Chapter 83 “Between work and you, you’re more important.”

Only after this long kiss ended did Cheng Yao belatedly feel embarrassed. Passionately kissing in the court—wasn’t it a bit high-profile?

Although the plaintiffs and defendants coming and going to participate in litigation here didn’t know her, several judges and clerks of the court’s marriage division did know Qian Heng. If Cheng Yao remembered correctly, just now a female judge wearing a judge’s robe had passed by, clearly paused upon seeing Qian Heng and herself before walking away…

Her face red, she tugged at Qian Heng’s sleeve. “Let’s go.”

Qian Heng’s ears were still red, yet his face was surprisingly as composed as if Mount Tai were collapsing before him without changing color. “Mm. I’ll take you to eat hot pot to comfort you.”

“Ah?”

Qian Heng cleared his throat, somewhat unnaturally. “You previously wrote on Weibo that you wanted to eat Dawang Hot Pot, but eating hot pot alone is too lonely. Having a handsome man accompanying you would be perfect.”

“…”

Qian Heng smiled lightly and casually. “Now it should not only satisfy your fantasy but also exceed your expectations, right?”

“…” Cheng Yao paused before remembering to refute. “Wait, why is it comfort?”

“Didn’t you lose the first-instance judgment?” Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao. He stretched out his hand and lightly patted Cheng Yao’s head. “But it’s fine. Living in this world, losing a few lawsuits is normal. As long as you’ve done your utmost and tried your best, as long as you can face the party and your own conscience, it’s enough.”

Only then did Cheng Yao react. Qian Heng probably only knew the first-instance judgment result and didn’t know that after the trial ended she had collected Lu Jian’s DNA. She stopped and smiled.

“I didn’t lose.” Her brows slightly raised, the corners of her mouth lifting. “Qian Heng, in the second instance of this lawsuit I’m certain to win.”

Cheng Yao’s face was radiant. She did not restrain her pride and self-satisfaction, yet this appearance was even more attractive. Although Qian Heng was unwilling to admit it, a woman seriously working also made it completely impossible to look away. That independent and confident charm made Cheng Yao’s whole person glow.

This uncut jade had finally, after carving and polishing, slowly revealed its flawless radiance.

Only at the hot pot restaurant, after Cheng Yao animatedly and with flying brows told Qian Heng every detail of how she had collected Lu Jian’s DNA after the trial, did Qian Heng react. Not only had Cheng Yao not lost—she had actually opened a new path and found life in a desperate situation.

After finishing, Cheng Yao was quite proud. “So there’s fundamentally no need for you to comfort me, okay? This meal should be a celebration banquet.”

Qian Heng nodded. “If the paternity test has no problems, overturning the case in the second instance is very stable.”

Cheng Yao grinned. “Then can I ask for a reward?”

“Hm?” Qian Heng raised his head and glanced at Cheng Yao. “What do you want?”

Cheng Yao had actually only said it casually as a joke and hadn’t truly thought of what she wanted. Yet with Qian Heng asking like this, she tilted her head and thought. And while thinking, she saw the scene of a couple at the next table affectionately feeding each other…

Cheng Yao secretly pointed at that table. “How about we also try it?” She was a bit embarrassed. “I’ve seen it acted out like this in TV dramas too. I just want to experience whether the things a boyfriend feeds taste better?”

“…”

Qian Heng glanced at Cheng Yao. “Are you serious?”

Cheng Yao nodded. “Mm!”

“Too childish. We’re all adults already, still feeding things back and forth to each other—cheesy, disgusting. I feel that as long as one isn’t so sick one can barely make it and can’t hold a spoon, one should eat by oneself.” Qian Heng said decisively. “Change to another one.”

“…”

Cheng Yao thought again and happened to recall the couple necklace she had secretly bought a few days ago. She probed, “I see other couples all wear couple rings or something, but we can’t make it public at the firm on ordinary days either. Wearing a ring is too high-profile. How about I buy a couple necklace and we wear couple necklaces? On ordinary days if they’re kept inside the clothes they can’t be seen either?”

Unfortunately Qian Heng furrowed his brows again. “Necklace? What necklace does a man wear? Don’t you feel it’s like a dog that’s been tagged with a nameplate? Besides, these couple necklaces on the market are all made of metals of who-knows-what material. Wearing them against the skin—who knows whether it’ll cause skin allergies or heavy-metal poisoning?” He glanced at Cheng Yao. “Change to another one again.”

“…”

Cheng Yao persevered and thought again. “How about you cook a meal for me once? Just cooking some porridge or whatever is fine. Previously it was always me cooking for you.”

Qian Heng didn’t speak. He only quietly glanced at Cheng Yao, then slowly stretched out his own hand…

“Fine, fine, I know!” Cheng Yao’s head felt as big as two. “Your noble hand is not for cooking. I’ve got it!”

“You change to another one again.”

“Then how about you sing a love song for me sometime?” Cheng Yao said eagerly. “I feel it’s quite romantic.”

