Chapter 12 I hate you, take off your clothes.
"The law stipulates that wives can enter their husbands' rooms."
Liang Ming and she remained locked in a stalemate, but he eventually succumbed to her persistent gaze. He smiled wryly, pushed open the door, and gestured for Zhou Jinqin to come inside.
After the door closed, Zhou Jinqin suddenly said, "Take off your clothes."
"Isn't this inappropriate?" Liang Minghe raised an eyebrow at her.
This time, Zhou Jinqin didn't blush from his teasing. She looked at him steadily and said, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. This is nothing unusual for a doctor."
Liang Minghe pointed out her weakness: "But you're not a doctor anymore."
"And what about as your wife?" she asked, tilting her head back. The warm light shone on her fair face, making her appear especially pure.
His eyes reddened before his face did, as Liang Minghe suffered another defeat in this stalemate.
He sighed, crossed his hands, grabbed the sides of his shirt, and lifted them up, easily taking the clothes off.
Beautifully defined muscles: broad shoulders, narrow waist, fair skin with a rosy glow, strong and full pectoral muscles, and well-defined rectus abdominis muscles that extend all the way down to the waistband...
It's always a bit lacking when viewed through clothes; the reality is that his physique is far better than imagined, proving he's an absolutely disciplined man.
But Zhou Jinqin had no time to pay attention to any of that. She stepped around to Liang Minghe's back and fixed her gaze directly on the left trapezius muscle.
A bruise stood out on her broad, sturdy back; it was from when her mother hit her with an ashtray.
A hot tear slammed heavily into the crease of her back.
Liang Minghe's body stiffened. He subconsciously wanted to turn around to look, but was tightly gripped by those delicate and soft hands, which seemed to be pleading.
"I'm sorry..." came a voice struggling to hold back a sob from behind.
More heart-wrenching than any of the heart-wrenching cries he had heard before, Liang Minghe composed himself and jokingly teased her, "Feeling sorry for me?"
Perhaps because it had happened so many times, similar tricks no longer worked on someone as clever as Zhou Jinqin, and she didn't fall into the trap this time at all.
She sobbed, like a wounded animal, slowly peeling away her wounds: "I thought marriage was too simple. Out of a desire to escape, I was too eager to get things done and ignored the fact that it was a big deal involving two families."
"As you can see, my family is far from peaceful. My father is a complete scoundrel, and my mother has succumbed to this whirlpool of life, becoming irritable and possessive." She reflected carefully, "I'm good at escaping and hiding things; I seem to be quite bad too..."
She took a breath and said in a hoarse voice, "I wasn't honest with you enough, that's my fault. If you want a divorce, we can go to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow."
"I hate you." Liang Minghe cursed under his breath, then sighed helplessly. He used a little force to pull Zhou Jinqin against his back. "I hate that you always bring up divorce."
Tears no longer stayed only on his back crease, but almost soaked his entire latissimus dorsi muscle, mixed with hot and uneven breathing. The sensation was like the humid rainy season in Shenzhen, unbearable.
As a native of Shenzhen, Liang Minghe thought he could easily handle this terrible situation, but in the end he was just as helpless as a northerner who had just come south for the first time: "I am an adult and I need to be responsible for all my decisions."
“I didn’t ask you; this is a consequence I must bear myself. Besides, you know nothing about my family. In a way, we are accomplices, and you are no more guilty than me,” he said. “Of course, I don’t care about any of that. The only one I need to spend the rest of my life with is you, isn’t that right?”
"Am I worthy?" Zhou Jinqin murmured, as if exploring herself. "The day I made up my mind to resign and leave home was because I suddenly found myself becoming irritable and indifferent. I realized that I really couldn't cross this genetic gap."
Zhou Jinqin was pulled even closer by him, and out of her body's self-control of balance, she subconsciously raised her hand and wrapped it around the man's lean and muscular waist to support her body.
When she realized what she had done, she was startled and instinctively tried to let go and move away, but her intertwined wrists were tightly held and imprisoned by a pair of unfamiliar large hands.
Using the leverage, Liang Minghe spun around in the circle formed by her hands, facing her tearful, aggrieved face.
