Song Xinya's heart felt as if it had been struck by a current of electricity, and her toes curled back in response.
Qin Yuhe's hand, which was applying the ointment, paused. He looked up at her, his dark eyes like stars: "Did I hurt you?"
Song Xinya: "No."
Qin Yuhe just assumed she was too embarrassed to admit it hurt, so his movements became even gentler as he applied the medicine.
His movements were very gentle, meticulous, and slow. Time seemed to freeze and stop flowing.
The sole of Song Xinya's foot rested against his palm. As their skin touched, the temperature of her sole grew higher and higher.
With a smile on his lips, Qin Yuhe asked, "Are you hot?"
Song Xinya said slyly, "I think you're the hot one. Why is your palm kept burning my foot?"
Qin Yuhe chuckled: "Am I the one burning you?"
Song Xinya: "Probably."
Qin Yuhe raised an eyebrow: "Then I suppose I am."
Song Xinya felt that this distinguished prince was actually quite easy to talk to, completely different from the decisive, ruthless, and cold-blooded figure in the rumors.
Seeing his unhurried and calm movements, Song Xinya asked, "Mr. Qin, are you not busy right now?"
Qin Yuhe: "I am."
Song Xinya: "Then hurry up and finish applying the medicine so you can go back to work."
Qin Yuhe: "No need. I've already pushed my work back."
For someone like him, who treated work as his life and enjoyed the feeling of being busy all the time, to actually postpone his work was quite surprising.
Astonished, Song Xinya asked, "Why?"
Qin Yuhe: "To accompany you to see Grandma."
A warm feeling spread from Song Xinya's chest.
She didn't know if he felt any love for her, but he seemed to have done everything a husband should do.
Oh, right.
Except making love.
They hadn't done that yet.
After finishing applying the medicine, Qin Yuhe instructed, "It probably won't heal right away. Try to walk less and rest for a couple of days."
"Okay," Song Xinya looked toward the sink: "Go wash your hands."
Qin Yuhe placed the fair little foot from his palm onto her shoe. The hot, smooth sensation of their skin touching vanished.
He stood up, glanced at her foot, and said, "Your feet are very pretty."
Song Xinya wanted to ask how they were pretty when they were covered in a thick layer of ointment, giving off a strong herbal scent.
Then she heard Qin Yuhe say, "They're pink."
He stared at her foot, seeming to find it quite novel: "How is it that even your feet are pink?"
Song Xinya suddenly felt her face heat up. The way he said it made it sound like he had seen other pink parts of her.
In truth, she hadn't even taken off her clothes in front of him yet.
And he hadn't taken off his clothes in front of her either.
She didn't even know if he had abs.
Qin Yuhe's gaze swept across her face, his peripheral vision landing on her lips.
He turned and walked out to wash his hands.
Song Xinya was left alone in the room. The air finally stopped feeling so thick and began to circulate again.
She patted her chest with her hand and let out a long breath.
The burned spot on the top of her foot had swollen, and it hurt like needles pricking her whenever it rubbed against her shoe.
Wearing a shoe on one foot and keeping the other raised, Song Xinya hopped her way outside.
When Qin Yuhe came out after washing his hands, he saw Song Xinya in the hallway, having already hopped twenty meters away.
She hopped quite fast.
Just as Song Xinya hopped to the corner of the hallway, an old man walked straight toward her. She hopped backward to dodge but couldn't avoid him in time, stumbling and falling toward the ground.
The sound of rapid, long strides came from behind her. She was caught behind the knees and scooped up by the waist.
Still in shock, Song Xinya wrapped her arms around Qin Yuhe's neck, her palms resting against the skin of his nape.
"Mr. Qin, you arrived just in time."
Qin Yuhe carried her toward Grandma's room: "You just needed to stand in the room and wait for me to carry you. Why were you hopping around on your own?"
Song Xinya: "I thought I could successfully hop back to the room by myself."
Qin Yuhe: "Do you think you're Mario from Super Mario? Jump up, hit your head, pop out a mushroom, and successfully clear the level?"
