He wants to adopt a younger sister, but his aloof wife disagrees.

"This is the 'Law of Sines'? I think it's more like the 'Fatal Theorem'..."

Su Xiaoruan slumped over the dining table like a salted fish that had been drained of all its moisture, her eyes glazed over, muttering to herself.

After half an hour of Shen Qingge's "academic genius-style dimensional reduction attack," her soul had already left her body. Although she had solved the problem, she felt that her brain cells had suffered heavy casualties.

"Alright, stop pretending to be dead."

Jiang Che carried the last soup out of the kitchen, took off his apron, and said, "Wash your hands and eat."

"Okay!"

Upon hearing about food, Su Xiaoruan instantly perked up.

She jumped off the chair, but instead of washing her hands immediately, she snuggled up to Jiang Che like a koala, tugging at his sleeve and swaying it from side to side, her voice excessively sweet:

"Brother~ I was so tired from learning about those functions today~ My brain feels like it's going to explode~"

"After we finish eating, can you treat me to an ice cream as a reward? Just a tiny bite, please~"

As she spoke, she blinked her big eyes, pouted slightly, and rubbed her cheek against Jiang Che's arm.

The movements were fluid and graceful, clearly the result of countless rehearsals of a "killer move".

Jiang Che smiled helplessly and flicked her forehead lightly.

"You can only eat half, I'm afraid you'll get a stomachache."

"Yay! Brother is the best!" Su Xiaoruan cheered and skipped off to wash her hands.

This entire scene was witnessed by Shen Qingge, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Shen Qingge didn't immediately turn sour or make sarcastic remarks as she usually did. Instead, she held the non-existent pen (actually a chopstick) in her hand, lost in thought.

As a business elite skilled in reviewing and analyzing, Shen Qingge keenly perceived the crux of the problem.

Why does Jiang Che always agree to Su Xiaoruan's requests?

Why is it that this wild girl, who is clearly useless, can so easily win Jiang Che over?

The core competitiveness lies in—showing weakness and acting coquettishly.

Shen Qingge watched Su Xiaoruan's retreating figure, her mind racing.

That girl would pout, whisper in a whisper, tug at his sleeve, and call him "brother." And what about me? I could only coldly say "eat," "sleep," and "go to the company."

"Could it be... that all men fall for this?"

Shen Qingge frowned slightly.

She glanced at Jiang Che, who was serving rice to Su Xiaoruan. The man who was usually polite and even somewhat distant towards her now looked at Su Xiaoruan with a clear hint of doting in his eyes.

That was something she had never had before.

An unprecedented competitive spirit burned fiercely in Shen Qingge's heart.

Isn't it just being cute?

If even an illiterate like Su Xiaoruan can learn it, how could I, a top student with two master's degrees, not learn it?

……

Inside the restroom.

Shen Qingge stood in front of the huge mirror, turned on the tap, but did not wash her hands.

She looked at the woman in the mirror, dressed in a black business suit, with her hair perfectly styled and an icy expression.

"It's too hard."

Shen Qingge gave her self-evaluation.

She took a deep breath, trying to relax her facial muscles.

Then, mimicking Su Xiaoruan's earlier actions, she tried to pout her lips slightly, widen her eyes, and make an "innocent" expression.

The woman in the mirror instantly developed an extremely distorted and bizarre expression.

It's like a headmaster who's constipated.

"..."

Shen Qingge got goosebumps all over.

"This is disgusting," she couldn't help but complain.

But when she thought of that scheming woman outside serving food to Jiang Che, Shen Qingge gritted her teeth again.

I'll fight tooth and nail to win back my husband and secure my place in the family!

She spent a long time adjusting herself in front of the mirror before finally regaining some composure. Although she couldn't quite achieve Su Xiaoruan's natural "tea-like" demeanor, at least she didn't look so angry anymore.

As for the sound...

Shen Qingge cleared her throat: "Ahem... a... a pinched sound, right?"

She tried to lower and thin out her voice:

"Husband~"

vomit.

Shen Qingge almost got herself killed.

This is incredibly difficult! It's even harder than acquiring a listed company!

"Shen Qingge, you can do it. You are the president of the Shen Group, nothing can stump you."

