Marrying the big shot (translated novel)

32: Kiss

Qi Yan heard Xu Chi's reply and was more confused by it. He didn't know what Shu Zimu heard to become suddenly strange, was there something in his past that disgusted him? Qi Yan carefully recalled and affirmed that he had no black history after he turned fifteen. In other words, Xu Lan's words shouldn't have caused such an impact on Shu Zimu.

Qi Yan pinched his glabella, he still couldn't understand it. Was Xu Chi telling him half the truth, or maybe Shu Zimu was jealous and blamed Xu Lan? After he hung up, he careless rubbed Xuexue's fur.


Qi Yan didn't pay attention to Xu Chi's apology on behalf of Xu Lan, his thought was occupied by the word, 'jealous'. He thought this explanation wasn't very reasonable, but couldn't come with other interpretations, As for this answer, he seemed to have some expectations?

Qi Yan couldn't help lifting Xuexue up, he bored into its eyes and asked: "Do you think your dad is jealous?"

"Meow?" Xuexue tilted its head, then struggled to touch Qi Yan's phone on the table. It has a slight impression of the title, 'dad'. When it heard Qi Yan mention this, it thought it was time to video Shu Zimu.

Qi Yan stopped when he saw this, He felt that Shu Zimu was avoiding having physical contact with him, and hesitated to continue their video calls. But, since it was Xuexue who wanted to call, Qi Yan quickly convinced himself and confidently sent a video request.

Qi Yan was originally worried that Shu Zimu wouldn't answer, but this didn't happen and he seemed to be no different from before. Even when he tried to cover it up, Qi Yan still felt the other's absent-mindedness when talking, especially Shu Zimu's smile. Qi Yan thought it was far less pleasing than the ones he saw before.

Seeing this, Qi Yan needed the call early and hugged Xuexue again. He rubbed and thought aloud: "Is jealousy like this? If he's jealous, shouldn't he be angry with me? Xu Chi has no experience either, seems like his opinion isn't reliable..."

Qi Yan reflected while rubbing the cat until it made Xuexue impatient. Qi Yan was lost in thought and didn't care about his hand's strength. He still couldn't make sense of it when Xuexue struggled to escape out of his hand. In the end, he could only hope Shu Zimu would return to normal in two days. If he hasn't recovered by then......Qi Yan hesitated for a moment, he thought that he might have to seek advice from Bai Xinlan then.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the appointment with Xue Li, On the surface, Xue Li was trying to apologise and booked a top-graded teahouse, pleasing Qi Yan to give him face. He wanted to bring Xue Lin and Xue You along, to let Xue Lin formally apologise and let Xue Yu get closer to Qi Yan. However, Yao Yue persuaded him otherwise, saying that Xue Lin's temper might offend others, and it wasn't necessary for Xue Yu to go. After all, they would be a family later and could come and go as they pleased.

Xue Li thought as well, so he didn't bring Xue Lin and Xue Yu, but Shu Zimu, whom Qi Yan valued. On the way, Xue Li clearly hinted to Shu Zimu to say more good things about the Xue Family, and to act coquettishly to Qi Yan to help him win that project.

Shu Zimu casually agreed, thinking that: I'll definitely 'fight' for that project, whilst feeling excited that he could dig a pit for Xue Li. He didn't fluctuate, instead, he wanted to see how Qi Yan would act naturally more. Shu Zimu couldn't help frown.

Xue Li saw his frown and thought he had annoyed him with his repeating words, so he pretended kindly urge a few times and stopped speaking. Shu Zimu was at peace, but his thoughts became more and more chaotic.

In fact, he didn't get too entangled with 'the person he liked'. As long as he didn't face Qi Yan, he easily forgot about this and was distracted by other things. For instance, he had spent the last two days in his room polishing his novel's outline. But, once he saw Qi Yan, Shu Zimu felt a bit awkward. He couldn't tell where the awkwardness came from and wondered if he should ask Qi Yan verity to the so-called 'person he liked'. He felt he wasn't in the position to ask, and when he did, it was very subtle.

