Chapter 125 The Unknown Ending Part 2
Chapter 125 The Unknown Ending (Part Two)
=========================================
Back in the car, the atmosphere was even quieter and heavier than when they arrived. The crumpled paper at their feet had been cleaned up. Zhou Zhou felt so tired that she didn't want to talk. She looked out the window at the constantly changing bustling street scene, her mind in a daze.
"I want to stay with my parents for a few days."
"Um...when?"
"Is tonight okay?"
Seeing the grave and remembering the loved one, Fu Hengzhi understood this sentiment.
"The house is very dusty. I'll send someone to contact a housekeeping service to clean it up later."
"good."
The two exchanged a few words and then fell silent. Zhou Zhou rested his forehead against the car window, staring blankly out the window.
Silence returned to the car.
'Buzz—'
The silence was broken by the sound of a phone call. Fu Hengzhi glanced at the incoming call on the electronic screen, frowned, and reached for the red hang-up button.
"Take it."
Zhou Zhou's voice came from the passenger seat out of the blue. The other person had been so quiet that Fu Hengzhi thought the other person had fallen asleep.
The caller ID showed He Qingqing, so it was probably about work.
Seeing that he didn't move, Zhou Zhou repeated, "Take it."
Fu Hengzhi answered the call without saying a word. The matter was minor, but troublesome, requiring him, the president, to personally go to the company.
"Shall we go to the company together?" Fu Hengzhi didn't plan to take the other person home first, as he was afraid she would think he was avoiding something. However, he couldn't make a firm decision, so he chose to ask Zhou Zhou for her opinion.
“Okay.” Zhou Zhou smiled, her eyes crinkling as she peeked out from behind her mask, instantly making Fu Hengzhi feel as if he were back in the early days when the two of them had just started dating.
Sweetness welled up in his heart, but it was mixed with bitterness and sorrow. Fu Hengzhi had to resist the urge to shed tears in front of Zhou Zhou, as he did not want to break the relaxed atmosphere that the other party had painstakingly created.
The car was driven to the underground parking garage, and the two planned to take the elevator upstairs.
Fu Hengzhi held his son in one arm and his wife's hand in the other, a very warm family of three. The elevator number changed from -2 to 1, and a middle-aged man in a suit walked into the elevator. He was greeted by the president and his wife, plus a child he had never seen before.
Looking closely, the child bears a striking resemblance to the CEO's wife; could he be their son? But he seems a bit too old...
"Manager Lin, aren't you coming in?" Fu Hengzhi, who always seemed aloof and unapproachable at the company, interrupted Manager Lin's reverie with a casual remark. Manager Lin strode into the elevator and pressed the floor button.
"Hello, Madam." Manager Lin greeted Zhou Zhou awkwardly, and Zhou Zhou smiled and nodded back.
Manager Lin felt that the president's wife seemed to be in a bad state. She looked much thinner than the last time he saw her. She was as thin as a bamboo pole, and she could easily be blown over by the wind. She exuded an unhealthy aura, as if she had some kind of illness... He didn't dare to look at her for too long. There were rumors in the company that the president's wife had worked in the entertainment industry. Aren't there many celebrities who are as thin as bamboo poles in order to look good on camera?
Yes, Manager Lin was convinced by himself; that's exactly the case.
The elevator was still going up. For the first time, Manager Lin felt that time was passing so slowly in this small space. The president's gaze was either fixed straight ahead or lingered on his wife and children, but he was still under a lot of pressure.
Out of the corner of his eye, Manager Lin noticed that the president's wife seemed to be looking in his direction. When he looked over, he found that she was staring at what he was holding.
A square box wrapped in a pink floral fabric.
"This is a lunchbox my wife brought me." Manager Lin generously picked up the lunchbox to show it off. "As people get older, they have to watch what they eat. My wife thinks that the food outside is too oily, so she brings me lunch every day."
As he spoke, he touched his beer belly, which was tucked into his belt, making his explanation seem more convincing.
"I see," Zhou Zhou said with a smile. "You two have a very harmonious relationship."
"Of course, we've been married for over twenty years." Manager Lin usually loves to brag to his employees about his wife, daughter, and lunchboxes. Now that the president's wife has praised him, he feels quite pleased with himself. He'll probably be taking his lunchbox around to show off to his department staff later.
"Right after we got married, my wife was a naive young girl who had never lifted a finger..."
With a 'ding', the elevator doors opened.
When Manager Lin reached the floor, he couldn't continue the conversation, so he said goodbye and left.
