Ye Chuqing hadn’t had time to make any reaction when the young idol beside her became even more flustered, completely unaware of what the people in front of them were talking about.

However, with an industry chairwoman on one side and an award-winning actress on the other, it wasn’t his place to take the initiative to explain anything.

So after a moment of silence, a voice sounded from the side—Chen Shao’s voice: “Lu Yunchuan.”

The young idol was finally freed from this awkward atmosphere. He quickly walked to Chen Shao’s side: “Mr. Chen.”

“You can go up,” Chen Shao tilted his chin toward the elevator.

Lu Yunchuan nodded, also softly greeted Chen Die, and hurriedly left this troublesome place.

He had left, but Ye Chuqing had been thrown into an even deeper predicament by Chen Shao’s interference.

The young fresh meat she was “pursuing” had left her behind, her secret husband was looking at her with amusement, and he didn’t seem inclined to step in and save her.

Even more absurdly, the young fresh meat had been taken away by her secret husband.

“G, what’s going on, why did he leave?” the plastic sister asked in confusion.

Ye Chuqing, in all her life, had never encountered such a situation before. Unable to resolve it, she could only turn to look at Chen Shao for help, silently pleading.

Chen Shao saw a line of text in her eyes—Why are you still standing there, hurry up and save me.

Very justified and righteous.

Chen Shao chuckled, lazily raised his hand to put around her shoulder, his gesture intimate, but his words formal and polite: “What a coincidence, Chairwoman Ye and my sister are also playing here?”

Ye Chuqing: “…”

What exactly was this man trying to do!!!

But with so many people watching, Ye Chuqing could only glare at him while maintaining her composure: “Yes, Mr. Chen is also here to have fun?”

He smiled: “How could I have Chairwoman Ye’s leisure time? I just happened to finish work and run into someone from my company who was coming here, so I gave him a ride. I didn’t expect to see Chairwoman Ye outside.”

“So,” he raised an eyebrow, looking at Ye Chuqing teasingly, “From what I just heard, is Chairwoman Ye interested in someone from my company?”

“…”

She realized now that this man was retaliating!

I’m carrying your child, for fuck’s sake! This is too petty!!!

Chen Shao continued languidly: “However, their contracts explicitly stipulate that they cannot have romantic relationships during their first few years after debut. I’m afraid Chairwoman Ye will be disappointed.”

Even Chen Die was confused by the dynamic between these two, not to mention those plastic sisters who did not know the inside story.

When Chen Shao had come to take the drunk Ye Chuqing away last time, they had seemed quite intimate, leading them to believe that Chen Shao was pursuing Ye Chuqing. How had it turned into this now?

Could it be that his love had turned to hate?

“If Chairwoman Ye needs a man, don’t pursue someone from my company,” Chen Shao slightly turned his head, looked at her, and smiled a bit, sincerely suggesting, “Why not pursue their boss instead?”

“…?”

Ye Chuqing stared at Chen Shao for a while.

With her discerning eye, Chen Shao’s face was quite good-looking. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made up her mind to go along with the marriage. After all, no matter how hard life gets, you shouldn’t make children suffer—if their biological father was ugly, the child would be quite pitiful.

Chen Shao had grown up in a big family like the Chen family, and he carried himself with an air of nobility, but not rigidly. He had a certain ease about him, displaying a bit of casualness.

It was just that as soon as he spoke, he became particularly annoying.

This man was now taking advantage of the fact that Ye Chuqing couldn’t explain her pregnancy to these people.

But after all, Ye Chuqing was in the film industry. When it came to acting, she might not have eaten pork, but she had seen thousands of pigs running.

Chen Die was afraid that if these two argued, it might affect Ye Chuqing’s pregnancy. She was about to pull them away when Ye Chuqing hugged Chen Shao’s waist and looked up at him with an ambiguous smile.

Bright eyes and white teeth—her smile was heart-stopping, though it carried quite a bit of ill intent.

Chen Shao’s eyelid twitched, sensing trouble.

“Then, Mr. Chen, if I were to pursue you, would you accept?” Ye Chuqing asked softly.

Chen Shao: “…”

“Since that’s the case, we’ll be leaving first,” Ye Chuqing said goodbye to Chen Die and the plastic sisters, then moved closer to Chen Shao’s ear, deliberately keeping her voice very soft, like a seductress, “Let’s go, Mr. Chen, to your place or mine?”

