Chapter 22 The Substitute Do you know you're just a substitute?
Jin Zhao wiped himself down briefly by the pool, his gaze sweeping over the noisy crowd. He frowned and looked around, but still couldn't find Jiang Xiliu.
She left.
Jin Zhao didn't recognize anyone else. After handing the ball to Wan Jiayu, he walked towards the locker room.
The contents of the ball were arranged by Wan Jiayu. She had said before everyone went into the water, "The darker the color, the more severe the punishment."
But it's obvious that the last two darkest balls—one was just placed on the table by Jin Zhao, and the other…
Ye Qishan was striding towards them, his bangs still dripping wet, his brows furrowed, his whole being radiating an aura of unhappiness.
Wan Jiayu was more familiar with Ye Qishan, and she reached out and took the black ball from his hand.
"Ye Er, what's going on between you and Jin Zhao? You two were the first to jump into the water, and you were also the last to dawdle out of the water."
As she spoke, she shook the black ball in her hand again: "And you two both happened to draw the black ball! Didn't you hear the rules of the game I just told you? The black ball is the one with the worst punishment."
Ye Qishan's gaze swept across the locker room before returning to the black ball in Wan Jiayu's hand. His expression darkened further, and he added, "I was too busy beating him up in the water."
What he really wanted to know was, "Where did Xiliu go?"
"Oh, she had a last-minute meeting and should be in the front building now," Wan Jiayu said. "Hurry up and change your clothes; you'll be punished later."
"Do my ass." Ye Qishan blurted out, "My birthday wish this year is to avoid punishment."
Wan Jiayu said softly, "But Xiliu wants to see it, and she even told me that I must take a picture of you."
Ye Qishan: ...
He'll do it; he's not a sore loser.
Wan Jiayu began disassembling the ball.
All the punishments were suggested and then voted on, including but not limited to "princess-carrying someone heavier than yourself ten times," "listing ten flaws of the person you dislike the most," and "choosing someone of the same sex, kissing them ten times on the cheek, and reciting an abstract passage with deep emotion"...
The punishment inside the black ball is: "After exchanging clothes with your favorite person in the room, write your confession on their buttocks."
The two people received the same punishment.
Wan Jiayu imagined the scene of the two of them dressed in women's clothing, wiggling their hips in front of the person they liked.
After you finish dancing, it's like saying goodbye to love, right?
...
Jiang Xiliu was very unhappy with the meeting.
I was unhappy from the start.
After she said she would only discuss work, the other person listened, but then switched to an even more tedious method.
They expect her to answer every question.
Even though Assistant Liao had already answered his question clearly, the other party would still gently smile and call out, "Excuse me, I was distracted and didn't hear you clearly. Could you please repeat it for me, Mr. Jiang?"
Jiang Xiliu had already cursed the other party a hundred and eighty times in her heart. Whenever she was on the verge of turning her back on him, Assistant Liao would quickly send a private message to the young lady: "Look at this profit, and look at this number." "Your words are truly worth a thousand pieces of gold!"
It's true that the young lady has little patience, but she's also genuinely easy to coax.
With Liao's constant encouragement and gentle persuasion, she finally managed to finalize all the details.
Just as the meeting was about to end, the man suddenly spoke up: "Wait a minute, Mr. Jiang, don't leave yet. Remove me from the blacklist, I have something to say to you."
Jiang Xiliu glanced at the screen and sneered inwardly.
She had temporarily removed Ye Qishan from her blacklist and sent him a voice message in order to set a trap for him, but then immediately put him back on the blacklist.
Want her to completely expel it? No way.
"Go to hell." Jiang Xiliu cursed inwardly, rolled her eyes, and left the meeting without even a second's hesitation.
Her profile picture on the screen went dark instantly, as if staying there for even a second longer would be too much of a hassle.
The young lady left decisively, and the atmosphere in the online meeting suddenly became somewhat awkward. Assistant Liao coughed lightly and quickly took over this hot potato, speaking sincerely.
