How can I describe this feeling?
So close, yet so far.
She felt inexplicably flustered and even subconsciously reached out to grab Zhou Qishen's hand.
The man's hands were warm, he didn't resist or dodge, and let her hold them.
After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Qishen turned his head and looked at Zhao Xiyin first, "I may not be going to the company for a while."
Secretary Xu frowned, thinking she hadn't heard clearly, "President Zhou? Your recent schedule doesn't require business trips."
“No.” Zhou Qishen paused for half a second and said, “I need to take a long vacation. It’s not certain, it could be up to two months, but if all goes well, it will be about seven or eight days.”
Zhao Xiyin pressed on, "Where are you going?"
Zhou Qishen pursed his lips, looked into her eyes, and said truthfully, "Xi'er, I won't lie to you, I'm going to the hospital tomorrow for surgery."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Heping and Lao Cheng were both shocked. After they came to their senses, Gu Heping smashed his wine glass with a loud bang. "What the hell are you talking about! What surgery? Who's doing the surgery? Can you stop joking like that!"
Old Cheng calmed down and tried to comfort him indirectly: "Brother Zhou, you can't joke like that. Xiao west is right there, don't scare her."
Zhou Qishen remained calm, shifting his gaze from Zhao Xiyin's face to the three of them. "I had a terrible headache a while ago, so I went for a check-up. The doctor said I might have something growing in my brain. It's very small, and the specifics are unclear. A CT scan should be fine. But just to be on the safe side, the doctor suggested I have a minimally invasive procedure to remove it, and also do a biopsy."
After saying that, he looked at Zhao Xiyin and held her hand tightly.
She had no expression, or rather, she was almost wooden and dazed, even her eyes were vacant.
Zhou Qishen had anticipated this, knowing such a situation was unavoidable. Rather than constantly explaining, he decided to be honest. He smiled slightly and gently wiped a drop of soup from the corner of her mouth with his fingertip.
“I didn’t plan to tell you, afraid you’d worry, afraid you’d be upset, and afraid it would interfere with your dancing. But what you said to me that day, that we’re husband and wife, that we should share joys and sorrows, and that I shouldn’t always use ‘I can’t’ as an excuse to push you away.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice, “Wife, I’ve changed. I’ll listen to you from now on.”
Zhao Xiyin stared blankly at him, her gaze seemingly without focus, as if everything was empty and silent.
Gu Heping was the first to lose his temper. With a "fuck," he kicked the chair aside and walked up to Zhou Qishen, wanting nothing more than to punch him. "Explain yourself clearly! What kind of weird thing is growing?! What kind of surgery are you talking about?! That's a head, not an appendix! Zhou, stop scaring me!"
Zhou Qishen raised his phoenix eyes and smiled so hard he almost surrendered. "It's really a minor surgery. I'm not lying to you. If I were to lie to you, I wouldn't be able to have a son in the future."
The oath was so realistic that Gu Heping's anger was cooled by half, freezing layer by layer like ice.
Connecting all the previous clues—his stubborn insistence on granting him authorization, his repeated instructions to Secretary Xu to consult him on any issues, and Zhou Qishen's words of entrusting his son to him in the detention center that day…
He knew that Zhou Qishen was telling the truth at that moment.
This dinner party did not end well.
Silence, repression; no one in the room uttered a sound.
After a long while, everyone's gazes instinctively fell on Zhao Xiyin.
Zhao Xiyin maintained her original posture and expression, remaining calm and composed without any emotional fluctuations.
Zhou Qishen was filled with unease and worries. In that instant, he suddenly regretted it.
Regret...did I make the wrong decision? Should I have kept it from her?
He was about to call her name when Zhao Xiyin trembled, as if her vital point had been struck, her mind went blank, and a long, deep wound appeared, but no blood was seen.
Her stomach felt like it was on fire, burning all over her body.
She was breathing rapidly, unable to suppress the gurgling in her throat. Finally, she pushed back her chair and stumbled to her feet.
Zhou Qishen reacted quickly, stood up, and swiftly hugged the person.
Zhao Xiyin knelt on the ground, her face as pale as paper, and covered her mouth, unable to stop herself from retching violently.
Chapter 91 Come to My Gentle Universe (4)
Zhao Xiyin couldn't stop gagging; her stomach was cramping, and her lower abdomen was throbbing.
The strange sensation rising in her abdomen instantly brought her back to her senses. She consciously placed her hands on it and forced herself to calm down. Everyone was startled. Zhou Qishen was about to pick her up in his arms when Zhao Xiyin pushed his hands away and stood up on her knees.
From beginning to end, Zhao Xiyin didn't say another word. She stood quietly in place with her head down.
Everyone present was perceptive and exchanged glances. Old Cheng broke the silence, "We've eaten enough, let's go home early."
Zhou Qishen drove, and Zhao Xiyin sat in the passenger seat. Throughout the entire journey back to Fanyue, they kept turning their heads to look out the window.
The April nights in Beijing were already noticeably warm. The car window slid down halfway, letting in natural airflow; the only sound was the whistling of the wind. Upon arriving home, Zhao Xiyin silently changed her shoes, then silently went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Her glass was overflowing, but she was completely unaware of it.
Zhou Qishen pressed the stop button and gently took her hand, "Xiao west."
Zhao Xiyin didn't struggle; after letting him hold her hand for a while, she still pulled it away.
She remained in this state all night.
She did everything she was supposed to do: shower, check her phone, and even kept her habit of leaving the TV on but only listening to the sound. Zhou Qishen tried to talk to her several times, but her indifferent attitude forced him to stay silent.
They had no choice but to give up.
When he came out after taking a shower, the TV was off and the bedroom lights were dimmed; Zhao Xiyin must have fallen asleep.
As soon as the season warms up, even the city lights outside the window seem much brighter.
Zhou Qishen rested his hands on either side of the window frame and quietly watched the night outside for a while.
Did I do something wrong?
Perhaps white lies are also indispensable in relationships.