First, then, love.

Just then.

A cheerful, jarring cell phone ringtone suddenly rang out in the empty kitchen.

Shu Yao's phone was placed on the marble island, the screen lit up, and it started vibrating wildly.

Caller ID: Qiao Qiao.

Shu Yao reached for her phone. Having just moved, she didn't know where her earphones were in. She answered the call directly and turned on the speakerphone.

The screen flickered.

Jojo's face appeared on the screen.

The background was noisy, like a barbershop. Qiaoqiao's head was wrapped in layers of tin foil, and her face was covered with a thick green seaweed mud mask, revealing only a pair of eyes with eyeliner and a mouth with lip balm.

"Yaoyao! Are you done moving? Hurry up and let me see your new home!" Qiaoqiao's loud voice came directly from the phone speaker, with great penetrating power.

Shu Yao moved her phone a little further away and rubbed her ears.

"Just moved, haven't unpacked yet."

"Let me see! Quick! Let me see what this mansion looks like!" Qiao Qiao urged excitedly from the other end of the screen.

Helpless, Shu Yao could only flip her phone camera and scan the living room.

The interior is decorated in black, white, and gray, with suitcases scattered all over the floor, a newly laid cashmere carpet, and lace curtains hanging in the windows.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Qiao Qiao clicked her tongue, "The contrast is incredible! You've turned a perfectly normal, austere crime scene into a princess room. Doesn't your husband have any objections?"

"He dares to have any objections?" Shu Yao raised her chin slightly, her tone arrogant.

The camera panned across the sofa and captured the sleeping princess.

Then, following the island counter, I spotted He Zheng standing by the kitchen sink, and the God of War hiding behind his legs.

The image freezes.

On the other side of the screen, Qiaoqiao stared at the huge German Shepherd behind He Zheng's legs.

She froze for two seconds, the green mud film almost cracking open.

"Holy crap, is that a wolf?" Qiao Qiao's voice trembled.

"German Shepherd," He Zheng's deep, calm voice came from the kitchen and was clearly picked up by the microphone.

Qiao Qiao then noticed that He Zheng was also there.

She looked at the man on the screen, wearing a gray tracksuit, with slightly messy hair and a tall, upright figure. Even through the screen, the fierce and imposing aura emanated from him.

Then look at the big dog behind him, its tail between its legs, looking utterly aggrieved.

Then the focus shifts back to the haughty little female cat on the sofa.

Qiaoqiao suddenly burst into a thunderous laugh.

I laughed so hard my phone was shaking violently on the screen, and the picture was completely blurry.

"Hahahaha! Shu Yao! I can't take it anymore! I'm dying of laughter!" Qiao Qiao laughed while slapping her thigh. "This cat is just like you! Amazing! The temperament is exactly the same!"

Shu Yao didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"What else could it mean!" Qiaoqiao leaned closer to the screen, her eyes gleaming.

"Look at that dog! It's so big! And it's trembling behind a man's legs, terrified by your princess! Isn't that a perfect picture of your family?!"

Qiaoqiao, always eager for excitement, started spewing out her own opinions.

"A cat weighing less than ten pounds had a firm grip on an eighty-pound retired police dog! And you, a woman weighing less than one hundred pounds, had a firm grip on a nearly six-foot-tall SWAT team captain!"

"Shu Yao, you two are something else! You've completely dominated the top of the food chain, leaving those two, like father and son, utterly crushed under your feet!"

Shu Yao's face flushed.

That brat, spouting such obvious truths.

She subconsciously looked up and glanced at He Zheng.

He Zheng was leaning against the kitchen counter, drinking water from a glass in his hand. When he heard Qiao Qiao's words, he paused for a moment, looked over with deep dark eyes, and there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Shu Yao quickly brought her phone closer. "Alright, stop talking nonsense and hurry up and get your hair done."

She was about to hang up.

"Wait! Don't hang up!" Qiaoqiao shouted anxiously on the screen, "I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Shu Yao's finger hovered over the hang-up button. "What else is there to say? Speak up."

Qiaoqiao changed her position in the barber chair, and the green mud film on her face crumbled off with her exaggerated expression.

She lowered her voice, but the volume of her phone speaker was still very loud, echoing in the quiet room.

"Yaoyao, today is the first day you two officially live together," Qiaoqiao's tone suddenly became ambiguous, filled with undisguised excitement and gossip.

"A lone man and a lone woman, like dry wood meeting a raging fire, in this spacious apartment, with this huge sofa."

Shu Yao's heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong.

This woman never has a nice thing to say if she lowers her voice.

"Shut up..." Shu Yao hurriedly reached out to press the screen, wanting to turn off the speaker.

But Qiaoqiao's speaking speed was much faster than her typing speed, with words coming out like a machine gun.

"Look at your husband's physique, those broad shoulders, those bulging pectoral muscles. I saw it when the camera panned over just now. His stamina, his core strength, he's absolutely a human beast."

Qiaoqiao clicked her tongue in amazement, her mind filled with lewd thoughts.

"Take it easy, don't push yourself tonight. Your slender waist is no match for his torment. Beg for mercy if you need to, cry if you need to. The SWAT officers are heavy-handed, don't let him really break you apart—"

"Qiaoqiao! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Shu Yao screamed, her fingers trembling, and finally pressed the red hang-up button.

"beep--"

The screen went black instantly, and the call ended.

Qiao Qiao's obscene and vulgar remarks came to an abrupt end.

But it was too late.

Everything that should be heard, and everything that shouldn't be heard, was broadcast clearly, without missing a single word.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Only the soft sound of rain outside the window.

Shu Yao, clutching her phone, sat on a high stool, frozen in place, unable to move.

The blood rushed to my head with a "whoosh".

My cheeks, ears, and neck were so red they looked like they were about to bleed, and they were burning hot.

Even their toes were awkwardly curled up inside the shoes, wishing they could dig a basement out with their feet and crawl inside.

So embarrassing.

That's so embarrassing.

Her best friend made such explicit and lewd remarks in front of her new husband, and even analyzed whether her back would break.

Shu Yao bit her lower lip, lowered her head, and didn't dare to look at the man's reaction.

He Zheng stood by the kitchen counter, still holding the glass in his hand.

He listened to the whole thing.

His face didn't show much expression, but the fingers gripping the glass tightened slightly.

He lowered his eyelids and his gaze fell on the woman a few meters away, huddled in a chair with her neck flushed red.

His Adam's apple slowly bounced up and down.

He brought the glass to his lips, tilted his head back, and gulped down the remaining half-glass of cold water in one go.

Suppress the flame that suddenly flared up somewhere inside your body.

"Smack."

The glass was placed back on the marble table with a crisp sound.

Shu Yao's shoulders twitched, but she kept her head down and pretended to be dead.

He Zheng strode around the platform and walked over.

The footsteps stopped in front of Shu Yao.

The man's tall figure blocked the overhead light, casting a large shadow that enveloped her entirely.

The pleasant scent of shower gel, mixed with his unique hormonal aroma, enveloped her.

Shu Yao's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

All she could see were his gray sweatpants and bare feet.

He Zheng didn't say anything.

He extended a long, slender index finger and gently placed it on Shu Yao's chin.

With a slight effort, lift it upwards.

Shu Yao was forced to raise her head.

I met his dark, deep eyes.

The color in his eyes was very deep. As deep as thick, unyielding ink.

It contains a dangerous sense of aggression, as well as a hint of undisguised mockery.

"Your best friend." His voice was low and husky, with a captivating magnetism. "She knows a lot."