Discipline
Where is your ring?
As Zhou Ji'an was sitting and changing his shoes, carefully tying his shoelaces, he heard Deng Yi, who was waiting at the door, ask him this question.
Jewelry, like cosmetics, distracts Zhou Ji'an; she only enjoys watching videos of others trying on jewelry and applying makeup.
"I've put them away. It's inconvenient to wear them while working. Do you want to wear them?" Zhou Ji'an asked, and immediately started taking off his shoes.
They definitely have to wear them. They have to put on an act as soon as they see someone, and acting usually requires the use of props.
"I'll go back inside to get it."
Deng Yi gently pressed her shoulder and said, "No need, I'll go wait for the elevator. You can come over once you've put on your shoes."
Zhou Ji'an thought for a moment, listened to his words, and then buried his head in putting on his shoes.
Besides the fact that wearing jewelry would be distracting, Zhou Ji'an had another reason for not wearing a ring: the wedding ring Deng Yi bought for her was too expensive.
It looks like it was specifically chosen for acting.
Zhou Ji'an was afraid that if she wore it for too long and lost it, she might have to pay compensation when they got divorced.
The elevator doors reflect light like a mirror.
Zhou Ji'an, wearing flat boots, tiptoed.
Not long after breaking up with Deng Yi, during the school's physical fitness test, Zhou Ji'an saw her own height and realized that the height difference between her and Deng Yi wasn't actually unacceptable.
On the day they broke up, she mistook her eye level for her actual height and was heartbroken about it for a long time.
She glanced at her roommate's height data, who had said she was so much shorter than Deng Yi, and realized she was only less than two centimeters taller. Gradually, she stopped worrying about her height.
After looking at his phone, Deng Yi also looked at the elevator door and said, "You seem to have grown taller."
Zhou Ji'an's face suddenly flushed, and he looked away.
She has indeed grown a few centimeters taller over the years.
During her senior year internship, Zhou Ji'an often heard her senior colleagues complain of neck and lower back pain. At that time, she was still young and could not empathize with their pain.
After she officially became a programmer and was forced to work 996 for less than a year, she felt physically and mentally exhausted and started learning to swim under the guidance of her seniors.
After persisting for a year, she had a company physical examination and was pleasantly surprised to find that she had grown taller.
The elevator doors opened, and Zhou Ji'an, standing next to Deng Yi, said, "They probably swam there."
Deng Yi replied quickly: "Could it be the result of a sudden surge at the age of twenty-three?"
Zhou Ji'an seemed to have heard this idea before, and nodded, saying, "That's possible."
As Zhou Ji'an fastened his seatbelt, he asked, "Did you grow taller when you were twenty-three?"
Deng Yi tilted his head to look at her: "What do you think? Didn't you just compare heights with me?"
Wasn't he looking at his phone at that time?
Zhou Ji'an swallowed hard, touched his bag, and denied guiltily, "I didn't compare heights with you."
"Okay," Deng Yi replied with a light laugh.
Zhou Ji'an turned his head to look out the car window, concealing his emotions.
Once emotional factors enter their relationship, it will inevitably become complicated, and once the relationship becomes complicated, it will inevitably come to an end.
Looking at the unfamiliar street scene, Zhou Ji'an reminded himself to be more cautious in the future, just so he could continue to live in the huge river-view room for free.
After driving for a while, the car stopped on the side of the road.
About twenty meters from the car was a corner flower shop, which looked quite large.
The steps on both sides of the flower shop entrance were filled with green plants. Zhou Ji'an had no knowledge of plants and did not know what kind of plants they were, but they were so vibrant in the winter outdoors.
Deng Yi pressed the button by the door and stepped aside to let Zhou Ji'an go in first.
Zhou Ji'an was dazzled by the choices, but thankfully Deng Yi insisted on accompanying her to buy them.
The shop assistant asked the recipient of the flowers, the desired bouquet color scheme, and the type of flowers he wanted, to which Deng Yi answered fluently.
"Still not interested in flowers?" Deng Yi asked while waiting for the shop assistant to pack his order.
Zhou Ji'an replied sheepishly, "Mm."
It was clearly her responsibility to return the gift, but she didn't care at all, looking around as if it were none of her business.
Zhou Ji'an immediately defended himself in a weak voice: "These things are beautiful but fragile, they can't withstand any rough handling."
Deng Yi reached out and pulled out a strand of hair that had gotten into her collar. Staring at her ears that had suddenly turned red, he said leisurely, "I was thinking of adding some flowers and plants to the house, but after hearing what you said, I'm a little hesitant."
Zhou Ji'an endured the tingling sensation left by his knuckles on her skin, looked up at him and said, "You bought it, so you can take care of it, right?"
Deng Yi: "I can't stay home every day. What if you break it when I'm not home?"
He still had a smile on his face, but it had a more playful tone.
Zhou Ji'an was very familiar with his kind of smile.
Not long after they first met, he smiled and told her not to keep bowing to him.
Later, she worked part-time at his studio as his assistant, and he would occasionally tease her like that.
Later, after they started dating, he began to make these joking laughs more often.
Although Zhou Ji'an knew she was ordinary, she still didn't believe what Deng Yi's friend said: that Deng Yi's relationship with her was only for creative purposes and had nothing to do with liking her.
If he really didn't like her, would he care so much about what she said and seize the opportunity to tease her?
"Would you like to pick out another bouquet for this lady? We have a wide variety of flowers here." The shop assistant finished packing and immediately started promoting the flowers, interrupting Zhou Ji'an's recollection.
At the same time, the words "this lady" instantly dispelled Zhou Ji'an's self-delusion.
