened?"
"It's nothing." Zhou Zuizui moved her neck and smiled slightly. "We'll talk about it on Monday. I'm going home now."
Lin You: "…………"
Lin remained in a daze even after Zhou Zuizui left. The other colleagues all assumed Zhou Zuizui had been fired.
That's right. How could someone openly pour water from a broom on a colleague at a newspaper office? What's the point of keeping him around if he's not fired?
After leaving the newspaper office, Zhou Zuizui rubbed her temples and kicked a stone in frustration.
grass!
She thought about the triumphant smiles on the faces of those three people. She should have just dumped the trash can on them instead of giving them a lesson with just a bucket of water.
Thinking it over, Zhou Zuizui took a deep breath before turning around and walking to the side.
She casually dialed Shen Nan's number: "I'm off work, what are you doing?"
Twenty minutes later, Shen Nan's car stopped in front of her. He glanced at the person sitting by the roadside and said, "Get in."
After getting in the car, Shen Nan didn't ask Zhou Zuizui why she left work early. He observed his wife's expression for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Where do you want to go now?"
"Let's go home," Zhou Zuizui said with a slight smile. "Let's go see Grandpa."
Shen Nan's Adam's apple bobbed as he agreed, "Okay."
The two went straight home. Chen's mother was shocked that they had returned several hours early. She looked at them and asked, "Doesn't Zui Zui go to work?"
Zhou Zuizui said, "I've already gone to bed early."
Although Shen's mother was curious, she didn't ask any further questions.
"Grandpa is still resting upstairs. Do you two want to take a nap?" She said, "It's so rare to come back here, so let's rest and relax."
Chen's mother glanced at Chen Nan and said, "You've lost weight again."
Shen Nan chuckled and reached out to hug his mother: "Then could you please cook some more delicious food for us tonight, Mom?"
"OK."
After going upstairs, Zhou Zuizui looked at Shen Nan's hesitant expression and rolled her eyes at him: "What do you want to ask?"
What happened today?
Zhou Zuizui thought for a moment, briefly explained the situation at the newspaper, and said in a low voice, "I couldn't stand it anymore, so I poured a bucket of water for them."
"Clear water?"
“Of course not.” Zhou Zuizui glanced at him. “You think I would only give them a bucket of clean water? That would just be letting them take a bath.”
She said, "I used water that had been used to wash the mop in the bathroom."
Shen Nan: "…………"
He chuckled, reached out and pulled her into his arms, lowered his head and kissed her ear, whispering, "Why were you so impulsive?"
“I’m not impulsive,” she said. “I can’t stand seeing others misunderstand you.”
She could tolerate it towards herself, but she couldn't tolerate the slander against Shen Nan and the military. How could soldiers who protect their country and their safety become so indescribable in their mouths?
Soldiers are so great; they sacrifice themselves to save others, trading their own lives for the lives of others. Why should such great people be criticized, ridiculed, and cursed by everyone?
Zhou Zuizui had finally reached her breaking point.
She can ignore other gossip, but she absolutely cannot ignore this.
Shen Nan knew what she was thinking, and he knew that his wife was acting this way to protect him. But the more she did that, the more his heart ached for her.
There are deep and serious misunderstandings about the military profession. In this world, there are those who respect them and those who look down on them, but they accept it all. Occasionally, they hear negative comments about them, but they can tolerate and accept them.
Therefore, Shen Nan felt indescribably moved by Zhou Zuizui's protection of him today.
The two hugged for a long time, and Zhou Zuizui whispered, "You two are so good, why should you be misunderstood, why should you be slandered by them?"
She gritted her teeth and said, "If I weren't still at the newspaper office, I would have done it long ago."
Shen Nan hummed in agreement and hugged the person a little tighter.
However, Zhou Zuizui did not expect that Shen's mother would find out about this.
The two had just come down from the room when they heard Chen's mother on the phone in the living room, looking furious. Upon seeing Zhou Zuizui come down, Chen's mother's first question was, "Zuizui, are you alright? Were you bullied at the newspaper office today?"
Zhou Zuizui was stunned and looked at Chen's mother in astonishment: "Mom... what do you mean by this?"
Mother Shen exclaimed, "Oh dear," and waved her hand, saying, "I'll tell you about that later. You had a conflict with a colleague at the newspaper? What happened?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Nan glanced at the two of them and roughly understood what his mother meant. He paused, then took Zhou Zuizui's phone and played the recording she made in the bathroom.
She had a recording, but she didn't intend to show it to the editor-in-chief at the time. She just wanted to see how those people would cleverly defend and exonerate themselves without a recording, and even try to smear her.
Their conversation played out in the living room, word by word. After listening, neither Shen Nan nor Zhou Zuizui showed any expression. Shen's mother gritted her teeth and looked at Zhou Zuizui: "You only poured one bucket of water for the two of them?"
“The water from the mop,” she emphasized.
Mother Chen stamped her foot, glared at Zhou Zuizui with exasperation, and said, "How could you let them off so easily? You should have grabbed a mop and beaten them up!" She replied, "If anything happens, Mom will cover for me! These people dared to talk about my son and daughter-in-law like that, it's infuriating!!!"
Zhou Zuizui: "..."
Author's Note: Mother: Mom will take care of that for you.
Chui Chui: I plan to get things settled by Monday.
Mother: I'll do it!! I'm so angry!!!
Chui Chui: ...Why did things turn out differently?
I'm ten minutes late, sob sob! It was mainly to combine two updates into one! Please forgive me, my darlings, I'll definitely be on time tomorrow! Love you all! Please leave more comments, you guys don't seem to like leaving comments anymore, sob sob. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
