Chapter 84: Picking Someone Up

Fan Xia hung up the phone and took a sip of the hangover soup. Her fuzzy, swollen brain seemed to clear up a bit.

“Fan elder sister, how are you feeling? Does your head still hurt? Let me massage it for you.” As he spoke, Gu Jin Yi sat down beside her. The soft bed sank slightly under his weight. His hand reached up, with long, strong fingers from playing basketball, distinct knuckles, and skin as white and tender as green onions. Just as his fingertips were about to touch Fan Xia’s temple, she pretended to lean back slightly, avoiding his touch.

“No need, I feel much better after drinking the hangover soup.” She rubbed her messy long hair and lifted the blanket to get out of bed.

Gu Jin Yi’s eyes showed disappointment, but his lips quickly curled up again: “I’m glad Fan elder sister likes the hangover soup I made.”

Fan Xia paused while getting dressed, turning back to look at him in surprise, and asked, “You made this for me?”

“Yes, I asked my dad to teach me how to make it.” Gu Jin Yi smiled sweetly.

Fan Xia didn’t know what to say for a moment, and could only thank him: “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” When Gu Jin Yi smiled, his crescent moon eyes were misty, like a moon half-hidden by moist fog in the water: “Fan elder sister, you work hard outside, and still have to go out drinking for social occasions at night. It’s only right that I make you some hangover soup. But this is my first time making it, my skills probably aren’t as good as brother-in-law’s.”

“No, your cooking skills are very good,” Fan Xia said.

“Really?” Gu Jin Yi’s face lit up with delight: “Even better than brother-in-law’s? I thought since he’s your husband, Fan elder sister, he must often make hangover soup for you and should be very good at it.”

“He doesn’t often make hangover soup,” Fan Xia said, smoothing out the slightly wrinkled collar of her coat.

“Why not?” Gu Jin Yi stood up and asked: “Is it because… is it because Fan elder sister comes home late from social engagements, so brother-in-law makes it for you?”

Gu Jin Yi paused for a moment, then said: “Fan elder sister, don’t think badly of brother-in-law. He’s pregnant, his body is heavy, and it’s normal for him to sleep deeply at night and not know when you come back. Unlike me…”

Gu Jin Yi’s moist crescent moon eyes looked at Fan Xia shyly and timidly: “I’m a light sleeper, I can hear even the slightest sound.”

“Actually, I have a good alcohol tolerance. Usually, I just drink some glucose water when I get home. Getting this drunk is a first for me,” Fan Xia smiled slightly, ruffling Gu Jin Yi’s hair as she said, “But it’s nice of you to speak up for your brother-in-law. He would be very happy if he knew.”

With that, Fan Xia opened the door and walked out. Gu Jin Yi’s shy and timid expression instantly faded. He forced a smile to himself and followed her out.

Li Zhou was watching TV in the living room. Middle-aged men like him didn’t have many hobbies, and he had few friends. His only pastimes were watching soap operas and worrying about his son’s lifelong happiness.

Seeing Gu Jin Yi force a smile as he followed Fan Xia out of the room, Li Zhou knew there had been no progress between him and Fan Xia.

A faint disappointment flashed in Li Zhou’s eyes. He thought his son was just too kind-hearted and didn’t dare to be aggressive. If only he could learn from Rong Xiu’s approach when he first came into power, sticking close to Wen Lan Sheng’s face and brazenly seducing Fan Xia, she would have been won over long ago. Why was it taking so long?

“Little Xia, you’re awake,” Li Zhou’s mind was active, smiling as he invited Fan Xia to come and sit.

“Uncle Li,” Fan Xia sat down beside him.

Li Zhou asked with concern: “Does your head still hurt? I was so scared when Jin Yi brought you home drunk yesterday. How did you get so drunk?”

Fan Xia smiled: “My head doesn’t hurt anymore. It was actually my first time, and Jin Yi happened to run into me.”

“Ah, it’s not easy for you to support the family. You work so hard entertaining outside, the people at home should at least be considerate,” Li Zhou said, his words carrying hidden meaning.

“Rong Xiu is very good. He waits up for me to come home every night before going to sleep. Last night was just an exception,” Fan Xia said with a smile.

Seeing how Fan Xia defended Rong Xiu in her words, Li Zhou knew that if he kept harping on this issue, it would only make her resist. So he didn’t continue and changed the subject: “Speaking of coincidences, yesterday when I went back to the old house to sort through some old things, I actually saw a familiar face. Little Xia, guess who it was?”

Fan Xia shook her head: “I don’t know.”

Li Zhou said: “It was Wen Lan Sheng.”

“…Him?” The smile at the corners of Fan Xia’s mouth froze slightly. After her revenge had succeeded, she had completely put Wen Lan Sheng out of her mind. Hearing those three familiar words again felt like a lifetime ago.

“Yes, I don’t know why he was wandering around there. Since we moved away, that place has become completely desolate with no one living there. I was finishing up tidying when it was already getting dark. If I hadn’t turned on my flashlight, I might not have seen him.”

“He was hunched over, walking back and forth in the water canal by the highway, as if looking for something. It was so cold, and he was wearing very little. His body was shaking from the cold as he stood in the water.”

Although Li Zhou said this, he showed no sympathy: “It’s really satisfying when you think about it. Back then, when Wen Ming Yue killed someone in a car accident, not only did their whole family cover up for her, but they also worked together to deceive you. Over the years, they’ve tried every way to squeeze money out of you, and Wen Lan Sheng was no less involved. His current situation is all his own doing. He deserves it!”