He held the woman's slender waist with one hand, then released his hand from Zhou Jinqin's wrist to wipe away the tears that kept rolling down her face. The man's handsome brows were tightly furrowed, his emotions more complicated than a thousand intertwined threads.
He patted Zhou Jinqin's thin back, softening his tone as much as possible: "Is that you?"
Liang Minghe asked and answered himself: "I haven't seen you many times, but in the few times I have, you have done a lot. You helped an old man who collects recyclables, rescued a kitten in a rainstorm, and saved a woman who was almost killed in a domestic violence incident. The you I saw was warm and gentle."
Zhou Jinqin looked into his clear eyes, almost sinking in: "But this is nothing. I think everyone who sees this will lend a helping hand, like you. You were involved in everything you just mentioned, weren't you?"
“That’s only because I witnessed it,” Liang Minghe said, word by word. “Before we met, you had many deeds that were witnessed by others or by no one. What I saw was just a leaf on a big tree, while your tree has long been full of branches and leaves.”
Zhou Jinqin suddenly remembered the old woman splashed with water on the road, the poor junior who couldn't get enough to eat, the kitten buried under the tree... Many memories that were about to be forgotten kept flashing through her mind like a revolving lantern.
Liang Minghe pressed his advantage: "You should know very well that divorce is not the solution. Out of respect for our choices, I hope you will be careful enough before bringing it up again."
“Even though our marriage started somewhat hastily, you shouldn’t question my judgment.” Liang Minghe deliberately put on a serious face and rebuked her, “It makes me feel like you don’t respect me.”
Zhou Jinqin was taken aback by his sudden attack. The tears that had been streaming down her face suddenly stopped falling. She blinked her tear-streaked eyelashes, looking somewhat dazed: "Then how can I make it up to you?"
Liang Minghe crossed his arms and pretended to think, saying, "Let me hear more of your story."
The night was long, like a floodgate bursting open. Zhou Jinqin vented so much: the friends she had been forcibly cut off from, the extracurricular time she was forever confined to the fish shop, the college application she had never been able to fill out, the job choices she was restricted from making...
She didn't stop babbling until all her tears had dried up, finally closing her heavy eyelids.
Zhou Jinqin lay on the bed, too sleepy to even realize it, but her hoarse voice still murmured, "Liang Minghe, this is not my room."
Liang Minghe was both amused and exasperated. He patted her head and whispered, "It's okay, just sleep here. Husband and wife don't distinguish between you and me."
After a good night's sleep, Zhou Jinqin woke up at seven in the morning, ten hours after she went to bed—a length of sleep she hadn't had in a long time.
Liang Minghe probably went to her room and is not in the room at the moment.
Zhou Jinqin touched her slightly swollen and sore eyes, pouted, feeling ashamed of her embarrassing performance last night, but undeniably felt a sense of relief, and unconsciously smiled.
When Liang Minghe quietly pushed open the door, Zhou Jinqin was curled up on the sofa watching TV with a gentle smile on her face.
It was the same documentary about traditional Chinese medicine. Liang Minghe remembered that this episode introduced jujube seed, which has the effect of calming the mind and soothing the nerves.
Before he could even open his mouth to greet her, Zhou Jinqin spoke first, smiling, her tears from the previous night dripping from the ends of her hair.
“Liang Minghe,” she always called his name slowly, “I know where I am.”
She pointed to the screen and said with certainty, "That's your voice."
Liang Ming smiled and admitted directly: "Yes, this is my side job. I also occasionally work as a voice actor."
Given his vocal qualities, it's not surprising.
Zhou Jinqin rested her chin on her hand and asked him with great concern, "Would your fans be angry if they found out you were secretly married?"
"Although we're all called actors, I'm just a behind-the-scenes worker," Liang Minghe emphasized helplessly.
Zhou Jinqin scratched her head, feeling embarrassed, and said, "Okay, sorry, I was overthinking it."
Liang Minghe took a dry towel from his suitcase and put it on her head, saying, "If you're interested, would you like to visit the recording studio? There happen to be a friend of mine recording here today."
