RMM -Chapter 128 The Photo Incident

Su Ruo spent a long, sweet time on the phone with Xi Yuechen today—so long that even she herself found it surprising.

Why wasn’t he in a hurry to make her hang up today? Every other time, it was always the same line: Time’s up, hang up. He’d insist she be the one to end the call, and no matter how much she protested, she’d always lose to his calm, casual “Be good,” muttering as she obediently hung up.

But today, it had gone on for ages. Su Ruo glanced at the time—what had gotten into the chief today?

“Chief, you’ve been on the phone for a really long time today,” Su Ruo couldn’t help reminding him. It wasn’t that she wanted him to hang up; she was just curious about what was behind this unusual behavior.

Xi Yuechen raised an eyebrow slightly when he heard that and subconsciously checked the time. It really had been quite long.

Ever since returning from Bai Xiong’s villa yesterday, he’d been unusually homesick for Su Ruo—especially after going back to his own empty, lonely house.

He couldn’t control how much he missed her, and he also missed the little one still growing in her belly. Six months already—her belly must be quite big by now.

Xi Yuechen hadn’t been able to go home this month. Even last month, he’d only managed to return for two days before rushing back again.

Thinking of this, he sighed quietly and asked, “How’s your belly now? Is it very big?”

Su Ruo bit her lip and smiled, shrugging slightly. “Mm, it’s a bit bigger than last month, but not that big.”

A sudden wave of disappointment welled up in Xi Yuechen’s heart, making him feel deeply uncomfortable. During her pregnancy, he hadn’t properly stayed by her side; he hadn’t been part of the little one’s growth at all. He hadn’t even really seen or accompanied them. Every time he thought of this, his heart ached sharply.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. “Take a photo later and send it to me.”

“Huh?” Su Ruo hadn’t expected him to make such a request and sounded surprised. “A photo?”

With her big belly like this, there was no beauty at all. What kind of effect could a photo have? She didn’t want to.

Hearing the reluctance in her voice, Xi Yuechen thought for a moment and understood the reason. A faint smile curved at his lips—such a child.

“I want to see it. Okay?”

Xi Yuechen rarely spoke in such a negotiating tone. Su Ruo was momentarily stunned. She was used to his domineering manner; this sudden gentleness caught her off guard. Especially that “okay?”—it pierced straight into her heart, causing a slight ache.

Yes… they hadn’t seen each other for almost a month. Did that mean he missed her?

Su Ruo felt both happy and sad. The chief was all alone so far away—it must be hard for him.

So, almost without thinking, she changed her mind and nodded. “Alright. I’ll ask my mom to take one for me later.” Then, as if she’d thought of something, her expression turned a little puzzled and aggrieved. “But why don’t you come home and see for yourself? Is it really that busy over there? Can your body handle it?”

Xi Yuechen gazed into the distant sky, his eyes unfocused. “Things are almost wrapped up. After a little while, I should be able to come back.”

Su Ruo thought he was just comforting her. She knew that if she kept pressing the issue, he’d feel even worse. He was already working so hard over there—she didn’t want to add to his burden.

“Mm, take care of yourself. Don’t push yourself too hard.” The baby and I will wait for you to come home.

After hanging up, Su Ruo held her phone and stared blankly for a while before letting out a long sigh. Living apart as a married couple was just too miserable.

“Su Heng, Su Heng, where are you?” Shaking her head to clear those messy thoughts that affected her mood, she opened the door and walked out, calling his name.

Su Heng was lying on his bed reading a magazine when he heard her call. He groaned in pain—he was right at the exciting part, okay?

“Coming, coming—stop yelling.”

He put down the military magazine, scratched his head, and answered.

Xi Yuehui’s early graduation had left Su Heng feeling extremely frustrated. He was still a student, yet that guy had already graduated? And now he was even preparing to enter officialdom—tsk, just in the blink of an eye, they were about to go their separate ways.

If Xi Yuehui could graduate early, why couldn’t he, Su Heng? If Xi Yuehui could step into politics and dominate the official scene, was he, Su Heng, missing an arm or a leg?

Anything Xi Yuehui could do, he could do too—hmph.

So, ever since the vacation started, Su Heng had completely changed from his usual playful self. He spent his days holed up in the study or bedroom, reading military books or textbooks for his major.

He wanted to graduate early too—and enlist in the army as soon as he did. Tsk, what a pity. If he’d known earlier, he would’ve applied to a military academy. That would’ve saved him all this trouble.

As for Su Heng’s sudden change, Su Feng and Zhang Huaqing said nothing—neither supporting nor opposing it. Their child was bound to enter the military sooner or later. It was best if he figured it out on his own; otherwise, he wouldn’t last long on that path anyway.

After Su Ruo called Su Heng over, she told him to come downstairs with her to help her with something. Su Heng had no idea what she needed help with. As he followed her down, he asked what it was.