Zhou Zhou maintained a smile throughout, even though it was hidden behind a mask and no one could see it. But one should not abandon proper etiquette just because a mask covers one's face.
Fu Hengzhi knew the other person was smiling, and he was happy because the other person was in a good mood.
Zhou Zhou stayed in the president's office with Fu Xiaofan. Fu Hengzhi went out to work and left at noon, only returning in the afternoon. During this time, all the meals were prepared by a private chef restaurant, and Zhou Zhou specifically asked for light food. Despite eating the same dishes, Zhou Zhou felt that Fu Hengzhi's cooking was still better.
Although Fu Hengzhi managed to sneak out of his busy schedule to bring him a meal and told him to eat more, he, who couldn't eat much at home, ate even less here.
Fu Xiaofan knew that her food intake was even less than that of a normal woman. This was a complication caused by brain failure, and there were very few parts of her body that could be considered healthy.
"Eat some more." This was the first time Fu Xiaofan had ever advised Fu Hengzhi without him present. He didn't want to see the disappointment on Fu Hengzhi's face when he returned.
"I tried my best." Zhou Zhou shook her head with a wry smile and put some food on his plate. "You should eat more."
Fu Hengzhi rushed back to his office as soon as he finished his work. He hurriedly opened the door, afraid that the other person would keep waiting. The sunset glow shone on the sofa, where the person was curled up on the edge of the backrest, fast asleep.
Fu Xiaofan stood straight beside the sofa, staring at him. After someone opened the door, she shifted her gaze to him. The office lights were off, and from the angle of the doorway, all she could see was half of his face bathed in the glow of the sunset, and the green electronic light emanating from his eyes.
Fu Hengzhi stood there stunned, watching the other person put a finger to their lips to make a shushing gesture. He nodded and tiptoed to the sofa.
Both of them looked at the person on the sofa. After a moment of silence, Fu Hengzhi asked quietly.
"Is there really no way to do it?"
Fu Xiaofan shook his head, his tone like that of a compassionate god, "I want him to live more than anyone else, but I was born for this world... I can't do anything against this world. What you can do now is accompany him through these last moments. He needs you."
“I need him for the rest of my life.” Fu Hengzhi’s eyes reddened, and he clenched his fists.
"The world goes through cycles of reincarnation, and you will eventually meet again."
"But that wasn't who I am now, nor was it who he is now."
“You…” Fu Xiaofan shook his head, about to say something, when the person on the sofa hummed and slowly opened his eyes.
[Author's Note: My darlings, I promise it's a happy ending. We'll only have a few chapters with a little bit of angst, and the extras will be all sweetness QwQ]
】
Chapter 126 The End of the Void (Part 3)
Chapter 126 The End of the Void (Part 3)
=========================================
When Zhou Zhou opened his eyes, he saw two faces, one big and one small. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, propped himself up, and said weakly, "How did I fall asleep?"
"You're too tired." Fu Hengzhi sat down next to him and hugged him, blaming himself, "It's my fault."
"No." Zhou Zhou was amused by his self-blaming appearance and laughed out loud. She cupped his face in her hands, blinked at him, and said, "Why do you blame everything? Don't take all the responsibility on yourself."
Fu Hengzhi looked at the other person's smiling face, turned his cheek and kissed the other person's palm, and whispered, "Okay."
Fu Xiaofan blinked as he watched the two interact, his chubby face expressionless, like a robot.
“I’ve taken care of all the work that’s piling up at the company. I’ll spend all my time with you during this time.” Fu Hengzhi fastened the other person’s seatbelt, held the steering wheel and looked ahead, then said, “I had my secretary contact a housekeeping service this afternoon to clean my parents’ house. We should be able to go there now.”
“Okay.” Zhou Zhou suddenly felt a sense of anticipation for returning to his old house, the place where he had once lived. “I guess we haven’t replenished our household supplies yet.”
Zhou Zhou laughed and said, "Let's go to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities before we go."
Fu Hengzhi liked the other person's smile very much, and then raised the corners of his mouth, "Okay."
This was the first time the family of three had shopped at a supermarket. As Zhou Zhou watched the customers walking around in front of the shelves, he suddenly felt a little dazed. He hadn't experienced this kind of ordinary family life for a long time.
In the past, Aunt Feng would cook and prepare the ingredients, so he never had to worry about it. Now, Fu Hengzhi cooks, and the ingredients are delivered directly to his home, so he doesn't have to worry about it. The two grown men don't consume much in terms of daily necessities, and it was the same even after Fu Xiaofan joined the family. He has never updated his clothes; he just takes whatever is readily available in his walk-in closet and puts them together.
