I'm Done with the Elite Marriage - Chapter 89
In the end, Huo Lianghan asked Zhou Youling, “What do you think about this?”
Zhou Youling shook her head and said, “I don’t know either.”
Her feelings were very complicated.
In the end, Mu Yexin still left with her biological mom Wang Shaomei. Now the old lady was alone, and there was no need to worry that Mu Yexin would be left uncared for.
But Zhou Youling felt as if something was blocking her heart, making her feel uncomfortable.
Huo Lianghan said to Zhou Youling, “Let’s hope this turns out to be a good thing.”
Zhou Youling sighed and said, “Let’s hope so.”
Mu Yexin had lived with the old lady for more than ten years, and now a biological mother suddenly appeared, making it hard for her to accept. At first, Mu Yexin really resisted Wang Shaomei, but after learning that Wang Shaomei was innocent too, Mu Yexin’s resistance gradually faded.
Perhaps it was the bond of blood; Mu Yexin and Wang Shaomei, this mother and daughter, were destined to meet.
With the old lady’s insistence, Mu Yexin finally acknowledged Wang Shaomei.
When they got home, it was already late at night.
When Zhou Youling walked to the elevator, she subconsciously looked around, but didn’t see anyone else.
Today the elevator was back to normal, and Fu Xunzhou didn’t appear again.
Yet Zhou Youling felt as if something was missing.
Riding the elevator again, Zhou Youling couldn’t help but recall the bits and pieces that had happened between her and Fu Xunzhou in the past two days. Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but want to laugh, wondering what kind of situation this was.
Just as she was thinking, the elevator stopped at the 17th floor.
Zhou Youling instinctively looked up and saw Fu Xunzhou standing outside the elevator.
“You’re back,” Fu Xunzhou said calmly.
Zhou Youling looked at him in confusion and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you standing here?”
“Waiting for you,” Fu Xunzhou said.
Zhou Youling looked utterly incredulous. “You’re waiting for me here?”
Fu Xunzhou nodded. “Go upstairs and rest early.”
Zhou Youling felt complicated. When the elevator door was about to close, she reached out and pressed the open button.
The elevator doors opened again, and Fu Xunzhou was still standing in the same spot.
“Why are you waiting for me?” Zhou Youling asked.
Fu Xunzhou simply stepped into the elevator.
Zhou Youling instinctively took a step back.
Fu Xunzhou said, “It’s eleven o’clock. I was a bit worried.”
The elevator started and slowly ascended.
There was only one floor between the 17th and 18th, and soon the elevator doors opened again.
Zhou Youling didn’t know how to respond, so she simply took the chance to dash out as soon as the elevator doors opened.
In those few seconds together, Zhou Youling felt uncomfortable from head to toe, even down to every pore.
Zhou Youling only felt that Fu Xunzhou was invading her life in a very “underhanded” way, making it impossible for her to shake him off.
She quickly ran home, feeling exhausted, and collapsed on the sofa in a daze.
Everything that happened today left Zhou Youling a bit confused; she didn’t know if she was really doing a so-called good deed.
Rong Huiying brought over a cup of sugar water, handed it to Zhou Youling, and gently rubbed her daughter’s shoulder. “You don’t look very happy.”
Zhou Youling took the sugar water, tasted it, and said, “Mom, we helped Mu Yexin find her biological mother and they’ve acknowledged each other.”
Rong Huiying said, “That’s a good thing.”
Zhou Youling said, “But the old lady looks so pitiful. Mu Yexin, who accompanied her for more than ten years, has left now. She must be even lonelier.”
Rong Huiying sighed softly and said, “The old lady is a good person.”
Full of emotion, Zhou Youling could only nod in the end.
“Is Mumu asleep?” Zhou Youling asked.
Rong Huiying said, “He just fell asleep not long ago, don’t go disturb him yet.”
Zhou Youling looked innocent. “Oh.”
