Recently, Zhan Qingyue has been very obvious and direct, and with the kiss he “forgot” to mention but kept bringing up, even Ning Qiuxiu, who’s usually clueless, could sense something.

At first, Ning Qiuxiu found it hard to believe.

She thought Zhan Qingyue was the kind of person who didn’t need a woman and was perfectly fine being impressive on his own.

This made Ning Qiuxiu start to feel a bit proud.

Remembering her past troubles, she decided to hold back for now.

She wasn’t going to let him get what he wanted so easily!

Also, Ning Qiuxiu had a small trauma from her third year in the cultivation world.

A senior who was always around her flirted with her, saying he wanted to take her to see the stars and the moon.

Ning Qiuxiu, somewhat naive, was led on by him for a while, only to find out he invited another girl to see the stars and moon.

Men are all the same!

She could marry Zhan Qingyue without pressure because she didn’t take marriage seriously, thinking she might not stay in this world for long.

It used to feel like no burden, but now…

It was starting to get a bit annoying.

Before the New Year, Ning Qiuxiu had Jingjing help her record a New Year’s greeting video, planning to post it on Weibo.

Then she packed her bags to go home for the New Year.

At the Zhang family home during the New Year, many people come to visit under the pretext of New Year greetings.

Especially this year, with Zhan Qingyue waking up after two years, there would be even more visitors.

It’s not easy to refuse guests during the New Year.

This is why many wealthy people go abroad for the New Year—not because they really want to, but to find some peace and quiet.

Ning Qiuxiu, thinking it’s tough for rich people too, packed her things and went home.

She and Zhan Qingyue weren’t officially married yet, and as a public figure, the Zhan family’s distant relatives wouldn’t disclose their relationship.

However, with so many visitors, it was hard to say.

So, dealing with the Zhan family’s New Year troubles and missing her parents, Ning Qiuxiu happily went home under Mr. Zhan’s not-so-pleased gaze.

Her mood was quite good.

When Ning Qiuxiu arrived home and put her things in her room, she noticed the decorations had changed.

Instead of her old fairy-tale style, there were now various photos on the walls!

When Zhan Qingyue was still unconscious, Ning Qiuxiu had taken some photos with him and posted them on WeChat.

These photos were likely saved by Mrs. Ning and turned into posters all over her room’s walls, along with posters of cute kids.

…At first, Ning Qiuxiu thought she had entered a haunted house.

These posters on the walls were basically a form of contraception—looking at them made her lose all desire.

Seeing Ning Qiuxiu’s confused expression as she came out of the room, Mrs. Ning smiled and asked, “How do you like my decorations, dear?”

Ning Qiuxiu replied coldly, “Not satisfied.”

“Oh, you ungrateful child, I did it all for you!” Mrs. Ning said, disappointed. “But it’s not for you to see. When Qingyue comes to pick you up after the New Year, he’ll understand what I mean.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “…”

She planned to tear them down later!

“You can’t tear them all down,” Mrs. Ning said, seeing through her thoughts. “I made five copies of each poster. You won’t be able to tear them all down.”

“…“ Ning Qiuxiu gave up. “Mom, why are you so anxious about this? We’re not even rushing it ourselves.”

“I’m anxious to hold a grandchild,” Mrs. Ning said matter-of-factly.

Ning Qiuxiu facepalmed.

It’s the New Year; can we talk about something else?

The conversation with Mrs. Ning ended abruptly.

Mr. Ning called her to join him in watching TV.

Ning Qiuxiu sighed with relief, no longer wanting to hear her mother’s nagging about having babies.

She hurried to the living room and found her dad watching Huluwa (Calabash Brothers).

“…” Ning Qiuxiu had a bad feeling and sat down next to her dad with a forced smile, trying to flatter him. “Dad, this year our Ning family has overcome difficulties and survived. Your mood seems so much younger now.”

“Hmm.” Mr. Ning seemed quite into the show and responded absently.

At that moment, the big brother from Huluwa suddenly shouted, “Grandpa.”

