April in Ning City had already turned warm, with daytime temperatures approaching twenty-eight degrees Celsius.
Su Qiu had a habit of not wearing a bra after her shower, simply slipping into a soft satin nightgown.
The fabric felt cool and silky against her skin, the hem gliding along the lines of her legs as she moved—it was very comfortable.
The faint fragrance of orange-scented body wash drifted through the dead-quiet depths of the night.
The faint clatter of keyboard keys came from the study, and after a moment, the sound gradually faded.
Closing her laptop, Su Qiu shuffled out of the study in her soft slippers. After washing her face, she flopped onto the bed, sprawling out like a soft, squishy breadworm.
Tonight's writing had been unsatisfactory again.
She planned to take a walk in Central Park tomorrow.
However, Ning City's temperature broke its first thirty-degree record of the year. Su Qiu had just cracked the window open a sliver when she silently closed it again, abandoning without hesitation her plan to go to the park and dry out like a salted fish.
In the evening, Su Qiu went back home, and sure enough, Grandmother had prepared ten sets of gold jewelry for her.
The moment she opened the lid, the gleam was so bright it made Su Qiu squint.
She curled up on the sofa hugging two soft little rabbits, letting Grandmother put bangles and necklaces on her one by one.
"Try this bracelet, and this pair of earrings is lovely too—oh my, my granddaughter looks beautiful in anything!"
Grandmother's face crinkled into a smile full of wrinkles. Even if Su Qiu were dripping in gold like some nouveau riche gold dealer at that moment, in Grandmother's eyes, she was still the prettiest.
"By the way, when is Jingqian coming back? I know he's busy, but this is too much—he's been gone for over half a month now, hasn't he?"
Su Qiu was just draping a gold chain over Little Grey's head, dressing the rabbit up as a golden bunny.
At the question, her fingertips paused briefly, a flicker of blankness passing through her eyes. "Should be… soon."
"Grandmother, this necklace is pretty." Su Qiu changed the subject.
"Right? Right? I knew it the moment I laid eyes on it!" Indeed, someone who loved shopping in her youth still loved it in her old age. The old lady was all animated and beaming as she talked about her prized finds.
Another plot segment that had taken two hours to write was killed off by Su Qiu. Her fingertip hovered over the delete key for a moment before she pressed it down decisively.
She slumped back into her chair, her big dark eyes staring intently at the document screen.
You're already a fully grown computer—why can't you write the script yourself?
It wasn't until a call came in that she pulled her downturned mouth back into place and swiped to answer.
"So? Settled on the ending yet?"
"Not yet."
"If you can't decide, don't rush it. Set it aside for now, do something else to clear your head."
"Mm."
"Did you try the handstand?"
"…Didn't work."
Not only did the handstand not work, but her new metaphysical tricks weren't working either.
Though maybe looking at photos didn't work—perhaps she needed to see the real person in front of her?
Hearing that she'd actually tried the handstand, Qiao Zhi couldn't help but laugh, her voice carrying a helpless fondness at having no way to deal with her.
Qiao Zhi was a renowned top-tier screenwriter in the industry, holding several major awards under her belt. Su Qiu was currently registered under her studio.
Su Qiu seemed simple and innocent on the surface, but she actually had a head full of quirky, offbeat ideas.
Well, that made sense—without a mind full of wild imagination, she wouldn't be able to make a living as a screenwriter.
Qiao Zhi had no idea where she'd heard that handstands could gather inspiration, but she'd even gotten the other screenwriters in the studio in on it—whenever they got stuck on a plot, they'd all turn to the supernatural together.
Once, Qiao Zhi held an all-staff video meeting. When the screen connected, half the people were hanging upside down from their headboards.
Qiao Zhi closed her eyes. "…"
Anyone looking in would've thought she wasn't running a screenwriting studio, but a circus troupe.
Qiao Zhi generally didn't interfere with her writers' creative content. After briefly checking in on Su Qiu's progress, she was about to hang up when something occurred to her, and she said:
"Xiao Qiu, any plans to date recently? Want me to set you up with someone?"
