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Hearing the familiar sound of someone arriving home, Wen Zhihan walked across the living room as she checked the messages on her phone.
“Didn’t you arrive at the community entrance a while ago?” she asked. “Why did you take so long to come back? Did something happen?”
Shao Cixin closed the door behind her, a smile spread wide across her face. As she changed her shoes, she said, “Yes, something happened.”
When Wen Zhihan saw the smile on her lips, she knew that it wasn’t a simple matter.
But at least it wasn’t something that made Shao Cixin unhappy.
“What was it?” Wen Zhihan asked.
Seeing her curiosity, Shao Cixin finished changing into her house shoes and skipped to Wen Zhihan with brisk steps. “It’s—”
She changed her mind and didn’t continue, “You won’t like to hear it, so it’s better not to say it.”
The last time she mentioned Wen Yu and Tian Jiahe to Wen Zhihan was in the elevator at Guanglan. Back then, Wen Zhihan showed no interest in the topic and didn’t seem to want to hear about this pair at all.
Since this was the case, there was no need for her to cause Wen Zhihan such trouble.
She could only find others to share this joy with.
Unexpectedly, Wen Zhihan stretched out her hands to take Shao Cixin into her arms. She held Shao Cixin and caught her eyes.
Wen Zhihan asked, “What don’t I like to hear about?”
Shao Cixin responded bluntly, “Wen Yu and her ex-girlfriend Tian Jiahe.”
Wen Zhihan grasped the key point. “You met Wen Yu?”
Shao Cixin said with amusement, “How is that possible? She’s in Yangcheng. With you here, she wouldn’t dare to run back without permission.”
Wen Zhihan thought that this made sense. Shao Cixin would not be so happy if she had encountered Wen Yu.
Shao Cixin realized that Wen Zhihan was interested, so she decided to lay it all out. She told Wen Zhihan with a smile, “I met Wen Yu’s ex-girlfriend!”
Wen Zhihan: “?”
Why was Shao Cixin so happy to see Wen Yu’s ex-girlfriend?
Shao Cixin put her hands on Wen Zhihan’s shoulders and said mysteriously, “Do you know why she came to me?”
Wen Zhihan shook her head.
Shao Cixin smiled slightly. “She came to me to ask for Wen Yu’s new address.”
Wen Zhihan raised her eyebrows. “You gave it to her?”
Shao Cixin nodded. “I gave it.”
Wen Yu was obviously tired of Tian Jiahe, but Tian Jiahe wasn’t yet willing to give up on her.
With such a perfect situation, such an excellent opportunity to cause trouble, how could she, Shao Cixin, not seize it?
She hoped that Miss Tian wouldn’t let her down and work harder to annoy Wen Yu to death, so that Wen Yu could also experience the feeling of being suffocated by someone else like Shao Cixin once did!
After Shao Cixin calmed down from her happiness and came back to her senses, she looked at Wen Zhihan.
A subtle worry suddenly arose in her heart.
—Wen Zhihan didn’t think that she was a bad person, right?!
She subconsciously wanted to explain herself and maintain an innocent image in Wen Zhihan’s heart.
Just like the way she loved Wen Yu in the past, Shao Cixin felt the desire to try her best to conform to the other person’s ideal type and retain all kinds of good impressions.
But she gave up after thinking about it.
She didn’t want to do this anymore.
This was who she was, someone who wouldn’t miss an opportunity to take revenge and add countless obstacles to the life of the person who wronged her. Shao Cixin could be very stingy and hold life-long grudges.
If you blindly conform to another person’s likes and give up your true self, then what that other person will eventually fall in love with is just a mirror image of yourself, fabricated by you.
Shao Cixin had already made this monumental mistake with Wen Yu, and she wouldn’t fall into the same hole again.
She patted Wen Zhihan on the shoulder and said with a frank look on her face, “Do you feel like you’ve gotten to know me again? In fact, I’ve been like this since I was a child. I’m very vindictive and not particularly generous.”
In order to let Wen Zhihan better understand her ability to hold grudges, she couldn’t help but tell Wen Zhihan about the past—
“Because my father wasn’t around when I was younger, I was teased by many children for being a bastard child. Even people near my home dared to say it.
“I was so angry that I fought with them, but it was useless.
“People will be more arrogant if they win, and they will be even more unconvinced if they lose. If I won, they at most wouldn’t dare speak openly about it anymore, but the words were still painful, and I was the one who suffered in the end.
“Until my father showed up.”
When she talked about her father’s arrival, Shao Cixin’s eyes suddenly burst alive with brilliant lights. She continued, “My dad came to the alleyway where we lived to help me and my mother pack up and move.
“That day, many families came out to see what the legendary head of the Shao family looked like. And what a coincidence—the boy who bullied me the most was also there.”
When Shao Cixin said this, she raised her finger and tapped on Wen Zhihan’s earlobe. Her eyebrows moved. “Guess what I did.”
She didn’t forget to interact with the person listening to the story.
Wen Zhihan thought about it seriously and asked tentatively, “Did you file a complaint?”
If you couldn’t get a person to cooperate through fighting or scolding, it seemed like the only solution was to involve the parents.