She cheered herself up, splashed cold water on her face, steadied her breathing, and pushed open the door to go out.

……

In the restaurant.

Dinner was great.

Su Xiaoruan was engrossed in eating because she had just finished her tutoring session. Jiang Che, on the other hand, was leisurely peeling shrimp.

Shen Qingge sat back in her seat, her heart pounding faster than when she signed the multi-million dollar contract.

She seized the opportunity.

At that moment, Su Xiaoruan held out her bowl: "Brother, I want to eat shrimp too~"

Jiang Che just put a peeled shrimp into Su Xiaoruan's bowl.

It's now!

Shen Qingge took a deep breath, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly under the table, her knuckles turning white.

She turned her head and looked at Jiang Che.

She tried to make her eyes look "tender and gentle" (actually, it looked more like glaring), then reached out and stiffly tugged at Jiang Che's sleeve on the table.

She made this gesture as if she were about to arrest a criminal.

Then, she opened her mouth, and with all her acting skills, in a high-pitched voice, squeezed out a sentence:

"Husband...husband~"

"I...I want to eat those shrimp too~"

The last "ma" syllable was deliberately trembled three times at the end, carrying a chilling vibrato.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

The air in the restaurant seemed to have been sucked out in an instant.

Su Xiaoruan, who was eating, suddenly dropped her chopsticks on the table with a "clatter," her mouth forming an "O" shape, staring blankly at Shen Qingge as if she had seen an alien descend.

This...this is that cruel older sister?

Was she possessed?!

Jiang Che, the person involved, was utterly shocked.

The shrimp he had just peeled fell directly into the soy sauce dish because his hand was shaking, splashing a few drops of black sauce.

He turned his head and looked at Shen Qingge with a look of horror.

At this moment, Shen Qingge's face was as red as a boiled crab, her expression was somewhat ferocious due to excessive tension, and her eyes also carried a hint of despair, as if she were begging for a way out.

"Qingge..."

Jiang Che swallowed hard, and subconsciously reached out and placed his hand on Shen Qingge's forehead:

"You...have a fever?"

"Or did the company go bankrupt? What triggered it?"

That's terrifying!

It's like seeing Sadako crawl out of the TV and then make a heart shape with her hands at you, saying "Onii-chan".

"puff--"

Su Xiaoruan, who was standing next to her, finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, spitting out her food.

"Cough cough cough... Hahaha... Shrimp... I want to eat shrimp too..." Su Xiaoruan laughed so hard she was pounding the table, tears streaming down her face. "Sister, you... you can't do this, I'm scared... Hahahaha!"

boom--!

Shen Qingge felt as if a string in her mind had snapped.

shame.

Overwhelmed by shame, she felt utterly humiliated.

She, the dignified CEO Shen, abandoned all her dignity and tried to act coquettishly like a scheming woman, only to be met with her husband thinking she had gone mad and her rival's merciless ridicule?!

"Jiang Che!!"

Enraged, Shen Qingge slapped Jiang Che's hand away from her forehead. Her previously timid voice instantly transformed back into her domineering, mature woman's voice, even rising eight octaves in anger.

"What do you mean?!"

"Why can she act cute, but I can't?! Why do you give her whatever she wants, but you think I'm crazy when I ask you to peel a shrimp?!"

"Can't I act cute?! Am I so unworthy of being a woman?!"

After Shen Qingge shouted those words, her eyes actually turned red.

She felt wronged.

She tried so hard to change, to fit in, to salvage the situation, but she messed it up and ended up looking like a clown.

Jiang Che was stunned when he saw the tears glistening in Shen Qingge's eyes.

Su Xiaoruan's laughter stopped abruptly, and she looked at her older sister, who had suddenly lost her composure, with a somewhat bewildered expression.

Jiang Che looked at the woman in front of him, who was both angry and aggrieved, her face so red it was almost bleeding.

He suddenly realized what was happening.

That chilling "shrimp" gesture just now, that stiff sleeve-pulling motion...

It turns out she was imitating Su Xiaoruan.

It turns out, she was trying to please him.

Shen Qingge, who was always aloof and never bowed her head, actually clumsily learned the "green tea tactics" that she despised the most in order to win his attention.

A warm feeling, indescribable in its own right, suddenly welled up in Jiang Che's heart.

