Translated by Serena Love

Edited by Azure

Chapter 40: Red Fermented Bean Curd Trotters

"Xiaoxiang, come out quickly. The fire is too big." Several villagers shouted anxiously outside.

Zhao Xiaoxiang was still in the room. Her parents' and sisters' things could not be burned.

Her face was smeared with sweat, smoke, and tears. She was still holding a box tightly in her hand, with a crumpled bag in her arms. She didn't know whether the contents were worth any money.

When Zhao Xiaoxiang hurried out the door, her cotton-padded jacket had several burnt holes. The fire had also accidentally burned the ends of her braids, exuding a burnt, pungent smell.

Zhao Xiaoxiang staggered and ran out of the burning house, throwing the things in her arms to the ground and rushing back inside. At this time, the villagers dragged her back desperately.

"You can't enter anymore. If you enter again, you will die. Are these things important, or is life important?"

Zhao Xiaoxiang was exhausted at this time. She was completely paralyzed on the ground, looking at her home swallowed by the fire, and crying bitterly.

"Cut, very good!" The director finally yelled to stop. He took the lead in applauding Tang Qiaoqiao. In this plot, Tang Qiaoqiao showed Zhao Xiaoxiang's anxiety, pain, regret, and fear of death when she rushed into the fire. Everything was in the right place.

Finally, there was a long shot of crying that lasted for a minute. Tang Qiaoqiao cried with her eyes and nose. She didn't keep any image at all but her super infectious power made everyone who saw the clip extremely moved.

The other staff was also amazed by her performance. They applauded her one after another.

Tang Qiaoqiao got up and let out a long sigh of relief. Facing everyone's enthusiastic applause, she smiled embarrassedly.

Although her face was so dark from soot that no one could see her face, her teary eyes were shining like stars.

Shen Yue visited the film and television base today as a tourist. He did not tell Tang Qiaoqiao that he would come to the crew today.

He silently observed from a corner that Tang Qiaoqiao couldn't notice.

He watched her rushing into the fire over and over again like desperately. He watched her acting skills being applauded by the director and staff. He watched her with a brilliant smile on her face.

Only then did Shen Yue understand what Tang Qiaoqiao had said before. She liked the feeling of being liked by others.

Whether it was cooking or acting, it seems that Tang Qiaoqiao could be happy from the bottom of her heart as long as she got a little compliment.

She lived a very simple life, with joy, anger, sorrow, and joy directly expressed on her face.

This simplicity was precious.

"It's so touching. My sister-in-law's acting skills are so good."

Li Ji clapped his hands in dolphin-style applause. He originally thought that Tang Qiaoqiao, his new sister-in-law, was just playing in the entertainment industry. But this time he witnessed how much Tang Qiaoqiao put into acting. He realized that she was serious.

"Boss, my sister-in-law is worthy of being your favorite woman. She is strong." Li Ji said with a thumbs up.

Shen Yue glanced at him coldly, "Don't think that if you say this, I will forget about the African branch."

Li Ji lamented, "I got my lesson, boss. But my words are from the heart. Wait until my sister-in-law's TV series starts. I must turn on all the TVs in the house to support the ratings."

"The ratings are based on sample accounts. Even if you turned on 100 TVs, it's useless if you don't have a sample account." Shen Yue poked him mercilessly and shattered his lofty ambitions.

Li Ji replied, "Then I can always support her by the amount of webcast."

"How about the bodyguard I asked you to find?" Shen Yue's gaze still fell on Tang Qiaoqiao's side.

"It's been arranged. I promise to find the best bodyguards. I can definitely guarantee the safety of my sister-in-law. Things like last night won't happen again."

In fact, Li Ji saw Tang Qiaoqiao's kick on the Internet. After that, he felt that finding any bodyguard will not help her much.

Fang Yuan handed Tang Qiaoqiao a hand-held electric fan and said, "Qiaoqiao, blow your hair quickly. Take off this big quilted jacket and cool yourself off."

Tang Qiaoqiao had to wait to film the scene when the Zhao family came back after the fire. So even if her face is dark and dirty, she can't wash it off. She could only take off the quilted jacket and relax.

At this time, the two or three supporting actors who participated in the fire fighting took off their shirts to wipe their sweat as they walked.

The young actors ran to the gym every day and developed strong eight-pack abs. There was also an actor with a beautiful waistline, coupled with their handsome face. Tang Qiaoqiao couldn't help but look at them until they walked away. Only then she reluctantly withdrew her gaze.

'It's so seductive.'