Sitting beside Fan Xia, Gu Jin Yi’s hand on the sofa intentionally or unintentionally touched the hem of her skirt as he asked: “Isn’t Wen Lan Sheng living with his father and sister?”

Li Zhou laughed: “Not at all. I asked around, and now only Wen Jing and Xie Cen are renting a run-down house together. Xie Cen injured his back and can’t do heavy work. Every day he just wanders around the vegetable market, picking up vegetable leaves that the vendors don’t want to make porridge. That porridge is so thin, tsk tsk tsk, it’s like soup.”

“Wen Jing is even worse, lazy and without ambition. When she runs out of money, she goes to work for a day, gets paid 100 or 200 yuan in cash, and then rests for two or three days. She doesn’t care if her father has food to eat or if he’ll starve to death.”

“Xie Cen, who used to spoil Wen Jing so much, raised her to be greedy and selfish. Now he’s reaping what he sowed. As for Wen Lan Sheng, I guess he’s trying to avoid Wen Jing and the others. I don’t know exactly what he’s doing, but people nearby say that if you hear the sound of water splashing near the highway canal late at night, that’s Wen Lan Sheng there.”

Gu Jin Yi asked in confusion: “It’s so cold in winter, the water in the canal is like ice, frighteningly cold. Why does he insist on going into the water? Is he looking for something? What could be so important?”

Li Zhou said: “I guess he must have hidden money there before, otherwise he wouldn’t be so anxious. What do you think, Little Xia?”

Fan Xia smiled faintly, her eyes as cold and clear as the moon: “I’m not sure either.”

Li Zhou said with certainty: “Then it must be hidden money. It must have been taken by someone. He must have saved some private money from all the money he took from you over the years. After someone discovered and took it, he can’t accept it, so he keeps searching over and over.”

Fan Xia looked at the snowflakes piling up on the clear glass of the window, blurred by the warm air inside, melting into a hazy white. She couldn’t help but think of that night when she took off her ring and threw it towards the canal, and Wen Lan Sheng’s desperate dive into the water.

Perhaps he was looking for that ring.

But for Fan Xia now, whatever Wen Lan Sheng was looking for, whether he lived or died, none of it mattered anymore. She didn’t want to see Wen Lan Sheng’s face again, nor did she want to recall the miserable life of the past dozen years.

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang.

“It must be Rong Xiu,” Fan Xia immediately stood up to open the door.

Rong Xiu stood at the door, the thin snow on his coat shoulders not yet fully melted, his face pale from the cold, his eye sockets and the tip of his nose flushed as if scraped by a knife: “Fan Xia—”

As the door opened, the warm air from inside mingled with the cold wind on his body, dissolving into a faint white mist.

“I’m here.” Fan Xia’s warm palm touched his face, trying to warm up his cheeks that had been invaded by the cold wind: “I got drunk last night and couldn’t come home. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Rong Xiu shook his head, his deep eyes filled with a soft, faint blackness. His cheek gently rubbed against her palm, like a little kitten anxiously waiting for its owner to come home, feeling wronged yet unable to stop acting coquettishly: “It’s my fault. I didn’t think it through. I should have had the driver follow you.”

“Is this Rong Xiu? Little Xia’s husband? He’s even more handsome than in the photos,” Li Zhou said with a smile, as if an invisible hand had cut off the tender affection in Rong Xiu’s eyes.

He warmly grabbed Rong Xiu’s hand: “It must be very cold outside, you’re still radiating cold. Don’t stand out there, come in and sit down, warm up a bit.”

Rong Xiu was pulled in by Li Zhou’s enthusiastic greeting. He didn’t like such intimate contact with others, but in front of Fan Xia, Rong Xiu endured it.

“Here, have a cup of hot tea to warm up,” Li Zhou poured him a cup of clear tea.

“Thank you,” Rong Xiu bent down to accept it.

The room was very warm. Rong Xiu took off his heavy coat, revealing a loose, high-necked black sweater. He was naturally long-necked and had naturally fair skin. Wearing a turtleneck sweater not only didn’t make his neck look short, but it accentuated the elegant curve of his neck, giving him an outstanding air.

He took a light sip, his thin lips moistened by the tea, looking moist and full. His whole person appeared even more radiant.

Li Zhou stared intently at Rong Xiu’s face. The more cheerful his expression became, the more his heart sank.

Usually when men are pregnant, not only does their weight skyrocket, but their hands and feet also swell, and in severe cases, they develop spots on their face.

If a pregnant man deliberately eats poorly during pregnancy to maintain his figure, giving all the nutrients to the fetus, the pregnant man’s face will collapse, looking haggard and old.

But if a pregnant man eats too well during pregnancy, his face will become rounder, not only developing a double chin, but even a triple chin. Even the most handsome man will become fat and bloated during pregnancy, which is why so many women have affairs during their husbands’ pregnancies.

But as Li Zhou looked at Rong Xiu’s visibly pregnant belly, already over five months along, why hadn’t his figure changed at all, unlike most pregnant men who would have started to gain weight and lose their looks by now?

Although his belly was growing, his limbs were still slender, and those hands holding the teacup were long and perfect. Even more frustratingly, not only was there not a trace of sagging on his face, but he actually looked more beautiful than in the photos of him before pregnancy that had been exposed online. He had even added a touch of mature, calm charm of a married man.