Shao Cixin immediately showed admiration for Wen Zhihan’s deductive skills. “You are too smart!”
Wen Zhihan accepted Shao Cixin’s praise with a small smile and motioned for her to continue.
Shao Cixin noted Wen Zhihan’s interest, continuing, “When I saw him, his parents were standing behind him. So I grabbed my dad’s suit, pointed at the boy without hesitation, and said in a very clear voice, ‘He called me a bastard.’
“My dad just glanced over in his direction! Haha, he frightened the little beast so much that the child crawled behind his parents’ butts, petrified!
“Then my father looked at the boy’s parents coldly, scaring the whole household so much that they ran to hide inside their home.
“To be honest, my dad has such a strong aura that it’s scary if he doesn’t speak.
“Oh, Fei Fei also lived in that alley. She said that the little beast later got beaten very badly by his parents. They were worried all day long every day that they had made it onto my father’s blacklist.”
Remembering this incident, Shao Cixin still felt very happy.
She didn’t feel sorry for the boy or his parents.
If the child is not taught, the parents are to blame.
The son dared to yell and curse loudly in the alley where they lived, his filthy words were unbearable to the ears, but his mother and father didn’t care. What kind of good parents could they be?
It was just right to pack them away together.
Let them fear the moment when Shao Heng’s eyes passed over them for the rest of their lives. From then on, they should be honest, strictly discipline their children, and stop causing trouble.
After the story concluded, Shao Cixin patted Wen Zhihan on the shoulder and said, “That’s just the type of person I am. You won’t hate me, right?”
Shao Cixin knew that she was not a magnanimous person.
But she could still guarantee that she was a good soul who would not hurt innocent people.
But if Wen Zhihan liked the kind of timid, weak girl who was generous to everyone and everything…then Shao Cixin was better off leaving.
Pretending to be someone’s ideal type was too tiring, and the price was too high.
It was better to be yourself. Only this way will the other person fall in love with the real thing.
“Why would I hate you?” Wen Zhihan smiled, brushing Shao Cixin’s long hair off her face. She held Shao Cixin’s cheeks in her hands and whispered softly, “Isn’t this very good?”
Wen Zhihan said, “Our Cixin remembers her enemies but also her friends. Zhou Hong helped you, so you remembered her good deeds and took the initiative to show her kindness, right?”
Shao Cixin blinked.
Wen Zhihan said softly, “It’s good to know right from wrong, but you can’t just be generous and tolerant. Otherwise…
“You will regret it.”
When Shao Cixin heard those four words, she instantly felt that there was a story behind them.
Wen Zhihan must have regretted being too compassionate in the past!
“Zhihan, did you—”
A kiss interrupted Shao Cixin’s enthusiastic questioning.
Shao Cixin was stunned for a moment.
The kiss fell like a gentle drizzle, slowly landing on her lips and tongue.
Wen Zhihan was diverting Shao Cixin’s attention.
She really didn’t want to tell Shao Cixin about the greatest mistake she had committed and regretted for the rest of her life.
In order to prevent Shao Cixin from digging into the matter, she resorted to her trump card—
“Cixin, do you want to?”
“Yes!”
Shao Cixin was completely overwhelmed by Wen Zhihan’s beauty.
If Wen Zhihan didn’t want her to ask, then she wouldn’t ask.
Who didn’t have a secret?
Shao Cixin hadn’t even told Wen Zhihan the huge secret of her rebirth!
She didn’t know what would happen if Wen Zhihan found out. Most likely, she wouldn’t even believe it…
Life went on, and so did the filming of Post-Marriage Love Diary.
For the fourth episode, the director suddenly had the idea to gather all the guests together for a camping trip.
This idea originated from Shao Cixin’s shouting “Hong Hong” to Zhou Hong on the day of the live broadcast.
What a great way to break the ice! This was such an amazing opportunity, how could the show’s hosts let it go?
So they boldly went for it.
Shao Cixin was quick to catch onto the intentions of the production team.
Wen Zhihan also made an educated guess. She smiled and patted Shao Cixin’s head before getting into the car with her and heading to the campsite.
Under the lens of the cameras, everyone greeted each other and then went to set up their own camping tents.
Sure enough, the couple nearest to Shao Cixin and Wen Zhihan was Zhou Hong and her husband.
Just when the other groups of guests thought that the production team was making trouble and that Shao Cixin and Zhou Hong were going to change the genre from love show to interpersonal drama, they saw Shao Cixin raise her finger to her temple and give Zhou Hong a thumbs-up—
“Heya[1], Hong Hong.”
The guests: “???”
Zhou Hong: “…”
Shao Cixin turned to Zhou Yi. “Hello[2], Hong Hong’s husband, Teacher Zhou.”
Zhou Yi said, “Haha, hello, hello[3].”
Wen Zhihan shook her head and smiled helplessly.
This was her wife, an eccentric woman.
After greeting everyone, Shao Cixin went back to squatting on the ground and looking completely bewildered by the tent-building supplies in her hands.
Fortunately, Wen Zhihan had experience camping with Xu Zhouzhou, so she was an expert at setting up tents.
