Gu Heping awkwardly shut his mouth, his gaze finally turning dejected. He looked like he'd committed a crime while owing a debt of love. No explanation was needed; Zhou Qishen knew this guy too well. Asking him to remain celibate and faithful was absolutely impossible. He might only have had a slight crush on Li Ran, but Li Ran had unknowingly taken it seriously. They had originally planned to have dinner together yesterday; Li Ran was dressed up beautifully, but then Gu Heping called at the last minute, saying he had something to do and couldn't make it.
Li Ran got angry with him on the phone, and the two argued for a bit, and the little girl even started crying.
Gu Heping felt completely bewildered.
"Serves you right for flirting around all the time." Old Cheng showed no sympathy whatsoever. "How many times have Zhou and I reminded you? Weren't you quite confident? Why are you still so reserved now?"
Gu Heping, frustrated and irritated, uttered a single word: "Get out."
Zhou Qishen had always looked down on Gu Heping's attitude towards relationships. He believed that Gu Heping's ability to "pass through a sea of flowers without getting a single petal on him" was all a lie, and that one day he would be riddled with thorns. He gradually came to understand this truth after meeting Zhao Xiyin.
"And you?" Zhou Qishen asked, looking at Lao Cheng.
Old Cheng smiled wryly. He only had one problem: "What else? Zhao Zhao doesn't want to marry me, and we had a fight about it."
Without a second thought, Zhou Qishen said directly, "Then you should quickly atone with your death."
He's always liked Zhaozhao; she's wise beyond her years, kind-hearted, and pure-hearted—a blessing to Lao Cheng. For him to dare argue with her like that, Lao Cheng must deserve to die.
Old Cheng chuckled to himself, then spoke frankly, "I've been preparing the betrothal gifts for three years, doubling them every year. Isn't that enough sincerity? Zhao Zhao's parents treat me like their own son. Every time they come over for dinner, they subtly or overtly ask me what to say. They say I've proposed eight hundred times, and it's your daughter who won't agree? Never mind, I can't bear to see Zhao Zhao get scolded."
Upon hearing this, Gu Heping immediately exclaimed, "Don't think we can't tell! You're subtly showing off your love!"
Old Cheng sighed, "Don't be sarcastic." He then asked Zhou Qishen, "When are you and Xiao west going to remarry?"
“Her father doesn’t agree.” Zhou Qishen was also worried when he thought about it. “Last night, we had a heart-to-heart talk at his house. Teacher Zhao cried so much that I wanted to cry too.”
Gu Heping glanced at him and said, "Didn't you buy a sea-view apartment in Shenzhen for your father-in-law to live on New Year's Day? Hurry up and tell him. Other people spend a fortune to win a woman's heart, but you're spending two hundred million to make your father-in-law happy."
Zhou Qishen remained expressionless. "His father isn't the type to care about these things."
When they got married, Zhao Wenchun didn't ask for anything—no money, no gifts, just that he treat Xiaoxi well. Zhou Qishen, being polite, gave her an eight-figure bank card. Zhao Wenchun didn't want to offend him and accepted it. On the day they returned to her parents' home, she added another 100,000 yuan as a return gift and gave it back to Zhou Qishen.
Zhao Wenchun was more like a father to him than his biological father. That's why Zhou Qishen respected him sincerely.
Logically speaking, Zhou Qishen, with his strong-willed nature, shouldn't be so hesitant. But Zhao Xiyin and Zhao Wenchun are the people he cherishes most, so he dares not act recklessly or disregard their feelings.
Last night, Zhao Wenchun was in tears, pleading with him, "Qishen, I can forgive anything, except for the hurt you caused Xiaoxi."
Old Cheng could tell he was genuinely troubled, and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"
"Make amends," Zhou Qishen said decisively. "That's the only way."
Once a man turns thirty, the burdens on his shoulders unconsciously become heavier. For career, for love, for marriage, for unfulfilled desires—life is fair and objective; difficulties are always evenly distributed to everyone.