She couldn’t see such a scene in the realm of cultivation in her past life. Those fat chefs in the back kitchen would be shirtless when they feel hot, but she would be afraid of getting her eyes dirty if she saw them. She had no chance to meet handsome people.

Especially those who were like today, she could never have seen it.

Fang Yuan couldn't help but cough twice and reminded her, "Qiaoqiao, control your eyes. Don't be too obvious."

"What's wrong with my eyes?" Tang Qiaoqiao looked calm, "Men can look at women openly and honestly. Women can't even make comments. Can't I just take a look at handsome guys? My eyes only hold pure appreciation, love for beauty. Everyone has it."

She was not lustful!

Shen Yue couldn't hear Tang Qiaoqiao's words from where he was. He could only see her eyes move with the few men with naked upper-bodies.

At this moment, Li Ji looked at Tang Qiaoqiao like a scumbag. It happened to be a branch hanging over his boss's head. Are those green and glowing leaves a bit too appropriate?

"These male actors are really inappropriate. Didn't they see that there are so many young girls here? Who wants to look at their bloated bodies?" Seeing the look on his boss's face, Li Ji had to interject with an angry expression.

Shen Yue was exuding a faint air-conditioning aura. He heard that Tang Qiaoqiao was a little ambiguous with Shen Liang before, and he thought that she liked the thin and handsome style. Later, her attitude towards Shen Liang dispelled his thoughts.

'Does she actually like this type of muscular man?'

'What's so beautiful about those bulging muscles?'

'The taste of this woman is still as bad as ever.'

Shen Yue was silent for a while, then turned around coldly. He threw a sentence while sliding away in his wheelchair. "When you find bodyguards, you should pay more attention to their inner character."

Li Ji understood completely. "I understand."

Paying attention to the inner character means not someone with a good-looking appearance.

Unexpectedly, Tang Qiaoqiao is a bit powerful. She seems to be the dominant party in this relationship.

Then who is usually at the top and at the bottom?

Li Ji stroked his chin and thought, 'This is a serious question.'

"Ah, what happened to your hand, Qiaoqiao?" Fang Yuan exclaimed.

Just when Shen Yue turned to leave, Tang Qiaoqiao just took off her quilted jacket and held a small electric fan to blow the air at her face, and her wrist was exposed.

She had been wearing a dark cotton-padded jacket, and no one paid attention. But now, she could clearly see a wound on the back of her right wrist. The dark red blood had solidified. It should have been from when she ran around in the fire just now. Who knows what scratched her.

Fang Yuan said in distress, "What if it was a rusty nail? It would get infected."

Tang Qiaoqiao waved her hand indifferently. "Don't make a fuss. It doesn't hurt anymore."

The director came over and took a look when he heard her words. The wound was actually a bit deep, but it was covered by dark red blood, which was not obvious.

"Why don't you go to the hospital for an injection first?"

'An injection? No way!'

Tang Qiaoqiao waved her hand desperately. "No need, we are about to start shooting. This scene must be finished quickly, so don't delay everyone's effort because of me."

When the director saw this, he stopped persuading her. He quickly mobilized the staff to get ready and immediately start the shooting.

"Qiaoqiao, you really don't want to go to the hospital?" After Tang Qiaoqiao finished filming, the director immediately asked her to go back to rest. On the way back to the hotel, Fang Yuan was still chattering to persuade Tang Qiaoqiao to go to the hospital for a look.

Tang Qiaoqiao insisted that it was just scratched a little bit. Fang Yuan was just too fussy.

No matter how she persuaded her, Tang Qiaoqiao refused. Fang Yuan couldn't do anything.

When she was about to enter her room, she thought for a while. She didn't know whether Shen Yue was back, and she walked to the opposite room.

Fang Yuan stopped following when she saw it. When she learned about Tang Qiaoqiao's relationship with Shen Yue, she was really shocked at first. But the most important rule of doing this business is to keep their mouths shut. No matter what the secrets and personal matters of the artist were, you could not say a word.

Tang Qiaoqiao took out the key card that Li Ji gave her and gently pushed the door in.

This room was a suite. Originally, Li Ji lived in the outside room for the convenience of taking care of Shen Yue, but now he moved to another room.

No one was in the outside room, and the lights were not on.

Tang Qiaoqiao pushed a door and saw Shen Yue with his back facing her, lifting a barbell with one hand, rising and lowering.

She asked, "What are you doing?"

