However, Ning Qiuxiu’s idea is currently just a thought. She doesn’t have the energy to start her own studio and recruit people right now.

She’s facing public relations problems and is surrounded by negative news.

Shortly after the official announcement of her leaving the group, she was subjected to malicious rumors.

At first, fans of the Girl Group and Ning Qiuxiu’s anti-fans were angry, saying that Ning Qiuxiu had become arrogant.

They believed she thought she was famous enough to go solo and leave the group to develop her own career.

Their words mocked her for not knowing her place, thinking that a few days of attention in the group made her a big star.

Then, it seemed like some of Ning Qiuxiu’s fans tried to clear her name, saying that she had no control over her decision to leave.

They claimed her company saw her popularity and wanted to use her to make money for the group, so they forced her to leave.

This explanation was accepted by many, as it’s well known that artists’ career decisions are often controlled by their management companies.

Just as the public shifted their anger towards Ning Qiuxiu’s management company, an “internal member” of the company revealed that Ning Qiuxiu wanted to leave the group herself.

Her family was a major shareholder in the company, and the company had tried to persuade her to stay, but she insisted on going solo.

The company couldn’t do anything about it.

As a result, Ning Qiuxiu was labeled as an arrogant person who falsely accused her own company.

Moreover, after the news about Ning Qiuxiu’s family being major shareholders came out, old stories resurfaced about her using her family’s wealth to suppress other talented contestants during the girl group selection.

Suddenly, Ning Qiuxiu became a target of public scorn.

The negative news kept coming, clearly manipulated by a team behind the scenes.

They not only smeared her reputation but also tried to drive a wedge between her and her management company.

Ning Qiuxiu was already facing dissatisfaction from the group’s fans due to her departure.

Now, with this added scandal, both her character and abilities were questioned.

If she were an ordinary person, she would have been crushed by now.

“This damn Yixing Entertainment, kicking someone when they’re down. They don’t even act like a big company. Hmph!” Qu Hua used two exclamations to express his dissatisfaction with Yixing Entertainment.

The current situation is so obvious that even with your toes, you can guess it’s orchestrated by Yixing Entertainment.

They were already unhappy about Ning Qiuxui leaving the group, and with the previous unpleasantness and the breach of contract penalties they paid, naturally, they want to get their revenge.

Ning Qiuxui said, “Didn’t you say that being blacklisted is still being noticed? If people criticize me, it’s actually a good thing because it means I’m still relevant. Just because I left the girl group doesn’t mean everything is over.”

“…” When did he ever say that?

Qu Hua suddenly noticed that Ning Qiuxui was calm throughout, even calmer than him.

He wondered, “Xiao Qiuxiu, you’ve changed a lot recently. Sometimes I even doubt you’re the same person.”

In the past, when facing such issues, Ning Qiuxui’s temper would flare up immediately.

The original Ning Qiuxui was spoiled and used to being pampered since childhood, and couldn’t handle any grievances.

Ahem.

Ning Qiuxui knew that she was quite different from the original, and she didn’t deliberately try to act like the original, so those close to her would definitely notice something off.

“Because I’m heartbroken,” Ning Qiuxui started speaking nonsense again, “Haven’t you heard that people in love have an IQ of zero?”

Qu Hua: “…”

So, this is the reason for the drop in IQ?

Since Qu Hua met Ning Qiuxui, he knew she had a crush on someone, the famous Zhan Qingyuan, head of the Zhan family.

Ning Qiuxui was infatuated with him to the point of obsession. Once, a small model tried to seduce Zhan Qingyuan, and Ning Qiuxui happened to see it.

After that, the model not only got scolded by Ning Qiuxui on the spot but also had a series of scandals exposed, trending online and ruining her career.

But it seemed Zhan Qingyuan wasn’t very interested in Ning Qiuxui, and according to Qu Hua’s information, he recently had someone new by his side.

Qu Hua was worried that Ning Qiuxui might go crazy when she found out.

Unexpectedly, Ning Qiuxui not only knew about it but was so calm. If he weren’t a materialist, he might think Ning Qiuxui had been possessed like a character in a novel.

However, since Ning Qiuxui wasn’t going crazy or causing trouble, Qu Hua was relieved and tried to comfort her, saying, “It’s okay. Our Xiao Qiuxiu will meet someone better. Those jerks don’t deserve you.”

Ning Qiuxui smiled.

She had already met someone better, but that was a secret for now.

When she was younger, Ning Qiuxui had imagined her prince charming would come in the most romantic way to take her home.

Even if it wasn’t riding on a rainbow, at least it would be a rose-scented carriage arriving gracefully.

However, reality was cruel.

