Mistaken ‘O’ is a Crazy Gorgeous Boss - Chapter 32

After sending the message, Qu Zhen returned to the master bedroom with the heavy book in her arms.

The first half of the book explained the secrets of romance, while the latter half discussed important techniques for maintaining a marriage, with test questions at the end of each chapter. After repeatedly flipping through it for a long time without finding the answers, the familiar video call ringtone broke the silence in the room.

Qu Zhen sat up straight and accepted the video call initiated by Qin Huan.

The background on the phone screen was clearly a flower shop. Qin Huan was holding a bouquet of Yaotai Yufeng chrysanthemums, admiring them with great enthusiasm.

“Zhenzhen, what do you think of Mom’s Yaotai Yufeng bouquet?” Qin Huan smiled. “Doesn’t the color look like the white wax apples you loved eating as a child?”

Qu Zhen nodded. “They’re beautiful, and yes, they do look similar.”

“This week, when you and Koukou come home, I’ve rearranged your room and even dug out all your childhood photos. Pretty thoughtful, right?”

The dimples at the corners of Qu Zhen’s lips faintly appeared. “Shouldn’t you be hiding them instead?”

“You were so adorably chubby as a child. Why would I hide such cute photos?” Qin Huan teased her deliberately. “Are you worried it might affect how Koukou sees you?”

“No,” Qu Zhen said seriously. “Mom, stop teasing me.”

“Alright, let’s get back to the main topic. What does Koukou like to eat? Does she have any dietary restrictions? You haven’t told me any of this yet.” Qin Huan, eager to showcase her skills, was very much looking forward to meeting Shen Zhikou. “Also, does she have any allergies? Is she allergic to dog fur? If she is, we’ll have to make poor Luobo suffer for a few days.”

Qu Zhen had long memorized all these details. After she finished recounting them one by one, Qin Huan’s expression shifted.

“Zhenzhen, I asked about Koukou’s preferences and dietary restrictions. Why did you list your own?”

Qu Zhen replied, “Mom, I didn’t get it wrong. It really is these.”

As a mother, Qin Huan was very familiar with her own child’s preferences. At first, she was taken aback, but the more she listened, the more she suspected her daughter had misspoken. Hearing her daughter’s confirmation, she blinked in surprise, feeling that the two were exceptionally well-matched, with such highly overlapping preferences and restrictions.

“What a coincidence,” Qin Huan remarked playfully. “Zhenzhen, what do they call this again?”

Qu Zhen asked blankly, “Call what?”

Qin Huan was already used to her daughter being a bit slow on the uptake. “This is fate! Just think about it, how many couples argue after marriage because their tastes and habits don’t align? You and Koukou have such a high degree of overlap in this area, perfectly avoiding potential marital conflicts. Isn’t that fate?”

Hearing this, Qu Zhen murmured softly, “We’re also very compatible in other ways. Mom, we get along really well. Every day of our vacation was happy. She treats me very well and takes great care of me.”

Her voice grew softer, barely audible, and her ears turned warm. “Mom, I think… I think…”

In their family of three, Qin Huan had always been the most lively and quick-witted. She often teased Qu Han and her daughter for being old-fashioned, saying they belonged in a shop as treasured antiques.

Hearing her daughter speak like this, she already had an idea and decided to voice it outright.

“You seem to like her a little, don’t you?”

The question that had long lingered in her heart was now torn open by Qin Huan. A flood of unclear emotions poured out from the breach. As her heart pounded violently, Qu Zhen could feel her own glands heating up.

Was it… love?

Did she have a bit of a crush on Shen Zhikou?

“Sweetie, you’re still not sure if you’re really falling for her, right?” Qin Huan, speaking from experience, posed a question. “So, how do you feel when you’re around her? Simply put, do you want to get close to her?”

Qu Zhen lowered her long, thick eyelashes and remained silent, but inside, her emotions churned like stormy waves.

How could she not want to get close?

On Star Island, she had even begged Shen Zhikou to kiss her, to respond to her.

She did want to be close, but… every time she felt that urge, it was almost always during the influence of a temporary mark. It was an instinct carved into the bones of an Alpha and Omega after marking, something even she couldn’t suppress or control.

