Su Zhan was thrown off by Shen Peichuan’s seriousness because he never thought that his opinion would be valued.
“Okay.”
Shen Peichuan intended to tell Su Zhan about Sang Yu kissing him and ask for his advice, but he thought the better of it once he noticed the twinkle in Su Zhan’s eyes.
Not wanting to be made fun of, Shen Peichuan swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue back and asked something else instead, “Haven’t you noticed that Qin Yanyan is quite beautiful?”
He purposely emphasized the surname “Qin” in hopes of knocking some sense into Su Zhan.
However, Su Zhan didn’t get the hint because he was taken aback by the fact that it was the first time he heard Shen Peichuan praising a woman’s good looks.
Shen Peichuan was confused when Su Zhan let out a sudden laugh. “What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing at you and Jinghao. Both of you are obviously besotted by that woman!” Clapping hardly on Shen Peichuan’s back, he suddenly became serious. “Listen to me, Peichuan. Keep your mind off that woman. She’s wicked. Don’t waste your chance with the innocent college student!”
Shen Peichuan almost swore out loud because of Su Zhan’s stupidity. Last he remembered, he wasn’t that dumb in taking hints. What happened to his brain?
Fearing that he might explode in anger anytime, Shen Peichuan put a stop to their conversation about women. “Enough of this. Let’s go and have a drink.”
Completely unaware of what he had missed, Su Zhan asked, “Aren’t you curious why Jinghao rushed off like that?”
Glancing sideways, Shen Peichuan replied indifferently, “Well, it’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?”
Su Zhan widened his eyes after considering Shen Peichuan’s reply for a while. “Are you saying that he’s off to Xinyan’s place? How did he find out where she is?”
Just as Shen Peichuan thought that Su Zhan might not be completely hopeless, he changed his mind immediately the moment Su Zhan exclaimed, “He must have had some detective tracking her down!”
Oblivious to the look on Shen Peichuan’s face, Su Zhan went on, “That’s ridiculous! How could he not say anything to us? He could have told us about it to keep us from worrying about him!”
“Well, at least he has made the first step to get his wife back. What have you done?” Shen Peichuan couldn’t hold back the insult.
Su Zhan felt melancholic at the thought of Qin Ya. “Don’t say that as if you aren’t aware of my situation. She didn’t want me to find her. It was only through Xinyan that I got to know where she was. Now that Xinyan is missing, I can’t just go around looking for Qin Ya! What if I scare her and agitate her? I don’t want to hurt her again.”
Turning around, he whispered, “I’m heartbroken, Peichuan.”
Shen Peichuan sighed, “I know. Let’s have a drink.”
He reassured himself that he wasn’t guilty of keeping the truth from Su Zhan, because he was the one who missed all his hints.
They ordered wine to their room and drank their fill. Soon, one of them fell asleep on the couch while the other started snoring on the bed.
It was only until the evening on the next day that they woke up. After washing up, they checked out of the hotel and booked a flight heading to their home country.
Meanwhile, after spending a night at a hotel near Country Y’s airport, Zong Jinghao boarded an airplane early in the morning and landed at C City in Country Z at four in the afternoon.
The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, but the heat was quite bearable.
Normally, he wouldn’t have to worry about anything because he didn’t have to plan his schedule personally. However, he didn’t bring anything with him except for his phone and wallet because he was in a hurry. He looked quite disheveled with sweat soaking through his white shirt. With his coat hanging on his right arm, he struggled to make his way across the crowded airport.
He finally found a taxi and set off to the address Qin Ya gave him.
After half an hour, the driver stopped at the entrance to Yongjing Residence, which was decorated with a huge stone slab with the words ‘Yongjing Residence’ engraved on it. A few security guards were patrolling at the entrance. As soon as Zong Jinghao paid the driver and got off, he found himself standing rooted to the ground instead.
What am I going to say to her? How am I going to show myself?
Suddenly, he wasn’t sure about meeting Lin Xinyan anymore. As long as Wen Qing’s problem wasn’t solved, he couldn’t show up in front of Lin Xinyan.
Ironically, that was when he realized why Lin Xinyan had to leave him.
If she hadn’t, it would be equally tormenting for both of them to stay together but not having anything to say to each other.
It was better to stay apart and reminisce their time together.
“Mommy, when is Aunt Yanyan coming back?” Zong Yanxi asked. Ever since Qin Ya changed her appearance and her name, the two kids became well-accustomed to calling her that.
Lin Xinyan left the embroidery studio to pick up her kids from kindergarten. On their way home, they walked along a shady lane to the supermarket nearby to get dumpling skin and meat because Zong Yanchen and Zong Yanxi had been craving for dumplings. The kids were holding hands while walking down the pavement with their bags jiggling behind their back.
“She’ll be back soon, perhaps by tomorrow.” Lin Xinyan just received a call from Qin Ya. She still had some business matters to deal with, hence the delay in her return.
After grocery shopping, they headed home. As they reached the neighborhood, Zong Jinghao recognized Lin Xinyan’s voice. He turned around and saw her with their kids.
Yanchen was wearing a white shirt, khaki pants, and a pair of matching white sneakers, while Yanxi wore a pink laced dress and a pair of sandals embedded with rhinestones on which looked cute with her white chubby legs. The display of the sibling affection through holding hands made Zong Jinghao smile.
The kids looked quite the same since the last time he saw them. He noticed from the way Yanxi stepped on fallen leaves that the little girl’s footsteps were still a little wobbly.
Lin Xinyan was wearing a chiffon dress with a butterfly knot tied around her waist. Her bump had started showing, and the fact that she was facing the wind when she walked made her round belly more obvious. The way the shopping bags hung on her slim arms was mesmerizing, and when she smiled lovingly at the kids in front of her, she was positively glowing like a goddess.