The reality was that the other party only used a car and a driver to pick her and her luggage up—almost like picking up a daughter returning home from working away.

Of course, that was agreed upon by both families.

Regarding this so-called “marriage,” both families have their own ulterior motives.

The Ning family wants to benefit from it but also wants to protect their daughter’s reputation, so they prefer to keep it as secret as possible.

They wish that only they know about it, and no one else.

As for the Zhan family, they are public philanthropists who donate large sums of money each year.

They can’t afford to be seen doing something as superstitious as marrying a bride to a vegetative person to bring good luck.

Given Ning Qiuxiu’s status as a public figure, both families hope that as few people as possible know about this arrangement—ideally, no one.

They decided to skip a lot of the traditional procedures and just have Ning Qiuxiu go through some minimal, old ceremonial rites to bring “joy” into the house first.

Depending on what happens, the rest will follow.

If the joy revives Zhan Qingyue, then they can have a proper ceremony later.

If he doesn’t wake up, even if the Ning family doesn’t say it, Old Master Zhan understands that Ning Qiuxiu won’t stay long.

If Zhan Qingyue does wake up in the future and they genuinely like each other, then they can have a grand wedding.

“I thought this day was still years away, but it came so suddenly. I…” Wen Ling held Ning Qiuxiu’s hand, tears streaming down her face.

Even though no one took this marriage seriously, Mrs. Ning, as her mother, couldn’t help feeling sad.

Ning Qiuxiu wiped her tears and comforted her, saying, “It’s okay, Mom. We live so close. I’ll visit often.”

“Okay,” Wen Ling took out a credit card, “I don’t have much to give you. Take this credit card and use it as you wish. Stop shopping online. We’re not short of money. Don’t let the Zhan family look down on you.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “…”

Does online shopping mean being short of money?

What kind of logic is that?

Besides, she wasn’t short of money.

Her father deposited pocket money into her account every month, and her value soared during her time in the girl group.

She didn’t need financial support from Wen Ling.

Ning Qiuxiu felt amused and helpless, not understanding her mother’s logic.

She wanted to refuse but saw the sincerity in Wen Ling’s eyes, so she accepted it and said, “Thanks, Mom.”

“Be strong over there. If the servants, who lack insight, see you as the new master, they’ll definitely try to bully you. Don’t be afraid of them. If you feel wronged, tell me. I’ll stand up for you.”

“…” Are we living in feudal times?

Also, Mrs. Ning, do you misunderstand your daughter?

Isn’t she usually the one doing the bullying?

“They won’t bully me, Mom. Don’t worry.”

“Hmph, who knows? They see your man as a vegetable, so they’ll definitely look down on you,” Mrs. Ning said.

Then she thought of something else and added, “But if they bully you, just go to Qingyuan and act cute, let him make things right for you. That way, you two will…”

Wen Ling didn’t finish her sentence but gave Ning Qiuxui a knowing look.

Ning Qiuxui was momentarily confused: “Huh?”

“You can fool others, but not me. Don’t think I don’t know you’re using marrying Zhan Qingyue as an excuse to get closer to Qingyuan,” Mrs. Ning said with a knowing look. “But that’s fine too. Being close to the water means getting the moon first. I see how that little vixen can compete with you.”

Ning Qiuxui: “???”

That’s not true!

Ning Qiuxui had never thought about this. But now that Mrs. Ning mentioned it, she realized that Zhan Qingyuan’s attempts to stop her from marrying Zhan Qingyue might be because he thought she was after him.

After all, the original Ning Qiuxui was obsessed with him.

Thinking of this, Ning Qiuxui felt a pang of injustice.

She felt more wronged than the character in the classic tale of Dou E’s grievances.

When Ning’s father saw them still chatting away, he came over and said, “Alright, it’s not like you’re marrying off to a distant frontier. It’s almost time. Qiuxui, it’s a bit rushed, so I didn’t prepare much. Here’s the key to the villa in Z Bay. Use it for now. When you actually get married, we’ll give you a generous dowry to make your wedding grand.”

As he spoke, Ning’s father handed over a bunch of keys.

If Ning Qiuxui remembered correctly, Z Bay was a famous affluent area. Villas there had prices reaching almost six figures.

Moreover, villas were sold by floor area, not just land, so this villa must cost tens of millions.

Wasn’t that generous enough?

Poverty had limited Ning Qiuxui’s imagination, especially after being poor in the cultivation world for seven years.

She thought that if the Ning family went bankrupt and she was in debt for millions, she could just sell this villa to pay it off.

That logic seemed… reasonable.

