Chapter 4.2

His lack of concern made Yue Lin smile despite her frustration. She tried to hide her amusement and gently patted his shoulder, signaling him to stop being mischievous. When Zhou Jingyu was eighteen, he was sent to France by the old man and hadn’t returned for ten years. Yue Lin and everyone else had thought the old man had completely given up on Zhou Jingyu. During those ten years, Yue Lin did her best to prevent Zhou Jiayi from having any further connection with Zhou Jingyu. But unexpectedly, when the old man fell seriously ill, he quietly brought Zhou Jingyu back and handed over the entire family business to him, catching everyone off guard.

Now, getting Zhou Jingxi to interact more with Zhou Jingyu wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Yue Lin beckoned Zhou Jingxi over, and he, understanding her unspoken message, leaned in. Under Zhou Jiayi’s nose, Yue Lin whispered, “Your brother just left. He went to have breakfast with Grandpa.”

Zhou Jingxi was immediately disappointed. He couldn’t bring himself to follow his brother to have breakfast with their grandfather. Even his most respected brother couldn’t persuade him to do so. He had always been a mischievous child, but he held a deep respect and fear for his grandfather. Whenever his grandfather was present, he wouldn’t dare make a sound.

Yue Lin continued, “Your brother also mentioned that he found a place to live and plans to move out in a few days.”

That couldn’t be right!

His brother had only just agreed to stay and live with them! Zhou Jingxi was very busy, always flying here and there. Since last year, he had spent so little time here that it could be counted on one hand, and now he was moving out again so soon?

Zhou Jingxi grew anxious and asked his mother, “What? My brother isn’t going to live with us anymore? Why?”

His cluelessness about the situation was frustrating to Yue Lin. Why? Because living under the same roof with someone with whom there was no emotional connection wasn’t pleasant for anyone.

Zhou Jingyu didn’t like it, and Yue Lin didn’t like it either. She wished Zhou Jingyu would move out as soon as possible.

Moreover, she was an outsider. Although she could choose not to fight, her son, Zhou Jingxi, was also a Zhou, a grandson of Zhou Donghai. Why should everything go to Zhou Jingyu while her son received nothing? Zhou’s family wealth must include a share for her son, Zhou Jingxi!

Her son, being so naive, cared only about his brother and didn’t understand the complexities of family and inheritance. He would only understand these matters in a few years.

Despite her tangled thoughts, she always presented herself as the best mother in front of Zhou Jingxi. With a helpless look, she feigned concern and sighed, “How would I know? Maybe he just can’t get used to living here. As for where he’ll live in the future, as his stepmother, I can’t interfere too much. You’re the closest to him in this family. Maybe you should ask him yourself? We can’t just let him move to some random place without knowing. It wouldn’t be good to explain it to your grandfather!”

Hearing this, Zhou Jiayi, who had been listening, shouted, “Explain? What is there to explain? Even if he dies outside, it’s none of our concern!”

Zhou Jingxi found his father’s reaction unreasonable, like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, lashing out at anyone nearby. He tugged at his mother’s sleeve and whispered, “Mom, can you handle him?”

He pointed upstairs and said, “I’m going up now!”

He started to head upstairs.

Zhou Jiayi was extremely displeased with Zhou Jingxi’s actions. He turned to Yue Lin, unable to understand the situation, and angrily pointed upstairs, “What’s going on? Why is everyone running off without eating? Does just looking at food fill you up?”

*

The drive to the nursing home took about twenty minutes. When Zhou Jingyu entered Zhou Donghai’s room, a caregiver was feeding him.

Zhou Donghai had come from humble beginnings. In his youth, he had washed dishes, sold goods on the street, and worked as a dock laborer. He built his fortune from scratch, creating a commercial legend admired by many. His life was filled with remarkable stories, and he used to be decisive and commanding.

Yet now, in his old age, even using a spoon was a struggle.

Time is fair to everyone, whether in poverty or wealth.

Zhou Jingyu approached and took the bowl and spoon from the caregiver’s hands.

“You’re here,” Zhou Donghai said with a smile upon seeing him.

At 85 years old, Zhou Donghai’s face was lined with wrinkles, and he had been bedridden for nearly a year. His muscles had atrophied, and his body was weak and frail.

Sometimes, when Zhou Jingyu visited, Zhou Donghai was asleep, and Zhou Jingyu couldn’t help but check his breathing, fearing he might have passed away quietly.

Zhou Donghai was perceptive. To avoid showing his worry about Zhou Donghai’s condition, Zhou Jingyu forced a smile and nodded.

