Chapter 46: Laugh If You Want To

“Is that so?” Tan Qingya’s eyes sparkled. “So this is your way of affirming me?”

Zhou Jianghao froze at those words.

They had already arrived at Chen Chen’s home. Tan Qingya parked the car and turned her head, only to see Zhou Jianghao lost in a daze. Thinking she hadn’t quite understood, Tan Qingya was about to explain when Zhou Jianghao suddenly shifted her gaze outside.

Tan Qingya followed her line of sight and saw Chen Chen helping her delicate little wife emerge from the house. She smiled. “Let’s head down.”

“Okay.”

Without getting an answer, Zhou Jianghao felt a twinge of disappointment, but this clearly wasn’t the moment for that. She could only follow Tan Qingya out of the car.

Chen Chen’s wife was named Tang Tiantian, and true to the sweet sound of her name, she was a woman with an adorably charming face, a soft and coquettish voice, and eyes that curved into crescents when she smiled—utterly endearing.

But her foot was swollen up high.

Tang Tiantian had a bright and outgoing personality. Before Zhou Jianghao or the others could even ask, she took the initiative while Chen Chen went to brew tea. “It’s all my fault for being so reckless. I forgot I was wearing high heels. When I spotted my favorite celebrity, I just took off running, hoping to snag a photo or autograph.”

As she spoke, she pointed to her foot. “And then it ended up like this. Didn’t even catch a glimpse of the idol, no photo or signature, just got myself a swollen pig’s hoof instead. And my Old Chen chewed me out for it.”

With a sidelong glance catching Chen Chen approaching, she promptly shut her mouth, looking every bit the picture of demure quiet.

Zhou Jianghao sneaked a peek at Chen Chen, struggling to imagine what she must look like when scolding someone. After all, in her impression, this assistant always had such a good temper.

And with Tang Tiantian’s face being so sweetly beautiful, could Chen Chen even bring herself to scold her?

Tan Qingya took the tea Chen Chen offered and set it casually on the table. She glanced at Zhou Jianghao, only to find her staring blankly at Chen Chen. Tan Qingya’s gaze darkened slightly.

Without hesitation, she reached out and clasped Zhou Jianghao’s hand. As Zhou Jianghao looked over in surprise, she said quite naturally, “Assistant Chen, how can you be so fierce to your own wife?”

Chen Chen blinked. “Hm?”

“A wife is meant to be cherished, not cursed out like you did.”

She put special emphasis on those last four words.

This time, Chen Chen finally got it. Her expression remained impassive as she turned to her wife, catching the guilty flicker in those evasive eyes. She couldn’t help but huff a laugh in exasperation.

Who was the one who’d been cursed out by their wife?

Who had teared up from the pain, yet still clutched at her collar to complain that she was a workaholic demon who never had time for her wife, leaving her to go out alone and get hurt?

Unfortunately, one’s own wife was to be spoiled. Chen Chen could only swallow her grievance with teary eyes.

Tan Qingya had no interest in the truth of the matter. She squeezed Zhou Jianghao’s fingers, feigning casualness. “If you got hurt, I’d be heartbroken—how could I bear to scold you?”

Chen Chen, still straight-faced, placed a cup of tea in front of Zhou Jianghao. “Miss Zhou, this tea is excellent, fragrant and full-bodied. Give it a try.”

“Thank you.”

Zhou Jianghao nodded and glanced at Tan Qingya, words hovering on her lips but unsaid. The last time her foot had been injured, Tan Qingya hadn’t scolded her outright, but her expression had been far from pleasant.

Especially when she learned Zhou Jianghao had forgotten to apply medicine—her face had soured into something downright intimidating.

But…

Zhou Jianghao glanced at Chen Chen again. In front of her subordinate, she ought to give Tan Qingya a bit of face, right?

The four of them sat there in silence for a moment, the atmosphere turning awkwardly tense. Tang Tiantian broke the ice. “Miss Zhou, you look so young. What do you do for work?”

