Chapter 8

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed, and half the honeymoon was over. Jiang Yehui was so happy and relaxed she almost didn’t want to leave.

During this time, her mother-in-law had called once, but Jiang Yehui handled it casually.

Although Gu Jingcheng had briefly appeared backstage at the Golden Deer Awards last night, the media hadn’t reported it. Jiang Yehui guessed that Mingji had made some quiet arrangements, so the Gu Madam had no idea her son had already returned to Beigang.

Today was yet another hay day.

After rowing in the morning, she scrolled through her phone, picked out a few scenic photos, and shared them in the Gu family group chat. Then, thinking a bit more, she added a selfie from the boat. Someone in the group had asked yesterday why she wasn’t sharing any travel pics.

No sooner had she hit send than the relatives flooded in to praise her:

“Mastí really is beautiful. Makes me want a vacation too.”

“Xiaoye is not only beautiful but also so talented—your photos have such taste!”

“I heard Xiaoye sis-in-law studied photography—this really shows! These shots look like scenes from a movie!”

…

Jiang Yehui broke into a sweat. These were just casually snapped phone photos. Sure, she’d considered the composition and lighting, but they couldn’t compare to anything taken on a professional camera—much less look like film stills.

After a round of praise, a discordant voice piped up:

“Xiaoye, where are the couple photos? Didn’t Jingcheng go rowing with you?”

Of course—it was that same cousin-in-law again! She was the one who had pressed her yesterday to post pictures. Now it seemed like she was deliberately picking on her.

Jiang Yehui reacted quickly and sent a voice message:

“I looked through them just now and couldn’t find a single decent couple photo. Jingcheng is all fair-skinned and pretty—standing next to him, I instantly drop from a 90 to a 70. No way I’m posting that and letting you all laugh at me!”

“Xiaoye-jie, you’re being too modest. If you’re a 70, we’re not even passing!” chimed in a younger cousin.

“Exactly! If Jingcheng sees you calling him pretty and fair-skinned, he’ll get mad!”

Immediately, everyone jumped in with jokes and banter.

Normally, no one would dare use words like “pretty and fair-skinned” to describe Gu Jingcheng—many of them had witnessed his cold, decisive side firsthand. He had always kept his distance, and some of the people in this group had even tried to step on him when he hadn’t yet risen to power. Now, they didn’t even dare get near him.

But now, with someone like Jiang Yehui—warm, easy-going, and friendly—everyone was eager to use her as a bridge to get closer to him.

Thus, the group became a lively, harmonious scene centered around Jiang Yehui.

Having grown up in her mother’s big extended family, Jiang Yehui was more than used to this kind of social dynamic. She quietly let out a breath—looked like the couple photo issue was handled, for now.

That afternoon, after lunch and a nap, she got ready to go diving.

Jiang Yehui had a diving certificate and was quite skilled at it. After changing into her wetsuit, she began warming up. The male instructor, also in a matching wetsuit, was diligently explaining safety precautions to her.

She suddenly realized the instructor’s build was actually a bit similar to Gu Jingcheng’s.

A lightbulb went off in her mind—she had Jiang Yue bring over her phone, carefully adjusted the angle, and said into the camera: “Jingcheng and I are going into the water in a bit!”

The camera happened to catch a quick flash of the instructor, but not his face.

She sent the video out. As expected, everyone assumed that man was Gu Jingcheng. With “Gu Jingcheng” appearing, the group chat exploded with excitement.

Even her mother-in-law sent a voice message:

“Jingcheng’s always so busy with work. Since he’s got a long break, you two should enjoy yourselves and stay a few more days.”

After another round of rainbow praise, the same jarring voice popped up again:

“Huh? That’s Jingcheng? Why isn’t his face shown? A friend of mine said they saw him at an entertainment industry party last night—he was with a female celebrity. It takes more than 20 hours to fly from Beigang to Mastí. That guy in the video isn’t Jingcheng, is he?”

Jiang Yehui was feeling rather annoyed—was this cousin-in-law not done yet? Did she have a personal grudge against her or with Gu Jingcheng? Why did she keep chasing the matter so relentlessly?

“Sis-in-law, your friend must’ve mistaken someone else! If it was really Brother Jingcheng, the news would’ve been out already,” said the younger daughter from the uncle’s side, the first to speak up in her defense.

Others quickly chimed in: “Every time something happens with Jingcheng, the media rushes out to ride the wave. I didn’t see any reports about him today.”

“That’s simple—everyone knows how capable Jingcheng is. If he wants to suppress a piece of news, it’s nothing for him!”

The cousin-in-law continued with her sarcastic tone.

“Didn’t Xiaoye just post a video of Jingcheng? Like we wouldn’t recognize him! So many celebrities get plastic surgery these days, maybe someone even had work done to look like him. Your friend definitely got it wrong.”

“Exactly. Those male and female celebrities from that one country all look like they came from the same mold—they’re almost indistinguishable at a glance.”

“As the older sister-in-law, I’m just concerned for the couple. Whether Jingcheng is really honeymooning at Mastí or off enjoying himself elsewhere, Xiaoye knows best.”

…

Jiang Yehui quietly watched, saying nothing and letting them argue it out.

Just then, the younger cousin privately messaged her:

“Xiaoye-jie, don’t mind her. She’s just waiting for something to go wrong for you!”

Jiang Yehui replied, puzzled:

“Why? I haven’t offended her.”
She hadn’t even seemed to show much respect to her mother-in-law either.

