"But since my mom is already suspicious of me, she'll probably come to our place to probe. I need to go back and stay for a few days," Qi Ruixi said, looking a bit frustrated.
Liu Ning was a suspicious and controlling person. After their argument, she would surely find another chance to show up at their place. Qi Ruixi couldn't keep using the excuse of working overtime at the company. So going back for a few days was the only option.
Zou Yu helped her fasten the seat - belt and whispered, "Okay, I'll work harder."
He felt that his words carried little weight, so there was a tinge of dejection in his tone. But Qi Ruixi knew better than anyone that it was because of her that he had become so self - deprecating. In fact, he was an outstanding person. If he had fallen for a girl from an ordinary family, he wouldn't have to be like this.
So neither of them owed the other. The fault lay in the worldly views and the stubbornness of the Qi family.
She didn't say much. Instead, she just held his hand and said with a smile, "I believe in you, future husband."
The word "husband" made Zou Yu's ears turn red. He couldn't help but hold her hand back and kept stealing glances at her.
Zou Yu had already proposed and given her a ring, but they couldn't wear them on a daily basis. They only wore them on the night of the proposal. And Zou Yu never mentioned getting married because he knew it was impossible at this stage.
So it was the first time he heard the word "husband", which made his heart feel both sour and warm, and he even felt like crying.
Seeing that Zou Yu only dared to look at her secretly with his eye - corners all red, Qi Ruixi felt like teasing him.
"I didn't know Mr. Zou liked this word so much. If I had known that a simple 'husband' would make you blush, I would have called you that earlier." She deliberately leaned over and blew a breath into his red ear.
Zou Yu tightened his grip on her hand slightly and said in a low voice, "Stop fooling around. Let's go home for dinner first."
He told her to stop, but his fingertips gently stroked the back of her hand, and his eyes were so gentle that it was hardly like him.
Qi Ruixi felt her heart full, and the unhappiness from arguing with Liu Ning had completely vanished.
"Okay, let's go home for dinner."
She didn't ask where home was because for her, home was wherever he was.
Meanwhile, Chen Chunyao frowned at Fan Yi in front of her and said, "What do you mean? Why should I cooperate with you to meet your friends?"
"What do you mean cooperate with me? We just announced our relationship a few days ago. The reporters are watching us. It's not appropriate for us not to meet after the announcement."
Fan Yi was a few years older than Chen Chunyao and had been in the entertainment circle longer, so his words naturally carried a preaching tone. But Chen Chunyao didn't buy it.
"Aren't we already going to be on a variety show? We can meet on the show. There's no need to meet privately."
It was just a CP hype. Did this guy really want to act it out to the fullest? She didn't have the mood to play along.
She had been having a hard time these days, not being able to eat or sleep well. She was already annoyed. And now she had to accompany him to meet friends and act? She really had no mood for it.
Fan Yi was disappointed with her attitude. "Why is it unnecessary? The audience is so smart these days. Our relationship announcement was so sudden, and most people don't believe it. If we're both in Beijing but don't meet, who's going to believe that we're in a relationship?"
Chen Chunyao knew he was right, but she just didn't want to.
"Our contract is only for one year. We agreed at the beginning that we don't need to deliberately create a sweet image, so as to avoid any embarrassment when we break up."
She couldn't really explain why she didn't want to. But she just didn't want their private meetings to be photographed and posted online. Even though that person might not even look at it, she just couldn't get over that mental hurdle.
Seeing that she was so stubborn, Fan Yi got a bit angry. "I really don't understand. Why did you insist on this CP hype? If we don't gain some CP fans, there's really no point in this hype. It'll even upset a lot of your career - oriented fans."
This was the truth. Not all fans could accept their idols being in a relationship. Especially an announcement as "grand" as theirs, which would make many extreme fans unfollow and even turn against them. This was already a loss. If they didn't try to make up for it, it would really be a bad deal.
Even Sister Chen beside them couldn't help but persuade, "I think Brother Yi is right. Since you've announced your relationship, it's normal to meet friends and have meals together privately. And since the popularity has been dropping these days, this can be a good way to boost it again and build some momentum for the variety show in advance."
Hearing this, Chen Chunyao couldn't keep refusing stubbornly. She frowned and rubbed her temples. "Fine, you guys arrange it. But I'll only give you an hour at most."
Getting her approval, Fan Yi smiled.
"Of course. We've already arranged the reporters. We should also match our outfits. I'll wear white - toned clothes."
Then he motioned for his agent to bring over a box.
"There are some small things I bought. Since we're a couple, we should at least have some couple items."
Inside the box were all kinds of small things like couple phone cases, couple keychains, and couple bracelets. Some of them were quite expensive.
Seeing these things, Chen Chunyao's eyes went blank for a moment, and then she suddenly smiled. But she didn't want to take advantage of him financially. She said to Sister Chen, "Let's prepare some too."
The two sides reached an agreement and ended the "meeting" happily.
After Fan Yi and his people left, Sister Chen looked at Chen Chunyao's expression and suddenly asked, "Yaoyao, I feel like you've been mad at someone lately. This CP hype was your idea. But when it actually started, you've been obviously resistant and looking haggard. Usually, when people announce their relationships, they're happy. But you've lost weight these days, and your dark circles are so heavy that you need to cover them several times. You're a female star who relies on her looks for a living. Why are you torturing yourself like this? I really don't understand. That capitalist who wanted to take advantage of you hasn't shown up yet. I'm even starting to doubt if there's really such a person. If there isn't, your CP hype is really strange."
"Mad at someone? Who could I be mad at? You can only be mad at someone who cares about you," Chen Chunyao said with a sneer as she picked up the phone case and tried to change it for her phone.
She lowered her head, and Sister Chen couldn't see her expression. She just saw that Chen Chunyao tried to take her phone out of the old phone case several times but failed. Without waiting for Sister Chen to say anything, she said angrily, "Even a stupid phone case is bullying me."
The word "even" was quite telling. Sister Chen's face changed slightly. "Yaoyao, what's going on with you? You don't look well. Can't you tell me what's on your mind?"