"Of course I'd like to if it doesn't bother you!" Zhou Jinqin lifted the towel from her head to tell him that her life used to be too monotonous, and she was indeed full of interest in the unknown.
The recording studio they were going to was on the other side of the city. The two arrived just in time; the play hadn't started yet, and several of the main actors were chatting in the studio.
When Liang Minghe arrived with his men, the group joked with him.
"Tsk tsk, they really don't treat us like friends, they didn't even tell us they were getting married."
"Exactly, keeping a mistress hidden away? Why are you keeping it so secret?"
"It's my fault. I'll set up a separate table for you at the wedding." Liang Minghe pulled Zhou Jinqin forward and introduced her with a smile, "This is my wife, Zhou Jinqin."
After he finished speaking, he pointed to the people in front of him and introduced them one by one: "Lu Yuanliang, Yin Si, and Min Xu."
Today's recording is for a radio drama adapted from a novel. It's about the second male lead rising to power and the female lead being caught in the middle. It contains a lot of dramatic situations, so there are three main characters.
People in this industry are generally quite outgoing. As soon as Liang Minghe finished his introduction, the group added Zhou Jinqin as a friend and started chatting enthusiastically.
Just as they were getting into the conversation, the dubbing director suddenly rushed out in a hurry.
"Xiaoxiao has lost her voice, where am I supposed to find someone to help her now?"
Yin Si glanced at Zhou Jinqin, who was intently watching the slices she was sharing, and said casually, "I think Qinqin is pretty good. Her Mandarin is quite standard. Why don't we let her give it a try?"
Zhou Jinqin pointed to herself with a surprised look: "Me?"
"Don't worry, it's just one sentence." Yin Si leaned close to her ear and chuckled, "And you just cried, right? Perfect timing."
The director had no other choice at the moment. After all, it was just one line, and it wasn't worth the trouble to find someone on short notice and make a special trip. So he nodded and asked, "Xiaoqin, would you like to give it a try?"
Zhou Jinqin glanced helplessly at Liang Minghe across from her. He nodded and said, "Don't worry, it's very simple. It won't be a wasted trip."
Zhou Jinqin received the script without her noticing, and it really only contained one sentence.
She was to voice an NPC, playing a junior who had a crush on the male lead. Her only role was to confess to him, only to be rejected as soon as she opened her mouth.
It's only six characters long, so it's really hard to find someone to make a long trip at the last minute.
Encouraged by everyone, Zhou Jinqin took a deep breath and finally agreed.
The director, worried that she might be nervous, joked to lighten the mood: "Just imagine Min Xu as Liang Minghe, and recall the time when he confessed to you, or when you confessed to him."
Zhou Jinqin glanced at Liang Minghe outside through the glass, and her face suddenly burned the moment their eyes met.
There's no such thing as a confession; she just proposes directly...
Seeing her face flushed, the director was very happy and said, "Yes, yes, that's it, get ready to start."
Urged on by the earpiece, Zhou Jinqin quickly composed herself and began reciting her lines, stumbling but actually managing to fit the character perfectly.
"Senior, I...I like you..."
After that, she was interrupted and rejected by the male lead, and then she had no more scenes.
This part was all about the male lead's performance, so as long as Zhou Jinqin didn't make any mistakes, there wouldn't be any problems, and they passed it smoothly in one take.
The director praised her politely: "No wonder you have a professional in your family. You learn so quickly because you're exposed to it all the time."
Zhou Jinqin lowered her head shyly and leaned close to Liang Minghe, whispering, "Will it really work?"
Liang Minghe stared into her eyes, crossed his arms, and said seriously, "I thought you were going to fall in love with me."
As Min Xu passed by after finishing a segment and taking a break, he muttered to himself, "Don't be jealous, she still loves you this time."
Zhou Jinqin: "..."
A note from the author:
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Thank you everyone for the nutrient solution! [fireworks]
"I hate you," well, that sounds like a coquettish statement.
They hadn't even held hands before they hugged. [doge emoji]
(Sorry everyone, I have to move at the last minute, so next week's updates will be changed to every other day for now [please])
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