A tingling sensation tickled Song Xinya’s ears, and she answered Qin Yuhe in a cheerful voice, “I’m happy.”
Qin Yuhe chuckled and rubbed the space between his brows. “You’re happy because another man was selected as a gold-medal lecturer. I don’t know whether I should be happy or not.”
“Qin Yuhe, don’t overthink it. Chen Siyan is a woman in my heart.”
As luck would have it, Chen Siyan happened to walk past them. “When did I have a sex change? Why wasn’t I informed?”
Song Xinya asked, “How do you see me?”
Chen Siyan replied, “As a man.”
Song Xinya said to the person on the other end of the phone, “Hear that? We both see each other as members of the same sex.”
Qin Yuhe drawled, “You can’t tell normally, but it turns out the two of you can be either male or female—complete hermaphrodites.”
Song Xinya: “…”
Chen Siyan: “…”
When Crown Prince Qin started insulting people, his mouth was as venomous as if it had been dipped in poison.
Frightened, Chen Siyan hurriedly slipped away.
“Qin Yuhe, don’t misunderstand. I’m happy not only because of Chen Siyan, but also because of myself. Now no one can say behind my back that I relied on connections. Besides, I upheld fairness and justice.”
“I only have a friendship with Chen Siyan. There’s absolutely no romantic feeling between us.”
Qin Yuhe replied lazily, “I firmly believe that. After all, having experienced a man as outstanding as me, it would be difficult for you to fall for some other little shrimp.”
“If other men are little shrimp, then what are you?” Song Xinya asked.
Qin Yuhe answered, “A big man who’s big in every aspect.”
Song Xinya couldn’t help laughing. “President Qin, you’re so full of yourself.”
“I’m only saying I’m big because you’re the one who said it. How many times have you sobbed and said, ‘So big, so big! It’s too big—I’m scared. Be gentle!’”
Song Xinya’s cheeks burned.
She had indeed said those things.
Every time.
His endowment really was enormous. Each time, she worried that he would split her open. So before they began, she always had to plead tearfully for a while, saying the exact words he had just repeated.
Feeling guilty, Song Xinya covered the phone with one hand and glanced around. Lowering her voice, she said, “I’m still at the office. Keep your voice down.”
“I can’t keep it down,” Qin Yuhe said. “You learn from the people around you. You’re the one who screams especially loudly every time.”
Song Xinya’s cheeks grew even redder.
Afraid that he would expose any more of her secrets, she quickly hung up.
Chen Siyan rolled over in his chair. “Huh, Teacher Song, why is your face so red?”
“Mind your own business. Adults’ affairs aren’t for little kids to ask about.”
“This little kid figured it out right away. You and President Qin were having a dirty conversation.”
Song Xinya looked utterly unconcerned. “So what? He’s my husband. Is that not allowed?”
“Of course it is. The things you two do are even dirtier than the things you say.”
Song Xinya: “…”
She had discovered a universal truth: Never try to compete with a man in shamelessness. You simply couldn’t win. When men decided to abandon all shame, they could be unbelievably shameless.
When their colleagues saw the email announcing that Chen Siyan had also been selected as a gold-medal lecturer, they came over one after another to congratulate him and Song Xinya.
Song Xinya smiled and thanked them, then invited everyone to have milk tea.
Chen Siyan happily announced that no one was allowed to leave after work. He was treating everyone to a barbecue feast.
He turned to Song Xinya, beaming. “Thank you for helping me, Teacher Song.”
“You’re welcome. You earned it.”
“Of course I did. I fought my way through every obstacle, and I came in first. Naturally, I deserve to be a gold-medal lecturer.”
Even so, he still wanted to thank Song Xinya once more.
Because in this world, having ability alone wasn’t enough to get promoted. Song Xinya had helped him.
After work, Song Xinya went to the barbecue restaurant with her colleagues.
The group passed by Yuan Jingcheng’s office, yet not a single person called out to him.
Dong Dongdong suddenly said, “We’re all going out for barbecue and leaving Mr. Yuan behind. Isn’t that a little rude?”
Chen Siyan asked, “You want to invite him?”
“Calling him would at least be polite.”
Chen Siyan folded his arms. “Fine. You go invite him. But let me make this clear first: I’m treating everyone to a high-end barbecue buffet that costs 699 yuan per person. If Mr. Yuan comes, you’ll pay for his meal.”
Dong Dongdong pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I think it’s probably better not to invite Mr. Yuan.”
Everyone pointed at him and called him a cheapskate.
Dong Dongdong was filled with regret and wished he hadn’t said anything.
The high-end barbecue buffet was delicious, featuring A4-grade wagyu short ribs, beef tongue, marbled beef, live prawns, and all kinds of other dishes.
Song Xinya especially liked a homemade fruit-and-vegetable juice they served. When she went to the drinks station to get some, she found that it was gone.
She sighed and was about to turn away when a tall man appeared beside her.
“Why are you sighing?”
Song Xinya looked up and saw a familiar face.
She stared at him in surprise. “Brother Jingyi, you’re here too?”
Han Jingyi replied, “It just so happens that I came here for barbecue as well.”
Then he asked, “Who did you come with?”
“My colleagues. What about you?”
“I came with my colleagues too, from the same department.”
“Then you should enjoy your meal. I’m going back to mine.”
As she prepared to leave, Han Jingyi called out to her and handed her a glass of the restaurant’s homemade fruit-and-vegetable juice.
“I got this for you. I noticed you standing by the juice for quite a while, so I figured you must like it.”
It was only a glass of juice. Refusing it would have seemed too deliberate, so Song Xinya said, “Thank you.”
Han Jingyi asked, “I heard you went to New York to see Qin Yuhe a few days ago.”
“Mm-hmm. I missed him, so I went to see him and celebrate his birthday.”
“Have you still not told him why Sheng Changpu is willing to treat his hand?”
“No. And I’d like to ask you to keep it a secret for now too. For the moment, I just want him to focus on recovering his hand. I don’t want anything else distracting him.”
“You really love him.”
“Of course I do. He’s my husband. If I didn’t love him, would I love some other man?”
“Go eat your barbecue,” Han Jingyi said. “Go on, hurry up.”
Two more weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
The day Qin Yuhe would return from the United States was drawing closer and closer.
His hand was improving day by day.
From time to time, he sent Song Xinya snippets of piano pieces he played during practice.
The beautiful music was like a group of lively little musical elves, sometimes playful, sometimes elegant, sometimes soothing, and sometimes cheerful.
His long, well-defined fingers rose and fell over the black and white keys. The melodious notes slowly spread through the air, their light and graceful tune winding and lingering in her ears, mesmerizingly beautiful.
Song Xinya hadn’t heard enough and asked him to send her the entire piece.
Qin Yuhe said, “You’ll have to wait until I come back. I’ll play the whole thing for you in person.”
