"I'm not happy."
Song Xinya propped her porcelain-white arms on the table, her fox-like eyes shimmering with a cunning, bright sparkle, and said leisurely, "Aren't you supposed to be a generous guy? Why are you unhappy now?"
Qin Yuhe: "I'm not as generous as I thought I'd be."
Song Xinya: "Be more specific."
Qin Yuhe: "I can't stand the idea of watching my own wife have dinner alone with another man and stay indifferent."
Song Xinya smiled with satisfaction: "You should've admitted that sooner. So stubborn."
Qin Yuhe: "Not stubborn. Soft. Give it a kiss and you'll see."
Song Xinya's cheeks flushed: "I've got people around me."
Qin Yuhe: "Han Jingyi? Put it on speaker. Let him hear."
Song Xinya blushed and laughed: "You may not care about dignity, but I do."
Worried he might say something else that would make her heart race, Song Xinya stood up and walked out of the private room.
In the hallway, she stopped, and heard Qin Yuhe say, "Delete the post you just put on Moments."
Song Xinya: "Worried someone might see it and think you've been cuckolded?"
Qin Yuhe: "No. I just think Han Jingyi doesn't deserve a Moments post dedicated to him alone."
Song Xinya: "Then who does?"
Qin Yuhe: "Me."
Song Xinya: "You're so possessive, brother~"
Qin Yuhe: "Say it louder. I like hearing you shout."
Song Xinya's cheeks grew even warmer: "Something about the way you say that feels a little inappropriate."
Qin Yuhe: "Your instinct is right. What I mean is, I like hearing you scream in bed."
"I really miss seeing you in bed."
Song Xinya's face turned into a little furnace.
"Mr. Qin, do you have people around you right now?"
Qin Yuhe: "Yes."
Song Xinya: "And you're still saying things like this to me?"
Qin Yuhe: "In the car. The partition's up. They can't hear."
Song Xinya: "So you can do whatever you want?"
Qin Yuhe: "Why not?"
The way he said things like that with such a serious tone made Song Xinya laugh.
They chatted a while longer, and finally Song Xinya said, "I'm going to go eat hotpot now."
Qin Yuhe: "Delete that post before you eat."
He was persistent.
Absolutely refusing to let another man have a Moments post all to himself.
Song Xinya: "Let me tell you a secret. I set that post so only you could see it."
Qin Yuhe: "...So you were messing with me?"
Song Xinya: "I don't eat people. Only lamb."
Qin Yuhe: "...Even if that post was only visible to me, delete it anyway."
She really had to delete it. If she didn't, she wouldn't get a single bite of food in peace.
Song Xinya opened Moments and hit delete: "Already deleted."
Qin Yuhe: "Good."
Song Xinya: "Can I go eat now?"
Qin Yuhe: "How many people?"
Song Xinya: "Four."
Qin Yuhe: "Better."
Song Xinya couldn't stop laughing.
Qin Yuhe didn't hang up. He silently listened to the sound of her laughter through the phone, and the corner of his mouth curled up faintly.
When Song Xinya finally laughed enough, they said goodbye to each other and hung up.
When Song Xinya returned to the private room, every line of her face, every strand of her hair, radiated joy and delight.
The phrase "like a spring breeze" became literal on her face.
Han Jingyi looked at her and asked, "Did something good happen?"
Tiantianquan chimed in: "What good thing would she even need? Just a phone call with her husband and she's over the moon."
Chen Siyan: "Right? Total husband-brain."
Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, Han Jingyi blinked heavily, his lashes falling as he picked up his teacup and took a sip.
The waiter brought the dishes they'd ordered, and Han Jingyi picked something up and dropped it into the bubbling pot.
Tiantianquan shouted, "Dr. Han, you just dropped your chopsticks into the pot!"
Han Jingyi snapped back to reality and hurriedly reached in to fish them out.
Chen Siyan quickly grabbed his arm: "Whoa, why are you sticking your hand into the hotpot?!"
The typically polished, graceful gentleman, always composed and refined, was thrown completely off balance.
A drop of red oil splashed onto Han Jingyi's hand, and the skin immediately reddened.