Shen Yue was startled by Tang Qiaoqiao's abrupt voice. His hand, which was already a little sore, couldn't hold the barbell firmly. The barbell slammed straight into his left toe.

"Ahh!"

Shen Yue yelled out in pain immediately. The moment his toe was hit, he felt his heart tighten, and his whole body was numb.

Tang Qiaoqiao quickly ran to Shen Yue's side. She squatted down and raised his feet to look.

"What's wrong? Where did you get hit? Why are you so careless?"

Shen Yue looked pained. "What are you doing sneaking there?"

Tang Qiaoqiao has an innocent expression. "Because there is no light outside, I thought you were sleeping. That's why I stepped lightly and became sneaky."

Shen Yue was already writhing in pain, but being lifted by Tang Qiaoqiao suddenly felt even more painful.

"Let me see." Tang Qiaoqiao took off Shen Yue's slippers and saw that his toe was already faintly blue.

She muttered, "Why are you even using a barbell? I haven't seen you practice before."

Shen Yue turned his face away. "Can't I exercise?"

"You have to pay attention to a proper way to exercise. You are inside the room. Lifting iron inside, isn't it foolish? Isn't it just asking to smash your own foot?" Tang Qiaoqiao whispered and complained.

"If you didn't show up suddenly, would I be so scared and drop it?" Shen Yue said with no air.

"You blame others when you don't hold it properly. You are the one who got hurt and has sweat on your face."

"Wait a minute!"

Tang Qiaoqiao suddenly remembered something, and her eyes lit up. "You can feel the pain?"

Shen Yue was also stunned. He looked at his faintly blue toes. The bouts of pain had not disappeared. He felt pain in his feet. He finally felt his lower body, which used to be dead.

Tang Qiaoqiao raised a big smile and said excitedly, "Shen Yue, your legs are finally beginning to feel some sensation."

"I can feel the pain." Shen Yue muttered to himself. His heart was beating wildly, like a rushing ocean wave, churning non-stop.

Although Tang Qiaoqiao always insisted that he would stand up again, and kept giving him acupuncture and massages, in fact, he still didn't have many expectations in his heart. He had been disappointed too many times before.

But now, he has to admit that Tang Qiaoqiao was right.

He might really stand up again.

Tang Qiaoqiao excitedly grasped Shen Yue's hand. "I told you that my method would be effective!"

Shen Yue held her soft little hand and stared into her eager eyes. His heart was warm, and even his toe didn’t seem to hurt so much anymore.

He lowered his eyes, not knowing what to say, but his gaze fell on the back of Tang Qiaoqiao's hand, and his eyebrows jumped. "What happened to your hand?"

On Tang Qiaoqiao's hand, there were two band-aids attached.

"Well, I was scratched on the fire scene today. It's not a problem."

Shen Yue frowned. "Something scratched you? Did it get infected?"

"It might be nails or wood chips. It's nothing."

Tang Qiaoqiao felt that she was fine, but then Shen Yue was furious. "Do you know how dangerous rusty nails are? You must get a tetanus shot."

Tang Qiaoqiao withdrew her hand, refused, and said, "It's really not necessary. Maybe my wound will heal and scab."

Shen Yue frowned. "It's possible that the wound will ulcerate tomorrow."

"Impossible." Tang Qiaoqiao thought to herself that she still had spiritual power. Well, it's just that she couldn’t say it out loud.

All in all, getting an injection was absolutely impossible.

"You have to go even if you don't want to go," Shen Yue pointed to his feet, "My toe became like this. You are also responsible. You must accompany me to the hospital."

"I..." Tang Qiaoqiao regretted it. If she knew that it would turn this way, she would just go back to her room and sleep well.

So Li Ji was dug out of his bed inexplicably and had to accompany the two patients to the hospital.

One hurt her hand, and one hurt his foot.

They went to the hospital in Shen Yue's car. Tang Qiaoqiao was still chattering beside Shen Yue, "I really don't need an injection. Just go in and see the doctor by yourself. I'll wait for you outside."

"There are many people in the hospital. In case I am recognized, it would be bad. Anyway, people would make a fuss when a star broke a little bit of skin. If I got on the hot search, netizens would scold me for selling sadness. People would pay attention to it."

Shen Yue said, "Don't worry. We are going to a private hospital with first-class confidentiality. No one will photograph you, let alone spread that you were hurt."

'Damn bourgeoisie.'

Tang Qiaoqiao was restless and puckered her face.

Shen Yue looked at her uneasily and said, "You just have to say so if you are afraid of injections."

