Chapter 5 – Small Temple, Strong Demons; Shallow Pond, Many Turtles

Hanhai Tower, 16th Floor, Fengqi Music Company.

Tang Tang walked out of the conference room in a gray suit, feeling completely drained. As a fellow rich girl, her best friend Su Hongdou was still in her senior year, yet she was already running a huge company like Jinxiu Media smoothly. And her own music company? Well, it truly lived up to the saying: “Small temple, strong demons; shallow pond, many turtles.”

The department heads had been bickering for two whole hours in the meeting, and not a single viable plan had emerged. Tang Tang felt like her brain was about to explode.

As she left the room, she suddenly remembered: “Right, how’s that fake marriage thing with Su Hongdou going?”

That morning, Tang Tang had been helping arrange the matter for them, but the meeting had interrupted her for two hours straight. Now it was already afternoon. Tang Tang muttered to herself:

“Su the college beauty and her gay male best friend, Xiao Shen, should have gotten the marriage certificate by now. Xiao Shen has no interest in women at all—he gets all electrified around men. For a fake marriage, he’s absolutely perfect for Su Hongdou!”

Rushing back to her office, Tang Tang grabbed her personal phone.

“Huh?”

10 missed calls, over 30 new messages?

Tang Tang quickly opened her phone. The first message was from Xiao Shen:

“Let’s break off our friendship!”
“I treated you like a sister, and you play me like this?”
“I waited there for an hour and a half—an hour and a half! You rich people think you’re so special?”
“And I still treated you as a good sister!”

Tang Tang’s eyes twitched. “If nothing went wrong, then something must have!”

Scrolling through more than ten messages, she finally saw a message from Su Hongdou:

“Got the certificate. Everything went smoothly. Mr. Shen was quite cooperative!”

“What? Xiao Shen didn’t meet Su Hongdou, but she already got the certificate?”

Tang Tang immediately called Su Hongdou in a panic:

“You got the certificate?”

“Yeah!” Su Hongdou’s tone was relaxed.

“With whom?”

“Mr. Shen, of course.”

“Which Mr. Shen? Describe him!”

“About 183 cm, wearing a shirt, very handsome.”

Tang Tang froze. He’s supposed to be your friend!

Sweating nervously, she said, “Su Hongdou, check the name on the marriage certificate!”

“His name is quite interesting; I remember it clearly,” Su Hongdou said.

“Shen Baizhou.”

A silence fell. Five seconds later, Tang Tang screamed across the company:

“Ahhhhhh~~~”

Tang Tang grabbed her hair. “You married the wrong person! My friend is Shen Dali! You’ve been tricked!”

After six seconds, Su Hongdou replied matter-of-factly:

“Well, I can’t say he tricked me. I was the one who dragged him to the Civil Affairs Bureau…”

“…He refused once, but I added 150,000 yuan and got him to go through with it!”

“You added money?”

“I was in a hurry to finish and return to school…”

“Show me the photo on the certificate, quickly!” Tang Tang shouted.

After hanging up, Tang Tang saw the photo and was instantly despairing.

“Su Hongdou, where did you see that this handsome, sharp-featured guy was gay?”

“Well, he does look delicate…”

“Divorce immediately. Go tomorrow!”

“No need, right? It’s just marriage, whoever it is…”

“You don’t get it! He’s a normal man—he’ll fall in love with you eventually…”

Tang Tang panicked. “Reality isn’t some anime world! If you wait, it’ll be too late to divorce!”

Su Hongdou was so extreme. To strangers, she seemed like an ice queen with ‘keep out’ written on her face. But once you got to know her, she was just a naturally ditzy girl…a really dramatic ditzy girl.

And all of this traced back to her father…

Since childhood, Su Hongdou had always been surrounded by a squad of black-clad bodyguards, whether going to school or coming home. Even in the library, these men formed a barricade around her. From kindergarten to high school, she grew taller, the number of bodyguards increased, but her only friend remained Tang Tang.

It wasn’t her fault—how could a child, constantly treated like royalty under siege, make friends?

By the time her father realized this was problematic, Su Hongdou had grown into a stunning, natural ditzy beauty. She didn’t know how to interact with others, let alone understand romance. And she was nicknamed “the most impossible-to-win school beauty in the history of the Capital Film Academy,” leaving guys clueless.

With graduation approaching and zero dating experience, her father panicked. The man went from extreme protection to extreme exposure—he withdrew all the bodyguards and set up a string of blind dates.

This chain of blind dates drove Su Hongdou insane. In defiance, she opted for a fake marriage, hoping to enjoy a few peaceful days…only for things to go comically wrong.

Tang Tang felt she had to explain:

“Su Daidai, do you know how a normal man reacts to you? You have no concept of how beautiful you are! Your understanding of men is still like my 12-year-old self!”

“Su Daidai, listen. No matter how calm Shen Baizhou seems, his only thought around you is—finding a chance to be close to you. He will try to meet you!”

“That’s true,” Su Hongdou said. “He just called.”

“What? Already?”

“Nope.”

“He said he wants to stay at my house.”

Tang Tang nearly fainted. “What?! You let him come? Your dad withdrew the bodyguards! What if he makes a move?”

Su Hongdou paused, clearly shocked, then her voice brightened with excitement:

“Tang Tang, you mean…after years of practicing Taekwondo, I finally have a chance to show off?”

“No…Su Hongdou, shake your head! Listen to the water outside! Stop being so dramatic! Your Taekwondo skills are nothing compared to him!”

“Nothing?” Su Hongdou pouted. “Just wait and see how I handle him tonight—if this Shen Baizhou is really a pervert, the hospital ER will have a busy night!”

Inside the Villa Complex

Shen Baizhou, stepping into the luxurious complex, opened a question on Zhihu: “What should I pay attention to when dealing with rich people?”

He had to take this seriously—Su Hongdou was now his biggest patron, and he was hoping to earn 350,000 yuan from her.

Having never interacted with true wealthy people, Shen Baizhou nervously carried two suitcases and a box of 78-yuan chocolate, staring at the glass-walled suspended pool outside her villa.

Ding! A reply on Zhihu:

“Thanks for asking. The key is to understand the hidden meaning behind rich people’s words. If they say, ‘Xiao Zhang, I appreciate your steady driving,’ what they really mean is, ‘Drive faster, I’m in a hurry!’ Rich people always speak indirectly, so read carefully.”

Shen Baizhou nodded. Don’t just hear the words, grasp the intent.

Finally, he nervously pressed the golden doorbell.

“Mr. Shen?” came Su Hongdou’s voice from the intercom.

“Yes.” Shen Baizhou replied, nervous.

“Wait a moment.”

Ten seconds later, the door opened. In the soft light of the porch, Su Hongdou stood in a snow-white Taekwondo uniform, arms crossed confidently, eyes glinting:

“Here? I’ve been waiting a long time.”

Something felt off to Shen Baizhou. Was it her martial arts outfit? Her clenched fists? Or the eager look in her eyes? A breeze blew past him, and suddenly he felt a chill.

“Miss Su…were you practicing at home just now?” he asked, noticing the tiny beads of sweat on her forehead.

“I don’t need to practice,” Su Hongdou said proudly, lifting her elegantly arched brows. “Martial arts are already in my blood…”