After finishing the sugar water, Rong Huiying took the bowl. When she turned back, she saw Zhou Youling already asleep on the sofa.
Seeing her daughter’s tired face, Rong Huiying felt a pang of heartache.
After a while, Zhou Zhishan came out of the bedroom and saw his wife Rong Huiying staring at their daughter’s sleeping face. Curious, he asked, “What are you looking at? Don’t recognize her anymore?”
Rong Huiying shook her head and said, “My daughter is so beautiful.”
Zhou Zhishan: “???”
Then Rong Huiying sighed again and said, “My daughter is so beautiful, why does she have to work so hard?”
Zhou Zhishan was puzzled. “What are you talking about now?”
Rong Huiying said, “I mean, a lot of pretty women can just cling to men and easily make it big. Why does my young and beautiful daughter have to suffer and toil?”
Zhou Zhishan clicked his tongue, looking disapproving. “That’s not the right way to think. Our daughter has her own ideals and pursuits, that’s a good thing.”
Rong Huiying: “Hey, you totally didn’t get what I meant! I’m not saying our daughter is bad, I just don’t want to see her work so hard, okay?”
These days, Rong Huiying had been idly browsing entertainment news online. They said a popular female celebrity easily climbed to the top by latching onto a big shot just because she grew up pretty, and her career was smooth sailing. Aside from being good-looking, this popular female celebrity was basically useless–her acting was poor, she was perfunctory on variety shows, yet she had endless resources.
At that time, when Rong Huiying saw that popular female celebrity, she couldn’t help but think of her own daughter, Zhou Youling. To be honest, she really felt her daughter was much prettier than that celebrity.
Zhou Zhishan said, “Hard work is normal. Nothing in this world comes easy.”
Rong Huiying rolled her eyes at Zhou Zhishan and said, “Talking to you is just a waste of words!”
Zhou Zhishan looked innocent. “Hey, what did I say wrong?”
Early in the morning, Huo Lianghan called Zhou Youling to tell her that the online vote had decided how to handle the charity funds.
Huo Lianghan would keep a clear record of every use of the charity funds, striving for fairness and transparency, not taking a single cent for himself.
Now, Huo Lianghan seemed to carry a kind of mission on his shoulders; he had to live up to his conscience.
Huo Lianghan had never thought of pocketing any charity money, and he intended to stick to this original intention.
But people fear the road is too long and they lose their way.
These past two days, every time Huo Lianghan saw that sum of money in his account, he couldn’t help but think more. If he had that much money, what would he do with it?
After having this thought, Huo Lianghan was startled himself. He was afraid that one day he would lose his way and never find his way back.
Perhaps, for all charity organizations, their original intentions are good, but as time goes by, there will always be some who stray down the wrong path.
It wasn’t hard for “Gourmet Chronicles” on Weibo to make money; Huo Lianghan could earn income by accepting some ads and so on. But with such a large sum of charity funds in front of him, it was hard not to waver.
In the end, Huo Lianghan simply put all the remaining charity funds online. He made just one webpage, making every expense public and transparent, even traceable to the source.
Later, Huo Lianghan also informed all netizens through “Gourmet Chronicles” on Weibo, welcoming supervision from all organizations and units.
After the first filming was a success, with the other party’s consent, Huo Lianghan also told the public online about Mu Yexin later recognizing her biological mother.
After the news was released, public opinion once again reached a peak–something Huo Lianghan had never expected.
Netizens’ opinions were divided: on one hand, some thought “Gourmet Chronicles” was taking the opportunity to gain traffic; on the other, some felt what “Gourmet Chronicles” was doing was very commendable.
There are always many voices from the outside, but what Huo Lianghan understood was how important it is to have a clear conscience.
After that, Huo Lianghan filmed a few more episodes with Zhou Youling, and the results were still very good. Every time a video went online, it always sparked widespread discussion among netizens.
For a while, Zhou Youling’s Weibo was flooded with a large number of fans, and “Gourmet Chronicles” also became the top-ranked food blogger.
