Just moments ago, Song Xinya had been immersed in the ocean of financial knowledge, her mind clear and rational.
Then Qin Yuhe said one sentence, and heat rushed to her cheeks. She pressed her legs tightly together and rubbed them against each other.
She couldn’t concentrate on financial knowledge anymore.
No wonder teachers had forbidden students from dating when they were young. Handsome men were a menace—they got in the way of studying.
Song Xinya turned off her phone screen and asked, “Will the method Grandma mentioned actually work?”
Qin Yuhe answered with a perfectly serious expression, “In theory, it does have a certain scientific basis. After all, placing a pillow underneath is like having one end of a water pipe higher than the other. Water naturally flows from high to low, allowing the soil to receive more moisture and be nourished more thoroughly. That makes it more fertile and more likely to produce a bountiful harvest.”
The metaphor was vivid and easy to understand. Since it was theoretically more likely to result in pregnancy, Song Xinya asked, “What about in practice?”
A flirtatious, eager look shimmered in Qin Yuhe’s eyes as he gazed at her. “We’ll only know after we put it into practice.”
Song Xinya said, “…All right.”
The two returned to Zijin Huafu and walked into the lobby on the first floor.
Song Tingye, Song Tingyou, Qin Yuyan, and Jin Ruizhi were playing Fight the Landlord. Whoever lost had to stick a strip of paper onto their face.
Song Tingyou had one strip stuck to her left cheek, Qin Yuyan had one on her right cheek, and Jin Ruizhi had one on his chin.
Song Tingye’s forehead, meanwhile, was covered in strips.
Qin Yuhe looked at Song Tingye. “Other people have strips of paper on their faces. You’ve got an entire set of demon-suppressing talismans.”
Song Tingye pushed the “curtain” of paper strips aside with both hands, revealing his eyes. Only then could he see clearly. “Sis, brother-in-law, you’re back!”
Qin Yuhe said, “We’re back. We also brought you two pounds of spicy beef from the old residence.”
“Beef!” Song Tingye’s eyes lit up. He tossed his cards aside and ran toward Qin Yuhe.
The curtain of paper strips fell back over his face, blocking his view. With a pained “Ow!” Song Tingye pitched forward and landed on his knees at Qin Yuhe’s feet.
Qin Yuhe said, “Little brother, it’s still too early for New Year’s. Even though you’ve kowtowed to me, you’re not getting a red envelope.”
Song Tingye was an exceptionally easy-to-please person. He accepted the spicy beef from Qin Yuhe with both hands. “As long as I get beef, what more could I ask for?”
He ran over to the other three, beaming, and held up the beef. “Don’t say I’m keeping it all to myself. I’m a very sharing person. There are two pounds of beef in total. I’ll eat one and a half pounds, and the three of you can share the remaining half.”
Little Princess Qin Yuyan scoffed. “And you say I’m bad at math? You’re even worse. Two pounds divided by four means half a pound each.”
Jin Ruizhi said, “Half a pound per person. No one gets less.”
Song Tingye said, “Half a pound isn’t enough to get stuck between my teeth. Once it reaches my stomach, it’ll be like I never ate anything at all.”
Jin Ruizhi replied, “Even better. If you’re not full, it’ll help you lose weight.”
Song Tingye’s eyes spun mischievously. He grabbed the spicy beef and ran. “I’ll eat this first. Tomorrow, I’ll give each of you two pounds to make up for it!”
Jin Ruizhi, Qin Yuyan, and Song Tingyou chased after him. “Today’s business gets settled today! Today’s food gets eaten today!”
In the enormous living room, Song Tingye ran ahead, yelling “Aah!” while the other three little ones chased after him, also yelling “Aah!”
Food simply tasted better when people had to fight over it.
If each of them were given two pounds of beef, they wouldn’t appreciate it nearly as much.
While the four little monkeys raced around the living room, Song Xinya and Qin Yuhe calmly walked upstairs.