“Sing a love song? For a little boy under twenty doing this is still understandable. A mature man of twenty-eight won’t do this kind of thing. It’s too silly. I’d rather die than do it.” Qian Heng furrowed his brows. “How about I recite a legal provision for you? What law do you want to hear?”

“…”

Facing Cheng Yao’s speechlessness, Qian Heng said magnanimously, “Then you change to another one again.”

Cheng Yao waved her hands repeatedly. “No no! I suddenly feel that speaking for the party and winning this lawsuit is what I should do as part of my duty. What reward is there to ask for?”

Joking? Asking a reward from a cosmic steel straight man like Qian Heng? Am I crazy? Better wake up.

After that Cheng Yao also stopped speaking. In the second half of the meal she transformed grief and indignation into appetite, desperately fishing meatballs from the hot pot and stuffing them into her mouth, eating until she was a full twelve-tenths full—top of the class.

After the meal, because Qian Heng needed to work overtime that night to issue a legal opinion letter, he sent Cheng Yao home.

On the way home Cheng Yao already felt her stomach was a bit uncomfortably bloated. Adhering to the principle that more rest would allow recovery, she washed up and went to sleep early. As a result only when she was woken by pain in the middle of the night did Cheng Yao realize that this stomach pain not only hadn’t eased—it had intensified.

She endured for a while. Ultimately the pain made her restless; she threw up twice before finally calling Qian Heng.

Qian Heng almost quickly answered the phone. His voice was still very clear—presumably he was still working overtime and hadn’t slept. “Cheng Yao, what’s wrong?”

Perhaps it was the night and illness that made people especially fragile. Just hearing Qian Heng’s voice made Cheng Yao feel wronged. “My stomach hurts. It’s so uncomfortable…”

“Wait for me fifteen minutes.” Qian Heng was concise. “Don’t hang up the phone.”

“Why?”

“You’re already gasping from the pain. I’ll accompany you talking to divert your attention a bit.”

“Mm…”

Thus after Qian Heng put on the Bluetooth earpiece, Cheng Yao listened all the way on the phone as he hurriedly packed things and went to the garage to drive the Bentley.

“Cheng Yao, do you want to listen to a few cases I’ve been handling recently?” While driving, Qian Heng asked. “One foreign-related marriage divorce property dispute, one custody dispute, and one inheritance dispute. Which one do you want to hear?”

…

Qian Heng was not a talkative person. On the contrary, probably because every word was valuable, he was indeed very economical with words. Yet tonight he was uncharacteristically talkative, speaking almost without intervals. As a result after only speaking for ten minutes he had already finished explaining the facts, points of dispute, and legal application of the three cases.

Although it was simply like a law-popularization class, one had to say it indeed successfully diverted Cheng Yao’s attention. Although her stomach still hurt a lot, the moment she heard these difficult cases Cheng Yao’s whole person forced herself to become energetic.

Only after the cases were finished Cheng Yao’s stomach pain also attacked even more fiercely. For a moment she couldn’t hold back and began moaning.

Qian Heng’s voice paused. “Does it hurt a lot?”

Cheng Yao gritted her teeth. “Mm.”

At this time even if he spoke about cases again, Cheng Yao was probably in too much pain to listen.

After a brief silence, Qian Heng’s voice rang out again.

He began singing an English love song for Cheng Yao.

This was a lyrical, slow-tempo old song. Yet the lyrics were gentle and full of love. In the nostalgic melody was a classic charm.

Although at the beginning Qian Heng’s vocal line was somewhat unnaturally awkward, gradually his emotions calmed down. As if afraid of startling Cheng Yao and again stimulating her stomach pain, Qian Heng’s voice was slightly lowered. Although low, it instead carried a strange gentleness. In the quiet night Cheng Yao only felt at ease.

The Qian Heng who had said he would rather die than sing for his girlfriend like a twenty-year-old boy sang one song after another a cappella on the phone. Only when he parked the car and rushed to Cheng Yao’s door did he stop.

Although she had tried hard to endure, by the time Qian Heng arrived Cheng Yao was already somewhat delirious from the pain. She was curled up at the head of the bed. Amid continuous cold sweat she was scooped up horizontally by Qian Heng. What she next felt was his steady yet somewhat hurried steps, then the outdoor air. Yet she didn’t feel cold, because before carrying Cheng Yao out Qian Heng had wrapped her in a blanket, and around her neck was still the scarf he had just taken off.

Qian Heng had a kind of power that calmed people’s hearts. As long as he was present, it seemed there was nothing that couldn’t be handled. Previously Cheng Yao had been afraid of relying too much on him and had often warned herself that even as a woman she shouldn’t always enjoy women’s preferential treatment—she should be a bit more independent, a bit stronger.

Only now did she know that in front of the person she liked, this kind of independence and strength was sometimes simply vulnerable. Because you know that in front of this person you don’t need to show off, don’t need to pretend to be strong, don’t need to arm yourself.

The late-night weather was very cold. Yet Qian Heng carried Cheng Yao all the way and took her into an American private clinic that had very good service yet was known for being expensive.

