Yu He struggled to get off Qin Beiting. A flicker of discomfort flashed across Qin Beiting's handsome face. He asked Yu He in a low voice, "Why didn't you say they were here?"
How was he supposed to put on airs in front of them later?
Yu He: "..."
Who was it that had covered her mouth, preventing her from speaking?
"Heh heh, Seventh Master, happy birthday~" Ruan Tianxin awkwardly pulled the confetti cannon in her hand.
"Brother Ting, happy birthday." Shao Chen, Qi Xifeng, and the others echoed, opening their confetti cannons.
After a few "bang bang bang" sounds, they all looked at Qin Beiting, waiting for him to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere. But all he did was maintain a cold expression, saying nothing.
The living room fell silent, and the atmosphere became even more awkward.
"Are we staying to watch the show?" Lu Yiming couldn't help but ask Shao Chen weakly.
Shao Chen shot him a look that said, "If he dares to do it, would you dare to watch?"
"It's getting late, so we'll be going. We won't disturb your loving time, hahahahaha." Ruan Tianxin said, linking arms with Shao Chen and leading everyone out.
Yu He: "..."
Qin Beiting: "..."
Before long, everyone had left. In the spacious living room, only the two of them remained in an awkward silence, along with a little piggy peeking its head from the study door.
"So... shall we continue?" After a long pause, Yu He looked at the Tiramisu cake on the table and spoke.
It had taken her several hours to make this cake tonight; it would be a waste not to eat it.
Hearing this, Qin Beiting's eyes flickered, and he pushed her onto the sofa.
Yu He quickly used her hands to push against his chest, "What are you doing?"
Qin Beiting buried his face in her neck, kissing her as he said, "Listening to you, we're continuing."
"......I meant continuing the birthday celebration! Eating cake, opening gifts."
"You are the best gift."
...
The next day.
Yu He's nine o'clock alarm rang on time. Qin Beiting reached for his phone on the bedside table, intending to turn off the alarm and go back to sleep, but Yu He was already getting up.
Qin Beiting saw her sleepy eyes and said, "Sleep a little longer, I'll stay with you."
As Yu He moved, she felt as if she had been run over by a truck, her whole body aching.
But she still insisted on getting out of bed, "No."
If she slept any longer, she wouldn't be able to get out of bed at all.
Since she wasn't sleeping, Qin Beiting didn't linger either. He got up, washed up, and they ate breakfast together.
"Let's go see the gift I prepared for you."
Yu He led Qin Beiting to the east wing. On the desk in the small office, two black gift boxes wrapped with ribbons were placed.
Seeing the two gift boxes, Qin Beiting already had an idea of what they were. He lifted Yu He's chin and kissed her lips deeply.
"Open them," Yu He pushed him away.
Qin Beiting stepped forward and untied the ribbons on the boxes. Inside each was a palm-sized special container, holding two thumb-sized, steel-gray metal pieces.
He picked them up, examined them carefully for a while, and recognized the two elements: Californium, the most expensive element in the world, and Tungsten, the metal with the highest melting point in the world.
They had agreed to collect two elements from the periodic table each year until they had collected them all.
The two elements Yu He had found, when placed together, symbolized that their love was the most precious and the most solid.
Qin Beiting: "I really like them, thank you, baby."
"Our first year," Yu He said.
It was late August last year, on the big mountains bordering China and Vietnam, that they had reunited. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.
Qin Beiting opened the glass cover of the sealed periodic table on the wall. Then, they each placed the two elements into their respective slots before sealing it back up, completing the first year's ceremony of their lifelong pact.
"Will you accompany me to another place?" Qin Beiting took her hand and walked towards the door.
"No, I have an appointment with Qi Nan later. I want to try hypnosis to recall memories," Yu He said.
Qin Beiting had thought that after a week, she had given up on trying to recall her memories. He hadn't expected her to persist, which made him feel pained.
"I really hope you'll say that this was just a lie you told me yesterday," he said with displeasure.
Yu He: "Ruan Tianxin's variety show event tonight was the lie."
Qin Beiting's expression softened slightly. "I'll go with you. After it's done, we'll go out for dinner together tonight."
"Okay."
At 10:30, Yu He and Qin Beiting arrived at Qi Nan's private clinic punctually.
His clinic was not open to the public and had excellent privacy.
Besides Qi Nan, there was also a foreigner with a large nose, a white goatee, and a look of being in his fifties or sixties.
"This is my psychology mentor, Freud. He is an internationally renowned psychologist with in-depth research in brain anatomy and pathology," Qi Nan introduced in Chinese first.
Then, he turned to Freud and introduced in English, "Teacher, this is my boss, and this is Miss Yu He."
"I know her! She's the Divine Doctor Wuming!" Freud exclaimed excitedly in English. "Divine Doctor Wuming! I finally get to meet you in person. You're my idol! The proprietary medicine you developed is truly amazing."
He was so excited that he wanted to hug Yu He, but Qin Beiting stopped him.
"Hello, Teacher Freud," Yu He shook his hand politely.
Freud held her hand, reluctant to let go, his eyes still filled with excitement. "Just call me Freud. Can I take a photo with you and get your autograph?"
Qin Beiting frowned. A man who could be a young girl's grandfather was still a fan.
"Let's start quickly," he urged.
Yu He had spoken with Qi Nan on the phone earlier, explaining her needs, and Qi Nan had already prepared the props.
"My teacher will conduct the hypnosis this time. I will monitor from the side."
Qi Nan said, placing an electroencephalogram detector on Yu He's head, which was connected to a computer.
"We will start with light hypnosis, gradually progressing to deep hypnosis. During this process, your attention will become clearer, more acute, and you will see and sort through the hidden and suppressed things within your heart more clearly," Freud explained.
Qi Nan glanced at Qin Beiting. After getting his consent, he said to Freud, "Teacher Freud, please begin."
Yu He watched the pocket watch swaying in front of Freud and listened to his instructions. She slowly closed her eyes, beginning to enter her subconscious memories.
She delved deeper and deeper into her memories, finally returning to the age of six.
She saw herself hiding in a cabinet in the lobby of Yayuan. She heard footsteps approaching the lobby and mistook them for Qin Xinyao, who was playing hide-and-seek, looking for her. She dared not make a sound.
"Dad passing the position of family head to you means he recognizes your ability is better than your elder brother's. How can you have such a foolish idea? To give up the position of family head to someone else?!" a woman's scolding voice.
The voice was very familiar, but Yu He couldn't remember who it was. She only felt that two people were arguing in the lobby. She wanted to push the cabinet door open in her subconscious, when suddenly the scene was forcibly changed.
She instantly plunged into darkness, as if in a corner of a small dark room. The wooden door opened, and a faint light seeped in from outside.
She saw a little boy standing at the doorway. His face was obscured by the backlight, but the dagger in his hand gleamed coldly in the dim light, and blood was dripping from the tip of the blade...