AAMIBBSBY 12

Ah, this…

The tips of Xia Zhi’s ears turned slightly red. “Does this method really work? Why are the names of the two male leads in the book ours?”

The most embarrassing thing is! Are you sure this book wasn’t published in Certain Literature¹This implies a well-known web novel platform famous for its specific tropes or explicit content, such as Jinjiang Literature City or Po18. Xia Zhi is implying that the text sounds like pure, shameless smut.? Isn’t it too shameful to read out loud?

Shen Shixiao looked dead serious. “The doctor said, it’s best if the characters in the book are people I know in real life, and a partner is the best choice.”

Xia Zhi silently flipped through the several books on the desk, his cheeks flushing redder little by little with each cover. The Domineering CEO’s Little Delicate Wife, The Paranoid Disciple’s Soft and Cute Shizun, The Tyrannical Emperor’s Peerless Demon Consort…

These themes are too varied, aren’t they?

Which author ‘Taitai’²Taitai / Author (太太 – Tàitài): Literally “Mrs.” or “Madam.” In modern Chinese internet/fandom culture, fans affectionately call their favorite fanfiction writers or artists “Taitai” as a sign of respect and adoration. is this talented?

Shen Shixiao saw his hesitation, and lowering his eyes, he whispered, “Did you read the agreement carefully?”

Xia Zhi had a bad premonition. “…Read it quite carefully.”

Shen Shixiao looked at him. “One of the clauses in the agreement is that you have an obligation to help me treat my narcolepsy, remember?”

Xia Zhi curled his fingers. “I remember…”

Shen Shixiao took out a checkbook from his desk drawer, casually and elegantly wrote down a few numbers, and handed it to him. “One million for reading one book, settled immediately—deal?”

Xia Zhi slowly stared at the check, enduring the blood and tears to hug it to his chest. His heart was bleeding!

Wuwuwu, he wasn’t pure anymore!

With this matter settled, Shen Shixiao relaxed quite a bit. He said to Xia Zhi, “I have some free time today, why don’t we go get our marriage certificate?” As he spoke, his voice was low, his eyes constantly observing Xia Zhi’s demeanor, carrying a rare and hard-to-detect uneasiness.

Xia Zhi, hugging the checkbook, suddenly looked up. Oh right, the two of them were currently driving without a license.³In modern Chinese slang, this usually means an unmarried couple living together (or doing married-couple things) without having the official paperwork (the marriage license).

Since it was just the effort of taking a photo and signing, he nodded. “Okay.”

Shen Shixiao lightly breathed a sigh of relief, and took him along to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The procedural process went very quickly. When signing his own name, Xia Zhi finally realized his palms were sweating a lot.

At the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Shen Shixiao was in an unexpectedly good mood.

“Leave the marriage certificate with me for safekeeping.”

“Okay.”

Xia Zhi didn’t think too much of it, and carelessly handed it over to him.

Starting from today, he was a married man.

In the car, Shen Shixiao made a phone call to Mother Shen, roughly scheduling the time to formally return home to meet the parents. Over the phone, Mother Shen was in a good mood, her voice rarely full of vigor. Xia Zhi hugged his juice, his eyes curving up. “Auntie’s health has been quite good lately, is she feeling better from her illness?”

Shen Shixiao pursed his lips. “Mm, thanks to you.”

Mother Shen, who was currently having afternoon tea with her sisters⁴Refers to close female friends or “besties,” usually used to describe a wealthy lady’s social circle of similarly affluent friends., hung up the phone. “I’m happy my son got his marriage certificate today. I’m treating everyone to go get beauty treatments—it’s all on me.”

Meeting the parents was set for this weekend, and for this, Xia Zhi specially picked out a small white suit. He heard that all the elders of the Shen family would be present at that time, so he had to dress a bit more elegantly, and couldn’t be negligent.

By the bedside, placed was the certain certain literature. Shen Shixiao had specifically instructed him to familiarize himself with the plot, preferably able to read it out loud with excellent vocal emotion and expression.

Every time Xia Zhi read a page, he needed to take a deep breath. This author’s writing style was not bad, but the content was too graphic.

【In the dim corridor, Xia Zhi pressed himself tightly against the bone-chillingly cold wall, pleading softly, “Husband, I was wrong.” 

Shen Shixiao narrowed his eyes, dangerously taking off his watch. “Will you run away next time?” 

Xia Zhi: “Wuwuwu, I won’t run away anymore.”

He chased, and he fled—even with wings he couldn’t fly away!】

This author really is a rare genius!

Xia Zhi rubbed his eyes, and went downstairs with a skipping step to find something to eat. When he reached the first floor, he suddenly noticed the lights were on in the basement level, and driven by curiosity, he walked down the stairs.

This was the wine cellar where Shen Shixiao stored his treasured red wines.

Hearing the sound, Shen Shixiao on the sofa turned his head. “Why aren’t you sleeping when it’s this late?”

Xia Zhi casually replied that he had slept too much during the day.

