On her way to meet Sheng Changpu, Song Xinya called Qin Yuhe.
When the call connected, a slightly noisy background flowed into her ear—men’s voices mixed with women’s.
“Mr. Qin, where are you?”
Qin Yuhe’s voice carried a faint, lazy laugh that made her ears tingle. “You’re calling me Mr. Qin again…”
Song Xinya pressed her lips together. “Is that not allowed? You are Mr. Qin, after all.”
Qin Yuhe knew her too well. “That’s a sign you’re unhappy.”
“Who said that? I’m not unhappy.”
She was all hard words and no action.
The smile on Qin Yuhe’s face deepened, but he said nothing.
Song Xinya grew anxious. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did some woman beside you cover your mouth?”
Qin Yuhe replied in a lazy, wicked tone, “She kissed me.”
“Ugh, you filthy little Ukrainian pig!”
“Believe it or not, I’ll have you dragged away and make you wrestle a gorilla.”
“Then drag me away! Hurry up and drag me away! After that, you can go sleep with the female gorilla.”
“I’m not sleeping with a female gorilla. I only want to sleep with you.”
He opened his phone’s camera and slowly filmed the private room, capturing everything inside before sending the video to Song Xinya.
“It’s a proper business meeting. There are no hostesses here. The woman’s voice you heard belongs to a business partner.”
Song Xinya narrowed her eyes, her smile sweet and radiant. “Why are you voluntarily explaining all this to me? I didn’t even ask.”
“Mrs. Qin, I’m not reporting my whereabouts to you. I’m sharing my life with you. Reporting means telling someone where you are because you’re afraid they’ll make a scene or because you have no choice. Sharing means taking the initiative to tell someone about your life—it’s thinking of and missing them without even realizing it. Mrs. Qin, what I give you is sharing, not reporting.”
His deep, pleasant voice and tender words flowed into Song Xinya’s ear, leaving her whole heart tingling.
Warmth softened her eyes and brows. “I’ll share a little of my life with you, too.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I’m going to a dinner attended by a group of medical bigwigs. I’ll probably be home late.”
“Send me the address. Not because I want to monitor you, but because I’m worried about your safety. You know how beautiful you are. A lot of men are bound to take an interest in you.”
Sweet-talked into a daze, Song Xinya immediately sent him the address when she arrived at the restaurant. She even included the floor, the private-room number, her seat number, and the number of people attending.
At the end, she obediently added, “Shall we turn on location sharing for each other?”
“Since you brought it up, of course I have to grant your request.”
Song Xinya gave a little “Tsk,” then happily turned on location sharing.
On the map, two little arrows faced one another from a distance. Song Xinya’s arrow stood still, while Qin Yuhe’s spun around it in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle.
Song Xinya immediately thought it was adorable.
She giggled foolishly and asked, “Are you shaking your phone nonstop?”
“I’m dancing a waltz around you.”
Song Xinya began shaking her phone, too.
On the screen, the two little arrows wobbled and spun around each other.
Neither of them thought the childish little game was beneath them. Song Xinya was having the time of her life.
A voice suddenly sounded beside her. “You look so happy. What are you doing?”
Song Xinya reined in the smile on her face and looked up. “Brother Jingyi, you’re here.”
Han Jingyi said, “I arrived just in time to see that huge smile on your face.”
It was a very different kind of smile, filled with a childlike innocence.
Han Jingyi had seen Song Xinya smile like that when she was little. After she grew up, he had never seen it again.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind: A girl becomes a child and dares to be her truest self only when she is with the right person.
He thought of someone and asked, “Is the person on the other end your husband?”
Song Xinya did not try to hide it. “Yes.”
A polite smile tugged at Han Jingyi’s lips, but there was no real warmth in it. “Dr. Sheng is already in the private room. I’ll take you to him.”
Song Xinya followed Han Jingyi into the private room, where she saw several middle-aged and elderly men. Every one of them held a doctorate, was learned and accomplished, and yet had very little hair.
They all wore the same hairstyle: the Mediterranean.
They combed the hair from both sides of their heads toward the middle, trying to make their gleaming bald crowns look a little less desolate.
Han Jingyi came from a family of physicians and had always been highly respected in Beijing’s upper circles. In front of the medical giants in the private room, he was humble and deferential.
These men were all legendary figures in the medical field, each internationally renowned.
They were his mentors and seniors.
While fulfilling his duties as host, Han Jingyi treated them with heartfelt respect. He moved with calm courtesy, serving tea and water to every one of the eminent elders.
A young man who was polite, well-mannered, humble, and unafraid to lower himself was welcome wherever he went—especially among the older generation.