Because the Fu family was wealthy, there seemed to be nothing in his life that he needed to worry about; he was waited on hand and foot, which gave him ample time to cultivate his career and relationships.
Fu Hengzhi, dressed in a formal suit, went to the front desk and pushed a shopping cart. The two seemed quite mismatched, and Zhou Zhou was amused by the visual impact. Fu Hengzhi saw him looking at him with a smile and pushed the cart over, gently hooking the other's earlobe with his finger.
It seems to be asking you what you're laughing at.
"How strange, the CEO is pushing a shopping cart while shopping." Zhou Zhou tilted his head.
"Hmm." Fu Hengzhi didn't deny it, and even took the other person's hand and leaned closer, saying, "Not only shopping, but also bringing the whole family."
After saying that, he looked at Fu Xiaofan, who was standing next to him and whose treatment was obviously not as good as before, opened the child seat in the shopping cart, and asked gesturingly, "Sit in?"
"Hmm..." Fu Xiaofan squinted at the seat, seemingly assessing the possibility of him sitting there.
A moment later, she reached out and grabbed the edge of the shopping cart, stepped on the wheels, and climbed inside, one leg just inside the leg slot.
"I'm sorry, this booth is for children under three years old. Your son..."
A sales clerk who was restocking the shelves couldn't stand it anymore and went over to kindly remind her to stop.
“…Excuse me.” Fu Hengzhi reached out and picked up Fu Xiaofan, who had crawled halfway, and put him on the ground. He had no experience in this area, but he saw on TV that parents who took their children shopping let their children sit here, so he assumed that all children could sit in this position.
I felt a little awkward.
Fu Xiaofan wasn't much better off. He looked down at his round little belly and chubby arms, rubbed his chubby face with his little hands, and wondered if he was really fat and why he wasn't allowed to sit.
"Pfft, hahaha." Zhou Zhou was clearly out of breath while shopping, seeing the two of them laughing so hard.
Fu Hengzhi knew it was due to the other person's health, but this was the first time he had seen the other person so happy in a long time. He still couldn't help but say, "Stop smiling, aren't you tired?"
"You two are hilarious. I should have taken a picture of you two just now." Zhou Zhou put one arm around the other's shoulder, rested his forehead on the other's neck, and laughed a few more times.
Zhou Zhou had chosen a family-sized set of household goods for three, and after paying the bill, she sat back in the car with a smile on her face.
It was hot and stuffy, and he had already taken off his mask. Even though he looked pale and thin, his smile was still incredibly touching in Fu Hengzhi's eyes.
He recalled his interactions with the other person long ago, and how the other person seemed to always be able to laugh so happily, anytime and anywhere. When they were children, he would joke around with Wang Kunxiang and get all dirty, but when he returned home and faced his parents' scolding, he would still smile. He would not panic if he did poorly in a subject during an exam, and he would be overjoyed when his science grades finally improved before the college entrance exam.
Back then, he was a role model for other children and didn't understand why the other person loved to smile so much. But now, all he wants is to see the other person's smile every day.
Fate seems to love playing such jokes on people, making you mistake a pearl for a fish eye, and when you find it and cherish it, you are told that this pearl does not belong to you.
That day, Ye Misheng told him that the other party was going to Liu Zong's dinner party. Although he knew clearly that the other party would not do anything to betray him, his possessiveness was at play. He didn't want the other party to go, even though he knew it might be part of the job.
He went to the film set early, intending to pick the person up and take them home. However, he saw the person lying unconscious on the ground in the parking lot, with his son kneeling beside him with blood all over his hands. In that instant, he panicked so much that he didn't even have time to lock the car before rushing forward.
Suddenly, his son turned around, and in the shadow beside the car, he saw a faint green light in the other person's eyes. Through this green light, his soul seemed to have entered another world.
This world has endless void, and there is no other shore to cling to. He is suspended in the center of the world, surrounded by various fragments that move like a carousel, with numbers scrolling on them.
He saw in the Fu family mansion that his grandfather yelled at his aunt and then went upstairs. Inside the room, he put on his reading glasses, took out his phone, looked at Fu Xiaofan's photo, and laughed. A moment later, for some unknown reason, he threw his phone onto the bed.
'You didn't bring your children! You didn't bring your children! How can I apologize if you don't come?'