Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zhou Qiji looked travel-worn, clearly having just gotten back.

I didn’t know much about his schedule, but he had been shooting a film for the past few months. According to what he’d told me before, they should have had at least another week before wrapping.

“Why are you back?” I asked.

Zhou Qiji walked over, bent down, and kissed me on the cheek. “The crew wrapped early, so I came home.”

He always spoke in such concise sentences.

Obviously, what I wanted to hear was more along the lines of: he missed me.

So I toyed with my hair and gave him a sultry look. “So it’s just because work ended? Not because you missed me?”

At that, Zhou Qiji fell silent and stared at me for a few seconds. Then he said, “Wait for me. I’m going to take a shower.”

?

Was that what I meant?

Although we were husband and wife in every legitimate sense, ever since getting married, we’d spent more time apart than together. The last time I’d seen Zhou Qiji had been at least four months ago, and we barely contacted each other on our phones.

No joke, I talked to my manager and assistant more often than I talked to Zhou Qiji.

We really didn’t seem much like a married couple. After all, our marriage had been arranged between our families. It was hard for either of us to invest too much emotion into it.

I searched Zhou Qiji’s name online. Even though he was a director, that outstanding face of his had genuinely earned him a sizable fanbase.

For a while, the traffic he brought in was no less than that of a popular young idol. Every major fashion week and red-carpet event sent him invitations.

Of course, that also brought him plenty of trouble.

Zhou Qiji wasn’t the type to market his appearance. His girlfriend fans chased after him like he was a celebrity, and that annoyed him.

He didn’t even have a personal account, only his studio’s official account.

I stared at Zhou Qiji Studio’s account for quite a while. Their last update had been from last month.

There hadn’t been the slightest hint that Zhou Qiji was coming back.

I was still spacing out when I failed to notice that the bathroom door had opened. Zhou Qiji stepped out, still carrying the damp heat of the shower with him.

Before I could react, he was already standing beside me. There was an indescribable hint of teasing in his tone. “What is it that you have to dig around online for? Can’t you ask me directly?”

“…”

This half-familiar, half-stranger husband-wife relationship was honestly so awkward it could make a person cringe.

Zhou Qiji took my phone, turned off the screen, and set it on the nightstand beside the bed, placing it next to his own phone.

He reached out and touched my face. “Tangtang.”

Tangtang was my childhood nickname, what my family called me.

After we got married, Zhou Qiji started calling me that too. At first, I wasn’t used to hearing it from him. Later, I realized both my family and his were happy to see us act a little closer, so I didn’t say anything.

Barring any surprises, we wouldn’t be separating in the next few years.

Zhou Qiji had beautiful eyes, and when he lowered them to look at me, they were especially captivating.

My lashes trembled without my noticing, and even my voice stuttered along with them. “W-what is it?”

He bent down and pressed his lips to mine, his words muffled against my mouth. “I missed you.”

What happened next was more or less unsuitable for minors. We hadn’t seen each other in months, we were legally married, and the spark hit dry tinder. That night, we didn’t fall asleep until very late.

As for whether Zhou Qiji had any women outside, I was willing to believe he didn’t. He acted like he’d never seen a woman before.

I vaguely remembered him asking about my recent work schedule afterward.

As for what I answered, I couldn’t remember at all.