"There's nothing I can do. After spending so much time in the hospital, I've seen that most of the sick elderly men have their wives by their side, bringing them tea and water and taking good care of them. But when it comes to sick elderly women, it's mostly their children who are busy taking care of them, while the old men just stand by and watch... I had already given up on the idea of marriage."
She paused, her gaze unconsciously shifting to Qin Peilan and Zhou Qiqi, her tone becoming more serious as she said:
"During my time at your home, seeing Uncle Shen's tenderness towards Aunt Qin and Commander Shen's care for Qiqi really... made me realize that not all men are like that, and there are still good men who are worthy of my trust."
Qin Peilan beamed with joy and immediately offered to do the work:
"Oh! That's great news! What's there to be embarrassed about wanting to find a partner? It's right that you have high standards! You should find a good one! Don't worry! Leave it to me! Tell me which one you like, or what kind you prefer! I'll go find Zhou Shuhua right away. She used to be the women's director of our military region, and she's an expert at matchmaking! Let her help you find someone! I guarantee I'll find you someone you'll be happy with!"
Dr. Chen was touched by Qin Peilan's enthusiasm and relaxed, laughing as he said, half-jokingly and half-seriously:
"Alright! Auntie, then I won't stand on ceremony with you! I'll really have to trouble you and Director Zhou to put in a lot of effort!"
After a few more jokes and laughter, the atmosphere finally eased from its previous tension.
Dr. Wu and Dr. Chen then took their meal tickets and left, chatting and laughing.
Zhou Qiqi had something on her mind and wanted to ask her in-laws more questions, but Qin Peilan just said that it was getting late and they would be late if they didn't cook soon.
She hurriedly pulled Shen Zhenbang to the kitchen, repeatedly telling her to take good care of Zhouzhou before leaving.
Zhou Qiqi stood there, her brows furrowing unconsciously.
My in-laws are honest people; they always tell the truth.
But after that explanation, one person's eyes were shifty and the other almost dared not look her in the eye. Zhou Qiqi felt that something was wrong no matter how she looked at it.
The doubts in her heart grew bigger and bigger like a snowball.
She returned to the bedside, watching over Zhouzhou who was still unconscious, and tenderly wiped the cold sweat from the child's forehead with a warm towel.
Her gaze fell on Zhouzhou's little hand and she noticed a smudge of paint. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately remembered the sketchbook that was exclusively hers.
She immediately got up and took out the picture book.
When I looked at it a few nights ago, there was only a dim kerosene lamp lit in the room, and the light was blurry, so many details were not clearly visible.
At this moment, the afternoon sunlight outside the window is just right, and the bright light shines in through the glass window, illuminating every stroke and line on the drawing paper with perfect clarity.
The blurred, erased characters, with their strokes and lines, vaguely reveal the words "not" and "nothing".
These two words, along with the strokes of "aunt," overlapped and intertwined, appearing particularly chaotic due to repeated erasing. However, upon closer inspection, they could be vaguely pieced together to form a chilling sentence.
"Not an aunt... I don't have an aunt..."
Normally, if she saw her child write such nonsensical words, she might just assume it was childish scribbling, a mistake, or a tantrum.
However, when combined with the phrase "I am not Chen Duzhou" that Zhouzhou blurted out unconsciously during the treatment, everything took on a different meaning.
Zhou Qiqi knows Zhouzhou too well. This child is thoughtful, but she never lies.
Such subversive words would not have come out of nowhere.
Coupled with her in-laws' strange and seemingly obscure reaction... a small suspicion began to frantically grow in her mind.
Could it be that the child before us is not the sunken ferryman?!
But if she isn't Zhouzhou, then who is she? Where is the real Zhouzhou?
Zhou Qiqi stared blankly at the words on the drawing paper, then slowly turned her head to look at Zhouzhou's peaceful profile as she slept soundly on the bed, her mind a complete mess.
Just then, Zhouzhou's eyelids twitched slightly, and she was about to wake up.
Zhou Qiqi's heart tightened, and she quickly closed the picture book and put it back in its original place. Just as she sat back down on the bed, Zhouzhou opened her sleepy eyes.
The little one wasn't fully awake yet, but her instinct for dependence made her let out a soft, whimpering cry: "Auntie..."
The call softened Zhou Qiqi's heart, and she quickly bent down to hug the child, responding repeatedly, "Yes, Auntie is here."
Zhouzhou had clearly forgotten everything about her treatment and had reverted to being the little girl who loved to cling to her aunt and act spoiled.
Zhou Qiqi chatted with her for a while, then drew for a bit, trying her best to act as if everything was normal.
Soon, Qin Peilan's voice came from the outer room, calling for dinner.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was noticeably somber. The elderly couple spoke much less than usual, only keeping putting food on Zhouzhou's plate. When their eyes met, they deliberately avoided each other.
This situation deepened Zhou Qiqi's suspicions.
With her child nearby, she didn't want to ask too many questions.
Fortunately, right after we finished eating, Jiang Xiangyang, that little rascal, came running over in a flurry, saying that the children were playing hopscotch on the playground.
Everyone knew that Zhouzhou could talk, and they all wanted to play with her, but they were too shy to ask her to play, so they pushed him, the one with the thickest skin, to be their representative.
Zhou Qiqi was worried that the children might get carried away while playing, so she pulled Jiang Xiangyang aside and gave him a few words of advice, saying that Zhouzhou's voice had just recovered and he shouldn't talk too much yet.
Jiang Xiangyang patted his chest and said:
"Aunt Zhou, you can rest assured! On my turf, Jiang Xiangyang's territory, I guarantee no one will dare to bully Zhouzhou! Besides,"
He leaned closer to Zhou Qiqi, lowered his voice, and with a knowing look on his face, shook his head and said...
"How can I let her call someone else before she calls me 'brother'? I have to keep an eye on her!"
Zhou Qiqi was both amused and exasperated by his mature demeanor.
She stood at the door, watching Jiang Xiangyang walk backwards ahead, gesturing wildly as he talked to Zhouzhou, while Zhouzhou quietly followed behind him, walking step by step towards the playground.
Only after the two children disappeared from the courtyard gate did Zhou Qiqi slowly withdraw her gaze and close the door.
Zhou Qiqi closed the door, quickly cleared away the dishes, and mentally prepared her speech.
She solemnly invited her parents-in-law to sit down in the living room, took a deep breath, looked at them with clear eyes, and asked directly:
"Dad, Mom, there are no outsiders here. Please be honest with me, are you hiding something from me?"
The elderly couple initially tried to gloss over the matter, their eyes darting around as they said, "What could possibly happen?"
Zhou Qiqi stopped beating around the bush and directly asked the question that had been weighing on her mind:
"Dad, Mom, tell me, who exactly is Zhouzhou?"
Upon hearing this question, Qin Peilan stiffened at first, but her expression relaxed considerably.
She sighed deeply and turned to Shen Zhenbang, saying:
“Old Shen, I told you, our wife is smart enough to know this. We can’t keep it a secret forever. She’ll find out sooner or later. We might as well just tell her ourselves. It’s not like it’s anything shameful anyway.”
Shen Zhenbang felt a little more relaxed and nodded, saying, "We're all family, so let's make things clear."
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