He couldn’t exactly say that he had read too much of the novel and was suffering from unbearable loneliness⁵Literally “loneliness difficult to endure,” but it often carries a subtle sexual/romantic frustration connotation., right.

Shen Shixiao was wearing a loose, baggy white shirt, his long, slender legs slightly crossed, revealing a section of ankle along the straight crease of his trousers.

Xia Zhi slowly sat down, his fawn-like eyes blinking at the red wine in front of him. Shen Shixiao gently ran his fingers through his messy hair, a lazy smile reaching his eyes. “Have a drink together?”

Holding the red wine handed to him, Xia Zhi thought, Wuwuwu, Romanée-Conti⁶One of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world.! It’s all money!

Shen Shixiao leaned sideways on the sofa, his arm occasionally resting against his forehead as he looked at Xia Zhi. seeming to hesitate for a long time, he raised his wine glass. “Happy newlywed.”

Xia Zhi took a few small sips of the red wine, his eyes carrying a hint of redness, overflowing with flowing light.

He clinked glasses lightly with Shen Shixiao. “Happy newlywed.”

The basement level was kept with many daisies and sage, permeating a faint, clear fragrance. Xia Zhi was drunk, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, and as if possessed by ghosts and gods⁷A common idiom meaning “driven by an inexplicable impulse” or acting entirely out of one’s own control., he asked the question he was most curious about, “Can I ask, why did you break up with your first love?”

Shen Shixiao’s eyes flickered.

Xia Zhi lowered his slender eyelashes. “Sorry, I made you sad.”

“He suddenly just disappeared.” Shen Shixiao’s deep voice recounted slowly, “A few years ago, when my father passed away, I suffered from a severe psychological illness. My mother accompanied me abroad for treatment. I met him at the hospital—he was an international student volunteering at the hospital at the time. His name was Summer. Through an accident, the two of us got to know each other. He would wait for me in the hospital garden every day. Yet the day after I confessed my feelings, he never showed up again. I searched all over France, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I didn’t have his school information or his real name. I only knew he was a very cute boy with very beautiful eyes…”

The sound of even breathing came from beside him. Xia Zhi had his legs curled up, resting his head on his arms, like an unguarded little beast.

Shen Shixiao gently stood up and sat beside Xia Zhi. His warm palm descended, dotingly rubbing his hair.

Still as soft as before.

Shen Shixiao gazed at Xia Zhi, slowly leaning down to kiss his hair.

“However, later, I finally found him.”

“But he forgot me.”

“It doesn’t matter, as long as he is by my side, it’s enough.”

—

The driver stopped at the entrance of the Shen residence. Xia Zhi gently linked arms with Shen Shixiao, his expression unconsciously growing tense. Shen Shixiao patted his hand, as if to comfort him. “It’s fine, it’s all family.”

The reception room was already full of people. When Xia Zhi and Shen Shixiao walked in, pairs of eyes converged on them.

Shen Shixiao: “Mom, Zhizhi and I are here.”

Mother Shen was chatting with Shen Shixiao’s aunt. When she looked up, she gave a gentle smile. “Zhizhi, come quickly to Mom.”

Xia Zhi nodded to the elders and trotted over to sit beside Mother Shen. The Shen family relatives still held prominent statuses—there were many familiar faces, mostly socialites and celebrities. 

However, the Shen family faction mostly relied on Shen Shixiao’s father. Now that Shen Shixiao sat in the chairman’s seat, everyone still held some awe and reverence for him. When speaking, they didn’t put on the airs of elders, but were instead cautious.

Shen Shixiao’s aunt was the first to say, “So this is Shixiao’s wife?”

Xia Zhi nodded obediently, and after greeting Mother Shen, replied, “Hello, Aunt.”

The aunt asked him, “Are you Xia Huaishan’s son?”

Xia Zhi: “Yes.”

The aunt smiled faintly. “Xia Huaishan really raised a good son. Your family is quite capable.”

No matter how you listened to this sentence, it didn’t sound right. Sitting to the side, Shen Shixiao’s attitude suddenly turned cold. Just as he was about to speak, Mother Shen beat him to it. “Of course. Zhizhi is very well-behaved and smart—no wonder Shixiao likes him so much.”

Shen Shixiao casually peeled a lychee, and said to his aunt, “You are also quite good at teaching, it can be seen from the new project my cousin invested in.”

His cousin was recently swindled, forcibly dumping a billion yuan into it, losing every penny. In the end, it was his uncle who begged him, and he stepped forward to wipe his ass.⁸A colloquial Chinese slang phrase meaning to clean up the mess or disastrous consequences caused by someone else’s incompetence.

Who among the relatives present didn’t know about this? Everyone’s expression turned odd, and the younger aunt even let out a sneer, watching the elder aunt like she was watching a good show.

The aunt felt she couldn’t save face. She opened her mouth but didn’t speak. 

