Sang Yu shyly lowered her head. Although she was too embarrassed to say it, everyone knew it was a silent agreement.
Lin Xinyan was the first to say, “Congratulations.”
Unable to come back to her senses quickly, Qin Ya belatedly congratulated her. Lin Xinyan was already a mother of three, and now, Sang Yu was going to be a mother.
She and Su Zhan were the only ones without a child. Qin Ya turned to look at him, wanting to know what he was feeling now that he found out Shen Peichuan was going to be a father.
Unexpectedly, he looked calm. However, Su Zhan was the only one who knew he himself had blanked out momentarily before feeling a tinge of envy.
He was envious of them because he was the only one out of the three who could not have children.
However, he was quick to come back to his senses. This was his destiny, and there was nothing to feel envious about. Without children, he and Qin Ya could have the world to themselves. Moreover, childless couples were everywhere. It did not matter if he could not have a child.
Most importantly, he could not let Qin Ya notice his change in mood. He knew how sensitive she was about this, and that was why he had to be considerate of her feelings.
Smiling brightly, he teased, “Shen Peichuan has double the happiness today. A job promotion and a new member of the family. You’re going to be a family of three. Jackpot! For that, I’ll have to make a toast to you.”
With that said, Su Zhan stood up to grab another glass and placed it in front of Shen Peichuan before filling it to the brim. Shen Peichuan had a glass of his own, and he also had Sang Yu’s glass. Now that Su Zhan had poured him another glass, he had a total of three glasses. Raising his glass, Su Zhan said, “A glass for me and three for you.”
Shen Peichuan lifted his head. “Why do you only have a glass when I have three?”
Su Zhan stared at him. “You’re already enjoying double the happiness. Why shouldn’t you drink three? I’m sincerely giving you my blessing, but you don’t want it?”
Shen Peichuan was speechless.
What kind of crappy theory is this?
Fine. Unable to win Su Zhan in the argument, he drank the wine.
When Su Zhan toasted to Shen Peichuan, the former took a sip from his glass while the latter downed his. On the second toast, Su Zhan took another sip while Shen Peichuan downed his again. On the third toast, Su Zhan then finished the last of his wine as Shen Peichuan finished his too.
After putting down the glass, Su Zhan promptly filled Shen Peichuan’s three glasses to the brim again. He then said to Zong Jinghao and Lin Xinyan, “We’re celebrating for Shen Peichuan today. You two have to give your blessings too.”
Shen Peichuan looked at the glasses in front of him before shooting Su Zhan a glare. “You better hope you won’t land in my hands one day.”
Su Zhan grinned. “I don’t think you’ll get the chance to. Next life, maybe.”
“Be careful. Don’t jinx yourself.”
“I’ve gone through all the obstacles in my life. What I have left are only the good days. As the saying goes, the bitter comes before the sweet. I’ve gone through the bitter, and now it’s time for the sweet. Golden days from now on.” Su Zhan poured a glass for himself and clinked it against Qin Ya’s. “Let’s have a toast.”
Qin Ya gazed at him as her lips curled. She toasted with him.
After putting down his glass, Su Zhan turned toward Lin Xinyan. “Xinyan, hurry up and toast to him. It’s a rare opportunity to get him drunk, and he can’t refuse you too. You won’t get another chance like this.”
Lin Xinyan chuckled. “That’s right. Peichuan is always serious. His love life came late but at the right time. He now has a successful career and a good marriage. It’s worth a celebration.”
She raised her glass and looked at Shen Peichuan. “Congratulations.”
Helpless, Shen Peichuan raised his glass. “Xinyan, why are you doing this too…”
“Stop talking nonsense and drink it. Hurry up.” Su Zhan pressed his palm at the bottom of the glass and forced him to drink it.
The scene made everyone burst into laughter.
The gathering ended in a merry atmosphere. This time, Shen Peichuan drank quite a lot. After Lin Xinyan drank with him, he drank with Zong Jinghao too. Su Zhan then said, “I think I need to make sure you realize I’m sincere about this. Congratulations again.”
Thus, Shen Peichuan was forced to drink another three glasses. He became quite drunk then.
After they called for a driver, Su Zhan and Qin Ya stayed behind, wanting to help Lin Xinyan clean up the place. However, Lin Xinyan told them to go home.
“It’s late. How are you going to clean this all up yourself?” Qin Ya reached out for the boxes, but Lin Xinyan pushed her hands away. “It’s fine. Go back with Su Zhan. I’ll clean up and throw out the trash. After all, I just need to throw these away. I don’t need to wash many plates. Didn’t you say you’re going back to C City? Hurry back and rest.”
“All right then.” Qin Ya could not insist to stay.
In the living room, Zong Jinghao was talking to Su Zhan.
He was telling him to take better care of Shao Yun as the latter was getting old.
Su Zhan nodded in response.
When their driver came, Su Zhan and Qin Ya walked toward the door, but Lin Xinyan stopped them. “Qin Ya. Su Zhan…”
“Anything else, Xinyan?” Su Zhan turned around.
Lin Xinyan wanted to ask him to help take care of the baby. However, Zong Qifeng was sick, and she wanted the child to stay by his side longer, so she said nothing in the end.
“Nothing. Be careful on your way back.”
I’ll tell them when I reach that point.
“All right. We’ll be heading off now.”
Lin Xinyan waved. “Go ahead.”
When they were all gone, silence enveloped the villa. Lin Xinyan was cleaning the table when Zong Jinghao walked over. “I’ll help you.”
She stopped him. “Your hands will become oily.”
Then, she raised her head to look at him. “Do you know how?”
“I can learn.” There was no expression on his face. He had not smiled ever since Zong Qifeng became sick.
She knew he was feeling upset, so she sighed. “Help me throw these to the trash can outside.”
She then put everything into the trash bag before handing it to Zong Jinghao.
It was exceptionally dark tonight; the sky was black as ink.
When Zong Jinghao came back inside, the table was already cleared, and Lin Xinyan was washing the wine glasses by the sink.
He leaned his chest onto her back and wrapped his arms around her waist. All he wanted was to hug her.
Lin Xinyan stayed still after she turned on the faucet, letting the water trickle. She continued to wash the glasses as she murmured, “There are more than golden days to a person’s life. The gloomy days always come unexpectedly. No matter how difficult life is, I’ll be with you.”
She lifted her head, and their proximity made her lashes brush across his eyelids.
Zong Jinghao took the glass away from her hands and turned off the faucet. “Sit with me for a while.”
He pulled her to the living room to sit on the couch. The bright lights lit the room up, making it look as if it was daytime. However, the atmosphere they were in was tense, and the feelings in their hearts were dark and unaffected by the lights.
Meanwhile, Sang Yu and Shen Peichuan reached their house.
Shen Peichuan was drunk, and Sang Yu could not fully support him into the house. Their driver was kind-hearted to help her with him.
After putting Shen Peichuan on the bed, Sang Yu poured the driver a glass of water. “Have a drink before you leave.”
“No thanks, I’m good.” The driver waved and left. After closing the door, Sang Yu filled a pan of water and placed it beside the bed. She then took off Shen Peichuan’s clothes.
In his daze, Shen Peichuan felt as if someone was tugging him.