The doctor was of who-knows-what nationality. Cheng Yao only hazily heard Qian Heng communicating Cheng Yao’s condition with the other party in fluent, standard American English. It was clear the two had long been familiar and were very acquainted.

The blond, blue-eyed male doctor, after understanding the approximate situation, smiled gently at Cheng Yao. “Rate your pain from 1 to 10.”

Cheng Yao subconsciously looked at Qian Heng.

Qian Heng held Cheng Yao’s hand and said softly, “If the pain index is arranged from 1 to 10 from low to high, how much does it hurt approximately right now?”

…

Ultimately, relying on Qian Heng as this human-shaped translator, Cheng Yao completed the communication with the foreign doctor and also learned her condition from Qian Heng’s mouth.

Acute gastroenteritis.

“Not too serious. No need for an IV. Just take a bit of medicine and slowly adjust and recover. Try to rest in bed as much as possible. Drink more electrolyte beverages to prevent dehydration. For at least the next half month the diet must be light. Best to eat liquid or semi-liquid things.”

Cheng Yao watched Qian Heng swipe the card to pay. She only glanced at the bill and, even forgetting the pain, was shocked. “Just looking at a mild acute gastroenteritis, not some difficult and complicated disease, and the prescribed medicine is also very little—yet including the registration fee it actually costs eight hundred yuan???” She was extremely regretful. “Why didn’t you take me to a public hospital? With medical insurance at a public hospital the fee would probably only be a fraction of the private hospital’s…”

“At this hour in public hospitals there’s only the emergency department. The emergency doctors may not necessarily have such good ways to respond to stomach pain. And Raymond is very professional with stomach diseases. Only after letting him look am I at ease.”

“I only have a stomach ache. It’s not some big problem. Eight-tenths chance it’s from eating too much hot pot earlier. And eight hundred yuan to buy peace of mind is also too expensive!”

By this time Cheng Yao’s pain had already eased quite a bit. She was now lying on Qian Heng’s back as he carried her toward the parking lot.

Yet Cheng Yao’s casual sentence made Qian Heng pause. His voice was low yet serious. “Cheng Yao, your problems, to me, have no small problems.”

Cheng Yao suddenly felt very embarrassed. She subconsciously buried her entire face into Qian Heng’s scarf. Lying on Qian Heng’s back she only felt her face burning.

“Even if it costs eight thousand yuan to buy peace of mind I would still buy it.” Qian Heng said completely seriously. “Anyway what I lack the least is money.”

This kind of words… this kind of words truly made one feel strangely shy… Cheng Yao buried her face even deeper into the scarf. Yet while feeling shy, listening still made one feel strangely sweet…

Qian Heng’s self-satisfaction was sometimes truly quite moving.

Peeling open his shell of saying one thing while meaning another, Cheng Yao knew she was cared about—cared about very, very much.

Only sitting in the car on the return trip, Cheng Yao felt a bit apologetic inside. “Actually it really is a small problem. Look, sometimes stomach pain is just like this—after hurting for a while it gets better. Right now I already don’t hurt that much.” She was a bit regretful. “If only I hadn’t called you. I also didn’t know that by now it’s already much better.”

From Qian Heng’s villa to the place she lived—who knew how fast Qian Heng had driven to arrive in fifteen minutes. When answering the phone he hadn’t slept yet. Presumably the work still hadn’t been finished.

“I’m actually quite happy.”

“Ah?”

Qian Heng held the steering wheel and said as if naturally, “Because the first person you thought of was me.”

Cheng Yao paused before reacting. She suddenly felt the temperature of the air conditioning inside Qian Heng’s car was set a bit high, making one’s cheeks burn. “But this way it caused your work not to be finished. When you go back you’ll still have to work overtime…”

“You’re more important.”

“Hm?”

“Compared to work, you’re more important.”

This time Cheng Yao’s face not only burned—she felt her palms also began to heat up. Yet Qian Heng still didn’t let her off.

He lightly swept a glance at Cheng Yao in the passenger seat. His voice was calm and composed, as if explaining some legal provision. Yet the words he spoke simply made Cheng Yao want to cover her face—

“I want to be the person you first think of when you encounter difficulties.”

In an instant Cheng Yao only felt a brilliant fireworks explode in her heart. A man like Qian Heng could always keep a taut face and so seriously speak love words. That appearance looked composed to the point of being cold, yet within that coldness was contained a huge heat that no one else could perceive.

It was also at this time that Cheng Yao felt her finger hanging by her side was lightly touched by something.

That was a slightly cool finger. The fingertip carried probing, then it was an entire palm. Qian Heng’s hand stretched over and held Cheng Yao’s. His long, slender fingers separated Cheng Yao’s fingers and interlaced with her five fingers.

And Qian Heng’s voice was as always completely serious. “My hand is a bit cold. Warm it for me.”

If it weren’t for his slightly red ears, one would really think he truly meant it in the literal sense with complete focus.