Si Yiheng: "Don't worry. I won't let anyone you dislike appear at our engagement party."
Shu Yu: "..."
Shu Yu asked Iron Egg, "If I don't show up to my own engagement party, does that count as disliking myself?"
Iron Egg: [It counts as fleeing the wedding.]
Shu Yu: "..."
That night, as Shu Yu was fiddling with her camera, Si Yiheng walked over. She aimed the lens at him and started recording.
Si Yiheng's cool, indifferent face appeared in the frame. He took her hand and pulled the camera closer, making his chiseled features loom larger. A drop of water from his damp hair fell onto the lens. His voice was slightly hoarse. "Baby, are you filming me?"
Shu Yu: "Yeah. I'm filming you now so that when we're old, we can look back at our younger selves."
Shu Yu thought she'd come up with a great excuse—one Si Yiheng couldn't possibly refuse.
Si Yiheng gazed at the lens, his long eyes half-lidded. "I'll age faster than you. I'm already older than you now."
Shu Yu: "?"
(⊙_⊙)?
How did Si Yiheng manage to think about that?
That was so random.
Shu Yu: "But no matter what, I'll still like you the most, Gege."
Only then did Si Yiheng's cold, weary brow relax slightly. "Mm."
Shu Yu sighed in relief. She was so clever—whenever she didn't know how to answer a question, she just said she liked Si Yiheng the most. It was the universal solution.
Si Yiheng took the camera from her and called softly, "Baby Yu."
The camera suddenly snatched away, Shu Yu stared blankly at her empty hand. At the sound of her name, she blinked at the lens, her bright, innocent eyes shimmering with light like a bewildered kitten. "Si Yiheng, why did you take my camera?"
Si Yiheng coaxed her gently. "Baby Yu, say what you said earlier again."
Shu Yu grinned slyly. "Si Yiheng, why did you take my camera?"
The corners of Si Yiheng's lips curved slightly. "The sentence before that."
Shu Yu tilted her face up. "Gege, what if I can't remember?"
Si Yiheng: "You can remember."
He coaxed her for a long time, but Shu Yu kept playing dumb, insisting she couldn't recall.
Just when he thought she wouldn't say it—
Shu Yu's eyes curved into crescents as she looked at the lens. "Si Yiheng, I like you the most, most, most, most, most."
Si Yiheng stopped trying to suppress his smile. He could finally understand the so-called "boyfriend POV" and "girlfriend POV" recordings—capturing a loved one's adorable moments really did bring so much happiness.
Si Yiheng also spoke softly, "Baby Yu, Gege loves you the most, most, most, most, most, most."
Hearing those words, Shu Yu almost lost control of her emotions. She had a sudden urge to cry.
She turned her back and burrowed under the covers. "No more filming you. I'm going to sleep."
Quietly, under the blanket, she wiped away her tears.
"Gege, turn off the light. Sleep."
Si Yiheng turned off the camera, then the lamp. He got into bed and pulled Shu Yu into his arms. "Sweetie, still feeling upset?"
Shu Yu shook her head.
Her brain was buzzing. A few more days of him calling her "Sweetie," and he wouldn't be able to. He'd probably call her a liar.
Shu Yu suddenly thought of a test and spoke up. "Does not relying on Gege anymore count as growing up?"
Si Yiheng's thin lips pressed into a straight line, his voice calm but restrained.
"Baby, if you don't rely on Gege, who else do you want to rely on?"
Shu Yu: "!!!"
Shu Yu: "Gege, you're wrong."
She turned around in the dark, looking up at him. "You can't look for the problem in me. You have to look for it in yourself. Other people's answers would be: 'Not relying on Gege means Gege is useless.'"
After hearing her words, Si Yiheng thought briefly, then replied seriously, "Not relying on Gege means Gege is dead."
Shu Yu: "..."
Did he have to be so extreme?
Shu Yu sighed. "You might as well think of it as me relying on someone else."
Si Yiheng: "..."
Si Yiheng: "Relying on someone else counts as Baby Yu not being good."
Shu Yu: "!!!"
Shu Yu pulled at Si Yiheng. "What if I rely on Big Brother?"
Si Yiheng: "..."
He barely had to think. "Then Big Brother is sweet-talking and deceiving, ruining our relationship."
Shu Yu: "..."
Forget it. This topic was not for Si Yiheng.
Forget it. If she ran away, Si Yiheng really wouldn't let her off easy—he might even go after Song Wenzhao.
Shu Yu's head was a mess, so she asked Iron Egg, "Who's more formidable, my Big Brother or Si Yiheng?"
Iron Egg thought for a while before replying: [About the same, I guess. Neither of them is easy to deal with.]
Iron Egg: [Are people who can team up to put Si Yiheng's dad in the hospital and his mom in prison exactly harmless?]
Iron Egg: [Sweetie, don't worry about them giving each other a hard time. You'd better worry about yourself.]
Shu Yu: "..."
She put on a serious expression. "You're right. I'm the one who's truly playing it safe."
Iron Egg fell silent.
Which "safe-playing" person starts her first mission by demanding a billion dollars? Which "safe" one actually drugs Si Yiheng to complete the task? Which "safe" one is either deflecting blame or on her way to deflect blame?
Oh, right—it was her own not-so-safe little "lamp," Shu Yu.
Before leaving, Shu Yu still needed to wrap up a few final tasks.
At Wei Wanhan's arrangement, Shu Yu, Ye Ning, and Wei Wanhan held a voice conference to finalize the details for the publication of "Neon Extinguishes."
Wei Wanhan: "Xiao Yu, would you be interested in holding a signing event with Ningning?"
Shu Yu and Ye Ning's collaboration had been very successful, including their popular online interactions. If the two of them appeared together at a signing event, the sales of "Neon Extinguishes" would certainly be even better.
Shu Yu was distracted and didn't hear what Wei Wanhan said.
Wei Wanhan called Shu Yu's name again, snapping her back to reality. "Wanhan jie, what did you say?"
Wei Wanhan repeated herself.
Shu Yu: "Wanhan jie, I probably can't go."
If she wasn't running away, she wouldn't go. Now that she was about to escape, she definitely couldn't.
Ye Ning quickly spoke up. "I can go, Wanhan jie. Baby Yu might not like making a glamorous appearance, but I do."
"Wanhan jie, isn't having me alone enough for you?"
Wei Wanhan quickly said, "More than enough, more than enough."
She didn't insist. It would be great if she could get Shu Yu to promote the book too, but if Shu Yu really didn't want to, that was fine.
After the voice conference ended, Ye Ning couldn't help but start a video call with Shu Yu. "Baby Yu, what's wrong with you today? You seem a bit off."
Shu Yu propped her face on her hand and looked at Ye Ning seriously. "I kind of miss you, Ningning."
She might not be able to contact Ye Ning for a long time. None of her usual contact methods would work anymore.
Si Yiheng was too sharp. She was afraid he'd follow the thread from Ye Ning and find her, the melon.
