After Qin Wei returned home, she saw that Qiao Sixiao was watching a live stream projection. The dating show that she was participating in had other female celebrities participating as well, but there was no interaction between them, so Qin Wei didn't bother paying much attention.
"I bought some chicken, vegetables and fruits. There's still quite some time, so I'll rest first..."
"Let's have a salad for dinner tonight. Xiao Wang bought some rye bread, I'll toast it in the toaster oven in a bit."
Qiao Sixiao turned off the projection and told her to sit down and rest, while sympathizing with her:
"Getting matched with a weirdo right off the bat, it really is difficult for you. Don't take what he said about his views on relationships to heart, it's just a variety show, it's not like he's asking you to date and marry him..."
"I didn't hear anything he said."
Qin Wei confessed frankly,
"Didn't you say that if I don't have any good feelings towards the other person, I should put on an attitude, being aloof but still polite, so I didn't hear anything he said."
"That's right, today was the first day of the livestream, and your metrics are pretty good. The trending topics are also quite positive, all praising how good you look, your fashion sense, politeness, just endure it for now, it's all for work after all. I even bought you a gift, as encouragement."
As Qiao Sixiao spoke, she pointed at the gift box on the table.
There was even a gift. Qin Wei opened it and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up:
"How did you know I wanted this! I saw it at the mall today too! But I was afraid it would seem like product placement so I didn't dare buy it!!"
Inside the gift box was a cartoon bear thermos, which had a fluffy cup sleeve.
Seeing that she had bought the right gift, Qiao Sixiao looked very satisfied:
"I saw it while watching the livestream. That guy kept hinting for you to go to the mall and check out Wanbaolong, but you didn't react at all.
You looked at that thermos for so long, and he was completely oblivious as well. So I had Xiao Wang go buy it."
Only then did Qin Wei react:
"I really didn't know he wanted a fountain pen...But I did have an unexpected discovery today, I discovered his bestselling book...Teacher Qiao, take a look, the plot of this novel is truly surprising!"
As Qin Wei spoke, she took out the unexpected find from her trip to the bookstore today that she had searched everywhere for but didn't expect to encounter at the bookstore.
Moreover, it was placed in a prominent location, with the author's retouched glamour shot, and it really was a bestseller.
Qiao Sixiao looked at the few big words on the cover:
"'My Movie Star Wife Loves Me So Much'...?"
"I read a few pages on the way here, it's so addicting ahahahahaha..."
Qin Wei directly laughed out loud,
"I was wondering earlier why he was rambling on about who knows what. After reading the first few chapters of his book everything made sense ahahahahahaha..."
Qiao Sixiao looked at her disdainfully:
"So noisy...
Talk while I listen and make the salad and toast the bread at the same time..."
"Ah no need, I'll do it. You just listen on the side."
Qin Wei put down the book and went to the kitchen, washing vegetables while telling Qiao Sixiao:
"The plot of his book is so absurd but really good ahahahaha...
The male lead is just an ordinary company employee, well not that ordinary actually, he ranked at the bottom in the company every year but his boss and superiors cursed him like a dog yet never fired him.
Then by some stroke of good fate he meets a female celebrity, and she's an award-winning actress at that. Don't ask me why, but the two of them get trapped in the wilderness, with absolutely no way to escape. Anyway with nothing better to do, they start chatting.
The male lead then tells the female celebrity about his views on relationships. After hearing it, the female celebrity feels that this guy's ideas are truly simple and down-to-earth! This guy is truly a good man who cares for his family!
Then the two of them get rescued and return home separately. And then by another stroke of good fate, they run into each other at the mall. The male lead buys her a little hair clip and clips it into her hair. The female celebrity is completely smitten! Because all the other men only ever gifted her diamonds, jewels and sports cars. But he was different! What he gave her was exactly that five dollar hair clip that she had always wanted since she was a little girl!
If she was innocent to the ways of the world, he would show her all its splendor. If she was world weary, he would take her on the merry-go-round.
The female celebrity is moved! She decides to date him. But the male lead rejects her, because he feels insecure, feeling that he is not good enough for the award winning actress...
Then the female celebrity, ahahahahahaha..."
Qin Wei laughs loudly like a goose, after washing the vegetables she starts chopping them, waiting until she laughs enough before continuing,
"Then to make him feel secure, the female celebrity directly goes with him to register their marriage! Her manager wants them to sign a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets, but the female celebrity says no need, what's mine is his now, I want to give him everything I have ahahahahaha..."
Qiao Sixiao: "............So then did the movie star get her just desserts in the end?"
"I haven't read that far yet ahahahahaha..."
Qin Wei is already laughing so hard she can barely stand it, hastily using the back of her hand to wipe away tears,
"It's actually just wish fulfillment fantasy, there's nothing wrong with writing wish fulfillment like this. I've read a lot of these kinds of fantasy novels when I got bored during shoots. The core plot device is marrying a rich beauty and reaching new heights in life, it's quite stress relieving.
Forget about him, even I want unearned gains, having a silly award-winning actress raising me willingly and without complaint, now that would just be too perfect ahahaha...
There are two things about this book that particularly tickle my funny bone. One is the personality of the female celebrity in his writing. The other is his pen name."
Qiao Sixiao helped bring her a bowl, and toasted some bread on the side, waiting for her to continue.
"The award-winning actress is usually cold towards others, not giving any man the time of day. She only acts tender and cute towards the male lead, even before they got married she was always thinking of ways to capture his heart. At work she would always be lost in thoughts of him, imagining her acting partners as the male lead...she wished that he was the only thing in her life.
On the outside she's a cold aloof big celebrity. But to him she's a darling wife."
As she spoke, the salad was tossed and the bread toasted. Qin Wei carried the plates over to the coffee table, eating while continuing to speak.
"This is the usual wish fulfillment fantasy trope, and I didn't think much of it at first. But then I saw his pen name 'Sixiao's Husband", and in his author profile under 'Favorite Celebrity' was 'Qiao Sixiao'. So I imagined you as the darling wife ahahahaha..."
"Disgusting!"
Qiao Sixiao was so amused she threw aside her chopsticks.
...
After dinner, Qin Wei was in no mood to finish unpacking. She curled up with Qiao Sixiao on the sofa to keep reading the book. The more they read, the more absurd it got, but the more absurd, the more addicting it became. Luckily it wasn't very long, and they finished reading it after three hours.
Qiao Sixiao summarized the book:
"The male lead has no skills at work, average looks, bad interpersonal relationships, no money, sensitive personality, keeps making trouble.
The movie star has also lost it, not acting anymore, not working anymore, just busy cleaning up the male lead's messes, going around helping him save face.
Other than the halo of being a 'movie star's husband', this guy has nothing else going for him. I'd like to call this 'Me and My Silly Movie Star Who I Don't Deserve'."
Qiao Sixiao closed the book and pinched Qin Wei's cheek, looking at her sympathetically,
"This Zhang Cheng seems to really want to develop a relationship with you like in the book. You'll have to properly get into character for his performance tomorrow as well."
Qin Wei patted her hand signaling her to let go:
"To be honest when I imagined you I thought it was pretty funny, but when I thought about the fact that the clown was actually me I lost it. I can't play the role of the undeserving movie star wife for him, but I can play the role of 'Me, the Quick Tempered, High Maintenance, Poor and Hard to Please, Rebellious Woman Who Has No Interest Whatsoever in Dating and Only Cares About Making Money and is Also Mostly Just Rebellious and Over the Hill Former Award Winning Actress Who Has Been Single For Three Days'."
"Actually there's only two days left."