The attention of the medical giants gradually shifted to Han Jingyi.
One of them had hair sticking out in every direction and looked remarkably like Einstein. He asked, “This must be Mr. Han, the organizer of the Global Medical Exchange Summit?”
Han Jingyi’s doctoral adviser, Professor Qian, began introducing him to the others. “That’s right. He is my final disciple.”
Being Professor Qian’s final disciple carried enormous weight. It meant not only that Professor Qian would pass on everything he had learned over the course of his life, but also that among all his students, Han Jingyi shared the deepest bond with him.
Someone said, “To become Professor Qian’s final disciple, Mr. Han must possess extraordinary knowledge and talent.”
“Of course. Anyone capable of securing the right to host the Global Medical Exchange Summit must be no ordinary person.”
“A few days ago, I saw Han Jingyi’s name in Nature—and not just once. He was listed on more than one paper.”
“He’s only thirty, yet he has already published multiple papers in top scientific journals. Ninety-nine percent of researchers could spend their entire lives without publishing even one.”
As everyone praised Han Jingyi, they naturally noticed the woman sitting beside him.
“This must be Mr. Han’s wife.”
Han Jingyi’s hand paused abruptly around the teapot. He lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Song Xinya smiled serenely. “I’m not.”
Han Jingyi set the teapot back on the table. “She’s my younger sister—a sister I’ve known since childhood.”
Song Xinya was wearing a white pleated satin dress. The bow at the neckline added a sweet touch, while the simple, elegant cut was graceful and refined. Her beauty had a youthful softness to it. When she wore a cold expression and snapped at people, she was strikingly intimidating, her sharp presence overwhelming everyone around her. But with the slightest lift of her lips, the youthful softness in her features tempered that edge. Her eyes curved into crescents, making her look sweet, delicate, and perfectly well-behaved.
People were naturally drawn to beautiful things. The medical giants chatted animatedly with Song Xinya—not with the kind of attraction a man felt toward a woman, but with the fondness elders felt for a beloved younger person.
In front of all those eminent figures, Song Xinya did not show the slightest hint of nervousness. She was poised and generous in manner, conversing and laughing easily with the experts and specialists, handling every interaction with effortless grace.
While chatting with everyone, she surveyed the people in the private room and noticed a man with the least hair.
His shiny bald head had only a few sparse strands fluttering in the breeze. Each one was as precious as an only child. People said there were three thousand strands of worry, but he had only three.
His face was gloomy, and he looked weighed down by worry.
Song Xinya immediately concluded that he must be Sheng Tianjun’s father, Sheng Changpu.
After all, his son was lying in the ICU. How could he possibly be in a good mood?
Qian Sansen knew Han Jingyi well. Han had deliberately brought a woman who was neither his wife nor his girlfriend. That meant she had come seeking medical help.
Everyone present was a renowned physician, and for ordinary people, getting an appointment to see even one of them was nearly impossible.
Since his disciple cared so much about this girl he had known since childhood, Qian Sansen was willing to do him a favor and help her out.
Song Xinya had a healthy complexion, a clear mind, and a quick, articulate manner. She also had no visible injuries. From this, Qian Sansen deduced that she was not seeking treatment for herself, but for a family member.
He steered the conversation toward her and asked, “Is everything all right with your family?”
Song Xinya replied, “My husband isn’t doing very well. Both of his hands were badly burned before, and the scars on his palms still haven’t healed properly. His fingers aren’t as nimble as they used to be, either.”
Qian Sansen said, “What a coincidence. There happens to be an international burn specialist here today. Let him take a look at your husband.”
He turned his head toward a certain direction. “Dr. Sheng, what do you say?”
It was none other than Three Hairs.
Everyone was sitting at the same table, and the request had come through an acquaintance, so it would have been awkward for him to refuse outright. Sheng Changpu looked up at Song Xinya and replied, “All right.”
Song Xinya asked, “When would Dr. Sheng be available? Would tomorrow work?”
Sheng Changpu answered, “Tomorrow afternoon.”
He had to visit the brat lying paralyzed in the ICU in the morning.
“All right, then. I’ll bring my husband over tomorrow,” Song Xinya said.
Qian Sansen remarked, “You’ve already set a time, but you still haven’t told us your husband’s name. Come to think of it, we don’t even know the young lady’s name.”
Song Xinya looked straight at Sheng Changpu and said, “My name is Song Xinya, and my husband’s name is Qin Yuhe.”
Sheng Changpu shot to his feet. “What did you say your name was? And your husband’s?”
His reaction was so intense that everyone was left completely baffled. No one knew what was going on.