They stopped by the living room window. Mm, the weather was nice—sunlight streamed into the room, bathing the large space in lazy warmth.

Winter sunlight was warm yet restrained, advancing with slow, lazy steps. Even the heat it gave off seeped quietly into the skin, filling every pore—a kind of comfort that made one drowsy.

Standing in the glow, Su Ruo lazily stretched just a little and sighed contentedly. Sunbathing in winter was pure happiness.

Su Heng looked at her smiling face, drenched in sunlight. She looked incredibly beautiful—like a painting.

“So you called me down just so I could watch you laze around in the sun?” he said sourly.

Even if it killed him, Su Heng wouldn’t admit what he was really thinking. He wore an annoyed expression, his eyes slanted toward her.

Su Ruo snorted softly, clearly not caring about his reaction. She held out her phone and handed it to him. “Take it.”

“What for?” Su Heng took the phone, looking baffled.

“Obviously to take photos of me,” Su Ruo shot him an annoyed look. “What, you think I want you reading my messages or something?”

…Su Heng was speechless for a moment. He snorted and decided not to argue with a pregnant woman.

“You know how to use a phone camera, right? Come on, take a few good shots. If they don’t look good, watch out—I’ll hit you.”

She issued the order as if it were only natural, looking like an arrogant queen.

For the past few months, Su Ruo had been exactly like this—unrestrained, domineering, outrageously smug. Su Heng didn’t know what other pregnant women were like, but his sister had clearly been spoiled rotten by everyone—arrogant from being doted on!

Yet everyone enjoyed indulging her. What could he say? Of course, he could only suffer in silence.

Go on, show off. For your sake as my sister, I’ll let you bully me for now. Just wait until your kid is born—then I’ll get my revenge and settle the score.

Su Heng’s thoughts ran wild, but none of it showed on his face. Obviously—if anyone knew his “ambition,” he wouldn’t even need to run away from home. Their mom would personally sweep him out with a broom.

“Hmph, I’m the all-capable Young Master Su. Taking photos with a phone? Easy. But that depends on my mood. If I’m in a bad mood, the photos will be gloomy too.”

Su Ruo gave the smug Su Heng a cool look, sat down on the lounge chair they’d moved over from Jingyue Mingdu, and gently rocked back and forth. “You’d better think carefully—one, two, three…”

“I’ll shoot!” Su Heng blurted out angrily. Too sinister. Every time she needed his help, she never acted like she was asking. If he refused, she’d immediately summon the Empress Dowager and cry convincingly about how cold and heartless he was—earning him plenty of beatings.

“I’ll shoot, I’ll shoot. I’ll make you look prettier than the Muse—you can use them as posters!”

“There, isn’t that better? You really make me use my trump card.” Su Ruo closed her eyes and laughed softly, her tone smug, even the curve of her lips carrying a hint of triumph.

Su Heng rolled his eyes and sighed. Fine, fine—on account of her being pregnant, he wouldn’t argue.

It was actually a little funny. Somehow, he felt more like the older sibling. Ever since his sister got pregnant, her temper had become more and more like that of a young girl. The whole family coaxed and indulged her, yet she still thought of herself as considerate and sensible.

He opened the camera and looked up, about to ask her to pose—only to find Su Ruo lying on the lounge chair, gently swaying, her head tilted to one side, eyes closed, looking half-asleep.

He sighed helplessly at her sleepiness. She could fall asleep anywhere—could she even go out anymore? Just as he was about to wake her, a flash of inspiration struck him. This was perfect—natural beauty was what photography was all about, and she looked incredibly natural right now.

Click, click—he snapped several shots in a row, then changed angles and took a few more. Seeing that the sunlight was warm enough and that she wouldn’t catch a chill, he didn’t wake her.

He checked the photos. Hey—not bad at all. They were filled with warmth and looked perfect.

Stepping closer, he aimed at Su Ruo’s protruding belly and took several more shots before finally waking her up.

Su Ruo, still groggy, got snapped a few more times. Then she took the phone that Su Heng shoved into her hands and watched blankly as he walked upstairs without even looking back.

…Brat. What was that supposed to mean? Just snapping a couple of photos of her sleepy face and calling it done?

Grumbling indignantly, she opened the album. So what if I only call you once? I can’t call you twice? She was determined to get some satisfactory photos today—the chief was waiting!

But when she saw the photos, she couldn’t help clicking her tongue. Not bad at all—the brat really knew how to capture the moment.

Especially the ones where she was asleep. The more she looked, the more satisfied she felt, flipping through them again and again. In the end, she picked those few and sent them to Xi Yuechen.

It wasn’t narcissism—they really were taken well. Even her big belly looked beautiful. And of course, her serene sleeping face looked even prettier~

Su Ruo shamelessly gave the sleeping beauty in the photos a thumbs-up and sent them off so the chief could see: even pregnant, she was still just as beautiful! (。。)