“You didn’t know? Her father-in-law is Second Uncle. He still has a few years before he gets out. First Aunt is kind-hearted and forgiving—she’s always been generous toward their family.”

First Aunt, of course, was Madam Gu.

So that’s what it was.

Jiang Yehui understood now. If Gu Jingcheng hadn’t managed to take back control of the company years ago, this very cousin-in-law would probably be the one being praised and flattered in the Gu family chat right now—instead of Jiang Yehui.

No wonder she held so much resentment.

Even though Second Uncle had already been jailed, his family had become even more shameless. Though they were the ones in the wrong, they now played the victim card. Madam Gu tolerated them mostly because she didn’t want her son to be labeled as ruthless or merciless, nor did she want other Gu family members or outsiders to turn against him.

Jiang Yehui couldn’t be bothered anymore and went off to dive.

By the time she finished and climbed back on the boat to rest, she picked up her phone and saw the Gu family chat had over 200 unread messages.

What happened now?

She opened WeChat—and was stunned.

Two photos had caused a massive reaction. This time, they truly did look like something straight out of a professional magazine shoot.

The female lead: her.
The male lead: Gu Jingcheng.

And the one who posted the photos? Gu Jingcheng himself, who had never once spoken in the group but always had a strong presence.

The first photo.

Under the warm sunlight, her long hair flew in the breeze as she stood at the edge of the white sandy beach in a dark green spaghetti-strap dress, slim and graceful. Her oversized black sunglasses couldn’t hide the wide smile on her face. On her feet were a pair of blinding neon green flip-flops—bought for 29 yuan at Walmart.

And next to her stood Gu Jingcheng: white crew-neck T-shirt, green-toned printed beach shorts, and—shockingly—the same exact neon green flip-flops.

Their shoulders touched, she seemed to be leaning into his chest, and he had a faint smile on his lips. The whole picture radiated the sweet glow of newlyweds in love.

The second photo.

On a narrow lake-blue boat, Gu Jingcheng sat paddling at one end, only his broad, steady back visible. At the other end sat her, gazing at him with a soft smile, looking peaceful and content.

Looking at that image, a phrase came to Jiang Yehui’s mind:
“It takes a hundred lifetimes to ride the same boat; a thousand to share the same pillow.”

She had to admit—the editor was incredible. Gu Jingcheng looked like he had always been there in the frame. Even she, the person in the photo, couldn’t tell it had been faked.

But the truth?

That beach photo had been taken by Jiang Yue in the morning—standing next to her at the time had been Jiang Ru.

And the boating photo? She had posted a selfie of just herself and a part of the boat earlier that morning in the group. The person sitting opposite her was a local boatman, with whom she had been chatting.

These two photos—once posted—immediately silenced all doubts.

“Brother Jingcheng, did you hire a professional photographer to follow you two? These are stunning!” asked the cousin.

Gu Jingcheng actually replied:

“Mm, Xu Qingwei. I’ll introduce him to you when you shoot your wedding photos.”

“Really? Amazing! I contacted his studio before, and they said I’d have to wait until next year! Thank you, Brother Jingcheng!”

Xu Qingwei was a renowned photographer—many famous movie stills were shot by him. He rarely agreed to shoot wedding photos for anyone.

But he had personally shot Gu Jingcheng and Jiang Yehui’s wedding photos. For Gu Jingcheng, he made an exception.

The cousin was thrilled—if Gu Jingcheng said he’d introduce him, it was practically guaranteed. Being able to boast Xu Qingwei’s work to her future husband’s side gave her a lot of face.

The rest of the Gu family couldn’t help but be envious. Since Gu Jingcheng rarely “descended from the heavens,” everyone jumped at the chance to curry favor.

And thus began a wave of poetic praise—people competing to outdo one another with flattery like “a match made in heaven” and “a talented man and beautiful woman.” Over a hundred messages followed, all in the same theme.

As for that cousin-in-law from Second Uncle’s family?
Totally shut down—didn’t say another word.

After roughly browsing through the group chat, Jiang Yehui glanced at Jiang Yue, who had just poured her some tea. She raised her phone and asked:

“Did you send these photos to Mr. Gu?”

Jiang Yue looked closely, then, despite a flicker of guilt, met her eyes and answered truthfully:

“Before we left… Assistant Jin asked me to take a few of Madam’s travel photos. But my skills aren’t that good. The actual effect is nothing like this.”

Jiang Yehui nodded.

It was obvious.

Jiang Yue had taken the photos and sent them to Jin Jining, who then had someone edit them and insert Gu Jingcheng. Jiang Yue, Jin Jining, the editor—they were all just executors of the plan.

The one who gave the final command, who controlled everything even from across the ocean, was still Gu Jingcheng.

Jiang Yehui couldn’t help but admire inwardly—these two photos were truly stunning. She absolutely had to save them.

Thinking further, the photo-editing wasn’t even the hardest part. What was really difficult was that Gu Jingcheng actually had to match her outfit, change clothes accordingly, and pose in a suitable position.

She stared at Gu Jingcheng’s back in the rowing photo, imagined the scene, and suddenly burst into laughter.

This man was ruthless to his enemies, but just as merciless to himself. How did he manage to force himself into those green floral beach shorts and those hideously ugly neon flip-flops—and then strike a rowing pose?

Hahahaha! What a lunatic!!!