I'm Done with the Elite Marriage - Chapter 90
One has to admit, Fu Xunzhou’s genes are truly powerful! Even if Zhou Youling didn’t want to admit Zhou Ran was his son, she couldn’t deny it.
People always say boys take after their moms, but Zhou Youling felt Zhou Ran didn’t look like her at all! When he was just born, some people said Zhou Ran resembled Zhou Youling, but now almost no one thought so. Many times, when Zhou Youling took Zhou Ran out, people didn’t believe she was his mom.
Just as she reached the elevator, a lady looked at the chubby Zhou Ran and smiled, “This little chubby boy is so cute! Wow! He really looks like his dad!”
Zhou Youling wanted to retort, but felt it was unnecessary, so she let it go. There was no point explaining so much to a stranger.
Fu Xunzhou, holding Zhou Ran, said to the lady, “Going grocery shopping?”
The lady nodded, “The Hairy crab is really good now, and it’s a good deal at the market.”
“Ninth month for round bellies, tenth for pointy ones. Now is the best time to eat Hairy crab. My kid’s mom also likes Hairy crab,” Fu Xunzhou said.
Zhou Youling glanced at Fu Xunzhou.
She hadn’t expected him to even know she liked Hairy crab. In the years they’d been married, Zhou Youling knew all of Fu Xunzhou’s food preferences, but Fu Xunzhou didn’t even know she didn’t eat ginger. Now he actually knew she liked Hairy crab?
Clearly, Fu Xunzhou had put in some effort when it came to winning her back.
Zhou Youling couldn’t help but say coolly, “I stopped liking it a long time ago.”
She still remembered the first time she ate Hairy crab in front of Fu Xunzhou, he frowned. He didn’t like it and wouldn’t even touch it. And not only did he not like it, he even said to her, “What’s so good about this stuff?”
Fu Xunzhou’s indifferent tone had stung Zhou Youling, and after that, she never bought Hairy crab again, nor did it ever appear on the Fu Family’s dining table.
Naturally, Fu Xunzhou also remembered that time.
In fact, Fu Xunzhou wasn’t against Zhou Youling eating Hairy crab. He frowned simply because he didn’t know how to deal with such a creature. Since childhood, he’d never been interested in shelled foods, and knew even less about Hairy crab. He knew there were certain rituals to eating Hairy crab, so he felt a bit lost. Seeing Zhou Youling eat so happily, he curiously asked her, “What’s so good about this stuff?”
There was a moment of silence.
The lady glanced at Zhou Youling, who hadn’t said much, then smiled at Fu Xunzhou, “You two make such a good-looking couple. I’ve hardly ever seen people as well-matched as you.”
Zhou Youling: “???”
She couldn’t help wanting to refute, but then heard Fu Xunzhou beside her lightly say, “Yes.”
Zhou Ran, nestled in Fu Xunzhou’s arms, acted like a little accomplice, giggling inexplicably, “gigglegiggle.”
Fu Xunzhou smiled at Zhou Ran and said, “Mumu, you think Dad and Mom are a good match too, don’t you?”
Little Mumu opened his mouth: ” %…”
Fu Xunzhou said, “Well said!”
Zhou Youling rolled her eyes speechlessly at Fu Xunzhou, realizing his face was now as thick as a city wall.
Fu Xunzhou chatted with the lady like he was every woman’s friend.
In the end, before leaving, the lady teased Zhou Ran, “Such a cute little guy, see you next time!”
Fu Xunzhou grabbed Zhou Ran’s little paw and said to the lady, “Aunt, goodbye.”
This little chubby Zhou Ran, as soon as he was carried outside, would attract a crowd. Almost everyone would exclaim at his chubbiness, “So cute!”
Although Zhou Youling had heard it countless times, every time a stranger said her son was cute, her heart still filled with joy.
Seeing they were almost at the 18th floor, Zhou Youling reached out to take Zhou Ran from Fu Xunzhou, “Give me the baby.”
Fu Xunzhou didn’t let go, saying, “I’ll walk you two home.”
