He raised his eyes, his gaze calm. "Don't overthink things online, everything will be alright."
Zhao Xiyin said sincerely, "Thank you."
"It was nothing." Meng Weixi smiled. "You should also take care of yourself. Su Ying is a workaholic, don't be like her."
Zhao Xiyin smiled and said, "She called me yesterday and told me to learn more from her."
Meng Weixi frowned. "You're really not modest."
The two looked at each other, their smiles widening, their eyes brightening.
Meng Weixi knew his limits and didn't linger for long. He extended his hand, a natural and sincere gesture. Zhao Xiyin's gaze fell on his palm, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.
She didn't take the initiative, but Meng Weixi still took her hand.
The man's palm was warm, gently enveloping the back of her hand without any burning sensation or suppressed desire. He exuded peace and composure. Zhao Xiyin followed behind him, first noticing his shoulders, where the boyishness had faded, replaced by maturity and steadiness. Moving upwards, his neatly trimmed short hair was clean and crisp. At this close distance, Zhao Xiyin suddenly noticed that Meng Weixi had a single gray hair.
She felt a pang of sadness; time really does fly by in the blink of an eye.
Meng Weixi held Zhao Xiyin's hand, her expression unchanged, and calmly accepted Zhou Qishen's gaze from a few meters away.
Zhou Qishen remained silent, and he was also speechless.
With each step you take, you get one second closer to letting go.
Meng Weixi recalled the first time he saw Zhao Xiyin when he was twenty-three. She was eating fish balls without any regard for her image, like a kitten in a floral dress, and asked him very politely, "Are you also a student at the Beijing Dance Academy?"
Meng Weixi laughed at the time, touched her face, and thought to herself with pride, "I really look young."
That was the very beginning of their story, like a rainbow after the rain, its light faint yet its power enduring.
Now, love has faded, and hate has become blurred. The only regret is probably my youthful impetuosity and immaturity. If, if I had tried just a little harder back then, would the outcome be different now?
Meng Weixi laughed to himself, thinking, "There aren't that many maybes and hypotheticals."
The scenery of the first half of his life is already a thing of the past for him.
Meng Weixi released Zhao Xiyin's hand and said to her casually, "Go."
Then he didn't look again, turned around and walked towards the elevator. Once inside, he kept his back to the elevator, refusing to turn back.
――
On the weekend, Zhao Xiyin and Zhou Qishen went home together for dinner.
Zhao Wenchun made braised pork, stewed some soup, and even tried his hand at cooking a fruit salad online. Surprisingly, it looked quite professional; Zhao Xiyin recognized it immediately. "Teacher Zhao, you even know about trendy online dishes!"
Zhou Qishen glanced at it and commented, "What was that saying again?"
Zhao Xiyin and he exchanged a glance, and said in unison, "A tailor who isn't a cook isn't a good teacher."
As a professor of Chinese literature, Zhao Wenchun completely ignored the joke and instead pointed out the grammatical and logical errors in the sentence with great seriousness. Zhao Xiyin, hiding behind Zhou Qishen, pushed him forward, "Did you hear Professor Zhao's instruction? Do you recognize your mistake, hmm?"
Zhou Qishen reached behind her with his left hand and gently pinched her buttock as a warning.
Zhao Xiyin sobbed as she complained to Teacher Zhao, "Teacher! Zhou Qishen pinched me!"
Zhao Wenchun waved a spatula in the air, shouting, "Zhou Qishen, sit down! Don't lay a hand on my daughter!"
Boss Zhou was extremely frustrated. He turned and glared at Zhao Xiyin, only to be met with a triumphant "V" sign from her.
Dinner was served. Zhao Xiyin didn't have a big appetite, about the same as before she was pregnant. Because of dancing, her disciplined eating habits had become a habit over the years. She wasn't picky about food, but she knew her limits. She would put down her chopsticks when she was about 70-80% full and stop overeating.
Fortunately, Zhao Wenchun and Zhou Qishen are not people with outdated ideas, and their prenatal checkups are always normal, so why force her to eat more?
After finishing his soup, Teacher Zhao suddenly said, "Have you heard?"
Zhao Xiyin: "Hmm?"
"Something happened to your mother."
"What's wrong?" Zhao Xiyin frowned. "Did she cause you trouble again?"
"No." Zhao Wenchun put down the soup bowl and said calmly, "She's divorced."
Ding Yahe divorced her second husband, Ni Xingzhuo.
Just last month, for reasons unknown, but those in the know understood: what deep-seated hatred could drive someone halfway to the grave to such a bitter divorce? It was nothing more than a matter of one side humiliating the other and the other betraying each other. Ni Xingzhuo learned of Ni Rui's pregnancy and abortion and was so angry that he wanted to sever his father-daughter relationship with her.