Even after the two left, everyone still had a dumbfounded look on their faces.

How did they end up leaving together just like that?

Is pursuing men this simple nowadays?

Wasn’t she just being ambiguous with that young fresh meat? And then she suddenly flirted with the young fresh meat’s boss??

Their lives were quite boring, with their daily topics limited to food, luxury brands, men, or industry gossip. In the end, most of them could only follow their family’s arrangements to get married, living a life of wealth but also boredom.

That’s why they secretly excluded Ye Chuqing.

Ye Chuqing was too different from most people in this circle. She had excellent grades in school, studied abroad at world-famous universities on a scholarship, had a very wide social circle, and even her career could be described as promising and accomplished for someone so young.

But even knowing she was different, going home with a man just like that was too much, wasn’t it!?

And it was Chen Shao, no less.

They had all heard that according to Old Master Chen’s will, he intended to hand over the position of head of the entire Chen Group to him. His future was limitless.

And she just slept with this kind of man whenever she wanted??

The pure and innocent plastic sisters were all shocked, unsure whether to marvel at Ye Chuqing’s skillful methods or Chen Shao’s chaotic private life.

But hadn’t they never heard that Chen Shao was a playboy before?

Someone couldn’t help but ask Chen Die: “What’s the relationship between your brother and Chuqing?”

Chen Die: “…”

She guessed Ye Chuqing’s thoughts, so without hesitation, she calmly sold out Chen Shao, answering: “My brother has liked her for a long time.”

Everyone was in an uproar, though they were more jealous of Ye Chuqing. Looking at this answer now, it seemed to be within expectations.

The sky had already darkened. It had just passed the Beginning of Spring, but the weather was still cold. The night sky was gloomy, and even the stars were dim.

After walking down the steps, they saw Wen Liang who had come to pick up Chen Die.

Ye Chuqing greeted him, saying: “She’s inside.”

Wen Liang nodded, without further pleasantries, and walked straight into the building.

At the same time, Ye Chuqing’s phone vibrated, receiving a text from Chen Die: Taken care of.

She looked at the message for a while, and finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter. They were truly of one mind, completely in sync.

As soon as they came out, Chen Shao had removed his hand from her shoulder. Hearing her laugh, he glanced at her with lowered eyes, raising an eyebrow: “What?”

“Oh, nothing, just thinking that you have a good sister,” Ye Chuqing said.

He turned his head: “Hmm?”

“Now everyone in there thinks you’ve been pursuing me for a long time, and today you’ve finally gotten your wish to win the beautiful woman,” Ye Chuqing shrugged, very matter-of-fact about having thrown him under the bus. “At least now when we send out wedding invitations, they won’t be too shocked.”

After hearing her explanation, Chen Shao realized what Chen Die must have said afterward.

He wasn’t surprised by his adopted sister’s character and didn’t care as much as Ye Chuqing about who pursued whom. After all, the marriage certificate had already been obtained.

He snorted with laughter: “Deliberately setting me up, huh?”

“How can you call it setting you up?” Ye Chuqing looked at him sinisterly. “Thanks to Mr. Chen, it was convenient for me to adapt to the situation.”

Chen Shao recalled her momentary look of bewilderment earlier and chuckled, while seemingly casually asking: “What’s going on between you and Lu Yunchuan?”

“Who?”

Chen Shao reminded her, “The young fresh meat you’re interested in.”

“…”

Ye Chuqing was fed up. She had just escaped from that annoying group, and now Chen Shao was asking her about something that didn’t even exist.

But considering that they were now in a marital relationship, it was appropriate for him to be concerned about the color above his head.

“What if I told you I didn’t even know his name, would you believe me?”

He raised his eyebrows, gesturing for her to continue.

The tables had turned. Ye Chuqing still remembered the first time they met, arguing irreconcilably over a project, and now she was explaining her innocence to Chen Shao.

She also told Chen Shao about what had happened at the birthday party last time: “So that person from your company, called Lu Yunchuan, had just walked to my side when they thought he was the young star I mentioned before.”

As she spoke, her tone took on a hint of pride: “After all, I am the chairwoman of the film industry association, a beautiful woman with resources in my hands. I don’t know why they were making such a big deal out of it, as if it would be unfair to Lu Yunchuan. If I said the word, who knows how many people would line up?”

Chen Shao frowned slightly and raised his hand to lightly pat her head, following her words with a mild tone: “Even if he came to line up, your resources couldn’t save him.”

