Twenty minutes later, the Maybach pulled into the Jiang family villa’s parking lot. Qiao Shu remembered she hadn’t posted a promotional Weibo update.
She pondered how to take a selfie—maybe just find a plain white wall? But that seemed too bland.
Should she discuss with Zhang Qian about posting an old photo instead?
At the Jiang family villa, she definitely couldn’t take selfies casually. If netizens dug up something, it wouldn’t be good. In a hotel, it would be different—sharp-eyed netizens would recognize it as a hotel at a glance.
“Qiao Shu?”
Qiao Shu turned her head, looking puzzled at the man in the driver’s seat. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re here.” Jiang Tu’s sharp brows furrowed slightly. She had been absent-minded the whole way, lost in thought.
“Oh, okay.” Qiao Shu unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
Jiang Tu’s deep, dark peach-blossom eyes were inscrutable as he followed the girl into the elevator.
No one was in the living room. Qiao Shu headed straight for the staircase. She had already decided to post an old photo—whether Zhang Qian agreed or not, she was going to do it. She couldn’t be bothered to take a selfie now.
Upstairs, she closed the door.
Another extremely awkward situation.
Qiao Shu sat down on the sofa, took out her phone, and browsed through her photo album. Maybe it would be better to post some casual selfies.
After flipping through, she only found two photos she hadn’t posted before.
Qiao Shu logged into Weibo, edited the text, selected the photos, clicked send, and then logged out.
【Qiao Shu v: Happy New Year [Picture]】
Qiao Shu put away her phone and looked up, only to meet a pair of deep peach-blossom eyes. She froze.
Qiao Shu quickly averted her gaze, stood up, and walked toward the walk-in closet. “I’m going to take a shower.”
Jiang Tu nodded slightly. “Alright.”
Twenty minutes later, Qiao Shu came out of the bathroom. Considering she had to film tomorrow, she had washed her hair tonight.
As soon as she stepped out, Jiang Tu took his pajamas and went into the bathroom. Qiao Shu went to the dressing table to blow-dry her hair.
“Buzz—”
Her phone on the table kept vibrating.
Qiao Shu glanced at the caller ID—it was Zhang Qian.
“Hey! Sister Qian.”
“Qiao Shu, oh Qiao Shu, what am I going to say about you? You clever little thing, have you gotten this lazy?”
“Who told you to post an old photo? You should be glad I didn’t go to your house to find you. Otherwise, I’d have made you take a few selfies on the spot. I’ve never seen anyone like you.”
Qiao Shu stiffened abruptly. Thankfully, Zhang Qian hadn’t gone to her house, or she wouldn’t have known how to explain it.
Qiao Shu said placatingly, “Aren’t they all selfies? It doesn’t matter when they were taken—they’re all of beautiful me.”
“Let me tell you, Jiang Tu liked your Weibo post.”
Qiao Shu’s pupils contracted slightly, and her gaze instinctively turned toward the bathroom. Why would he like her Weibo post?
“It’s trending on Weibo, ranked fourth. I told you Jiang Tu is a hot topic. Look at how many times you’ve trended because of him. Jiang Tu really is a lucky star for your career.”
Zhang Qian laughed. “Go like his post too. He just posted on Weibo—probably an old photo as well.”
Qiao Shu frowned. Jiang Tu following her was already puzzling enough. Now he liked her Weibo post—who would believe there was nothing behind it?
Not hearing a response from her, Zhang Qian said, “Qiao Qiao, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you too happy to speak?”
Qiao Shu’s lips twitched. “Sister Qian, I don’t want to market myself this way.”
“I know, but what can we do? If he wants to like your post, you can’t stop him, right?”
Qiao Shu fell silent. That was true.
Then she could only discuss it with Jiang Tu.
“Alright, hurry up and go like Jiang Tu’s Weibo post. I bet it’ll trend again. You’ve gained a lot of followers these past few days—things are getting better and better.”
Qiao Shu: “…” I don’t think so.