“I’m a dentist.”

The words had barely left her mouth when Zhou Jianghao pursed her lips, realizing it was a dead-end topic. She was about to elaborate when Tang Tiantian exclaimed in delight:

“A dentist?!”

“Uh?” Zhou Jianghao had no idea why she was so excited.

“Oh my gosh, I’m a writer, and my new protagonist happens to be a dentist! You…”

Tang Tiantian was a natural chatterbox, her words flowing like a stream, spinning the conversation into a lively web of topics.

Tan Qingya leaned back on the sofa, quietly watching Zhou Jianghao. The other woman clearly wasn’t used to someone so warmly talkative and was clumsily trying to keep up with Tang Tiantian’s enthusiasm.

A spark of rare vitality lit up her usually emotionless face.

Watching Zhou Jianghao like this, Tan Qingya pondered. Perhaps she should let her interact with more people.

They hadn’t arrived too late—originally, Tan Qingya had planned to drop off the gifts, offer some consolation, and leave. But she hadn’t expected Tang Tiantian and Zhou Jianghao to hit it off so well.

Time slipped by unhurriedly until it neared dinnertime. Glancing at the oblivious Zhou Jianghao, Tan Qingya—who never ate at others’ homes—made a rare exception. She shot Chen Chen a look and followed her into the kitchen.

Compared to her own, Chen Chen’s kitchen felt cramped.

Chen Chen said politely, “President Tan, please wait outside. I can handle it myself.”

As she spoke, her gaze inadvertently flicked to the back of Tan Qingya’s head. That fluffy pink pig head was impossible to ignore.

Heaven knew how much self-control it had taken for her and her wife to keep from bursting into laughter in front of Tan Qingya.

Tan Qingya shot her a cold glare. “Laugh if you want to.”

Chen Chen’s lips twitched, but she didn’t dare laugh outright. She only replied, “If my mom were here, she’d definitely whip out her phone to snap a commemorative photo.”

Tan Qingya gave her a silent look.

Chen Chen: “…”

It seemed her mom had already done exactly that.

In the living room, Tang Tiantian was still curiously pressing. “So, how did you and President Tan meet?”

The question stumped Zhou Jianghao.

Did she mean their childhood first encounter, or the meeting at the storage room door after Tan Qingya returned to the country?

“Huh?” Seeing her silence, Tang Tiantian widened her eyes slightly. “Is that a hard question to answer?”

“No.” Zhou Jianghao snapped back. “Little Hao and I… Sis…”

She paused awkwardly there.

In front of outsiders, she felt too embarrassed to use that term of address, so she quickly corrected herself. “President Tan and I knew each other as kids. Hasn’t Assistant Chen told you about me?”

“She never talks about work stuff with me.”

Tang Tiantian shrugged.

Then she looked at Zhou Jianghao with envy. “I’m so jealous of you two—childhood sweethearts, meeting so young.”

Childhood sweethearts?

Her relationship with Tan Qingya had nothing to do with that phrase.

After all, before their marriage, Tan Qingya had been the moon in the sky, while she was just an ordinary mortal.

Feeling a bit guilty, she changed the subject. “I’m the one who’s envious of you. I heard you and Assistant Chen dated for seven years—from school uniforms to wedding dresses, with such a solid relationship.”

“Psh!” Tang Tiantian waved it off. “What solid relationship? We’ve broken up a bunch of times, had big fights and little ones, split and gotten back together more than once. In the end, we figured we’d wasted so much time already—if we really split for good, it’d be such a loss. So we just decided to make do and stick it out.”

“Huh?”

Zhou Jianghao was utterly stunned.

This was nothing like what she’d imagined.

“Is that weird? Couples argue all the time!” Tang Tiantian looked at her, eyes widening a bit. “You and President Tan have never fought or broken up?”

Of course not. Theirs was just a contractual marriage.

More like a transaction than a real union.

