Marriage Concerto (Small Thing Called Love) Chapter 52

Translator: pwip

Chapter 52: We're very much in love

"My mom just called to say that Su Rui has already returned home safely." Qiao Yichen walked over from the living room and continued helping Ding Meng wash the dishes.

"Oh, that's good." Truth be told, Ding Meng had really been a bit worried that the little girl would take things too hard. After all, this was the Goudan gege she had crushed on for so many years.

After Qiao Yichen shook the the bubbles off his hands, he wrapped his arms around Ding Meng's waist and rubbed against her, "Wife, shall we continue physical training tonight?"

Ding Meng gave him a side glance, "You can sleep by yourself next door tonight."

Qiao Yichen looked at her with an extremely wronged expression, "Wife, it'll be the New Year soon. How could you bear to make me sleep restlessly by myself?"

Ding Meng responded indifferently, "I have the New Year's Eve Concert tomorrow. I need to rest properly tonight."

Qiao Yichen, "…"

That's why I suggested more physical training.

On the second to last day of the year, Qiao Yichen once again experienced how hard it was to fall asleep at night without a wife to hold.

The next day, Ding Meng followed a schedule that included recording songs, performing in a celebration, and then rushing to the next celebration's venue. Both New Year's celebrations went without a hitch. However, when she stood on the stage during the countdown and balloons of every color drifted down from the sky, she felt a little regretful that Goudan couldn't be there to see them too.

She didn't return home until it one in the morning, but Qiao Yichen was still awake. After she finished her bath, she noticed that Qiao Yichen was looking at her concentratedly.

"Why haven't you slept yet?"

Qiao Yichen responded, "I'm unhappy that you welcomed in the New Year with another man."

Ding Meng, "…"

She crawled under the covers and lay down. She spoke with her back facing Qiao Yichen, "I'm going to sleep, good night."

Qiao Yichen immediately snuggled closer and his hand restlessly burrowed underneath her collar, "Wife, Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year…" Ding Meng responded softly. Qiao Yichen's hand began to roam even more presumptuously.

"Stop messing around…" Ding Meng wanted to wanted to move Qiao Yichen's hand away but he hugged her even more tightly.

"Darling, just once…" He whispered into her ear and nibbled her earlobe. His glistening eyes carried a hint of antic.i.p.ation.

Perhaps it was because Qiao Yichen always called her darling while doing *that* sort of thing, but now Ding Meng felt like darling was a really perverted word.

Qiao Yichen's other hand had already reached under her skirt. Ding Meng humphed a bit more and then accepted her fate, "I'm a little tired today so don't be as…" intense as last time.

Even though she didn't finish her sentence, Qiao Yichen knew exactly what she meant. Smiling, he rolled on top of her and nipped her lower lip, "Relax, I'll be very gentle and tender."

Their breathing gradually intertwined and, as always, Qiao Yichen enjoyed this activity greatly.

The next day was the first day of the new year, and with it came the fresh possibilities of a new year. The entire city was immersed in a New Year's atmosphere.

Last night, Ding Meng had slept late so she wanted to take advantage of not having work in the morning to catch up on sleep. However, she was unexpectedly awoken by her phone bright and early in the morning.

Qiao Yichen was also still sleeping. He groped around for Ding Meng's phone and was about to pick it up himself when he noticed that the Jiang Man's name was displayed on the screen.

After hesitating for a second, he shook the person next to him, "Wife, Jiang Man is calling."

Ding Meng had always feared and respected that manager of hers. When she heard Jiang Man's name, she immediately became much more awake. She took the cellphone from Qiao Yichen's hand and accepted the call. Before she had a chance to speak, Jiang Man's voice had already begun transmitting, "Answer me honestly right now, are you and Qiao Yichen married?"

Ding Meng's heart jumped. She instinctively began beating around the bush, "Why are you asking that?"

Jiang Man responded, "Your marriage certificates have been posted on Weibo."

Now, Ding Meng was wide awake. Her heart thumped wildly and even her breathing became frenzied. Qiao Yichen noticed the change and asked silently with his eyes, "Wife, what's wrong?"

Ding Meng looked at him and then calmed herself down with great difficulty, "I'm sorry. We really are married."

Qiao Yichen immediately scrunched his eyebrows he heard that.

Jiang Man was silent for a moment before she spoke again, "There's nothing wrong with the fact that you two are married. However, hiding this from me was a huge mistake. Right now, we don't even have an emergency plan which is extremely disadvantageous. In any case, come by the office first. CEO Xiang is also here."

Ding Meng, "…"

They were done for…even the big shot CEO Xiang had been alerted.

When Qiao Yichen saw how pale Ding Meng's face looked as she hung up, he anxiously touched her face, "Jiang Man knows that we're married?"

Frowning, Ding Meng replied, "Someone took a picture of our marriage certificates and posted them online."