“Then I’ll hang up now. Happy New Year, Sister Qian!”
“Okay, Happy New Year!”
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Shu lowered her gaze. What exactly was Jiang Tu trying to do? Now wasn’t the time to promote the drama.
Qiao Shu logged into Weibo and refreshed her feed in the following section. As soon as she refreshed, the first thing that caught her eye was Jiang Tu’s newly posted Weibo, with comments and likes evenly matched.
[Jiang Tu v: Happy New Year [Picture]]
Qiao Shu widened her eyes in shock. Jiang Tu’s caption was exactly the same as hers, and the picture was also a selfie. His Weibo post was five minutes later than hers.
Qiao Shu hovered her fingertip over the like button, hesitating whether to click it. With a slight tremor in her hand, she ended up liking Jiang Tu’s Weibo.
Qiao Shu: “…”
She didn’t know what Jiang Tu was up to. She absolutely had to discuss this with him later and tell him to stop messing with her.
Qiao Shu switched to her alternate account and logged into Weibo, heading to the trending list to check the hot topics. #Jiang Tu Likes Qiao Shu’s Weibo#.
With trembling fingers, she clicked into the topic. Even after two years in the industry, her ability to handle pressure was still this poor.
[Is Jiang Tu okay??]
[Jiang Tu deliberately posted the same caption as Qiao Shu. If you say there’s nothing fishy going on, I don’t believe it.]
[So what if you don’t believe it? They’re filming a drama together. Can’t my brother borrow a caption?]
[All of this is for the new drama!]
[Anyway, we shippers are eating well. We can’t wait for the drama to air.]
[What’s there to argue about? They’re both gorgeous. Isn’t it better to just appreciate their beauty together?]
“Buzz—”
Her phone suddenly vibrated in her hand. Qiao Shu looked closely and saw that Fu Wanxing was calling her on video.
Qiao Shu curled her red lips and pressed the accept button. In the video, Fu Wanxing was eating breakfast. “Xingxing.”
“Happy New Year! My treasure.”
“Happy New Year!”
Jiang Tu, who had just come out of the bathroom, heard an unfamiliar female voice say “my treasure” and paused while drying his hair.
Qiao Shu was talking to Fu Wanxing, completely unaware that Jiang Tu had already come out of the bathroom.
Fu Wanxing asked, “Where are you right now?”
“Uh…” Qiao Shu hesitated for a few seconds, lying without batting an eye. “I’m, of course, at the hotel.”
Fu Wanxing mercilessly exposed her lie. “Who are you trying to fool? Does this look like a hotel? Don’t think I don’t know what a hotel looks like. It’s your husband’s place, isn’t it?”
“Not bad, Qiao Bao. Your acting skills are getting better and better. Now you don’t even lower your gaze subconsciously when lying.”
Qiao Shu: “…”
She regretted it. She shouldn’t have answered the video call.
“You’re silent. I guessed right. Looking at the decor, it’s clearly a wealthy household.”
“Are you sleeping in the same bed as your husband at night? How does it feel? Tell me about it.”
“Have you two done it?”
Qiao Shu’s cheeks flushed, and she said awkwardly, “Fu Wanxing, why are you so nosy??”
“This is curiosity. Where’s your husband?”
“He—” Qiao Shu instinctively glanced toward the bathroom and met a pair of deep, peach-blossom eyes.
Their gazes locked, and neither spoke. Qiao Shu’s pupils contracted slightly. When did Jiang Tu come out?
“What about him? Qiao Bao?”
Fu Wanxing’s puzzled voice snapped Qiao Shu back to reality. She quickly ended the video call and picked up the hairdryer to dry her hair.
Help! Someone save her.
Wuwuwu—so embarrassing.
Could someone tell her how much Jiang Tu had heard? Or had he heard everything?
The girl calmly dried her hair as if nothing had just happened.
Jiang Tu: “…”
As expected of an actress—composed and calm.
Qiao Shu was absentmindedly drying her hair, not even noticing when a small tuft got caught in the hairdryer.