The next day.
Yu He slept until she woke up naturally. When she opened her eyes, she found herself resting her head on Qin Beiting's right arm. She didn't know when he had woken up; he was holding his phone in his left hand, replying to Chen Dong.
Sensing movement in his arms, Qin Beiting turned and kissed her forehead. "Baby, you're awake."
"Why are you still here?" Yu He was a little surprised to see him still there.
Qin Beiting seemed to have endless energy. No matter how late he slept, he could wake up on time in the morning, but Yu He couldn't.
She loved to sleep in. If Qin Beiting didn't drag her out of bed, she would sleep until she woke up naturally, by which time the spot beside her would have long gone cold.
"You want me to leave after I've slept? Have you forgotten what you said last night? Hmm?" Qin Beiting raised an eyebrow, looking at her sleepy, dazed expression, which he found very cute. He couldn't help but hold her tighter and kiss her cheek and neck.
"..."
Yu He felt ticklish from his kisses. She didn't remember what time she was tossed and turned until last night. She had been so sleepy that she finally fell asleep, only to be woken up again. It had happened repeatedly, and she was already afraid.
Fearing he would start again, she quickly pushed him away, propped herself up, and saw that she was completely naked. She clutched the quilt with one hand to cover her chest and reached for her pajamas on the bedside table with the other, putting them on.
"I meant, you don't have to go to work today?"
"I'm taking the day off. Not going," Qin Beiting stretched his numb arm that had been used as a pillow. Seeing her about to get out of bed, he immediately wrapped his arms around her slender waist. "Want to sleep a little longer together?"
Yu He "tsk"-ed and glanced at the phone he had placed aside. The chat box was full of messages from Chen Dong, and he had only half-typed his reply. The other person's status was still showing "typing." He was clearly very busy.
Qin Beiting noticed her gaze and said, "I'm afraid that if I leave, you won't let me come back."
He had gone to great lengths to finally get to sleep here for one night.
Yu He: "..."
Yu He: "So, are you going to abdicate and neglect your duties from now on?"
"I've set up an office in the east wing and told Chen Dong to come later so as not to disturb your rest," Qin Beiting said.
Yu He looked at him with surprise. No wonder he had been coming over so late recently and locking himself in the east wing, doing who knows what.
Qin Beiting released her and got out of bed, putting on his clothes. "Do you want to take a look?"
Yu He wanted to get out of bed but felt her legs were weak. She sat on the edge. Qin Beiting bent down and, with her consent, picked her up on his back and walked out. Seeing that she didn't refuse and even wrapped her arms around his neck, he seized the opportunity and asked, "Baby, will you let me move back in?"
"What if I say no?" Yu He said playfully, tilting her head to see his reaction.
Qin Beiting turned back and kissed her cheek. Yu He turned her head slightly back, meeting his lips.
The two lingered by the entrance of the west wing's main hall for a while. Yu He's peripheral vision caught sight of a figure in the courtyard. She pushed Qin Beiting away, struggled to get down, and looked at the person.
"Qiao Qiao, what is it?"
Qin Beiting's face turned cold at this, displeased at the interruption.
"Didn't you break up?"
Qiao Qiao looked at their affectionate display with red eyes. Yu He was wearing pajamas, and there were several red marks on her exposed neck. Although she had no experience, she knew what those marks signified. Her heart felt sour.
She hadn't seen Qin Beiting in the siheyuan for some time. Last week, Qiao Wei had said that Yu He and Qin Beiting had broken up. She had been secretly happy for a few days. Once, when she went to the west wing to find Yu He, she had specifically noticed that Qin Beiting's things seemed to have been moved out. At the time, she was both reluctant and very happy.
Reluctant because they had broken up, and Qin Beiting wouldn't come here, making it harder for her to see him. Happy because they had broken up, giving her a chance.
Yes, she still couldn't give up on Qin Beiting. She had even gone against her principles as a person for him and colluded with the Qi family.
"Who said that?" Qin Beiting shot her a cold glance.
"I..." Qiao Qiao couldn't help but shiver. The jealousy she felt towards Yu He intensified. Why could Qin Beiting be so doting on Yu He but so indifferent to her?
If Yu He were gone, would Qin Beiting treat her better?
Yu He sensed that Qiao Qiao's expression seemed a bit off. Thinking of Qiao Qiao's previous infatuation with Qin Beiting, her gaze deepened. "Go about your business."
Qiao Qiao snapped back to attention and replied, "Okay."
Qin Beiting ignored her, took Yu He's hand, and entered the east wing.
The wall covered with the periodic table had been partitioned to create a small office of about fifteen square meters. Inside, there was an office desk and a small sofa. An un-tidied air-conditioned quilt was still on the sofa.
Yu He looked at the sofa, which was shorter than Qin Beiting's height, and frowned slightly. "You slept here before?"
"Occasionally, when I worked too late, I slept here," Qin Beiting explained.
Yu He suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. "Was it worth it?"
"I want to be closer to you, otherwise, if you ran off with another man, I wouldn't have time to catch you."
Qin Beiting hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, inhaling her faint, fresh scent. He felt that the air was full of happiness when she was around.
"Silver-tongued." Yu He raised her hand and gently patted his cheek.
"I'm only like this with you." Qin Beiting took her hand, intertwined his fingers with hers, and clasped them tightly.
"By the way, did you find anything out about what I asked you to investigate before?" Yu He remembered the photos.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Qin Beiting's eyes. "...Not yet."
Yu He frowned. "Is it that difficult?"
"...Mm." Qin Beiting responded and then changed the subject. "Baby, how about I invest in your new chip project?"
Yu He: "How would you invest?"
"You can ditch Qin Yonghao and join XS Group, or start your own company. If you want to do chips, I'll provide the funds," Qin Beiting said.
"No! I don't want to spend your money." Yu He refused.
Her joining Qin's was not really to work on chips, but primarily to infiltrate Qin's internal network.
Qin Beiting frowned slightly. "If you don't spend my money, whose money will you spend?"
Yu He: "I'll spend my own."
"But I want to start a company with you, as a couple." Qin Beiting knew she had billions, enough for her to spend her whole life, but if it was for developing new chips, these billions wouldn't be enough.
Yu He raised an eyebrow. "Who says I'm going to marry you?"
"If you're not marrying me, who else do you want to marry?" Qin Beiting turned to face Yu He, cupped her shoulders, and said seriously, "Let me tell you beforehand, I absolutely will not play the tedious game of breaking up with you again! If you mention breaking up again, I'll lock you up and tie you to the bed, so you can never get out."
Breaking up was such a tormenting thing; once was enough.
Yu He listened, slightly stunned, her heart involuntarily quickening. "Tsk~ Threatening your landlady?"
Qin Beiting's expression remained unchanged. "As long as we don't break up, you're the landlady, the boss, the ancestor. I'll do whatever you want."
Yu He smiled, feeling her chest swell with comfort. "You smooth-talker, go make me a steak, I'm hungry."
"Yes, ancestor."
---
Qiao Qiao returned to the north wing, absentmindedly preparing the prescription that Xiao Qing had brought. Halfway through, her phone pinged with a WeChat message notification. She took it out and saw it was from Qi Suilin.
Qi Suilin: [We can agree to your terms.]