"President Shen, please don't mind. Our General Manager Jiang is straightforward and never beats around the bush, but she really values you and this cooperation between us. Even though she's on vacation right now, she still made time to attend this meeting."
"I know." The man addressed as President Shen spoke in a calm, unwavering voice, showing no sign of displeasure at being left out, and even a hint of indulgence. "It's alright, but I might need Assistant Liao to pass on a message for me..."
"Jiang Xiliu, where are you? Have you left?"
"Xiliu, are you upstairs? I'm coming to find you to punish you."
Jiang Xiliu frowned. What did it have to do with her what they were doing punishing her?
She opened the curtains and stood by the French windows to look down. The artificial beach was a mess, with people divided into several groups. Some were taking pictures with their phones, some were cheering, and there were three video cameras set up nearby.
These unlucky guys today will probably have a dark history for the rest of their lives.
She messaged Wan Jiayu: "Ye Er just said he's coming to find me to do a mission. What punishment did he draw?"
Less than two seconds after the message was sent, Wan Jiayu's reply popped up: "Confessing love while wiggling her butt in women's clothing." It was followed by a gleeful emoji.
Then he added a crucial piece of information, "Actually, what's important now isn't the punishment itself, but who you're willing to cooperate with in carrying out this punishment."
"Your boyfriend who brought you along will also be subject to this punishment."
Jiang Xiliu raised an eyebrow, the image of Jin Zhao and Ye Qishan dressed as women flashing through her mind, and she couldn't help but smile. However, she was unwilling to exchange clothes with either of them.
The young lady is a genius at finding loopholes.
She went downstairs and stopped a familiar-looking manager: "Do you have any new plus-size women's clothing here? I need two sets, preferably... something with a unique touch."
Of course there is.
"Here, the clothes." Jiang Xiliu tossed one of the bags in front of Ye Qishan, and the bag hit him with a "thud." She also threw the other bag to Jin Zhao.
After examining the skirt closely, Ye Qishan exclaimed incredulously, "This skirt is way too short! How am I supposed to wiggle my hips and write while wearing this? Won't I be exposed from front to back?"
Jin Zhao did not speak.
"Then why is it called punishment?" The young lady tilted her head and laughed happily to herself.
"But the rules say you can exchange clothes with someone you like!" Ye Qishan still struggled, pointing at the skirt to argue, "This isn't your clothing either!"
Jiang Xiliu shook her index finger and said matter-of-factly, "No! These are clothes I bought for free downstairs. I bought them, so they're mine."
"But..." Ye Qishan wanted to say something more, but Jiang Xiliu interrupted him directly.
"You're so long-winded." Her smile faded, and her tone became somewhat impatient. "I did it on purpose, so what? Are you going to wear it or not? If not, then find someone else who likes you."
Before Ye Qishan could react, Jin Zhao suddenly moved. He stepped forward, exchanged the bag in his hand with the bag in Ye Qishan's arms, and without saying a word, turned and walked towards the dressing room next door.
Ye Qishan watched his retreating figure: "He just gave in like that?"
Jiang Xiliu glanced at him sideways, her eyes looking at him like he was an idiot: "The one he took was a larger size, with a longer skirt that could cover his legs. That one was originally meant for you, but you were dawdling."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qishan quickly grabbed the clothes in his arms and ran into the dressing room: "Give them back to me!"
...
The locker room doors opened one after another, and the cheers on the beach instantly became incredibly loud.
Everyone else had completed their tasks, leaving only the last two of them.
Jin Zhao was wearing a dark gray plus-size dress. The lace at the neckline was stretched out of shape, and the hem barely reached her knees. It was much more demure than expected.
He walked out expressionlessly, raising his hand to tug at his slightly tight cuffs, revealing a hint of unease.
Ye Qishan followed behind, his face flushed red, his hands gripping the hem of his white dress tightly, tugging at it with every step, afraid the dress would ride up. Hearing laughter, he tried to maintain his last shred of dignity: "What are you laughing at! I'm just following the rules, it's not like I have any special fetish!"
The two of them twisted very quickly, and after they finished, they went straight to the locker room without saying a word.