For Zhou Youling, filming such food programs was truly meaningful to her. She hoped to help others and wanted more people to notice those living in the corners of the city, but her own strength was insignificant, so she wanted all netizens to pay attention to the people around them.
After the third episode aired, netizens also dug up some of Zhou Youling’s background and learned that she was the Boss Lady of Food and Color, which surprised many people.
[Forgive me for just finding out today that Boss Zhou is actually the Boss Lady of Food and Color?]
[So it was that famous Food and Color? I spent five hours in line last time, can you believe it?]
[I found out about this half a year ago.]
[I’m a fan of Xu Jiaze, so I discovered this gem early on. You guys are just too late…]
Speaking of Xu Jiaze, he also reposted the third episode of “Gourmet Chronicles.”
Nowadays, Xu Jiaze is practically synonymous with top-tier popularity in the country. He’s a singer, and now he’s starred in a hit web drama, making him the center of attention.
Some observant netizens noticed that this wasn’t the first time Xu Jiaze had reposted a “Gourmet Chronicles” video; the first time was when he had just debuted.
Some netizens began to carefully explain and dug up some of the connections between Xu Jiaze and Zhou Youling before his debut.
As Xu Jiaze’s fans, they actually had a very good impression of Zhou Youling. Because in a way, Zhou Youling was Xu Jiaze’s benefactor, and even more so, the benefactor of Yijiaren. Plus, during a stampede incident, it was Zhou Youling who spoke out on Weibo, which helped calm public opinion a bit.
Being connected to such a top-tier celebrity always makes people nervous.
Although Zhou Youling used to treat Xu Jiaze as a Younger Brother, now she no longer felt Xu Jiaze was the same as before. This psychological change wasn’t because she thought Xu Jiaze was bad–on the contrary, it was because he was so good that Zhou Youling felt cautious.
In B City’s Food and Color restaurant, the gossiping waiters became extremely curious online after learning that Zhou Youling and Xu Jiaze actually had another layer of connection.
These waiters were all quite young, with the youngest just graduating from high school, right at the age for idol-chasing.
Among them, there was a waiter who was an especially loyal fan of Xu Jiaze. After learning that Zhou Youling had helped Xu Jiaze in the past, the way he looked at Zhou Youling seemed to be shining with a golden light.
There were always a few mischievous ones who, when things weren’t busy, boldly went up to Zhou Youling and asked, “Boss Zhou, why don’t you tell us something about you and Xu Jiaze?”
Zhou Youling laughed and said, “There’s nothing to tell. Can’t you guys be a little less nosy?”
The waiter said, “We’re just too curious!”
Zhou Youling said, “If you’re curious, go look online. What the netizens say is pretty much spot on.”
Waiter: “Wow! Did you really discover Xu Jiaze back then? I heard that if you hadn’t let Xu Jiaze sing at the bar, he wouldn’t have been discovered by a talent scout. If he hadn’t been discovered, he couldn’t have joined the show, and if he hadn’t joined the show, he wouldn’t have achieved what he has today. So, Xu Jiaze owes everything he has now to you!”
Zhou Youling: “?? What are you talking about? That’s way too exaggerated.”
Waiter: “That’s what they say online.”
Zhou Youling: “Then everything online is fake.”
Waiter: “Boss, you were the one who just told us to look online.”
Zhou Youling put her hands on her hips: “Are you all not busy enough? All of you, go clean up!”
Speak of the devil, and he appears.
That afternoon, Xu Jiaze showed up at Zhou Youling’s Food and Color restaurant in B City.
Seeing Xu Jiaze again, what surprised Zhou Youling was that he was different from what she had imagined.
Zhou Youling had thought that Xu Jiaze’s status was different now, so his personality must have changed too, becoming harder to approach. But after interacting with him, Zhou Youling felt that Xu Jiaze was still the same Xu Jiaze as before, not changed at all.
