Song Xinya got goosebumps all over from Chen Siyan's single "sweetheart."
"In public, Manager Chen, can you not be so mushy?"
Chen Siyan looked up: "How is calling someone 'sweetheart' mushy? Isn't that a term couples and spouses use for each other?"
He casually asked: "President Qin never called you 'sweetheart'?"
Song Xinya fell silent.
Chen Siyan said in surprise: "He really hasn't!"
Indeed, he hadn't.
Qin Yuhe only ever called her "good girl" in a low, raspy voice thick with desire when they were in bed together, at the height of passion.
Sweetheart, was what she called him.
Tiantianquan poked her head out from between Chen Siyan's chest and the wall: "Why doesn't President Qin call you 'sweetheart,' 'baby,' 'darling,' or anything like that?"
Song Xinya: "How should I know."
Tiantianquan: "You're his wife, just ask him directly and you'll find out."
Song Xinya: "If he doesn't say it, he doesn't say it. It's not that big a deal."
Tiantianquan: "'Sweetheart,' 'baby,' 'darling' all sound so nice, and anyone can tell you two are super close just from hearing them."
Chen Siyan: "Teacher Song, what does President Qin usually call you?"
Song Xinya: "Mrs. Qin, Song Xinya, my lady."
Tiantianquan: "Too formal, not intimate at all. Change it, change it. Get President Qin to switch to calling you 'sweetheart,' 'baby,' 'darling.'"
Song Xinya had never given much serious thought to the matter of pet names before. Whatever Qin Yuhe wanted to call her, that's what he called her.
As she walked to the main entrance of the restaurant, Tiantianquan's words kept echoing in her head: "Change it, change it. Get President Qin to switch to calling you 'sweetheart,' 'baby,' 'darling.'"
The restaurant door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, swinging straight toward Song Xinya's head.
She was preoccupied with her thoughts and couldn't step back in time. Just as the glass door was about to smack her right in the forehead, a strong force suddenly tugged her from behind, pulling her back.
Right on time — it saved Song Xinya's head from having a violent kiss with the glass door.
Song Xinya turned around: "Brother Jingyi!"
Han Jingyi let go of his gentlemanly grip on her handbag: "Did you get hit?"
Song Xinya: "No, luckily you pulled me back a step."
Han Jingyi smiled and said: "What a coincidence, running into each other just while having a meal."
Song Xinya: "Yeah, quite the coincidence."
Han Jingyi glanced at the empty space behind her and asked: "Here for dinner by yourself?"
Song Xinya: "With some colleagues."
The smile at the corner of Han Jingyi's lips grew wider, and he asked again: "Leaving by yourself?"
Song Xinya: "Mm, I drove myself."
The smile on Han Jingyi's face became even brighter.
He curled his lips and asked: "What were you thinking about so deeply just now?"
Song Xinya: "Thinking about my husband."
The smile on Han Jingyi's face froze.
After a pause, Han Jingyi asked: "Wondering when your husband's hand will recover?"
Song Xinya: "Not just that. I think about him all the time, in every way."
Han Jingyi didn't respond.
Song Xinya suddenly remembered something: "Brother Jingyi, has a date been set for the postponed Global Medical Exchange Summit?"
Last week, Han Jingyi had said the Global Medical Exchange Summit would be held on Saturday and Sunday, but then he said it was postponed because some big names in medicine had last-minute conflicts and couldn't attend.
Han Jingyi: "The exact date isn't set yet. I'm still coordinating with the experts in Europe and the US."
Song Xinya: "Let me know once the date is confirmed."
Han Jingyi said: "Okay."
Song Xinya's heart felt heavy.
She'd thought that if the Global Medical Exchange Summit went smoothly last week, she'd be able to meet the burn specialist Sheng Changpu and finally get Qin Yuhe's hand treated.
Who knew it would get postponed again.
With the postponement, who knows when it will actually happen.
Song Xinya didn't have the mood to chat anymore. After saying goodbye to Han Jingyi, she walked out of the barbecue restaurant.
A server chased after her with the bill: "Ms. Song, your table just ordered two more plates of Australian wagyu beef that haven't been paid for yet."
Han Jingyi stopped the server: "I'll cover it for her."
After paying, he saw the server carrying two plates of Australian wagyu to a table.
The table was spacious, but a young, handsome man and a pretty woman were squeezed together in one booth seat.
The girl had fair skin, a small face, cherry lips, lively eyes, and looked utterly charming and adorable.
The man had jet-black hair like ink, eyes dark as lacquer, a lean figure, and a clean, fresh temperament that radiated youthful vigor.
Han Jingyi recognized them — Song Xinya's best friend Tiantianquan, and her colleague Chen Siyan.
The two were in the middle of an argument.
Tiantianquan squirmed: "Chen Siyan, stop squeezing so tight! My peaches are about to get juiced out of me!"
Chen Siyan: "Relax, you're not pregnant, so you don't have that function."
The old lady drinking congee — no teeth, utterly shameless!
Tiantianquan: "Get the hell out of here!"
Chen Siyan: "My mom's old, she's got cold knees, a herniated disc, and arthritis. Rolling isn't easy for her, so I'll roll for her."
Tiantianquan pointed at the floor: "Roll yourself on the ground right now."
Chen Siyan: "I'll roll on your bed at your place."
Tiantianquan put her hands on her hips and was about to start cursing: "You shameless—"
Chen Siyan shoved a lettuce leaf into her mouth, then shoved a piece of grilled beef in after it.
"Eat up."
She didn't want to eat anything he fed her. Tiantianquan was about to spit it out, but then her tongue tasted the sizzling, juicy wagyu.
So good!
Not because she had no willpower, but because she really couldn't waste food — the farmers worked so hard raising cattle. Tiantianquan rolled her tongue, chewed up the beef, and swallowed it.
One thing at a time. Now that she'd eaten the beef, it was time to keep cursing him.
Tiantianquan: "You shameless—"
Chen Siyan shoved another lettuce leaf in her mouth, then another piece of beef.
Tiantianquan couldn't curse again, so she just ate the beef.
Then came the third bite, fourth bite, fifth bite...
Fed one bite after another, Tiantianquan completely forgot about cursing him.
Once she was stuffed, Tiantianquan remembered her best friend Song Xinya and pulled out her phone to call her.
"Babe, are you at Sheng Tianjun's place yet?"
Song Xinya: "I've already finished tutoring him for two hours and I'm heading home now."
Tiantianquan looked at her watch. She'd been eating for two more hours. Damn this greedy mouth!
"Send me a message when you get home."
"Will do, my safety warden."
Song Xinya picked up her bag and headed for the door. Sheng Tianjun followed her to the entrance: "Teacher Song, it's dark outside, not safe. Let me walk you home."
Song Xinya held up her phone: "No need. I've been on the phone with my husband the whole time. If anything happens, he'll know right away."
Sheng Tianjun stopped in his tracks, his expression dimming: "Oh."
As Song Xinya stepped into the elevator, Tiantianquan's voice came through the phone: "Babe, say 'hubby' for me, let me hear it."
Song Xinya: "If Qin Yuhe hears that, he'll have your tongue ripped out."
Tiantianquan: "So cruel. That tyrant."
"Interview question: What's it like living with a tyrant?"
Song Xinya: "Amazing."
Tiantianquan: "In what way?"
Song Xinya: "In every way."
Tiantianquan: "Ooh la la la la, look at you bragging about your sex life."
"Let me interview you a bit more—your husband's been away on business for so long, are you like super pent-up, dying to have him?"
Song Xinya: "I have to answer you honestly—every single night, I think about going at it with him, and in my dreams, I want him to pin me down..."