Shu Zimu thought he didn't expose anything and did well at concealing it. Unknowingly, Qi Yan not only found out, he even inquired about the whole sequence of events, and thought about the reason many times.

Xue Li and Shu Zimu waited in the teahouse for a long time before Qi Yan came in. They had arranged an appointment for morning tea, but it's almost time for lunch. Xue Li's face didn't show any sign of anger. This teahouse also served lunch, and Xue Li quickly asked Qi Yan to order after he came.

Qi Yan was lukewarm towards Xue Li, and seemly more gentle with Shu Zimu. He walked to sit next to him and greeted, then greeted Xue Li. When ordering dishes, he asked for Shu Zimu's suggestion several times. Xue Li wasn't angry when he saw this, he was pleased, it appeared Qi Yan attached great importance to Shu Zimu. This way, he would be more advantageous when discussing business later. He glanced that the two people sitting together, and thought it was a wise decision to bring this son back.

Whilst waiting for the dishes, Xue Li asked Shu Zimu to pour Qi Yan tea first. Shu Zimu behaved obediently on the outside, but couldn't help laughing inside. He thought Xue Li was comfortable at ordering him around, if he knew that the project he desperately got was a pit, what would his face look like? After he poured Qi Yan tea, he looked at Qi Yan, and quickly and naturally retracted his gaze.

After Qi Yan came in, most of his attention was placed on Shu Zimu. It didn't take long for him to see the other party concealing himself, and haven't returned to normal. He drank a sip of tea, and decided to ask Bain Xinlan, he didn't bother thinking about it now. Shu Zimu highly valued this matter of trapping Xue Li. Qi Yan didn't want any accidents, so he had to concentrate a bit more.

Qi Yan was a cold man of few words, and they wanted to make Xue Li more proactive about this project, so Xue Li spoke for the greater part. Qi Yan responded once in a while. Xue Li first apologised for the misunderstanding about Qi Yan and Shu Zimu and appeared very sincere. After he apologised with two sentences, he wanted to switch the topic but was chock by Qi Yan's next words.

"It's Zimu who's been wronged, Father-in-law doesn't always have to apologise to me. Moreover, seeing your daughter's behaviour, maybe Zimu has been wronged more than that these days?" Qi Yan looked coldly.

Xue Li laughed at once and said, "No...won't go so far. I have already apologised to Zimu at home, and his sister also apologised......"

Shu Zimu didn't expose Xue Li's lies, he looked at Qi Yan and wisely choose to be silent. QI Yan gave him a look, and slowly said to Xue Li: "There is only an apology, no compensation?"

Xue Li's smiling expression froze, and stared at Shu Zimu, hoping that he would say something to save him. At this time, Shu Zimu only knew to lower his head and drink tea, leaving the back of his head for Xue Li to stare at. Naturally, he couldn't receive his look.

"Of course there is compensation," Xue Li saw that he had no choice but to laugh dryly and promised: "In addition to the card with a quota of $200,000, I'm adding more to Zimu's dowry."

Qi Yan knew that Xue Li wanted to slip away unpunished from this, but this was only a foreshadowing. He didn't need to probe further, and took the opportunity to relax: "Since my father-in-law has a heart and it's just a misunderstanding, I naturally can't bite it."

Xue Li finally let out a sigh of relief, and couldn't help thinking: The rumoured business genius Qi Yan is so-so. The Qi Family haven't asked about Zimu's dowry before, and saying I'll add more is just running my mouth? Qi Yan didn't even think about this! It seems like the so-called business genius is what others say boast about the Qi Family? If he is compared to me, who started from scratch, I reckon we're miles apart!

