Everyone had arrived, with Mo Zhao and Shen Yao staying to spend the first day of the New Year with their families before leaving. Li Si Chen was on a business trip abroad and couldn't return for now.
Chen Dong came to confirm with Qin Bei Ting that they could take off and relayed the message to the pilot.
After the plane had been airborne for a while and had stabilized, Qin Bei Ting unbuckled his seatbelt, then unbuckled Yu He's, and stood up, holding her hand.
"Where are we going?" Yu He asked, confused.
Qin Bei Ting replied, "You'll know in a moment."
Yu He turned and saw Duo Duo and Ruan Tian Xin engrossed in taking selfies. She then saw Yue Yue had already unbuckled his seatbelt and was heading to the office area with Ye Zi to continue working on code. Reassured, she went with him.
Qin Bei Ting led her to a door. Yu He recognized this room; it was a bedroom.
"Why did you bring me here?" Yu He asked suspiciously.
Qin Bei Ting said, "Open the door and see."
Yu He did as he was told. As she pushed the door open, she was met with a sea of pink flowers, which stunned her.
In Beijing's winter, apart from the cypress trees, everything was bare branches, and there were certainly no beautiful fresh flowers to be seen.
Suddenly, a room full of flowers appeared before her eyes. How could she not be surprised? Moreover, having seen so many old friends today, her mood was already good, and now she felt an overwhelming joy.
"Let's go in and look," Qin Bei Ting said, holding her hand as they stepped into the room.
Looking closely, Yu He discovered that hidden within the sea of flowers were some photographs.
They were all pictures of the two of them together from the past. Besides photos of just the two of them, there were also many of her grandmother and Xiao Xiang Zhu.
"How do you still have these photos?" Yu He picked up a photo frame. It showed her holding Xiao Xiang Zhu and her grandmother.
She gently stroked her grandmother's face in the photograph, filled with nostalgia and longing.
Logically, when Philoide had cleared Qin Bei Ting's memory, Chen Dong and the others would have also cooperated in clearing these things.
"I searched for a long time and tried many methods to recover these photos. Many could not be found," Qin Bei Ting said regretfully.
So, sending Chen Dong and the others to Africa for a month was considered him being merciful. For deleting such precious things of his, a normal person wouldn't have been allowed back for the rest of their lives.
Yu He couldn't find these precious photos, "Send me a copy later."
"Okay." Qin Bei Ting hugged her from behind. "Baby, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. I'll never let anyone delete your memories without your consent again. Forgive me, okay? Let's start over."
Yu He nestled in his arms, feeling his presence. As long as he was there, she felt an inexplicable sense of security, even if the sky were to fall.
Actually, she wasn't angry about him deleting her memories anymore. After all, she had also deleted his memory once, so they were even.
"You barely survived, and we were separated for another five years because of it. Last time it was eleven years. How many five or ten years can a lifetime have?
"For the rest of my life, I don't want to be separated from you again. If you're unhappy, you can hit me, scold me, punish me by making me kneel on a keyboard or a washboard. You can torment me however you want, just don't leave me again, okay?"
The man's deep, magnetic voice pleaded in her ear, stirring Yu He's heart with every word.
Yes, how many five or ten years can a lifetime have.
If it weren't for Yue Yue and Duo Duo secretly returning to China this time, they might have missed not just five years, but perhaps their entire lives.
She turned, wrapping her arms around Qin Bei Ting's neck, and raised an eyebrow. "Then you have to use up those 206 condoms first?"
Upon mentioning this, a fleeting look of guilt crossed Qin Bei Ting's face. "Ahem, those 206 condoms will never be used."
Yu He asked, "Huh?"
"I got sterilized," Qin Bei Ting replied.
"Huh? When did that happen?" Yu He was shocked, thinking she had misheard.
Qin Bei Ting said, "Half a month ago."
Half a month ago, wasn't that shortly after she was discharged from the hospital?
Yu He looked at him in disbelief, "Are you serious?"
Not many men would be willing to do something like this, let alone take the initiative.
Qin Bei Ting didn't speak; he showed her with his actions.
Yu He said, "You..."
Qin Bei Ting took her hand. Before Yu He could pull away, she felt the scar left by the surgery and froze.
"You really did it!" she exclaimed in disbelief.
No wonder he had been so out of sorts recently, not acting shamelessly to stay in the west wing. It turned out he needed to maintain purity and abstinence.
"Mmm," Qin Bei Ting responded with a heavy hum.
Yu He's heart was suddenly filled with mixed emotions. "Why were you so impulsive? Aren't you afraid of being infertile from now on?"
"Giving birth is such painful thing, and I don't want you to go through it again. Besides, with Yue Yue and Duo Duo, I'm already very content," Qin Bei Ting said, looking at her deeply.
Although Yu He had never told him how difficult it was to give birth to their two children back then, he could imagine it, especially since she was injured.
It's said that childbirth is a journey through the gates of hell for women. Back then, Yu He had just come out of hell and walked into another. Just imagining it made his heart ache to the point of suffocation.
He didn't want her to go through it again.
Yu He felt a surge of warmth in her chest, her throat catching. She stood on tiptoe and hugged him tightly.
Qin Bei Ting also held her tightly, as if they were holding onto each other's entire world, with no one able to separate them.
After an embrace that felt like an eternity, Qin Bei Ting lowered his head and began to kiss the woman in his arms.
Yu He didn't refuse, responding passionately. The kiss seemed to convey more than a thousand words.
But as the kiss became more intense, the atmosphere in the romantic flower sea began to change.
They fell onto the bed covered in flower petals. Qin Bei Ting was on top, murmuring in Yu He's ear, "Want to give it a try? I don't know if this surgery really affects performance."
Yu He suddenly found it both funny and exasperating. "If you're worried, why did you do it?"
"Qi Nan guaranteed with his life that it wouldn't affect anything, so I'll trust him this once," Qin Bei Ting said.
Yu He replied, "Then you should trust science."
"Don't talk, just feel it," Qin Bei Ting kissed her.
"Ding dong..." Suddenly, the doorbell to the room rang, instantly shattering the intimate moment.
From outside the door, Yue Yue's voice could be faintly heard, "Dad."
And Ye Zi's voice, "Qin Bei Ting, what are you and my sister doing? Come out."
"..."
Yu He's desire, which she had finally managed to build up, was instantly ruined again. She pushed the man on top of her. "Get up, your son is looking for you."
Qin Bei Ting refused. "Ignore them."
"Ding dong, ding dong." The doorbell rang frantically, annoying Qin Bei Ting even more.
This son was sent by heaven to torment him, wasn't he?
He got off the bed irritably, preparing to open the door. Yu He stopped him. "Wait a minute, straighten your clothes."
Qin Bei Ting reluctantly tidied his clothes and opened the door, his face looking cold. "What is it?"
"I've cracked the level you gave me!" Yue Yue announced.