Yu Muzhou sat by the window for a long time. He watched Qin Shuangchi and Ji Qingyou get into the car. He watched the car Qin Shuangchi was driving drive away, slowly shrinking into a tiny dot, until it disappeared from his sight.
Infinite regret mixed with the relief that everything was over.
Half and half. They consumed him.
He thought Qin Shuangchi would slap him again, just like Yu Qinjiu had done this afternoon.
He had just gotten out of his car this afternoon when he saw Yu Qinjiu standing in front of him again. He wanted to explain something to her. But before he could speak, Yu Qinjiu slapped him hard across the face.
On the day he told her he was an illegitimate son, Yu Qinjiu hadn’t slapped him that hard.
He reacted, feeling a burning pain on his cheek.
Yu Qinjiu stood in front of him, looking at him with an expression he had never seen before. Hatred. Coldness. Sadness…
As if he had stolen her life. Stolen her most precious ten years.
Yu Qinjiu stared at him, her tone quiet, but carrying a hint of mockery. “You even have to learn that from him. No wonder you’re only fit to be an illegitimate son.”
After being slapped, after being called an illegitimate son to his face, after being stared at by all the curious onlookers. Yu Muzhou’s first reaction wasn’t anger. It was confusion. Because even ten years ago, Yu Qinjiu had never hated him this much. She would never appear in front of him. She would only take a detour when she saw him.
To be fair.
Maybe he had been tormented by guilt for too long. Yu Muzhou had really hoped at that moment that Yu Qinjiu would just slap him like this. At least it would make him feel a little better.
But Yu Qinjiu hadn’t done it then. Not even Lin Yingxiang had.
Why was Yu Qinjiu willing to see him now? In a daze, he stared at the hatred in her eyes. He suddenly remembered that Ji Qingyou had been injured yesterday.
The scene had been too chaotic. A piece of glass had cut Ji Qingyou’s face.
A little blood. Not serious. But it was enough to make Yu Qinjiu care.
Like before everything changed, Yu Muzhou remembered a junior telling him that his sister, Yu Qinjiu, had picked up a stool and gone to find someone who had spoken ill of Ji Qingyou, forcing them to apologize to her. He also remembered that from a very young age, Yu Qinjiu had gotten into several fights with people who bullied Ji Qingyou.
Now, it was the same.
Yu Qinjiu, who was unwilling to see him, appeared before him again. It couldn’t be because his secret was out. It was probably just because Ji Qingyou had been hurt because of him.
Whenever it involved Ji Qingyou.
Yu Qinjiu always held a grudge.
Thinking this, he smiled bitterly. “I thought you wouldn’t want to see me anymore.”
“I really don’t.” Yu Qinjiu put her hands in her pockets, pinching her fingertips to calm herself down, meeting his gaze. “But I really didn’t expect you to do something like this. Before I went abroad, you knelt in front of me and my mom. You looked half-dead. You kept promising us, over and over, that you would never do anything to wrong anyone. You begged us not to tell anyone you were an illegitimate son. You asked us to give you and Sister Qin a chance. You asked me, for Sister Qin’s sake, to let you be together. My mom and I felt sorry for you. We didn’t tell anyone…”
“And now?”
“Have you done right by Sister Qin? Have you done right by me and my mom? Have you done right by Aunt Qin? Have you done right by your mother, who has endured humiliation for love, working as a nanny all these years?”
After saying this, Yu Qinjiu’s voice trembled. She was about to continue when another person got out of the car. Gu Xi, dressed in a fancy outfit, couldn’t take it anymore. She walked over, pointing her finger at her. “I’ve put up with you for so many years. Now you’re running your mouth outside…”
Before she could finish.
She was also slapped on the face. She held her cheek, stunned, only to see Lin Yingxiang standing there expressionlessly. She flinched, almost falling over.
Yu Muzhou was standing right beside her, but he didn’t even help her. He just stared blankly at Lin Yingxiang, who had appeared. “Mom…”
“Brat, who are you calling Mom!” Gu Xi finally managed to steady herself, only to be so angry she almost fainted again at his words.
Lin Yingxiang walked over and slapped Yu Muzhou hard across the face. She held Yu Qinjiu’s trembling hand, a look of heartache in her eyes. But her tone, when facing Yu Muzhou, was still very calm.
“Don’t call me Mom. I’m embarrassed. I taught you for so many years, and you still can’t change your habit of eating shit. Your genetics really are too strong.”
Gu Xi’s eyes widened.
Lin Yingxiang stared back at her, her expression tense. It seemed like if Gu Xi dared to say another word, she would slap her again without hesitation. “Tell Yu Cheng that if any of you dare to show up in front of my daughter again, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Gu Xi shrank behind Yu Muzhou, wanting to say something else, but Yu Muzhou pulled her back.