Song Xinya looked at Sheng Changpu and repeated, “My name is Song Xinya, and my husband’s name is Qin Yuhe.”
Sheng Changpu pointed at her, his face twisted with rage and his finger trembling. “You actually dared to come to me for medical help!”
Song Xinya calmly shot back, “Why wouldn’t I?”
Sheng Changpu’s finger trembled even more. His emotions were so agitated that he was breathing heavily, the sound like the wheezing of an old bellows.
Her husband had beaten his son half to death, and she actually had the nerve to ask him to treat her husband!
She was plucking whiskers from a tiger’s mouth, provoking the most dangerous person imaginable. She was far too bold!
Sheng Changpu felt deeply insulted, and he was even more indignant on behalf of his son.
His son was merely young and immature. He had only been momentarily confused and tried to rape her, but he hadn’t succeeded. Why had her husband needed to beat his son so brutally?
What child didn’t make mistakes? A few words of criticism and guidance should have been enough. Was there really any need to put his son in the ICU?
The child had been thoughtless, but weren’t those two adults supposed to know better?
They were bullying him beyond all reason!
That couple was completely unreasonable!
Sheng Changpu picked up a cup of scalding-hot tea from the table and flung it at Song Xinya’s face.
Everyone in the private room was stunned and had no time to react. Song Xinya sidestepped the flying tea, then grabbed the teacup beside her and splashed its contents straight into Sheng Changpu’s face with a sharp smack.
Sheng Changpu’s three remaining hairs clumped together into one.
Green tea leaves stuck to his scalp, turning the top of his head a lush, verdant green.
Tea trickled down his face in a steady stream, making him look as if he were wetting himself.
The lively, cheerful atmosphere from moments ago instantly transformed into a confrontation between sworn enemies, with both sides glaring daggers at each other.
Everyone stared blankly at Sheng Changpu, then at Song Xinya, not knowing what to say.
Han Jingyi, however, was hardly surprised. He had already anticipated this outcome.
Sheng Changpu glared at Song Xinya through clenched teeth. He wanted to win everyone over and have them join him in condemning Song Xinya and her husband, Qin Yuhe.
He turned to the others and said, “You’ve all heard that my son was beaten into the ICU, haven’t you? She’s the one whose husband did it.”
The others’ gazes, which had originally been warm and affectionate toward Song Xinya, shifted to suspicion, wariness, and contempt.
Song Xinya let out a scornful laugh. Pointing a finger at Sheng Changpu’s nose, she said, “Your son isn’t some stray dog that anyone can kick just because they happen to see him. There’s no hatred without a cause; everything happens for a reason. Your son has been lying in the ICU for so long and suffered injuries that severe. Since you’re so eager to cry foul on his behalf, why haven’t you reported it to the police? What are you afraid of? You’re afraid the disgraceful things your son did will come to light, aren’t you?”
Her words struck Sheng Changpu right where it hurt. He fell silent.
The others suddenly understood that there was more to the story of Sheng Changpu’s son being beaten. The boy must have done something shameful.
Sheng Changpu glared resentfully at Han Jingyi. “So this gathering you arranged today was a Hongmen banquet.”
Han Jingyi did not deny it.
It was indeed a Hongmen banquet.
When he had organized the gathering, he had known that he would offend Sheng Changpu, a senior and highly respected figure in the medical field. Yet he had still gone along with Song Xinya’s wishes and arranged the meeting.
What was Han Jingyi after?
Nothing more than—
Making her happy.
He understood Song Xinya’s personality all too well: If you don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke you. But if you do, I’ll destroy you!
When she had pointed at Sheng Changpu’s nose and chewed him out, the satisfaction in her voice had been unmistakable.
So what if offending Sheng Changpu affected his future prospects? If it could make her happy, then it was worth it.
Han Jingyi pulled free of Qian Sansen’s grip. “Professor Qian, I understand everything you’re saying.”
Professor Qian scolded him, “You understand the principle, but you refuse to listen. What is this, ‘ignore an elder’s advice and enjoy a whole year of happiness’?”
Han Jingyi strode toward the exit. “Professor Qian, we can discuss our matters later. I need to get outside right now.”
He wasn’t worried that Song Xinya and Sheng Changpu would get into a fight.
He was worried that Song Xinya might lose and suffer for it.
If Song Xinya were the one getting the upper hand, he wouldn’t have the slightest objection to the fight.
Han Jingyi hurried out of the private room. The wind billowed his white shirt, pressing the fabric against his firm, well-defined chest.
He hurried into the restaurant lobby and saw the following scene—