He then began feeding Zhou Donghai.

As long as he was in Lingcheng, he would frequently visit Zhou Donghai, at irregular times—sometimes in the morning, sometimes at noon, in the afternoon, or even late at night.

Zhou Donghai knew that among his many children, Zhou Jingyu was the most filial. And Zhou Jingyu was also the most concerned about him.

Zhou Donghai was aware of his limited time left. Before he passed, he hoped to see his beloved grandson have his own family, marry, and be happy.

“How have you thought about what Grandpa mentioned last time?” Zhou Donghai asked.

Only in front of Zhou Donghai did Zhou Jingyu show a hint of emotion.

He knew that if he refused, Zhou Donghai would be very disappointed. However, he truly had no thoughts about marriage and having children at the moment.

When Zhou Donghai brought up the topic of marriage, Zhou Jingyu remained silent, neither agreeing nor refusing.

At three years old, after his mother’s death, Zhou Donghai had taken Zhou Jingyu under his wing and raised him personally, knowing him inside out. Seeing Zhou Jingyu’s silent protest, he understood that this was a form of quiet resistance.

But Zhou Donghai was a stubborn man. He wasn’t about to give up easily. “Yesterday, I gave your WeChat contact to that young lady. She’s twenty-four this year. I’ve met her before. She’s not only well-educated but also quite attractive. She’s a good match for you. You’re twenty-eight now, and you’ll be thirty in a couple of years. It’s time for you to settle down. Plus, I heard she also studied in France and graduated from the same university as you. You two have a connection. Anyway, I’ve given her your WeChat. If she adds you, don’t refuse. Talk to her a bit. You never know, you might develop feelings.”

“This is the one wish I have left unfulfilled. Just consider it as helping me achieve it. Make it happen.”

With Zhou Donghai putting it this way, Zhou Jingyu had no choice but to nod and agree. “…Alright.”

After spending only a short time in the ward—Zhou Donghai was easily fatigued now, sleeping more than he was awake—Zhou Jingyu prepared to leave for work.

Before he left, he said to Zhou Donghai, “Grandpa, in a few days, I’ll be moving to a different place.”

The address issue again. He had been summoned back to Lingcheng abruptly last year when Zhou Donghai fell seriously ill. Zhou Donghai had always been a man of strong will and desire for a harmonious family. Although Zhou Jingyu could have avoided living with Zhou Jiayi and his family, fulfilling even a small wish of his grandfather was something he felt he should do.

However, he could only do so much. Starting this year, his work and life focus would shift entirely to domestic matters. Living with Zhou’s family in Lingcheng for extended periods just wouldn’t be suitable.

Zhou Donghai, already half-closed eyes, opened them again at the mention of moving. His eyes no longer had their previous clarity as they looked at Zhou Jingyu. After a long pause, he sighed, “Fine. Live wherever you want.”

On the way to the company, Zhou Jingyu found himself reflecting on the past year and Zhou Donghai’s words. Normally, he wouldn’t spend time reminiscing. He was a forward-looking person, always focused on his goals.

Sticking to his promise, Zhou Jingyu took out his phone and opened WeChat, which he had only used to answer two international calls so far that day.

When he opened the app, he saw that there were indeed two new friend requests, not just one as his grandfather had mentioned.

Why two? Wasn’t it supposed to be only one?

Zhou Jingyu wouldn’t bother asking Zhou Donghai about it. Perhaps Zhou Donghai had given out two contacts but only remembered mentioning one.

After all, his grandfather was eager for him to get married, so introducing him to two potential matches wasn’t surprising.

One request had a cat avatar, and the other had a selfie. Zhou Jingyu had no particular preference for female beauty, as it all came down to personal preference for him.

Since he had kept a cat while in France, which had been his companion through many lonely times, his instinct led him to open the request with the cat avatar first.

The message from this request read, “Senior Brother~”.

The girl Zhou Donghai mentioned was likely this one. Calling him “Senior Brother” was understandable, given they had attended the same university, even though they were in different cohorts.

However, the tilde in her message felt odd to him. He couldn’t quite understand why she phrased it this way.

Zhou Jingyu was reluctant to add any female contacts for matchmaking purposes, but he had promised his grandfather. He had to keep his word.

He hesitated for a moment before clicking “Confirm” on the friend request. As for the other request, he didn’t even look at it before rejecting it.

After all, he had only agreed to add the one his grandfather mentioned. Adding the second one would go against his promise.