Even though in the novel, Ning Qiuxiu’s parents are portrayed as bad characters, especially the greedy, selfish, and arrogant Mrs. Ning who is heavily criticized by readers, they are undeniably good to Ning Qiuxiu.

Feeling both guilty and touched, Ning Qiuxiu accepted their kind gestures and got into the car sent by the Zhan family to pick her up.

The car ride was silent.

When they arrived at the Zhan family residence, Ning Qiuxiu was surprised to see Zhan Qingyue “personally” coming out to greet her.

By “personally,” it meant that he was sitting in a wheelchair, pushed out by his caregiver.

The scene was somewhat similar to their first meeting.

Today, they had dressed Zhan Qingyue up a bit.

His black shirt made his face look even paler, and someone had even applied a little makeup to him.

The slight blush on his face added an inexplicable allure.

If Zhan Qingyue were to wake up and see how he looked now, he would probably want to give the person responsible a good beating.

Ning Qiuxiu had to praise him insincerely, “Qingyue gege looks really good today.”

The girl pushing the wheelchair quickly took credit, “It’s because Mr. Zhan has good features. I just did a little touch-up, and he turned out stunning.”

“Yes, very stunning,” Ning Qiuxiu glanced at the girl and realized she was the same one who had fed Zhan Qingyue before.

Old Master Zhan had called her Jingjing. Ning Qiuxiu smiled and said, “Qingyue gege must really like how he looks now.”

Jingjing blushed and said, “Miss Ning, you really know how to talk.”

Ning Qiuxiu quickly built a rapport with the people around Zhan Qingyue and then said, “Let me push him.”

“Okay.” Jingjing stepped aside, allowing Ning Qiuqiu to take over the wheelchair.

Although wheelchairs are common in both TV shows and real life, this was Ning Qiuxiu’s first time pushing one.

And it was her “husband’s” wheelchair.

On her “wedding day.”

The experience was quite unique.

Old Master Zhan also came to the door to greet them.

Zhan Qingyuan was nowhere to be seen, likely avoiding the situation altogether.

Old Master Zhan invited Ning Qiuxiu and Zhan Qingyue inside for a few pleasantries.

He then instructed Jingjing to take Zhan Qingyue out for some fresh air and asked the housekeeper to have someone move Ning Qiuxiu’s luggage to her room and get it settled.

Meanwhile, he led Ning Qiuxiu to the study.

Ning Qiuxiu watched as Old Master Zhan took a stack of A4 papers from a folder, thinking to herself, “Is Old Master Zhan going to lay down some rules and have me sign a popular novel-style… marriage contract?”

Would she become a contract bride in a CEO romance?

She found the idea oddly exciting!

But she wasn’t the CEO’s contract bride; she was the contract bride of the CEO’s vegetative brother…

“Take a look at this,” Old Master Zhan pushed the stack of A4 papers toward her.

Ning Qiuxui took the document and looked at the title… Hmm? Share Transfer Agreement? What’s this about?

“This is the share transfer agreement for Zhuosen. It’s not much, just 1%. It’s a small token of my regard,” Old Master Zhan said casually, as if he was handing out a 100-yuan red envelope to a junior.

Zhuosen was the core enterprise of the Zhan family, the one where Zhan Qingyuan was the chairman.

Ning Qiuxui had just thought that receiving a villa worth tens of millions from Ning’s father was a grand gesture.

But compared to this share, it was nothing.

Ning Qiuxui was once again stunned by the extravagant ways of the wealthy.

Wow, treating money like dirt isn’t even this extreme.

“This is too valuable. I can’t…” Ning Qiuxui started to refuse, but Old Master Zhan interrupted her.

“It’s fine, just take it,” Old Master Zhan said, “It’ll put my selfish heart at ease. I’m sorry to trouble you. In the future, you’ll have to take good care of Qingyue.”

His words made Ning Qiuxui feel guilty.

Actually, marrying a middle-aged bald man in a novel was not so unfair compared to this situation.

However, Old Master Zhan’s generosity was also a way to soothe his guilty conscience and to let her know that he regarded her as a granddaughter-in-law.

He hoped she would treat Zhan Qingyue as her husband and not play tricks.

This wasn’t much different from a contract.

If she broke their agreement, Old Master Zhan, who had so easily given her 1% of the shares, could also easily make her pay the price.

With that in mind, Ning Qiuxui took the agreement and said, “Then I won’t be polite and will accept it, Grandpa.”

Although it was under the guise of “marriage,” the Zhan family wasn’t so heartless as to make her share a bed with a vegetable.

Old Master Zhan had arranged a separate room for her, directly across from Zhan Qingyue’s room.

So, they became a nominal “couple” without any real connection.