When Su Qiu woke up, Zhou Jingqian had already left for the company. The two of them basically never crossed paths during the morning hours.
All things considered, the time they actually spent together was pitifully little.
Su Qiu stood in the bathroom brushing her teeth. In the mirror, her lips were no longer swollen, and the traces from last night had faded.
As if nothing had ever happened.
Su Qiu rinsed her mouth, washed her face, and gently touched her lips with her fingertips.
Zhou Jingqian seemed to really enjoy sucking on her lower lip. During all three kisses last night, he had taken her lower lip into his mouth before slowly deepening the kiss.
His own lips were thin, with a perfectly sculpted curve. When he smiled during the day, he was gentle and refined—a completely different person from the one who had devoured her inch by inch in the darkness of the night.
When Zhou Jingqian had first proposed the idea of marital duties, Su Qiu had already thought about the kissing aspect.
She was a screenwriter. She had written intimate scenes before and wasn't so naive as to know nothing.
But she had assumed their first kiss would happen at the wedding, following the ceremony's flow, performed for the elders watching below.
She never expected they'd already kissed.
It felt pretty good, though it would have been nicer if the duration had been a bit shorter.
Auntie Wu had prepared lunch. Su Qiu was eating when her phone rang. The caller ID read "Husband."
Su Qiu set down her chopsticks and picked up. Her tone was as calm and indifferent as always—she didn't become shy or flustered just because they had kissed.
"Hello."
"Are you up?"
"Mm, having lunch."
The man's deep voice came through the receiver, different from the restrained, low breathing she'd heard by her ear last night.
"I left a document in the study. Can you grab it for me? Yang Ming will come by to pick it up in a bit."
"Okay," Su Qiu said, already starting to get up.
"No rush. Finish your meal first."
Su Qiu smiled and said she was already full.
After hanging up, Su Qiu took a sip of soup and walked toward the closed study door.
She had been living in the marital home for a while now, but she had never entered Zhou Jingqian's study.
In Su Qiu's view, a study was a place full of personal privacy. Besides, every time the housekeeper finished cleaning, she would habitually close the door behind her.
That meant Su Qiu would need to open the door first before she could peek inside.
The more steps required, the less her curiosity drove her to explore.
But now, she found herself curious about what lay behind that door.
She pushed it open, and a faint fragrance of tea greeted her. This study was slightly smaller than Su Qiu's own.
Most of the bookshelves were empty. Su Qiu vaguely remembered him mentioning that some books were still at the Zhou family's old residence, and some were at his original apartment—he hadn't moved everything over.
Su Qiu was the same. She hadn't brought all her personal belongings either.
By the window sat a beige sofa. Across from the bookshelf was a long wooden desk with two computers, some documents, a potted cactus, and a photo frame.
Su Qiu stepped closer and saw it was a photo of Grandpa Zhou and Grandmother Zhou sitting on stools, with Zhou Jingqian standing behind them.
The photo being placed in such a position said enough about how important his grandparents were to Zhou Jingqian.
Su Qiu looked around the room and suddenly realized a fact: Zhou Jingqian's study had nothing of hers in it, and her study held no trace of him either.
They were husband and wife—registered, sleeping in the same bed, sharing intimate kisses and embraces—but their true private spaces had not been opened to each other.
Su Qiu picked up the document from the desk, closed the door behind her, and walked out.
Su Qiu was halfway through packing her luggage when Zhou Jingqian came home. His gaze landed on the open pink suitcase, and one eyebrow lifted slightly. "Going on a vacation?"
Only then did Su Qiu remember she hadn't told Zhou Jingqian about going to the film set.
Zhou Jingqian wasn't particularly surprised when he heard. He had known from the very beginning that she was a screenwriter who occasionally needed to accompany a production.
"I'll help you pack."
Zhou Jingqian rolled up his shirt sleeves, crouched down, and neatly reorganized the clothes she had piled up haphazardly.
He grouped the skincare bottles by height and packed them into bags, and coiled the tangled charging cables into tidy loops.
Su Qiu smiled and simply sat cross-legged on the carpet, scooping up the two little rabbits that had hopped over and cradling them in her arms.
She had known all along that Zhou Jingqian had this particular quirk—everything had to be arranged neatly.
She had originally planned to slowly organize the bottles and jars on her vanity, but knowing that Zhou Jingqian would always tidy them up for her when he saw them, she became more relaxed and even more careless instead.
When someone indulges you, you get lazier.
Zhou Jingqian asked her, "How long will you be gone?"
Su Qiu said, "At least two months."
They had been married for just over a month at this point, and the time they'd spent under the same roof could be counted on one's fingers.
For anyone else, being separated for two months right after the honeymoon period would make the husband throw a tantrum. But since she and Zhou Jingqian had no feelings for each other, it actually saved them the trouble.
Still, a marriage needed to be maintained. Su Qiu was mulling over whether she should suggest meeting once or twice a month with Zhou Jingqian—and if it wasn't convenient for him, she could come back from the set.
In matters like this, she was willing to take the initiative.
Zhou Jingqian placed her last sunscreen jacket into the suitcase, then looked up at her. "From now on, I'll come see you once a week."
Once a week?
This frequency of meetings surprised Su Qiu. She blinked. "Wouldn't that be troublesome?"
Zhou Jingqian closed the suitcase, lifted it, and set it against the wall. Su Qiu stood up and followed him with her gaze.
