Song Xinya calmly put the beef tongue into her mouth and chewed it carefully. "Is it really that surprising to you that Qin Yuhe and I have never kissed?"
Clatter—the knife and fork Tiantianquan had just picked up dropped back onto her plate.
"It's one thing to have never French kissed, but you guys haven't kissed at all!"
Tiantianquan looked as if she had been struck by lightning, utterly bewildered. "Didn't you and Qin Yuhe already consummate your marriage?"
The waiter, who had just finished serving the food and introducing the beef tongue, was about to leave. But upon hearing the word "consummate," he stopped in his tracks, reluctant to walk away.
He bent over and stood by the table, touching this and looking at that, pretending to be very busy. In reality, he didn't even know what he was doing.
His ears were pricked up, listening intently.
Song Xinya felt a cold sensation on her hand. She glanced down, then looked up at the waiter. "You poured the orange juice on my hand, thank you."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" The waiter hastily grabbed some tissues to wipe Song Xinya's hand.
Being too guilty and flustered, his arm bumped into the rose placed on the table.
With a soft thud, a rose fell onto Tiantianquan's plate.
Tiantianquan said, "Oh my, buy one get one free with the beef tongue, complete with a complimentary rose. Did I just hit the jackpot?"
The waiter trembled in fear. This wasn't hitting the jackpot; he had ruined the customer's dining experience. A perfectly good, expensive plate of premium beef tongue now had a rose sitting in it. Anyone would be upset.
If he had encountered a picky customer, they would not only make him pay for it but also scold him publicly.
Cold sweat broke out on the nervous waiter's forehead. "I, you, I... I'll compensate you with a new plate of grilled beef tongue. Please, beautiful miss, be magnanimous and don't tell the manager about this. I haven't passed my probation period yet, I'll be fired."
He was a young boy, probably fresh out into society. His delicate, fair little face was flushed red with anxiety.
Tiantianquan rested her chin on one hand, admiring his flustered and helpless little appearance.
"Hey, it's just a plate of grilled beef tongue. It's nowhere near as important as your future, little brother. Don't be afraid. You're so handsome, I won't make things difficult for you."
The waiter stared blankly at her. "R-really?"
Tiantianquan raised the corner of her eye and threw him a flirtatious wink. "I never play games with handsome guys."
The waiter's face turned even redder.
Song Xinya coughed. "Ahem."
Tiantianquan waved her hand at the waiter. "Go do your work, don't stand by our table anymore."
The waiter glanced at her and walked away with a somewhat reluctant look in his eyes.
Song Xinya looked at Tiantianquan. "I was genuinely worried you were going to go get a room with that handsome little guy the next second."
Tiantianquan said, "Look at what you're saying, am I that kind of person?"
She elegantly picked up the rose from her plate and casually tossed it into the nearby trash can.
Tiantianquan added, "I can't delay the handsome little guy's work. I'll wait until he gets off shift to get a room."
Song Xinya asked, "Really?"
Tiantianquan replied, "Fake. It's not like I'm a poodle in heat, wanting to jump every man I see."
Song Xinya quickly looked around. "Keep your voice down, people will think we're female hooligans."
Tiantianquan said, "Have you ever seen a female hooligan as kind as me? Not only did I not make the waiter pay, but I also comforted him and told him not to be afraid."
This plate of beef tongue was sold by the gram; one plate was equal to a month's salary for the waiter.
Why should a working person make things difficult for another working person? It's not easy to make money nowadays, and it's not easy to find a job either. Tiantianquan chose not to make a fuss about it.
Let alone a rose dropping onto the plate, even if the beef tongue had fallen on the floor, she would have picked it up and eaten it anyway.
Yes, she was just that thrifty.
Song Xinya glanced at the waiter's retreating figure. "So you like this type."
Tiantianquan said, "No man can be eighteen forever, but there will always be eighteen-year-old men. My aesthetic remains consistent: I just like them young."
Song Xinya said, "I feel like this waiter isn't even as handsome as my Manager Chen."
Tiantianquan spoke logically and clearly, "You don't understand. What's the use of just being handsome? The important thing is being young, having good stamina. Right after finishing one round, they can immediately go for a second. Super fierce and very useful."
Song Xinya thought of a certain someone and said, "A twenty-nine-year-old man can also be super fierce. Right after finishing one round, he immediately wants to go for a second, and is also exceptionally useful."
Tiantianquan smiled slyly, wearing an expression that said she saw right through her. "You're talking about your husband, aren't you."