The Ni family, tracing its lineage back several generations, was a true scholarly family. Upright and honest, with strict family traditions, they never imagined their daughter would commit such a disgraceful act. "If a child is not properly taught, it is the father's fault." Ni Xingzhuo knew this was inextricably linked to Ding Yahe's usual pampering and spoiling. What you sow, you reap. She had only herself to blame for this suffering.
The Ni family has many relatives, and all their anger is directed at Ding Yahe. Ding Yahe is isolated and helpless, and having made a mistake first, she has no choice but to swallow her anger and suffer in silence. When Ni Xingzhuo divorced her, he said, "Zhao Xiyin and Ni Rui are both your daughters. Look at Xiao Zhao, then look at Xiao Rui. As a mother, don't you feel even a little bit of guilt or remorse?"
The divorce was swift and decisive. Ni Xingzhuo, seemingly gentle and refined, was ruthless when it came to cutting ties. Ding Yahe, already middle-aged, had ended up like this. Fortune changes every thirty years. She probably never imagined that her heartless treatment of Zhao Wenchun would be repeated, only this time, it was her turn.
Zhao Xiyin had already finished eating, but upon hearing the news, she picked up her chopsticks again, listlessly picking at the vegetables in her bowl. Zhao Wenchun, worried that she would become anxious, thought, "Oh no, I shouldn't have brought this up." Just as he was about to explain, Zhao Xiyin suddenly looked up and asked seriously, "Dad, you don't mean you want to remarry her, do you?"
Zhao Wenchun was stunned. "Huh?"
Zhao Xiyin said worriedly, "Aunt Wang from the next building asked you to dance in the square with her yesterday. You're fifty-five this year, you can't be so heartless." Then she sighed, "What's going on? The Zhao family all like to talk about remarriage."
Zhou Qishen, who was eating happily to the side, was completely bewildered, and a question mark slowly rose above his head.
When Zhao Wenchun was wrongly accused, he became so anxious that he couldn't say anything, and his expression was extremely surreal.
Just as they were at an impasse, someone knocked on the door. Zhou Qishen got up to open it, and Grandma Wang from next door, with her bright and clear voice, asked, "Teacher Zhao, are you going to square dancing again tonight?"
Zhao Xiyin chuckled and winked at her father, "You're not going, are you?"
Zhao Wenchun shouted urgently, "Go! I'll go! I'll go, I'll go, I'll go!!"
――
Back at the Vanke Hotel that evening, Zhou Qishen drove steadily, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the tune of a love song on the radio, humming along with great enthusiasm. The lyrics were straightforward: "One look from you, and I want to go to heaven."
The chorus is exactly this line, and Zhou Qishen pronounces it with the most accurate pitch.
Zhao Xiyin laughed when she heard this. At a red light, she reached out and gently poked his cheek with her index finger, her eyes crinkling as she said, "I didn't ask you to go to heaven, don't overthink it. Stay in the mortal world, live a carefree life with companions in this mortal realm."
Zhou Qishen thought the name sounded familiar. "Hey? Isn't this a song too?"
Zhao Xiyin's eyes widened. "Heavens, you still have to ask? This is called 'When'!"
"When what?"
"It's 'When'."
"I know, I'm asking what you want to be? Say it completely."
"I don't need to be anything, it's the name that's called 'Being'."
"Nonsense." Zhou Qishen turned his face and corrected him seriously, "You've clearly become my little darling."
Zhao Xiyin then realized that the scoundrel had done it on purpose.
She suppressed a laugh, pretended to be angry, and turned her head to look out the window, saying, "You Zhou Tutu."
After arriving home, the two took a shower and then snuggled on the sofa to watch a movie.
Zhou Qishen was extremely unwilling; why would a pregnant woman watch horror movies? It would affect prenatal education. But he couldn't resist Zhao Xiyin's coaxing and pleading, so he had no choice but to go with her.
"You are not allowed to close your eyes."
"Don't look anywhere else."
"You need to help me take a look."
"I'm so sleepy, I'm going to take a nap. You have to tell me what happens in the middle of the story later."
Zhao Xiyin, being sleepy, nestled against his collar, her warm breath gently brushing against his collarbone. Zhou Qishen held her securely, his palm gently cupping her lower abdomen. Whether by coincidence or some kind of telepathic connection, the little Zhou Zhou inside immediately swelled up, pressing hard against his palm.
Zhou Qishen was taken aback, then changed his position.
The children inside nudged him again.
Zhou Qishen smiled, his hair slanted to his temples, his phoenix eyes tilted upwards, full of gentle light.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhao Xiyin woke up, glanced at the screen, and asked in a hoarse voice, "This person used to be a good person, how did he turn into a bad person?"
Zhou Qishen glanced at it indifferently and said, "Oh, it was arranged by the director."
Zhao Xiyin laughed and playfully punched him, then gently wrapped her arms around his neck, saying, "Husband."
"Hmm?" Zhou Qishen lowered his head slightly.
Zhao Xiyin whispered, "I like you so much."
Zhou Qishen smiled and said, "I know."
—End of main text—