Xu Jiaze was still a bit shy, but still sincere.
This time, Xu Jiaze came in disguise, and it wasn’t until he entered the private room that a waiter recognized his “true identity.”
Along with Xu Jiaze was his agent, Yu Wenwei.
Yu Wenwei personally found Zhou Youling, brought her to the private room, and said to her, “I’ve been following that charity food video you participated in. You did a great job.”
Being praised, Zhou Youling was naturally happy.
Yu Wenwei said to Zhou Youling, “I wonder if you’re interested in joining us for a food program. This program will be broadcast.”
Zhou Youling was a little surprised: “Why me?”
Yu Wenwei shrugged and said, “I can’t seem to find anyone more suitable than you. Look, you cook well, you look good on camera, you’re almost the perfect choice.”
But Zhou Youling refused: “I’m actually not very interested in being on TV shows…”
Yu Wenwei: “Won’t you reconsider? You haven’t even heard what kind of show it is yet.”
Zhou Youling shook her head: “No matter what kind of show it is, right now I just want to run this restaurant well. I don’t want to think too much about other things, sorry.”
Xu Jiaze, who had been silent on the side, finally couldn’t help but speak: “Elder sister, actually, I want to repay you. All along, I’ve remembered the help you’ve given me. But I haven’t been able to do anything for you.”
Zhou Youling smiled: “What help was that? That’s all old news, don’t bring it up anymore.”
Hearing this, Xu Jiaze glanced at his agent Yu Wenwei beside him, unable to hide the regret in his eyes.
Thinking about it, every time Zhou Youling interacted with Xu Jiaze’s agent Yu Wenwei, she felt he was quite a good man. He was organized in his work and very polite to others. It’s just that Zhou Youling really had no interest in getting involved in the entertainment industry.
Yu Wenwei simply changed his approach and said to Zhou Youling, “How about this, just treat it as doing me a favor. My show is really short of a female guest who can cook, and you fit the bill in every way…”
In the end, what made Zhou Youling waver was one sentence from Yu Wenwei: “All of our income from this show will be donated.”
With Yu Wenwei’s repeated persuasion, Zhou Youling finally nodded in agreement.
The show Yu Wenwei mentioned was actually a program similar to opening a restaurant. Coincidentally, Zhou Youling herself ran a restaurant and could cook, plus she had a good image–this show was practically tailor-made for her.
Yu Wenwei promised Zhou Youling, “If you ever say you don’t want to participate in the recording, we’ll replace the guest and won’t cause you any burden.”
So, just like that, Zhou Youling somehow agreed to participate in a food program.
The filming of the food program was scheduled for November, and the preliminary plan was to shoot in Thailand. This also meant that Zhou Youling would have to leave home for a while. She wouldn’t be gone for too long, though–the plan was for about twenty days.
The first person Zhou Youling was worried about leaving behind was her son, Zhou Ran.
As for Zhou Youling preparing to participate in a food program, Zhou Zhishan and Rong Huiying did not object.
On the contrary, Zhou Zhishan even said to Zhou Youling, “Since you’ve decided to do something, you have to give it your all. Don’t give up halfway.”
Zhou Youling replied, “Yes, Dad, I understand.”
To some extent, some of Zhou Youling’s good qualities also came from being influenced by her elders.
Zhou Zhishan was steady and reliable in everything he did, and Zhou Youling was the same.
In the blink of an eye, it was October. The weather shifted from midsummer to early autumn, and the nights carried a hint of chill.
Just like that, little Zhou Ran had gone from being born in May to almost half a year old.
About to turn six months old, Zhou Ran looked completely different from when he was born.
As everyone knew, Zhou Ran weighed just over six jin at birth, but now his weight had soared to twenty jin.
A little guy not even half a year old but already twenty jin–he was practically a big ball of chub.
Every time she looked at this chubby ball, Zhou Youling felt both love and worry.