With this in mind, Xue Li's confidence in Qi Yan's project instantly multiple.After the dishes arrived, Xue Li pretended to carelessly ask: "By the way, last time Zimu mentioned Young Master Qi working on a project, I wonder if everything went smoothly?"​Qi Yan glanced at Shu Zimu and replied: "There are no major projects recently, but I left some to work on after the wedding." ​Xue Li smiled and continued: "I must have heard wrong. I also have a profitable project that requires cooperation, so I asked Zimu to ask you if your intentions from last time still stand?" Xue Li had already given up on the Hanhui Road project, he knew it was unlikely that such a large bargain would fail him, he just wanted to use Qi Yan to split the profits. But after Qi Yan declined, he let go of this plan. He mentioned this to lead Qi Yan into talking about 'the compensate project' from last time.​Qi Yan was well aware of his calculations and discussed casually: "We are working on the project Father-in-law mentioned at Shian. The plan has been laid out, and external investments aren't accepted. It's not that I want to compete with you, but this isn't my own company and, the project has passed the board of directors. I can't change this either."​Xue Li quickly laughed at this, "I understand, how can I blame you?"​"It's good that Father-in-law doesn't mind." Qi Yan concluded and dropped his head to eat, avoiding Xue Li's conflicting eyes. He happened to push the plate of chrysanthemum greens that Shu Zimu was eating towards him (SZM). ​Shu Zimu discussed this with Qi Yan earlier; Qi Yan would wear a sinister mask and wait for Xue Li to become so desperate before Shu Zimu came to the rescue. Thus, Shu Zimu concentrated on lowering his head to eat, as if he wasn't interested in their conversation at all. Qi Yan's action stunned him, and he couldn't help looking over. The other party didn't have any expression, but his eyes were extremely gentle with an unprecedented sense of tolerance. Shu Zimu was a little startled, he felt Qi Yan was slightly naive before, but Qi Yan's present gaze made him look like a trouble-seeking kid. He was stunned for a while and looked away with a blushing face. He picked up a bite of the chrysanthemum greens with chopsticks into his mouth, pretending that nothing was wrong with him. ​Xue Li watched Qi Yan caring about Shu Zimu, but didn't talk about the compensation project. He immediately suppressed his anger and wanted to wink at Shu Zimu. When he saw that he and Qi Yan were looking at each other, as if they wanted to stare for all eternity, he almost threw up a mouthful of blood. He had said so much to Shu Zimu before this, but it was all for naught! This son hasn't married yet, and he still couldn't place his biological father in his eyes!​He couldn't count on Shu Zimu and couldn't reach an agreement with Qi Yan, Xue Li had no choice but to thicken his skin and ask: "Regarding the project Young Master Qi talked about before, what is the situation like?"​Qi Yan answered as if he just remembered about this: "Oh, that's the project Shian is going to do next. The plan is already drawn up, and land for it is going to be auctioned along with Hanhui Road. There are too many projects now, so the development will be postponed and, the investment isn't settled. I plan to personally increase the funding, but if you are interested, you can participate in it too."​Xue Li's eyes shone, "I'm not clear what kind of project this is?"​Qi Yan briefly explained, "I have the complete plan. If you are interested, I can show you it next time."​Qi Yan's few words made Xue Li especially excited, and he hurriedly inquired: "I don't know if I want to participate in Young Master Qi's project, but what's the share?"​Qi Yan explained: "The land for this project is relatively cheap, so not much investment is needed, I can personally afford it. Shian's projects are highly ranked, there's no risk. I want to invest in this a bit more and take more than half of the shares. If you want to join, I can give you 20%."​When Xue Li heard that Qi Yan wanted to half the share and only give him 20%, his smile faded. Qi Yan didn't need to guess what he was thinking, he expressionlessly told him: "This project should have been originally developed by Shian, half of the share would be my personal gain. I'm giving 20% to Father-in-law to give you face, else I wouldn't even take out 2%."​Xue Li couldn't help sneering: "That is a must, 20% is very good. If it wasn't for Young Master Qi, where would I get this kind of opportunity?" He said this, but Xue Li thought to himself: Looking at Qi Yan's consideration for Shu Zimu, I must let my son grind him more. At least give me 30%, maybe there was even hope for 40%? ​"Thank you, Young Master Qi, I'll give you an answer after I read the project plan." Xue Li asked Qi Yan many questions about the project. The more he asked, the more fortunate he felt, he thought he had picked up a bigger bargain and chatted happily. ​At the end of the meal, both sides felt that they have achieved their goals and were in a great mood. The mascot Shu Zimu felt this way too. He watched Xue Li anxiously jumping into his pit, and his mood perked up. When they were leaving, he impulsively looked at Qi Yan with a rare smile. Qi Yan's acting exhausted himself, and this was all to help him. Even though he was a little awkward, Shu Zimu's gratefulness successfully suppressed his gloominess. ​Qi Yan was 'left in the cold' by Shu Zimu for two days. When he suddenly saw his carefree smile, he was taken back and couldn't help reaching out to touch Shu Zimu's head. He was seven or eight centimetres taller than Shu Zimu, so it was easy to rub his head. However, after the soft and fine hair touch his palm, he realised what he was doing and stiffened. ​Shu Zimu was also surprised by Qi Yan's sudden movements. After they met, they talked a lot, but haven't had any physical contact. This was the first time. Shu Zimu looked at Qi Yan in a daze. The two stared at each other for a long time, until he turned away feeling embarrassed, and didn't avoid the palm that was still on his head. ​Has he......returned back to normal?