Chapter 177: Video Call

*Runze’s POV*

It comes about naturally.

Ling Yue messages me in the early afternoon, just a photo of him and Mrs. Zhou sitting at some trendy café, captioned *guess who ran into each other* and then a second message pops up immediately after:

*we’re calling you right now. Are you up for it?*

I look at the two messages for a moment, then type back a quick reply: *Give me five minutes.*

I prop my phone carefully against the heavy stack of books on the side table, adjust the camera angle so I look decent, and accept the call.

Ling Yue’s face fills the screen immediately. Mrs. Zhou is right beside him, leaning into the frame with her handbag still hanging over her shoulder, looking like she literally just sat down. For a moment, nobody says anything. They are both just staring at me through the screen.

I let them look.

"How are you feeling?" Ling Yue asks first. It is a surprisingly sweet question coming from him, not his usual enthusiastic opening. He must be making a real effort to be gentle.

"Better every day," I say, giving them a small smile. "The doctor says if I stay good for another week, I can start doing a lot more."

"Are you taking your medication properly?" Mrs. Zhou asks, leaning closer to the camera. "All of them? Not just the ones that are easy to swallow?"

"Yes, Mrs. Zhou. Every single one."

"Good." Mrs. Zhou nods, smiling.

Ling Yue leans back in his cafe chair. His eyes move over me through the screen, cataloging every detail the way he always does. They pause on my stomach, which is very visible even while I am sitting down, then travel back up to my face.

"...Wait. Are you getting fatter?"

Mrs. Zhou makes a sharp, choking sound, swatting his arm.

"Six months," I say flatly, staring right at him. "This is what six months of pregnancy looks like."

"No, I know that! I just meant—you look healthy," he stammers, his face flushing a bit as he tries to fix it. "You have some weight back in your face. The last time I saw you in that hospital bed, you looked like a ghost. You look really well now. That’s what I’m trying to say."

"Mrs. Zhou, is this him actually giving me a compliment?"

"It is," she confirms warmly, laughing. "A very strange, Ling Yue-shaped compliment, but yes."

He rolls his eyes, looking embarrassed. "I’m just saying you look good. Take the compliment."

"Fine. I’ll take it."

We talk for a long time after that. We talk about my recovery, the estate, and the delicious food Mrs. Wen keeps making that I have completely stopped taking for granted. Mrs. Zhou asks lots of practical questions about the doctor’s timeline, when I’ll be cleared for going out, and whether the baby’s health is still being monitored every day.

I answer everything easily. It feels comfortable in the way that talking to old friends always does. There is no need to perform or pretend. I don’t have to carefully hide how tired I am.

At some point during the chat, Mrs. Zhou leans forward slightly, her eyes sharpening with sudden interest.

"Runze. That necklace."

My hand goes to the pendant automatically, my fingers curling around the diamond.

"Where did you get that?" she asks. Her tone shifts into that specific, excited register she uses whenever she spots something incredibly expensive and wants to know the gossip behind it. "I follow every major jeweler in the city, and I have not seen that piece anywhere."

"It’s custom," I say softly.

"Custom." She sits back, looking impressed. "Who made it? Which designer?"

"...Bael had it made."

A sudden beat of silence passes through the call.

Mrs. Zhou’s expression does something highly complicated, moving from surprise to total, undisguised appreciation. Ling Yue, sitting right beside her, goes quiet for once.

"Wow," Ling Yue says after a moment, shaking his head. "Mr. Wuchen had that custom-made for you." He says the name like he’s turning it over in his mind, trying to process it.

"I know people who spent months debating whether that man was actually a functioning human being with feelings, or just a very convincing rob—"

The bedroom door clicks open.

Ling Yue stops talking instantly. His eyes go slightly wide, darting toward the background on my screen, then snapping right back to my face.

Bael walks into the room.

He has his phone in one hand and a document on the other hand. He is already reading something on the paper, clearly having come here just to retrieve an item from the desk. He glances up for a split second, registers that I am on a video call, and doesn’t even pause his stride.

He crosses the room straight to where I am sitting, leans down, and presses his lips firmly against my cheek.

It is warm, brief, and completely unthinking. He isn’t even slightly bothered that my friends are watching, then he straightens back up and continues walking toward the desk, his eyes sliding right back down to his phone.

The call goes completely silent. Neither Ling Yue nor Mrs. Zhou says a word.

Bael finds the specific file he came for on the desk, adding it with the other papers on his hand, and turns back toward the door.

Then he steps out, and the door shuts behind him.

Total silence.

On the screen, Ling Yue has not moved an inch. His mouth is still very slightly open in shock. Mrs. Zhou has her hand pressed tightly over her lips, her shoulders shaking as she tries very hard to control her laughter.

I keep my eyes fixed on a random spot just above the phone screen, my face burning.

"...Shut up," I say.

"I didn’t say anything," Ling Yue says, his voice sounding way too careful.

"You were going to."

"I was just going to say—" He stops himself, pressing his lips together as his shoulders start shaking violently. "Runze. He just walked in and kissed you right on the face. Like it was nothing, like it was just a regular Tuesday."

"It is a Tuesday."

"That is not the point!"

"It’s a normal thing," I argue, though my heart is beating a little faster. It is true, even if the specific normalness of it still makes my chest feel tight and warm every single time he does it. "We are married, Ling Yue."

"I know you’re married!" Ling Yue bursts out, throwing his hands up. "But we are talking about Bael Wuchen. I know his reputation, and at no point in my entire life did I think—ah yes, that is a man who will casually walk into rooms and kiss his husband on the cheek like it’s a completely ordinary habit."

"We should wrap up," I say quickly, reaching for the screen. "The doctor says I need to rest."

"You are literally just sitting completely still on a—"

"Goodbye, Ling Yue."

"Mrs. Zhou, help me—"

"It was so lovely to see you looking so well, dear," Mrs. Zhou interrupts smoothly, finally getting her laughter under control. "Take good care of yourself, Runze. Both of you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Zhou."

"No! Don’t you dare hang u—"

I press the red button and end the call.

The bedroom settles back into quiet.

I sit there for a minute, holding the phone face down in my lap as the heat slowly leaves my face.

Right then, the baby shifts. It is a slow, deliberate roll against my palm. I press my hand flat against my stomach, holding it there, just staying like that for a quiet moment.

My fingers find the custom pendant at my throat, tracing the smooth edges. Then, I smile. It is just a small, private smile, meant for nobody but myself.

I lift my hand and reach for my water glass.