Zhou Youling frowned, “Fu Xunzhou, don’t you think you’re taking things a bit too much for granted now?”
Fu Xunzhou’s gaze dodged a little.
Zhou Youling continued, “Fu Xunzhou, I said we’re friends. I hope you won’t cross the line! Give me the baby!”
With that, Zhou Youling forcibly took Zhou Ran back from Fu Xunzhou’s arms.
Fu Xunzhou could only let go.
“I want to be there as he grows up,” Fu Xunzhou said.
Zhou Youling replied, “You want to be there, I’m not stopping you. But I hope you won’t speak so ambiguously, making everyone think we’re husband and wife.”
Fu Xunzhou muttered, “It’s not wrong, though.”
Hearing this, Zhou Youling glared fiercely at Fu Xunzhou, who immediately turned his face away, pretending not to see.
The reason Fu Xunzhou could act so “brazen” now was actually largely due to Zhou Youling’s parents.
From time to time, Zhou Zhishan would invite Fu Xunzhou from the 17th floor up to the 18th for a so-called casual meal.
And even Rong Huiying, who had always disliked Fu Xunzhou, had changed her attitude and was always looking for opportunities for Zhou Youling and Fu Xunzhou to spend time alone together.
Rong Huiying’s change was largely due to Zhou Zhishan’s instigation in her ear.
Zhou Zhishan was always instilling his own attitudes toward Fu Xunzhou into Rong Huiying.
For example: “Xunzhou is not having an easy time either. Try looking at things from his perspective. Now, this kid is sincerely pursuing Lingling and working on changing himself-we can all see that. As parents, it’s not good for us to forcefully stop them. Most importantly, can’t you tell? Lingling has Xunzhou in her heart.”
What truly changed Rong Huiying was Zhou Zhishan’s last sentence.
Zhou Youling has Fu Xunzhou in her heart.
As the saying goes, the onlooker sees more clearly. How could Rong Huiying not understand her own daughter? She could tell that Zhou Youling did, in fact, have Fu Xunzhou in her heart.
At the beginning of November, Zhou Youling was about to officially embark on her first-ever reality show journey.
Before she left, Rong Huiying gave Zhou Youling all sorts of reminders: “When you’re out interacting with people, the most important thing is not to let yourself be taken advantage of! If you don’t want to do something, then don’t-don’t force yourself.”
Hearing Rong Huiying advising Zhou Youling like this, Zhou Zhishan on the side felt it was a bit inappropriate: “What do you mean, if you don’t want to do it, then don’t? Since you agreed to join the show, you should do a good job.”
Rong Huiying said, “Life is only a few decades long, of course being happy is the most important thing. Don’t use your logic to argue with me!”
Zhou Zhishan: “Argue? I’m just being reasonable, okay? What you’re saying is what’s truly unreasonable.”
Rong Huiying: “Zhou Zhishan! Are you itching for a fight lately?”
Zhou Zhishan chuckled, “Ah! I’m going to check on the fish.”
Rong Huiying: “Fish, fish, fish, all you care about is your fish!”
Parents always have their own reasoning.
Zhou Youling naturally had her own thoughts as well.
Regarding participating in this reality show, Zhou Youling just felt that everything seemed a bit too unreal.
Because Xu Jiaze and Yu Wenwei personally came to invite her, Zhou Youling was ultimately moved by the word “charity.” Yu Wenwei promised Zhou Youling that seventy percent of the show’s revenue would be donated to charity, which was what swayed her.
Having learned all about the show’s process in advance, Zhou Youling also understood that this show was suitable for her. It was a reality show themed around opening a restaurant, with six guests participating together. The production team provided the six guests with a fully renovated restaurant in advance, equipped with basic business facilities, located by the seaside with decent foot traffic. Moreover, the production team would also give the six guests corresponding startup funds and pocket money. The rest was self-explanatory: the six guests not only had to solve their own meals, but also had to run the restaurant relying solely on themselves. Most importantly, all the net profits from the business could be donated in full at the end.
Besides Zhou Youling, there were several other very famous celebrities in the show, all of whom Zhou Youling could name, which made her look forward to it even more.
