She really just wanted to tease Zhan Qingyue, not test his sincerity.

“Black-hearted Onion, sincerity?!” she thought, though she couldn’t help but smile when she saw the message.

Despite being a bit of a bad guy, Zhan Qingyue was actually a good man.

Since she’d known him, he’d never been involved with anyone else.

He didn’t even glance at attractive women he saw on the street, except for Jia Qing, who was an annoying clingy person.

He didn’t have old flames showing up either.

Of course, this also had something to do with Zhan Qingyue’s nature.

Ning Qiuxui thought if she weren’t thick-skinned and resilient, she might have been driven away by him long ago.

He really didn’t understand how to cherish a woman, was black-hearted, sharp-tongued, and had no sense of romance.

Reflecting on their time together over the past few months, Zhan Qingyue had set enough traps to bury her alive.

He’d made her develop a masochistic trait.

No wonder he was destined to be single.

As Ning Qiuxui mentally listed Zhan Qingyue’s faults, her phone rang, giving her a start. It was Qu Hua.

“My little Qiuxiu, big news! A golden opportunity has fallen from the sky!” Qu Hua said excitedly.

Such good news? Ning Qiuxui asked eagerly, “What’s the opportunity, is it meat or vegetarian?”

“Oh, stop it! You know I’m not talking about that kind of opportunity. Let me tell you, our company just received an invitation from the national TV station for a variety show, asking you to be a regular guest! National TV’s show! Many people are dying to get on this show, and now it’s come to us. Isn’t that great?”

It was exciting, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Ning Qiuxui had a bad premonition: “What show is it, and why invite me?”

“It’s called ‘Super Ordinary People.’ The show lets guests experience life in various ordinary jobs, allowing the audience to see the extraordinary within the ordinary. They think you’re quite suitable.”

“……” Ning Qiuxui immediately understood.

Since it was a national TV show, it wasn’t likely to be focused on comedy but on education.

She guessed the show would make them experience difficult and tough jobs, feel the sweet and bitter aspects of different professions, and highlight how much people silently contribute behind our comfortable lives.

Why invite her? It was probably because of her tough image—other female guests might not handle it well.

“???” Ning Qiuxui was genuinely upset. Did she not seem tough enough?

“I found out that ‘Super Ordinary People’ will start filming five episodes after New Year’s, covering winter jobs. Then they’ll wait for spring to film summer jobs. It will just miss the schedule of ‘Campus Bully,’ which starts filming right after the new year. This is a rare opportunity, so I accepted it for you.”

“……Can I refuse?”

Clearly, she couldn’t.

National TV’s reality show may not be as funny or thrilling as other shows, but it has deep meaning and high prestige.

Others might not even get such an opportunity.

So, even if the real reason for inviting Ning Qiuxui is just because she can handle tough situations like a man, she still has to accept it.

New Year’s is approaching quickly.

There’s no news from the face mask company yet, probably because they’re still testing it, researching ingredients, and checking for side effects.

Ning Qiuxui isn’t worried; she has time to wait for their verification.

On the eve of New Year’s, Zhan Qingyue finished his last rehabilitation session at the clinic.

The family packed up and returned to City A.

Zhan Qingyue actually has his own house, but it hasn’t been cleaned in a long time, so they went back to the Zhan family’s house to stay with the old man, planning to sort out the living arrangements after the New Year.

Seeing Zhan Qingyue recovering so well and able to walk slowly with a cane, the old man was excited and said, “It’s good to see you recovering. It looks like you’ll be able to walk on your own after the New Year.”

Zhan Qingyue looked at the old man’s gray hair and somewhat cloudy eyes and said, “I’m sorry for worrying you these past two years.”

Ning Qiuxui didn’t interrupt their conversation.

She instructed the staff to bring out the troublemaker dog, Miaomiao, who had been cooped up in a cage for over four hours and was probably furious enough to chew through the cage.

Although Miaomiao was often bullied by Zhan Qingyue, the dog was well-treated.

Miaomiao could tell Zhan Qingyue was not to be messed with, so it behaved well around him.

Ning Qiuxui, being under the protection of the main male character, was also best left untroubled.

So Miaomiao, who had recently become spoiled by its master, had developed a bigger temper, considering everyone but the butler to be inferior and taking advantage of them.

Ning Qiuxui feared that the staff wouldn’t handle Miaomiao well, so she decided to deal with it herself.

“Let’s move it to the small living room first,” Ning Qiuxui said, glancing at Zhan Qingyue, who was trying to stand and walk with the help of Jingjing and Chen Yi.

She was concerned Miaomiao might accidentally bump into him.

This was the first time the Zhan family was hosting a pet.

The butler was a bit intimidated by the sharp-eyed, disdainful-looking dog and asked, “Will it bite? Should we tie it up?”

Ning Qiuxui laughed, “Don’t worry, it won’t bite. It just looks fierce but is actually easy to get along with, right, Miaomiao?”

Miaomiao made a flattering noise at Ning Qiuxui, wagging its tail and scratching at her foot with its paw, looking very obedient.

At that moment, Ning Qiuxui’s phone rang. To her surprise, it was Xu Qingyuan, whom she hadn’t heard from in a while.

Zhan Qingyuan rarely contacted her, so Ning Qiuzhi was curious about what he wanted. She answered, “Hello?”

