“I have a document for you. Shall I send it to your office or do you want to come and get it?” Qin Ya’s voice came over.
In fact, until now, Qin Ya did not know why he had suddenly asked Su Zhan to come and take the children.
Nor did she know that he had gone to Baicheng.
“What is it?” Zong Jinghao looked out of the window. According to the location sent by Cheng Yuwen, the direction he was heading looked less and less like a place with a hospital.
“It’s an express parcel. The recipient is Lin Xinyan but there is no sender’s name or return address. After Ms. Lin read it, she asked me to pass it to you. I don’t know what it is.” Then she immediately explained, “She must have noticed something was amiss when you suddenly asked Su Zhan to come for the children.”
Zong Jinghao knew Lin Xinyan would definitely be alert when Su Zhan appeared at her home. He thought of Shen Peichuan, who had sent him a message saying Wen Qing’s case would conclude in a few days.
He estimated that on his return from Baicheng, Wen Qing would have been sentenced.
“Keep it at your place. Pass it to me when I come over.”
He would be in Baicheng only for a while and he still had to go back after meeting Zong Qifeng. Since he was not in B City now, it was pointless for the document to be sent to his office.
“That is great. Just contact me when you are back here.”
“Is there a hospital in the area?” Su Zhan was driving. He then glanced at the back. “This place seems familiar.”
On the phone, Qin Ya heard Su Zhan’s voice in the background and so she quickly said, “If that’s all, I’m hanging up.”
Zong Jinghao kept his mobile phone. Much earlier, he had already realized that this place seemed to be where Lin Xinyan had learned to produce Tea Silk.
“Go according to the location we were given.” Seemingly, Zong Qifeng was not in a hospital.
After driving along the paved road for a while, they soon saw a huge house constructed with unique architecture inside a magnificent courtyard.
“What place is this?” Su Zhan was puzzled.
“This is Grandma’s home.” Zong Yanchen said. Lin Xinyan had brought him and his sister here, so he recognized the place.
Su Zhan glanced back at him then shifted his gaze to Zong Jinghao. It was obvious that the Grandma mentioned by Zong Yanchen was Cheng Yuxiu. So, this was the Cheng family home?
There was not much change in Zong Jinghao’s facial expression. If he felt anything, he must have hidden it quite well.
The car stopped in front of the yard. He pushed open the car door and got down. He had been here before. The two children could not help being overjoyed at revisiting this old place as they got out of the car.
“Is Grandpa here?” Zong Yanxi asked.
“He should be.” When Zong Qifeng came to Baicheng, he probably stayed at the Cheng family home.
Cheng Yuwen came out of the house and saw the children. Immediately, he quickened his pace. “Hey, you two are also here.”
“We are here to see Grandpa,” the kids replied in unison.
“Great, great, great!” It was obvious that Cheng Yuwen was overjoyed as he said “great” three times.
Now that the truth was out and Zong Jinghao could bring the kids into the Cheng family home, he was very emotional.
Feeling extremely happy, he raised his head to look at Zong Jinghao but saw that the latter did not feel the same way he did. Zong Jinghao still looked as aloof as usual.
He felt his smile fading away but when he looked at the two kids, the smile returned to his face. “Come on in, everybody.”
Going up the steps, crossing over the threshold and entering the courtyard, Su Zhan looked around and let out a sigh.
Just by looking at this building, one could conclude that the Cheng family was well-to-do and had a lot of power in its heyday. This kind of building was more like an ancestral home with a rich history. Nowadays, few families could preserve such a huge building so well.
“Wow, my big goose swing is still there.” Entering the yard, Zong Yanxi let go of her father’s hand and ran towards the swing under the tree.
Zong Jinghao looked at his daughter. The last time we came to Baicheng, Lin Xinyan took them out under some pretext. She must have come here and found out about all the secrets.
“Your dad is in that room and he is waiting for you inside. He wants to see you but he is afraid that you will not come, so he asked me to tell you he’s sick and hospitalized,” Cheng Yuwen explained.
When Zong Jinghao realized that the road was not leading to a hospital, he had already guessed the truth. Softly, he said, “Su Zhan, you keep an eye on these two.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here,” Cheng Yuwen quickly replied. This was the Cheng family home. Now that the kids were here, he was responsible for their safety.
It was not that Zong Jinghao did not trust him. They had not spent time together and they did not develop a close relationship. Subconsciously, he preferred Su Zhan.
Su Zhan nodded at him. “You go on in.”
Zong Jinghao grunted in reply.
Cheng Yuwen felt a little disappointed; he let out a soft sigh. Su Zhan made an excuse for Zong Jinghao, “Don’t mind him. That’s his character.”
“Sit down.” Cheng Yuwen avoided the topic. Under the tree were wicker chairs and a table with a kettle and cups. He poured a cup of water for Su Zhan. “You must be tired driving such a long way.”
Su Zhan told him it was not that bad a drive.
Meanwhile, Zong Jinghao walked into the room. The furnishings in the house looked like a girl’s boudoir. In front of the window, Zong Qifeng sat on a rocking chair with a thin blanket covering his legs. His hair, which was black when he was young, now looked like the first snow in the winter. The snowy-white hair covered his head as wrinkles on his face told the stories of his past.
“You’re here.” Zong Qifeng said without turning around.
Zong Jinghao did not reply but walked quietly up to him. Since he asked for me, he must have something to say.
At this moment, he would rather be a listener.
Zong Jinghao stood in front of the window looking at the woods outside. The area was full of different hues of green trees with lush foliage, which provided large areas of shade, creating mottled patterns of light and shadow on the ground.
“You should know what this place is.” Zong Qifeng never lifted his eyes and his eyelids drooped slightly. Then, he sighed deeply, “I have a lot of regrets in my life. I hope you won’t repeat my mistakes and regret too late after losing what is most precious to you.”
His voice was low and sounded of endless desolation.
His life, when he examined it carefully in retrospect, was like a joke. It seemed like he had not wronged anyone but due to his indecisiveness, many things happened which should not have.
He knew early on that Wen Xian was in love with someone. If he had decisively rejected the marriage, things would not have happened the way they turned out.
“She married me because of you. All these years, we looked like a happily married couple but I never knew if she ever loved me.”
After all, she and Bai Hongfei were in love before and they were each other’s first love. For this reason, Bai Hongfei did not marry for life. This was a rare kind of love. If not for a third party who came in, perhaps they would have married and grown old together like an ordinary couple.
He had always minded that Bai Hongfei was her first love. Even as he came to understand his own feelings later, he never expressed his love for Cheng Yuxiu.
It was only after she had left that he regretted his actions.
He did not want his son to do anything regretful because of the wrongs of the previous generation.
He said earnestly, “I think, with her love for you, she must hope that you are happy. What she did was not for revenge or to hurt the person she loves. You are not a child; you must understand your own heart.”
“I wanted to prevent it. I wanted you to marry the girl from the He family to prevent you from uncovering the truth in the future. I never thought that after going around in a big circle that you would be back to square one. There was no escape. Maybe it’s just fate.”