He couldn't help it; the corners of his mouth turned up, and he laughed out loud.

"You're still laughing!"

Shen Qingge stood up angrily, ready to leave, "I'm not eating! I'm too angry to eat!"

Just as she turned around...

A hand grabbed her wrist.

Jiang Che used a little force to pull her back into the chair.

"Why are you running?"

Jiang Che looked at her, and the smile in his eyes was no longer teasing, but rather carried a long-lost tenderness.

He picked up another shrimp, skillfully peeled it, removed the vein, and then dipped it in a little seafood soy sauce.

Open your mouth.

Jiang Che handed the peeled shrimp to Shen Qingge's mouth.

Shen Qingge was stunned, looking at the shrimp in her mouth and then at Jiang Che's smiling eyes.

"I...I won't eat it." She stubbornly persisted, trying to maintain her last shred of dignity. "I have my own hands."

"Didn't you just say you wanted someone to feed you?"

Jiang Che deliberately mimicked her tone from earlier, which, although also quite disgusting, instantly eased the awkwardness.

"Eat."

Jiang Che pushed the shrimp forward, his lips touching hers, his voice deepening:

"Although that 'shrimp' was indeed a bit scary..."

"But, she's quite cute."

"Honey, you looked so cute just now."

cute?

These two words were completely foreign to Shen Qingge, who had been called a "genius," "iceberg," and "strong woman" since childhood.

But when Jiang Che said it, it felt like an electric current, sending a tingling sensation throughout his body.

Shen Qingge's face turned even redder, but this time it wasn't from shame, but from shyness.

She opened her mouth and bit the shrimp.

The sweet and savory shrimp meat melts in your mouth.

Jiang Che watched her eat, his smile widening:

"You don't need to imitate others anymore. You can act cute whenever you want, without using a high-pitched voice; just speak normally."

"No matter what you're like, as long as it's you, I'll fall for that."

Shen Qingge lowered her head and chewed on the shrimp. The grievance that was about to explode in her heart instantly turned into a sweet feeling as if she had been filled with honey.

She secretly glanced at Jiang Che and muttered something under her breath:

"...I want more."

The voice was very soft and normal, without any affected sounds, and carried a hint of arrogance.

But this is the real Shen Qingge.

"Okay, peel it for me."

Jiang Che picked up another shrimp.

Su Xiaoruan, standing next to her: "..."

Seeing this scene, the food in her hand suddenly lost its appeal.

A sense of crisis! A tremendous sense of crisis!

She laughed too soon!

Although my sister's imitation was terrible, the effect was surprisingly good?! What's this? Sincerity is the ultimate weapon?

Su Xiaoruan bit her chopsticks as she watched Jiang Che peel shrimp for Shen Qingge, and the feeling of "I'm the extra dog in this family of three" welled up inside her.

No! We can't lose!

Su Xiaoruan's eyes darted around, then she suddenly clutched her stomach:

"Ouch...brother, my stomach hurts..."

However, this time, before Jiang Che could even turn around...

Shen Qingge had already swallowed the shrimp in her mouth. In a great mood, she turned her head, elegantly pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, and then gave Su Xiaoruan a queenly smile:

"Stomach ache? That's because you overate."

"Go wash the dishes to help with digestion."

Su Xiaoruan: "???"

Jiang Che suppressed a laugh and added insult to injury: "Listen to your sister. Go ahead."

Su Xiaoruan looked at the two "adulterous couple" who were acting like a married couple, and picked up the plate with tears in her eyes.

Shen Qingge narrowly won this round.

Although the process was horrific, the ending was sweet.

For Jiang Che, the gains that night were even greater.

【Ding! 】

[A crack has been detected in Shen Qingge's "arrogant iceberg" persona, unlocking a new attribute: clumsy cuteness.]

[Congratulations, host, you have received a reward: Shen's Group share acquisition progress +2%, current shareholding 3%.]

[Gain special skill: Eye of Emotional Insight (allows you to view your wife's current true mood index at any time).]

Jiang Che looked at the small bubble that suddenly appeared above Shen Qingge's head, which read: [Happiness Index: 90% (Reliving the feeding just now)] .

He smiled.

It seems that the days of living off a woman are becoming more and more promising.