Yu Muzhou was silent for a moment. His face, hit twice, was slowly beginning to swell. He smiled. Suddenly, he felt his weary life had reached its end. His identity as an illegitimate son was known by the company. His life was now bound to Yu Cheng and Gu Xi, who he didn’t want to accept. He was tied tightly to his biological mother, an identity he didn’t want. He could only be pointed at and gossiped about.
His kneeling, begging, and the life he had struggled to maintain for so many years.
Had come to an end.
In the end, he said nothing. He just twitched the corner of his mouth, bowed to Lin Yingxiang, and dragged the struggling Gu Xi away, leaving behind one sentence.
“We will never bother you again.”
As these words ended, he finally, sadly, accepted the fact that he was an illegitimate son.
After Yu Muzhou and Gu Xi had gone.
Lin Yingxiang’s furrowed brow relaxed. But when she saw the somewhat stunned look in Yu Qinjiu’s eyes, her heart immediately jumped. “What’s wrong? Did I scare you?”
“No.” Yu Qinjiu shook her head slowly, taking Lin Yingxiang’s arm and resting her head on her shoulder. It was as if she had found a stable landing point. She let out a very slow breath.
“It’s just… I think my mom is so cool.”
Lin Yingxiang froze. Her heart, which had been in her throat, relaxed. Her tone became light. “Is she? That cool? Cooler than you?”
“Yeah. Super cool. Cooler than me.” Yu Qinjiu nodded on her shoulder. The wind lifted her scarf, exposing her neck for a moment. She stiffened, quickly pulled her scarf back up to cover her neck, as if she was afraid Lin Yingxiang would notice. She added, “I love my mom the most.”
The wind was still blowing. Her voice sounded a little unsteady.
Lin Yingxiang watched her movements. Her eyes were a little red. But she still looked down to hide it. She tightened the scarf around Yu Qinjiu’s neck, stroked her shoulder, and said,
“But Mommy hopes you love yourself the most, baby.”
Yu Qinjiu rested her head on her shoulder. After a long silence, she emphasized each word. “Mommy can love herself the most. That’s fine. But I have to love Mommy the most.”
After she said it, she murmured softly, word by word.
“Because Mommy only has me left.”
—
After separating from Yu Muzhou, Ji Qingyou and Qin Shuangchi went home. The moment she saw Qin Bailan, Qin Shuangchi hid in her arms and cried her heart out.
Qin Bailan must have been waiting at home for a long time. She was so anxious she hadn’t even eaten. She just hugged Qin Shuangchi and cried with her, cursing Yu Muzhou as a bastard.
It reminded Ji Qingyou of the day she came back from London. She was lying in a hospital bed, weak from an allergic reaction, struggling to breathe, unable to utter a single sound.
Qin Bailan had held her like that too, protecting her, as if she wanted to shed all her tears. If she could, Ji Qingyou believed she would have given her own life for her.
From that day on, she had decided to protect Qin Bailan.
When she came out of Qin Bailan’s house again, it was already dark.
As she passed the decorated streets, she saw lanterns hanging from the trees on both sides. There was a particularly prosperous-looking street around the corner. Crowds of people were bustling about, with shadows of lights flickering.
Then Ji Qingyou remembered that today was the Lantern Festival.
Groups of people were huddled together on the road. Bustling music played. It seemed like everyone walking on the street had someone to walk with.
A child carrying a lollipop passed in front of her, bumping into her by accident, and called her “Sister.”
She stopped. She suddenly felt very tired. She wanted to ask Yu Qinjiu where she was. She wanted to know if Yu Qinjiu had chosen a suitable scarf. She wanted to know if Yu Qinjiu was feeling any better. She wanted to send her the scarves she had ordered so she could choose… But when she saw Yu Qinjiu’s message saying she had picked up her mother, she deleted all the words she had typed.
Yu Qinjiu must be very busy right now. She had to arrange everything for Lin Yingxiang and Brittany, who hadn’t been back in a long time. She also had to tidy up the furniture in the house. Ji Qingyou had just heard from Qin Bailan that Lin Yingxiang would probably be staying for a while.
At least she could breathe a little easier. Things didn’t have to be so rushed. She didn’t have to worry so much about Yu Qinjiu being alone here.
At least now, the most important person to Yu Qinjiu wasn’t her.
She exited the chat window.
She opened her chat with Ji Xiruan, planning to invite her for some late-night BBQ.
She had just finished typing when.
A strong gust of wind blew past, lifting the hem of her coat and the hair on her forehead. A cute little car stopped in front of her. A cute person jumped out of it very adorably, closing the door with a neat motion.
Under the colorful lights, she approached, bringing a gentle breeze with her. She stopped in front of her. Her expression was soft, and she smiled at her, vivid and beautiful.
She was wearing the thick coat Ji Qingyou had worn before. She raised her hand, gently patted her head, and said,
“Hey, beautiful doctor, want to run away with me?”
