Chapter 1061: Active Provocation

"Are you even listening to me?"

Chi Rong had been talking for a long time, and seeing Qin Yiyan remain silent, she suddenly felt a bit dissatisfied.

Qin Yiyan hurriedly nodded.

"I'm listening."

Chi Rong: "..."

"Let me ask you one more thing."

Chi Rong suddenly thought of something else, but this time she paused for two seconds before suddenly lowering her voice and asking in a whisper: "From the time you two got married until now... have you ever slept together?"

"Yes."

Knowing she naturally didn't mean something as simple as just sleeping, Qin Yiyan answered decisively.

Chi Rong's expression, however, was somewhat surprised.

She had originally thought that the two of them were just putting on an act in front of her and wouldn't have any physical contact at all.

But the way they felt when they were together was clearly...

Could her intuition have been wrong?

"What on earth are you two..."

Chi Rong looked at Qin Yiyan, puzzled.

Qin Yiyan didn't want to waste any more time on this matter, so he eventually just found a random excuse and said: "Mom, things aren't as complicated as you think. Our relationship... is still developing, but everything that should be done has been done. As for children, you don't need to worry; they will come sooner or later. Although Xin'ai didn't argue with me, because I've been too busy lately and haven't spent much time with her, she was giving me the cold shoulder before you arrived, so you might have misunderstood. Can you rest easy now?"

He explained everything in a few sentences and looked at Chi Rong helplessly.

He had originally agreed to let his parents come because he wanted to see how she would behave.

How did it turn into him spending the whole day trying to find ways to smooth things over for her?

The air was quiet for a moment.

Chi Rong carefully sorted through his words in her mind and couldn't seem to find any loopholes, so she gave him a disgruntled glare.

"If she was giving you the cold shoulder, why didn't you say so earlier? You had me worried for nothing. Then what are you still doing here? Hurry up and go upstairs to coax Xin'ai. The day after tomorrow, your father and I will go to the company to take a look, so you don't need to go; just spend the whole day with Xin'ai for her birthday!"

"Understood."

Qin Yiyan agreed.

Chi Rong then spoke up again: "Since there are no problems with your relationship, then... don't make your father and me wait too long for a grandchild!"

"Mm, don't worry."

Qin Yiyan agreed immediately, and only then was he shooed back upstairs by Chi Rong.

Pushing open the bedroom door, the room was quiet.

Liu Xin'ai was lying on the bed with a medical book in her hand; it seemed she had fallen asleep halfway through reading it.

Qin Yiyan subconsciously softened his footsteps as he walked in, and upon reaching the bedside, he saw that she was indeed closing her eyes, her breathing very steady.

Staring at her for a few seconds, he suddenly couldn't help but reach out his hand.

But he stopped abruptly just as he was about to touch her cheek, slightly adjusted the angle, and gently brushed aside the stray hair by her ear.

Then he gently pulled the book from her hand, closed it, and set it aside.

After doing all this, he turned and left.

"Click."

The sound of the bedroom door closing softly rang out.

The person lying on the bed also opened her eyes instantly.

Liu Xin'ai hadn't even dared to breathe too heavily just now, and now that she had finally waited for Qin Yiyan to leave, she immediately let out a long sigh of relief. She subconsciously looked at the book placed to the side, a complex look flashing in the depths of her eyes.

Having heard footsteps at the door just now, she didn't know why, but she had subconsciously closed her eyes.

That person who came in... was it Qin Yiyan?

Would he... have such gentle movements?

Or was it actually some servant who came in, or Chi Rong?

An answer was on the tip of her heart.

But Liu Xin'ai didn't dare to think in that direction.

After pondering for a long while, she simply closed her eyes.

Let's just pretend it was Qin Yiyan.

Perhaps Chi Rong was standing at the bedroom door just now and just didn't make a sound, and Qin Yiyan was only that gentle to put on a show.

That must be it.

Evening.

Liu Xin'ai accompanied Chi Rong to the backyard garden to tend to the flowers and chatted for a long while about Liu Tengnian's condition.

The four of them had dinner together just like they did at noon, then returned to their respective rooms.

Even though she hadn't done anything special all day, after coming out of the bathroom from washing up, Liu Xin'ai still felt incomparably exhausted.

The presence of the Qin Family parents made her feel uncomfortable all over.

Unless she was alone in a closed space, her whole body remained in a state of tension.

And then there was Qin Yiyan...

She didn't know how many more days she would have to share a bed with him...

Liu Xin'ai took a deep breath, wondering whether to sleep like she did last night or to seriously discuss with him the possibility of her sleeping on the sofa.

At the very least, it would avoid the scene of waking up in his arms in the morning.

Just as she was thinking this—the bedroom door behind her was suddenly pushed open.

Liu Xin'ai turned her head subconsciously and saw Qin Yiyan pushing the door open and walking in; he was wearing only a bathrobe, and his hair was slightly dripping with water, as if he had already washed up in another bathroom.

His physique was excellent, possessing not only the perfect proportions of broad shoulders and a narrow waist, but his exposed chest also had well-defined muscle lines, no worse than the male models on magazine posters.

Liu Xin'ai, however, had no interest at all; she merely glanced at him and then looked away.

Immediately after, she heard him suddenly ask, "Is there anything you want for your birthday?"

Liu Xin'ai was stunned upon hearing this.

Birthday?

Why was he asking about this?

Could it be that he actually wanted to celebrate her birthday?

Seeing her looking at him with a face full of confusion and a hint of surprise, Qin Yiyan paused slightly, then hurriedly added, "Even if it's just for show, we have to do it properly. Anyway, buying a gift doesn't cost much, so if there's anything you want, you can just say it, so that if my mother asks later, our stories won't be different."

He said this with an indifferent expression.

Liu Xin'ai suddenly realized.

So that was what it was for...

No wonder.

Since it wasn't a gift he genuinely wanted to give, then what was bought didn't matter at all.

Besides, she didn't care for anything he gave her.

Thinking this, Liu Xin'ai withdrew her gaze and said indifferently, "Whatever."

After speaking, she suddenly thought of something else and deliberately retorted, "Haven't you already planned it out? Didn't you say you wanted to give me a surprise? Why are you asking me instead now?"

The corners of Liu Xin'ai's lips curled into a mocking arc, every word carrying a hint of provocation, yet she was not being arrogant or domineering; she just looked at Qin Yiyan quietly, waiting for him to provide an answer.

Her expression clearly stated that no matter what answer Qin Yiyan gave, the affection spoken only for the sake of "pretending" was nothing more than a joke in her eyes.

The atmosphere suddenly went quiet for a moment.

Qin Yiyan seemed not to have expected her to say that, and his expression looked somewhat surprised.

Liu Xin'ai taking the initiative to provoke him.

This was truly rare.

Was it because the arrival of his parents had forced her to pretend all day, making her feel unhappy?

Qin Yiyan suddenly raised a tiny arc at the corner of his mouth.

Not only was he not angry, but he instead stepped forward abruptly, directly wrapping his arm around Liu Xin'ai's waist, his equally provocative gaze looking straight into her eyes.

As expected, this woman was much more interesting when she wasn't acting like a piece of wood!

However, since she dared to provoke him, she should know what kind of price she would have to pay for it...