Su Qiu was beautiful and had a great personality. When she'd first joined a production team, some people who didn't know she was the screenwriter had mistaken her for a fresh new actress.
Young, pretty, and a cultural worker with the halo of a "talented woman" over her head—Su Qiu was never short of admirers.
Some even went to Qiao Zhi directly, asking her to play matchmaker.
Qiao Zhi had helped fend off those with impure intentions, but when quality and reliable candidates came along, she'd keep an eye out for Su Qiu—after all, the girl was twenty-six and had never been in a relationship even once.
Su Qiu was about to speak when her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. "Teacher Qiao, I've got another call coming in."
Qiao Zhi sighed helplessly. "Can't you come up with a more decent excuse to turn me down?"
"That guy is the publicity director for the drama you wrote last year. He's pretty handsome. The production team starts shooting by the end of next month at the latest, so you'll run into each other sooner or later. I'm just giving you a heads-up—he has a good impression of you."
With that, Qiao Zhi hung up, not giving Su Qiu a chance to get a word in.
Su Qiu paused when she heard "pretty handsome." She thought of someone else.
Jian Yin was filming in the mountains, and her biggest daily annoyance was the poisonous mosquitoes there.
She'd called to ask Su Qiu for the link to that mosquito repellent spray Su Qiu had mentioned before.
Su Qiu didn't send a link—she directly ordered three cases and shipped them to Jian Yin's production team.
Jian Yin had starred in several productions without making much of a splash—no fame, no fans. Even her assistant was a shared one, so she had to handle everything herself.
"Love you, babe!" Jian Yin said, touched. Then her tone shifted, and she excitedly shared some gossip with Su Qiu.
"Remember Feng Yan? He got involved with a female producer, and last night her husband caught him in bed red-handed!"
Su Qiu paused, her fingertips lightly pinching the mouse cord. "How is he now?"
"I heard he was beaten to a pulp and sent to the hospital. He's also been kicked off the production."
"If you hear anything more about him, you have to tell me."
"Why? Are you going to sympathize with someone like him? Have you forgotten he tried to pull the casting-couch move on you back then?"
Su Qiu's tone turned serious: "So I can know he finally got what he deserved."
Jian Yin burst out laughing on the other end. "OK, mission accomplished!"
That was something that happened when Su Qiu first entered the industry. It was an ensemble drama with four couples, and she was assigned the couple with the least screen time, writing that storyline specifically.
The content wasn't much, but Su Qiu worked diligently, burying herself in details every day. Little did she expect Feng Yan to set his sights on her.
Feng Yan assumed she was just a rookie screenwriter with no connections—pretty and docile, an easy target.
Finally, at the wrap party, Feng Yan found his chance. Pretending to be drunk, he blocked Su Qiu in the club's hallway, lunged at her to hug her, and offered to make her the head screenwriter for his next project.
Su Qiu didn't let him touch her. She sidestepped to dodge, then pulled out her phone to record him while pressing her other hand against the fire alarm panel on the wall.
If he dared to try anything else, she'd summon all the club staff.
Feng Yan laughed arrogantly. "Go ahead, record. Try posting it and see what happens. If you post it today, I'll have you kicked out of this industry tomorrow."
A rookie screenwriter who just entered the field—he didn't take her seriously at all.
But Su Qiu remained completely calm, not a trace of panic. "I dare. Want to test me?"
Feng Yan was taken aback. Seeing her still pointing her phone camera at him, he spat viciously, cursed under his breath, and turned to leave.
The production had already wrapped, and Su Qiu returned to Ning City that same night. Later, Feng Yan switched to directing horror films, and the two never crossed paths in the industry again.
Jian Yin said, "The female producer's husband has some connections. Feng Yan probably won't be able to work in this industry anymore."
The two then moved on to chatting about other gossip.
At the same time, at Ning City Airport.
Zhou Jingqian came out through the fast track, and the driver picking him up happened to be Master Li, the same one who had been assigned to Su Qiu last time.
The international flight had been too long, so Zhou Jingqian closed his eyes and leaned back in the rear seat to rest, giving no directions.