“Hmm?”

Chen Shao: “Stealing his boss’s wife and still wanting to eat in this circle?”

“…”

Ye Chuqing was silent for a long time. The two walked side by side to the garage, and it wasn’t until Chen Shao opened the car door that he turned his head to look at her.

Somehow, her face had suddenly turned red, even though she had been talking flirtatiously just fine a moment ago.

Chen Shao stood in front of the car without moving, looking at her.

Noticing his gaze, Ye Chuqing finally moved her eyelids, and looked up at him, the redness on her face spreading to her ears. After a good while, she finally opened her mouth, cursing: “Have you no shame!”

Chen Shao:?

“Who’s your wife!”

Chen Shao still had a head full of question marks.

He couldn’t quite understand Ye Chuqing’s little thoughts.

Sometimes the words she said were no different from those of a promiscuous and heartless scoundrel. For instance, she had just boasted that if she said the word, there would be numerous young fresh meats lining up waiting for her favor.

Now she was blushing furiously at the word “wife.”

“No,” Chen Shao was amused by her, “Ask the son in your belly who’s my wife.”

Ye Chuqing became even more irritated, immediately looking around furtively, making sure no one was there, then said: “Why don’t you speak a bit louder? Let everyone here know you’ve already become a father.”

“…”

They got into the car.

Ye Chuqing grabbed a cushion from the back seat and placed it behind her waist.

Even though she was only a little over a month pregnant, not showing at all, and not restricted from jumping, running, or other activities, perhaps for psychological reasons, every time she stood for too long, her waist would start to ache.

Chen Shao noticed her pinching her waist: “What’s wrong?”

“My waist hurts,” Ye Chuqing leaned back a bit. “Pregnancy is not something an ordinary person can bear.”

“That’s not from pregnancy; it’s from playing all day. It would be strange if you weren’t sore,” Chen Shao retorted.

Ye Chuqing immediately raised her eyes in dissatisfaction. Was he even human???

But despite his words, he immediately unfastened his seat belt and leaned over, raising his hand to press on her waist, his fingertips applying pressure: “Is this too hard?”

In this position, they were very close, with Chen Shao’s breath hitting her neck.

Apart from those two alcohol-induced incidents, they had always maintained a respectful distance. This sudden closeness made Ye Chuqing feel a bit uncomfortable.

“…It’s fine,” Ye Chuqing enjoyed it for a moment, then patted his hand. “Okay, you can drive now.”

Chen Shao drove out of the parking lot.

Because both of them were very busy, the marriage was sudden, and they had no desire to buy a place with leisure and elegance for their two-person world. Convenience was put first, so the marital home was bought in the city center.

“If you’re tired, go to bed early,” Chen Shao said.

Ye Chuqing kicked off her shoes and changed into soft slippers, feeling her calves being liberated: “I know.”

The two didn’t share a bedroom, living in adjacent rooms.

But just as Ye Chuqing was about to go upstairs, her phone rang with a video call from Huang Sheng.

She paused and answered: “Hello, Mom, why are you calling so late?”

Chen Shao also looked over at her words.

Huang Sheng: “Nothing special, just checking how you’ve been lately. Is your morning sickness still severe?”

“Not recently, I’m doing quite well. I just went out to play with Chen Die for a bit. It doesn’t affect me.”

“You’re not the same as before now. Don’t always run around so wildly, or else when you get sick, you’ll have a lot of suffering,” Huang Sheng frowned as she scolded, then asked, “Is A-Shao there?”

Ever since the marriage, Huang Sheng had changed her form of address, following Old Master Chen in calling him A-Shao, even though they hadn’t known each other for long.

“Yes.”

Ye Chuqing leaned on the sofa and turned the phone camera: “Look, he just brought me back.”

Chen Shao was also very cooperative, handing the glass of warm water he had just poured for himself to Ye Chuqing, and greeting the camera: “Mom, we’re both doing well.”

An hour ago, the two were still enacting a scene of confrontation, but now they had transformed into a loving newlywed couple.

After chatting with Huang Sheng for a while, they hung up.

The daily moment of love ended, and Ye Chuqing patted her butt and went upstairs, very heartlessly.

Although Chen Shao and Ye Chuqing lived together, they rarely disturbed each other most of the time. Because they were concealing the real reason for their marriage, they hadn’t hired any servants at home.