Jiang Xiliu watched their hurried departures and couldn't stop laughing.
"System, after Jin Zhao marries the female lead, I'm going to find this video from today and project it onto the big screen at the wedding so everyone can see him wiggling his butt in women's clothing."
[System 0777: That's not right. According to the original plot, Jin Zhao only has the scene where he marries you. The ending was terrible, and the author hasn't even written whether he'll marry the female lead again.]
"Marry me?" Jiang Xiliu naturally wouldn't let herself become a clown in other people's eyes, so she changed her words, "That's simple. On the day we get divorced, I'll release this video, find a big venue, and play it on a loop for two hours."
[System: ...You're so clever, as expected of you~]
Because of the commotion in the afternoon, everyone went back to their rooms to rest after dinner.
Jin Zhao, being someone Jiang Xiliu brought along, naturally stayed in the same suite as her.
After finishing his meal, Ye Qishan followed Jiang Xiliu around like a little tail, staring intently at her, clearly not intending to leave.
"Why are you following us instead of going back to your room?" Jiang Xiliu asked him. "Don't tell me you didn't arrange a room for yourself."
Ye Qishan reached out and tugged at her sleeve, putting on a pitiful expression: "Xiliu, I want to live here too. That's my birthday wish this year."
Jiang Xiliu was speechless: "You have too many birthday wishes this year. What's the point of making so many?"
"How is it useless?" Ye Qishan's eyes sparkled, and his tone softened, as if he were pleading, "If you nod, this wish will come true immediately."
Jin Zhao, who had been leaning against the wall without saying a word, finally couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Ye Qishan with undisguised disdain.
There are only two empty rooms in their suite. If Ye Qishan were to move in... then naturally he and Jin Zhao would share a room.
Jiang Xiliu thought about it and suddenly felt that this was a good idea: it wouldn't affect her own rest, and it might even make the two of them sleep poorly tonight.
She didn't dwell on it any longer, and slapped away Ye Qishan's hand that was tugging at her clothes: "Fine, you can stay, but it's two of you sharing a room. Whoever makes a sound can get out."
Ye Qishan beamed with joy: "I knew you were the best, Xiliu!" He then tried to go up and talk to Jiang Xiliu, but Jin Zhao subtly blocked him.
"What are you doing?" Ye Qishan's expression changed instantly.
Jin Zhao said calmly, "She needs to rest."
Ye Qishan sneered, "What a good dog."
"You're not bad either." Jin Zhao was too lazy to argue. When he saw Jiang Xiliu enter the room, he stepped aside to make way for her. Before Ye Qishan could react, he walked into the room they shared and closed the door behind him.
Jin Zhao washed up first, and after he finished, he went straight to the only large bed in the room, lifted the quilt, and lay down.
The room only has one double bed, which means they either have to sleep together or one of them has to sleep on the floor.
Jin Zhao naturally hoped that Ye Qishan would be more self-aware.
But Ye Qishan not only didn't realize it, he also shamelessly leaned closer to look at Jin Zhao's phone.
Jin Zhao subconsciously moved to the side: "What are you doing? Don't you have a phone?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid to turn it on." Ye Qishan leaned forward again, his tone roguish, "What's wrong with letting me take a look? What kind of secrets do you have on your phone that you're trying to hide?"
Jin Zhao remembered the phone call in the car. He turned to look at Ye Qishan: "You don't dare turn it on? Because of that person who accused you of embezzling? Who is he?"
Ye Qishan hadn't originally planned to tell Jin Zhao.
But when the two got too close, Ye Qishan suddenly realized that Jin Zhao looked strangely familiar from this angle.
Ye Qishan stared at Jin Zhao's face for a few seconds, then suddenly realized something: "Ah... so that's how it is."
"That explains why she suddenly took a liking to you."
"I see."
Ye Qishan's voice wasn't loud, but Jin Zhao heard it clearly. He frowned and asked, "What exactly are you talking about?"
Ye Qishan stared into his eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Do you know you're just a stand-in?"
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