​Upon seeing Shu Zimu's lack of disgust and evasiveness, Qi Yan couldn't help thinking this. His eyes faintly brightened, and lightly rubbed the soft hair. In terms of what's better to touch, Shu Zimu's hair wasn't more comfortable to rub than Xuexue's, but Qi Yan felt this was more addictive than stroking a cat's. In order to avoid annoying the other party, Qi Yan rubbed twice before retracting his hand back. At this moment, he found a thin layer of redness appeared on Shu Zimu's ears. The original fair ears were even more alluring after being slightly red. Qi Yan continued to stare at it until Xue Li came over and, interrupted their gaze. ​Since Xue Li would definitely want to discuss with Shu Zimu how to get more shares from Qi Yan, Qi Yan's idea to invite Shu Zimu to his house and play with the cat was again unable to be carried out. He could only go back alone but recalling how Shu Zimu didn't alienate him anymore, Qi Yan was quite happy. After he came back, his stroke Xuexue more lively. ​However, everything quickly fell back to before. During their usual video call that night, Qi Yan found that Shu Zimu was strange again. Their conversation awkwardly ended after talking about Xue Li and the holiday resort project. ​After hanging up, Qi Yan rubbed the cat for a while and finally made up his mind to ask Bai Xinlan. ​"Mom, what do you think the reason is?" Qi Yan asked, after narrating Shu Zimu's situation in the past two days. ​Bai Xinlan was confused, and instantly blamed him: "You are really useless, you are about to get married, and you can't even coax your wife!"​It was rare for Qi Yan not to speak and choke on Bai Xinlan's word, and he aggrievedly said: "I don't know what's going on too, otherwise, why would I ask you?"​Although Qi Yan felt that he didn't offend anyone Bai Xinlan was still angry. She couldn't help puffing her cheeks, and thought: Why wouldn't you ask me, was asking your mother very embarrassing? But, this was the peach blossom my single, 25-years-old son, gotten. He was going to be married soon, there wouldn't be a mistake now, right? Bai Xinlan finally swallowed her angry, and considered for a while: "Could it be......the fear of marriage?" ​Qi Yan frowned at this: "Are you sure?"​Bai Xinlan thought about what Qi Yan had just said, and decided: "I'm 80% sure! There's no other reason."​Hearing Bai Xinlan saying this with certainty, Qi Yan hung up and checked online. He had to admit the fear of marriage was the only reasonable explanation right now. Qi Yan carefully searched for solutions and discovered that there were only communication and psychological counselling. But Shu Zimu obviously avoided him, even Xuexue didn't work, how could they communicate?​Qi Yan frowned, then received a message from Bai Xinlan: You go take wedding photos with Zimu in two days. I'll come too, and give you guys some psychological counselling.​Qi Yan felt that Bai Xinlan wasn't a reliable candidate, he chose to consult Bai Xinlan because all his friends were single, and he could only ask married elders. But psychological counselling? Qi Yan estimated that Bai Xinlan could only put on a show. Despite this, he didn't refuse since the fear of marriage might cause Shu Zimu's family to not accept him. It would be good for Bai Xinlan to dispel Shu Zimu's doubts in this area. As for everything else, Qi Yan decided to spend the next two days looking at the information and try to solve it himself. After Shu Zimu received Qi Yan's message about taking wedding photos two days later, a sense of crisis rushed into his heart. He and Qi Yan had always treated each other with respect when someone was around, but normally, couples should be more intimate in wedding photos. Shu Zimu's ears turned a bit red after thinking about this, yet he felt this was anything but good. ​Thinking about this, he grew stiff with a blushing face, how embarrassing......​Shu Zimu even felt uncomfortable at the scene he imagined, but he couldn't avoid this, he should distract himself with other things. As for what he'll do then......Shu Zimu heaved a sigh, he could only hope Qi Yan's dislike of physical contact would lead him to reject intimate postures. ​For the next two days, Shu Zimu either frantically came up with the storyline for a new novel or thought about how to make Xue Li naturally fall deeper into the pit. In any case, he didn't get too entangled with the wedding photo matter. ​After all, what will come would always come. ​Qi Yan arrived at the Xue household early in the morning, bringing an elder, a youth and a cat with him. Shu Zimu was stunned at the sight of Bai Xinlan and Qi Yao but felt this was better than being alone with Qi Yan the whole time. Bai Xinlan and Qi Yao have lively characters, and there were endless laughter and chatter on the way, Shu Zimu unintentionally relaxed a little.
​However, when they arrived at the studio, Shu Zimu was still nervous. Bai Xinlan and Qi Yao were more active than the other two, they selected a lot of clothes and scenes for them. Shu Zimu felt it would take at least three days for them to shoot all this. He wanted to lose some but saw that the two were dissatisfied and, continued to pick with excitement. Shu Zimu couldn't figure it out, men's clothes weren't as decorative as women's, was it necessary to pick so many similar items?