In the morning, when Chen Shao got up to go to work, Ye Chuqing was still asleep.

Her work was the type that, when busy, was extremely busy. She had just finished the annual film festival awards ceremony recently, and this was a time when she could relax.

Chen Shao finished washing up, and the two portions of breakfast he had ordered also arrived. He took one portion and went directly to Ye Chuqing’s bedroom.

“Breakfast…”

His words trailed off as he saw Ye Chuqing lying on her side on the bed, one long leg stretched out on top of the blanket, her nightgown having ridden up to her waist, revealing a patch of snow-white skin.

Chen Shao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Seeing this scene first thing in the morning was quite torturous.

He coughed lightly, walked forward, and placed the breakfast on her bedside table: “I’ve left it here for you. Remember to eat.”

Ye Chuqing accepted this feeding very naturally, not feeling anything improper about it. After all, she was carrying Chen Shao’s child in her belly, taking advantage because of the child.

Chen Shao didn’t stay long. After eating breakfast in the living room, he went directly to the company.

He hadn’t taken over the massive Chen Group yet, so he could find some leisure at Yi Ming Entertainment for now.

But perhaps because of what he had seen this morning—Ye Chuqing’s unguarded appearance—he felt uncomfortable in his throat, and his thoughts couldn’t quite focus.

He closed his eyes, and in his mind appeared the scene of their first time together.

The woman’s fair skin, red lips, face flushed from alcohol, black lashes fluttering rapidly like a butterfly about to take flight, spaghetti straps slowly sliding down her shoulders, and then raising her slim, straight legs to straddle his waist.

Then, it shifted to last night in the parking lot, with Ye Chuqing’s face turning red down to her neck, angry and embarrassed, cursing: “Who’s your wife!”

In the spacious office, Chen Shao chuckled.

He took out his phone and sent Ye Chuqing a message: Have you eaten breakfast?

She replied quickly: Yes.

Followed by an emoji—

A cat with its paw on a banknote, with the caption “Good service, here’s your reward.”

Chen Shao smiled slightly, not knowing how she even had this kind of emoji.

For a moment, he began to doubt whether her previous words were truth or joke—”A beautiful woman with resources in my hands. If I said the word, who knows how many people would line up?”

It matched the emoji exceptionally well.

Good service, here’s your reward.

Indeed Ye Chuqing’s style.

Just as he was thinking, his assistant came to report: “Mr. Chen, Lu Yunchuan is looking for you.”

Chen Shao’s eyelid twitched, and he looked again at the emoji on his phone, frowned, and then replied to his assistant: “Let him in.”

He walked into the office: “Mr. Chen.”

Lu Yunchuan was the lead vocalist of a male group that had been launched recently. He had quite a lot of fans and a very high starting point. He was part of one of the groups the company was currently focusing on promoting.

However, specific matters were handled by the team, and he generally wouldn’t take the initiative to find Chen Shao.

This time, he came to see Chen Shao about a conflict within the group. Because of his good appearance, a TV drama had approached him hoping he could perform, but the team had refused on his behalf due to scheduling conflicts with the group. He came to ask Chen Shao if there were any other solutions.

“If there’s a scheduling conflict, then prioritize the team. These things are all written in your contract,” Chen Shao didn’t think this was an issue worth discussing.

“I know,” Lu Yunchuan said, “But that production team is linked to Chairwoman Ye’s side. It’s a rare opportunity, so I wanted to try again. I wanted to ask if you have Chairwoman Ye’s contact information, Mr. Chen.”

Chen Shao raised his eyebrows: “Why?”

“I wanted to see if Chairwoman Ye could find a way to adjust the filming time a bit, so I could manage both sides.”

He hadn’t originally thought of this approach, but after last night, he vaguely felt that Ye Chuqing seemed to appreciate him. It was a rare opportunity, so he wanted to try.

Chen Shao: “…”

What kind of idiots is the company selecting?

“You think Chairwoman Ye would adjust the filming schedule of an entire crew for such a small matter?”

“No,” Lu Yunchuan scratched his head. “It’s just that I vaguely felt that Chairwoman Ye quite appreciates me. She even asked for my name yesterday…”

“She asked for your name because you’re from my company,” Chen Shao couldn’t stand it anymore. Just one encounter yesterday had brought him this guy. Impatiently, he said, “Chairwoman Ye is Yi Ming Entertainment’s boss’s wife.”

Lu Yunchuan: …