Shao Cixin was able to follow Wen Zhihan’s instructions with peace of mind, and they built their temporary little nest one step at a time.
Looking at the completed white tent in front of them, Shao Cixin felt quite proud. She turned around and hugged Wen Zhihan, kissing her again and again.
Her Mrs. Shao could do everything so well!
Speaking of which, she hadn’t gone camping with Wen Zhihan outside of the variety show yet. She must find a chance to do so in the future.
There would be no cameras, no people watching. Just herself and Wen Zhihan sitting underneath the starry sky.
Wen Zhihan hugged Shao Cixin and, seeing the slow progress of the Zhou family, took the initiative to go over and help.
Shao Cixin followed her and acted as an assistant.
Afterward, Zhou Yi said sheepishly, “Thank you. My wife and I don’t go camping much, so we’re not very familiar with setting up tents.”
Zhou Hong also said “thank you,” but she directed it at Wen Zhihan. She was embarrassed when she looked at Shao Cixin.
Wen Zhihan smiled. “You’re welcome. It’s only natural to help others.”
Zhou Yi was a smart man and understood the meaning behind Wen Zhihan’s words, so he nodded slightly.
Shao Cixin and her wife continued to help others.
Wen Zhihan was proficient and did most of the work, so Shao Cixin simply followed her and helped where she could.
After all the tents were set up, it was time to make lunch.
Everyone was assigned roles. Seeing that Wen Zhihan had done a lot of work on the tents, the production team unanimously decided to give her and Shao Cixin the task of fishing so that they could sit and rest.
Wen Zhihan did not refuse. She said ‘thank you’ to the others and led Shao Cixin to the fishing pond.
Zhou Hong and her husband also received this task.
Since the Film Emperor Zhou was purportedly good at fishing, everyone wanted to see him try it out on film.
When Shao Cixin and Wen Zhihan arrived at the fishing pond, Zhou Hong and her husband had already chosen their spots.
Shao Cixin and Wen Zhihan stopped not too far away from the couple and chose a location.
Unfortunately, neither of them knew how to fish, and the fish didn’t want anything to do with them either.
Shao Cixin looked into the calm waters, comforting herself and Wen Zhihan, “It’s okay, this is a love marriage variety show, not a fishing variety show. It doesn’t matter if we don’t catch anything.”
Wen Zhihan turned to her and asked, “Do you want to eat fish, Cixin?”
Shao Cixin didn’t want to put pressure on Wen Zhihan, but she inexplicably thought of the fragrant smell of grilled fish. There was a pause when she replied, “…I don’t want to.”
Wen Zhihan saw Shao Cixin’s throat roll, and she smiled, patting her head. “I’ll try my best.”
Compared with Shao Cixin and Wen Zhihan’s complete lack of catches, the Zhou family were much happier.
When Zhou Yu fished, he would catch one or two fish every now and then. As the minutes passed, he amassed a small fortune, almost turning the program into “The Film Emperor’s Fishing Daily.”
Zhou Hong was extremely proud when she saw that her husband was so good at fishing. Her eyes shone like stars, bright and fetching. “Husband, you’re so good!”
Shao Cixin looked at them, then at her extremely desolate fishing rod, and finally at Wen Zhihan, the main fisherman.
She was suddenly worried that there would be a gap in comparison between Wen Zhihan and Zhou Yu.
—They hadn’t caught a single fish here, but the family next door seemed like they’d leased the whole pond. This was too tragic!
Shao Cixin decided to adjust the atmosphere.
So she reached out and grabbed Wen Zhihan’s fishing rod—
“Sister, I’ve taken the bait. Hurry up and reel me in!”
Zhou Hong: “???”
Where did she come from, this coquettish thing?
Thank you so much to Monica, Jax, mysterious Ko-fi supporter, SirlanHewig, and Yamahl for making this bonus chapter possible! ❤️
The author (热到昏厥) has something to say:
The gossipers are everywhere.
Yes, I just wanted to write a bit of variety show talk QAQ…
To be honest, I often have ideas that overestimate my writing capabilities, such as…writing an Infinite Flow[4] story with a sand sculpture[5] protagonist.
My protagonist must be so lacking in virtue that when the villains see her, they can’t help but point their trembling fingers at the door and say: Get out! Leave my Infinite Flow world!
But I don’t have many worlds in mind…[Smoke.JPG]
[1] Shao Cixin uses “哈喽” (Hā lóu) here, which is a character transliteration of the English “hello.” Suffice to say, it’s used pretty casually and meant to poke fun at Zhou Hong (in a friendly way).
[2] See above.
[3] Zhou Yi reciprocates with ““哈哈，哈喽哈喽,” showing his fondness of and friendliness to Shao Cixin.
[4] Infinite Flow (无限流) is a genre of novel that became popularized in China following the publication of a title called Infinite Horror (无限恐怖) on Qidian (China’s biggest web novel site). It essentially refers to the popular genre of “world-jumping” protagonists who enter different worlds and complete tasks set by a system.
[5] See Chapter 53: A common internet slang to describe people (in this case, netizens) who participate in weird or stupid but funny behaviors. Usually with a lot of memes.