Seeing this, Qin Huan, mindful of her daughter’s shyness, lowered her voice to offer guidance. “You’ve heard the story of me and your mom countless times since you were little. But I never told you how we actually got together. I remember it was a cloudy day, and she came to the opera house again to listen. When the show ended, it started pouring rain, and everyone else had left.”

“I walked to the wooden door and saw her still waiting there for me. I thought to myself, this person is as stubborn as a rock and a bit of a fool. But I didn’t refuse your mom’s invitation. I ducked under her umbrella, and we started walking home. When we passed the locust tree, I noticed half her shoulder was exposed outside the umbrella, her clothes soaked and dripping. Then, for some reason, I suddenly wanted to hug her, to get even closer, to be near her.”

“Before we parted, I kissed her, and her face turned so red it almost matched the lanterns hanging by the door. That’s how we confirmed our relationship, we started dating, got married, and then had you.”

After finishing, Qin Huan glanced to the right, her expression like a small animal cornered by a beast.

“We’ll talk more later. Zhenzhen, you two have plenty of time. Even if you’re still unsure about your feelings now, make sure you treat Koukou well.”

Immediately after, Qin Huan ended the video call with lightning speed.

Qu Zhen guessed that her mother must have come to the shop and caught Qin Huan in the act of doing something ‘naughty.’ She picked up her phone to charge it, Qin Huan’s words echoing in her mind, reminding her of the story she had heard so many times.

Qin Huan was an opera performer, specializing in the role of the female lead. Her striking looks meant she never lacked suitors.

At that time, Qu Han had just graduated from university and returned to her hometown to teach. While helping her family deliver something to an old friend at the opera house, she accidentally ran into Qin Huan, who had just changed out of her costume.

Without makeup, Qin Huan wore only a thin water-sleeved gown, the collar slightly open, revealing the jade-like skin of her neck and shoulders, the curves of her figure clearly outlined.

Flustered and startled, Qu Han hurried away. But when they met again, she told Qin Huan she would take responsibility.

Qin Huan was taken aback and explained that although she loved performing opera, she wasn’t actually a relic from a thousand years ago, nor did she enjoy acting out opera plots in real life.

But Qu Han was persistent. From then on, she went to the opera house every day to listen to Qin Huan perform, never failing to bring a bouquet of flowers, rain or shine. After four months, she finally managed to add Qin Huan on WeChat.

In the seventh month, Qin Huan accepted Qu Han’s flowers for the first time.

Qin Huan thought Qu Han was the most foolish among all her suitors, yet she couldn’t deny that this fool made her heart flutter.

…

When it came to matters of the heart, the mother and daughter were strikingly similar: rigid, traditional, and conservative.

After that fleeting glance, Qu Han assured Qin Huan that he would take responsibility. Following the temporary mark from that night of secondary differentiation, Qu Zhen, blushing deeply, apologized and earnestly promised Shen Zhikou that she would absolutely take responsibility.

Her journey to explore these fluttering feelings had stalled, leaving Qu Zhen wavering and unable to distinguish whether it was the influence of pheromones or genuine heart-pounding attraction.

At first, she felt somewhat anxious, but after calming down for a while, she realized that three days apart would help dissipate the effects of the temporary mark, and her heart gradually settled.

At 9:30 in the evening, Qu Zhen video-called Shen Zhikou, who had safely arrived in the neighboring city.

They chatted for a while, and throughout the call, Qu Zhen kept her eyes fixed on Shen Zhikou, bolder than ever before.

Before ending the call, Qu Zhen repeated twice for her to stay safe. Shen Zhikou softly agreed, the warm light in the hotel room making her expression appear even gentler.

No matter how reluctant she was, fifteen minutes later, the call came to an end.

Before bed, Qu Zhen received a reply from Z. In all the time they had known each other, this was the first time Z had taken nearly half a day to respond.

[Z: Sorry, something came up suddenly and I was busy for half the day.]

[Z: “Heart-fluttering” is a broad term. I’m not sure if this will help, but for me, heart-fluttering is the source of desire.]

[Z: Good night.]

Outside, the rain poured heavily. Qu Zhen gazed from the bay window at the flowerbed beside the streetlamp, her cheeks flushing from peach pink, gradually deepening to spring plum red, then to fragrant leaf red, and finally transforming into the purest shade of rouge red.

After repeated hesitation and internal struggle, the seed that had long wrestled in her heart finally broke through the soil. At the same time, she mustered her courage and made a crucial decision.