“Have you arrived home?” Zhan Qingyuan’s voice sounded a bit hoarse.

Ning Qiuzhi was puzzled by his concern and replied, “Yes, why?”

“Come to the door. I’ll give you something to take to my brother.”

“… Can’t you bring it in yourself? Your brother is in the living room.” Ning Qiuxui rolled her eyes, thinking it was a strange request.

Zhan Qingyuan should have asked the butler or someone else for help, not her.

Zhan Qingyuan paused for a moment and said quietly, “Please, I’m asking you.”

Ning Qiuxui: “???”

Was the sky falling?

Since Zhan Qingyuan had been so humble, Ning Qiuxui had no choice but to instruct the butler to feed Miaomiao and then went outside to see what Zhan Qingyuan wanted.

When the butler came back with Miaomiao’s food bowl, he found Miaomiao had gone wild in the small living room.

The dog was bouncing around on the sofa and floor, and when it saw him, it assumed an aggressive posture.

Though the butler was older, he wasn’t intimidated by the dog.

He quickly placed the dog food down and retreated, not seeing Miaomiao’s pleased look at the food.

Ning Qiuxui reached the gate and saw Zhan Qingyuan’s car.

She walked over, and the driver’s window rolled down, revealing Zhan Qingyuan’s scruffy face, looking older and less impressive than usual.

Ning Qiuxui couldn’t help but ask, “… What happened? Did you get dumped?”

“Ridiculous,” Zhan Qingyuan replied, sounding like a cat with its tail stepped on, “Does it look like I’ve been dumped?”

“… It does.”

Ning Qiuxiu recalled the plot of the book she was reading.

At this point in the story, the Ning family was surrounded by enemies and on the verge of collapse.

The Zhan family had been working with the Ning family for many years, and when their partner company faced problems, the Zhan family couldn’t avoid being affected, facing significant turmoil and even a crisis.

At this moment, Jia Qing, who had always coveted Zhan Qingyuan, proposed a marriage alliance.

The two families joining forces could help them get through the crisis.

The dramatic twist came when Jia Qing exaggerated the crisis, spreading the news to Ji Weiliang.

Ji Weiliang learned that the Zhan family, having lost the Ning family as a crucial partner, was also in jeopardy and needed better business collaborations to save their business.

The best way to secure this business collaboration was through marriage.

But Zhan Qingyuan, for the sake of love, resolutely gave up and stayed with her despite immense pressure.

However, she couldn’t help him at all and even dragged him down.

Ji Weiliang didn’t want Zhan Qingyuan to be torn between his career and love, so she decisively left him.

She even publicly spread rumors with an actor from her crew to make Zhan Qingyuan give up on her completely.

This dramatic plot had once shocked Ning Qiuxiu, but now, with the Ning family’s business thriving thanks to Zhan Qingyue’s help, she couldn’t understand why Zhan Qingyuan looked so heartbroken.

Ning Qiuxiu was extremely curious, but Zhan Qingyue didn’t seem to want to confide in her.

He said, “If you think so, then fine. Please help me give this to my brother.”

He handed over an envelope.

Ning Qiuxiu didn’t take it. Zhan Qingyuan glared at her, “It’s not a bomb or poison, just a document. Once you give it to him, he’ll understand.”

“It’s not about bombs or poison. Little brother, why does it feel like you’re handing over a suicide note?”

“…,” Zhan Qingyuan was taken aback. “Do I look like someone who’s about to kill myself?”

To be honest, Ning Qiuxiu looked him over. “You do. If you look in the mirror, you’ll see you look like someone who’s about to drive into the lake and drown.”

Zhan Qingyuan was furious at her for saying so much nonsense just to hand over a document.

He started his car, and as Ning Qiuxiu was thinking he was becoming less reliable, he threw the document at her feet and drove off, saying, “Don’t lose it.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “…”

M!

Ning Qiuxiu glared at the car driving away, picked up the document, and went inside. Zhan Qingyue had already finished catching up with the old man.

When he saw Ning Qiuxiu, the old man smiled and said, “Qiuxiu, come and sit. You’ve been working hard these days, balancing work and taking care of Qingyue.”

“It’s not hard,” Ning Qiuxiu hadn’t done much.

She handed the envelope to Zhan Qingyue, “Zhan Qingyuan asked me to give this to you.”

Zhan Qingyue’s face darkened when he saw the envelope. “Where is he?”

Ning Qiuxiu knew Zhan Qingyue well.

From his expression, she could tell this was a big deal.

Thinking that Zhan Qingyuan was indeed trying to drag her into trouble, she quickly sold him out, “He ran off after dropping this.”

“What’s going on?” The old man didn’t know what was happening between the two brothers and asked.

“Nothing,” Zhan Qingyue asked Jingjing to take the document to the study and said casually, “He’s been idle for too long and wants to play the hero.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

That sounded odd.

But… she had never seen Zhan Qingyue like this before.

Even when dealing with troublesome relatives, he never showed anger or frustration.

This time, Zhan Qingyuan really pissed him off.

Ning Qiuxiu initially wanted to gossip about what happened to Zhan Qingyuan, but seeing Zhan Qingyue like this, she didn’t dare to ask.

She didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.