The Devil Wears the Same Old Prada

"Confess and leniency shall be granted; resist and severity shall follow."

Xu Mo wasn't afraid—because the person before him was his wife.

Xu Mo spoke up—because mutual trust was fundamental between spouses.

Xu Mo laid his cards on the table.

He spilled everything about the song.

Only the matter with Lin An'an remained unspoken.

How the hell could he bring that up?!

Unless the damn system guaranteed that in the next second,

it could teleport him away,

then he might consider it.

Well, if Zhou Qiaoqiao insisted on asking,

Xu Mo would still choose to answer truthfully.

"Hmm? That's it? Nothing else?"

Zhou Qiaoqiao asked with a teasing smile.

Xu Mo's neck stiffened as he wanted to nod, but in the end, he shook his head.

"There's more..."

"Go on, tell me."

"I don’t want to say it... I’m afraid you’ll get angry."

"What’s there that you can’t say? I promise I won’t get angry."

"No..."

"Ugh, stop being so wishy-washy! Xu Mo, you had the guts to do it but not the guts to admit it?"

"Pfft—you know?"

"Know what?"

"Fine, I’ll come clean..."

A real man

stands tall between heaven and earth.

This time, laying it all out,

Xu Mo recounted everything in detail.

Even the "stupid woman" was included.

He was mentally prepared for Zhou Qiaoqiao to slap him—maybe even multiple times.

After shedding the damn restrictions of the system and protagonist nonsense,

Xu Mo admitted

that deep down, he really wanted to cut loose.

All those female leads in novels—

having lived two lifetimes here, he’d had enough of swallowing his pride.

Taking back a little interest wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

But times had changed.

Xu Mo braced himself for the storm.

Yet, in the end, the she-devil burst into laughter.

Even Xu Mo was stunned.

Once Zhou Qiaoqiao finished clutching her stomach from laughter,

she shot him a dramatic eye-roll.

"I told you to say it, and you actually did? Weren’t you afraid I’d get mad?"

"I was..." Xu Mo answered honestly, then added, "But I was more afraid of lying to you. If you found out one day and walked away—even if you never did—my conscience wouldn’t let me rest."

Every word was true.

The she-devil waved her hand dismissively, then picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth. Between bites, she said, "The thing with Lin An’an doesn’t surprise me. Honestly, though, my husband turning out to be a songwriter—and one who can create a viral hit overnight—that was a shock."

"If Mom and Dad find out, they might question their entire lives..."

By the end,

Zhou Qiaoqiao arched her delicate brows, speaking in a playful tone.

She didn’t mention Xu Shi.

Because if Xu Shi knew,

her reaction wouldn’t be as stunned as their parents’.

After all, she was the female lead—

just like her, she’d eavesdropped on Xu Mo’s inner monologue before.

She’d already braced herself.

No fun in that.

"If you don’t tell, and I don’t tell, they’ll never know."

Xu Mo also ate a grape he’d peeled himself.

"You handled Shen Manni well," Zhou Qiaoqiao suddenly remarked.

Xu Mo choked.

He coughed violently,

his face twisting in discomfort.

The she-devil rolled her eyes, but the moment he started coughing, she was already by his side,

gently patting his back.

The worry and exasperation in her eyes were plain to see.

After a while,

Xu Mo recovered.

"Can’t even take a compliment now? So fragile?" Zhou Qiaoqiao returned to her seat.

She really had meant it as praise.

Thinking back to the past,

when Xu Mo had been head over heels for that woman,

it wasn’t like Zhou Qiaoqiao hadn’t felt jealous.

No woman wants the person she loves

to fall for someone else.

Even if it was an act.

And Xu Mo had kept up that act for a long time.

Until she could hear his thoughts—

that’s when the truth came out.

"No, it’s just... you’ve been dropping bombshells left and right lately," Xu Mo said, taking a sip of tea.

Zhou Qiaoqiao grinned. "Your tolerance is just too low. Didn’t I say before we got married? I don’t mind~"

Xu Mo refilled his cup and gulped down another mouthful. "I mind."

Zhou Qiaoqiao paused, warmth inexplicably flooding her chest.

The mood turned oddly tender—

as if she were the one at fault.

Xu Mo changed the subject. "I’ll be away for a while this time. When I come back, let’s have a child."

His expression was solemn,

his tone devoid of any jest.

This time,

Xu Mo had made up his mind.

While traveling to clear his head,

he’d see if the damn system had any more moves.

If not,

then so be it.

Even if the heavens themselves intervened,

he’d refuse to leave this world.

At the mention of a child,

the she-devil trembled, a thousand words swirling in her heart—but only one made it past her lips.

"Okay!"

They talked a while longer

before Xu Mo finally stood to leave.

Before he went,

the she-devil demanded a kiss.

"Uh... can I say something?"

Sensing something off, Xu Mo blinked.

Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. "Go ahead!"

Xu Mo swallowed hard before timidly offering, "You’ve... gained a little weight recently?"

Watching Xu Mo brace himself for a slap,

the she-devil laughed again. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, yeah! Even if you turned into a little pig, I’d still love you. After all, you’d be my little pig," Xu Mo chuckled.

Seriously,

who cared about "perfect" figures?

A slightly plump girl was the real treasure.

Graceful curves,

unfading charm,

voluptuous allure—

that was the real forever.

"Ugh, so cheesy..."

The rare glimpse of girlish shyness from the she-devil

sent Xu Mo’s heart racing.

"Hey, hey, hey... no, no, no."

"Hmm? Why not?"

"Because... because... tsk tsk, my dear Xu Mo, you’re so forgetful!"

Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled, radiant as a blooming flower.

But Xu Mo only felt a chill down his spine.

True to his instincts,

Zhou Qiaoqiao proceeded to list her reasons—

what he’d been doing at this time last night,

plus the matter with the "stupid woman."

It was a full accounting of old and new grievances.

Xu Mo rubbed his temples, overwhelmed.

Ah, whatever.

"Do well. If you need money, come to me."

"Am I the kind of man who can’t even support himself?"

Xu Mo grinned, pinching the tip of her nose.

Zhou Qiaoqiao responded with another exaggerated eye-roll.

"That little company of yours isn’t even worth a hundred billion. Don’t come back until it is."

Xu Mo froze.

That... was a tall order.

"How about ten billion? Easier target. Unless... you don’t want to see me sooner?"

"Who wants to see you sooner, you jerk."

"Tsk tsk tsk, such a tsundere."

"Alright, alright, enough joking."

The she-devil, worried about disturbing the baby, quickly cut him off.

Xu Mo stole one last kiss

before leaving.

He still had much to do—

giving Jiang Jiajia, his assistant, a heads-up,

and writing letters to the other female leads to be mailed after his departure.

Why letters instead of texts?

Because letters had more class, of course.

One last issue circled back to the "Dragon Queen."

This time, Xu Mo was traveling alone—no dragon tail tagging along.

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