The original plan was to start filming from Zhou Youling packing her luggage at home, but Zhou Youling didn’t want to expose her current residence, nor did she want anyone to know she had a child, so her filming started directly at the airport.
On the day of recording, the production staff met Zhou Youling at the airport. Zhou Youling had a bare face and wore a pair of sunglasses, yet she inexplicably exuded a star aura. When the crowd at the airport saw the cameras filming Zhou Youling, they couldn’t help but be curious:
“Which big star is that?”
“That’s the really famous one, the actress.”
“Really? No wonder she looks so familiar! I just can’t remember her name right now.”
“Yeah, a star is a star-her figure is great, and she’s so much better looking than ordinary people!”
“Should we go ask for an autograph?”
“Better not, we don’t even know her name.”
Zhou Youling was the first to arrive at the airport; she had always been in the habit of arriving early.
The staff beside her just quietly carried the camera and filmed Zhou Youling, not speaking to her. It was said this was to maintain the most authentic feeling for the guests. So, Zhou Youling took the opportunity to play a mobile game.
Zhou Youling hadn’t been much into gaming before, but ever since she became friends with Huo Lianghan, he’d dragged her into this “pit.”
Huo Lianghan loved playing games and would invite Zhou Youling to join from time to time.
But because of her busy work, Zhou Youling didn’t have much time to play. However, after learning how to play, Zhou Youling found that using games to adjust her mood when she was nervous was very effective. Like now, Zhou Youling was actually very nervous inside.
After playing a round and losing miserably, Zhou Youling looked up and unexpectedly saw Fu Xunzhou across from her.
Fu Xunzhou was sitting leisurely opposite Zhou Youling, clearly having been watching her for a while. When he saw Zhou Youling looking at him, Fu Xunzhou raised his eyebrows at her almost imperceptibly, his face full of mischief.
Considering the cameras all around her, Zhou Youling couldn’t just go up and greet Fu Xunzhou, so she lowered her head and sent him a message: [What are you doing here?]
Fu Xunzhou glanced at his phone and replied instantly: [Obviously, I’m waiting for my flight.]
Zhou Youling rolled her eyes: [Where are you going?]
Fu Xunzhou smiled slightly: [Guess.]
Zhou Youling knew there was no point in talking further, so she simply put away her phone. As soon as she put it away, someone appeared in front of her-it was the film and television star Bo Fei, also a guest on the same variety show as Zhou Youling.
After greeting Bo Fei, Zhou Youling continued to wait for the other guests. Meanwhile, she found Fu Xunzhou in front of her extremely annoying. Helpless, she could only ignore this dog of a man.
After waiting for the other guests to arrive one after another, Zhou Youling boarded the plane with them.
There were six guests this time.
Bo Fei: Male, actor, age 33.
Qu Chenghong: Male, singer, age 25.
Ouyang Weiqi: Male, actor, age 43.
Xin Nen: Female, host, age 26.
Zu Yuanrong: Female, singer, age 20.
Zhou Youling: Female, restaurant boss, age 27.
Among the women, Zhou Youling was probably the oldest.
On the first day of meeting, everyone was a bit unfamiliar with each other, and their words were somewhat distant. Ouyang Weiqi, the eldest among them at 43, looked only a little over thirty and was very good at taking care of people.
Under Ouyang Weiqi’s lead, everyone introduced themselves and quickly lined up to board the plane, preparing for the nearly twenty-day magical “journey” ahead.
What Zhou Youling never expected was that while lining up to board, Fu Xunzhou was actually standing right behind her.
Fu Xunzhou, standing behind Zhou Youling, deliberately reached out and lightly tapped her on the back, saying, “Miss, you dropped your boarding pass.”
Zhou Youling squatted down and whispered, “What exactly are you trying to do!”
Fu Xunzhou lowered his head and smiled slightly: “Guess.”
Zhou Youling stood up and stomped hard on Fu Xunzhou’s foot, then feigned innocence: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s fine, I don’t blame you.”
Zhou Youling: eye roll.