Qiao Yichen's eyebrows scrunched up. This was even worse than he had imagined.
"Let's head to the office first." He rolled off the bed and took his clothes out of the closet.

The two of them left directly for the office without even eating breakfast. Even though today was New Year's Day, there were still quite a few people working at the company.

It was obvious that they had learned about Ding Meng and Qiao Yichen's relationship from the internet. Even the way they looked at the two of them had become a little awkward.

However, Ding Meng didn't have the luxury to care about how others saw her. She and Qiao Yichen walked directly to Xiang Guang's office.

Jiang Man and Xiang Guang were both sitting inside. When Xiang Guang saw Qiao Yichen enter, he grinned, "I guess I should start off by congratulating you on your marriage? Although, you didn't even invite me to the celebration. Aren't you being a little too stingy?"

Qiao Yichen loosened his tie and sat down across from Xiang Guang, "I'm not in the mood to joke around with you right now."

"Okay, then I'll let Jiang Man talk to you." Xiang Guang looked at Jiang Man, indicating that she could start explaining the situation.

Jiang Man quickly took control of the conversation, "If the paparazzi had just taken a picture of the two of you together, I could have explained that the two of you were simply dating, After all, you two have recently been recording an alb.u.m together and it's common for feelings to develop after spending a lot of time together. However, the fact that you two are married is undeniable since the other party has gone ahead and posted your marriage certificates online. You two will have to admit it." She spoke up to here and looked at Ding Meng and Qiao Yichen, "Whoever was able to take a picture of your marriage certificates is surely someone close to the of you two. I'm sure that you both know who it is so I won't speak more about the matter."

Ding Meng frowned. She hadn't expected that rebellious little girl would be so vicious. She had actually come up with this method of getting revenge on her Yichen gege! A little sister's love wasn't something that just anyone could handle!

It was clear that Qiao Yichen was thinking of Su Rui as he silently wrinkled his eyebrows.

Jiang Man continued, "Celebrities secretly get married fairly often. It wouldn't have been a big problem if you two had simply concealed your marriage. I could have settled that. However, the problem right now is the date that you two were married." She picked up a tablet and tapped it several times. Then she placed it on the table, "Not only did the person take a picture of the marriage certificate covers, that person also took a picture of the pages within. The registration date is June of last year. At that time, Ding Meng was still partic.i.p.ating in Heavenly Voice."

Qiao Yichen's eyebrows immediately scrunched up.

Sure enough, Jiang Man had announced the worst possible outcome. "Right now, people are asking if Ding Meng won first place through underhanded means."

"Ding Meng was chosen as the winner by three judges. Are they also going to suggest that I bribed Xiao Qi and Sun Rui?" Qiao Yichen was starting to look a little angry.

Xiang Guang laughed and leaned against his executive chair, "I wouldn't be surprised if they did. The promoters that broke the news are employed by Xingyao. Right now, they're taking advantage of the situation and trying their best to chase Ding Meng out of the music industry."

T/N: The promoters are people who use social media to market/sell certain products or brands xD I had a tough time coming up with an English equivalent.

Qiao Yichen looked at him, "Don't you employ promoters of your own?"

Xiang Guang smiled wryly, "You didn't even invite me to your wedding, yet you remember me so quickly when you need me."

Qiao Yichen responded tersely, "The wedding hasn't been held yet. Relax, we will definitely collect your wedding gift money."

Jiang Man didn't have the patience to talk nonsense with them so she turned her head towards Ding Meng, "Aside from those who are trying to bring you down, the people who are reacting the most strongly right now are your fans. Your first order of business is to pacify your fans."

Ding Meng looked down at the Weibo post that had exposed them. It pictured two bright red marriage certificates and also a snapshot of the contents within. Even though their personal information had been censored out, the picture's registration date was still very clear.

Frowning, she looked up at Jiang Man to speak, "I will write a statement as quickly as possible. I really apologize for keeping this a secret from you all for so long."

"Save your apologies for your fans. Start writing your statement now and let me see it after you're done."

"Okay."

Ding Meng used the tablet on the table and began to write. After many revisions, she finally settled on this:

Since today is New Year's Day, I had wanted to spend my first post of the year wishing everyone a Happy New Year, but at this time I have no choice but to issue a statement. Early this morning, my manager called me to the company to tell me that someone had leaked Qiao Yichen's and my marriage certificates online. I want to apologize to everyone right now. Mr. Qiao Yichen and I were married at the end of June last year. I am very sorry for keeping this from everyone for so long.

At the time of our marriage, I hadn't begun a career in music yet so the question of whether to announce it or not wasn't an issue, and I didn't expect that I would actually enter the music industry. After missing the optimal time to announce the news, I continued putting the matter off and wanted to wait for a good opportunity to tell everyone. I never imagined that everyone would find out in this fashion.

I don't expect that all my fans understand me or forgive me, but with regards to being the Heavenly Voice winner, I can stand upright and guarantee that I absolutely did not use the marriage between Qiao Yichen and I to obtain it.

