Qin Yuhe picked up his phone and looked at the screen, meeting Song Xinya's gaze head-on.
Her clear, sparkling eyes were fixed on the screen, her head slightly tilted, reminding Qin Yuhe of a curious little kitten.
She stared at the screen without blinking, as if trying to make eye contact with the person on the other end, but Qin Yuhe knew she was actually staring at the camera's big lens, unable to see him.
When there was no response from the other side, Song Xinya waved at the camera's big lens.
She muttered to herself, "So there's no one on the other end."
Song Xinya was now sitting in a chair, facing the camera, thinking that she might have to communicate with Qin Yuhe through this camera often in the future. Loving the house and its crow, she suddenly found this round little gadget cute.
She patted its head: "I'll give you a nickname. What should I call you..."
Song Xinya thought for a moment and replied, "I'll call you Big He. Qin Yuhe's nickname is Little He. You're Big He. You're bigger than Qin Yuhe, so in front of you, Qin Yuhe would have to call you big brother."
Big He.
Hmm.
She thought she was a little genius at naming.
She stroked the camera's round head and said with a smile, "Wait until Qin Yuhe gets back; I'll make him call you big brother."
Just thinking about the hilarious scene of Qin Yuhe calling a camera "big brother" made Song Xinya burst into laughter.
Suddenly, a deep, magnetic, and piercing male voice rang out: "Mrs. Qin, who exactly do you want me to call big brother?"
Song Xinya's smile instantly froze.
Oh no!
Oh no, no, no!
He was actually on the other end!
Song Xinya stammered, "Y-you... when did you turn on the camera?"
Qin Yuhe: "Don't be nervous. I saw the whole process of you asking me to call the camera big brother."
Song Xinya: "..."
Was it too late to flee to Happy Planet now?
Ahhh!
Song Xinya: "That was just a whim, a joke. You're not angry, are you?"
Qin Yuhe: "Not angry at all. If I call the camera 'big brother,' you'd have to call it that too, following my lead. For no reason at all, you'd gain a non-human big brother. How could that not be considered a joyful occasion?"
Song Xinya: "...Brother, I was wrong."
Qin Yuhe: "Hmm, you catch on fast. You're already calling the camera 'big brother' so quickly."
Song Xinya: "........I was calling you 'brother'!"
Qin Yuhe looked at the blushing girl and said in a flirtatious, nonchalant tone, "If you're calling me, say 'big brother.'"
Song Xinya's cheeks burned.
She knew he was watching her on the other end, those dark, deep, and possessively piercing eyes fixed tightly on her.
Now that he was looking at her and suddenly asking her to call him "big brother," she was nervous and shy, and couldn't get the words out.
Song Xinya: "I called you 'big brother' just now. You didn't hear me."
Qin Yuhe: "I heard you."
Song Xinya was stunned. If he heard her, why didn't he respond?
She looked into the camera's lens, imagining his expression at that moment, and asked, "Are you in a bad mood today?"
Qin Yuhe: "What makes you say that?"
Song Xinya: "Because when I greeted you—'Hello, hello, calling Brother Qin Yuhe'—you didn't reply with 'Hello, hello, received, Sister Song Xinya.'"
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Qin Yuhe's mouth: "Hello, hello, received, Sister Song Xinya."
Song Xinya's eyes curved into crescents: "That's more like it."
Feeling pleased, she wanted to chat with him affectionately for a while longer.
She opened her mouth to ask him: Qin Yuhe, what are you doing right now?
Just then, her phone rang. It was Tiantianquan calling.
Song Xinya said to the camera, "I need to take a call."
She stood up, walked to the balcony, and answered the phone. Tiantianquan's voice came through: "Sweetheart, did you get home safely?"
Song Xinya: "I'm home. What about you?"
Tiantianquan: "Sweetheart, don't worry about me. Being ugly is the best protection. For ugly girls like us, players won't take notice, bosses won't harass us, besties won't envy us, and husbands can leave us alone without worry. Heaven has shielded me from all the bad men around me. So, I'm grateful I'm ugly—I'm safe wherever I go."
Song Xinya couldn't help but laugh.
"Stop messing around, Tiantianquan. You're gorgeous."
Tiantianquan replied in a mock Hong Kong-accented Mandarin: "Just kidding, la~"
Song Xinya glanced at the camera, remembering that Crown Prince Qin was still waiting on the other end and she couldn't keep him waiting too long. She said to Tiantianquan, "It's getting late. Get some sleep. Talk later."
Tiantianquan: "Good night, sweetheart."
Song Xinya smiled. Tiantianquan sure had a smooth way of calling her "sweetheart" every other sentence.
Hanging up, Song Xinya sat back down in front of the camera.
"Qin Yuhe, are you still there?"
"Nope. Floating up in the sky."
Song Xinya: "Be careful when you float. Don't crash into a plane."
Qin Yuhe replied with feigned seriousness: "Thank you for your considerate reminder, my dear wife."
They both laughed.
At that moment, the door to a private room opened, and a man walked out with a woman in a cheongsam, his arm around her. The man squeezed the woman's backside, and she let out a coquettish giggle.
The flirtatious laughter reached Song Xinya's ears, and she froze.
"Qin Yuhe, where are you?"
"A private club."
Song Xinya: "What kind of private club?"
Qin Yuhe chuckled and replied, "No women here. Just me. That was some random person passing by just now."
Song Xinya pursed her lips in a smile: "Why are you explaining so much? I didn't even ask."
Qin Yuhe gave a lazy, carefree laugh: "I guess I talked too much. You don't care at all."
He entered a VIP room where he was alone. The sound of his black suit trousers rubbing against the leather sofa created a soft rustle.
As Qin Yuhe lifted his teacup to drink, he heard Song Xinya's voice: "Sweetheart, what are you doing?"
Qin Yuhe nearly choked on his tea.
What kind of strange term was that?
Qin Yuhe: "Who are you calling 'sweetheart'?"
Song Xinya: "You."
Qin Yuhe: "Where did you learn that word?"
Song Xinya said, "I picked it up naturally."
Qin Yuhe: "I don't believe you."
Song Xinya: "It's just that the moment I hear you speak, I feel so happy that I'm moved to call you 'sweetheart.'"
"Do you mind if I call you 'sweetheart'?"
Qin Yuhe: "I've never heard a woman call a man 'sweetheart.' It feels strange."
Song Xinya: "That problem is easy to solve. I'll call you 'sweetheart' every day from now on. Once you get used to it, it won't seem strange anymore."
Qin Yuhe: "..."
"As long as you're happy."
Song Xinya covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Crown Prince Qin had agreed.
She asked, "Are you at a business dinner?"
Qin Yuhe: "Yes."
Song Xinya: "Then don't drink too much. If you get drunk, don't let anyone take you to bed. I don't want anyone else sleeping with you—only I get to sleep with you."
