Zhou Qishen lost his balance, swayed a few times, and then collapsed. Half of his body landed on top of him, and Dr. Lin also fell to the ground. Several assistants rushed to help, helping Zhou Qishen to the sofa. It was at this moment that Lin Yi noticed with horror that Zhou Qishen's blood-stained palms were clenched tightly.
Lin Yi felt a chill in her heart due to her self-harm tendencies and loss of self-management.
——
With the year-end approaching, Zhao Wenchun was extremely busy. Because of Su Ying's allergies, Zhao Xiyin had a few days off. After finishing her work, Teacher Zhao bought a lot of groceries on Friday and called early in the morning, insisting that Zhao Lingxia come over for dinner.
“Your aunt is a female bandit, what a mess.” Zhao Wenchun poured beer into the old duck, put the lid on and continued to simmer. “How long has it been since you came back to China that you’re willing to come home for a meal.”
Zhao Xiyin helped pick the vegetables, saying, "Auntie is busy, please don't keep nagging her."
These words were unpleasant to hear, so Teacher Zhao established his authority, declaring, "I'm her brother, I have to discipline her!"
Zhao Xiyin chuckled, "You two are twins, only two minutes apart, right? The two-minute-long brother is really impressive. Auntie's company is preparing for its IPO, there's so much going on, she must be overwhelmed."
Zhao Wenchun disagreed at all, saying, "What's the point of making so much money? She's been stubborn since she was a child and always goes against your grandparents."
Zhao Xiyin smiled and placed the green vegetable leaves on the table.
"Hey, by the way, I haven't heard from Qi Shen in a long time. What has he been busy with lately?" Zhao Wenchun had wanted to ask for a while.
Zhao Xiyin said, "I don't know."
Zhao Wenchun glanced at her and asked, "Did you two have another fight?"
"What do you mean 'again'?" Zhao Xiyin chuckled. "I have nothing to do with him."
“Nonsense, Dad isn’t old. I can tell you two have feelings for each other.” Zhao Wenchun asked with a smile, “Ye Tao asked about you yesterday.”
"Oh my god." Zhao Xiyin was truly exasperated. "Stop joking about this all the time. There was nothing wrong with it, but everyone's started to think something was wrong."
"You really aren't attracted to Ye Tao?" Zhao Wenchun teased, "Zhou Qishen can't even beat Ye Tao in pull-ups."
"He's injured, how can he compare? Try it when he's healthy, he'll crush Teacher Ye in a heartbeat." Zhao Xiyin said protectively, "You haven't seen him do push-ups, one hand, two fingers, he can keep his footing on the ground without moving an inch, like he's made of iron."
Zhao Wenchu dismissed it, saying, "What's the use? It's still just kidney deficiency."
After washing the vegetables, Zhao Xiyin touched the tip of her nose with her wet fingers and said in a hushed tone, "I'm spreading rumors."
"ah?"
“He’s perfectly fine.” Zhao Xiyin’s voice trailed off. “He’s perfectly fine in every way.”
Teacher Zhao was furious, "All you do is bully him!"
Zhao Xiyin pouted, suddenly feeling a little wronged. Things had come to this point, so who was bullying whom?
Zhao Lingxia arrived home as promised, not a minute late at 5:30. However, she brought another person with her, a tall, handsome man around twenty-five years old with an air of sophistication. As soon as he spoke, Zhao Xiyin recognized his voice; it was the same man who answered the phone last time.
After dinner, Zhao Wenchun pulled Zhao Lingxia aside and glanced at the young man in the living room, asking, "Introduced to Xiaoxi?"
Zhao Lingxia smiled faintly and did not respond.
Zhao Wenchun then asked Zhao Xiyin, "Was the guy your aunt introduced you to? He looks like a pretty boy, but I don't think he's as good as Ye Tao."
Zhao Xiyin suppressed a laugh, "He's a gigolo, haven't you realized yet? He's my aunt's boyfriend."
"..." Zhao Wenchun nearly had a heart attack. "Nonsense! Nonsense!"
Zhao Xiyue died, and in a flash, he ran to the living room again.
Zhao Lingxia, dressed elegantly, sat on the sofa with her eyes closed, not even opening them, and asked in a calm voice, "Why are you running away?"
Zhao Xiyin plopped down next to her, playfully tugging at her curly hair. "Auntie, my dad was scared just now. I secretly told him that's your boyfriend. Auntie, what about your boyfriend in America? Aren't you afraid he'll find out?"
Zhao Lingxia actually thought about it seriously, but couldn't remember. "Which one are you talking about?"
Zhao Xiyin was so adoring, clapping her little hands.
Zhao Lingxia smiled enigmatically, "Has Zhou Qishen been disappearing lately?"
Zhao Xiyin's face fell, she hesitated to speak, and finally lowered her head dejectedly.
"Don't you want to know where he is?" Zhao Lingxia raised an eyebrow, disliking her distraught appearance from the bottom of her heart. But what could she do? She was her only niece, simple-minded and stubborn, but kind and sincere. Every time she wanted to beat her up, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Zhao Xiyin raised her head, her eyes clearly shining, but afraid of being seen through by her aunt, she asked in a disdainful tone, "Where did he die?"
Zhao Lingxia was too lazy to expose the little trick that was trying to cover up the truth, and told her, "Boss Zhou is unwell and is about to go to the morgue."
Zhao Lingxia has connections in the business world; with so many people, it's not hard to gather gossip. He didn't attend an economic forum scheduled for yesterday, and I heard he didn't even show up at the company; it's like he vanished into thin air.
Zhao Xiyin was restless and kept calling Zhou Qishen, but his phone was always switched off. She waited anxiously until 10 p.m., but finally couldn't resist calling Gu Heping.
Gu Heping answered quickly and warmly, "Xiao Xi."
"Brother Heping, are you busy?" Zhao Xiyin gripped her phone tightly. "I want to ask you about something."
"No rush, no rush, go ahead, Brother Heping is listening."
"Well, is Zhou Qishen away on a business trip? He's my dad, you know. I want a video call from him, he keeps urging me, I..." Zhao Xiyin racked her brains to find an excuse, but she choked up halfway through her sentence, becoming incoherent, so she simply gave up and said in a muffled voice, "His phone is off, I can't reach him."
Gu Heping's tone remained relaxed, even with a slight smile, a sentiment that was infectious and eased her worries. "I thought it was something serious. Don't worry, Brother Zhou is just on a business trip, apparently busy with a project, negotiating and arguing with the contractor every day. I heard this project is quite sensitive, so he probably can't even answer the phone."
Zhao Xiyin was completely confused. "Is that so...?"
"That's right, don't worry, little sister, Zhou-ge'er will be fine."
Gu Heping spoke loudly, almost as if making a vow, using his phone as the main topic. Zhao Xiyin hung up, but he remained motionless for a long time, his Huawei phone on the table, screen up, hands-free on, volume at maximum.