Song Xinya went soft, leaning into his embrace. With her eyes lowered, she looked a bit wronged: "I didn't think that."
Qin Yuhe looked down at her. Seeing her long eyelashes flutter like a bullied child, she exuded a childish, adorably pitiful vibe.
Normally, she was radiantly beautiful, but when she was unhappy and lowered her long, curled eyelashes, she had a childish cuteness that made one want to cherish her.
These two completely different temperaments blended seamlessly on her pretty face. Not only did they not clash, but they also created a unique, touching charm.
As Qin Yuhe carried Song Xinya to the door, he heard her say, "Grandma is in the room. Put me down."
Qin Yuhe: "What, do legally married couples need to avoid arousing suspicion?"
He openly carried her into the room.
Seeing that Song Xinya had been gone for so long, Grandma was craning her neck to look when she saw a man carrying Song Xinya back, with Song Xinya affectionately hugging his neck.
"Yaya, who is this man?"
"He is my..." Song Xinya wasn't quite used to saying the next word yet: "Husband."
Qin Yuhe's eyebrow twitched slightly, revealing his amusement.
He gently placed Song Xinya on the escort bed, nodded toward Grandma, and called out solemnly and respectfully, "Grandma."
Grandma sized up this very tall and handsome man and asked with a smile, "What is your name?"
Qin Yuhe: "Qin Yuhe. My grandmother calls me Little He. I felt very close to you the first time I saw you today, Grandma. You can call me Little He just like my grandmother does."
The polite smile on Grandma's face turned into a knowing smile: "Little He, I also felt a sense of familiarity the first time I saw you."
Seeing the soothing, sleep-aiding tea on the table, Qin Yuhe guessed the reason Song Xinya had gone to get hot water.
He stepped out and returned, bringing the thermos over. He brewed a cup of tea and handed it to Grandma with both hands, not forgetting to gently remind her, "Careful, it's hot."
Handsome men always win women's favor more easily, not to mention he was sweet-talking, diligent, and proactive. Even the nearly eighty-year-old Grandma couldn't resist the charm of a handsome man. She turned to Song Xinya and said, "Yaya, your husband is clearly a good man."
Song Xinya could feel that Qin Yuhe was intentionally trying to please Grandma today.
A man valuing the woman's family is not only a sign of valuing the woman herself but also a form of respect.
For him to go to such lengths for her, Song Xinya felt somewhat touched in her heart.
Qin Yuhe remained standing in front of Grandma. He only bent down to sit when Grandma told him to take a seat.
No matter what questions Grandma asked, he answered each one seriously.
Grandma's mind was sometimes clear and sometimes muddled. She might repeat a single question four or five times, but Qin Yuhe showed no impatience, answering her over and over again.
After Grandma finished her sleep-aiding tea, it was getting late. Drowsiness set in, and she began to doze off while sitting.
Qin Yuhe promptly got up and helped Grandma lie down under the covers.
The only two people left awake in the room were Qin Yuhe and Song Xinya.
As for Song Tingye, once he fell asleep, he didn't wake up. He wouldn't even wake up if someone shipped him off to Myanmar to have his kidneys harvested.
Carefree people always have good sleep quality.
There was only one companion bed in the room. It was narrow, barely 1.2 meters wide.
It was more than enough space for Song Xinya to sleep alone, but with the tall, muscular Qin Yuhe added to the mix, it would be a very tight squeeze.
"Mr. Qin, there is a five-star hotel near this sanatorium where you can stay," Song Xinya suggested.
Qin Yuhe sat down on the companion bed beside her. "I am staying here."
"Then I will sleep on the couch," Song Xinya replied.
"We have only been married for five days, and you already want to sleep in separate beds?" Qin Yuhe asked.
"That is not what I meant. This bed just cannot fit two people," Song Xinya explained.
"Is that so?" Qin Yuhe wrapped his arm around her slender waist and pressed her down onto the bed. He held her from behind, his lean, powerful body pressed seamlessly against hers.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his warm lips brushing against her sensitive skin. "Does this not fit? Let's sleep together."