The moment she saw Fu Xunzhou just now, Zhou Youling had already thought of this possibility, but she didn’t expect to be right. Other than her family and her best friends, Zhou Youling hadn’t told many people about joining the reality show, and certainly hadn’t mentioned it to Fu Xunzhou. Clearly, she had been sold out by those two at home again.
Zhou Youling took out her phone and couldn’t help but complain in her best friends’ group: [Fu Xunzhou, that dog of a man, is pestering me again!]
[Ahhhhh! I’m going crazy!]
[If it weren’t for all these cameras, I’d really want to throw him over my shoulder!]
[He’s really pushing my limits again and again!]
After boarding, the staff carrying cameras also gradually took their seats and stopped filming.
Zhou Youling finally couldn’t bear it anymore. She turned to Fu Xunzhou, who was sitting beside her, and said, “Are you a dog or something?”
Fu Xunzhou replied in a low voice, “Did you forget what my zodiac is?”
Zhou Youling rolled her eyes: “Sorry, why should I remember?”
After boarding and sitting down, something even more unbelievable happened to Zhou Youling-her seat was actually right next to Fu Xunzhou!
What kind of ill-fated relationship was this?
Fu Xunzhou kindly handed Zhou Youling a blanket and said, “I’m here for a vacation. You think I’m following you on purpose.”
Zhou Youling: “As if you aren’t.”
Fu Xunzhou: “Then just believe whatever you want.”
Zhou Youling simply closed her eyes and ignored Fu Xunzhou.
It was just over four hours from home to Bangkok, Thailand, and it passed in a flash.
After getting off the plane, a wave of heat hit them.
It was already autumn back home, but here it was still scorching hot.
Today’s weather in Bangkok was nearly thirty-six degrees Celsius, and even by evening, the heat showed no sign of letting up.
After getting off the plane, Zhou Youling instinctively looked for Fu Xunzhou, but didn’t find him. She had deliberately gotten off the plane a step ahead of Fu Xunzhou and immediately joined up with the filming crew.
The first day’s itinerary was simple: after arriving at the destination, they checked in directly. Tomorrow they would get familiar with the surroundings, and the day after that, officially open for business.
Though tired from the journey, everyone was in a pretty good mood-especially Zhou Youling.
Ever since getting married, divorced, and up to now, Zhou Youling realized she hadn’t traveled in a long time.
Since childhood, Zhou Youling had liked only two types of destinations: the sea and snow-capped mountains.
She used to visit islands every summer, but those memories seemed so distant now.
That evening, the six of them had a small gathering in the restaurant, ate dinner, discussed the next day’s schedule, and then started their free time.
Zhou Youling went to stroll along the beach with the other two girls.
Xin Nen and Zu Yuanrong were both very nice girls. Zhou Youling was more familiar with Xin Nen, since she had watched some of Xin Nen’s shows. By comparison, she was less familiar with Zu Yuanrong.
Zu Yuanrong had been a trainee in Korea and was now considered an idol with a strong following.
Xin Nen and Zu Yuanrong both naturally called Zhou Youling “Elder sister,” after all, it was an undisputed fact that Zhou Youling was older than the two of them.
After strolling on the beach for a while, Zu Yuanrong said to Zhou Youling, “Elder sister, I’m Xu Jiaze’s junior fellow apprentice.”
Mentioning Xu Jiaze, he was probably known to everyone these days.
“I heard that Xu Jiaze used to perform at a bar because you introduced him. Is that true?” Zu Yuanrong asked.
Zhou Youling scratched her head and said, “That’s true, I guess, but it was a long time ago.”
“I heard your restaurant is very famous, Elder sister. After the show ends, I must visit your restaurant. Please save me a seat then.”
“Of course, of course.”
After a while, Xin Nen and Zu Yuanrong went back to get ready to wash up, and Zhou Youling continued strolling alone on the beach.
At this moment, Zhou Youling suddenly missed her son Zhou Ran a little, but since the cameras were filming, she couldn’t just video call him, so she could only ask her mom to send her a few videos of Zhou Ran.