Tang Qiaoqiao shrieked, "How could I? i, Tang Qiaoqiao, can kick people to the sky. How COULD I be afraid of injections?"

Her face looked embarrassed to be exposed. Shen Yue WAs watching a good show. How could he admit defeat? Isn't it just a shot?

Shen Yue's mouth tickled. "That's good."

When they arrived at the hospital, Shen Yue went straight to the emergency department without saying a word.

Tang Qiaoqiao sat opposite the doctor and was anxious.

The doctor removed the band-aid on the back of Tang Qiaoqiao's hand. She said, "I said that the problem is not serious. Doctor, just prescribe some ointment. This little injury will be scabs tomorrow."

The doctor said solemnly, "This wound is not all right. It is red and swollen, isn't it serious enough? In case of bacterial infection, it will be too late to regret it."

Tang Qiaoqiao was crying without tears. "Is there no other way other than injections? Is there an oral tetanus shot?"

Doctor: "Are you the doctor, or am I the doctor?"

Shen Yue shook his head helplessly. "Doctor, don't listen to her. Just use it."

Tang Qiaoqiao wanted to rush out, but Shen Yue blocked the door as if he had a precaution.

She watched the doctor draw out a thin needle, sucked the medicine from the medicine bottle, and squeezed out the air from the syringe. The sharp needle was dripping with liquid.

Her breathing suddenly rose. She admitted that she was really afraid of injections.

The doctor lifted Tang Qiaoqiao's sleeves and rubbed alcohol on her arm for disinfection. The cold touch made her tremble.

"Shen Yue." Tang Qiaoqiao turned away and finally couldn't help but shout.

Shen Yue heard her crying voice, stepped forward, and lowered his voice. "What's wrong?"

"I...I'm afraid." Tang Qiaoqiao's eyes were full of tears.

Shen Yue pursed his lips and smiled. Finally, she admitted it.

"I will allow you to hold my hand." As soon as Shen Yue said this, Tang Qiaoqiao immediately clenched his arm.

At this time, Shen Yue realized that Tang Qiaoqiao's muscles were trembling. He could not help but calm her down with a soft voice, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Li Ji was in the corner, covering his face. They were torturing a single dog just by seeing a doctor.

However, a scream immediately sounded. "Ah!"

But it was not Tang Qiaoqiao's voice. It was Shen Yue's!

When they arrived at the orthopedics department, the doctor looked at Shen Yue's injuries with a serious face. "What's the matter? The arm was pinched, and the toe is also purple."

He asked Tang Qiaoqiao, "It's not domestic violence, right?"

Tang Qiaoqiao kept waving her hands in denial. Misunderstanding, a big misunderstanding.

She just subconsciously clenched his arm in her hand at the moment the needle stabbed her. Who knew her strength was not controlled well, and Shen Yue got five fingerprints on his arm.

She lowered her head, also feeling a little guilty.

Shen Yue looked at her drooping face and had to explain that it was an accident. The doctor dubiously prescribed some ointment for promoting blood circulation and removing bruises.

Back in the car, Shen Yue said, "Now, because of you, I have hurt my foot and my hand. What should I do?"

"If you didn’t make me come to the hospital, nothing would happen." Tang Qiaoqiao whispered.

"What are you whispering?"

Tang Qiaoqiao: "What do you want?"

Shen Yue covered the corners of his mouth with his fists. "No need to do anything, but I will trouble you with three meals a day for the next two days."

Tang Qiaoqiao: 'As if he didn't bother me before.'

As the saying goes, because Shen Yue's toe and arm were injured, Tang Qiaoqiao bought a lot of trotters and gave him a variety of trotter feasts.

The red fermented bean curd trotters have a bright red and oily color. The salty aroma of the fermented bean curd completely penetrated the trotters, which enhanced the rich taste and made it not greasy at all. The pork trotters were stewed so softly that they could be deboned with one bite, and your mouth would be full of meaty aroma.

The soup of winter melon, lotus root, and pork trotter had been boiled for nearly three hours. The fragrance of winter melon and lotus root and the rich gelatin of the pig's feet were perfectly blended together. The soup was light and refreshing, and the aroma was overflowing. It was the most nourishing soup.

There are also spicy pork knuckles and cold pork knuckles, and finally, Tang Qiaoqiao served Shen Yue with a bowl of soy and peanut stewed pork knuckles.

Shen Yue's face was faintly blue. Was he breastfeeding?

—

T/N: Pork trotters are believed to be a recommended confinement food as it aids mothers in their milk lactation.

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