Zhou Qishen stood beside the car, hesitated for a moment, and then called out to her, "Auntie."
Zhao Lingxia rolled down the car window and looked at him.
Zhou Qishen pressed his tongue against his teeth. That matter had been stuck in his heart. He had a suspicion in his mind, but he didn't dare to confirm it. No matter how he phrased it, it wouldn't be appropriate. He carefully asked, "Xiao west often goes to the United States to see you. You are so busy with work, you must not have time to spend with her."
Zhao Lingxia looked at her with a calm gaze, a half-smile on her face.
Zhou Qishen's tongue stammered, and for a moment he couldn't even speak clearly, "Every time she goes to America, is it just to see you alone?"
Zhao Lingxia said, "That's not all."
Zhou Qishen's emotions instantly soared.
“Some of my friends also really like her. Xiao Xi accompanies them to chat and go shopping. She’s such a good girl.” Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Zhao Lingxia emphasized the word “girl”.
Zhou Qishen looked bewildered, while Zhao Lingxia calmly instructed him to drive. Exhaust fumes filled his mouth, and the flashing taillights seemed to exude a cunning slyness.
He had been accompanying guests to a dinner party that day, and inevitably drank quite a bit. His head was starting to ache again, so he asked the driver to open the window for some fresh air. The chill that seeped into his bones actually made him feel much better.
When they arrived at the teahouse, Old Cheng and his wife joined Gu Heping at a table to play cards. Through the door, they could hear Gu Heping's voice, "Old Cheng, could you be any more blatant about cheating? I'm on your side, why did you break up your royal flush?"
Old Cheng said in a serious tone, "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't recognize the cards."
Zhao Zhao laughed so hard she almost fell over, excitedly receiving the money transfer on WeChat. "Thank you, Brother Heping!"
The girl laughed, and Old Cheng laughed along, gently patting her head. "Is that enough?"
Zhao Zhao nodded. "That's enough."
For once, Lao Cheng tilted his head and said with a slanted eye, "Come on, give me a kiss here."
Zhao Zhao was quite generous; she put her arm around his shoulder and gave him a sweet, affectionate kiss.
Gu Heping was so jealous that he abandoned the card game and walked towards Zhou Qishen. "Are you even human? Lao Cheng, are you even human? Go spray some perfume and cover up the scum smell on you."
As she spoke, she took two cups of tea, handing one to Zhou Qishen, "Cheers, happy birthday."
Zhou Qi was speechless. "Crazy."
Zhou Qishen sat down on a high stool, and Lao Cheng followed him over, raising his chin at Gu Heping, "I have something to tell you, Zhou. He's hooking up with Xiao Xi's best friend. You'd better deal with him quickly, or he'll come after you later."
Gu Heping rolled his eyes to the sky. "Cheng Ji, you'll die if you don't say something! Zhao Zhao, come down and break up with him. Dump this old man!"
Old Cheng gave him a wink, glancing towards Zhou Qishen. Gu Heping followed his gaze and also noticed something was wrong. "Brother Zhou, what's wrong? You reek of alcohol. Drowning your sorrows again?"
Zhou Qishen kept his head down, his shoulder blades and neck forming a clean curve, and said in a flat voice, "I have a dinner party tonight."
Gu Heping comforted him, "Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, don't torture yourself like this. Postpone anything you can, it's not a big deal."
Zhou Qishen was clearly out of sorts, his expression vacant as he pondered to himself.
Alright, no response. Gu Heping wasn't surprised and continued chatting idly with Lao Cheng. It was at this moment that Zhou Qishen suddenly said:
"Zhao Xiyin may have given birth to a son for me."
Chapter 48 Tonight's Dream is Cold (5)
“Give birth to a son? What kind of son?” Gu Heping scoffed. “Zhou Qishen, your concussion hasn’t healed yet, are you delusional? They’ve divorced you, and you’re still spreading rumors like this. Be careful you don’t end up in jail.”
Old Cheng also found it unbelievable, "Brother Zhou, how could you have such an idea?"
Zhou Qishen lowered his head, his eyes fixed on the table, and took a deep breath. "That day I heard her answer a video call, and a child in the video called her 'Mommy.' It was a boy's voice."
Old Cheng paused his cigarette at his lips, then calmly said, "Did you hear me clearly? You didn't make a mistake?"
Zhou Qishen shook his head, his temples throbbing. "It was too short. Xiao west pinched it off right away. But Lao Cheng, you have to trust a man's intuition."
Gu Heping poured cold water on the idea, saying, "You're just making a scene for yourself."
Zhou Qishen wasn't angry at all. His eyes were slightly red, and his gaze was sincere. He was eager to explain to them, "Xiao west goes to America very frequently."
"That's to see her aunt."
“Her aunt is busy and doesn’t have many things for her to look after, and Xiao west always stays for a long time when she goes there.”
"Of course, plane tickets are so expensive."
"The longest she stayed there was four months after our divorce, and she stayed there for two months before returning to Beijing."
"What are you trying to prove? Is she giving birth and in her postpartum period?" Gu Heping was about to roll his eyes, but then paused, rolled his eyes back, and said, "Oh dear, it doesn't seem like that's impossible."
Old Cheng clicked his tongue, "Heping, don't make things worse."
Zhou Qishen said, "Dr. Ji Furong is a friend of her aunt. I had someone check and found that Xiao west goes to her clinic a lot."
Old Cheng said, "This might just be out of trust."
“Dr. Ji majored in obstetrics and gynecology.” Zhou Qishen’s hand holding the teacup was trembling slightly. “When Xiaoxi and I were still together, she was in good health and basically had no related ailments.”
Gu Heping said sarcastically, "Isn't it all because you've ruined people's lives?"
Zhou Qishen really wanted to throw a cup of tea in his face, and said angrily, "Why don't you believe me?"
“It’s no use in us believing you. The key point is, this might not even be the truth.” Gu Heping felt wronged. “At first glance, you seem to make a lot of sense, but Brother Zhou, put aside your prejudices and think about it carefully. Aren’t the details just completely inconsistent?”
Zhou Qishen slammed his teacup on the table in a fit of rage, the bottom of the cup clanging loudly. "Isn't all this evidence enough?"
Old Cheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "I just want to ask you one question: if Xiao Xi really had a child for you, what would she be after? Do you know how difficult it is for a woman to raise a child? And from what I know of Xiao Xi, if she really had a child, she would definitely keep it with her and take care of it herself."