After a moment of silence, the three looked at each other and smiled in perfect unison.
Gu Heping held up his wine glass. "What are you grown men worrying about? Come on, let's drink."
Zhou Qishen only lightly touched his glass, smelled the aroma of the wine, and didn't take a sip.
Later that evening, Zhou Qishen had to leave early, and his driver came to pick him up. Just as he got in the car and turned the corner, he nearly collided with a black Mercedes.
"What's going on?" Zhou Qishen asked unhappily.
"This car is taking up half the lane and didn't give way," the driver said, annoyed.
Both cars were stopped in this spot, less than ten centimeters apart, with their wheels turned inwards, neither daring to swerve. The drivers leaned out and assessed the situation.
Then, the rear window of the black Mercedes slid down, revealing half of the face of the man sitting inside.
His eyes crinkled with laughter, and the corners of his mouth turned up. At first glance, his features were handsome, and his hair was neatly styled, but his gaze was wicked, and he smiled at Zhou Qishen with a mind full of hidden thoughts, "Oh, it's Brother Zhou!"
Zhou Qishen was naturally familiar with that voice and that face.
The other party was saying that fate brought them together from afar, but he didn't want to lose face and pretended to be even more enthusiastic than the other party, saying, "Qiu Zi! Look at your luck, you can even pick up a brother on the street."
Zhuang Qiu laughed out loud, tilting his head back in an exaggerated manner, "I really didn't know you were sitting inside. I'm the new driver—"
After saying that, he reached forward, grabbed the driver's ear, and twisted it hard backward. "Can't you drive?! Are you blind?! You almost cut off my brother Zhou's car! He was sitting in the car, what if he's walking on the road next time? Are you going to run him over and kill him?!"
The driver's ears turned bright red, then pale, and he was in so much pain that tears were almost streaming down his face, but he dared not utter a sound of anger. Zhuang Qiu let go, then looked at Zhou Qishen with a smile, "I'll fire him later."
Zhou Qishen's smile faded slightly, seemingly unconcerned. "I've heard plenty of praise for you, saying you're an excellent manager. I've seen it for myself today, and it's well-deserved."
Zhuang Qiu's lips trembled slightly. "Brother Zhou, I'll treat you to a meal another day to make amends. Did you scratch the car? Check it out, and I'll pay you back."
His smile had faded completely, and Zhou Qishen said calmly, "No need." Then he instructed the driver, "Change cars tomorrow."
Chapter 66 After a Long Rain, the Sun Shines (4)
Zhuang Qiu is a ruthless and cunning man. After so many years of dealing with him, how could Zhou Qishen not know what kind of person he is? Yet he pretends to be innocent. Zhou Qishen doesn't even bother to play along with him. Zhou Qishen leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He hadn't taken it too seriously at first, but when he thought about how he had been stabbed twice in the parking lot, he became furious.
After getting off the overpass, Zhou Qishen remembered something, "Did you get Xu Jin's things?"
The driver said, "I gave it to you; it's in the trunk."
It was a medium-sized delivery box. After Zhou Qishen got home and took a shower, he took out all sorts of Rubik's Cubes from inside. Three-fold, five-fold, seven-fold—from easy to difficult, they were all there. Estimating that it was about time, he sent Zhao Xiyin a message: "Video?"
Zhao Xiyin replied ten minutes later, "Mm."
Zhou Qishen then dialed the number.
Zhao Xiyin's expression froze upon seeing him. "Why aren't you dressed?"
Zhou Qishen sat cross-legged on the carpet, wearing only a pair of pajama pants; his upper body was indeed bare. He had a bad habit of not drying himself off after showering, coming out barefoot and naked. Zhao Xiyin used to be particularly unhappy about this, saying the carpet was covered in wet footprints.
Zhou Qishen is a bit of a masochist; in some ways, he enjoys being beaten up. When Zhao Xiyin is yelling and cursing angrily, he feels at ease. The mundane things in life, the everyday joys and sorrows, things he's missed for decades, are comforting and warm to him.