My conscience is clear.

Lastly, to the person who took a picture of our marriage certificates and sent them to the promoter without our permission, truthfully I am very angry with you. No matter the reason why you did this, it was very low.

She handed her completed draft to Jiang Man to take a look. Jiang Man nodded and spoke, "This will do. Just send it out like this. It's more sincere when you can tell that the artist actually wrote it. We will follow up with you regarding the next steps at a later time. Before you receive notice from us, you don't need to issue any further responses."

Nodding, Ding Meng used the tablet to log into Weibo and post the long draft she had just finished. Not long after posting, it began to receive an astonishing number of shares and comments. Two big name promoters quickly jumped out to share her post and wrote captions that were rather partial to her. She figured that these were probably CEO Xiang's promoters.

Truth be told, she had really disliked promoters in the past, but now…she was really thankful that promoters existed.

She watched as the number of comments and shares continually climbed and mentally prepared herself before opening the comments.

"The big show of the new year. Congratulations from a pa.s.serby"

"Lemon Leader, don't feel sad. Most of your Little Lemons are women. It's not like we've ever thought of marrying you *crying laugh*, although it was really surprising to suddenly discover that Lemon Leader had a secret husband. However, I still want to congratulate you on your marriage ~Happy New Year!~”

"I believe that Lemon Leader relied on her own abilities to become first place. As for the marriage…I'm gonna go cry a bit first /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~"

"Haha, you used your connections to get to the top and even hid your marriage, yet you still have the guts to call other people low?"

"So you're actually married *bye*"

"Concealing a marriage is unforgivable. I'm no longer a fan *bye*"

"Can those who use personal connections scram from the music industry?"

"Have those who say that she relied on connections to win ever watched Heavenly Voice? Come back and throw shade after watching, okay?"

"Regardless, concealing a marriage really affects the fans' morale. Fortunately you're a woman. If you were a male artist *crying laugh* although I still believe that you are talented."

"The person who was able to take a picture of their marriage certificates must have been someone they knew, right? Not only that, doesn't the fact that Lemon Leader showed her their marriage certificates mean that person must have been really familiar? How scary…"

"I just knew they had a thing ever since that time when Leader Meng stood up for Qiao dada. Would I speak lies? *crying laugh*"

After scrolling down, Ding Meng realized that Qiao Yichen had also shared her post. Qiao Yichen's Weibo was also verified but he posted very infrequently since he worked behind the scenes. Therefore, his followers only numbered several tens of thousands.

Qiao Yichen (V): It really was our mistake to conceal the marriage. However, as a judge on Heavenly Voice, every vote I made was decided by how the singers performed. I also have a clear conscience. Lastly, to the person who sent the picture to the promoter, we all know who you are. You won't be welcome in the future.

Ding Meng glanced at him and spoke, "Goudan, you have so few followers on Weibo. Even if you share it, not many people will see it."

Qiao Yichen, "…"

Couldn't he stand up for his wife?!

However, Ding Meng was wrong. After discovering that she and Qiao Yichen were married, everyone began searching up Qiao Yichen on Weibo. Before half an hour had pa.s.sed, Qiao Yichen's follower count on Weibo had broken through a hundred thousand.

Many haters, fans, and people just pa.s.sing by popped up and left him messages.

"I have always liked your music. I watched all of Heavenly Voice and I don't think you favored Ding Meng. She really does sing well."

"Dada, please take care of our Lemon Leader QAQ"

"At least he's taking responsibility by sharing Leader Meng's post. Otherwise, Leader Meng would really have been blind."

"Can you reveal the person who exposed you guys? I'll be in charge dealing with them :)"

"It was Ding Meng's idea to conceal the marriage wasn't it? You're not a performer so it doesn't really affect you. I feel sorry that you married this sort of a wife."

Qiao Yichen frowned as he read and then issued a second post.

Qiao Yichen (V): It was not our intention to conceal our marriage. Just like Ding Meng said, since neither of us were performers, there was no need to think about announcing our marriage. When she later debuted, we held off because we were waiting for a good opportunity to make a public announcement, not because Ding Meng was worried that it would negatively affect her career. I hope that no one misunderstands. We are very much in love.

"We are very much in love *doge*"

"#weareverymuchinlove# Helping you two trend on the charts, no need for thanks :)"

"Ooh, #weareverymuchinlove#"

"Qiao dada you should use your own hashtag on Weibo #weareverymuchinlove#."

Qiao Yichen, "…"

Why had they settled on such a strange main point?

Jiang Man's eyebrows raised when she looked at her cellphone, "Qiao Yichen, you can stop responding now too."

Qiao Yichen, "…"

Ding Meng curiously glanced through his Weibo, "…"

Qiao Yichen met her gaze and spoke solemnly, "At least I diverted their attention."

Ding Meng, "…"