In such situations, salespeople would usually use terms like "your girlfriend" or "your wife" to boost sales, implying a clear relationship. However, she and Deng Yi were not a good match, so the salesperson cautiously referred to her as "this lady."
Zhou Ji'an refused, saying, "No, no, I don't like flowers."
The shop assistant handed over the packaged bouquet, saying, "What woman doesn't love flowers?"
Zhou Ji'an accepted the bouquet with a forced smile and said, "Yes, yes."
Seeing Deng Yi take out his phone to scan the QR code, Zhou Ji'an realized he hadn't paid yet, and quickly freed one hand to pull on Deng Yi's clothes, saying, "I'll pay myself."
Soon, a notification sounded indicating successful payment.
498……
Beautiful things are indeed fragile and expensive.
Deng Yi placed the flowers on the back seat, and Zhou Ji'an opened WeChat to transfer money, saying, "I've transferred the money to your WeChat account, please accept it."
"Have you forgotten the agreement we made back then?" Deng Yi asked as he started the car.
Zhou Ji'an didn't quite understand, staring at his profile and said, "Your mother knitted me a sweater, and this bouquet of flowers is a return gift for her, so of course I should pay for it."
Deng Yi: "If we weren't married, she wouldn't have given you a sweater, and you wouldn't need to reciprocate. So this bouquet of flowers is an expense incurred in maintaining this marital relationship, and I should pay for it."
According to his logic, Zhou Ji'an should not have the opportunity to spend his own money in the future.
"I know you have money, but if this continues, you'll suffer, won't you?"
"I've already gotten what I wanted, so I won't lose out no matter what."
He wanted a marriage without constraints. He said that only she could give him that kind of marriage because she didn't like his type and there would be no emotional conflicts between them.
At that moment, Zhou Ji'an hadn't recovered from his confusion and surprise. In a moment of impulse, he used a joke to cover up his wishful thinking and said, "What if you like me? Wouldn't that also lead to emotional entanglements?"
Deng Yi stared at her for a few seconds, and she immediately realized how absurd her worries were. Just as she was about to say something to remedy the situation, Deng Yi said bluntly, "No, it won't happen."
The car turned onto a wide and clean road, with lush green trees on both sides, and the tranquility was unique just by looking at it.
Zhou Ji'an rubbed the clasp of the bag with his fingertips, rolling his eyes to calm his emotions. "Okay, you can do whatever you want. I promise I won't ask for any reasons. If there's anything I can help with, I definitely will."
They soon arrived at Deng Yi's parents' house. Deng Yi parked the car but didn't get out immediately. Instead, he took out his phone, swiped a few times on the screen, and handed it to Zhou Ji'an, saying, "Say what you just said again."
Zhou Ji'an glanced down and opened his voice memo app. "Didn't you say you wouldn't allow recording?"
When they were discussing the sham marriage, Zhou Ji'an suggested signing a paper agreement or recording the conversation, but Deng Yi objected.
His reasoning was that doing so would easily expose him and be very dangerous.
But Zhou Ji'an felt that he might be preventing her from blackmailing him with their agreement in the future.
Deng Yi ignored her words and coaxed her while holding up his phone, "Say it again, and I won't bother you to come here for dinner anymore."
The conditions are very tempting.
Zhou Ji'an confirmed, "You keep your word."
Deng Yi nodded: "Mm."
They had just finished recording when Deng Yi's mother came out of the villa and knocked on Deng Yi's car window.
Deng Yi's mother said sarcastically, "I've been waiting for you two for ages."
Deng Yi laughed and said, "It's only a little past nine in the morning, why have you been waiting for so long?"
Zhou Ji'an watched the mother and son from the other side of the car, but still couldn't bring himself to call out "Mom." His face was stiff with awkwardness.
“I got up at 5:30, and it’s past 9 now. How can you say I’ve been waiting for half a day?” Shen Ruoheng said, glancing at her daughter-in-law on the other side. “Deng Yi said yesterday that you like to eat fresh meat wontons. I made a lot last night and also fried some dough sticks. Come in quickly, I’ll cook them for you.”
Zhou Ji'an doesn't have any food she likes to eat; it must be that Deng Yi wants to eat it himself and insists on blaming her.
She couldn't help herself and glared at him with a frown.
Deng Yi raised his thick eyebrows slightly, reached out and took her hand to his side, and the two of them followed behind his mother.
As Zhou Ji'an felt the warmth of his palm, she heard him confess, "Actually, I wanted to eat it, but I was afraid you wouldn't make it for me, so I said Ji'an wanted to eat it. I know that as long as I say she wants to eat it, you will definitely make it."
“As long as you don’t make any more messy news, I’m willing to do it for you.” Shen Ruoheng said, then looked at Zhou Ji’an and said seriously, “Xiao’an, now that you’re married to him, you have to settle down and discipline him properly.”
Zhou Ji'an sensed a hidden meaning in Deng Yi's mother's words and awkwardly replied with an "okay".
Did her family conduct a thorough background check on her and find out about her extensive romantic history, which is why Deng's mother told her to settle down?
What does it mean to discipline Deng Yi?
Over the years, Zhou Ji'an has paid close attention to Deng Yi's news and has not found that Deng Yi has done anything that requires discipline.
Romantic rumors definitely don't count.
Deng Yi is a director, not an idol. Even if he dated ten girls at once, no one in his circle would criticize him, let alone abandon him.
After all, romantic scandals are the least noteworthy news in their circle.
As Zhou Ji'an was deep in thought, he heard Deng Yi's voice.
"Don't worry, she keeps a close eye on me. When I'm on set, she calls me several times a day to check up on me."
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