He wanted to see Su Jinning; he didn't want to stay here anymore. He felt this place was no longer his home.
He ran as fast as he could, as if afraid that Shen Donghai would catch up. Snow was falling outside, and he was wearing a thin sweater as he weaved through the crowd. The cold wind pierced his bones, but it was nothing compared to the chill in his heart.
After ten years apart, where was this man when he was helpless, sad, and needed his father the most? Even if he had come back to see him once during those ten years, he might have numbed himself into thinking that his father still remembered him.
When I finally met him, I was already in high school, and he was no longer young either.
This man abandoned him without hesitation when he was young, and then suddenly reappeared when he was mature and thought he had overcome everything, telling him that he missed him. What is this? Humiliation? Or a sudden pang of conscience?
It's all so chaotic, absolutely chaotic. It's as if this person isn't his father at all. And the father he remembers died long ago on his seventh birthday, and since then, no one can replace him, and no one can mention him.
When Su Jinning opened the door, she saw Shen Moyu wearing a thin sweater, his fair face red from the cold, his thin body swaying precariously as if it couldn't withstand the destruction of the cold wind, and his eyes were bloodshot when he looked up.
"Brother Ning..." Shen Moyu's voice trembled, like a rose withering in the cold night.
--------------------
Author's Note:
Friendly reminder: Starting from this chapter, always have your blood pressure medication on hand. Otherwise, you'll be driven mad with anger.
Chapter 87 The Breach
"So, what exactly does he want to do now that he's back?" Su Jinning rubbed Shen Moyu's frostbitten fingers and breathed on them.
Shen Moyu leaned wearily against the sofa, half his face buried in his turtleneck sweater: "I don't know, my mind is a mess right now..." he said, moving closer to Su Jinning.
Su Jinning pulled a blanket over Shen Moyu, tracing circles on his hand with his fingers. Although he was furious about the incident, Shen Donghai was still his father, and before anything too outrageous had happened, Su Jinning didn't know what to say. Suddenly, memories Shen Moyu had shared with him, along with the matter of Zhou Xingqi, flooded his mind, and he began to feel agitated.
"Brother Ning..." Shen Moyu suddenly opened his eyes as if he had a nightmare: "I have a bad feeling."
Su Jinning looked up at him, and for some reason her heart tightened. "What are you thinking about?" Su Jinning tucked the blanket in, lowered her head and gently kissed his forehead: "Why don't you get some sleep first? If you don't want to go back, you can sleep at my place tonight."
“I have to go back,” Shen Moyu suddenly said, then covered her cheeks in frustration: “If my dad hasn’t left yet, I’m afraid my mom will come back and they’ll run into each other and start arguing.”
Su Jinning thought about it and realized it made sense: "Okay, then you can sleep for a while, and I'll take you home later."
Shen Moyu obediently closed his eyes. It seemed that no matter what troubles he encountered, as long as he had time to think, he would think of staying by Su Jinning's side for a while, as if as long as she was there, even if she did nothing, she could solve his problems.
Su Jinning looked at his calm profile, but she felt uneasy. Just as Shen Moyu had said, she also had a bad feeling.
Putting aside the fact that this father is a big CEO who is too busy to handle everything, just the fact that this father, who hadn't visited Shen Moyu even once in ten years, suddenly came back to see him, makes it hard to believe there wasn't a hidden story behind it.
Perhaps he really just wanted to come back and see him, but this was the first time he had ever seen a father who was so shameless as to come back and cause trouble for Shen Moyu.
If it were him, he would never have the face to face it for the rest of his life.
He picked up Shen Moyu's phone from the coffee table, got up and went out onto the terrace. The snow had almost stopped; there was only a thin layer, which melted quickly when the sun came out.
He dialed the number, and after a moment of silence, a slightly immature male voice came through: "Brother!"
Su Jinning suppressed the urge to punch him: "I'm not your brother."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then someone shouted, "Su Jinning? Why are you calling me with my brother's phone?"
"Because I don't have your number on my phone."
"……"
"I need to talk to you. Where are you right now?"
The other end of the phone sounded noisy, with various car horns and radio broadcasts. "I just got off the plane. I was about to tell my brother, but you called first."
Sure enough. Su Jinning clenched her fist: "Get to the lakeside of Sakura Road Park within half an hour. I have something to ask you."
"Are you sick? Why are you bothering me for no reason? I thought you were my brother!" Zhou Xingqi complained in disappointment.
Su Jinning was patient; after all, you have to coax a child like a child: "About your brother, are you coming or not?"
What a great way to soothe a child.
At 1:30 PM, the two arrived at their agreed meeting place. Su Jinning didn't bother with any second chances and asked decisively, "What exactly is your father's purpose in returning to China to find Shen Moyu?"
Zhou Xingqi almost choked, looking at him speechlessly: "You came to me just to ask about this? Are you out of your mind?"
"I'm asking you because I'm sick in the head." Su Jinning didn't have time to waste with him and her expression was very serious.
Zhou Xingqi crossed his arms and said matter-of-factly, "What else could I do? Isn't it normal for a father to come back to China to see his son?"
He spoke as if it were the truth, and Su Jinning chuckled twice: "So, you're going back to China to see your brother? Or have you conspired with your father on something else?"
"I don't understand what you mean." Zhou Xingqi avoided Su Jinning's sharp gaze and turned his eyes to the lake.
Su Jinning remained calm and said coldly, "After they met this morning, Shen Moyu broke down and ran to me. If this is what you call a 'visit,' I don't think he really wanted it."
Hearing this, Zhou Xingqi lowered his head with lingering fear, but quickly raised it again: "What does our family's business have to do with you?"
“I’m not really interested in managing it, but my boyfriend is very unhappy about it now.”
"You motherfucker!" Zhou Xingqi pointed at him incoherently, "I don't know anything, and you don't need to ask me these strange questions."
Su Jinning took a step forward: "Stop pretending. Your father has been gone for more than ten years. If he really cared about having a son like him, he would have come back to see him long ago. There would be no need for you to keep sending messages back and forth. How could he have come back in such an urgent situation without something to say?"
"What right do you have to question me? I told you I don't know!" Zhou Xingqi said anxiously, his eyes slightly reddening.
“You can choose not to tell me.” Su Jinning’s lips twitched, her eyes flashing with danger. “But I can’t guarantee I won’t tell you anything.”
"Are you threatening me?" Zhou Xingqi clenched his fists, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry, I had no choice."