Whenever Zhou Youling tried to hold Zhou Ran by herself, she would be out of breath after just a short while.
The family was used to holding Zhou Ran, so it wasn’t a big deal for them, but whenever his weight was mentioned, it always made Zhou Youling a bit concerned.
“Isn’t Mumu too heavy? What kind of kid is twenty jin before even half a year old?” Zhou Youling had been worrying about this a lot lately.
Rong Huiying looked completely unfazed and said, “Baby fat is totally normal. Look how cute our Mumu is!”
Zhou Youling said, “Mom, you think Mumu is cute no matter what. But isn’t he way too fat? I’ve never seen a kid as chubby as him.”
Rong Huiying replied, “That’s just because you haven’t seen enough.”
To ease her worries, Zhou Youling took Zhou Ran for a full checkup, and the conclusion was that everything was normal.
The doctor told Zhou Youling that the child’s condition was probably related to genetics, and that he would naturally slim down as he grew older.
Hearing this, Zhou Youling was finally reassured.
Then Zhou Youling asked Rong Huiying, “Mom, I wasn’t fat when I was little, right? I remember I was always pretty skinny growing up.”
Rong Huiying snorted, “You? You were as skinny as a matchstick. People who didn’t know better would think we were starving you.”
That made Rong Huiying remember something: “But I do recall that Fu Xunzhou was a chubby kid when he was little.”
Zhou Youling said, “Hm?”
Rong Huiying said with certainty, “That’s right, it was Fu Xunzhou. He was really fat as a child. Back then, your dad and I weren’t even married yet, but I’d heard about it. I never actually saw it myself, though.”
Zhou Youling was skeptical. “Really?”
Rong Huiying laughed, “If you don’t believe me, go ask Fu Xunzhou yourself.”
Zhou Youling: “…”
In fact, Zhou Youling really didn’t know what Fu Xunzhou was like as a child. After all, there was an age gap of several years between them.
In the three years she was married to Fu Xunzhou, Zhou Youling never seemed to have seen any childhood photos of him. Those photos were probably all with Yu Wanrong. Zhou Youling wasn’t that close to Yu Wanrong, so she never had the chance to sit together and look at Fu Xunzhou’s childhood pictures.
As luck would have it, just as Zhou Youling was carrying chubby Mumu through the neighborhood, she ran into Fu Xunzhou.
Fu Xunzhou was carrying a gift box in his hand. When he saw Zhou Youling, he naturally walked over to her and reached out to take Mumu.
Somehow, Zhou Youling handed Mumu over to Fu Xunzhou without thinking, and took the gift box he offered in exchange. She was probably just too tired from carrying him–her arms were already sore. And lately, Fu Xunzhou had been hanging around her, intentionally or not, which had really lowered her guard.
“I heard you took Mumu for a checkup?” Fu Xunzhou asked.
Zhou Youling rubbed her sore arms and said, “Yeah, he’s as fat as a pig. I thought something was wrong with him.”
Fu Xunzhou laughed and said, “It’s normal. I was just as chubby when I was little.”
“You were really that fat?” Zhou Youling looked incredulous. She’d thought her mom was just making things up.
Fu Xunzhou easily held little Mumu in one arm and said to Zhou Youling, “Didn’t you know? I used to have the nickname ‘Fatty’ when I was a kid. But now that I’m not fat anymore, no one calls me that.”
Zhou Youling said, “I didn’t know.”
She could hardly believe it.
Fu Xunzhou shrugged slightly, pulled his phone out of his pocket with one hand, and found a photo to show Zhou Youling.
“This was me at six months old, about the same as Mumu now,” Fu Xunzhou said.
Zhou Youling took the phone, and with just one glance, she was stunned.
How was this just “about the same”? They looked like they were made from the same mold!
“This is way too similar!” Zhou Youling exclaimed.
Fu Xunzhou smiled and touched his forehead to Mumu’s, saying, “Of course we look alike. I’m his dad, after all. Right, good boy?”
