It was something they had to face sooner or later. The more Zhao Wenchun liked him before, the more he hated him now. What was that word again? Right, karmic retribution.
Zhou Qishen changed into a slightly thicker coat, and fearing it was cold outside, he also gave Zhao Xiyin a pair of sheepskin gloves to wear. Zhao Xiyin asked worriedly, "Is your headache very uncomfortable?"
Zhou Qishen held her hand and said, "It's okay. Your ghost story just now scared all my ailments away. I'm full of energy now."
Zhao Xiyin chuckled and said playfully, "Then I'll download an app for you so you can listen to a ghost story every night before bed."
Zhou Qishen's heart trembled, his eyes filled with resistance.
Zhao Xiyin saw through his nonsense at a glance, poked his hard shoulder hard with her sharp finger, and said, "You jerk."
Although the two seemed quite relaxed now, when they arrived at her doorstep, Zhao Xiyin looked dejected and gave them a heads-up beforehand, saying, "Teacher Zhao can be very fierce when he scolds people, so don't go in. I'm afraid he'll be in an even worse mood."
Zhou Qishen knocked on the door, his voice loud and clear: "Uncle Zhao."
Zhao Xiyin: "..."
The door swung open with a bang, and Zhao Wenchun wasn't surprised at all; he was just waiting for him. Once inside, he immediately ordered Zhao Xiyin, "You, go out and buy some fruit."
Zhao Xiyin opened her mouth to speak, but Zhou Qishen gently tugged at her, giving her a look that signaled her to obey.
There were only two men left in the living room.
Zhou Qishen looked at Zhao Wenchun with an air of composure, expecting a bloody battle to ensue, but Teacher Zhao simply said in a calm voice, "Please sit down."
A glass coffee table separated the single sofas. Teacher Zhao stood up straight and asked, "Do you remember the first time you came to my house?"
Zhou Qishen nodded. "I remember."
How could I not remember?
He first met Zhao Xiyin's parents after she returned from her graduation trip to Xi'an. At the airport, Zhao Xiyin tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "My dad makes really delicious braised pork, would you like to try some?"
In retrospect, their relationship should have been established around that time.
After returning to Beijing, they didn't actually contact each other very frequently. Their relationship was quiet and unassuming, unlike that of someone deeply in love. Zhou Qishen, thick-skinned as ever, figured out the girl's feelings; she might easily back out after making a hasty remark. So, he decided to go all in and drove to pick her up, casually saying, "Let's go, to your place."
Zhao Xiyin was utterly confused. "Why are you coming to my house?"
"Didn't you invite me to try your dad's braised pork when you were in Xi'an?"
That evening, when Teacher Zhao saw the grown man her daughter had brought home, she was completely dumbfounded. At first glance, he was handsome, clean-cut, and had an open and honest gaze. Zhao Wenchun immediately knew what was going on.
He secretly asked his daughter, "Is he really your boyfriend?"
Zhao Xiyin nodded.
Teacher Zhao was quite melancholy, "He looks upright, but he's a bit old."
Zhao Xiyin smiled so hard her mouth almost twisted, "You're forty-five this year, you've taken good care of yourself."
Teacher Zhao believed it to be true and almost suffered a myocardial infarction.
Zhou Qishen was incredibly bold, excessively so, bordering on arrogant. "Come eat braised pork, huh?" That noon, Zhao Wenchun prepared a table full of meat dishes: stewed pig's trotters, spare ribs with black bean sauce, twice-cooked pork, and braised pork belly. Every time Zhou Qishen got too full and put down his chopsticks, Teacher Zhao would ask with loving concern, "Little Zhou, is it because Uncle's cooking isn't good?"
Sweat beaded on Zhou Qishen's forehead. First impressions are so important, so he immediately buried his head in his food. That night, he vomited for most of the night, enduring the nausea until he developed acute gastroenteritis.
Even now, Zhou Qishen still feels a slight discomfort in his stomach when he mentions it.
Zhao Wenchun's eyes softened, and his tone turned colder. "If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have let you into my house in the first place!"
Zhou Qishen lowered his head slightly and said respectfully, "Uncle Zhao, it's my fault for not taking good care of Xiaoxi."
Zhao Wenchun said with a choked voice, "Xiao west's mother and I divorced a long time ago. She was only six years old. A girl needs the warmth of a family and the care of her mother the most, but she had none of that. When she had her first period, I washed the sheets and bought the sanitary napkins. I will never forget the innocent look in Xiao Xi's eyes at that time, that natural difference between women and men, which was destined to be timid. My Xiao Xi has been dancing for more than 20 years, and she was still practicing somersaults in the yard in the dead of winter. It really wasn't easy for her, a girl."
Zhou Qishen remained silent, his hand resting on his lap unconsciously clenching.
"I never blamed you when you two got divorced. Xiaoxi never mentioned why you got divorced." Zhao Wenchun burst into tears, unable to control her emotions, and stood up, punching Zhou Qishen on the shoulder with her bare hand. "How could you hit Xiaoxi? How could you not know she was pregnant?!"
When the topic of children came up, Zhao Wenchun finally broke down in tears.
An elderly person, past fifty, with a hunched back and slumped shoulders, sobs sobbing, the bones in their neck standing out prominently. The decline of life from its peak is always particularly heartbreaking.
Both the old man and the young girl had been shot in the heart and were bleeding. Each had their own regrets and sorrows, and both were in great pain because of the women they loved most in their lives. Zhou Qishen was also silent, but his arms were strong and steady. He supported the trembling Zhao Wenchun and said, "I swear, I will be good to her for the rest of my life."
The winter night was bitterly cold. The sycamore trees had lost all their leaves, leaving only bare branches swaying gently in the wind.
As Zhou Qishen came out of the stairwell, he saw Zhao Xiyin carrying fruit, leaning against the wall, looking wilted like a frostbitten eggplant. Hearing the noise, he turned around, his eyes immediately lighting up. "Did my dad scold you? How is it? Has he calmed down?"
Zhou Qishen walked over, gently pulled her into his arms, rubbed his chin against her hair, and said softly, "Go upstairs and keep your father company."
Hearing his tone, Zhao Xiyin knew the outcome.
——
After returning from Shanghai, Zhou Qishen caught a cold. In this weather, he dared not rely on his good health anymore, sometimes even going out without a thick coat. Old Cheng disapproved of his cold and wouldn't let him come to the teahouse to burn off the virus, saying that Zhaozhao was there and he didn't want to infect her.
Gu Heping booked a room at "Mi Tang". The mahjong table was off, the stereo was off, and only the projector screen was showing CCTV news. None of the three were in high spirits today, and even Lao Cheng, who rarely smoked, lit one.
Zhou Qishen glanced at Gu Heping, "You're usually the most talkative."
Gu Heping slowly exhaled smoke, disliking the strong smell, and fanned it with his hand to dilute it. "Tell me, isn't it better to live a carefree life? Why do you have to be so pathetic and worry about relationships? Isn't that a waste of life?"
Zhou Qishen raised an eyebrow. "You and that little girl from the Li family broke up?"
Gu Heping laughed smugly, "How could that be? Who am I? I would never embarrass a woman."
Zhou Qishen stared at him and smiled disdainfully.