Since things had already progressed to this point, and the topic of pregnancy, which had previously been avoided, was now on the table, Lu Qin's audacity grew. "The soundproofing in your manor is terrible. It has sullied my reputation. If anyone else hears and spreads rumors, how will I survive in the business world?"
Pei Rong had long noticed Lu Qin's reaction and remained calm. "So, what do you want?"
Lu Qin replied, "For someone like me, a big client, the owner of this manor needs to provide a satisfactory solution."
Pei Rong gently pushed Lu Qin away, picked up the phone from the bedside table, and unlocked it with his fingerprint. "Oh, then let me help President Lu clarify. I should still have about 90 million followers on Weibo."
Pei Rong opened the photo album and began editing.
Lu Qin: !!!
He hurriedly grabbed the beauty's phone and pressed it under his thigh.
While he was more than willing to expose their improper relationship, he couldn’t allow the content to be about clearing up rumors of erectile dysfunction. Onlookers would just laugh at his attempt to cover up and then pity the beauty for being stuck with the wrong person.
Lu Qin, trying to leverage his previous help, said, "I injured my left hand saving you and Dundun."
Pei Rong reminded him, "You still have your right hand."
Lu Qin hugged him. "My right hand has no feeling. Only the left hand works, yours or mine."
Pei Rong was getting a headache. Given Lu Qin’s persistence... If he refused, Lu Qin might actually end up using his left hand and then bleeding from his wounds all night, forcing them to go to the hospital again. And if the doctor asked why they were back... What a mess.
Lu Qin, relentless in his pursuit, kept his eyes on Pei Rong, but in reality, he was recalling the scene from the manor after he had gotten drunk. Using his computer-like brain, he calculated the probability of recreating that scene today.
It was as high as 49.9%!
While Pei Rong was still thinking, the hand holding him slid inside his clothes, searching for the scar from the C-section. The sensation of skin-to-skin contact sparked a feeling in Lu Qin, as if a wildfire that had been suppressed for three years was now igniting.
Facing a more composed Pei Rong than three years ago, and after demonstrating enough sincerity early on, Lu Qin decided to switch to a more measured strategy.
But maybe his fingers were too rough because he couldn’t find it for a while.
Lu Qin's hand had been injured by wood splinters, leaving the wound uneven, and the stitching had been painful.
Each pull of the stitches through his skin reminded him of the late-night surgery videos he'd watched.
He wanted to kiss Pei Rong's scar and ask if it still hurt.
Unable to hold back, Lu Qin reached for the light switch, intending to turn on the overhead light for a better look.
Pei Rong closed his eyes, barely able to tolerate it. "Do you want to wake up Dundun for a midnight snack of—"
The words "instant noodles" were stuck in his throat.
Lu Qin glanced nervously at the little one beside him.
Close call.
The next moment, he realized something else — fortune favors the bold, the timid starve. Three years later, he still only dared to cover Pei Rong's mouth with his hand.
Kissing him now would clearly be abrupt; Pei Rong might turn hostile.
Lu Qin decided to stick to the original plan of seeking mutual assistance.
Step by step, going with the flow.
Pei Rong seemed to cooperate, letting Lu Qin’s hand explore, but at the crucial moment, he unexpectedly changed course and reached for the phone under Lu Qin's thigh.
Lu Qin was about to grab his wrist, but a screen suddenly blocked his view.
Pei Rong said, "Take this and go deal with it in the bathroom."
The little one beside them was still sleeping, and Pei Rong wanted to maintain his dignity.
As for going to the bathroom with Lu Qin, sorry, once a lazybones like him lay in bed, it was hard to get him to move.
Lu Qin quickly glanced at the screen and frowned in dissatisfaction. "Not watching a video."
Pei Rong responded, "Then I'll delete it."
Lu Qin hurriedly looked again and realized that the frozen frame in the video showed Pei Rong's lower face!
The most important detail was the hands resting on a slightly swollen belly — about five or six months pregnant.
!!!
A precious video of the beauty during pregnancy!
He once thought he had missed those unknowable years entirely, but Pei Rong had recorded part of it.
Lu Qin took the phone, half-kneeling on the bed, and dumbfoundedly played the video.
Pei Rong pulled the blanket over himself. "You have two choices: go to the bathroom, or I'll delete it."
Lu Qin: "..."
So when Pei Rong had said he’d post it on Weibo, he had already planned for this, opening the photo album in advance.
Beauty Pei, you’re still you! Always finding a way to make him handle it himself!
President Lu gritted his teeth and regretfully gave up the hero-saving-beauty reward that had just fallen into his lap.
*Sigh*, he wouldn't be able to use that excuse next time.
He strode into the bathroom, shut the door, and without even caring about himself, turned the volume up and clicked on the video.
In the video, Pei Rong seemed to be doing yoga. He mentioned that he practiced several times a day, then slightly lifted his shirt, poked his belly with his finger, and said, “Five months and seven days.” His short-trimmed nails pressed into the small indentation.
While speaking, Pei Rong kept staring into the camera, as if transcending time and space, calmly meeting Lu Qin's gaze in the present.
Lu Qin clutched his phone tightly and watched the video a second time without blinking. He even recorded it with his own phone—just in case it got deleted.
He exited the video for the time being and started browsing through the album. But then he found... everything was locked.
He tried unlocking it using Dundun’s and Pei Rong’s birthdays, but failed.
Judging by the format, there were at least 100 videos.
In other words, Beauty Pei could hold this over Lu Qin's head at least 100 more times!
Lu Qin: "..."
Why could someone run off with a baby and still have the nerve to use videos to threaten people? Could he ever reclaim any dignity in this lifetime?
But... he really wanted to see Dundun before he turned one, and Pei Rong during pregnancy.
Could he turn the tables and use his own experiences to trade with Pei Rong?
Lu Qin thought about his own experiences—meetings, meetings, and more meetings.
Those could only be called a "record," not "experiences."
Who would be interested in his dull records?!
He had to figure out a way to get a membership and watch the videos.
Lu Qin thought angrily to himself, 'This fragmented membership system for even the smallest services is truly the root of all evil.'
An hour later, Lu Qin finally came out. The beauty had already fallen asleep with the little one in his arms.
Pei Rong slept close to the edge of the bed, clearly not planning to leave his back to anyone.
Lu Qin had no choice but to sleep on the other side of Dundun. At least, he had managed to climb into Pei Rong's bed.