After living with four monkeys every day, the two of them were long accustomed to the noise and chaos.
On the second floor, in the bedroom.
The moment Song Xinya entered, the first thing she looked at was the pillow.
Qin Yuhe stood beside the bed, slowly undoing his cuff links. “My cousin taught me some tips for preparing for pregnancy today. He said that doing it two or three times a day makes it easier to conceive.”
For an ordinary man and woman, two or three times a day was already quite frequent—more than most would consider normal.
Song Xinya had only been with two men: the man from a year ago and Qin Yuhe. Those two men had one thing in common—their stamina was exceptionally strong. They could keep going all night without stopping.
After being put through the “thousand-hammer tempering” of those two men, Song Xinya became incredibly excited at the thought of doing it two or three times in one night. It was practically like celebrating the New Year.
She kept repeating to herself: Two or three times a night. That’s so little. So little. Really, so little.
Maybe she’d finally be able to get a good night’s sleep every night.
How wonderful.
Song Xinya looked at Qin Yuhe with bright, sparkling eyes. “Then let’s start following this pregnancy plan today.”
“Fine,” Qin Yuhe said.
Seeing that he agreed, Song Xinya happily walked toward the double bed, preparing to lie down and go to sleep.
Then she heard Qin Yuhe say, “Go take a shower.”
Song Xinya fell silent.
“I already showered before we went to Grandma’s old residence. It’s winter, and I didn’t even sweat. Do I really need to wash that often?”
She didn’t want to shower again. It was fine if she didn’t.
She smelled sweet and clean either way.
Qin Yuhe asked, “Do you think I need to shower?”
“That’s up to you,” Song Xinya said. “If you want to, shower. If you don’t, then don’t.”
“I don’t mind either way,” Qin Yuhe said. “I’m mainly worried that you might mind.”
“What would I mind?”
“I think a man and a woman should shower before getting into bed together. It’s a sign of respect toward the woman.”
After all, men and women had different anatomies. The woman was the receiving party, so if things weren’t clean, she was more likely to suffer bacterial or fungal infections and become ill.
If Song Xinya still couldn’t understand what Qin Yuhe meant by “getting into bed,” she would have been an idiot.
He wasn’t talking about simply lying straight down on the bed. He meant it as a verb.
Song Xinya said, “Didn’t we already do it twice on the way back to the capital?”
“Two or three times,” Qin Yuhe corrected her.
Song Xinya opened her eyes wide. “Exactly. We’ve already done it twice. I haven’t shortchanged you.”
“You’re still short one time.”
“Why can’t it be twice?”
“My cousin said the frequency shouldn’t be too high. I thought carefully about what he meant. He said the frequency shouldn’t be too high. The word ‘too’ is very subtle—it means the frequency shouldn’t be excessive, but it should still be appropriately high.”
Song Xinya thought he had a point.
And so, the two of them went to separate bathrooms to shower.
To prevent anything uncontrollable from happening while showering together—as everyone knew, you couldn’t lie down in a bathroom, and you certainly couldn’t put a pillow beneath your hips, which would be bad for conception—the two of them washed in different bathrooms.
Warm water poured gently from the showerhead, and the woman’s graceful figure blurred amid the mist and rippling water.
Her skin was flawless and white as jade, soft as a cloud.
Her abdomen was flat and taut, her legs slender and straight, and her waist so delicate it seemed almost too narrow to hold. As for the places that ought to be full, they were wonderfully full.
Song Xinya ran her hands over her body again and again. Touching herself was meaningless.
There was no comparison with Qin Yuhe’s hands.
His hands seemed to carry an electric current. Even the slightest touch could make her feel a tingling, thrilling pleasure.
After showering, Song Xinya came out wrapped only in a bathrobe, wearing nothing underneath.
There was no point in putting anything on. It would be taken off again right away.
Qin Yuhe finished showering first and was already waiting in bed.
Song Xinya lifted the covers and lay down, placing a pillow beneath her hips.
“Let’s begin…”