Song Xinya: "Brother Jingyi, go rinse it with water right away!"
To a surgeon, hands were everything.
Han Jingyi usually took meticulous care of his hands, yet here he was, injuring the back of his hand at a dinner.
He stood up and strode out: "I'm going to rinse it."
Song Xinya rose to her feet: "I'll come with you."
Han Jingyi stopped her: "No need. It's nothing serious. Stay seated. I'll be back in a moment."
He left the private room but never returned.
Ten minutes later, he sent Song Xinya a message: [A critical patient came into the hospital and needs emergency surgery. I've gone back first.]
Right now, he needed some time alone.
Right now, he couldn't control his emotions, afraid that in front of her, he'd lose his composure again.
After finishing the hotpot, Song Xinya went to the counter to pay and found that Han Jingyi had already settled the bill.
Tiantianquan: "That Dr. Han didn't even eat a single bite, and he still paid for us. What a nice guy."
Song Xinya: "He really is a good person."
Tiantianquan: "And handsome too. That refined kind of handsome. You can tell he comes from a scholarly family."
Chen Siyan shoved his face in front of Tiantianquan and asked, "Am I handsome?"
Tiantianquan: "Ugly as sin."
Chen Siyan: "Do you have cataracts or glaucoma? That blind?"
Tiantianquan: "I have fiery golden eyes."
Chen Siyan: "What, trying to be the Monkey King? Too bad you don't have the equipment for the job. You'd only make a decent mother monkey!"
Tiantianquan raised her arm to swipe at Chen Siyan: "You're the monkey, you're the monkey, you're Big Mouth Monkey!"
Chen Siyan ran ahead.
Tiantianquan chased after him.
The two tumbled into a chaotic game of tag.
Chen Siyan reached the Audi A8, opened the door.
Tiantianquan caught up, reaching for his face: "Take my Nine-Yin Bone Claw!"
Chen Siyan grabbed her slender, fair wrist, twisted her arms behind her back, and shoved her into the passenger seat: "Get in. I'm driving you home."
Song Xinya drove herself back to Zijing Mansion.
In the living room, the kids were all still awake.
Song Tingye: "Sis, you're back early today."
Song Xinya: "I ran into something a few days ago, so I've been coming home late."
Song Tingye: "Did you sort it out?"
Song Xinya: "No."
Song Tingye: "Sis, when you hit a tough spot, don't panic. You'll always have me by your side."
Song Xinya gave him a cold look: "What use are you, honestly."
Song Tingye: "..."
"How am I useless? I can hold down the fort at home and cook up a storm in the kitchen."
Song Xinya: "You go to the living room to eat beef, and you go to the kitchen for beef too."
Song Tingye: "...Sis, give me a little face here. I'm your own brother."
Song Xinya: "If you weren't my own brother, I would've thrown you out long ago. Back when we were poor, you nearly ate me into bankruptcy with all that beef. You're a natural-born glutton!"
Song Tingye: "I'm not a natural-born glutton. I'm a genius."
Song Xinya: "School starts tomorrow. How's your calligraphy practice coming along? Let me see."
Song Tingye handed his practice notebook to Song Xinya.
Song Xinya looked at the page full of scrawled, chicken-scratch handwriting and took a deep breath: "Every time I look at your writing, my blood pressure spikes."
She flipped to another page and said, "Could you run an errand for me?"
Song Tingye blinked his big, clear eyes: "What do you need?"
Song Xinya: "Liver-soothing pills and blood pressure medication. I'm afraid I'll be killed by the sheer ugliness of your handwriting."
Song Tingye: "Sis, you're exaggerating. I'm not going to argue with you—I'm off to sleep."
Song Xinya: "Come back. There's something I want to ask you."
Song Tingye obediently turned around and walked back: "What is it?"
Song Xinya gestured to the other three kids: "You three come over here too."
The four youngsters stood in a row facing Song Xinya.
Seeing the serious expression on her face, they all grew curious about what she had to say.
Song Xinya's eyes swept across each of their faces one by one, and she asked: "You're all seventeen this year, about to start your senior year. Do any of you know a seventeen-year-old high school student named Sheng Tianjun?"