But Master Li, as if guided by instinct, drove to the Ning River waterfront.
Just as the car was about to enter the underground garage, Zhou Jingqian opened his eyes, realized where they were, and said in a calm voice, "Stop the car."
Zhou Jingqian rolled down the window and cast his gaze toward the top floor of one of the tall buildings in the garden complex.
The living room light was on.
He raised his wrist to check his watch. Ten in the evening.
In the car leaving the civil affairs bureau last time, Zhou Jingqian had informed Su Qiu of his travel schedule for this business trip.
She knew he was coming back today.
But the flight had been delayed, so the plane that should have landed in the evening only arrived now.
Ten at night—not early, but for modern people, not particularly late either.
Zhou Jingqian looked up again at the floor-to-ceiling window glowing with light on the top floor.
That was also his home. It was only natural for him to go back, and Master Li had been right to bring him here.
After a moment, Zhou Jingqian said in a gentle, calm voice, "Back to Yayuan."
Even though they had already gotten their marriage certificate and were legally husband and wife, showing up at her door for the first time at ten at night would still be too abrupt.
Master Li acknowledged and started the car to leave.
The boss had been away on business for over half a month, and now that he was finally back, he wasn't even going to stay at the marital home. It really seemed like there was no affection between him and Miss Su at all—this marriage was probably on shaky ground.
Zhou Jingqian's daily routine was very regular.
No matter how late he went to bed, he always got up before eight in the morning.
Today he woke at seven, worked out for half an hour, and even swam a couple of laps.
He didn't plan to go to the office. After breakfast, he went into the study to handle work matters, planning to return to the Ning River waterfront at an appropriate time.
Zhou Jingqian: [I'm back in Ning City. I'll be home at noon.]
After sending the message, Zhou Jingqian continued working.
At nine, his phone remained silent.
At ten, still no reply.
Zhou Jingqian waited a bit longer. When it reached eleven, he got up and headed out.
Having stayed up late chatting with Jian Yin the night before, Su Qiu was woken by her alarm. Eyes still closed, she fumbled to turn it off, then hugged her blanket and rolled around in bed a couple of times.
She rolled from left to right before lazily getting up, rubbing her eyes.
When she was home alone, as long as she didn't go out, Su Qiu wore pajamas almost all day.
Shuffling out of the master bedroom in her slippers, her face still dotted with droplets of water from washing up.
Walking to the counter, she poured herself a full glass of warm water and, sipping it, slowly ambled toward the living room.
The house's door system had Zhou Jingqian's facial information registered. With a soft "beep," the door opened.
The moment the man pushed the door open and stepped inside, Su Qiu happened to reach the center of the living room, coming face-to-face with him as he walked in from the entryway.
Su Qiu's eyes began to widen, staring fixedly at the other person like a small animal discovering a stranger trespassing into its territory.
Zhou Jingqian was also somewhat taken aback.
He could never have imagined that this time would be when his newlywed wife had just gotten out of bed.
His gaze swept over her, and the corner of Zhou Jingqian's eye paused almost imperceptibly for half a second before he swiftly averted his eyes.
The man's handsome face still wore his usual composed expression, only his Adam's apple rolled ever so slightly, fleeting and brief.
Su Qiu seemed even calmer than he was.
After a few seconds of blankness, she slowly swallowed the water she had been holding in her mouth, thankfully not choking on it.
"You, have a seat for a moment."
Then she turned around woodenly and walked toward the master bedroom.
—Thud.
The force of the door closing wasn't actually heavy, but the room was too quiet.
That sound made it seem especially like a hasty retreat.
Su Qiu leaned against the door panel, staying still for several seconds before belatedly lowering her eyes.
Her nightgown was light pink, with a round, chubby rabbit printed on the front, its two upright ears landing right at the chest area.
Whether because she was startled or not, the rabbit's ears seemed to be propped up high.
Su Qiu kept her eyes lowered, her expression revealing no visible ripples, as if she was still holding it together, yet the tips of her ears hidden beneath her hair were warm, slightly burning.