Because of Tang Tiantian’s words, Zhou Jianghao spent the next few days distracted and out of sorts.

Those words had awakened her like a splash of cold water.

Her marriage to Tan Qingya wasn’t a normal union to begin with. No matter how much she learned, it would only be a poor imitation, never capturing the essence.

So what was the point of her studying it?

Zhou Jianghao instantly lost all motivation.

Time flew by to Tuesday, the day of Zhou Qiu’s surgery. This time, Zhou Jianghao went to the hospital with Tan Qingya. They arrived early, before the procedure was scheduled.

“You two look so pleasing standing together.” Zhou Qiu’s face nearly split with a grin, completely forgetting her pre-surgery nerves.

Zhou Jianghao stayed silent, offering no response.

Tan Qingya spoke up instead, her tone gentle and soothing—unclear if she was comforting Zhou Qiu or Zhou Jianghao. “The lead surgeon has performed many similar operations; she’s very experienced. For her, this is just a minor procedure.”

“That’s great, that’s great. I can rest easy with you handling it. We must’ve burned some serious incense in our ancestors’ graves for Little Hao to snag a catch like you!” Zhou Qiu laughed in agreement, the flattery on her face hard to miss.

Zhou Jianghao pressed her lips tight, a strange sense of embarrassment washing over her.

“That’s not right.” Hearing the belittling undertone toward Zhou Jianghao, Tan Qingya’s expression cooled. “Marrying her is my honor—I’m the one reaching above my station. Don’t let me hear you say anything disparaging about Zhou Jianghao again.”

Zhou Jianghao froze.

She’d heard words like that often as a child. Whenever guests came over or Zhou Qiu took her visiting, the adults would chat about their kids.

And every time, she’d hear Zhou Qiu listing her flaws to the others: too dull, weird temper, not the warm little jacket other kids were…

Plenty of people criticized her, but only Tan Qingya ever stood up for her.

“Fine, fine, I won’t say it if you don’t like hearing it.” Zhou Qiu recovered from her awkwardness, her smile even wider. “Seeing you two so loving and close puts my mind at ease.”

Zhou Jianghao finally found her voice, replying coolly, “Mm.”

Fortunately, the nurse arrived then to prepare for the surgery. Zhou Qiu finally tensed up, her face paling as she assumed the look of a proper patient.

The surgery took quite a while. Tan Qingya glanced at Zhou Jianghao sitting on the bench, a complicated feeling stirring in her heart.

She looked just like a pitiful little dog. Tan Qingya really wanted to pet her.

Unable to resist, Tan Qingya reached out and pulled her into an embrace, gripping her shoulder. “No need to worry.”

These past few days, Zhou Jianghao had seemed rather absent-minded and listless, looking quite pitiful.

“I’m not worried,” Zhou Jianghao shook her head. “You said the success rate is very high.”

Besides, her feelings for Zhou Qiu weren’t that deep.

“No worries?” Tan Qingya frowned more tightly this time. “Then why have you been so unhappy lately?”

Zhou Jianghao instinctively pursed her lips.

Seeing this, Tan Qingya reached out and pressed her fingertip against those full lips, gently pushing down. She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t try to dodge the question. Our goal is to become a Model Couple—we can’t keep little secrets from each other.”

It was only in hindsight that Tan Qingya realized Zhou Jianghao’s mood had been lower than usual these past few days. At first, she had assumed it was worry over Zhou Qiu, but now that Zhou Jianghao had denied it, there had to be something else weighing on her mind.

The young woman wasn’t even that old, yet she carried so many troubles. It was always so difficult to see any brightness light up that pretty face of hers.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Jianghao finally spoke the truth. “But we’re not even a normal couple.”

If they weren’t even a normal couple, how could they possibly qualify as a Model Couple?

Tan Qingya was stunned.

Recalling Zhou Jianghao’s odd behavior over this period, it had already been strange enough that she had volunteered to go to Chen Chen’s house…