Song Xinya held her knife and fork, lowered her head, and continued eating her beef tongue.
Tiantianquan said, "Not denying it means admitting it. Hehe, I guessed right, didn't I?"
Song Xinya's face flushed slightly. She put the beef tongue into her mouth and chewed carefully, but she didn't taste the wonderful, lingering sensation of a French kiss that the waiter had described.
How wonderful was it?
How lingering?
What did a French kiss taste like?
Tiantianquan asked, "Since you and Boss Qin have consummated your marriage, and Boss Qin is so fierce, why don't you two kiss?"
Suddenly, she thought of a possibility. "Don't tell me you two don't even have foreplay, and just take off your clothes and get right to it!"
"Getting right to it right away, that must hurt so much!"
"Boss Qin doesn't even do foreplay for you, that's way too inconsiderate!"
Song Xinya picked up a clove of garlic used for garnishing the plate and stuffed it into Tiantianquan's mouth. "Stop spreading rumors about Boss Qin, stop ruining Boss Qin's reputation, and stop badmouthing Boss Qin."
Tiantianquan chewed on it, eating the garlic like a snack.
"It seems you're highly satisfied with Boss Qin's performance in that area. I'm really curious, I want to interview you. During those times, if he doesn't kiss you, how does he satisfy you?"
Song Xinya replied, "He kisses and caresses my body."
His technique is highly superb.
Tiantianquan said, "I'm really not trying to stir up trouble on purpose, but I really can't help but say something. Have you ever heard of a saying—"
"Kissing is the gold standard for judging true love."
Song Xinya shook her head. "Never heard of it."
Tiantianquan said, "Kissing can't deceive people as easily as sleeping together. Sex can happen without feelings, as long as there's desire, but kissing is different. If he doesn't have you in his heart, his mouth will never lean in. The more devoted the kiss, the truer the love."
Song Xinya thought about it and said, "There are many couples with mutual feelings who don't kiss."
Tiantianquan said, "Those are old married couples who are tired of kissing."
"Show me a newlywed couple, passionately in love, who doesn't kiss on the lips."
"Why is a man willing to sleep with you, but unwilling to kiss you on the lips? Because he doesn't love you."
"Kissing doesn't necessarily mean love, but not kissing definitely means no love."
"Only doing it without kissing absolutely means no love."
Song Xinya sliced another piece of grilled beef tongue with her knife and fork and put it in her mouth. Not only did she fail to taste anything wonderful, but she also felt like she couldn't swallow it.
What was supposed to be a rich and delicious lunch was finished without any taste or enjoyment.
Back at the company, for the whole afternoon, Song Xinya, who never lost focus at work, was somewhat distracted.
Chen Siyan's pen ran out of ink. "Teacher Song, lend me a pen, will you?"
Song Xinya was absent-minded. Without even looking, she picked up the cactus sitting next to the pen holder and handed it over.
Chen Siyan also didn't look. He reached out and grabbed the cactus firmly with his palm.
A piercing scream tore through the roof, echoing across the entire company.
Chen Siyan was in so much pain that tears streamed down his face.
"Ms. Song, you have to compensate for my hand! You've poked it full of holes like a honeycomb, boohoo!"
Returning home that night, Song Tingye rarely escaped a scolding, simply because Song Xinya was in no mood to deal with him.
Lying in bed, without Qin Yuhe pressing down on her and relentlessly having his way with her, she would usually fall asleep quickly. But tonight, she suffered from insomnia.
Why didn't he kiss her?
He had never kissed her on the lips.
He would kiss her body every time—lingeringly, gently, fiercely—but he never kissed her lips.
Why wouldn't he kiss her lips?
Song Xinya picked up her phone and typed a line into the search bar: Why won't a husband kiss his wife on the lips?
The answers were unanimously the same: He doesn't love you.
Song Xinya's vision went dark for a moment, and she tossed the phone aside.
Suddenly, the phone vibrated with an incoming message.
With a glimmer of hope in her heart, she snatched up the device.
Seeing that the message was from Qin Yuhe, she immediately opened it.
Qin Yuhe: I've been in meetings all day. They just ended.
Song Xinya: Thank you for your hard work, sir.
Thousands of miles away, in the early hours of the morning, Qin Yuhe sat in his office chair, looking at the message Song Xinya had sent.
He stared at the formal address she used, and his brows furrowed slightly.
She had been polite to him before, but she would never use such a formal and distant word to address him.
Qin Yuhe: Are you dissatisfied with me about something?