She had previously introduced many girlfriends to Shen Shixiao, mostly ladies from prominent families related to her husband’s side, but unfortunately, Shen Shixiao rejected all of them. Therefore, her other purpose for coming today was to see exactly what capabilities Xia Zhi had to be able to marry into the Shen family.

Xia Huaishan’s son? A down-and-out nouveau riche⁹A derogatory term for someone who has suddenly come into money but lacks the class, culture, or pedigree of “old money” families.? She was quite disdainful.

However, she didn’t expect Shen Shixiao to actually make her lose face¹⁰“Face” (dignity/social standing) is crucial in Chinese culture. in public. It seemed that Shen Shixiao really did like this person quite a bit.

Fresh lychees in winter were rarely seen in the north, but Xia Zhi loved eating them. Shen Shixiao patiently peeled a few and put them in a bowl, handing it to him in front of everyone. “Don’t be greedy, it’s easy to get excessive internal heat¹¹A core concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Certain foods, especially sweet, tropical fruits like lychee, are considered “hot.” Eating too many is believed to cause an imbalance in the body, leading to symptoms like sore throats, mouth ulcers, or nosebleeds..”

Xia Zhi held the bowl and smiled shyly, turning to hand it to Mother Shen. “You eat it.”

Mother Shen pushed it back. “Tsk, Shixiao gave it to you. I won’t compete for favor.”

“Hahahaha, it looks like your mom is jealous.”

The atmosphere became lively, and Mother Shen took the opportunity to say, “Come, let me officially introduce to everyone, this is my daughter-in-law, Xia Zhi.”

The Shen family relatives nodded with smiles one after another, bringing out the gifts they had prepared in advance to hand to Xia Zhi, wishing them a happy newlywed life.

Xia Zhi, holding a pile of gifts, sweetly addressed them all as Uncle and Aunt.

Although he and Shen Shixiao were in a marriage agreement, at this moment, he felt a little bit happy.

During the meal, Shen Shixiao sat beside Xia Zhi, occasionally serving him food. He would even peel the shrimp shells in advance, causing many relatives to frequently look their way, making Xia Zhi so shy he was too embarrassed to lift his head.

Using serving chopsticks to pick up food for others was their established custom.

Because Mother Shen was sitting on Xia Zhi’s other side, he thought to himself that it was better to reciprocate the courtesy. In a moment of nervousness, Xia Zhi used his own chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef brisket for Shen Shixiao. “Here, what you like to eat.”

Mother Shen paused for a moment, and then smiled in gratification.

After a long while, when Xia Zhi noticed the astonished looks of the people around him, his mind went blank with a boom.

He had forgotten to use the serving chopsticks!

However, Shen Shixiao didn’t mind this at all, nonchalantly picking up the beef and putting it in his mouth. “Thank you.”

The tips of Xia Zhi’s ears turned red. “…You’re welcome.”

Halfway through the dinner party, according to custom, Shen Shixiao and Xia Zhi had to toast the elders. Who knows who started it first, saying kiss, the young people among the relatives began to chant, “You two newlyweds, give us a kiss!”

Xia Zhi gripped his wine glass, his cheeks feeling slightly hot, looking somewhat constrained.

Mother Shen also chimed in, “I want to see too.”

Shen Shixiao lightly raised his eyes, his pitch-black eyes taking on a trace of warmth.

His right hand gently hugged Xia Zhi’s waist, making Xia Zhi scoot a small step towards him, half-leaning on his shoulder.

Xia Zhi lowered his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering.

“May I?” Shen Shixiao lowered his head, asking in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

• 1
  This implies a well-known web novel platform famous for its specific tropes or explicit content, such as Jinjiang Literature City or Po18. Xia Zhi is implying that the text sounds like pure, shameless smut.
• 2
  Taitai / Author (太太 – Tàitài): Literally “Mrs.” or “Madam.” In modern Chinese internet/fandom culture, fans affectionately call their favorite fanfiction writers or artists “Taitai” as a sign of respect and adoration.
• 3
  In modern Chinese slang, this usually means an unmarried couple living together (or doing married-couple things) without having the official paperwork (the marriage license).
• 4
  Refers to close female friends or “besties,” usually used to describe a wealthy lady’s social circle of similarly affluent friends.
• 5
  Literally “loneliness difficult to endure,” but it often carries a subtle sexual/romantic frustration connotation.
• 6
  One of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world.
• 7
  A common idiom meaning “driven by an inexplicable impulse” or acting entirely out of one’s own control.
• 8
  A colloquial Chinese slang phrase meaning to clean up the mess or disastrous consequences caused by someone else’s incompetence.
• 9
  A derogatory term for someone who has suddenly come into money but lacks the class, culture, or pedigree of “old money” families.
• 10
  “Face” (dignity/social standing) is crucial in Chinese culture.
• 11
  A core concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Certain foods, especially sweet, tropical fruits like lychee, are considered “hot.” Eating too many is believed to cause an imbalance in the body, leading to symptoms like sore throats, mouth ulcers, or nosebleeds.