Mr. Ning, who had been watching intently, immediately brightened up and replied, “Ah!”

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

Next, every time a Huluwa called “Grandpa” on TV, Mr. Ning responded with delight, making it almost unbearable for Ning Qiuxiu to watch.

How can a chairman of a company with hundreds of employees be so childish?

Ning Qiuxiu felt like her heart was being tortured by her parents.

Why did she choose to come back for the New Year and face all this pressure?

Wasn’t the New Year’s dinner at the Zhang family good?

Wasn’t the beauty of the Zhan family enough?

Her expression was so tragic that Mr. Ning showed mercy and changed the channel.

Ning Qiuxiu thought he finally came to his senses, but the new channel played a familiar commercial: “Nurture new hope, benefit millions, with good ‘pregnancy’ companionship…”

Ning Qiuxiu: “???”

She was truly speechless.

Ning Qiuxiu endured the relentless marriage and baby pressure from her parents and spent the New Year in a state of deep distress.

Mr. and Mrs. Ning understood the importance of being tactful, so they never dared to be too direct in front of Zhan Qingyue.

They only hinted subtly by putting up posters.

Ning Qiuxiu found this deeply annoying.

On Chinese New Year’s Eve, Ning Qiuxiu posted a video on Weibo.

Being from a wealthy family, one of the best things for her was still receiving lots of lucky money, even as an adult.

She got money from her parents, Mr. Zhan, and even a big red envelope from Zhan Qingyue.

On New Year’s Day morning, Ning Qiuxiu went with her mother to visit relatives and collect more lucky money.

As Ning Qiuxiu was a minor celebrity, she attracted some attention.

The last visit was to her granduncle, who was in his nineties but still in good spirits.

His granddaughter, Ning Wanwan, was Ning Qiuxiu’s classmate from primary to high school.

“Are you going to our high school reunion on the fifth?” Ning Wanwan asked, holding Ning Qiuqiu’s hand.

A reunion? Ning Qiuqiu replied, “Probably not.”

She wasn’t really friends with them, so she didn’t feel like joining the gathering.

“Not again,” Ning Wanwan sounded disappointed. “You never come. Everyone misses you, our school’s dream girl.”

Ning Qiuxiu was speechless.

Dream girl?

Was she some kind of perfect heroine from a novel?

“Come on, you should go,” Ning Wanwan encouraged her, winking. “I heard Guan Nanpei is back from abroad.”

Who? She didn’t know him.

Mrs. Ning, overhearing as she joined them, asked, “Guan Nanpei is back?”

“Yes, Auntie. He’s coming to our reunion on the fifth, but Qiuxiu says she won’t go.”

“She must go,” Mrs. Ning declared firmly.

Ning Qiuxiu was puzzled.

Why must she go?

She searched her memories for Guan Nanpei.

Guan Nanpei was a top student and very handsome.

If she was the boys’ dream girl, he was the girls’ dream boy.

She had liked him during her early teenage years before she developed feelings for Zhan Qingyuan.

She had even confessed to Guan Nanpei but was rejected because he cared about looks and grades, and her grades were terrible.

He had chosen a beautiful and smart girl instead, which had broken her heart.

Interestingly, all three of them had been classmates.

Though hurt, Ning Qiuxiu hadn’t done anything extreme back then.

“Are you really going? I’ll tell everyone in the group. Details will be in the class chat.”

Ning Qiuqiu wanted to refuse but was pulled away by her mother.

“Mom, I really don’t want to go. It’s been so long. Why should I?”

“Why not?” Mrs. Ning was indignant. “You should dress up beautifully, drive your dad’s sports car, and have Qingyue pick you up. Show them all and make Guan regret it.”

Ning Qiuxiu was speechless.

What was there to show off? If she were a top actress, maybe.

Reluctantly, Ning Qiuxiu agreed, planning to just show her face and leave quickly.

By the time they finished visiting relatives, it was afternoon.

Ning Qiuxiu couldn’t believe how many elders their family had. Her face hurt from smiling so much.

