"No, you're from the Ye family. You have no relation to the Qin family, so there's no incest. You can totally fall in love freely."
Ruan Tianxin cradled Yu He's phone, blinking her unique sky-blue eyes, her pink lips pouting as she gazed at Yu He with a curious, expectant look.
"Quick, show me his photo! What kind of impossibly perfect man could make my aloof, otherworldly fairy, Xiao He Miao, fall for mortal love?"
Ruan Tianxin's appearance was as sweet as her name. She had honey-colored wavy hair, deep-set European eyes, a high nose bridge, and a pair of sapphire-like eyes. She looked like a Barbie doll that had just stepped out of a display window.
Most people would find it hard to refuse a request made so cutely by someone as charming as her.
However, Yu He was not swayed by her charm. She picked up her phone and placed it aside.
"There's no photo. Don't talk nonsense! It's impossible between us."
"How is it impossible? From your description, I feel like he likes you a lot." Ruan Tianxin was confused. "You're not going to give me some lame excuse about not wanting to start a relationship early, are you?"
*Like her?*
Yu He thought about Qin Beiting's previous inappropriate actions. Was that liking her?
Was he just playing with her?!
"Unfortunately, in his eyes, I'm just a child," Yu He said calmly, taking a sip of her coffee.
"A child? If he really saw you as a child, how could he have touched your leg under the table? The last person who did that to me was my ex-boyfriend."
Ruan Tianxin slapped the coffee table emphatically. Then, as if remembering something, she added with a hint of disdain, "Oh, and the scumbag who tried to hit on me at the bar."
Yu He: "..."
Qin Beiting is a scumbag!
He flirted with her and then went into a lounge with another woman. What else could he be but a scumbag!
"However, your Uncle Qin shouldn't be a scumbag, right?" Ruan Tianxin asked, changing her tack. "Or is it that you don't like him?"
*Don't like him?*
Yu He lowered her long eyelashes, looking at the coffee in her cup.
She couldn't deny that when she was little, she had liked Qin Beiting very much.
But that kind of dependence and affection, like one has for an older brother, was probably not the kind of liking Ruan Tianxin was talking about.
Besides, the Qin Beiting of today was no longer the boy he used to be.
Although he appeared distinguished and gentle, he possessed an inherent coldness that made him unapproachable, along with unfathomable mystery and shrewdness. He could be gentle and considerate to her, but turn on others in an instant, making her afraid to trust him easily.
After all, he was still a Qin.
Before she could find out who framed her adoptive father and who murdered her adoptive mother, everyone in the Qin family was a suspect.
"If you don't like him, why would you care about his life or death?" Ruan Tianxin, seeing Yu He's silence, continued on her own accord.
"Not only are you helping him with his illness, but you're also participating in tonight's auction for him to get the Black Spirit Pearl. Do you know how many people are after it tonight?"
"I'm just fulfilling the agreement we made when we partnered up," Yu He defended herself.
"Are you sure?" Ruan Tianxin looked at her suspiciously.
Yu He's expression remained unchanged. "Absolutely, definitely, and positively."
Just then, a "ding" announced an incoming WeChat message.
Yu He glanced at her phone and saw Qin Beiting's WeChat avatar. She immediately picked up her phone and opened it.
A selfie appeared before her eyes. The man was biting the hem of his white shirt, holding his phone to take a mirror picture with one hand, while the other pulled down his pants, revealing his proud, enviable V-line.
Eight solid abs, a beautifully sculpted, sexy mermaid line...
A deep, old knife scar ran diagonally across his left lower waist, a startling sight, yet it added a touch of wildness to his perfect physique.
This photo was taken very strategically, perfectly showcasing the man's sexy and proud physique, yet cleverly obscuring his face with the phone.
Someone who didn't know him might think it was a photo of a male model found online.
But Yu He recognized it as Qin Beiting from the old scar.
She had accidentally seen him changing clothes before, and his back was covered in all sorts of gruesome scars.
The visual impact of the photo was too much, causing Yu He's earlobes to flush.
What did Qin Beiting mean by sending her such a photo all of a sudden?!
"Wow! What an incredible physique! Let me see!"
Ruan Tianxin accidentally caught a glimpse of her phone screen and immediately pounced, snatching the phone.
"Is this a selfie from your Uncle Qin?! Oh my god, he's perfect! With a body like this, his looks must be amazing too! You really don't like him? If you don't, introduce him to me! I can handle this physique!"
"Tianxin, stop fooling around. Give me back my phone!" Yu He's ears were red as she tried to grab the phone back.
Ruan Tianxin deliberately refused, teasingly pointing at the photo and asking, "Unless you honestly tell me, do you like this body?"
Yu He: "..."
"I do," she answered truthfully, her ears burning.
Who wouldn't like such a pleasing physique?
"Hahahaha, and who was it just now who was so stubborn about it being just a partnership?"
Ruan Tianxin finally found a handle to tease Yu He with and burst into laughter.
Yu He seized the opportunity to snatch her phone back. Upon checking, she realized that in the struggle for the phone, she had accidentally sent a suggestive emoji reply!
Yu He: !!!
She quickly pressed and held it, but before she could recall it, she saw that the photo had been retracted by the other party.
He had also replied.
Qin Beiting: 【Sent the wrong one.】
Qin Beiting: 【Like it?】
Qin Beiting: 【Beg me, and I'll send it again.】
Yu He: "..."
*Sent the wrong one?!*
Then who was he originally going to send it to?!
Qi Yuanyuan?!
The thought of this possibility made Yu He feel agitated.
Scumbag!
—
On the other side of the chat window.
Qin Beiting squinted his phoenix eyes, looking at the emoji Yu He had replied with, and wondered: Did the little girl's account get hacked?
It was impossible for him to send the wrong photo; he did it on purpose.
After they parted that day, he had suddenly received an urgent temporary mission from the army and left Bei City for a few days. During the mission, he didn't have time to contact Yu He, and he didn't expect Yu He not to contact him either.
The little girl was truly heartless.
He glanced at "The other party is typing..." on the chat window, wanting to see what she would say.
However, after a minute, the "typing" indicator disappeared, and even the suggestive emoji was retracted.
Qin Beiting: "..."
He could confirm that her account was not hacked.
"Knock, knock." At that moment, the study door was knocked, and then Qi Nan pushed it open.
"Brother Ting, the car is ready. We can head to Xing Que."
"Mm," Qin Beiting responded with a hum, but his gaze remained fixed on his phone, showing no intention of getting up.
Qi Nan thought for a moment and asked, "Should we go pick up Miss Yu to go with us?"
"No need," Qin Beiting said abruptly, standing up.
"Why?" Qi Nan was confused.
Finding the Black Spirit Pearl was Yu He's request; she should be informed of this.
Qin Beiting recalled what Yu He had said earlier: "Once we find the Black Spirit Pearl and I cure your illness, we'll have no more connection."
How could there be no connection?