The sea breeze was cool. Zhou Youling picked up shells on the beach, thinking of bringing them back to make a wind chime for her son.
She used her phone as a flashlight, searching enthusiastically with her head down now that she had a goal. With nowhere to put the shells, she made a pouch with the front of her clothes and put all the shells she picked up inside.
When she had almost finished, Zhou Youling, still bent over, was about to stand up when she unexpectedly bumped right into someone, and the shells scattered all over the ground.
Zhou Youling’s instinct was to apologize, but when she saw it was actually Fu Xunzhou, the “I’m sorry” got stuck in her throat.
“Sorry.” Fu Xunzhou said in standard English.
As he spoke, he bent down to help Zhou Youling pick up the shells. While picking them up, he asked, “Where should these go?”
Seeing Fu Xunzhou acting like a stranger, Zhou Youling also pretended not to know him and replied in English, “No need, I can do it myself.”
“It’s fine, it was my fault.”
Fu Xunzhou somehow found a small basket, put all of Zhou Youling’s shells into it, and handed the basket to her. “Alright, here you go.”
Zhou Youling reached out to take the basket and said, “Thank you.”
She was eager to get away from Fu Xunzhou. She had thought that after getting off the plane today, they had really gone their separate ways, but it seemed she had overthought it.
Fu Xunzhou clearly didn’t intend to let Zhou Youling leave so easily. He followed beside her and deliberately said, “Miss, are you Chinese?”
Zhou Youling rolled her eyes inwardly and deliberately replied in English, “Guess.”
She tossed this line back at him.
Fu Xunzhou actually played along and started guessing.
He greeted Zhou Youling in Japanese, Thai, and Korean, but Zhou Youling just smiled slightly, maintaining a cool and aloof demeanor.
Finally, Fu Xunzhou said in Mandarin, “Why do I feel your temperament is like that of a beautiful Chinese woman?”
Zhou Youling smiled on the surface but said nothing.
Inside, she started cursing.
Fu Xunzhou didn’t persist. He said to Zhou Youling, “Then am I lucky enough to get to know you?”
Zhou Youling smiled, “Aren’t we already acquainted?”
As they spoke, they had already reached the entrance of Zhou Youling’s lodging.
Zhou Youling said to Fu Xunzhou in English, “Sir, thank you for walking me back. Goodbye.”
“Can I have your contact information?” Fu Xunzhou blocked Zhou Youling’s way.
Zhou Youling shook her head.
Fu Xunzhou said, “There’s an old Chinese saying: ‘A chance meeting is fate.'”
Zhou Youling said, “Is that so? Then let fate end here.”
Just then, Xin Nen came out with a face mask on. Seeing Zhou Youling standing at the door with an Asian-looking man, she instinctively poked her head out for a look. At a glance, she immediately called to Zu Yuanrong beside her, “Look, there’s a man hitting on Elder sister!”
Zu Yuanrong, always eager for excitement, immediately poked her head out. “Wow! What kind of romantic luck is this, Elder sister!”
Xin Nen said, “Don’t you think Elder sister is really good-looking? Up close, her skin is flawless, not a single pore, it’s amazing.”
Zu Yuanrong said, “How did I not notice! Elder sister is really beautiful.”
Xin Nen said, “Ahhh, that man looks so handsome!”
Zu Yuanrong said, “Yeah, yeah! He’s tall, has a great figure, and his looks are flawless! Could he be sent by the production team?”
The production staff kept denying, “No!”
A few other male guests also came out to watch the commotion.
Actually, everyone knew Zhou Youling was very beautiful, so it was normal for someone to pursue her, but for someone to start hitting on her as soon as they arrived, that was a bit too dramatic.
Zhou Youling stood in front of Fu Xunzhou. With so many cameras on her, she couldn’t lose her temper, so she patiently said to Fu Xunzhou, “Sir, I already have a boyfriend.”
Fu Xunzhou said, “Really? That’s a pity.”
Zhou Youling smiled slightly and brushed past Fu Xunzhou, ready to go inside.
Unexpectedly, she heard Fu Xunzhou say behind her, “But I don’t believe you.”