But receiving thick red envelopes from everyone was satisfying.

With the money she got, plus what she had earned before, she was close to having ten million yuan.

Such was the life of the rich.

Content, Ning Qiuxiu counted her money and received a message from Xu Ya: her video had overtaken Ji Weiliang’s on the trending list.

The New Year’s greeting video Ning Qiuxiu posted had accidentally gone viral.

Her dog Miaomiao, known for its disdainful looks, had been captured glaring at her during the recording.

People found it hilarious and shared it widely.

Qu Hua seized the opportunity to buy a trending spot for the video.

Since the New Year’s Eve gala had taken over the hot topics last night, they bought the spot today.

Ji Weiliang had also planned to use a creative video for publicity, but Ning Qiuxiu’s video overshadowed it.

With so many trending topics, it doesn’t really matter who’s ahead or behind.

[Xu Ya: I see you’re so happy to overshadow her, hahaha. She must be furious; you’ve overshadowed her many times before, haven’t you?]

Indeed, Ning Qiuxiu had overshadowed Ji Weilong many times before. Whenever they collided, Ning Qiuxiu always managed to have higher trending topics from various unique angles.

[Ning Qiuxiu: Maybe she doesn’t care at all.]

[Xu Ya: How can she not care? Her video’s trending heat is constantly rising, clearly trying to surpass you.]

Ning Qiuxiu checked Weibo, refreshed the page, and saw her trending heat value was indeed rising and might soon surpass hers.

However, Ning Qiuxiu was close to reaching 10 million but didn’t want to waste money on a fleeting trending position. She called Qu Hua to make sure he didn’t increase the price.

She was broke!

Qu Hua responded, “We’re not using our own costs, little Qiuxiu. Why are you acting like you’re poor?”

“Hmm?” Ning Qiuxiu asked, “Has the company finally increased the marketing budget for me?”

“Not at all! It’s your mysterious boyfriend who invested. Didn’t you know?”

“???” Mysterious boyfriend, Zhan Qingyue?

Ning Qiuxiu genuinely didn’t know. Qu Hua hadn’t mentioned it, and Zhan Qingyue hadn’t brought it up either.

“Wow, you really didn’t know? I have to tell you, your boyfriend is so rich. I haven’t spent all the money he gave me in a month. If it weren’t for him, I’d quit being your manager.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

This is just too much. It’s like having too much money and no place to spend it, so giving it to some entertainment company.

After Qu Hua urged her to post a few more pictures and videos of Miao Miao while the trend was still high, Ning Qiuxiu ended the call and turned to call Zhan Qingyue.

However, Zhan Qingyue was unable to answer the phone, so he hung up and sent her a message asking what was up.

Ning Qiuxiu inquired about the money issue.

[Black Heart Onion: Don’t worry. The expenses have been calculated by a professional team and are within the normal range for artist marketing.]

“……” This was very much Zhan Qingyue’s style—seemingly casual but always based on solid reasoning.

So Ning Qiuxiu felt reassured.

She was worried Zhan Qingyue might be like those domineering CEOs in novels who insist on spending millions, which she couldn’t handle!

After a while, Zhan Qingyue sent another message.

[Black Heart Onion: Qiuxiu, I’m sick.]

Ning Qiuxiu’s heart tightened when she saw this message.

She now viewed Zhan Qingyue as delicate as a porcelain doll, and hearing he was sick made her type faster.

[Ning Qiuxiu: What’s wrong? Have you seen a doctor? What did the doctor say?]

[Black Heart Onion: It’s a new illness. I’ve seen a doctor and got some medicine, but we’re missing one ingredient.]

A new illness? Missing an ingredient?

Ning Qiuxiu thought about the infertility ad her father showed her the other day and suddenly couldn’t keep a serious face, cough cough.

[Ning Qiuxiu: What’s the missing medicine? Is it the legendary, extremely rare, and expensive Tianshan Snow Lotus?]

[Black Heart Onion: Angelica root.]