Zhou Qishen stared at her back with burning eyes, "Zhao Xiyin."
Zhao Xiyin turned the doorknob, her ears perked up.
"Don't lie to me, I know everything."
His voice was deep and powerful, like raising his hand to swear an oath in broad daylight.
Zhao Xiyin almost burst into tears. She said, "Zhou Qishen, don't be crazy. I didn't have your child."
The door closed, the person left, and the plate of dumplings on the table slowly steamed.
"One-year-olds wear size 90, two-year-olds wear size 100, and three-year-olds wear size 110."
In the middle of the night, Zhou Qishen was still wide awake. He sat on the floor of the storage room, idly examining the small clothes. After looking at them for a while, he returned to his study, placing the cover of his notes next to the computer. Zhou Qishen wrote a few lines on it, tossed the pen aside, turned his leather chair around, pressed a button on the remote, and the curtains slowly opened.
The CBD nightscape unfolds before your eyes, the sky a deep blue, neon lights shimmering, casting a gentle, shimmering glow on the eastern horizon. Zhou Qishen silently smokes, the smoke swirling around him as the wind slips through the gaps, shaking off ash that settles on the pages he just left behind.
The ink penetrates the paper, the brushstrokes still wet—
"I will be a good father."
Chapter 50 Enjoying the Remaining Pleasures (1)
Enjoy the remaining joy (1)
Two days later, Gu Heping came to Zhou Qishen's house to pick up some things and inadvertently saw the children's clothes and toys in his storage room. Only then did he realize that things were getting out of hand. Gu Heping was straightforward and kicked the clothes into a mess, warning, "Brother Zhou, you've gone too far."
Zhou Qishen almost got into a fight with him then, "What are you doing causing trouble in my house?"
"I can't fucking watch you go mad!"
"You don't know anything." Zhou Qishen swung his arm and shoved the man back, then pulled the door shut, closing the storage room tightly. He then sat on the sofa and smoked.
Gu Heping kicked him, "What kind of melodramatic act are you putting on? You think you're the only one with a son? You think you're so capable? Even if you really have a son, have you ever thought about it? Maybe it's Xiaoxi's child with someone else."
Zhou Qishen's eyes narrowed, a storm brewing within them, and he spoke slowly and deliberately, "Gu Heping."
Gu Heping scoffed, "I won't put up with you. Don't you know how long you two have been broken up?"
Zhou Qishen was furious. "You fucking deserve a beating, don't you?"
"Boss Zhou, let me tell you, Zhao Xiyin can't possibly have given you a son! The timeline matches up perfectly, what are you still spouting nonsense for? What's the point?" Gu Heping slammed the door and left, "You're just waiting to die alone!"
This can be considered a true split between the two brothers.
Gu Heping was also furious, so angry that he couldn't even drive properly. On the way back, he crashed into a large stone pillar, shattering his headlights into pieces. By the time the insurance company arrived and finished processing the matter, it was already past midnight. He asked Lao Cheng out for drinks, and he almost cried.
After hearing the whole story, Lao Cheng didn't join in the righteous indignation. Instead, he rationally tried to reason with him: "Heping, how many years have you known Shen'er?"
“Fifteen years, five months, and twenty days.” After saying that, Gu Heping was stunned and said angrily, “He’s really toxic. I remember him better than I remember my own father’s birthday.”
Old Cheng smiled and succinctly cut to the chase, leaving no room for further explanation. From north to south, from the icy desert of Mohe to the Greater Khingan Mountains, and back to the bustling capital city. Fifteen years of brotherhood, inseparable through thick and thin.
Gu Heping was so angry he cried again, "Damn it, was I wrong to remind him? He turned on me, what a bastard."
Old Cheng sighed, upholding fairness, "You can't use your own understanding to sway Brother Zhou. He's different from you after all."
Gu Heping retorted, "Three eyes or four legs? Or maybe an extra penis?"
Old Cheng said earnestly, "Brother Zhou has suffered since he was a child, starting from scratch. Not to mention his childhood, just from the time you met him, how much suffering he has endured, how many conspiracies he has faced, how much blood and tears he has swallowed. Don't tell me you didn't see it."
Gu Heping let out a long breath, still angry, but he didn't argue back.
"With a father like that, it's a miracle he even survived. His relatives back home are all like leeches sucking blood. Zhou Ge'er built this family business, but he still has to clean up their messes. Neither you nor I have ever experienced that kind of hardship, so we can't understand his suffering."
Gu Heping took a breath, his peach blossom eyes drooped, and he looked listless.
"Zhou Ge'er is thirty-two years old, and he's still like a tadpole looking for its mother. This proves that he actually values family a lot. He wants what he lacks, but he's also insecure, arrogant, suspicious, and extremely sensitive. Gradually, what he wants becomes something he's afraid to have."
Gu Heping snorted coldly, "Don't try to play the victim for him."
“I really want to play the victim for him, because he is truly pitiful.” Old Cheng stubbed out his cigarette, not smoking, and absentmindedly blew away the ash. “He is convinced that Xiao Zhao gave birth to his son. Why? Because he lacks that blood-is-thicker-than-water bond. He didn’t have a good father, so he especially longs to be a good father. And Xiao Zhao is the woman he loves. Let me put it this way, in this lifetime, unless Xiao Zhao abandons him, the mother of Zhou Qishen’s child will definitely be Zhao Xiyin.”
Gu Heping was overcome with grief. "Holy crap, is it really this tragic? I wonder where my child's mother is hiding."
Old Cheng scoffed, "How's your relationship with Xiao Zhao's best friend going?"
Gu Heping was very dejected. "I sent flowers twice and had meals with them twice." As he said this, for some inexplicable reason, Cen Yue's image popped into his mind. He was so distracted that he didn't hear what Lao Cheng was saying.
"Don't try to outdo Zhou Ge in misery. Have you forgotten that he's still undergoing psychological treatment?"
——
Tomorrow is the final assessment for the dance scenes in the play "Nine Thoughts." Everyone who can attend, from high-level executives, directors, and investors to producers and actors, will participate. The troupe finished training early, and the girls are all nervous, tightening their belts and not daring to eat much for the past two days.
Zhao Xiyin and Cen Yue are oddballs; they get more energetic on important occasions. As soon as they had a day off in the afternoon, they went shopping and watched a movie in Sanlitun. They had hot pot for dinner and bought a "peach" cake at the Qingshan Research Institute before leaving.
We'll split it in half, I'll say I'll give you half my weight, and then we'll laugh like idiots together.
At 8:30, Zhao Xiyin hummed a tune as she returned to her apartment complex, only to see Zhou Qishen waiting at the entrance. Today, he was wearing a light-colored trench coat and dark gray trousers, standing there lost in thought, seemingly blending into the night.
Zhao Xiyin felt uneasy and subconsciously took a step back. Remembering what happened a couple of days ago, she immediately clarified with a worried expression: "Zhou Qishen, I really didn't give birth to a son for you."
Zhou Qishen paused, lowered his head, and when he looked up again, his smile was faint. It was a rather gentle reaction, but the worry had not disappeared, all of it hidden in his eyes and brows.
Zhao Xiyin's heart suddenly tugged slightly; it wasn't exactly painful, but she felt uneasy.
"I'm here to apologize to you," he said. "I was impulsive that day, did I frighten you?"