Zhou Jingqian turned around, his deep eyes resting on her face. "No, not at all—as long as you want to see me."
They looked at each other, and Su Qiu's eyes curved into a soft arc. "I do want to see you."
He was so handsome, and he brought her such good luck—of course she'd want to see him more often.
Zhou Jingqian smiled too, then leaned down and brushed his lips lightly against hers.
A brief touch, nothing deeper.
During the day, in his suit and tie, he always carried the calm restraint of a gentleman.
At dinner, Zhou Jingqian used his chopsticks to place a piece of steamed fish on Su Qiu's plate. "What time is your flight tomorrow?"
Su Qiu: "Eleven in the morning."
Zhou Jingqian: "I'll come back to see you off."
He had a meeting tomorrow, but he could end it early.
Su Qiu shook her head. "No need. Master Li can just drive me to the airport."
Su Qiu was used to running off to film sets; she didn't see anything wrong with catching a flight alone. When she called home to check in, her grandmother was equally accustomed to it.
On the other end of the line was lively ethnic-style music, and the old lady shouted at the top of her lungs: "I'm practicing my square dance—I'm entering a community competition tomorrow! Qiuqiu, you go do your thing, just come home for a meal when you have time!"
Ever since Su Qiu got married, the heavy weight on her grandmother's heart had lifted, and she'd become much more relaxed.
Because they had an early flight to catch, the couple just held each other in bed that night. Su Qiu got up early the next morning, and to her surprise, Zhou Jingqian—who usually left before eight—was still home.
He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, his tie not yet fastened, pouring milk into a glass.
Seeing Su Qiu approach, he reached out to pull out a chair for her and set the poured milk in front of her.
About to leave home, Su Qiu had felt completely used to it, but seeing the warm milk before her, a different feeling stirred in her heart.
After they finished breakfast together, Su Qiu noticed the dark tie draped over the arm of the sofa.
Just as Zhou Jingqian was about to bend down to pick it up, Su Qiu grabbed the tie first, her voice soft and gentle: "Let me tie it for you?"
Zhou Jingqian looked down at her, a smile in his voice: "Alright."
So this was what it meant to be married—having a wife tie your tie for you. Zhou Jingqian seemed to understand why his friend had made such a show of it back then.
There was a height difference between them, but Zhou Jingqian didn't make Su Qiu stand on her toes. He simply lifted her up. "Take off your slippers."
Su Qiu immediately kicked off her slippers, and Zhou Jingqian set her down on the sofa.
Now their eyes were finally level.
His hand on her lower back didn't withdraw, still half-encircling her.
Su Qiu reached up to turn down his shirt collar, her fingertips brushing against the cool skin of his neck.
She only knew the simplest four-in-hand knot.
Zhou Jingqian tilted his chin up slightly, his Adam's apple moving, his deep gaze quietly resting on the young wife before him.
Su Qiu lowered her hands, quite satisfied with the tie she'd tied. And thanks to Zhou Jingqian's face, even an ordinary knot made him look dignified and refined.
"I'm off." Zhou Jingqian patted Su Qiu's back.
The touch was light and casual, yet Su Qiu inexplicably felt that this gesture was more intimate than a kiss.
It was still early, so Su Qiu spent a little while cuddling with the two little furballs, ending up with rabbit fur on her lips.
"Little ones, I'm off to earn your rabbit food."
Three cameras had been installed in the apartment, Auntie Wu was meticulous, and Zhou Jingqian was there too—she felt at ease leaving her beloved pets at home.
Su Qiu rarely drove herself when going out; Master Li always chauffeured her, and the two were quite familiar with each other.
Master Li was easygoing, and Su Qiu had none of the airs of a wealthy wife, so they always chatted a bit in the car.
And just like that, they arrived at the airport.
In the conference room of Ruisi Tower, Zhou Jingqian finalized the last agenda item and ended the meeting early.
He raised his hand, habitually about to loosen his tie, but his fingertips paused just as they touched the knot.
Zhou Jingqian stood up. "You handle the rest. I'm stepping out."
You Xun spun his pen and looked up. "What's so urgent?"
"My wife's about to start filming. I'm going to the airport to see her off."
You Xun already knew who Zhou Jingqian's wife was—Su Qiu, Xiang Yiming's daughter.
The eldest daughter of the Xiang Group, who had an inheritance waiting for her but chose to be a screenwriter instead.
"So you'll be sleeping alone in an empty house, huh? How pitiful."
Zhou Jingqian glanced at him, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "I have a wife. Not as pitiful as you."
You Xun choked on his words, then pressed on: "So your wife's going to be away for quite a while, right? Will she come to your birthday party next week?"
Zhou Jingqian paused mid-step, having forgotten about his own birthday. "Her work comes first."
As for his birthday—if she couldn't come back, he'd just go over and celebrate it with her.
Zhou Jingqian walked to the elevator, remembering that the wedding rings that had arrived today were still in his drawer.
He thought for a moment, then decided not to bring them.
Su Qiu had just pushed her suitcase into the VIP lounge when she saw Zhou Jingqian already waiting there.
Surprise showed on Su Qiu's face. Zhou Jingqian walked over, taking over her suitcase with one hand while naturally taking her hand with the other. "Come sit with me."
Su Qiu followed him, her fingertips curling gently in his palm, joy shining in her eyes.
She had said he didn't need to see her off, but seeing him suddenly appear still made her happy.
Who wouldn't like being valued?
Even if it was just a small thing.