"Forget it, this is all for the time being, what do you think?" Bai Xinlan wanted to continue and asked intentionally. ​Shu Zimu looked at Qi Yan, just as the other looked over, their eyes interlocked for a moment and then they turned back. Shu Zimu was certain Qi Yan didn't want to be troubled and was about to say it was better to have fewer outfits, but heard the person next to him say: "It's fine."​??? Shu Zimu looked over in awe, and Qi Yan looked back with a calm expression, "There are a lot of clothes, let's not waste time?"​"...Hmm." Shu Zimu could only agree, feeling somewhat dejected.​Soon, the two finished putting on their first outfits and started to apply makeup. The makeup artist was full of praise for Shu Zimu's skin and facial features, and Bai Xinlan was beaming with joy. Qi Yan was very good-looking too, but Bai Xinlan was disgusted with the compliments the artist gave him: "He's always scaring others with that wooden look, such a waste of my beauty genes." She patted her youngest son and smiled: "Yaoyao is better, your personality is much cuter than your brother's."
​"......"Qi Yao lowered his head, he didn't want to have a meaningless argument with Bai Xinlan about the word 'cuter', but thought to himself: It's really not easy for me to have a mother who raise her son as a daughter. ​After the first outfit was complete, the shooting began. Bai Xinlan picked numerous scenes, other than magical scenes, some scenes require on the spot shooting. Shu Zimu and Qi Yan had to run outdoors to shoot after shooting inside the studio, the amount of work needed to be done was huge. Today's goal was to finish shooting inside the studio, the first scene has a fantasy style. ​Bai Xinlan was quite trendy, she chose a Western vampire theme for them first. Qi Yan was a cold-blood vampire and, Shu Zimu was a beautiful and noble prince. Their appearances matched their roles well, but the first set of photos ran into some problems. ​The photographer probably saw that Shu Zimu and Qi Yan had great looks and this stimulated his desire to make them strike a specific pose. ​"That's it, just this luxurious and historical feel! So good!" Right after the photographer saw their appearances, he asked them to face each other. When he saw the results, he said: "This is your first encounter, but now your expressions must change! Show the feeling of being amazed at an extremely attractive person, show how you are attracted to each other!" ​"..."